It's Monday! What are you reading?

By Claire Louisa on Jul 15, 2024

First seen over on Book'd Out I'm going to try to do this post regularly linking to It's Monday! What are you reading? at BookDate.

It's been a fortnight since I posted as I didn't really get much reading done the previous week and thought I'd wait until I had a couple more books read, I do need to catch up on reviews for those books.

This week I read an ARC of Star-Crossed Betas by Emory Winters, an MM wolf-shifter read that has such a great cover, I was right in thinking it was going to be a tough road for these two mates but it was so worth it, I really loved this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I read an ARC of When We Meet Again by Hayden Hall, another story of star-crossed lovers where I'll get to visit a few countries by the sounds of the blurb. Which was a slow-burn love story set over 9 or 10 years ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I read an ARC of Cherry Picking by Rikki Leighton who once again took me on an emotional ride, this time tears were shed ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I read His Alpha Unlocked (Shifters Sanctuary #1) by Anna Sparrows because I had been given an ARC of book #2 and even though they could technically be read as standalone I wanted to know the backstory and I'm so glad I did because it was a great read and great start to this series ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Audiobooks I listened to

I finally finished listening to The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E Schwab, an adult fantasy fiction which sounds really interesting, it is about 17 hours in length, and I wasn't entirely sure after about the first 4 hours if I was going to continue but a friend urged me to keep going and I'm glad I did because it turned out to be a great listen and I gave it 4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟

I listened to Familiar Beginnings (Demon Magic #2) by Alice Winters and Malicious Midpoint (Demon Magic #3) which were both enjoyable with a great narrator. I'll be listening to or reading book 4 at some point soon to see how it all wraps up ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I also finished listening/reading The Tilt by Chris Hammer which should go in the next week/fortnights post because I finished it this morning on the way to work, but I may as well add it now. It was my first Chris Hammer book and won't be my last, this was someone's pick for bookclub next month ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This week I am reading

I am still reading an ARC of Jennie Jones' new historical fiction novel The Girls From Fitzroy which comes out at the end of the month and I'm going to her author talk on the 31st July. It's set in Australia in 1945 just as the war has ended and it's shaping up to be a good read. I am nearly 50% in and I am worried something bad is going to happen to one of the main characters.

I am just over halfway through His Prodigal Alpha (Shifters Sanctuary #2) by Anna Sparrows and I'm glad I read book #1 first. I'm really enjoying book #2.

I am reading the memoir Because I'm Not Myself, You See: A Memoir of Motherhood, Madness and Coming Back From the Brink by Ariane Beeston. This wasn't a planned read, it wasn't even on my radar but a friend who is also studying a mental health-related course asked if I knew of any books where the person had been diagnosed using the DSM-5 and it sent me down a rabbit hole which led me to about 4 books I want to read myself and this is the first of those.

I am reading Safe Haven by Shankari Chandran which is about displacement and seeking refuge—but ultimately it is a story about finding home—and the lengths you'll go to find safety and love. It already has me stressed out because something bad has happened to the main character but I will keep going and hope it all turns out ok.

I will be reading ARCs of Love and Family by Kelsey Hodge and Hoodoo House by Peter E Fenton

I think that's enough to keep me occupied in the reading department especially since classes start up again on Saturday.

I am listening to Appreciation by Liam Pieper because a fellow blogger gave it a great review and we often have similar tastes.

I am also listening to The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle this is our bookclub read for this month but isn't completely holding my interest yet, I will finish it by the time we meet up on the 31st.

I went to a book talk to listen to Lisa Ireland talk about her new novel The Studio Girls along with Kylie Ladd talking about her latest novel. They were fabulous to listen to and I could have stayed there all night listening if they'd been willing.

I also went to a book event in Perth on Saturday Perfectly Published Perth, there were so many authors there but it was a bit squeezy so I didn't get to see all of them but did get to chat to a couple of my favourites and bought a couple of books.

So a busy week or fortnight of reading and listening ahead, I'd love to hear what you've read or are reading and whether you've read any of these.