Sunday Post/Mailbox Monday 12/29/2019: Happy New Year and Bookish Best of 2019

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog…
Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists….

Happy Sunday and Happy New Year. Can you believe 2020 will soon be here? I like the sound of it though, twenty-twenty. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas if they celebrate it. Christmas here was nice, I spent two relaxing days at home. I made the peanut butter blossoms I had been wanting to bake. I also baked chocolate chip. If you try the peanut butter blossom recipe, it says bake at 375 degrees for around 8-10 minutes…that’s a big no-no. They bake at 325 for 14 minutes then I let them sit on the baking tray for another 4 minutes before putting them on the cooling rack.

Book-wise, I’ve been bad with reading and reviewing in December, I just did not have enough time. My last read of 2019 was A Crafter Quilts a Crime: A Handcrafted Mystery so I am going to try and sneak that review in by tomorrow to wrap start fresh for the new year.

Onto more updates….

In at the Deep End by Kate Davies

source: free review copy via AmazonVine
title: In at the Deep End
author: Kate Davies / Twitter
genre: fiction/humor/LGBT
published: 2019
pages: 320
first line: One Saturday morning last January, Alice pointed out that I hadn’t had sex in three years.
rated: 4 out of 5 stars

blurb:

A fresh, funny, audacious debut novel about a Bridget Jones–like twenty-something who discovers that she may have simply been looking for love — and, ahem, pleasure — in all the wrong places (aka: from men)

Julia hasn’t had sex in three years. Her roommate has a boyfriend—and their sex noises are audible through the walls, maybe even throughout the neighborhood. Not to mention, she’s treading water in a dead-end job, her know-it-all therapist gives her advice she doesn’t ask for, and the men she is surrounded by are, to be polite, subpar. Enough is enough.

my thoughts: 
In at the Deep End by Kate Davies was an AmazonVine acquisition. This one has been compared to Bridget Jones. I remember reading Bridget Jones. I read that book twice and watched the film many times. I always get a kick out of Hugh Grant. Anyway, this story centers on twenty something Julia who has been single and lonely for the past three years. She lives in the U.K. with her roommate Alice. Julia always wanted to be a dancer but after an injury she took a job as a civil servant. She thinks sex is overrated and wonders if she will ever find passion and true love. She also misses dancing since it is such a part of who she is.

Top Ten Tuesday 9/3/19: Books I Enjoyed That Are Outside of My Comfort Zone

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Hello September, it is time for a Top Ten Tuesday post. This weeks topic is:

Books I Enjoyed That Are Outside of My Comfort Zone

(i.e., a genre you don’t typically read or subject matter you’re not usually drawn to)

My list is made up of books that surprised me in a good way.

1. Gulp By Mary Roach is not something I’d usually pick up but I had heard such good things about this author I decided to give her a try. I’m glad I did. It both interested me and grossed me out. I already have Stiff in my TBR pile.

Lalylala’s Beetles Bugs and Butterflies A Crochet Story of Tiny Creatures and Big Dreams by Lydia Tresselt

source: free review copy via FW Media / NetGalley
title: Lalylala’s Beetles Bugs and Butterflies: A Crochet Story of Tiny Creatures and Big Dreams
author: Lydia Tresselt
genre: crochet patterns/crafts
published: November 2017
pages: hardcover 128
rated: 5 out of 5

Blurb:
Hello bug lovers and crochet adventurers!

Grab your research equipment (magnifying glass, flask of tea, crochet hook, scissors and yarn) and follow us into a world full of magic and science, a microcosm of tiny creatures and big dreams! In this book you will find not only a charming selection of crochet patterns to create scrabbling beetles, beautiful bugs and fluttering butterfly crochet amigurumi, but also a wonderful story to read out loud and ponder on: a tale about growing up; accepting change and the power of dreams.

Watch tiny creatures hatching from their eggs, look on as they munch through a green world, and be astonished at their marvelous transformations when they finally slip out of their cocoons. The wings and hats are interchangeable so you can use the patterns in this book to create new outfits for your little insect friends. Give your caterpillar a new set of wings for every day of the week, or cover your beetle in the most colourful wing suits. Be inspired by nature to make creatures of your own creation. It’s a great little world full of possibilities. We wish you lots of fun on your journey of discovery and learning!

No-one Ever Has Sex on Holiday by Tracy Bloom

source: free copy courtesy of NetGalley/Bookouture
title:  No-one Ever Has Sex on Holiday
author: Tracy Bloom
published: July 29th 2019
genre: romantic comedy/humor
pages: 209
first line: Katy pulled up outside her house just after nine o’clock at night.
rated: 4 out of 5 stars

blurb:
Get ready to enjoy your first holiday abroad with small children. Highlights include: being woken at 5 every morning and working a gruelling day in unbearable heat chasing kids around the pool with a bottle of sunscreen. Added features: screaming during mealtimes and toddlers moaning about sand. Absolutely no sex guaranteed or your money back!

Katy and Ben and their four closest friends are going to Spain for a week with their kids. Sun, sex and sangria? Almost certainly not.

The couples think they are prepared for all the joys and trials a family holiday has to offer but they have a shock coming, and not only from the kids. Into their first day by the pool crashes Ollie, who has just been dumped by his girlfriend, and Cassie, on her hen party holiday but having serious doubts about her impending marriage. A recipe for a relaxing week abroad? Let’s wait and see…

my thoughts:

No-one Ever Has Sex on Holiday by Tracy Bloom was fun from start to finish and I breezed through this one pretty quickly. I am a seasonal reader so this was the perfect summery read during these hot July days. This book is part of a series by Tracy Bloom and my second time reading this author. I read No-one Ever Has Sex on Christmas Day and enjoyed it as well. Both work fine as stand alone reads.