Category: Monthly Wrap-Up (Page 3 of 9)

During our Monthly Wrap-Up, we’ll take a look at what has happened around here in the last month. That’ll include what’s happened in my life, what we’ve read, any other posts we may have had, our most popular Instagram posts, and books that I’ve added to my ever-growing TBR.

*We linked this post to the December Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

Jen’s Life:

So this is kinda scary to share…..but the reason I disappeared at times and stopped doing these posts for the latter half of the year was because emotionally I was very broken.  I started and ended the year losing those I love, my Grandma who I was extremely close with my whole life.  And my little dog, who was more like a child to us for the last 14 years.  When you throw in a serious health issue that I still haven’t mentally dealt with yet.  To some of our family and friends getting scary sick from COVID.  And to me switching to being a teacher to our 2nd and 4th grader since there was no way I could subject them to distance learning again…..well I was an emotional mess to say the very least.  So this year I’m trying my best to heal or I guess start the path to healing.  This week I’m starting back up my 3+ mile walks and exercise to give myself sanity, spending all the quality time with those I love and just trying to find the joy in simple every day things like I use to.  I’m normally a person who is overly bubbly, talkative and smiles wayyyyy too much and I’d love, love, love to find that person again *fingers crossed*.  So if you’re working on yourself in 2021 too, hugs and here’s hoping we can get to where we want to go ♥.  Now onto all the bookish stuff…….

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What We Read:

5 Stars:
✮ In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
✮ The Boss Who Stole Christmas (Reindeer Falls #1) by Jana Aston
✮ The One Night Stand Before Christmas (Reindeer Falls #3) by Jana Aston
✮ A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Saaba Tahir
✮ Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
✮ You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
✮ A Crown For Christmas by Rachel Van Dyken

4.5 Stars:
✮ The Darkest Temptation (Made #3) by Danielle Lori

4 Stars:
✮ Holiday With You by Claudia Y. Burgoa & Grahame Claire
✮ If You Give A Jerk A Gingerbread (Reindeer Falls #2) by Jana Aston

3.5 Stars:
✮ Let It Snow by Cassie Cross

2.5 Stars:
✮ Kissmass Eve by M.E. Carter & Sara Ney

DNF:
✮ The Clause in Christmas byRachael Bloome

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

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Books Added To Jen’s TBR This Month:

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So this was our December….did you read any of the same books that we did? Or share the same favorite book as us? If not, then what was your favorite book? Or have you read any of the books I just added to my TBR?

Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful December. And cheers to January being fabulous for all of us!

During our Monthly Wrap-Up, we’ll take a look at what has happened around here in the last month. That’ll include what’s happened in my life, what the four of us have read, any other posts we may have had, giveaways still going on, our most popular Instagram posts, and books that I’ve added to my ever-growing TBR.

*We linked this post to the June Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

♥ Enjoy!

Jen’s Life:

Some of my highlights from May & June were:

✮ We’ve been busy taking care of our garden.  My 9 year old built us three more planter boxes.  So we planted two kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, baby watermelons, radishes, carrots, cantaloupe, strawberries, lettuce and flowers.  It’s been so much fun going out there everyday and seeing all of the changes.  We have our first cherry tomato growing on one of the tomato plants, yay!
✮ We’ve gone to the beach twice and found a spot where we’re away from everyone.  I’m so happy my boys get to have something they’re use to,  since everything else in life has changed so much.  Like my youngest lost two teeth and was scared that the tooth fairy wouldn’t be able to come because of COVID-19, ugh.  It hurt my heart to even hear him say that, but my older son said that fairies can’t get our diseases and saved the day!
✮ Some of my favorite recipes I’ve made in the last two months were Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting, Seriously Fudgy Homemade Brownies, My Favorite Slow Cooker Chili, Baked Creamy Cheesy Chicken Flautas, Hamburger Noodle Casserole,

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What Arielle, Cassie, Chelsea & Jen Read:

5 Stars:
✮ Chase the Dark (Steel & Stone #1) by Annette Marie
✮ Rage and Ruin (The Harbinger #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
✮ GENES (International Sensory Assassin Network #3) by Mary Ting

4.5 Stars:
✮ Yours in Scandal (Man of the Year #1) by Lauren Layne
✮ Fable (Fable #1) by Adrienne Young

4 Stars:
✮ Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi

3 Stars:
✮ The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

During our Monthly Wrap-Up, we’ll take a look at what has happened around here in the last month. That’ll include what’s happened in my life, what the four of us have read, any other posts we may have had, giveaways still going on, our most popular Instagram posts, and books that I’ve added to my ever-growing TBR.

*We linked this post to the April Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

♥ Enjoy!

Jen’s Life:

Some of my highlights from March & April were:

✮ We celebrated my youngest kiddos birthday.  Thankfully his birthday fell right before our state shut down, so he got to celebrate with cupcakes in his classroom and then with our family that night.  Then in April we celebrated my birthday which I’ll remember forever. Lots of video chats and even a drive by from my best friends that made me cry.
✮ I never thought I’d be homeschooling my children, but I’m so thankful we have the most amazing teachers ever.  I’m so impressed by how much they can do and interact with them through Google Classroom.  Their schedule is intense but I love that we finish school an hour or so early and then can go outside and play all afternoon.  We’ve gone on tons of bike rides, walks and lots of baseball and soccer games in our backyard. 
✮ I’ve done tons of baking.  Some of my favorite recipes have been Triple Chocolate Cake, S’more Cheesecake (although it tastes more like cookie dough), Glazed Strawberry Bread, Oreo Cheesecake Cookies, Best Banana Cake, Banana Donuts With Chocolate Glaze
✮ Some of my favorite dinner recipes have been Chicken Parmesan, Baked Honey BBQ Chicken Fingers, Beef and Cheese Enchiladas, Spicy Beef Sloppy Joes (I use artichokes instead of mushrooms),

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What Arielle, Cassie, Chelsea & Jen Read:

5 Stars:
✮ The Resistance (The Union #5) by T.H. Hernandez
✮ Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2) by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
✮ Finding Him (Covet #2) by Rachel Van Dyken
✮ From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
✮ Tell Me Pretty Lies by Charleigh Rose
✮ The Best Mistake (Southern U O’Brien Brothers #1) by Cookie O’Gorman

4 Stars:
✮ Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2) by Lyssa Kay Adams
✮ Ember Queen (Ash Princess Trilogy #3) by Laura Sebastian
✮ More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn
✮ The Raven and the Dove (The Raven and the Dove #1) by Kaitlyn Davis

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn (Cassie’s Choice)
It was a cute story, with fully realized teenagers on the cusp of adulthood, with a great setting.

During our Monthly Wrap-Up, we’ll take a look at what has happened around here in the last month. That’ll include what’s happened in my life, what the four of us have read, any other posts we may have had, giveaways still going on, our most popular Instagram posts, and books that I’ve added to my ever-growing TBR.

*We linked this post to the February Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

♥ Enjoy!

Jen’s Life:

So.  I disappeared from doing these wrap ups the last few months.  And that’s because the beginning of this year was really hard for me.  My Grandma passed away in January, and since I’ve been a little girl, she’s been such a huge part of my life.  Even when my husband and I lived back in Indiana for a couple of years, I always flew home every 3 months just so I could see my grandparents, parents and brother.  And for the last 3 years my Grandma has lived over here in Nevada right by my family, my parents, my brother and my aunt and uncle.  She was a part of everything we did.  Family dinners on the weekends, my boys doing their reading homework with her after school, to even shopping together at the grocery store.  I loved school days where I’d drop my boys off at school and go spend my day with her.  Even sports season revolved around my Grandma, the boys would always have an hour break or so between sports games and we’d run to the bakery and get some donuts and bring them to her place and share a snack together.  So much of our week involved my Grandma and I’ve struggled a lot these last few months.  I miss her with my whole heart, but at the same point I’m so thankful she’s with my Grandpa again.

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What Arielle, Cassie, Chelsea & Jen Read:

5 Stars:
✮ Keystone by Katie Delahanty
✮ Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) by Leigh Bardugo
✮ Whatever It Takes (Bad Reputation Duet #1) by Krista & Becca Ritchie
✮ Heartland (True North #7) by Sarina Bowen
✮ All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1) by Adalyn Grace
✮ Marriage on Madison Avenue (Central Park Pact #3) by Lauren Layne
✮ Magic Bound (Ravencrest Academy #1) by Theresa Kay
✮ The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi

4.5 Stars:
✮ Between Burning Worlds (System Divine #2) by Jessica Brody, Joanne Rendell
✮ Echoes Between Us by Katie McGarry
✮ All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1) by Adalyn Grace

4 Stars:
✮ Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison
✮ Every Other Weekend by Abigail Johnson
✮ Charmed Souls (Black Souls #1) by Abbi Glines
✮ The Hand on the Wall (Truly Devious #3) by Maureen Johnson
✮ All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban
✮ The Queen’s Assassin (Queen’s Secret #1) by Melissa de la Cruz
✮ Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough
✮ The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

3.5 Stars:
✮ Demon Bound by Chris Cannon
✮ The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne
✮ It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
✮ Havenfall (Havenfall #1) by Sara Holland

2.5 Stars:
✮ Together We Caught Fire by Eva V. Gibson

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi (Arielle’s Choice)
There were some twists that I certainly DID NOT see coming which is always a delicious thing. We learn so much more about our characters and their pasts and it helped me connect with a few of them way more than I had in the previous book. And then. The ending. THE ENDING. Holy crap, guys.

During our Monthly Wrap-Up, we’ll take a look at what has happened around here in the last month. That’ll include what’s happened in my life, what the four of us have read, any other posts we may have had, giveaways still going on, our most popular Instagram posts, and books that I’ve added to my ever-growing TBR.

*We linked this post to the December Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction*

♥ Enjoy!

Jen’s Life:

Some of my highlights from this month were:

✮ We did so many Christmas activities!  But my favorite was taking my two little boys, who are 6&8 and still very much believe in the magic of Christmas, on the Polar Express.  They got dressed up in their pjs, and the ride to the North Pole and back is beyond magical.  Singing, dancing, cookies, hot cocoa and then Santa boards the train when you arrive at the North Pole.  It’s always one of my favorite memories that we make each year.
✮ My kiddos had 2 weeks off from school and we just played and baked the whole time.  I discovered I’m awful at Exploding Kittens (such a fun game!).  And my favorite cookies we made were Soft Caramel Snickerdoodles and my favorite non-Christmas dinner was My Favorite Slow Cooker Chicken Chili Recipe.  Links to the recipes when you click the name :).
✮ Chelsea got me the cutest Daemon (Lux Series by JLA) socks for Christmas here.  And I’m so excited she also sent me Holly Black’s latest trilogy here.  I hope I love it as much as her!!

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What Arielle, Cassie, Chelsea & Jen Read:

5 Stars:
✮ Watch Over Me by Mila Gray
✮ Adorkable by Cookie O’Gorman
✮ Skyward (Skyward #1) by Brandon Sanderson
✮ Meet Me on Love Lane (Hopeless Romantics #2) by Nina Bocci
✮ The Boss Who Stole Christmas (Reindeer Falls #1) by Jana Aston
✮ To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters
✮ The Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts

4.5 Stars:
✮ A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers #2) by Brigid Kemmerer

4 Stars:
✮ The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren
✮ Hook (Neverland #2) by Gina L. Maxwell
✮ The Trouble With Christmas by Robin Daniels
✮ The Hitched Series by G.K. DeRosa
✮ Starsight (Skyward #2) by Brandon Sanderson

1 Star:
✮ Slippers And Thieves (Fairy Tales of the Magicorum #4) by Christina Bauer

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Our Favorite Books of the Month:

Watch Over Me by Mila Gray (Jen’s Choice)
The characters leaped off of the pages, the relationships burrowed deep into my heart and the story made me turn the pages faster. I absolutely loved Watch Over Me and I can’t recommend this book enough!