Sunday Post #381

Posted April 5, 2020 by Lola in Sunday Post / 14 Comments

sunday post

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.

What happened this week?

This week was pretty similar to last few. A bit of a struggle at time,s but also plenty of work and some good things. Last Sunday our clocks went an hour ahead, so that took some getting used to. I slept a bit more this week as I was pretty tired and then slowly adjusted back to my normal sleep schedule. My boyfriend’s work schedule is still all over the place and that made for some weird days and I just hope he won’t get infected at his place of work as it’s difficult to keep the right distance there. I also got another headache sadly.

I managed to do a good amount of assistant work and also some Lola’s Blog Tours work. Two tours I organized ended this week and I announced my new book blitz discount. I am hoping I might be able to help some authors with the discount. I kept debating whether now was a good time to do one or not or whether no one would be interested at all, but I decided to go ahead with it and see how it goes.

Grocery shopping was a pain again this week. While the new measurements work and the shelves are fuller, it’s hard to do the whole social/ physical distancing when other people don’t pay attention to it or just brush right past you. I feel like I am constantly keeping track of how close everyone else is, but not everyone else does the same and it’s tiring and stressful. I did manage to buy some toilet paper and spaghetti, which has been out of stock for weeks, but the flour is still out of stock and I am getting low on that. And a few other non essential items I wasn’t able to get either.

I baked some banana bread, I was craving some banana bread and it turned out great. I also tried out a new recipe for cajun rice, which was pretty good. Pictures are below 🙂

Cajun-Fried-Rice-close-up

March reading stats

Let’s have a short look at my March reading. I read 16 books, which is quite a lot. Sadly I did have 3 DNF’s in March, as well as one 3 stars rating, but the rest were all 4 star reads. My favorite book of the month was Silent Flyght by S.J. Pajonas, I love that series! I read 4 mystery books, 4 fantasy books, 3 contemporary books, 2 sci-fi books and 3 non-fiction books. I read 2 young adult books, 3 not applicable (the non fiction books) and the rest were adult books. I read only 4 books that i got for reviews, 2 free books and the rest were books I bought. One audiobooks and the rest were ebooks

Book Blitz Discount

Book Blitz Discount
For the duration of April I am running a discount on my book blitzes and book blitzes deluxe on Lola’s Blog Tours. Both are $20 off.

What did I read this week?

Adventures of a Vegan vampHow to Howl at the MoonHunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped

Adventures of a Vegan Vamp was a DNF, it just wasn’t gripping me. How to Howl at the Moon was exactly the type of lighthearted fun romantic read I was in the mood for. Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped was another awesome read in this series filled with action, danger and plenty of twists. I really liked seeing how the romance progressed in this one.

Food Corner

For this week’s food corner I want to talk about oven dishes. While I like oven dishes, at the same time I dislike them as it means extra preparation time. or maybe it has more to do with the fact that I plan when i start cooking and I have to start earlier with oven dishes as there is the oven time to keep into account. On the other hand there are dishes you simply can’t make well or dishes that really are improved by going into the oven. I’ve included some of my oven dishes below. Although with the shepherd’s pie I usually skip the oven step and just have the sauce and mashed potatoes ready at the same time. I made the mashed potatoes with carrots and onion dish this week, which was great. What are some of your favorite oven dishes?

Onion PieCarrot SouffleLasagna Spinach Masala QuicheMashed Potatoes with Carrots and OnionVegetarian Shepherd's PieVegetarian Pie

This week I blogged about:

Review: A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong
Review: A Dance of water and Air by Antonia Aquilante
Review: Torn Boy vs Wandering Girl by Jordan Ford

Review: A Darkness Absolute by Kelley ArmstrongReview: A Dance of water and Air by Antonia AquilanteReview: Torn Boy vs Wandering Girl by Jordan Ford

What to expect next week on the blog:

– Review: Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped by Annette Marie
– Review: Crochet and Cauldrons by Nancy Warren
– Lola’s Kitchen: Orzo Soup Recipe

Tours open for sign-up on Lola’s Blog Tours:

Review Opportunity: Never Date a Siren by Byrd Nash
Review Opportunity: Indigo by Paula Berinstein
Review Opportunity: In The Heart of Babylon by SGD Singh
Book Blitz: Ultra Squad by Julia DeVillers – 20 till 26 April
Book Blitz: Flaca by Leslie DJ – 20 April till 3 May
Blog Tour: Spent Identity by Marlene M. Bell – 4 till 24 May

Book Haul:

Cosmic HonorThe Last WarriorDeath's DancerBinding ShadowsThe Last DropLaunch to Market

Cosmic Honor I bought on release day as I like the sound of this one. The Last Warrior I won in an ARC giveaway the author did on Facebook and I was lucky enough to win a copy, I am now reading this one. I stumbled upon the author for Death’s Dancer and Binding Shadows in a post with new releases and I couldn’t pick which one to buy, so I got them both. The Last Drop I bought on release day, it’s a novella featuring one of the side characters from Dine With Me, which I read last year. Launch to Market was only 99 cent so I bought that one too. I am currently reading one of this author’s book and it’s pretty good so far.

Did you buy any new books this week?

Tags:


14 responses to “Sunday Post #381

    • I definitely notice that I am reading more, so hopefully there are some authors who can make use of the discount. The grocery shopping is a struggle for sure. That’s good that you’re staying home as you’re in a high risk group, but it’s still scary that your husband has to go out. I hope you both stay safe and healthy!

  1. Glad the work is keeping busy and you adjusted to time change. I struggle with the time change, too.. Shopping is a big challenge here as well. It’s the only thing I really have to do that puts me in contact with other people, but my husband still works his normal job so he has to be close to others. Hoping he can stay healthy.

    Nice reading total for March and I love that you read such a variety and age level. Tough to have the 3 DNFs, but you got in some really good ones, too.

    My favorite oven dish to make is lasagna.

    That’s a great haul of books. Cosmic Honor does sound good. Between freebies and great sales, I think I got a dozen books this week.

    Have a good April, Lola!
    Sophia Rose recently posted…Review: A Study in Death by Anna Lee HuberMy Profile

    • The time change is always a pain, but luckily it went a lot better after the first few days. Same here, while my boyfriend still works and sometimes is close to others, I mostly stay at home and can avoid others except when grocery shopping and that is stressful enough. Thanks! I hope you and your husband both stay healthy too!

      It was a good total, a shame about the DNF’s, but I was in a bit of a weird reading mood at times and I am glad I DNF’d the books that weren’t working.

      I like lasagna, but it’s so time intensive to make that I rarely make it. I do have a lasagna soup I sometimes make to still get a bit of that lasagna taste.

      I am really curious about Cosmic Honor and I hope to get to it soon.

    • I think so too, it seems everywhere grocery shopping is difficult. Our store still let in quite some people, but there is a limit and a line outside if that limit is reached. I managed to have lucky timing so far and was able to get in without waiting.

  2. I love banana bread! And I hear you about people not respecting the social distance in shops! Come back to my blog tomorrow afternoon and you should have a fun post about grocery shopping. Stay safe and I hope your boyfriend will be safe too!

    • I also love banana bread, it’s just so good :). It’s really difficult to keep your distance when other people don’t. I just read your blog post about grocery shopping XD.

  3. I need to read the next book in the Flyght series, as I love SJ’s writing, too. Like you, I’m reading more. The banana bread looks lovely – I need to make more, but we, too, are running low on flour and can’t get hold of it, I reckon it’s all the home baking that everyone is doing now while in lockdown. Have a peaceful, healthy week and stay safe, Lola:)

    • I hope you get around to reading the next Flyght book soon. It really is an awesome series. I decided to use some of the whole wheat flour I had left for the banana bread as I don’t use that as often. I haven’t seen flour in grocery stores since early last month I think. I am just glad I got some before this all started else I would’ve been all out already. Hopefully next week I can buy some flour. It does seem more people are home baking and some panic buying probably as well. You stay safe and healthy too!

  4. I did buy a few books this week… Hmmm. Let me see… Audio for Authors by Joanna Penn, When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton (Bookbub), Trinity Ascension Saga by Grace Goodwin (Bookbub), The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne (Kindle First), and Cosmic Honor by Jade Waltz, which you also got. I think I bought an audiobook on Chirp too… Yes, I did. The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone.

    I love oven dishes! But yes, I think they’re a lot of work too.
    S. J. Pajonas recently posted…Sunday Update – April 5, 2020My Profile

    • That Audio for Authors book sounds interesting. And nice you got some good Bookbub deals and a Chirp deal as well. I hope we both enjoy Cosmic Honor, it sounds like a good read :). I love oven dishes, but they are just so much work that I don’t make them as often.

  5. My mom has to work too, and she has to be right next to strangers, so I feel you. It’s so frustrating that so many people still aren’t doing the social distancing, I can see how that makes the shopping stressful. Your food looks so delicious though! And I’m so glad you liked Howl at the Moon too, it was definitely the perfect fun read during stressful times. Stay safe <3
    Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Update: Life and Books (Mar 2020)My Profile

  6. I am sorry to hear your mom also has to work right next to strangers. It’s stressful as you can’t do anything about it, but we still worry about them getting sick. I wish people where better with the social distancing, some people do great with it, but it’s stressful as you always have the few who don’t. How at the Moon definitely was the perfect fun read during these stressful times. I am so glad I picked it up :).

Leave a Reply to Lola Cancel reply

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.