Friday, December 30, 2022

End of the Year: 2022

 It has been a while. I know I haven't been posting but I have been reading. :)

I read 50 books this year and for a moment there I thought I was not going to make it due to my busy schedule, but I did it! Yay!!


Here's what Goodreads has to say: 




Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Audiobook: The Collective

By Alison Gaylin

Read by Laurel Lefkow

Duration: 9 hours

How far would a mother go to right a wrong?

Camille Gardner is a grieving and angry mother who, fives years after her daughter's death, is obsessed with the man she believes to be responsible.

Camille wants revenge.

Enter: the Collective.

A group of women who enact revenge on those who have taken their children.

But as Camille gets more involved in the group she must decide whether these women are the heroes or the villains.

And if she chooses wrong, will she ever get out alive?

Monday, July 18, 2022

Little Free Library Adventures #16

 



It has been a while (a year in fact) since I've done one of these. Here are some LFLs that I encountered during my Colorado road trip a few weeks ago:

Longmont

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Review: Heartstopper 1-4

 A friend let me borrow books 1-4 of the Heartstopper series. Here are my thoughts on them: 

(Slight spoilers ahead)


 Volume 1: This was an introduction to the two main characters, Charlie and Nick. Charlie was the shy, skinny student that came out the previous school year. Nick was the popular rugby athlete. These two started to talk and began a close friendship. It was cute to see how these two young men bonded and became affectionate to one another. I really liked how Nick did his best to stick up for Charlie. 


Friday, June 24, 2022

One day only: Free Romance eBooks!

That's right. Free romance ebooks!

If you like to read romance books, take advantage of today's event from Romance Bookworms

I know I'm taking advantage!

Friday, June 17, 2022

Review: The Guncle

By Steven Rowley


Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is honestly a bit out of his league.

So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting—even if temporary—isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.

With the humor and heart we’ve come to expect from bestselling author Steven Rowley, The Guncle is a moving tribute to the power of love, patience, and family in even the most trying of times. 

Monday, June 13, 2022

Review: The Marriage Game

 By Sara Desai


After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn’t know he’s arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door…

As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he's forced to share his space with the owner's beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life.

As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game.

Friday, June 10, 2022

Review: Lunar Discovery

 By Salvador Mercer



What lies on the dark side of the moon could change the course of humanity forever.

When a Chinese rover discovers an alien technology on the dark side of the moon, it is up to Richard 'Rock' Crandon and his NASA team of scientists and engineers to devise a way to return before the Chinese and Russians.

Forced to deal with bureaucratic oversight and a complex team of personalities, Rock Crandon pushes his team to their limits.

With pressure mounting, the world is pushed closer to conflict and war as the NASA team finds itself seriously behind in the newly initiated space race. The future of mankind, its ideological and technological advances are at stake, as the world's super powers race to discover what lies on the dark side of the moon.

Who will get there first, and at what cost?

Friday, June 3, 2022

10 Year Blogoversary

 


Well, that's right. It's my blog's 10 year anniversary!!! Wow!!!

So much has happened these past 10 years. I started my book blog strong with daily posts and reviews. I've been MIA these past few years because life simply happened. Vonnie's Reading Corner had to sit back and wait while I tried to survive mentally and physically.

Am I going to return to blogging like I used to? No, I simply do not have the time or energy to keep up with multiple posts a week. 

Am I going to keep this blog going? You know...I've been going back and forth about retiring my blog, but every time I try to write a Goodbye post, I get really depressed. So I decided that I will keep going for now but I will occasionally post.  So you'll probably see some months more active than others but do expect to see a few posts every so often. 

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Top 5 Tuesday: February 1st

 

Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm and is now being hosted by Meeghan Reads!

This week's prompt is:

Top 5 books I didn’t get to in 2021


1. Honolulu by Alan Brennert


Friday, January 28, 2022

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Review: Scythe

 By Neal Shusterman




Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.


Sunday, January 23, 2022

#SixForSunday: January 23rd

 #SixforSunday is a weekly event hosted by A Little But A Lot.  A prompt is given each week and participants pick 6 books to go with the prompt. This week's prompt is:


Favorite opening chapters


Ooh...Favorite chapters? Here are some:


Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

Friday, January 21, 2022

Friday Fun: Jan 21st

It's Friday and it's time for some fun! Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice, First Line Fridays is hosted by Reading is My SuperPower, Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader, and Book Blogger Hop by The Coffee Addicted Writer


Today's book is Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski:







Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Review: Aurora Rising

By Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Read by Kim Mai Guest, Johnathan McClain, Candice Moll, Lincoln Hoppe, Donnabella Mortel, Jonathan Todd Ross, Erin Spencer, & Steve West

Duration: 14 hours, 4 minutes


The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm

A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates

A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder

An alien warrior with anger management issues

A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.



Top 5 Tuesday: Jan. 18th

 


Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm and is now being hosted by Meeghan Reads!

This week's prompt is:

Top 5 books I will definitely read in 2022


Ooh, this one is tough because I tend to change my mind a lot. Here are the books I definitely plan to read this year:


1. Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I heard many great things about this book. I highly enjoyed The Martian so I am looking forward to this one. Most of all, I am looking forward to reading this one with my husband.




Sunday, January 16, 2022

The Witcher Thoughts

During my vacation, my husband and I decided to listen to Blood of Elves before watching the Netflix series. Once we finished it, we then binged watch the two seasons of the Witcher. 


Thoughts on the book:

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski 
Read by Peter Kenny
Duration: 11 hours

There was a lot of expository in this book, hardly any action. This made listening to the audiobook a little tough because I found myself constantly drifting off. However, I highly enjoyed the world building. This was my first book in the series so I was not too sure what to expect. I liked the idea of the witchers and the different witches/sorcerers out there. I was also intrigued to learn more about the fallen town of Citra and I kept wondering what would happen to Ciri. I heard the next book in the series is better, so I am highly looking forward to it. I give this 3 stars. 

#SixforSunday: Jan. 16th

 


#SixforSunday is a weekly event hosted by A Little But A Lot.  A prompt is given each week and participants pick 6 books to go with the prompt. This week's prompt is:

bookish resolutions


A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Friday, January 14, 2022

Friday Fun: Jan. 14th

  


It's Friday and it's time for some fun! Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice, First Line Fridays is hosted by Reading is My SuperPower, Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader, and Book Blogger Hop by The Coffee Addicted Writer


Today's book is Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: 




Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Top 5 Tuesday: Jan. 11th

 

Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm and is now being hosted by Meeghan Reads!

This week's prompt is: 

Top 5 anticipated reads for Jan-Mar 2022


The books I hope to read between the months of January through March:

1. The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold

This book was recommended to me by match on Litsy. The cover is pretty cool. 







Sunday, January 9, 2022

#SixforSunday: Jan. 9th

 


#SixforSunday is a weekly event hosted by A Little But A Lot.  A prompt is given each week and participants pick 6 books to go with the prompt. This week's prompt is:


Books you can’t wait for



Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

Friday, January 7, 2022

Friday Fun: Jan. 7th

 


It's Friday and it's time for some fun! Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice, First Line Fridays is hosted by Reading is My SuperPower, Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader, and Book Blogger Hop by The Coffee Addicted Writer


Today's book is Scythe by Neal Shusterman: 




Monday, January 3, 2022

2022 Thoughts


Hello readers!

As usual, it has been a while since I've posted. The last few months of 2021 have been incredibly tough for me work-wise. I am not going to bore you with the details of what has been happening at work but let's just say that it consumed every minute of my life. 

Right now I am on winter break and I took a much needed vacation with my husband to visit White Sands National Park and Saguaro National Park.