Finished Reading “Ready or Not” and It’s Getting Warmer!

Our visit to Ponta Delgada (Azores of Portugal) was short, but nice. The island is gorgeous! We took an excursion to see the crater lake. So pretty! Now we’re on day 4 of our 6 sea days. I’m not minding it so bad. It can be nice to be lazy. Of course, I had plans to walk, but the weather has been horrible until today. Will I go walking tomorrow? I don’t know. I’ve gotten lazy again! But at least it’s warmer out now. It was pretty chilly getting to Ponta Delgada and a couple of days from there. Overcast, rainy, and super windy (some winds were over 50 mph!). On Thursday we visit Nassau. Been there lots of times, but we managed to find an interesting excursion.

I still have my cold, but at least it’s not as severe. It always takes me weeks to get rid of the cough, though. This time will not be any different, I’m sure.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 27

Dates read: November 12-17, 2025
Title: Ready or Not
Year of publication: 2021
Author: Aedyn Brooks
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Grave Intentions Book 2
# of Pages: 260
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased from Barnes & Noble
Blurb from Goodreads: 3…2…1…Dr. Tesla Brynn is beginning her psychiatry practice in a new state and city, closer to family. When she calls her niece to plan their Fourth of July weekend, her world shatters. Her terrified niece tells her a masked stranger is texting her photos labeled Ready or Not from inside the house. Tes can do nothing but listen to her niece’s screams as the line dies.
    Ready or Not…
    Asher Hickok lost his will to live the day his daughter was kidnapped. Seven weeks of hell and counting. With dead-end leads and no ransom demands, the only hope Asher has in finding his daughter is if the kidnapper chooses another victim. What he’s not prepared for is that the next victim to be his daughter’s best friend.
    Here I Come…
    Tes and Asher’s worlds collide, forging allies as they desperately search for their loved ones. Together, they’ll use every resource available, including a supernatural gift Tes’ kept secret her whole life. Asher has his own secrets he'd like to keep hidden. Can this unlikely pair learn to trust each other, accept their differences, and find their family before it's too late?
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: I’m liking this series. It’s got ghosts, zombies, demons, and angels. Good romance, too What’s not to love? Oh—it helps that it’s written well, too. I will be getting Books 3 & 4 as soon as my “location” on the internet connection allows me. It thinks I’m in France!

The writing has been going pretty good the last few days. That makes me feel good (and productive). 500 words may not seem like much, but it’s a goal and I’ve been able to reach it for the last four days. Four days in a row! Yeah, that hasn’t happened in a long time. Go me!!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading “Home Cat Blues” and the Ship, She is a’Rockin’!

Our visit to Olympia turned out really nice. We had a lot of fun on that excursion (and got more Greek food to sample). Our stop in Naples included an excursion to the Amalfi Coast and Pompei. We were a little disappointed in both. Frankly, we were glad our stop at both places weren’t lengthy. I guess I just expected more color on the coast and after seeing so many ruins, Pompei was just another site of…ruins. The story is sad, but that’s about it.

We docked back in Civitavecchia (Rome) and stayed on the ship. Our first stop on the second cruise was in Cartegena, Spain. That was a nice city and we sampled lots of tapas (our excursion was called the Tapas Trail). Walked around the city to three different eateries and ended at the Roman Theatre. Another ruin that wasn’t discovered until the 1990s! It was found quite by accident.

But man, the first cruise really spoiled us. Water was calm. No issues. We left Civitavecchia and the waves picked up. I did not feel well on that first sea day. And then I went and caught a cold. Tomorrow we stop at Ponta Delgada (the Azores of Portugal) and then it will be six sea days in a row. I sure hope the water calms down. I haven’t been able to do much writing. Or reading for that matter. Not that the cold helped any. Why do they always have to come with a headache?

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 26

Dates read: November 4-12, 2025
Title: Home Cat Blues
Year of publication: 2025
Author: Alison O’Leary
Genre: Cozy mystery
Series: The Clever Cat Mysteries Book 7
# of Pages: 237
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Free from Barnes & Noble
Blurb from Goodreads: Life in a sleepy English town is rarely this dramatic—but when a string of anonymous letters sends the locals into a tailspin, things go from unsettling to downright deadly.
    Jeremy Goodman, now the head teacher at Sir Frank Wainwrights, thought his biggest challenge would be managing rowdy students. However, when one of his teachers is found dead after receiving a chilling message, Jeremy finds himself drawn into a mystery darker than the town's afternoon tea.
    With the help of his sharp-witted wife Molly, their foster son Carlos, and two feline sleuths, Aubrey and Vincent, Jeremy starts piecing together the clues. But when Carlos becomes a target and his girlfriend Teddy disappears, Jeremy realises that this mystery has claws.
    But who is the culprit? And can Jeremy unravel the truth before anyone else gets hurt? Or will this local scandal turn into a full-blown cat-astrophe?
Recommend: No
My thoughts: I used to get free books from Barnes & Noble for being a member (I say used to because I haven’t been offered a free book for a while now). This looked fun. Instead, I got boring. The cats aren’t in it much and have absolutely nothing to do with solving any mystery. There really wasn’t much sleuthing done, either. I’m not a big mystery reader, but enough of one to say this ain’t one.

It's been chilly for the past few days, but at least I can say we didn’t get any snow, unlike my home did. Yeah, my daughter is cursing us out for that. When we first started cruising, it always snowed when we were gone. Guess we had to keep with tradition, huh?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading “Graveyard Dog” and Getting Greeced-Out

So… I walked over 5 miles in Istanbul, Turkiye (I remembered the correct spelling this time!). So much walking. And that is a big city. I was overwhelmed and it was a long day (9 hours) that I just wanted to go back to the ship. Saw some interesting stuff, but frankly, it’s mostly a big city and I’m so not into those. Then we visited Athens yesterday (another big city), but we were mostly at archeological sites. While the Acropolis is in Athens, Sounion (Poseidon’s site) was out in the country, which was really pretty. But it was another 9-hour excursion. Today we were in Crete and saw another archeological site that was so old (1900-1700 BC), that most of what was there was reconstruction (or as one person called it: fake). There were some authentic portions, though. Afterward, we drove 70 minutes to a small town to shop and had lunch. Then drove 70 minutes back to the ship. Another long day (8-1/2 hours), but mostly in a bus. Tomorrow we arrive in Olympia. The excursion there is only 4 hours long. Whew!

I’m kind of getting Greeced-out! At least the weather has still cooperated. In fact, it was rather warm today.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 25

Dates read: October 31 – November 4, 2025
Title: Graveyard Dog
Year of publication: 2024
Author: Darynda Jones
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Charley Davidson #13.9 (Novella)
# of Pages: 162
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Michael Cavalcante has one thing on his mind when he knocks on Izzabel Walsh’s door at two in the morning, half-dressed and a bit toasted: fix the woman’s heater and get back to bed. He’d vowed never to cover for his maintenance tech again, especially after he got tased and knocked out with a frying pan for his efforts.
    Izzy thought she was safe. She’d dyed her hair, changed her name, and moved 1,500 miles away. And still they’d found her. When a member of her ex’s motorcycle club knocks on her door in the middle of the night, supposedly to fix a perfectly good heater, Izzy panics. Not only have they found her, but they will soon discover she has a daughter. Aka, leverage. She needs time to think. To plan. To figure out how to keep the sexy neanderthal quiet. But she has no idea how, short of murder. Can she win him over to her side? Or will he be just like all the others once he finds out what she is capable of?
    Michael has one chance to convince Izzy he doesn’t want to harm her or her daughter, but more than that, he wants to know who does. And why. And where he can find them. After all, how else is he going to make sure the two sprites who have wound their way into his heart are safe?
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: I loved this series and picking up this novella was kind of nice. Almost makes me want to re-read them. If I didn’t have so many other books to read, I would probably do that. Maybe someday. Someday when I’m not writing anymore (yeah, sometimes I think that may happen). It was fun getting back into this world, though.

I hate how batteries don’t make any sense. I can leave my Nook alone for weeks, and the battery barely drops. I recharged it last week and now the battery is down to 15%. I haven’t been reading that much, either!! At least I was able to finish the story on the bus ride back to the ship. Really would have pissed me off if I couldn’t. Guess I better recharge it tonight!!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading “Honeymoon Bite” and Happy Halloween

I’m currently sailing between Greece and Turkey and Halloween is almost finished here. However, it’s only Noon back home and the holiday is still fresh! So… Happy Halloween. Hope you have lots of goblins to pass out candy to, that’s if you like to do that sort of thing. I do, but I never seem to be home during Halloween anymore. The last couple of years we’ve been on a cruise!

By the way, the weather has been pretty nice out here on the Mediterranean. Sunny and mid-70s. I’m sure it’s a lot better than what it is at home. Whatever it is like there. I haven’t really looked.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 24

Dates read: October 11-30, 2025
Title: Honeymoon Bite (Blood Never Lies)
Year of publication: 2012
Author: S. Hamil
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Golden Vampires of Tuscany Book 1
# of Pages: 221
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Anne caught her husband cheating with the maid of Honor before their wedding cake was cut. She decided to take her planned and paid for honeymoon in Tuscany, alone. On the evening of what was to be her wedding night, she gets bitten by a female vampire.
    Marcus Monteleone has waited three hundred years to find his fated female, only to discover her dying in his arms. He saves Anne's life by turning her, and then works to gain her trust, to cope with being a newly-formed golden vampire.
    But when Anne finds out Marcus has not been completely truthful about his past, she vows to live as a human, and shuns the vampire world. Alone and unprotected, she falls prey to the very villainess who took her human soul, and who now takes the only man she’s ever loved.
    Which lover will have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the other before they both are lost?
Recommend: Maybe
My thoughts: The blurb sounded so good, I bought it for the trip (it had been in my wish list for a while now). Unfortunately, the story dragged on for me. There was one POV I felt wasn’t needed which is probably why it dragged on…for me. This was book 1 of a 4-book series. I will not be reading the rest. I couldn’t get invested in the characters so I can only assume the same will happen with the other books. Now, lots of people do like these books, so it’s possibly just me, which is why I gave it a “Maybe” on the recommend.

So, we just finished Day 6 of this 14-day cruise. We’ve been to Santorini, Greece; Kusadashi, Turkey; and Kavala, Greece. Tomorrow we visit Istanbul, Turkey. Our excursions have been a bit exhausting. Certainly getting my walking done. But I did find out that when we were in Turkey, we were in Asia, so I can now add that continent to my list! Whoo hoo!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading “Lover Forbidden” and Our Road Trip

Between Sep 21 and Oct 5 I didn’t do much writing. Or reading. What am I saying? I didn’t do ANY writing, but I did a little bit of reading. Why? I was enjoying our road trip through National Parks and enjoying the scenery of our country (since we were mostly on non-interstate roads). Well… until the parks were shut down on Oct 1. Then we took a detour through Monument Valley and Four Corners (a first for both of us), since they were owned by the Navajo and not the National Parks, and then just drove home. Cut our trip a day short. Guess that just means we have to do it again. When? I have no idea. Our days seem to fill up with trips fast! In fact, we had to block out the dates in 2027 for our trip to Glacier National Park so we wouldn’t book something else in its place.

Yeah, I need a 2027 calendar now. Yikes!

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 23

Dates read: September 13 – October 10, 2025
Title: Lover Forbidden
Year of publication: 2025
Author: J.R. Ward
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #23
# of Pages: 414
Paper or plastic: Hardcover
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: When Lyric goes out for a night in Caldwell, New York, a brush with death is not on her bingo card—and she’s totally not ready for the man who risks his own life by shielding her with his very big, very enticing body. Her family, especially her sire Qhuinn, are so relieved she’s okay, but afterward, all she can think about is her mysterious savior.
    Even though humans and vampires are not supposed to mix, Lyric seeks out Devlin, and they are immediately drawn to each other. Her near-death experience gives her a fresh thirst for life. Devlin finds it impossible to continue his loner ways whenever he looks into her eyes. As passion ignites, both have their own reasons for keeping things short-term—and that’s before a betrayal that cuts to the core tears them apart. In the end as the Black Dagger Brotherhood hunts a traitor and terrible truths are revealed, Lyric has to decide whether the forbidden can ever be forgiven…in the name of true love.
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: One of my favorite series. Still loving them, too.

Our next trip is the cruise out of Rome, which leaves the end of this month. We’ll be gone for nearly 30 days. That’s a lot of days, isn’t it? But in reality, it will be way more relaxing than our 15-day road trip. We will only have to unpack once and we won’t have to go looking for places to eat each night. I’m really looking forward to that!

Happy Reading!

Stacy