Finished “Book of the Month” and The Eclipse Was Awesome!

The event that caused us to book three cruises (back-to-back-to-back) happened on August 12 and wow! It was awesome! A total solar eclipse.

It happened at 7:24pm GMT, so the sun was at a pretty decent level to watch (without straining your neck!). And seeing it out over the ocean was pretty magical. The sun was shining on the water until…it wasn’t! I’m so glad we were able to witness this event and that the weather cooperated fully, too. Seas were calm and the sky was clear. Perfect!

Would I do it again? Most definitely. It really was something else to experience. Heck, the girl behind me cried. It affects everyone differently. I just think it’s super cool!

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 20

Dates read: August 8-16, 2026
Title: Book of the Month
Year of publication: 2024
Author: Jennifer Probst
Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: The Outer Banks #1
# of Pages: 341
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Free from Barnes & Noble
Blurb from Goodreads: Once the literary world’s golden girl, Aspen Lourde can’t seem to produce another successful book, and the pressure’s on to prove she’s not just a one-hit-wonder. But there’s a catch: her bestseller was a heartbreak hit, straight from her own love life disaster. Without any fresh romantic turmoil to fuel her pen, Aspen needs inspiration quick enough to create a book her agent can sell to her publisher. So she escapes for the summer to the Outer Banks with a plan to live a story worth writing.
    Brick Babel is a romance novelist’s dream: a local heartthrob with a reputation as wild as the horses running free in the town. He’s everything Aspen needs for a muse kickstart—gorgeous, moody, and notoriously unattainable. His affairs are legendary in the small town, and every woman warns her off, including her sister.
    Too bad a good heartbreak is exactly what she needs to meet her deadline.
    But Brick refuses to play the game, rejecting all of her advances. When Aspen hears his tour company is on the verge of bankruptcy, she offers him a deal: fake a whirlwind summer romance, then ditch her, drama guaranteed.
    Desperate to save his grandfather’s business, Brick agrees to the ridiculous deal. What starts as a contractual fling spirals out of control as lines blur and real feelings emerge. Brick’s falling hard, and Aspen’s rethinking her plot twist. The novel might be her ticket back to the top, but at what cost?
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: I got this book free back when B&N gave their membership a free ebook once a month. I had read some of Probst’s blogs (but not her books), so got this. The cruise seemed to be the perfect time to read it. I enjoyed it okay, but why I picked a contemporary romance when they aren’t my “cup of tea,” I don’t know. But it was cute. And it passed the time nicely. Easy to put down, though.

This batch of cruises is finally coming to an end. Was it too long? Naaah. I’m still enjoying myself. Don’t exactly look forward to that long flight home and then getting all acclimated to Eastern Time again. Ahhh, but we start it all over on Sep 4 when we fly out to San Francisco and prepare for those cruises to Alaska and Japan.

Are we crazy? Probably. But we’re sure enjoying it!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished “Burying the Dead” and Being Disgusted With It

Why can’t authors end their damn book! I mean, sure, they’re writing a series. But why can’t they just end it positively and start the next book negatively? Especially when it appears they won’t write the next book in the series? It’s evil, I tell you. Pure evil.

And I refuse to do that kind of crap.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 19

Dates read: August 1-8, 2026
Title: Burying the Dead
Year of publication: 2022
Author: Kerry Blaisdell
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Dead Series #4
# of Pages: 268
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased from Barnes & Noble
Blurb from Goodreads: Sometimes the only way to stop the world from going to Hell is by working with Demons. Hyacinth Finch has one goal: Save her nephew Geordi from this Hell Demon who kidnapped him. But to succeed, she’ll have to work with his demon Mafia relatives, which she swore she’d never do. Worse, she’ll have to make another deal with the High Demons who murdered her. But Geordi’s life is worth it, even if she loses her own humanity in the process. Meanwhile, hyacinth’s ghost boyfriend Eric is wasting away, after being ejected from his “borrowed” body. While digging in his past for something to make him fight for survival, she uncovers secrets that could destroy their relationship. Moreover, her feelings for Geordi’s demon cousin Jason are stronger than ever, though every morally impossible choice she makes drives him farther away. Can she save Eric and Geordi, without losing herself—and Jason—forever?
Recommend: No
My thoughts: I didn’t realize that I “wrote” a review in Goodreads for book 3 before purchasing book 4. Wish I had. I hated the way that book ended and this one ends on a CLIFFHANGER. Four years later there isn’t a book 5. I’m done. I don’t recommend this series to ANYONE.

Cruise #2 is coming to an end. We dock in Dover tomorrow and start cruise #3. Then on Monday we are in France, visiting Normandy. The eclipse will be here before we know it, too! Whoo hoo!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished “The Night We Met” and Cruise #2

Started the second leg of our back-to-back-to-back cruises. This one will be traveling around the UK. Unfortunately, the weather has not improved. Amsterdam from the first cruise was the best weather-wise so far. It was sunny and 80. So glad I didn’t need to wear my sweatshirt jacket. I don’t foresee putting it away anytime soon on this cruise, though.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 18

Dates read: July 28-31, 2026
Title: The Night We Met
Year of publication: 2026
Author: Abby Jimenez
Genre: Romantic comedy
Series: Say You’ll Remember Me #2
# of Pages: 339
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased from Barnes & Noble
Blurb from Goodreads: In everyone’s life, there’s a split-second decision that can change everything...
    For Larissa, it came when choosing which guy to ride home with after a concert. That night, she had no idea she’d met the perfect man. She and Chris are great together, co-parenting a slightly unhinged rescue Yorkie, sharing their favorite books, and judging bread (pumpernickel for the win!). For the first time amid all her side hustles to scrape by, things finally feel easy.
    But Chris isn't the one who drove Larissa home all those months ago—Chris is her boyfriend's best friend. All Chris wants is for Larissa to be happy. Standing by on the sidelines is slowly killing him, but making a move would destroy someone else. And he’s just not that guy.
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: I really do love her books. I love the humor. The romance. And the pets. There seems to be at least one in every book.

Seems I caught a cold. And of course it comes with headaches. I HATE headaches. I can live with the sneezing and runny nose. But not the headaches. Ugh…

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished “Life is Short” and Cold Weather!

It’s been a cold and rainy cruise in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Finland, & Sweden) and I really didn’t bring any “warm” clothes (I had heard about the heat waves, which were long gone by the time we arrived). But at least I remembered my rain coat! Whew!

In two days we arrive in the port of Amsterdam. It’s supposed to be 80 (instead of the 60s). Looking forward to some warmer weather!

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 17

Dates read: July 23-27, 2026
Title: Life’s Too Short
Year of publication: 2021
Author: Abby Jimenez
Genre: Romantic comedy
Series: The Friend Zone #3
# of Pages: 276
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased from Barnes & Noble
Blurb from Goodreads: When Vanessa Price quit her job to pursue her dream of traveling the globe, she wasn't expecting to gain millions of YouTube followers who shared her joy of seizing every moment. For her, living each day to its fullest isn't just a motto. Her mother and sister never saw the age of 30, and Vanessa doesn't want to take anything for granted.
    But after her half-sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her infant daughter, life goes from "daily adventure" to "next-level bad" (now with bonus baby vomit in hair). The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. No one warned her that he was the Secret Baby Tamer or that she'd be spending a whole lot of time with him and his geriatric Chihuahua.
    Now she's feeling things she's vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see.

Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: Another goodie. In fact, I don’t think she writes any bad books! Love the humor (because it’s not forced on you, if you know what I mean). Love the romantic tension. And I loved seeing characters from books 1 & 2.

I’m actually getting some writing done on this cruise. Figured out how to fix the vampire story I started in 2020 (which led me to finishing my alien books) and it seems to be going good…so far. I still haven’t decided if it will be a novel or a novella. Guess I’ll find out when I get there, huh?

The Smashwords July sales is still going on (through July 31). You can find ALL of my e-books at 50% off. Just click here and start buying!: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/semckitrick

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished “Criminal Minds” and “The Happy Ever After Playlist” and I’m Cruising…Again

Yes, I’m cruising again. This time in the North and Baltic Seas! We left London (Dover) on July 19 and so far have stopped in Copenhagen (Denmark), Kiel (Germany), and Warnemunde (Germany). Tomorrow we have a day at sea and on Saturday we’ll be in Tallin (Estonia), followed by Helsinki (Finland), Nynashamn (Stockholm, Sweden), and Amsterdam (Netherlands). And that’s just THIS cruise. We have two more following this one.

I’m having so much fun, even if some of our excursions aren’t all that great. It’s just nice cruising and relaxing. Plus, it was fun being in London for two days before the cruise started. We saw “Six, The Musical” at the Vaudeville Theater on my birthday and it was so much fun! I highly recommend it.

Oh, and good news. I was able to send my editor The Alien’s Change of Heart before I left. Yay! She is currently working on it. Which means I can work on my next vampire book. Yeah, I decided to work on that since I figured out how to fix what I had started, so hopefully I can get into that story. But first, I wanted to post what I read.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 15

Dates read: July 8-19, 2026
Title: Curious Minds
Year of publication: 2016
Author: Janet Evanovich & Phoef Sutton
Genre: Mystery
Series: Knight & Moon #1
# of Pages: 307
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Free from a book convention (possibly Romantic Times 2017)
Blurb from Book: Emerson Knight is introverted, eccentric, and has little to no sense of social etiquette. Good thing he’s also brilliant, rich, and handsome. Riley Moon has just graduated from Harvard Business and Harvard Law. Her aggressive Texas spitfire attitude has helped her land her dream job as a junior analyst with megabank Blane-Grunwald. At least Riley Moon thought it was her dream job, until she is given her first assignment: babysitting Emerson Knight. What starts off as an inquiry about missing Knight money leads to a life-and-death race through the streets of Washington, D.C., and into the underground vaults of New York City as an evil plan is exposed. A plan so sinister that only a megalomaniac could think it up, and only the unlikely duo of the irrepressibly charming Emerson Knight and the tenacious Riley Moon could hope to stop it.
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: This was a silly book. I expected humorous, but not silly. Or maybe I should have expected silly, since she wrote the Stephanie Plum books. This was book 1 of the series and there are only two books (which were written about ten years ago), so I’m guessing the series didn’t make it. I can understand why. But, if you’re looking for a silly mystery, you might enjoy this one. I just wanted something a little more…smarter.

Book 16

Dates read: July 19-23, 2026
Title: The Happy Ever After Playlist
Year of publication: 2020
Author: Abby Jimenez
Genre: Romantic comedy
Series: The Friend Zone #2
# of Pages: 318
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased from Barnes & Noble
Blurb from Goodreads: Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can't seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a "take me home" look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker's owner reaches out. He's a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.
    Well, Sloan's not about to give up her dog without a fight. As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can't deny a connection. There's no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: I read book 1 of this series so long ago, I didn’t realize that the couple from that book was the friend in this one. Didn’t matter, though. This book can be read as a standalone without any issues, since, like I said, I didn’t remember the couple (which is all me and not necessarily about the author). This book was great. I laughed. I cried (happy tears, of course) and I just LOVED the dog, Tucker. I really do enjoy her books.

The Smashwords July sales is still going on (through July 31). You can find ALL of my e-books at 50% off. Just click here and start buying!: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/semckitrick

Happy Reading!

Stacy