Today I have an extra special version of “how it started/how it’s going” because yesterday was George’s first gotchaversary. It’s been a whole year since we picked up the orange energy ball and OMG how he’s grown!

I just discovered, to my utter chagrin, that although I prepped yesterday’s Stacking the Shelves post I neglected to actually post it. Red-faced apologies all around.

Clearly George’s gotchaversary celebration got WAY out of hand!

Winner Announcements:

The winner of An Invincible Summer is Sharon
The winner of the Rain Drops on Roses Giveaway Hop is Rochelle

Blog Recap:

A Review: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
A Review: Havoc by M.L. Buchman
A- Review: The Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green
B Review: The Bodyguard by Anna Hackett
A Review: Confessions from the Quilting Circle by Maisey Yates
Stacking the Shelves (442)

Coming This Week:

Peaches and Schemes by Anna Gerard (blog tour review)
Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop
The Stepsisters by Susan Mallery (blog tour excerpt)
The Lady Has a Past by Amanda Quick (review)
Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig (review

I’m not exactly in the village of “Running-on-Time” this week. And it’s only Sunday!

One thing that did happen on time this week is that both Galen and I received our second COVID vaccinations. We’re looking forward to feeling comfortable doing a few more things – like eating in outdoor restaurants and going shopping in person for more than just groceries. (The UPS for my desktop computer started making sad fweeping noises this weekend, so its replacement just moved up the to-do list for what’s left of the weekend.

I’m always sad to see the Blogo-Birthday Celebration end for the year, but happy as always to distribute the presents. Congratulations to everyone who won, thanks to everyone who participated, and I hope you’ll all stick around to see what comes up this year.

Speaking of what comes up, here’s a picture of George both looking up and looking utterly adorable – as he so often does!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Amazon Gift Card from TA Moore and Split Shift
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the April Showers Giveaway Hop (ENDS TUESDAY!!!)
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Rain Drops on Roses Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Blogo-Birthday prize of any book by C.S. Harris is Lisa R.
The winner of the Blogo-Birthday prize of any book by Jacqueline Winspear is Teresa W.
The winner of the Blogo-Birthday prize of any book by Anthony Horowitz is Laura D.
The winner of the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop is Linda K.
The winner of $25 of Books in the Blogo-Birthday Giveaway is John S.
The winner is the $25 Gift Card in the Blogo-Birthday Giveaway is Elizabeth L.

Blog Recap:

B- Review: The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen
A- Review: The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
A- Review: Split Shift by TA Moore + Excerpt + Giveaway
B Review: Just Get Home by Bridget Foley
Rain Drops on Roses Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (440)

Coming This Week:

The Three Mrs. Greys by Shelly Ellis (blog tour review)
The Kindred Spirits Supper Club by Amy E. Reichert (blog tour review)
An Invincible Summer by Mariah Stewart (blog tour review)
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (review)
A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein (review)

Today is a LOT of things. It’s Easter Sunday, so Happy Easter to those who celebrate that holiday. It’s also the final day of Passover.

It’s the opening day of National Library Week this year.

And it’s the 10th anniversary of the very first post ever on Reading Reality, then called “Escape Reality, Read Fiction” after something on a t-shirt that’s STILL hanging in my closet somewhere.

Tomorrow is my birthday, so I’ll be celebrating all week long with giveaways every day! But it wouldn’t be Sunday here at Reading Reality without a cat picture. Here’s a picture of all the boy cats, lounging in my office doorway impatiently waiting for me to do their bidding – whatever it might be. In other words, just a typical day at Chez Reading Reality!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop is Ashley

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Tell No Lies by Allison Brennan
B- Review: The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak
A- Review: The Specialist by Anna Hackett
Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop
B Review: Game of Hearts by Cathy Yardley
Stacking the Shelves (438)

Coming This Week:

Reading Reality 10th Anniversary Blogo-Birthday Celebration
April Showers Giveaway Hop
The Dating Plan by Sara Desai (review)
The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear (review)
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz (review)

It’s difficult for me to believe, but Reading Reality’s 10th Blogoversary, and my birthday the day after, are coming in just a week. As usual, there will be giveaways all week long, so stay tuned and be sure to enter for the prize of the day!

But speaking of things that are just too good not to share, here’s Hecate bringing the cute, and she’s very, very good at it!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop (ENDS WEDNESDAY!!!)

Winner Announcements:

The winner of The Stills by Jess Montgomery is Carl

Blog Recap:

B Review: Murder by Page One by Olivia Matthews
A- Review: The Path to Sunshine Cove by RaeAnne Thayne
C Review: The Final Dawn by Jess Anastasi
A Review: Chinook by M.L. Buchman
A+ Review: Junkyard Bargain by Faith Hunter
Stacking the Shelves (417)

Coming This Week:

Tell No Lies by Allison Brennan (blog tour review)
The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak (blog tour review)
The Specialist by Anna Hackett (review)
Honey Bunny Giveaway Hop
Game of Hearts by Cathy Yardley (blog tour review)

Today is definitely an occasion for one of those “how it started, how it’s going” pictures of George. We adopted him last April as a rescue when he was approximately 6 weeks old, so this week we celebrated his nominal first birthday. He’s gone from a slightly scared little orange fuzzball to a very big – and also slightly hammy – boy!

But speaking of how things start and how things go, I think the coming week schedule will hold up, not that I’ve had much luck with that the past few weeks. We’ll see.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Lady Luck Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Let’s Get Lucky Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the Wish Big Giveaway Hop is Amber T.

Blog Recap:

Lady Luck Giveaway Hop
Let’s Get Lucky Giveaway Hop
C+ Review: To Catch a Dream by Audrey Carlan
A- Review: Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard
A Review: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Stacking the Shelves (434)

Coming This Week:

The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper (blog tour review)
Meant to Be by Jude Deveraux (blog tour review)
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (review)
The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers (review)
Shift Work by TA Moore (blog tour review)

In honor of yesterday’s rather long Stacking the Shelves post, here’s a picture of long George stretching very long. He’s become a very big boy!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Wish Big Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of The Rakehell of Roth is Tammy V.
The winner of the Heart to Heart Giveaway Hop is Monica M.

Blog Recap:

A- Review: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Wish Big Giveaway Hop
A- Review: Best Laid Plans by Roan Parrish
B Review: Soul of Eon by Anna Hackett
A++ Review: Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers
Stacking the Shelves (432)

Coming This Week:

Level Up by Cathy Yardley (blog tour review)
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner (blog tour review)
Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison (spotlight + excerpt)
Matagorda Breeze by Lyla Hopper (review)
The Conductors by Nicole Glover (review)

First and foremost, here is this week’s cat picture. It rather looks like George is powering up his bite to sink his teeth into Freddie. That’s not quite what happened. This was actually a mutual grooming session that turned into a kitty rumble ON MY LAP! And, although it is not obvious in this picture, George is now bigger than Freddie. It seemed to happen overnight, like one night there was a growth spurt and BOOM – very big kitty. His tail is so long it needs at least two zip codes. Seriously, it’s still in the room for almost a minute after he’s left.

Speaking of things with more power, this has been an excellent week. After last weekend’s incredibly long Zoom meeting, it was great to just get back to reading, and I finished all sorts of interesting and lovely books, which you’ll see in the weeks to come!

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the MLK Giveaway Hop is Mahak G.

Blog Recap:

Spotlight + Excerpt: The Vineyard at Painted Moon by Susan Mallery
A- Review: Storm of Eon by Anna Hackett
A Review: Raider by M.L. Buchman
B Review: The Girl from the Channel Islands by jenny Lecoat
A- Review: The Golden Gryphon and the Bear Prince by Jeffe Kennedy
Stacking the Shelves (429)

Coming This Week:

Heart 2 Heart Giveaway Hop
The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson (review)
A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel
Ladies of the House by Lauren Edmondson (review)
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (review)

It was definitely a grade B sort of week. No real highs, no serious lows. Just some decent reads – along with an audiobook I totally bailed on. C’est la vie. Hopefully this week will be better. The audiobook I started is certainly a vast improvement – which gives me hope!

The picture below proves that cats rule the universe. Lucifer decided to take over Galen’s monitors and his Zoom meeting. Isn’t he gorgeous? I have a multi-day Zoom meeting starting on Friday and I’m hoping that he’ll come invade my meeting too!

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the New Year, New You Giveaway Hop is Wendy H.

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
B Review: Find Me in Havana by Serena Burdick
B+ Review: The Secrets of Colchester Hall by Sophie Barnes + Giveaway
B Review: Breathe the Sky by Michelle Hazen
B Review: The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
Stacking the Shelves (427)

Coming This Week:

MLK Giveaway Hop
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor (review)
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (review)
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora (review)
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole (review)