I feel like this is a draft even though I’m publishing it. I am SO not sure about the end of the week.

But speaking of things I’m not sure about…I’ve been doing a whole bunch of unsubscribing from mailing lists I’m subscribed to. It’s not that many of them aren’t interesting, it’s that there are just too many. When you unsubscribe, there’s usually a multiple-choice thing as the last step asking why you are unsubscribing. The thing I want to pick is always missing. I can’t honestly say that “I did not subscribe to this mailing list”. What I always want to say is, “I don’t remember subscribing to this mailing list.” Who does?

Current Giveaways:

$10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the $10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the May I Suggest Giveaway Hop is Keeana S.
The winner of the $10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop is Nika C.

Blog Recap:

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop
A- Review: The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer
C- Review: The Curious Affair of the Somnambulist and the Psychic Thief by Lisa Tuttle
B+ Review: The Nanny Arrangement by Rachel Harris
B Review: The Marriage Bureau by Penrose Halson
Stacking the Shelves (236)

Coming Next Week:

The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis (review)
A Cruel Necessity by L.C. Tyler (review)
A Twisted Vengeance by Candace Robb (review)
City of Light, City of Poison by Holly Tucker (review)
Ice Ghosts by Paul Watson (review)

First of all, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there. (Including the cat moms (like me) and dog moms and ferret moms and rabbit moms) Today is one of Hallmark’s best days, as so many people send Mother’s Day cards. It’s also one of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s best days of the year. For a lot of families, a bucket of chicken seems to be a great way to get mom out of the kitchen for a day without leaving her a pile of dirty dishes. That KFC acknowledged all of that this year with a surprisingly funny spoof of a romance novel, Tender Wings of Desire, is the icing on the cake. Or the coating on the chicken. I couldn’t quite bring myself to review it, but Amy graciously stepped into the breach with a slightly tongue-in-cheek review on Friday.

But speaking of things to do this weekend, for those of a more geekish persuasion, if you haven’t yet seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, I highly recommend it. While it doesn’t manage to capture the lightning in the bottle of the first film, it is still a load of fun. For those of us who lived through the 70s and 80s, it is also a bit scary that I still remember the lyrics to all those songs, even the one-hit wonders like Brandy and Lake Shore Drive. Hopefully I wasn’t singing along with the music loud enough to embarrass Galen. Too much.

The nice thing about being a cat mom is that they can’t be embarrassed by the silly things that their humans do!

Current Giveaways:

$100 Amazon Gift Card and 4 prints of the winner’s choice from Catherine Bybee’s Most Likely To series.
$10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the May I Suggest Giveaway Hop (ends TOMORROW!)
$10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Free Space by Sean Danker is Anne
The winner of The Illusionist’s Apprentice by Kristy Cambron is Nadine

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson
A Review: Making it Right by Catherine Bybee + Giveaway
B Review: Moonglow by Michael Chabon
A- Review: The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick
EXTRA CRISPY Guest Review by Amy: Tender Wings of Desire by Harland Sanders
Stacking the Shelves (235)

Coming Next Week:

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop
The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer (review)
The Curious Affair of the Somnambulist and the Psychic Thief by Lisa Tuttle (review)
Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig (review)
The Marriage Bureau by Penrose Halson (blog tour review)

This looks like the first week in quite a while that I haven’t tossed the schedule into a blender mid-week. All winners this time around. And two blog hops. Winners for everyone!

Current Giveaways:

Free Space by Sean Danker
The Illusionist’s Apprentice by Kristy Cambron
$10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop
$10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the May I Suggest Giveaway Hop

Winner Announcements:

The winners of the copies of Mitla Pass by Leon Uris are LL, Tracee, Laura R., Nadine S. and Susan
The winner of the Beautiful Bouquet of Tulips from Susan Mallery is Kim M.
The winner of a $10 Gift Card in the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop is Beth

Blog Recap:

A- Review: The Illusionist’s Apprentice by Kristy Cambron + Giveaway
A- Review: The Baker’s Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan
Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop
B+ Review: Hell Squad: Theron by Anna Hackett
A- Review: Free Space by Sean Danker + Giveaway
May I Suggest Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (234)

Coming Next Week:

Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson (blog tour review)
Making it Right by Catherine Bybee (blog tour review)
The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick (review)
Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews (review)
Moonglow by Michael Chabon (review)

The Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza ends tonight! So if you want a chance at the prize, and all of the prizes all over the hop, get thee hence to the hop participants!

I love the giveaway for Susan Mallery’s Secrets of the Tulip Sisters. There’s a winner at every stop on the tour, which is marvelous. Especially since the prize is a bouquet of tulips that you can either decide to send to yourself, or you can send to someone else, just in time for Mother’s Day. I’ve very tempted to enter on one of the other stops, but my mom doesn’t like to get flowers. Which drives me nuts. I love to get flowers. The only problem is that the cats also love to get flowers. To eat. And to knock over the vase. For them its a win-win. For me, usually a slippy, sloppy wet mess, coming and going.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop (ends TONIGHT!)
Bouquet of Tulips from Susan Mallery and Secrets of the Tulip Sisters
$25 Gift Card from Maisey Yates and Slow Burn Cowboy
Mitla Pass by Leon Uris (5 copies, ebook)

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Any Day Now by Robyn Carr is Susan

Blog Recap:

B Review: Mitla Pass by Leon Uris + Excerpt + Giveaway
C+ Review: Slow Burn Cowboy by Maisey Yates + Giveaway
Sneak Peek at Secrets of the Tulip Sisters by Susan Mallery + Giveaway
B+ Review: Grimoire of the Lamb by Kevin Hearne
B Review: Blood and Circuses by Kerry Greenwood
Stacking the Shelves (233)

Coming Next Week:

The Illusionist’s Apprentice by Kristy Cambron (blog tour review)
The Baker’s Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan (blog tour review)
Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop
Free Space by Sean Danker (review)
Theron by Anna Hackett (review)
May I Suggest Giveaway Hop

I don’t normally do promo spots, or cover reveals, or spotlights, or anything that doesn’t include a review of the book being featured. It’s my blog and it is what I say it is, and that’s one of the places where I draw the line. I feature original content as much as possible. Usually mine but not always. Occasionally I give something away, which nobody minds a bit. So why the “Sneak Peek” from Susan Mallery?

Consider it a preview of coming attractions. I am also part of the blog tour for the book, and the review is scheduled for July 11, when the book comes out. I loved her Daughters of the Bride last year, and I can’t wait for this one.

But speaking of features – about Mitla Pass. I read Leon Uris in my teens and early 20s, after having glommed onto Exodus one bored afternoon at my grandparents’. When the estate contacted me asking if I would feature one of the books (they’ve been re-released in ebook), it seemed like a golden opportunity to revisit an author I loved, once upon a time. And while the past is still another country, I enjoyed the book, and the trip down memory lane.

Current Giveaways:

$10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop
Any Day Now by Robyn Carr

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Rain Rain Go Away Giveaway Hop is Lulu B.
The winner of the $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring into Romance Giveaway Hop is Ann S.

Blog Recap:

A- Review: Legend Has It by Elliott James
B Review: Any Day Now by Robyn Carr + Giveaway
A- Review: The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn
B Review: Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Moon
C+ Review: The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase by Greg Cox
Stacking the Shelves (232)

Coming Next Week:

Mitla Pass by Leon Uris (review)
Slow Burn Cowboy by Maisey Yates (blog tour review)
Sneak Peek at Secrets of the Tulip Sisters by Susan Mallery (blog tour)
Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey (review)
Swing Time by Zadie Smith (review)

This is another week where the books towards the end look a bit more aspirational than may be possible. We’ll see. We’re having house company for most of the week, and I expect to have a really terrific excuse why I don’t get much reading or writing done this week. And I expect to have LOTS of fun!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the Spring into Romance Giveaway Hop (ends Monday!)
$10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the Rain Rain Go Away Giveaway Hop (ends Wednesday!)

Winner Announcements:

The winner of the $10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the April Book of Choice Giveaway Hop is Stacy T.
The winner of the Penric and Desdemona series by Lois McMaster Bujold is Laura R.
The winner of The Rogue Retrieval by Dan Koboldt is Dynal R.
The winner of their choice of book by John Scalzi is Linda R.
The winner of the $10 Book or $10 Gift Card in my Blogo-Birthday Giveaway is Maria M.

Blog Recap:

B Review: The Librarians and the Lost Lamp by Greg Cox
A- Review: The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton
C+ Review: The Captive Shifter by Veronica Scott
A Review: Song of the Lion by Anne Hillerman
A- Review: The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood
Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (231)

Coming Next Week:

Legend Has It by Elliott James (review)
Any Day Now by Robyn Carr (blog tour review)
Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews (review)
Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Moon (review)
The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn (review)

This past week was my Blogo-Birthday week, so I have OODLES of giveaways in process. And because it was my Blogo-Birthday week, I only picked books I really, really wanted to read this week, which leads to all A reviews. I was looking forward to them, I loved them, and I was a very happy reader for the week. I’m also sharing the love, so if you like the reviews, or the authors, or want to try something new and very highly recommended (at least by moi) I’m giving away one of everything this week, occasionally with the happy collusion of the publisher and author, but often just my ownself.

And we’re off to another year of fun-filled, and occasionally groan-worthy, reading. Today is the first day of National Library Week. So if you love reading, or love your library, be sure to thank a librarian for all they do to keep you in books!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the April Book of Choice Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring into Romance Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Sixth Annual Blogo-Birthday Blast
The Rogue Retrieval and/or The Island Deception by Dan Koboldt
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Rain Rain Go Away Giveaway Hop
Winner’s choice of any book by John Scalzi
Penric and Desdemona series by Lois McMaster Bujold

Winner Announcements:

The winner of No Getting Over a Cowboy by Delores Fossen is LL

Blog Recap:

Spring into Romance Giveaway Hop
Sixth Annual Blogo-Birthday Blast
A- Review: The Island Deception by Dan Koboldt + Giveaway
Rain Rain Go Away Giveaway Hop
A Review: The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi + Giveaway
A- Review: Mira’s Last Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold + Giveaway
Stacking the Shelves (230)

Coming Next Week:

The Librarians and the Lost Lamp by Greg Cox (review)
The Hideaway by Lauren K Denton (blog tour review)
Captive Shifter by Veronica Scott (review)
Song of the Lion by Anne Hillerman (review)
Ice Ghosts by Paul Watson (review)
Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Blogo-Birthday week edition of the Sunday Post. Tuesday, April 4 is the 6th anniversary of the founding of Reading Reality, which was originally titled “Escape Reality, Read Fiction”. Over the past 6 years, I’ve escaped a lot of reality, along with reading a bit of reality and occasionally writing other stuff. And on April 5, I’ll be celebrating (or possibly commiserating), my own 60th birthday. Where does the time go?

Due to the joint celebrations, I’m participating in several blog hops and giveaways this week. Come on over and share the fun!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Book or $10 Gift Card in the April Book of Choice Giveaway Hop
Signed copy of No Getting Over a Cowboy by Delores Fossen

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Forever a Hero by Linda Lael Miller is Rachael C.
The winner of a $10 Book in the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop is Angela C.

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: In Shining Armor by Elliott James
B+ Review: No Getting Over a Cowboy by Delores Fossen + Giveaway
C+ Review: The Rescue by Diana Palmer
A- Review: Champion by Anna Hackett
A Review: Penric’s Mission by Lois McMaster Bujold
April Book of Choice Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (229)

Coming Next Week:

Spring into Romance Giveaway Hop
The Island Deception by Dan Koboldt (review)
Rain Rain Go Away Giveaway Hop
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (review)
Mira’s Last Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (review)