For the Love of Reading: #WOYBS and #Shareyourshelf

Welcome to my What's On Your BookShelf post. The #WOYB link party is hosted by Deb, Jo, Jennifer and Bernie....all gals I follow on a few other link parties. I love their blogs. Go check them out. #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge You can link up on the third Thursday of the month.

I also decided to link this with #shareyourshelf hosted by some great bloggers I follow, like Joanne. I'll link it on the week they post theirs, which is the first Thursday of each month. 

My rating system:

⭐ DNF (which there's a reason), story lacking any depth, grammatical or spelling errors (too many), just did not enjoy it and enough because maybe it wasn't my type of book. If I can't get into it after 1/4 of the way (or less), I don't want to waste my time. Don't bother reading

⭐⭐ Story line is a bit all over the place, struggle to read it but maybe it had some redeeming parts. Characters  or story line weren't believable or too unrealistic. I wouldn't want to read it again. Grammar wasn't "realistic". Too many storylines going on at the same time. Read it or don't read it.

⭐⭐⭐ Solid story line and characters. I liked it but didn't necessarily LOVE it, but I didn't HATE it either. I may have felt that it dragged on, or had parts that weren't necessary to the story. Maybe was a little hard to follow. Probably wouldn't recommend but it wasn't a total disaster.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ A really great read that I enjoyed picking up each time. I enjoyed it from front to back. The characters and storyline were really good.  As someone said "a truly good book, but missing the cherry on top".  Go ahead and read it

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book knocked it out of the park and I couldn't put it down. OR it was a book that really opened my eyes to something or taught me something about someones life. One I have bookmarked and even taken notes. It left me wanting to read more by the author or more in the series. Definitely go read. 

I've probably already said it....I love my rating system, but I'm not always great at following it. I hate leaving low ratings...lol. I also realized that I probably rate cozy mysteries a bit different since they are usually very simple. If it was really good and cozy, it'll most likely get a 5, otherwise it's probably a 4. 

Yikes....I almost forgot this week, so I'm scrambling to get my post together. 

What I read in August:

Caught and Collared (Low Country Dog Walker #4) by Jackie Layton⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have been binging this series.  I have come to love the characters in the book and with each book new characters are added. If you're a dog lover, you'll love this series. Her dream is expand her dog walking business. There's always a murder, always dogs in need and Andi Grace to the rescue. 

Stop Letting Everything Affect You by Daniel Chidiac ⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed the book and he had a lot of great wisdom strewn throughout. I listened to the audiobook and I didn't particularly care for the narration. He has an accent which would be fine but he almost spoke in a monotone which kind of bugged me. BUT I do like what he has to say. 

Apple Pie and Arsenic (Maple Lane, #1) by C. A. Phipps ⭐⭐⭐

I read this one for one of my challenges and this is the first in the series. I only gave it three stars because it was the first in the series and I'd like to read another. I really need to get back to writing down thoughts as I read. Because I don't remember any other reasons I gave it a 3 Star.

Heart the Lover by Lily King ⭐⭐

This book was for my pass along book club. I did not enjoy it. It was a coming of age story and I just struggled through it. Many people enjoyed it but I just couldn't get into it. It follows 3 college classmates who become friends. It is a dual timeline that then takes place 10 years later and brings the past into the present. 

A Killer Unleashed (Low Country Dog Walker #5) by Jackie Layton ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Again, loving this series. All of Jackies books have me collecting suspects and struggling to guess who did the crime. Sometimes I'm successful and other times I'm not. 

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke ⭐💫

Oof this one was a struggle. I honestly wasn't sure where the author was going with this. It really seemed like she had a vendetta and it came through in her writing. I shared quite a bit about it in my last post.  I have heard both positive and negative reviews. 

I haven't quite found spots for a few of my reads...if you've read any of them and found a spot for them let me know. 

I haven't added too many to the mystery challenge. I've been reading more cozy's than other types of mysteries and I'm not sure I can complete the challenge with just cozies. 

Currently Reading: 

A Suspicious Breed (Low Country Dog Walker #6) by Jackie Layton

This is  the last in the series. Andi-Grace and is about to get married but her photographer is murdered and there's a possible scam going around that involves dogs and everything has her distracted. 

Autumn at the Cat Cafe by Kathleen Fuller

This is for my Fable book club. A clean rom-com that includes both a cat cafe and a second hand bookstore in the cozy town of Pecan Corner. I've just started it but I think it's going to be a fun read. 

We'll Prescribe You a Cat (We'll Prescribe you a Cat #1) by Syou Ishida

I also just started listening to this one. I'm not a fan of the narrator but I'm hoping it will be a good listen. I got it because it reminded me of the Kamogawa Detective Agency book. In this book series, a doctor at the Nakagyo Kokoro Clinic for the Soul prescribes cats to the patients who are struggling in their lives and who find their way to his office. I think the point will be the importance of the human-animal bond. 

Theo of Golden  by Allen Levi

We have all heard of this book. I already bought it but it is also for my passalong book club so that got me to start reading it. I am really enjoying it. I have also heard some who didn't like the book. Sometimes the writing seemed to stutter, but so far it is a really charming book and after the last few heavier books, I'm really enjoying this. 

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander

I haven't picked this one up in awhile. I really need to because I'm really enjoying it. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin