Bout of Books [16] Readathon is Coming Soon!

It is that time again! YAY! :) Bout of Books 16 will be starting soon and it will be my 13th time participating. I don't know why I keep track of how many times I have done this readathon, but it's my favorite and I love it. Below is a little more information about the readathon, if you are interested!

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team"

March Photo-a-Day: my month in pictures

I figured March was going to be a breeze compared to February, but it was totally not. It ended up being the roughest month I think I've ever had. I was recovering from the flu early on in the month and then ended up in the ER one morning because my "resting heartrate" was 226. Needless to mention, THAT was a scary incident. I got to stay overnight because after they got my heartrate down, it was irregular. I've never had any heart problems and there isn't a family history of it. I have gone back twice to the ER thinking it was happening again, but it ended up being panic attacks. I have been good for a couple of weeks now and I'm hoping that continues. I have a follow up appointment in June with my new cardiologist and my hope is to get off the meds. They ran tons of tests and did an ultrasound of my heart but couldn't find a cause for the incident. I'm starting to wonder if having the flu for a week without treatment was hard on my heart and caused it. I honestly cannot think of anything else that could have caused it. :S Anyways...here is my month in pictures (not one a day, but close):

Netflix and blogging. // Nick was gone for drill and Muffin stole his spot // Beautiful evening

(Right to left) Never had an incident at the store before...then Mason happened. // Overnight stay at the hospital, but the view was gorgeous // Came home to a Starbucks Cozy Collection - a blanket, mug, hot cocoa Kcups, marshmallows, and shortbread cookies.

2016 Series Challenge: Update #1

As promised, I am updating on my progress on my 2016 Series Challenge. I have the goal of finishing 15 series this year and really hoping I can do that!

• 4 books in a series read
• 1 series finished
• 0 new series started

It doesn't seem like much, but I've only read 6 books so far in 2016. 4 of those have been books in a series AND I didn't start any new series. So that's pretty awesome! :) I will be back in July and hopefully closer to the halfway mark for series finished!

I highlighted all the to-be-released books in purple.

Books I Read in March

Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead - 5 stars (finished 3/15)
This is the third book in the Bloodlines series.

I really like that this book brought Sydney back to the questioning of her Alchemist "roots" and her relationship with them and the Moroi, while she continues to struggle with her relationship [with Adrian and magic. I like that those two go against everything she stood for in the first book. I like seeing her not fight against them as hard because both are seemingly so natural to her. (hide spoiler)] This book had a great plot, great character development, and I did get my answer to the eating disorder question I had from the last book. Yes, Sydney did have one. Yes, she's working on it. It was a little more prominent in this novel than I remember in the last two. I think it's good to tackle a hard issue like eating disorders in YA books. I think that is a very quiet subject matter and there are a lot of young girls (and I'm sure some boys too) struggling with it.

The ending was seriously superb. I never figured there was [an accomplice or that she would kill Veronica. Alicia was definitely way under the radar for me. I didn't get a little frustrated with how they didn't pay attention to the necklace being gone as traditionally items can be used to track the particular people you are looking for. I also cannot wait for book 4 since Zoe has arrived and now Sydney has to act like she dislikes the Moroi again.

Double Fudge Brownie Murder by Joanne Fluke - 1 star (finished 3/29)
This is the 18th book in the Hannah Swensen series.

About midway through reading this, I started looking at reviews to see if anyone else was feeling like I was...either the series is losing steam...or there is a ghostwriter. It just doesn't read like the others did. I hate-read this entire thing. I'm glad there was a little Moishe...that was nice. But I cannot take Hannah's failure to see what is right in front of her when it comes to her love life...AKA NORMAN. Hello???? I find it highly unbelievable that Hannah would have another suitor come along. It just all doesn't make any sense. [highlight to see spoiler] Also I despise Ross. You are no Joe Morelli, stop calling her cupcake. The murder/whodunit was really odd too. It didn't seem very well thought out at all. Where was the Cookie Jar??? Hannah was barely there during this book! UGH. I really don't want to read the next book, but I'm going to anyways. I can't stop.

The recipes are the only other redeeming quality other than Moishe about this book: Maple Fudge Sandwich Cookies, Burger Dogs, Coney Island Sandwiches, German Chocolate Cupcakes, Chocolate Baked Doughnuts, Chocolate Icing, Any Flavor Baked Doughnuts, Powdered Sugar Glaze, Any Flavor Chip Icing, Double Fudge Brownies, Milk Chocolate Fudge Frosting, Salted Cashew and Milk Chocolate Whippersnapper Cookies, Applesauce Bread, Double F Double M Crunch Cookies, Cranberry Biscuits, Secret Spice Cookies, Baked Fruited Oatmeal, Banana Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies, Banana Frosting, Tangerine Dream Cake, Lick Your Chops Pork, Strawberry Muffins, Pop in your Mouth Chocolate Candy, Cinnamon Raisin Scones, Orange Dreamsicle Bar Cookies, Hot Jam Cookies, Butterscotch Champagne Cocktail.

April TBR List + Upcoming Releases

I was 3 books behind on my Goodreads last month, but managed to get that number up to 5. I'm hoping this month to lower that number back down or even get back on track. It's been so rough lately. I've been to the er a billion times for myself. Once was legit and the other two were panic attacks. Add in two doctors appointments for me and two for Cami...it's been so crazy. I am reading 2 books right now and they are both pretty good, easy reads. Anyways...here is what is on my list for April...