It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet and share what you have been and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kid-lit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in those genres – join them.

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Personal:

• I had a week this week. It was stressful.
• Monday was the only day things didn’t go sideways at some point. It was also the first day of school.
• Tuesday, while dropping Miss R off in the morning, some idiot backed up into me in the drop-off line (while I was at a complete stop). No damage was done to either car, but come on. How hard is it to look?

• Wednesday, Miss R’s instructor canceled lessons. Since I would pick her up at school normally, I called to let them know to put her on the bus….at 8:30 a.m. She came home in tears around 3:50 p.m. They had put her in the car rider line, then took her out, pretended to call me, made the bus come back, and then the bus driver yelled at her. I also got yelled at by the teacher until I told her I talked to the front office at 8:30 a.m. Then I got an apology. I also talked to the bus company about the bus driver yelling at Miss R (it wasn’t her fault and uncalled for). She got an apology the next day.
• Thursday, Miss B was homesick. She was throwing up. We think she has IBS and plan on talking to the Dr at her next appointment. Still, I wasn’t happy with her being home sick three days into school.
• Friday, I had the migraine to end all migraines. I was in bed by 8 p.m. The stress from the week and the hot weather got to me.
• Saturday, the pipes under our kitchen sink went. It took BK all day Sunday to put in new pipes and ensure they weren’t leaking. He also found out that a pipe under the house in leaking too. We’ll be replacing that next week.
• And lastly, Miss R lost her retainer Sunday night. It was during the day, but she didn’t realize it until 8 p.m. Sunday night. We searched everywhere for over an hour before calling it quits. BK and I then resumed the search this morning. We found it (thank god) in the trash we just took out. I was relieved that it was found (to replace is $500), and she got a talking to about keeping it where it won’t be thrown away.

Reading:

• I am still whittling down my NetGalley TBR. I am currently sitting at 65 ARCs. I did get an orange pencil, which thrilled me. I was also surprised since it wasn’t my best review (the review was for A Cold Highland Wind by Tasha Alexander).
• I have fallen behind with my reading and reviews. I cannot (and stress cannot) read or write reviews when BK is home. There are distractions (I am not going to get into them) that make it almost impossible for me to concentrate. But I am hoping to catch up with my reviews this week. Reading, I am not certain about (I am stuck on reading The Blue, Beautiful World).
• Until I catch up on my ARC reading, my reading challenges are put on hold. This is aggravating to me because I have a couple of books that I was looking forward to reading.

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What I am Reading Now:

As first contact transforms the Earth, a group of gifted visionaries race to create a new future in this wondrous science fiction novel from the award-winning author of The Best of All Possible Worlds.

The world is changing, and humanity must change with it. Rising seas and soaring temperatures have radically transformed the face of the Earth. Meanwhile, Earth is being observed from afar by other civilizations … and now they are ready to make contact.

Vying to prepare humanity for first contact are a group of dreamers and changemakers, including Peter Hendrix, the genius inventor behind the most advanced VR tech; Charyssa, a beloved celebrity icon with a passion for humanitarian work; and Kanoa, a member of a council of young people from around the globe drafted to reimagine the relationship between humankind and alien societies.

And they may have an unexpected secret weapon: Owen, a pop megastar whose ability to connect with his adoring fans is more than charisma. He has a hidden talent that may be the key to uniting Earth as it looks towards the stars.

But Owen’s abilities are so unique that no-one can control him, and so seductive that he cannot help but use them. Can he transcend his human limitations and find the freedom he has always dreamed of? Or is he doomed to become the dictator of his nightmares?

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Books I plan on reading later this week:

A sparkling and steamy opposites-attract romance, Fly with Me by Andie Burke is filled with sharp banter and that sweet, swooping feeling of finding “the one” when and where you least expect it.

A one-way ticket to love or a bumpy ride ahead?

Flying-phobic ER nurse Olive Murphy is still gripping the armrest from her first-ever take-off when the pilot announces an in-flight medical emergency. Olive leaps into action and saves a life, but ends up getting stuck in the airport hours away from the marathon she’s running in honor of her brother. Luckily for her, Stella Soriano, the stunning type A copilot, offers to give her a ride.

After the two spend a magical day together, Stella makes a surprising Will Olive be her fake girlfriend?

A video of Olive saving a life has gone viral and started generating big sales for Stella’s airline. Stella sees their union as the perfect opportunity to get to the boys’ club executives at her company who keep overlooking her for a long-deserved promotion. Realizing this arrangement could help her too, Olive dives into memorizing Stella’s comically comprehensive three-ring-binder guide to fake dating. As the two grow closer, what’s supposed to be a ruse feels more and more real. Could this be the romantic ride of their lives, or an epic crash and burn?

Souls shrouded in darkness…

On her own in England, Vicki trains at a prestigious fencing school. Face marred by a birthmark, she’s suspicious of Nicholas’ attention. A dinner date reveals his genuine interest and they begin to connect. Nicholas is attractive and she wonders why he’s so shy and reclusive.

Then one evening she happens upon him changing into a lycan. Every werewolf legend is challenged by the gentle, fearful creature before her. Vickie accepts his secret, but Nicholas knows he’s an unpredictable beast. Can they trust love enough to overcome their physical challenges?