It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up 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 and 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.

The theme of this past week is rain. It rained, poured, actually, every single day last week. On one hand, it was great because I got a week ahead with reviews and reading. But on the other hand, it met that my kids were cooped up for the entire week, which escalated to fighting. Here are my bullet points from last week:

• Because of the rain, Miss R missed her horseback riding lessons last week. She did have a make-up lesson yesterday, but we had a severe downpour about 15 minutes into the lesson, and it got canceled.
• I took Mr. Z and Miss R to the library on Thursday. Mr. Z wants to read manga, and Miss R wants horse-related books. After explaining to the librarian what manga was, she directed Mr. Z to where it was (and, to my surprise, it was pretty sizable). He grabbed two books (Black Clover-Those Who Protect and Black Clover-The Boy’s Vow). He had an issue with reading them. They start on the back cover and read right to left. But he hasn’t put them down once he got a hang of it. Miss R got three books (Riding Lessons, The Order of the Unicorn, and Pony Camp Diaries). She’s almost halfway through Riding Lessons and can’t wait to return to get the next book in the series.
• I also discovered that the library has a volunteer program, which Miss B needs for Beta Club and the National Technical Honor Society. All she has to do is fill out an application, and they will contact her. We were going to do her hours with a mini horse therapy organization, but they never called me back.
• I learned that Mr. Z is in all honors and AP classes next year. His AP class is computer coding. He was thrilled but nervous about that. He is also thrilled that he got selected from Drone Technology class. Fun fact: Once the kids complete this class, they have an FAA license to fly drones in NC.
• This week for dinner, I am making Cheese Enchiladas with Chili Gravy Sauce (Monday), Slow-Cooker Cowboy Beans (Wednesday, and it will be perfect because of horseback lessons), and Southwest Chicken Parmesan and Rice (Friday).

So, that’s my catch-up. Anything exciting or different happen this week? Make anything good this past week or plan on making this week? Read anything new? Read anything on this list?

Let me know!!

What I am Reading Now:

In a prequel to ‘Material Witness’ and ‘Thirteen in the Medina,’ it’s the summer before she met Keith and Carrie’s holiday plans have been thrown into disarray by the political climate.
She ends up taking a trip to Sicily where she meets octogenarian Millie and a local Sicilian, Enzo.
Enzo appears to be following Carrie as she tours around the island; is he smitten, as Millie maintains, or does he have criminal intentions, as suggested by another of her fellow travellers?
And if so, is he responsible for a series of antiquities’ burglaries?
Or is he on the hunt for Excalibur, the legendary sword rumoured to be lost in Sicily, a sword forged by the ancient Roman blacksmith, Vulcan, god of fire?
Carrie and Millie decide to investigate, but their amusement palls when the adventure takes an unpleasant turn as someone, it seems, is playing with fire.

Books I plan on reading later this week:

Now that Nicoleta knows her destiny is hunting vampires, she’s encountering them in places where she never expected to find them. However, that may be the least of her concerns. When she and her best friend, Tatiana, return to Romania to attend college, they soon learn that the unimaginable has happened. A voinico has been turned! Desperate to save the person she loves, will Nicoleta ever find a way to cure them, or will her true calling as a vampire slayer be put to the ultimate test?

Phoebe Winchester is back on the case in Raven Creek when a body is discovered at an estate sale in Gretchen Rue’s second book in the Witches’ Brew mystery series, perfect for fans of Laura Childs and Cleo Coyle.

Ever since she moved to Raven Creek, Washington, Phoebe Winchester knew she would have to grow accustomed to having a lot on her plate. She’s beginning to make the Victorian manor she inherited from her dear and adventurous Aunt Eudora feel more like home, successfully running the bookstore and tea shop, The Earl’s Study, and learning to harness her recently discovered magical powers. But when she discovers a dead body at an estate sale—even Phoebe wonders if this is simply too much.

Rumors of Phoebe’s involvement force her to take action; she needs to find the killer and clear her own name, once again. She enlists Rich Lofting, the handsome private detective and her childhood friend, in her investigation, all while she sorts out her unresolved feelings for him. Is there something more sinister lurking in the shadows of this small tight-knit town? And does Phoebe really want to find out?

With a dash of magic, a pinch of sleuthing skills, and a spoonful of friendly assistance, Phoebe needs to uncover the killer to keep Raven Creek safe once again. But if she doesn’t—will she find herself in even more hot water?

A power to be able control space itself .
That is what Artorius possessed . He possessed a power akin to that of a God. But he didn’t feel like one….
Waking up, seeing himself drowning in the ocean of emptiness, Artorius saw the world that he had to confront. The governments that he had to face. Unable to die, unable to live, seeing himself devolve into obscurity, aeons went by.
Seeking the world, becoming the villain in the face of it, he is going to topple it. In the face of such an existence, how are the world leaders going to react? How is the universe going to react….

One•Life is a story that goes through the life of a lone existence that was chosen by the universe. A gripping tale of geopolitical intrigue and cosmic wonder, Artorius takes his initial stride, ready to confront the notorious terror organization, ISII, and a world teetering on the edge. Containing psychological thriller elements as well as escalating action, One•Life displays the tumultuous life that one man can lead.

Mitch Wegner had it all: a prestigious career as a professor, a loving wife, and a reputation as a brilliant academic. But when a student takes his own life and Mitch is blamed, his life quickly spirals out of control. As his marriage falls apart and his job is put on the line, Mitch finds himself descending into a dark and dangerous world.

Haunted by his past and fueled by his own narcissism, Mitch makes a series of increasingly desperate choices that lead him down a path of violence and betrayal. When another person on campus mysteriously dies, Mitch becomes the prime suspect, but the truth behind the killings is far more twisted than anyone could have imagined.

In this gripping psychological thriller, author Nadija Mujagic takes readers on a heart-pounding journey through the mind of a man consumed by his own ego and the dark secrets that he thought he had buried. With twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end, The Master of Demise is a chilling tale of obsession, revenge, and the terrifying consequences of our actions.