Musing Monday #10 – TBR Pile

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about your tbr pile…

How many books (roughly) are in your tbr pile? Is this in increasing number or does it stay stable? Do you ever experience tbr anxiety in the face of this pile? (question courtesy of Wendy)

Stable? Stable? Nope no way no how. The number always increases. Just when I think I am decreasing it, I order more books. I have roughly, 608 currently in the pile. And it does grow weekly, I would say daily but that’s not accurate it does depend on the week. Sometimes it is daily, sometimes a few a week. I very often do experience anxiety when I look at my pile. I wonder if I will ever read them all. But than I remind myself about the time when I was a child, and I had my worst day ever. That was the day I realized I would never be able to read all the books in the world. I came to terms with that. So maybe I won’t ever read all of my TBR (cause it keeps growing) but it sure will be fun to try.

I feel flushed with Awards. Thank you.

Alright, I have been a bit behind because I was sick. But I was blessed to be given two more awards recently.

Sara @ Subjective Beauty gave me the Queen of all things Awww-sum Award. Thank you Sara. And the rules of acceptance are as follows.





To accept and pass this award on I must list 7 awesome things about myself and then list 7 awesome people I’d like to pass this award on to.

1.I am good with history.

2.I am fairly organized when it comes to my challenges.

3.I am an animal lover.

4. I can cook a mean pot of sketti sauce.

5.I look good in a bodice and hoop skirt.

6.I listen.

7.I feel I can write fairly well.

And I was also given The lovely Blog award by the wonderful Bookish mom. THANK YOU so much.



Here is what goes with the Award:

1) Accept the award, post it on your

blog together with the name of the person

who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs

that you’ve newly discovered.

3) Remember to contact the bloggers to let them

know they have been chosen for this award.

In light of I am a bit delayed on this. And I love all of my readers so much I pass Both of these awards on to ALL of you!

Book Review: The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig


The Pink Carnation, history’s most elusive spy and England’s only hope for preventing a Napoleonic invasion, returns in Lauren Willig’s dazzling imaginative new historical romance. The Masque of the Black Tulip opens with the murder of a courier from the London War Office, his confidential dispatch for the Pink Carnation stolen. Meanwhile, the Black Tulip, France’s deadliest spy, is in England with instructions to track down and kill the Pink Carnation. Only Henrietta Uppington and Miles Dorrington know where the Pink Carnation is stationed. Using a secret code book, Henrietta has deciphered a message detailing the threat of the Black Tulip. Meanwhile, the War Office has enlisted Miles to track down the notorious French spy before he (or she) can finish the deadly mission. But what Henrietta and Miles don’t know is that while they are trying to find the Black Tulip (and possibly falling in love), the Black Tulip is watching them.


Let me start this review by saying I am sorry for the delay I have been ill. Now…to the good part. *Completed April 30th*

The Masque of the Black Tulip brings us once again into the modern day life of Eloise the grad student and Colin the Selwick descendent. And of course the past lives of Richard, Jane, Miles, Amy and Henrietta. Slipping into the pages of this book was like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes. You knew where you were, picking up precisely where you left off. But oh the places you will go.

We see more flirtations between Eloise and Colin, as you might in any good chic lit. But it remains mostly light, sarcastic and fun. They have a witty commentary all the while Eloise is flipping through Colin’s family papers. And oh what we learn in those family papers this time.

Miles is tired of being the side kick, its not that he doesn’t love his fried Richard (The Purple Gentian), he does of course. But now that Richard has been unmasked Miles would like to find his own way to help the kingdom. The problem for Miles is he happens to be very big, very broad, and very blonde. He doesn’t move with the same graceful ease as a general spy, rather he looms. And once in a place is somewhat like a bull in a china shop. But never mind he has charm! I positively love Miles; he is witty, charming and just hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud (and getting some looks) on more pages than I can count.

Miles is eventually given the job by the War Office of finding the Black Tulip, a very dangerous French spy. You really will enjoy following Miles and Henrietta as they see about catching the Black Tulip. Because Henrietta doesn’t see why Richard should have all the fun. Why should her brother be the only spy in the family? Along the way somehow the pair (separately) realise…they are in love. But the key is…will they tell one another? If you enjoy history, and a bit of fun you will love the Mask of the Black Tulip. This is one you can’t miss.

Quotable Sunday #7

Welcome to Quotable Sunday! I can’t wait to get around and read your quotes today. The rules of course are never changing but in case this is your first time joining in, I would like to welcome you and let you know the basics:~Post one or more of your favorite quotes on your blog in a post.~Come back here and link your post in the mister linky below(on http://www.juststopscreaming.com/ ).~Check back throughout the day and go read some awesome comments and leave some luv!

This Week I have chosen 2 quote’s from The Masque of the Black Tulip. I am so behind on replies, and everything this week I could only ferret out two. But I think they are funny!

“Sir Percy Blakeny was running the most daring intelligence effort since Odysseus asked Agamemnon whether he thought the Trojans might like a large wooden horse.”

“They were dressed all in green – to blend in with the scenery Penelope had explained with relish – and resembled nothing so much as a troupe of lost leprechauns, or a bunch of frogs who had misplaced their lily pad.”

Payday Loan Website

Alright, so if you need a little extra cash you can always go the pay day loan route. Use caution of course, as you would with any system. But this website I stumbled upon while looking around looks good. They offer a nation wide program, that doesn’t require credit checks. The percentage charged on the fee is reasonable, and over all certainly seems to be one of the better payday loan places. So if you have an emergency car bill, or medical something of that nature. Head on over and give it a look. It is a promising website worth a glance.

Faxless Pay Day Loan

The Challenge Report

So here goes my over all update as of May 1st. I have read 15,533 pages so far this year.

And the challenges are looking like this:

Over all Challenge : 45 out of 125 WOOHOOO!

Chic Lit Challenge: added one more book to this pile of done. So I have read 3 of 6. Half done!

Dangerous Challenge: 2 more finnished on the dangerous challenge. 8 out of 12,doing good on this one!

Historical Fiction Challenge: 2 new books read on this challenge so 4 of 10. Thats progress I say.

Themed Book Challenge: 3 out of 6 done this month. Half way to getting this one done.

What’s in a Name Challenge: 2 books completed this month for this challenge. for a total of 3 out of 6, half done. I had meant to get another read, but it was pushed back to April.

Young Adult Challenge: No New Books Read for this one from last month. But I have a bunch scheduled this month. 3 of 12 books completed.

May Book List

April Page Total: 3784 pages

1st-3rd The Apothecary’s Daughter by Julie Klassen 416 pages

4th-7th- A perfect waltz by Anne Gracie 341pages

8th-11th-A rake’s vow by Stephanie Laurens 374 pages

12th-15th- The perfect rake by Anne Gracie 360 pages

16th-18th- Marked by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast 306 pages

19th-21st-The Wild Irish by Robin Maxwell 391 pages

21st-23rd- Blue bloods by Melissa De La Cruz 302 pages

24th-Dating Mr. Darcy by Sarah Arthur 187 pages

25th-27th- Betrayed by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast 310 pages

28th-31st-Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz 305 pages

If I get ahead of schedule: Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling 870 pages

Friday Finds #9

This week’s Friday Find is The New Nancy Moser book, coming out in May (she says may amazon says June 1st). I found out about this one from the author herself as she was kind enough to email me back and agreed to answer some questions for my blog. So that interview will be coming up as well.

The year is 1845. Elizabeth Barrett is a published poet–and a virtual prisoner in her own home. Blind family loyalty ties her to a tyrannical father who forbids any of his children to marry. She has resigned herself to simply existing. That is, until the letter arrives… “I love your verses with all my heart,” writes Robert Browning, an admiring fellow poet. And as friendly correspondence gives way to something more, Elizabeth discovers that Robert’s love is not for her words alone. Could it be that God might grant her more than mere existence? And can she risk defying her father in pursuit of true happiness?
Nancy Moser has crafted a romantic, emotion-charged novel based on the true story of beloved poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Super Excited.

I am happy joy joy happy right now. The UPS man was just here. And I had no idea what the UPS man was doing here. I had not ordered anything that I knew of. Well, he delivered me my very first book for my very first book tour! I am so excited. Hehe I don’t want to spill the beans on which book it is as the tour is not for a while yet. But I am very excited about it, and had to dance to show The Drummer that “see look look all my reading and they sent ME a book to review SEE SEE ahahaha!” I don’t think he understood it as much as he was supposed to. But, I am still happy. There is nothing like a brand new book, especially when it’s for a blog tour.

Booking Through Thursday:Worse?

Which is worse?
Finding a book you love and then hating everything else you try by that author, or
Reading a completely disappointing book by an author that you love?
For me I think it is worse to read a disappointing book by an author that I love. Because you get so used to reading that author and loving all of their work. If you come up to a stinker your left going, Huh?! Or you’re left also wondering if the books you read before were actually that good or if you were just being biased. At least for me anyways, that’s how I feel.

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