A new week is already upon us, so time to check-in and share what I’ve been up to and what I plan to read this week. There’s just under a week until I start NaNoWriMo and I’m yet to decide whether I take a break from blogging in November and just publish scheduled posts (reviews) or whether I go with the flow. You know… #whatevs. I suspect it’ll be the latter. Me being me.

Reading-wise last week I had an okay week though had a few evening commitments so only got through three books.

 As planned I read Wicked Ways  – by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush. I didn’t mind the novel – a mystery with a bit of paranormal stuff thrown in – but discovered later it was the second in the series. It would have been useful to have read Wicked Game  first as a lot of information was dumped on me and I lost track of who was who. Ultimately, though I’m not a fan of the fantasy type genre, there was a basic whodunnit at the heart of the novel which I enjoyed. My review’s already up on Goodreads.

Here in Oz Candice Fox’s first book, Hades, was very much loved. I knew there was a second coming out and discovered Eden  on NetGalley last week. So naturally I downloaded it and re-prioritised my to-be-read list.

A few other readers suggested I really needed to read Hades  first, but I was able to enjoy Eden  without having read the previous in the series. It’s usually a pet peeve of mine – entering a series midway through. I’ve said before that you either get too little information and become confused, or too much information rendering previous novels redundant. That actually wasn’t the case here and although I know how the first in the series finishes, I suspect there’s a lot of interesting backstory, so am keen to get hold of it next. The review for Eden  will be published in a few weeks, just before its early December release date.

I also read Escape the Night, by Richard North Patterson. First released in 1983 it’s being re-released in November via Open Road Integrated Media. I’ve already posted my review in Goodreads (The Reading Room and Amazon).

Other blog posts last week included a somewhat embarrassing story about my 70 year old mother and I gatecrashing the wrong costume party!!! I also wrote about labels and ‘care instructions’ and as it was the third anniversary of my father’s passing I wrote about my struggle with the D word.

On the reading front, I reviewed The Killer Next Door, out very shortly via Penguin Books; and in the (not-very-successful) Aussie book bloggers’ link-up I started a conversation about… Elements of a good book review. I’d love some additional tips or suggestions if anyone has the time.

As for this next week… I’m intending to read Sweet Damage  (another re-release) which I was supposed to read last week before being sidetracked by the two new NetGalley arrivals. Also on the weekly reading agenda is Five  – a murder mystery by Ursula Archer via St Martin’s Press.

I’m only listing two as I’m hoping a couple of other requests will be approved, and… I need to start my NaNoWriMo preparation!

Joining up as usual with Sheila from The Book Journey.