oh July, you went by so fast

July was the month that just flew by, I don't remember July 4th, it came and went so fast!  During the month of July, I visited Clearwater Beach, FL to scout for my work trip, I hit the one month mark to the wedding and spent a few days by the pool - it was such a packed month.


August doesn't look to be a lazy one for me.  My mom celebrates a birthday, my birthday, oh and that wedding thing at the end of the month!  Here is to August which will be jam packed with to do lists from work, to blog, to wedding!


Books Completed:
1. The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye
2. The After Wife by Gigi Levangie Grazer
3. Lust on the Rocks by Dianne Venetta
4. Shout Her Lovely Name by Natalie Serber
5. Hell or High Water by Joy Castro
6. On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves
7. What You Wish For by Kerry Reichs
8. Ten Girls to Watch by Charity Shumway
9. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
10. The Language of Sisters by Amy Hatvany
11. Bond Girl by Erin Duffy
12. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
13. The Color of Snow by Brenda Stanley
14. The Fault in our Stars by John Green
15. Quest Inc. by Justin Cohen
16. A Simple Thing by Kathleen McCleary

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 5,363

Where Have I Been Reading?:
New York City, NY (3)
Santa Monica, CA (2)
Miami, FL
New Orleans, LA
Chicago, IL
Arkansas
Seattle, WA
Phoenix, AZ
Malad, Idaho
Indianapolis, IN
Malibu, CA
San Juan Islands, Washington

Review: Bond Girl by Erin Duffy

Bond Girl by Erin Duffy 

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 304

Format: ARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  When other little girls were dreaming about becoming doctors or lawyers, Alex Garrett set her sights on conquering the high-powered world of Wall Street. And though she's prepared to fight her way into an elitist boys' club, or duck the occasional errant football, she quickly realizes she's in over her head when she's relegated to a kiddie-size folding chair with her new moniker—Girlie—inscribed in Wite-Out across the back.




Kritters Thoughts:  What a great behind the scenes look of what happens on Wall Street and a glimpse of how it was before our latest financial meltdown and as it was going down.  I experienced it while in the workforce and felt the impact at my former job, but didn't even think to see it from inside the belly of the beast - on Wall Street.


Alex Garrett has been itching to get a job on Wall Street since she was a young girl visiting her father as he worked on Wall Street.  She interviews and gets the job and is blindsided by how life really is working on the floor.  I loved recalling my first days on my first job and being so overwhelmed that you are not sure if you can show up the next day - life never hits you so hard as on your first day on your first job.


I would absolutely recommend this book to all readers, it has spunk, first job jitters and heart, by the end I was rooting for Alex to make a good decision for her future.  Note - this book ends perfectly for a sequel!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel


GR July-September 2012 Challenge: Do You Google?


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.


Other tour stops:

Tuesday, July 17th: Girls Just Reading

Wednesday, July 18th: Life In Review

Thursday, July 19th: Seaside Book Nook

Monday, July 23rd: The Book Garden

Tuesday, July 24th: Twisting the Lens

Thursday, July 26th: Life in the Thumb

Monday, July 30th: Kritters Ramblings

Tuesday, July 31st: A Bookish Affair

Wednesday, August 1st: Stephany Writes

Thursday, August 2nd: Walking With Nora

Wednesday, August 8th: Reflections of a Bookaholic

It's Monday, What are you Reading? (82)

It was quite a week on all fronts, the trying week that takes awhile to recover from, this weekend wasn't long enough to want to start Monday tomorrow, but it will come and another week will start.  


A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
The Color of Snow by Brenda Stanley
Bond Girl by Erin Duffy
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Quest Inc. by Justin Cohen


Currently Reading:
Have Mother Will Travel by Claire and Mia Fontaine
A Simple Thing by Kathleen McCleary


Next off the TBR pile:
Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

In My Mailbox (75)

What a fun three weeks worth of book!  I received some swaps, went to Politics and Prose for a book signing and have some for review, it has been quite a few fun weeks!  


For now I am going to have to keep this at every other week or so, life is just crazy on this end with the full time job and a wedding coming up!


A meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

For Review:

The Girl Below by Bianca Zander  (Goodreads  Amazon)

Cold Light by Jenn Ashworth  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Ocean Beach by Wendy Wax  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Swann Dives In by Charles Salzberg 
So LA by Bridget Hoida  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Miss Me When I'm Gone by Emily Arsenault  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Believe Like a Child by Paige Dearth  (Goodreads Amazon)
The King's Damsel by Kate Emerson  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Finding Emma by Steena Holmes  (Goodreads  Amazon)
What I Did by Christopher Wakling  (Goodreads  Amazon)

Swapped:
Ex, Why and Me by Susanna Carr  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Life After Yes by Aidan Donnelley Rowley  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Center of the Universe by Nancy Bachrach  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Missmatch by Erynn Mangum  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Aristobrats by Jennifer Solow  (Goodreads  Amazon)


Politics and Prose trip:
Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz  (Goodreads  Amazon)


Winnings:

The Garden of Happy Endings by Barbara O'Neal  (Goodreads  Amazon)