Review: Tough: Building True Mental, Physical and Emotional Toughness for Success and Fulfillment by Greg Everett

If you have been following my blog for any length of time you will know one thing—I do not review and/or read self improvement books. I have nothing against self improvement or motivational books I just simply don’t read them. They aren’t really my thing…..if they are yours, that’s awesome. They just aren’t typically for me. I like reading for escape and distraction not necessarily for self betterment if that makes sense.

So why this book and why start now? Many of you know that I also do competitive weightlifting. The last couple of years I have invested a lot more time, resources, and intension into the sport. It is a very mentally taxing sport which is one of the reasons why I love it. Anyone who is into weightlifting knows that Greg Everett is the guru when it comes to the Olympic lifts and training.

Currently I am trying to work on some mental obstacles with my lifts and my coach suggested that I read Everett’s book Tough as a way to help my examine and work on some of my mental challenges with the sport. Rather than hard pass and say no I don’t read self improvement books, I decided to give it a try. I downloaded the audiobook so I could listen to it at work and Everett is the narrator which was awesome. I have been in a bit of a reading rut lately so I was excited to try something completely different as my first book of the new year.

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Special Feature: The Bookseller of Paris by Kerri Maher

There is something about bookstores and war time historical fiction that makes for such a great pairing! When I read the description of this book I knew I had to get it on everyones radar! It sounds so charming and well researched that I couldn’t pass up at least bringing a feature to you guys! May calendar for reviews has been so full and I have been scaling back on some of my reviews just to keep up with life, work, and blogging. This one was so hard for me to decide on because it sounds so wonderful! I wanted to review it of course but could only fit in a feature. Now that doesn’t mean that I won’t review it in the future because hot damn it sound wonderful!

Like so many readers the Shakespeare and Company book store in Paris is practically legend! I was there years ago and absolutely loved it, but that was before I knew much about its history and significance in the reading world. Since then I have read other books and heard other fellow readers raving about the shop—-clearly it has a magical draw for readers and authors alike. When I saw this book tells a bit of the story of Shakespeare and Company, I jumped at the chance to feature it on my blog today!

If you are a reader and love visiting used bookstores—-this is the book for you! Author Kerri Maher has written other historical fiction novels, all of which have received rave reviews and are hailed as being well researched. I am sure this one will measure up. It is out now and I am sure you will all want to get this one on your reading radar for the spring! Check it out now!

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Review: Well Matched (Well Met #3) by Jen DeLuca

Of all the books, I couldn’t wait to read April’s story! I think mostly because she and I are basically the same age and while I loved the other books I felt like this one was going to be the book I related to the most because of that reason. April is a single mom and divorcee who is a little antisocial and is counting down the days until her daughter graduates and she can start living her own life again.

While I am NOT a single mom, I felt this connection to April early on in the books. I am also a little reserved and struggle to fit into the whole ‘mom clicks’ like April does so I was super excited to read her romance. What I wasn’t super excited about was that it was with Mitch. While I adore Mitch in the books I always had a hard time taking him seriously. He’s basically marketed as this big dumb jock who is a serial dater. So I was having a hard time envisioning April and him together.

However if there is anything I have learned by reading this series, it’s Jen DeLuca has an amazing ability to capture readers attention and find something funny and lovable in all the characters and the quirky Renaissance Faire. I also downloaded this one to listen to since the narrator was the same as the other books in the series and she was fantastic (as per usual)!

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Special Feature: Love at First Spite by Anna E Collins

Who doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers rom-com? I absolutely love enemies to lovers troupes in rom-coms, they always make me laugh more than any other troupe. There is just something about it that really appeals to me and adds a lot of tension and chemistry between the couples. Basically what I am saying is I never met an enemies to lovers rom-com I didn’t love.

When I read the description for this one I was instantly excited, one because enemies to loves but the home design element sounded fun! I love home improvement, design and building shows so I couldn’t wait to check out how this one unfolded with the romance part added in. I have an excerpt from this exciting new rom-com for you guys so be sure to keep on reading!

If you are hoping to kick off the new year with some light hearted romance and a bit of a laugh then this might be the book for you. It sounds like it has a bit for everyone, revenge, love, chemistry, design, and some laughs. It sounds like the perfect book to kick off my new year reading. It’s out now and readers have been giving it some pretty solid ratings and I can’t wait to read it!

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Special Feature: The True Cowboy of Sunset Ridge by Maisey Yates

Prior to 2021, I rarely read cowboy romances. And when I say rarely I mean like one every five years or so. They seem like they should be right up my alley though. I love country music, horses, and I never say a pair of Wranglers on a man that I didn’t like. So they should be right up my alley but the genre just never appealed to me.

Then I picked up some Christmas cowboy romances and just fell in love with the genre. I read like four in basically four days. Now that I am open to reading more cowboy romances, I couldn’t help wanting to check this one out! The Gold Valley series by Maisey Yates is about to release the 14th book in the series with The True Cowboy from Sunset Ridge! The series clearly has a long standing fan base and has been on going for quite some time. If you love cowboy romances, no doubt you have heard of this series!

This latest novel is out now and is drawing readers, new and old alike, to its sizzling pages! I have it up on my TBR list and you can bet I will be sharing a review but until then I hope you check out this fun excerpt and a bit more about the book below. If you are looking for a hot new romance to kick off your new year then maybe this is the book for you!

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