This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.
Last Sunday was a beautiful day – and Himself and I spent the sunny afternoon at my daughter and her partner’s home, which is wonderful Grade II listed building with a fascinating history and an overgrown garden with a wood at the back of the property. So the barbeque we had there was idyllic with the peace only broken by the laughter of Himself having a nerf gun fight with Oscar, while Frances was in charge of cooking the sausages, burgers and halloumi on the barbeque with the music from the record collection my own children grew up with drifting out of the house…
This week has been another mixed bag – I was feeling better until I woke up on Wednesday feeling dreadful again, once more missing my Pilates class and spending the afternoon in bed. So I’m looking forward to half term to get a chance to try and see if I can finally throw off this virus whatsit thingy. We started the holiday with the grandchildren staying over on Friday night – a lovely beginning to the half term break.
This week I have read:
Saven Disclosure – Book 2 of the Saven series by Siobhan Davis
Enemy alien ships crowd the skies over Earth while the world waits with bated breath. The Saven have 
been exposed, and where once they were abhorred, they are now championed as our greatest ally and our only possible savior. Logan and Sadie have been separated, and the longer he is gone, the more their love is tested by duty, doubts, and deception. Sadie and Jarod have infiltrated the highest levels of government, but they are playing a dangerous game. Surrounded by people with conflicting agendas—hell-bent on using her for their own aim—Sadie is confused when the lines between good and evil are blurred. It’s impossible to tell friend from foe, and no one can be trusted.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series and after reading my review, Siobhan Davis kindly sent me a review copy of the second book. The politics and tension surrounding the aliens now threatening humanity so the Saven are seen as friends rather than enemies. And then the plot gets delightfully complex, ever upping the stakes – I’m really looking forward to diving back into this world.
The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett
All Jamie Allenby ever wanted was space. Even though she wasn’t forced to emigrate from Earth, she willingly left the overpopulated, claustrophobic planet. And when a long relationship devolved into silence and suffocating sadness, she found work on a frontier world on the edges of civilization. Then the virus hit… Now Jamie finds herself dreadfully alone, with all that’s left of the dead. Until a garbled message from Earth gives her hope that someone from her past might still be alive.
Yes… I know – yet another post-apocalyptic disaster novel dealing with the gritted struggle of surviving after the unthinkable happens. Except this one is different, as it is as much an internal journey with Jamie forced to confront her painful past and her personal demons she had run from before the virus struck. Beautifully written and powerful.
Sungrazer – Book 2 of the Outriders trilogy by Jay Posey
In a new Cold War between Earth and the colonies on Mars, when devastating weapons go missing,
there’s only one team you can call – the Outriders. A crack force of highly specialised super-soldiers, their clone bodies are near-immortal. When a fully-autonomous vessel with orbital strike capabilities goes missing, it’s up to the Outriders to track the untrackable. But when the trail leads them to the influential Martian People’s Collective Republic, the operation gets a lot more complicated…
This enjoyable military science fiction adventure about a crack black ops outfit that gets to do all the ‘mission impossible’ jobs, assisted by some scarily effective technical toys, is smoothly written with a nicely twisty plot. I’m keeping an eye on this series, as I want to read the next one.
The Broken Ones – prequel to The Malediction Trilogy by Danielle L. Jensen
Below Forsaken Mountain, a plot is being hatched to overthrow the tyrant king of Trollus, and Marc is the right-hand man of its leader. His involvement is information more than one troll would kill to possess, which is why he must keep it a secret from everyone, even the girl he loves. After accidentally ruining her sister’s chance to become queen, Pénélope is given one last opportunity by her father, the Duke d’Angoulême, to make herself useful: she must find proof that the boy she’s in love with is conspiring against the crown. If she fails, her life will be forfeit. Marc and Pénélope must navigate the complex politics of Trollus, where powers on all sides are intent on using them as pawns, forcing them to risk everything for a chance at a life together.
I haven’t read The Malediction Trilogy. Yet. After experiencing this brutal, magic-driven world where ruthless magic-users don’t scruple to use deadly force to safeguard their interest, I now want to know what happens next.
The Scattering – Book 2 of The Outliers Trilogy by Kimberley McCreight
Wylie may have escaped the camp in Maine, but she is far from safe. The best way for her to protect 
herself is to understand her ability, fast. But after spending a lifetime trying to ignore her own feelings, giving in to her ability to read other peoples’ emotions is as difficult as it is dangerous. And Wylie isn’t the only one at risk. Ever since they returned home, Jasper has been spiraling, wracked with guilt over what happened to Cassie. After all they’ve been through together, Wylie and Jasper would do anything for each other, but she doesn’t know if their bond is strong enough to overcome demons from the past. It is amid this uncertainty and fear that Wylie finds herself confronted with a choice. She was willing to do whatever it took to help Cassie, but is she prepared to go to the same extremes to help complete strangers . . . even if they are just like her?
This YA sci fi thriller was full of twists and turns and this time around, Wylie wasn’t so waywardly set on putting herself in danger and the mystery surrounding the outliers was even more compelling.
My posts last week:
Sunday Post – 21st May 2017
Review of Spellbound – Book 2 of the Spellwright trilogy by Blake Charlton
Teaser Tuesday featuring Sungrazer – Book 2 of the Outriders series by Jay Posey
Review of A Second Chance – Book 3 of The Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor
Discovery Challenge 2017 and Tackling my TBR – April Roundup
Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:
Brilliant Book Titles #115 https://librarystaffpicks.wordpress.com/2017/05/26/brilliant-book-titles-115/ Those lovely folks at the award-winning Ballyroanreads library blog have excelled themselves with an intriguing book this time around…
…the day it rained money… and we couldn’t laugh… https://seumasgallacher.com/2017/05/27/the-day-it-rained-money-and-we-couldnt-laugh/ That successful indie author Seumas Gallacher is a great storyteller is undeniable if you have the pleasure of reading his blog. I loved this particular anecdote…
10 of the Best Very Short Poems Ever Written https://interestingliterature.com/2017/05/26/10-of-the-best-very-short-poems-ever-written/ If you love your poetry small and perfectly formed, then this article shouldn’t be missed.
On Visiting With Old Demons https://zenandtheartoftightropewalking.wordpress.com/2017/05/22/on-visiting-with-old-demons/ Viv’s passionate and scaldingly honest blog posts are always required reading for me – and this one struck a real chord…
Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley https://onereadersthoughts.com/2017/05/24/jane-austen-at-home-by-lucy-worsley/ I don’t normally feature books reviews in this section – but the book that Emma is discussing is also linked to an excellent TV show which I highly recommend. I am certainly going to be tracking this book down.
Thank you for visiting and taking the time and trouble to comment – and may you have a wonderful reading and blogging week.
Brainfluff 
Sounds like you had a lovely day last Sunday! Yay I am glad you enjoyed the second Saven book! It’s a great series! I just finished one of Siobhan Davis”s books in her latest series. Your other reads sound good too. I hope you’ll have a great week!
Thank you, Lola!
The Saven series sounds intriguing. I have The Space Between Stars and I am excited to get to it. Grandkids staying over… I am so jealous, although my son is wise to be waiting, so I shouldn’t complain. Ha! Have a wonderful week, and a healthier one, too. 🙂
Yes… the grandchildren are a joy, but it has also been at times a worry when things weren’t going so well, so I think your son is wise, too:). Thank you – I’m hoping that the break from my teaching commitments will allow me the chance to properly get back on my feet. I hope you, too, have a great week and look forward to hearing how you get on with The Space Between the Stars
As you know, YA and Sci-Fi are not my usual books…but The Scattering has piqued my curiosity. Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.
You’re very welcome – you have really had a storming week, bookwise and I loved your snack:)). Here’s hoping the coming week is as good!
Glad to hear you had a wonderful Sunday. I hope you enjoy these books. Have a wonderful week. 😁
Some interesting new books this week. I managed to nab some sci fi ones finally. And reading a strange one about hippos right now called River Of Teeth. I sure hope you kick that virus in the patootie, Sarah. Have a lovely holiday weekend.
My Sunday Post
Thank you – I’m hoping to give that virus-whateveritis a good kicking, too! By coincidence, Himself bought A River of Teeth as well, so I’m hoping to start it before the end of the week:)) Have a great week-end, Laura:)
Sounds like a wonderful barbeque and I hope you’re feeling a bit better now. The Space Between the Stars and The scattering both sound like something I’d like. I’ll have to take a closer look at both.
Have a lovely rest of the weekend, and a great week!
Thank you, Greg – yes… that barbeque was one of those magical times which I’ll always recall with great happiness. Yes – I think The Space Between the Stars in particular would appeal to you. I hope you, too, have a wonderful week.
Glad you got to start your weekend with the grandkids! What an awesome way to spend a weekend evening!
Yes – it really was a magical afternoon and evening. I hope you have a great week, too – and that you are soon feeling back to normal as the food poisoning episode sounded horrible! Take care:)
I enjoyed this post immensely but am distressed that you are once again feeling poorly. It MUST be some kind of hard to shake virus, but I’m ready for it to go away–completely and quickly too! The poetry article you recommend in your list was still very helpful, and I shall “file it away” to use whenever I get around to (and can work it in) my future poetry reading and writing class. I have discussed the idea with the Alvin librarian, and she is offering their conference room as a meeting place. I thought it would be reading poetry aloud and discussing it, as well as poetry theory, and maybe trying our hand at writing some of the “forms.” She suggested it be open to everyone from precocious ten year olds to senior citizens. It might be interesting to have an unusual “mix” like that. This idea, of course, is not for the immediate future, for I will have company from Boston for two weeks of June, teach the second half of Freshman Composition and Rhetoric for Alvin Community College (five minutes down the road), and in the fall, I’ll teach both at the university and ACC. Oh yes, I’m doing the Kid’s Bookworm Club about the same time I start at ACC, but that is over in just two weeks. I will have to go back to school to rest up from my summer. Ha! I will not be doing a Sunday Post. I am going to catch up with blogging friends instead. Hope you are over the “sickies” soon and feel reenergized and ready to rumble soon.
Thank you for your kind concern, Rae. It is a flipping nuisance as I’m too busy to keep being ill – and I don’t get paid for being sick, either… Hopefully having a week off from the teaching will help me to bounce back. I love the sound of your poetry appreciation course – you certainly are going to be having a full summer! Meanwhile, we are on our half term break…
You deserve a break. It will give you time to get better!
Thank you, Rae – I’m hoping so.
Gosh, you haven’t had much luck with your health recently, have you, Sarah? 😦 Please make sure you take some time to get extra rest, especially since you have a break from the school term.
I’ll be interested in reading your review of The Broken Ones when it’s ready. I read the series’ official first book Stolen Songbird a year or two, and it was pretty good. But my TBR pile is so big right now that I’m not sure I’ll get around to the rest of the trilogy anytime soon.
Thank you, Sara – I aim to! Well, after reading The Broken Ones, I’m interested to see what happens next. I found the story engrossing and quite shocking…
Nothing like family time, especially if it includes a BBQ! Glad to hear you had a good time with your daughter! Hope you can get totally over the virus and can go back to your Pilates soon!
Thank you! Yes, I would appreciate getting back to my fitness regime, too. Have a great week:)
Ahh, your weekend sounds like it was amazing and the BBQ sounds like so much fun.
I’m sorry that you woke up feeling ill again but I just hope that this week has been a better one.
Thank you Di. I was feeling grim again on Tuesday, but as this is my half term break and I’m not teaching, I’ve managed to get some much-needed editing done and feel a lot better generally. In amongst that, I’m also having a bit of a rest! I hope you have also been a great week!
Oh noes, I didn’t expect the plot twist and the virus coming back. I know it’s “so last month” of me to comment here, but I do hope that you feel better already.
Fortunately, I have now tracked down the problem – not sufficient vitamin B12 and sorted it out. Phew!
I’m glad you did. It’s easier to battle a known enemy.