Book Haul #5 (July 2015 Pt. 2)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme, hosted by Tynga's Reviews 

I am back with part 2 of my July book haul. My first post this month included two books that I added to my collection before I left to go away on vacation. To check out that post click the link:
July Book Haul Pt. 1

If you read that post you may recall that I mentioned how I hoped to be able to find books in each of the provinces I drove through on the way to our final destination of Newfoundland. Although I wasn’t able to get any books in Quebec or New Brunswick, I did pick up several in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. And yes, there were far too many for me to bring home all at once, so I had to leave a few behind. As you can imagine this wasn’t an easy thing to do. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they can be shipped to me at some point. Otherwise I will just bring them home next time I go down.

Here is my July east coast vacation book haul:

Books from Prince Edward Island:

Our first stop touring all things L.M. Montgomery on Prince Edward Island was to the very house the author was born. After touring the house I had quite a hard time deciding what books to purchase. I knew there were several of her non-Anne related novels that I hadn’t read before so this was a perfect opportunity to get a couple of them. The little shop also had all of L.M’s published journals, which I would love to read, however they were a bit out of my budget so I decided on another one. I was pleased to see that The Years Before “Anne” by Francis W.P. Bolger was signed by the author.

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
The Years Before “Anne” by Francis W.P. Bolger
The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery

As we drove around the beautiful island we came across a colorful house in Cavendish that sold used books. How could I pass that up? So in we went and out I came with 3 books to add to my collection.

I’ve read (and really enjoyed) another novel by Lyn Andrews, but I haven’t been able to find any of her other titles until now. The addition of The House at Riverton completes my Kate Morton collection. That is until her new book is released later this year.

Friends Forever by Lyn Andrews
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The Grafton Girls by Annie Groves

Books from Nova Scotia:

As we were only driving through Nova Scotia to catch the ferry to Newfoundland, I didn’t have much of an opportunity to shop, but I was able to pick up 2 books that caught my eye.

The Enigma by T.C. Badcock
Remembrance by Alistair MacLeod

Books from Newfoundland:

Because I overbought in PEI, I really had to restrain myself when shopping in Newfoundland. I did find many books that I would have loved to buy, but in the end I settled for 2. Because we have a home and a large family in Newfoundland, I visit there quite often, so next time I’m there I can pick up some of the titles I wasn’t able to buy. I found the Beverly Lewis bind-up for only $8! Needless to say I couldn’t pass that deal up.

Heritage of Lancaster County by Beverly Lewis
More Than 50% by Hilda Chaulk Murray

Today I checked my mail and received a book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately this will likely be the last physical copy I receive from them as they are no longer shipping to Canada. Thankfully I will still be able to review eBook copies of their ARCs. 

A Bride at Last by Melissa Jagears

Whew! Not bad eh? I’m going to really have to be a good girl for the next month or so and try my hardest not to bring in any more books. I will also have to really push myself during August to read as much as I can to make up for the lack of reading done in July. 

Did you bring in many books this month? If so I’d love to hear about them.

Stay turned in the next couple of days for my pittyful July wrap-up and more posts about my vacation.

Happy reading all!

Nature Box Subscription July 2015

Sorry to have been MIA for the past couple of weeks, but I have been on vacation with my family and only just got back home to Ontario two days ago. I managed to get a few scheduled posts made and published, but I haven’t been able to be as active visiting other blogs as I normally am. I feel so out of the loop and looking forward to catching up with everyone. Check back for posts about my vacation, coming soon. 

I realized a couple of days ago that I didn’t do a post for my July Nature Box subscription. I also forgot (with my rush to pack and prepare for my trip) to take pictures of the snacks I received. Still I wanted to share what I got this past month with you all. Hopefully I will remember to get pictures of my August box. 

My July Nature Box arrived just a few short days before I left to go on vacation. This was great because it meant that I could bring some healthy snacks along with me for the drive. The 5 full sized snacks I was sent, certainly didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed them all and even shared some with my other half. 

Here is what I received this month:

Pistachio Power Clusters: This snack was absolutely delicious and would make for a good addition to a breakfast on the run.

Sweet Blueberry Almonds: I received a sample pack in my trial box last month and loved them. This time around it was nice to have a full sized back that I could share on the drive.

Lemon Tea Biscuits: I would describe these as mini shortbread cookies with a lemon flavor.

Strawberry Lemonade Fruit Stars: I admit that this was my least favourite of the 5. They tasted ok, but I really only added them to my pantry because my boyfriend wanted to try them. I probably won’t order these again unless he would like to try more.

French Vanilla Almond Granola: Oh my, was this ever good! This bag didn’t make the trip with me because I gobbled it all up before I left. There are so many ways this can be served but the way I enjoyed it was mixed up with a chopped banana.

Total Payment: $24.90

Needless to say I was very pleased with all the goodies in this month’s box. I am very much looking forward to digging into my next shipment.

Do you subscribe to Nature Box? If so what snacks did you receive this month? Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.

Breaking the Rules (Emma Harte Saga #7) by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Title: Breaking the Rules (Emma Harte Saga #7)
Author: Barbara Taylor Bradford
Published: October 2009
Published By: St. Martin's Press
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Drama, Series
Date Read: July 2015
Rating: DNF

After an attack on her life, a young woman flees London home for New York City. There she reinvents herself in the style of Audrey Hepburn and becomes a model by the name of “M”.

There was something in the way the conversations were written that irked me. They just didn’t come across as realistic, nor did the direction the plotline was going. I wanted to continue on to discover the mystery of why “M” was attacked, but the more I read, the more I became irritated. Around 120 pages, I decided that it was best that I put this book aside and move on to something that interested me more. 

Breaking the Rules is the second book that I have read by Barbara Taylor Bradford and when I began I didn’t realise that it was part of a series. The first book was A Sudden Change of Heart, which was an alright story. I won’t rule out reading other books by this author however I won’t be continuing with the Emma Harte series.