I had a good August....what about YOU?
THIS TENDER LAND - review 9/3
THE WORDS BETWEEN US - review 9/6
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Friday, August 30, 2019
Favorite August Reads
I read seven books this month, but these are my favorites:
THE SEABREEZE INN by Jan Moran
THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE by Susan Wiggs
THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger - review will be on 9/3
What were YOUR favorite August reads?
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Versions of Her by Andrea Lochen
The secret door allowed Kelsey and Melanie to see their mother’s life and to see her secrets, heartaches, and feelings that they never knew about.
I’m not sure how I would feel if I could see what my mother’s life had been like, but it would be quite interesting.
The current problem now that they found this door, though, was that Kelsey and Melanie had to decide whether or not to sell their family’s lake house or keep it.
Selling it meant the memories would be gone forever. Keeping it would preserve the memories but also incur expensive upkeep. Melanie was all for selling the house, but Kelsey was not in favor of selling it.
I enjoyed learning about the cottage and the memories associated with it and finding the portal for time travel. It also had me wondering if time travel like this was actually possible because
time traveling through the portal seemed real.
This was a creative premise for a book and a book that also addressed sibling rivalry as well as sibling closeness.
VERSIONS OF HER was a cozy, nostalgic, heartfelt, and at times heartbreaking read. You will need tissues.
Women’s fiction fans will adore this book.
Readers will experience family, love, and a light, yet thought-provoking read. 5/5
This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
FEATURING Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase
What secrets does Black Rabbit Hall hold, and will Lorna find out what the secrets of the Alton family are as she explores the Alton's summer home?
BLACK RABBIT HALL was a family saga with hints of foreboding as you turned each page.
BLACK RABBIT HALL had marvelous characters that were loving and endearing and of course there was a villain who ruined it all.
BLACK RABBIT HALL had marvelous characters that were loving and endearing and of course there was a villain who ruined it all.
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/y5y2gnmx
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Spotlight and Giveaway of The Passengers by John Marrs
Celebrating
The Release Of:
THE PASSENGERS
BY
JOHN MARRS
With a USA Giveaway!!
The Release Of:
THE PASSENGERS
BY
JOHN MARRS
With a USA Giveaway!!
************
PHOTO CREDIT: Robert Gershinson
Information in this post is courtesy of Loren Jaggers of Penguin Random House.
THE PASSENGERS sounds VERY intense.
THE PASSENGERS sounds VERY intense.
************
Set in the not-too-distant
future, automated cars are now the norm. Several years into their
implementation, on a seemingly average day, eight people get into their
self-driving cars. Suddenly on their journey,
the doors lock and the pre-determined route changes. The riders have
lost all control. A mysterious voice tells them, “You are going to
die.”
What follows is a gripping thriller
that examines the effects of social media, mob mentality, money
in politics, privacy, and more. It’s been described as an episode of
Black Mirror meets Agatha Christie by way of Speed and I’d love to know if you might be able cover it in any way.
************
PRAISE FOR THE PASSENGERS:
“THE PASSENGERS is a 1970s disaster movie by way of
Black Mirror, with an added dash of technology-gone-wrong
straight out of Michael Crichton….If you’re looking for a sleek,
exhilarating ride, look no further.”—
Financial Times
“One can almost hear the Hollywood music in the background as the action unfolds; the plot twists are truly gripping….Summer blockbuster entertainment at its best.”— Kirkus Reviews
“[THE PASSENGERS’s] strength lies in its well-developed characters and in its exploration of issues such as the growing role of AI, mob psychology, and the ethics of who gets to decide who lives or dies.”— Publishers Weekly
“Marrs excels at thrilling readers by creating a real sense of tension and delivering a believable, harsh criticism of modern society through this dark and entertaining story.” —Los Angeles Times
“One can almost hear the Hollywood music in the background as the action unfolds; the plot twists are truly gripping….Summer blockbuster entertainment at its best.”— Kirkus Reviews
“[THE PASSENGERS’s] strength lies in its well-developed characters and in its exploration of issues such as the growing role of AI, mob psychology, and the ethics of who gets to decide who lives or dies.”— Publishers Weekly
“Marrs excels at thrilling readers by creating a real sense of tension and delivering a believable, harsh criticism of modern society through this dark and entertaining story.” —Los Angeles Times
************
ABOUT THE PASSENGERS:
The headlines have made it
known: driverless cars are coming. And soon. As author John Marrs has
put it: “Whether we like it or not, there are arriving soon.
Within the next decade, we will be sitting in the front seats of our vehicles with a flat dashboard containing no steering wheel, and below us, no brakes. We will be in the hands of an operating system that we cannot touch and that we cannot see. It will be making life or death decisions for us. But what if that artificial intelligence could be compromised? What if it is hacked and something – or someone – other than the OS is controlling our destiny?”
Marrs takes that idea and hits full speed in THE PASSENGERS. In it, the British government has mandated all cars be automated. Several years into their implementation, on a seemingly average day, eight people get into their self-driving cars. Suddenly on their journey, the doors lock and the pre-determined route changes. The riders have lost all control. A mysterious voice tells them, “You are going to die.”
These passengers—an aging actress, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man—are panicked. From cameras hidden in their cars, their frantic pleas for help are broadcast to millions of people around the world. The public will show their true colors when they are asked, "Which of these people should we save? Who should we kill first?”
The passengers desperately plead for the lives and sell themselves to the cameras blasting this onto social media. But it soon becomes apparent most of these passengers haven’t been picked randomly. They are all hiding secrets that, once revealed, could be the difference between life and death for each of them.
Within the next decade, we will be sitting in the front seats of our vehicles with a flat dashboard containing no steering wheel, and below us, no brakes. We will be in the hands of an operating system that we cannot touch and that we cannot see. It will be making life or death decisions for us. But what if that artificial intelligence could be compromised? What if it is hacked and something – or someone – other than the OS is controlling our destiny?”
Marrs takes that idea and hits full speed in THE PASSENGERS. In it, the British government has mandated all cars be automated. Several years into their implementation, on a seemingly average day, eight people get into their self-driving cars. Suddenly on their journey, the doors lock and the pre-determined route changes. The riders have lost all control. A mysterious voice tells them, “You are going to die.”
These passengers—an aging actress, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man—are panicked. From cameras hidden in their cars, their frantic pleas for help are broadcast to millions of people around the world. The public will show their true colors when they are asked, "Which of these people should we save? Who should we kill first?”
The passengers desperately plead for the lives and sell themselves to the cameras blasting this onto social media. But it soon becomes apparent most of these passengers haven’t been picked randomly. They are all hiding secrets that, once revealed, could be the difference between life and death for each of them.
************
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John Marrs is the author of The One which is being made into a 10-part Netflix series, The Good Samaritan, Her Last Move, When You Disappeared, and Welcome to Whever You Are.
Until recently, he worked for twenty-five years as a freelance journalist based in London, England where he interviewed celebrities from the world of television, film, and music for national newspapers the Guardian's Guide and Guardian Online, Total Film, the Huffington Post, Empire, Q, GT, the Independent, S Magazine, and Company.
He is now a full-time author.
************
GIVEAWAY:
I am partnering with Loren Jaggers of Penguin Random House for this giveaway.
NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR THE GIVEAWAY, BUT PLEASE FOLLOW MY BLOG - IN THE FOLLOWERS' SECTION.
I am partnering with Loren Jaggers of Penguin Random House for this giveaway.
NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR THE GIVEAWAY, BUT PLEASE FOLLOW MY BLOG - IN THE FOLLOWERS' SECTION.
USA ONLY
August 27 - September 3
Enter here
************
Monday, August 26, 2019
Let's Travel
Thanks to these Litsy folks for today’s prompt:
#LetsTravelAugust
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620
Today’s Prompt: GERMANY
THE
GIRL FROM BERLIN is a very absorbing dual-timeline that will
immediately capture your interest with detailed descriptions of the
characters and events.
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/y5q36kvu
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Saturday, August 24, 2019
FEATURING: THE GIRL WHO WROTE IN SILK by Kelli Estes
Have you read this book?
THE GIRL WHO WROTE IN SILK is beautifully written and beautifully told by Ms. Estes. The characters come alive, and the storyline is quite intriguing.
THE GIRL WHO WROTE IN SILK has secrets about a family home, a family connection, and an embroidered shirt sleeve that tells a story Inara just HAS to unravel. Just what were all of these secrets?
THE GIRL WHO WROTE IN SILK is beautifully written and beautifully told by Ms. Estes. The characters come alive, and the storyline is quite intriguing.
THE GIRL WHO WROTE IN SILK has secrets about a family home, a family connection, and an embroidered shirt sleeve that tells a story Inara just HAS to unravel. Just what were all of these secrets?
Friday, August 23, 2019
Books by Kathleen Grissom
Which have you read?
Reviews are in the book's title.
THE KITCHEN HOUSE - the review was written only a few days after I began my blog. :)
GLORY OVER EVERYTHING
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Featuring Angel Harp by Michael Phillips
| |||
Thanks to these Litsy folks for today’s prompt:
#LetsTravelAugust
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620
Today’s Prompt: SCOTLAND
What a lovely, lovely book...I thoroughly enjoyed it.
If
you enjoy Scottish history and listening/reading the written Gaelic
brogue, you will fall in love with the book and the characters.
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/yxz98yj2
One of the first few books I read on my “new” blog in 2010. 
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
FEATURING THE WEDDING GIFT by Marlen Suyapa Bodden
Poignant, heartbreaking, and unfortunately true.
THE WEDDING GIFT is beautiful in the sense of how the story is told in the author's marvelous prose and flowing style, but ugly in the harshness, cruelty, and reality of the events.
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/y2vgnyvh
THE WEDDING GIFT is beautiful in the sense of how the story is told in the author's marvelous prose and flowing style, but ugly in the harshness, cruelty, and reality of the events.
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/y2vgnyvh
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Shelter by Sarah Stonich
Thanks to these Litsy folks for today’s prompt:
#LetsTravelAugust
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620
Today’s Prompt: SHELTER
Lots and lots of information magnificently conveyed.
Shelter is a love affair with the land....a land filled with nature's beauty.
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/y4el96hz
Monday, August 19, 2019
The Perfect Son by Lauren North
Something is going on since her husband’s death, and Tess doesn’t know what it is. All she knows is that she is happy she has her son.
Her brother-in-law, Ian, says Tess needs to pay back the 100,000 her husband lent him, flowers are left on her doorstep with no note, her son is being very difficult, and an appointment with a social worker that Tess doesn’t remember making do not add up and make things worse for Tess.
We learn of all these things in between the time we meet Tess in the hospital and the flash backs to the days before her son’s eighth birthday party where Tess was stabbed.
There was a lot going on as Tess grieved for Mark, and what was going on wasn’t good. She thought she saw Mark in the grocery store, heard people in her driveway at night, had a social worker stopping by looking through her mail, had questions about what Ian told her, had hang-up phone calls at all hours, and other odd happenings.
You can feel there is something going on and plenty of hints that seem to go in the wrong direction not allowing you to be able to figure out what is really happening.
If you enjoy the feeling of something not quite right growing underneath it all, THE PERFECT SON shouldn’t be missed.
If biting your finger nails keeps you reading because of the choices a character makes and doesn’t make and other characters that don't really have another character's best interest in mind, THE PERFECT SON should be your next read.
THE PERFECT SON will lead you down the wrong path as you read, but a terrific book and a surprise ending await you. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
This Week
Looks like another good week coming up.
Book features and a review of THE PERFECT SON by Lauren North.
Imagination
Thanks to these Litsy folks for today’s prompt:
#LetsTravelAugust
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620
Today’s Prompt: IMAGINATION
What do you imagine your life would be without books?
I think mine would be lonely in terms of books and bookish friends.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Today's Prompt: Adventure
THANKS to these Litsy folks for today's prompt:
#LetsTravelAugust
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620
TODAY'S PROMPT: ADVENTURE
Arthur was an absolutely endearing,
charming, sweet character for me.
We traveled the globe with him on his adventures.
THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER is an adorable, enchanting, uplifting read.
Be prepared to fall in love with Arthur Pepper.
We traveled the globe with him on his adventures.
THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER is an adorable, enchanting, uplifting read.
Be prepared to fall in love with Arthur Pepper.
Friday, August 16, 2019
Books By Meredith Jaeger
Have you read either or both of these books?
I read and enjoyed both.
Reviews are in the title of the book.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Books That Have A Lake in the Story Line
Thanks to these Litsy folks for today’s prompt:
#LetsTravelAugust
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620
Today’s Prompt: LAKESIDE
Reviews are in the book's title!!
WILDE LAKE by Laura Lippman
THE LAKE HOUSE by Kate Morton
THE SECRETS OF LAKE ROAD Karen Katcher
HEMLOCK LAKE Carolyn J. Rose
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
The Oysterville Sewing Circle by Susan Wiggs
Caroline
never thought she would be returning to her childhood home of
Oysterville and definitely not with two children that weren't her own.
Caroline had wanted to leave as badly as any young person and head to New York City. Caroline did make it big in New York until a famous designer stole her clothing line.
Her loss and the death of her friend had Caroline returning with her friend's two children because Caroline had no idea how to take care of a child let alone two.
Caroline had a loving, supportive family to help her and ideas on how to help women of domestic abuse since that is what took her friend who left her the two children.
We get a glimpse into Caroline’s life as a teenager as well as her life now. Her teenage years were just as full of love as her adult life with her family.
THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE was a sweet, beautiful read with lovable characters and a setting you will want to make your own.
If you enjoy sewing, the fashion world, being on a beach setting, learning about running a restaurant, being with loving characters, and seeing women helping other women, THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE will be a wonderful addition to your reading stack.
A truly cozy, heartwarming read for readers of women’s fiction. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher as an ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Caroline had wanted to leave as badly as any young person and head to New York City. Caroline did make it big in New York until a famous designer stole her clothing line.
Her loss and the death of her friend had Caroline returning with her friend's two children because Caroline had no idea how to take care of a child let alone two.
Caroline had a loving, supportive family to help her and ideas on how to help women of domestic abuse since that is what took her friend who left her the two children.
We get a glimpse into Caroline’s life as a teenager as well as her life now. Her teenage years were just as full of love as her adult life with her family.
THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE was a sweet, beautiful read with lovable characters and a setting you will want to make your own.
If you enjoy sewing, the fashion world, being on a beach setting, learning about running a restaurant, being with loving characters, and seeing women helping other women, THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE will be a wonderful addition to your reading stack.
A truly cozy, heartwarming read for readers of women’s fiction. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher as an ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
