SUNDAY UPDATES/MAILBOX MONDAY: READING, BLOGGING, & FAMILY TIME — JULY 14

Good morning!  Today’s post will link up to Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post, and Mailbox Monday! (July will be Book Obsessed)

With another hot week behind me, I am pleased to report that we’re “down” in the nineties today.  Just about chilly, lol.

The past week brought lots of good reading…and some family time, including a lunch get-together with two grown kids and some grandkids.

I did manage some blogging and some reading, too.

ON THE BLOGS:

A Story About My Reading Habits:  Musing Mondays

Tuesday Sparks:  Intros/Teasers – The Laws of Gravity

Hump Day Potpourri:  Waiting on “The Runaway Wife”

Booking Through Thursday:  The Lovable World of Pets

A Bookish Journey:  Book Beginnings & The Friday 56

Sweet Saturday Sample:  A Friendly Visit (An Excerpt)

Weekend Potpourri:  Cooking, Reading, & Dreaming

READING:  CLICK TITLES FOR REVIEWS:

The Laws of Gravity, by Liz Rosenberg (Amazon Vine Review)

After Her, by Joyce Maynard (Amazon Vine Review)

The Last Camellia (e-book), by Sarah Jio

Don’t Let Me Go, by Susan Lewis (Amazon Vine Review) (Sequel Challenge)

INCOMING BOOKS:

Two review books from Amazon Vine came into my house!

Island Girls, by Nancy Thayer

New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer returns to her beloved Nantucket in a highly emotional, wholly entertaining tale of three sisters forced to confront the past over one event-filled summer on the island.

Charming ladies’ man Rory Randall dies with one last trick up his sleeve: His will includes a calculating clause mandating a summer-long reunion for his daughters, all from different marriages—that is, if they hope to inherit his posh Nantucket house. Relations among the three sisters are sour thanks to long-festering jealousies, resentments, and misunderstandings. Arden, a successful television host in Boston, hasn’t been back to the island since her teenage years, when accusations of serious misbehavior led to her banishment. College professor Meg hopes to use her summer to finish a literary biography and avoid an amorous colleague. And secretive Jenny, an IT specialist, faces troubling questions about her identity while longing for her sisters’ acceptance.

To their surprise, the three young women find their newfound sisterhood easier to trust than the men who show up to complicate their lives. And if that weren’t problematic enough, their mothers descend on the island. When yet another visitor drops by the house with shocking news, the past comes screaming back with a vengeance. Having all the women from his life under his seaside roof—and overseeing the subsequent drama of that perfect storm—Rory Randall might just be enjoying a hearty laugh from above.

Nancy Thayer’s novel insightfully illustrates how the push and pull of family altercations make us whole. It’s how the Randall sisters come to forgive, and learn to open their hearts to love.

Chocolate for Two, by Maria Murnane (Sequel Challenge)

Waverly Bryson’s life is officially perfect: She’s engaged to her gorgeous boyfriend, Jake; her Honey on Your Mind TV segment is more popular than ever; and Waverly’s Honey Shop is growing by leaps and bounds. What could possibly go wrong? For starters…everything.

This is Waverly, after all, and drama follows her wherever she goes. Why should her trip down the aisle be any different? Now, before she can marry the man of her dreams, she’ll have to go head-to-head with his high-society mother, whose vision for their wedding isn’t exactly meshing with Waverly’s. Adding to the chaos is the impending departure of Paige, Waverly’s very pregnant retail partner; the arrival of her suddenly secretive best friend, Andie; and the meddling of a new TV producer who’s promising to “shake things up.” Suddenly Waverly’s perfect life feels like it’s about to come crashing down…unless the irrepressible Miss Bryson can prove to the world—and to herself—that she really can have it all.

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That’s my week….and I’m ready to plunge ahead in the next one.  What are you enjoying today?  What’s ahead for you?  Come on by and chat!