Good morning! Today’s post will link up to Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post, and Book Journey, for Weekly Updates.
**Mailbox Monday is now hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.
Good morning, Bloggers! Grab some coffee (or a pot of tea!), and let’s talk about our weeks.
Did our US friends have a good Thanksgiving? Are the rest of you eagerly looking forward to Christmas or other winter holidays? Here is what last week looked like for me. On Thanksgiving, I was at my daughter’s home, relaxing…
And then….
LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:
Sunday Potpourri: Reading, Blogging, & Unexpected Discoveries
Serendipitous Tuesday: Intros/Teasers – “The Nightingale”
Hump Day Creativity: Waiting on “Night Night, Sleep Tight”
My Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts: Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday Sparks: Book Beginnings/Friday 56 – “Cancel the Wedding”
A Reunion: Destiny? – Excerpted from “Interior Designs”
Creative Saturday: Giving Thanks
Saturday Potpourri: Curl up and Enjoy the Coziness
Review: The Pocket Wife, by Susan Crawford
Review: Another Night, Another Day, by Sarah Rayner
Review: River Road (e-book), by Jayne Ann Krentz
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INCOMING BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)
Two Vine books came in my mailbox; I bought one book at Barnes & Noble; and downloaded five e-books for Sparky, always greedy for more.
The Secrets of Midwives, by Sally Hepworth (Amazon Vine)
“With empathy and keen insight, Sally Hepworth delivers a page-turning novel about the complex, lovely, and even heartbreaking relationships between mothers and daughters.—Emily GifinThree generations of women Secrets in the present and from the pastA captivating tale of life, loss, and love…
Walking on Trampolines, by Frances Whiting (Amazon Vine)
Praised as “a tender exploration of friendship, families, and first love” (Liane Moriarty, New York Times bestselling author of The Husband’s Secret), this coming-of-age novel from bestselling author Frances Whiting is equal parts heartwarming, accessible, and thought provoking.
The Life You’ve Imagined, by Kristina Riggle (Purchased)
Two childhood friends reunite when stressful circumstances bring them back to their hometown. Anna, distraught over the loss of a beloved mentor, takes a leave of absence from her law firm and returns to her mother, Maeve, and their family convenience store. Cami deals with a gambling addiction and breakup by hiding out at her father’s home. Sadly, coming home doesn’t bring them the solace they seek. Maeve’s store is being threatened by an upscale development. Anna is nursing lingering feelings for the high-school sweetheart she left, who now has a wife and family. Cami still mourns her mother’s long-ago death and resents her alcoholic father’s emotional withdrawal. Riggle, author of Real Life and Liars (2009), explores what happens when real life diverges sharply from childhood dreams. Her strong and complicated female characters are interesting and likable, and she ably weaves together multiple story lines.
Downloads:
The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes (e-book), by Diane Chamberlain
In 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child.
CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she knows what happened to her missing infant, because two decades ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own. Now Timothy Gleason is facing the death penalty, and she has another choice to make. Tell the truth and destroy her family. Or let an innocent man die in order to protect a lifetime of lies.
You (e-book), by Caroline Kepnes
When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.
There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.
As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.
The Look of Love (e-book), by Sarah Jio
Born during a Christmas blizzard, Jane Williams receives a rare gift: the ability to see true love. Jane has emerged from an ailing childhood a lonely, hopeless romantic when, on her twenty-ninth birthday, a mysterious greeting card arrives, specifying that Jane must identify the six types of love before the full moon following her thirtieth birthday, or face grave consequences. When Jane falls for a science writer who doesn’t believe in love, she fears that her fate is sealed. Inspired by the classic song, The Look of Love is utterly enchanting.
The Perfect Mother (e-book), by Nina Darnton
When an American exchange student is accused of murder, her mother will stop at nothing to save her.
A midnight phone call shatters Jennifer Lewis’s carefully orchestrated life. Her daughter, Emma, who’s studying abroad in Spain, has been arrested after the brutal murder of another student. Jennifer rushes to her side, certain the arrest is a terrible mistake and determined to do whatever is necessary to bring Emma home. But as she begins to investigate the crime, she starts to wonder whether she ever really knew her daughter. The police charge Emma, and the press leaps on the story, exaggerating every sordid detail. One by one, Emma’s defense team, her father, and finally even Jennifer begin to have doubts.
A novel of harrowing emotional suspense, The Perfect Mother probes the dark side of parenthood and the complicated bond between mothers and daughters.
Betrayed (e-book), by Lisa Scottoline
Blockbuster author Lisa Scottoline returns to the Rosato & Associates law firm with Betrayed, and maverick lawyer Judy Carrier takes the lead in a case that’s more personal than ever. Judy has always championed the underdog, so when Iris, the housekeeper and best friend of Judy’s beloved Aunt Barb, is found dead of an apparent heart attack, Judy begins to suspect foul play. The circumstances of the death leave Judy with more questions than answers, and never before has murder struck so close to home.
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WHAT’S UP NEXT? (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)
Currently Reading: The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah (Vine)
Finding Jake, by Bryan Reardon (Vine)
The Paying Guests (e-book), by Sarah Waters
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That’s what my week looked like! And that’s what lies ahead….what are you reading, blogging, and chatting about?
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SERENDIPITY 