Tuesday Teaser

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine is from pg. 23 of The Hunt for Atlantis by Andy McDermott

A cold smile,then Qobras looked up to watch the helicopter approaching, its navigation lights aglow against the darkening skies.  Five minutes later it departed, leaving behind nothing but bodies.

Happy Reading!

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Forever and a Day Review

Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis

Genre: Adult Fiction

Publisher: Forever

Source: Sent by Publisher

Book Description:

LOVE CAN HAPPEN IN A HEARTBEAT

Grace never thought she'd be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh's lovable mutt to caring for his rambunctious son. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad . . .

With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family-until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "good bedside manner." Josh and Grace don't know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day . . .

Review

I don’t usually read romances, but I’m glad I jumped out of my comfort zone and accepted this book.  This is a good beach read. 

Grace and Josh are a couple that are afraid to take a chance on love and step out of their comfort zones.  You’ll cheer along with Grace’s friends when she finally decides to do what she wants to do not what her parents envision for her.

This is part of a series of books that take place in Lucky Harbor, so you can meet the other residents of this small northwestern town.

Happy Reading!

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Friday Factoid

FRIDAY FACTOID

This is a meme that I started.  Every Friday I’ll put a factoid based on a book I’m reading. The book can be fiction or non-fiction If you want to participate, just leave a comment and your website to share.

I’m reading The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. This books is known as a space opera. It has several memorable people. One is Henry Morton Stanley.

According to theAtlantic.com:

Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904)



Most famous for allegedly uttering the words, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume," Henry Morton Stanley was one of the most well-known of all nineteenth-century British explorers. In his early years (as a naturalized American) he led a roving life, fighting in the American Civil War, serving in the merchant marine and the federal navy, and reporting as a journalist on the early days of frontier expansion. He became famous when the New York Herald commissioned him to "find Livingstone" in Africa.

After finding Robert Livingstone (no mean feat, since Livingstone was living in the interior of Zanzibar, where even his friends could not find him), and following in the footsteps of Livingstone, Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, and others, Stanley went on to explore the rivers and lakes of central Africa. Through the Dark Continent (1877) is his account of those explorations. Failing to interest the British government in developing the Congo, Stanley accepted the invitation of King Leopold of Belgium to explore the region -- an expedition that led to the establishment of the "Congo Free State" under the sovereignty of King Leopold, and to Stanley's book, The Founding of the Congo Free State (1885). Stanley continued to explore and write until the end of the century, producing In Darkest Africa in 1890 and Through South Africa in 1898. He died in England in 1904.

Happy Reading!

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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine is from pg. 96 of Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis

She nodded, but she was thinking that he smelled amazing, even better than chocolate. So much so that she wanted to bite him.

Happy Reading!

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Friday Factoid

FRIDAY FACTOID

This is a meme that I started.  Every Friday I’ll put a factoid based on a book I’m reading. The book can be fiction or non-fiction If you want to participate, just leave a comment and your website to share.

I’m reading The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. This books is known as a space opera.

According to Wikipedia:

Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap opera" (see below). Perhaps the most significant trait of space opera is that settings, characters, battles, powers, and themes tend to be very large-scale.

Sometimes the term space opera is used pejoratively to denote bad quality science fiction, but its meaning can differ, often describing a particular science fiction genre without any value judgement.

Happy Reading!

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Beg For Mercy Review

Beg for Mercy by Jami Alden

Genre: Adult Fiction

Publisher: Forever 1

Source: Loaned by friend

Book Description:

He lurks in the shadows, waiting and watching . . . And once he has you, all you can do is. . .

BEG FOR MERCY

Megan Flynn thought she was falling in love. Cole Williams wasn't just handsome and passionate, he was one of the good guys. Or so she thought, until he arrested her brother-the only family she has left-for a murder she knows he couldn't have possibly committed. Now, with her heart broken and her brother's life hanging in the balance, Megan will risk everything to prove his innocence. Even if that means throwing herself into the path of a sadistic killer with a hauntingly familiar MO.

Seattle Detective Cole Williams had given up on making Megan see reason where her brother is concerned. But when she insinuates herself into the most shockingly brutal case Cole has ever worked, he can't stand idly by. Plunged into a secret world where the city's elite indulge their darkest desires, Cole will do whatever it takes to bring down a madman who has made Megan his most coveted prey.

Review

What a great beach read this is.  If you like romantic suspense and a good story then this is the book for you.

A friend loaned this to me and the other two in the series and I’m glad she did.  This book will leave you begging for more and wanting to see what happens to Megan and Cole.

I loved the mystery and the romance in this book.  I usually don’t care for romances, but this one has enough suspense to make it interesting. I could see this as an episode of Criminal Minds.  This book will keep you on the edge of your seat and breathless.

Happy Reading!

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Friday Factoid

                      FRIDAY FACTOID

This is a meme that I started.  Every Friday I’ll put a factoid based on a book I’m reading. The book can be fiction or non-fiction If you want to participate, just leave a comment and your website to share.

I’m reading The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind by Justin Pollard and Howard Reid.  It mentions the Library of Alexandria.

Acoording to Wikipedia:

The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant[1] great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the 3rd century BC until the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. The library was conceived and opened either during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter (323–283 BC) or during the reign of his son Ptolemy II (283–246 BC).[2]

Plutarch (AD 46–120) wrote that during his visit to Alexandria in 48 BC Julius Caesar accidentally burned the library down when he set fire to his own ships to frustrate Achillas' attempt to limit his ability to communicate by sea.[3] After its destruction, scholars used a "daughter library" in a temple known as the Serapeum, located in another part of the city.

Intended both as a commemoration and an emulation of the original, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina was inaugurated in 2002 near the site of the old library.[4]

In 2004, a Polish-Egyptian excavation team announced that they had discovered the remains of the Library of Alexandria.

Happy Reading!

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Beach Read Ideas

If you need something to read at the beach, check out this link.


http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2012/21-classics-that-make-for-great-beach-reads/

Happy Reading!

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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine is from the introduction of The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind by Justin Pollard and Howard Reid

While Greece and Rom spread their influence through trade and war, this city set out on another adventure, not at the point of a sword but on the tip of a pen. Its triumph was to be a conquest of the mind – led not by legions of soldiers but by dynasties of scholars navigating a sea of books.

Happy Reading!

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Wonder Review

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Source: Public Library

Book Description:

I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August Pullman was born with a facial deformity that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a New York Times bestseller, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope. R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel “a meditation on kindness” —indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.

Review

This is such a great book that everyone should read.  You’ll fall in love with Auggie and cheer as he navigates through middle school and adapting to a “normal” life. 

Not only does Auggie grow up, so do his classmates as they discover how judging a book by its cover can get you into trouble.  I love how Auggie deals with the taunts, the looks, the snickers, and you'll smile when you see the inner Auggie and see him shine and gain confidence that he can handle being an ordinary kid.

This is a great book to read together as a family and discuss the various themes that run throughout the book.

Happy Reading!

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Friday Factoid

                      FRIDAY FACTOID

This is a meme that I started.  Every Friday I’ll put a factoid based on a book I’m reading. The book can be fiction or non-fiction If you want to participate, just leave a comment and your website to share.

I’m reading Wonder by RJ Palacio.  This juvenile novel is about a young boy named August Pullman who has mandibulofacial dysostosis and his parents decide to send him to public school and how he copes with the changes.

According to Britannica online:

Mandibulofacial dysostosis, also called Treacher Collins Syndrome, or Francheschetti-klein Syndrome,  a rare, genetic disorder, inherited as an autosomal-dominant trait and characterized by some or all of the following: underdevelopment of the cheek and jaw bones, widely separated eyes, malformation of the lower eyelid and lack of eyelashes, malformation of the ear auricle, lack of an external ear canal with resultant conductive deafness, and other, less common abnormalities. Respiratory problems may be present in the newborn. Intelligence is normal. Treatment includes correction of the deafness by use of a hearing aid or by surgical construction of an ear canal and, sometimes, plastic surgery to enlarge the jaw.

Happy Reading!

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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine is one p. 58 of Beg for Mercy by Jami Alden

She reached for her coat, then froze as long fingers closed around her upper arm. Even through the thick cotton of her sleeve, she could feel the heat of that touch. Racing through her veins, sparking reactions in every nerve cell, generating sensations she had no business feeling on a night like this.

Happy Reading!

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The Romanov Stone Review

The Romanov Stone by Robert C. Yeager

Genre: Adult Fiction

Publisher: Abbott Press

Source: Shelf Awareness win

Book Description:

On her deathbed, Kate Gavrill's mother finally tells her the truth: she is a descendant of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia. Kate is the final heir to a family fortune, but nothing is simple in the tragic history of the Romanov clan. In order to claim the royal riches, Kate must find a long-missing alexandrite gem-the Romanov Stone-which is no easy task.

Simon Blake, a respected New York gemologist, will be her companion as they travel overseas in search of the legendary jewel. They will not be fighting historians or archaeologists, however. Instead, they must go up against jewel thieves, members of a blood-thirsty crime syndicate, and a sinister cleric trained in mind control.

Simon wants to find the stone as much as Kate does, but his romantic feelings for her make him more protective than proactive. He wants no harm to come to Kate, whereas she is fiercely driven by the need to make sense of her family history. She knows she deserves the fortune. Kate will find the alexandrite and restore honor to the Romanov line-if it's the last thing she does.

Review

This was a good historical novel that had some action and romance. The writing was good and the history was fun.  I loved how Kate becomes a stronger,confident woman who can stand on her own and overcome obstacles to discover who she is.

The romance is gentle and doesn’t distract from the main story. If you like Russian history and the Romanovs, then you’ll enjoy this story that most may not have heard.

Happy Reading!

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