Showing posts sorted by date for query Anna Lee Huber. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query Anna Lee Huber. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Friday, June 5

May Bookshelf Review



It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own. ~Arthur Conan Doyle

In my case there have been ongoing discussions about what a "small number" of books actually means and how much that number is allowed to grow over the years. I have to admit that it's been a chore moving my "small number" of books to our new house, and there are a LOT more books still at the house in Maryland that will eventually need to be moved . . . and moving them is an argument for going back to a smaller number! 

May's Books Completed and Reviewed

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - Mynestra is a slave girl in ancient Philippi, but she finds her freedom when the apostle Paul casts out the demon that speaks through her and she starts to learn about this new faith. She and the other new believers in Philippi struggle with how to live out their faith. (Read my full review HERE)



A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Tragedy strikes at an estate sale and art auction when part of the building collapses. Suspicions are raised that it may not have been an accident, and Kiera and Gage are engaged to find out the truth. Was it sabotage, and if so, who was the target and what was the purpose? (Read my full review HERE) 



You Never Know: A Memoir by Tom Selleck with Ellis Henican - This warm and humorous memoir was an absolute delight to listen to, with Selleck narrating. He discusses how he stumbled into acting and what kept him constantly striving for excellence and authenticity. Loved it. (Read my full review HERE)



During May I started reading:

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews - Stella has learned to avoid drawing attention to herself, as her (very) prematurely grey hair can easily make her a subject of ridicule, and certainly hasn't helped her in finding a husband during her London season. Teddy Hayes is enthralled with her silvery beauty and is determined to pain her portrait. Their friendship shows signs of blossoming into love, but they have plenty of challenges to overcome.



Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - finally starting my re-read of this favorite novel featuring a large cast of vulnerable but courageous humans, and a surprisingly likeable octopus.



Where My Books Took Me in May . . . Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, and where each book fits in the reading challenges I'm working on.

Oracle of Philippi is set in the ancient Roman empire, in the city of Philippi.



A Tarnished Canvas is set in Victorian Edinburgh, Scotland




In You Never Know: A Memoir, Selleck focuses on his career and life in southern California and in Hawaii. 



The Muse of Maiden Lane takes place in Great Britain, mostly in London.
Most of the action in Remarkably Bright Creatures is set in the Pacific Northwest of the USA


Coming Up in June!

I'll be ready to start a new book on my Kindle soon, but am starting June with the very busy process of moving into a new house, and then we'll be on vacation and have my parents visiting for the rest of the month. So I think I'd be setting myself up for failure if I get too set on what I'll read next. It will be something on my Kindle, most likely. That's all I know right now!


On my blogs recently . . . 

Besides the reviews, here on Just A Second you'll find:



And on A Fresh Cup of Coffee:



This post will be linked at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life and Not In Jersey.





©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.


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Tuesday, May 26

Recent Reads - A Tarnished Canvas


A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - The late Lord Eldin's art collection is to be auctioned and Kiera and Gage attend, as she hopes to acquire one or two of the pieces she especially admires. Tragedy strikes during the auction, as a large part of the floor collapses and Kiera and Gage are among the injured. It isn't long before suspicions are raised about the circumstances, and whether the collapse was an unfortunate accident or caused by sabotage. 

Sergeant Maclean requests their assistance in investigating, and in keeping the suspicions quiet for the time being. Although they know the building was intentionally compromised, they are no closer to knowing what the saboteur hoped to accomplish. Was someone in the building a target? Was it an act of some kind of revenge? Was it meant as a distraction for a theft? It's proving frustrating and dangerous to solve a case without knowing the motive, or who can be trusted. Kiera and Gage must keep their wits about them and use all their powers of observation to find the culprit as the threats come ever closer to home.


From the publisher:

Lady Kiera Darby had planned to spend the winter practicing her painting, but instead, she must find the flaw in a killer's masterpiece when an art auction results in one participant's final bid . . .

March 1833. Kiera and her husband, Sebastian Gage, have decided to settle in Edinburgh for the winter with their infant daughter. This also allows Kiera to enjoy long hours painting in her studio, making progress on the portraits she soon hopes to unveil in her own exhibit. She's thrilled when she receives an invitation to the auction of the late Lord Eldin's coveted art collection, and she and Gage eagerly accept. When the floor collapses beneath the gathering, killing one of their fellow bidders, Kiera and Gage are lucky to escape with their lives.

Within days it becomes apparent that what at first seemed to be a terrible accident is actually something far more nefarious. Someone deliberately compromised the integrity of the structure, though the police are unsure of the culprit's aim. Sergeant Maclean requests Kiera and Gage's assistance in figuring out who would wish to harm the bidders. As they dig deeper, it becomes increasingly apparent that the victim was not the killer's intended target . . . and that Kiera was lured to the auction deliberately. Kiera and Gage must utilize all their resources to unveil a monster willing to risk the lives of dozens of bystanders to achieve their ends. But they're on the verge of making a dire miscalculation. For one of the cleverest tricks in a painter's repertoire is the art of misdirection, and their eyes have been drawn far from the gravest danger.

By the same author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts; A Grave Matter, A Study in Death, A Pressing Engagement, This Side of Murder, As Death Draws Near, A Brush With Shadows, Treacherous Is The Night, An Artless Demise, Secrets in the Mist, Penny for Your Secrets, A Stroke of Malice, A Pretty Deceit, A Wicked Conceit, A Perilous Perspective, A Fatal Illusion, Sisters of Fortune, A Deceptive Composition, Murder Most Fair, A Certain Darkness

This is a book that includes a red herring (#25), and a book from a series at least eight books long (#28) for The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge.
#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2026






For the ongoing Mystery Genre Challenge, I've filed this as Case #15 - A Crime Solving Duo



This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot.

bookworms monthly linky

©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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Monday, May 18

What I'm Reading - May 18, 2026


Here's a quick update on what I've been reading and watching lately. 

I'm currently reading . . .

A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Have been working on this one for awhile and it keeps getting shuffled in favor of other things. However, I'm nearing the end now! After a building collapse at an estate sale, Kiera and Gage investigate when there's reason to believe it wasn't an accident. But what could be the motive and who might be the target? There are a lot of variables in this mystery, and I suspect I'll need Kiera and Gage to explain it to me!



The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews - Matthews is another author I can't resist, and this is the fourth  in her current Belles of London series. (Never mind that I haven't yet read the first or third) Stella is a respectable and marriageable young lady but her London seasons haven't been successful, largely because her hair is grey and that's just not fashionable! She feels invisible and her options are running out. A promising young painter, Teddy Hayes, has been determined to paint her portrait, fascinated by her luminous beauty, and at a Christmas house party, the two strike up a friendship . . . and possibly more.



Up Next . . . On the TBR stack . . . 

I really want to watch the movie version of RBC, and hopefully we'll have an evening available to do that soon. That means that it's most likely that I'll pick up that book next. I've got other books on my stack and in my Kindle library that are in the mix as well, but with a move and vacation coming up, I'm being realistic and only listing one here.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - I've read it a couple times before and LOVED it. Looking forward to another re-read!



I finished reading . . . 

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - A novel based on the account in the Bible of Paul casting a demon out of a slave girl and how the church began in Philippi. The slave girl is Mynestra in this story, and she and the other new believers face difficult decisions and challenges to their faith. (Read my review HERE)




Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - I wound up skimming parts of this memoir so that I could finish and get it back to the library, but it was very interesting and enjoyable. Sasha's childhood and teen years were full of uncertainties and changes, and she struggled to connect and belong to a family or community. But after she married and became a mother, the idea to cook her way around the world, a meal from every country, led to her brilliant blog, her success, and her finding peace with her past experiences. (Read my review HERE)





I've been watching . . . 

Hockey games, of course! Not much else over the past couple of weeks. During the Stanley Cup playoffs, there's little else that we are interested in, and my husband's favorite team is still in the mix (at the time of writing, anyway - their series will be decided later today) so we're especially focused.

I've been listening to . . . 

You Never Know: A Memoir by Tom Selleck and Ellis Henican - I could have listed this as currently reading, but I've chosen to listen to the audiobook version because it's Selleck himself narrating. I'm loving the story of how he got started in acting and the things he learned along the way. And I just love his voice, though it's more gravelly now than in his Magnum PI days when I first became a devoted fan.


At work I also listen to RadioU and various political and social commentary podcasts, and my own eclectic mix of music on Spotify. 


***************

What are you reading?


This post may be linked at What's On Your Bookshelf? #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge hosted by Deb's World.

©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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Thursday, May 7

April Bookshelf Review



Wow, April went by quickly! Mostly because I was very busy, and we were traveling on a couple of the weekends. We've been intensely focused on finding a house to buy and getting that whole process going, and many evenings were taken up by that pursuit, and one of the things that I put on the backburner as a result was reading. Even though my reading pace has been pretty slow for awhile now, it was still weird and a little embarrassing to realize that there is almost nothing to update as far as books read. 

April's Books Completed and Reviewed

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - Although I wound up skimming a good portion of this memoir, it was definitely a valuable read. Martin's growing up years were marked by uncertainty, upheaval, loss, and grief, but many of her good memories involved cooking and sharing food, being creative in the kitchen. So after a time in culinary school, and as a way to refocus her life as a wife and new mother, she decided to cook a meal from every country in the world, once a week. Followers of her blog Global Table Adventure will enjoy this more in-depth story of who she is and how her journey of cooking the world came to be.  (Read my review HERE)



Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - This New Testament setting novel follows the story of a slave girl from whom the apostle Paul cast out a demon (in the book of Acts). Mynestra chooses to follow Jesus along with the believers Lydia and others, but she is still a slave so living out her newfound faith is complicated. (Review coming soon)




During April  I continued reading:

A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage are invited to an estate sale and auction of art pieces, and part of the building collapses. It turns out it wasn't entirely an accident, and they take on the investigation of who sabotaged the building and why. I did largely set this aside over the past few weeks, only dabbling in it now and then. 



Where My Books Took Me in April . . . Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, and where each book fits in the reading challenges I'm working on.

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness took place mostly in the United States, but the author also lived in Europe for several years.



Oracle of Philippi is set in the New Testament time period, and takes place in the Roman colony city of Philippi, which is in modern-day Greece.



A Tarnished Canvas is set in Victorian Scotland, mostly in Edinburgh.


Coming Up in May!

These are still here on my TBR, and I picked up a few deals for my Kindle recently as well. No idea yet which of ones I'll read next.

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt



 


On my blogs recently . . . 


On A Fresh Cup of Coffee:



This post will be linked at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life and Not In Jersey.





©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.


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Monday, April 6

March Bookshelf Review



I meant to post this several days ago and forgot. So that's embarrassing. Also I only completed ONE book in March, and I'm having trouble understanding how that was the case, but I guess that's how March went. We had a lot going on, and I started off the month with a week's worth of jury duty, during which I don't think I read anything. The next little while looks to be pretty busy too, so I guess I'll have to lower my already ridiculously modest expectations as to how much I'll be able to read. LOL At any rate, here's the summary for the last month.

March's Books Completed and Reviewed

An Unsuitable Job by Bonnie Hardy - Josie McFarland lost her job as a Harvey Girl, but she gets a second chance as an in-house detective for the Harvey House after a salesman was found murdered in a room and Josie is tasked with finding the murderer while keeping the Harvey reputation clean.  (Read my review HERE)



During March I started reading:

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - This New Testament setting novel is based on the story in the book of Acts, where the apostle Paul casts a demon out of a slave girl, leading to Paul's arrest. But that's just the beginning of the story! What part might this slave girl have played in the early church in Philippi?



During March I continued reading:

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - I have a feeling I will wind up skimming much of this memoir of Martin's growing up and the experiences that led her to a project of cooking a meal from each of 195 different countries.



A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage are invited to an estate sale and auction of art pieces, and part of the building collapses. It turns out it wasn't entirely an accident, and they take on the investigation of who sabotaged the building and why.



During March I shelved . . . 

When the Cranes Fly South: A Novel by Liza Ridzén (translated by Alice Menzies) - I got invested in this novel quickly, but I wasn't able to get far enough before the library told me I had to return it, so it got shelved. I hope I'll remember to borrow it again and finish!



Where My Books Took Me in March . . . Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, and where each book fits in the reading challenges I'm working on.

An Unsuitable Job by Bonnie Hardy took place in Las Vegas, New Mexico in about 1929.




So far, Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness has taken place in United States.
A Tarnished Canvas is set in Victorian Scotland, mostly in Edinburgh.
Oracle of Philippi is set in the New Testament time period, and takes place in the Roman colony city of Philippi, which is in modern-day Greece.


Coming Up in April!

Goodness, I'm not making much progress on my TBR stack! Pretty sure I'll get to at least one of these before April is over. I sure hope so, anyway!

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt



 


On my blogs recently . . . 

Besides the reviews, here on Just A Second you'll find:



And on A Fresh Cup of Coffee:


This post will be linked at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life and Not In Jersey.





©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.


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