What I'm Reading - October 12, 2015

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This weekly reading list meme is hosted at Book Journey. Join in to see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas of what to read next!

I recently finished reading...

Unequal Affections: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling by Lara S. Ormiston - I finished this yesterday and loved it! I will get a full review done soon.


I'm currently reading...

Murther and Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies


Ruby (Dakotah Treasures #1) by Lauraine Snelling



  Next on the stack...

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
The Fatal Tree (Bright Empires) by Stephen R Lawhead
Fire and Ice (Wild at Heart) by Mary Connealy
The Darcys of Pemberley by Shannon Winslow

   

   

What are you reading?

©2008-2015 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. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Scripture and a Snapshot - Don't Give Up

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So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone--especially to those in the family of faith.

~Galatians 6:9-10~

It can be discouraging when we are doing what we believe God has called us to do, serving others, doing the right thing - and yet it doesn't seem to be making any difference. We feel that nobody notices or appreciates. We wonder if it matters. We get weary. 

I've been there too many times to count - weary, tired, frustrated, ready to throw in the towel. But God's Word is full of His promises to restore and strengthen us (...) and to give us rest (...); and reminders like this one that God is faithful and will bless us and use us when we continue in obedience. So don't get tired of doing good, and don't give up! God promises that we'll celebrate the harvest with him in his perfect time.

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.

Weekend Whispers is hosted by Barbie Swihart.

Digging Into GOD's Word is hosted by This Day Has Great Potential. This week's topic is Weary.

©2008-2015 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. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays/First Chapter First Paragraph - Unequal Affection

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

At that she looked up, a twinkle in her eyes. "I am so glad that you prefer me to handsome women," she said teasingly.
For the first time she had ever known him to do so, he rolled his eyes. Elizabeth burst out laughing, and he soon followed with his quiet chuckle. "Did I not say that your propensity is to willfully misunderstand?" he retorted.
 ~Unequal Affections: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling by Lara S. Ormiston, page 78

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First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is a weekly link-up hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or two) of a book you're reading, or thinking about reading soon.

     By the end she only felt curiously detached. It was a shock -- there was no denying it was a shock, and the agitated young man with the glowing eyes and impassioned tones seemed like a stranger. He was a stranger, she realized all at once. She did not really know him at all. And she found she could not hate him; he had been so . . . so very frank, so very ardent, so very unlike the man she thought she knew. In a moment, all her prejudices, all her notions of his attitudes and behavior, seemed overthrown.
     She had been proposed to by a stranger. A very rich, very handsome stranger who was very much in love with her. She could not possibly accept him -- but, suddenly, she could not possibly refuse him either, not now. This was, she knew clearly, a chance unlike any other she would ever receive. She could not turn him down for the satisfaction of it. She had to think.

Unequal Affections: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling by Lara S. Ormiston

Here's the blurb:

Can two people ever be happy in a one-sided love affair?

When Elizabeth Bennet first knew Mr. Darcy, she despised him and was sure he felt the same. Angered by his pride and reserve, influenced by the lies of the charming Mr. Wickham, she never troubled herself to believe he was anything other than the worst of men -- until, one day, he unexpectedly proposed.

 Mr. Darcy's passionate avowal of love causes Elizabeth to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about him. What she knows is that he is rich, handsome, clever, and very much in love with her. She, on the other hand, is poor, and can expect a future of increasing poverty if she does not marry. The incentives for her to accept him are strong, but she is honest enough to tell him that she does not return his affections. He says he can accept that -- but will either of them ever be truly happy in a relationship of unequal affection?

Diverging from Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice at the proposal in the Hunsford Parsonage, this story explores the realities and choices of being a woman in nineteenth-century England and reflects on enduring questions about marriage, commitment, passion, and love.

What do you think? Would you continue reading?

 ©2008-2015 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. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

What I'm Reading - October 5, 2015

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This weekly reading list meme is hosted at Book Journey. Join in to see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas of what to read next!

I recently finished reading...

A Curious Beginning: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery by Deanna Raybourn - I loved every minute of this book and didn't want it to be over! Now I'll have a long wait until the next book by this favorite author. Read my review HERE.


I'm currently reading...

Murther and Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies - Although I'm not getting through this very quickly, I am truly enjoying it!


Ruby (Dakotah Treasures #1) by Lauraine Snelling - I'm about halfway through this, and it's pretty good, but I haven't really connected with any of the characters, so I'm not very emotionally involved in it.


Unequal Affections: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling by Lara S. Ormiston - this. Oh my goodness. I started reading a few nights ago, and it has utterly charmed me so far!


  Next on the stack...

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
The Fatal Tree (Bright Empires) by Stephen R Lawhead
Fire and Ice (Wild at Heart) by Mary Connealy
The Darcys of Pemberley by Shannon Winslow

   

   

What are you reading?

©2008-2015 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. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Scripture and a Snapshot - Ask the Animals

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But ask the animals, and they will teach you,

or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;

or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,

or let the fish in the sea inform you.

Which of all these does not know

that the hand of the LORD has done this?

In his hand is the life of every creature

and the breath of all mankind.

~Job 12:7-10~

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.

Weekend Whispers is hosted by Barbie Swihart.

©2008-2015 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. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Book Blogger Hop - Halloween Edition - October 2, 2015

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It's one of those weeks where I've actually remembered the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. And I'm glad I did, because for the month of October, the theme is so fun - Halloween Edition!

Here is this week's question:

You're volunteering to read a book to a group of young children at a library. What scary themed book for kids would you read to them?

No question about it - I would read The Monster at the End of This Book. It's scary but it's not, and kids love it. I remember reading this over and over to my little sister, and as a mom I read it countless times to my own kids. And I do a pretty good Grover voice, by the way.

©2008-2015 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. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - A Curious Beginning

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A Curious Beginning: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery by Deanna Raybourn - I've made no secret of the fact that Deanna Raybourn is one of my very favorite authors; and it makes me sad to think that her Lady Julia Grey series had come to an end. But knowing that she was beginning a new series softened that blow considerably! I was delighted when A Curious Beginning arrived for me to start reading - I wanted to devour the whole thing at a sitting, but I also knew there would be a lengthy wait for the next installment once I did, so I paced myself a little bit.

Veronica Speedwell is the star of this new series set in Victorian England. We meet Veronica as she is paying her last respects to her guardian, and preparing to set off on her own adventures now that her last tie to England is gone. Her plans for butterfly hunting in exotic locales are thwarted when a mysterious German baron rescues her from an attempted abduction and indicates that he has information about her background and parentage. He insists that she is in danger and leaves her under the protection of his friend, the reclusive Stoker. Then the baron is murdered, and Veronica and Stoker realize that they are not only in real danger, but that they may be suspects as well. They must work together to unravel the mysteries of who murdered the baron and why, and how it relates to Veronica's mysterious past.

When the truth about Veronica's parents is finally revealed, it's a bombshell - a real surprise that takes the tale through another few twists and turns before the conclusion. And of course the conclusion of this book sets up more adventures to come!

This story is full of odd and eccentric characters, with the unflappable and intrepid Veronica leading the way. She is unconventional and practical, counting herself an adventurer and scientist. Stoker has his own mysterious past and secrets, and his personality is prickly and temperamental, yet he is also completely loyal and chivalrous. Their partnership holds plenty of promise for what I hope will be a long series of adventures and mysteries to solve.

By the same author: Night of a Thousand Stars, Bonfire Night, Twelfth Night, City of Jasmine, Whisper of Jasmine, Midsummer Night; A Spear of Summer Grass, Silent in the Grave, Silent in the Sanctuary, Dark Road to Darjeeling, The Dark Enquiry, Silent Night, The Dead Travel Fast

©2008-2015 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. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/