What I'm Reading - November 28, 2016

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

I finished reading . . . Nothing completed during last week's busy-ness, but I've got three books I'm working on.


I'm currently reading . . .

The Tea Planter's Wife: A Novel by Dinah Jefferies - I like this one, but I don't exactly love it, so I'm picking it up to work on less often than the other two I have on the go right now.




The Reckoning (Legacy of the King's Pirates) (Volume 5) by MaryLu Tyndall - In this one, Tyndall combines the historical fiction pirate tales she's known for with a time travel component. Interested to see how it ends - will Morgan go back to her present day life by the end of the story?




Bees in the Butterfly Garden (The Gilded Legacy)by Maureen Lang - I teased this book last week, and then couldn't wait to get started on it, so I did! It's keeping me turning pages so far.

Next on the stack... 

The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen
The Christmas Bargain (A Victorian Holiday Romance) by Shanna Hatfield
She Walks in Power (Protectors of the Spear Book 1) by MaryLu Tyndall

  

On my blogs last week . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Scripture and a Snapshot - The Advent Candle of Hope
Happy Thanksgiving!
Teaser Tuesday - Bees in the Butterfly Garden
Book Blogger Hop - November 21, 2016

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Highlights - Thanksgiving
Virtual Refrigerator - Happy Thanksgiving!
2016 Blue Ribbon Awards - Reviews from Homeschool Coffee Break
52 Lists #46 - Thanksgiving Menu
From the High School Lesson Book - Thanksgiving Week Plans


What are you reading?

©2008-2016 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 - The Advent Candle of Hope

Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;

Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

to my cry for mercy.

If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,

Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness,

so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the LORD,

for with the LORD there is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel

from all their sins.

~Psalm 130~

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

"For no word from God will ever fail."

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.

~Luke 1:26-35, 37-38~ 

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

Glimpses is hosted by Embracing Every Day, a lifestyle blog by Barbie Swihart.

©2008-2016 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/

Happy Thanksgiving!

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands has produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he that gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

~Deuteronomy 8:10-11, 17-18~

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his love endures forever!

Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story --

those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

those he gathered from the lands,

from east and west, from north and south.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

for he satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

for he breaks down gates of bronze

and cuts through bars of iron.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

Let them sacrifice thank offerings

and tell of his works with songs of joy.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people

and praise him in the council of the elders.

Let the one who is wise heed these things

and ponder the loving deeds of the LORD.

~from Psalm 107~

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

Glimpses is hosted by Embracing Every Day, a lifestyle blog by Barbie Swihart.

©2008-2016 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 Tuesday - Bees in the Butterfly Garden

This post contains affiliate links. 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn at Books and Beat. 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! 

"But you're here," Kate said. "Surely you mourn his passing?"
Meg held Kate's gaze. "I came to see if I might like him better dead than alive. And I find I don't, after all."
~Bees in the Butterfly Garden (The Gilded Legacy) by Maureen Lang, page 40

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

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.

PROLOGUE

APRIL 1879

ALONG THE UPPER POST ROAD, CONNECTICUT

   Freezing rain pelted Meg Davenport. Though her cloak was thoroughly sodden, along with the hem of her gingham skirt, she refused to think about her misery. This is my last chance. All the blasted rain in the sky won't stop me now.

   A glimmer of warm hope stirred inside when she peered ahead instead of watching her own slippery steps. People, horses, carriages. She'd jumped from the back of a farm wagon nearly a mile a go when it turned off the main road, and here at last was her first destination - the roadhouse near the train station.

   Meg hurried into the modest one-story building, squeezing through the crowd but keeping her hood so low that she could barely scout an opening in the room. Though she wanted to, she wouldn't dare remove her wet cloak. She'd promised herself not to take any risk of being seen, at least not until reaching safe anonymity in the thick of New York City.

Here's the blurb:

Raised at an exclusive boarding school, Meg Davenport has everything she needs but none of what she's wanted most - like the love of a family, or a future not dependent on following etiquette and marrying well. So when she receives shocking news of her father's death, Meg seizes the chance to break every rule that has governed her life. Especially when she learns John Davenport wasn't the wealthy businessman she thought, but one of the Gilded Age's most talented thieves.

Ian Maguire knows that John - his mentor - would never have wanted his beloved daughter to follow in his footsteps. Yet she is determined to carry on his legacy, and her talent for garden design has earned her an invitation to stay with one of Fifth Avenue's wealthiest families. With friends like those, Meg could help Ian pull of his biggest heist yet.

But living in both worlds is more treacherous than Meg imagined. And as Ian's concern for Meg turns to love, he finds himself torn between greed and guilt. Can they find the legacy they both long for, or in trying to gain everything, will they end up losing it all?

What do you think? Would you continue reading?

©2008-2016 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 - November 21, 2016

This post contains affiliate links. 

I haven't done a Book Blogger Hop post for awhile, and I almost forgot this one completely, since I was away from home on Friday. Visit Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer to see what other book bloggers had to say about this one.

Would you take a book with you when you go to your family's Thanksgiving gathering/dinner? 

I would only take a book with me if it was a situation where we were staying overnight or longer. I bet I would have done it as a teenager though! But when I was growing up, we were almost always at home for Thanksgiving, so I could have escaped to my room if I'd wanted to.

©2008-2016 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 - November 21, 2016

This post contains affiliate links. 

This weekly reading list meme is hosted at Book Date. Join in to see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas of what to read next! I also link up with Tales of a Pee Dee Mama for D.E.A.R. Monday (Drop Everything And Read).

I finished reading . . . 

Shadow of the Storm (Out From Egypt)by Connilyn Cossette - This is the second novel in this series about the Exodus from Egypt. This one focuses on a young Hebrew woman, Shira, as she looks for courage and purpose as the Hebrews camp at the foot of Mt. Sinai. (Read my full review HERE.)




Swept Away (Trouble in Texas) (Volume 1) by Mary Connealy - Luke is determined to get his ranch back from the varmint that stole it, and Ruthy turns out to be a valuable member of the team that helps him do just that. (Read my full review HERE.)




I'm currently reading . . .

The Tea Planter's Wife: A Novel by Dinah Jefferies - after finishing the Cossette book, I had a little bit of time to work on this. It's interesting, but for some reason I'm just moving really slowly with it. We'll see how it goes this week.




The Reckoning (Legacy of the King's Pirates) (Volume 5) by MaryLu Tyndall - after having this one on the "next on the stack" list for such a long time, I finally got going on it, and it's entertaining!

Next on the stack... 

Bees in the Butterfly Garden (The Gilded Legacy)by Maureen Lang
She Walks in Power (Protectors of the Spear Book 1) by MaryLu Tyndall

   

On my blogs last week . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Recent Reads - Swept Away
Scripture and a Snapshot - Thanksgiving
Recent Reads - Shadow of the Storm

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Highlights - First Quarter
Virtual Refrigerator - Jellyfish
52 Lists #45 - Gratitude List
From the High School Lesson Book - First Quarter Review


What are you reading?

©2008-2016 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 - Swept Away

This post contains affiliate links. 

Swept Away (Trouble in Texas) (Volume 1) by Mary Connealy - This humorous western romance and adventure starts out with Luke Stone being accused of robbing a stagecoach as he's passing through a small town on his way back to Broken Wheel; and with Ruthy MacNeil ready to ford a fast-moving stream with the rest of the wagon train west she's traveling with. Luke manages to get out of town and on his way, realizing that he was being framed, and rides hard for his home. The reason for his hurry? He needed to reclaim his family's ranch, which had been stolen by a ruthless land-grabber who had forged the sale document and killed Luke's father. Luke had friends in town that he had served with during the Civil War, and the small band of men was ready to stand with Luke in the battle for his property.

But Luke stumbles across a young woman who needs help - Ruthy was injured and nearly drowned when a flash flood struck her wagon train, and she is the only survivor, carried miles downstream. Since she has nowhere else to go, and Luke is in a hurry, he takes her along and the two develop a friendship. Ruthy makes Luke's cause her own after meeting his friends and learning about the situation at Broken Wheel.

Although there's humorous exchanges and situations, the story focuses on Luke and his friends risking everything to restore the ranch to Luke and to save the villain's wife and her children from his abuse. The odds are stacked against them, but of course justice wins the day, and Luke and Ruthy find true love along the way as well.

By the same author: The Boden Birthright, Out of Control, No Way Up, Fire and Ice, Now and Forever, Tried and True

©2008-2016 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/