Book Blogger Hop - February 17, 2017

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Book Blogger Hop

Welcome to another Book Blogger Hop question. Visit Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer to see the responses from other book bloggers.

Can you read and watch TV or listen to the radio at the same time? 

It sort of depends on what I'm reading and what I'm ostensibly watching or listening to, but usually no. I can read and have music on if it's just instrumental. I can read while in a room where others are watching TV, but I can't give either the book or the TV enough attention if I'm trying to follow both at the same time.

©2008-2017 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 Christmas Valentine

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A Christmas Valentine by Jamie Carie - This novella follows two women whose paths cross near Valentine's Day. Lana is the successful producer of a TV cooking show, but has never gotten over the way her husband left her a few years ago - she's never really gotten over him - and now she's stunned by another breakup. When she hears from her friend back home that her former father-in-law passed away, she decides she needs to return for the service and in the course of planning that trip she meets Sophia. Sophia and her sister have been operating a shop that sells books and Sophia's own art cards, but business has been much too slow and they've come to the painful decision to go out of business. Lana thinks a segment featuring Sophia's painting will be a great addition to her show, and will give the shop a boost, so she brings Sophia to LA and the two women swap apartments for a few days.

Sophia finds love in Los Angeles, with one of the celebrities on the cooking show, but now that her own business is back on its feet, she's not sure if she can stay or if she can fit into his world. Lana reconnects with her estranged husband, but has to face her fear that they still won't be able to work through the differences that drove them apart the first time.

This is a sweet feel-good romance novella, nothing too deep or unexpected. A light happily-ever-after read.

By the same author:  The Guardian Duke; The Forgiven Duke, A Duke's Promise

©2008-2017 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/

Wordless Wednesday - Sunrise

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This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life at Rossmont; and at Pictorial Tuesday, hosted by Peabea's Scribble Pad.

©2008-2017 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/First Chapter First Paragraph - Rules of Murder

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. 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! 

Drew stared at Birdsong in disbelief. "I didn't kill him, if that's what you mean. I'm not saying I feel any great bereavement over his passing, but I've never thought murder a very sporting way to settle an argument."

~Rules of Murder (A Drew Farthering Mystery) by Julianna Deering, page 87

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

 

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.

   Farthering Place stood, as it always head, deep in the grove of oaks at the end of a long curving drive, half hidden from the main road and prying eyes. Nestled in the Hampshire countryside, the old manor house exuded respectability and permanence rather than great beauty, but it had a certain pleasing symmetry that saved it from outright stodginess. Even now, when it was little more than a looming shadow in the darkness, it had a dignified grace of line. Perhaps more so now. Now the lights that would have illuminated any ill-considered behavior had been extinguished and even the heartiest of revelers had stumbled into a bed of some description.

   A midnight-blue 1932 Rolls Royce slowed to a stop as it turned into the drive. Behind the wheel, Drew Farthering took a moment to look over the grounds, bracing himself before going down to the house. Before going home. Judging by the number of cars in the drive, his absence hadn't prevented Constance from throwing one of her weekend bashes. He hadn't told anyone to expect him.

 

Here's the blurb:

From the tip of his black homburg to the crease in his cheviot trousers, he's the epitome of a stylish 1930s English gentleman. His only problem? The body he just discovered.

Drew Farthering loves a good mystery, although he generally expects to find it in the pages of a novel, not on the grounds of his country estate.

With the help of beautiful and whip-smart Madeline Parker, a guest from America, Drew proposes to use the lessons he's learned reading his mysteries to solve the crime. Before long, he realizes this is no lark, and no one at Farthering Place is who he or she appears to be - not the butler nor blackmailer, the chauffeur nor embezzler. Trying hard to remain one step ahead of the killer - and trying harder to impress Madeline - Drew must decide how far to take this dangerous game.

What do you think? Would you continue reading?

©2008-2017 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 - February 13, 2017

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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 also link up with Tales of a Pee Dee Mama for D.E.A.R. Monday (Drop Everything And Read).

I finished reading . . . 

A Note Yet Unsung (A Belmont Mansion Novel) by Tamera Alexander - Finished this one last week, but didn't post my review until Wednesday. (Read my full review HERE.)



A Perilous Undertaking (A Veronica Speedwell Mystery) by Deanna Raybourn - Veronica and Stoker race against time to uncover the identity of a murderer before an innocent man hangs for the crime. Wildly entertaining! (Read my full review HERE.)

  


I'm currently reading . . .

Here, There Be Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica) by James A. Owen - Very enjoyable YA fantasy!




A Christmas Valentine by Jamie Carie - So far a pretty good light read, although it's not my usual style, being a contemporary setting.




Rules of Murder (A Drew Farthering Mystery) by Julianna Deering - loving this murder mystery so far, with great characters and dialogue; and an intriguing mystery to solve.

Next on the stack... 

My Enemy, My Heart (The Ashford Chronicles Book 1) by Laurie Alice Eakes (at the time of writing, this was on sale for Kindle $1.99)
 Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden
All in Good Time (The Gilded Legacy) by Maureen Lang

Sanditon by Jane Austen
Lady Susan by Jane Austen

    



     

 On my blogs last week . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Recent Reads - A Perilous Undertaking
Scripture and a Snapshot - Summer and Winter
Recent Reads - A Note Yet Unsung
Wordless Wednesday - In Our Driveway
Teaser Tuesday/First Chapter First Paragraph - A Perilous Undertaking

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

De Stijl - Blogging Through the Alphabet
Homeschool Highlights - Back on the Road
Virtual Refrigerator - Autumn Lake
Intelligent Design DVDs from Illustra Media - A Homeschool Coffee Break Review


What are you reading?

©2008-2017 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 Perilous Undertaking

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A Perilous Undertaking (A Veronica Speedwell Mystery) by Deanna Raybourn - After their first adventure together, Veronica and Stoker have settled down to catalog the natural history collection of Lord Rosemorran, but are growing bored and restless when their planned expedition has to be postponed. Then Veronica receives an invitation to the Curiosity Club, a club for ladies interested in the sciences and exploration. There she meets Lady Sundridge, who is insistent that Veronica investigate a murder - a murder for which a man will hang in just a week's time, but Lady Sundridge claims he is innocent.

Veronica and Stoker decide to take on the challenge, and their investigation into the Bohemian artists' community where the murder took place puts them in many odd situations, and uncovers activities that many people would have preferred to keep hidden. When they receive threats, it's clear that a murderer is still on the loose, which means the convicted man is innocent, but will they be able to piece together what really happened and produce evidence for the identity of the real killer before it's too late?

The unflappable Veronica and enigmatic Stoker have a fascinating partnership and relationship, and their dialogue and interactions are wonderfully entertaining. The mystery is a clever one, and the supporting cast of characters are a quirky bunch as well. I enjoyed every moment reading this adventure, and will be on the edge of my seat waiting for a new Veronica Speedwell Mystery.

One word of warning to readers - although the historical setting is Victorian London, Veronica most definitely does not subscribe to stereotypical Victorian morals. And the discovery of a secret underground grotto in this particular story reveals that many of the other characters were anything but Victorian-era prudes. I didn't think anything was overly graphic, but the descriptions were clear enough that I would not want my teenage daughter to be reading this one. 

By the same author: A Curious Beginning, 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

©2008-2017 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 - Summer and Winter

The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.

It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made both summer and winter.

~Psalm 74:16-17~

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

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

Sunday Scripture Blessings is hosted by Peabea Scribble Pad.

©2008-2017 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/