Scripture and a Snapshot - Leaves

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,

whose confidence is in him.

They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit.

~Jeremiah 17:7-8~

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/

Recent Reads - Beyond All Dreams

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Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden - Although I've loved every book by Camden that I've read, somehow the description and cover of this one never grabbed me. But I grabbed it on impulse on a recent library trip, and I'm so glad I did! Anna O'Brien is an orphan, and after being bullied as a child she has grown up to be serious and quiet, and content to be mostly alone. Her safe retreat has been the Library of Congress, where she is a map librarian and researcher. When she comes across maps and information that cause her to question the accuracy of the Navy's account of what happened to the ship her father was on, she wants answers. But every time she tries, there's another roadblock, which serves only to make her question more.

Luke Callahan is a promising young Congressman from Maine, but his brash confidence and short temper gets him in trouble with the Speaker. He requests Anna as a research assistant in his quest to find something with which he can discredit the Speaker, and as an excuse to get to know her. Her quiet and gracious manner calms him and attracts him, but Anna insists that she would not be a good wife for a politician. As their friendship grows, Anna asks for Luke's help in finding out what really happened to her father's ship, and the two of them pursue answers only to find that they are stepping into very dangerous territory, especially as a conflict with Spain seems inevitable.

Although a romance between a librarian and a politician doesn't seem like it would be very exciting, there is enough historical mystery and political intrigue involved to keep this story moving at a good clip. Luke's fiery personality and Anna's quiet reserve make for interesting dynamics as the two of them wrestle with their feelings for each other and their personal struggles. Yes, another great novel from Camden!

By the same author: To The Farthest Shores, Against the Tide, From This Moment, Until the Dawn, Into the Whirlwind

©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 - First Day

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Yesterday was our first 'official' day back to homeschool. 

These are the Scriptures we chose for our theme this year, the first one chosen by my daughter, and the second chosen by me.

Find out more in my First Day 2017 post on Homeschool Coffee Break.

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 - Beyond All Dreams

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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! 

"We don't have to keep discussing this, do we? I would be a terrible wife for a congressman. You really ought to know how unsuitable I would be."

~Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden, page 224

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

 

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.

Washington, D.C.

October 1897

"I'm begging you, please stop looking at naughty pictures in the library." It was a sentence Anna never thought she would utter, and with a straight face no less. But these boys were on the verge of getting kicked out of the Library of Congress unless she intervened for them.

"They're medical pictures," Jack Wilkerson said from his position at the library worktable. "Please, Miss O'Brien, we just want to learn."

Was there anything more frustrating than a rowdy fifteen-year-old boy? The government hired hundreds of orphaned boys to serve as congressional pages at the US Capitol, where they performed odd jobs and ran errands for congressmen but rarely had much supervision. Lately, a group of them had been causing trouble in the library, and they'd just been caught flipping through anatomy books in the hunt for drawings of naked bodies.

Here's the blurb:

Anna O'Brien leads a predictable and quiet life as a map librarian at the Library of Congress until she stumbles across the baffling mystery of a ship disappeared at sea. Thwarted in her attempts to uncover information, her determination outweighs her shyness and she turns to a dashing congressman for help.

Luke Callahan was one of the nation's most powerful congressman before his promising career was shadowed in scandal. Eager to share in a new cause, and intrigued by the winsome librarian, he joins forces with Anna to solve the mystery of the lost ship. Opposites in every way, Anna and Luke are unexpectedly drawn to each other despite the strict rules forbidding Anna from any romantic entanglements with members of Congress.

From the gilded halls of the Capitol where powerful men shape the future of the nation, to the scholarly archives of the nation's finest library, Anna and Luke are soon embroiled in secrets much bigger and more perilous than they ever imagined. Is bringing the truth to light worth risking all they've ever dreamed for their futures?

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 - September 4, 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 finished reading . . . 

The Lightkeeper's Ball (A Mercy Falls Novel) by Colleen Coble - Loved this historical novel that featured a little romance and a little mystery. Olivia travels from high society New York City to California to find out more about her sister's death. She suspects Eleanor's fiance . . . until she gets to know him! (Read my full review HERE.)

I'm currently reading . . .

Fairy Tale Romance Collection: The Healer's Apprentice, The Merchant's Daughter, The Fairest Beauty, The Captive Maiden, The Princess Spy (Fairy Tale Romance Series) by Melanie Dickerson - This particular cover makes this collection look "cheap" but it's actually very good. I've finished the first four and am currently reading the final one. I'm reviewing each of them separately.

 

So THIS is the one I'm currently reading:

The Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson - not sure which fairy tale this is based on, but it features the younger sister of the heroes of the previous two stories.




Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden - Camden is becoming a favorite author of mine. I'm really enjoying this one about a research librarian at the Library of Congress and a brash Congressman.




Lady Susan by Jane Austen - reading a couple of letters from this one every now and again. Classic Austen wit!

 


Next on the stack... 

My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley: Lily's Dilemma by Andrea Boeshaar
 Zip It: The Keep It Shut 40-Day Challenge
Sanditon by Jane Austen




   

On my blogs recently . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Scripture and a Snapshot - Better is One Day
Recent Reads - The Lightkeeper's Ball
Bookshelf Review - August 2017
Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus (Review and Giveaway)
Wordless Wednesday - Alum Creek Park North

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Highlights - September
Virtual Refrigerator - Kwik Stix and SchoolhouseTeachers.com
School Scripture

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/

Scripture and a Snapshot - Better Is One Day

How lovely is your dwelling place,

LORD Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young --

a place near your altar,

LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you!

Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

the LORD bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

LORD Almighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you!

~Psalm 84:1-4, 10-12~

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/

Recent Reads - The Lightkeeper's Ball

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The Lightkeeper's Ball (A Mercy Falls Novel) by Colleen Coble - I have to admit, I first picked up this book at the library based solely on the gorgeous cover art. A quick perusal of the blurb on the back convinced me that I needed to give it a try. A historical setting, a romance, a mystery, and somehow a lighthouse would be involved. Sounds like my kind of story, and I was right!

Olivia Stewart moves in the highest echelons of New York society, but the recent death of her father has put the family in financial difficulties. Her sister Eleanor had traveled to California to marry the son of her father's business partner, which would safeguard their finances, so the news that Eleanor has drowned comes as a great shock. Olivia can't believe Eleanor's death was an accident, and she is sure it wasn't a suicide, so she decides to go to Mercy Falls, California, herself and see what she can find out. She also decides to dust off her family's title and go as Lady Devonworth so that Eleanor's fiance, Harrison Bennett, won't know of the connection. Her mother and the elder Mr. Bennett want Olivia to marry Harrison, but since she has never met him and suspects he may have had something to do with Eleanor's death, she won't agree until she has met him.

Olivia has barely arrived in California when she meets with danger for the first time - she is tossed off the ship! Fortunately, she is quickly rescued by none other than Harrison Bennett, and then finds shelter and new friends at the Mercy Falls lighthouse. (This sets up the title of the book, as the lighthouse is in need of costly repairs, and in the background of the rest of the action, Olivia is planning a charity ball to raise the funds needed.) Olivia and Harrison strike up a tenuous friendship, though of course he doesn't know her true identity, and he is put off whenever she brings up Eleanor's name. 

There are further attempts on Olivia's life and she uncovers a letter to her sister that leads her to wonder whether her father may still be alive, and that warns against the Bennetts. The more Olivia gets to know Harrison, the more she trusts him and eventually begins falling in love with him. But if he didn't have anything to do with Eleanor's suspicious death, then who did? An accident leaves her and Harrison stranded in the wilderness for two days and nights, and the potential scandal that would ruin her name can only be averted if she and Harrison marry. Will the engagement last once she finally reveals her true identity?

This was a wonderful story with elements of mystery and romance that held my attention right from the beginning, and I loved the main characters. The mystery aspect had many angles, some of which kept me guessing until the end. The growing romance and the ebb and flow of trust between Olivia and Harrison was compelling as well. The only thing I found difficult to believe was that Olivia was able to keep her name and identity a secret from Harrison for as long as she did. Not just that she withheld the information from him even after she was quite sure he was innocent, but that no one else blew her cover even by accident! But overall, an entertaining mystery and love story that makes me wonder why this is the first Colleen Coble book I've read. I have a feeling I'll be taking a look at her other titles in the near future.

©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/