Thursday, October 26

Monthly Bookshelf Review - October 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 


Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

I feel like I'm coming out of the reading slump I've been experiencing and am spending more time hitting the books lately. Maybe cooler weather puts me in the mood to curl up with a book more often, since I'm not a beach reader. Hmm. The 52 Book Club offered an October mini-challenge, and although I won't finish my books in October, I've got two started that will suit. I've started a steampunk book already (Ticker) and The Vanishing at Castle Moreau fits the dark and stormy night challenge. Maybe I'll come across a graveyard scene in something I'm reading too - we'll see!




October's Books Completed and Reviewed

The Starlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniel - A brilliant Swedish-born actress uses her reputation for being a dumb blond as a cover while spying for the American forces during WWII. (Read my review HERE.)



A Louisiana Christmas To Remember - novella collection - In these three connected stories, the women of a small-town Louisiana family find love and restoration as they prepare for the holiday festivities. (Read my review HERE.)



During October I started reading:

Garden of the Midnights by Hannah Linder - Just started this one so I can't do a good job of describing it yet. William is trying to find the answers about the secrets at Rosenleigh Manor, that have led to the deaths of those he trusted and have left him homeless. His friendship with Isabella is the bright spot in his life. 



Ticker by Lisa Mantchev - I read this steampunk YA novel quite a few years ago and loved it. One of the mini-challenges for October is Steampunk so I figured it was a great time to re-read my introduction to the genre. Penny Farthing is the main character - a young lady with a clockwork heart.



During October I continued reading:

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright - Decided that late October was the perfect time to pick up this spooky dual timeline story about the mysterious happenings at the secluded Castle Moreau. In my opinion, clearly a "dark and stormy night" setting for the October mini-challenge!



Where My Books Took Me in October . . . On Budget Tales Book Blog, there was a monthly meme about "Places My Books Have Taken Me" along with a one-word summary or review of the book. I haven't seen a link-up for it recently but maybe I'm just missing it. It's still a fun summary to do though! Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, along with One Word to sum up the ones I finished.

The Starlet Spy began in Hollywood, but the action quickly moved to Sweden.
One Word: Deception
A Louisiana Christmas To Remember takes place in a fictional small town in Louisiana, about an hour from New Orleans
One Word: Restoration

Garden of the Midnights takes place in England.
Ticker is set in an alternative universe London, or at least it feels like London, if memory serves.
The Vanishing at Castle Moreau takes place in rural Wisconsin, despite a title and cover that makes me think of France.


Coming Up in November!

Voice of the Ancient by Connilyn Cossette
Queen of Exiles by Vanessa Riley
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn



   


What I'm Highlighting . . . Despite my own recent lack of contributions, I'm continuing to host the monthly book review link-up for now. The October edition is open for a few more days, and a new November link-up is scheduled to open on the 1st. Find the current link-up here: Book Review Bulletin. I'd love for you to drop by and share a review or two, and comment on someone else's review. The hope is that we can comment on actual reviews and share them.



On my blogs recently . . . 

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



On Homeschool Coffee Break:



And on A Fresh Cup of Coffee:



This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot; at the weekly reading list meme hosted at Book Date, and at What's On Your Bookshelf? #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge hosted by Deb's World. 

bookworms monthly linky

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?




©2008-2023 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/ 

 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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Wednesday, October 25

Recent Reads - A Louisiana Christmas To Remember

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 


A Louisiana Christmas To Remember - a novella collection by Morgan Tarpley Smith, Betsy St. Amant, and Lenora Worth - This sweet trilogy of novellas is like a Hallmark Christmas movie weekend in print! The stories center around a family of women in Moreau, a fictional small town in Louisiana as they come together to plan some very special holiday events. Each one finds love and a renewed connection to their town and to each other, and their faith plays a big role as well.

A Louisiana Snow gets things started with Mattie who is one of the key planners for a holiday marketplace that will also be a fundraiser for some important restoration work that needs done as the town is recovering after hurricane damage. On her team is Paul, a school friend that she saw as a rival. As they are forced to work together, Mattie learns to let go of her need for control as she gets to know Paul again and their friendship is rekindled. Mattie plans to have a mural painted and revealed for the marketplace but the artist is injured . . . 

Enter Mattie's cousin Jolene, who just happens to be an artist! Jolene has been away from Moreau for years and has a reputation for being flighty and unreliable, but when she comes home for the holidays, Mattie is able to talk her into taking over the mural project in the second novella, Restoring Christmas. Jolene reluctantly takes on the project under the supervision of Cameron, and they get off to a very rocky and combative start. They establish a truce, and Jolene's attempts to find inspiration for the art help her work through her guilt and fears. And the truce becomes a romance as Cameron sees Jolene for who she is and wins her trust. 

With the marketplace and the mural project looked after, the attention turns to the holiday ball and the third story picks up the thread. A Christmas Reunion focuses on Jolene's mother, Adale, a beautiful widow whose contribution to Moreau's holidays is planning the ball. She's caught completely off guard by the architect that has come to oversee the restoration work on the chapel, and who has been placed on her planning committee. Remy is not just any architect - he is the boy who stood her up in Paris when she was sixteen years old. And she suspects that her own mother, Eloise, had a hand in bringing Remy to Moreau. While Remy has never forgotten Adale and wants to make amends and earn a second chance with her, Adale is reluctant and fearful of being hurt again. It's only when she finally learns the truth about why Remy never met her that last day in Paris that she is able to fully forgive and allow herself to accept the second chance for happiness with him.

Despite being by three different authors, the stories are well coordinated and follow chronologically. Eloise, or Granny as Jolene and Mattie call her, is the matriarch of the family, and her presence in each story helps tie them all together as well. The characters and storylines work together so well that there's not a jarring change in style when a new author takes over. The viewpoint characters simply change, and this does allow a little bit more character development than most novellas have time for, since the four women appear in each story, even though they may be more in the background. 

Charming, heart-warming, light holiday reading with sweet romances and small town characters.



From the Publisher:

A Rare Snowfall Leads to a Christmas to Remember

Three heartwarming, interconnected stories of faith, love, and restoration, brought to you by three Louisiana-native authors. Will a rare snowy Louisiana Christmas bring restoration and hope to the hometown and hearts of three women from the town's founding family?

In A Louisiana Snow by Morgan Tarpley Smith, meet Mattie: A passionate visionary who learns to forgive and finds love in unexpected places . . . 

In Restoring Christmas by Betsy St. Amant, meet Jolene: An artist and prodigal daughter who discovers love exists in the very place she once called home . . . 

In A Christmas Reunion by Lenora Worth, meet Adale: A beautiful widow who finally dares to love again . . .

And don't forget Granny, whose feisty spirit, blunt dialogue, and quirky ways play an important and endearing role.


Visit Barbour Publishing for more info on where to buy.

I received a digital ARC of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a review.
#ALouisianaChristmastoRemember #NetGalley


This is a book with a contemporary setting (#44) for The 52 Book Club's 2023 Reading Challenge. Because it's three stories, I'm also counting Restoring Christmas as an enemies-to-lovers plot (#38) for the challenge.
#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2023

©2008-2023 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/ 

 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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Friday, October 20

Friday Fun - The Friday 56 and First Lines for October 20, 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 


I'm going to try to do my Friday Fun posts most weeks again, after missing most Fridays over the past couple months. I found out last week that there's no Friday 56 link-up, at least for the time being, but I think I'll still include that teaser in my posts. Because it's an interesting peek into a book, and because I don't feel like redoing my graphic. Haha. 

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Three weeks before Christmas
Moreau, Louisiana

Mattie Hayes froze, her fingers warm around a latte, and stared at the flurries of white outside the window of Le Petit French Press coffee shop, the sight briefly restoring faith to her disheartened state of mind.

~From the beginning of A Louisiana Christmas To Remember (novella collection)


A Rare Snowfall Leads to a Christmas to Remember

Three heartwarming, interconnected stories of faith, love, and restoration, brought to you by three Louisiana-native authors. Will a rare snowy Louisiana Christmas bring restoration and hope to the hometown and hearts of three women from the town's founding family?

In A Louisiana Snow by Morgan Tarpley Smith, meet Mattie: A passionate visionary who learns to forgive and finds love in unexpected places . . . 

In Restoring Christmas by Betsy St. Amant, meet Jolene: An artist and prodigal daughter who discovers love exists in the very place she once called home . . . 

In A Christmas Reunion by Lenora Worth, meet Adale: A beautiful widow who finally dares to love again . . .

And don't forget Granny, whose feisty spirit, blunt dialogue, and quirky ways play an important and endearing role.



Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader.

*It's Book Beginnings on Fridays! Time to gather with our fellow book lovers and share the opening sentence (or so) of the books we are reading this week. Or share from a book that is on your mind right now -- whatever catches your fancy.

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RimSP button

First Line Fridays is hosted at Reading is My SuperPower

*Share the first line or two of the book closest to you, then visit other FLF participants.
*Please keep posts family friendly or clean reads.
*Link back to Reading is My SuperPower within your post or grab a button.

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She'd be gone by then. Back to Nashville, to a cold studio apartment and a handful of rejection letters. To frozen microwave meals for one. To the reminder of dead dreams.

~at 56% of A Louisiana Christmas To Remember (novella collection)




The Friday 56 was started and hosted at Freda's Voice. She is taking a break from hosting, so there is not a link-up but I'll still include a teaser from Page 56 occasionally.

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your e-reader.
*Find a snippet, short and sweet.
*Post it, and share in the Linky.

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And here is the weekly bookish question in the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  

This Week's Question: Have you ever become disoriented in a book store?


My Answer: Oh I sure have! Especially in my current favorite book store, The Book Loft in the German Village of Columbus. The store is housed in a long, narrow building, and is thirty-some rooms on three floors, so it's easy to lose track of where you've been and which route you've followed. Every time I've been there it's been packed, and I got separated from my family members and we had to text each other to reconnect. Fortunately there's really only one way in and out, and there are signs to help you find your way back there. 










Book Blogger Hop

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The Book Review Bulletin, a monthly link-up for review posts, is open and I'd like to invite you to stop by and share a review or two. 


©2008-2023 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/ 

 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, October 16

What I'm Reading - October 16, 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee.

 It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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! Although the Book Date link-up happens weekly, I don't update that often. Usually I do this around the middle of the month, and try to share my monthly bookshelf summary on the last Monday of the month. Here's what I've been working on lately.


I finished reading . . . 

The Starlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniel - A Hollywood actress takes on the role of spy during WWII, returning to Sweden to recover top secret documents before the Nazis get them.  (Read my review HERE.)



Composition As Conversation by Heather M. Hoover - When I last updated, I had finished this guidebook for writing engaging and interesting material, but hadn't yet written the review. The review was published a few days later, so you can read that HERE.



I'm currently reading . . .

A Louisiana Christmas To Remember (novella collection) - Three novellas that see members of a small town community find love and healing as they prepare for a very special Christmas celebration.



The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright - a dual timeline story centering around a castle and its mysterious residents who have an ominous reputation. 



Up Next . . . 

Garden of the Midnights by Hannah Linder - I just received this for review, so it's the next book I'll open, and since I've been slower in my reading lately, I'll have to open it in the next couple days and get going! Why do I keep volunteering to review even though it's hard to keep up with it all? Well, in this case, it's an author that has greatly impressed me so far, and come on, look at this cover - gorgeous!



On the TBR stack . . . 

These are the books that I wished I'd read already, and are waiting for me on my bedside table, as soon as I get a moment to start my next good read. The stack grows faster than my ability to read it, especially lately!

Voice of the Ancient by Connilyn Cossette
A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber
Queen of Exiles by Vanessa Riley
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber


      

   

   


What I'm Highlighting . . . The monthly book review link-up is back for another month. Stop by the Book Review Bulletin - October 2023 and link up any of your reviews that you'd like to highlight.



On my blogs recently . . . 

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



On my main coffee break project, A Fresh Cup of Coffee:



And on my "first cup blog", Homeschool Coffee Break:



What are you reading?


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

 ©2008-2023 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/ 

 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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Friday, October 13

Friday Fun - The Friday 56 for October 13, 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 



I shared the first lines of this book quite some time ago, intending to share a Friday 56 later on. I hadn't expected I'd take so long to finish, or that I'd take such a long break from my Friday Fun posts, but between experiencing a slow-down in my reading, being busy, and then going on vacation, it's been awhile! I actually finished and reviewed this book, and you can see my review HERE. So I get it ready to go today and realize that while I was on my unintentional Friday Fun hiatus, Freda (who hosts the Friday 56) decided to take a break also, so there's no link-up. I wish her the best in whatever the circumstances that led to her stepping away. 

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But while my emotions slipped from my control, my mind sharpened. How had Finn known I was out here? I was almost two streets from the nightclub. Yet he'd found me.

~at 56% in The Starlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniel


Hollywood Star Turns Spy

In 1943, movie producer Henrik Zoltan approaches Amelie Blake under the guise of offering the Hollywood star a leading part in his upcoming film, but he has a more meaningful role in mind. Amelie's homeland of Sweden declared neutrality in the war, but Stockholm has become the "Casablanca of the North." When top-secret atomic research goes missing in Sweden, the Allied forces scramble to recover the files before they fall into Nazi hands.

The United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) needs someone who's subtle enough to spy on the Swedish elite without triggering suspicion. Who better than the "all beauty, no brains" Scandinavian starlet? Fluent in three languages and possessing a brilliant memory, Amelie loathes being labeled witless but uses the miconception as her disguise. She's tasked with searching for the crucial files, but Finn Ristaffason keeps getting in her way. Is the charming shipping magnate after the missing research? Or does he have other reasons for showing up at her every turn?

With the Gestapo on her heels, Amelie must rely on her smarts in addition to her acting skills to survive and world of deadly spies and counterspies.



The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your e-reader.
*Find a snippet, short and sweet.
*Post it, and share in the Linky.

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

And here is the weekly bookish question in the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  

This Week's Question: Do you read anything specific in the fall?

My Answer: Well, not really, but I do find myself wanting to read Dracula or something similar during the latter part of October. Something with a classic Halloween vibe. Dracula is actually a favorite, and a new book I read recently, Man of Shadow and Mist by Michelle Griep, will probably become one of those annual reads. (Read my review HERE)





Book Blogger Hop

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The Book Review Bulletin, a monthly link-up for review posts, is open and I'd like to invite you to stop by and share a review or two. 


©2008-2023 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/ 

 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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