Recent Reads {Open Ice}

I have already fallen behind in the 52 Books challenge. I actually did finish this book about a week ago, so that was close to being on schedule, but I neglected to blog about it so I'm behind on the link-up. And I'm in the middle of reading the second book in the Outlander series. If you're at all familiar with the series, you'll know that those are pretty thick books, and take awhile to read when you've just got the "before I fall asleep at bedtime" minutes to work on it!

Open Ice by Jack Falla - The mini-challenge was to read something with a 'cold' word in the title, something like 'ice' or 'snow' or 'winter'. I found this book near the bottom of my to-read pile, and realized that it fit the bill perfectly. It's one that someone loaned to my husband, and he passed it to me after he'd finished it. That was a long time ago, so now that I'm finished with it, I just hope my hubby remembers who loaned it to him so he can return it!

The book is a collection of essays from veteran sportswriter Jack Falla. Falla reflects on some of the great players from the early days of hockey (Hobey Baker, Jean Belliveau, Maurice Richard, etc), and on the great old buildings of the Original Six teams, and even on the work and reward involved in youth hockey and backyard rinks. The stories and reflections are both nostalgic and humorous, and many brought a smile as I remembered related experiences of my own, even though I have never played organized hockey. When I was growing up, we skated on outdoor rinks all winter long, and my dad usually maintained a backyard rink. My husband has played hockey all his life, and we are big hockey fans, so the lessons Falla learns and shares from his own hockey experiences resonated with me, as I'm sure they did with my husband when he read the book.

(#3 for the Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge)

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Recent Reads {A Christmas Garland}

I'm horribly behind on this blog - again. In an attempt to 'catch up' a little, I will do just brief entries on some of the books I read over the last couple months. And then try to mend my procrastinating ways. We'll see how that works out. ;-)

A Christmas Garland by Anne Perry - I thought I'd read all the Christmas novellas by Anne Perry, but this one was published in 2012 and I'd missed it. This one is set in India in 1857, after the tragic siege of Cawnpore. In the British garrison, a guard is killed and an Indian prisoner escapes, leading to more British deaths. The evidence and clues are slim and contradictory, and there are no witnesses, yet it seems a foregone conclusion that a British medical orderly, John Tallis, will be found guilty and executed as an accomplice to the crimes.  Lieutenant Victor Narraway is chosen to defend Tallis in the military court, but it's clear to him that he is expected to just go through the motions so that the case can be quickly concluded and all can feel that the deaths have been avenged. But Tallis hopelessly maintains his innocence, and Narraway stubbornly pursues true justice, knowing that he is the only hope for the accused man. The trial provides some tense courtroom drama, even in this quick read novella, and Narraway proves to be a canny detective who manages to find answers against great odds.

By the same author: A Christmas Homecoming, A Christmas Beginning, A Christmas Guest, A Christmas Odyssey

©2008-2014 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 {Patience}

I'm horribly behind on this blog - again. In an attempt to 'catch up' a little, I will do just brief entries on some of the books I read over the last couple months. And then try to mend my procrastinating ways. We'll see how that works out. ;-)

Patience by Lori Copeland - Having read the first trilogy in Copeland's 'Brides of the West' series, I thought it would be interesting to meet the brides in the second trilogy. This book is actually #6, or the third in the second trilogy. However, it does stand well on its own, with the references to Patience's friends Glory and Ruth, who have already married. The storyline here was entertaining but not very believable. At the beginning, Patience Smith is trying on another lady's wedding gown for measurements to be taken, but she's mistaken for the bride and kidnapped. But it isn't very long before an accident befalls her kidnapper and leaves her stranded in the mountains of Colorado. She stumbles upon an abandoned mining dugout and a lonely orphan, and promptly starts building herself a new life hoping to strike gold. Sheriff Jay Longer started looking for Patience shortly after her kidnapping, but she is already determined to stake her claim on the mine by the time he finds her. They enter into an uneasy partnership in working the mine, and inevitably grow to love each other as they overcome the various obstacles to the mine's success and their own happiness.

By the same author: Hope, Faith, June

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Recent Reads {A Morbid Taste for Bones}

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters - This has been on my to-read list for quite some time, and I chose it to read this past week because the mini-challenge at Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks was to read something set in the 12th century. Ironically, after I was almost finished, the anchor post included this very series as a suggestion.

The setting is the year 1137 in a Welsh mountain village. The monks of Shrewsbury Abbey have come to Gwytherin because they want to acquire the sacred remains of Saint Winifred to bring back to the abbey. Prior Robert is ambitious and vain, and frankly not very likable, and his insistence that the saint herself has requested that her relics be removed from the village are not well-received by the local people. When Rhisiart, the well-respected spokesman for the people of Gwytherin, is found shot dead with an arrow, Brother Cadfael (a native Welshman himself) is determined to find out who has committed murder. With the help of Rhisiart's daughter, Brother Cadfael starts to unravel the mystery, and undertakes to see the killer brought to justice, and avoid further scandal or ruin for the abbey or the people of Gwytherin - and for himself.

(#2 for the Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge)

©2008-2014 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 {Outlander}

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - This is a series that has been on my to-read list for a very long time, having been recommended by at least three friends. I finally had the perfect reading storm so I could read it - managed to grab it at the library at a time when I didn't have much else I was reading and had plenty of time to devote to reading. I actually finished the book on New Years Day, so I'm counting it as my first book read in 2014! I know - that's sort of cheating. 

Claire Beauchamp Randall is a former combat nurse in 1945, and she and her husband are on a second honeymoon in Inverness. While out on her own in the countryside, she inadvertently touches a boulder in an ancient stone circle and finds that she has gone back in time. She is now the English or Sassenach "outlander" in Scotland of 1743. Claire is thrust into the hostilities between England and Scotland leading up to the Jacobite rebellion, and finds that while the Scots she lives among don't necessarily trust her, she would be worse off with the English. To complicate matters, it is decided by the lairds that she must marry a young Scots warrior, Jamie Fraser. Difficult choices, intrigue, and danger from many sides keep the story moving briskly, and often keep Claire guessing what to expect next. During it all, the fierce and loyal love growing between her and Jamie leads them both to face incredible odds in order to protect each other and stay together.

(#1 for the Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge)

©2008-2014 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 {June}

I'm horribly behind on this blog - again. In an attempt to 'catch up' a little, I will do just brief entries on some of the books I read over the last couple months. And then try to mend my procrastinating ways. We'll see how that works out. ;-)

June by Lori Copeland - no sooner had I finished the other two books in this set, and I had to read the third sister's story as well. June is the youngest of the three girls who leave their Michigan hometown to become mail order brides in different parts of the country. June travels to Washington state planning to marry a young pastor. But nothing works out as planned - her fiance is very ill when she arrives, and dies before they can marry. June takes up his cause of raising money to build a tabernacle, while at the same time developing a love for the ministry of an orphanage run by her friend Samantha. The orphanage turns out to be the preferred beneficiary of her late fiance's best friend. June has to make some difficult choices and eventually finds happiness with a husband as well.

By the same author: Hope, Faith

©2008-2014 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 {Faith}

I'm horribly behind on this blog - again. In an attempt to 'catch up' a little, I will do just brief entries on some of the books I read over the last couple months. And then try to mend my procrastinating ways. We'll see how that works out. ;-)

Faith by Lori Copeland - I had read the third in this trilogy, Hope, in the fall, and wanted to find out what happened to Hope's sisters. Each of the books stands alone, but when the other sisters or characters are referred to, it's fun to know what happened to them. Faith is the oldest of the three sisters that leave their Michigan town to become mail order brides. Faith journeys to Texas to marry a wealthy rancher. Unfortunately, she's not sure how welcome she is as his bride - his widowed mother seems to resent her and find fault with everything she does, and circumstances force Nicholas and Faith to keep postponing the wedding ceremony. After numerous postponements, misunderstandings, and conflicts, Faith even moves out of the ranch-house and starts making plans to return to Michigan before all is resolved and she and Nicholas admit their growing love for each other. Happy endings all around!

By the same author: Hope

©2008-2014 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/