Just A Second: March 2020

Monday, March 30

Monthly Bookshelf Review - March 2020

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

Although I've had time to do a bit more reading recently, I felt a bit rushed getting my monthly bookshelf review ready, so I skipped adding the teaser quotes from the books this time around.

March's Books Completed and Reviewed

The Curse of the Healing Kiss by Mark McClelland - a love story told in the style of an old French fairy tale. A good read, but an unsatisfying ending in my opinion. (Read my full review HERE)

From Sky to Sky by Amanda G. Stevens - in the follow-up to No Less Days, Zac Wilson finds his ideas about faith and justice challenged when he and his fellow longevites find two more of their kind. (Read my full review HERE)

Sojourner Truth: All Men (and Women) are Created Equal - an easy-read chapter book style biography of the famous abolitionist and champion of women's rights. (Read my full review HERE)

Lady of Secrets by G.S. Carr - an interesting story premise featuring a strong free black woman during the Civil War. Her growing friendship and potential romance with a poor Irishman is met with many challenges. (Read my full review HERE)

The color of their skin, the beliefs of many of their fellow countrymen, and the laws of their country hadn't changed. All those things stood in opposition to their union, so what could they really hope for?

The Next Always by Nora Roberts - The restoration and grand opening of an historic inn is the backdrop for the romance and drama between architect Beckett and the young widow Clare. (Read my full review HERE)

She gave the inn a last glance as she drove away. The place had been there for over two centuries, she mused. And somehow it was changing everything.

During March I started reading:

The Chisholm Trail Bride by Kathleen Y'Barbo - The latest release in the Daughters of the Mayflower series.

The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep - I actually just finished this last night - it was a page-turner! An opera singer flees to a lonely part of England, but realizes she may need to face down her past after taking in an injured man who has escaped Dartmoor Prison and hears his story of wrongful imprisonment.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - finally reading this classic as I'm teaching a high school literature class.

During March I continued reading:

Until the Mountains Fall by Connilyn Cossette - As a childless widow, Rivkah is expected to marry her late husband's brother Malakhi, but she resents the Hebrew custom and keeps looking for a way to avoid the wedding.

Coming Up in April!

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn
Claiming Mariah by Pam Hillman

On my blogs recently . . .

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

Scripture and a Snapshot - A Kind Word
Share Four Somethings - March 2020
Scripture and a Snapshot - Keep Me
Connect Five Friday - Nurses and Doctors
Wordless Wednesday - Signs of Spring
Scripture and a Snapshot - Steadfast
Connect Five Friday - Ireland
Wordless Wednesday - Morning View

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Five Minute Friday - Adjust
March Photo Album
Clear
Homeschool Highlights - Social Distancing Edition
Five Minute Friday - Tomorrow
Twenty-Six Lists - You're Doing a Good Job!
Suddenly Homeschooling - Pro Tips - Establishing a New Normal
Mystery
Coffee Break Reading List (March 16, 2020)
Five Minute Friday - Less
After
Plan
Send
Five Minute Friday - Table
Twenty-Six Lists - I Love a Good Story!
Today
Coffee Break Reading List (March 2, 2020)
Five Minute Friday - Before
Homeschool Highlights Moves To a New Home
February Photo Album
Fasnacht Day

What I'm Highlighting . . . My friends that read Just A Second are invited to join me at Homeschool Coffee Break for the Twenty-Six Lists link-up. It's every other week and the list prompts are for everyone, not just homeschoolers.

This post will be linked at the March 2020 Wrap-Up Roundup and Giveaway hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction.

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.

Saturday, March 28

Scripture and a Snapshot - A Kind Word

Anxiety weighs down the heart,

but a kind word cheers it up.

~Proverbs 12:25~

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea's Photos 'n Scribbles; and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

©2008-2020 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.

Friday, March 27

Share Four Somethings - March 2020

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

Talk about a crazy month, right?! Things are changing by the moment, it seems. Today I'm getting a chance to take a bit of a breather and reflect a bit on the month for Share Four Somethings.

Something Loved

For quite some time, the Wednesday evening Bible study group I've attended has been using podcasts and videos from The Bible Project as a guide for our scripture reading and discussions. These guys are great. Their podcasts dig deep into books of the Bible and topical studies and while the speakers and co-founders are both top Biblical scholars, their conversation makes everything easy to understand. There are also cleverly animated videos that condense the teaching into short clips; and Bible reading and study plans available. And now, with so many churches meeting virtually and in need of resources, The Bible Project has an e-newsletter and lots of help available. The podcasts and video resources are all free, because The Bible Project is a non-profit and is donor supported.

Something Read

I completed three books in March. You can see more about my reading in my Monthly Bookshelf Review for March 2020, which will be posted in the next couple of days.

The Next Always by Nora Roberts
Lady of Secrets by G.S. Carr
From Sky to Sky by Amanda G. Stevens

Something Treasured

During these days when businesses are closed, people are laid off or working from home, schools and colleges are conducting all classes online, and churches and even small gatherings aren't allowed, I think we are realizing how much we've taken for granted and what we really need. Humans are social and relational beings, and our God has designed us that way. So we are treasuring the communication technologies we have that allow us to remain connected to community even when we are not meeting face to face or in large groups. Social media and phones are how we're staying in contact with family and friends. Video, live-streams, and all kinds of video conferencing are how we're doing church and school. What a blessing! Is it perfect? Of course not, but we have not been cut off from all contact, and for that we are so grateful!

I'm always thankful for my family and close friends, but now more than ever, I am treasuring these people, and the fact that even in our slightly crowded household, we all get along and enjoy each other's company.

Something Ahead

Our homeschool co-op is not meeting for classes, and that means I need to finish out the year teaching my classes remotely. I do try to keep up somewhat with media technology, but we have never had (or wanted to have) a webcam, so I'm not familiar or comfortable with tools like Zoom video conferencing. So I don't know whether I'll use that or Google Classroom or something else for my classes, but no matter which platform I choose, I'm expecting a steep learning curve for ME and I'm a bit scared.

This post will be linked at Share Four Somethings hosted by HeatherGerwing.com

Thursday, March 26

Recent Reads - The Next Always

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

The Next Always by Nora Roberts - The setting is Boonsboro, Maryland - not very far from where I live - and author Nora Roberts is also local, so I chose this novel for part of a Reading Challenge to read a book by a local author. Believe it or not, I've never read anything by Nora Roberts before, and since she writes contemporary romance, it's not exactly my preferred genre either. But I was very pleasantly surprised in many ways!

The three Montgomery brothers - Beckett, Ryder, and Owen - have pooled their various building skills to restore an historic hotel in Boonsboro. Beckett is the architect and in charge of all those logistics in the project. He's also very interested in the young widow that runs the bookstore across the square from the inn. Clare Brewster was a schoolmate of Beckett's, and he's had a thing for her all along. But she married someone else and had three sons before her soldier husband was killed. Clare has built a new life for herself and her boys back in her hometown, but just maybe she's ready to love again.

The development of the inn and its grand opening is the backdrop to the drama that unfolds as Beckett and Clare explore the possibilities of their new relationship, and many other small town dramas as well. Beckett claims the inn has its own ghost, Clare's friends Avery and Hope are major players in the relationship and building projects, and Clare and Beckett also need to figure out how to handle another old schoolmate - the entitled guy that thinks Clare is the woman for him, whether she agrees or not.

A lot of the interest for me was the fact that I'm familiar enough with Boonsboro and area to recognize the features of the town that are mentioned. The inn, the restaurant where Avery works, and the Turn The Page bookstore are real!

The characters are interesting, believable, and likable. I was rooting for both Beckett and Clare as soon as I met them, and enjoyed the realistic banter and arguing between the brothers. The relationship moved along quickly, predictable in that they clearly belonged together, but some twists as they realized that and overcame the obstacles. The Montgomery brothers are past the age where their mother can wash their mouths out with soap, and it shows in the language they use. Lots of f-bombs and some vulgar terms. I don't like it, but it's actually pretty realistic. There are also a couple of bedroom scenes that more graphic than what I think is appropriate, but short enough to skim past if you're like me and don't need the description.

This is a book by a local author for the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge.

Monday, March 23

Recent Reads - Lady of Secrets

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

Lady of Secrets by G.S. Carr - Henrietta Wright is a teacher in New York - and she's also a Free Colored woman from a family of some means. She teaches reading and writing, and her students include colored men and women and immigrants. One immigrant in particular, Irishman Elijah Byrne, has captured her attention, even though she knows she shouldn't be interested in him. After all, he's poor and beneath her station, and besides, she's expected to marry a man from her own community - a wealthy Free Colored man.

Elijah is fascinated by the beautiful teacher, and manages to build a respectful friendship with her when he winds up being employed by her family. As their friendship blooms, the lines between their stations are blurred, and they both begin to dream of the possibility of more.

As the Civil War heats up, and after a rash promise to her friends, Henrietta tries to get her uncle to allow her to join the Union war effort using her skills at ciphers and codes. She thinks she has passed his test for her, but when she is endangered by racially motivated violence, her uncle refuses to have her involved or even to act on information she has from a contact. Henrietta takes matters into her own hands after her mother steps in and issues an ultimatum sending Elijah away and forcing Henrietta into accepting another man's proposal.

This story has a fantastic premise - a strong free black woman during the Civil War, and exploring the complicated social dilemmas faced by free blacks, immigrants, and others during this time. However, the elements of espionage and intrigue in the publisher's description are not prominent in the storyline. The time jumps, especially early in the story, skip development of the characters and their relationships, and leave out some story development, and there are gaps in the plot development. The story opens with Henrietta teaching the class and introduces the attraction between her and Elijah, and the jealous reaction of Matthew, her intended. Then there's a significant time jump and the story picks up with Elijah working as a servant to her family. The drunken vow between Henrietta and her friends to help with the war effort is vague and contrived, and her attempts to get involved and the motivation to continue weren't developed as well as I would have liked.

I also felt that in the early chapters, the creative descriptive language was overdone and dragged the story. So many paragraphs devoted to inventive ways of describing the heat in the classroom, and many little details that weren't important made the plot seem sluggish. Once things finally got moving, after the time jump, the narration was more natural and better focused on characters than on setting. Overall, a decent light romance with interesting characters and setting, and enjoyable despite the bumpy beginning and several small editorial misses.

From the publisher:

Her secret mission. A country divided. His impossible love.

Henrietta Wright is a Free Colored woman who teaches reading and writing to anyone who enters her classroom. At least she was, until a drunken night with friends catapults her down a path of intrigue, coded messages, and intelligence operations. All in service of the Union Army. She can't tell anyone what she's doing, including the handsome Irishman she knows she shouldn't want, but can't seem to resist.

Since stepping onto American soil, Elijah Byrne's only goal has been to survive another day. That is until Henrietta burst into his life and made him want more. She was never meant to be his - her fiance can attest to that - but she makes him long for things men like him aren't lucky enough to have. When she asks for his help, he can't resist tumbling with her into a clandestine expedition that could cost them everything--including their lives.

Saturday, March 21

Scripture and a Snapshot - Keep Me

I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;

turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.

Show me the wonders of your great love,

you who save by your right hand

those who take refuge in you from their foes.

Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings.

~Psalm 17:6-8~

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea's Photos 'n Scribbles; and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

Friday, March 20

Connect Five Friday - Nurses and Doctors

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

The Friday Five Link Up is a List Link Up hosted by The Book Date. It can be five connections of any kind. Books can have been read last year or any year. Books can be used more than once. They may not have been read yet. . . It can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Maybe it's not a list of actual books, but things connected to books - e.g. favourite book shops, recipes etc. It might even be five movies related to books or five poems or five poets or five bookish moments, five thoughts about reading - be creative! The link-up will be open each Friday and will close on Thursday. Use the hashtag #connect5books

With the world focused on the coronavirus pandemic, I think we owe our health care professionals a great deal of thanks for the heroic and selfless work they do. Today I picked five books from my reviews that feature a nurse or doctor as a lead character.

The Rebel Bride by Shannon McNear - Loyal Confederate Pearl MacFarlane is pressed into serving as a nurse when wounded Union soldiers are brought to her modest farmhouse and it's turned into a field hospital.

To the Farthest Shores by Elizabeth Camden - It's been six years since army nurse Jenny Bennett last heard from Ryan Gallagher, so she is shocked to see him living on the Presidio Army Base. The unpredictability of her upbringing prepared her to face any challenge at the base, but the sudden reappearance in her life of the dashing naval officer who broke her heart is enough to rattle even her.

My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge: Laurel's Dream by Pepper Basham - Laurel McAdams has grown up in a remote community in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the living conditions are primitive, money is scarce, and things don't change. But she has a boundless optimism and love for learning, and her dream is to go to college and become a teacher. Jonathan Taylor arrives in the mountains to teach upper grades in the two-room schoolhouse. He courageously faces the opposition of some parents and the unfamiliar ways of the mountains, but wonders if he should return to his first dream of becoming a doctor, since the medical training he already has is needed in the community.

A Daring Venture by Elizabeth Camden - Dr. Rosalind Werner worked hard and sacrificed to become a biochemist, and has dedicated her life to find a way to stop the spread of waterborne diseases. She and a colleague have been testing the use of chlorine to purify water, but they have a hard battle to convince the public - and a judge in a landmark court case - that their technology is effective and safe.

Ladies of Intrigue by Michelle Griep - It is a collection of three novellas by Michelle Griep. All three are set in the 19th century, but the themes and settings vary. The second story, The Doctor's Woman, is set in the American west. Emmy Nelson is the daughter of a missionary doctor, and has learned a great deal about medicine as his assistant. With his passing, Emmy is asked to take his place at the nearby fort, at least until the doctor from the east arrives. Dr James Clark arrives almost at the same time, and the two must work side-by-side during the busy time of the Dakota Uprising. And as one expects, they also fall in love, but how will that work out when Dr Clark receives word that he's been accepted to a prestigious medical position back East?

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Monday, March 30

Saturday, March 28

Friday, March 27

Thursday, March 26

Monday, March 23

Saturday, March 21

Friday, March 20