Monthly Bookshelf Review - May 2022

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May's Books Completed and Reviewed

A Promise Engraved by Liz Tolsma - A dual timeline story set in San Antonio. In 1836, Josie Wilkins is motivated by a painful secret to help defend Texas as events lead towards the Battle of the Alamo. In the present day timeline, Kayleigh Hewland tracks down the history of a cats eye ring that was her mother's. The ring is what connects the two stories. (Read my full review HERE)

Recitatif: A Story by Toni Morrison - Morrison's only published short story is about two women's interactions over the years - one is black and the other is white. Racial identity is very important to both of them, but the reader is never told which is which. (Read my full review HERE)

During May I started reading:

Obedient Unto Death by Liisa Eyerly - after a young scribe is murdered during a meeting of her church, Sabina searches for information about the real killer in hopes of preventing an innocent man from being executed. I had hoped to be able to post a review by last week, but life got in the way and I had to ask for an extension on my review. It's still coming!

During May I continued reading:

An Artless Demise (A Lady Darby Mystery) by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage are back in London and start investigating a murder case that may be related to the resurrectionists recently terrorizing the city. With Kiera's past looming over them, they are in very real danger. Slow going on this book because as I mentioned above, I've had a lot keeping me busy and haven't been able to read much.

Coming Up in June (or maybe July)!

Season Of My Enemy by Naomi Musch (review book so it will be priority)

The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart (library book so it will be second on the priority list)

And these that I leave on the list because they really are next in my mind, but they keep getting bumped in favor of review books:

Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber

An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn

All That's Fair by Amanda G. Stevens

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

    

      

     

What I'm Highlighting . . . The current sale at SchoolhouseTeachers.com has been extended through today, so you may want to check that out:

If you are interested in finding more about the growing homeschool movement, mark your calendar for June 7th when The Old Schoolhouse Magazine interviews Kirk Cameron live about his project The Homeschool Awakening.

On my blogs recently . . . 

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

Scripture and a Snapshot posts

Friday Fun posts - The Friday 56 and First Lines

What I'm Reading - May 9, 2022

And on HS Coffee Break:

I Spy posts (#69-#73)

Five Minute Friday posts

Share Four Somethings - April 2022

April Photo Album

This post will be linked at the May 2022 Monthly Wrap-Up Round-up Link-up and Giveaway hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction; and at the weekly reading list meme hosted at Book Date.

 

©2008-2022 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.

  

Scripture and a Snapshot - But Who Am I

David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

Praise be to you, LORD,

the God of our father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,

for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, LORD, is the kingdom;

you are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you;

you are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power

to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks,

and praise your glorious name.

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously, as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

~I Chronicles 29:10-14~

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Scripture and a Snapshot - On A Rock

I waited patiently for the LORD;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear the LORD

and put their trust in him.

Many, LORD my God,

are the wonders you have done,

the things you planned for us.

None can compare with you;

were I to speak and tell of your deeds,

they would be too many to declare.

Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD;

may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

For troubles without number surround me;

my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

and my heart fails within me.

Be pleased to save me, LORD;

come quickly, LORD, to help me.

~Psalm 40:1-3, 5, 11-13~

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Recent Reads - A Promise Engraved

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

A Promise Engraved by Liz Tolsma - In 1836, Josie Wilkins wants to do her part to defend her Texas home and family from the attacks of General Santa Anna's army. She is a very good spy, and is courageous and determined. Her father and stepmother are reluctant to let Josie act as messenger to Stephen Austin, but her personal experience of losing her mother and sister to invading Mexicans drives her on. Josie also has a very dark secret that motivates her, one that brings nightmares and anxiety, and one that she is afraid to share with John Gilbert, the town's preacher.

In modern day San Antonio, Kayleigh Hewland finds a cats eye ring at a flea market that catches her eye, and purchasing it seems to set off a series of dangerous events. Kayleigh believes the ring could be the same one taken from her own mother years ago and could be a key to understanding her past. She seeks the help of Brandon, a jewelry appraiser, to decipher a mysterious inscription inside the band of the ring, and the partnership leads towards a relationship.

The cats-eye ring is what connects the stories across the years. Both young women value the ring because it's been passed down through their family and to each of them it holds powerful memories of their mother and represents a tie to their past, even as they both deal with the painful parts of their past. In both timelines, someone else is trying to wrest the ring from them, so it really is a center of the conflicts. 

Josie's story involves the Alamo, so that historical event is explored, giving a young woman's perspective to the tragedy. And Kayleigh's career and personal history involve the modern day immigration crisis at the US-Mexico border. I enjoyed the settings and background, and the perspectives of both characters - the portrayal of the events leading up to the Battle of the Alamo, some ideas about what it may have been like inside the mission for the few women that were there and survived, and a gentle reminder of the very real problems of children being brought across the southern border illegally and the dilemmas they face.

From the Publisher:

Can Promises Made in Times of Struggle Endure 200 Years?

Visit historic American landmarks through the Doors to the Past series. History and today collide in stories full of mystery, intrigue, faith, and romance.

Young, spirited Josie Wilkins' life is about to take a turn when faced with political turmoil and secret love in San Antonio of 1836. John Gilbert has won her heart, despite being a Protestant preacher who is forbidden to practice his faith in Texas. If he discovers the secrets of her painful past, he will never have anything to do with her. But then comes the Battle of the Alamo. Will either of them survive an epic battle for liberty to create a legacy of love?

Nearly 200 years later, Kayleigh Hewland takes breaks from her demanding job as a refugee coordinator working with Mexican migrants to attend flea markets where she has found a uniquely engraved ring that helps her discover who killed her parents. Enlisting the help of appraiser Brandon Mullins, they piece together a love story long forgotten. But will dangers linked to the ring end her own hopes for leaving a legacy built on hope, faith, and love?

Visit Barbour Publishing for more info on where to buy.

By the same author: The Silver Shadow, The Gold Digger, The Pink Bonnet, The Green Dress

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

This is a Five-Syllable Title (#15) for The 52 Book Club's 2022 Reading Challenge

#the52bookclub2022

©2008-2022 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.

Scripture and a Snapshot - Approach God's Throne

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

~Hebrews 4:14-16~

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©2008-2022 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 Fun - The Friday 56 and First Lines for May 13, 2022

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

The harbor lantern's flame flickered behind the two men blocking the entrance to the narrow alley. Black silhouettes of muscles and brawn quavered on the back street's crumbling brick wall like undulating cobras lured from the charmer's baskets at the market agora.

~From the beginning of Obedient Unto Death by Liisa Eyerly

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Murder, intrigue, and treachery in ancient Ephesus.

Sinister forces are at work to destroy the fledgling Christian faith in Ephesus, and Sabina is in their way.

A young scribe is murdered during a covert Christian worship service. Sabina, a member of this outlawed religion, can't believe a member of this new faith could be the killer. But when her Roman magistrate father arrests the church bishop for murder, she reluctantly admits all is not brotherly love and harmony among the faithful.

Racing to stop the bishop's imminent execution, Sabina plunges into the private world of the dead scribe, searching for proof of the bishop's innocence. Mystery, intrigue, and treachery meet her at every turn. Will she discover the truth in time, or will she be thrown in prison herself for her faith in Christ?

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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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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I'm skipping the Friday 56 this week rather than skip ahead to 56% in the book. 

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.

 ©2008-2022 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.

 

What I'm Reading - May 9, 2022

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

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 manage to post that often. I aim to post and link about once a month, although I sometimes link up my monthly summary as well. 

I finished reading . . . 

A Rose For The Resistance by Angela K. Couch - During WWII in occupied France, Rosalie reluctantly helps the resistance movement, thinking it will help keep her younger brother safe. A German soldier becomes an unexpected ally, and perhaps even a friend, but only if she decides she can fully trust him. (Read my full review HERE)

   

Price of a Rose by Byrd Nash - This is a fairy tale retelling, in which three sisters take over running Thorn Hall. Rose is especially interested in the gardens and believes she is close to ending the curse on Sir Griffin and his household. (Read my full review HERE)

Recitatif: A Story by Toni Morrison - This is a short story about two women and their interactions over the years. What's interesting about it is that Morrison purposefully created characters for whom racial identity was very important, but never lets readers know which woman is black and which is white. (Read my full review HERE)

I'm currently reading . . .

An Artless Demise (A Lady Darby Mystery) by Anna Lee Huber - No, I still haven't finished this one! Soon, though! Kiera and Gage are in London investigating a case involving body-snatchers and 'burkers' that terrorize the city and put Kiera in danger.

A Promise Engraved by Liz Tolsma -  In the 1830s, Josie is driven to find the child that was taken from her, and in the modern day story, Kayleigh is searching for answers about her birth family. A cats-eye ring that dates back to the Revolution is what ties the stories together.

Obedient Unto Death by Liisa Eyerly  - Just started this novel for review. It's about a young Christian woman during the early days of the Christian church in first century Ephesus. Sabina looks to solve a mystery before one of her friends is executed for the crime.

Next on the stack... 

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber

An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn

All That's Fair by Amanda G. Stevens

   

        

     

What I'm Highlighting . . . I haven't been blogging much lately, for a whole lot of reasons. Maybe this is a good time to highlight my April edition of Share Four Somethings at HS Coffee Break which mentions some of what is keeping me so busy! Or distracted. Whatever.

On my blogs recently . . . 

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

Scripture and a Snapshot posts

Friday Fun - The Friday 56 and First Lines posts

Monthly Bookshelf Review - April 2022

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

I Spy posts (#64-#70)

Five Minute Friday - Fast

Share Four Somethings - April 2022

April Photo Album

Five Minute Friday - Run

Five Minute Friday - Deny

What are you reading?

 ©2008-2022 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.