Monthly Bookshelf Review - August 2022

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

I really haven't done a lot of reading this summer, and in general I think I've slowed down my pace over the past year or so. Well, that may change as the new school year starts - or at least the focus of my reading may change. I'll be teaching a high school Literature class at our homeschool co-op again this year, so I'll need to make sure I'm reading the novels I'm assigning to my students!

August's Books Completed and Reviewed

The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart - A dual timeline story with Ava Laine apprenticing as a treasure hunter under her ailing father. They search for a secret Faberge Egg while in the historical timeline Faberge himself entrusts the egg to an artisan in his shop as Russia descends into the Bolshevik Revolution. (Read my full review HERE)

During August I started reading:

A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber - At a Twelfth Night party they are attending, Kiera and Gage open an investigation when a body is discovered.

The Bride of Blackfriars Lane by Michelle Griep - the continuing story of Kit Turner and Inspector Jackson Forge in Victorian London.

During August I continued reading:

Obedient Unto Death by Liisa Eyerly - Still working on this every now and again, even though it's dropped off my high priority list. Sabina is a first century Christian in Ephesus, and she is trying to find out more about a young scribe who was murdered - before the church leader is executed for a crime he didn't commit.

Coming Up in September!

Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain - first novel my Lit class will discuss

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 new school year is starting soon, and there's about a week left to take advantage of this great deal at one of the best homeschool resource and curriculum hubs ever! This is a one-stop website and resource for anyone considering homeschooling, or looking for new homeschooling curriculum. If you're ready to take the plunge, SchoolhouseTeachers.com has everything you need, including curriculum for all grade levels, record-keeping resources, and so many cool features! Pay only $199 for unlimited annual access to homeschooling materials, plus receive an additional year and a stylish new tote completely free. Use code: BOGO22 at SchoolhouseTeachers.com before the shark summer special ends.

Offer ends soon. New members only. Sorry, no refunds. Totes are available in US only.

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 - August 15, 2022

And on HS Coffee Break:

I Spy posts (#82-#86)

Five Minute Friday posts

Share Four Somethings - August 2022

A Signs and Skies PhotoJournal

Currently . . . August 8, 2022

Share Four Somethings - July 2022

July Photo Album

This post will be linked at the August 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 - You Are His People

The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws - that you will listen to him. And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.

~Deuteronomy 26:16-19~

<div style='width:100%;text-align:center;'> <span style='margin:5px;padding:5px;border-radius: 5px;border:1px solid lightgrey;display:inline-block;'><a rel=_nofollow href='https://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture%20and%20a%20Snapshot'> <img style='border: 1px solid gray;width:330px;height:330px;' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkEsmWJLn1f3VqhfaylcSn7IABJxDE4XrGPLFjO1V9xTM3ozVgjnerdCaVUqCwcRPIiwfqTfFqk4du0DK8acoLtyo-qFBOeBIKDwilTJVyIcRXpdYZC2QcFtMnVXKNk4Q1SLHMCX7SPU/s320/scripture+snapshot.jpg'><p style='align: center;'> </p> </a></span>

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.

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Click here to enter

©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 August 26, 2022

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

Jackson lunged forward - only to be yanked backwards in a chokehold with a blade pressed to his side, hard enough to hurt but not to draw blood. Not yet, anyway.

~from page 56 of The Bride of Blackfriars Lane by Michelle Griep

The Continuing Adventure of Jackson and Kit!

Detective Jackson Forge can hardly wait to marry the street-sly swindler who's turned his life upside down. Kit Turner is equally excited to wed the handsome detective, and what better way to show her love than providing him with a gift any man of the law would love? She determines to bring to justice the men who years ago maimed his brother - despite Jackson's warning to leave the past in the past. As she digs into the mystery of what happened, she unwittingly tumbles into her own history and endangers her future happiness with Jackson.

 

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.

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London 1885

September afternoons were meant for soft whispers and stolen kisses, not ash and soot and the gangrenous eye of a ruthless taskmaster. Yet here he was. Somehow cajoled into hours of sweat and toil by the blue-eyed beguiler next to him.

~From the beginning of The Bride of Blackfriars Lane by Michelle Griep

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.

 ©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 - Your Mercy

Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;

may your mercy come quickly to meet us,

for we are in desperate need.

Help us, God our Savior, 

for the glory of your name;

deliver us and forgive our sins

for your name's sake.

~Psalm 79:8-9~

<div style='width:100%;text-align:center;'> <span style='margin:5px;padding:5px;border-radius: 5px;border:1px solid lightgrey;display:inline-block;'><a rel=_nofollow href='https://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture%20and%20a%20Snapshot'> <img style='border: 1px solid gray;width:330px;height:330px;' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkEsmWJLn1f3VqhfaylcSn7IABJxDE4XrGPLFjO1V9xTM3ozVgjnerdCaVUqCwcRPIiwfqTfFqk4du0DK8acoLtyo-qFBOeBIKDwilTJVyIcRXpdYZC2QcFtMnVXKNk4Q1SLHMCX7SPU/s320/scripture+snapshot.jpg'><p style='align: center;'> </p> </a></span>

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.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

©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 - August 15, 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. Here's what I've been working on lately.

I finished reading . . . 

The Heart of the Mountains by Pepper Basham - Englishwoman Cora joins her brother in the Blue Ridge Mountains to offer her nursing skills, and meets Jeb McAdams, who has recently returned from the Great War. (Read my full review HERE)

The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart - A dual timeline story with Ava on an international treasure hunt for a previously unknown Faberge Egg, while the historical timeline follows Faberge and his family and employees as revolution grips Russia. (Read my full review HERE)

I'm currently reading . . .

A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage are invited to a Twelfth Night house party which ends in tragedy, and they hunt for the murderer despite Kiera's advancing pregnancy.

Obedient Unto Death by Liisa Eyerly  - Sabina, a young Christian woman in first century Ephesus hopes to solve a murder before one of her friends is executed for the crime, and without putting the innocent members of their church in danger.

Next on the stack . . . still working on getting caught up on the upcoming reads!

The Bride of Blackfriars Lane by Michelle Griep

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 . . . With a new school year starting soon, I want to highlight this fantastic website and resource for anyone considering homeschooling, or looking for new homeschooling curriculum. If you're ready to take the plunge, SchoolhouseTeachers.com has everything you need, including curriculum for all grade levels, record-keeping resources, and so many cool features! Pay only $199 for unlimited annual access to homeschooling materials, plus receive an additional year and a stylish new tote completely free. Use code: BOGO22 at SchoolhouseTeachers.com before the shark summer special ends.

Offer ends soon. New members only. Sorry, no refunds. Totes are available in US only.

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 - July 2022

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

I Spy posts (#81-#84)

Currently . . . August 8, 2022

Five Minute Friday - Together

Five Minute Friday - Be

Share Four Somethings - July 2022

July Photo Album

Five Minute Friday - Chance

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.

Scripture and a Snapshot - By His Wisdom

But God made the earth by his power;

he founded the world by his wisdom

and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

~Jeremiah 10:12-13~

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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.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

©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.

Recent Reads - The Master Craftsman

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

The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart - This dual timeline story combines a modern treasure hunt with a historical drama, with a bit of suspense and a hint of romance thrown in. In the historical timeline, the story follows the great Peter Karl Fabergé. Having risen to fame and success as a jeweler for the imperial tsar of Russia, he finds himself with divided loyalties as unrest pushes Russia closer to the Bolsehvik Revolution. Fabergé has supplied the beautiful jeweled Easter Eggs to the tsar's family for years, but now he secretly creates an Egg to express his dual allegiance. As the danger mounts, he entrusts the secret of the Egg to a trusted master craftsman in his business, Alma Pihl, and asks her to keep the secret safe when she escapes to her native Finland.

In the present-day timeline, Ava Laine finds herself intrigued by the possibility of helping her estranged father complete one last treasure hunt. The great treasure hunter Nick Laine is bedridden and when Ava and her mother go to see him, Ava volunteers to be his 'padawan' or apprentice to find a mysterious Fabergé egg. Her mother Carol and her friend Zak join the team and they head to Russia to track down the clues. In St Petersburg, they connect with two trusted contacts of Nick's and begin the hunt.

The two story lines unfold in alternating chapters, with the historical story following Fabergé, his wife Augusta, and Alma; and the present day story focusing on Ava. The suspense builds as Ava and her team follow the few leads they have, but relying more on Ava's instincts as the days go by. Then when everything in the hunt goes wrong, Ava finds herself in greater danger than she thought possible, and must decide who she can trust in a race for her life and to find the missing Fabergé egg.

This story took some unexpected twists in both timelines, and the complex relationships and personal dilemmas kept me turning pages, as did the rich background of historical context of the Fabergé eggs.

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2022 European Reading Challenge

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This is a book set on at least two continents (#12) 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.