Monthly Bookshelf Review - November 2022

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

When I did my October Bookshelf Review, I explained that I had shelved most of my reading (see what I did there?) because we were very busy with a family visit and with an upcoming move. I thought I might find time while during my time living temporarily in a hotel while we were house hunting, and I did, but it was more limited than I thought. And other than that week, the entire month has been consumed by everything related to planning, packing, moving, and now unpacking. 

November's Books Completed and Reviewed

Mary by Shannon McNear - The Roanoke colonists go to live with a friendly native group, and the friendship between young Georgie Howe and Manteo's daughter Mushaniq grows and faces challenges as both grow up. (Read my full review HERE)

During November I started reading:

Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder - Ella Pemberton poses as a governess to get into the home of Lord Sedgwick, hoping to find proof of his guilt in the death of her sister. But is it possible that her heart will soften towards him as she finds out more, and gets to know her young nephew?

During November I continued reading:

A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber - I really didn't continue reading much, because of the busy-ness but it's still there for me to read a page or two sometimes, and I will finish it when I have time again.

Coming Up in December!

The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West - I was going to read this with the Lit class, even though I'm not the tutor any more. I bet they're just about finished with it now, and I haven't even started. It was a favorite of mine so I think I'll still try to read it.

Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

   

   

What I'm Highlighting . . . yesterday's Share Four Somethings post for November is a summary of all that's been happening with our move, so I'll highlight it as explanation!

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 - November 15, 2022

And on HS Coffee Break:

I Spy posts (#96-#99)

Five Minute Friday posts

Share Four Somethings - November 2022

Remembrance Day ~ Veterans Day

Currently . . . November 3, 2022

October Photo Album

This post will be linked at the November 2022 Monthly Wrap-Up Round-up Link-up and Giveaway hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction.

©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 - Just As He Promised (Advent: Hope)

Send me your light and your faithful care,

let them lead me;

let them bring me to your holy mountain,

to the place where you dwell.

Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,

my Saviour and my God.

~Psalm 43:3, 5~

And Mary said:

"My soul glorifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,

for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me -

holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things

but as sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever,

just as he promised our ancestors."

~Luke 1:46-55~

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 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 - Faithful In All He Does

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.

The LORD is good to all;

he has compassion on all he has made.

All your works praise you, LORD;

your faithful people extol you.

They tell of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might,

so that all people may know of your mighty acts

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures through all generations.

The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises

and faithful in all he does.

The LORD upholds all who fall

and lifts up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the proper time.

You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and faithful in all he does.

The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

~Psalm 145:8-19~

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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 November 18, 2022

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

What was it about her that bemused him so? She was familiar yet strange to him, in likeness to a dream that comes and goes, leaving only faint impressions of remembrance.

~from page 56 of Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder 

   

(Full review coming soon!)

Will Seeking Justice Lead to Her Own Demise?

A Gothic-Style Regency Romance from a Promising Young Author

Second daughter of a baron - and a little on the mischievous side - Ella Pemberton is no governess. But the pretense is a necessity if she ever wishes to get inside of Wyckhorn Manor and attain the truth. Explosing the man who killed her sister is all that matters.

Lord Sedgewick knows there's blood on his hands. Lies have been conceived, then more more lies, but the price of truth would be too great. All he has left now is his son - and his hatred. Yet as the charming governess invades his home, his safe cocoon of bitterness begins to tear away.

Could Ella, despite the lingering questions of his guilt, fall in love with such a man? Or is she falling prey to him - just as her dead sister?

 

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.

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

Insanity. Over and over, the word catapulted through Ella Pemberton's mind, as loud and jolting as the hard-seated stagecoach. This is insanity.

More than that, it was a mistake. She ought to know. After all, hadn't she told her father countless times there was no purpose, that he was only torturing a soul already battered, that they needed him home more than anything else in the world?

~From the beginning of Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder 

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.

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

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.

 

What I'm Reading - November 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've been super distracted from reading, since my parents were here for a bit more than two weeks, and during the past month we've also been on a job search and then packing and preparing for a move. Needless to say, I haven't had a lot of time to read!

I finished reading . . . 

Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain - I finished this just before my last update but hadn't posted a review of this classic American novel of irony and assumed identities. (Read my full review HERE)

Mary by Shannon McNear - A young Englishman and the daughter of a native American develop a friendship that turns into love as the Roanoke colonists and their native American allies join their communities. (Read my full review HERE)

   

I'm currently reading . . .

A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber - Someday I will finish this Lady Darby mystery! Kiera and Gage hunt down answers after a body is discovered at a Twelfth Night party. Believe it or not, I'm STILL reading.

Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder - Now I need to get going on this review novel so I can get caught up! Ella Pemberton poses as a governess to find the truth about her sister's death.

Next on the stack . . . I've whittled down the list a bit, since I had to give up teaching Literature at the co-op.

The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West (This is a Lit class book that I no longer have to read, but want to, because I enjoyed it so much last time!)

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber

   

     

What I'm Highlighting . . . We recently recognized Remembrance Day and Veterans Day, and so I'm highlighting my HS Coffee Break post with some info about both commemorations.  

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

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

I Spy posts (#93-#97)

Five Minute Friday - Extreme

Remembrance Day ~ Veterans Day

Five Minute Friday - Perform

Currently . . . November 3, 2022

October Photo Album

Share Four Somethings - October 2022

Five Minute Friday - While

Five Minute Friday - Testimony

High School Writing Tip Sheets - Point of View

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.

Recent Reads - Mary

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

Mary by Shannon McNear  - Some of the most intriguing questions in American history swirl around the lost Roanake colony. What happened to the English settlers there? In this novel author Shannon McNear explores the possibilities that the English and some of the natives in the area lived in a partnered community that moved inland. Georgie Howe is the son of a settler killed by native warriors almost as soon as the English arrived at Roanoac Island. While still a boy dealing with the loss and trying to find his place in the fledgling colony, he develops a tentative friendship with the young daughter of Manteo, one of their native allies. 

Mushaniq is interested in the strange manners and dress of the Inqutush and is persuaded by her father Manteo to start learning their language, and as she does she finds a friend in Georgie. But while most of her people choose to accept the Inqutush religion and are baptized, Mushaniq holds back and remains skeptical. Her friendship with Georgie grows, and when native warriors take Elinor Dare and others captive, Mushiniq and Georgie take a great deal of the responsibility for Elinor's little daughter Virginia. 

As the two get older, their friendship becomes love, but they face obstacles from both their peoples when they decide they want to marry. The natives will not accept Georgie unless he proves himself a man by their coming-of-age tradition, and the English believe that Mushaniq must profess faith in their God and be baptized. Mushaniq resists and struggles with questions about the spiritual, even while Georgie prepares to participate in the huskanaw. The two find unexpected supporters and mentors in the community, and both grow in maturity and courage as they face their fears and obey the call of God.

This is an exciting and dramatic, yet surprisingly believable tale woven around historical events and researched speculation about the Roanake colony. The narrative is dense with characters, and keeping track of all of them was a challenge at the beginning of the story. The point of view character switches often, which takes some getting used to as well, but the switches are generally made very clear. The main characters are well developed and the struggles Mushaniq faces seem very real as she wrestles with spiritual questions and to make sense of the cultural differences between her people and Georgie's. Although Georgie does have to deal with his own father's death, that issue seems very much in the background, and that is perhaps the only thing that didn't quite ring true.

This is a follow-up to the novel Elinor, which is first in this series, but can stand alone well.

From the publisher:

Worlds Collide Along the Shores of the Outer Banks

Immerse yourself in the "what if" questions related to the Lost Colony of Roanoke. What if an English boy and a native girl met in the wilderness? The push-and-pull between two very different worlds begins as one seeks simple friendship and the other struggles to trust. And can it - dare they - allow it to be more?

Sparks fly between Mushaniq, free-spirited daughter of Manteo, and Georgie Howe, whose father was brutally murdered by undiscovered native warriors before they'd been on Roanoac Island a full week. As Georgie struggles to make sense of his life and to accept that not all they call "savage" are guilty of his father's death, Mushaniq grapples with her own questions about who Manteo has become. As tentative friendship becomes more, forged in the fire of calamity and attack upon their community, both must decide whether the One True God is indeed who He claims to be and whether He is worthy of their trust.

Author Shannon McNear portrays history with vivid authenticity.

Visit Barbour Publishing for more info on where to buy.

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

By the same author: The Rebel Bride

This is a book that includes a map (#27) 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 - While You Have The Light

Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light."

Then Jesus cried out, "Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."

~John 12:35-36, 44-46~

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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.

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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.

Scripture and a Snapshot - I Believe

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Lord," she replied, "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

~John 11:25-27~

Let's just take a moment to appreciate this bold and insightful declaration of faith from Martha. She knew who Jesus was, and despite her pain and grief at the death of her brother, she confessed her belief that their dear friend Jesus was the very Son of God and the promised Messiah.

<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.

Monthly Bookshelf Review - October 2022

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

Few of my reading plans have been going as expected over the past couple months for various reasons. I'm behind in pretty much everything related to reading and blogging. However, in a couple weeks, it's quite possible I'll have the time to get caught up as we're planning a move and once the craziness of the next couple weeks is past, I wonder if I'll be able to fill some time in a temporary home until we find a house or apartment that I need to set up. In the meantime, here's my progress report.

October's Books Completed and Reviewed

Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain - A tale of ironies, switched identities, deception, and misunderstandings. This was the first novel studied in the high school Lit class I teach. (Read my full review HERE)

During October I started reading:

Mary by Shannon McNear - one of the English boys from the lost colony of Roanoke becomes friends with a native girl, and the two grow up together and learn about trust and understanding as the English colonists try to build a new life.

War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells - This novel of a Martian invasion is one of the earliest in the sci-fi genre, and is the second novel studied in our high school Lit course. I should have finished it already but I'm still working on it!

During October I continued reading:

A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber - No, I still haven't finished it. How embarrassing. Like I said, way too much going on in my world right now and I'm not reading much.

Coming Up in November!

Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder

The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West

Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

   

   

What I'm Highlighting . . . Despite the busy-ness and all that is going on around here, I do try to join in with Five Minute Friday each week. This is my most recent effort: Five Minute Friday - While.

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 - October 10, 2022

And on HS Coffee Break:

I Spy posts (#91-#95)

Five Minute Friday posts

Share Four Somethings - October 2022

High School Writing Tip Sheets - Point of View

Currently . . . October 5, 2022

September Photo Album

Share Four Somethings - September 2022

This post will be linked at the October 2022 Monthly Wrap-Up Round-up Link-up and Giveaway hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction.

©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.