What I'm Reading - October 10, 2016

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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! I also link up with Tales of a Pee Dee Mama for D.E.A.R. Monday (Drop Everything And Read).

I finished reading . . .

The Pharaoh's Daughter: A Treasures of the Nile Novel by Mesu Andrews - I finished this yesterday, so my review will be posted later today, I hope! (Read my full review HERE.)




Caught in the Middle by Regina Jennings - I finished this one last weekend, but didn't get the review posted until a few days ago.  (Read my full review HERE.)

I'm currently reading . . .

The Captive Heart by Michelle Griep - got started on this Barbour Publishing book for review during the week, and it looks like it will be a good one!




Swept Away (Trouble in Texas) (Volume 1) by Mary Connealy - another quirky romance set in the old west.

Next on the stack... 

The Tea Planter's Wife: A Novel by Dinah Jefferies

The Reckoning (Legacy of the King's Pirates) (Volume 5) by MaryLu Tyndall
She Walks in Power (Protectors of the Spear Book 1) by MaryLu Tyndall

   

On my blogs last week . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Scripture and a Snapshot - Waterfalls
Recent Reads - Caught In the Middle

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Weekly - October Already! Edition
52 Lists #40 - My Daily Routine
Virtual Refrigerator - Past Doodles
Poetry Study from Everyday Education (Review)
From the High School Lesson Book - Rosh Hashanah

What are you reading?

©2008-2016 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/

Scripture and a Snapshot - Waterfalls

Deep calls to deep

in the roar of your waterfalls;

all your waves and breakers

have swept over me.

By day the LORD directs his love,

at night his song is with me --

a prayer to the God of my life.

~Psalm 42;7-8~

(Niagara Falls, Canada)

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.

Glimpses is hosted by Embracing Every Day, a lifestyle blog by Barbie Swihart.

©2008-2016 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 - Caught In the MIddle

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Caught in the Middle by Regina Jennings - Isn't this a cute cover? It caught my eye as I was roving the bookshelves at the library a couple weeks ago so I picked it up and thought it would make a good light read. The story features Nicholas Lovelace, a successful businessman in a small town in Texas, who is building a flourishing career by supplying lumber and other supplies to a railroad. While on his way home, his train is held up and Anne Tillerton comes to the rescue. Nick remembered Anne, a friend of his sister's, from years ago in his hometown, but she is an unusual character. Anne has been working as a buffalo hunter in Indian territory, and dresses the part. In fact, she tries to stay as far away from civilized society as she can.

Anne has gone to look for the cook that had abandoned the camp, but once she tracks her down, the woman abandons her child to Anne's care. Since Nick is the only person in town Anne knows - and he offered to help her - she turns to him to team up with her in order to find the child's father. But Anne forms a great affection for the little boy, and when efforts to locate his family seem fruitless, she determines that she will provide a stable home for him. And Nick and Anne are forming an unlikely partnership and warm relationship as well, but will Anne be able to overcome her troubled past and be able to trust Nick with her hurts and secrets?

Although my initial impression that this would be a bit of a romantic comedy wasn't far off the mark, it's a story that also touches on the plight of a young woman who was abused and friendless, and rejected by society; so there's an emotional tug as well. I thought it struck a comfortable balance which made it a fairly light-hearted romance with characters that had serious troubles and decisions to deal with, making it cozy but not shallow.

©2008-2016 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/

What I'm Reading - October 3, 2016

This post contains affiliate links. 

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! I also link up with Tales of a Pee Dee Mama for D.E.A.R. Monday (Drop Everything And Read).

I finished reading . . .

A Tapestry of Secrets by Sarah Loudin Thomas - I love this series so much, and hope to see more from this author in the future. This novel brings the family story full circle as it reveals Perla's full story alongside the story of her granddaughter Ella. (Read my full review HERE.)




Caught in the Middle by Regina Jennings - Just finished this on the weekend - a sweet and touching story of learning to love and trust again, but with enough humor to lighten the mood and make it an easy read. Look for my review to post soon!

I'm currently reading . . .

The Pharaoh's Daughter: A Treasures of the Nile Novel by Mesu Andrews - This is an amazing story, imagining who the Egyptian princess that adopted Moses might have been. Definitely a page-turner!

Swept Away (Trouble in Texas) (Volume 1) by Mary Connealy - this had been on my to-read list for so long, I knew it needed to be the next thing I started on my Kindle.

Next on the stack... 

The Captive Heart by Michelle Griep
The Reckoning (Legacy of the King's Pirates) (Volume 5) by MaryLu Tyndall
She Walks in Power (Protectors of the Spear Book 1) by MaryLu Tyndall

   

On my blogs last week . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Recent Reads - A Tapestry of Secrets
Scripture and a Snapshot - A Tree Planted
Bookshelf Review - September 2016
Wordless Wednesday - Welcome to Fire
Teaser Tuesday - A Tapestry of Secrets

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Weekly - Keep It Simple Edition
52 Lists #39 - My Wish List
Virtual Refrigerator - Coloring Fun
An Extraordinary Adventure in Ancient Egypt
From the High School Lesson Book - Schedule Adjustments

What are you reading?

©2008-2016 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 - A Tapestry of Secrets

This post contains affiliate links. 

A Tapestry of Secrets by Sarah Loudin Thomas - I've been following this beautiful family series, Appalachian Blessings, since the prequel novella two years ago. In that one, the young widow Delilah found love with Robert, the shopkeeper in Wise, West Virginia, shortly after WWII. Miracle in a Dry Season, the first novel in the series, takes place several years later, when Perla Long comes to stay with her Aunt Delilah, bringing her little daughter Sadie with her. In that story, Perla eventually marries Casewell Phillips. Their son Henry is a main character in the second novel, Until the Harvest, as he copes with grief and tries to find purpose in his life. Now, in A Tapestry of Secrets, we come full circle, as Ella Phillips, Henry's daughter and Perla's granddaughter, returns to Wise to help care for Perla after she suffers a stroke.

Perla has decided that it's time she reveals the full story of her own past to her daughter Sadie, and to Ella, in hopes that they will learn from her mistake and experience. Sadie needs to know the truth about her father, and Perla feels that Ella would benefit in her own search for love and a place of belonging by knowing her grandmother's failings. But Perla's strokes make communication almost impossible and she fears she has waited too long.

Ella is the main character, and her return to Wise reminds her of her dream to live and work close to her family's home and farm and the heritage and tradition she cherishes. It also brings her into contact with two men who seem to compete for her attention. With a failed relationship fresh in her mind, she worries about her own judgment and if she's ready to trust either of them. At the same time, there's a drama unfolding in the town as a new developer comes in and may be wanting to buy the property that the community's little church sits on. Ella struggles with that possibility as the church means so much to her family and is tied up with her memories and heritage.

The stories of the two women unfold as Perla remembers the summer she met Sadie's father, and thinks about telling the story to Sadie and Ella; and as Ella navigates her relationships and what her connection to her past really means to her. We even get reacquainted with Delilah as Sadie searches for information about her father while Perla is unable to speak.

Once again, although having read the previous novels will make the story even richer, this novel works as a stand-alone. And although contemporary setting fiction usually isn't my preference, I have thoroughly enjoyed this series, and am definitely looking forward to anything by Sarah Loudin Thomas in the future.

From the publisher:

What is the weight of a secret?

And what happens what that burden becomes almost too much to bear?

For decades, Perla Phillips has hidden the truth of a decision that still fills her with guilt. But now, seeing her granddaughter, Ella, struggle in a similar way, she's prepared to finally open the past to her family, no matter the consequences. But when the opportunity is snatched from her in a most unexpected manner, will she have waited too long?

Spanning generations, this moving family drama weaves together the interlocking stories of two women as they navigate relationships, family, faith, and the choices that will shape their lives. Heartwarming and nostalgic, the story explores the courage to share the wounds of the past and celebrates the legacy a family passes from one generation to the next.

By the same author: Until the Harvest, Miracle in a Dry Season, Appalachian Serenade

Visit the Baker Publishing Group for info on where to buy.

©2008-2016 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/

Scripture and a Snapshot - A Tree Planted

Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither --

whatever they do prospers.

~Psalm 1:1-3~

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.

Glimpses is hosted by Embracing Every Day, a lifestyle blog by Barbie Swihart.

©2008-2016 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/