We are now moving into the second half of the year for this challenge. Thanks to everyone who is participating. Hope your challenge is going well. I have been picking up ideas for more books to read. (Rolls eyes) Like I need that!
Congratulations to Betty who was the winner for the first half of the year.
Here is the link up for reviews for July to December. Again there is a $12 Amazon gift voucher or book to that value from the Book Depository if you are in the free postage area of the world and most are.
At the end of the year.
There will be a final link up post at the end for those who complete their challenge. All those who complete the challenge will go into the draw for a $25 prize to be in the form of a book from the Book Depository or voucher for U.S. Amazon store. A Gone Reading voucher is also an option.
Late last week I finished "A Week at the Lake" by Wendy Wax. My favorite books are ones that explore the relationships between women, mother/daughter, high school and college friends, best friends for life. This is one of those books. Emma Michaels is an actress who divorced her parents when she was 14 and went to live with her grandmother. This book explores a little of her relationship with her mom. Emma is a single mom of an about-to-be 16-year-old daughter, Zoe. Zoe also wants to be an actress. This story explores the relationship between Zoe and her mom. Then there's the relationships with Mackenzie and Serena, old friends of Emma's who are Zoe's "fairy godmothers." Then there are the secrets (don't you know, there are always secrets?). Although I didn't enjoy this one as much as the Ten Beach Road books, it did keep me wanting to know what was going to happen. I really like this author.
ReplyDeleteThis morning I finished "The Secrets of Midwives" by Sally Hepworth. I wasn't sure how I felt about this book. At one point I designated it dnf (did not finish) and removed it from my reading list, but I kept reading other reviews, everyone else seemed to love it, so I brought it back out and continued to read where I left off. I did finish it and I liked parts of it, but not others. I was really interested in the grandmother's story (Floss). The book is set up in rotating chapters written from the point of view of the 3 main characters, Floss (the grandmother), Grace (Floss's daughter), and Neva (Grace's daughter), all 3 of whom are midwives. To me, Floss's story was the most intriguing and the most interesting. She was a midwife during the war in England. Whenever the author would go on to Grace and Neva, I couldn't wait to get back to Floss. Grace, I really didn't like to begin with, all up in her daughter's business, although the side story of one of the doctor's making a complaint against her rang true. Having worked in a hospital, there are always a few doctors with the attitude that nurses and midwives, anyone who is not a doctor are just not important and incapable of making important decisions about a patient's care. Neva's story read too much like a Harlequin romance. Other than that, I ended up enjoying the story enough to finish the book, but it was mainly Floss's story that kept me reading.
ReplyDeleteBetty I love Wendy Wax too. I did enjoy The Secrets of Midwives, don't remember all the details but did like it. Hard when a book is not quite coming together for you, good on you for finishing it.
ReplyDeleteI was in the mood for a little romance with hot chemistry yesterday so decided to read Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis. This is the first in a new series for this author. I loved the Lucky Harbor series and read them all, but had never read anything else by Jill Shalvis. Although I'd rather be at the beach than in the mountains, the setting of the Colorado Rockies is a good one. I liked the main characters of the Kincaid family who run the only family owned resort on the ridge: Mom Charlotte, Brothers Gray, Aiden, Hudson, and Jacob (who is currently missing and hasn't been seen for years), Sister Kenna, and Gray's wife Penny. They fight a lot, but never fail to stand at each other's backs when the need arises. Lily and Aiden have a history and Lily is back! Sparks fly and there is chemistry to spare. Good beginning to what I think will be another good series by this author. Will definitely be looking for the next one in this series which will star brother, Hudson, titled "My Kind of Wonderful." Enjoyable light read.
ReplyDeleteFinished "The Cake Therapist" by Judith Fertig today before my work shift started. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book, everything I saw about it made it sound so good. I thought it would be a perfect read for my Foodie reads challenge. The main character, Neely, leaves her football player husband in New York to go home to Ohio to open her dream bakery. There she encounters some old friends from high school. Neely is intuitive about people and sees them as flavors. If she can get their stories, she can intuit what type of cake would be best for their wedding, party, etc. Its an interesting premise but beyond being intrigued by her special "gift," I didn't get sucked into the story. There is also another story that starts before Pearl Harbor and the author goes back and forth between the present and the past. I think part of the problem was that I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing really ever did. There was just no excitement in this book. The characters were boring. I wanted to see how everything worked out, the problem was, everything didn't work out, there really was no ending because there is going to be another book following the same characters. I expect this when I read Alex Cross, Lucas Davenport, etc. series, it's not unusual to have a cliff hanger, but I wasn't expecting a series ending here and there was no cliffhanger, just a period, it was over. Just wasn't a satisfying read for me. I'm not sure I care enough about the characters to read a second book about them, even to find out how it all turns out!
ReplyDeleteBetty
ReplyDeleteI think then I will give The Cake Therapist a miss but i will definitely get to the Jill Shalvis book at some point, usually enjoy her romance stories.
I'm off work for a few days, so of course yesterday morning I went to the library to pick up a few holds and a few other books. Came home and started reading "In Plain Sight" by Fern Michaels. As always, I enjoyed another visit with the sisterhood. This episode involves Pearl's underground system for the domestically battered and a very rich man who is related to and has the ear of POTUS. Love it when money doesn't get you a free pass and you have to pay for what you did wrong!
ReplyDeleteAlso finished "A New Hope" by Robyn Carr, Thunder Point #8 today. Although I like some of the installments in this series better than others, this series just isn't as enjoyable or as engrossing for me as the authors other series, Virgin River. I enjoyed catching up with some of the inhabitants of Thunder Point, but this romance was just a little too "sweet" for me. In spite of Matt and Ginger's past baggage, I didn't really find this couple interesting.
This morning I finished "The Summer of Good Intentions" by Wendy Francis. This book is my second-favorite type of story, the story of a family. Arthur, his ex-wife Gloria, their daughters, Maggie, Jess and Virgie, Maggie and Jess's husbands and children and the summer house that they own at the Cape. This book basically covers one July and August in their lives and certainly a lot happens in these 2 months: A marriage that teeters on the edge, a life-altering medical diagnosis, a wish for another child. This story is about beginnings and endings and always, family. A very enjoyable read. This was my first time reading this author, but I will definitely look for any other books she may have written.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read so I have earmarked it to read at some point.
DeleteThis afternoon I finished Dorothea Benon Frank's newest, "All the Single Ladies." The so-called "low-country" of the Carolinas and Georgia is one of my favorite places, the food is excellent, the beaches are wonderful, and people are friendly. That's one of the reason's I always look forward to a new summer read by Dorothea Benton Frank. This one was no exception. Lisa is a geriatric nurse at an eldercare facility where she cares for not only elderly patients, but also those a bit younger who are in Hospice care. When her favorite Hospice patient dies, Lisa and her friends, Carrie and Suzanne, are left with the mystery of Kathy's life. They are further mystified when they meet Kathy's landlady and suspect that she is stealing some of Kathy's things. These ladies are all around the mid-century mark in age, but young in attitude. You meet Suzanne's fiesty 99-year-old grandmother, Miss Trudie, new men in the ladies lives, Paul, Mike, and Harry, and Lisa's adorable Westie, Pickle. Throughout this book, I shed a tear or two and I certainly laughed. It provided several enjoyable hours and my annual trip to the low country and these people manage to eat out at some great restaurants and cook at home, so the food descriptions were mouthwatering also! Great escape.
ReplyDeleteOh it sounds yummy. Really look forward to reading it, although might be next year the rate I am going!
DeleteFinished reading "The Canterbury Sisters" by Kim Wright about 2 a.m. this morning. This is the second by by this author that I have read, the first being "The Unexpected Waltz." She is quickly being added to my must read list of authors. Once I got more than 15 minutes to sit and read this book, I really became engaged and barely put it down until it was finished! Che is the grown daughter of 2 hippies, dad died when she was younger and mom has just died when the story begins. The day her mom's ashes are delivered, she is also delivered a letter from her mom, who wants her to take her ashes and sprinkle them along the trail to Canterbury which is a trip they had discussed making together. Che drags her feet, but on the day she is delivered a letter from her long-time boyfriend, breaking up with her, she quickly makes plans to leave the country. This book is mostly about Che and the "sisters" she meets on her Broads Abroad tour group to Canterbury and the tales they tell along the way in the tradition of Canterbury Tales and their individual growth through their tales and their unusual friendships they make during this trip.. Another excellent read about women and their friendships.
ReplyDeleteOn Aug 8, I finished "Kiss Me," Fool's Gold #17 by Susan Mallery, which was as usual an enjoyable visit with old friends. Then on the 12th, I finished "The Rumor" by Elin Hilderbrand which was okay. Her last couple just haven't been as good for me as some of her earlier books that I've read. Today, I finished "The Idea of Love" by Patti Callahan Henry set in one of my favorite places, the low country of South Carolina. It started a little slow for me and I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to like the main character, Ella. I kind of waffled a bit on her, but in the end, decided I liked her enough and enjoyed the story!
ReplyDeleteLast few days finished "In the Company of Others" by Jan Karon, a Father Tim Novel, which was okay. I loved the Mitford books, but in this one Tim and Cynthia take a trip to Ireland and although parts of it were good, it just didn't have the charm of the Mitford books. Early this morning, I finished "Last One Home" by Debbie Macomber. Thought this one was very good. There was a romance but I was more interested in the recovery from domestic abuse and repairing the relationships among sisters.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of the Mitford books but never read them. Interested in the Debbie Macomber - I read her off and on. Will check out Last One Home as I like some issue or other in a romance.
DeleteThis week I read a couple of books, Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay which I really enjoyed. A story of 2 estranged sisters, one a chef in NYC, the other a wife and mother battling cancer on the west coast. The story is a good one. I didn't want to put it down. The other book, Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave was a light yet engrossing story for a lazy Sunday about a family who own a boutique winery outside of Napa. The story was mostly about family relationships and how they affect the life choices we make. I would recommend both of these books.
ReplyDeleteRead 44 Charles Street by Danielle Steel. This is an author I really enjoyed in her early days, but lost interest as she spent less and less time writing good books and went for quantity instead. I hadn't read one of her books in quite some time but having seen a summary of this one while searching other books, it sounded like a good story and it was. Although the book had some of the typical drama of a Danielle Steel story, it was a speedy read and I enjoyed it. The main character, Francesca, owns a house and an art gallery with her live-in boyfriend of 5 years. When their relationship falls apart, he wants to sell both and she is desperate to find a way to buy him out and save both her business and her home. To do this she takes in 3 boarders, a young schoolteacher, a part-time single dad, and a famous chef/cookbook author. The stories that they bring to the house and the development of their friendships with each other and with Francesca is the main story in the book. There are side stories of the dangers of internet dating, domestic abuse, drug addiction, and of course romance.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a DS book for years either, but actually do have a couple on my shelf to read that I have picked up at book fairs. I will read them eventually.
DeleteI don't think I've read anything by Barbara Delinsky in years, although I used to read her quite often but the summary of "Blueprints" sounded interesting and it was. It was just the kind of women's fiction I love, all about relationships, mom/daughter, fiance's, co-workers, brothers/sisters, father/daughter, exes, family business. Yes, there were a couple of romances, but all the relationships just created a good, engrossing story that I didn't want to put down until I finished it. Very, enjoyable fiction!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Blueprints too and thought it all rounded out really well. It put me in mind to read some of the books by her on my TBR!
DeleteMe too Kathryn! When I looked back at her list of books, Iike Danielle Steel, I read lots of Barbara Delinsky's early books, but hardly any in the last few years. A few of her newer ones sound good.
DeleteJust finished "Things You Won't Say" by Sarah Pekkanen. The fictional story of an officer involved shooting of a teenager. It was thought provoking and not always an "easy" read. Not particularly enjoyable, but a really good story. I will definitely be looking for more of her books.
ReplyDeleteI read A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn and I truly enjoyed this book. It is one of the She Reads.com Fall book selections and the first in what I hope will be a long series starring Veronica Speedwell. The story had a little of everything, historical fiction (Victorian England), women's fiction (a scarred, yet sexy man and a female protagonist with moxie, with a little chemistry between the two), interesting secondary characters, and a bit of a mystery that I had no idea where the author was going with this up until the end. Really engrossing and enjoyable read.
ReplyDeleteWill add this to my wish list of to reads as it sounds great. Not so sure about Before I Go though, sounds though it had some light moments and was a worthwhile read.
DeleteJust finished "Before I Go" by Colleen Oakley. This was a book recommended by SheReads.com in one of their Author to Author segments. I Read the other half of the duo which was - "The Life Intended" by Kristen Harmel. I put off reading this one because I was afraid it would be too depressing. Surprisingly, it was not depressing, although it was sad, especially at the end. Daisy Richmond is 27 and she is dying of cancer. This is about her first few months after her diagnosis (for the second time!) and the way she is handling it, as well as her husband, best friend, and mother. It was sad, but it was also funny in places and it highlighted the different ways in which people handle grief. It was a good read, not necessarily an enjoyable one, but well worth the time.
ReplyDeleteDo I post my review in the link up or in in the comment part here?
ReplyDeleteIf you've written a post do it in the link up, but posting it in a comment is fine too.
DeleteFinished reading The Last September by Nina De Gramont this morning. This book was chosen as one of the SheReads.com 2015 Books of Fall. It was well written and engrossing, but I really didn't like any of the characters. I felt sorry for the brother, Eli who degenerated into schizophrenia in college. His brother, Charlie, seemed irresponsible, except where his brother was concerned, and a bit of a narcissist. Lastly, there is Brett, best friends with Eli, Charlie's wife and lover, who seemed obsessed with him. I didn't understand her and really didn't like her either. I would never say this was an enjoyable read, but it was engrossing and kept my attention.
ReplyDeleteJust finished "The House We Grew Up In" by Lisa Jewell. I read this book because it was one of the SheReads Fall choices for 2014 and as I've only been following this blog for about a year, I'm still trying to catch up on some of their recommendations. . The subject was a family who put the D in dysfunctional. There was so much going on, that I couldn't put it down. There was suicide, divorce, adultery, drugs, hoarding, gay relationships. You name it, it was in there. But mostly, it was about a family, struggling, estranged, trying to reconnect. Books about relationships between family and friends are my favorites. A truly engrossing read.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read anything by Lisa Jewell but she is on my radar. I went to a book fair and picked up a couple of her older books and now to read them. This one sounds great - my kind of read too.
DeleteFinished 'Those Secrets We Keep" by Emily Liebert. I had never read this author before, but I will be checking out her other books. I didn't love this book and didn't always like the main characters, but it was another book about relationships, between women and the men in their lives and the secrets they keep. Interesting and engrossing read.
ReplyDelete"Sweetwater Creek" was a big disappointment. I've read Anne Rivers Siddons novels for years, expected another satisfying yarn of a woman overcoming obstacles in life/relationships. This one is different. An over-the-top melodrama about a 12-year-old. Supernatural overtones, sordid obsession, maudlin prose, predictable. I recommend choose another by ARS.
ReplyDeleteWill do, disappointing when a favorite author goes "off the rails".
DeleteLately, I've read Wildest Dreams, the latest in Robyn Carr's Thunder Point Series and A Wedding on Primrose Street, Sheila Robert's latest in her Icicle Falls series. Last night, I finally finished Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase. I kept putting it aside in favor of other reads. The story could have been interesting but the style made it hard for me to read. It was one of those books written in 2 time periods and used letters to tell a lot of the story. I just didn't feel it flowed very well. It felt disjointed to me, not as good as I had hoped. I've read other books where this back and forth between time periods is seamless, this was not one of those books.
ReplyDeleteI find any of those dual time period books take extra brain power to read, so if one doesn't work I can see why you would keep putting off reading it.
DeleteToday I read another one of the SheReads.com Fall selections, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Matthew Dicks. It was a fast and enjoyable read, only a little over 200 pages. It was a book that was interesting, funny, and made you think. It was a story about a middle aged woman/door mat who finally breaks and goes home to confront a bully from her childhood, taking her teenage daughter along on this road trip.
ReplyDeleteRead another 2 timeline book, but this one was quite different from Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase (see above). The Lake House by Kate Morton was my first book by this author. It was wonderful. Her storyline was easy to follow in both time periods and totally engrossing and enjoyable. Closed this one with a deep sigh that it was over. Really have to get another of her books, and soon!
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear that about The Lake House. I bought the book last weekend, but haven't read any of her books yet. But heard good things! You liking it makes it very promising.
DeleteA shame the July-to-December Linkup is closed already. It's only November.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link to my latest book review for the challenge:
http://www.shelfari.com/books/36535067/Evening-Stars/reviews/4904036
Susan - deep aplogies, I am going to go rectify that immediately.
DeleteKathryn - Thanks so much for hosting this challenge this year. I have enjoyed it very much. Love hearing how you like or dislike your reads and the reasons why. I have entered a Classics challenge for 2016, me the woman who can count the number of classics I've read on one hand! I will continue to follow you on Good reads. Have a great holiday and a very happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in this year Betty, because it gave me another reader who reads similar books to myself so gives me ideas for more reading. Enjoy that classics year, not something I would be brave enough to do! See you on Goodreads.
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