The Apple Orchard- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #101

cover image courtesy susanwiggs.com

What The Apple Orchard is about:
Tess Delaney makes a living restoring stolen treasures to their rightful owners. People like Annelise Winther, who refuses to sell her long-gone mother's beloved necklace—despite Tess's advice. To Annelise, the jewel's value is in its memories. But Tess's own history is filled with gaps: a father she never met, a mother who spent more time traveling than with her daughter. So Tess is shocked when she discovers the grandfather she never knew is in a coma. And that she has been named in his will to inherit half of Bella Vista, a hundred-acre apple orchard in the magical Sonoma town called Archangel.
The rest is willed to Isabel Johansen. A half sister she's never heard of.

I can't believe that I haven't read a book written by Susan Wiggs until now!!!!!!!!!!! There wasn't one thing that I didn't enjoy about this story. I would love to do what Tess does for a living, what an exciting career, finding lost items and trying to find their owner and tell their story. I especially loved the vulnerability of Tess and Isabel when they find out that they're sisters. I'm glad that the author decided to make them friends because it truly added to the charm of the story.

Recommend? For those that love stories that revolve around families, secrets, romance, and quaint small-town communities, then this book would certainly make a great read!

Source: review copy from publisher via NetGalley
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA

Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #101
© 2013, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

The One I Left Behind- Bookish Thoughts #100

• Title: The One I Left Behind
• Author: Jennifer McMahon
• Published: January 2013- William Morrow Paperbacks
• Source:  Review copy from publisher via NetGalley

What The One I Left Behind is about:
A gut-wrenching mystery about an architect whose troubled mother has been found 25 years after being kidnapped-by a killer who is still on the loose.

Reasons why I chose this book:
I love thrillers and stories that have a menacing hum throughout the book. This one delivered on all counts and absolutely creeped me out.....and I loved every minute!

Reasons I liked or disliked the book:
I really enjoyed the way the author weaved the story from the present day to the past when the gruesome murders were taking place. The characters were fully fleshed out and I felt that I truly got to know them in an almost intimate manner. This is one of the first times where I let my gut instinct lead me to the killer and I was right!!! 

Recommend? If you enjoy suspenseful stories that border on the edge of macabre, with twists and turns that have you doubting people you "thought" you knew, then this just may be the right book for you.  I think if you like Chevy Stevens or Gillian Flynn, then this would be a good book to add to your reading stacks!


Bookish Thoughts #100
© 2013, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Tuesday Intros...The Darkest Hour

Hosted by Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea

My Tuesday Intro pick is from Maya Banks KGI Novel, The Darkest Hour. I've been wanting to read something written by Maya for a while and thought this action-packed romance would be one I could enjoy!

He'd hoped if he drank enough the night before he'd sleep right through today. Instead his eyes popped open at eight a.m., and sunlight promptly fried his retinas.
  Ethan Kelly threw an arm over his face and lay there as the reality of the day hit him square in the gut.
  June 16.
  He could say something incredibly corny like...June 16, the day his world irrevocably changed. June 16, the day everything went to hell. Truth was, it had done that long before.

Based on the opening paragraph would you keep reading?

  

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday....What Are You Reading?

Mailbox Monday 

is a gathering place for readers to share the books that

came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. 

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

May Host is: 4 the Love of Books

 It Had to Be You is the latest installment in Jill Shalvis' Lucky Harbor series and I must continue on with this series! True by Erin McCarthy just sounded good and let's be honest here...I enjoy a book heavy on the sex every now and again! Finally, Cowboy Take Me Away sounded sweet and for some reason hot, virile cowboys are a real turn-on. Adding this one to my NetGalley shelf was really a no-brainer!!! I'm sure many of my book friends have noticed that I've been in a serious romance mood for a while now and it doesn't show any signs of giving up its hold on me. I couldn't say no to any of these books and honestly, I'm really looking forward to reading these titles this summer!!

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Hosted by

 Sheila @ One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

We discuss the books that we've read 

and what we're planning to read for the week.

Read and Talked about last week:

Nada, nothing, zilch, zero! My week was crazy busy with work and then traveling up north with my husband and son. Marc attended orientation and he registered for his first classes as a college student!! We took a tour of the campus and the dorm that he will be living in. The trip is 4 hours one way so it was a long Thursday/Friday for all of us. Saturday saw me busy outside mowing, cleaning the house and doing laundry. Sunday which was Mother's Day should have been a day of relaxation, but instead turned into priming the living room! I hate painting but it will look nice once it's all done! 

Bookish Thoughts to Share this week:

I'm really hoping that I find time to do post some bookish thoughts this week!! Life is picking up speed this week because Marc will be down to his final three days...FINAL 3 DAYS...of high school. Friday and Saturday will be his last high school play. I'm pretty sure I have reserved Sunday as a day of total meltdown!! But, if I can eek out some time I hope to post about the following books...................

• The One I Left Behind
• Book Two in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles
• The Apple Orchard

May Book Box:

Reading on a whim.......

Tuesday Intros: Apples, Family, Treasures, and secrets!!

Hosted by Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea

My Tuesday Intro pick is The Apple Orchard. I accepted this one for review because the story really captured my imagination. I think this one is going to be a great read!!

Prologue
Archangel, California
  The air smelled of apples, and the orchard hummed with the sound of bees hovering over the bushels of harvested fruit. The trees were in prime condition, waiting for the harvest workers to arrive. The branches had been pruned in readiness for the ladders, the last pesky groundhog had been trapped and carted away; the roads between the trees had been graded smooth so the fruit wouldn't be jostled in transport. The morning was cool with a mist hanging among the branches, The sun, ripe on the eastern horizon of the rolling hills, offered the promise of warmth later in the day. The pickers would be here soon.

                                    
                                     Based on the opening paragraph would you keep reading?

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday..What Are You Reading?

Mailbox Monday 

is a gathering place for readers to share the books that

came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. 

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

May Host is: 4 the Love of Books

cover images via NetGalley

NetGalley is like crack. I just keep going back to my dealer even though I know that it will be years before I can get to the end of my Kindle booklist!! But like any addict, I keep sweet-talking myself into acceptance that my problem really isn't a problem!! I laugh at myself ....a LOT!! I had to have The Bat because I love Nesbo and I must read in order...I must!! And who could resist With All My Love...tell me?? Isn't that cover awesome.  I'm in need of an intervention!

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Hosted by

 Sheila @ One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

We discuss the books that we've read 

and what we're planning to read for the week.

Read and talked about last week:

Best of Us- okay read

DNF's of 2013- I'm becoming okay with not finishing a book that doesn't work for me and it's so very LIBERATING!!!!!!!!!

Bookish Thoughts to Share this week:

I'm not sure what I will be posting this week. I feel blah about blogging right now. The weather has been gorgeous so I've been walking a lot, playing tennis with the hubby, and working on graduation stuff. I'm still reading right now but my computer time has been minimal. So, I might pop in with a Wind-Up Bird update, quick thoughts on The One I Left Behind....maybe!! Planning a quick trip to visit Marc's future college so he can do some testing and an orientation. Life is busy!!! I apologize for not commenting on blogs over the course of a few days...forgive me, friends!! I will be around, I promise!!

May Book Box:

Making stacks and lists but haven't really decided yet as to what I want to read this month. Think I'm just going to wing it!!

DNF's of 2013

I've been having a blast reading books from my Kindle in April. I realize not every one can be a winner and for me the following two books just didn't do a thing for me.

Cover of Snow:
I thought the writing was all over the place. I felt absolutely no connection to Nora. There wasn't enough of an IMPACT about her husband's suicide and the author didn't develop Nora's desire to find out what really happened to him.  I put the book down before 50 pages, so of course there is that slight possibility that I did miss out on a page-turner. I'm okay with being a quitter.

Source: NetGalley/Ballentine
Author: Jenny Milchman

It's A Wonderful Life:
This one just simply did not work for me. It dragged for what seemed like forever and I couldn't take another moment of reading. I gave up pretty early on this one too, but hey, I'm old and have a lot of books I want to read before I die. This is not one of them.

Source: NetGalley/Lemniscaat USA
Author: Jesse Goossens





© 2013, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.