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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Looking for Me- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #105


www.bethhoffman.net

What Looking For Me is about:
Teddi Overman found her life’s passion for furniture in a broken-down chair left on the side of the road in rural Kentucky. She learns to turn other people’s castoffs into beautifully restored antiques, and eventually finds a way to open her own shop in Charleston. There, Teddi builds a life for herself as unexpected and quirky as the customers who visit her shop.  Though Teddi is surrounded by remarkable friends and finds love in the most surprising way, nothing can alleviate the haunting uncertainty she’s felt in the years since her brother Josh’s mysterious disappearance. When signs emerge that Josh might still be alive, Teddi is drawn home to Kentucky.  It’s a journey that could help her come to terms with her shattered family—and to find herself at last.  But first she must decide what to let go of and what to keep.


Beth Hoffman did it again! She made me love Teddi before I was done with chapter one. She made me cry, smile, sigh, laugh, and wish so hard that I could step into the pages of her story. She made me feel an affinity with Josh through our mutual love for Red-Tailed Hawks and nature. She made my heart break when Teddi's heart was breaking. She made me fall in love, want to move to Charleston, become a restorer of lost things, and she made me care, deeply about Teddi's friends and those she loved.

Recommend? YES. This review doesn't even begin to touch the surface of my reaction to this moving and beautifully written story. I really can't express myself adequately. All I know is that I fell into the South when I opened the pages and found myself in a wonderland where I knew these people, loved these people, and never wanted to be parted from them.

Source: Beth Hoffman


Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #105
© 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, May 28, 2013

Stories I Only Tell My Friends (Audio Review)- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #104


cover image via amazon.com


What Stories I Only Tell My Friends is about:
A wryly funny and surprisingly moving account of an extraordinary life lived almost entirely in the public eye. A teen idol at 15, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at 20, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio who was uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-70s Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood.

Who knew that Rob Lowe was so much deeper than a pretty face??? I really enjoyed this entertaining and enlightening autobiography that Lowe penned. His self-deprecating manner, his spot-on imitations of Robert Wagner, Cary Grant, Emilio Esteves, Mike Myers (the list could go on forever), and his vulnerability made this a top audio read for me.

Recommend? If you enjoy autobiographies, were a teen when Rob Lowe hit Tiger Beat magazine, and just enjoy getting the inside scoop of an interesting person's life, then I do believe you will enjoy this. I loved listening to Rob tell his story and I'm glad that he made it through the maze of Hollywood success and all of its trappings. He came out on the other side with a loving wife by his side, two sons that he clearly adores, and realizing that family, sobriety, and keeping your integrity are more important that anything stardom can offer!

Source: Audible.com
Narrator: Rob Lowe
Length: 9 hours 11 minutes


Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #104
© 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.

Monday, May 27, 2013

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.

cover image via goodreads.com

I've always meant to read The Great Gatsby and watch the original movie. When I saw that Mary@Bookfan purchased this one on audible.com and enjoyed it, I knew that audio was the ticket for me. And at $4.88 it really wasn't a tough decision to make!

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Hosted by
We discuss the books that we've read 
and what we're planning to read for the week.

Read and talked about last week:
The Good House- awesome audio...will be a top pick this year for sure!
The Darkest Hour- romance, adventure, and family at the heart, will be back for more!

Bookish Thoughts to share this week:
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe- audio book
Looking For Me by Beth Hoffman

I won't be around much this week visiting and commenting on blogs as we are coming into the home stretch for Marc's Graduation on June 2nd. I have last minute things to order, purchase, and tweaking the rooms for family to sleep in, and generally being a total wreck!! 

Take care my friends and I will be back with photos for sure!
~ Staci

Thursday, May 23, 2013

The Darkest Hour- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #103

cover image via http://mayabanks.com/books/darkest/

What The Darkest Hour is about:
It’s been one year since ex-Navy SEAL Ethan Kelly last saw his wife Rachel alive. Overwhelmed by grief and guilt over his failures as a husband, Ethan shuts himself off from everything and everyone. His brothers have tried to bring Ethan into the KGI fold, tried to break through the barriers he’s built around himself, but Ethan refuses to respond… until he receives anonymous information claiming Rachel is alive.
To save her, Ethan will have to dodge bullets, cross a jungle, and risk falling captive to a deadly drug cartel that threatens his own demise. And even if he succeeds, he’ll have to force Rachel to recover memories she can’t and doesn’t want to relive—the minute by minute terror of her darkest hour—for their love, and their lives, may depend on it

It's no surprise to any of my book friends that I've been on a bit of a romance junket lately. I find that they are fast, fun books that leave me with a stupid smile on my face and great dreams to look forward to when I tuck myself in for the night! This book starts out great and the pacing stays pretty even all the way to the end. I loved the brother's connection to each other and most especially the love and high regard they each had for the parents. This book is about more than just romance and sex. It's about family and I found that quite refreshing!

Recommend? For those that enjoy romance with some thrill seeking adventures included, brothers who are hot, hot, hot, and their smart significant others, then I think you would like this series!!

Source: My Public Library


Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #103
© 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.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The Good House- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #102


What The Good House is about:
The Good House tells the story of Hildy Good, who lives in a small town on Boston’s North Shore. Hildy is a successful real-estate broker, good neighbor, mother, and grandmother. She’s also a raging alcoholic. Hildy’s family held an intervention for her about a year before this story takes place—“if they invite you over for dinner, and it’s not a major holiday,” she advises “run for your life”—and now she feels lonely and unjustly persecuted. She has also fooled herself into thinking that moderation is the key to her drinking problem.

This is the best audio presentation that I've experienced to date!! Mary Beth Hurt WAS Hildy Good. I loved her raspy voice and she absolutely nailed the accent and the whole vibe of the character. I was struck with how immediate the faces, the houses, and the whole town came to life within my mind as I was listening. There was never a dull moment and I found myself anxiously wanting to return to my iPhone to listen to the story.

Recommend? YES! This will probably be in my top favorite books and audios of the year! Hildy captured my attention from her very first sentence, she made me laugh out loud at her inappropriate thoughts, shaking my head in exasperation at her justification of  "it's only wine, I can handle my wine." This was a brilliant audio production of a stellar book!!

Source: Audible.com
Narrator: Mary Beth Hurt
Length: 10 hours 12 minutes



Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #102
© 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.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

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.


cover images via NetGalley

I'm hopelessly corrupted. I can't stop requesting books. I need to stop. I need an....INTERVENTION!
Before I Met You appealed to the Downton Abbey fan in me and all things British. Hotshot called my name because I'm enjoying reading hot, steamy romance books with very, virile men!! My reading is all over the place and I love how eclectic my taste is at the moment.
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Hosted by
We discuss the books that we've read 
and what we're planning to read for the week.


Read and talked about last week:
The One I Left Behind- loved it, grisly scenes and all!
The Apple Orchard- truly wonderful book and an author that I will be reading more of in the future!

Bookish Thoughts to share this week:
The Good House- audio version
The Darkest Hour

May Book Box:
Still reading on a whim and what sounds good at the moment.

I want to take a moment and apologize to all my blogging friends who I faithfully visit and comment on their posts. Life has been busy this month and feeling a bit out-of-control. My youngest son, Marcus, is graduating June 2nd and my husband and I have been busy almost every night working on the house, the yard, and anything else you can think of in order to get ready for graduation day. I'm hoping to be able to find time again after all of those last Senior events has occurred. Thank you for still leaving me love in the comments and visiting my blog on a regular basis. I appreciate you and the time you spend reading my posts!!!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

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.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

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, May 14, 2013

Tuesday Intros...The Darkest Hour




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?

  

Sunday, May 12, 2013

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.



 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
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, May 7, 2013

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




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?

Monday, May 6, 2013

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.


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
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!!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

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.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

The Best of Us- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #99

cover image via Goodreads.com

What The Best of Us is about:
An all-expense-paid week at a luxury villa in Jamaica—it’s the invitation of a lifetime for a group of old college friends. All four women are desperate not just for a reunion, but for an escape. Languid hours on a private beach, gourmet dinners, and late nights of drinking kick off an idyllic week for the women and their husbands. But as a powerful hurricane bears down on the island, turmoil swirls inside the villa, forcing each of the women to reevaluate everything she knows about her friends—and herself.

I was really hoping to be blown away by the author's newest release, but instead at the end of the story I felt that all of my air had been squeezed right out of me. Bummer. I liked the writing just fine but I just couldn't believe the whole premise. I couldn't accept that a friend that most of the others did NOT keep in touch with, would pay for such an extravagant getaway just to spend time with people who rarely, if ever thought about him. I also had a hard time with all of the extra-marital crap....wasn't what I wanted to read that's for sure.  The only emotions this book created in me was the urge to slap the s*#t out of a few characters.

Recommend? If you have liked Sarah's books in the past then I think you might be able to enjoy this one. As for me, this is the second book I've read of hers and my feelings are still luke-warm.

Source: NetGalley/Washington Square Press



Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #99
© 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.