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.

Hosted this month by

Passages to the Past 

 

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay (TLC Tour Book)

Faith : a Novel by Jennifer Haigh- Vine Voice Program from Amazon
Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens- review copy from St. Martin's Press (I'm VERY excited about this one)

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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 reviewed last week:

The Trouble with Mr. Darcy- not the best but not the worst I've read...7/10

Miss Hildreth Wore Brown- funny and witty....great southern author! 7.5/10

Reviews for this week:

The Peach Keeper (TLC Tour Stop)- Tuesday

Beautiful Disaster- Wednesday

The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus (TLC Tour Stop)-Thursday

Miranda's Big Mistake- Six Sentence Saturday

Choosing to See- Six Sentence Saturday

On my nightstand:

'Miss Hildreth Wore Brown: Andecdotes of a Southern Belle' by Olivia deBelle Byrd

 

  Short synopsis from Goodreads:
With storytelling written in the finest Southern tradition from the soap operas of Chandler Street in the quaint town of Gainesville, Georgia, to a country store on the Alabama state line, Olivia deBelle Byrd delves with wit and amusement into the world of the Deep South with all its unique idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms.




My Thoughts: This book was a fun way to spend a few hours. I loved the author's voice and I could almost imagine it inside my head. The story behind the title of the book was very funny! Miss Hildreth was buried in a brown suit and the horror of it all was that the color just didn't do her dead body justice! Could you imagine talking about that at someone's funeral??? This book had me laughing off and on, and smiling most of the time I was reading it. I'm not sure if the author will like this or not but my favorite "character" in her book was her HUSBAND!! He's a riot and I loved his sense of humor.

Recommend? Yes, I do. This is just a fun way to experience the customs and rituals of Southern women. I believe we really do have a lot in common, probably more than we think!

Rating: 7.5/10

Please visit Olivia deBelle Byrd's website.
Visit other blogs on her tour!

Disclaimer:Thank you to Olivia deBelle Byrd for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel

Published: May 1, 2010

Publisher: Morgan James Publishing

Pages: 176

Genre: Southern Humor

ISBN: 9781600377488

 

© 2011, 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.

"TheTrouble with Mr. Darcy' by Sharon Lathan

What is this book about?
In the fifth in Sharon Lathan's bestselling series, George Wickham returns to Hertfordshire bent on creating trouble, and Elizabeth and her newborn son are thrown into danger. Knowing that Wickham has nothing left to lose, Darcy and Fitzwilliam rush to the rescue in a race against time. This lushly romantic story takes a turn for the swashbuckling when Mr. Darcy has to confront the villainous Wickham and his own demons at the same time... devoted as he is, what battles within will Mr. Darcy have to face?

What I liked:

• an interesting plot that kept me turning the pages to see how it would all turn out.
• stayed fairly true to Austen's voice in regards to the time period and setting.
• loved the introduction of new characters. Could lead to other books featuring Georgiana, whom I've really enjoyed getting to know in this book and would be interested to continue her story.

What I wasn't that crazy about:

• Darcy was too perfect. Don't get me wrong I love my Darcy but the man has to have some flaws or else he's plastic (fake). I wanted more conflict between Darcy and Elizabeth so that I could remember why I liked Lizzy Bennett in the first place. Talk about submissive! Elizabeth was just a tad too weak for me.
• The excessive fawning between Darcy and Elizabeth and too much sex! Egads...did I just say that? Too much hot sex with Darcy??? Yep, I did. Why? Because it just didn't ring true with me. Yes, they're newlyweds (sort of..3 years married) but every time you turn the page they're ripping each others clothes off. I just didn't buy into it even though I really wanted to.
• Too many details about "stuff" that really didn't add to the story but rather felt like a distraction.

Recommend?
Yes, I would recommend this one to those Austen fans that want to read anything that brings us closer to Darcy and Lizzy. I myself would read this author again and in fact I will be reading her first book, Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Two Shall Become One, soon as I was able to download this free to my Kindle a few months ago.

Rating: 7/10
Disclaimer:Thank you to Beth Pehlke @ Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel

Published: April 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Pages: 368

Genre: Darcy Saga

ISBN: 9781402237546

*Uncorrected Advance Copy

 

© 2011, 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.

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.

Hosted this month by

Passages to the Past 

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (Pink Carnation #5) by Lauren Willig

The Masque of the Black Tulip (Pink Carnation #2) by Lauren Willig 

** I bought both of these books in the used section of Shuler Books & Music in East Lansing. I could've walked out with a ton more but common sense prevailed!!! 

Total spent: $14.50 

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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 reviewed last week:

My Jane Austen Summer- loved it! very original and a contemporary setting! 8.5/10

Only Mr. Darcy Will Do- one of my absolute favorite P&P Variations!! 9.5/10

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet- good cozy mystery and fun way to spend a few hours 3/5

Reviews this week:

The Trouble with Mr. Darcy- Tuesday

Miss Hildreth Wore Brown- Wednesday

Miranda's Big Mistake-Thursday

On my nightstand: still working on the same ones posted last week

Six Sentence Saturday- Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.

Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads 

using only 6 sentences!!!!.
At the end of each review I will post a
rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.
Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!
4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.
3 of Hearts- Happy that I read it...a good read.
2 of Hearts- Just O.K but nothing to write home about.
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (Agatha Raisin #2)
by M.C. Beaton
Source: Library Sale- 25 cents!
I really love this crotchety middle aged woman named Agatha. She makes me smile and laugh because she just says it like it is. She recently retired from public relations and is finding that she's quite bored. After her first successful attempt at solving a murder she gets a bit of an over-inflated ego and believes she's the only one who can find out the answer as to who wanted the local veterinarian dead. The plus side for her (she has a mad wild crush on James) is that her neighbor, retired military man, James Lacey is also bored and so he accompanies her on sleuthing excursions. This makes for a fun, fast, and satisfying read and is a cozy mystery series I will continue to pick up from time to time!
Rating:

Published: 1994

Publisher: Fawcett Books

Pages: 192

Genre: British Cozy Mystery

ISBN:   0804111626

© 2011, 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.

'Only Mr. Darcy Will Do' by Kara Louise

1. Title of book:  
Only Mr. Darcy Will Do 
by Kara Louise
short synopsis: After her father's death, Elizabeth Bennet goes to work as a governess. Little does she know, the Willstones are social acquaintances of the Bingley's and the Darcy's, and Elizabeth finds herself once again drawn into Mr. Darcy's orbit. With Elizabeth's social status even lower than it was before, she knows she must abandon all hope of Darcy renewing his proposals, even as she begins to see him in a completely different light....

2. Words to describe the book: charming, original, nerve-wracking, satisfying....

3. Location or characters you met:

• Elizabeth Bennett: I honestly can not get enough of Elizabeth Bennett. She's one character that I truly adore and have often wanted to just be her! I thought the situation that the author put Elizabeth in was pure genius and so very believable!!
• Mr. Darcy : once again I found myself falling in love with Darcy. Oh, if I could only get my husband to read one of these books and then to embrace me and turn my face to him and tell me "how ardently I love you!"
• The Willstones, their daughter Emily, and the overzealous Miss Matthews: even though they played minor roles within the story, they were crucial to how Elizabeth and Darcy meet up after over a years absence.

4. Things you liked/disliked:

• I thought that this was one of the best ORIGINAL variations of Pride & Prejudice that I have read to-date! I really enjoyed the storyline and felt that the author stayed very true to the themes of Austen.
• Loved the ending....
• I think this would actually make a great movie...hello BBC are you listening?!
• It was absolutely satisfying from the beginning to the end. I want to delve into Kara Louise's other books!

5. Rating:  9.5/10


Thank you to Beth of Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy. I
was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist. They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.

Review Style patterned after Show Me 5 

Published: March, 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Pages: 354

Genre: Pride and Prejudice Variation

ISBN: 9781402241031

*Uncorrected Advance Copy

 

© 2011, 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.

'My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park' by Cindy Jones- TLC Book Tour

Synopsis from TLC Book Tours:
Lily is a dreamer. In fact, her dreams of Jane Austen have gotten a little out of control. Not only has she just been let go of her job for reading Northanger Abbey when she should be doing work, she's taken to having an imaginary friend give her advice-Jane herself! So when she gets the amazing opportunity to travel to London to re-enact Austen's  Mansfield Park, she leaps at the chance. But though it seems like Lily will be escaping her troubles, the truth is she'll begin facing-and dealing-with them....with a little help from Jane, of course!

My Jane Austen lurked in the fringes, but it would come to nothing. In an effort to explain my bad behavior with Sixby, I'd told My Jane Austen, I don't know how to have a relationship with a man. With my father never home, and my mother unhappy most of her life, my entire knowledge of happy relationships came from books. You raised me, Jane. So forgive me this mistake. I know what I did was wrong.
*[p. 256]

My Thoughts:
From the excerpt above we glean from the story that Lily, the protagonist, loses herself in Jane Austen's stories because her family life leaves her sad. I think many of us have found ourselves getting lost in a book, especially to escape from the everyday average life. I have often wanted to live inside a story and it won't come as a surprise to many who read my blog that I would love to live out Pride and Prejudice just once!! For me, I thought this book was simply delightful. I connected with Lily and could really understand her neediness and that all too consuming desire to be loved by anyone. I was especially blown away by the fact that this is Cindy Jones' debut novel! She crafted a story that flowed and kept my interest. The descriptions were detailed enough to make the scenes come to life inside my head.

Recommend? Absolutely! It does help if you have a bit of prior knowledge of Mansfield Park before reading this one, but I wouldn't say that it is a must. I've watched the movie version and that was enough for me to get the parallels between Fannie and Lily. If you're totally obsessed with all things Austen then this is a MUST read for you!!

Rating: 8.5/10

Published: April 2011

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages:352

Genre: Absolutely satisfying Austenesque story!

ISBN: 9780062003973

 

 

About Cindy Jones

Cindy Jones was born in Ohio and grew up in small midwestern towns, reading for escape. She is a winner of the Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest, and she lives with her family in Dallas.
You can find Cindy at her blog, First Draft, and on Facebook.

 Stop by these blogs to read their thoughts!

Disclaimer:Thank you to TLC Book Tours for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel

© 2011, 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.