Thursday, July 4, 2013
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay- TLC Book Tour
 |
| cover image via www.goodreads.com |
What The Virgin Cure is about:
Set on the streets of Lower Manhattan in 1871, The Virgin Cure is the story of Moth, a girl abandoned by her father and raised by a mother telling fortunes to the city's desperate women. One summer night, twelve-year-old Moth is pulled from her bed and sold as a servant to a finely dressed woman. It is this betrayal suffered at the hands of her own mother that changes her life forever.
The Virgin Cure immersed me in the world of the terrible plight many women and children suffered living in Lower Manhattan in the late 1800's. McKay writes with a deft hand and allows the story to unfold without apology. My heart broke at the options Moth had or rather, didn't have. Knowing that the conditions and the treatment of women and children was quite factual, made this a hard read, but interwoven within the pages was a story of hope. Dr. Sadie was that hope, and her role as a female doctor was so important to this story and honestly to history.
Recommend? Absolutely. This is an important story that needs to be read, talked about, researched, and acknowledged. Life in the inner cities during the late 1800's - early 1900's was depressing, fraught with illness and death, utter poverty, and horrible transgressions against women and children. Reading this book has caused me to read more about this time and has also bolstered my respect for these people who managed to claw their way out of that miserable existence.
Source: Harper for TLC Book Tours
© 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, July 1, 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 and Goodreads |
- Finding Colin Firth (How could I resist, seriously???) via NetGalley
- The Bookstore (books, this is about books!!) via NetGalley
- The Birth House (just finished The Virgin Cure and 1.99 was too good to pass up!!) via Amazon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Last Camellia- another well-written story from Jio
The Great Gatsby- great narrator but the story was just okay for me.
It Had to Be You- probably my favorite Shalvis book to date!
Bookish Thoughts to share this week:
The Virgin Cure- TLC Tour book
Hubby and I are up north at the camper so I will be absent from commenting on blogs for a little while. Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July (for all my friends here in the States) and I will catch up when we return home!
Friday, June 28, 2013
It Had to Be You by Jill Shalvis- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts
 |
| cover image courtesy of NetGalley/Grand Central Publishing |
What It Had to Be You is about:
Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she's a thief, and now she's about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who's as sexy as he is stern. After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke's own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?
I found this latest installment of Shalvis' Lucky Harbor series absolutely irresistible!! Ali and Luke are my favorite couple to date because believed each of their stories and was totally swept away in their love affair. Ali was written with sheer perfection. She was a character that I could understand, empathize with, and root for to succeed in life and love! I was afraid that this story would leave me feeling 'meh' like the holiday novella did, so I approached it with a bit of apprehension and fear. Instead, I was rewarded with a fun couple and another HEA that restored love for all things Jill Shalvis!
Recommend? Yes. This was her best book yet...I think she's really getting into a groove right now and I can't wait for her next book!
Source: Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley
Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #111
© 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.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
The Great Gatsby (audio version)- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts
What The Great Gatsby is about:
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the Roaring Twenties is beloved by generations of readers and stands as his crowning work. This new audio edition, authorized by the Fitzgerald estate, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal's performance is a faithful delivery in the voice of Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner turned New York bond salesman, who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby. There, he has a firsthand view of Gatsby’s lavish West Egg parties - and of his undying love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. After meeting and losing Daisy during the war, Gatsby has made himself fabulously wealthy. Now, he believes that his only way to true happiness is to find his way back into Daisy’s life, and he uses Nick to try to reach her. What happens when the characters’ fantasies are confronted with reality makes for a startling conclusion to this iconic masterpiece.
I started The Great Gatsby several years ago but was distracted by life and sit the book aside. After reading Mary's review of the audio version which was narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal, I knew that I needed to give it another shot. While I loved Jake's voice and thought he did a wonderful job with this book, I found myself wondering what all the fuss about this author and his style of writing??? I was glad that the audio was only four hours because it was easy to listen to while walking and it was quickly done and finished! Maybe I need to take a class entitled, Appreciation of Classic Literature, because I thought the story was stuffy and a bit lackluster. I clearly read too much fluff!
Recommend? This may surprise everyone because it sounds like I hated it, but I didn't. This author just doesn't work for me, but that's okay. However, I think this audio version would work for those that love classic literature and Fitzgerald.
Source: Purchased from audible.com
Narrator: Jake Gyllenhaal
Length: 4 hrs 49 minutes
Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #110
© 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, June 26, 2013
The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts
What The Last Camellia is about:
On the eve of World War II, the last surviving specimen of a camellia plant known as the Middlebury Pink lies secreted away on an English country estate. Flora, an amateur American botanist, is contracted by an international ring of flower thieves to infiltrate the household and acquire the coveted bloom. More than half a century later, garden designer Addison takes up residence at the manor, now owned by the family of her husband, Rex. The couple’s shared passion for mysteries is fueled by the enchanting camellia orchard and an old gardener’s notebook. Yet its pages hint at dark acts ingeniously concealed. If the danger that Flora once faced remains very much alive, will Addison share her fate?
Over the course of less than two years, Sarah Jio has quickly become one of my favorite authors. With her newest release, The Last Camellia, she proves once again why so many readers love her books. Jio's signature plot device of blending the past with the present is something that works for her and never fails to capture my attention. I do have to say though that I was much more invested in Flora's story than Addison's, as her character really spoke to me. The only quibble I have with Jio's writing is that all of her endings are too neat and tidy for me. I hope that a future book leaves me with an ending that garners an extreme display of emotion from me!!!
Recommend? Fans of Sarah Jio's will enjoy this book and will find themselves rapidly turning the pages, while new readers will question why they waited until now to read one of her novels!!
Souce: Plume via NetGalley
Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Published May 28th 2013 by Plume
Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #109
© 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, June 25, 2013
Mailbox Monday, What Are You Reading, and Tuesday Intros..better late than never!
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.
June Host is: Bellezza @ Dolce Bellezza
 |
| cover image courtesy www.goodreads.com |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hosted by Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea
Tuesday Intro Pick is from: The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay
Mama sold me the summer I turned twelve.
Would you keep reading based on this opening line?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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:
Halfway to the Grave (audio version) - great start to a series I look forward to investing time in!
Bookish Thoughts to share this week:
The Last Camellia
The Great Gatsby (audio)
June Bookbox:
Finished It Had to Be You, Entwined and will be reading the other two next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)