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

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found 

in our mailboxes last week.

Blind Hope: An Unwanted Dog and the Woman She Rescued- review book for Waterbrook Multnomah
Stash- review book for Broadway Books/RandomHouse

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Hosted by Sheila
One Persons Journey Through a World of Books
Weekly meme where we discuss the books you've read
and those you plan to read in the coming week.

Read and reviewed last week:

Little Giant of Aberdeen County- enjoyed this one 4/5

After the Fall- infidelity and dishonesty 3/5

Clouds Roll Away- 3/5

Six Sentence Saturday Books:

Time of My Life- totally enjoyable 4/5

Disrupting Grace: a Story of Relinquishment and Disruption- very personal book 5/5

Tentative reviews for this week:

When She Flew- Tuesday

The Murderer's Daughter- TLC tour stop Wednesday

Never Let You go- Thursday

Fitness Friday Update- Friday

Books on deck for next week:

Six Sentence Saturday

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?)

Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch
Jillian thinks her life is falling apart at the seams, her husband is boring and never home, and she just can't be the mother-of-the-year. While getting a massage she's ruminating on her past life and old flame Jack, and the next thing she knows...it's seven years in the past! What would you do if you could go back and change history? Jillian thinks she can make her future turn out differently because she has prior knowledge, but little does she know that she's not really in charge of her destiny. This was a great read that had substance...this is not some fluffy chick-lit book. If you could change your past would you???
My Rating:

Disrupting Grace: A Story of Relinquishment and Healing by Kristen Richburg
This is the story of Kristen's experience with adoption of a child who suffers from Reactive Attachment Disorder/and multiple bonding issues and the traumatic decision to disrupt the adoption after four years. Many people think that love is all a child needs, but that is not true. I know...I lived Kristen's life for 5 years...and it was life altering and not in a good way. Change a few details...their adopted daughter was 2, mine was 12 and I could have lived her life. I know what it's like to be attacked physically, to have someone actively seek out strangers for comfort, to worry about the safety of your children, to have to constantly monitor the sexual acting out, the lies, the manipulation. I understand the hell her biological children suffered..I understood her and walked away from this book realizing that what happened in my life and my feelings in regards to my experience are validated. I've worked hard to get past the judgment others may want to place on my husband and me. You may judge us if you have walked in our footsteps...if you haven't then I suggest you read this book.
My Rating:

* I want to thank Lynne and Dar for being there to listen and to not judge. I was scared to post about this book and to share this part of my life online, but maybe letting others know about my experience and how much I identified with the author will help someone else who has had their world turned upside down with adoption of a child who suffers from RAD and other bonding related issues.

'Clouds Roll Away' by Sibrella Giorello

Title: Clouds Roll Away
Author: Sibrella Giorello
Publication Date: March 2010, Thomas Nelson
Pages: 325
Genre:  Fiction/Christian/Suspense
Source: Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Closing her assignment with the FBI's Seattle office, forensic geologist Raleigh Harmon returns to her hometown of Richmond, Virginia, expecting a warm welcome. Instead she finds herself investigating an ugly cross burning at a celebrity's mansion and standing in the crosshairs of her boss at the Bureau. And the deeper Raleigh digs into the case, the murkier the water becomes...until she's left wondering who the real victims might be.

My Thoughts:
First off, I can't believe that I read book 3 in a series without reading 1 and 2...this totally blows me away. I never read out of order...EVER. I really feel that it hindered my ability to enjoy this book. There were several references to Raleigh's past behavior which landed her in trouble with the FBI and caused her to be reassigned to Richmond. I felt the NEED to know the why and how and without those first two books under my belt I was a bit lost. I don't like this feeling at all....so first off, I want to recommend to the reader that you start with the first book in this series, The Stones Cry Out, and proceed from there. With all of that being said, I enjoyed the first 100 pages and the last 75....the middle dragged out for me and I felt like throwing in the towel, but I marched on because I can't stand not knowing what happens!! The conclusion was pretty awesome though and I loved how Giorello tied up all of the loose ends and surprised me with her ending.

Rating: 3/5 (ending saved this from being a 2.75)

Thank you to Amy Currie from Phenix & Phenix 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.



Other Reviews:
Never a Dull Moment
A Bookworm's World
Wordlily

The Space Between Us Read-a-Long at Lit and Life

 I chose to participate in this read-a-long, hosted by Lisa of Lit and Life, because I'm truly fascinated by all things India. I've watched several movies about India and have read quite a few books that take place in India, my favorite being, 'A Fine Balance.' That book still resonates with me to this day and it was ages ago that I read it. I've decided to use visuals as to what I'm learning and reading about this week.


Synopsis of The Space Between Us from inside flap:
The Space Between Us is an intimate portrait of a distant yet familiar world. Set in modern-day India, it is the story of two compelling and achingly real women: Sera Dubash, an upper-middle-class parsi housewife whose opulent surroundings hid the shame and disappointment of her abusive marriage, and Bhima, a stoic illiterate hardened by a life of despair and loss, who has worked in the Dubash household for more than twenty years. This extraordinary novel demonstrates how the lives of the rich and poor are intrinsically connected yet vastly removed from each other, and how the strong bonds of womanhood are eternally opposed by the divisions of class and culture.

Chapters 1- 12 in pictures:

 Slum in Bombay

Inside of home

 Parsi Wedding

 Market place

 Food

 Family

This passage sums up my reading perfectly:

The generosity of the poor, Sera marveled to herself. It puts us middle class people to shame. They should hate our guts, really. Instead, they treat us like royalty. The thought of how she herself treated Bhima- not allowing her to sit on the furniture, having her eat with separate untensils--filled her with guilt.
p.115

Book Review Club: 'After the Fall' by Kylie Ladd

Author: Kylie Ladd

Genre: Women's Fiction (Australia)

About: Two sets of married couples who are friends and TRUST each other, until one spouse from each set crosses the line and betrays their loved ones.

Descriptive Words: deceptive, lust, love, betrayal, heartache.....

Thoughts: I've never made any bones about the way I view adultery....it's wrong and I don't care what your reasons are for crossing the line. This book made me uncomfortable because I can see how easy it is for someone to cheat and why they feel they're validated in doing so. I never felt close to Luke or Kate (the cheating spouses), in fact, I really had a hard time feeling anything but disgust for these two characters. I thought the author did a great job of telling the story...you get to know each of the individuals involved and maybe get a clue as to where each one is coming from with their emotions and needs. But in the end, I'm not sure that I was satisfied as to the conclusions of the relationships.

Source: Doubleday

Why I Chose: I thought the story sounded interesting because the reader would be allowed into all 4 spouses world and I'm always curious as to how someone suddenly falls out of love and then quickly back into love with someone else.

Recommend? I'm a bit on the fence with this one. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. Overall, I thought it was a good read, but for those who don't care to read about infidelity...you may want to pass.

Rating: 3/5


Available June 15, 2010


Thank you to Doubleday 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.
They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.


Review style courtesy of Lynne's Book Reviews 

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book review blogs
@Barrie Summy

'The Little Giant of Aberdeen County' by Tiffany Baker

Author: Tiffany Baker
 
Genre: Fiction

About: A young woman who is looked upon as a "giant" because she is abnormally large and treated with indifference and sometimes with cruelty.

Descriptive Words: heartbreaking, uplifting, mystical old world qualities.

Thoughts: When this book came out last year I read quite a few favorable and not so favorable reviews. I knew that this was one that I wanted to read for myself. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to decide whether or not I believed in Truly's world. I can honestly say that throughout the book I found myself not liking Truly and then with the turn of the page, having extreme sympathy for her. She tells her story with unflinching honesty and gives no passes for anyone's behavior. Even her own. I think what I will take away the most from this story is how Truly accepts who she is in the end and is fine with what she sees in the mirror. I found myself truly (no pun intended) immersed in her story of life in Aberdeen County.

Source: Newman Communications

Why I Chose: I wanted to read it last year but never made the time. When I was asked to review 'The Little Giant of Aberdeen County' for the paperback launch I couldn't resist!

Recommend? Yes, I think Truly Plaice is a character that you should get to know personally!
Rating: 4/5

Other Reviews:
The Book Lady's blog
Caribou's Mom 
Maw Books 
For other reviews use this google search tool...click here

Review style courtesy of Lynne's Book Reviews

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

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found 

in our mailboxes last week.

 Review Books:
Waking the Witch (Women of the Otherworld #11)- Wunderkind-PR.com
Neighborhood Watch- Penguin Group
The King's Mistress- Shelf Awareness

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Hosted by Sheila
One Persons Journey Through a World of Books
Weekly meme where we discuss the books you've read
and those you plan to read in the coming week.

Read and reviewed last week:

Guesthouse- emotionally satisfying 3.75/5

Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English- captivating and beautiful 5/5

Six Sentence Saturday:

Lydia Cassatt Reads the Morning Paper- fascinating look into a painter's life 4/5

Becoming Jane Eyre- a good read about Charlotte Bronte 3/5

Tentative reviews for this week:

Tuesday- Little Giant of Aberdeen County

Wednesday- After the Fall

Friday- The Clouds Roll Away

Six Sentence Saturday

Disrupting Grace

Time of My Life

Books on deck for next week: