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- Glad I read but no big deal
2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)


The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James
** I loved every single page of this book and felt like I was walking beside Charlotte Bronte. I honestly understand now why I didn't care for Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte was a dark and brooding type. I have yet to read Jane Eyre, but after reading this lovely book I know that I will absolutely enjoy my venture into Charlotte Bronte's first novel. I totally understood why she had a crush on a former teacher and how that shaped the way she felt about love. The book portrays her as a kind soul who never gave up hope that one day she and her sister's work would be published. Reading this book gave me a personal insight into her life and one that has left an indelible mark on me.
My Rating:








Country Living: Country Wisdom
** I enjoyed reading this book about how to get your house organized, declutter, and suggestions on how to fix certain problems that may crop up in your home. I wish that I could have the author come to my house and decorate for me!! I pick these books up for ideas on decor and for short cuts into the kitchen. I did write down some suggestions on how to clean your oven without Easy Off or using the self-cleaning button, but for the life of me I can't find them!! This is a book that I may check out again just to make a list of things that I wanted to try out- ways to show my personality in the objects that I display is one that comes to my mind immediately. If you're in the mood to browse through a "country style" book this one may be one for you.
My Rating:







The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
I'm so glad that I read blogs so that I could be influenced by others to pick up this book. I truly enjoyed the whole premise and the fact that the main character, Melanie, can see ghosts only made this experience more delightful for me. I loved the tension between Melanie and Jack, and can't wait to see where that might lead. The mystery does have a twist that I didn't see coming and that was a nice surprise. Reading about historic Charleston has made me put this city on my list of places that I would love to visit in the future. If you're into mysteries, old historic homes, ghosts, and a bit of romance then I really think you will enjoy this.
My Rating:

Books that I can't wait to be published!!!

Dragon Keeper returns to the setting of the Liveship Traders trilogy, the Rain Wilds. A problem faces the Rain Wild Traders. The dragons that hatched on the grounds at the base of the tree-dwelling city are growing rapidly. Malformed by too late of a migration, they are unable to feed themselves and are irritable and dangerous creatures. Dragon Keeper is the tale of how the city intends both to solve their problem with the dragons and be rid of some ‘non-productive’ citizens. An eccentric wife of a wealthy Bingtown Trader and a river captain become part of the expedition. But there are rumors that the Duke of Chalced would pay richly for ‘dragon parts’ that may halt or reverse his aging. So the expedition may face more dangers than just the acid river and the wild country that surrounds it.







Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, offering them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth—but also in the hope of rekindling a love she fears might be lost forever. Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

Review: Dream Life by Lauren Mechling

Synopsis:

Claire Voyante's first semester at Henry Hudson High School was eventful, to say the least. As she heads into her second semester, things are calming down a bit. But Claire has a few secrets that are getting harder to keep. Her biggest secret of all? The onyx and ivory cameo necklace her grandmother gave her for her 15th birthday. Ever since she started wearing it, her dreams have been coming to her in black and white and turning out to be oddly prophetic.

I gave this book to Lily to read so that once we both finished it, we could review this together. I think you will find the answers very telling of our respective ages!!

Here are Lily's thoughts on the questions I asked her:

What did you think of the character Claire Voyant?
I thought Claire was amazing! She's so intelligent and unique! I never would have thought to do some of the things she did.

Did you think her name was appropriate or weird?
No, I think her name fits her well. Like her, it's unique!

Did this book strike you as a mystery?
I didn't think so, but boy was I wrong!

Who was your favorite character and why?
My favorite character was Louis! He's so cute and shy!

Did reading Book #2 without reading book #1 confuse you?
Not at all. It pretty much told you what happened and it wasn't that hard to figure out.

What were your overall thoughts?
I thought it was a great book! It was nice just to pick it up when I wanted and not be sucked into it nonstop. I thought it was going to end differently, and was surprised at how it did. Still good, but not what I hoped.
______________________________________________________

Part 2: From an old person's perspective:
Lily's questions to Staci

If you could change one thing what would it be?
I would change the name of the main character! I like Claire but the Voyant on the end was just a bit cheesy for me!

What was your favorite part about Dream Girl?
I liked the grandmother and anytime she showed up those were the passages I enjoyed the most.

Did you like the storyline?
At times I did and then I also found myself thinking it was confusing and strange at times. And I found it very far fetched that a group of girls would be responsible for carrying out secret missions for the elite of NYC.

Who was your favorite character and why?
Again the Grandma....am I showing my age here!! She was feisty, fun, glamorous, and I would so love to hang out with her!

Did it keep you interested?
I found this book to be really hard to get into....I think I needed to read book one first. Unlike you, Lily, my mind is slower these days and the beginning of the book confused me! It wasn't until I was 50+ pages into the story that I realized I that I was reading book #2!

Did you know what was going to happen?
Yep, I knew that the good girls would win and that the betrayer was someone close!

What were your overall thoughts?
That I need to read Dream Girl and then maybe this one again. I didn't really feel a connection with Claire and that isn't a good thing for me. I did continue reading because I liked Grandma. I feel that the book is targeted to the right age group, which is your age Lily.


Many thanks to Lauren Mechling for sending me a copy of Dream Life to review and to Lenore (Presenting Lenore) for hooking us up with Lauren!!

As you can see Lily and I have differing thoughts on this one, but that is why we both love to read. So that we can discuss the book and share our thoughts on them.

Library Loot- January 20th

Hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair and Marg at Reading Adventures.
We share what we each picked up at the library during the week.

I went to the library last night and picked up several holds for myself and a book for my hubby. I have someone to blame for the 4 books that I acquired!!


The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters
** All blame for this one goes to Margot at Joyfully Retired. I love reading her blog and she wrote about this book last week. I enjoy perusing a fun cookbook and Margot really enjoyed it, she gave it an A, so I knew that I would like this one!! And you never know, I just may try out a few recipes!



French Milk by Lucy Knisley
** I've seen mixed reviews for this one, but was swayed by JoAnn's (Lakeside Musing) review so I decided to get it and judge for myself. I enjoy graphic novels so I'm hoping to like this one. In this book I will be visiting France.






The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming
** I was heavily influenced by Alyce's Friday Finds post which featured this graphic novel. I thought it looked like a great read plus I always enjoy learning about interesting people in history. With this book I will be visiting China.






The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa
** Blame again goes to Alyce!! This is another graphic novel that she listed and I just had to read it!! This is the first of 3 in a series. This book takes me to Korea!






Books Read in 2010 to date: 11
Number of Books Checked out from the library:16

Teaser Tuesday and It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm back in England and Wally Carter has been murdered! I have no idea who did it but I can't wait to figure it out. Could it be the neglected widow? The neighbor who's in love with her? Or could it be her resentful daughter? Or is it the phony Russian prince????

No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer
___________________________________________

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

"Well, I've got to think up a convincing excuse for being practically on the scene of the crime, haven't I?"
'You little fool,' interrupted Hugh, 'are you seriously proposing to fake an alibi for yourself?'

p.157 ~ No Wind of Blame

Mailbox Monday- January 18

Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff
** This is an ARC that I requested last year. I like to read a good love story every now and again and I think this one will hit the mark.
Synopsis:
Lily was married for just days before her husband was sent abroad to fight in WWII. Now, he and the other soldiers are returning, and the small town of Toccoa, Georgia plans a big celebration. But a handsome and kind Italian immigrant, responsible for the elaborate fireworks display the town commissioned captures Lily's heart and soul. Torn between duty to society and her husband, and a poor, passionate man who might be her only true love--Lily must choose between a love she never knew and a commitment she'd already made.


Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds
** I won this from Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit.
Synopsis:
In this sexy Jane Austen sequel, Elizabeth Bennet accepts Mr. Darcy's first marriage proposal, answering the "What if...?" question fans everywhere have pondered

What came for you?

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- Glad I read but no big deal
2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)



A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick
** What a lovely book!! There wasn't a part in this novel that I didn't enjoy or truly believe could happen. I'm a big sucker for stories that involve women, hardship, friendships, and some sort of craft, this one has it all. I wanted to live in their town and be friends with all of them. I could so see myself learning how to quilt with the help of Evelyn, the main character.Thankfully, there is a sequel, A Thread of Truth, which is resting happily on my library loot shelf!!

My Rating:







Crossing Stones by Helen Frost
** I'm not sure how I heard about this book, but I'm very happy that I picked it up to read. What I loved the most was the free form poetry that Frost incorporated into the story. She also designed her words to simulate the lake and the stones that the characters crossed daily to visit with each other. I haven't read many books that are about WWI and this one brought the horrors of the war to me without the gore. Eighteen-year-old Muriel will capture your heart, she's a feisty young lady who questions the reasons for this war and finds out that even in the United States you must watch what you say or write. Highly recommended for history buffs, young people, those that love poetry, and anyone looking for a fast-moving story.

My Rating:







Bone Volume 2: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith
** I can only gush when I talk about this charming graphic novel series. I am so in love with Fone Bone and his sheer innocence. His heart is filled with love for Thorn and there are some amusing moments when they're at the town festival and a sweet talker tries to take Thorn away from him. If you are looking for a book to get your reluctant reader to read, I would ABSOLUTELY tell you to grab this series. The best part is that you, an adult, will enjoy this just as much as your child!!! I'm so happy that I have many more installments to look forward to!!

My Rating: