If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you know that I’m a member of the Literary Junkies Book Club! I absolutely love these girls! We read a book a month and discuss it as well as have these awesome link-ups. If you want more info or are interested in joining, feel free to contact Taylor or Leslie.

Mobbed by Carol Higgins Clark
Pocket Books, 2011

First Line: “Get that phone call over with.”

From the back cover: Exactly what is going on in Edna Frawley’s beach house? When a total stranger offers Edna a hefty sum to sell the place, the incorrigible octogenarian jumps at the chance. Edna’s daughter, who lives in San Diego- hearing her mother is holding a garage sale featuring personal items left behind when the actress Cleo Paradise rented the house- asks her old friend Nora Reilly to check up on Edna. A short train ride later, Nora and Regan are trying to work out a pile of unanswered questions. Why did Cleo depart suddenly, leaving a large number of belongings behind? How does Regan’s friend Hayley’s two-timing boyfriend, Scott, fit into the picture? Scott’s new fiance, Jillian, is conducting the sale for Edna, but she disappears after catching sight of Regan. As the questions stack up and still nobody has heard from Cleo, her panicked parents beg Regan to find her. But is there time, or will Cleo’s next hours be her last?

My Thoughts: This is not my typical read, however, my grandmother lent it to me. We trade books from time to time when we read a good book. I guess I get my love of reading from her. This was my first time reading a Carol Higgins Clark book, and it was a pretty decent read. It is a mystery novel that definitely kept me guessing. I never could figure out who the bad guy/girl was. The chapters were laid out similar to James Patterson’s novels.

The only negative I have about Mobbed is that is introduced so many characters but never went into much detail about them. It lightly touched on each of them but I still had questions unanswered. For this reason, I gave the book 3 1/2 stars.

Via

Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani
The Random House Publishing Group, 2001

First Line: The rain is coming down on this old stone house so hard, it seems there are a hundred tap dancers on the roof.

From the back cover: Eight years have passed since Ave Maria Mulligan married Jack Mack, moved up into the hills, and dug her roots in even deeper. Bust Ave Maria soon discovers that the mountains cannot shelter her from the painful lessons of the heart. As her life reaches a crossroads, almost everybody in town has advice to offer- including the Bookmobile’s self-appointed sexpert Iva Lou Wade, savvy pharmacy owner Pearl Grimes (“a very mature twenty-four”), crusty chain-smoking cashier Fleeta and of course, the always-wise band director Theodore Tipton, no unofficially “out” and about. But when Ave Maria takes her daughter to Italy for the summer, her passion for a seductive stranger will test her marriage- and push her to choose the man who is truly her destiny.

My Thoughts: I absolutely adored book #1 of the Big Stone Gap series, so I couldn’t wait to read book #2. Big Cherry Holler did not disappoint. It takes a wild twist that you don’t see coming which makes it exciting and devastating at the same time. This book introduces the reader to an older Ave Maria who has been married for over a decade and had 2 children, but after losing her youngest, her marriage starts to take a turn for the worst. This is a wonderful story about never giving up and working through pain and loss.

The story also takes us back to Italy (which I am a total sucker for) and gives you a taste of that Italian tradition. Ave Maria takes her daughter Etta to meet the extended family and she falls in love with her Italian heritage, and a certain Italian boy as well.

I love how these books incorporate a lot of comic relief in the middle of a sad or tough moment so that the books never get too depressing. This series is about real life. You’ll find no fairy tale love stories here. This teaches you to work at it. Love is never simple and it is something you must always work for and fight for.

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While I’ve got you here, meet Andi from Just Another Smith!

This month I participated in the blogger book swap. It was my first time to participate in a book swap and I really enjoyed it. I was paired up with Rachele from RicRac Rachele and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her. She went above and beyond and not only bought one book, but two! How sweet is she?

I have been about to die to read What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, so I was really excited about getting that one. She also bought me Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruise which is also on my to-read list! I love the book mark she got me, too. It is gorgeous. Thank you so much, Rachele!

Weekend in Paris by Robyn Sisman
Penguin Group, 2003

First Line: Eighty feet below Trafalgar Square the train rattled southward, steepening its angle as it prepared to plunge beneath the Thames.

From the back cover: Molly Clearwater had always wanted to escape the confines of her small-town upbringing to make a splash as a career woman in London. But somehow, working as a low-level assistant for the boorish Malcolm Figg wasn’t nearly as fulfilling as she had hoped-until Malcolm offered her a “perk”-a free weekend business trip to Paris. She’s ecstatic until she discovers that Malcolm’s idea of “business” isn’t exactly the same as hers. Horrified, Molly storms out of the office.  With nothing else to lose, she impulsively boards a train to Paris, intent on treating herself to a long weekend in the City of Light.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
Mariner Books; Reprint edition 
September, 2012


First Line: In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.

Back Cover: Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.


My Thoughts: I am a big fan of The Lord of the Rings movies, but have never read the books. Ryan is the opposite. He read all the books but refuses to see the movies because he is scared they may ruin the story for him. Because of this, I know the books must be pretty good. I figured I would start by reading The Hobbit since the movie came out last month and I really wanted to see it. Did that happen? No. I will definitely see it when it comes out in Redbox. 


This story was very interesting to me. I loved reading about the times before The Lord of the Rings movies. I was able to get a better understanding of the background story. I do have to say that this book had a tendency to drag on at times, but even with the slowness, it was a pretty good read overall. It was full of adventure and you can’t help but fall in love with Bilbo. The climax of the book – when he fights the dragon, Smaug – is very exciting. After this battle, the book grew very slow through the end. 

Paige’s Giveaway
Diana’s Giveaway

Downtown Jacksonville on the river.

My grandparents live in the best part of Jacksonville, FL.- Jax Beach. We try to go visit them about every other month or so because we love spending time with them and don’t get to see them as often as I would like. My grandmother and I have always been very close. We are very similar in a lot of ways and she is always making me laugh. I also love the city of Jacksonville. It is a big city with a lot of smaller suburbs and it has a beach and a river. Their food is wonderful, the atmosphere is extremely laid back and their stores are on steroids (at least compared to Montgomery’s). We love to go shopping while we are down there because you can always find the best deals.

I won’t get into all of the clothes that I bought because we will be here all day. I will however tell you about the books that I purchased. We stumbled upon a little used bookstore where I bought all of these for $8 + tax. No, I’m not kidding. Most of them were $0.50 a piece! How can you beat that? My mom was agitated surprised to hear that this Christmas entertaining book I found was only $1 when she paid $34.99 for the exact same one. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped about the purchase. They are all in very good condition and look like they’ve hardly been opened. I really wish we had a used book store in Montgomery. I buy most of my books on Amazon because I read too fast to justify spending full price. I recently bought a book that I paid $8.25 for after shipping. It was used on Amazon. When I received the book, I was a bit perturbed because it was in terrible condition and the seller had listed it as “good” condition. Then I flipped it to the back cover…the original cost of the book was $7.50. That’s right. I was not a happy camper, but that’s life. It happens. So having a used book store around would save me from paying too much for a sad looking book. If we stick around here much longer, I may just have to open one. 😉

Only a few hours left to enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card!!!

Today I’m linking up with Taylor and Lesley for our 3rd month of Literary Junkies! If you are interested in joining this book club, either one of these girls can hook you up! Let’s get to it…

2. If you could be any character from any book you’ve read, who would you be?


Hmm…Katniss, because she is fearless and extremely brave, OR Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.


3. Do you ever put a book down because you just can’t get into it? Or do you stick it out to the bitter end? Any examples?


I can’t not (like that double negative?) finish a book. Even if it is terrible, I feel really bad if I don’t finish. Example: Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier was terrible. It was boring and I couldn’t get into it at all, but I still finished it.


4. Show us your book shelves! Do you have one designated spot in your house for all your books? Do you scatter them around?


I keep the books that I’m reading on my night stand by the bed and the others I own are on book shelves throughout the house.


Click here to enter my giveaway to win a $50 Amazon gift card and ad space!!!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
Washington Square Press
2010

Format: Paperback

First Line: Hush…Can you hear him?

From the back cover: It starts with a letter, lost for half a century and unexpectedly delivered to Edie’s mother on a Sunday afternoon. The letter leads Edie to Milderhurst Castle, where the eccentric Blythe spinsters live and where, she discovers, her mother was billeted during World War II. The elder Blythe sisters are twins and have spent most of their lives caring for their younger sister, Juniper, who hasn’t been the same since her fiancé jilted her in 1941. 


Inside the decaying castle, Edie searches for her mother’s past but soon learns there are other secrets hidden in its walls. The truth of what happened in “the distant hours” has been waiting a long time for someone to find it. In this enthralling romantic thriller, Morton pays homage to the classics of Gothic fiction, spinning a rich and intricate web of mystery, suspense, and lost love.


My Thoughts: If you love mysteries and castles, you will love this book. Kate Morton is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I love her writing style and the Gothic mysteries she creates. These books have taken me back to my Nancy Drew days. Some mystery novels can be very predictable, but this was the opposite. It surprised me at every turn, and just when I thought I had it figured out, I didn’t. Nothing was ever what it seemed. This made the book very enjoyable.

The characters in this story are very eccentric. Edie was the most normal relatable character. I felt like she was someone I could have been friends with. Her passion is books. That passion mixed with a little family history takes her on a wild journey that leads her to the Blythe sisters. As she uncovers the sisters’ story and her mother’s history, she discovers deeply buried secrets that will shock you. The twins are very interesting. They were truly like two halves of a whole. Although twins, they shared opposite character traits. Juniper was mentally ill and was never given proper treatment because her sisters would not let her leave the castle. They didn’t want her taken away from them. They also suffered the consequences…

The story is captivating from the first page. I couldn’t get enough of the story and couldn’t put the book down. I highly recommend The Distant Hours and give it five stars.

(I purchased this book)

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