Waiting on Wednesday is at Breaking the Spine
Christmas is a time for family and friends, for tradition and treats. But, let’s face it, when the pressure to feed and entertain builds up, the festive season can start to lose its sparkle . . . That’s where Nigella comes in. With her no-nonsense approach, her inspirational ideas, and her empathy for the practical realities of the season-combined here with reliable, easy-to-follow recipes and reassuring advice about planning and cooking ahead-Nigella Christmas is guaranteed to bring comfort and joy and make sure the season of good will stays that way.
Synopsis
Monthly Archives: September 2009
Vision in White by Nora Roberts
Synopsis
#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts invites readers to the wedding event of the year!
#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents her first trade original—a novel of love, friendship, and family—Book One in the Bride Quartet.
Wedding photographer Mackensie “Mac” Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be’s brother…an encounter that has them both seeing stars.
A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac’s type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends—and business partners—to see her way to her own happy ending.
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Vision in White is only the second book by Nora Roberts that I’ve read. It is the first of four books in the series. Initially, the cover is what caught my eye. The partial photograph of a bride is beautiful – which is fitting since the main character is a wedding photographer.
It was fun to watch the relationship blossom between Mackensie and Carter. Of course there are stumbling blocks placed in the way to their happily-ever-after but the ‘getting there’ made for an enjoyable way to spend a few hours reading.
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And now for a quick giveaway. I’m offering my gently-read copy of Vision in White. All you need to do is leave your email in the comment. Giveaway ends tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 30) at 9pm EDT. Open to US or Canada residents only. Good luck!
Contest has ended.
Mailbox Monday – Sept. 28
Sunday Summary – Sept. 27
I reviewedViola In Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani.
I read Instant Gratification by Jill Shalvis. It is the second in a series and I thought it was a pretty good romance.
My review for Angel Lane will be posted on Oct. 5 for Sheila Roberts’ blog tour.
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We went to our final baseball game of the season – our boys lost. There’s always next year!
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All in all, a quiet week. That’s all about to change since the countdown to my son’s wedding has started. Less than two weeks to go. I still need to find shoes – wish me luck!
This photo is from last year. Right now the tree is just beginning to change color.
Autumn – my favorite season.
Viola In Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani
Synopsis
I’m marooned.
Abandoned.
Left to rot in boarding school . . .
Viola doesn’t want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.
Ick.
There’s no way Viola’s going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.
Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.
But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.
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Viola In Reel Life is the story of Viola Chesterton, age fourteen. Viola’s parents are documentary film-makers who are going to film in Afghanistan. They’ll be gone a year and Prefect Academy is the perfect place for Viola to spend that year. She hates leaving her BFFs back in Brooklyn – how will she ever get along without them?
At first, I thought Viola was a spoiled, self-centered girl. But I reminded myself of her age and the fact that her life was changing virtually overnight. I thought she seemed a bit too glib, too precocious in the opening chapters but I warmed up to the character and enjoyed seeing how she coped with her new life, new friends, new school, etc.
I’ll be recommending this book to my niece who is fifteen and rarely seen without a book. I think she’ll enjoy reading about Viola. I know I did!
Waiting on Wednesday – Sept. 23
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
- Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
- Pub. Date: January 26, 2010
- ISBN-13: 9780553593365
- Sales Rank: 40,135
- 288pp
Synopsis
Linc Blaise needed the perfect fiancée to win his dream job, but finding a woman who’d be convincing in a charade seemed impossible—until he heard Daisy Flattery charm her way out of a sticky situation! Playing the prim and proper bride-to-be was a lark to the dazzling storyteller, but once she glimpsed the touching vulnerability Linc tried to hide, pretense turned into temptation. Could she find a way to make their fairy tale last?
In a deliciously funny and touching tale of opposites attracting, Jennifer Crusie warms hearts and tickles funnybones from start to finish! Daisy had made him believe in wondrous possibilities, drawn him into a world of passionate abandon, but was he brave enough to give her his love?
Mailbox Monday – Sept. 21
Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Mailbox Monday is found at The Printed Page
Sunday Summary – Sept. 20
I read and reviewed only one book last week – that’s unusual for me. The weather has been great (sunny and 70s) and I’ve been outside soaking it all in so that once the cold and snow arrive maybe I can remember these days and feel the warmth *smile*.
The book I read is 92 Pacific Boulevard by Debbie Macomber. My review is here. I’ve also been reading Angel Lane by Sheila Roberts. Review will be up in early October for the blog tour.
A new award (Dragon’s Loyalty Award) arrived on Friday from its creator: Carter. And then Missy passed it to me today. Thank you so much, ladies!
The photo is the clematis around my patio. It started to bloom this week. Click on the photo to make larger.
Waiting on Wednesday – Sept. 16
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
Synopsis
One of the most celebrated writers of our time gives us his first cycle of short fiction: five brilliantly etched, interconnected stories in which music is a vivid and essential character.
A once-popular singer, desperate to make a comeback, turning from the one certainty in his life . . . A man whose unerring taste in music is the only thing his closest friends value in him . . . A struggling singer-songwriter unwittingly involved in the failing marriage of a couple he’s only just met . . . A gifted, underappreciated jazz musician who lets himself believe that plastic surgery will help his career . . . A young cellist whose tutor promises to “unwrap” his talent . . .
Passion or necessity—or the often uneasy combination of the two—determines the place of music in each of these lives. And, in one way or another, music delivers each of them to a moment of reckoning: sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, sometimes just eluding their…
92 Pacific Boulevard by Debbie Macomber
Synopsis
92 Pacific Boulevard
Cedar Cove, Washington
Dear Reader,
I’m not much of a letter writer. As the sheriff here, I’m used to writing incident reports, not chatty letters. But my daughter, Megan—who’ll be making me a grandfather soon—told me I had to do this. So here goes.
I’ll tell you straight out that I’d hoped to marry Faith Beckwith (my onetime high school girlfriend) but she ended the relationship last month, even though we’re both widowed and available. There were a few misunderstandings between us, some of them inadvertently caused by Megan.
However, I’ve got plenty to keep me occupied, like the unidentified remains found in a cave outside town. And the fact that my friend Judge Olivia Griffin is fighting cancer. And the break-ins at 204 Rosewood Lane—the house Faith happens to be renting from Grace Harding…
If you want to hear more, come on over to my place or to the sheriff’s office—if you can stand the stale coffee!
Troy Davis
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92 Pacific Boulevard is the latest book in the Cedar Cove series by Debbie Macomber. This is such a relaxed and nice series. There are recurring main characters and then usually a few new ones in each book. Some of the story lines continue in successive books – which is fine with me because I don’t always like things tied up in a bow at the end of a book. There are a couple of mysteries in this installment. Will they be solved? You’ll have to read to find out. I guess this book could stand alone but I would recommend starting at the beginning. You’ll get to know the characters at a nice pace. I look forward to my next visit to Cedar Cove.
