It's Monday! What Are You Reading? November 28, 2016

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

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Thanksgiving is over. It was sort of a mad scramble for us to get there. The day before, my daughter who was going to host her first Thanksgiving (for 15 of us) decided to not host since they had been sick with this respiratory crap that is going around. They didn't want any of the little people to get it and I have a daughter-in-law who is due in 3 weeks. It would not be good for her to get sick right now either. So a lot of messages back and forth between all the other kids and we got plan B underway. As usual, we ate too much but we had a great time. And I threatened everyone with a smack upside the head if the conversation turned to politics. It worked! LOL

I have been seeing a lot of people with their Christmas trees and decorations up already. I tend to put all of mine up later. How about you, are you a now or later type of person? 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great week. Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading/listening to


A Thousand Acres
by Jane Smiley
This is our book club selection for later next week.

Good Sam
by Dete Meserve

(audiobook)

The You I've Never Known
by Ellen Hopkins

What I recently finished

From Fire into Fire: The Beginning of the Story (Isaac's House Book 1)
by Normandie Fischer
I enjoyed this series and can't wait for more. Read my thoughts here and here.

The Echoes of Love
by Hannah Fielding
You can read my thoughts here.

What I am going to read next


Love, Alice
by Barbara Davis
I have heard so much about this book and I can't wait to start it.

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Two from Isaac's House by Normandie Fischer ~ My Thoughts

Two from Isaac's House

Two from Isaac's House: A Story of Promises by Normandie Fischer
Narrated by Brandon Potter
Audiobook
Published July 2016 by Sleepy Creek Press

From author Normandie Fischer comes a new romantic suspense that takes the reader from the hills of Italy to the Jordanian desert and from there to an Israel on the brink of war with Hamas.

Rina Lynne has never traveled far from Morehead City, North Carolina. So when she inherits her father’s secret stash, she’s ready to kick up her heels and go adventuring before she settles down to marry her long-time fiancé. First stop, Italy.

Enter Tony (aka Anton), an engineering geek conned into helping his Israeli cousins as a sort-of spy. From the moment he meets Rina, he’s distracted, which is not a good idea when there’s already been murder and theft. And from the moment Rina meets Tony, she’s fascinated, which is also not a good idea. He’s an Arab-American, and she’s half-Jewish. And engaged. And then there are all those bodies dropping around them, each linked to the gathering storm in the Middle East.

My thoughts about Two from Isaac's House ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—'A moment in time and the rabbit hole opened, tumbling Rina Lynne smack dab in the middle of her own personal wonderland. The voice in her head cried, "Too much, too soon."'

I have read several of Normandie's books already and I have loved all of them. Two from Isaac's House is very different from the other stories of her's that I have read and I was a bit hesitant to try it. That whole 'Middle East, spy world adventure' is not something I usually read. But since I know for a fact that she is a wonderful storyteller, I knew I had to give this one a try. And I was not disappointed.

This is a great story with wonderful characters and lots of action, and I loved it all. There is intrigue, suspense, friendship, and love all wrapped up in this exciting and enjoyable story.

Rina and Tony have instant chemistry when they first meet in Italy but they also have a whole lot of secrets between the two of them. And there is that whole 'dead bodies' issue that keeps cropping up. There is never a dull moment when the two of them are together.

I also have to give a shout out to the narrator, Brandon Potter. He does an amazing job with all of the different accents, for all of the different characters. And he has such a wonderful voice that was so easy to listen to.

I like the direction that Normandie is taking her readers with this series and I look forward to reading more of the adventures of Rina and Tony. I also read the prequel to this story, From Fire into Fire, which gives us Tony's backstory. We learn what got him to where he is when he meets Rina. You can read my thoughts here.

From Fire into Fire:

The Beginning of the Story

(Isaac's House Book 1)

About the author

A life-long sailor, Normandie has been writing and editing professionally since the seventies. She studied sculpture for several years in Perugia, Italy, before returning stateside to complete her degree with special honors in English. When they’re not visiting grown children who have scattered elsewhere, Normandie and her husband divide their time between their waterfront home in NC (where she takes care of her mama) and their waterborne sailing home, Sea Venture, lately returned from Pacific Mexico.

She has three women's fiction books now: Becalmed, which was the first Carolina Coast novel; Sailing out of Darkness; and now the second Carolina Coast story, Heavy Weather.

Connect with Normandie

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

From Fire into Fire by Normandie Fischer ~ My Thoughts

From Fire into Fire

From Fire into Fire: The Beginning of the Story by Normandie Fischer
Series: Isaac's House Book 1
Kindle Edition, 148 pages
Published June 2nd 2016 by Sleepy Creek Press

From the author of Two from Isaac’s House comes the story behind the story.

Sixteen years after terrorists target Meira, she and her husband face their toughest task yet: telling their boy the truth.

Tony Rasad has spent most of his young life in Lebanon, the Arab-American son of a university professor. Beirut’s where he ought to be now, running around, playing on the beach with his best friend. Instead, he's stuck at this lake house in upstate New York, preparing to go to a prep school he’s certain to hate.

He's about to learn a secret that will change everything. His parents, the liars, have been living under a cover so deep they never even told their only son who he actually is.

Exposing their lies could cost them everything, including him.

My thoughts about From Fire into Fire ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First lines—'"Allabu Akbar!" The madman's cry flashed into memory, and Meira saw again the knife-wielder who proclaimed his god greater than all others. He'd pounced, his face so close to hers that his spittle had dripped down her cheek. But he'd missed his mark, and she, though scarred, had lived.'

I recently listened to Two from Isaac's House and I loved it. With this novella, we get a look at the story behind the story. From Fire into Fire explains what Tony's parents had to go through when he was a young boy and gives us a better understanding of how Tony ended up helping his cousin, doing spy business in the Middle East.

I like the direction that Normandie is taking her readers with this series and I look forward to reading more of the adventures of Rina and Tony. I also listened to Two from Isaac's House, which is the story that comes after From Fire into Fire. You can read my thoughts here.

Two from Isaac's House:
A Story of Promises

About the author

A life-long sailor, Normandie has been writing and editing professionally since the seventies. She studied sculpture for several years in Perugia, Italy, before returning stateside to complete her degree with special honors in English. When they’re not visiting grown children who have scattered elsewhere, Normandie and her husband divide their time between their waterfront home in NC (where she takes care of her mama) and their waterborne sailing home, Sea Venture, lately returned from Pacific Mexico.

She has three women's fiction books now: Becalmed, which was the first Carolina Coast novel; Sailing out of Darkness; and now the second Carolina Coast story, Heavy Weather.

Connect with Normandie

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? November 21, 2016

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

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Well, we survived the blizzard here is South Dakota this past week. Thursday night and into Friday we were under a blizzard warning and I think we got about 8 inches of snow, although I am not really sure how they can measure it with it blowing all around. Anyway, all the schools were closed except for the university where I work, so I trudged out in it. It was nasty! It's hard to believe that this was our first snowfall. We had a wonderful, warm fall and then we got hit with a blizzard right off the bat!

This is a short week at work with Thanksgiving on Thursday and I'll have Friday off as well. We are heading to my daughter's place for the family gathering. There will be 15 of the 17 of us there. It's crazy times but I love it! If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a great one.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great week. Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading/listening to


The Echoes of Love
by Hannah Fielding

Good Sam
by Dete Meserve

(audiobook)

The You I've Never Known
by Ellen Hopkins

What I recently finished

Two from Isaac's House: A Story of Promises

by Normandie Fischer

(audiobook)
Wonderful story and a great one to listen to. My thoughts will be posted soon.

What I am going to read next


From Fire into Fire: The Beginning of the Story (Isaac's House Book 1)
by Normandie Fischer
I enjoyed the Isaac House book that I just finished and it will be great to read the 'story behind the story' with this novella.


A Thousand Acres
by Jane Smiley
This is our book club selection for next week.

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!