WWW Wednesdays February 22

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading 

To play along, just answer the following three questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next? 

What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long.
Loving it and isn't the cover beautiful?  

What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished reading The Bungalow by Sarah Jio. 

Loved it! Ms. Jio did it again - such beautiful books! 

I also read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

I thought I had read this one before ~ Goodreads said I did ~ but I didn't remember it at all, so I am thinking I didn't. 

And I actually liked it. What a nice surprise!

What do you think you will read next?

Next, I am going to be reading Write From the Heart by Heather Hummel.
I read her other book Whispers From the Heart for it's blog tour and am super excited to read this second one in the series.

Happy reading everyone!!

The Bungalow by Sarah Jio

A sweeping World War II saga of thwarted love, murder, and a long-lost painting.

In the summer of 1942, twenty-one-year-old Anne Calloway, newly engaged, sets off to serve in the Army Nurse Corps on the Pacific island of Bora-Bora. More exhilarated by the adventure of a lifetime than she ever was by her predictable fiancé, she is drawn to a mysterious soldier named Westry, and their friendship soon blossoms into hues as deep as the hibiscus flowers native to the island. Under the thatched roof of an abandoned beach bungalow, the two share a private world-until they witness a gruesome crime, Westry is suddenly redeployed, and the idyll vanishes into the winds of war.

A timeless story of enduring passion, The Bungalow chronicles Anne's determination to discover the truth about the twin losses-of life, and of love-that have haunted her for seventy years. ~~ synopsis from Amazon

My thoughts on The Bungalow ~~

Once again, Sarah Jio has written another beautiful story. I absolutely fell in love with her first novel, The Violet of March. I now have a second love. 

The Bungalow takes place during World War II and is the story of a nurse and a soldier who meet on Bora-Bora where they are both stationed. She is engaged back home but falls in love with Westry. Their encounter is such a romantic, sad love story.

I was totally drawn into their world by Ms. Jio's excellent writing, I hesitate to use the word 'beautiful' again but that is exactly how I would describe her writing. It is just beautiful! The words flow off the page and into my head, making me feel like I am in the story and I never want to leave.

Here a a couple of lines from the book that I love ~~ 

'I'm just saying that this place has a way of revealing the truth about people, uncovering the layers we carry and exposing our real selves.' 

'I nestled closer to him, wrapping my arm around his just as two wine-colored leaves fell from a nearby tree branch, dancing in the autumn breeze on separate paths before falling softly to the ground, where they settled on the damp earth, side by side'. ~~ Isn't that just beautiful?  

Ms. Jio's next novel, Blackberry Winter, comes out in September. 

I can hardly wait! 

Author's website

WWW Wednesdays February 15

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading 

To play along, just answer the following three questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next? 

What are you currently reading?

I am currently devouring/reading The Bungalow by Sarah Jio. 

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED her first book, The Violets of March and have had this one on my bookshelf for awhile. I have been holding off reading it because I want to get lost in it ~ but I don't want to read it too fast 'cause I don't want it to be over. 

Does that make any sense? 

What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished reading The Disappeared by Kim Echlin.

This is our February book group selection. 

Interesting book - it should be a great discussion. 

What do you think you will read next?

I will be reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Our book group is discussing this one in February. I read this one before and gave it only 2 stars on Goodreads. I hope I like it better this time. 

Happy reading everyone!!

In My Mailbox (5)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. Each week we spotlight the books we've received for review, swapped, won or purchased.

My mailbox was overflowing this week with wonderful books. 
The mailman must be 'catching up' on his deliveries 
after Christmas!

Click on the book covers to go to 
Goodreads to read the synopsis.

For Review:  

This one just showed up in my mailbox from the publisher (sweet!!) so I guess I will put it on my 'For Review' pile. Looks interesting! 

I will be reviewing this as part of a Tristi Pinkston Book Tour in February.

Won:

 

I won this e-book from a giveaway on the author, Michelle Madow's, website.

I won this book from the 
Babies, Books & Signs blog. I have been seeing this book everywhere and was so excited to get my own copy!

This one is a win from  
SheLovesHotReads.com 

Awesome!!

Bought: 

I absolutely LOVED The Violets of March, Sarah Jio's first book, so I just had to get this one as soon as possible. And..... she has another book coming out in September 2012 titled Blackberry Winter. Can't wait!!

Gifted

 

One of my daughters gifted me the e-book of 11/22/63 for Christmas. Now I don't have to lug this huge book around with me!

What did you get in your mailbox this week? 


Let the reading begin!!