Showing posts with label The Guest Book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Guest Book. Show all posts

Monday, June 8, 2026

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? June 8, 2026 #IMWAYR

 

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

What I'm currently reading

The Museum of Lost Dreams
by Christine Nolfi
eARC for review
Pub date ~ June 23

Everything We Give
by Kerry Lonsdale
audio-book from my TBR shelf
Book #4 coming out August 3!!

What I recently finished

The Guest Book
by Marybeth Whalen
print from my TBR shelf for a challenge
Published July 2012

Memories of Tomorrow
by Dean Koontz
audio-book borrowed from Amazon Prime Reading
Published November 2019

What I am going to read next

The Architect
Joanne DeMaio
e-book for review
Published ~ June 2

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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

Monday, June 1, 2026

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? June 1, 2026 #IMWAYR

   

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! 

**************************************

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

What I'm currently reading

The Museum of Lost Dreams
by Christine Nolfi
eARC for review
Pub date ~ June 23

The Guest Book
by Marybeth Whalen
print from my TBR shelf for a challenge
Published July 2012

Memories of Tomorrow
by Dean Koontz
audio-book borrowed from Amazon Prime Reading
Published November 2019

What I recently finished

Dark Current Reckoning
by Ashley Farley
eARC for review
Pub date ~ June 16

Remain
by Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan
print from my TBR shelf
Published October 2025

The Mercy of Snakes
by Dean Koontz
audio-book borrowed from Amazon Prime Reading
Published November 2019

Red Rain
by Dean Koontz
audio-book borrowed from Amazon Prime Reading
Published November 2019

What I am going to read next

The Architect
Joanne DeMaio
e-book for review
Pub date ~ June 2

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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

Saturday, August 7, 2021

This OR That #Giveaway Week 23 ~ The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter OR The Guest Book by Sarah Blake #TheKeptWoman #TheGuestBook

 

I have sooooo many books! 

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. It's a way for me to cull my collection and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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The Kept Woman
(Will Trent #8)
by Karin Slaughter
ARC ~ Pub date September 2016

Read my thoughts here.

Husbands and wives. Mothers and daughters. The past and the future.

Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them.

The author of Pretty Girls returns with an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges its fascinating protagonist into the darkest depths of a mystery that just might destroy him.

With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop.

Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn't belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found.

Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away.

But the worst is yet to come. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case . . . and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him, including his colleagues, family, friends—and even the suspects he pursues.

Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, peopled with conflicted, fallible characters who leap from the page, The Kept Woman is a seamless blend of twisty police procedural and ingenious psychological thriller -- a searing, unforgettable novel of love, loss, and redemption. 

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The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake
ARC ~ Pub date May 2019

Read my thoughts here.

An unforgettable love story, a novel about past mistakes and betrayals that ripple throughout generations, The Guest Book examines not just a privileged American family, but a privileged America. It is a literary triumph.

The Guest Book follows three generations of a powerful American family, a family that “used to run the world”.

And when the novel begins in 1935, they still do. Kitty and Ogden Milton appear to have everything—perfect children, good looks, a love everyone envies. But after a tragedy befalls them, Ogden tries to bring Kitty back to life by purchasing an island in Maine. That island, and its house, come to define and burnish the Milton family, year after year after year. And it is there that Kitty issues a refusal that will haunt her till the day she dies.

In 1959 a young Jewish man, Len Levy, will get a job in Ogden’s bank and earn the admiration of Ogden and one of his daughters, but the scorn of everyone else. Len’s best friend Reg Pauling has always been the only black man in the room—at Harvard, at work, and finally at the Miltons’ island in Maine.

An island that, at the dawn of the 21st century, this last generation doesn’t have the money to keep. When Kitty’s granddaughter hears that she and her cousins might be forced to sell it, and when her husband brings back disturbing evidence about her grandfather’s past, she realizes she is on the verge of finally understanding the silences that seemed to hover just below the surface of her family all her life.

An ambitious novel that weaves the American past with its present, The Guest Book looks at the racism and power that has been systemically embedded in the US for generations. Brimming with gorgeous writing and bitterly accurate social criticism, it is a literary tour de force. 

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


Saturday, May 15, 2021

This OR That #Giveaway Week 14 ~ A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman OR The Guest Book by Sarah Blake #AManCalledOve #TheGuestBook

   

I have sooooo many books! 

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. It's a way for me to cull my collection and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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I loved this book, A Man Called Ove. I started out not liking it, and not liking Ove. But he grows on you and becomes a loveable friend. My book club read it and we all loved it as well. 

A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman
Paperback ~ Pub date May 2015

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

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The Guest Book is a memorable story covering three generations, and a lot of controversial topics of the times. You can read my thoughts HERE
 
The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake
ARC ~ May 2019

An unforgettable love story, a novel about past mistakes and betrayals that ripple throughout generations, The Guest Book examines not just a privileged American family, but a privileged America. It is a literary triumph.

The Guest Book follows three generations of a powerful American family, a family that “used to run the world”.

And when the novel begins in 1935, they still do. Kitty and Ogden Milton appear to have everything—perfect children, good looks, a love everyone envies. But after a tragedy befalls them, Ogden tries to bring Kitty back to life by purchasing an island in Maine. That island, and its house, come to define and burnish the Milton family, year after year after year. And it is there that Kitty issues a refusal that will haunt her till the day she dies.

In 1959 a young Jewish man, Len Levy, will get a job in Ogden’s bank and earn the admiration of Ogden and one of his daughters, but the scorn of everyone else. Len’s best friend Reg Pauling has always been the only black man in the room—at Harvard, at work, and finally at the Miltons’ island in Maine.

An island that, at the dawn of the 21st century, this last generation doesn’t have the money to keep. When Kitty’s granddaughter hears that she and her cousins might be forced to sell it, and when her husband brings back disturbing evidence about her grandfather’s past, she realizes she is on the verge of finally understanding the silences that seemed to hover just below the surface of her family all her life.

An ambitious novel that weaves the American past with its present, The Guest Book looks at the racism and power that has been systemically embedded in the US for generations. Brimming with gorgeous writing and bitterly accurate social criticism, it is a literary tour de force. 

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Since I will be out of town and away from my computer when this goes live, I'll answer my question here. Leave your answer in the comments. 

Our travel life has been greatly affected by COVID. We are now just starting to go places. My current travels this weekend are to Nebraska from South Dakota (not that far, I know) to celebrate my mother-in-laws 90th birthday. 

Tell me about the latest out of town/state/country trip that you have taken.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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


Sunday, February 28, 2021

The Guest Book by Sarah Blake ~ My Thoughts #TheGuestBook

The Guest Book

The Guest Book by Sarah Blake
Historical World War II Fiction, 490 pages
Published May 7th 2019 by Flatiron Books

An unforgettable love story, a novel about past mistakes and betrayals that ripple throughout generations, The Guest Book examines not just a privileged American family, but a privileged America. It is a literary triumph.

The Guest Book follows three generations of a powerful American family, a family that “used to run the world”.

And when the novel begins in 1935, they still do. Kitty and Ogden Milton appear to have everything—perfect children, good looks, a love everyone envies. But after a tragedy befalls them, Ogden tries to bring Kitty back to life by purchasing an island in Maine. That island, and its house, come to define and burnish the Milton family, year after year after year. And it is there that Kitty issues a refusal that will haunt her till the day she dies.

In 1959 a young Jewish man, Len Levy, will get a job in Ogden’s bank and earn the admiration of Ogden and one of his daughters, but the scorn of everyone else. Len’s best friend Reg Pauling has always been the only black man in the room—at Harvard, at work, and finally at the Miltons’ island in Maine.

An island that, at the dawn of the 21st century, this last generation doesn’t have the money to keep. When Kitty’s granddaughter hears that she and her cousins might be forced to sell it, and when her husband brings back disturbing evidence about her grandfather’s past, she realizes she is on the verge of finally understanding the silences that seemed to hover just below the surface of her family all her life.

An ambitious novel that weaves the American past with its present, The Guest Book looks at the racism and power that has been systemically embedded in the US for generations. Brimming with gorgeous writing and bitterly accurate social criticism, it is a literary tour de force. 


My thoughts about The Guest Book ~~ 

(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—"'It's the usual story,' the man at the tiller reflected, regarding the beautiful derelict on the hill. 'At the end of old money there is real estate.'"

This book has a lot of redeeming qualities—great characters, a wonderful setting, the multi-generational family with lots of issues. I love these multi-generational sagas which allow me to really connect with the family members and watch them grow, and hopefully mature with age. 

The only negative I have about the book is the jumping around that happened. Without warning, I found myself in another time and place and it took some thinking to figure out where and when the author was taking me. Maybe that was the author's intent, to make the reader think a bit more? But I found it distracting. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and appreciated the author's ability to show the social and racial norms of the time period. I look forward to the next book by this author. 

About the author


Sarah is the author of the novels, Grange House, the bestselling The Postmistress, and The Guest Book; a chapbook of poems, Full Turn, and the artist book Runaway Girls in collaboration with the artist Robin Kahn. 

She lives in Washington DC with her husband, the poet Joshua Weiner, their two sons, and a little white dog.

Connect with Sarah


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

Monday, February 1, 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? February 1, 2021 #IMWAYR

    

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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So, I'm having a little pity party this week, sorry. 

The last several weeks have been full of medical issues—for hubs and one of my sons. Our son ended up in the hospital a week ago, with a burst diverticula. Three night's stay but no surgery at this point. 

My husband has a totally messed up back, caused by a sledding accident 12 years ago, compounded by genetics and other incidents that wrecked havoc on his spine. He had several MRIs done on his spine last week and we meet with the orthopedic doctor later this week. Surgery may be suggested, which scares me to death. He's dealing with another issue, along with the back issues, which will probably require surgery as well. He took really good care of me after my two surgeries so I guess it's payback time for me.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse than 2020.

So we're just sitting here waiting for our time to come up to receive the vaccine. Maybe then we will feel a little more comfortable about traveling and seeing family again. I miss ((((hugs)))) sooooo much!

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

What I'm currently reading

The Paris Library
by Janet Skeslien Charles
Pub date 2/9


Obsession in Death
(In Death #40)
by J.D. Robb
Narrated by Susan Ericksen

What I recently finished

The Four Winds
by Kristin Hannah
Pub date 2/2

The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake 

What I am going to read next

Love at First
by Kate Clayborn
Pub date 2/23
Something a little lighter after the couple of historical fiction stories I just finished.

I really love my reading life!
What are you reading this week?

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

   

Monday, January 25, 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? ~ January 25, 2021#IMWAYR

    

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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I spent the day yesterday watching/listening to football. We are all Chiefs fans so the last few years have been exciting times for us, and the Chiefs. They won the last playoff game last night and are off to another Super Bowl! Go Chiefs!

We has snow all day on Saturday. It really was pretty, no wind to speak of, so just beautiful snow drifting down to the ground. And..... the fact that I don't have to go out in it makes it all that more enjoyable to watch. 😉

In case you weren't aware of it, I post book giveaways every Saturday. I'm looking to shake up the giveaways a bit and would really appreciate any suggestions you might have for me. Check out last Saturday's post here for more information. I'd really love it if you'd leave me your ideas of what you use on your blog or what you like when you are entering giveaways, either here or on the giveaway post. Thank you!

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

What I'm currently reading

The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake 

Obsession in Death
(In Death #40)
by J.D. Robb
Narrated by Susan Ericksen

What I recently finished

The Nature of Fragile Things
by Susan Meissner
Pub date 2/2

Change of Tides
(Palmetto Island #1)
by Ashley Farley
Pub date 2/9

What I am going to read next

The Paris Library
by Janet Skeslien Charles
Pub date 2/9

I really love my reading life!
What are you reading this week?

*************************

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

   

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Release Day! The Guest Book by Sarah Blake #TheGuestBook

41138424

Congrats Sarah
on the release today of
The Guest Book!

The Guest Book by Sarah Blake
Paperback and e-book, 448 pages
Published May 7th 2019 by Flatiron Books

An unforgettable love story, a novel about past mistakes and betrayals that ripple throughout generations, The Guest Book examines not just a privileged American family, but a privileged America. It is a literary triumph.

The Guest Book follows three generations of a powerful American family, a family that “used to run the world”.

And when the novel begins in 1935, they still do. Kitty and Ogden Milton appear to have everything—perfect children, good looks, a love everyone envies. But after a tragedy befalls them, Ogden tries to bring Kitty back to life by purchasing an island in Maine. That island, and its house, come to define and burnish the Milton family, year after year after year. And it is there that Kitty issues a refusal that will haunt her till the day she dies.

In 1959 a young Jewish man, Len Levy, will get a job in Ogden’s bank and earn the admiration of Ogden and one of his daughters, but the scorn of everyone else. Len’s best friend Reg Pauling has always been the only black man in the room—at Harvard, at work, and finally at the Miltons’ island in Maine.

An island that, at the dawn of the 21st century, this last generation doesn’t have the money to keep. When Kitty’s granddaughter hears that she and her cousins might be forced to sell it, and when her husband brings back disturbing evidence about her grandfather’s past, she realizes she is on the verge of finally understanding the silences that seemed to hover just below the surface of her family all her life.

An ambitious novel that weaves the American past with its present, The Guest Book looks at the racism and power that has been systemically embedded in the US for generations. Brimming with gorgeous writing and bitterly accurate social criticism, it is a literary tour de force.


I haven't read The Guest Book yet but it is on my TBR pile. I did read The Postmistress when it came out and I know I loved it. I am really excited to read Sarah's new book!

 About the author

Sarah Blake

Sarah is the author of the novels, Grange House, the bestselling The Postmistress, and The Guest Book forthcoming; a chapbook of poems, Full Turn, and the artist book Runaway Girls in collaboration with the artist Robin Kahn. She lives in Washington DC with her husband, the poet Joshua Weiner, their two sons, and a little white dog. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Sarah

Website | Goodreads | Amazon

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

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