This or That Giveaway Week 44 ~ The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo OR Inheriting Edith by Zoe Fishman #TheRootsOfTheOliveTree #InheritingEdith

 

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 Roots of the Olive Tree

Courtney Miller Santo

Paperback ~ Pub date August2012

Set in a house on an olive grove in northern California, The Roots of the Olive Tree is a beautiful, touching story that brings to life five generations of women--including an unforgettable 112 year-old matriarch determined to break all Guinness longevity records--the secrets and lies that divide them and the love that ultimately ties them together.

I loved this story!

Read my thoughts here

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Inheriting Edith

by Zoe Fishman

Paperback ~ Pub date October 2016

A poignant breakout novel, for fans of J. Courtney Sullivan and Elin Hilderbrand, about a single mother who inherits a beautiful beach house with a caveat—she must take care of the ornery elderly woman who lives in it.

For years, Maggie Sheets has been an invisible hand in the glittering homes of wealthy New York City clients, scrubbing, dusting, mopping, and doing all she can to keep her head above water as a single mother. Everything changes when a former employer dies leaving Maggie a staggering inheritance. A house in Sag Harbor. The catch? It comes with an inhabitant: The deceased’s eighty-two-year old mother Edith.

Edith has Alzheimer’s—or so the doctors tell her—but she remembers exactly how her daughter Liza could light up a room, or bring dark clouds in her wake. And now Liza’s gone, by her own hand, and Edith has been left—like a chaise or strand of pearls—to a poorly dressed young woman with a toddler in tow.

Maggie and Edith are both certain this arrangement will be an utter disaster. But as summer days wane, a tenuous bond forms, and Edith, who feels the urgency of her diagnosis, shares a secret that she’s held close for five decades, launching Maggie on a mission that might just lead them each to what they are looking for.

Another fabulous story!

Read my thoughts here.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

This OR That #Giveaway Week 34 ~ The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo OR The Forbidden Garden Ellen Herrick #TheRootsOfTheOliveTree #TheForbiddenGarden

 

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!

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

The Roots of the Olive Tree

Courtney Miller Santo

Paperback ~ Pub date August2012

Set in a house on an olive grove in northern California, The Roots of the Olive Tree is a beautiful, touching story that brings to life five generations of women--including an unforgettable 112 year-old matriarch determined to break all Guinness longevity records--the secrets and lies that divide them and the love that ultimately ties them together.

I loved this story!

Read my thoughts here

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The Forbidden Garden

Ellen Herrick

Paperback ~ Pub date April 2017

Every garden is a story, waiting to be told…

At the nursery she runs with her sisters on the New England coast, Sorrel Sparrow has honed her rare gift for nurturing plants and flowers. Now that reputation, and a stroke of good timing, lands Sorrel an unexpected opportunity: reviving a long-dormant Shakespearean garden on an English country estate.

Arriving at Kirkwood Hall, ancestral home of Sir Graham Kirkwood and his wife Stella, Sorrel is shocked by the desolate state of the walled garden. Generations have tried—and failed—to bring it back to glory. Sorrel senses heartbreak and betrayal here, perhaps even enchantment. Intrigued by the house’s history—especially the haunting tapestries that grace its walls—and increasingly drawn to Stella’s enigmatic brother, Sorrel sets to work. And though she knows her true home is across the sea with her sisters, instinct tells her that the English garden’s destiny is entwined with her own, if she can only unravel its secrets.

Another great read!

Read my thoughts here

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Book Spotlight and a Giveaway! The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santos

I have sooooo many books! I have a ton of print books and probably even more e-books. The Book Spotlight feature that I will be posting every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the books I have. There are a lot of different reasons that I might be letting some of my books go, the biggest one is that we recently moved and I discovered how many books I really do have. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy them.

The book that I am featuring this week is one that I have already read and absolutely LOVE! You can read my thoughts here. I discovered in our move that I had two copies of this wonderful book. How does that happen? I am keeping one (cause I love it that much) and letting one of them go so someone else can love it too.  

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

The Roots of the Olive Tree

The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santos
Paperback, 320 pages
Published August 10th 2012 by Harper Collins

Five generations of firstborn Keller women live in the same house on an olive grove in secluded northern California. Matriarch Anna is 112 and trying to be the oldest woman in the world-and succeeding heartily. Her daughter Bets, granddaughter Callie, great-granddaughter Deb, and great-great granddaughter Erin are also defying longevity norms. 

When a geneticist comes to study the women at the same time Erin announces she is pregnant with a firstborn boy, the Kellers′ roots are shaken wide open. Told in the third-person perspective of each of the women, the story and mystery of their existence is revealed in compulsive prose and compassionate drive. 

About the author

Courtney Miller Santo teaches creative writing to college students and lives in Memphis with her husband, two children, and retired racing greyhound.

Connect with Courtney 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

On Tour: The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo

Courtney Miller Santo’s compelling and evocative debut novel captures the joys and sorrows of family— the love, secrets, disappointments, jealousies, and forgiveness that tie generations to one another.

Meet the Keller family, five generations of firstborn women living together in the same house on a secluded olive grove in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. Anna, the family matriarch, is 112 and determined to become the oldest person in the world. Strong in mind and firm in body, she rules Hill House, the family home she shares with her daughter Bets, granddaughter Callie, great-granddaughter Deb, and great-great-granddaughter Erin.

While the Keller women are bound by blood, living together has not always been easy. And it is about to become more complicated now that Erin, the youngest, is back, alone and pregnant, after two years abroad with an opera company. Her return and the arrival of a geneticist who has come to study the family’s unusual longevity ignites explosive emotions that these women have kept buried and uncovers revelations that will shake them all to their roots.

My thoughts about The Roots of the Olive Tree ~~

I love stories about generations of women. And strong women. And women who lean on and are there for the other women in their lives. The reader gets all this and more in The Roots of the Olive Tree. This is a story about five generations of first born women, with the sixth generation on the way. The matriarch of the family is 112 years old. Amazing, huh?

A geneticist comes to study the women to try to understand while these women live to such an advanced age. What he discovers there is not what he was expecting to find. His being there opened up the past and we learn what this family has gone through to survive as long as they have.

The story is woven through the chapters, focusing on one woman at a time and their story; all of the happiness, sorrows and struggles they had to go through to get where they are today. We learn how much they love each other as well as the frustrations they encountered as they dealt with the other women in the family home.

This is a beautifully written family saga that I absolutely fell in love with. I recommend it to anyone and everyone who asks for a good book to read. This is definitely going on my list to suggest to my book club. It is just an amazing story!

Visit other stops on the tour here!

About the author

Courtney Miller Santo grasped the importance of stories from listening to her great-grandmother, who lives in Northern California. She learned to write stories in the journalism program at Washington and Lee University and then discovered the limits of true stories working as a reporter in Virginia. She teaches creative writing at the University of Memphis, where she earned her MFA. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Los Angeles Review, Irreantum, Sunstone, and Segullah. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, two children, and dog. Her most prized possession is a photo of five generations of the women in her own family.

Connect with Courtney

Website | Facebook | Twitter| Pinterest | Goodreads

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

WWW Wednesdays May 22, 2013

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?

Clicking on the book covers will take you to Goodreads
for more information about the books listed below.

What are you currently reading?

Echoes by Maeve Binchy

This is one of my book club selections. I just started it so no opinion yet. 

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I absolutely LOVE this book! I am now listening to the audio version ~ still lovin' it! 

What did you recently finish reading?

Still Life in Brunswick Stew by Larissa Reinhart

I read this for CLP Blog Tours. My thoughts will be posted May 23.

The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santos

I read this one for TLC Book Tours. Loved it! My stop on the tour is May 23. 

Click: an Online Love Story by Lisa Becker
Fun read! My thoughts will be posted May 26.

What do you think you will read next?

Double Click by Lisa Becker

Can't wait to continue with this story.

What's on your WWW this week?

Leave me a comment and

I'll stop by to check out your reads.

And be sure to check out the sidebar

for my current giveaways!

WWW Wednesdays May 15, 2013

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?

Clicking on the book covers will take you to Goodreads
for more information about the books listed below.

What are you currently reading?

Still Life in Brunswick Stew by Larissa Reinhart

I am reading this for CLP Blog Tours. My thoughts will be posted May 23.

The Healer of Fox Hollow by Joann Rose Leonard

This is a re-read for me, my book club is reading it this month. I loved it the first time I read it and am glad that I am reading it again. I recommend it whenever I can! My thoughts are here.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I absolutely LOVE this book! I am now listening to the audio version ~ still love it! 

What did you recently finish reading?

What She Left Us by Stephanie Elliot
Wonderful story! Check out her blog BooKiNG with MaNic

After Math by Denise Grover Swank

Another great story by Denise. Read my thoughts here.


The Forgotten Ones (The Danaan Triology #1)

by Laura Howard.
Loved that there will be more to this story. Read my thoughts here.

What do you think you will read next?

The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo

I am reading this for TLC book tours. It looks interesting. 

What's on your WWW this week?

Leave me a comment and

I'll stop by to check out your reads.

And be sure to check out the sidebar

for my current giveaways!

WWW Wednesdays July 11

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?

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

This is an older Picoult book but we are reading it for my book club this month. Actually I am listening to the audiobook, something I should do more of ~ some of the readers are amazing!

What did you recently finish reading?

The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santos

Loved it!!

The Cell Phone Lot by Stephanie Elliot 
Quick read and my thoughts are here

With My Body by Nikki Gemmell 
My thoughts will be posted July 13th

Paula Takes a Risk by Randi M. Sherman

Short but funny book and my thoughts will be posted July 17

What do you think you will read next?

Kat Fight by Dina Silver 
On tour here on July 21-22

What's on your WWW this week?

Leave me a comment and 
I'll stop by to check out your reads. 

WWW Wednesdays July 4

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?

The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santos

Loving this one!

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

This is an older Picoult book but we are reading it for my book club this month. Actually I am listening to the audiobook, something I should do more of ~ some of the readers are amazing!

What did you recently finish reading?

Turquoise: A Love Story by Ayshe Talay-Ongan

My review and giveaway are here.

The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass

What do you think you will read next?

 The Cell Phone Lot by Stephanie Elliot 

What's on your WWW this week?

Leave me a comment and I'll stop by to check out your reads. 

Showcase Sunday #4

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits & Tea, where we show off the books and eBooks we receive each week. 

Come join the fun!

Won ~~

The Red Book by Deborah Copaken Kogan

from Chick Lit Central: The Blog!

150 Pounds: a Novel of Waists and Measures by Kate Rockland 

from Chick Lit is Not Dead

Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper 

from Heather McCorkle 

For review ~~

A Healing Heart by Melissa A Hanson

The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo

From the library ~~

The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass

I am reading this one for my book group this month. 


What are you showcasing this week?

Leave me a link so I can stop by and check out your books!