It's Monday! What Are You Reading? January 6, 2020

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

All the Ways We Said Goodbye
by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

Pub date 1/14

Witch Song
(Witch Song #1)
by Amber Argyle
Narrated by Melissa Reizian Frank

What I recently finished

Big Lies in a Small Town

by Diane Chamberlain

Pub date 1/14

Where the Crawdads Sing

by Delia Owens

It was as good as everyone said it was!

Thankless in Death
(In Death #37)
by J.D. Robb
Narrated by Susan Ericksen

What I am going to read next

Revealing Hope
(Stealing Light Trilogy Book 3)
by Julie Cassar
Isn't this cover amazing?
Pub date 1/28

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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

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

Book Spotlight #Giveaway! The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins #TheBookCharmer

I have sooooo many books! The Book Spotlight 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. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy these treasures.

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

I recently finished this wonderful book. You can read my thoughts HERE. I loved it and am excited for the next book that this author has planned for this series. I have my ARC to give away this week.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

The Book Charmer

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
Series: Dove Pond #1
ARC, 368 pages
Published July 30th 2019 by Gallery Books

The New York Times bestselling author of the wildly popular MacLean Curse series crafts a charming and evocative story about a picturesque Southern town, two fiercely independent women, and a magical friendship that will change their lives forever.

The residents of Dove Pond, North Carolina, know three things: they have the finest bar-b-que this side of Atlanta, their Apple Festival is the best that ever was, and the town has phenomenal good luck whenever the Dove family has seven daughters. Fortunately, that time is now, because Dove Pond desperately needs a miracle.

The seventh daughter, Sarah Dove, believes in all things magical. Books have whispered their secrets to her since she was a child. Now the town librarian, she makes sure every book finds the reader who most needs it. But recently the books have been whispering something different—that change is about to come to Dove Pond. Sarah is soon convinced that the legendary Dove Pond good luck has arrived in the form of new resident, Grace Wheeler.

After the tragic death of her sister, Grace has moved to Dove Pond with her grieving young niece and ailing foster mother hoping to retrench financially and emotionally before returning to her fast-paced city life. But she soon learns that life in a not-so-sleepy town isn’t as quiet as she’d hoped. Despite her best efforts to focus on her family, she can’t avoid the townspeople, especially her next-door neighbors, the quirky and talkative Sarah Dove and cynical veteran Travis Parker. Grace’s situation grows more complicated when she assumes her duties as town clerk and discovers that Dove Pond is on the verge of financial ruin.

Already overburdened by her own cares, Grace tries to stay aloof from the town’s issues, but she’s never been good at resisting a challenge. With Sarah’s encouragement, and inspired by the wise words of a special book, Grace decides to save her new town. And in her quest, she discovers the rich comfort of being a part of a loving community, the tantalizing promise of new love, the deep strength that comes from having a true friend, and the heartfelt power of finding just the right book.

 

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Hawkins writes novels that have been praised as touching, witty, charming, and heartwarming. A native Southerner who grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee where storytelling is a way of life, Karen recently moved to frosty New England with her beloved husband and multiple foster dogs.

The Dove Pond books are a nod to the thousands of books that opened doors to more adventures, places, and discoveries than she ever imagined possible. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Karen

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Book Blitz! The Move by Whitney Dineen ~ Excerpt and a Giveaway!

The Move

The Move by Whitney Dineen
Series: Creek Water #2)
Publication date: January 1st 2020
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

When Lexi Blake was twelve years old, a fortune teller gave her the following cryptic message:

In your thirtieth year, once the dog jumps over you, your life will change in the most unexpected ways.

Lexi is thirty now and the following unexpected things have occurred:

•While walking through Central Park enjoying a beautiful fall day, Lexi eats dirt when a careless dog owner throws a frisbee at her head. A dog jumps over her.

•Lexi gets a promotion that pays less than her current job.

•Her crush announces that he’s engaged.

•Her apartment turns condo and she can’t afford the down payment.

In order to escape her bad luck, she takes a vacation to visit a good friend in Creek Water, Missouri. But as it turns out, fate has a lot more in store for Lexi Blake.

Will a good friend, an unexpected love interest, and a historic house have her scrapping her plans and moving to a small town on the banks of the Mississippi River? Find out in the delightfully funny rom-com that’s sure to make you believe in happy endings!

Goodreads | Amazon

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

Excerpt

I turn to give Emmie’s cousin a wave of greeting. We haven’t met yet, but I’ve heard so many Beau stories over the years that I feel like I already know him. I’m not at all prepared for the sight that greets me. I imagined Beau would look a lot like Emmie: tall, blond, medium build. What I see instead is a masculine tower of solid, dark, brooding, hunka-hunka burning love. I mean seriously, WOW. My mouth hangs open in a most awkward fashion, and I force it shut before I drool on my shoes or something.

Beau glides by in his perfectly faded jeans that fit like they were made for him—every contour deliciously showcased, like the mice from Cinderella sewed them especially for him. He’s wearing a blue dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves, highlighting forearms that are no stranger to physical work. He must not have seen me—maybe because I’ve already climbed two steps to the second floor—because he says to Emmie, “That woman is going to be the death of me.”

“Shelby?” Emmie asks.

“Who else? I swear to God when Cootie was pregnant with her she must have drunk a gallon of vinegar a day. That gal is as ornery as the day is long.”

“Before you tell me what she did, I’d like you to meet my friend Lexi from New York.” Emmie gestures in such a way as to let Beau know that I’m standing behind him.

He turns to say hello, and my jaw drops open at the sheer impact of looking straight into his piercing eyes. I snap my lips shut, realizing my open-mouthed sea bass look might have him wondering if I’m mentally challenged.

Beau’s stare is so intense that I hurry to say, “I’ll go on upstairs so you two can talk.” God knows what personal things he might have said had Emmie not alerted him of my presence. I don’t wait for either of them to reply before dashing up to the sleeping loft. Of course, it’s an open loft, so I can still hear every word they say, but at least the privacy is implied.

“You know the dance the club has right after Thanksgiving?” I hear Beau ask.

Emmie replies, “The Cornucopia Ball? What of it?”

“Cootie has proposed that this year the club members elect a king and queen of the ball and she wants me and Shelby to campaign for it.”

Emmie starts laughing. “No! You know they’ll make you wear a cornucopia on your head if you win.” She’s giggling so hard she can barely catch her breath.

“Can you imagine?” Beau asks. “I’d feel like Henry the Eighth or something. No, sir, I’m not doin’ it.” A moment later he adds, “Shelby thinks it’s because I hate her mother.”

“Well you sort of do,” Emmie tells him. “We all do.”

“I told her, ‘Shelby, it’s not just ’cause I hate your mama, it’s because it’s the darned stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of and I won’t be a party to it.’ I may have also mentioned that I don’t even want to go.”

“Beauregard Frothingham, you cannot skip the ball! My god, Cootie would never let you live it down.”

“Those demented club ladies are not the boss of me, Emmie. I have never danced to their tune, and I’m not gonna start now.”

“I’m guessing you mentioned that to Shelby?”

“I did,” he says. “It did not go well.”

“Ya think? Beau, that dance is the second biggest event the club throws next to the New Years’ Eve gala. They nominate the committee who organizes the following year’s ball the day after the current event. For a whole year, they’re girdle-deep in the trenches, planning it.” Then she calls up the stairs, “Come on down, Lex, I want to show you the rest of the first floor.”

I quickly descend as I was sitting at the top of the staircase blatantly eavesdropping—while trying to catch the breath that was stolen from me when I saw Beau.

When I appear, Emmie’s cousin looks at me and his gorgeous green eyes squint together before he blatantly frowns at me. I come to a quick stop. I’m not sure if it’s because I look deranged from traveling or what, but I get the sense he’s taken an immediate dislike to me.

I step forward to shake his hand, having forgotten I’m still on the second stair and I wind up falling down like a drunken circus clown. Emmie rushes to my side, “Lexi, are you okay?” She reaches to give me a hand up while her cousin does nothing more than stand there and stare at me.

“I’m fine,” I say, hurrying to my feet. “I thought I’d shake Beau’s hand and didn’t realize I was still on the second stair. I must be tired from my flight.” Or, you know, an idiot.

Way to go, Lexi.

“You poor thing,” Emmie says. “Why don’t you come on over here to the couch and sit down. I’ll get you a nice glass of water.”

I do as she suggests, wondering how a glass of cold water is going recoup my dignity after making a fool of myself in front of the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. Beau has not moved an inch, either to aid me or greet me. Emmie passes by him as she walks toward the open-concept kitchen. She punches him in the stomach and says, “Don’t be such a dolt. Be sociable.”


Beau’s feet eventually start to move in my direction. Once he reaches the couch, he stops right in front of me, nearly boring holes through me with the intensity of his gaze. He demands, “Who are you again?”

About the author

Whitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries -- not always in that order.

Whitney is a multi-award-winning author of romcoms, non-fiction humor, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.

She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.

Gold Medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2017.
Silver medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016.
Finalist RONE Awards, 2016.
Finalist at the IRFA 2016, 2017.
Finalist at the Book Excellence Awards, 2017
Finalist Top Shelf Indie Book Awards, 2017

Connect with Whitney 

Website | Goodreads | Twitter 

 Facebook | Instagram

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

True to Me by Kay Bratt ~ My Thoughts #TrueToMe

True to Me by Kay Bratt
Print and e-book, 270 pages
Published December 10th 2019 by Lake Union Publishing

From the bestselling author of Wish Me Home comes a breathtaking novel about the secrets that families keep and one woman’s illuminating search for the truth.

Quinn Maguire has a stable life, a fiancé, and what she thinks is a clear vision for her future. All of that comes undone by her mother’s deathbed confession—the absentee father Quinn spent thirty years resenting is not her real father at all. With that one revealing whisper, Quinn embarks on a journey to Maui, her mother’s childhood home, a storied paradise that holds the truth about her mother’s past and all its secrets Quinn is determined to uncover.

But settling on the island has its complications, and with the fiancé she left behind questioning every choice she makes, Quinn’s quest for her truth is even more difficult than she expected. As time passes and she digs deeper into her family history and her own identity, one thing becomes clear: Maui is as beautiful as she’d always imagined, and its magic is helping uncover the woman that Quinn was always meant to be.

 

My thoughts about True to Me ~~

(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—"Quinn held the small box in her hands, so focused on the contents that even the busy Savannah traffic outside the condo couldn't penetrate her thoughts."

True to Me blew me away! I loved this story of Quinn as she discovered the lies and truths of the life she had been content to live. Her world is rocked to the core when her mother reveals a secret on her deathbed. Quinn travels to Maui, where it all began, to find out the truth. Quinn finds some wonderful people in her quest for answers and maybe, just maybe, she will find out what really makes her happy. 

And how can a story be anything but fantastic when the setting is a beautiful island in Hawaii? Kay's descriptions of the area made me feel like I was there. It was heavenly! 

True to Me is an amazing story that I devoured and enjoyed so much! This author's story just keep getting better and better and I'm always excited to read her books. 

I received a copy of True to Me from the author via NetGalley and this is my honest review. 

About the author

Kay Bratt is the author of eleven full-length novels and two children’s books. Her writing became her solace and support while she navigated a tumultuous childhood, followed by a decade of abuse as an adult. After working her way through the hard years, Kay came out a survivor and a pursuer of peace—and finally found the courage to share her stories. A wise man once told her to “write what you know,” which resulted in Kay’s pet project and her bestselling series, The Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters.

Connect with Kay

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Newsletter

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

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

Happy New Year! And a Look Back at My Reading Life of 2019

I love Goodreads for tracking my books and for discovering new books to read and new authors to follow. I especially love how I can get graphics that let me look back on my reading year. 

It is always interesting to look back on the year via the montage that I can create for the year. It's like a trip down memory lane as I look back on all the wonderful books I read.

Take a look, maybe you'll find a few that you will want to add to your TBR list.

My books-read-in-2019 book montage