The Last Exchange, book #25

 

Ok, when I first started this book I wasn't sure I was going to like it.  I mean, I'm always up for a good mystery, but this one had me stumped.  The chapters were all titled either After or Before and it took me nearly 3/4 of the book to figured out what happened to make an After and a Before.  I read it pretty quick, despite the fact that it leaped back and forth in time, mainly because I kept waiting for it to make sense.  But if you stick with it, in the end it all becomes clear.  There weren't too many surprises once you started figuring things out, but it was still a good read in the end.  

When MacThomas Pockets finished his last tour as part of the Scottish Special Forces, he was hired to consult for a film director to finesse some scenes that weren't working. In a twist he never saw coming, he ended up moving to L.A. to work as the bodyguard for movie star Maybe Joe Sue.  It didn't take long for Pockets to realize there were two Joe Sues: The Joe Sue the public saw with her perfect life and her Hollywood husband. And the private Joe Sue: the one with the traumatic youth that no amount of pills could cover up, who desperately wanted a child of her own.  Even after their paths diverged, he continued to track Joe Sue's life. Only a few would notice when the bottom fell out. But he did. And that's when he stepped in. (picture and description at Amazon)

I'm debating picking up a non-fiction for next time, but I'm just not sure yet.  I'm excited about our book for Book Club, but we aren't meeting until later in the month, so I feel like I could for sure squeeze in another book before I read that one.

Happy Reading!

Melissa

The Best Summer of our Lives, book #24

 

This book had been on my Amazon Books list for a while, because who doesn't like a good book by Rachel Hauck?, and my sweet Katie got it for me for my birthday.  I couldn't wait to get into it, and now that it is finally summer I "dove" right in.  10 stars ~ go read it!

Twenty years ago, the summer of '77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde's life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow--the Four Seasons--had big plans.  But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, "Nowhere," Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures.  Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It's a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love's voice. (Picture and description at Amazon)

Happy Summer Reading!

Melissa

The Hideaway, book #23

 

I'm happy to report that this book ended up better than I originally thought.  Yes, it sounded like, as Katie said, many other books I've read, but it all came together nicely.  The thing that I didn't like about this book personally, is the lack to God/Jesus.  I may have been mistaken that she was a Christian fiction author, but it was published by Thomas Nelson.  

When her grandmother’s will wrenches Sara back to her small hometown of Sweet Bay, Alabama, she must face family secrets and difficult choices. In the South, family is always more complicated than it seems.  After her last remaining family member dies, Sara Jenkins goes home to The Hideaway, her grandmother Mags’s ramshackle B&B in Sweet Bay. She intends to quickly tie up loose ends then return to her busy life and thriving antique shop in New Orleans. Instead, she learns Mags has willed The Hideaway to her and charged her with renovating it—no small task considering her grandmother’s best friends, a motley crew of senior citizens, still live there.  Rather than hurrying back to New Orleans, Sara stays in Sweet Bay and begins the biggest house-rehabbing project of her career. Amid drywall dust, old memories, and a charming contractor, she discovers that slipping back into life at The Hideaway is easier than she expected.  Then she discovers a box Mags left in the attic with clues to a life Sara never imagined for her grandmother. With help from Mags’s friends, Sara begins to piece together the mysterious life of bravery, passion, and choices that changed her grandmother’s destiny in both marvelous and devastating ways.  When an opportunistic land developer threatens to seize The Hideaway, Sara is forced to make a choice—stay in Sweet Bay and fight for the house and the people she’s grown to love or leave again and return to her successful but solitary life in New Orleans. (picture and description at Amazon)

I have gotten a fair amount of rest from our big weekend and the months leading up to it, but I feel my laziness kicks in way too quick.  I always try to find a balance in these few weeks I have off.

Keep Reading!

O:)

Melissa

Love Finds You ... in Lonesome Prairie, Montana, book #22

 

This takes us back to the pioneers & indians and it was a really good read.  The description below doesn't really do it justice, just trust me it's a good one.

In 1890, Julia Cavanaugh travels west from New York City to unite orphans in her care with new families.  Imagine her horror when she discovers that she’s to be “delivered,” too–as bride to an uncouth miner! But with no return fare, Julia’s options are bleak.  What does God have planned for her on the lonesome prairies of Montana? (picture and description at Amazon)

Not sure the next book I've already started will be as good, but we shall see.  

In other news, these two lovebirds got married last weekend! 😊I've never in my life seen two people so happy at the their wedding and laughing with joy all day long.

Keep Reading!

Melissa

The Wedding Machine, book #21

 

If I've said it once this year, I've said it a million times.  Don't judge a book by it's cover!  This one looked like a fun read ~ perfect since Leah's wedding is coming up in just one week! - and it even sounded cute too.  

But alas .... not a BAD book, just not as silly and funny as I thought it would be.  Much deeper than I imagined.  

Welcome to Jasper, South Carolina. A place where Southern hospitality thrives. Where social occasions are done right. And where, for generations, the four most upstanding ladies of this community ensure that the daughters of Jasper are married in the proper manner.  Friends from school days, "the gals" have long pooled their silver, china, and know-how to pull off beautiful events. They're a force of nature, a well-oiled machine. But the wedding machine's gears start to stick during the summer their own daughters line up to tie the knot. In the lowcountry heat and humidity, tempers flare, old secrets leak out . . . and both love and gardenias bloom in unlikely places. (picture and description at Amazon)

Next up I'm back out west, with orphans and maybe a bride?

Happy summer reading!

Melissa

A Bride for a Bit, book #20

Remember me telling you to just keep reading?  Well, this one was another absolutely amazing book!  Even though I read a few I didn't particularly care of so far this year, the last book and this one are quickly making up for it!  

I knew this book was going to be super fun and I was not entirely disappointed.  It is a "series" book of sorts ~ there are stories about four different sisters and there were four different authors.  It is always interesting to read a continuing story, where one author picks up where another ends.  The last story was not my favorite, I just felt like the characters were not fleshed out enough and the action was really short.  But all in all I would recommend it!

Misreading an order for bridles, a New England farmer sends his four sisters-in-law as mail-order brides to Lickwind, Wyoming. When the four women step off the train, astonishment turns to mayhem as the men of the town suddenly spruce up and make time for courting. Since James Collingswood - still without tack for his horses - can't afford train tickets to send the women back, they'll have to stay. But what future is there in Lickwind for: Matty, the sociable sister who irritates James' very soul with her unending friendliness to the eager men of Lickwind. Corrine, the mom-to-be still so pained over her young husband's death that she barely knows Luke Collingswood is alive. Bess, who insists that the town must have a church, reform the brothel women, and straighten up the saloon keeper, Gideon Rikers. Bertie, who can outperform any man she ever meets...until the mysterious Thomas Hardin becomes her personal protection agency. Under such absurd circumstances, the sisters will certainly find laughter in Lickwind...but will they also find love? One thing's for sure - the town will never be the same again! (picture and description at Amazon)

Not sure yet what I'm reading next, there is a nonfiction that has caught my eye, but with the next two weeks being a blur of finishing school and final wedding planning, I might just need to pick up a fun, light fiction.  

What's on your summer reading list?

Melissa

 

Secret Agent Father, book #19

 

Ok yes, I full on expected cheesy with this book.  It's a small book, only 216 pages and the description sounded so-so.  BUT AGAIN, let's not judge a book by that!!  I was pleasantly surprised that this was a really, really good book!  I'd higly recommend it if you can find it.

Although he’s never met the boy who arrives on his doorstep, undercover DEA agent Alex McCade can’t deny the truth. The four-year-old is his child, and—like father, like son—little Cody has landed himself in the middle of a dangerous situation.  Cody is the only one who can identify his mother’s killer. And the boy’s beautiful aunt, Shelby Jacobson, is hoping that Alex can help uncover the truth. Now, with a killer after his newfound family, Alex will do anything to keep Cody and Shelby safely by his side.  (picture and description at Amazon)

I've already started another one from the stack of my mother in law's books and it is a HOOT!  I'm only part was through and am loving every bit of it!

Happy Reading!

Melissa