The Sisters of Sea View (On Devonshire Shores #1), book # 21

 

This delicious book has been sitting by my bedside for many months and I finally got to "S" so I could read it.  It was the perfect beach read for our quick trip to my favorite place in the world, Pensacola Beach. Obviously, Julie Klassen did not disappoint, as she never does.  After reading some quick books with not as much depth or detail, this was truly a delight.  10/10.

When their father's death leaves them impoverished, Sarah Summers and her genteel sisters fear they will be forced to sell the house and separate to earn livelihoods as governesses or companions. Determined to stay together, Sarah convinces them to open their seaside home to guests to make ends meet and provide for their ailing mother. Instead of the elderly invalids they expect to receive, however, they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. Sarah is soon torn between a growing attraction to a mysterious Scottish widower and duty to her family.  Viola Summers wears a veil to cover her scar. When forced to choose between helping in her family's new guest house and earning money to hire a maid to do her share, she chooses the latter. She reluctantly agrees to read to some of Sidmouth's many invalids, preferring the company of a few elders with failing eyesight to the fashionable guests staying in their home. But when her first client turns out to be a wounded officer in his thirties, Viola soon wishes she had chosen differently. Her new situation exposes her scars--both visible and those hidden deep within--and her cloistered heart will never be the same.  (picture and description from Amazon)

I believe since I now jumping around the alphabet here I'm going to go back to a "quick" Q book, then get back on track.

Happy Summer reading!!

Melissa

 

Rooms, book #20

Ok, this book was much different than I thought it was going to be.  The original summary I had read:

On a rainy spring day in Seattle, young software tycoon Micah Taylor receives a cryptic, twenty-five-year-old letter from a great uncle he never knew. It claims a home awaits him on the Oregon coast that will turn his world inside out. Suspecting a prank, Micah arrives at Cannon Beach to discover a stunning, brand new nine-thousand square foot house. And after meeting Sarah Sabin at a nearby ice cream shop, he has two reasons to visit the beach every weekend. When bizarre things start happening in the rooms of the home, Micah suspects they have some connection to his enigmatic new friend, Rick, the town mechanic. But Rick will only say the house is spiritual. This unnerves Micah because his faith slipped away like the tide years ago, and he wants to keep it that way. But as he slowly discovers, the home isn’t just spiritual, it’s a physical manifestation of his soul, which God uses to heal Micah’s darkest wounds and lead him into an astonishing new destiny.

However I should have been clued in when I read Amazon's summary:

What if you inherited a brand-new mansion on the Oregon coast—from a great uncle you never knew? Would you blow it off? Or head down there to check it out?

Micah Taylor isn’t stupid. He’s made a fortune building a Seattle software empire. But he can’t figure out why he’s been given a 9,000 square foot home right on the beach.

And not just any beach.

The one beach he loves more than any other.

The one beach he hates more than any other.

Both at the same time.

Micah drives down to check out the house. On the surface, everything seems legit. He instantly feels at home and then he meets a beautiful young woman at the local ice cream shop.

Now there’s two reasons to keep coming back to Cannon Beach. But the house still feels off. Things start happening that Micah can’t explain.

That Micah doesn’t want explained.

Because he’s slowly realizing the house isn’t just a house.

It’s a physical manifestation of his soul.

He begins a journey into the most glorious rooms of his life, but also the darkest.

Rooms where terrible things happened.

Things that must not be remembered, but scream out to be heard.

Micah can’t run. Can’t hide.

Because the memories aren’t just memories.

They’re real.

Memories that can heal and set him free.

But that can also destroy him

And there’s no way to know which side will win in the end.

Once I realized it was going to be more like The Shack, I was a little more open to it, but I was still on edge because books like that you have to prepare yourself for before you jump in.  Not try to read it fast when you realize Book Club is coming up sooner than you realize ...

(To be honest, since I downloaded this book from another place (not Amazon) it may be the reason it was worded differently.)  

It did give me pause to think about freedom from EVERYTHING in Christ and if I take the time to chew on it some more it could do some serious wretching of my life ... that probably needs to be done.

Melissa

 

On Distant Shores, book #19

 

When I realized I had a week and a half to finish this book (which I had barely started) and read our next book for Book Club next week, I got busy reading FAST!!  We ended up being out of school today, thanks to a little tornado near us and flooding.  Luckily we weren't hurt, but it did hit close to my inlaws house.  

I read the first book in this series way back in 2018 and even then I knew I wanted to read the rest.  But for whatever reason, I didn't have the chance to get to until now.  Because it's an "O" book!!  Also because, I can't read too many war books in a row.  

One of the things I loved about this book is it ties in a fictional story with real history.  While this is not a "true" story, there are many things in the story that were real and did really happen.  I learned about how during WWII the pharmacists at the camps were not officers.  Many times, like many medical people during the war, they were given a few weeks training, a manual and shipped overseas.  That made it really hard on actual college trained pharmacists to do the type of work that was actually needed.*  I also learned about flight nurses during the time and the bare minimum training they received.  And, while this particular story wasn't true, how many female flight nurses felt the tug from their families to be home supporting the war instead of out in the field?

I always love it when a fiction book ties in so much "non-fiction" ~ it makes me feel like I double dipped! 

Lt. Georgiana Taylor has everything she could want. A comfortable boyfriend back home, a loving family, and a challenging job as a flight nurse. But in July 1943, Georgie's cozy life gets decidedly more complicated when she meets pharmacist Sgt. John Hutchinson. Hutch resents the lack of respect he gets as a noncommissioned serviceman and hates how the war keeps him from his fiancée. While Georgie and Hutch share a love of the starry night skies over Sicily, their lives back home are falling apart. Can they weather the hurt and betrayal? Or will the pressures of war destroy the fragile connection they've made?  (picture and description at Amazon)

Now, on to read our Book Club book fast too! 

Keep Reading!

Melissa

*upon doing some research, it ends up the author of this book actually used to be a pharmacist!  Read about it here.