Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from September, 2016

Review and Giveaway: "Days of Sun & Glory" by Anna Belfrage

Synopsis: Adam de Guirande has barely survived the aftermath of Roger Mortimer’s rebellion in 1321. When Mortimer manages to escape the Tower and flee to France, anyone who has ever served Mortimer becomes a potential traitor – at least in the eyes of King Edward II and his royal chancellor, Hugh Despenser. Adam must conduct a careful balancing act to keep himself and his family alive. Fortunately, he has two formidable allies: Queen Isabella and his wife, Kit. England late in 1323 is a place afflicted by fear. Now that the king’s greatest traitor, Roger Mortimer, has managed to evade royal justice, the king and his beloved Despenser see dissidents and rebels everywhere – among Mortimer’s former men, but also in the queen, Isabella of France. Their suspicions are not unfounded. Tired of being relegated to the background by the king’s grasping favourite, Isabella has decided it is time to act – to safeguard her own position, but also that of her son, Edward of Wind

Quick Review: "Karolina's Twins" by Ronald H. Balson

From Goodreads:  Lena Woodward, an elderly woman, enlists the help of both lawyer Catherine Lockhart and private investigator Liam Taggart to appraise the story of her harrowing past in Nazi occupied Poland. At the same time, Lena’s son Arthur presents her with a hefty lawsuit under the pretense of garnering her estate—and independence—for his own purposes. Where these stories intersect is through Lena’s dubious account of her life in war-torn Poland, and her sisterhood with a childhood friend named Karolina. Lena and Karolina struggled to live through the atrocity of the Holocaust, and at the same time harbored a courageous, yet mysterious secret of maternity that has troubled Lena throughout her adult life. In telling her story to Catherine and Liam, Lena not only exposes the realities of overcoming the horrors of the Holocaust, she also comes to terms with her own connection to her dark past. Karolina’s Twins is a tale of survival, love, and resilience in more ways

August 2016 Wrap Up

  We went to visit the sunflower fields over the weekend.  They were amazing! Another summer in the books!  This summer felt kind of like a dud so I am glad to be moving into fall, cooler weather and fun holidays.  I've been craving pumpkin so I ended up baking a pumpkin cake over the weekend.  YUM. I did a decent amount of reading in August but felt like I was in a reading rut nonetheless.  I know I could have read a ton more but instead I just watched Netflix a lot.  Most of what I read just didn't do it for me.  I did hit my reading goal for the year so that was awesome and most of what I read were books I owned so I am happy about that.  I set a goal to read 5 books I own and I ended up reading 6!  I did not meet my non-fiction goal for the month but that's okay; I wanted to read 3 and I only finished 2.  I want to read more non-fiction than I did last year (16 books) and I have read 13 for the year so I am on track. I don't really have any set readi