So Many Books, So Little Time

Synopsis:   August 1914 . England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris. But as history tells us, it all happened so differently… Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene? Christmas 1968 . With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished pa...

  Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf I love Gudenkauf's books!  Not a Sound was an excellent mystery made even more compelling by the fact that the main character is deaf.  I did figure out who the killer was before the end but I thought the story as a whole was so good that I didn't mind.  It was as much a mystery story as it was a story of the main character dealing with being deaf and growing from that experience.  Excellent read! 4 stars . After Anatevka by Alexandra Silber Fiddler on the Roof is one of my favorite musicals so when I saw this book, I had to read it.  I've always wondered what happened after the movie ended and this book tried to do that.  After Anatevka tells the story of Hodel as she traveled to, and lived in, Siberia while her husband was in prison.  I thought the story was pretty slow and at times I honestly had no idea what was going on.  The ending was really rushed and overall, I just wasn't a f...

Synopsis: Twilight Empress tells the little-known story of a remarkable woman—Galla Placidia, sister to one of the last Roman Emperors. Roman princess, Gothic captive and queen—Placidia does the unthinkable—she rules the failing Western Roman Empire—a life of ambition, power and intrigue she doesn’t seek, but can’t refuse. Her actions shape the face of Western Europe for centuries. A woman as well as an Empress, Placidia suffers love, loss, and betrayal. Can her strength, tenacity and ambition help her survive and triumph over scheming generals, rebellious children, and Attila the Hun? Or will the Dark Ages creep closer and bring down the Empire?   My Thoughts: I took a class on the Late Antiquity period in college and if it had been half as awesome as this book, I think I would have enjoyed it more. Twilight Empre ss is an utterly captivating read. The book sucked me in from the very beginning as the action started almost immediately.  Galla Placidia is n...

Synopsis: When Liam reluctantly returns to Northern Ireland he learns that not only was his uncle shot to death, but he’d anticipated his own murder. In an astonishing last will and testament, Uncle Fergus has left his entire estate to a secret trust, directing that no distributions be made to any person until the killer is found. Did Fergus know, but refuse to name his killer? Was this a crime of revenge, a vendetta left over from Northern Ireland’s bloody sectarian war? Or is it possible that the killer is a family member seeking Fergus’s estate? Otherwise, why postpone distribution to the heirs? Most menacingly, does the killer now have his sights on other family members? As his investigation draws Liam further and further into the past he had abandoned, he is forced to reopen doors long ago shut. Now accepting the appointment as sole trustee of the Fergus Taggart Trust, Liam realizes he has stepped into the center of a firestorm. My Thoughts:  I LOVE Ronald...

 Hey!  It's been a ridiculous summer and I haven't been around much.  Since I've been kind of MIA lately, I thought I should update y'all on where I've been. We celebrated Julia's birthday at the end of June.  She was so excited to turn 4! We celebrated with family and then had a small party with her friends.  This year I made her a Moana cake and am pretty happy with how it turned out. Right after Julia's birthday party, we had to drive down to Arkansas to see my family.  My step-dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December and had been going through chemo and had multiple surgeries and procedures.  They told us on June 29 that the cancer was everywhere and that he did have much longer to live.  He passed on July 5 but I'm so glad that we got to see him, talk to him and say good-bye.  It was so fast and difficult to process for a bit. We had a lovely memorial to him a week later and while I miss him a lot, I'm really glad ...

Synopsis: A woman sets out on a cross-country road trip, unknowingly tracing in reverse the path her mother traveled thirty years before. In the 1950s, movie star Louise Wilde is caught between an unfulfilling acting career and a shaky marriage when she receives an out-of-the-blue phone call: She has inherited the estate of Florence “Florrie” Daniels, a Hollywood screenwriter she barely recalls meeting. Among Florrie’s possessions are several unproduced screenplays, personal journals, and—inexplicably—old photographs of Louise’s mother, Ethel. On an impulse, Louise leaves a film shoot in Las Vegas and sets off for her father’s house on the East Coast, hoping for answers about the curious inheritance and, perhaps, about her own troubled marriage. Nearly thirty years earlier, Florrie takes off on an adventure of her own, driving her Model T westward from New Jersey in pursuit of broader horizons. She has the promise of a Hollywood job and, in the passenger seat, Ethe...

 Hey y'all!  This is my first Mailbox Monday in a while! It's been quite the summer so I haven't been around much but I thought I would share the books I got last week.  It's been a really relaxing weekend and I'm starting to feel like I might be able to get caught up on my reading.  I have more books than I know what do with right now! For Review:   A Crime in the Family by Sacha Batthyany  I have been wanting to read this for a while so I was very excited to see it on NetGalley. Empress of the East by Leslie Peirce  This one was a surprise but I'm looking forward to reading it.  The premise sounds fascinating. I hope you all have a great week!