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Book Review: The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston
The danger of writing at the library is that I rarely leave without grabbing a few books from the “New Books” section, no matter how many books are waiting at home. The Little Shop of Found Things was one such find and I’m so glad I picked it up. Read on to learn more about this book that blends historical fiction and fantasy. This post contains affiliate links. The Little Shop of Found Things is the start of a new series by author Paula Brackston. (However, it works well as a standalone if series and cliff hangers put you off.) It’s a lovely blend of historical fiction and fantasy/magical realism…
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One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan
One Summer in Paris is a lovely, easy read that is perfect for fans of Susan Mallery, Elin Hilderbrand or Mary Kay Andrews. I was delighted to receive a review copy from NetGalley. (As usual, all opinions are my own. And yes, this review does include affiliate links should you want to grab a copy for yourself!) In One Summer in Paris, two very different women escape from their current lives and travel to Paris. In doing so, each discovers herself. The chapters alternate between two female characters. Author Sarah Morgan does an excellent job balancing the two storylines which intersect midway through the book. They are an unlikely duo,…
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Messages from the Universe (and Other WooWoo Things)
I’ve been in a funk recently. I don’t need to go into details, but some might call it midlife existential angst. Last week was particularly difficult; I was feeling mighty sorry for myself and struggling with feelings of low self-worth. It was pitiful and I wallowed in self-criticism. I wasn’t making the progress I wanted on my book, behind on book reviews, struggling with motivation to get to the gym, disorganized as all get out, and feeling pretty much like a failure. What DID I have to show at the end of the day? A mostly clean house, a fairly well-exercised dog, and laundry. Huge piles of clean, yet-to-be-folded laundry.…
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I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott
I have been looking forward to reading Mary Laura Philpott’s memoir I Miss You When I Blink. Needless to say, I nearly did a backflip (ok, it was a mental backflip – I’m the girl who broke her foot doing laundry, after all) when Netgalley provided an advance copy for review purposes. As always, all opinions and typos are my own. Mary Laura Philpott’s memoir I Miss You When I Blink is a collection of essays that are honest, heartfelt, relatable and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. Sitting down with these stories is like sitting down with a friend who gets you. She’s going to tell you what you need to hear…
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#The100DayProject – 2019 edition
April 2 marks the kickoff of #The100DayProject – a free online art project where people commit to 100 days of exploring their creativity. The idea is simple: choose a project, do it every day for 100 days, and share your process on Instagram with the hashtag #The100DayProject. What you do is your choice: paint, draw, doodle, knit, sing, dance – whatever you feel is creative. Now, I say the idea is simple. The execution should be too, as long as you pan well. The project says the key is to pick something that you can complete in 5-10 minutes a day so that you can stick with it – and…
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The Fifteen Wonders of Daniel Green by Erica Boyce
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Fifteen Wonders of Daniel Green, which is a wonderful read for lovers of literary fiction. This one caused all the feels, so grab your tissues when you pick up your own copy of this story. Initially, this is a story about crop circles – yes, those otherworldly designs that appear in fields of corn or wheat. This plot line provides the basis for multiple storylines involving both Daniel Green, the crop circler, and the family he creates it for. Ultimately, this a story about family and forgiveness. There’s a bit of symbolism in the design that…
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The Astral Traveler’s Daughter by K.C. Archer
I so loved School for Psychics by K.C. Archer that I pounced on a copy of its sequel, The Astral Traveler’s Daughter, when it was made available by NetGalley and the publisher for review. Read on for my take on this easy reading paranormal thriller. This is the second book in the School for Psychics series by author K.C. Archer. As it picks up just a few months after the prior book left off and there is little in the way of backstory provided (and no prologue to guide you in), I’ll recommend that you read these books in order. And you should, because The Astral Traveler’s Daughter is a lot of…
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No Pressure, No Diamond; No Risk, No Reward
I have a drink koozie* that says: No grit, no pearl. No pressure, no diamond. In other words, no risk, no reward. I will readily confess to not being much of a risk taker (if left to my own devices). While moving to Wales DID take me out of my comfort zone – well, let’s face it, it’s an English speaking country so aside from learning to drive on the other side of the road, it was probably no more challenging than my move to Texas, where I drive on the traditional side of the road, only much, much more defensively. Fact is, though, that we learn through our mistakes,…
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Thursday Things
With spring break behind me, I’ve got a lot of things rattling in my head. Most of it isn’t enough for a full post, but are loosely related. Thursday Things is a bit of a brain dump – a bit of what I’m excited about, a bit of what has me frustrated, and it all took place during spring break. Oh, and there are affiliate links in this post. I talk about those, too. Kind of. Shh. • • • In Which I Get On My Soapbox and Rant About Coaches and Vacations Last week was spring break for our school district. We didn’t go anywhere because we are rule…
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Finding My Place
Today’s post was inspired by this week’s prompt from Five Minute Friday , which is intended to be a free write. (More specifically, no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation.) For five minutes flat. Unedited. (DISCLOSURE: Since I’m not so good with rules and worse with typos, this was TOTALLY edited for grammar, spelling and punctuation after that five minutes was up.) The writing prompt for today is PLACE. As an awkward teen who generally stood on the fringes of the groups I hung out with – with the exception of a few really close friends – it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I matured into an…
