A Bookish Life In AK

I had a change in my schedule at work and now that things are back to “normal” I will get back to sharing the books I read with you.

In January my supervisor left and I was asked to go full time for a couple months. I also had started taking classes online. So I was more than a little busy. After I was able to go back to part time I took a few days to think about what I want to do and if I wanted to keep going with the blog. I decided to stop taking classes, refocus on my reading and started a writing a few outlines for books of my own.

I may not have had as much time I liked to read, I still have read 23 of the 55 from my reading challenge. But it is only July. I am catching up on a few ARCs to get some reviews out for you all. Anne Kempe, Kristin Joy, & Deb Goodman have put out some great books. Jaime Jo Wright and Kimberly Woodhouse had 2 books come out recently and I just finished those and I can’t wait to share them with you all.

In “My Secret Celebrity” by Kristine W. Joy, 3 friends are gifted an Italian vacation at an exclusive resort. Larisa photographs the building when, celebrity in hiding, Gianluca, steps out of a car thinking she is paparazzi trying to get pictures of him. The bad news is she is an actual photographer but a landscape photographer. Larisa has no idea that Gianluca is a famous Italian actor. There are so many wonderful scenes, my favorite is when they are on the boat in chapter 9.

Kristine W. Joy’s “My Marriage Pact’ Larisa and Jo’s friend, Emmy is still stuck at a job that she doesn’t care really for. Her and her friend Evan, an ER Dr. made a pact back in high school. Can they admit their feelings or will they fail? I do love a friends to More trope and this one hit just right.

“The Art of Falling in Love with Your Brother’s Best Friend” by Anne Kemp is a hockey romance that has led me down a rabbit hole of other sports romances. Riley’s brother is a sport’s agent and is best friends with Jake. Jake is taking some time off from hockey after an incident that has gotten him kicked off his newest hockey team Riley has sworn off hockey players after her latest dating disaster. My favorite line was at the end, “ I’ve never been so certain about anything as I am now about us. It’s the moment you know. You know that “me” has become “we” and you’re never going back.” It’s a great addition to the Sweetkiss Creek Series.

In “To Have and To Scold” by Deb Goodman Dallas Cordon is trying to rebuild her wedding planner career after a huge blunder back in Atlanta. Her boss suggests that she works for a college friend in Willow Cove. There’s a rouge llama, Prince Henry. A gorgeous contractor that has the town trying to help after a breakup, and a mansion on the beach that is going to be THE wedding destination, once it’s finished. If Dallas and Beck can get it done before the mayor’s daughter’s wedding. I read this one in 2 days, It was so good I couldn’t put it down.

Then we have Jaime Jo wright’s “Night Falls on Predicament Avenue.” two sets of sisters set 100 years apart. The James Sisters are witnesses to a murder that no one believes happens until a stranger from England goes and looks in 322 Predicament Avenue. 100 years later Norah Richman is running a B & B in the same house. One night a visitor passes away from a heart attack after seeing a supposed ghost. Norah’s own sister had been murdered 10 years before this. There are so many twists and turns, ghosts, missing people and forgiveness. I love Jaime Jo Wright’s books and this one may have been my new favorite.

And then for those who enjoy paleontology, I would highly recommend Kimberley Woodhouse’s ‘Treasure of the Earth’ series. The books are set during the Bone Wars, a time when paleontology was getting the most notoriety in America. In “The Secrets Beneath” a young woman and her father work together on digs until he falls sick. Her former beau, a medical student, comes home. When his nephew goes missing like one of his sisters did years before. As they work together to find answers, they grow close again. There’s several mysteries going on in this book. In “Set in Stone” Martha is up against another dig crew outside Denver to unearth an entire dinosaur. There is a very strict set of rules to ensure the survival of the fossils, or is it? There’s murder, intrigue and fossils set in the Colorado west. Kimberley weaves God’s truth throughout her book. She highlights God’s creation, his love for us and forgiveness and acceptance. I really can’t wait for the third one to come out later this year.

What have you been reading? Anything I should look up?

We also welcomed our first granddaughter in January and got to visit her in March. Little Kaycee Mae Allen makes her Mimi and Poppop so happy. Here she is this past week.

So till next week, Love and Prayers, Becky