It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

The Its Monday! What Are You Reading meme is hosted at Book Journey.

Life…

So this is what I am attempting to make for dinner tonight - Chicken, Ham and Corn Squares   – it seems simple enough so lets hope they taste good. Feeding my family of picky eaters is a never ending battle and getting the kids to eat anything except chicken nuggets and party pies is usually an exercise in futility. At least once a week though I cook something a little different and they either eat it or go hungry. Mostly they choose to go hungry I must admit (don’t worry they are in no danger of starving) but occasionally they surprise me. I think at least two out of the four kids will like these as long as I leave out the poppy seeds and pepper.

I actually quite like cooking when I don’t have to take into account fussy kids and I tend to trawl FoodGawker while salivating like a rabid dog. Have you seen that site? Make sure you eat before you visit!

What I Read Last Week

The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg

Hope’s Road by Margareta Osborn

The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth

New Posts

(click the titles to read my reviews)

Review: What’s a Witch To Do? by Jennifer Harlow ★★★★

Review: Good News, Bad News by Maggie Groff ★★★1/2

Review: Hope’s Road by Margareta Osborn ★★★★

Review: The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg ★★

Review: The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee ★★★★1/2

Stuff on Sunday: From the Eclectic Readers

What I Am Reading Today

When a young mother dies under mysterious circumstances, those she leaves behind begin looking for answers in the past—and find a long-buried secret they could have never imagined.Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be? At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been the one taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again. But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew.

What I Plan To Read This Week

(click the covers to view at Goodreads)

It takes something special to be a bush nurse working in rural and remote Australia. They patch people up and keep them alive while waiting for the doctor to arrive, they drive the ambulances, operate the clinics and deliver the babies. They are on call around the clock and there are no days off. All this with no back-up and while working in some of the most isolated places on the planet. To get the job done, bush nurses often have to make do with whatever is at hand (think, transporting patients via wheelbarrows, stemming bleeding with their bare hands, etc.), but their trademark passion, resourcefulness and sense of humour see them through the tough times. Some of these stories will raise the hairs on the back of your neck, others will make you laugh and some will make you cry. But there’s no doubt you’ll be amazed at the strength of character and the skill of these nurses who are the backbone of medical practice in rural and remote Australia.

When marketing executive Tessa Mathison leaves London to attend her great-aunt’s funeral in Australia, her life is in turmoil. An indiscretion during a boozy night out has resulted in Tessa’s name being mud in London’s cliquey marketing scene, and soon after she arrives in her homeland she discovers she’s been sacked. Tessa’s childhood home, Danjar Plains, is an isolated station which holds some bad memories for her. She plans to escape it as soon as the funeral is over, but then an unusual request in her Aunt Violet’s will makes it impossible for her to leave. When charismatic and charming Brendan McKenzie introduces himself to Tessa, staying at Danjar Plains no longer seems such a hardship. As various secrets begin to unravel, Tessa realises letting go of her heart may hold the key to unlocking both her past and her future.

Luc and Lisette Ravens – a former French resistance fighter and a one-time British spy – have somehow survived the war, but recovering from the horrors of those years is a challenge they’re yet to overcome. Casting their fate to the winds, they sail to Tasmania, hoping to rebuild their lives and plant new lavender fields in a land that’s full of promise. In his darkest hour, Swiss law student Max Vogel learns a confronting truth. A long-held family secret links him to the Ravens on the other side of the world, and he finds himself holding the key to his own future and to Luc’s troubled past. Together they return to Provence, so Luc can fulfil the promises by which he has been bound – to his beloved Lisette, to his Jewish family, and to the one man responsible for ripping so much from his life. With the future generation of lavender keepers in his care, Luc must lay to rest the ghosts of years gone by so that they all might live and love again.

Christina Clay only wants the best when it comes to her family’s iconic Australian wine company, and Tate Newell has the best marketing brain in the business. But there are some people in the world Tate doesn’t want to work for and Clay Wines’ eccentric chief executive is high on his list. Christina collects causes like some women collect shoes, and every time she opens her mouth, he’s reminded of the one person he wants to forget. Sometimes, to get a woman out of your head, you have to let her in. Before Christina can say Crocodile Dundee, she’s in a two‐seater plane flying into the heart of central Australia to visit Tate’s childhood roots: the remote cattle station his family still own and run. It’s a ‘research project’ he says, to see just how ‘wild’ she wants her new wine brand to be. Battling the demons of a previous miscarriage, Christina soon has a project of her own in mind when it comes to Tate, and less than a day into her outback research trip, her ovaries are ticking. She wants a baby and a brand. And in Tate, she’s found the one man who can give her both

While you are here…

I joined Shelfari – if you have an account make sure you add me as a friend

http://www.shelfari.com/shelleyrae

Thanks for stopping by, I’ll be along to visit you shortly!

 

About these ads