It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

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

Life…

So today marks the start of school holidays for my children. Given the current and expected weather ie. rain, rain and more rain, it is going to be a very long two weeks!

It is the first Monday of the month so here are my challenge updates:

The Eclectic Reader Challenge 8/12

Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 66/50

Aussie Author Challenge 9/12

Doing pretty well all round at this point!

What I Read Last Week

just_a_girl by Kirsten Krauth

Blood Witness by Alex Hammond

Ink by Amanda Sun

Held For Ransom by Russell Atkinson

Heist by Robert Schofield

New Posts

(click the titles to read my reviews)

Review: The Erma Bombeck Collection  ★★★★★

Review: Currawong Creek by Jennifer Scoullar ★★★★

Review: Waiting For Wednesday by Nicci French ★★★★

Review: just_a_girl by Kirsten Krauth ★★★★

**AWW Feature: Kirsten Krauth**

Review: Blood Witness by Alex Hammond ★★★★

Review: Powder Burn by Mark Chisnell ★★★

Stuff on Sundays: From the Eclectic Readers {Update #2}

Review: Held For Ransom by Russell Atkinson ★★★

What I Am Reading Today

For three years Joseph Scott has been haunted by one moment-the moment that changed his life forever. Now he is starting over, and he wants his family back more than anything.
This is the story of Joseph and his wife, Zoe; of their children, Scarlet, Theo and Ben, for whom nothing will be the same; and of Zoe’s parents, who can’t forgive or understand.

What I Plan To Read This Week

(click the covers to view at Goodreads)

Anna is a planner. So when she discovers she’s pregnant, she prepares for a perfect new life in Provençe, France, with her perfect new baby-to-be. Anna’s partner, the easy-going Tobias, shouldn’t have too much difficulty tagging along—after all, he’s a musician who rarely starts his day before noon. But all that changes when their baby is born severely disabled. Anna, Tobias, and their daughter, Freya, end up in a rickety, rodent-infested farmhouse in a remote town in France—far from the mansion in Provençe they had imagined. Little do they know that this is the beginning of what will become an incredible journey of the heart—one during which they learn there really is no such thing as a mouse-proof kitchen. Life is messy, and it’s the messy bits that make it count.

Private Investigator Nikki James grew up on the tough streets of Lyndhurst and believes there’s nothing left to surprise her. All that changes the night she follows teenager Monica Trevgard into the shadows-and becomes a pawn caught in a war between two very different men. One fills her mind with his madness, the other pushes his way into her life-and her heart. Nikki knows how dangerous love can be, but if she wants to survive, she must place her trust in a man who could easily destroy her. Michael Kelly has come to Lyndhurst determined to end the war between himself and another brother of the night. For 300 years he has existed in life’s shadows, gradually learning to control the life from death cravings of a vampire. Nikki not only breaches his formidable barriers with her psychic abilities, but makes Michael believe he may finally have found a woman strong enough to walk by his side and ease the loneliness in his heart. But will his love be enough to protect her from a madman hell-bent on revenge? Or will it drive her into his enemy’s deadly trap?  Only together can they overcome the evil threatening to destroy them both. But the secrets they keep from each other might prove to be the greatest threat of all.

After the end of a long-term relationship, Alicia’s life is at a crossroads when news that her mother is critically ill takes her back to her childhood home of Alice Springs. Though she hasn’t consciously intended to remain in central Australia, when Alicia is offered a job setting up a school on an indigenous outstation she decides to stay. Surrounded by the mesmerising beauty of the desert, Alicia takes charge of the new school, and though the challenges are substantial, she finds the work deeply fulfilling. When Alicia meets Patrick through her work she’s instantly attracted to him. Patrick shares much of Alicia’s outlook on life and their relationship flourishes until they hit a crisis regarding their future together…
From Alice With Love is both a beautiful love story and a thought-provoking novel set in the exotic red centre of Australia

When Geniver Loxley lost her daughter at birth eight years ago, her world stopped… and never fully started again. Mothers with strollers still make her flinch; her love of writing has turned into a half-hearted teaching career; and she and her husband, Art, have slipped into the kind of rut that seems inescapable. But then a stranger shows up on their doorstep, telling Gen the very thing she’s always wanted to hear: that her daughter Beth was not stillborn, but was taken away as a healthy infant and is still out there, somewhere, waiting to be found. It’s insane, unbelievable. But why would anyone make that up? A fissure suddenly opens up in Gen’s carefully reconstructed life, letting in a flood of unanswerable questions. Where is Beth now? Why is Art so reluctant to get involved? To save his wife from further hurt? Or is it something more sinister? And who can she trust to help her? Ignoring the warnings of her husband and friends, Gen begins to delve into the dark corners of her past, hopeful she’ll find a clue to her daughter’s whereabouts. But hope quickly turns into fear and paranoia, as she realizes that finding the answers might open the door to something even worse than not knowing. A truth that could steal everything she holds close – even her own life

While you are here…

Congratulate

Winner of A Distant Land by Alison Booth : Mary

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