It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

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

Life…

I think the excitement of the last few weeks took more out of me than I realised and I have been feeling just a little off this week. Even reading has felt like an effort at times so I have been binge watching Hart of Dixie on Netflix instead, not at all productive given I’m already behind in my schedule but I’d rather back off for a week than burn out altogether.

I have had other events to juggle including a family lunch yesterday hosted by my parents which was lovely, my younger daughter competed in an Eistedford with her school choir and her group placed first, requiring a command performance, and I had to go out and buy another toaster when ours stopped toasting on one side.

We seem to have to buy a new toaster every year – our last one burst into flames! I bought this one for half price, I can’t survive without Vegemite toast – I eat it for dinner as often as I do breakfast!

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

The Eclectic Reader Challenge 6/12

Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 42/50

Aussie Author Challenge 7/12

Around the World in 12 Books Challenge 8/12

What I Read Last Week

Billabong Bend by Jennifer Scoullar

St Kilda Blues by Geoffrey McGeachin

Being Jade by Kate Belle

The Blue Mile by Kim Kelly

 

New Posts

(click the titles to read my reviews)

Review: Encore by Margaret Lynette Sharp ★★★

Review: Billabong Bend by Jennifer Scoullar ★★★★

Review: Chasing Shadows by Leila Yusef Chung ★★★1/2

Review: St Kilda Blues by Geoffry McGeachin ★★★★

Review: A Place of Her Own by Deborah O’Brien ★★★1/2

Stuff On Sunday: 6 Degrees of Separation

*On the AWW Challenge Blog: April 2014: General Fiction Round Up*

 What I Am Reading Today

One year after Henry Munroe’s sudden death at age 41, his family is still reeling from the loss. So is Evie Cooper, a local bartender…and Henry’s former mistress. While his widow, Jeanie, struggles with the betrayal, his overbearing mother is devising plans to hold a memorial service on this awful anniversary. And to make matters worse, she might even invite Evie. With her trademark wit, Cathie Pelletier has crafted an elegant, uplifting portrait of the many strange and inspiring forms that grief and love can take in the journey to overcoming loss.

 

What I Plan To Read This Week

(click the covers to view at Goodreads)

 

Neryn has made a long journey to perfect her skills as a Caller. She has learned the wisdom of water and of earth; she has journeyed to the remote isles of the west and the forbidding mountains of the north. Now, Neryn must travel in Alban’s freezing winter to seek the mysterious White Lady, Guardian of Air. For only when Neryn has been trained by all four Guardians will she be ready to play her role in toppling the tyrannical King Keldec. But the White Lady is not what she seems. Trapped with Whisper, her fey protector, Neryn is unable to send word to her beloved Flint, who is in danger of being exposed as a double agent. When a new threat looms and the rebellion is in jeopardy, Neryn must enter Keldec’s court, where one false move could see her culled. She must stand up against forces more powerful than any she has confronted before, and face losses that could break her heart. The Caller is the thrilling conclusion to the Shadowfell trilogy.

Five days before Christmas, Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper sits at his desk at the Johannesburg major crimes squad, ready for his holiday in Mozambique. A call comes in: a respectable, white couple has been assaulted and left for dead in their bedroom. The couple’s teenage daughter identifies the attacker as Aaron Shabalala—the youngest son of Zulu Detective Constable Samuel Shabalala—Cooper’s best friend and a man to whom he owes his life. The Detective Branch isn’t interested in evidence that might contradict their star witness’s story, especially so close to the holidays. Determined to ensure justice for Aaron, Cooper, Shabalala, and their trusted friend, Dr. Daniel Zweigman hunt down the truth. Their investigation uncovers a violent world of Sophiatown gangs, thieves, and corrupt government officials who will do anything to keep their dark world intact.

Tara has lost her voice. She knows there was pain and fear but she cannot remember anything else. Now she can only answer the questions with silence. Minnie has buried her voice for years, losing herself in silence and isolation, keeping her secrets safe and her broken heart concealed. Liam finds refuge in silence; it is a place to go to when he cannot get the words out. Kate cannot speak for herself just yet. People are only separated from each other by moments, by fate and coincidence. One teenage mistake, one shocking choice and one terrible night will lead to courage found, voices raised and the truth finally spoken. A gripping, moving novel from Australia’s queen of white-knuckle suspense and family drama.

Evelyn Thomas’s plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man in her room, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened. One thing is certain, being married to one of the hottest rock stars on the planet is sure to be a wild ride.

‘They always tell you that you shouldn’t tell lies, but without lies I’d already be in an orphanage.   This, in any case, is my first true lie’  Luca and his mum are like two peas in a pod in their special, fragile world. Then, one winter morning his mother doesn’t wake up. Luca suddenly finds himself alone for the first time. Terrified of what telling the truth might bring, he decides to keep the biggest secret of his life. Luca goes along to school every day, pretending everything is as it always has been. But he returns home every night to a cold, dark house. So he begins to build a protective bubble with the memories of his mother, the words and stories he so loves – and his cat Blue – against the truth on the other side of the bedroom door.

While you are here…

 

Thanks for stopping by!