It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

The It’s Monday! What Are You Reading meme is hosted at BookDate

I’m also linking to The Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer

And the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

 

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Life…

The past week has been pretty ordinary. I don’t know about you but there is a certain time of the month when I just need to not think so I wasted too much time on some really bad TV (think Love Island UK etc). I also watched two movie versions of Emma with my daughter who is studying the book this term, which led to me rewatching the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice (which is my favourite Austen adaption and has me swooning every time), and now I’m following that up by watching Downton Abbey: The Movie tonight. Hopefully my PMS will be sated then and I can get back to reading.

This week we will be celebrating my eldest son’s 16th birthday on Thursday, and then Mother’s Day on Sunday. Having successfully flattened the curve, the Australian government has announced a relaxation of restrictions relating to visiting others, my parents will be driving up for lunch on the weekend, though we still plan to employ social distancing. Now is the best time as the children will start physically attending school next week according to a staggered schedule. The boys will only be attending one day a week, but Aleah, who is in her final year of school, will be required to go three times a week, I’m a little anxious about it to be honest, but they are looking forward to it.

Wishing you all a marvellous May!

 

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

 

The Viennese Girl by Jenny Lecoat

Southern Cross Crime by Craig Sisterson

Prey by L.A. Larkin

Confessions of a Forty-Something by Alexandra Potter

 

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New Posts…

 

Review: Southern Cross Crime by Craig Sisterson

Review: The Viennese Girl by Jenny Lecoat

Review: Prey by L.A. Larkin

2020 Nonfiction Reader Challenge: Monthly Spotlight #4

Six Degrees of Separation: The Road to This Won’t End Well

 

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

India, 1922: It is rainy season in the lush, remote Satara mountains southeast of Bombay, where the kingdom of Satapur is tucked away. A curse seems to have fallen upon Satapur’s royal family, whose maharaja died of a sudden illness shortly before his teenage son was struck down in a tragic accident. The kingdom is now ruled by an agent of the British Raj on behalf of Satapur’s two maharanis, the dowager queen and the maharaja’s widow.

The royal ladies are in dispute over the education of the young crown prince, and a lawyer’s council is required—but the maharanis live in purdah and do not speak to men. Just one person can help them: Perveen Mistry, India’s only female lawyer.  Perveen is determined to bring peace to the royal house and make a sound recommendation for the young prince’s future, but knows she is breaking a rule by traveling alone as a woman into the remote countryside. And she arrives to find that the Satapur palace is full of cold-blooded power plays and ancient vendettas. Too late, she realizes she has walked into a trap. But whose? And how can she protect the royal children from the palace’s deadly curse?

xxxxxxx

 

April is a thoughtful yet sarcastic mother of two who tries her best to be a caring, connected mom in a middle-class culture where motherhood has become relentless. April rages at modern motherhood’s impossible pressures, her husband’s “Dad privilege,” and her kids’ incessant snack requests. She wants to enjoy motherhood, but her idealist vision and lived experience are in constant conflict with one another. Is she broken—or is motherhood?

Desperate for an answer, she seeks out a therapist, and lands with an unexpected woman whose validation and wisdom gives April the clarity to reclaim herself and even start designing clothes—her pre-motherhood passion. But when the ever-elusive babysitter cancels last-minute, April finds herself back at square one. She seeks guidance, but her therapist is now dealing with her own crumbling marriage—and instead of counseling April, she convinces her to speed off to Las Vegas with her to help catch her husband cheating. With a little weed, alcohol, and topless pool hopping, plus a male stripper and some much-needed autonomy, the two find lost pieces of themselves that motherhood swallowed up. But neither one is prepared for how tested—and tempted—they will be, or for the life-altering choices their journey will force them to make. Who is guiding whom anymore?

xxxxxxx

 

Farmer, Georgie Henderson manages a cattle farm in the New England region of NSW, but her dream has always been to buy back her family property, Tamban. Her every waking hour for years, has revolved around planning to make this dream become a reality.

When an unlikely meeting with Michael Delacourt at a rowdy B&S Ball sends them on a whirlwind romance, Georgie can’t believe it’s possible for life to be this good and her dream of buying back Tamban has, for the first time, taken a backseat to happiness.

But her world shatters when she discovers the shocking secret Michael has been trying to keep from her.

Can Michael convince her they still have a future? And after having her heart so thoroughly broken, can Georgie ever trust anyone again?

xxxxxxx

 

Liz Trenchard is an experienced pediatrician with a duty to protect all children admitted to her busy emergency room When Jess Curtis, an affluent, stay-at-home mother, turns up at the ER one night with her baby girl, she immediately prompts suspicion. The ten-month-old has a blow to the head her mother doesn’t seem to have noticed, and Jess has a story that doesn’t stack up.

Meanwhile, Liz is riddled with doubt as she confronts secrets held by her mother, whose neglect not only led to a childhood tragedy involving her brother but raises questions about another baby Liz half-remembers from thirty-five years ago.

With Sarah Vaughan’s signature “clever and compelling” (Claire Douglas, bestselling author) prose, this is a tightly-wound and evocative page-turner that will haunt you long after you finish the final page.

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Thanks for stopping by!