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

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

====================

*

Life…

Honestly, this past week seems to have evaporated.

We celebrated my son’s 17th birthday. I made him a ‘castle keep’ to take to his regular D&D game but I should have just gone with a cave 🙂 It had four tiers of chocolate cake, and I cut a hole in the top layer that I filled with coloured chocolate pieces to represent the jewel hoard the dragon is protecting. It was a bit of a disaster because apparently half of the ‘stonework’ – honeycomb chocolate squares – fell off during transport, though I’m assured it still tasted good. I added a happy birthday banner to the front too but forgot to take a photo with it on.

Mother’s Day was uneventful in the end because we made plans for a family lunch at a local tavern this coming Saturday to combine celebrations instead (we don’t have any COVID restrictions except for check in’s because our region doesn’t have any local cases and hasn’t for over a year).

——————————————-

*

What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

*

Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss

How To Mend A Broken Heart by Rachael Johns

China Blonde by Nicole Webb

*

———————————————

*

New Posts…

 

Review: House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Review: Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss

Review: How To Mend a Broken Heart by Rachael Johns

Motherhood in Fiction

*

———————————————

*

What I’m Reading This Week…

 

Can a wedding dress save a bunch of hardened crims? The Full Monty meets Orange is the New Black in a poignantly comic story about a men’s prison sewing circle.

Derek’s daughter Debbie is getting married. He’s desperate to be there, but he’s banged up in Yarrandarrah Correctional Centre for embezzling funds from the golf club, and, thanks to his ex-wife, Lorraine, he hasn’t spoken to Debbie in years. He wants to make a grand gesture – to show her how much he loves her. But what?

Inspiration strikes while he’s embroidering a cushion at his weekly prison sewing circle – he’ll make her a wedding dress. His fellow stitchers rally around and soon this motley gang of crims is immersed in a joyous whirl of silks, satins and covered buttons.

But as time runs out and tensions rise both inside and outside the prison, the wedding dress project takes on greater significance. With lives at stake, Derek feels his chance to reconcile with Debbie is slipping through his fingers …

A funny, dark and moving novel about finding humanity, friendship and redemption in unexpected places.

xxxxxxx

Lorcan and Naiyana are desperate to move their young family far away from the hustle and bustle of modern city life.

The abandoned town of Kallayee seems like the perfect getaway: no one has lived there for decades. It will be peaceful. Quiet. Secure.

But life in Kallayee isn’t quite as straightforward as they hope. Lights flicker at night. Car tracks appear in the dust even when the family hasn’t driven anywhere. And six-year-old Dylan is certain he can hear strange sounds.

Lorcan and Naiyana refuse to leave. No one can talk sense into them.

And now, no one can talk to them at all.

They’ve simply vanished.

xxxxxxxx

Dot Watson has lost her way.

Twelve years ago her life veered off course, and the guilt over what happened still haunts her. Before then she was living in Paris, forging an exciting career; now her time is spent visiting her mother’s care home, fielding interfering calls from her sister and working at the London Transport Lost Property office, diligently cataloguing items as misplaced as herself.

But when elderly Mr Appleby arrives in search of his late wife’s purse, his grief stirs something in Dot. Determined to help, she sets off on a mission – one that could start to heal Dot’s own loss and let her find where she belongs once more…

xxxxxxxx

 

A chilling police thriller set in a small coastal town on the Mornington Peninsula, where the discovery of human bones on an isolated beach has reawakened a twenty-year-old cold case…

On the evening of September 22, 1998, three teenage girls venture out for a night of mischief in the coastal town of Blairgowrie. But only two return . . .

For over twenty years the disappearance of fifteen-year-old Cecilia May remains a baffling cold case – until human bones are discovered on an isolated beach.

Now it’s up to Detective Emmett Corban and his team to dig up decades of trauma, and find the missing piece of an investigation that’s as complex as it is tragic.

Does the answer lie with the only suspect, a registered sex offender who confessed, then immediately provided a rock-solid alibi? Or with the two teen survivors – neither of whom can keep their story straight?

But the police aren’t the only ones hunting for the truth: someone else has arrived in the seaside town. And she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to find her own version of justice…

———————————————

Thanks for stopping by!

 

30 thoughts on “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

  1. Yummy cake! Glad you don’t have many restrictions. That must feel great. We are doing better, too, and I’ve been enjoying going to restaurants again.

    Thanks for visiting my blog, and enjoy your books.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. What a great cake! I bet it was delicious.

    I’m thinking about the difference between your part of the world and mine. Both are the same in that there are no restrictions here for dining out, but we had 62 new cases in our county yesterday! So, even with the vaccine, I limit going out into the crazy world.

    I am very interested in Lost Property and the book about the men’s prison sewing circle looks intriguing, too.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. The cake! What a great idea! Looks delish! The Dressmakers of Yarrandarrah Prison sounds great. No COVID for a year. Ah that is so wonderful!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Happy belated birthday to your son. To be honest, I envy your part of the world for being Covid free. Germany has almost every day tenthousands of new cases and hundreds of new deaths. Your cake looks delicious.Have a great new week.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I think the cake is great, good on you for going that extra mile and well guys… the taste and chocolate is what counts!! Nice looking books, I think Lost Property could be one I’d like.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Did I read correctly that your region has no COVID cases?! That must feel fantastic. We are down to about 11-15 a day (out of 450,000 people in our County), which I thought was good. Now I’m not so impressed. 🙂 I am, however, impressed by your cake. Well done.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. That’s quite a castle cake, wow! …. Happy 17 to your son! That’s nice you have no
    cases there. We still have many restrictions here, ugh!! Enjoy your week.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Oh my gosh, now that’s my kind of castle! Looks delicious! I hope your son loved it! Have a lovely week and happy reading! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Happy birthday to your son and what a fantastic cake! It looks delicious! I’m always a fan of celebrating holidays that involve going out (like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day) on other days because places are SO crowded on the actual day and even pre-pandemic I’m not a crowd fan. Have a great week!

    Like

  10. Happy birthday to your son!

    I hope you guys had a great meal! that’s amazing that you guys haven’t had a local case in over a YEAR. Wow. Not the case here lol. I know Australia’s had its issues too but sounds like your particular area has done phenomenal.

    Like

  11. I find Mothers Day so bittersweet. I get flowers, a high tea platter and cake but there are no children around and this is now getting to be a war cry I fear with me!
    I doubt whether I will see them till next year and that too maybe. Nothing of course can be done. Here the infection figures are rising drastically, so are the fatalities. We keeping as safe as we can.
    The cake is very nice. What a lot of effort gone into it. I am sure all of them enjoyed it tremendously.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. OMG.. that cake looks amazing. I love cooking and baking.. but I’ve never been able to put something that pretty looking up. LOL!.
    Have a great week and happy reading.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Sorry it didn’t survive transport but the cake looks great! If I had any skills with cake I’d try to do that for my boyfriend’s birthday.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Happy Birthday to your son! I love the cake! It may not have traveled well, but I imagine it tasted good. 🙂 I hope you have a nice time at your family celebration on Saturday. I love the sound of Jaffe’s book. Lost Property sounds good too. I hope you are enjoying your reading! Have a great week!

    Liked by 1 person

I want to know what you think! Your comments are appreciated.