Book Beginnings/The Friday 56 6/26/2020

Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice and Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader. The idea is to share a sentence or so from the first page and the 56th page of the book you are currently reading!  Also, I will now also include a brief synopsis.

On a hot July morning on Sweden’s idyllic vacation island of Sandhamn, a man takes his dog for a walk and makes a gruesome discovery: a body, tangled in fishing net, has washed ashore.

Police detective Thomas Andreasson is the first to arrive on the scene. Before long, he has identified the deceased as Krister Berggren, a bachelor from the mainland who has been missing for months. All signs point to an accident—until another brutalized corpse is found at the local bed-and-breakfast. But this time it is Berggren’s cousin, whom Thomas interviewed in Stockholm just days before.

As the island’s residents reel from the news, Thomas turns to his childhood friend, local lawyer Nora Linde. Together, they attempt to unravel the riddles left behind by these two mysterious outsiders—while trying to make sense of the difficult twists their own lives have taken since the shared summer days of their youth.

Book Beginnings

share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

Prologue

Everything was completely still and peaceful as only winter can be, when the archipelago belongs to those who live there, and the raucous summer visitors have not yet taken over the islands.

Chapter 1

Here, Pixie!  Come here!

The man gazed irritably at the dachshund as she ran down the beach; he had been cooped up on the boat for several days.

My thoughts: Since this book is a mystery thriller, I hope nothing happens to the dog.


THE FRIDAY 56

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader.
If you have to improvise, that is okay.

*Find a snippet, short and sweet.

Page 56

However, her father-in-law was marginally better than wife, who was a rail-thin woman in her seventies whose greatest pleasure was to be seen at social events.

My thoughts: I am very near the beginning of this book an have not yet got to this point.  I'm still worried about the dog!  So far none of the other sentences grab me,/so hopefully it will soon

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/22/20

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

Not a heck of a lot going on in my life.  My husband has been furloughed since March 20-something and he just found out he'd be going back on June 30th. We have also decided that within the next month or so, we're going to finally add a new family member - a furry one- dog specifically.  My son is beyond excited and so am I.

What I read last week:

Last week, I read Ghost of Sanju, My Vanishing Country, and The Hero Two Doors Down.

What I am reading now:

I am currently reading another e-ARC of Cowboy Strong and my current audiobook is I Can Make a Promise

Up next:

I'm going to join Amazon's KindleUnlimited this month; they have a special offer due to the pandemic of 2 month free trial offer until the end of the month, so I'm not positive what I'll be choosing next.  They also have books through this, that you also listen to on audible.  I love doing this offer once or twice a year.  The rest of the year. I'm happy to just listen through Overdrive and now my library also has Hoopla available to us, although only 4 books a month. 

Have you read any of these or want to?

Review of Like Sisters on the Homefront

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Goodreads Synopsis:

When Gayle gets into trouble with her boyfriend, her mother sends the street-smart 14-year-old-and her baby, José, down to Georgia to live with Uncle Luther and his family. There's nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one around except kneesock-wearing, Jesus-praising cousin Cookie. Then Gayle meets Great, the family matriarch-and her stories of the past begin to change how Gayle sees her future.

My review:

I was rather disappointed in this. I listened to it on audio through Hoopla. It is less than 200 pages and just over 5 hrs. Gayle, the main character is 14 year old with a baby less than 1 year old. At the beginning, she finds out that she is pregnant again. Her mother is fed up and forces her to get an abortion and then sends her off to live with her brother a pastor and his family, whom Gayle has never met. She is basically miserable and wants to go home, where she and Troy (i think) can make a new baby to replace the one lost. This book was written in the mid90s and seems dated and I don't think it portrays a positive image of Black Americans, I don't see that she really learned that much from the experience and if anything corrupted her cousin, who was square in Gayle's eyes, because she was overly religious, wore knee-hi socks and although a few years older never slept with a guy or messed around with a guy in anyway. It is suppose to be YA, but I really don't recommend it to anyone.

Review: the Inn at Hidden Run

Goodreads Synopsis

A Father-Daughter Genealogy Team Link Present to Past on Family Trees

Meri's family has been producing doctors for so many generations that no one remembers why, so when she flunks out of medical school, she runs as far from her parents as she can get. In the small mountain town of Canyon Mines, Colorado, she takes a job at the Inn at Hidden Run B&B. And waits. It's only a matter of time.

What she doesn't count on is genealogist Jillian Parisi-Duffy and her father, Nolan, having her back when it takes everything she has not to bolt again but to stay and face the truth that only unfolding her family's history will reveal. While Nolan works on keeping Meri calm--and in town--Jillian pulls out of her gems of information she doesn't know she has and arranges the puzzle pieces.

But none of that changes the fact that Meri's family is closing in to haul her back to her "real" life. When their arrival inflames tensions and Meri finally does bolt, Nolan and Jillian may be out of time.

The Inn at Hidden Run is the first book in the Tree of Life series. Readers will come back to backdrop of a lovely mountain town of Canyon Mines again and again to explore and celebrate unforgettable family stories that inspire them to connect with their own family histories and unique faith journeys.

MyReview

I had received this book as an e-ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. this book consists of two main storylines. One being the present-day in the fictional town of Canyon Mines, Colorado and another storyline revolving around the yellow fever epidemic in the late-1800s in Memphis. I found the yellow fever epidemic storyline more interesting. I didn't find myself drawn to any of the characters in either storyline. I think the interest in the yellow fever epidemic was due to the current situation, the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, I'd give this book 2.75 stars. I ended up listening to this book on Hoopla; I'm not sure if I'll continue with this series. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I enjoyed learning about the yellow fever epidemic

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/15

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

I have been somewhat distracted with all the things going on. Even my little suburb held a B*L*M* peaceful protest this previous weekend that we participated in, it was really nice to see all the solidarity

What I read last week:

Last week, I read Breakfast at the Honey Creek Cafe and listened to The Inn at Hidden Run, No Angel, Coming Home, Like Sisters on the Homefront

What I am reading now:

I am listening to My Banihing Country  and reading Ghost o Sangju

I just requested my library get My Vanishing Country a week ago and got this already. They must have already been planning to get it and no one else had requested it before me.  Ghost of Sangju has been on my TBR and hanging out on my Kindle for just over 4 years; I am so glad to get to this it's long overdue! 

Not sure if I will readCowboy Strong next or lave it for the following week,  Have you read any of these or want to?

Review: The Weight of Silence

I've been having difficulty figuring out how to review this book.  I read it nearly 2 weeks ago and keep thinking of it, but not necessarily in a good way.  Several years ago, I read One Breath Away by this author and loved it (gave it 4 stars), but this one was slow, especially the first part, had too many point of views and the ending did not standout.  In fact, the final details even now are fuzzy and only after 2 weeks, I do not think that is the sign of a good book.  Initially after I read this book, I gave it 3 stars on my spreadsheet, I rarely change my rating, but in this case, I have decided to change it to 2 stars. I kind of wish I had DNF'd the book.  I still have an ARC of one of the author's more recent books; since I loved the first book I read by her, I probably will give her another chance.  I will probably try listening to it, since my library has it both on Overdrive and Hoopla,

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? 6/8/20

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

I have been somewhat distracted with all the things going on. Even my little suburb held a B*L*M* peaceful protest this past weekend that we participated in, it was really nice to see all the solidarity

What I read last week:

Last week, I read The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf and listened to The Inn at Hidden Run by Olivia Newport and The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

What I am reading now:

I am currently reading another e-ARC of Breakfast at the Honey Creek Café by Jodi Thomas and listening to No Angel by

 

Up next:

Although, I'm close to only halfway through what I'm reading and I just started listening to my audiobook, I think next I will read Ghost of Sangju by Soojung JoAnd next up on audio will be Coming Home by Mariah Stewart

Have you read any of these or do you want to ?

WWW Wednesday 6/3/2020

WWW Wednesday is run by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

My state has finally entered Phase 3 and more things have been opening up! I finally got a haircut on Frriday.  Now, I'm just waiting for my hair salon to do more than haircuts; I need to get it colored so badly!

I'm currently reading Breakfast at the Honey Creek Café by Jodi Thomas and I listening to The Inn at Hidden Run by Olivia Newport

I just finished listening to The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Next up for listening will be The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert and My next read will most likely be Ghost of Sangju by Soojung Jo. The latter will probably not be until early next week.

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Have you read any of these or want to?