My Book Retreat

Minnie Mouse is invited to Paris for Fashion Week where she will show her beautiful bows. She and her friends work hard to create a selection of bows to bring along. But when they arrive in Paris, Minnie’s suitcase is swapped with that of Penguini the Magnificent, and Minnie ends up with a case full of bunnies hopping out of his magic hat, instead of the bows.

In Minnie in Paris by Sheila Sweeny Higginson, Minnie heads out into Paris to collect the missing bunnies, while her friends buy new supplies for new bows. As they make their way through Paris trying to round up the bunnies and the materials, all of the big landmarks of the city are shown in both illustrations and words. The pictures are big and full of vibrant colors and lots of little details to look at. 

Although there are only a few sentences on each of the 40 pages, there are some bigger words and some French words as well, so it’s really more of a read-aloud for younger kids. It's a bit of a counting book, too, as t…

When Gus Silva is a boy, his father who is known for his temper kills his mother in a rage. Gus, who was home when it happened, stopped talking. Only Hallie Costa, the local doctor's daughter could break his silence. Years later, they fall in love. But another act of violence tears them apart.

The Orphans of Race Point: A Novel by Patry Francis spans several decades in the lives of Gus and Hallie. It seems at first to be a love story, but it turns out to be much more than that. It covers many topis including friendship, love, religion, abuse, deception and forgiveness. The characters and their relationships seem genuine, and the storyline goes in unexpected yet realistic directions at times.

The story is told from a few different points of view, but each character has an entire part of the book, consisting of several chapters, so the alternating voices are not distracting. I also found that I was able to connect with each character very well because of this style. And it helped w…

Well that was a fast week. I didn't manage to read much last week and I didn't manage to write much either. I was considering participating in Armchair BEA this week, but honestly, now that this week is here already (I can't believe it's already Monday night!), I'd rather spend the time getting some reviews written. So if you are participating, leave a comment and let me know, and I'll stop by to read your posts this week. Someday, I'd love to make it to the BEA conference in NY, but not this year.

Reading
I completed Pressed Pennies by Steven Manchester, so I will definitely be posting that review this week. I also read more of The Orphans of Race Point by Patry Francis. I'm scheduled for the book tour tomorrow, so.... I'll be reading more tonight and tomorrow and posting that review at some point tomorrow!! This month really flew by way too fast!

No updates for the kids this week. I need to go read!

What are you reading this week? It's Monda…

Another week has passed by. It's amazing that summer vacation is almost here! My husband and I went away for the weekend to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. We went to Wilmington, NC, and even spent a few hours at the beach on Saturday. It was only in the 70s but the sun made it feel much warmer. Now we're home and back to reality...

Reviews and posts
I two posts last week. The first was about the release of Pressed Pennies by Steven Manchester. The second post was a recap of my April reading. Yes, I just got around to publishing that!

I am hoping to write a few reviews this week since I have a few to do.

Reading
I read some of Pressed Pennies by Steven Manchester, and then I got wrapped up in another book, The Orphans of Race Point by Patry Francis. Then I went away for the weekend and didn't take a book, figuring I wouldn't have time to read. But there was one evening when I had a little time, and so I started a book that is on the Kindle app on my phone, I…

Here's a recap of my reading and reviewing for April. This is pretty simple, but I figure if I keep my monthly recaps simple, I'll actually publish them, although it took me 18 days to finally get around to it this time!!

BOOKS READ IN APRIL: 6
REVIEWS WRITTEN IN APRIL: 5

The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw by Christopher Healy - reviewedNorth of Boston by Elisabeth Elo - read and reviewedThe Do's and Don'ts by Hayley Rose - read and reviewedThe Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan - read and reviewedThe Living Memories Project by Meryl Ain, Arthur M. Fischman, and Stewart Ain- read and reviewedEnder's Game by Orson Scott Card - readThe Metaxy Project by Layton Green - readYEAR-TO-DATE TOTALS:

Total Books Read: 21
Total Reviews: 18


Historical Fiction: 2
Middle-Grade Fiction: 10
Picture Books: 1
Young Adult: 2
Contemporary Fiction: 1
Mystery/Thriller: 2
Nonfiction: 2
Memoir: 1

For review: 9
For book club: 2
For me: 10

Pressed Pennies, a contemporary fiction novel by Steven Manchester, was released today by The Story Plant. I haven't made it far enough through the book to write a review yet, but wanted to let you know it's available today. It's a love story, so a bit calmer than my most recent reads! I'll write a full review once I'm done, but in the meantime, here's a brief synopsis from the author:

Rick and Abby grew up together, became best friends, and ultimately fell in love. Circumstance tore them apart in their early teens, though, and they went on to lives less idyllic than they dreamed about in those early days. Rick has had a very successful career, but his marriage flat-lined. Abby has a magical daughter, Paige, but Paige's father nearly destroyed Abby's spirit.

Now fate has thrown Rick and Abby together again. In their early thirties, they are more world-weary than they were as kids. But their relationship still shimmers, and they're hungry to make up…

Happy Monday! I hope you had a nice week. Our pool opened on the weekend, so I spent Mother's Day afternoon at the pool. It was lovely!

Reviews and posts
I managed to write one review last week: The Metaxy Project by Layton Green

Reading
I read the rest of Eyes Closed Tight by Peter Leonard. That's about it. I didn't do much reading or writing last week! I have started Pressed Pennies by Steven Manchester. I'll be writing about it tomorrow for a tour, but doubt I'll have finished it in time to complete a review. That may have to wait until later in the week.

I only have time for a quick recap this week. I do hope to write a few reviews this week. We'll see how I do...

What are you reading this week? It's Monday! is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too. You can also check out the younger version of It's Monday!

Derek Miller is living it up as a summer associate at a prestigious law firm in Atlanta. He isn't used to the high life of partying and socializing with millionaire lawyers at mansions around the city. He grew up poor in a tough neighborhood. His mentor, Dr. Carter, helped him get the position in the hopes that it would lead to an offer to join the firm when he graduates from law school the next year.

The Metaxy Project by Layton Green isn't really about Derek's law career aspirations, though. It's actually more of a paranormal mystery. When Derek's fellow associate, Cameron, finds out that Dr. Carter is researching something related to parapsychology, she pulls Derek and a couple other young associates into an adventure to uncover what it's all about. Then, Dr. Carter dies, and Derek becomes much more interested in the mystery.

This is a fast-paced thriller that brings together an interesting cast of characters. Each has some underlying issues that they are wo…

Good morning. I hope you've had a nice week. I ran a 5K on Saturday along with my husband and son. That was a lot of fun and a great accomplishment for all of us! My body is aching a bit, but it was worth it! My son beat us both but I was happy with my time of 35:00. It was a very hilly course and I hadn't really trained for it, so I thought I did pretty well for myself.

As far as reading and blogging go, I didn't actually publish anything last week. I spent my time reading instead. I was doing the very casual Spring into Horror Read-a-Thon hosted by Michelle at Seasons of Reading.


I read my book club's May book, The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean. Then I picked up  Eyes Closed Tight by Peter Leonard. I made it through about half of that one. So I didn't get a ton of reading done, but I find that if I join these read-a-thons, I am motivated to read more often than usual. And that's all that matters!

I haven't shared what my kids are reading lately. M…