My Book Retreat

Kate and Mannix are struggling to help their son Fergus, who is being bullied at school, and their daughter Izzy, who has taken the role of his protector. Kate decides that a holiday away from their home in Limerick, Ireland, is just what they need. She sets up a house-swap with a family in New York City. Hazel, Oscar and their two kids are also in need of a vacation, and Hazel decides her native Limerick is the place to be. But neither family ends up with the vacation they had planned.

Twisted River by Siobhán MacDonald starts right off with Oscar, hands covered in blood, closing the trunk of a car on a dead woman as his children come up behind him asking where mom is. This is where we start. But then we go back to see how each family ended up where they did, and ultimately how the woman ended up in the trunk of the car. This is but one mystery in this story though. MacDonald includes plenty of twists to live up to the name of the novel.

Because of the nature of the storyline, I don&…

Good evening. Welcome back to my weekly reading update. I actually managed to post a week after my last update so this one will truly be a single week update. We are finally having real Spring weather here in North Carolina. It was up in  the 80s today and is supposed to be about that warm for the next two weeks. I doubt we'll have many cold days after this. I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, red and yellow onions, bell peppers and hot peppers this weekend, so the gardens are all ready.

What I'm reading Since last week, I finished Twisted River by Siobhan MacDonald. I hope to review that one this week. I'm also about halfway through The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, which is my April book club selection. I must admit I'm sick of Holden Caulfield and it's going to be a struggle to finish it, but I'm determined to do so. I may have to put it aside and read Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes, though, because I need something different.

What I'm writing I wrote on…

Billy has plans for his summer. Big plans involving time with his best friends, Charlie and Mark, and his dog Jimmy. He's graduated from high school and looks forward to relaxing before heading off to college. But things don't go as planned. From a town tragedy that puts a wedge between him and his friends, to a time-consuming new job and a beautiful girl, Billy's summer ends up taking him in a totally new direction.

The Changing Season by Steven Manchester is a coming-of-age tale that tugs at the heartstrings. Billy is the type of character that a reader can really get behind. In many ways, he's a typical recent grad who wants to party with friends, hang out with his dog and play video games in his messy room. But Billy is also quite introspective, often thinking about what career he wants to pursue, how to deal with his canine friend's increasing age, and what to do about the terrible secret he's promised to keep. He agonizes over all of these topics, thinkin…

It's been a while, hasn't it? I have been in a bit of a rut. I thought the Bloggiesta in March would help. I wrote up a nice to-do list and had every intention of completing it. But I didn't do a single thing on that list. And I haven't really blogged much since then. I'd like to attribute my absence to something specific, but there really isn't any reason for it. I just haven't felt like blogging. That's probably not a good thing when you're a blogger!


As far as reading goes, I finished The Changing Season by Steven Manchester about a week ago and that was it. I'm halfway through Twisted River by Siobhan MacDonald. I started that one while on vacation. Did I tell you about my vacation to Universal? I don't think that I did. More on that later. Above is a picture of the other books on my TBR list for this month. I just picked them up at the library last night. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger is my April book club selection, and Silv…

Maisie Dobbs has been through a lot over the years but has returned to England to be with family and grieve a heartbreaking loss. But soon she is pulled into an endeavor that takes her mind off her troubles, for the most part, by throwing her into a boatload of other troubles. The British Secret Services convinces Maisie to help bring home a man who has been imprisoned by the German government at Dachau, outside of Munich.

Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear is the twelfth novel in this series but only the second I have read. Last month I read the first in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which I quite enjoyed. This most recent edition is very different but still entertaining and engaging. Taking place in 1938 Germany, there's much history in this novel, and much of it is not pleasant. Maisie has taken on the guise of the daughter of an important British citizen and gets wrapped up with various other government officials throughout her time in Germany.

I enjoyed getting back to the …