Seven In February...A Recap

I read seven books in the month of February.  They were all from the romance genre since I am participating in the Cupcakes War Reading Challenge, and it's genre for February was of course romance.  To read my thoughts on any of the books below just click on the link below the book.

Redeeming Love...Powerful!
Photo Source:  Goodreads

My Thoughts On The Notebook
Photo Source:  Goodreads

My Thoughts On Like Water For Chocolate
Photo Source:  Goodreads

My Thoughts On Home Front By Kristin Hannah
Photo Source:  Goodreads

My Thoughts On The Romance Novel, One True Love
Photo Source:  Goodreads

My Thoughts On Bluegrass State Of Mind
Photo Source:  Goodreads

My Thoughts On Daughter Of Joy
Photos Source:  Goodreads

I had hoped to finish The Thorn Birds by the end of February bringing my total to eight, but I just couldn't fit it in.  I'm hoping to finish it in the next few days.  I'm really looking forward to March and a month of mysteries.

My Thoughts On Daughter of Joy

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
Abigail Stanton's whole life was rooted in her faith, a faith she now clings to for survival.  After losing her husband and young son, Abby sets out alone, bereft, and heartsick.  And when she is lead to Conor McKay's doorstep, the very foundation of her belief starts to shift.

Kathleen Morgan
Source:  www.kathleenmorgan.com

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Daughter of Joy is the last romance I finished for the month of February, and I really liked it.  If like me  you LOVE Francine Rivers', Redeeming Love, you will really enjoy this book as well.  The copy I read was free for my Kindle Fire which makes it even better.

It takes place during the late 1800's which is one of my favorite times in history, and it has it all...love, loss, laughter, anger, fear, and faith.  I love reading books where people use their faith in God to guide them through life even when it's not always easy to go where God wants you to.  I relate to that because that's what I try to do in my own life.

Abby is weak but her faith makes her strong, and she is a perfect illustration of what I feel is one of the most important things in life...doing what's right no matter what.

There are several other books in the Brides of Culdee Creek Series, and I liked this book enough to read the next one in the series, Woman of Grace.

Source:  Goodreads

Bring On Spring!!!

I'm really enjoying all of my Spring magazines this week.  I'm particularly loving Southern Living and all the beautiful gardens, decorating ideas, and delicious looking food.  I'm loving the weather, and my daughter and I have walked on our local walking trail several times in the past week.  We've been playing catch, gearing up for softball season.  BRING ON SPRING!!!

Source:  Southern Living

My daughter purchased a couple of books at the book fair today, and I thought I'd share them with you.  She's particularly excited about the first one.  She has a real interest in Greek mythology.  I think I'm going to read Sound Bender as part of mystery month.  It sounds pretty good.

Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads

Two More For This Month And Planning For March...

We had a really busy weekend, so I got very little reading done.  I did make some progress on The Thorn Birds, and I continue to like this book very much.  My goal is to finish The Thorn Birds and Daughter of Joy by the end of February bringing my romance total for the month to eight books, and my total for the year so far to sixteen.

Next month I'll be reading mysteries...March is Mystery Month for the Cupcakes War Reading Challenge 2012 which is hosted by Brenda at Curling Up With a Good Book.  I've started downloading books to my Kindle Fire and searching out books that I may want to read.  There are a couple I'm pretty sure I will read to kick off mystery month.

They are...

This one will be a group read for the reading challenge.
Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads

My Thoughts On Bluegrass State of Mind

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
McKenna Mason, a New York City attorney with a love of all things Prada, is on the run from a group of powerful, dangerous men. McKenna turns to a teenage crush, Will Ashton, for help in starting a new life in horse country. She finds that Will is now a handsome, successful race horse farm owner. As the old flame is ignited, complications are aplenty in the form of a nasty ex-wife, a boyfriend intent on killing her, and a feisty race horse who refuses to race without a kiss. Can Will and McKenna cross the finish line together, and more importantly, alive?

Kathleen Brooks
Source:  Goodreads

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I'll just start out by saying...I don't care for the cover of this one.  I don't feel it does the book justice.

I liked Bluegrass State of Mind.  I thought the story was good and the characters were very likable as well.  It wasn't  just a romance either.  There was a bit of mystery and suspense thrown in.  I enjoyed how the book related the slower paced life of the south.  The dialogue was a bit stiff, and it could get a little cheesy from time to time.  But over all it was a good book.  I liked it well enough that I will be reading the next two books in the series.

Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads

It's Softball Time...

We signed our daughter up for softball last week, and that got me thinking about softball in books.  I've never read nor heard of a "softball book", so I decided to go looking.

Here's some of what I found...

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
Set in a small Oregon town just after WWII, this is the powerful tale of a community shattered by its reaction to two young newcomers, Aki and Shazam.  Told from 21 different points of view, Bat 6 explores the subject of Japanese-American racial prejudice after the war.

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
The Story of two sisters and one softball-playing summer.

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
Everyone thinks being a fourteen-year-old fast pitch softball player is nothing but fun and games.  But ask Rachel Adams, and you'll learn otherwise.  There are millions of problems to deal with, including demanding dads, grumpy coaches, and umpires that make terrible calls.  But Rachel really complicates things for herself when she sneaks out with her teammates, meets some boys, and drinks alcohol...

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
Brooke Conrad is on top of the world.  She is the star shortstop for her high school's softball team, and it is one of the best teams in the state.  But everything changes overnight when the shortstop for the school's baseball team gets kicked out of school , and the baseball coach asks Brooke to take his place for the season.  Brooke has never heard of anything more ridiculous...

Source:  Goodreads

From Amazon...
Fifteen-year-old Angel Williams has wanted a puppy all of her life, so she is ecstatic when her dad finally agrees he can get one-but on one condition.  She has to hit a home run in her softball game later in the day.  Much to Angel's delight, she does, and she is rewarded with an adorable chocolate Labrador named Homer.  Homer becomes her team's mascot, and he leads them on their quest to win the state championship.  But when Homer is injured in a freak accident, can Angel and the rest of the team continue without him?




Let me know if you've read a good book about softball !

I Found An Interesting Article

I found an interesting article on Publishers Weekly, and with the Oscars coming up this weekend I thought I'd share.

The article is about authors who have had their books turned into Best-Picture nominated films this year and what they're working on now.

PW Tip Sheet:  Today the Oscars, Tomorrow...?
By Marc Shultz

You can view this article by clicking HERE.