Where Is Your Bookmark? (Murder in Bellamy Bay/Favorite & Least Favorite Required Reading)

I am nearly finished reading A Spell for Trouble (An Enchanted Bay Mystery #1) by Esme Addison, which has turned out to be a delight to read. It has really hit the spot.

Alexandra Daniels hasn't set foot in the quiet seaside town of Bellamy Bay, North Carolina in over twenty years. Ever since her mother's tragic death, her father has mysteriously forbidden her from visiting her aunt and cousins. But on a whim, Alex accepts an invitation to visit her estranged relatives and to help them in their family business: an herbal apothecary known for its remarkably potent teas, salves, and folk remedies.

Bellamy Bay doesn't look like trouble, but this is a town that harbors dark secrets. Alex discovers that her own family is at the center of salacious town gossip, and that they are rumored to be magical healers descended from mermaids. She brushes this off as nonsense until a local is poisoned and her aunt Lidia is arrested for the crime. Alex is certain Lidia is being framed, and she resolves to find out why.

Alex's investigation unearths stories that some have gone to desperate lengths to conceal: forbidden affairs, family rivalries, and the truth about Alex's own ancestry. And when the case turns deadly, Alex learns that not only are these secrets worth hiding, but they may even be worth killing for. [Goodreads Summary]

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the wonderful Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

The house at 136 Cypress Lane didn't look like trouble--quite the opposite. The seafoam-green Queen Anne was well kept, with rows of purple tulips blooming beside the wraparound porch and daffodils leading up to the brick walk to the front door. Alex stepped out of the SUV and onto the sidewalk. Everything about this place was lovely. So why had her father insisted for years that she not set foot within miles of Bellamy Bay?

My thoughts: Why indeed? What is it about that side of her family that set her father on edge? What kind of trouble is implied in that opening statement? This opening paragraph makes me eager to find out.

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

Minka and Kamila made faces, while Lidia snorted out a most unladylike laugh. "That witch would rather see me hang than exonerate me from anything." [excerpt from 56%]


My thoughts: Poor Aunt Lidia. Accused of a murder she didn't commit. Obviously this "witch" she is referring to is not a friend.



What do you think? Does this sound like something you would enjoy?

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

What platform do you use for your blog? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

I use Blogger. It's been my home ever since I began blogging in July 2006. 

What about you? If you have a blog, what platform do you use?

Everyone has a favorite and then we also have something we dislike. Like a coin, there are two sides to every question. Each week, Carrie at The Butterfly Reads and Laura from Blue Eye Books ask participants to list what they like and don't like about that week's topic.

This week's topic is Favorite/Least Favorite Book You Had to Read for School

Favorite:

I fell in love with Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë the first time I was assigned to read it in high school, and again when I had to read it at the university. Even now, having re-read it on my own, I still take great pleasure in the book.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Least Favorite:

I was one of those rare students who actually enjoyed most of the assigned reading in high school, and so it was rare that I came across something I did not enjoy. There was one writer whose work I always dreaded reading, however. Shakespeare. I can appreciate his influence on modern culture and his contributions to literature, and can even speak fondly of them now. But when it came to reading his plays in school, I would have rather been stuck in a waiting room with nothing to read.

“This above all: to thine own self be true.” ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

What was your most favorite and least favorite book you had to read for school?

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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