Weekly Mews: Summer Catch Up and School (Say It Ain't So!) (Please Vote in my TBR Poll!)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.  

Happy August! I had not meant to stay away from blogging for so long (again), but here we are, nearly a month later . . . It's been quite a month. My car was in the shop for about a week for repairs. Thank goodness I was working from home that week!

My husband and I went on a little weekend getaway to the mountains for our 25th wedding anniversary.  It was over all too soon--I love the mountains and being surrounded by all the glorious trees. It's my happy place. 

Mouse, Anjin and I also took a road trip recently to Utah to visit my in-laws. We had planned to make the trip last year but COVID struck our household. The drive was hot but beautiful, especially the drive through the Virgin River Gorge in Arizona. On the way home, we stopped by the M&M World Store in Las Vegas, Nevada just because. 

While our Utah trip was one we had wanted to make for awhile now, this time it was marred by my father-in-law's recent diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer. He is on oxygen and has a bad cough, but home with his son and wife. It was nice to spend time with him and the rest of the family and hard to say goodbye when it was time to go.

Nina (a sweetheart at home but a terror at the vet's)

What have you been up to? 

There has not been much reading going on, sadly. I finished V.E. Schwab's A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2) which I loved and am close to finishing A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality (Saffron Everleigh #2) by Kate Khavari. I really like this series!

What are you reading? 

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle  at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

Mouse's first day of school is this coming Friday (I can't believe it either), and so we have been hitting the stores to prepare for this coming year. I have school on the brain! Hence why all my TBR poll choices this month have school settings.  Whether you have read the book, want to read it, or just like the cover, let me know which one you think I should read next! 

Welcome to the School by the Sea (Maggie Adair #1) by Jenny Colgan

The first book of Jenny Colgan's delightful new four-part series, set at a charming English boarding school on the sea.

Maggie went to the window and opened it wide, inhaling the lovely salt air off the sea. Why had she never lived by the sea before? Why had she always looked out on housing estates and not the little white hulls of trawlers bobbing off in the distance?

It's gloriously sunny in Cornwall as the school year starts at the little boarding school by the sea. Maggie, the newest teacher at Downey House, is determined to make her mark. She's delighted by her new teaching job, but will it come at the expense of her relationship with her safe, dependable boyfriend Stan?

Simone is excited and nervous: she's won a scholarship to the prestigious boarding school and wants to make her parents proud. Forced to share a room with the glossy, posh girls of Downey House, she needs to find a friend, fast.

Fliss is furious. She's never wanted to go to boarding school and hates being sent away from her home. As Simone tries desperately to fit in, Fliss tries desperately to get out.

Over the course of one year, friendships will bloom and lives will be changed forever. Life at the Little School by the Sea is never dull... [Goodreads Summary] 

Murder at a London Finishing School (Beryl and Edwina Mystery #7) by Jessica Ellicott

American adventuress Beryl Halliwell and prim and proper Brit Edwina Davenport team up once again as enquiry agents to solve a mystery at their alma mater in this historical English village mystery set just after World War I.

Neither Beryl nor Edwina are the least bit interested in attending events at their alma mater, Miss Dupont’s Finishing School. Their lives are very full indeed in the village of Walmsley Parva. However, when a letter arrives from Miss Dupont herself requesting their help in a professional capacity, they reluctantly pack their bags for London.

Upon arrival, they learn from Miss Dupont that her business has seen a steep decline since the days before World War I and that now she is concerned a saboteur is attempting to damage the school’s reputation. Students have reported items missing, damaged possessions, and strange noises in the night. Some of the girls even insist ghostly forces are at play.

Then a former classmate of theirs and mother of a prospective student is found dead on the school grounds. The roll call of suspects is long, and if Beryl and Edwina are to have a ghost of a chance of solving the murder, they can’t rule out the possibility that Miss Dupont herself may have finished off the victim . . . [Goodreads Summary]

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Fact, fiction, and urban legend blend in this haunting story about a young woman mistakenly imprisoned at Willowbrook State School, the real-life institution later shuttered for its horrendous abuses.

Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.

Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.

Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined . . . [Goodreads Summary]

Thank you for voting!

New to my shelves:

We stopped at Barnes and Noble in both St. George, Utah and Henderson, Las Vegas on our trip to Utah, and I couldn't resist adding to my TBR pile. 

I saw this bee-themed journal and couldn't resist adding it to my collection. 

Three Assassins by Kotaro Isaka

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today, Vol. 3 by Hitsuji Yamada

The Exiled Fleet (The Divide #2) by J.S. Dewes

What new books made it onto your shelf recently? 

My family and I visited the Hollywood Pantages Theatre last month and saw the musical Beetlejuice. It was hilarious and very well done.  Yet another reminder of how much we love seeing live productions! 

My daughter's Girl Scout troop unanimously voted to close out the summer with a trip to the movie theater to see the Barbie. My husband and I tagged along since we both wanted to see the movie too.  It was a big hit with everyone. 

Television wise, my husband and I have been watching Bosch and the second season of Lincoln Lawyer, both of which we are enjoying. I am tempted to pick up where I left off in my Michael Connelly reading! It's been years since I last read one of his books.

What have you watched recently?

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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