Weyward by Emilia Hart
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January 3, 1827
Dear Elizabeth,
You have not been far from my mind today. It is a new year, though I suspect it will be my last. I find myself lost in thought more than I am present, and though I've told parts of my story, I've never written it all down from beginning to end. [opening of A Girl Called Samson]
and
March 15, 1770
Winter had begun her retreat, but summer was still a long way off, and the horse we rode picked his way over the thawing, gouged road with a bowed head and an uneven gait. The man in front of me shielded me from the bite of early morning, but I huddled in misery behind him, ignoring the crouching countryside and the bare branches prodding the sky for signs of spring. [opening of Chapter 1 of A Girl Called Samson]
There are letters throughout the novel, but the opening letter is like a call to the reader to get comfortable and settle in for the story we are about to read. And from the opening of the chapter, that feeling continues--the descriptive writing drawing me in. I feel like I am with her in that moment.
I imagined my company talking among themselves. Robbie looks a little feminine. Not his fault. None of us can do much about the way we look.
But then I kept up during the march, led them in drills, and handled my weapon with as much speed and accuracy as anyone else in my company, and they stopped seeing the parts of me that might have made them wonder before.
I was accepted as a man because for me to be a woman was unfathomable. [page 120 of A Girl Called Samson]
It sounds like Deborah is managing to fit in among her fellow soldiers. I imagine it would be hard to keep such a big secret like that though. She always has to be on her guard.
A Girl Called Samson by Amy HarmonFrom New York Times bestselling author Amy Harmon comes the saga of a young woman who dares to chart her own destiny in life and love during the American Revolutionary War.
In 1760, Deborah Samson is born to Puritan parents in Plympton, Massachusetts. When her father abandons the family and her mother is unable to support them, Deborah is bound out as an indentured servant. From that moment on, she yearns for a life of liberation and adventure.
Twenty years later, as the American colonies begin to buckle in their battle for independence, Deborah, impassioned by the cause, disguises herself as a soldier and enlists in the Continental Army. Her impressive height and lanky build make her transformation a convincing one, and it isn’t long before she finds herself confronting the horrors of war head-on.
But as Deborah fights for her country’s freedom, she must contend with the secret of who she is—and, ultimately, a surprising love she can’t deny. [Goodreads Summary]
What day in your life would you like to relive?
My first thought was my wedding day. It's such a blur, the day so busy and over in a flash, but wrapped up in so many happy memories that I would not mind revisiting that day, if only just to take it all in again but more slowly. Or maybe that day my husband, daughter and I visited a local train museum, seeing my daughter's excitement and joy as she rang the bell and got to ride on a train around the train park. The moments I find myself wanting to relive most are the ones I wish I could have captured in a bottle to pull out on the harder days. Like that afternoon Mouse and I lay in the grass, under the big blue sky, making up stories about the clouds as they went by, letting go, at least for that moment, all my worries and obligations; hiking in the mountains with my family, surrounded by trees and nature; cuddling on the couch with my husband or daughter while watching a favorite movie; or even just sitting on the couch, my cat stretched out across my chest, reading.
What about you? Is there a time in your life you would like to relive--just to experience again?
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.It's back-to-school time. What book would you recommend to students, whether it's an educational read or an enjoyable diversion from textbooks? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading!
In Michelle Chouinard’s clever mystery The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco, the granddaughter of a serial killer shows readers another side of the beloved city.
Welcome to San Francisco, a city with killer charm.
The chill of a San Francisco summer can be deadly. No one knows this better than Capri Sanzio, who makes her living giving serial killer tours of the city. Capri has been interested in the topic since she was a kid, when she discovered she’s the granddaughter of serial killer William ‘Overkill Bill’ Sanzio. She’s always believed in his innocence, though she's never taken the leap to fully dive into the case.
But now an Overkill Bill copycat has struck in San Francisco. And Capri’s former mother-in-law, Sylvia, just cut off Capri’s daughter’s tuition payments. Needing cash, Capri wonders if this is the time to exonerate her grandfather. The case is back in the news and the police will be looking to understand the past to catch a present-day killer. Capri could finally uncover the truth about Overkill Bill—documenting the process with a podcast and a book—and hopefully earn some money.
Before Capri can get very far, the cops discover the copycat’s latest Sylvia. Capri soon finds herself at the heart of the police’s investigation for an entirely different reason. She and her daughter are prime suspects. [Goodreads Summary]
Santaland is scrambling to keep its secrets hidden from a trio of unexpected holiday guests, but before the New Year’s Eve ball drops, one of the strangers drops dead, and the countdown is on for April Claus to catch a killer . . .
April Claus is looking forward to relaxing with her hubby, Nick (aka THE Santa Claus), in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. But just after Santa departs for his deliveries, an elf pulls into Santaland with three people he found lost in the frozen wilderness. The survivors of a scientific expedition are injured, but their presence endangers the future of Santaland. So, while the strangers recuperate at the infirmary, April convinces Christmastown to pull off its grandest, most impossible, most magical feat yet . . . pretend to be normal!
Posing as a touristy, albeit Christmas-centric, arctic town, the elves cover their ears, snowmen take a vow of silence, and the reindeer keep their hooves on the ground. But as New Year’s Eve draws closer, hiding their true selves becomes harder to do, especially when one of the uninvited guests dies under highly suspicious circumstances. With a murderer in their midst, April sets out to find the uncorked culprit before any auld acquaintances should be forgot . . . or worse. [Goodreads Summary]
The latest novel in the action-packed historical mystery series featuring Verity Kent, fashionable former Secret Service agent turned intrepid sleuth and high-society darling on her next clandestine mission—from the USA Today bestselling author of the Lady Darby Mysteries. A treat for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Susan Ella MacNeal.
June 1920, Ireland: The streets of Dublin seethe with revolution as the Irish Republican Army clashes with British authorities. Roving assassination squads mean nowhere is truly safe, particularly for Verity Kent and her war hero husband, Sidney. Given their celebrity as society darlings and intrepid sleuths, they must tread carefully to go unnoticed—nearly impossible when they are called upon to search for Verity’s fellow spy and friend . . .
Captain Alec Xavier has seemingly vanished after traveling to Dublin to infiltrate the IRA at its highest levels. Doing her best to maintain a modicum of normalcy and stay under the radar of both the rebels and British Intelligence, Verity works undercover by day and waltzes through the city’s elite social scene by night. Still, she fears the worst for Alec—until shocking evidence mounts that not only is he alive, but that he has switched sides . . .
Already disillusioned with the British government, the news leaves Verity and Sidney reeling. Worse, they learn of a conspiracy within Dublin Castle, where personal vendettas are being carried out and sanctioned by British Intelligence under the cover of revolution. With the distinction between friend and foe never more blurred—or the margin for error narrower—Verity and Sidney cannot turn a blind eye. Especially when a familiar adversary appears, bringing a threat almost too terrifying to confront—even in the cold light of day . . . [Goodreads Summary]
From the New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist: a searingly honest memoir of food, weight, self-image, and learning how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself.
“I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe. I buried the girl I was because she ran into all kinds of trouble. I tried to erase every memory of her, but she is still there, somewhere. . . . I was trapped in my body, one that I barely recognized or understood, but at least I was safe.”
In her phenomenally popular essays and long-running Tumblr blog, Roxane Gay has written with intimacy and sensitivity about food and body, using her own emotional and psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health. As a woman who describes her own body as “wildly undisciplined,” Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care. In Hunger, she explores her past—including the devastating act of violence that acted as a turning point in her young life—and brings readers along on her journey to understand and ultimately save herself.
With the bracing candor, vulnerability, and power that have made her one of the most admired writers of her generation, Roxane explores what it means to learn to take care of yourself: how to feed your hungers for delicious and satisfying food, a smaller and safer body, and a body that can love and be loved—in a time when the bigger you are, the smaller your world becomes. [Goodreads Summary]
It's love at first haunting in a seaside town that raises everyone’s spirits from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.
Small Florida coastal towns often find themselves scrambling for the tourism dollars that the Orlando theme parks leave behind. And within the town limits of Boneyard Key, the residents decided long ago to lean into its ghostliness. Nick Royer, owner of the Hallowed Grounds coffee shop, embraces the ghost tourism that keeps the local economy afloat, as well as his spectral roommate. At least he doesn’t have to run air-conditioning.
Cassie Rutherford possibly overreacted to all her friends getting married and having kids by leaving Orlando and buying a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key. Though there’s something unusual with her new home (her laptop won’t charge in any outlets, and the poetry magnets on her fridge definitely didn’t read “WRONG” and “MY HOUSE” when she put them up), she’s charmed by the colorful history surrounding her. And she's catching a certain vibe from the grumpy coffee shop owner whenever he slips her a free slice of banana bread along with her coffee order.
As Nick takes her on a ghost tour, sharing town gossip that tourists don't get to hear, and they spend nights side-by-side looking into the former owners of her haunted cottage, their connection solidifies into something very real and enticing. But Cassie's worried she’s in too deep with this whole (haunted) home ownership thing… and Nick's afraid to get too close in case Cassie gets scared away for good. [Goodreads Summary]
While filming at a haunted English manor, chef Bunny MacBride’s big break on her first reality TV show may be cut short by an unscripted murder in Darci Hannah’s new Food & Spirits cozy mystery series . . . It isn’t how chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride imagined her own cooking show unfolding. But, if preparing historic meals with a modern flair is what it takes to get her cooking on the air, she can deliver, even if her dinner guest is a ghost. That’s the premise of the new reality TV show Food & Spirits, where Chef Bunny teams up with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic medium Giff McGrady to visit haunted locales around the world and tempt lingering spirits back to the table with a beloved meal. For their first episode, the Food & Spirits team sets off to investigate Bramsford Manor, a historic house turned famously haunted hotel, in picturesque Hampshire, England. The sprawling estate is said to be home to the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who died in the 18th century, the victim of a tragic accident on her Christmas wedding night. Disliking spooks but loving food, Bunny leaves the spectral search to the pros and focuses on the feast, creating a traditional English holiday wedding dinner, complete with a gorgeous prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, and rustic apple tarts. It’s a sumptuous meal she hopes will entice the ghostly Mistletoe Bride to take a seat and join them while the cameras roll. But Bunny’s task is made more difficult when someone steals a boning knife from her custom kit. Alas, when the blade finally turns up again—in the chest of an all-too-human dinner guest—Bunny’s woes only grow as she is named a lead suspect in the case! Now, with a haunted house full of living residents, staff, and crew, Bunny will need the help of Brett, Giff, and her clairvoyant Grandma Mac, to solve this murder before the manor gains another ghost! [Goodreads Summary]
The Edgar Award–winning author of A Dreadful Splendor blends mystery and spooky thrills with friendship and romance in this delicious love letter to Gothic fiction, featuring two brides who must band together to unravel the ghostly secrets at the heart of a crumbling island manor.
'Til death do us part...
November 1816: Restless but naĆÆve Emeline Fitzpatrick is desperate to escape her stifling life in foggy Halifax. Her guardian is lining up repugnant suitors, but Emeline has her eyes set on a handsome lieutenant in the British navy. She just needs to persuade him to propose, or her one chance at happiness will be gone forever.
But when Emeline’s hopes end in scandal, she finds herself with only one suitor left: the wealthy and enigmatic Captain Graves. Having already lost two wives to tragic circumstances, the unfortunate widower is seeking a new companion in his cloistered seaside manor, Faraday House. Or at least that is what Emeline had been told, because when she arrives, she is horrified to discover that the second Mrs. Graves, Georgina, has not yet died.
Emeline is only certain of two things: something ghastly is afoot at Faraday House, and no one is going to save her. She will have to rely on her own courage, her burgeoning bond with the ill but strong-willed Georgina, and the aid of a handsome reverend with a mysterious past to unravel the secrets at the heart of the manor and forge her own destiny. [Goodreads Summary]
I don't see her coming.
If I had been on top of my game, if I had been alert, there's no way she would've got me. I've mastered the swift, no-small-talk drop-off in the years that Pearl has gone to Knoll Elementary. Head on a swivel, sunglasses on, don't make eye contact, keep it moving. I can do it in my sleep. (And, well, I actually do sometimes, in this recurring stress dream, which is why my only nighttime companions are my mouth guard and a double dose of magnesium melatonin). [opening of It's Elementary]
I think this is a great start and introduction to Mavis, who I liked instantly. You can't help but wonder who it is she's avoiding. She's certainly had a lot of practice even if this time she wasn't successful.
I follow Mrs. Nelson's directions, speed walking to the door, and once I hit the hallway, I figure it can't hurt to upgrade to a light jog. I'm sweating and shaky, and it's fairly likely my heart's going to thump right on out of my chest, and those feelings only intensify when I slam right into another body. [excerpt at 50% of It's Elementary]
Oof! That was unexpected. I wonder who Mavis has run into. I have reached this part in the novel and am anxious to see where it goes from here. I am enjoying It's Elementary and have no idea yet how this is all going to turn out!
A fast-paced, completely delightful new mystery about what happens when parents get a little too involved in their kids' schools, from NAACP Image Award nominee Elise Bryant.
Mavis Miller is not a PTA mom. She has enough on her plate with her feisty seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, an exhausting job at a nonprofit, and the complexities of a multigenerational household. So no one is more surprised than Mavis when she caves to Trisha Holbrook, the long-reigning, slightly terrifying PTA president, and finds herself in charge of the school’s brand-new DEI committee.
As one of the few Black parents at this California elementary school, Mavis tries to convince herself this is an opportunity for real change. But things go off the rails at the very first meeting, when the new principal's plans leave Trisha absolutely furious. Later that night, when Mavis spies Trisha in yellow rubber gloves and booties, lugging cleaning supplies and giant black trash bags to her waiting minivan, it’s only natural that her mind jumps to somewhere it surely wouldn’t in the light of day.
Except Principal Smith fails to show up for work the next morning, and has been MIA since the meeting. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Mavis, along with the school psychologist with the great forearms (look, it’s worth noting), launches an investigation that will challenge her views on parenting, friendship, and elementary school politics.
Brilliantly written, It's Elementary is a quick-witted, escapist romp that perfectly captures just how far parents will go to give their kids the very best, all wrapped in a mystery that will leave you guessing to the very end. [Goodreads Summary]
How do you keep up with your favorite blogs?
I tried quite a few different sites before settling on Inoreader. It may not be the prettiest site, but it's straightforward, and I like being able to create folders to categorize the blogs I follow. I use their free service, which limits the amount of blogs I can follow, but I haven't run up against the limit yet; so it hasn't been a problem. There are a very small few of blogs I subscribe to via e-mail--usually ones that I am unable to subscribe to through Inoreader. I may not always be able to keep up with all posts by the bloggers I follow, but I do enjoy seeing what everyone is reading and up to, and I enjoy discovering new blogs along the way.
What about you? How do you keep up with your favorite blogs?
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.September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. What role have libraries played in your reading journey? Do you have any fond recollections involving libraries? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)
What about you? What role, if any, have libraries played in your life?
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading!