Teaser Tuesday – Rivals of the Republic by Annelise Freisenbruch

Tags

ancient rome, Teaser Tuesday

TEASER TUESDAYS is a weekly book meme hosted at The Purple Booker. To participate, just open the book you are currently reading to a random page, and choose two ‘teaser’ sentences from somewhere on that page. (no spoilers!)

I’ve just started reading Rivals of the Republic by Annelise Freisenbruch courtesy of Duckworth Overlook. It’s an intriguing mystery set in Ancient Rome.

My teaser from page 23 :

” Forgive me. I did not mean to alarm you. I was hoping to pay my respects to your father.” Hortensia glanced back at her father and saw that he was eyeing the man in shrewd recognition. Knowing him as she did, Hortensia thought there was something odd in his expression, a watchfulness, or perhaps it was simply dislike. He did not offer to introduce her to the man, who was now smiling at her in a way she found she did not enjoy…

Does this intrigue you?

 

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at BookDate. It’s a weekly post sharing what you’ve recently finished reading, what you’re currently reading, and what you plan to read this week. don’t forget to link up on BookDate’s blog and check out what everyone’s been reading.

What I read recently:

I loved this fifth book in the Charton Minster series by Margaret James, and it’s the third book I’ve read from my 20 Books of Summer list.

I loved this Lisa Jewell book. It’s all about a sperm donor, his offspring and all that that entails. This was the fourth book I’ve read from my 20 Books of Summer list.

This was an amazing read that gripped me all weekend. It’s a retelling of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and definitely not Disney’s Peter Pan. If you like your books dark and compelling then this is for you.

What I’m currently reading:

I’ve finally picked up this ARC I had from NetGalley ages ago and it’s already hooked me and I’m joining Zuky@BookBum in a buddy read.

I started this psychological thriller on Friday

Up next:

I’ll probably read something from my 20 Books of Summer and get cracking on my backlog of ARCs.

So what have you been reading lately?

Goodreads Challenge Update

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Goodreads Challenge 2017

I set my Goodreads Challenge to 52 this year but a few months in my husband suggested I change it to 80 as I was constantly ahead. I’ve read 44 books so far, including some short stories and audiobooks. I’m pleased with my progress and hope I can keep this up or dare I say it maybe speed up a bit. Here are my reads in so far with the newest at the top:

 

Rory Clements – Corpus

 

My star ratings so far are as follows:

 = 11 books

 = 19 books

 = 12 books

 = 2 books

 = 0 books

 

What about you, have you set a Goodreads challenge?

Down the TBR Hole Part 4

 

From an idea by  Lia @ Lost in a Story and as my tbr over on Goodreads is now toppling over as is definitely in need of some serious de-cluttering!

Anyway, it works like this:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

 

The Books

 

Days Without Number

Sight Unseen

Name to a Face 

Sea Change

I remember reading a book by Robert Goddard years ago and enjoying it so much that I added more of his books to my tbr shelf. Well I haven’t read any of them and I’m not sure I’m that keen on them now.

Verdict: Remove all four

 

Vince and Joy by Lisa Jewell

 

 

It’s Lisa Jewell, need I say more plus I have this on my bookshelf ready to read sometime.

Verdict:  Keep

 

 

Henri and Now Living in the Spirit by Henri Nouwen

 

 

I read some books by Henri Nouwen that really spoke to me a few years back, but when I’ve looked at one of them recently I couldn’t understand why I thought that.

 

Verdict: Remove

 

 

 

Women In The Second World War by Collette Drifte

 

Another book that I think I’d enjoy more as a documentary.

Verdict: Remove

 

 

 

 

Friendship Bread by Darien Gee

 

I still like the look of this book so it’s staying.

Verdict:  Keep

 

 

 

 

The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey

 

I’ve had this on audiobook for years but was put off by the narrator’s voice. I do enjoy Philip Yancey’s books so I want to keep this on my tbr.

Verdict:  Keep

 

 

 

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

 

This was a must read many years ago. I bought a  second-hand copy that I’ve never picked up and has been languishing on my bookshelf somewhere for a long time.

Verdict:  Remove

 

 

 

 

Books Removed 7 TBR total 942

I did enjoy doing this again and as the pile is so large I will definitely be doing more of these posts.

Book Review : English Lessons by Andrea Lucado @christianaudio

Tags

audiobook, book review, christianaudio, memoir

 

The Book

The Questions Would Teach Her More Than the Answers

It wasn’t long after arriving in Oxford for graduate school that twenty-two-year-old Andrea Lucado – preacher’s daughter from Texas – faced not only culture shock, a severe lack of coffee, but also some unexpected hard questions: Who am I? Who is God? Why do I believe what I believe?
 
“So many nights in Oxford, I felt like the details of my faiths were getting fuzzier. Nights turned restless with the questions and the thoughts. I questioned God’s existence and the doubt, it was getting into my bones….”
 
In this engaging memoir, Andrea speaks to all of us who wrestle with faith, doubt, and spiritual identity. Join Andrea as she navigates the Thames River, the Oxford Atheist Society, romance in ancient pubs—and a new perspective on who God is. As Andrea learned, sometimes it takes letting go of old ideas to discover lasting truth.
The church wasn’t just a part of Andrea Lucado’s childhood. It was her childhood. It provided more than happy moments. It provided an invitation to know Jesus.

When Andrea arrived in England the year after she graduated from college, she expected to meet God there. What she didn’t expect was that God would be much bigger than she knew.
 
In English Lessons, Andrea takes us through the roads of England and the paths of the soul. Here she explores the journey of a changing faith and an unchanging God—and why growing up starts with realizing just how small we are.

My Thoughts

I’m a sucker for anything to do with Oxford, having had a family member live there for many years, so when I saw this audiobook available for review I jumped at the chance. It’s a lovely short memoir beautiful written in a poetic style making it a delightful listen. As I Brit listening to an American struggle with a new country, language and culture I cringed at times but also laughed as she got to grips with it all.

Sometimes when an author reads their own book it doesn’t always work for me, as they can seem unsure and rather mechanical. Fortunately Andrea Lucado read this perfectly, full of emotion as if she was reliving each moment as she was reading. I particularly enjoyed her recollections of giving up caffeine for Lent, going along to the Oxford Atheist Society, and getting used to living without a microwave.

I definitely recommend this for anyone going off to college or moving to a different country. I think it would work really well in a youth group setting and make the perfect  gift for a new student.

Thanks so much to christianaudio.com’s reviewers program for my free copy.

May Wrap Up

Tags

favourites, italy

It’s been quite a good month of reading for me with 5, 4 and 3 star reads and only one DNF.

Here are the 5 stars a mix of historical and contemporary fiction:

 

Here are the 4 stars a mix of thrillers and historical fiction:

 

This is my 3 star a contemporary YA novel set in Rome with strong themes of grief, relationships and LGBTQ running thorough it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As planned I joined in with quite a few different memes this month:

Standalone Sunday, First Line Friday, Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday, WWW Wednesdays!, Tuesday Tuesday, Throwback Thursday, It’s Monday What Are You Reading Now? and Goodreads Monday. I also took part in the The Greek Gods Book Tag, and Down the TBR Hole tag both of which were great fun.

 

How was May for you?

I’d love to hear about your month in the comments.

 

 

Woohoo 200 Followers!!!

Tags

200 Followers, Thank You

Wow I’ve just hit 200 followers how fab is that?! 😀

 

Thank you to everyone who follows, reads, comments, likes and just pops in every now and then.

I really appreciate all of you and the wonderful blogging community; you’ve made my day 🙂

Follow Me On Twitter

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social media, twitter

So I’ve taken the plunge and linked an old twitter account to this blog.

To be honest I’m not really sure what I’m doing with Twitter, being more of a Facebook geek, so I would really appreciate any tips you’d like to share so I can avoid any twitter faux pas.

Feel free to follow me and I’ll return the favour! Thanks

2016 Year in Review Book Tag

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favourites, meme, tags

I saw this fun tag on The Book Raven’s blog the other day and even though it’s a bit out of date I thought it was a fun one to join in with.

 

TRUMP Vs CLINTON: NAME YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER RIVALRY:

 

Tyler V Grace in Lisa Jewell’s The Girls

Two young teenagers vying for the same boyfriend. Grace is the new girl in town and Dylan seems to really like her. Tyler has been going out with Dylan for a while and won’t let him go that easily.

 

 

 

 

TURKEY FAILED COUP: A BOOK YOU STARTED BUT FAILED TO FINISH

Under a Pole Star by Stef Penney. I requested this on NetGalley because I loved  a previous book by the author. However it was only as I started reading it that I remembered that reason I’d really enjoyed the other book was because I’d listened to the audio version and the narrator was superb. I didn’t get very far before I realised for various reasons, it wasn’t for me.

 

 

 

POKEMON GO: WHAT BOOK DID YOU BUY OR READ BASED ON THE HYPE? DID YOU ENJOY IT?

 

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult and yes I loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

STRANGER THINGS: WHAT’S ONE BOOK YOU WANT EVERYONE TO READ?

 

The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry a transvestite with so much to say about masculinity. It’s a short read but made so much sense and I think more people particularly men should pick it up and read it.

 

 

 

 

GAME OF THRONES, THE WALKING DEAD, MR. ROBOT: WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK CLIFFHANGER WITHIN A SERIES?

There was a brilliant cliffhanger at the end of An Honest Man by Simon Michael. It’s a very clever legal series using original court notes for a fictional story set in the 1960s London when the Kray Twins ruled parts of the city. The next book The Lighterman is out in June and I’m really looking forward to getting a copy.

 

 

 

 

 

THE TRAGIC CRISIS IN ALEPPO: NAME THE LAST BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY OR TEARY-EYED

 

 

Without a doubt A Mother’s Confession by Kelly Rimmer.I really blubbed whilst reading this.

 

 

 

 

 

BREXIT: NAME A BOOK YOU HAVE AN UNPOPULAR OPINION TOWARDS.

 

 

When All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

This was a random ARC that was sent out to me and I really didn’t enjoy it. It’s got wonderful reviews on Goodreads and the premise sounded really good but it really was not for me.

 

 

 

 

FOUR NEW ELEMENTS DISCOVERED IN THE PERIODIC TABLE: NAME AN AUTHOR YOU DISCOVERED/READ FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR.

I’ve  discovered so many fantastic new authors through random library reads, NetGalley and The Nudge but who to choose? I’m going to go with Corrie Jackson who wrote Breaking Dead the first in a new thriller series about Sophie Kent a British journalist. I really can’t wait for the second part in this brilliant series.

 

 

 

#ALLLIVESMATTER: YOUR FAVOURITE DIVERSE READ

 

I’m going to go with Nujeen: One Girl’s Incredible Journey from War‐Torn Syria in a Wheelchair by Nujeen Mustafa, Christina Lamb. It was a very hard book to read but it really did help me put a human face to the what unbelievably is still going on in Syria and with the refugee crisis.

 

 

 

 

ZIKA VIRUS: A BOOK THAT SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE.

 

I’ve chosen Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert which according to Goodreads has 63,855 Ratings and  5,506 Reviews. It’s such an encouraging read and not just about being creative.

 

 

 

 

LEONARDO DECAPRIO FINALLY WON THE OSCAR: WHAT WAS YOUR MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE THIS YEAR?

 

I Found You by Lisa Jewell. She’s one of my favourite authors and I requested this at my local library as I knew it would be a great read.

 

 

 

 

 

IN MEMORIAM: NAME A MEMORABLE CHARACTER DEATH.

Without giving the story away all I can say it that there are some great deaths in this book about a serial killer in London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAMSUNG PHONES: ONE BOOK THAT BLEW YOUR MIND THIS YEAR!

 

Definitely Touch by Claire North such a clever story with an amazing plot with fascinating characters. Just read it!

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my books and if you want to join in please do 🙂

Isn’t This Fun!

Tags

book face, creativity

Did anyone else see this article on Facebook the other day, about what French booksellers get up to when customers back are turned?

I thought it was such fun that I had to give it a try myself, with the only book I’ve got with a just a face on the cover. It’s Salt Blue by Gillian Morgan that I blogged about last week.

So what do think, and do you want to join in?