It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Apr 17

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.   

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.      

Χριστός ἀνέστη - Christ is Risen, my fellow Orthodox Easter friends. I hope you had a wonderful holiday. 

When we lost my father-in-law three years ago on Easter Monday, I didn't really think about how glorious it was to be welcomed home during the holiest week of the year. Now, having lost my mother-in-law during the same season, that thought is more front and center. 

Though we didn't celebrate with family this weekend (one daughter was working and the other is back at college, plus the nephew had double header baseball games), I spent Saturday and Sunday poring over family photos to prepare for my in-laws' celebration of life we will hold on May 13, which would have been their 67th wedding anniversary. On Sunday, our son took us out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant that we had never tried, which was outstanding. We will definitely be back. 

I had a rare weekend off. Though I answered texts, I didn't really work much. It will be a busy four days before Paul and I head to North Carolina to see the Lil' Princess' dance show at UNCW. Then we will return the first weekend in May to pack her up and bring her home for the summer. I am so excited to have her back!

Because I didn't work, I managed to get a good amount of reading done. I am totally engrossed in The Vanishing at Castle Moreau. The author easily moves this dual-time period tale of two women who find themselves surrounded by the darkness at Castle Moreau. I am sure I'll be giving it a 5-star review on April 24. 

I didn't read from this book during the week, as I've been spending more time in prayer. 

I posted a review of this personal growth book last week. You can read that here.

This has been a captivating read as well.

There is an e-book giveaway that runs through April 27th for a copy of An Accomplished Woman by Suzan Lauder. Please leave a comment here for your chance to enter and win. 

These two are next for May 1 and May 29 tours. 

Upcoming virtual book tours:

• The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jamie Jo Wright - Apr 24 (review)
• The Shade Under the Mango Tree by Evy Journey - Apr 27
• The Not So True Adventures of Brandon, Josh and Adam by Barry M. Fellinger - May 1 (review at TC&TBC)
• Crossing A Fine Line by W. L. Brooks - May 9
• The Giving Back Tree by Tarky Lee - May 29 (review at TC&TBC)

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

No new books this week, but I added this one to my Goodreads Want to Read List recently.

A riveting story of World War II and the courage of one young woman as she is drafted into Churchill’s overseas spy network, aiding the French Resistance behind enemy lines and working to liberate Nazi-occupied Paris… 

 London, 1941: In a cramped bunker in Winston Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms, underneath Westminster’s Treasury building, civilian women huddle at desks, typing up confidential documents and reports. Since her parents were killed in a bombing raid, Rose Teasdale has spent more hours than usual in Room 60, working double shifts, growing accustomed to the burnt scent of the Prime Minister’s cigars permeating the stale air. Winning the war is the only thing that matters, and she will gladly do her part. And when Rose’s fluency in French comes to the attention of Churchill himself, it brings a rare yet dangerous opportunity. 

Rose is recruited for the Special Operations Executive, a secret British organization that conducts espionage in Nazi-occupied Europe. After weeks of grueling training, Rose parachutes into France with a new codename: Dragonfly. Posing as a cosmetics saleswoman in Paris, she ferries messages to and from the Resistance, knowing that the slightest misstep means capture or death.

Soon Rose is assigned to a new mission with Lazare Aron, a French Resistance fighter who has watched his beloved Paris become a shell of itself, with desolate streets and buildings draped in Swastikas. Since his parents were sent to a German work camp, Lazare has dedicated himself to the cause with the same fervor as Rose. Yet Rose’s very loyalty brings risks as she undertakes a high-stakes prison raid, and discovers how much she may have to sacrifice to justify Churchill’s faith in her . . . 

That's it for me this week. I will be out and about this morning, but will check in later in the afternoon. Hope you have a great week!