UNCW Bound

 

We are bringing the Lil' Princess back to college this weekend. I have one overdue review that I hope to post while we are away. Look for a new post on Monday.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - May 15

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.       

Welcome to another It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday! I am posting this early so that I can get a head start Monday morning on visiting blogs. 

How was your weekend? I hope all the moms out there had a nice Mother's Day. This was the first Mother's Day without my mother-in-law, and my in-laws' celebration of life was Saturday on their wedding anniversary, so our weekend came with a mix of different emotions.

Flowers from the kids

The Lil' Diva made supper and this yummy chocolate cake

The Lil' Princess made me this lovely e-card. 

Speaking of the Lil' Princess, she is home for the summer! Here are some photos from our trip to Wilmington to pick her up.

Hubby celebrated his birthday while we were there

Airlie Gardens

Downtown Wilmington waterfront

Eating bagels at Round the last day in Wilmington

As far as reading goes, I am still making my way through this one on NetGalley. It's not a long book, but I haven't had much time this week. 

I read another chapter of this one.

I am considering this one completed, but I honestly didn't read it beginning to end. Each day is set up as a devotional, so it was really hard to listen to it in the car and feel like it was effective. After six days, I skipped ahead. I would need to go back and listen daily in the comfort of my home to get the most out of it.

I finished this book and will be ready on May 29 for my review at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection. 

I would like to start this devotional this week.

Upcoming virtual book tours:

• The Ghost Hunters Series Spotlight - May 22
• The Giving Back Tree by Tarky Lee - May 29 (review at TC&TBC)
• A Final Farwell by Marilyn Meredith - June 20 (review)
• All That Glitters by Mike Martin - June 29 (review)
• Ravage & Son by Jerome Charyn - Aug 21 (review)

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.

This little gem got delivered this week. It is the final book in Marilyn Meredith's Tempe Crabtree Mystery Series. I am really going to miss these characters as much as I miss the Rocky Bluff P.D. ones that Meredith writes under the name F. M. Meredith. Both series are now completed. I wish my dear friend well, and am grateful that Facebook keeps us connected. 

My hope is to finish editing a proof for an author before the end of the week. Wish me luck!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Aug 29

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. 

It is hard to believe the end of August is here, but welcome to the final August 2022 edition of It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday. I hope you had a nice weekend. 

With college move-in behind us, we are working on our new normal. I have detested that phrase since the pandemic started, but here I am using it to talk about life without our baby home full-time.

Thankfully, she is doing well. Classes started and during downtime she has been to the beach or gone out with a few friends. I am also thankful that my hectic work schedule has kept me busy. She texts me when she needs something, and I text her the daily Travis photo as she requested, but I am doing my best to let her dictate how much we talk. 

The Lil' Princess will receive her first care package from home with things she forgot to take with her, and she will find a little surprise from home tucked inside. Next care package will go out this coming week with surprises from her sister's recent trip to the Outer Banks. 

I've been in more of a reading mood lately, but can't say I've accomplished as much as I would like. My review of this writing craft book appeared here last week.

I finished Big Red. My review will appear on September 23. 

I started reading this seasonal title this week.

On September 27, look for my First Chapter Review of this middle grade fantasy novel at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection. 

On September 28, my review of this business book will appear here.  

In October, I will be reviewing this historical novel.

After that, it is probably these.

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 books in my physical mailbox this past week, but I grabbed three Kindle books. Two of them Kindle freebies. The other one I had a promotional credit that covered the cost.

That it from my neck off the woods. Hope you all have a great week. I look forward to seeing what books you've been reading. 

First Chapter Review: Avra's God by Ann Lee Miller

Author Ann Miller sent me the first chapter of her new Christian fiction release, Avra's God, for review.

BLURB:  In the tradition of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, four friends navigate college and the drama churned up by their Florida beach band to cement friendship and more.

Avra wants love, but drummer Cisco—self-medicating from his parents’ divorce with sex and intoxicants—is a poor choice. Cisco hungers for fresh-baked cookies and the scent of family he finds at Avra’s.

Kallie shares her classically trained singing voice only with lead vocalist Jesse and fights to keep her heart safe. Jesse feeds on fame and hides more than insecurity beneath his guitar.

The friends surf ego, betrayal, and ambition and head for wipe-out. But somehow, when they’re not looking, Avra’s God changes them all.

COVER: I've liked the covers of all Ann's books that I've read the first chapters of. The warm colors of this one capture the setting well. If on a bookshelf, I would pick this one up to flip over to the back cover and learn more.

FIRST CHAPTER: Avra is in Stavro's Pizza with her family when she runs into hunky Cisco. She's fairly certain he would never notice a girl like her, so when he strikes up a conversation with her on campus the next day, she's pleasantly surprised.

Cisco is coping with his parents' divorce and siblings that fight all the time. He would love to have a family that is more like Avra's. He runs into Jesse on campus and hints that he's interested in Avra, but Jesse's attention is already focused on the arrival of the attractive Kallie.

KEEP READING: Miller's strength is in creating characters you quickly care about. Like in  The Art of My Life and Kicking Eternity, the reader is dropped into a story that is immediately filled with conflict. Not all of the conflict is earth-shattering, but it's there.

The difference between Avra's God and Miller's earlier books is that I found myself a bit confused by the sheer number of characters in the opening chapter. By opting to have Cisco run into Avra and her family at the pizza joint, you already had more than two characters to focus on. Then Jesse is introduced, as is Billy--whose importance to the storyline you don't yet--and Kallie. The first chapter is also told from three characters' points of view: Avra, Cisco, and Jesse. It felt overloaded.

I would definitely keep reading based upon my enjoyment of Miller's earlier releases, and hope that the confusion diminishes as I get to know the characters better. I'm also encouraged to keep going based upon the synopsis. I want to see how it all turns out.

One thing I would like to mention is that Miller's stories (so far) combine the elements of music and water. This is a nice niche she's creating, which will encourage readers who have these interests to check out her work.

File Size: 840 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00A7DLQX0
SRP: $4.99
Also available at Barnes and Noble and Smashwords

I received the first chapter of this novel from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.