It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Mar 23

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, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

Welcome back to Monday! We are closing in on the end of March. Spring has officially started, which of course means it is cold and we are expecting a bit of snow tonight. LOL! Spring in New England is such a silly thing. 

Hope you enjoyed your week. I had more going on than planned, but all of it was good stuff. Here are a few photos from my week:

I made vegan Irish soda bread

Lobster Risotto from JRego's in Ellington

Boots is almost 16

Ran into a lender friend at our local real estate conference

In my reading world, I posted my review of 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke. Check it out here.

I also posted my review of Women's Freedom: The Dawn of Possibilities by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein. You can read that review here.

I am almost finished with Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor. It started off slow for me, but I am loving it now. 

My review of Dream Facades: The Cruel Architecture of Reality TV by Jack Balderrama Morley should be posted this week. 

I continued Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel. Look for my review in April. 

I need to continue Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst for an April review. 

Next, I will be reading the following:

Scrap: Salvaging a Family by Luann Castle

The Ledger by Steven Manchester, which is a companion to his novel, The Menu

Staged by Caitlin Rother, which is the sequel to Hooked

After that, I would love to get back to these two:

Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas

Officer Erik and the Very Special Dad  by Erik Estrada and Steven Manchester

Photo credit: Freepik

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

Since I have clearly proven I have no self-control where books are concerned, I've given up on pretending I am not going to request new books to review, and I am still going to buy them. :) 

How to Teach Adults by Dan Spalding is part of my real estate instructor's course. It arrived on Monday, and I have already started it.

A White Lie Christmas by Suzy Langevin was free thanks to a digital credit from Amazon. 

Upcoming Events

Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel - Apr 15 (Review)

Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst - Apr 20 (Review)

Scrap: Salvaging a Family by Luanne Castle - May 21 (Review)

The Ledger by Steven Manchester - May (Review)

Staged by Cailtin Rother - June (Review)

Christmas Year Round

The Christmas Year Round blog has a new "Journey through Christmases Past" post. We travel back to Christmas 1986. You can read it here. As promised, this week's post is lighthearted and joyful.

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

Nothing new. 

Laura's Little Houses

Nothing new.

I am still catching up from last week, but I will pop in and see you all later today. 

Book Review: Love Finds a Home by Janette Oke

 

The original Davis family saga concludes with the eighth book in the Love Comes Softly series, Love Finds a Home, by Janette Oke. 

Belinda Davis, Marty and Clark's youngest daughter, left home in Love Takes Wing. Living in the home of Mrs. Stafford-Smythe (a.k.a. Aunt Virgie), Belinda's days in Boston are filled with caring for Aunt Virgie and experiencing a life so different from the one in her prairie town. But she is confident that if she keeps God first in her life, she will be at peace. 

Unexpected happenings at the house force Belinda to face new decisions, and when she reconnects with someone from her past, Belinda finds the choices she must make harder than ever before.

Love Finds a Home is a superb conclusion to the Love Comes Softly series. Focusing on Marty and Clark's youngest child, the reader truly sees Belinda evolve into a smart, humble, and even more caring young woman. Sharing parts of Belinda's life in Boston and life at home, the author pushes Belinda to the limit. A strong woman of faith, she brings much joy to all who reside at Aunt Virgie's house. Historical inspirational fiction should always be this good. 

Though the author's epilogue states the Davis family saga has ended, nearly a decade later, Oke would go on to write four books in A Prairie Legacy series, which follow Marty and Clark's granddaughter, Virginia, who is Belinda's daughter. 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bethany House Publishers; Repack edition (February 1, 2004)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 238 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0764228552
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764228551

I own a copy of this book. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Quick Reads

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

Welcome to the first Tuesday of February. How are we even here already? This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is such a good one, because sometimes you don't have a ton of time to read, which makes a quick book so enjoyable. Here are my...

Top Ten Quick Reads

Have you read any of these quick reads? What quick read from your list if your favorite?

New Release: The Menu by Steven Manchester

#1 Bestselling author, Steven Manchester, is excited to announce the release of his long-anticipated, soul-awakening novel, The Menu.

Blessed with a high emotional IQ, Phinn Reed enters the world with the promise of finding his soul mate. With heaven’s memories erased, his romantic quest teaches him that the heart often sees clearer than the eyes—and that not everyone has ordered the same items from The Menu. Evidence that love stories come in many different forms, The Menu is a spiritual journey involving more than just a man and a woman; it is a modern-day tale that reaches far beyond the boundaries of reason.

Early Reviews:

“If you liked The Shack, then The Menu is a must read.” – John Lansing, Bestselling Author

“Congratulations on The Menu. Continue to use your gifts to glorify God!”  – Matthew West, Christian Singer/Songwriter

“Steven Manchester writes like Nicholas Sparks on steroids.” – Jon Land, USA Today Bestselling Author

“The Norman Rockwell of Literature, Steven Manchester has bared his soul in the intense story, The Menu.”  – Shannon Gonzalez, Book Blogger, Literarily Illumined

Excerpt

“It’s important that I know compassion,” Phinn said.

“It’s yours, but not before experiencing pain and suffering,” God answered.

Glancing up at his Father, Phinn gave it some thought. “Sure, I’ll accept pain and suffering for compassion.”

God nodded.

“I also wish to have commitment and wisdom and…”

“Good choices, Phinn, but not before conquering trials and tribulations,” God said.

Phinn looked up from the menu again. “And courage?” he asked.

“After overcoming fear.”

“Honor?”

“Once you have faced shame.”

“Success?” Phinn asked.

“Much failure,” God answered.

Phinn stared at his master before closing the menu and handing it back. “I can’t have any of the good without the bad, can I?”

“Sure, it’s called love; and no matter what you do, I’ll always love you,” God promised. “Pretty clever design, don’t you think?”

Amazon Link

 https://www.amazon.com/Menu-Steven-Manchester/dp/0984184252/

Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestsellers Twelve Months, The Rockin' Chair, Pressed Pennies and Gooseberry Island; the national bestsellers, Ashes, The Changing Season and Three Shoeboxes; the multi-award winning novel, Goodnight Brian; and the beloved holiday podcast drama, The Thursday Night Club. His work has appeared on NBC's Today Show, CBS's The Early Show, CNN's American Morning and BET's Nightly News. Three of Steven's short stories were selected "101 Best" for Chicken Soup for the Soul series. He is a multi-produced playwright, as well as the winner of the 2017 Los Angeles Book Festival and the 2018 New York Book Festival. When not spending time with his beautiful wife, Paula, or their children, this Massachusetts author is promoting his works or writing.

Social Media Links:

Website: www.stevenmanchester.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.manchester.3

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorStevenManchester/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorSteveM

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/50437.Steven_Manchester

Shelf Control - May 20

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Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves sponsored by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. Here's how to jump on board:

• Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
• Add your link in the comments!
• Link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your own post.
• Check out other posts, and…

This week I am featuring another Kindle freebie I had bought long ago.

BLURB:  Broken promises, enduring love...

A dusty stack of unopened love letters forces Bo and Mona Beth Miller to revisit a part of their past they’d rather leave buried–especially in the face of death. Only as they retrace history will they learn the truth about the shattered promise that threatens to come between them. But can their relationship endure the deception and sabotage they unearth, or will the experience compel them to trust more fully in the promises that never fail?

DATE BOUGHT: 12/27/2014

WHY I BOUGHT IT: I've read some of Bryant's work in the past and enjoyed it, so I picked up this Kindle freebie when it was available. I also like stories of revisiting the past and how it can complicate the present. 

You can find my First Chapter Review of this book here.

Top Ten Tuesday:Ten Books to Inspire and Uplift You

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Happy Tuesday! I know it's not a very happy world right now, but I need to try and stay positive. It's too easy for me to dive down into the rabbit hole of like sucks right now. So, for today's genre freebie, I have chosen books to inspire and uplift you.

Top Ten Books to Inspire and Uplift You

I hope you'll share a book that has uplifted or inspired you.

Praying you all stay safe and healthy.