Deborah Bedford - His Other Wife: A Novel

40. His Other Wife: A Novel by Deborah Bedford (2011)
Length: 296 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 8 May 2013
Finished: 9 May 2013
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 20 April 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and Deborah Bedford is a new author for me.

Ever since her divorce from her husband Eric, Hilary Myers has done everything within her power to control life for herself and her son, Seth. Beneath a calm facade, she is terrified of in some way failing Seth. She has struggled hard to raise him on her own, and she has succeeded - Seth is now set to graduate from high school and enroll at the University of Illinois with a full scholarship.

But Hilary's worst fears are realized when there is a rock-climbing accident at a post-graduation campout. A young girl is hurt, and Seth is arrested. Pamela, Eric's new wife and Seth's stepmother, blames Hilary for allowing Seth to go on the campout in the first place. With Seth's college scholarship now just a distant memory and his entire future at stake, the women must come together for Seth's sake.

Will Hilary's love for her son be strong enough for her to put aside her anger and bitterness against Pamela and ultimately entrust Seth to her ex-husband's other wife? I really do enjoy books dealing with family dynamics, especially families in crisis. This is contemporary fiction with a somewhat Christian theme - not overbearingly so, in my opinion - but still strongly evident to me. I give this book an A+! and will certainly be searching for more books by this author to read in the future.

A+! - (96-100%)  

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

William Peter Blatty - Elsewhere

39. Elsewhere by William Peter Blatty (1999)
Length: 222 pages
Genre: Short Story
Started: 6 May 2013
Finished: 7 May 2013
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 6 May 2013
Why do I have it? I like horror and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

'Elsewhere' is a mansion built in the 1930s and situated on Craven's Cove, a tiny isolated island in Manhattan. Realtor Joan Freeboard - in an effort to dispel the mansion's eerie reputation, obviously fueled by decades of persistent rumors of unexplained activity in the house - arranges for a psychic, a parapsychologist and a noted author to move into 'Elsewhere' with her and ultimately declare it ghost-free. Isolated from civilization by a storm, and stranded on Craven's Cove, the four would-be researchers become absorbed by the house and its growing sense of strangeness. Inevitably, exploring the house's secrets exposes their own - 'Elsewhere' forces them to accept the individual realities that they have created for themselves.

Elsewhere by William Peter Blatty was really very good. In my opinion, the author builds the tension very admirably throughout the book, so it was a quick and easy read for me, filled with many satisfactory instances of thrills and chills. Elsewhere was perhaps not up to the caliber of The Exorcist, when it comes to the 'fainting in my seat, rushing back into my Church' level of horror, but Elsewhere was still very good and I give it an A! 

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Velda Johnston - The People From the Sea

Reread. The People From the Sea by Velda Johnston (1981)
Length: 180 pages
Genre: Horror 
Originally Read: 12 March 2011
Re-read Finished: 6 May 2013
Where did it come from? Originally from a Library Book Sale, then from my "posted" shelf.

I hadn't read this book in roughly two years and actually wanted to reread it for some time. I have this book already posted on several swapping sites, but a recent misplacement of it caused me to go looking for it and reignited my desire for a reread. The book is back in its proper place and I'm currently on the hunt for my next book to read.   

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Jill Ireland - Life Lines

Re-read. Life Lines by Jill Ireland (1989)
Length: 358 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Originally Read: 20 March 2010
Re-read Finished: 3 May 2013
Where did it come from? Originally from a Library Book Sale, then from my "posted" shelf.

I hadn't read this book in a little over three years, and felt that I needed to refresh my memory about Jill Ireland's life and her struggles. I have to admit that rereading this book was not as good as the first time. This was still a very good book, just a little more repetitive than I remember. 

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Eileen Goudge - One Last Dance

36. One Last Dance by Eileen Goudge (1999)
Length: 422 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 26 April 2013
Finished: 1 May 2013
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 20 April 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and despite having several books by this author on my bookshelf, Eileen Goudge is a new author for me.

The Seagraves are among the most enviable couples living in Miramonte, California. On the eve of their fortieth wedding anniversary, and just as much in love with each other today as they were on the day they married - until the night Lydia Seagrave picks up a gun and shoots her husband. Novelist Daphne - the couple's oldest daughter - returns home and is forced to contend not only with her father's murder but also with her undeniable feelings for the only man she has ever loved - the District Attorney who is prosecuting her mother.

The Seagraves' youngest daughter Alex's loyalty lies with her father, and she is determined to vindicate him no matter what the cost to her relationships with her sisters and her mother. Alex is convinced that her mother is a murderess, and that Lydia deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Kitty - the middle daughter - sets out to vindicate her mother and enters headlong into a passionate love affair with a younger man.

As the devastated sisters come together to unravel the truth about their family, they must also confront the lies and betrayals they have unwittingly taken part in. They must rebuild from their shattered illusions a life that is honest...even at the risk of being painful for them all. 

I actually have two copies of Blessing in Disguise by Eileen Goudge on my bookshelf already, although One Last Dance is the first book that I've read by this author. I really enjoyed this book because I do enjoy reading books with family relationships - generally dysfunctional families - at the heart of the story. I give this book an A! and I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by Eileen Goudge in the future. 

A! - (90-95%)
     
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up For April at Moonshine and Rosefire

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Rosefire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog. I originally posted my reviews over at my daughter's blog, Emeraldfire's Bookmark but am now in the process of transferring them all over to my own blog. My daughter makes blogging look like so much fun that I thought that I would try it out for myself! :)

Anyway, I started out April with 653 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 642 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from Bookmooch, Books Should be Free, authors, Paperback Swap, Netgalley and a Library Book Sale that we went to on the 20th.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors, the Story of Three Sisters by Juliet Barker
- Beneath by Kit Tinsley
- Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart
- A Little Death by Laura Wilson
- Sights Unseen by Kaye Gibbons
- My Best Friend by Laura Wilson
- The End of Summer by Rosamunde Pilcher
- The Empty House by Rosamunde Pilcher
- Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope by Jenna Bush
- Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
- Mercy Street by Mariah Stewart 

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity: A Memoir by Bill O'Reilly
- The Grey Woman and Other Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Life of Charlotte Bronte Volume 1 by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Life of Charlotte Bronte Volume 2 by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Pinned: A Kentucky True Crime by Charles Massie
- Kinsley Circle by Kevin Cowan
- Lynnwood by Thomas Brown
- And Justice For Some: An Expose of the Lawyers and Judges Who Let Dangerous Criminals go Free by Wendy Murphy
- The Longings of Wayward Girls by Karen Brown
- Amity and Sorrow by Peggy Riley
- Dying Voices by Laura Wilson
- Answered Prayers by Danielle Steel
- Blind to the Bones by Stephen Booth
- Dark Harbor by Stuart Woods
- The Elegant Gathering of White Snows by Kris Radish
- Everything Must Go by Elizabeth Flock
- The Expected One by Kathleen McGowan
- The Eyrie by Stevie Davies
- Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier
- The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
- Heart-Shaped Box: A Novel by Joe Hill
- His Other Wife: A Novel by Deborah Bedford
- In Sunlight and in Shadow by Mark Helprin
- In the Dark: The True Story of the Blackout Ripper by Simon Read
- Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
- Joshua by Joseph F. Girzone
- Last Wish by Betty Rollin
- Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
- Look Again by Lisa Scottoline
- Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller
- Mercy by Julie Garwood
- Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross
- One Last Dance by Eileen Goudge
- Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
- Pearls by Colin Falconer
- People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
- A Place Called Home by Deborah Smith
- Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework: The Stitch-by-Stitch Guide to Practical and Creative Needlecraft by Editors of Reader's Digest
- The Real Mother by Judith Michael
- Refined by Fire: A Family's Triumph of Love and Faith by Brian and Mel Birdwell and Ginger Kolbaba
- Remembered Laughter: The Life of Noel Coward by Cole Lesley
- The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad by Stacy Horn
- Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig and Margaret Mitchell
- River, Cross my Heart by Breena Clarke
- The Sands of Time by Sidney Sheldon
- Secrets Unveiled by Sheshena Pledger
- So Happy Together by Maryann McFadden
- The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks
- Theft: A Love Story by Peter Carey
- Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
- When the Wind Blows by James Patterson
- The Whole Truth by David Baldacci
- The World is Bigger Now: An American Journalist's Release From Captivity in North Korea...A Remarkable Story of Faith, Family, and Forgiveness by Euna Lee and Lisa Dickey
- You Are the Love of my Life by Susan Richards Shreve

- The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic
- The Lighthouse at the End of the World by Stephen Marlowe
- Swimming at Night by Lucy Clarke
- 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense by Al Sarrantonio

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
- House Rules by Jodi Picoult
- Breaking the Trust by Lucy Clare
- The Servants of Twilight by Dean R. Koontz
- The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors, the Story of Three Sisters by Juliet Barker
- Margaret Trudeau: The Prime Minister's Runaway Wife by Felicity Cochrane
- Beneath by Kit Tinsley
- The Goodbye Summer by Patricia Gaffney
- Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters
- Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart
- Full Circle by Danielle Steel
- Theirs Was the Kingdom by R. F. Delderfield
- The Empty House by Rosamunde Pilcher
- My Best Friend by Laura Wilson

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 3,974
Grade Range: A+! to B+!

So, there you go! The reading month that was April. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up For April at Moonshine and Rosefire

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Rosefire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog. I originally posted my reviews over at my daughter's blog, Emeraldfire's Bookmark but am now in the process of transferring them all over to my own blog. My daughter makes blogging look like so much fun that I thought that I would try it out for myself! :)

Anyway, I started out April with 678 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 667 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from Bookmooch, Books Should be Free, authors, Paperback Swap, Netgalley and a Library Book Sale that we went to on the 20th.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors, the Story of Three Sisters by Juliet Barker
- Beneath by Kit Tinsley
- Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart
- A Little Death by Laura Wilson
- Sights Unseen by Kaye Gibbons
- My Best Friend by Laura Wilson
- The End of Summer by Rosamunde Pilcher
- The Empty House by Rosamunde Pilcher
- Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope by Jenna Bush
- Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
- Mercy Street by Mariah Stewart 

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity: A Memoir by Bill O'Reilly
- The Grey Woman and Other Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Life of Charlotte Bronte Volume 1 by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Life of Charlotte Bronte Volume 2 by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Pinned: A Kentucky True Crime by Charles Massie
- Kinsley Circle by Kevin Cowan
- Lynnwood by Thomas Brown
- And Justice For Some: An Expose of the Lawyers and Judges Who Let Dangerous Criminals go Free by Wendy Murphy
- The Longings of Wayward Girls by Karen Brown
- Amity and Sorrow by Peggy Riley
- Dying Voices by Laura Wilson
- Answered Prayers by Danielle Steel
- Blind to the Bones by Stephen Booth
- Dark Harbor by Stuart Woods
- The Elegant Gathering of White Snows by Kris Radish
- Everything Must Go by Elizabeth Flock
- The Expected One by Kathleen McGowan
- The Eyrie by Stevie Davies
- Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier
- The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
- Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
- His Other Wife: A Novel by Deborah Bedford
- In Sunlight and in Shadow by Mark Helprin
- In the Dark: The True Story of the Blackout Ripper by Simon Read
- Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
- Joshua by Joseph F. Girzone
- Last Wish by Betty Rollin
- Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
- Look Again by Lisa Scottoline
- Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller
- Mercy by Julie Garwood
- Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross
- One Last Dance by Eileen Goudge
- Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
- Pearls by Colin Falconer
- People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
- A Place Called Home by Deborah Smith
- Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework: The Stitch-by-Stitch Guide to Practical and Creative Needlecraft by Editors of Reader's Digest
- The Real Mother by Judith Michael
- Refined by Fire: A Family's Triumph of Love and Faith by Brian and Mel Birdwell and Ginger Kolbaba
- Remembered Laughter: The Life of Noel Coward by Cole Lesley
- The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad by Stacy Horn
- Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig and Margaret Mitchell
- River, Cross my Heart by Breena Clarke
- The Sands of Time by Sidney Sheldon
- Secrets Unveiled by Sheshena Pledger
- So Happy Together by Maryann McFadden
- The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks
- Theft: A Love Story by Peter Carey
- Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
- When the Wind Blows by James Patterson
- The Whole Truth by David Baldacci
- The World is Bigger Now: An American Journalist's Release From Captivity in North Korea...A Remarkable Story of Faith, Family, and Forgiveness by Euna Lee and Lisa Dickey
- You Are the Love of my Life by Susan Richards Shreve

- The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic
- The Lighthouse at the End of the World by Stephen Marlowe
- Swimming at Night by Lucy Clarke
- 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense by Al Sarrantonio

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
- House Rules by Jodi Picoult
- Breaking the Trust by Lucy Clare
- The Servants of Twilight by Dean R. Koontz
- The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors, the Story of Three Sisters by Juliet Barker
- Margaret Trudeau: The Prime Minister's Runaway Wife by Felicity Cochrane
- Beneath by Kit Tinsley
- The Goodbye Summer by Patricia Gaffney
- Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters
- Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart
- Full Circle by Danielle Steel
- Theirs Was the Kingdom by R. F. Delderfield
- The Empty House by Rosamunde Pilcher
- My Best Friend by Laura Wilson

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 3,974
Grade Range: A+! to B+!

So, there you go! The reading month that was April. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight