Today’s topic:

I saw this article the other day that asked, “Are you ashamed of skipping parts of books?” Which, naturally, made me want to ask all of YOU.

Do you skip ahead in a book? Do you feel badly about it when you do?

I know it is often considered blasphemous in the book community to ever admit to skipping ahead while reading a book, but here’s the ugly truth (of which I don’t find ugly at all):

YES, I do sometimes skip ahead!! I even will read the last page of a book before I get to the end… and NO, I don’t feel bad about it!

I find myself doing this especially if it’s a slow part of the book and I’m having trouble staying interested in the story.  I will flip ahead to see if the storyline gets any better, and if it does get better I’ll skip ahead so I’m not so bogged down.  If later I feel I’ve missed something important, I can always flip back.

Other times I’ll skip ahead if I JUST CAN’T STAND IT any longer and HAVE to know what is going to happen.  If I’m loving the story, I’ll just pretend I don’t know how it’s going to work out

Reading on my kindle has kept me from skipping a lot while reading lately, since it’s much harder to flip ahead and then quickly flip back.

But do I feel guilty about it….hmmm, not really.  Nope, I don’t! I am not ashamed! Sometimes you just have to know! and other times you just have to get past the parts that should have been edited out! Life is too short and there are too many books on my TBR mountain to get bogged down reading something I am not enjoying!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

hmmm…good question…maybe this:

Christian Historical Romance, Published 2011

Challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge

Read August 2011, 347 pages

4/5

Book Blurb:

Do they have a fighting chance at love?

After completing his sentence for the unintentional crime that derailed his youthful plans for fame and fortune, Levi Grant looks to start over in the town of Spencer, Texas.  Spencer needs a blacksmith, a trade Levi learned at his father’s knee, and he needs a place where no one knows his past.

Eden Spencer has sworn off men, choosing instead to devote her time to the lending library she runs in the town her father founded.  When a mountain-sized stranger walks through her door and asks to borrow a book, she’s reluctant to trust him.  Yet as the mysteries of the town’s new blacksmith unfold, Eden discovers hidden depths in him that tempt her heart.

Eden believes she’s finally found a man of honor and integrity.  But when the truth about Levi’s prodigal past comes to light, can this tarnished hero find a way to win back the librarian’s affections?

My Thoughts:

I have definitely become a fan of Karen’s work and of Bethany House’s historicals! I loved her A Tailor-Made Bride and am looking forward to reading her other published book Head in the Cloud as well as her upcoming release in June, Short-straw Bride. 

In Spencer, Texas – 1887, Eden is more than surprised when the new blacksmith in town knocks on her door to visit her library.  What could a brute of a man like him want with her books?  Levi is looking for a new start in life after serving two years in prison for killing a man in a boxing fight.  No one in town knows of his past crimes except for the Cranfords who have agreed to let him run their blacksmith.  Will Levi ever be able to right his wrongs or will he always be haunted by his past? 

I really enjoyed Levi’s character.  Even though he might have somewhat of a shady past, he becomes one of the most outstanding members of the Spencer community.  He struggles with a lisp, unable to say words with s’s very well, but he makes up for it by always searching for another word to replace it, which is why he loves to read – not to mention the pretty librarian.  It takes a while for Eden to figure out why he improperly calls her Eden instead of Miss Spencer.  But when the truth starts to leak of Levi’s past, will she ever be able to get past it?

Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Check out my review for Karen Witemeyer’s A Tailor-Made Bride!

Now that he could sit up, he could look out into the courtyard, and see the rosebush in its wine-jar, just outside his window.  There was still one crimson rose among the dark leaves, but even as he watched, a petal fell from it like a great slow drop of blood.  Soon the rest would follow.  He had held his first and only command for just as long as the rosebush had been in flower…It was certainly pot-bound, he thought; maybe his successor would do something about it.

~p. 35 The Eagle by Rosemary Sutcliff

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Top Ten Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book

There’s not many authors in which I have read every single thing they’ve written.

1. J.K. Rowling – I wonder if she’ll ever write/publish anything since she doesn’t have to…
2. Stephenie Meyer – I’m not really interested in any more Twilight books, but I do want the rest of The Host series!
3. Diane Setterfield – LOVED The Thirteenth Tale
4. Sarah Addison Allen – I absolutely love all 4 of her books. I know she’s been dealing with cancer, so I’m patiently waiting for her next one!
5. Mike Mullin – author of Ashfall and the sequel, Ashen Winter, is coming out sometime this year I think. CAN’T WAIT!
6. Lisa T. Bergren – LOVED the Waterfall series and I have 2 more of her series awaiting me on my bookshelf…
7. Margaret Leroy – absolutely loved The Soldier’s Wife. One of my top books from 2011!
8. Kamela Nair – The Girl in the Garden was also one of my top 2011 reads
9. Wendy Webb – loved The Tale of Halcyon Crane
10. Jim Fergus – his One Thousand White Women is one of my top historical fiction reads

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey

The Kowalski Family #1

Contemporary Romance, Published Dec 20, 2011

Challenges: NetGalley Month (Jan)

Read: January 2012, 352 pp.

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

Note: This title was originally published as an exclusive e-book with Carina Press. This novel is now being published in print for the first time by Harlequin HQN. 

A second chance to finish what they started…

When Keri Daniels’s boss finds out she has previous carnal knowledge of reclusive bestselling author Joe Kowalski, she gives Keri a choice: get an interview or get a new job.

Joe’s never forgotten the first girl to break his heart, so he’s intrigued to hear Keri’s back in town—and looking for him. He proposes an outrageous plan—for every day she survives with his family on their annual camping trip, Keri can ask one question.

The chemistry between Joe and Keri is as potent as the bug spray, but Joe’s sister is out to avenge his broken heart, and Keri hasn’t ridden an ATV since she was ten. Who knew a little blackmail, a whole lot of family and some sizzling romantic interludes could make Keri reconsider the old dream of Keri & Joe 2gether 4ever?

Look for more of the Kowalskis, coming soon!

Thoughts:

Joe and Keri were pretty hot and heavy in high school, but it’s been almost 20 years since they’ve seen one another, even though their parents still live next door to one another and remain friends.  Keri always wanted to get out of town and ran straight to L.A. as soon as she possibly could, knowing she had to leave Joe behind.  Now that her editor has found out that she knows the reclusive New York Times bestselling author, Joe Kowalski, she sends Keri to get an exclusive interview – it’s either that or her job.  Keri has never betrayed Joe’s trust and she doesn’t know if Joe even wants to see her.  When he offers to answer one question per day she survives the Kowalski annual camping trip, he never dreamed she would actually agree to going.

I loved all the family dynamics, not only between themselves as a family unit, but also with Keri.  Keri and Joe’s twin sister, Terry, were once best friends, but now Terry despises her. So not only is there drama in Joe’s cabin with Keri, there’s also drama between Keri and Terry – not to mention all the other small family dynamics between all the other siblings and their spouses and their kids. 

I really loved this book! I literally read it in one sitting and can’t wait to read the next two books in the trilogy – Undeniably Yours and Yours to Keep.  I liked that we got to see not only the main two character’s perspectives, but all the minor characters too.  I think this will help endear us to the next books knowing that Joe and Keri will be there too!  I enjoyed the family banter back and forth and really felt like I was camping right along with the family.

If you like the outdoors and 4wheeling, you’re sure to love Shannon Stacey’s Exclusively Yours!  It’s a great camping trip with all the s’mores you can eat without having to mess with any DEET!

Quotes:

For Stuart and our boys because there’s no greater joy than sitting around the campfire with you after a fun day of riding the trails.  I love you all madly, even when you’re muddy and smell like bug spray. (From the dedication)

People sometimes hurt the ones they love trying to protect themselves from being hurt.  Love means second chances sometimes. (~half way in)

“You awake?”  he whispered.  No answer, but she was faking.  While Chinese water torture probably couldn’t make her admit it, she snored like a chainsaw sucking down its last drop of oil. (~75% in)

Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin and Carina Press for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Christian Historical Romance, Published Sept 2011

Challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge

Read: December 2011, 378 pp.

4/5

Book Blurb:

Priscilla White knows she’ll never be a wife or mother and feels God’s call to the mission field in India. Dr. Eli Ernest is back from Oregon Country only long enough to raise awareness of missions to the natives before heading out West once more. But then Priscilla and Eli both receive news from the mission board: No longer will they send unmarried men and women into the field.

Left scrambling for options, the two realize the other might be the answer to their needs. Priscilla and Eli agree to a partnership, a marriage in name only that will allow them to follow God’s leading into the mission field. But as they journey west, this decision will be tested by the hardships of the trip and by the unexpected turnings of their hearts.

Book Trailer:

Thoughts:

I really liked that Jody based this novel on real people – Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, which she talks a little bit about at the end of the book.  It is a fictionalized tale, but one that is heavily based on Narcissa’s personal journals. This story covers from the point when Eli comes to New York and visits Priscilla’s community church and their entire journey back across the continent to Oregon, to what would eventually become the Oregon Trail.  Priscilla (Narcissa) was the first white female to ever cross the continental divide – a feat that many thought was impossible to be achieved by any woman.  It seemed that at every turn their paid guides left them high and dry, but Eli was bound and determined to get Priscilla there in one piece.  Their traveling companions, Henry and Mabel Spalding (Henry and Eliza Spalding), made for interesting company, especially since Priscilla had once turned down Henry for her hand in marriage. 

It was a marriage of convenience and I understand that they were both annoyed with the fact that they were essentially “chained” to one another, but the one thing that annoyed me the most about this book was Eli’s persistence on being so rude and standoffish toward Priscilla.  When the story flips to his point-of-view, it is obvious how much he cares for his wife, but these feelings are trapped inside him for 97% of the book.  And even when she made advances toward him, he still refused her! That seems a bit hard to believe in my opinion, which is really the only reason why I ended up rating this book a 4 star instead of a 5 star.  I would have liked to see their relationship develop more over the length of the trip instead of the decision made at the very end.

It is obvious the amount of research Jody has done and I actually want to read Narcissa’s firsthand accounts of their journey.  Overall, I really enjoyed the story  of their overland journey and look forward to Jody Hedlund’s other book, The Preacher’s Bride, which is based on the story of Paul Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress and his wife Elizabeth.

See more from the author – interview with TheCreativePenn.com:

Thanks to Bethany House for providing me with an copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Children’s Historical Verse Novel, Published January 10, 2012

Challenges: YA Historical Fiction, NetGalley Month (Jan), Debut Authors 2012

Read: January 2012, 240 pp.

4.5/5

Book Blurb:

I’ve known it since last night:
It’s been too long to expect them to return.
Something’s happened.

May is helping out on a neighbor’s Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it’s hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May’s memories of her struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she’s determined to find her way home again. Caroline Starr Rose’s fast-paced novel, written in beautiful and riveting verse, gives readers a strong new heroine to love.

Absolutely Gorgeous Trailer (LOVE the music):

Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed May B. and can’t wait to get my hands on a hard copy of this book because one thing with the ARC version is I think you lose the syntax and structure of each verse on the separate pages.  May does not want to leave home to “help out;” she really just wants to go to school so she can become a teacher some day, but she has a hard time at school, especially in reading and hates that everyone talks to her like she’s stupid because she knows she is definitely not.  I thought it very sad that for someone like May who might have struggled in school, it was thought pointless so you might as well get good at house work.  When Pa drops May off at the Oblingers, she soon learns what it means to be truly alone.  She makes all the meals, gets the water, scrubs the pots and stokes the fire, but what is it that Mrs. Oblinger is doing?  Nothing!  She just sits and stares out the window. 

Then the unthinkablehappens and May is left completely alone to fend for herself on the prairie with the arrival of winter.  At first, she is overjoyed to finally be free!  But then the rush of freedom ends and she must prepare for the oncoming snow storms.  I liked that May grew up in this story and learned to depend on her own strengths – remembering all the lessons she learned from her parents and from school.  With hard work and determination, May can battle any storm.  The story is very reminiscent of any Laura Ingalls Wilder tale and my favorite, Caddie Woodlawn.  I know I would have devoured this book in grade school just as much as I did now!

Look for May B. by Caroline Rose Starr – January 10th.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Go count the number of unread books sitting on your shelf. How many?

Well….hmmmmm…what shelf would you like?? According to my librarything, I have like 600+ books on Mount TBR, including books just on my kindle.  I have books on my shelves, in the cabinets below, and hidden away in a closet…BUT the upside is that I have made it a goal this year to actually read books off this gigantic mountain and at least try not to add many more to it.  I would like to someday have a more manageable pile but I seem to have a weakness for shiny covers…

I’m off to spread some blogger love and *cough cough* make sure I’m not alone here…

Go check out the Follow Friday Hop – Parajunkee & Alison Can Read !!

Memoir, Published 2007

Audio Book Challenge

Read: December 2011, abridged – 7 hours

3/5

Book Blurb:

You may think you know the butter-loving, finger-licking, joke-crcking, queen of melt-in-your-mouth Southern cuisine.  You may have even heard some version of her Cinderella story (a single mom with two teenage sons started a brown-bag lunch business with $200 and wound up with a thriving restaurant business, a fairy-tale second marriage, and wildly popular television shows), but you have never heard the intimate details of her often bumpy road to fame and fortune.

Thoughts:
If you’re a Paula Deen fan, you’re goin’ to love this book and if you want that little extra southern flavor, you’ll want to listen to the audio version.  I’m not an avid fan, I don’t regularly watch Paula’s shows and I don’t own any of her cookbooks, but the shows I have seen her on I have enjoyed her easy, no stress cooking style, her love of family, and her sense of humor.  And I LOVE her furniture line (are you listening Paula?? Send me some furniture!! lol) 

I was surprised at some of the intimate details she tells about her rocky first marriage and her debilitating mental illness of agoraphobia.  It’s amazing she ever made it out of the house.  It was sheer will power for her sons that got her to start The Bag Lady. She was always such a hard worker, dedicating her entire being to her various restaurants.  Her ability to share both her difficult times and her good makes her fans love her even more. I really enjoyed her good natured sense of humor, she can always laugh at herself. 

Overall, a very entertaining read that will make you hungry, if nothing else!  If I’m ever in Savannah, I’m going to The Lady & Sons for sure!