In My Mailbox (77)

A meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

For Review:
A Case for Solomon by Tal McThenia and Margaret Dunbar Cutright  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Grace Unexpected by Gale Martin  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Return to Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Collateral by Ellen Hopkins  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Married by Heather McElhatton  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Sad Desk Salad by Jessica Grose  (Goodreads  Amazon)
You Don't Know Me by Susan May Warren (Goodreads  Amazon)

Swapped:
Blood Orange by Drusilla Campbell (Goodreads  Amazon)

Review: Finding Emma by Steena Holmes

Finding Emma by Steena Holmes

  

Pages: 265 

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  Megan sees her daughter Emma everywhere. She's the little girl standing in the supermarket, the child waiting for the swings at the playground, the girl with ice cream dripping down her face. But it's never Emma.

Emma's been missing for two years.

Unable to handle the constant heartache of all the false sightings, Megan's husband threatens to walk away unless Megan can agree to accept Emma is gone. Megan's life and marriage is crumbling all around her and she realizes she may have to do the thing she dreads most: move on.

When Megan takes a photo of a little girl with an elderly couple at the town fair, she believes it to be her missing daughter. Unable to let go, she sets in motion a sequence of events that could destroy both families lives.


Kritters Thoughts:  There may be quite a few books about missing children, but this book tugged at my heart strings and made me think twice about missing children and the different outcomes that could occur from this tragedy.  Megan is a mom of three children, two live currently under her roof and one has been missing for two long years.  The book begins with Emma home, but quickly moves beyond the two years to a time where this family is falling apart at the seams.  Each member of the family has been affected by Emma's disappearance.

Although this book was primarily taking place through Megan's eyes and in her story, I absolutely loved the switch to a little girl named Emmie who may or may not be the Emma that is missing.  I felt for this older couple who was loving and giving of their time and energy to this little girl, but the reader is always questioning whether this is THE Emma.

I loved the uniqueness of this story - it didn't feel like the many other missing children books.  I am definitely going to the author's website to find out more about all the characters in this book, I want more of it!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

August - the month of 2012

August was chock full of some personal events, so my reading was quite down, but with the last week of August on the honeymoon and some good pool and beach time, I was able to make up for it a bit!

There will definitely be some wedding and honeymoon posts and pictures coming in the future, once I process it all.  And of course, life can't be too quiet - September should be big on the work front as my work retreat is the first weekend in October, I have some planning in my future.

Books Completed:
1. The Dirty Secret by Brent Woflingbarger
2. Kat Fight by Dina Silver
3. Have Mother Will Travel by Claire & Mia Fontaine
4. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
5. The Unfinished Garden by Barbara Claypole White
6. So L.A. by Bridget Hoida
7. What I Did by Christopher Wakling
8. Section 132 by Helga Zeiner
9. Running of the Bride by Rachel Eddey
10. Whisper Privileges by Dianne Venetta
11. How Lucky You Are by Kristyn Kusek Lewis
12. Finding Emma by Steena Holmes
13. Missing Rebecca by John Worley Simpson

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 4,228

Where Have I Been Reading?:
Williamson, WV
Chicago, IL
Barcelona
England (2)
Los Angeles, CA
B.C. Canada
New York City, NY
Miami, FL
Washington, DC
Ontario, Canada
Williamsville, NY

Wordless Wednesday- honeymoon

A picture from our last day at Couples Negril.

Section 132 by Helga Zeiner Giveaway

Did you see my review of Section 132 by Helga Zeiner yesterday?  

You could get your own copy of the ebook, enter the contest below!

Review: Section 132 by Helga Zeiner

Section 132 by Helga Zeiner

Publisher: Pow WOW Books

Pages: 460

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Amazon:  Section 132 is the fictional story of a polygamous sect in Canada, based on true events: Lillian grows up in an American fundamentalist Mormon sect which still practices polygamy. At thirteen she becomes the child-bride of a Canadian Bishop. His compound is located deep in the wilderness of British Columbia, totally isolated from the rest of the world. When the land developer Richard Bergman buys the property next to the Bishop’s compound, he gets involuntarily drawn into the sect’s secret society …


Kritters Thoughts:  A different take on the world of Mormons and those who believe in polygamy.  The Mormon family centers on a man who has broken away from the group and is trying to rule his home and his family; with many wives and children depending on him, he must try to provide for their basic needs.  At the same time a man is trying to purchase the surrounding land to this Mormon family and ends up with some interesting encounters with them.

I loved seeing both inside the homes of the Mormon folk and also from an outsider perspective as someone is learning about this lifestyle and how he must respond to them as new neighbors.  I also thought it was different that this book was based on the Mormons that are in Canada and how they are connected to Arizona, I am not sure if this was part of the fiction story, but interesting to not have it set in the typical Mormon setting of Utah.

I think this was a great take on polygamy and how it affects many different people - I would definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy reading books about the subject of plural marriage.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2012 Challenge: 43 out of 25

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Partner in Crime Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading? (86)

Well, this is two weeks worth of reading, the week of the wedding only ended up with one book completed, but the many hours by the pool on the honeymoon made up for it! I was able to float and read and spend time with the new husband!!

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:
Whisper Privileges by Dianne Venetta
How Lucky You Are by Kristyn Kusek Lewis
Finding Emma by Steena Holmes
Missing Rebecca by John Worley Simpson

Currently Reading:
The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani
Dancing Naked in Dixie by Lauren Clark

Next on the TBR pile:

A Girl Like You by Maria Geraci