Another Novel of the Great War

The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
Published: July 1, 2014 by Harper
I've never read a book by Jacqueline Winspear, but I've heard great things about her Maisie Dobbs series. I even own the first one, I just haven't found the time to read it yet.

I'd probably say this book is a mix of Betsy's Wedding (of the Betsy-Tacy series) and Somewhere in France (also subtitled A Novel of the Great War) two books I'd list on my all-time favorites list. I wouldn't necessarily say this book would be on that list as well, but I still really enjoyed it.

There's basically three main characters in this, Kezia, her best friend Thea, and Thea's brother Tom, who Kezia marries on the eve of WWI. And while the story is told partly from the point of view each one of the three, it's really Tom and Kezia we get to know the best. In some ways I wish Thea's character had been a little more fleshed out, but then we would have had less time with Tom and Kezia who were my favorites.

The sustenance of novel is really the letters between Kezia and Tom who's fighting over in France. Kezia spends most of her letters describing elaborate meals she'd cook for Tom and while they all sound delicious it's really the love inside of each the speaks the loudest.

I have read a number of books about WWI, but this is the first I can remember where life in the trenches was so detailed. You feel awful for Tom and his fellow soldiers and can't wait till the war if over and their able to be reunited with their loved ones.

Then of course, there's the ending. I'm not going to give anything away (although I wish you all had already read this so we could yell about it together), but I couldn't belief that was it. I actually went onto the author's website immediately after finishing it to see if there was a final note or something that didn't make it into the ARC. But sadly I think the ending is exactly that, the end.

With this year being 100 years since WWI started, I know there's likely to be even more period books coming out soon. And knowing how much I've enjoyed the ones I've already read, I can't wait to read through them all!

5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through TLC Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Million Ways to Die in Maleficent

A Million Ways to Die in the West
I rather enjoyed Ted, and I've been amused by the previews for this, so I was rather looking forward to it. Unfortunately I didn't really seem to live up to my expectations.

This was definitely a case where a movie suffered by having the funniest moments in the trailers. Maybe not the biggest deal for some, but when you go to the movies every week and you've already seen a scene 4 or 5 times, it just isn't funny anymore. I may have even dozed off and taken a nap halfway through, but I think that's more about my pregnancy tiredness than an actual critique of the movie.

Maleficent
This movie was the opposite scenario in which I loved it more than I expected. I absolutely loved the beginning when we saw Maleficent as a young girl. I do think the actual movie wasn't nearly as scary as the preview made it out to be. In that way I do think it surprised me.

There was a bit of a twist at the end, although it's a similar twist you'll find in Frozen so it wasn't that hard to figure out.

I think it's pretty clear which one of these I'd recommend, but in case you want it spelled out, I'd go with Maleficent, and actually I can't wait till I'm able to watch it again.

Mailbox Monday (79)

You may have noticed that earlier this week I shared my secret that the boy and I are expecting a baby in December. So it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to hear that I've had a few books in the wings waiting for the big announcement to make their Mailbox Monday debut. I'm happy to say that day has arrived!
Purchased
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
I've heard such, such great things about this book and knew it was one I wanted to read before giving birth. It's the first and so far only pregnancy book I've bought so far, but I'm really hoping to get a lot out of it.

Let's Nosh by Amy Wilson Sanger
There's a whole line of these cultural food books, but I figured the Jewish version seemed the most appropriate. I love how it hits all the major Jewish holidays and their traditional foods and also how the illustrations were done too.

Alice in Wonderland A Colors Primer by Jennifer Adams
Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles A Sounds Primer by Jennifer Adams
I'm absolutely in love with this BabyLit line of books and would eventually love to own them all. I did have a hard time only picking two, but these seemed like the safest gender neutral books since we don't know the gender currently, nor are we planning on finding out.

What did you find in your mailbox this week? And do you have any pregnancy or parent books you'd recommend? Or instead a favorite from your childhood?

While you're hear you may want to check out my giveaway to win a copy of When Camels Fly by NLB Horton!

The Water in the Middle East

When Camels Fly by NLB Horton
Published: May 15, 2014 by NLBHorton, via Amazon’s White Glove
After Grace daughter is abducted she's goes off to rescue her, and succeed. But then when both Grace and her daughter are captured again, both her husband and son travel to Israel to rescue the rest of the family.

Several years ago I was lucky enough to travel to Israel and absolutely fell in love with the country on this trip. I loved how ready this book brought me back there. I could so clearly see the characters at the Western Wall, or riding camels in the desert, or eating in a bedoiun tent.

This is me, riding a camel in the deserts of IsraelUnfortunately though, I didn't quite connect with the story the same way. There was so many different things going on and so many twists and turns. But it changed the point of view without any clear guidance of who we were hearing from. There were lies and double crossing. And while it was meant to be complicated unfortunately I was lost for a good portion of it.

This is the author NLB Horton, also riding a camel in the deserts of IsraelI realize I don't read very many thriller and I think maybe if I did I would have had a better grasp as to what was going on. But even so it definitely was an entertaining story and I had fun with it.

2.5/5

If this sounds like the type of book you might enjoy reading, I have a copy for you! Winner have the choice of either a print copy (US only) or ebook. Please use the rafflecopter form below to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I was provided this book through Virtual Author Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

Today I'm linking up with Blonde Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday!

It's a Baby!

As you may have seen yesterday, the boy and I are currently expecting! I'm almost 13 weeks along, so just out of the first trimester. I've obviously known for a while, but was always planning on waiting to post on blog. Which does mean I never wrote anything down.

Two LinesI was sure that wouldn't be a problem and that when I sat down to write about it (aka now) I would remember all the details. Except that isn't quite the case. If I could go back, I definitely would have written down thoughts immediately, and edited it closer to the post date. Live and learn, right? So I'll do my best, but I'm sure I'll be forgetting details along the way.

6 WeeksI was about a week late which wasn't a huge freak out since I hadn't been completely regular since I'd gone off BC. Especially since the past 2 times prior I was also late and was sure I was pregnant, except as multiple tests told me that wasn't the case.

7 WeeksEven so, I wanted to wait till the day before Passover started (about 10 days at that point) to confirm. After all if I was pregnant I knew I didn't want to drink 4 glasses of wine.

8 WeeksExcept before I had the chance to test I found myself gagging while brushing my teeth. I didn't think anything of it, since we've all had those times. But then it happened again the following morning.

9 WeeksAt work later that day I googled to see if it was possible that nausea while brushing teeth was related to pregnancy, and sure enough it was! One of the first things I did once I got home that day was brush my teeth just to see if I imagined it. But it happened yet again.

10 WeeksAny sane person would have tested at that point. But it was still 3 days before Passover, and I wanted to test the day before, so that was when I was going to do it. Part of me was a little scared to, after all if it was going to be negative at least I'd have a few extra days of potential bliss.

11 WeeksAlthough looking back the teeth brushing incident probably wasn't even the first sign. A week prior someone was heating up tuna noodle casserole in the microwave at work and I practically ran out of the room because of how awful it smelled to me. I didn't think anything of it, since warm tuna isn't normally a pleasant aroma, but I'm pretty sure there was more going on there.

12 WeeksFinally though the day before Passover arrived. Of course I woke up far to early especially considering it was a Sunday. I even tried to go back to sleep, but gave up because I had to know. Sure enough though, two lines slowly appeared!

13 WeeksI tried to wake the boy up, but I'm pretty sure his response was that it was too early for him see anything! But eventually he woke up and was just as excited.

If you have a baby how long did you wait before testing? Or how long do you think you could potentially wait before knowing for sure?

May in Review

In May...
...The boy was busy, cooking up bacon & eggs,
salmon with a peacan salad and potato pie,
and steak with roasted artichoke hearts and an arugula salad.
...We made it to yet another LSU game to see Aaron Nola pitch his last regular season game which wound up being a complete game game shut out. (Of course I had my ISO all the way on when I was taking pictures and didn't realize till later on. But at least the photos are somewhat usable.)
...We went to Bayou Country Superfest and saw Chris Young, Reba, and George Strait in concert.
...I finally had a chance to lay out and tan in the backyard for the first time this year.

...I posted reviews of 4 books and 4 movies.
Sinners and the Sea by Rebecca Kanner
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters
A Beauty So Rare by Tamera Alexander
The Heiresses by Sara Shepard
The Amazing Spiderman 2
Godzilla
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Blended
My favorite was probably Beautiful Ruins although I did really enjoy Blended.
...5 years ago, in 2009, I posted about my high school prom which also happened in May but 12 years ago! Crazy to think that it's been that long.
For one final note on May, I know things have been a little light posting wise these past few weeks. A lot of that has been because I'm so tired I'm going to bed an hour or two earlier than normal. And the reason I'm so tired... well I'm excited to announce that I'm pregnant and the boy and I are expecting a baby later this year!

What were some of your highlights from this past May?

Mailbox Monday (78)

I try not to buy book very often anymore since I already have so many books sitting unread. But every once in a while a book (or two!) comes out and I can't not buy them, so I give into temptation. So with that introduction, these are the books I'm linking up with for Mailbox Monday.
Purchased
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
My mom was actually the one who got me into this series, back when there were only plans for it to be a trilogy. Basically it's been years since I first started this series, but I can't quit it. Luckily this is the last of the series, especially since because as much as I enjoy them I think I'm a bit over Jace and Clary at this point.

The One & Only by Emily Giffin
I've loved each and every book by Emily Giffin and I'm sure this will be no different. It was back in grad school when I first discovered her (with Baby Proof) and since then I've bought every one of her new releases almost as soon as they come out.

From Goodreads
American Panic by Mark Stein
This is a non-fiction book on the history of moments that inspired panic in America's history. It looks to include all the way from the Salem witch trails to communism to gay marriage. I think it sounds like an interesting mix of history and political events and I'm more than curious as to how it'll all turn out.

Catching Air by Sarah Pekkanen
I've never actually read a book by Sarah Pekkanen, but I know so many who really enjoy her. It does look like it will be a cute chick lit story, and hopefully she's an author I'll fall for as well.

What's in your mailbox this week? And how often to you actually wind up buying new books to read?