The "I Do" Deli by Josie Castel (Book Beginning & Friday 56)

It took me a little while to get into Josie Castel's debut, The 'I Do' Deli, and by "a little while," I mean a handful of paragraphs at the most. It's an absolutely delightful love story ... or four, depending on your math. Maybe five. We'll have to see what happens with the sequel and I am definitely looking forward to that!

I keep trying to decide which of the pairing was my favorite. They were each so perfect! I'll probably end up claiming Carmine and Rosemary as the best, though ... and you'll just have to read it yourself to find out why.

Friday 56 (today is from the 56% mark of the ebook) is hosted at Freda's Voice

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband by Julia Quinn (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

I'm reading another prequel to the Bridgertons series, Julia Quinn's The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband. Right now I'm about half-way through and love it. It's the story of Cecilia Harcourt and Edward Rokesby (brother of George from Because of Miss Bridgerton). She has traveled to the Colonies in search of her brother after hearing that he had been injured in battle. When she arrived, however, the wounded soldier that she found was his good friend Edward and the only way that she could care for him and, hopefully, continue the search for her brother, was to convince people that she was his wife. It wasn't all that difficult .... until he woke up. Luckily, in a way, he woke up missing at least three months of memories so when he was told that they had been married it wasn't hard for him to believe that it was just part of his lost time. It was, however, extremely difficult for Cecilia who found the lies piling up around her and tearing her up inside because she genuinely cared for Edward (they had gotten to know each other through her correspondence with her brother).

So far this has all of the charm and wit and catch-your-breath romance of the other Quinn books I have read recently and I can't wait to see what happens next! 

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by I'd Rather Be At The Beach. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

I've only just started reading Julia Quinn's Because of Miss Bridgerton, a prequel to the Bridgerton series that I'm anxious to begin (especially since Shonda Rhimes is adapting them for Netflix!). I actually should have probably done Alan Bradley's Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd  today since that was just finished ... but I'm still trying to recover emotionally so I'm going for what I'm assuming will be a lighthearted romp. Maybe by Tuesday's post I'll be able to wrap my brain around the other.

Maybe.

I may never fully recover.

Friday 56 (today is from the 56% mark of the ebook) is hosted at Freda's Voice

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

I've been meaning to pick up Amy Stewart's Girl Waits With Gun since I first saw it mentioned on Goodreads before its release. Since I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to, well, just about everything, I devoured every bit of factual information that I could find on Constance once I learned that it was based on a true story. I added it to my TBR .... three years ago. I distract easily sometimes. It wasn't so easy, though, to distract me from this book once I finally started to read it ... yesterday. 

I had found a pristine copy of the paperback in a Little Free Library box near my house and also ended up borrowing the ebook from my public library so I would be able to continue reading in bed with the lights off, while walking to and from the store, or at work. I became completely entranced by this telling of the story of Constance Kopp and her sisters. Even though I knew ahead of time how things would more or less turn out in real life, the additions and details added by Stewart kept the pages turning -- and my internal casting director picking out who should play which part if ever made into a movie or series (Gwendoline Christie would positively rock as Constance.)

I absolutely highly recommend this book and have already made sure that my library has the next installments in the system so I can continue the saga soon. (And by "soon" I mean hopefully before three more years pass .... but I make no guarantees.)

Friday 56 (today is page 56 from the paperback) is hosted at Freda's Voice

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

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Title: Girl Waits With Gun

Author: Amy Stewart

Publication: Mariner Books, September 1, 2015

First Line

Our troubles began in the summer of 1914, the year I turned thirty-five.

Favorites on 4s

p14 - "My head aches terribly," she said, "from listening to Fleurette go in about how she was nearly killed yesterday. She talks too much for a girl who is almost dead."

p84 - I had the shaky, nauseated feeling that comes from being thrown so suddenly from sleep. I gathered my blankets around me as protection against whatever had hit my bed. My fingers skipped around, past the broken glass, and there it was. A brick. There was a piece of string around it, and paper tucked underneath.

p134 - As I was distracted by those thoughts, I didn't notice that an automobile had driven past and circled the block, rolling slowly by and coming to a stop just ahead of me. My whole body went cold at once when I saw it. I couldn't take a breath.

p174 - There was a sugary smell that hung around Fleurette, like the crumb tarts we used to bake when she was a little girl. I closed my eyes and the memory of it came over me. I used to tell her that she was good enough to eat, and she would shriek and run to Mother in mock horror.

p234 - "Sheriff Heath," I said, suddenly worried. "You don't look well." Why hadn'ti noticed it before?

He gave a shuddering, chesty laugh that sent him into a coughing fit.

" Strange men are firing guns at your house and you're asking after my health?"

p284 - The stories in the papers were like the old Austrian fairy  tales my mother used to whisper to us at night, populated by ogres and trolls and the weak-limbed mortals who could not fight them off.

p354 - At last sleep caught up with me again and I didn't move until the chickens started cackling at daybreak. The truth was with me, as if I had known it all along.

p384 - "I mean wasn't it the most interesting year of our lives? We learned to fire a gun and, and rode in an automobile, and you got to run around with the sheriff, and we never would have met Lucy Blake, and what about --"

Moonlight on the Thames by Lauren Westwood

When Lauren Westwood asked if I would like to read her latest outing, I eagerly said yes. After all, I quite loved the first book of hers that I had read. 

And then I found out that it was a Christmas story. 

I had been having a rough few days and I so wasn't in the mood for a fluffy chicklit full of all of the trappings that such books typically include. I'm sure you know the type. The ones with so little conflict and so much lighthearted cheer that, if in the right mood, they can make you want to break out the tinsel and mistletoe even when it's still hot enough outside to be wearing shorts and tank tops. 

I wasn't in the mood. 

Luckily, Moonlight on the Thames isn't a sappy and sickeningly sweet holiday romance. Instead, it's a touching, sometimes heartwrenching, story of redemption, forgiveness and love ... with a bit of Christmas thrown in. I may not be ready to break out the holly and the ivy, but an eggnog might not be out of the question.

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Title: Moonlight on the Thames

Author: Lauren Westwood

Publication: Aria, September 4 2018

First Lines

She wasn't meant to be here. That was the worst thing.

Faves on 4s

4% - The breath seized up in her chest; the hand holding the glass started to tremble. Breathe… this was silly. Christmas… She’d never told Jules, or anyone else, the real reason why she hated this time of year. Ice on the pavement… footsteps behind her… that smile… Jules was her little sister – she had a duty to protect her. There were some things that she didn’t need to know—

14% - His frown still hadn’t wavered, but she could feel his eyes moving away from her face. Appraising all of her. She already felt stripped and raw from the music, and she was sure he could see right through her to the core of ugliness at her centre.

44% - His head hadn’t stopped aching since waking up earlier in the afternoon. All he wanted to do was play piano for a while, then go home and have a cup of tea and a shower. He’d make a start on the damn application – he’d promised Tanya that much. And then, sleep. Praying that this time, he didn’t dream.

74% - Nicola tried again to find her voice. She was desperate for him to leave and desperate for him to stay. How could something that had happened so many years ago still affect her like this? It was ludicrous and it was wrong. It had festered so deeply inside of her that it had turned all of her ugly and rotten. And now, she had tried to lift up this man and had let him drop like a stone. He deserved better than this, even if she didn’t. He had done nothing wrong. All she could offer him now was an explanation.

84% - She felt like something inside of her was torn and waiting to be stitched back together. It was painful, but on the other hand, the anticipation – knowing that he would return later – was delicious. It was a very strange and unsettling feeling, and one that she was almost certain she’d never had before this week.

The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by I'd Rather Be At The Beach. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

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I have a strange aversion to putting holds on library books. If a book has already been checked out when I go to look for it (since I also seem to have an aversion to checking the catalog ahead of time), then it obviously isn't the right time for me to be reading said book. I had to wait almost an entire year for the circulation gods to smile on me and the stars to align and for Ellery Adams' The Secret, Book & Scone Society to be in the stacks at just the right moment. 

It was well worth the wait.

Miracle Springs, North Carolina is a place where people go for healing -- physical and emotional. It's what drew Nora Pennington there after personal tragedy, and where she opened Miracle Books and began to offer her own "bibliotherapy" to select customers in order to help them heal as needed through the pages of a good book (often, several of them). 

I absolutely love the idea of bibliotherapy. I've often been saved from myself thanks to a book and will often find myself recommending books to others who seem to be "in a mood."  

When a potential customer of Nora's is killed before she could give her recommendations, she teams up with some other local women -- all of whom have their own painful secrets -- to form The Secret, Book & Scone Society to find out the truth of what is happening in their town. Along the way scandals are uncovered, secrets are divulged, romance lingers, and a sisterly bond is formed. 

The mystery angle of the book was a good one and it kept me guessing as Ellery often does, but the real highlight of the book was watching these women and their friendship grow. My heart ached for each of them and I would love to be able to grab a mug and a scone and join their sessions. I would especially love to know what books Nora would pick out for me ... as if my TBR wasn't already toppling.

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Title: The Secret, Book & Scone Society

Author: Ellery Adams

Publication: Kensington Books, October 31 2017

First Lines

The man on the park bench stared at the empty space above the knuckle of Nora Pennington’s pinkie finger.

Strangers were always hypnotized by this gap. They would gaze at the puckered skin stretched over the nub of finger bone for several awkward seconds before averting their eyes in disgust, pity, or both.

Fave on 4s

p4 - “Stories don’t change much across continents and centuries. Hearts are broken. Pride is wounded. Souls wander too far from home and become lost. The wrong roads are taken. The incorrect choice is made. Stories echo with loneliness. Grief. Longing. Redemption. Forgiveness. Hope. And love.”

p44 - Hoping to keep a firm hold on the positive energy that had been building among the four of them, Nora said, “The key to our success lies in careful listening. And secrecy. From now on, we can only trust each another.”

p64 - “After hanging out with you gals on Sunday, though, I realized that I wanted more of this.” She gestured around the circle. “We’re no Fellowship of the Ring, but I haven’t had girlfriends since high school. Not close ones, anyway. These days, my closest friends are all fictional.”

p94 - Nora avoided making eye contact with Jed, but she was hyper-aware of his arm around her waist and of the way his fingers pressed into her lower back. She felt possessed and protected. And completely unnerved.

p144 - “She won’t let anyone see the real her,” Nora pointed out. “None of us have been willing to do that. We’ve become adept at hiding behind our armor. Until we found each other. I don’t know about you, but this is the first time in years I’ve opened up to anyone.”

p204 - “That sounded a bit like therapy.” His tone wasn’t judgmental. Merely inquisitive.

Nora was reluctant to explain her role of self-trained bibliotherapist, but since Jed had already told her that he was open to nontraditional forms of medicine, she said, “Sometimes, I recommend certain titles to help people find healing.”

Jed mulled this over. “But you gave that customer a stack of novels. How does fiction heal?”

“Not all injuries are physical,” Nora said, and moved off to ring up a customer waiting at the front counter.

p224 - “The three of us are crashing this party. And by the end of the night, we’ll have what we need to take care of the vermin infesting our town.”

June hooted in enthusiastic agreement. “Pass me the rat killer, sister. I am ready to do some exterminating.”

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

I honestly can't remember the last time that I flew through a book quite as quickly as I did Julia Quinn's The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. I decided that it was going to be my next read on September 3rd, actually started reading it the evening of September 4th, and finished it the morning of September 5th. I may have stayed up until about 3am ... and I may have snuck in the last few chapters while at work ... and it was definitely worth every second. I laughed. I cried. I swooned. Oooooh boy did I swoon! I have no idea how this was my first Julia Quinn read, but it most certainly won't be my last. 

Friday 56 (today is 56% from the ebook) is hosted at Freda's Voice

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.