Hopeful Hearts at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: Hopeful Hearts at the Cornish Cove

Author: Kim Nash

Publication: 30 March 2023

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley & Boldwood

Amazon Description: 

Meredith's life is at a standstill. She's stuck in a dead-end job, approaching fifty, and her dating life is a string of disasters. But one evening, while browsing the internet, she sees an ad for a lighthouse, and in a moment of impulsiveness, she makes a ridiculous bid for it.

With the help of local handyman Clem, she sets about renovating. And as they work together, a bond begins to form. But when Meredith finds out that Clem is keeping a secret from her, it changes everything. Will they find a way to build something more meaningful together?

A delightful story about community, friendship and having the courage to start over, perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Milly Johnson and Lucy Dillon

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I have adored Kim Nash since before she even became Kim Nash - Romance Novelist Extraordinaire. She's beginning to scare the ever-livin' out of me, though. My first real post of the year was a two-fer of her Muddleford Cove books. There was much ugly crying and multiple boxes of tissues and snotty sweater (or jumper, depending on which side of the pond you're on) sleeves ... and pure joy to be had.

I think after this one Kim probably owes me a new sweater/jumper ... or I need to find a way to AirMail some G&T across the Atlantic as thank for once again coming to the rescue of my repeatedly shattered being. Please please please tell me this won't be a one-and-done.

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

 

The Love Wager by Lynn Painter (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: The Love Wager

Author: Lynn Painter

Publication: 14 March 2023

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley & Berkley

Amazon Description: 

Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of. 

After agreeing they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realize they’re each other’s perfect wing-person in their searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward. 

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together. 

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I am still largely on the "romance is bullshit" end of the spectrum and I'm actually surprisingly okay with it ... for me. Then there's Jack and Hallie and you just have to know from the description that they're destined to be together. Watching them figure that out and overcome the obstacle course of online dating other people in the process was an absolute delight -- except, of course, for the times that I thought it was going to rip my heart out.

It was nice seeing Jack's best friend and sister, Colin and Liv. I would highly recommend reading Mr. Wrong Number first to meet the family ... and because it's another phenomenal book.

And now I go back to swiping left and right just in case there's actually a Jack out there.

 

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

 

A Geek Girl's Guide to Murder by Julie Anne Lindsey (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: A Geek Girl's Guide to Murder

Author: Julie Anne Lindsey

Publication: 1 February 2021

Format: paperback

Amazon Description: 

IT manager Mia Connors is up to her tortoiseshell glasses in technical drama when a glitch in the Horseshoe Falls email system disrupts security and sends errant messages to residents of the gated community. Mia doesn't have time to hunt down a computer hacker. Her best friend has disappeared, and she finds another of her friends murdered—in her office. Then the hunky new head of Horseshoe Falls security identifies Mia as the prime suspect. 

Eager to clear her name, Mia moves into action to locate her missing buddy and find out who killed their friend. But her quick tongue gets her into trouble with more than the new head of security. When Mia begins receiving threats, the killer makes it clear that he's closer than she ever imagined.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I got myself a paperback off Amazon in December after discovering that Julie Anne Lindsey is also Jacqueline Frost. Of course, then life got messy and then messier and I couldn't remember where I placed the book and .... you know how it is. I've still only just started it because of various distractions during my work shift, but I wanted to have something to share today and this just felt right. Hopefully I'll have enough done for a proper post in a couple days. I think it might end up being a good one for an I'll Sleep When I've Read... post.

 

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six 

Author: Lisa Unger 

Publication: 8 November 2022 

Format: hardcover, eARC from NetGalley & Park Row

Amazon Description: 

Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway to die for in this chilling locked-room thriller.

What could be more restful than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s generous brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It'll be three couples on this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R.

But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare. 

A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep.

How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

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23 February 2023

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It has taken me entirely too long to start this. 

 

I had (still have) an advanced digital copy, for crying out loud. 

 

I bought the hardcover shortly after it was released.

 

In November. 

 

Early November.

 

I suppose there were probably a lot of reasons to put it off, but those are mostly over and done and now I can devote the proper amount of energy ... I hope. I've picked it up several times over the past few months but then stuff would get in the way in my brain and I knew this probably wouldn't be a book I would be willingly distracted from. I have an hour and a half left to my work week and then nothing but hanging out with my kid for the weekend and he is perfectly willing to avoid the cold and snow and stay tucked inside the house with a book for me and the ipad, iphone, laptop, tv, kitchen, etc for him 😉

 

By the way, I have had the "Friday 56" picked out since I picked up the hardcover in our favorite little bookstore. I had no intention of buying it that day, I was just curious about the options for the 56es. I could have easily just stuck with the free eARC .... but the blip from page 256 made the hardcover a "keeper" and the receipt has been holding the page this entire time.

 

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27 February 2023

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So much horribly unexpected life got in the way of reading as much as I wanted to over the weekend .... and then came the Sunday night-Monday morning work shift which, blessedly, was only a hassle for the first hour or so.

And then came the book .... and everything else just sort of disappeared.

I was completely entranced and awestuck and bewildered and a million other feelings that I really never expected even though I probably should have. This isn't my first Unger, after all. Even though it had so many elements that I typically cringe over like time jumps, storylines that don't seem to go together at all, and the dreaded multiple POVs. This is Lisa Unger, though, and I really can't imagine the book working quite so well, or being nearly as gripping, without those dreaded elements. I also can't can't imagine those elements working quite so well by anybody else's hand (or keyboard .... or however Lisa does her thing).

So many amazing pieces jig-sawed together into a book I will most definitely reread and would give a million and two stars to if I could .... and page 256 is still my favorite.

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

Miss Newbury's List by Megan Walker (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: Miss Newbury's List

Author: Megan Walker

Publication: 7 February 2023

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley & Shadow Mountain

Amazon Description: 

Before Rosalind weds, she wants to experience ten things. Meeting Charlie wasn’t on her list.

England, 1820

Rosalind Newbury is counting down the days until her wedding to the Duke of Marlow, a man she has only met twice, and she knows exactly how she wants to spend her time. As a child, Ros created a list of ten things to do before her wedding day. So far, she has done none of them.

She is determined to tackle each item, though she’ll have to accomplish them all in secret. After all, a soon-to-be-duchess is not usually allowed to bury treasure in the pasture, eat sweets all day, or learn how to swim. She enlists the help of her best friend, Liza, who brings along her cousin, Charlie, a prodigal son-turned-boxer who has come to the countryside to mend his reputation and learn how to be his father’s heir.

Together, the three of them work to complete the list, and as each item is crossed off, an unlikely friendship blossoms between Ros and Charlie. The more time they spend together, the more Ros falls in love with this imperfect man and his good heart.

With the wedding looming, Ros must decide to either admit her romantic feelings for Charlie and risk her family’s future, or keep her promise to marry the duke and start a new life as a noblewoman.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

In spite of surviving Mister Wrong Number, I have still more or less been on the "romance is bullshit" end of the spectrum. My poor NetGalley shelf is full of them, though, and I have been riddled with angst over the idea of constantly hitting the "I will not be giving feedback on this title" just because my heart was shattered and, you know, romance is bullshit. 

 

On Monday afternoon I opened the book that I felt would be safest simply because it's from Shadow Mountain's Proper Romance series : Megan Walker's Miss Newbury's List. 

 

I finished it Tuesday morning.

This was not a safe book. 

The characters were absolutely delightful -- except for the ones who weren't meant to be. The storyline of trying to complete Miss Newbury's pre-marriage-to-do list was everything I had hoped and more (I do so love a good bucket list). The language and imagery were on-point for a Regency (as far as I know, anyway, never having actually been to Regency England). The pacing never felt rushed and it never dragged. It was magnificent and, at times, I thought it was going to kill me. 

 

After all, with all of the rest came the romance.

"Romance is bullshit." Much of what I have encountered (online and off) has been far from "proper" ... and I have been quite tempted to adopt a little of kittens and just become a crazy old cat lady. Of course, I probably wouldn't make it to "old" because I'm allergic to cats and it would probably kill me ... but still. Pick your poisons, right? Death by cat dander .... or death by having your heart explode in your chest from love stories so good and right and, well, "proper" that it almost feels like it could really happen.

 

I think I need to go pick out a good serial killer book now .... or a very non-cozy mystery. Give me angst and blood and horror. You know, things I actually believe in.

 

Or maybe .... 

 

Just maybe .... 

 

Maybe I'll grab another "proper" romance and keep living vicariously between the pages.

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

On the Chopping Block by Jenny Kales (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: On the Chopping Block

Author: Jenny Kales

Publication: 24 May 2016

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description: 

Calliope “Callie” Costas, Greek-American owner of Callie’s Kitchen in picturesque Crystal Bay, Wisconsin, is finally having some business success after a painful divorce. With her school-aged daughter thriving and her trusty Yorkie Koukla by her side, a new romance with a handsome bistro owner seems like the icing on the cake.

That is, until her new boyfriend is found dead...and she’s implicated as the prime suspect, putting her business into jeopardy. Soon, Callie’s situation is more delicate than her Greek egg-lemon soup. In addition to a tasteless killer, an expat detective with a devastating British accent has an eagle eye on Callie’s every move.

Can Callie help clear her name, save her beloved business and find the real culprit before she’s the next item on the killer’s murderous menu?

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I have a feeling I'll be watching quite a lot of Food Network this weekend. I think I might be coming down with something and cooking competitions are pretty much my go-to when I don't want to worry about following an actual storyline. I might not be able to eat comfort food ... but I can certainly watch it on the tv ... and read about it in Jenny Kales' On the Chopping Block. 

 

Yes, I totally hear Ted Allen's voice every time I say the title in my head. 

Sadly, the book leaves out the actual competition but so far (which isn't actually very far at all) it's still showing signs of being a decent start to a series. Hopefully I'll make progress over the weekend because I really want to know why Callie is in whatever predicament she's in at the 56% mark.

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: Operation Mincemeat

Author: Ben Macintyre

Publication: 4 May 2010/reprint: 5 April 2011

Format: paperback & Kindle ebook

Amazon Description: 

The “brilliant and almost absurdly entertaining” (Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker) true story of the most successful—and certainly the strangest—deception carried out in World War II, from the acclaimed author of The Spy and the Traitor

“Pure catnip to fans of World War II thrillers and a lot of fun for everyone else.”—Joseph Kanon, The Washington Post Book World

Near the end of World War II, two British naval officers came up with a brilliant and slightly mad scheme to mislead the Nazi armies about where the Allies would attack southern Europe. To carry out the plan, they would have to rely on the most unlikely of secret agents: a dead man.

Ben Macintyre’s dazzling, critically acclaimed bestseller chronicles the extraordinary story of what happened after British officials planted this dead body—outfitted in a British military uniform with a briefcase containing false intelligence documents—in Nazi territory, and how this secret mission fooled Hitler into changing military positioning, paving the way for the Allies’ drive to victory.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

This is going to take me a while to get through. 

This is not a fluff cozy. 

It's not even fiction..... entirely.

It is most definitely intense and not at all something that I want to try and read while otherwise distracted with things like work -- hence why I'm only on the third chapter right now. I did, of course, jump ahead to find the perfect "56" which ended up coming on page 256 of my paperback. 

There is a Netflix movie based on the book that I'll watch once I'm done. The cast is amazing, of course, and so far so is the book -- even only three chapters and a blurb in.

 

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

 

 

 

 

The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: The Winter King

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Publication: 5 October 1995/reprint: 15 April 1997

Format: paperback & Kindle ebook

Amazon Description: 

It takes a remarkable writer to make an old story as fresh and compelling as the first time we heard it. With The Winter King, the first volume of his magnificent Warlord Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell finally turns to the story he was born to write: the mythic saga of King Arthur.

The tale begins in Dark Age Britain, a land where Arthur has been banished and Merlin has disappeared, where a child-king sits unprotected on the throne, where religion vies with magic for the souls of the people. It is to this desperate land that Arthur returns, a man at once utterly human and truly heroic: a man of honor, loyalty, and amazing valor; a man who loves Guinevere more passionately than he should; a man whose life is at once tragic and triumphant.

As Arthur fights to keep a flicker of civilization alive in a barbaric world, Bernard Cornwell makes a familiar tale into a legend all over again.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I mentioned on Tuesday (and again on Wednesday) that this book was going to get an awful lot of love ... and posts ... go back to Tuesday for the teasers and ramblings from Part One. Today I get to ooh and aah over Part Two. Arthur and Guinevere are around but I really love Derfel and Nimue. Derfel is the one telling the tale, and Nimue is the "she" from the 156ish ... which I think is actually 158 because 156 was good but not as good as Nimue. 

She might be one of my all-time favorite "book bitches" at this point.

I am not at all familiar with the actress they have cast for the series and I think I might be a good thing. I'm a little hesitant already with the casting of Arthur and Merlin (who still has only been mentioned in the book and not actually seen). Since I care about Derfel and Nimue more at this point, I'm still quite ecstatic to see what happens. No matter what, though, I'm pretty sure this will definitely be a case of "the book was better."

 

Now on to Part Three ....

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

 

 

 

Shadow in the Glass by M. E. Hilliard (Book Beginnings & Friday56)

Title: Shadow in the Glass

Author: M. E. Hilliard

Publication: 5 April 2022

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

Murder rocks a wedding celebration at an idyllic lakeside home—and librarian-turned-sleuth Greer Hogan could be next on the killer’s guest list in this second exciting installment, perfect for fans of Louise Penny.

Librarian Greer Hogan is on hand to celebrate her old friend Sarah Whitaker’s nuptials at the Whitaker summer home on beautiful Mirror Lake, just outside the upstate New York village of Lake Placid. But Greer has an ulterior motive—to gather information that could reopen the investigation into her husband’s murder, a crime for which she believes an innocent man went to prison. Her plans come to a shuddering halt when a wedding guest goes missing and turns up dead in the lake. The guest, Brittany Miles, was an employee of the Whitaker family whom Sarah had long suspected was up to no good at work.
 
The police have no leads, but Greer—an avid reader of crime fiction who possesses an uncanny knack for deduction—begins her own investigation. She learns that the victim was seen with a mystery man right before she disappeared. Then the autopsy reveals that she didn’t drown in the lake after all, but in the reflecting pool in the Whitaker garden.
 
The suspect list is as long as the guest list itself, with no apparent motive. Now, Greer must rely on the wisdom of her favorite fictional detectives to tease out truth from lies—and keep herself out of the killer’s sights.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I started and discarded four other books after Wicked Autumn before I finally settled on Shadow in the Glass. I was hoping to tackle some of my NetGalley shelf but the next books up were either too romantic (ewwwww feelings), too horribly written, or just plain too "eh."  This one does still help my NetGalley shelf, though, since it's the second in a series and the third is sitting on the shelf and set to come out in just a few weeks. I haven't actually started reading it yet besides grabbing the blurbs, but I plan to about five minutes after I hit "publish." I enjoyed the first book, The Unkindness of Ravens, when I read it in September so hopefully this one will be just as good ... and then I might very well just go straight into the third because it will keep me from having to figure out what else to read. 

I'm not a very big fan of decision-making ... or much else ... right now.

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

 

 

 

Mousse and Murder by Elizabeth Logan (Book Beginnings & Friday56)

 

Title: Mousse and Murder

Author: Elizabeth Logan

Publication: 5 May 2020

Format: paperback

Amazon Description

A young chef bites off more than she can chew when she returns to her Alaskan hometown to take over her parents’ diner. 

When Chef Charlotte “Charlie” Cooke was offered the chance to leave San Francisco and return home to Elkview, Alaska, and take over her mother’s diner, she didn’t even consider saying no. For the past year, she’s built a comfortable existence, spending her days making sure the restaurant runs smoothly and that her cat, Eggs Benedict, is appropriately pampered. But soon life at the diner starts feeling a little one-note.

Determined to bring fresh life and flavors to the Bear Claw Diner, Charlie starts planning changes to the menu, which has grown stale over the years. But her plans are fried when her head chef, Oliver turns up dead after a bitter and public fight over Charlie’s ideas—leaving Charlie as the prime suspect. 

With her career, freedom, and life all on thin ice, Charlie must find out who the real killer is, before it’s too late.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I started to read this -- super freaking excited because it would check off so many challenge boxes : 

• M title
• L author 
• Cozy Mystery 
• Cozy Mystery set in Alaska -- which ticks off the Literary Escapes and a Craving for Cozies mini-challenge

and then the real challenge began.

The setting, of course, is Alaska -- the place "we" have talked about running away to for years. 

The main character has more than a bit of a crush on a guy she knew since high school (yep) ... who happens to share the first name of my ... well ... whatever he is right now. The other half of "we."

In case you haven't picked up on it over the past month or so of posts : something is rotten in the state of Denmark ... if, of course, my life was actually Denmark. 

Here I thought on Tuesday that Kim Nash was the one trying to kill me. 

So ... I set the book aside. 

(Okay, so I actually threw it across the hotel lobby with quite a bit of gusto.)

I grabbed a random cozy off of Libby that would also tick off multiple challenge boxes (easy to do the first week of the year, after all), and debated just letting Mousse and Murder rot indefinitely. I started A Dash of Death in time for it to be included in this week's WWW Wednesday as the "Currently Reading" and it was fine. Nothing horrible or extraordinary, but I really didn't care who killed who. About the 75% mark I realized that my mind kept drifting to good ol' Elkview, Alaska. 

Sure, it's going to be a painful read in some ways but in the first couple of chapters (plus the pulling of blips for today's post), I had already become more invested and interested in what was going to happen than in the first 75% of the other. May just be bad timing. Or the fact that I'm still hoping that some day we'll run away to Alaska ... and that there's even a "we" to run.

Not really a book review, right? 

Well, the heading for this section is, after all, "Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff" and I've definitely covered the Ramble-y ... so now to the Teaserish. Once I knock out the last 25% of the other book I'll dive back in to this one and, hopefully, do a more proper review on Goodreads or Amazon or wherever. Maybe it'll end up being so frickin' blip-worthy that it also ends up being an I'll Sleep When I've Read... post on Sunday. I don't sleep much right now so it's entirely possible.

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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

 

 

Death Checked Out by Leah Dobrinska (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: Death Checked Out

Author:Leah Dobrinska

Publication: 6 December 2022

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley & Level Best Books

Amazon Description

When in doubt, go to the library…and solve the murder mystery!

Greta Plank, library director in the small, lakeside town of Larkspur, Wisconsin, prefers her rose-tinted glasses extra rosy, thank you very much. It’s how she copes with the hard stuff in life…like her sister’s death and her ex-boyfriend’s deception. But Greta’s cheery resolve takes a hit when she stumbles upon a dead body on her way home from work. What she assumes is a terrible accident Greta soon learns is something more sinister, and to make matters worse, a new-to-town detective cites her as not only his primary source for the case, but his top suspect.

To clear her name and save her reputation, Greta decides to do some off-the-books clue cataloging of her own. After all, asking questions is what she does best. With the help of her fellow librarians and her lawyer mom, Greta flips through the pages of the murder, uncovering details about Larkspur’s real estate market and the deceased’s rare book collection as she tries to understand why anyone would have authored his death.

With friends and neighbors stacking up as both victims and suspects, Greta must cross reference the facts and put a hold on her idyllic worldview if she wants to get the full story without paying the fine of her life.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

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"For heaven's sake! This is Larkspur, Wisconsin. No one here would want anyone else dead."

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Ohhhhhh Greta. Poor sweet annoyingly chipper Greta.

To be fair, this may not have been the best time to for me to read anything with a main character that has a "cheery resolve" and "idyllic worldview" ... but I'm trying to catch up on my neglected NetGalley shelf and this was next on the list (besides those way overdue for reviewing). Luckily, her finding a friend dead and being the only suspect the detective in charge is looking at means that not everything is perky-perky-perky and I could actually read the book without wanting to smack the cheeriness out of her ... much.

 

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"Miss Plank, one more thing."

Greta spun around too see Detective McHenry slip into the hallway behind her.

"What?" Her snappish tone was out of character, but she'd never been accused of murder before, so all bets were off.

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Sometimes "out of character" is exactly what's needed to make a character likeable ... and a book readable. It's almost as though Leah Dobrinska knew what she was doing when she was writing this. Greta's out of character moments and the amazing set of secondary characters (particularly Detective McHottie) has pretty much guaranteed that this is a series I will want to continue.

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She'd never seen the man show any shred of emotion beyond stoic, indifferent, and accusatory. His face completely transformed when he wasn't scowling, and Greta didn't hate it.

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Of course, if you've been around for a while you know how bad I am at finishing series ... or continuing series ... or remembering to ramble and share ... or .....

2023 will be better. Hopefully. In a lot of ways.

(I think the "56" was technically 57% ... hence the "ish")

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

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