Review--The Sound of Glass by Karen White

The Sound of Glass by Karen   White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Merritt Heyward has just inherited the home of her deceased husband's grandmother.  A grandmother she never knew existed.  Now she is packing her whole life and moving from her home in Maine to Beaufort, South Carolina.  What secrets will she uncover about her husband and about herself?
Edith Heyward's whole world is turned upside down in July 1955 when on the same night, a plane explodes over small town Beaufort and her husband is killed in a car crash from watching the explosion.  How will these events change her life.
These women have a very strong connection to one another.  One that involves more than just Cal Heyward(Merritt's Husband).  They both share a secret that they don't want the world to know.

I so enjoyed this book.  This is the second book by Karen White I have read.  The first being The Beach Trees.  In this book, you were on the edge of your seat to see the way secrets were going to unfold.  When I first started reading this book, I thought what a bitch Merritt was.  But as the story unfolds you get to see what a sheltered person she is who has had to hide her emotions for so long, she's not sure how to act.
At the same time Merritt is moving to South Carolina, her step-mother and half brother are moving there as well from Georgia.  Merritt has never met her brother,Owen and does not have a relationship with her step-mother, Loralee.  But when they show up at her front door in a town where she is new to as well, walls start to come down and friendship and love is born.
Trying to find her way in a new town, find out who her husband was and why he kept so many secrets, and get to know family members she had no desire to know in the first place; Merritt is destined to learn more about the South, conquer her fears and become the woman she has always wanted to be.

This is an amazing novel with strong characters.  You will find yourself, looking for a journal to write down all of the inspirational quotes and sayings.  I highly recommend this book to all of my female friends.


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**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

What I'm Readin' This Spring!

What I'm Readin' This Spring!

I receive lots of bookish emails from Authors, Publishers, Goodreads, Oprah, and others.  I love the emails that give you the upcoming books for the month or for the season.  I've decided to compile the lists I have received, and give you a list of my own.

The first book on my list is The Underwriting by Michelle Miller.  "In this sexy debut novel a high-stakes deal pitches the power of Wall Street against the savvy of Silicon Valley—until a young woman’s death threatens to topple it all."  I've gotten a copy of this book from FirstToRead and am looking forward to reading this next month. 

Next we have The Shell by Jenni Boyd  I have read and reviewed a couple of Jenni's books in the past.  She is bright and upcoming author and I'm excited about this new read.  Check out my reviews of her other titles Missing and Steel Justice.

These next two books, I believe, will get the wheels in my head turning:
Ghettoside:A Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy. With so many issues going on with police brutality and killings, I am very interested to hear this authors take on the situation. Murder D.C.: A Novel by Neely Tucker I live very close to the nation's capital and I enjoy most books that have to deal with this area.  They always keep me on my toes.

Here are the other books I have added to my TBR:

The Fixer by Joseph Finder, At The Water's Edge by Sara Gruen, Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, I Take You by Eliza Kennedy, The Deal by Elle Kennedy, Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton, The Stranger by Harlan Coben, The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler, A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton ,and A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.

As always, there are so many good books to read out there and not enough hours in the day to get them all read.   What do you plan on readin' this Spring?

Review--Hit Count by Chris Lynch

Hit Count by Chris Lynch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lloyd liked to hit hard and he taught his brother, Arlo, everything he knows.

Arlo makes the junior varsity football team his freshman year which is almost unheard of.  Since Lloyd had taught Arlo everything, Arlo is good at hitting hard.  A sophomore on the JV team, Dinos befriends Arlo and teaches him about conditioning.  Football is more than just hard hitting, you have to be able to last the whole game.  Arlo's dad was a proud papa.  Lloyd, was jealous that he didn't make is as far as Arlo had.  And Arlo's mom, was not into the game at all.  She was so fearful of head injuries that she kept "The File" that had every bit of information that had anything to do with traumatic brain injury.  None of this kept Arlo from playing and becoming "Starlo".  He excelled at the sport throughout his high school career.  He treated his body like a temple and always stayed in top physical condition.  But is all of this enough to avoid the effects of the "Hit Count"?

I love football.  My family and I watch our favorite team every Sunday, Monday, or Thursday, or whatever day they are playing during the season.  I'm not a big fan of high school football, but I have attended a few games as a student.  I have always had a fear of my child playing a sport like football where being slammed around is part of the objective.  While they have made many strides in improving the equipment used, it's hard to avoid concussions when you are constantly hit.

I liked this book more than I thought I would.  From other reviews, I thought it was going to be more oafish.  This is a good YA novel that I would recommend to high school boys.

**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**


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Where are you Readin'?

I love reading.  Its one of my favorite things to do.  I can never be bored as long as there is a book laying around. Well unless, of course, it's a boring book.

I read just about everywhere.  In the car, at work, in the doctor's office, outside while my kids are playing.  I can read just about anywhere.  I get most of my reading done these days right before bed.  It's when I have the most quiet time and when I can give it my full attention.

I miss having days where I could just lay around and read a good book.  This hasn't happened in a long time.  Reading on the beach is by far my favorite place to read.  It's warm, relaxing, the sound of the ocean crashing is just enough to put you in the perfect head space for reading.

Where are some of your favorite spots to read?  Maybe it's a park, maybe is while walking/running/jogging and listening to an audio book.   Please let me know!!

Review--By What We Love by Charlene Carr

By What We Love by Charlene Carr
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Eloise has almost everything she ever dreamed of.  A great job that pays well, a family that loves her, and a man who loves her unconditionally.  None of these things came without hard work.  Eloise grew up without her mother and then raised and put through school her younger brother and sister.

Mostes and Eloise have been together for years.  Now, Eloise has the most amazing opportunity with her job and she wants nothing more than for Moses and her sister, Lori, to join her on the journey.  Even though Lori and Moses love Eloise, they may not be ready to move to the other side of the world with her.  Will Eloise be able to choose her family over her work? Which is really more important to her?

Charlene Carr writes about relatable characters.  Any career driven woman could sympathize with Eloise.  Maybe she is a bit more extreme than some, but she is still in a position a lot of women find themselves in, having to choose between their career and their family.

Eloise tends to make her decisions before consulting the rest of her family.  Asking for forgiveness later.  She has been this way for so long, she just assumes that they are going to go along with her.  I personally, have never been one to put my work over my family.  That is just me, but recently going from being a stay at home mom to a working mom, I can see how sometimes that sacrifice must be made.  Charlene Carr does a great job of drawing you into the story and you can see yourself in the main characters shoes.  You put yourself in the story.

This book is about discovering what exactly is most important.  Hopefully we will come to that realization before it is too late and we lose out on those things we love the most.

**I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review**


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Review--Shakespeare Saved My Life by Dr. Laura Bates

Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard by Laura  Bates
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Dr. Laura Bates is an English professor at Indiana State University.  She is given to opportunity to teach inmates in Indiana's Correctional System.  She decides that she is going to teach them Shakespeare.  She was discouraged by others thinking that Shakespeare would be too much for inmates to handle.

Dr. Bates was surprised at how well the inmates were able to, not only understand the material, but also apply it to their own lives.  One inmate in particular, Larry Newton, took the material and really changed(saved) his life.  Larry was really able to relate to Shakespeare's works, especially MacBeth.  He used the material to look back on the choices and decisions he had made and was able to better understand the right choices to make.

When I saw this book as part of the Big Library Read, I was very excited.  It seemed like an interesting book that would hold my attention.  These days, I tend to do a lot of reading before bed.  Even though the chapters were no more than a few pages long, I fell asleep frequently.  I thought I would have been able to finish this book in a week because the subject matter was so interesting.  But, I felt as though it continued to go over the same thing.  I enjoyed the subject matter, but I thought I would be a little more engaged.


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