January 2019 Book Reviews

January 2019 Book Reviews

The Highland Witch by Susan FletcherThis book is about Corrag, a young woman in touch with the earth and on the run from anyone who may brand her a witch. Which is everyone at the end of the 17th century. We learn her story in two different points of view: present day from the point of view of the man who went to see her in prison and in past tense, her story from her point of view.As I read…

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Whistler, BC

Whistler, BC

Joe and I spent New Year’s in Whistler with his parents. It was my first trip and I was excited about seeing the area. Okay, and shopping. I also decided to give skiing a second try and all I’ll say on that subject is I can ski just fine but stopping eludes me. Also, ski boots are horrible awful torture devices. Highlights for me include my first pair of sweatpants as an adult, a ham and cheese crepe from Crepe…

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Wednesday Whimsy #23

Wednesday Whimsy #23

Bonjour and happy Wednesday. I am writing this with Nora laying on my wrists, which she has never done before and makes things challenging but not impossible. Book Though Bella Figura is a memoir about Italy, I enjoyed reading it just as much as all of those French memoirs on my bookshelf. It was kind of refreshing to get a personal account on another country. Links This to me is the holy grail of all resolutions lists, especially the first…

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Southwest Road Trip

Southwest Road Trip

Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada. Aside from Salt Lake City, I had never been to any of these places before and the Southwest has been on my travel list for a long time. We had planned to car camp but discovered that most of the top destinations are at a higher elevation than someone who had never been to this part of the country would think and it ended up being too cold except in eastern New Mexico by…

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The final books of 2018

The final books of 2018

I’m going to change up the format of my reviews in 2019 and I thought I’d start by rounding up the final books I read in 2018. An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose, #1) by Charlaine Harris Charlaine Harris is one of my most favorite authors and when she announced her newest series since the Midnight, Texas trilogy (which started in 2014) I knew I would be reading it. Set in an alternate-history North America sometime in the first half of…

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Wednesday Whimsy #22

Wednesday Whimsy #22

Happy New Year and happy Wednesday. I hope you enjoyed the holidays and have some good ideas of how you’d like to spend 2019. I spent New Year’s in Whistler, BC with Joe and his parents. It was my first time there and the fact that we don’t take many snowy, wintery trips made this one special. It gave me a good excuse to break out all of my cold-weather gear. On to some links! Book I’ve mentioned Tasting Paris…

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The Lost Carousel of Provence by Juliet Blackwell

The Lost Carousel of Provence by Juliet Blackwell

I have conflicting feelings about this book. I love the story but not the writing; it feels too neat and tidy to be realistic. The dialogue feels written instead of spoken and real and the foreshadowing feels like a sticker placed over the natural story. There are errors such as “Latine Quartiere” instead of Latin Quartier or Quartier Latin (hopefully this was fixed for the final book as I read an ARC) and having Caty, a photographer, make individual prints…

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Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks

Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks

I feel like Paris Echo doesn’t know what kind of a book it wants to be, so it is a few of them bound together: literary fiction and historical fiction with a sprinkle of self-discovery and ghosts. Our main characters are Hannah, a 30-something researching her contribution to a history book, and Tariq, a nineteen-year-old who decided to take a break from his native Morocco. Both of them have issues they’re working on though they don’t know it until they’ve…

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Accidents Happen by Sharon Karaa

Accidents Happen by Sharon Karaa

Accidents Happen is a thought-provoking, lighthearted, and quick read because, if you’re like me, you will not be able to put it down. It reads like a chick-lit rom-com, and it is in many ways, but it has much more substance and plot than a typical book in these genres. Eight days before her wedding, Tabitha finds herself taking the place of a soul collector (think grim reaper) while he makes himself comfortable in her body. While she waits for…

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November Recap

November Recap

November was mostly quiet and low-key. It was a Whole 30 month for me that was mostly successful; I took a few liberties throughout the month and then towards the end there were a few meals that were definitely not compliant. I think going forward I’ll do it for 2 weeks or so at a time, maybe a full 30 days once a year or so. I feel a lot better when I eat cleaner so I plan to incorporate…

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