New month everyone.  I am reading something I know nothing about, I have heard of the author but I didn't look up anything about this book, it was in the bargain bin in the bookstore, so I am taking a leap of faith and I love the cover. :)

One more bit of "tree" news!!  Have two more bids in hand:  $7,500 and $6,500 both reputable companies with insurance, etc.  Still ouch but not as ouch as the first one.  As to selling for firewood:  tulip poplar burns about like paper and no one wants it for firewood.  Still looking into selling for other uses.

Am thinking this thread should renamed:  What are you reading & what are you doing (hee hee)!!!!

I'm srill reading Silent in the Grave, and I just picked up These is My Words at the library.

Bummer about your tree Becky.

Going to read Exit the Actress by Priya Parmar for the HF challenge.  Got through The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig for the mystery challenge.  I quite enjoy the light romantic tales that Willig writes about spies and a graduate student who falls for a handsome Englishman. This story features a spy or spies known as the Black Tulip. Was there really a ring of them?  Now reading The Pirate's Daughter.   The White Queen (yeah, I know it's a Gregory book but I enjoy her tales) was a fun read - light and quick.

My copy of The Plantagenet Prelude by Jean Plaidy was requested so I ordered a copy from the library to read.  Really enjoyed it.  Plaidy makes the characters seem so real.  I laughed as I read the conversations and quarrels between Eleanor and Henry.  Have been collecting this series for some time.  There are so many!  Finished Joan Wolf's The Poisoned Serpent, too.   It was a good mystery! 

It's over and it's soo good - Daughters of the Grail by Elizabeth Chadwick.  When my puppy grabbed it to catch my attention, it became unpostable for the diamond jubilee game so I decided to read it.  I like it very much.  Thank you Alice for bringing it to my attention and I'm very glad that she did!   Finished The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak, an ARC I received from a member here.  Not as good as Catherine but it's a different style.  Catherine had a great deal more history in the text.  Nevertheless, I did  like Stachniak's fictional story.  It was fun.  

Ah, yes, now I must get the library books finished.  Just read my second book by Hilary Jordan.  It was quite different from Mudbound.  When She Woke is a dystopian, and depressing at times.  The heroine, Hannah, grows up in a deeply religious home in a society where religious repressive rules have become law.  When Hannah's individuality asserts itself her life turns completely over.  Falling in love with a charismatic minister who is married, she becomes pregnant and aborts the child.  With these acts she has broken several laws, is caught and then injected with a red dye to identify her as a certain type of lawbreaker and the story moves quickly from that point.  I can't decide how I feel about this read.  On to John Dies at the End by David Wong.  Rarely do I stop reading a book but I dumped John.  Yuk!!!!   A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh, a satire about English upper class life, was quite interesting.  I enjoyed it.  Really liked The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente and Deathless, also by Valente.  What a writer!  The novels are so different but soo good!    Also completed The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan.  Fascinating. Imagine living in the Oklahoma panhandle or another area during that period in our history.    Also read Among Others by Jo Walton, a YA fantasy, and Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan, a science fiction ARC for the YA challenge. 

Good news Becky - or at least BETTER news, huh?

I'm going to continue with the next Julia Grey - Silent in the Sanctuary - since I now feel like I know this cast of characters! lol!

Jill --- I have "These is my Words" on my TBR, just have never gotten around to reading it.  Let me know what you think once you are finished.

Letty --- Your book does sound interesting --- keep us informed.

I am finishing up the final Karin Slaughter book currently in my possession, then it will be back to some historical stuff for me.  Seeing as I have so few to choose from (HA HA HA), I am unsure at the moment which one it will be.

Becky, you're so funny ...

I finished Still Life With Murder by P.B. Ryan for the historical mystery challenge. And, why I have let that book sit around so long is really part of the overall mystery!

I really enjoyed this book ... maybe I was just in the mood, but it was intriguing with great characters and a nice, juicy plot. Nell Sweeney, who grew up tough on the streets, then received help, nurturing, education and training as a nurse by a good doctor is now governess to a little girl belonging to one of the most elite members of Boston's post-Civil War society. But all is never as it seems - there are layers and currents and hidden secrets and problems within the family and we are teased ever so gently with different aspects of Nell's own background.

And the mystery itself is a whodunit murder of a merchant sailor who was violently attacked in the alley behind an establishment that offers everything from opium to girls to gambling. We have an excellent Detective - and, as a breath of fresh air, he is not our love interest. He is happily married and refers to his bride several times. I already have a secret crush on Detective Colin Cook and cannot wait to read more about him in the next book.

There are some slight problems with the book, but overall I found it to be engaging, fun to read & a cut above most mysteries of this genre.

Kelly

I started "Silent in the Grave" yesterday, and just finished chapter 9 on the treadmill this morning. 

I just finished The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman.  I loved it! It grabbed me from the very beginning.  It was heartbreaking at times and brought me tears several times.

From Amazon:
Prague, the dreams of two young lovers are shattered when they are separated by the Nazi invasion. Then, decades later, thousands of miles away in New York, there's an inescapable glance of recognition between two strangers. Providence is giving Lenka and Josef one more chance. From the glamorous ease of life in Prague before the Occupation, to the horrors of Nazi Europe, The Lost Wife explores the power of first love, the resilience of the human spirit- and the strength of memory.

Oh Donna --- that one sounds right down my alley!!!!  This is a hateful forum when it comes to clearing one's TBR shelves!!!!

Well I will not have to worry about this one too soon --- there are 172 folks ahead of me on the wishlist!!!!

I just started The Queen's Pleasure by Brandy Purdy.  I'm hoping to get half way through it tonight but am thinking it's not going to happen because I'm already sleepy. 

Almost done with Windward Plantation by I forget what her name is and I'm too lazy to go and copy and paste it here

Despite a bit too much telling instead of showing here and there, it's been a fairly solid read and I will continue with the series. In this one, the MC (second son of a French count), leaves France just before the revolution breaks out. He ends up in what is now Alabama and is one of the good guys who is BFF with the Indians and frees his slaves. A lot of the historical details on which government was in charge of what and the politics with the Indian tribes has been a bit overwhelming here and there (me being somewhat ignorant of it), and a map for the period would have been a lot of help.

Still, Lucien's son has just turned adult and is turning out to be a right mean son-of-a-bitch with great potential for the next book. He's a mean 'un. Despite the covers, I would not call this romance. There is some sex and a few times it's hilariously funny the way the author describes it, but still rather tame. I would caution anyone with PC tendencies it might not be the book for you.

I"m reading that as well Holly.  It's a bit melo-dramatic at times, but given it's from Amy's point of view, perhaps that's too be expected.  If Robert Dudley was my husband I would probably be a drama queen too!

Wait...it's already June???

I'm reading The Tennis Partner by Verghese (author of Cutting for Stone) -- a non-fiction account of the friendship between a doctor, whose marriage is unraveling, and his intern, who is a recovering drug addict -- so far, so good. As I recall, Genie read this a few months ago and loved it.

I finished a YA historical time travel book last night

Good memory, Deb.  It's now one of my all-time favorite books.

I took a week off from work, so my audiobook remains unfinished. (I listen to it during my commute.) I'll be getting back to Sovereign by CJ Sansom on Monday. That's if I can tear myself away from Adam Lambert's new cd.

I'm waiting for A Lonely Death by Charles Todd to arrive at the library. I should have it any day and it will be my next read.

I've just started Neverland by Piers Dudgeon, J.M. Barrie, the du Mauriers, and the dark side of Peter Pan.

That is unless I get squicked out, otherwise I think I'll start Ride with Me by Thomas Costain.

I dropped everything else in progress to read Iron Branch: A Civil War Tale of a Woman In-Between, a free download on Kindle yesterday.  A surprisingly good story and a quick read. 

Hello All --- In reading my SYKM newsletter (which is deadly to one's TBR) I learned of two series I was unaware of that sound a bit interesting to me.  They are:  Sara Fraser and her British Constable Thomas Potts in the 1800s I think; and Katherine John and her British detective (modern day I think) Trevor Joseph.  I was wondering if any of you have read any of these books.  Neither series is particularly new.  Thanks all.

Not me, Becky. But you'll be my filter, right?

I finished reading The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud.  It was just okay; the language seemed a little simplistic to me but that could have been the translation.  It was written by a Spanish journalist and I felt the elegance of language was just missing here or maybe I expect too much.  I do wonder why those naughty Knights Templar seem to be involved in every conspiracy theory around?  Those guys sure are busy taking over the world

Now I have started a book that has been on Mt. TBR for quite some time, Gladiatrix by Russell Whitfield.  Pretty good so far

I started A Place Beyond Courage today---my first Chadwick. I fell asleep and didn't get very far, but I can tell I'm going to love it.

Oooh, a Chadwick virgin

I've just started an older Jennifer Blake romance called The Storm and the Splendor. This one has our Louisiana miss mixed in with a plot to slip Napoleon off the island of St. Helena by substituting a look alike in his place. I believe there's trouble at sea and perhaps some difficulty after landing in a harem or something. Time will tell...

I'm taking a break from HF to read Austin's Persuasion.  So far, not as immediately engaging as either P&P or S&S.

Cathy, I was a "pretty much everything good virgin" before I started to frequent this forum. I was reading mostly Philippa Gregory and Allison Weir, a couple of the Outlander books and Into the Wilderness.  I didn't know about the really good ones!