First LInes Friday...

 Nobody recognized her. Harper Lee was well known, but not by sight, and if she hadn’t introduced herself, it’s unlikely that anyone in the courtroom would have figured out who she was. Hundreds of people were crowded into the gallery, filing the wooden benches that squeaked whenever someone moved or leaning against the back wall if they hadn’t arrived in time for a seat. Late September wasn’t late enough for the Alabama heat to have died down, and the air-conditioning in the courthouse wasn’t working, so the women waved fans while the men’s suits grew damp under their arms and around their collars. The spectators whispered from time to time, and every so often they laughed - an uneasy laughter that evaporated whenever the judge quieted them.

                                    .. Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

The Sunday Salon and 3 Books "Coming Soon" to Sink Your Teeth Into...

Welcome to The Sunday Salon and The Sunday Post! It's that day of the week bloggers from all over the internet get together virtually in a large gathering place called The Sunday Salon and talk books!  And at The Sunday Post, which is a weekly meme hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, in which more bloggers share their bookish news!

It's another rainy Sunday morning in Connecticut. The birds are singing though and I'm hoping the sun with show its face later. One the reading front... I've been leisurely reading LaRose by Louise Erdrich and really enjoying it. Erdrich's writing is wonderful and the story is absorbing. I added LaRose to the "must read" mix this week for anyone not familiar with Louise Erdrich's latest emotional work.

I also squeezed in two other books this week and an AUDIOBOOK. One book was a science fiction novella titled  Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (I reviewed it Saturday) that won the Nebula award for best science fiction novella for 2015. I don't read very much science fiction, but the premise sounded interesting (girl runs away from home to experience world and attend the most prestigious university in the galaxy. Encounters alien cultures, finds friendship and must learn to survive in an apocalyptic war she just happened to accidentally fly into on the way to school) The writing was wonderful. The story really held my attention and all of those things made me wonder why I never read science fiction.

     The other book I read was a Manga titled I Am a Hero by Kengo Hanazawa. I do read Manga, and I picked this out because I was hearing all sorts of great things about this series that Dark Horse Comics just bought the rights for and was beginning to publish in the States in 2016. This book also won the Shogakukan Manga Award, which is Japanese literary award for Manga series. I Am A Hero is an Omnibus, collecting a couple of the original japanese books in this one big 464 page volume. I'll be reviewing this Manga this week, but my initial thoughts were "why is this the cat's meow" until over half way through the story started to pick up speed and I was wanting to read more, but it ended and the next book is due in October. Oh, what's it about? It's about a Zombie Apocalypse in Japan. Think Walking Dead in Japanese, but there's so much more to it, really. And the artwork is nice, very detailed which is one reason people are raving about it.

Now the audiobook I listened to was Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at The End of the Lane, and it was wonderful!! OMG, it was such a marvelous tale that I wish everyone would listen to it. Neil Gaiman actually read it, played all the characters and did a fantastic job on all counts. Basically a fairy tale in the vein of Grimm's Fairy Tales- you know those dark fairy tales that look innocent enough from the start, but start to turn into a thinly veiled horror story. I'll be reviewing this also this week.

I'm always on the lookout for the next read, though and this week I found 3 books that should really satisfy that need to read... not just anything, but something with a really good story...

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler... From Kirkus Review: An ingénue from the Midwest learns the ways of the world, and the flesh, during her year as a back waiter at a top Manhattan restaurant. 

A flurry of publicity surrounded the acquisition of this book, which was pitched by an MFA–grad waitress to an editor dining at one of her tables. Danler’s debut novel takes place behind the scenes of a restaurant in Union Square whose rigid hierarchy, arcane codes of behavior, and basis in servitude and manual labor makes it less like a modern workplace than the royal court of 18th-century France—but with tattoos and enough cocaine to rival Jay McInerney. There’s even a Dangerous Liaisons–type love triangle with the beautiful, naïve young narrator at its apex, batted between the mysterious, brilliant waitress who teaches her about wine and the dissolute, magnetic bartender who teaches her about oysters. The older woman says things like, “I know you. I remember you from my youth. You contain multitudes.” The older man “was bisexual, he slept with everyone, he slept with no one. He was an ex-heroin addict, he was sober, he was always a little drunk.” What 22-year-old could ever resist them? The writing is mostly incandescent, with visceral and gorgeous descriptions of flavors, pitch-perfect overheard dialogue, deep knowledge of food, wine, and the restaurant business, and only occasional lapses into unintentional pretentiousness. From her very first sentences—“You will develop a palate. A palate is a spot on your tongue where you remember. Where you assign words to the textures of taste. Eating becomes a discipline, language-obsessed. You will never simply eat food again”—Danler aims to mesmerize, to seduce, to fill you with sensual cravings. She also offers the rare impassioned defense of Britney Spears.

I've read so many great reviews on this book, that I have now put it on my TBR list. What tempts me is  the backdrop of New York and all the wonderful food that fills the pages. This is published by Knopf and will be released May 24th!

 The Children by Ann Leary... The captivating story of a wealthy, but unconventional New England family, told from the perspective of a reclusive 29-year-old who has a secret (and famous) life on the Internet. 

Charlotte Maynard rarely leaves her mother’s home, the sprawling Connecticut lake house that belonged to her late stepfather, Whit Whitman, and the generations of Whitmans before him. While Charlotte and her sister, Sally, grew up at “Lakeside,” their stepbrothers, Spin and Perry, were welcomed as weekend guests. Now the grown boys own the estate, which Joan occupies by their grace―and a provision in the family trust. When Spin, the youngest and favorite of all the children, brings his fiancé home for the summer, the entire family is intrigued. The beautiful and accomplished Laurel Atwood breathes new life into this often comically rarefied world. But as the wedding draws near, and flaws surface in the family’s polite veneer, an array of simmering resentments and unfortunate truths is exposed. With remarkable wit and insight, Ann Leary pulls back the curtain on one blended family, as they are forced to grapple with the assets and liabilities – both material and psychological – left behind by their wonderfully flawed patriarch.

Again, I've heard lots of great buzz about this book and have put it on my TBR list! Published by St. Martin's Press, The Children will also be released May 24th!

Modern Lovers by Emma Straub... A smart, highly entertaining novel about a tight-knit group of friends from college— and what it means to finally grow up, well after adulthood has set in.

Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth and Andrew and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch (of sexuality, independence, and the ineffable alchemy of cool) to their own offspring. Back in the band's heyday, Elizabeth put on a snarl over her Midwestern smile, Andrew let his unwashed hair grow past his chin, and Zoe was the lesbian all the straight women wanted to sleep with. Now nearing fifty, they all live within shouting distance in the same neighborhood deep in gentrified Brooklyn, and the trappings of the adult world seem to have arrived with ease. But the summer that their children reach maturity (and start sleeping together), the fabric of the adult lives suddenly begins to unravel, and the secrets and revelations that are finally let loose—about themselves, and about the famous fourth band member who soared and fell without them—can never be reclaimed.

The highly anticipated next novel of Emma Straub has gotten some nice press and what I find appealing is to see how this group of friends navigates being grown up after surviving their youth together, and dealing with the fact that their children have become them. On my TBR list. Published by Riverhead Books and will be released May 31st!

Question... Do you like to look ahead to see what books are "Coming Soon"? 

Bonus Book... 
LaRose by Louise Erdrich... An emotionally haunting contemporary tale of a tragic accident, a demand for justice, and a profound act of atonement with ancient roots in Native American culture.

North Dakota, late summer, 1999. Landreaux Iron stalks a deer along the edge of the property bordering his own. He shoots with easy confidence—but when the buck springs away, Landreaux realizes he’s hit something else, a blur he saw as he squeezed the trigger. When he staggers closer, he realizes he has killed his neighbor’s five-year-old son, Dusty Ravich. The youngest child of his friend and neighbor, Peter Ravich, Dusty was best friends with Landreaux’s five-year-old son, LaRose. The two families have always been close, sharing food, clothing, and rides into town; their children played together despite going to different schools; and Landreaux’s wife, Emmaline, is half sister to Dusty’s mother, Nola. Horrified at what he’s done, the recovered alcoholic turns to an Ojibwe tribe tradition—the sweat lodge—for guidance, and finds a way forward. Following an ancient means of retribution, he and Emmaline will give LaRose to the grieving Peter and Nola. “Our son will be your son now,” they tell them. LaRose is quickly absorbed into his new family. Plagued by thoughts of suicide, Nola dotes on him, keeping her darkness at bay. His fierce, rebellious new “sister,” Maggie, welcomes him as a coconspirator who can ease her volatile mother’s terrifying moods. Gradually he’s allowed shared visits with his birth family, whose sorrow mirrors the Raviches’ own. As the years pass, LaRose becomes the linchpin linking the Irons and the Raviches, and eventually their mutual pain begins to heal. But when a vengeful man with a long-standing grudge against Landreaux begins raising trouble, hurling accusations of a cover-up the day Dusty died, he threatens the tenuous peace that has kept these two fragile families whole.

First, Louise Erdrich's writing is beautiful, I am enjoying reading the words that convey such strong emotions. The story is so devastating and yet inspiring. I'll be reviewing this soon, but for now, put this on your TBR list because I think it will be one of this years big hits. It has gotten a lot of positive press and a starred review from Kirkus. Published by Harper and released last week!

That about does it for this Sunday. What have you been reading (or listening to?!) Please share because I'd love to hear about it all!

Happy reading... Suzanne

In My Mailbox...

In My Mailbox... I've received some great books in my mailbox! And I decided I would join in on the fun sharing them with you and the other bloggers participating in Mailbox Monday!

Mailbox Monday is a weekly event for bloggers to share what books arrived in their mailboxes. Mailbox Monday was originally created by Marcia of To Be Continued and is now hosted by Vicki, Serena and Leslie at Mailbox Monday's own blog.

So, here are the books...

Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift... From the Booker Award winner: a luminous, profoundly moving work of fiction that begins with an afternoon tryst in 1924 between a servant girl and the young man of the neighboring house, but then opens to reveal the whole life of a remarkable woman.

Twenty-two year old Jane Fairchild, orphaned at birth, has worked as a maid at one English country estate since she was sixteen. And for almost all of those years she has been the secret lover to Paul Sheringham, the scion of the estate next door. On an unseasonably warm March afternoon, Jane and Paul will make love for the last time--though not, as Jane believes, because Paul is about to be married--and the events of the day will alter Jane's life forever. As the narrative moves back and forth from 1924 to the end of the century, what we know and understand about Jane--about the way she loves, thinks, feels, sees, remembers--deepens with every beautifully wrought moment. Her story is one of profound self-discovery and through her, Graham Swift has created an emotionally soaring and deeply affecting work of fiction.

A small, wonderful book! I started reading this and immediately fell in love with Graham Swift's prose and felt such empathy for the protagonist, Jane Fairchild. Two words that come to mind are beautiful and quiet. Look for my review this week. Thank you to Knopf for sending a review copy my way! Mothering Sunday will be on the shelves of your local bookstore April 19th!

This Too Shall Pass by Milena Busquets...  A “literary tsunami”* that is taking the world by storm—already sold in over 30 countries—about one unforgettable woman’s search for a meaningful life

Blanca is forty years old and motherless. Shaken by the unexpected death of the most important person in her life, she suddenly realizes that she has no idea what her future will look like.

To ease her dizzying grief and confusion, Blanca turns to her dearest friends, her closest family, and a change of scenery. Leaving Barcelona behind, she returns to Cadaqués on the coast, accompanied by her two sons, two ex-husbands, and two best friends, and makes a plan to meet her married lover for a few stolen moments as well. Surrounded by those she loves most, she spends the summer in an impossibly beautiful place, finding ways to reconnect and understand what it means to truly, happily live on her own terms, just as her mother would have wanted. 

A fresh, honest, and ruefully funny story about love, sex, marriage, grief, friendship and parenthood, THIS TOO SHALL PASS is an irresistible novel that is fast becoming an international phenomenon.

Oh, I love Spanish writers. The stories are usually rich and without fear. This book has been a major European hit, and was gobbled up for six figures to be published in the United States. It is only 169 pages, but has made quite an impact on early reviewers... of which I am now one! So I'll be opening this up this week too and I can't wait! From my brief samples, I am loving the writing! And I LOVE the cover! Look for my review beginning of next week! Thank you to Hogarth (which is an imprint of Crown Publishing and a division of Penguin Random House) for sending along a review copy! This Too Shall Pass by Milena Busquets will be at your local bookstore on May 24th!

Something New by Lucy Knisley... In 2010, Lucy and her long-term boyfriend John broke up. Three long, lonely years later, John returned to New York, walked into Lucy's apartment, and proposed. This is not that story. It is the story of what came after: The Wedding.

DIY maven Lucy Knisley was fascinated by American wedding culture . . . but also sort of horrified by it. So she set out to plan and execute the adorable DIY wedding to end all adorable DIY weddings. And she succeeded. This graphic novel--clocking in at almost 300 pages of humor, despair, and eternal love--is the story of how Lucy built a barn, invented a whole new kind of photo booth, and managed to turn an outdoor wedding on a rainy day into a joyous (though muddy) triumph.

Happy endings do happen, and that includes me getting an advanced reading copy of Lucy's new book in the mail! Fun, wonderfully illustrated (Yes, this IS a Graphic Novel!), and a great story are all benchmarks of a Lucy Knisley book, and are found in Something New. Thanks goes to First Second Press for an advanced copy of Something New, which goes on sale May 3rd! Review will be coming soon!

I am so excited about these books! So, that's what was in my mailbox, how about you!? What do you think about these books? You can check out what everyone else received in their mailbox, by going to Mailbox Monday! Enjoy!

Memoir Monday and Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

An illuminating debut memoir of a woman in science; a moving portrait of a longtime friendship; and a stunningly fresh look at plants that will forever change how you see the natural world

Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much more. 

Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren’s remarkable stories: about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and learned to perform lab work done “with both the heart and the hands”; and about the inevitable disappointments, but also the triumphs and exhilarating discoveries, of scientific work.

Yet at the core of this book is the story of a relationship Jahren forged with a brilliant, wounded man named Bill, who becomes her lab partner and best friend. Their sometimes rogue adventures in science take them from the Midwest across the United States and back again, over the Atlantic to the ever-light skies of the North Pole and to tropical Hawaii, where she and her lab currently make their home. 

Jahren’s probing look at plants, her astonishing tenacity of spirit, and her acute insights on nature enliven every page of this extraordinary book. Lab Girl opens your eyes to the beautiful, sophisticated mechanisms within every leaf, blade of grass, and flower petal. Here is an eloquent demonstration of what can happen when you find the stamina, passion, and sense of sacrifice needed to make a life out of what you truly love, as you discover along the way the person you were meant to be.

Everywhere I turn I see a blurb for this book! And so I searched for an excerpt to get a feel for the writing. I found an excerpt on WSJ.com, and loved it...


"A seed knows how to wait. Most seeds wait for several years before starting to grow; a cherry seed can wait for a hundred years with no problem... Each beginning is the end of a waiting. We are each given exactly one chance to be. Each of us is both impossible and inevitable. Every replete tree was first a seed that waited." excerpts from Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

Now this is on my wish list. Published by Knopf, you can find Lab Girl by Hope Jahren at your local bookstore, this tuesday, April 5th. What could have been a dry, asleep at the wheel look at all things plant, looks to be an entertaining and interesting story.

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haru... A Review

"And then there was the day when Addie Moore made a call on Louis Waters."

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf, is the bittersweet love story of Addie and Louis, who much to the chagrin of their children and certain gossips of their small community of Holt, Colorado, decide to fill their empty days and lonely nights with the company of each other.

Addie and Louis, both in their 70's, have lived most of their lives in the small community of Holt, Colorado. They've raised children, fulfilled dutiful marriages, and endured the deaths of their spouses.  They knew each other from afar, and had known the others' spouse. But why does life have to come to a stand still now? Is it just because that's what is expected of them? One day Addie has an idea... and Louis gives it a try... why not spend our nights together? She misses sleeping with someone, and NOT for sex. Just the comfort of someone close during the loneliness hours of the day. She misses talking while going to sleep. She misses companionship. BUT, out of jealously, suspicion and probably fear, the people around them see things a little different. So, while Louis walks over to Addie's with his paper bag filled with his pajamas and toothbrush, tongues begin to wag...

This story was perfect. At a sparse 179 pages, there was no wasting of words, just the perfect amount to bring a well of emotions off the page. I was rooting for them! I wanted them to find the happiness that had eluded them all their lives! I wanted them to laugh at convention in the face. Oh, how I hated Addie's son! How cruel he was without thinking of her happiness! How both Addie and Louis deal with acceptance, love, affection, family and just being old made this a wonderful read. Don't miss this one! 5 stars from me!

Memoir Monday and… M Train by Patti Smith

When Patti Smith was making herself a legend, I was but a child. I really don't know much about her, except she is a music legend. I didn't know her relationship with Robert Mappelthorpe or how she brought punk rock to a new level, but I did know she wrote a book called Just Kids and followed that with a book called M Train. I thought, "another celebrity memoir, what does she have to write about? Drugs, sex and rock n roll? Read that already."But I found M Train on one of those Best of 2015 Book lists and it was then that I just had to pick it up and see for myself what all the fuss was about. I AM SO GLAD I DID! Her writing is amazing! And come to find out that as a struggling artist, she did some writing to help pay for some of the finer things in life, like food. I have only scratched the surface of this book, but from the first few lines I was hooked. Maybe it's because I can relate to growing up with a passion for art and trying to express myself, but I think that in reality it's Patti Smiths' writing ability and her fantastic storytelling that hooked me. A book for anyone who has had dreams and passions, friends and crazy times, memories that hold on to you...

From the National Book Award–winning author of Just Kids: an unforgettable odyssey of a legendary artist, told through the prism of the cafés and haunts she has worked in around the world. It is a book Patti Smith has described as “a roadmap to my life.”

M Train by Patti Smith was published October 2015 by Knopf. I'll be finishing up this book and posting my review soon. In the meantime, Read an Excerpt, and judge the writing for yourself!

The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe… A Review

Friendships between girls can be intense. And in the case of Mia and Lorrie Ann, there is no question that this is true. The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe, tells the story of Mia and Lor, as they grow from young girls to women, and the journey is filled with sun tans and lemon juice, giggling, and trips to the mall. But it's also filled with heartbreak and conflict, growing pains and despair.

Mia and Lorrie Ann live in the California town of Corona del Mar. They are lifelong friends, who are total opposites. Mia is the “bad girl”, living in a dysfunction family with a Mother that drinks heavily, and two brothers who she practically raises. She is “heartless” and yet honest. Lorrie Ann is beautiful and kind, almost angelic in her goodness, with a close knit family that seems plucked out of a fairytale to all who observe them. But when tragedy strikes Lorrie Ann her life seems to tumble out of control, with one thing leading to another, Mia trying all along to make it all better for Lor, until finally Mia questions whether she really ever knew the real Lorrie Ann, and was she all that Mia made her out to be.

What did I think? The writing is so compelling. Once I started reading the first pages, I could not put it down. The story is told in Mia’s voice, and it is so real. The intense feelings best friends have for one another, the loyalty, the disappointments, the small betrayals, and the unfaltering support after all is said and done, all translate on the pages beautifully. The story is filled with a whirlwind of emotions and thought provoking situations that make this an amazing feat of writing, and would make a wonderful book to discuss. I kept trying to imagine what I would do, what I could do in the situations the girls had to deal with. I felt such anguish at times because the story unknowingly wraps itself around you and makes you part of it.

Favorite Character? Mia was my favorite character, right from the start. And it seems to me, without letting out any spoilers here, that Mia was the better of the friends, almost always putting Lorrie Ann first in their lives, whereas Lorrie Ann lived off the kindness of others and Mia’s fierce loyalty. (When you read this book, and you should, let's talk about that aspect of friendships- the give and take, is it always equal?)

Love, loyalty, motherhood, is the right choice the same for everyone? Do we ignore the faults of our loved ones out of loyalty or because we want the world to be perfect outside of ourselves? Loss, tragedy, fear, how can we be true to ourselves when we  don’t agree with the decisions of the ones we love? And how do we reconcile that within ourselves? The Girls from Corona del Mar is beautiful, intense, and paints a portrait of two young girls learning to become the women they were meant to be, and be the friends they thought they should be.

Mark Your Calendars! The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe will be coming to a bookstore July 8th, 2014. Published by Knopf and Random House, I want to thank them for the opportunity to read the eGalley before publication!

The Sunday Salon with Books Coming Your Way This Summer… Literally!

Welcome to The Sunday Salon! It's that day of the week where we enjoy talking to other like minded readers about what books have come our way, or what's going on in the publishing world or whatever else we fancy. So grab a cup of joe, find a comfy chair and relax! Let's talk books!

This week we are back to the business of great books! The reading challenges have started, books have been opened, but now let's look to the future… What books are you going to be wanting to read this summer?! I've read about some great books coming our way starting in May, and want to share them today! I've included the blurbs from the publishers, to see what you think. Here's what caught my eye…


The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufu Thorpe… A fiercely beautiful debut blazing with emotion: a major first novel about friendships made in youth and how these bonds, challenged by loss, illness, parenthood, and distance, either break or sustain.

Mia and Lorrie Ann are lifelong friends: hard-hearted Mia and untouchably beautiful, kind Lorrie Ann. While Mia struggles with a mother who drinks, a pregnancy at fifteen, and younger brothers she loves but can't quite be good to, Lorrie Ann is luminous, surrounded by her close-knit family, immune to the mistakes that mar her best friend's life. Until a sudden loss catapults Lorrie Ann into tragedy: things fall apart, and then fall apart further-and there is nothing Mia can do to help. And as good, kind, brave Lorrie Ann stops being so good, Mia begins to question just who this woman is and what that question means about them both. A staggeringly arresting, honest novel of love, motherhood, loyalty, and the myth of the perfect friendship that moves us to ask ourselves just how well we know those we love, what we owe our children, and who we are without our friends

I love stories that revolve around longtime friendships. This sounds like it will be a great story of female bonding. I like that the girls are friends despite their lives being totally opposite from one another, and I think that will make for some interesting developments in the plot.  I also think this is going to be a great book club selection once it gets out! I actually have a eGalley of this on my Nook and I am enjoying the writing so far. Published my Random House& Knopf, you'll have to wait until July 8th, 2014 to find this at your local bookstore, but make sure you write it down now to remember it!

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A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman… In this bestselling and delightfully quirky debut novel from Sweden, a grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations. A feel-good story in the spirit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful and charming exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. 

I love quirky, and this sounds like a fun light read. Even though Fredrik Backman is from Sweden, this story sounds very British to me, with a good dose of wry humor. Published by Atria Books, this will arrive in bookstores July 15th, 2014

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The Untold by Courtney Collins… With shades of Water for Elephants and True Grit, a stunning debut novel set in the Australian outback about a female horse thief, her bid for freedom, and the two men trying to capture her.

It is 1921. In a mountain-locked valley, Jessie is on the run.

Born wild and brave, by twenty-six she has already lived life as a circus rider, horse and cattle rustler, and convict. But on this fateful night she is just a woman wanting to survive though there is barely any life left in her. Two men crash through the bushland, desperate to claim the reward on her head: one her lover, the other the law. But as it has always been for Jessie, it is death, not a man, who is her closest pursuer and companion. And while all odds are stacked against her, there is one who will never give up on her—her own child, who awaits her.

Another great sounding book! How could I resist wanting to read this when it mentions similarities with two of my favorite books - Water for Elephants and True Grit! I also liked the fact that it was a female protagonist that had experienced life in some unique ways for a woman (circus rider, cattle rustler) and I think that the Australian Outback will make for a wonderful setting. Published by Putnam Hardcover and coming to a bookstore near you May 29th, 2014.

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The Bees by Laline Paull… The Handmaid's Tale meets The Hunger Games in this brilliantly imagined debut set in an ancient culture-where only the Queen may breed and any deformity means death-in which a devout young worker bee finds herself in possession of a deadly secret, and becomes a hunted criminal whose decisions will mean life and death for her entire hive

Born into the lowest class of her rigid, hierarchical society, Flora 717 is a sanitation worker, an Untouchable fit only to clean and remove the bodies of the dead from her orchard hive. As part of the collective, she is taught to Accept, Obey, Serve-work and sacrifice are the highest virtues, and worship of her beloved Queen the only religion. Her society is governed by the priestess class, questions are forbidden, and all thoughts belong to the Hive Mind.

But Flora is not like other bees-a difference that holds profound consequences. With circumstances threatening the hive's survival, her curiosity is regarded as a dangerous flaw but her courage and strength are an asset. She is allowed to feed the newborns in the royal nursery and then to become a forager, flying alone and free to collect pollen. She also finds her way into the Queen's inner sanctum, where she discovers mysteries about the hive that are both profound and ominous.

But when Flora breaks the most sacred law of all-daring to challenge the Queen's fertility-enemies abound, from the fearsome fertility police who enforce the strict social hierarchy; to the high priestesses jealously wedded to power. Her deepest instincts to serve and sacrifice are now overshadowed by an even deeper desire, a fierce maternal love that will bring her into conflict with her conscience, her heart, her society-and lead her to unthinkable deeds... The Bees is the story of a strong-willed heroine who, in the face of an increasingly desperate struggle for survival, changes her destiny and her world.

If you enjoy Dystopian fiction, this sounds like it's going to be right up your alley! When I read about this book from Ecco, I thought it sounded so unique. I'm interested in cracking the spine on this, and seeing how she pulls this off. If the author's writing is compelling, this should be good. Coming to your favorite bookstore May 6th, 2014.

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Grab These eBook Bargains Now…  Looking for something to read now? How about a great bargain? I'm not sure how long these will last, but I've had my eye on all these books and now's the time to grab them. All are under $3.00, but before you purchase make sure you check that the price hasn't gone up first.

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield… ONE MOMENT IN TIME CAN HAUNT YOU FOREVER...Caught up in a moment of boyhood competition, William Bellman recklessly aims his slingshot at a rook resting on a branch, killing the bird instantly. It is a small but cruel act, and is soon forgotten. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to have put the whole incident behind him. It was as if he never killed the thing at all. But rooks don’t forget . . .Years later, when a stranger mysteriously enters William’s life, his fortunes begin to turn—and the terrible and unforeseen consequences of his past indiscretion take root. In a desperate bid to save the only precious thing he has left, he enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner. Together, they found a decidedly macabre business… And Bellman & Black is born. Diane Setterfield wrote The Thirteenth Tale, another great read!  Kindle Edition for Bellman & Black is $1.99!

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion… THE ART OF LOVE IS NEVER A SCIENCE...MEET DON TILLMAN, a brilliant yet socially challenged professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. And so, in the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.

Rosie Jarman is all these things. She also is strangely beguiling, fiery, and intelligent. And while Don quickly disqualifies her as a candidate for the Wife Project, as a DNA expert Don is particularly suited to help Rosie on her own quest: identifying her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on the Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you. Kindle Edition is $1.99, so is Nook Book!

This House is Haunted by John Boyne… 1867. Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall on a dark and chilling night. As she makes her way across the station platform, a pair of invisible hands push her from behind into the path of an approaching train. She is only saved by the vigilance of a passing doctor.

When she finally arrives, shaken, at the hall she is greeted by the two children in her care, Isabella and Eustace. There are no parents, no adults at all, and no one to represent her mysterious employer. The children offer no explanation. Later that night in her room, a second terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that something is very wrong. From the moment she rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence which lives within Gaudlin’s walls. Eliza realises that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hall’s long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its past. Kindle Edition &  Nook Book are both $2.99 right now.

Weekly Recap…

*Monday, I reviewed Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala, her true life & honest account of her survival during the 2004 Tsunami in Sri Lanka. What makes this even more compelling is her heartfelt story of surviving, but losing her entire family. Click on the title to read the review. 

*Wednesday, I reviewed Tenth of December by George Saunders. It's a collection of short stories filled with the ironies of everyday life, some of which are set in a futuristic world, but all have his well known wry sense of humor and satire. Not my usual kind of reading, but I did start to enjoy them. Read my review and my thoughts by clicking on the link above.

*Friday, I reviewed Saga Vol. 1, the Romeo & Juliet space opera by Image Comics. Yes, it's a graphic novel, and it won a ton of best of mentions at the end of 2013. And after reading the first volume, I know why. Great story! This is going to be a great series, so start now while there are only 3 volumes out. Read my review by clicking on the link.

*Saturday, I posted about the Release Party for Cloaked in Danger by Jeannie Ruesche… It's a party on Facebook that will have giveaways, prizes, and all sorts of fun things going on. Read all about it with the Release Party Link.

And in the "Book Blogging" world I came across an interesting opinion piece on BookRiot by Peter Damien on The Decline and Fall of the Book Reviewing Empire. It's an interesting piece on book reviewing and how the "professional" reviewer is falling by the wayside in lieu of book bloggers and friends exchanging recommendations via the internet. Let me know what you think?

Next week… a review for a book of poetry by Mary Oliver that any dog lover would like! And a review for Nora Roberts' newest historical romance, Dark Witch!

Thank you for stopping by! As always, I'd love you to share what you're reading and what books you found in your travels! So leave a comment and tell me what I need to read!

Happy reading… Suzanne