Mailbox Monday 5/29/17

Mailbox Monday  is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~Joseph Campbell

Happy Memorial Day. I haven’t done a Mailbox Monday post since last year? What?! It is a rainy Monday here and how nice to be at home relaxing enjoying an extra day off. I wish I could always have Mondays off from work, more reading and crocheting time. 🙂
Here are my latest book acquisitions…

I purchased an e-copy of A Night to Surrender (Spindle Cove 1) by Tessa Dare. I’ve read two books in this series and I enjoy this author’s work so I am looking forward to this one.

Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: the bookish, the shy, the heartbroken or misunderstood. It’s a haven for young women who don’t quite fit in.

Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn’t belong here. So far as he can tell, there’s nothing in this village but spinsters and sheep. But he has orders to gather a militia. It’s a simple mission, made complicated by the spirited, exquisite Susanna Finch–a woman who is determined to save her ladies’ refuge from the invasion of Bram’s makeshift army.

The last thing either of them expects is a powerful attraction. Much less explosive passion…

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Sunday Post 5/28/17 Still dreaming of Van Gogh in NYC etc.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog…

Happy Sunday. It is a nice three day weekend as we celebrate Memorial Day here in the US. That picture above is of my all time favorite paintings, by Vincent van Gogh, “The Starry Night“. I went into NYC yesterday to see it at the MOMA. I went in specifically to see Van Gogh and I definitely enjoyed my trip to the museum. It was my first time going to this one because whenever I go into the city for a museum trip, I always go to the Met, that is my absolute favorite. There was a little crowd gathered around The Starry Night but my son and I managed to take a selfie with it anyway…lol. I will be printing that one out and hanging it in my cubicle at work. 🙂

Sunset in Central Park (From Manhattan with Love #2) by Sarah Morgan

I am an Amazon affiliate.
source: Free copy via AmazonVine
title: Sunset in Central Park (From Manhattan with Love #2)
author: Sarah Morgan Twitter
first line: She’d expected hearts, flowers and smiles.
published: 2016
pages: 375
rated: 3 1/2 out of 5

blurb:
In the chaos of New York, true love can be hard to find, even when it’s been right under your nose all along…

Love has never been a priority for garden designer Frankie Cole. After witnessing the fallout of her parents’ divorce, she’s seen the devastation an overload of emotion can cause. The only man she feels comfortable with is her friend Matt—but that’s strictly platonic. If only she found it easier to ignore the way he makes her heart race…

Matt Walker has loved Frankie for years but, sensing how fragile she is beneath her feisty exterior, has always played it cool. But then he uncovers new depths to the girl he’s known forever and doesn’t want to wait a moment longer. He knows Frankie has secrets and has buried them deep, but can Matt persuade her to trust him with her heart and kiss him under the Manhattan sunset?

my thoughts:
I have a tendency to read books that are not first in series, I did it again with Sunset in Central Park (From Manhattan with Love #2). I do it unintentionally. Thankfully Sunset in Central Park is a stand alone read in author Sara Morgan’s From Manhattan With Love series. I love New York and romance is one of my favorite if not favorite genres, so this one grabbed my attention.

Frankie Cole and her two girlfriends Paige and Eva run their own event planning business called Urban Genie. Frankie specializes in floral arrangements. This second book centers around close friends Frankie and Matt. I liked Frankie’s character from the start. She’s bookish really bookish, like you and I if you’re reading this right now.

May 23 Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads Featuring Complicated Romantic Relationships

I know it seems like all I post are memes lately, I swear I have reviews coming up soon too. This week’s TTT is a Summer Reads Freebie. I really enjoy reading outside during the summer months and my favorite beach reads are ones that hook me from the start. During the summer especially with the nice weather beckoning, there are other things that will grab my attention if the book I’m reading isn’t a real page turner.

What is better than a complicated love story? Love is never easy so it seems more realistic when its that way in books too. It feels like the characters earn their relationships in a way, if they have to struggle and fight to stay together against the odds.

Here is my list of page turners and my hot dog legs from last summer by the lake….

Top Ten Beach Reads Featuring Complicated Romantic Relationships

1.  Letters to the Lost by Iona Gray

1943, in the ruins of Blitzed London…Stella Thorne and Dan Rosinski meet by chance and fall in love by accident. Theirs is a reluctant, unstoppable affair in which all the odds are stacked against them: she is newly married, and he is an American bomber pilot whose chance of survival is just one in five…He promised to love her forever. Seventy years later Dan makes one final attempt to find the girl he has never forgotten, and sends a letter to the house where they shared a brief yet perfect happiness….

Letters to the Lost became a favorite when I read it. It is both historical and contemporary romance with dual story lines. Keywords in the blurb “all the odds are stacked against them…” So good.

Sunday Post: 5/21/17 Books, my Nook and Etc.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog…

Happy Sunday. Today is my son’s birthday so it is one of my favorite days of the year. 🙂 I tend to get misty eyed when my kid’s birthday’s roll around. It feels like time is passing by so quickly.

Well, after a week of unseasonably hot weather, it has finally cooled off a little bit. I love the summer though so I can’t complain. I took the pic above at the gardens near us, I enjoy strolling through there, it is very peaceful and picturesque. There are benches here and there but people mostly throw a blanket down and just lay out.

The weather has been nice for walking my dogs also. They get so excited when I get home from work, I can barely put my things away because they are whining to go out. It seems like they have me well-trained lol.