Sunday Post/Mailbox Monday May 24, 2020: May The Force Be With You 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…
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….

Good morning, Happy Memorial Day Weekend. I hope you are doing well. May has come and is nearly gone so quickly. We’ve had a stretch of nice weather here which is supposed to continue with this upcoming week. It has been really nice in the 60’s and 70’s.

Today marks day 63 of Quarantine. The governor has eased restrictions here just in time for Memorial Day weekend and I think it’s a little too soon so we are still home. On Friday during my lunch hour we took a drive out and passed by the local state park near home which has been re-opened. Already around noon there were alot of people walking and biking in the park and I only noticed 2 people wearing masks as we drove through. I also noticed with the amount of people walking around that most were not social distancing as they passed by each other closely. We didn’t get out of the car but I was surprised almost no one had masks on when the entrance rules clearly state please wear a mask when visiting. I hope cases don’t spike in upcoming weeks but I find it incredible how some people are very lax about this whole thing.

Well, that’s enough of that…I had a good week and I am grateful. I baked Nutella cookies using a co-worker’s recipe. They are delicious and have a soft cake-like texture. Interestingly enough the recipe calls for ricotta cheese but you don’t taste it. They were a big hit here at home so I am going to make another batch soon.

onto my weekly updates…..

Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde

source: free ARC via Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing
title: Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde
published: May 19th 2020
genre: fiction
pages: 300
first line: It started that day with just the normal levels of my mother driving me crazy.
rated: 4 out of 5 stars

blurb:
Brooke is a divorced single mom, financially strapped, living with her mother, and holding tight to the one thing that matters most: her two-year-old daughter, Etta. Then, in a matter of seconds, Brooke’s life is shattered when she’s carjacked. Helpless and terrified, all Brooke can do is watch as Etta, still strapped in her seat, disappears into the Los Angeles night.

Miles away, Etta is found by Molly, a homeless teen who is all too used to darkness. Thrown away by her parents, and with a future as stable as the wooden crate she calls home, Molly survives day to day by her wits. As unpredictable as her life is, she’s stunned to find Etta, abandoned and alone. Shielding the little girl from more than the elements, Molly must put herself in harm’s way to protect a child as lost as she is.

Out of one terrible moment, Brooke’s and Molly’s desperate paths converge and an unlikely friendship across generations and circumstances is formed. With it, Brooke and Molly will come to discover that what’s lost—and what’s found—can change in a heartbeat.

my thoughts:
If you want to read an emotional story revolving around important issues that will pull at your heartstrings may I suggest Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

As the story starts off Brooke is a 30 something divorced single mom living with her mother and 2 year old daughter Etta. Brooke takes Etta out one evening to the movies when she is carjacked and dragged out of the car. The carjacker proceeds to speed off with baby Etta still in her car-seat. A mother’s worst nightmare right?

Author Guest Post and Giveaway: Girls Like Us by Elizabeth Hazen

 

Good morning everyone. Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth Hazen as she stops by today to chat. There is also a link towards the end of the post to where you can enter to win a copy of her book. But first, here are the details about her latest collection, Girls Like Us….

Book Synopsis:

Girls Like Us is packed with fierce, eloquent, and deeply intelligent poetry focused on female identity and the contradictory personas women are expected to embody. The women in these poems sometimes fear and sometimes knowingly provoke the male gaze. At times, they try to reconcile themselves to the violence that such attentions may bring; at others, they actively defy it. Hazen’s insights into the conflict between desire and wholeness, between self and self-destruction, are harrowing and wise. The predicaments confronted in Girls Like Us are age-old and universal—but in our current era, Hazen’s work has a particular weight, power, and value.

Sunday Post/Mailbox Monday May 17, 2020: Book updates, crochet and still staying home

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…
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….

Good morning and I hope this post finds you safe and well. I hope the moms had a nice Mother’s Day last Sunday. I had a really nice one at home with my family and was spoiled with these thoughtful presents, all of which were ordered online….

I dropped a homemade cake for my mom and a pink rose-bush I ordered online for her garden and we chatted through her window a little. It’s sad but I’m also grateful. Our stay-at home order was extended another 30 days from the May date so we’re inside until June. I’m still working from home until then at least which I’m fine with. Today marks day 56 of quarantine. My indoor allergies have gotten bad so I had a virtual visit with my allergist last week which was interesting. I feel that will be the norm for a while.

onto my bookish updates…

Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters by Jennifer Chiaverini

source: free ARC via NetGalley / Harper Collins
title: Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters
author: Jennifer Chiaverini
genre: historical fiction
published: June 2, 2020
pages: 352
first line: A whimsical breeze rustled the paper beneath Elizabeth’s pen as she wrote in the garden, but she held the sheet firmly against the table with her left hand and it was not carried aloft.
rated: 5 out of 5 stars

blurb:
The New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker returns to her most famous heroine, Mary Todd Lincoln, in this compelling story of love, loss, and sisterhood rich with history and suspense.

In May 1875, Elizabeth Todd Edwards reels from news that her younger sister Mary, former First Lady and widow of President Abraham Lincoln, has attempted suicide.

Mary’s shocking act followed legal proceedings arranged by her eldest and only surviving son that declared her legally insane. Although they have long been estranged, Elizabeth knows Mary’s tenuous mental health has deteriorated through decades of trauma and loss. Yet is her suicide attempt truly the impulse of a deranged mind, or the desperate act of a sane woman terrified to be committed to an asylum? And—if her sisters can put past grievances aside—is their love powerful enough to save her?

Maternal Elizabeth, peacemaker Frances, envious Ann, and much adored Emilie had always turned to one another in times of joy and heartache, first as children, and later as young wives and mothers. But when Civil War erupted, the conflict that divided a nation shattered their family. The Todd sisters’s fates were bound to their husbands’ choices as some joined the Lincoln administration, others the Confederate Army.

Now, though discord and tragedy have strained their bonds, Elizabeth knows they must come together as sisters to help Mary in her most desperate hour.

my thoughts:
I loved Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters by Jennifer Chiaverini and found myself immersed in the story-line while reading.

As Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters begins, Elizabeth Todd Edwards receives the news that her estranged sister Mary Todd Lincoln has been declared legally insane and is being committed to a mental institution after attempting suicide.