TLC Tour Stop: Now and Then by Jacqueline Sheehan

Anna O'Shea has failed at marriage, shed her job at a law firm when she and her recalcitrant nephew are summoned to the past in a manner that nearly destroys them. Her 21st Century skills pale as she struggles to find her nephew in 1844 Ireland. For one of them, the past is filled with privilege. For the other, the past is brutally difficult, filled with hunger and struggle. Will every choice that they make reverberate through time? And do Irish wolfhounds carry the souls of the ancient Celts?




My thoughts:

I jumped at the chance to read this book and then host a Tour Stop on my blog. Why? Because I had just recently finished Lost & Found and totally fell in love with the entire story and cast of characters, most especially the dog! The first thing that struck me was that Now & Then had a totally different feeling to it, right from the very first page. I found that really refreshing. Sometimes author's get stuck in a rut and one book reads like the last one, but that didn't happen here. It's really hard to paraphrase this novel because the story is complicated, but not in a bad way. It starts off in the present day, and then the next thing you know Anna and her nephew Charles get ripped from this world and find themselves in Ireland circa 1844. As you read you think to yourself, "How in the hell is the author going to make the connection here?"
I said that often but then I quit trying to figure out the WHY and just relaxed and let the story take me where it wanted. The pieces fall into place... and you begin to realize how past choices can have such a major affect on present day situations and relationships. Saying much more would really ruin the reading experience so I will end with a gentle nudge and tell you that you won't regret the time you spend reading Now & Then.......a favorite read of mine for 2009!

Favorite passage:

"Glennie was for the living. When my wife and sons died, it was Glennie who kept me from slitting me own throat, or turning to drink. She told me to honor them by living. She said the dead, the fairies, and God, all of them grow sad when we throw away the sights and smells of this life. When we sing, they sing. When we love, they love." They fell back on the blanket-covered hay. "I always knew that it would come to talk of fairies. Should we make them all happy? Will you make love with me?" she asked.

P.S. This book made me want an Irish Wolfhound!!!



Thanks again to TLC for asking me to be a part of this wonderful book tour and a huge thank you to Jacqueline Sheehan for using her talent with words to create this magical book!!

Check out other tour stops for this book here.

Library Loot- November 4

Hosted by Eva at A Stripped Armchair and Marg at Reading Adventures.
We share what we each picked up at the library during the week.

I've been working really hard at being good at the library. I really, really want to get my library loot read before it has to go back, so I've been requesting books to come to me next year, have not been "browsing" the shelves, and only picking up a book here and there. Also, I've been reducing the number of books that I request as ARCs. I love doing Book tours so I won't be worrying about those. And if you check out my other blog, Giving Books Back, you'll see that I have a lot of DNR ARCs going out this month. Please head over there and see if anything strikes your fancy!!

Here's what I brought home this week:

Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott
** I felt the need to read a sweet romantic YA book. I think this one will fit the bill, don't you?

Of course, being unknown isn't helping her get noticed by gorgeous, confident Josh, who Hannah knows is her soul mate. Between trying to figure out a way to get him to notice her, dealing with her parents, and wondering why she can't stop thinking about another guy, Finn, Hannah feels like she's going crazy. She's determined to make things work out the way she wants....only what she wants may not be what she needs.

Teaser Tuesdays and It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

~I'm currently in London with twin sisters who have just inherited their dead aunt's flat. There is a mystery here between the dead aunt and her twin (the girls' mother) that I have yet to figure out. The other people that live in the apartment building are very eccentric. This should be an interesting stay here.

Her Fearful Symmetry

_________________________________________________

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

"What?" said Valentina, alarmed.
"It just got super cold in here. Didn't you feel it?"
Valentina shook her head and said, "It's the ghost."

p. 147 from Her Fearful Symmetry

Mailbox Monday- November 2

Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Children of Dust: A Memoir of Pakistan
**courtesy of Caitlin at FSB Associates
I'm always interested in reading about someone's life in another country and this sounds fascinating!!

Ali Eteraz's Children of Dust is a spellbinding portrayal of a life that few Americans can imagine. From his schooling in a madrassa in Pakistan to his teenage years as a Muslim American in the Bible Belt, and back to Pakistan to find a pious Muslim wife, this lyrical, penetrating saga from a brilliant new literary voice captures the heart of our universal quest for identity.


How to Catch and Keep a Vampire: A Step-by-Step guide to Loving the Bad and Beautiful

** Courtesy of Sellers Publishing
In this book, she has created a road map to show readers how a vampire relationship can be achieved and conducted in harmony with everyday existence

What came for you?

Six Sentence Saturday

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.

Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads using only 6 sentences!!!!.
At the end of each review I will post a
rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.
Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!
4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.
3 of Hearts- Glad I read but no big deal
2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)



The Promised World by Lisa Tucker

I've read quite a few favorable reviews on this one that made me want to read it immediately. I'm always interested in family dramas and this book has all of that and then some. I knew right away that something wasn't right with Lila and her twin brother Billy, but it took some time before I could really figure out what their relationship was all about. I thought the writing was really strong and the story had elements of mystery that I enjoyed trying to figure out. In the end, I felt my heart going out to Lila and felt that maybe she would find some peace. However, I thought the ending was abrupt, strange, and left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
My rating:







The Elephant's Magician by Kate DiCamillo
** Because I've loved pretty much everything DiCamillo has written, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. Oh, it was so beautiful. I absolutely loved the illustrations, but I do wish they were a bit darker. The story was fantastical and filled with love, patience, longing, and having faith in your dreams. I would have to say that this comes in second behind The Adventures of Edward Tulane. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone!!!


My Rating:

Vlog Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are

I told Debi that I would consider doing a vlog and lo, behold.....I was able to talk my son into doing this!! Please disregard all of my goofy facial expressions. We had no idea what we were doing as you will be able to tell while watching this. Actually, we had a blast!! We've decided that we're going to do our movie reviews this way!!

This movie review was brought to you by Marc and Mom's Cinematic Adventure.

Library Loot-October 27th

Hosted by Eva at A Stripped Armchair and Marg at Reading Adventures.
We share what we each picked up at the library during the week.

I'm really trying to keep myself in control with the number of books I've been checking out. I hate to take back books unread, so I'm not doing as much "browsing" as I normally do. Because when i browse, books somehow JUMP into my book bag!!



The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
** Looks like I can blame Indie Books for my wanting to read this one. I do know that I've read a lot of great reviews on this one. Keep your fingers crossed that I'll actually get it read!!





The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
** I know someone out there is responsible for this one. I distinctly remember reading a great review of this and immediately put it on hold from my library. Who did it???