"Under a Painted Sky" by Stacy Lee

Under a Painted Sky by Stacy Lee is about a young girl named Samantha in 1849.  She longs to move back to New York to be a professional musician.  When a tragic accident takes her father’s life and then another problem comes to her, she is forced to go to the frontier with the help of a runaway slave named Anna Mae. 

I liked the action in this book.  Its been a long time since I read a book about the Old West so I enjoyed it.  I liked the two girls very much—well worth reading!  

 (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesdays: 3 Today

Gerard's:
  
"I don't know; it's like you're not you.  You're alsways so fidgety, and you're late all the time and you never used to be.

From page 112 of Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova. (Click link for our review)

I wipe my eyes at this sobering thought.  My father is dead, my home destroyed, and I just killed a man--at least, that's what they will believe.

From page 19 of Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee.


Karen's: 

"How did you travel all the way from Gastineux to marry a toad you didn't love?"

          "Your father is not a toad," my mother said sternly."

 From page 10 of The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.


Happy Reading!

"Rites of Passage" by Joy N. Hensley

Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley is about Sam McKenna, the only teenage daughter in a military family who is one of 5 girls who are the first to enroll in Denmark Military Academy.  She wants to please her dad and takes her brother's dare.  Once there, she finds it is even worse than she expected but is determined to stick it out for the year.

This book has a lot of military training included to show how tough this girl is and how her Corporal does just about everything he can think of to get her to quit.  If you are not interested in military-type books, this one is not for you.  I liked it though but thought Sam McKenna was nuts for trying to break into the all-boys military school and put herself through that, risking her life!  The bright spot during her year there at the school was her drill sergeant.  I liked the ending because it was pretty good and realistic. 
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Daughter--How well do you really know your family? by Jane Shemilt

The Daughter by Jane Shemilt is told by Jenny, a famous doctor.  One day her youngest daughter, Naomi, does not come home from a school play.  Did she meet with foul play or did she just run off?  As the days go by, Jenny's marriage and family begin to crumble around her.

This book goes from the now then one year later.  Most of the time I do not have a problem with this, but in this book I did.  The now was so good I hated when it skipped ahead.  Some people had trouble with the ending, but it did not bother me that much.   All that being said, I still give it 4 stars based on the strength of the story.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesdays

Gerard's:
  
I sprint like I can outrun what I've done to Gisa, how I've failed Kilorn, how I've destroyed everything.  But even I can't outrun the look in my mother's eyes when I brought Gisa to the door.

From page 42 of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. (Click link for our review)

I longed to be that little boy in her care.  No, I wanted to tell her.  I'm not okay.

From page 12 of Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger (click link to see my review)

Cancer was keeping me from doing the thing I love.  Freakin' cancer.

 From page 20 of Every day I Fight by Stuart Scott with Larry Platt.  (click link to see my review)

Karen's: 

They're the cadets who will train me, the people who will make me part of a unit with my other platoon members--sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds.  And each and every one of them tells me to leave.

 From page 24 of Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.


Happy Reading!

Top 10 Books that Influenced Me Most

Have you read any of these? I found this tag on Booktube and thought it was a good one because it is easy and I enjoyed seeing what others had for their most influential books.  Since I put in the effort to make this, I thought I should post it here as well.

Feel free to write a blog post or do a video on 10 books that influenced you most and please share your link in the comments below so I can find it!  If you are interested in any of these, I believe I have reviews of them all on this blog.  Just use the search box in the upper left corner to find them.
    
Happy Reading!

"Every Day I Fight" by Stuart Scott with Larry Platt

Every Day I Fight by Stuart Scott with Larry Platt is the true story of Stuart Scott's fight with Cancer.  Stuart worked as an anchor on E.S.P.N.  He was one of my favorites and I always enjoyed hearing what he had to say.  He made it fun, not just giving the scores and highlights.  The second part of the book when he finds out he has Cancer and how he and his family deal with it is what makes this book so good.  He pulls no punches and tells it like it is, just like he did on E.S.P.N. 

I felt like I lost a friend when he passed away.  There will not be another one like him!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Finding Jake" by Bryan Reardon is Very Good!

In Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon, Simon Connelly's wife goes to her law office every day leaving Simon to look after their two kids:  Laney, their daughter, and Jake, their son.  Things are going okay until one day Simon gets a message that shots have been fired at the school his kids attend.  Laney is okay and reunites with her mom and dad, but they can't find Jake.  Simon looks for him and so do the cops.

Wow!  Finding Jake is Great!  The suspense mounts and continues to a fantastic ending!  This book is memorable, I won't soon forget it.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars) 

Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon is about a stay-at-home dad whose son is missing after shots were fired at his school.  Through flashbacks, the reader learns about various incidents in Jake's life and how the dad seemed to doubt his parenting skills.

I liked this book because I was never sure if Jake was a shooter at the school too or what happened to him.  I felt for the parents when kids and other parents were re-united after the shooting, but Jake was missing.  I could have done with less flashbacks, but they served to show Jake's character and how the dad raised him.  I liked the ending and think anyone who likes books about missing kids or family stories would like this.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Crazy Love You" by Lisa Unger

Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger is about Ian, a writer of comic books.  He has a real good series called "Fatboy and Priss."  Ian is a bit of a loner, but then he gets his act together and finds the love of his life.  One problem with that is that Priss is not happy about it, and when Priss is not happy, bad things happen.  This a a very good psychological book.  It kept me turning pages and I really loved the ending chapter.  It even had the name of one of our cats in it--Spunky Doodle (the tuxedo cat) even though it didn't have much of a role.  How cool is that! 
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The 100 Homecoming" by Kass Morgan

The 100 Homecoming by Kass Morgan is a teen book that is the third of a series.  I think it was a mistake to read this one first because I didn’t feel a connection with any of the characters.  I focused on three couples:  Wells and Sasha, Bellamy and Clarke, and Luke and Glass.  The 100 were juvenile delinquents that were sent back to earth to see if they could survive.  Not too long after they arrived, more colonists from the planet in outer space made a crash landing.  Many were killed but some lived and were brought into The 100’s camp.  On earth, there were friendly Earthborns and dangerous Earthborns. 

This was okay but I was glad to get to the end and move on to something else.  It was about courage, love, friendship and survival with the groups fighting against each other along the way to provide some excitement.  I would recommend you read the series in order though and not read this book until you have read the first two.  There is a TV show about this book, but I haven't watched it so can't really compare the book to it.

(Karen's review, 3 stars)

 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesdays: 3 Today

Gerard's:

I sacrificed it, for you.  It was too late for me, by the time you were back on your feet.

From page 21 of RUN by Andrew Grant (click link to see my review)

Then I see her eyes.  they are the eyes of a ghost, a shell of a human.

 From page 27 of Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon. 

Karen's: 

The rage that had consumed her that day felt strangely distant now.  Although her parents had certainly been betrayed, they were alive.

 From page 40 of The 100 Homecoming by Kass Morgan.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.

Happy Reading!

"RUN" by Andrew Grant

Marc Bowman is a sought after consultant and a software designer who has a job at a major tech company that his wife works at too.  Life is good.  Monday comes and he is surprised when he is let go, but that turns out to be the least of his problems.

RUN by Andrew Grant is a wild ride!  Marc finds trouble at every turn and things go from bad to worse!  I loved the action in this book and it is full of surprises!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"FOUR" by Veronica Roth

FOUR—A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth is written from FOUR’s perspective and gives his background and view on things.  It’s been quite a while since I finished reading the Divergent series so It was enjoyable to read this book for me.  It brought back lots of good memories.  My favorite part of this book was reading about FOUR’s initiation into Dauntless.  Also, this book gave me a greater appreciation for the Abnegation faction.  I recommend this to anyone who has finished the series:  Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant.  
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!