January Book Review

January was a very book-filled month! I got through six books... almost eight, if we're being honest.. but I'll save those last two for February. Enjoy my January reads!

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon - Jamie Fraser & Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Uprising in 1746 & it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same. It is 1779 & Claire & Jamie are at last reunited with the daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser's Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible.

Yet even in the North Carolina backcountry, the effects of war are being felt. Tensions in the Colonies are great & local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell's teakettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his tenants are split & it won't be long until war it on his doorstep. Brianna & Roger have their own worry: that the dangers that provoked their escape from the twentieth century might catch up to them. Sometimes they question whether risking the perils of the 1700s - among them disease, starvation, & an impending war - was indeed the safer choice for their family.

Not so far away, young William Ransom is still coming to terms with the discovery of his true father's identity - & thus his own - & Lord John Grey has reconciliations to make, & dangers to meet... on his son's behalf & his own. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War creeps ever closer to Fraser's Ridge. And with the family finally together, Jamie & Claire have more at stake than ever before.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of five - You guys, I "read" this on Audible and it was 49 hours long. FORTY-NINE. I have to confess maybe the length affected the enjoyment of the "read". This book was; what I thought was the conclusion to the series, but it seems not. It was enjoyable to spend time with the beloved Outlander characters again, but the storyline just seemed to meander a lot... definitely far from my favorite in the series.

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo - When Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, they are blithely ignorant of all that's to come. By 2016, their four radically different daughters are each in a state of unrest: Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator-turned-stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self- doubt when the darkest part of her past resurfaces; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects. Above it all, the daughters share the lingering fear that they will never find a love quite like their parents.

As the novel moves through the tumultuous year following the arrival of Jonah Bendt - given up by one of the daughters in a closed adoption fifteen years before - we are shown the rich and varied tapestry of the Sorensons' past: years marred by adolescence, infidelity, and resentment, but also the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐of five - I absolutely loved this book! The two main characters just seemed to have a very real-to-life marriage and the story highlighted the ups and downs of the family in a way that was heartfelt and hilarious too. I really liked the author's writing style and the story she chose to tell; I absolutely recommend this book! It just felt... real. 

 

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand - Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of five - Another book that makes me want to go to Nantucket, ha-ha! This was probably my least favorite of her books that I've read so far; I believe because most of the characters didn't seem very loveable? All people have flaws but I had a hard time rooting for any one of them when it was all said and done, so maybe that's where the trouble came in? It was a good story - just not a great story! 

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden - Every day I clean the Winchesters' beautiful house from top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day.

But as I look into Andrew's handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it's hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina's life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband. I only try on one of Nina's pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it's like. But she soon finds out... and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it's far too late. 

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don't know who I really am. They don't know what I'm capable of...

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 of five - When I tell you I devoured this one; I started it on Friday and read to page fifty, then was busy all of Saturday. I picked it back up on Sunday on page 50 and finished the book by the end of the day! This story has twists and turns that I didn't expect and apparently is just the start of a series? The characters were not all necessarily loveable - but then, you needed a villain here, so that makes sense. I'll probably have to check out more of McFadden's work!

 

Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibanez - 1885, Egypt. Inez Olivera is left reeling from her cousin Elvira's murder, and her mother's betrayal, and when Tio Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she's left with only one option to consider. Marriage to Whitford Hayes.

Former British soldier, her uncle's aide de camp, and one time nemesis, Whit has his own mysterious reasons for staying in Egypt. With her heart on the line, Inez might have to bind her fate to the one person whose secret plans could ruin her.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of five - This was the follow up to What the River Knows, which I read last year and really loved. While this book does continue the story well, it just didn't have quite the same pizazz as the first book. I did like how the story wrapped up, but I wish it had been just a little more... interesting?

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall - When Theodora Scott met Connor - wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family - she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he's brought her to Idlewood, his family's isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives. Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can't ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.

Theo has no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of five - A twisty, turny thriller that I really enjoyed! The premise is interesting and the way the story is told, everything unravels slowly toward the thrilling - and honestly, to me - surprising conclusion. I realized after the fact that I've read Marshall's books before, so I think she's another artist I really like.

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I'm currently almost done with two additional books - one on Audible and one I'm reading via paperback - but I'll save those for February since I haven't quite wrapped either one up! 

Mostly Cat Pictures!

I started this on Wednesday, now it's Friday and I give you mostly cat pictures - because the last week and a half has been a ride. After Ryan recovered from norovirus and we spent the weekend in Fredericksburg, the norovirus came back to our house and came for me this time. Y'all - it was not pleasant, and that's putting it mildly. I have been sick with some sort of stomach-related illness for what feels like half the month and I am ready to be done with all this seasonal silliness.

The weather has been pretty brutally cold the last week or so - we are currently sitting at a temperature of six. That's right, one digit. It's six but it feels like -1... and when I woke up, it was zero. Yikes! So very thankful for a warm home and an even warmer bed to sleep in - it's always sad to have to crawl out into the cold to face the morning, ha-ha! The two little furballs keep themselves toasty and warm with no problem; please look at Maverick just sitting on top of Spook on the hammock... whatever works.

One of the things I did do that doesn't involve being sick (not really) was that I attempted my first Lego set and made myself some succulents! I was going a little nuts after two days of sickness and since I was finally feeling a little more human, I sat down with my Lego set and got to building. As you can see, Spook served as the supervisor on the project; inspecting some of the pieces and perusing the box to make sure what I was creating match up to the pictures, ha-ha!

I think it turned out pretty well and the cats haven't destroyed my masterpiece... yet... I am still on the fence about leaving it at the house or bringing it to work where I can display it, ha-ha! We are trying to declutter our house some this weekend, so maybe it will end up tagging along to the office with me to find a pride of place on my desk. We shall see. Now I want to do more Legos though.

Can you guess which of the kittens is intently focused on us eating our dinner and which one could care less and is just living his life? Ha! It's pretty obvious, huh? Maverick is definitely our foodie and will try to sample a bite of anything and everything that's placed anywhere near him. 

We had our second snowfall/snowstorm - however you want to phrase it - last weekend. It started snowing shortly after 8 AM on Sunday and just snowed all day long, adding another 3-6 inches to what we already had in the backyard. The cats are pretty fascinated by watching the snow and they also love watching the birds that come right up to our back door to tap at the bird seed in the snow. It keeps them entertained and we love hearing their little "chirps" that they make at the birds.

The snowfall was really beautiful - but it was followed by a polar vortex; our temperatures got into the negative digits a couple times and during the day it was the kind of cold where it hurts to take a deep breath. Thankfully, it's starting to creep back toward a temperature that is less deep freezer and more chilly breeze. Here's hoping Spring comes early this year? Hehehe... don't we say that every year?

A Weekend in Fredericksburg

What a wonderful weekend the second weekend in January was! A little background; mid-year last year, I reached out to some of Ryan's best friends and posed that in early January, we'd come up to Fredericksburg to celebrate Ryan's birthday and the guys could play X-Golf. Amazingly - everything worked out perfectly and the plan finally came to fruition this past weekend!

We headed for Fredericksburg on Friday evening shortly after 5:00 and since the drive is a pretty easy one, we were munching on wings at Buffalo Wild Wings in Fredericksburg by around 6:45 - which was really nice! After dinner, we checked into our B&B and then just chilled for the rest of the evening!

I have to say that I guess I must have been absolutely worn out because I was asleep before 10 PM on Friday night and when I stirred again, it was 8:35 AM on Saturday morning! I slept for over ten hours and let me tell you - it was glorious! I dropped Ryan off to meet up with his friends at X-Golf around 9:45 and then, I was on my own for the next few hours! 

I enjoyed some time sitting at Starbucks, sipping my latte and just perusing things on my phone before making my way to Ulta to use a gift card I received for Christmas. And then - it was to the mall to check out what they might have to tempt me! I ended up purchasing a red dress to wear for Valentine's Day and a really cute top from a little boutique before it was time to meet back up with the guys for lunch!

We were joined at lunch by Will's wife and daughter - Millie and Ryan continue to be the best of friends; they must have bonded at Millie's first birthday last July! After we had lunch and grabbed a group shot, Ryan and I headed to check out the mall (Ryan hadn't been) and then he wanted to check out 5.11 Tactical and use his birthday gift card! After all that shopping, we made our way into the older part of Fredericksburg to Agora Coffee Shop and Used Bookstore to grab some coffee and a cookie!

Agora was a quirky little coffee shop that also has plenty of unique gifts and used books for sale - it was a recommendation made by my Mom and I'm glad we stopped by. We also poked around some shops in the old town portion of Fredericksburg and lo and behold - Ryan discovered Washington Nationals bobbleheads on sale in one of the stores and I went a little nuts. ha-ha!

As the sun was setting, we bundled into our coats and took a quick little walk along the edge of the Rappahannock River and snapped a few pictures - but yea, when the sunshine started to disappear, so did what little warmth it was providing throughout the day! So our walk was pretty quick and then it was back to the car - where there was heat, ha-ha!

We decided for the evening, we would pop into the Costco in Fredericksburg just to see if they had anything different from our Costco... but man, I didn't realize that Costco closes at 6 PM on Saturdays! So our visit was very quick, ha-ha! And then it was off to Juicy Crab for dinner - where Ryan was in absolute heaven... as is evidenced by the pictures below.

Sunday morning we went to Strong Tower Church - one of our favorite spots in Fredericksburg - and heard a really excellent sermon by Pastor Jeffrey Smith! After a stop to visit our friend Dave, it was home to our silly cats, who seemed only slightly disgruntled that we'd left them for the weekend! Thankfully, once we gave them some treats and snuggles, they warmed right back up to us! 

We closed out the weekend watching some football - Buffalo won; they are Maverick's favorite team, and I cannot believe that the Commanders also won! What a season they've had! It's wild to think that the Super Bowl is right around the corner - it's that time of year once again! 

We had such a wonderful weekend and I'm so glad we are blessed with such wonderful friends in the great little VA town of Fredericksburg!