Friendship & Fun

Friendship & Fun

Nightstand September 19, 2016

saladoHope you all had a great weekend. I got to spend my weekend with two of my best friends. These wonderful girls and I have been friends for 30 years. We typically get to see each other a few times throughout the year and talk/email frequently but it’s always best when we actually have more time to spend together.

We met up in Salado which is somewhat half way between Austin and Dallas. We got to visit cute little boutiques, had some delicious coffee and we tried on clothes, hats, you name it. Oh and there was some wine drinking going on of course.

The best part was talking into the wee hours of the night about books, poetry, creative pursuits, travels, etc. One of my friends gifted me with Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I’m really looking forward to this book. If it wasn’t because I’m trying to finish my book for book group tomorrow, I would have already started this one.

I also took some books to share with them. I passed along The Reckoning by Jane Casey, which is from a series I really enjoy. And, I also passed along The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri, which I think was one of my favorite reads a couple of years back.

So a great weekend and we’re already looking forward to our next get together. Now, I do have to get to my book group read because I’m way behind and want to finish it or at least make some serious progress in it by tomorrow. What about you, what have you been up to?

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Three Thrillers

Three Thrillers

Book Reviews, Nightstand September 14, 2016

I’m still behind on telling you about some read so I thought I’d do another quick catch up post. This time it’s on several thrillers that I enjoyed.

missingpresumedMissing, Presumed
By Susie Steiner

When beautiful Edith Hind, a university student and daughter of a prominent family goes missing, there are few clues for DS Manon Bradshaw and her team. Keys and phone left behind and no forced entry. So what could have happened to Edith?

The investigation leads Manon to question the handsome boyfriend, the best friend and the upstanding parents. They all have alibis but as Manon digs deeper into the mystery she realizes that they all have secrets to hide.

This was more of a police procedural than a thriller but it was good and I especially liked Manon who is a bit quirky but relatable.

Source: Advance Review Copy

behindcloseddoorsBehind Closed Doors
By B.A. Paris

Jack and Grace seem to have it all. They are wealthy, handsome and charming. Surely they are the perfect couple but one of their recent acquaintances and neighbors doesn’t think that life is all that perfect. She decides to invite Grace out for lunch and to see if she can find out more about her.

Graces wishes she could meet with her new friends but Jack never lets her out of his sight. She knows that most women would find him a doting husband and such a kind one too, who cares for her disabled sister, but can they guess at the secrets that are hiding behind closed doors?

This was a great thriller and definitely kept me turning the pages. Sure there were some moments where you had to suspend belief but it still worked for me.

Source: Advance Review Copy

hostageHostage
By Kristina Ohlsson

The first pages of this thriller really grab the reader as a plane full of passengers is on its way from Stockholm to New York City and a bomb threat is discovered on the plane. The demands call for the U.S. and Swedish government to cooperate all the while knowing that time is ticking away.

Heading the Swedish investigation are Fredrika Bergman and Alex Recht. The stakes are high on such a case but for Alex it’s also personal as his son is the co-pilot. The team must find out who is making the demands and can the U.S. counterparts be trusted.

Great twists and even though it tops at 400 pages, this one flies by as you turn the pages to see what happens next.

Source: Advance Review Copy

Would love to hear what you think of these. Have you read any of them or are they on your TBR list?

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Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Nightstand September 13, 2016

toptentuesdayToday’s Top Ten Tuesday post from the Broke and Bookish is to list the Top Ten All Time Favorite books of X Genre. So, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month which begins September 15, I thought I’d devote this Top Ten Tuesday post to my favorites in Latin American fiction.

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. I also highly recommend the movie.
Love In the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I’m a big fan of GGM and second up to this novel would be his short story collection Strange Pilgrims.
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende. This was my first Allende read and I became hooked on her stories. I’ve read many of her books but my favorites are her earlier novels.
The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea. Magic and history.
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. I’ve heard of this author referred to as the father of Chicano literature.
The Years with Laura Diaz by Carlos Fuentes. If you’ve never read Fuentes, I would suggest starting with this very readable and grand story.
Loving Pedro Infante by Denise Chavez. Filled with humor and memorable characters.
Esperanza’s Box of Saints by Maria Amparo Escandon. Magical realism and a mother in search of her daughter.
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez. Stories of daughters and going back to their roots in the Dominican Republic.
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros. I loved Lala’s character and could relate to the long car trips her family made ever year to visit their extended family in Mexico.

I just realized too that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Isabel Allende, Luis Alberto Urea, Denise Chavez and Sandra Cisneros at various reading events. Wonderful storytellers.

Have you read any of these books? I hope you’ll find a book that interests you. Let me know if you have some wonderful Latin American fiction to recommend.

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