Sunday Summary: 26 April 2015

I'm really late in preparing and posting this week's Sunday Summary. I normally use Saturday to pull this post together and at the last minute, I decided to participate in the semi-annual Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. Twenty-four hours of reading starting at 7am, Central US time. I didn't make it for the whole 24 hours, but I tried very hard to eliminate all other activities. So, after sleeping late this Sunday morning, I sat down to write a few thoughts about the books I read this week.

Where I've been reading

At last I got to spend a week at home. No travel for business or for pleasure. Just seven straight days in my own house and sleeping in my own bed every night.

 

What I've been reading: Completed this week

Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from library via Freading.com
Completed: 19 April

★★★☆☆

Twenty years ago, Marion Chesney wrote a series of short Regency Romances which were more comedic that romantic. Sir Philips's Folly is the fourth of the six books comprising The Poor Relations. A small group of down-on-their-luck members of noble families band together to open a hotel. Looked down upon by their aristocratic families, they are nevertheless a success, attracting the wealthy and well-known as guests in their exclusive hotel.

Sir Philip Sommerville, one of the owners of The Poor Relation Hotel, has become enamored with a coarse and crude woman and moved her into the hotel. His partners strive to find some way to displace her as she's eating them out of house and home and running off the paying customers with her crass behavior. While they are trying to separate Sir Philip from Mrs. Budlge, they are also seeking to kindle sparks between young Arabella Carruthers and the Earl of Denby.

Format: eBook
Source: purchased from Amazon, April 2015
Completed: 19 April

★★★☆☆

Kris Longknife is the great granddaughter of Ray Longknife, King Raymond I of the United Sentients Federation. She's also an officer in the Naval forces of the United Sentients. In Kris Longknife: Daring, the ninth book in the series, Kris sets out to investigate why the Iteeche scouts probing a particular sector simply vanish.

Taking a circuitous route to the target sector, Kris encounters a hostile alien warship. All attempts at communication fail and the aliens decimate the fleet traveling with Kris. Running for their lives, Kris and company know that they need to get back to human space to sound the warning before the hostile aliens show up with guns blazing.

Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from Kindle Lending Library, February 2015
Completed: 22 April

★★★★☆

I can't believe how I reacted to A Hidden Witch. I caught myself tearing up more than once. That's not what I expected, particularly since this is the second book in Debora Geary's Modern Witch series. I thought I knew how things were going to go—wholesome stories of witches taking their talents into a modern world. Yes, wholesome. No violence with supes tearing each other apart and rampaging through city streets. But I didn't expect to feel so caught up in the [fictional] lives of these characters. Geary has created an ensemble reminiscent of Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia or Jan Karon's Mitford series—characters you can care about.

Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from the library via Freading.com
Completed: 25 April

★★★☆☆

Justice is eleven years old and her older brothers, Thomas and Levi, are identical/mirror twins. Just as their bodies are mirrors—one left-handed and the other right-handed—so are their minds. Thomas is sneaky and mean, while Levi is gentle and kind.

The entire first half of Justice and Her Brothers is a quiet recounting of not-outstanding-at-all summer days. Then things take a sharp turn to the otherly. Justice realizes that her brothers have a connection deeper than just their twin-ness. And then she begins to exhibit extrasensory powers as well.

Justice and Her Brothers isn't really a stand-alone novel. As it ends, there's no resolution to the conflict between Justice and Thomas. The trio and their neighbor Dorian form a unit bound together by their psychic powers. Justice says they are the first of many units to come and that the future will depend on this unit fulfilling its destiny. Two more books make up the Justice Trilogy and I'll be reading them soon.

What I've been reading: In progress

Really enjoying this novelization of the life and times of Genghis Khan and his descendents. Sargent's story is from the point of view of the women in his life: mother, wives, foes, and allies. Ruler of the Sky brings the world of the 13th century to life.

I will enjoy this novel all the more because of the information gleaned from Jack Weatherford's two scholarly histories of Genghis Khan and his descendents which I recently read.

With my raving about how much I enjoyed A Hidden Witch, is it surprising that I have started reading the sequel? A Reckless Witch returns to the west coast of the USA. Nell's family embraces a young orphan, Sierra, hoping to help heal the deep wounds she experienced during her years in foster care. While Sierra is a strong elemental witch, she's undisciplined and could be a danger to everyone at Witch Central.

This Week on the Blog

1. The Return of Dewey's Read-a-thon
2. Stacking the Shelves (29)
3. Dewey Progress after 3 hours
4. Dewey Update #2
5. Dewey Update #3
6. Dewey Updated #4

 

As usual, I'm linking up with The Sunday Post, hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on the blog, showcase books and things received. Share news about what is coming up on the blog for the week ahead.

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