It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! 
As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.

It's been a pretty good reading week. Though I am behind on my book clubs first book choice: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. 

We are meeting this weekend for our first book club review (Squeeel!!) and I just started reading it a couple nights ago (gulp). It's 396 pages long (a few pages are pictures though...) I am hoping if I read about 50 pages a day...I should be done by Sunday... 
*fingers crossed* 
On that note, since it is my job to keep up with our clubs blog page so I should have it up around Wednesday.
Anyway, I somewhat recently read Shadow Cay by Leona Bodie (review here)

As well as The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher (review here)

 Also, The Illusion of Certainty by Greg Messel (review here)

 So, besides reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, I am planning on at least starting on Daddy's Home by A.K. Alexander

I am definitely a book cover snob and this one looks good:)) 
That's what I have planned for the week..let's see how it pans out!
Hope everyone had a great weekend and hope you all have a wonderful reading week with coffee :))

Shadow Cay by Leona Bodie REVIEW

An instant hook thriller when paradise becomes a life-and-death nightmare. Already reeling from a rash of maritime disasters, a war and international terrorists, vigilante Madeleine Nesbitt and amateur detective Peter Duncan are destined for even darker days when they investigate the man with no conscience behind the world's most profitable enterprise. They find themselves in a sea of corruption, deception and lies.


This was a three in one story, like a triangle they all had their own story that became part of the big picture. An older man by the name of Claude Pelletier whose wife had left him; He was on his boat  near the Chub Cay, on the northeastern fringe of Great Bahama Bank. He was depressed as well as drunk. He hit his head and passed out. Shortly after he woke up he heard foot steps, he had intruders. That was the start of his danger...
A young girl that has premonitions of sorts, sees images of this all happening.
She is born with a small red patch of skin that her parents are at first not concerned with but over time as it grows and changes color they express their concern to her doctor who is not the least but concerned. It then gets to the point that the doctor says he cannot operate on it due to the size. She has heart murmurs. Her heart is working at it's limit and sending all the blood to this tumor on the back of her head. She is losing weight. The doctors say that because the tumor is too big to operate on and her heart murmur and her being underweight; her survival chance is not looking good. Then a miracle happens. There is a doctor who speciallizes in what she needs. He does the operation and all is well. Her close friend Rollo, who found the doctor and is like a grandfather to Madeline takes her onto a ferry for a trip. Tragedy strikes but Madeline makes it by the skin of her teeth.
Rico, the third side of the story, is a huge drug dealer of sorts. He didn't have the best mother, a prostitute who didn't hide this fact from her son. He ate rotten food and bugs to survive. His mother was murdered. He didn't feel any sadness. Then an older woman with money takes him in. Gives him a home and treats him like her own. Then one day he sees his mothers traits in her and and can't stand her. He pushes her off the balcony and kills her. Inherits all her money etc. He is cold and mean hearted and selfish.
I was really looking forward to reading this book. It sounded really good with all the suspense and thrill and murder. But I found it hard to get into. The multistory line was hard for me to follow. I did enjoy each storyline and sympathized with all three main characters. Even Rico. At the same time though, I wanted to pull a Gibbs on Rico and smack him upside his head and shake some sense into him. He is smart enough to get an education (after killing the woman that took him in and let all she had to him) but dumped it all making a career out of drugs. This was a good book I just wish it were a bit easier to follow and not so hard to get into. I would recommend this book, though. Especially if you like and/or can follow multi story line books.
Leona Bodie is a good writer. I enjoyed her writing style and how Madeline developed through the book. I had a hard time with the book because of there being more than one or two story-lines but I wouldn't not recommend this book.

I received this book from Pump Up Your Book for review

The Illusion of Certainty by Greg Messel REVIEW

"The Illusion of Certainty" follows two parallel story lines. Marc is a successful businessman who seems to have everything-a great job, a beautiful wife, a house in an upscale neighborhood of Portland, Oregon and two great kids who are preparing for college. But something is not right. Marc is unsettled by the sudden change in his wife, Aimee, who seems distant and unhappy. What is going on with her? The second storyline involves a successful young attorney Alexandra Mattson. Alex, as she is called by her friends, meets a handsome young cop, Sean, during an unexpected crisis in her neighborhood. Sean and Alex seem made for each other and begin to merge their futures in a world of uncertainty. The only certainty in life is that we will face uncertainty. Despite all of the technology and controls available in the modern world, sometimes the only comfort comes from the human touch.

This book was so good and realistic. And even though it was two story lines it was easy to follow. It starts off with Marc going on a trip to "get away from it all and clear his head" after a string of bad events happened in his life. It then jumped into the explanation to why he was going away; the string of bad events.
In the end, he realized his best friend wasn't really his best friend but his wife's lover. The same man he poured his heart out too about his marital problems on Sundays; why his wife was always so cranky and short tempered with him, why she never seemed interested anymore. How embarrassed, infuriated, hurt, betrayed, angry, confused, etc Marc must have felt when he saw Aimee and John kissing.  But before he found them kissing  he already has a job he loves and makes good money but he gets offered another great job with triple the money plus nice bonus(es). The downside? A lot of traveling. He didn't want to be away from his wife that much. But after finding out about Aimee and John it worked out perfectly for Marc.
Around the time of this first storyline is when the second storyline comes into play.
An tall attractive red headed woman name Alexandra, Alex for short is a lawyer and just recently moved to Peacock Lane, a touristy place during Christmas. As she is leaving for work one day there is a bad accident and she stops to help, that is how she meets her cute boyfriend cop, Sean. On New Years Eve, Alex and her best friend Monica Lee meet for drinks at the same Starbucks Marc is at. Marc accidentally leaves his blackberry on his table and Alex sees that and catches up with Marc and gives it to them. Of course neither of them realize this chance meeting with each other is only the beginning.  
At Alex's Christmas part, Sean proposes. And as they begin to try to merge their life together there is a lot of uncertainty.
There is so much more I want to say about this book. But I don't want to give it all away! I loved reading this book; partly because it is a bit challenging for me to read a book with more than one storyline going on and me not get lost and confused. But the author did an excellent job and I truly had a hard time putting this book down. I also think that this is a book that would be great as a movie. But I am one of those book lovers that feel that a lot of the great books I/we read should be turned into a movie. I know people who hate having books turned into movie but I love it.
I also recently found out from the author that he has another book coming out in the Spring (I hope I remembered that correctly) called Expiation; Greg Messel's second novel. I personally cannot wait to read it.
I really enjoyed reading The Illusion of Certainty and recommend this to everyone out there.




I received this book for review from Pump Up Your Book

The Keeper By Suzanne Woods Fisher

(This book is part of the Stoney Ridge Seasons; also part of this series is The Haven)

Julia Lapp has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. When Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding—again—she knows who is to blame. Perpetual bachelor and spreader of cold feet, Roman Troyer, the Bee Man.
Roamin' Roman travels through the Amish communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania with his hives full of bees, renting them out to farmers in need of pollinators. He relishes his nomadic life, which keeps him from thinking about all he has lost. He especially enjoys bringing his bees to Stoney Ridge each year. But with Julia on a mission to punish him for inspiring Paul's cold feet, the Lapp farm is looking decidedly less pleasant.
Can Julia secure the future she's always dreamed of? Or does God have something else in mind?
Full of the plot twists and surprises her fans love, The Keeper is the first in a new series by bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher. Through touching family relationships and trials of the heart, Fisher's vivid characters grapple with yielding to God's will when it doesn't match their own.


I just recently got into the "Amish style books" for lack of a better term; When I was younger I could never get into books themed in the Amish lifestyle but I have begun to find it a fun read and interesting topic to discuss and learn about. And this book is a great example as to why I have begun reading more of these type of books. And like any other book, or most books you begin to like this character more than another character, you really don't like that character, etc. I say this because almost right off the bat I didn't like Julia or Paul Fisher. Julia seemed to be basing her happiness on marrying Paul. I do give sympathy and do understand being emotional when your fiance postpones the wedding (even if it is a valid reason); but when he does it twice, for a grey area reason and gives "i don't know's for answers, red flag girl! Break off the wedding and go your separate ways. That was a big turn off for me. I was always taught that you need to learn to be happy on your own before you get into a relationship. That you cannot depend on a man to keep you happy.
I didn't like Paul because he seemed too impressionable by other family (mainly his mother) and friends opinions. It seemed impossible for him to make a choice or decision on his own. Yes you should take the opinions of those you trust the most seriously but you are the one to make the final choice at the end. He didn't have enough backbone for me. He did seem very sweet and kind, and he seemed to truly care for Julia but he didn't seem to be ready for marriage-especially to Julia.
Uncle Hank bugged me too, he seemed very self involved and didn't seem to care that one of the main reasons why Paul "postponed" the wedding-again, was because of his stint almost a month ago.  Uncle Hanks feelings were pretty much "oh well, you're better off"...which may be true, but show a little compassion!
I do like Julia's siblings. They were very sweet, funny, caring and thoughtful.

I love how the author brought the characters to life, brought realism to the character not just words on a page. The siblings in the book were very realistic, I grew up with one younger sister and two older and I could see siblings doing and/or saying what they did. At times I felt she got a bit wordy but she holds your attention throughout the entire book. And since I found out this book IS part of a series I definitely am going to keep my eyes open for the rest of the books. I really enjoyed her writing style and look forward to reading more of her books:)

I received this book for review from LitFuse