Happy People read and drink coffee

Diane has a charmed life as a wife, a mother and the owner of a literary café in Paris called Happy People Read and Drink Coffee. But when Diane suddenly loses her beloved husband and daughter in a car accident her perfect world is shattered. Trapped and haunted by her memories, Diane withdraws from friends and family, unable and unwilling to move forward.

One year on, Diane shocks her loved ones by leaving Paris to move to a small town on the Irish coast to rebuild her life alone. There she meets Edward, a brooding, handsome photographer who lives next door. Initially Edward resents Diane’s intrusion into his solitary life, but before long they find themselves drawn to each other . . .

My thoughts:

This was a short emotional read. Diane is a wreck, it has been a year since she lost her husband and child. Her business, a cafe´-bookstore is falling to pieces (yes maybe not trust your partner to hold the reins). But then again she does not care about anything. And I understand, her life fell to pieces. It's hard to pick yourself up again and start living.

So she goes to Ireland. Awww, awesome choice there. I would love to visit Ireland and it was amusing when she saw the differences between Parisians and the Irish. Also she sure felt French with her love of ciggies, and thinking of wine. 

The book is her trying to live again, to find the will to live and it really is about her. Yes she meets other people, but this is someone who is trying to find something inside of herself that tells her that life can be worth living.

The blurb tells about a man, and yes there is an annoying man that she gets to know. But this is not a romance, and do not expect a romance. A man can not cure something she has to find out for herself. New love is not always the answer to everything. Life is not always that simple. But it was a nice turn of events cos that man was grumpy! So very grumpy, and his grumpiness makes her mad. And any feeling at this point is a good feeling.

Conclusion:
It was short and nice. I enjoyed it.

Cover
Nice

Paperback, 272 pages
Published June 1st 2016 by Allen & Unwin (first published December 2012)
Original Title: Les gens heureux lisent et boivent du café
Fiction
For review

Joint Discussion: The lady and the unicorn

Happy February everyone! This month we read "The Lady and the Unicorn". Carole is in purple and Blodeuedd is in green. 

Author: Tracy Chevalier

Title: The Lady and the Unicorn

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 250

First Published: 2003

Where I Got It: On my Shelf (Used Book Store)

The Lady and the Unicorn is Tracy Chevalier’s answer to the mystery behind one of the art world’s great masterpieces—a set of bewitching medieval tapestries that hangs today in the Cluny Museum in Paris. They appear to portray the seduction of a unicorn, but the story behind their making is unknown—until now.

Paris, 1490.  A shrewd French nobleman commissions six lavish tapestries celebrating his rising status at Court. He hires the charismatic, arrogant, sublimely talented Nicolas des Innocents to design them. Nicolas creates havoc among the women in the house—mother and daughter, servant, and lady-in-waiting—before taking his designs north to the Brussels workshop where the tapestries are to be woven. There, master weaver Georges de la Chapelle risks everything he has to finish the tapestries—his finest, most intricate work—on time for his exacting French client. The results change all their lives—lives that have been captured in the tapestries, for those who know where to look.

Well...this was an interesting choice of mine. LOL

I have a feeling you liked it less than I did?

I’m not sure...I’m still mixed on my feelings. It was interesting.

I get that. I enjoyed it, it was an interesting setting, but I did have issues with almost everyone.

Yes, that is prolly where my issue lies. Even the ONE character I liked turned out to be, well, not...likable anymore. Super shame. Alinor, the blind girl, did something and made me dislike her. I did end up liking poor Phillipe...I just felt bad for him and I applaud what he did (good intentions and all), but poor guy.

Told ya! ;) Phillipe, yes he was a good guy, but not memorable. If I have to pick someone it would be Marie-Celeste, sure she was a silly thing, but I liked how she turned the table later on. She at least felt human, the rest felt like idiots.

She wasn’t bad. But everyone was an idiot in their own right. It annoyed me. LOL

Mostly I hated that stupid stupid stupid man. Arghhh Nicholas. Grrrrr

Gah! He needed a good kick in the arse or the other thing. He was like a poison. Every time he showed up there was something bad happening. King of the idiots.

I also did not get how all women were so stupid to fall for his BS. I mean honestly! It was like they all were horny and had not seen a man for years.

Hahaha well...I mean it was the 1400s and so everyone was super horny. So not entirely their fault. Especially the women...the only men they see are family members and stinky ones like that Jacques guy (or whatever his name was).

True and I can forgive Marie for it, but the girls, they should have known better. They would not get married like that. Stay in a convent for the rest of your life then. That stupid chit Claude I did not get at all. Also that scene when they looked at drawings, I am sure I have read that somewhere else too. It just did not feel like something she would do. It was like she had gone insane.

Maybe she was insane. I batted that idea from the beginning. She was something else. Speaking of that...what did you think of the ending? It felt so flat to me...the “big” reveal of the tapestry was lacking. I think the author got sucked up in the dramas of her characters and kinda forgot about what the tapestry that was supposed the be the centralized point of the whole story. Maybe it’s just me, but yeah….

Let’s go with insane. That fits. The rest were normal, but what she did, eh, she was in LUST. And yes I get what you mean. It was all, look we have a tapestry, whatever. It did feel like she forgot about her tapestry, and that was the whole thread throughout the book. If I am not wrong and the thread was how many women Nicholas could do.

Crazy Claude is her new name. But yes, thank goodness I am not Crazy Carole, but I felt the ending lacking. Even the epilogue didn’t mention it. Haha. But I do love drama, so it was entertaining to watch everyone messing around and ruining their lives because they are too stupid to realize what they are doing is a BAD thing. Like Alinor...exhibit A.

It was good for the drama for sure. And did you not have the notes at the back? Where it said that Claude got it and then they found it in the 19th century or something?

No I didn’t! I just got the “So and so had 500 babies”, “So and so died alone”, and etc. D:

Huh, weird. Yes Claude got it, then her husband’s family. Then they found it in a castle later on and it was cut up by peasants ;) But they fixed it

*flips through pages in book* OOOH okay, I guess I missed that!!!! Weird...I think it was because it was on the back page of the epilogue page. Hahaha. I retract my statement then!

Always check the end fellow readers ;)

I think I was over it and didn’t even care at that point. For some reason I stayed up SUPER late finishing it because I HAD TO know what was going to happen next with our little cast of morons.

Oh, I was not THAT into it. I was more or less reading it in peace and quiet, taking a nap, reading on. It was good, never amazing. But something saved it and made it good even if everyone deserved to get a slap in the face.

I really didn’t get into it until the thing with my previous favorite character happened. I was all, “NOOOOOO!” And I had to read on.

I never did get if that character really wanted it, or if it was a way out of another mess.

Honestly, I think she was convinced that was the only way to get out of that stinky mess. I mean….it worked in the long run in her favor….but yeah.

I should have been clearer, it was like she suddenly lost her mind, Instead we should have seen her thoughts when she was all, yup, gonna do this cos I wont be stinky.

She did go insane, because of Doom-bringing Nicholas. Every time he showed his face something bad happened and people just lost their sanity. I blame him for everything. Heck, I bet he lied about the tapestry’s due date being changed.

Such an ass. Slimey and creepy.

He was. But it was entertaining watch him ruin everything he touched. I bet his painting SUCKED!

Ha, I am sure they did. So, any last thoughts?

Mmmmm. I’m still on the fence with my feelings. It had good things, bad things, and things I’m not even sure about. Sanity was certainly questionable.

It was good, but I wish everyone had not been insane ;)

LOL but I think it would’ve been boring ;) I’m excited for next month’s read!!! *fingers crossed*

True, but he should have been more careful where he wanted to stick his junk. You are getting no new paintings that way mister!

Omg next month!!! I hope it will be good

Agreed, agreed. Until next month?

Until next month

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in Feb 24 2017

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My week:
And winter finally came yesterday, took it long enough! Of course it will surely melt away like every other time this winter.

Sat 50 min walk

Sun 30 min walk. 2 km bike

Mon 45 min water aerobics. 6 km bike, 30 min walk

Tue  30 min walk. 4 km bike

Wed  30 min walk. 7 km bike

Thu  4 km bike

Fri 4 km bike, 30 min walk

Luci is not amused

Incendium - A.D.Swanston

Summer, 1572 and England is vulnerable. Fear of plague and insurrection taint the air, and heresy, fanaticism and religious unrest seethe beneath the surface of society. Rumour and mistrust lead to imprisonment, torture and sometimes murder. To the young lawyer Christopher Radcliff and his patron and employer, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the prospects for peace are grave - and as Leicester's chief intelligencer, he is charged with investigating both the rumours of rebellion at home and invasion from abroad.

But Radcliff's own life is far from orderly. His relationship with the widow Katherine Allingham is somewhat turbulent and the cut-throat world of court politics leaves no room for indiscretions. 

That the queen's own cousin, the Duke of Norfolk, is found guilty of treason, it is a sign of just how deep the dissent goes. Jesuit priests have been sent to England in order to foment revolt but the threat of a Catholic uprising comes not just from within. Across the channel, France is caught up in a frenzy of brutal religious persecution and England's other enemy of old, Spain, is making preparations to invade. England is a powder-keg, just waiting for a spark to ignite it - and then Christopher Radcliff hears word of a plot that could provide that spark. The word is 'incendium' - but what does it mean and who lies behind it? Suddenly Christopher Radcliff is caught up in a race against time... 

My thoughts:

I have said it before, but historical mysteries really fit me. They have to work so hard to find anything, in a good way.

In this one Radcliffe, a lawyer works for the Earl of Leicester. And there is a plot afoot. Does someone want to kill the queen? Who can be trusted? Tensions between Catholics and the rest are rising. France is making moves, Spain is making moves. And Radcliffe is meant to try to figure out what is going on, and then there is the word, Incendium. 

Who was behind it. Oh I could not guess hidden players. But I enjoyed reading about it and him finding out more. His hidden agents, the help he got from the woman he loved. It does take more than just one man looking through London so solve this mystery,

The book felt light too and I read it fast, I wanted to know what would happen. Well obviously I knew what would happen, but you know, what would happen to all who I had started to like too.

Conclusion:
A good mystery, a nice little thriller. Great historical setting too.

Hardcover, 416 pages
Published February 23rd 2017 by Bantam Press
Christopher Radcliff #1
Historical mystery
For review

Carole's Wednesday Review: Daughter of a Thousand Years

Author: Amalia Carosella

Title: Daughter of a Thousand Years

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction, & Romance

Pages: ebook

Expected publication: February 21st 2017

Where I Got It: My Shelf (Given to me by the publisher/author for my honest and unbiased opinion)

Greenland, AD 1000

More than her fiery hair marks Freydís as the daughter of Erik the Red; her hot temper and fierce pride are as formidable as her Viking father’s. And so, too, is her devotion to the great god Thor, which puts her at odds with those in power—including her own brother, the zealous Leif Eriksson. Determined to forge her own path, she defies her family’s fury and clings to her dream of sailing away to live on her own terms, with or without the support of her husband.

New Hampshire, 2016

Like her Icelandic ancestors, history professor Emma Moretti is a passionate defender of Norse mythology. But in a small town steeped in traditional values, her cultural beliefs could jeopardize both her academic career and her congressman father’s reelection. Torn between public expectation and personal identity, family and faith, she must choose which to honor and which to abandon.

In a dramatic, sweeping dual narrative that spans a millennium, two women struggle against communities determined to silence them, but neither Freydís nor Emma intends to give up without a fight.

Holy drama! This was steeped in drama. Also, this also showed how times have not changed from 1000 AD to today. Religion is a huge issue that society is still dealing with. Which it really shouldn't an issue in my opinion. 

The story follows Emma is a modern girl who was raised Catholic, but it has never felt right. Things happen and her secret of being a "pagan"/"heathen" because she worships Thor and the other Norse gods is brought out to light at the worse time. She has to deal if she wants to continue living a lie or not. At the same time, in 1000 AD Freydis is hanging onto the old ways while Christianity is spreading like wildfire throughout her world. 

Honestly? I really liked Emma's story better. Strange, right!? But yes, modern Emma and her modern issues. I felt so bad for her because her ex was a jerk, her family is super Catholic, the whole community is super Catholic, she has to deal with a bitchy student, and trying to balance what she wants and what would be easy. Poor Emma. But yes, I really liked her and her story. 

Freydis was annoying. I get her issues too, but she was overly hot-headed for my liking. There times it was not really necessary. BUT it was really not her fault...her dad was bad too, plus everything is changing and she felt betrayed. Still...there were some times and situations that did not warrant her to explode. Okay...I did like her love story better than Emma's. I just might be biased because Freydis' lover is a hot Viking while Emma's lover is a PR guy....so yeah Freydis' lover is way better. ;D 

All-in-all, I really liked this book. I could hardly put it down. The two stories were really different, but very similar and it has the same morals. The two stories mixed well together. The writing was done well and I was sucked into both stories. I finished the book in a couple of sittings. 

In the end, I highly recommend this. This shall be stamped with 5 stars.

Author Interview and Giveaway: Kari Lynn Dell

Today's interview is with Kari Lynn Dell. And you can win her new book at the end :)

Welcome!

1. Tell me about yourself. 

I am really good at falling down. This might seem like an odd life skill to brag about, but living on a northern Montana ranch littered with gopher holes and rocks and frozen cow turds, it saves my butt almost every day. Literally. 

And this time of year, in addition to all of the usual hazards, there is ice. 

We live in a zone along the east slope of the Rocky Mountains known as chinook country. A chinook is a mass of warm air that rolls in on the heels of bitter cold, sending temperatures shooting up twenty, forty or even sixty degrees, from minus twenty to the mid-forties within a few hours. Chinooks are wonderful. The air turns balmy, our smiles turn sunny, and snow begins to melt, sending water running in streams and sheets around our yard and barns. 

And then it freezes. Instead of trudging through knee deep snow, we’re now skidding and slipping on solid ice, which is often conveniently disguised by the inch or two of new snow that has fallen since the last chinook. Every step is adventure. Will I slip, trip or have one foot suddenly drop out from under me into a hidden hole? Or a combination of all three?

Thanks to long and frequent practice, I’ve learned to fall with…well, maybe not style, but enough resignation to just go limp and crumple, as opposed to stiffening up and being body-slammed. And luckily, everywhere I go I have my first aid squad on hand to administer an immediate resuscitative face-licking. (photo)

2. Tell us about this book:

Tangled in Texas is a comeback story in every sense of the word. Delon is fighting to make a physical comeback from a potentially career-ending injury. Tori is struggling through the emotional comeback after her husband’s sudden death. She fled the Texas Panhandle for Wyoming and obscurity, but circumstances have forced her to come back and once again face the harsh scrutiny and crushing expectations of being a Patterson, the richest family in the Panhandle. With his rodeo career in jeopardy, Delon has come back to the family trucking business to try to find his place there, beside his bitter, estranged brother. Tori is the one physical therapist who might be able to help Delon make his rodeo comeback—six years after the disastrous end of their scorching affair. Can their love make a comeback too? Or do two such damaged halves have too little trust left to make a whole?

3. What was the inspiration behind this book? 

It all started with George Strait’s I Can Still Make Cheyenne playing on the pickup radio while we were driving to a rodeo. If you’re not familiar, it’s about a cowboy who has been dropping in and out of the woman’s life, not even bothering to call her between pitstops as he traveled the country pursuing his rodeo dream. With nothing but the monotony of the Eastern Washington plains to distract me, I began to wonder—what kind of man would treat a woman that way, and what kind of woman would let him? And what would happen if, several years older and wiser, they meet up again after life has knocked them around some? Thus, Delon and Tori were born.

4. Tell us 3 things about Delon? :)

Of all the characters I’ve written, Delon is more me than any other. He grew up in a family that is very stoic and lousy at showing their feelings (it’s not a coincidence that I’m not a hugger), but will always have your back. By most measures he’s had a successful rodeo career, but he’s never been that dominate force we all secretly dream of being, even while we pretend to be all about consistency. And I gave him my taste in music. I start every week with Metallica Monday from a hard rock station out of southern Canada, but I love Texas indie country music too. And of course, George Strait. 

Oh, yeah. I also have a shiny new blood red Dodge Charger parked out in front of the house. I blame it entirely on Delon. 

5. What are you working on now? 

I just finished the copyedits for the third book in the series, Tougher in Texas, which stars Shawnee Pickett and Cole Jacobs and comes out August 1, 2017. And I am engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the fourth book in the Texas Rodeo series (due spring 2018), currently known as This Damn Book, which at some point is the working title for everything I write. This one stars Wyatt, the best friend of the hero of the first book, Reckless in Texas, and Melanie, the lifetime BFF of the heroine of the same book, which makes things complicated right off the bat. As one character points out, “You two hooking up would be like dating your best friend’s sister.” 

Toss in the intense physical attraction they’ve made a pact to ignore because—inconvenient friendships aside—in every other way they just flat-out rub each other wrong; Melanie’s trouble-making brother; Wyatt’s rundown whorehouse turned bar; and give them a good stir when Wyatt, ever the savior, offers Melanie a job in Oregon after she loses her legendary temper and causes a scandal so big she has to get the heck out of Texas. 

Then wait for the explosion.

Thank you!


GIVEAWAY
Win a copy of Tangled in Texas

1. Open to US only
2. Ends Feb 25th
3. Enter by commenting :)

Title: Tangled in Texas

Series: Texas Rodeo, #2

Author: Kari Lynn Dell

Pub Date: February 7, 2017

ISBN: 9781492631972

It took 32 seconds to end his career.

But it only took 1 to change his life.

Thirty-two seconds. That’s how long it took for Delon Sanchez’s life to end. One minute he was the best bronc rider in the Panhandle and the next he was nothing. Knee shattered, future in question, all he can do is pull together the pieces…and wonder what cruel trick of fate has thrown him into the path of his ex, the oh-so-perfect Tori Patterson.

  

Tori’s come home after her husband’s death, intent on escaping the public eye. It’s just her luck that Delon limps into her physical therapy office, desperate for help. All hard-packed muscle and dark-eyed temptation, he’s never been anything but a bad idea. And yet, seeing him again, Tori can’t remember what made her choose foolish pride over love…or why, with this second, final chance to right old wrongs, the smartest choice would be to run from this gorgeous rodeo boy as fast as her boots can take her.

Kari Lynn Dell is a ranch-raised Montana cowgirl who attended her first rodeo at two weeks old and has existed in a state of horse-induced poverty ever since. She lives on the Blackfeet Reservation in her parents' bunkhouse along with her husband, her son, and Max the Cowdog, with a tipi on her lawn, Glacier National Park on her doorstep and Canada within spitting distance. Her debut novel, The Long Ride Home, was published in 2015. She also writes a ranch and rodeo humor column for several regional newspapers and a national agricultural publication.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Books-A-Million

Barnes & Noble

Chapters

iBooks

Indiebound

A perilous undertaking - Deanna Raybourn

"London, 1887." Victorian adventuress and butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell receives an invitation to visit the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women. There she meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Accused of the brutal murder of his artist mistress Artemisia, Ramsforth will face the hangman s noose in a week s time if Veronica cannot find the real killer.

But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems, and unmasking her true identity is only the first of the many secrets Veronica must uncover. Together with her natural historian colleague Stoker, Veronica races against time to find the true murderer a ruthless villain who not only took Artemisia s life in cold blood but is happy to see Ramsforth hang for the crime. From a Bohemian artists colony to a royal palace to a subterranean grotto with a decadent history, the investigation proves to be a very perilous undertaking indeed...." 

My thoughts:

We learned some truths about Veronica in book 1, and by that I mean who her father is. *wink wink* In this one she meets another family member. I do like how she does not let it mess with her work. She is a strong independent woman. Also, she does have the right to be pissed at them, but she really is not. She is above it. But sure, it lingers.

A mystery set in a historical setting is always awesome. It just works for me you know. It's the atmosphere and the fact that it's harder to solve the case. It takes more legwork too.

Anyway, I need to get back on point. An artist is accused of killing his muse, so someone asks Veronica to solve the case.

Oh and she and Stoker need to get it on! Soon! But I like him, he is rather prudish at times. His family is something else too. But they are such a good pair, great chemistry.

Conclusion:
It was a nice mystery, I kept thinking I knew who did it, but like always I just suspected everyone so that is kind of cheating ;)

Cover
Eh

Paperback, 320 pages
Published January 10th 2017 by Titan Books Ltd
Veronica Speedwell #2
Historical mystery
For review

DNF Time

Just no. I have no idea what this world is. I have no connection to anyone. For me it did not work that the main character did not say a word.

I have no idea why everyone loves this. Boring

I was SO bored. I gave up

I am having a bad reading day. This is boring

#FitReaders Check-In: February 17, 2017

FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About.

Join in!

Sun 30 min walk. 10 km bike
Mon 45 min water aerobics. 5 km bike
Tue  30 min walk. 8 km bike
Wed  15 min walk. 4 km bike
Thu  7 km bike. 45 min zumba toning
Fri 4 km bike, 15 min walk

Wrath - John Gwynne

Events are coming to a climax in the Banished Lands, as the war reaches new heights. King Nathair has taken control of the fortress at Drassil and three of the Seven Treasures are in his possession. And together with Calidus and his ally Queen Rhin, Nathair will do anything to obtain the remaining Treasures. With all seven under his command, he can open a portal to the Otherworld. Then Asroth and his demon-horde will finally break into the Banished Lands and become flesh.

Meanwhile Corban has been taken prisoner by the Jotun, warrior giants who ride their enormous bears into battle. His warband scattered, Corban must make new allies if he hopes to survive. But can he bond with competing factions of warlike giants? Somehow he must, if he's to counter the threat Nathair represents.

His life hangs in the balance - and with it, the fate of the Banished Lands. 

My thoughts:

For some reason, I have a hard time keeping track of everyone in this series. I have no idea why, yes there are a lot of people there, but hey I have read fantasy series with even more characters. So what makes it so? In previous books, I looked at the character sheet a lot, but I learned that for some reason I just can not remember so I went with the flow. And that worked well, who cares from exactly where that guy came. I know if I like him or not, if he is bad or not. That is what matters. 

Now I make it sound like there are too many characters but do not worry. I honestly do not know what I can't remember names here.

Better jump back into the story now. There are a LOT of battles. The whole book is one big battle after another. Stuff is going down. Baddies need to be taken down, evil ones to be banished, and the war won.

The end came rather quickly though, I kind of wanted to know more, even though all lose threads came together nicely. But it's always hard to let a world go.

Oh and I so love PBs more, wow this book was big and heavy, that is hardback for ya ;)

Cover
They are too similar

Hardcover, 672 pages
Published November 17th 2016 by Tor
The Faithful and the Fallen #4
Fantasy
Library

Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians - Brandon Sanderson

On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry gets a bag of sand in the mail-his only inheritance from his father and mother. He soon learns that this is no ordinary bag of sand. It is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians who are taking over the world by spreading misinformation and suppressing truth. Alcatraz must stop them, using the only weapon he has: an incredible talent for breaking things.

My thoughts:

I actually did not like this one as much as I had wanted to. It is Sanderson, and he does write well, but I think it was the story and the tone. It was too MG for me. But for the MG/YA crowd out there, go for it.

Oh and the story was so weird...

Alcatraz...how to even explain this without spoiling it all?! Librarians are bad, I mean really bad, and they rule the world.There are other places where they do not rule and those people try to fight them off. And Alcatraz finds out that he is from one of those places. Off he sets on an adventure with his crazy grandpa and friends. He has no idea what is going on. They all sound insane.

There are evil librarians after them. Secrets, and more.

Conclusion:
So it was good, but I was not the audience for this and could not always like it. But I can appreciate the craziness. 

Hardcover, 320 pages
Published February 16th 2016 by Starscape (first published October 1st 2007)
Alcatraz #1
MG/YA/Fantasy
Library

Carole's Tuesday Review: The Munich Girl - Phyllis Edgerly Ring

Author: Phyllis Edgerly Ring

Title: The Munich Girl

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: ebook

First Published: January 7th 2016

Where I Got It: My Shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest opinion)

Anna Dahlberg grew up eating dinner under her father’s war-trophy portrait of Eva Braun. 

Fifty years after the war, she discovers what he never did—that her mother and Hitler’s mistress were friends. 

The secret surfaces with a mysterious monogrammed handkerchief, and a man, Hannes Ritter, whose Third Reich family history is entwined with Anna’s. 

Plunged into the world of the “ordinary” Munich girl who was her mother’s confidante—and a tyrant’s lover—Anna finds her every belief about right and wrong challenged. With Hannes’s help, she retraces the path of two women who met as teenagers, shared a friendship that spanned the years that Eva Braun was Hitler’s mistress, yet never knew that the men they loved had opposing ambitions.

I was really drawn in by the cover and the summary, so I had no choice to give this a read. This book follows Anna who researches her mother's and Eva Braun's history with the help of Hannes Ritter. 

Mmmm where to begin? 

Well...I know so little about Eva Braun and I think the world really knows so little about her. A lot of the world doesn't want to know more about her because she was the lover of the Hitler who is one of the most infamous historical figures of recent history. Many historians consider her "insignificant" to history. Which is invalid, because everyone is important in some way shape or form to history. But yes, it was an interesting premise and storyline.

I have to admit it took a long, long time for me to really get into the story. It was hard to like Anna because she was meek and weak. She was also really oblivious and not the brightest bulb in the bunch. Lowell, her hubbie, was the biggest A-hole. He was SO emotionally abusive to her. It was ridiculous, especially in one scene. Gah. Hannes should've punched him. Anne did get better and Hannes was okay. 

Also, it took so long to get into the story because of the pacing. It was super slow-paced until a certain event happened (don't want to give away any spoilers) and then I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting.

The ending was good! Can't say much else. 

Honestly, I want to read more about Eva Braun. Maybe something from her POV. She was an interesting person and it's crazy that she loved such an evil man. Love is blind I guess....or was it truly love? Maybe she was just trying to get herself into a safe place with the most powerful man in the land.

In the end, this was okay. I loved the storyline and the premise. The ending was really good. The beginning was slow-paced and it was hard to like the characters right away. Anna got better and Hannes was okay. I totally recommend this for those that like historical fictions. Even though Eva is known to be the mistress of Hitler, there is much more to her than history remembers. Out of five stars, I'll give this 3 stars.

Author Post and Giveaway: Samantha Chase

Today I have a author post from Samantha Chase and there is a rafflecopter giveaway at the end :)

ONE MORE KISS is the story of Matt Reed who is the guitarist for the band Shaughnessy.  I loved the idea of creating a band and writing a romance that was set in the world of rock and roll, but what I ended up with was a series that was more about the members of the band when they weren’t in the spotlight with their music and that was really fun to create!

I’m a big fan of music – primarily rock and pop.  I cannot sing.  I don’t play any instruments.  I took four guitar lessons in the fourth grade and that was it for me.  But I have dated several musicians and even married one!  My husband of 27 years is a drummer and he’s been in a bunch of bands in the years we’ve been together and I always was fascinated by the personalities it took to make up a band – the egos, the talent and the personalities make an interesting mix!  And to watch what those “ingredients” can do to create music really is amazing to watch.

I love listening to music.  As a matter of fact, I tend to put on my headphones and listen to my iPod for about 30 minutes a day.  Music helps me relax, clear my mind and even provides inspiration for the books I’m writing.  I’ve seen somewhere around 25 concerts in my life and there is nothing like a great live show.  As for what I listen to and who I go to see…well, I think I’m a little bit boring and predictable.  I’m an 80’s music girl and to this day if one of my favorite bands from that era come around, I go and see them – Def Leppard, Rick Springfield, Pat Benetar, Billy Joel…I love them all!

My dream would be to meet some of my idols and talk to them about the stories I’ve written and see how I did with portraying what the life of a musician is like.  I’ve talked to local bands but I’d love to know what it’s like for bands who travel the world and what their lives are like when they’re off the road!

It’s a bucket list item of mine!

Rafflecopter: a Rafflecopter giveaway

MATT REED IS HIDING
…from his fans
…from his past
…from a failure too painful to contemplate
Most of all, Matt is hiding from himself.

VIVIENNE FORRESTER IS A WOMAN WHO GIVES HER ALL
…to her friends and family
…to her online food blog
…to the man she loves

Vivienne will try anything and everything to coax Matt out of his self-imposed exile. But for this to work, Matt is going to have to meet her halfway…

Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan’s Return, in November 2011. Since then, she has published twenty more titles and has become a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She lives with her husband of twenty-five years and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in Feb 9 2017

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Saturday Movie Discussion: The danish Girl

Happy Saturday everyone! This month we will be discussing, "The Danish Girl".

Title:  The Danish Girl

Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance 

Running Time: 1 hour and 59 mins

Rating: R

Released: 2015

A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

TRAILER: 

DISCUSSION: **Blodeuedd is blue and Carole is dark purple (looks almost black)**

Let us start then :) I have a cat on me so I will see how this goes. He will get annoyed soon

Lol poor kitty. He just wants his mama. :D But yes, let us begin! What did you think overall?

It was a good movie, nothing amazing, but a good movie.

Agreed. It was good. They had a good cast and the flow was nice. However, the beginning had a lot of awkward scenes….like they were necessary to understand him/her….but the scene with the mirror had me covering my eyes.

Good cast, but didn’t she get an Oscar? She was not that good, Vikander that is. I am cruel here now ;) Nah, just honest. Haha, oh the mirror scene, it made me want to laugh honestly.

I thought she did okay! Maybe not Oscar-worthy, but I think she did alright. Eddie did awesome! Hahahaha! That mirror scene. I had to look away because it reminded me of that scene from Silence of the Lambs.

I am afraid I actually can not remember if I have ever watched Silence...I know!

But yes Eddie did well.

Maybe you blocked that movie from your brain? IDK, but that scene reminded me too much of it. But overall, besides that scene, I loved Eddie. It was very interesting to see him play such a complex and tough role. He essentially had to play two characters.

I do get how that one doc thought he had schizophrenia. Cos the way he was in that role was like, the man and painter, and then the woman who wanted a life. They were two different people. It never felt like he was a woman stuck in a woman’s body, but two people battling it out.

It did feel like that more so than someone just wanting to be the opposite gender. It felt weird that his wife was so okay with it. Yes, she had her moments of “I can’t believe this! I want things back to normal!” but overall, she was pretty okay with it. She supported him/her and stayed with them even when Lili was out with a boy and whatnot. It felt….strange to me that a woman in that time period was so okay with it.

I would have been angrier, or maybe not angry, just sad. And Lili, well she obvi wanted to cheat on her wife. The whole but that is another person, that is not me, I am not doing that. I felt like that was so not cool. That is your wife! She loved you, she stood by you. Sure she had issues, but hello, who would not when your husband suddenly wants to be a woman.

Right? So I really feel (if this movie was accurate to the real deal) that this character had way deeper issues. She wanted to cheat and be with a man. Which it is fine to realize that you are swinging for the other team now, but to try and be with your spouse and lead them on? That was not cool….I hope that is not the real story. Bc it wasn’t at all fair towards the wife. Let her be with a guy that wants to be with her fully.

Yes exactly. Be with her as a woman, if the wife is cool with that. Or leave her and stay friends or something.

He/she was totally taking advantage of the wife I feel. I think the wife should’ve been just a friend and got with that one guy who was the childhood friend. LOL.

I thought so too! I was rooting for them, especially since Lili was like she was.

Yes. But I guess you can’t help who you love. The wife, sadly, still loved Lili. The ending was sad.

Aye, true :/ Yes I wish I had not seen that ending Sigh. But it was the mad truth.

Yesssss which makes it sadder to me since I didn’t know (I did research after watching)! I had such hopes for Lili! Poor girl. :(

I was like why!? That is madness, but I understood, that I did.

Yes, yes, I understood and I was rooting for her to get all she wanted (just so maybe the wife could get a HEA as well) and have a HEA….:/ it was worth it in the end I suppose.

I also googled afterwards so at least ...well I can’t say more, spoilers for others. But yeees.

BUT, it so annoyed me at the end when they went to his home village and I was all, F NO. That is not flat Denmark, and yes it was Norway as I thought.

LOL good eye. I had no idea myself since I’m not from around there. I didn’t really get the connection to why he constantly painted that same picture and the story. It had to, because they mentioned it over and over. I didn’t understand the symbolism at all.

He was happy there? I do not know, I would go mad painting the same landscape over and over again.

Utter insanity. Maybe that is the connection? Maybe he felt like he was missing something and that it didn’t feel like home? IDK really. Maybe I’ll research because it is driving ME mad.

Lol, do that and tell me ;)

I will! Haha. Ummmmm there was something more I wanted to add….do you have anything while I think?

Not really.

Well - overall it was good, not amazing, but good. It is worth the watch for sure. I can see how this story had such an impact and is a rallying point behind the movement. It shows that this is not something that is just a modern issue. It has been a thing as long as humanity has been around. I want to see more stories like this!

Good, but not amazing, my thoughts exactly. I feel like I have nothing more to say really, nope, drawing a blank

My last thoughts - Eddie should’ve gotten a million rewards for this role. It was a risky movie and he had to play such a complex character. Plus poor guy had to learn to walk in heels elegantly which is hard for even women ;D. He did wonderful.

Yes he was great. And walking in heels is never fun ;)

Heels are pretty, but I hate wearing them. I avoid them and only wear them in certain occasions. LOL.

I do love heels, I wish I could wear them all the time, but ugh my poor feet. Then I fell in love with flats, but damn those hurt too.

I just want to wear slippers everywhere! We must make it socially a thing!!!!

Barefoot! Too bad it only works in summer here

Too much coldness here too! So a nice compromise….barefoot in the warm months and slippers the rest of the cold months. :D

Hehe, we are so off topic now. Until next month then? Should we do the movie I have already watched or another one?

Are we? I feel like Lili would approve of our discussion on our footwear! But we can do the other one. I just need to track a copy down. If I can’t find one then maybe we’ll look elsewhere.

She would approve for sure.

I shall let you know if I can find it! I’m excited.

The end?

The end