Time for my monthly roundup of the books I've read! I joined in on a challenge to read solely from my own bookshelves for the month of February, and I managed to make a very small dent in the to-be-read piles around my house. I'm pretty sure I had enough on my Kindle alone to make it through a whole month! As always, if you want to keep up with what I'm reading you can friend me on Goodreads!
This is the third in the series about 3 extraordinary children working with the Mr. Benedict and his network of secret agents to save their town from the evil Mr. Curtain. I've enjoyed the whole series, and I love that the stories always show that no matter how clever each child is individually, they only succeed when they work together. While this particular book isn't my favorite in the series I'm really looking forward to reading them all with my boys over the next few years.
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
Susanna Kearsley has cemented her status as a favorite author. I discovered at the end of 2013 (very late to the party, I might add) by finally picking up the Firebird. Since then I am working my way through her back catalog and so far I haven't been disappointed by a single book. The Rose Garden uses time travel to weave the plots together rather than the "time slip" premise with a different herione in each time period. Time travel doesn't bother me (I'm a Whovian after all), I was expecting to find it harder to suspend disbelief when the time travel was in a book that wasn't outright science fiction. Turned out I shouldn't have worried! I was completely sucked in by the love story and the subplot of the Jacobite rebellion in Cornwall. I'm already plotting which Kearsley to read next!
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist
This book showed up on so many "Best of 2013" lists last year that I snapped it up on my Kindle when it was on sale. It sat on there for a few months but from the moment I started it I could not put it down. Bread and Wine lived up to, and went beyond, all the hype. I'm pretty sure I highlighted half the book and I know it's one I will come back to over and over again. If you haven't read this one yet go get it RIGHT NOW. It's the book I want to shout about from my rooftop and force all my friends and family to read. I'm slowly cooking my way through the included recipes too! This would make a particularly good Book Club read.
City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn
Aviatrix Evangeline Starke is attempting to fly the Seven Seas of Antiquity when she receives a recent photograph of her estranged archaeologist husband…who she thought died on the Lusitania years before. Evie journeys to Damascus and stumbles into a mystery surrounding the most famous relic of the ancient world. Deanna Raybourn reminds me of Elizabeth Peters in the best possible way. She writes fun and clever stories with fabulous characters and the perfect blend of mystery and romance. The fact that this was set in the desert among archaeological digs made me love it all the more for the reminder of Amelia Peabody and Emerson.
Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
This is comfort reading for me in the purest form. I have so many happy memories of reading it growing up and the setting always reminds me of my home in New England. I have dreams of living in a rambling farmhouse just like the Murrays someday. I have a feeling that I'm going to go on a L'Engle kick this year and work my way through the ones I've missed.
What have you been reading this month? Check out the Twitterature linkup over at Modern Mrs Darcy for some more great reads!
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Fun post! Madeleine L'Engle is my FAVORITE author, so of course, Wrinkle is one of my favorite reads…love. Bread & Wine is also one of my favorites - have you read her book, Bittersweet? She wrote it before Bread & Wine, and you can see the beginnings of the feel of Bread & Wine in that book - its also fantastic. I've been intrigued by the Benedict Society books. And City of Jasmine normally wouldn't sound interesting to me, but your blurb about it intrigues me - thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun list! I have not heard of Susanna Kearsley- looks like my to be read list just got bigger!
ReplyDeleteI guess I need to read some Susanna Kearsley - we seem to have similar tastes in books and I've never read her before. Thanks for the recommendations!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Bittersweet yet but after Bread and Wine I really want to! Isn't Madeleine L'Engle the best? I pulled a whole pile of her books together from around my house to work my way through :)
ReplyDeleteIt was a good book month :) Let me know what you think if you try Susanna Kearsley- she's also a fun author to follow on Twitter!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been reading too much this month, sadly. I haven't heard of Susanna Kearsley either! Now I am intrigued. I loooooved Bread & Wine. That City of Jasmine book is part of a series too, right? Seems like I have heard good things about it.
ReplyDeleteYou had me at A Wrinkle In Time, possibly my favorite book of all time. I need to re-read that one. I absolutely love your blog and your writing. I've nominated you for a Liebster Award. See it here http://driftwood-gardens.com/liebster-award/
ReplyDeleteJen
I think I'm the only person who hasn't read Bread & Wine and I'm not sure why - every time I read a review I think how much I'd probably love it.
ReplyDeleteIt's always fun to like a book so much that you want to read your way through the author's entire body of work.