My Summer Reads In the Month of June

Enthusiastic, overzealous, excited, determined, gung-ho, would describe how I felt during the first few days of the great declutter. Now well not so much.

For the past few days, I have been reading and taking short breaks from the book to spend short amounts of time with the decluttering process.

Here's what I've been reading.

Mary Kay Andrews is my all time favorite author, I've read every book that she has written including her Callahan mystery series under her real name of Kathy Hogan Trocheck.

For several years she has released new titles in the month of June, I have blogged about those books. In June of 2012 her book "Spring Fever" came out, you can read that post here. Also in June of 2013 she released the book "Ladies Night," you can read that post here.

June's 2014 release is titled "Save the Date." I reserved the book from my public library and was number 10 on the wait list. I didn't want to wait that long so I used a Barnes and Noble coupon and purchased the book.

Amazon's synopsis of this book.

"A savannah florist is about to score the wedding of a lifetime—one that will solidify her career as the go-to-girl for society nuptials. Ironically, Cara Kryzik doesn't believe in love, even though she creates beautiful flower arrangements to celebrate them. But when the bride goes missing and the wedding is in jeopardy, Cara must find the bride and figure out what she believes in.  Maybe love really does exist outside of fairy tales after all."

I can normally devour her book in two days, but this one just didn't hold my attention likes the rest of her reads did. Mark Kay Andrews writes with a formula for her books, but tosses in a twist that makes you fall in love with them. I believe I gave it 3.75 stars on Goodreads.

An email from the library told me the reserved title of "The Glass Kitchen" by Linda Francis Lee that I wanted to read was ready for pick up. 

I have confessed several different times that I judge books by their covers and this cover caught me eye. Trendy with painted canning jars, hydrangeas, and that color combination in such beautiful hues would pull anyone over to check out the book.

A synopsis from Goodreads.

"Portia Cuthcart never intended to leave Texas. Her dream was to run the Glass Kitchen restaurant her grandmother built decades ago. But after a string of betrayals and the loss of her legacy, Portia is determined to start a new life with her sisters in Manhattan... and never cook again. 

But when she moves into a dilapidated brownstone on the Upper West Side, she meets twelve-year-old Ariel and her widowed father Gabriel, a man with his hands full trying to raise two daughters on his own. Soon, a promise made to her sisters forces Portia back into a world of magical food and swirling emotions, where she must confront everything she has been running from. What seems so simple on the surface is anything but when long-held secrets are revealed, rivalries exposed, and the promise of new love stirs to life like chocolate mixing with cream. 

The Glass Kitchen is a delicious novel, a tempestuous story of a woman washed up on the shores of Manhattan who discovers that a kitchen—like an island—can be a refuge, if only she has the courage to give in to the pull of love, the power of forgiveness, and accept the complications of what it means to be family."

The book was filled with sassy characters that were often unconventional but believable. A quick summer read, I give it four stars.

I finished the book in two days, you can guess how much decluttering was done during that period of time, not a whole hell of a lot. 

I knew that this was a popular book and others had reserved this title, so after I finished it I quickly returned it to the library. I, of course, walked down the isle where the 'new' and 'hot' titled books are shelved. Not having any title or author in mind I scanned the shelves of books. Of course, the cover of the book caught my attention.

The cover is simple and elegant with a lovely font to announce the name of this book. I scanned the front flap seeing that Paris and antique furniture were involved and checked out the book. I was hooked from the first sentence in the first chapter.

Amazon's synopsis of this book.

"When April Vogt's boss tells her about an apartment in the ninth arrondissement that has been discovered after being shuttered for the past seventy years, the Sotheby's continental furniture specialist does not hear the words “dust” or “rats” or “decrepit.” She hears Paris. She hears escape.

Once in France, April quickly learns the apartment is not merely some rich hoarder's repository. Beneath the cobwebs and stale perfumed air is a goldmine, and not because of the actual gold (or painted ostrich eggs or mounted rhinoceros horns or bronze bathtub). First, there's a portrait by one of the masters of the Belle Epoque, Giovanni Boldini. And then there are letters and journals written by the very woman in the painting, Marthe de Florian. These documents reveal that she was more than a renowned courtesan with enviable decolletage. Suddenly April's quest is no longer about the bureaux plats and Louis-style armchairs that will fetch millions at auction. It's about discovering the story behind this charismatic woman."

I sat reading yesterday afternoon before I had to leave to babysit my newest grandson who is almost eight weeks old. Such a sweet baby and so good. I only had a chance to read  eight chapters before I had to go, but I am loving the story line, the characters and the history that the book is offering me.

Probably not much work will get done today. Have you read any good books lately? I am always open for book suggestions. Oh, by the way, if you would like to read Mary Kay Andrews book 'Save the Date" I am finished with my copy and would be happy to mail it to you. First come first served and perhaps the next person could pass it on to someone else.