Monday, February 13, 2012

Mailbox Monday - February 13th

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house recently, but here's a warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Created by Marcia at The Printed Page, Mailbox Monday, now has its own blog. Hosting duties are rotated every month.  This month one of my favorite blogs Metroreader: Reading One Mile at a Time has the hosting honors.  Be sure to stop by and discover a new and wondrous (for me anyway) addition to your blog roll and take a look at everyone's Mailbox lists.

This week I received two books and they both have my attention.  They went right onto the "Read them as soon as you get a chance" pile.  The first was an ARC from Ecco Publishing.  I've been reading so much non-fiction that this one is really appealing to me.  It fits one of my 2012 reading goals - to read general fiction - and since I haven't done much of that this year yet, I'm thinking it will be one I'll definitely want to fall into.  Here's what the publisher's blurb says:

 Restoration by Olaf Olafsson
Having grown up in an exclusive circle of wealthy British ex-pats in Florence in the 1920's, Alice shocks everyone when she marries Claudio, the son of a minor land-owner, and moves to San Martino, a crumbling villa in Tuscany. Settling into their new paradise, husband and wife begin to build their future, restoring San Martino and giving birth to a son. But as time passes, Alice grows lonely, a restlessness that leads her into the heady social swirl of wartime Rome and a reckless arffair that will have devastating consequences. While she spends time with her lover in Rome, Alice's young son falls ill and dies, widening the emotional chasm between her and her husband-and leaving her vulnerable to the machinations of a nefarious art dealer who ensnares her in a dangerous and deadly scheme. Returning to San Martino, Alice yearns for forgiveness. But before she can begin to make amends, Claudio disappears, and the encroaching fighting threatens to destroy everything they have built. Caught between loyalists and resisters, cruel German forces and Allied troops, Alice valiantly struggles to survive, hoping the life and love she lost can one day be restored.
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My other exciting  mailbox  gift was a contest win, that is perfect for my goal of reading cozy series both new and old.   I've wanted to get into this mystery series for quite awhile, and winning this one has given me the push I need.  I'm hunting down the first in the series, State of the Onion (and I have the third one - Eggsecutive Orders-- sitting here on loan from my sister) so I'm going to have a White House Chef read-a-thon sometime before the daffodils raise their little heads.  In the meantime, I getting hungry already.  These sound like good candidates for the NOOK.  Must go track down how much is left on my Christmas gift certificates.

Affairs of Steak
(A White House Chef Mystery)
Julie Hyzy

 White House chef Olivia Paras and her arch nemesis, White House Sensitivity Director Peter Everett Sargeant, must work together to solve the double murder of one of the First Lady's assistants and the Chief of Staff-before they become the next victims of a merciless assassin with a secret agenda.
 It was a great reading week,  and since it's so cold and windy here in Maine, it promises to be an even better week to curl up with a cuppa tea, a soft purring kittie, a big warm fire and a pile of books.  When the ice melts, we'll drive to the post office to see what other wonders await us.

1 comment:

  1. I'd like to read Restoration as well. Sounds very interesting.

    ReplyDelete

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