TSS | Mailbox Joys | Is it Spring yet? - Burton Book Review

Visit Svea's blog at The Muse in The Fog Book Review to start linking up your Sunday posts; Suddenly Sunday is a weekly event hosted by Svea whose purpose is to share all the exciting events that have occurred on your blog throughout the week.

Tax time, folks! Did you get your taxes done? Aren't I a sweetheart for reminding you? I hope you are getting a refund, anyway. We got enough so we can buy some shoelaces or something extravagant like that. It's been a yucky spring thus far, so next winter I need to not say I can't wait for Spring!! and instead say I can't wait for Summer! (Remind me this summer when it's 110 degrees out how miserable I've been). This weather going back and forth is killing my sinuses and I've had a headache for a month.

This past week on the blog:

In fun Bloggy land, the Armchair BEA is fast approaching.. registrations will be opening soon, so you should go subscribe to their blog so you can keep updated on it and don't miss out. Last year I had tons of fun conversing with other bloggers, and meeting NEW bloggers too. You will have opportunities to link up daily 'get-to-know-me' or writing prompt type posts, as well as giveaways galore. Get some books in mind to host your own giveaway! The dates are from May 28 thru June 2, 2013, which coincides with the BEA Conference in NYC that many of us don't get to go to. So we can have tons of fun for FREE from the comfort of our own computers =) And more giveaways for us, squee!

Mailbox Monday is a meme originally from Marcia's Mailbox and is being hosted by Mari @ MariReads for this month. The Story Siren also hosts IMM, so we can find some cool YA titles there as well.

In my Mailbox:
From Paperbackswap:

February 2013

Rebekah (Wives of the Patriarchs #2) by Jill Eileen Smith
When her father dies and she is left in the care of her conniving brother Laban, Rebekah knows her life has changed forever. Her hope for the future is restored when she falls in love with her cousin Isaac, and their relationship starts strong. But marital bliss cannot last forever, and the birth of their twin sons marks the beginning of years of misunderstanding, disagreement, and betrayal. The rift between them grows wider and wider until it is surely too deep to be mended. And yet, with God all things are possible.
Join bestselling author Jill Eileen Smith as she fills in the blanks around the biblical women behind the men we know well. Her in-depth research and creative storytelling bring Rebekah's unique story alive with romance, heartache, and the power of forgiveness.

Grace in Thine Eyes (Lowlands of Scotland #4) by Liz Curtis Higgs
Davina McKie is a bonny lass of seventeen, as clever as they come and a gifted musician. Unable to speak since childhood, she is doted on by her belligerent younger brothers, Will and Sandy, who vow to protect their silent sister. — When the lads are forced to depart the glen, Jamie McKie intends to brighten his daughter’s summer by escorting Davina to the Isle of Arran. Her cousins make her welcome at the manse, and the parish delights in hearing their talented fiddler.

But when she catches the eye of a handsome young Highlander on Midsummer Eve, sheltered Davina is unprepared for the shocking events that follow.

A timeless story of passion and revenge, of lost innocence and shattered dreams, Grace in Thine Eyes explores the sorrow of unspeakable shame and the gift of immeasurable grace.

Has anyone read any of these Liz Curtis Higgs titles? I've been collecting them so that now I have all four of the Lowlands of Scotland series. Now.. the hard part is finding time to read them.

For Review:

June 2013

The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley (a sort of sequel to The Shadowy Horses! squeeee!)
Nicola Marter was born with a gift: when she touches an object, she sometimes glimpses those who have owned it before. When the gallery she works in receives a wooden carving she can see the object’s history and knows that it was named after the Firebird, the mythical bird that inspires an old Russian fairytale and was once owned by Russia’s famed Empress Catherine.

Nicola’s investigation into the Firebird’s origin draws her into the 1715 world of Anna Logan and leads her on a quest through Scotland, France and Russia, unearthing a tale of love and sacrifice, of courage and redemption.

It Happened at the Fair by Deeanne Gist (I really enjoyed the author's last one, Love On The Line)
A transporting historical novel about a promising young inventor, his struggle with loss, and the attractive teacher who changes his life, all set against the razzle-dazzle of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

Gambling everything, including the family farm, Cullen McNamara travels to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with his most recent invention. But the noise in the Fair’s Machinery Palace makes it impossible to communicate with potential buyers. In an act of desperation, he hires Della Wentworth, a teacher of the deaf, to tutor him in the art of lip-reading.

The young teacher is reluctant to participate, and Cullen has trouble keeping his mind on his lessons while intently watching her lips. Like the newly invented Ferris Wheel, he is caught in a whirl between his girl back home, his dreams as an inventor, and his unexpected attraction to his new tutor. Can he keep his feet on the ground, or will he be carried away?

The What Are You Reading meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey where we keep track of what we are currently reading and plan to read.

So I did pickup Lighthouse Bay by Kimberley Freeman and reviewed it here, and enjoyed that one as I was reading One Perfect Life and then also the read along book for the Plaidy Group, The Miracle at St. Bruno's (Review can be found here on Monday) and then not to mention the bible which I am supposed to complete on April 29.. I did finish that Bruno's book and now I just need to write the review and start planning the next read along..
take a breath.. I've never read more than one book at a time like I've done so often the last few months, and I am tired of it, lol.

I'm reading David and Bathsheba now, which is a reissue from 1980 I believe, and I don't know what I'm going to read next, since I've got a million to read.

I have a million books to read still, and they are all ones I WANT to read, but I am getting to the point where the pile of them which never seems to diminish is getting aggravating. Why am I always feeling so totally behind? Why am I always feeling like I'm doing a reading marathon because I HAVE TO GET THE REVIEW PUBLISHED, and WHY do I always do this to myself - the usual admonitions of the book blogger.

Granted the pile is not quite so large as it was before, especially since there are some I've decided to completely ignore from last year. But it is still enough to make me mad. I have been turning down the 'random' requests - but the ones specifically from authors that I've reviewed for before, I don't want to leave them hanging, and so I cave. I must stop. I don't mind accepting ones from LitFuse publicity, because all of those that I pick are always great reads of my favorite Christian historical themes. It's the ones that pile up on the side that kill me, because they don't have blog tour dates and so I say sure I can throw one more in there, blah blah blah and they all just pile up.

Le sigh. I shall stop complaining. You know the story. I need to grow up and manage my life properly!
I mean, as long as I get to watch Dallas and the Vikings, I am happy.