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December 17 #WinterGamesPhotoChallenge Winter @StayCurious @Clwojick

Wow! I loved this book! I honestly wasn‘t sure what to expect. I believe someone recommended this book to me IRL. I absolutely loved it. I loved both storylines and I loved all the Scottish history. I now want to read more books set in Scotland.

This was one of my #Roll100 books for December.
#WinterReadathon

Tagged book was my #doublespin for November, which I have already reviewed.

Kinda bummed that I didn‘t get a #bookspinbingo and my #novelnovember goal wasn‘t reached either. I blame Pokémon ?? Visiting family probably was a factor too. ? Excited for tomorrow so I can set up my December board!! ?

Should I do Christmas trees or stockings for my bingo board???

@TheAromaofBooks @Andrew65

Tagged book is my pick for November‘s best book.
I haven‘t updated this #2022ReadingBracketChallenge since July! The second level choices have been so difficult that I can‘t imagine what it‘s going to be like to pick a winner. I‘m also surprised at how many non-fiction books have made it to the second round.
@chasjjlee

I found this book after my mom mentioned she‘d like to read a book based in the area of Scotland that our ancestors lived in Argyll. While I didn‘t really hit that mark with this pick, I found a story that absolutely absorbed me. I‘m a sucker for time travel books, and while I would say this is more of a dual timeline, I loved how the author created the link between the two. I will definitely be adding the next in the series to my January TBR!

It‘s so interesting to me when books you are reading throw out ideas and quotes that mimic your life at the moment.

I feel like this might be a tad ambitious because of the new Pokémon games coming out tomorrow, but I‘d really like to have a balance between reading, gaming and family time through the end of the month. By participating here with this goal, I hope to keep my reading from being the thing that slips!
Thanks, @Andrew65 !! #novelnovember

The last few months I‘ve had a theme on my picks for #roll100

Here are the books for December.

Now I need to create a new list for 2023!

With a little snow/ice still lingering on the deck, I think it‘s a fine time to do a reading sprint of this book. Keeping cozy inside with the pup!

This is a good book to read if you are waiting for droughtlander to be over. It did slow in the middle and I thought maybe the writing could be more detailed and be less easy/light. However, I loved the concept that the historical fiction author wrote from the memories of her ancestors rather than just researching. I was more drawn to the 1708 plot line and felt it could have been an entire series in its own. Loved the ending.

My partner to our dog: “Bud, we‘re gonna be out here for awhile.” 🤣 Found a new-to-me local bookstore while camping in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. They‘re both so supportive of my love of books. I could‘ve spent hours (and dollars) in that bookstore, but I moved swiftly and only emerged with the tagged book. 🙌🏻

I feel like I‘m cheating on Diana Gabaldon because I loved this dual-time historical romance (the first of the Slain series).

History has all but forgotten the spring of 1708, when an invasion fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel.

Finished the tagged book for #newyearwhodis - thought it was good - loved the historical fiction part and setting in Scotland! Onto the next one!
@Kangaj1 @monalyisha

And even more fun options! Two rereads. 😘😘

Thank you @Butterfinger I love everything @Chrissyreadit

She recalled her father saying, ‘Men who watch, and say but little, very often are much wiser than the men they serve.‘

‘Hope,‘ he told her, ‘rarely enters into it. ‘Tis action moves the world. If ye mind nothing else I‘ve taught ye of the game of chess, mind that: ye cannot leave your men to stand unmoving on the board and hope to win. A soldier must first step upon the battlefield if he does mean to cross it.‘ Colonel Graeme speaking to Sophia

Hmm, it probably wasn‘t a good idea to read another historical fiction so soon after a Penman book. This felt very fluffy and a bit boring. The constant back and forth between the past and present storylines felt jarring. Meh.

As a general rule I care very little for romance. It appears I have an exception to that rule though and her name is Susanna Kearsley. I haven‘t read a book by her that I‘ve disliked yet.
***
Historical fiction romance, The Winter Sea follows writer Carrie who starts to have dreams of what she thought was the book she was working on but very well may be ancestral memories letting her know what happened to her ancestors many years ago.

I loved this dual timeline story of a historical fiction author apparently channeling the memories of an ancestor in Jacobite uprising era Scotland. I actually enjoyed both timelines equally, which can be rare for these types of books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I find myself going in and out of being able to focus on books. My reading lately has been happening in small chunks throughout the day. Better than no reading at all I suppose.

Carrie is a modern-day bestselling author in Scotland to write her next historical fiction novel centered around the 1708 attempted Jacobite invasion. She creates Sophia, the heroine of her story, based on an ancestor of her own, but soon finds the story is writing itself, and is more fact than fiction.

A Scottish castle on the sea, romance, fantastic writing, two brilliantly put together stories...and total goosebumps at the end.❤️❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#weeklyforecast
Finish The Winter Sea & Little Women (audio)
Continue with LotR for #FellowshipofTolkien
50 more pgs of Dune for #ChunksterChallenge2020
Start the Kate Elliott short stories for #BookSpin

I think it's gonna be a good week 😊

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

1. LotR, The Winter Sea, Dune, Little Women

2. None finished yet, The Winter Sea will be the first. Loving it so far!

3. Read more diversely (I say, with a particularly non-diverse currently reading list 😬) ; read min. 50 from owned, physical tbr (2/4 of currently reading, not bad)

My new year's day so far: book, tea, sleepy purring cat ❤️

I always like to start the new year with an immersive read that I can just sink into. I'm only a chapter into this, but so far it feels like exactly that.

This book kept me up late last night and had me up early this morning to finish it. I love how Kearsley ties together her present day heroine and the heroine in the past in her books with ancestral memories.

I also enjoyed reading about the earlier Jacobites and the 1708 rising to put King James back on the throne in Scotland. Ever since Outlander I‘ve had a soft spot for Scotland but hadn‘t read much on this period yet.

I have wanted to read this for years and finally managed to snag a copy. It is a lovely story of love and loss, time-blend and history with a gentle heroine and an altogether more feisty author, and plenty of small glimpses of the connections between the two. I enjoyed the book but do think it might have suffered a bit through the narration which, although well done, felt a little staid and teacher-like to me. #Audible

This has been my “waiting for the kids to fall asleep” read on my kindle this month and I loved it! Sort of quiet and slow, it‘s definitely a change of pace from what I‘ve been reading lately. The story was engaging and the history seemed well researched. It was my first Kearsley book, but I‘ll definitely read more!

I discovered Audible and am now an avid listener on my daily commute. Also I joined NetGalley which in turn caused me to embrace a Kindle, something I never thought I would do. I still buy paperbacks though and read constantly so just the formats have altered slightly.
#changes

Doing some classy reading last night out of a plastic cup, 10000 feet in the air. My TV was broken on my flight, so the wine was free! 💃🏼 Now I‘m home and I will finish this book this weekend if it‘s the last thing I do since I‘ve been reading it forever. 🤞🏻

A favorite sub genre is #timewarp and these are books I loved - the three children‘s books left a lasting impact. The After Cilmeri series seems to be more unknown but oh so good! -#musicalnewyear

The Winter Sea was my favorite book of 2018. I love Scottish and Jacobite history! Carrie McClelland is writing a novel and rents a cottage next to Slains Castle where her novel takes place. As she writes, she realizes more and more that her words are more than fiction. This book had me reeling for more. I couldn‘t even pick up another book for a couple of weeks because I didn‘t want to stop thinking about the characters of this book.

If this book is anything like her other books I‘ve read, I know it‘s going to be good 😍 I can‘t wait to start reading! Susanna Kearsley writes masterpieces that are a beautiful blend of history and modern day 💜

A little something for me, a little something for the cat. I think I‘ve reached peak me: books and cats. 🤷🏼‍♀️
I received an Amazon gift card for hitting 10 years at work, so I had to strategically buy books I didn‘t already have on my wishlist or told my family I wanted for Christmas. One is for for #Booked2019, one is for #pop19 (is that what we‘re using for the Popsugar Reading Challenge?), and one is just for fun.

Up next. This book has been on my Goodreads recommendation list for ages, so it's time to give it a try.

I loved this book! The story drew me in. I loved how Kearsley had the older story be what the current time MC was writing. Most books of this nature just alternate timelines with the chapters. I look forward to reading more by Kearsley.
#backpackeurope @JenP @bookwormm

A novelist staying in Scotland while writing a book about the 1708 Jacobite rising, discovers a unique bond with a distant ancestor. I fell deeply in love with this story. A new favorite. I am immediately going to track down others works by the author.

Hoping to finish this one before the rain rolls in...about 30 pages left

Next up from a swap thank you @MyBookSwapClub

I set this one aside to finish a library book when I returned from Scotland but am back into it now and wow, I am thoroughly sucked in, I am in love! My first book by Susanna Kearsley but if it continues like this, will definitely not be my last. #currentlyreading

I got this at the bookstore tonight! It was recommended by a friend who said if I love Outlander I will love this book!! So excited because I am an Outlander fanatic!! #iloveoutlander #scotlandobsessed 📚

“So, you see, my heart is held forever by this place,” she said. “I cannot leave.”

Susanna Kearsley is an automatic buy author for me. Her stories are well written with likable characters and perfect for a light fun read.

I slogged through this book until about the 50% mark and wasn‘t sure I was going to get through it. I‘m not a big romance person but love history but it felt like the author was taking a piece of history and just plugging her story in the spaces and was so choppy. At about halfway though, the story focused more on the historical characters and definitely found its stride. I even enjoyed the romantic element lol. Will read more books by her!

I needed historical + romance, so The Winter Sea it is!

A “brand new to me” author that I‘m very excited about! I‘ve been trying to only read one book at a time and have been doing pretty good but just couldn‘t resist starting this! Anyone read her stuff?