Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder.....Right?

Just a disclaimer:  I sadly have had little time lately, busybusybusy.  We have started moving, and though we have the luxury of not having to move all at once, we also have the inconvenience of not moving all at once.  SO much work to be done, and all when I was already very busy, as you will also read below.  Also, the wonderful house has a wonderous colony of ants invading the lovely new kitchen……battle for dominance has begun. And now, on with your previously scheduled post.

So, I guess it has been more than a  month since I’ve updated.  I have been crazy busy, and really don’t know quite why.  Seems like life has gone all topsy-turvy lately.  Anyone else feeling that, or is it just me? 

So much has been happening this year.  One thing remains constant, great stories.  I read somewhere recently that a good book reviewer does not only do good reviews.  I can see this point; however, I don’t really consider myself a reviewer.  I consider myself someone who likes sharing great stories with people.  If I don’t like a book, I usually don’t say anything about it unless asked.  Therefore, if you want to know about books I didn’t like, well, you’ll have to ask, or it’ll have to be pretty bad.  Generally though, I don’t waste time reading something that doesn’t hold my attention.  I have so many books on my TBR list that to waste time reading something I don’t like seems silly to me. 

Now you know why you don’t see bad reviews on my blog. 

Recently, I got my hands on an ARC (advanced reading copy), or galley of Sweetly, by Jackson Pearce.  This is a modern re-telling (loosely) of Hansel and Gretel.  Twelve years ago Gretchen’s twin sister disappeared when they and their older brother Ansel were out in the woods at night.  (see?  Ansel, and Gretchen?)  The story of the night she disappeared is told in the prologue, and oh. my. goodness.  was that an attention grabbing way of beginning the book.  It had just the right amount of suspense, mystery, detail, and really left me wanting more.  Thankfully there was more.  When their car breaks down, the two find themselves stuck in a very small town in South Carolina where the residents are distrustful of strangers.  They are taken in by Sophia, a beautiful, and cheery candy maker with a small house and chocolatier on the outskirts of town.  Sophia and her shop of sweet delights may or may not be more than they seem.  

 

While her brother does odd jobs for Sophia to earn money to fix their car, Gretchen learns much about the town, its dwindling population, and the rumors that surround Sophia.  Not to mention her (Sophia’s) father’s mysterious death.  And then there are the woods.  Since the night her sister vanished, Gretchen has been afraid of the woods.  She tells herself that so far away from home, the woods behind Sophia’s house can’t possibly hurt her.  When she discovers that the same terror that took her sister, lurks in these woods too, her fear that she hoped to overcome, turns out to be justified.  Only one person shares the secret of that truth, the troubled, motorcycle riding Samuel.  Samuel is a cynical loner who is also an out-of-towner.  (This is a dreamy boy under that tough-but-sad exterior.)

Sweetly was a really enjoyable story that kept me turning pages until I ran out of them.  Once while reading in the middle of the night, I was actually kind of creeped out, and had to keep reading until I was safely out of the woods, so to speak, before I could sleep.  That’s a well written scene, I’d say.  The entire book was well written.  Just a pleasure to read.  Even if unhappy things sometimes happened.  Also, this book made me want delicious candies.  Very delicious descriptions of the candies that Sophia made and sold in her shop.   I have only recently become aware of Jackson Pearce, but I feel that I may just have to go and pick up her other books.  Apparently this is not her first fairy tale inspired novel.  Her Sisters Red is a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood.

As tired as I am, I hope that I have written something coherent here, and will definitely proofread this before I post it tomorrow.  (It wasn’t “tomorrow”, sadly.  I wrote this two weeks ago)

In other news, today was the Kick-off of our library’s summer reading program (the day job), we found out that we may be getting the house we’ve been dreaming of, and also found out that our grandbaby is a Granddaughter!  It’s been a big day.  Am more than excited about meeting this little sweetie-pie this fall.  And also about having a great house to play with her in.  Did I tell you this house has a little building out back with big windows that will be ironically called “the Boathouse” and will be used for creative outletting.  Writing by me, and drawing by my Mister.  It shall be wonderful.

And now, good night.  I shall finish/polish this in the morning, and get it posted.  Hope to not wait quite a month before posting again.  Thank you for visiting, please leave me a note to tell me you’ve dropped by.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far.

Well, technically it isn’t Summer yet, but in the “Memorial Day to Labor Day” sense, it is. 

Sleep.  Sleep is what I need.

Also, I just noticed that my Anna and the French Kiss widget turned magically into a Lola and the Boy Next Door one!  Awesome!  Love that Stephanie Perkins!