Peaches For Father Francis

Peaches For Father Francis

By: Joanne Harris

458 Pages

 

Summary:

Vianne receives a letter from a long dead friend. In it, Vianne is asked to go back to Lansquenet. Trouble is brewing and Vianne is the one who can set things right. Vianne and her 2 girls honor the request and find their former stomping ground a village divided. Another culture has moved in and one of the women in it is not well liked. Her schoolhouse (Vianne's former chocaltaire) is burned. The village priest, Father Francis, is being blamed for it, though no evidence can support the gossip claims. Can Vianne do as her friend asked and set the village right again?

 

I loved Chocolat. It was a magical, interesting, mystical read that I couldn't put down. The sequel to the book, The Girl With No Shadow, wasn't as good. Sadly, I can't say this book brings back what the original has. I found none of the charm and magic that drew you in I was able to find in Chocolat. What I did find was a story that seemed to move slowly and not an enticing storyline, at that.

 

While the curiosity factor kept me longer, I eventually stopped caring what happened to the characters I once knew and missed. I thought the story was finally going to start moving faster when Father Francis rescued Alyssa from her botched suicide attempt, but nothing. I got confused with all the new characters and how they were connected. I also had a hard time remembering some of the older characters from the first book.

 

It was with a heavy hand that I threw in the towel on this book. Having loved the first book in the series, I welcomed the chance to visit the old village. I hope that other Joanne Harris fans have better luck with the book than I did.

 

Rating: Borrow From Library?Buy It & Return It 

 

A Book Lover's Adventures in Potty Training!

Well, my youngest is potty trained. That's right, mini- book lover is officially a big girl now. It was a long journey that wasn't without a few bumps and laughs, but we got there. Allow me to share this adventure with you. Because you all really want to know. Lol.

Early on, Mini Book Lover decided she didn't want to use the potty training toilets. No, only the real thing was going to do for her. So, we thought we'd get a little seat to put on the big seat so she wouldn't fall in. She had her own thoughts on that, as well. She would have none of it. Bare tushie on the real toilet seat was the only way it was going to work for my littlest Love bug. If there was a seat on, she would promptly remove it. Okay then.

She was fascinated with the events in the toilet bowl once she started making donations to it. She would whiz around and make sure she really did something. Of course, in her eagerness to double check things, she would forget she's on the big potty. There were a couple of fall ins. I won't lie- they were funny. Thankfully, she learned quickly not to do that.

My youngest also felt that when she was done, she would wipe herself. Everyone else wipes when they finish, so why not? Well, there's a good reason why not. That's right, she plugged the toilet with her overly generous use of toilet paper. Daddy came to the rescue and she was grounded from wiping herself until later.

Another fun thing she did while mastering the art of potty donations was creating her own game. You've all heard of musical chairs. Well, my youngest plays musical potty. You guessed it! She'll climb on one and then decide she wants to use a different one. Or, there would be one toilet for #1 and another for #2. Sure enough, she'd bless both toilets with her tushie contributions.

After all is said and done, my beautiful 3 year old Love bug is potty trained. She doesn't even wear pull-ups at night. She has her big girl underwear that she picked out and is rather proud!

Mini Book lover: Mommy, am I pooh-pooh trained.
Me: Yes, honey, you're potty trained.
Mini Book lover: No, am I pooh pooh trained.
Me: Yes, my Little Love Bug, you are. :)

The Wind in the Willows (Journey Through The Classics)

The Wind in the Willows

By: Kenneth Grahame

 

 

I love it when a book surprises me. I love it when a book proves me wrong. The Wind in the Willows did just that. This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years now. While I was curious enough to buy it, I was never really in that big of a rush to read the book. For some reason, I just didn't think it was going to be that great of a read. Truthfully, I wondered if I would even finish it. I was wrong.

 

This is the charming story of a handful of animals who live in the woods and along the riverbank. Mole has decided he wants to spend the day outside. He meets Rat and from there the adventures begin. Rat introduces Mole, and the reader, to a host of wonderful characters. You get to meet the eccentric Toad. He's a wealthy animal who likes to follow whatever whim he's interested in. He takes up a love of driving cars and proceeds to get into numerous accidents. His friends have an intervention, even go so far has to lock him in a room for his (and everyone on the road) safety. However, he escapes and finds more trouble than he thought he could.

 

While there are a handful of other characters to meet and enjoy the book centers pretty much around Mole, Rat, and Toad. Toad is the character that stood out the most for me. I loved reading about his adventures. His daring escape from the dungeon and all that happened on his way back home. He was a character who didn't disappoint. I think my favorite part of the story was when all the animals joined together to take back Toad's beloved house from the Wild Wooders who moved in while Toad was in the dungeon.

 

This is a book I can see myself reading again sometime. It was a fun, charming romp through the English countryside with some great animals.



Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

From the moment I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. Reading it within 1 day, I was amazed at how Sarah brings you into the storyline and the characters.

In May of 1933 during a freak snowstorm, Vera Ray came home early one morning after working and discovered that her 3 year old child, Daniel, went missing. While some people say he ran away, she knew that they were wrong, and rather he was taken. She takes it upon herself and does what she can as a determined mother to find her child. However, being poor at that time period didn't help. The police took no interest in her or what she had to say.

77 years later during another snowstorm in May, Claire, a newspaper reporter, stumbles upon the story of the missing boy and is determined to give his story an ending. Having lost her baby herself, she felt for the mother and wanted to finish her story for her. The book goes from past to present, which allows the reader the full story of Vera and her missing son, as well as Claire's search for the truth about him.

This was an amazing book that I will be buying to add to my bookshelf. Sarah is a phenomenal writer and I look forward to reading her next book!

The Classics... Oh, how I've missed you!

The Wind in the Willows

By: Kenneth Grahame

 

When Mole decides he has had enough tiresome spring-cleaning for one day, the scrappy nonesuch throws down his broom and bolts out of his house looking for fun and adventure. He quickly finds it in the form of the Water Rat, who takes the wide-eyed Mole boating and introduces him to the mysteries of life on the river and in the Wild Wood. Mole also meets Ratty’s good friends: the kindly, solid Badger and the irrepressible Toad. Soon, the quartet’s escapades—including car crashes, a sojourn in jail, and a battle with the weasels who try to take over Toad Hall—become the talk of the animal kingdom. --bn.com

 

I'm going on an adventure! I'm hitting the open river with a mole, a river rat, and various other animals. I have no idea what lies ahead, but I have a feeling The Wind in the Willows is going to take me on an adventure like no other I've gone on before.

 

After a rather extended break from reading the classics, the old itch has begun in earnest. I've missed reading the books of legend and days gone by. I miss the world they take you to and the characters you miss. So my Journey Through The Classics picks up again with this famous critter tale. I'm hitching a ride on a river rat's boat and I'd love for you to join me!

One Small Fib by Jan Romes

When I won this book on a twitter contest, I was excited to start reading it especially after seeing so many good reviews on this books! I started reading this on my flight home, from Washington -> California. The first thing I found funny was the fact that the main character was also a flight attendant! Too funny if you ask me. Well, from the moment I started the book I couldn't put it down. I was able to read the majority of the book during the duration of the flight. The chemistry between the 2 characters, Allie and Kipton was a love/hate relationship. Kipton was a billionaire, used to getting whatever he wants. Allie was a hard working girl, raised by a hooker of a mom, while trying to save up for her dream of owning a bed and breakfast. So when Allie is assigned as a special flight attendant to Kipton, he meets this fiery girl who is unlike anyone he is used to talking to; she actually speaks her mind and says what she wants to say, versus what he wants to hear. In the end, they probably have more in common than one would think!  "One Small Fib" is a fun romantic comedy that's sure to make you laugh. There are also a lot of heated moments between the two characters that leave you feeling the sense of attraction between the two.  I truly enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading more books written by Jan Romes!

Changes are afoot!

While I have loved running this blog by myself, everything in life grows and changes. As it is with this blog. During the time I've had Jen's Corner, I have been given incredible opportunities. Several of those have been people using my blog to do their own reviews for books they have read. For the past several months I have thought long and hard about what the future of my blog will be. Should I shut It down and try to do reviews for other blogs? Should I take a break from reviewing all together? Should I see if anyone else would like to run this blog with me? I have weighed the pros and cons for each possibility and finally came up with my choice.

I have taken on another blogger who will become my partner in crime. Because of this, the blog will no longer be called Jen's Corner. Instead it will now be called Miss Book Lovers! In the coming months you will meet my new blog mate and get to know her. We have several fun ideas for what we want to do. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!

The changes won't be severe, but slight and pleasant. I encourage you to check back often to see what's new. I will keep you posted!!