Please observe. For once, I do not want spoilers. No one else does either. Thanks. For another point of view, check out The Fault In Our Words.
Month: May 2014
Fangirling over the Wilis or Why I Need to go to Seattle
It’s Spring, which means that ballet season is in full swing. In fact, I’m actually writing this post while sitting in the theatre, prepping tech for a ballet production of The Wizard of Oz.
Oh, you didn’t know there was a ballet season? Why yes, there is. Companies usually take a break over the summer so that professional dancers can take a little time to rest (from performances, but not class) and pre-professional dancers can be whisked away to exotic destinations (read: NYC/Seattle/LA/Paris/Canada) to study with the very best and hope and pray for an audition with a company.
In full disclosure, I never went to these camps. I spent my summers at horse camp, usually. I do, however, remember enviously spying over other (read: much better) dancers’ 3-ring binders that were filled with applications (pre-online application) and watching the photo shoots every year as they all took photos at the barre in various positions and poses so the applicant judges could see their potential in a few photographs.
I don’t perform anymore (you’re welcome), but I still work for a ballet company and I have a healthy appreciation for the art. Currently, I’m lusting over Pacific Northwest Ballet’s new staging of the ballet, Giselle.
Here’s a quick synopsis, courtesy of the Seattle Times and from a Nouvelle Gamine post about The Royal Book of Ballet:
At first called “Giselle ou les Wilis” (“Giselle, or The Wilis”), the ballet tells the story of an innocent peasant girl driven mad by romantic deceit. After her death, she is transported to a moonlit glade haunted by Wilis — the vengeful ghosts of young women who died before their wedding night. The story was inspired by two sources: a Victor Hugo poem about a girl whose love for dancing caused her death, and a passage about the Wilis (a Slavic legend) in a Heinrich Heine work. (via ST)
Giselle, falls in love with Duke Albrecht who has disguised himself as a peasant. his secret is betrayed by Hilarion who also loves Giselle. Knowing she can never wed her noble lover, Giselle commits suicide.
The region is haunted by the wilis, vengeful ghostly women who destroy any man unfortunate enough to cross their paths at midnight. sure enough, the queen of the ghostly wilis claims Giselle’s soul and they drown the mournful Hilarion.
When the grieving Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave the wilis appear and attempt to kill him. Giselle tries save him but is under the queen’s power. Only the 4 o’clock morning bell, heralding dawn, saves Albrecht. The wilis return to their graves, except for Giselle. Her love for Albrecht has released her from their control and she is able to rest in peace. (via NG)
Not usually a ballet fan? Picture this: costumes from Pride and Prejudice, Downton Abbey & The Infernal Devices all dancing around on stage. If for nothing else, you should fall in love with this ballet for the costumes.
The costumes. Oh, the glorious costumes. I’m not one to lust over ball gowns and red carpet designers. But tutus? Oh, I love them. Especially the romantic length tutus of the wilis (the spirits of jilted lovers) in Giselle. This new production features all new costumes, designed by renowned (the ballet world) designer, Here’s a really awesome Q&A with him about the costumes for this new production.
Giselle’s costume is modeled specifically on the one worn by Carlotta Grisi on that 1841 opening night. It’s two costumes, but one design: The Act II version is the same dress, rendered in all-white. (via Seattle Times article)
Each performance uses 82 costumes, all of which were constructed at PNB’s costume shop. They include 800 yards of ribbon trim, 900 hand-sewn buttons, 13 top hats, and 550 yards of tulle — the latter only including the Act I women’s skirts. Each Wili in Act II wears a six-layered skirt (four layers of tulle, two of silk), with each layer approximately 14.5 yards in circumference. For 19 Wilis, that’s 1,653 yards of fabric — the equivalent of nearly 14 football fields. (via Seattle Times 10 Fun Facts about PNB’s Giselle; read the entire article here)
Love, love, love this photo mashup with PNB dancers Jahna Frantziskonis, Elizabeth Murphy & Elle Macy modeling their new Giselle costumes alongside historical Giselle illustrations of the same costume and pose.
Jahna Frantziskonis top and bottom left corners, Elizabeth Murphy top and bottom right corners, Elle Macy middle right. (via PNB’s FB page)
Here are my absolute favorite. For professional dancers hating life because they’ve been relegated to the corps, know that I love you dearly. The precision of the corps is my favorite part of watching a ballet. The corps girls make up the cast of the village girls and most beautifully, the Wilis. Dear corps girls, honestly, I could watch just you. Giselle could go somewhere else for all I care. Of course, then I may as well just be watching Le Sylphides…
A note about the beautiful white wili costumes, from the Seattle Times article, states:
The wispy, white-clad Wilis are part of a tradition of ballet-blancs, or white ballet, performed by an all-female corps de ballet and popular in the 19th-century romantic era. The first white ballet was a chorus of dead nuns (!) in the opera “Robert le Diable” (1831); other examples are the wood nymphs in “La Sylphide,” the underworld specters of “La Bayadere,” the Wilis and the swans of “Swan Lake.”
These beautiful illustrations of the ballet were found in The Royal Book of Ballet, published in 1962.
Here are a few more photographs, from various companies, of the gorgeous and ethereal Wilis:
Another reason I adore the ballet, Giselle, is that pretty much any ballet book you can read mentions Giselle. Especially if it’s a memoir. There must be something about the love story that just speaks to dancers. One of my favorite movies as a kid, Dancers (starring Mikhail Barishnikov, the ‘dancer guy’ that non-dancers would recognize from Sex and the City), was loosely based on art in life as the dancer befell a major meltdown (like Giselle’s character) while rehearsing for…Giselle. Think early version of Black Swan. One of my more recent reads, Astonish Me, by Maggie Shipstead, even mentioned the sad story of Giselle and how it related to her own unrequited love with a male dancer in her company. Here’s a link back to a previous post about that book and some other ballet books worthy of mention.
Now, here’s my big admission…I’ve never seen a professional ballet performance live. I know! I can’t even believe this myself, but it’s true. I’ve seen Tallahassee Ballet and South Georgia Ballet perform dozens upon dozens of productions from The Nutcracker (16 seasons worth) to Copellia, The Sleeping Beauty and many more. I’ve seen professional productions online and in movies. My two-year old son loves to watch the fight scene between the Montagues and Capulets on YouTube from various professional productions of Romeo and Juliet.
I’ll get there one day. It would be amazing if I could make it across the country and all the way to Seattle to see this production in all it’s gloriousness, but it’s very unlikely to happen. For now, I’ll live through their Facebook posts and adore the costumes, sets and dance from afar.
If you happen to be in Thomasville, or our area, this weekend, instead of in Seattle, stop by the Municipal Auditorium and catch a performance of The Wizard of Oz by our company, South Georgia Ballet, and school, South Georgia Ballet Conservatory. If for no other reason, our little reviewer, W, is in the Saturday evening performance as a Kansas Daisy and in the Lollipop Guild ; )
Read Up!
The Top Ten List: College Advice from the Joneses
It’s graduation season. The time for commencement speeches, well-wishes and cards that better be filled with something bigger than a $20 bill. Because ya’ll…college ain’t cheap.
For my dear graduates, I’d like to share a bit of advice. Please pay attention.
Here’s my top ten lessons learned in college:
- Live in a dorm. It’s part of the college experience and no matter how crappy it is, it’s probably the one and only time you’ll live in a community such as this.
- Make new friends in college.
- Delay picking your major. Give yourself time to find out what you really like.
- Take crazy classes. College is the only place that you will have the opportunity to discover those hidden loves and talents and probably even get class credit for them…I’m talking PE credit for taking Beginner Ballet…or scuba diving. Art credit for Photography. Science credit for Mental Illness at the Movies. It doesn’t get better than that and you won’t ever have the chance again.
- Spend your weekends and maybe even minor holidays at school. You’ve been home for years. Give your parents and yourself a break. Enjoy the college experience…all of it.
- Take philosophy classes.
- Study abroad. You may never have another chance to see the world. Take it now.
- Get to know your professors.
- Don’t rush. There’s no need to finish early.
- Fall in love. Many times.
And of all the best advice I can give to any if you, it is this: do whatever brings you happiness, especially if that thing is reading up with the Joneses ; )
Congratulations Class of 2014! Read Up!
What the Civil Wars, Florence Welch, my 8th grade boyfriend, and Lena Duchanne’s claiming all have in common.
My dear sweet Audi Q5 has been having a few heart problems lately. After Dr. Theresa at German Auto Imports here in TVegas did all she could for him, he had to visit the specialist at Audi Gwinnett.
These trips entail road trips to Atlanta, 4-hours each way. I went up last Friday and then again this Saturday (16 hours in the car). I made both trips by myself. They were great ; )
Mr. J offers to go with me every time I have to make a trip to Atlanta (which is more often than you might think), but I usually end up going by myself. As an introvert, 8 hours in the car is actually a great time for me to recharge my batteries. I don’t think Mr. J understands this, even after 10 years of marriage. I think he thinks I’m kind of crazy (and secretly up to no good) when I insist on making the 8-hour round trip by myself (which I somehow always manage to turn into a 12-hour trip every time…Tanger Outlets are right in the middle).
For an introvert, it’s empowering to have complete control over a situation. To go when we want, where we want. I choose the time I leave. I choose the route. I choose where I want to eat lunch (I don’t mind eating at sit-down restaurants by myself…another thing Mr. J doesn’t understand). I choose when to stop for potty breaks. If I decide I want to detour over to the Wesleyan campus for a quick walk around memory lane, I can do that without consulting anyone.
Don’t get me wrong, I also love road trips with my family. I love stopping at little road-side vegetable stands. Impromptu trips to High Falls to play in the water and hike down a trail. Sharing the Wesleyan campus with my kids.
But when I really need to unwind, a long trip in the car on my own is perfect. Probably the best part of solo road trips though, is choosing the music.
Just like my taste in books, my range of favorite music genres is vast. I can listen to most anything. On these trips, the route is one I can pretty much drive blind-folded (though I don’t, you know…for safety purposes), so I love to roll down every window, open the moon roof as far back as it will go, let my hair down to fly around my face, and sing at the top of my lungs to my four favorite artists and albums with no regard for anyone else’s preferences. It’s pretty sweet.
I’m always downloading new music, but it seems that over the past year or so, I consistently listen to the same four artists/albums:
1) The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow
Their album, Barton Hollow, is perfect for starting a trip. I’m a sucker for mountain music. If my cousin, Daniel, a professional upright bass player in this very genre, read this, he would probably hate me forever because I’m sure that that’s not what the actual genre is called. But it reminds me of Tennessee and West Virginia and I just don’t have anything better to call it. There are plenty of other artists in this genre that I love, but it’s this one album that I just can’t get enough of. Favorites: C’est La Mort and Poison & Wine.
2) Florence + The Machine: Ceremonials (and other soundtrack singles)
I adore Florence Welch. Any and every single song from Florence + The Machine is on my phone. Every song is different, but they’re all SO. GOOD. These songs are like fantasy fiction in music form. All of the magic from every book I’ve read can be summed up in a Florence + The Machine song. Which is probably why they also write the songs for either the movies or the movie trailers for a lot of the most popular YA paranormal books. My personal favorites, most from the Ceremonials album, are Seven Devils, Breathe of Life, No Light, No Light and Spectrum.
3) Mayday Parade: A Lesson in Romantics (and other albums)
I know, this is probably ten miles away from the other genres and not even close to what I usually listen to (which on the radio is NPR, country or pop). I’m not even sure what this genre is. Ska? Is that still a genre of music? Alt? I don’t know. I came across this band when some of my high schoolers were fangirling over their music during drama class a few years ago. I asked who it was and they told me it was a local band from Tallahassee. They were “so cute!!!” and “their music is so awesome!!” and “one of the guys is from Cairo!!” Hmm…with that comment, I thought I’d heard the name before, but not sure where. With a little research, I found out that the drummer (the one from Cairo) was a guy I grew up with, and was even my boyfriend for a hot minute in 8th grade! I use the term ‘boyfriend’ very loosely. We were in middle school. Regardless, I actually know his aunt very, very well. I’ve been the production manager for her ballet company for the past dozen years. Back to the music, though. It’s actually not bad at all. If you love contemporary YA lit, especially from the guy’s POV, then I’d venture to guess that you’d love Mayday Parade. Angst-ridden love songs that sound like they’re being sung by love-stung teen idols (when really they’re probably all around my age…and the drummer’s age….which is NOWHERE NEAR high school). If I were an author of YA lit, this band would definitely be on my inspiration playlist.
4) Beautiful Creatures: Official Soundtrack from the Film
Let me begin by saying that this is probably my least favorite book-to-film adaptation ever. It was terrible. Visually and musically, it was great, but the storyline just dropped way, way too much (and you all know that I’m really forgiving when it comes to b2f adaptations). I can’t imagine a film being made of the second book just because so much was taken out.
Regardless, the score is fantastic. Fun fact about me: I was the drum major of my middle school marching band. I know. Touch me. I sizzle.
Thanks to this little bit of history, the muscle memory from the down beat never left and I love to really get into conducting a score. I’m sure the people driving by me probably think I’m either crazy or possibly yelling at someone on the phone. I get really into it. I have a lot of scores that I’ve listened to on road trips for years (Jurassic Park and Queen of the Damned are other favs), but lately, I’ve really started to adore this one most.
So there you have it. I don’t listen to audiobooks while I drive, but I do stick with the themes and really jam out on my long and lovely solo road trips.
Thankfully, I got to spend some time with my older brother and a good friend while I was in Atlanta and my dear Audi Q5 is all better now and back home.
What do you prefer to listen to on long drives? Solo or with company? Let me know! I love, love, love comments : ) If you want to hear a few snippets, I’ve linked to each album (plus a few more) in the Jones’ Book Store through Amazon (or just link through the album covers above). Listen Up and Read Up!
The Carrots Classic Book Club
My good friend, Haley, over at Carrots for Michaelmas, has started a book club!
She and I are both avid readers and now not only love reading for ourselves, but also with our kiddos.
I have a memory from years, years, years ago when she was just discovering Harry Potter for the first time (it was when Harry Potter had just come out). I think she’d gotten it from her older brother. We were sitting around in the lobby of our ballet school, most of the girls gossiping and chatting. Haley was sitting in the corner with a big book in her hands when she looked up and interrupted everyone to say, “Have you guys heard of Harry Potter?! These are really good!” We all just sort of glanced around, let Haley go back to reading, and eventually, we got back into our conversations of whether ballet boys were better than football boys (I think soccer boys actually won this competition…). Little does Haley know, though, that I went out and got Harry Potter within the week. So, Haley, thanks for that.
She’s a fabulous Catholic mama who has a phenomenal blog on her feats of raising three kids under age 5. Her new book club, The Carrots Classic Book Club, looks like a lot of fun, if you enjoy the classics. Link up with Haley here and grab your copy of Brideshead Revisited.
Read Up!
Blood Of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus) Cover Release!
We here in the Jones home adore anything and everything Rick Riordan. Have you read any of his series? They top our “highly anticipated” list. So happy to see that Blood of Olympus finally has a cover!
The cover for the fifth and final book in Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus Series had been released today by USA Today .
What do you guys think?.I personally really like it. I haven’t read the HOO Series yet but I have read Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series and I loved it! I have reviews for each book posted. This Series along with Harry Potter are the only books Im planning on reading next month and starting off my summer with. I already own all the HP books and Im ordering all the HOO books; Im really excited to jump back into Percy’s fantastic world. It will also be the perfect Series to get me out of the horrible slump and hangover that I know City of Heavenly Fire will put me in. Camp Half – Blood can break me out of any slump / hangover.
The book Blood…
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I’d Rather Be Reading, but apparently, not everyone agrees
I came across this article via a shared by shared by shared by Facebook user. I read religiously to both of my kids, but I can’t say I ever remember seeing my 13 year old niece reading for pleasure…hmm…looks like I’ve got a job to do.
Read up…and in the meantime, do our future a favor and share a good book with a kid.
Book Anticipation: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
Let me start by saying that I am not just anticipating this book. I am drooling in anticipation. I am planning a binge read for May 27th. I want to hire a babysitter to take my kids for the day so that I can do nothing but live in the world of the Shadowhunters for a day. I might even want to be a Shadowhunter more than a Narnian. I know. This is saying a lot.
I LOVE this series. If you haven’t read any of these and don’t want any spoilers whatsoever, STOP READING NOW! Because I have some serious heat to discuss concerning the topics of The Mortal Instruments (TMI…which at some points it really is almost tmi) and The Infernal Devices (ID).
Now, with that said, let me add that I almost…ALMOST stopped reading it after City of Ashes because I just couldn’t handle the “we ‘might’ be in an incestual relationship, but whatever…let’s just run away together and make out and feel each other up in a random field; no one will know!”Thankfully, THAT, got resolved (though not before the making out part…major questionable moral behavior).
Then, again at the end of City of Lost Souls when Sebastian is STILL lusting over Clary (after he also made out with her…in a field…in an earlier installment. In Clary’s defense, she had no idea he was her actual brother) and I’m just like…duuuude. Stop. She’s your ACTUAL SISTER! But he’s still all, “our bloodlines will create the most powerful blah, blah, blah…” Oh. My. Raziel. Stop it.
I was actually drawn to the ID books first, and I’m glad I started with them over TMI. Eventually, I got to where I was reading them as they were released, which meant I was bouncing back and forth. I didn’t mind though, since the crossovers of the immortal characters made more sense to both story lines. I love the steampunk aspect of ID and even with the formalities of the time, I was lusting over Will and just begging for him to get over his sh*t and be with Tess. And then the whole Jem proposal and Will just being polite and stepping back. And then Jem on the brink of death and choosing to become a Silent Brother just for the possibility of having a future with Tess… And then Tess marrying Will and having kids and more kids and grandkids and not aging and then Will DYING!!! And then….***short gasps of breath are ensuing***
Tess and Jem meeting on the bridge while she’s wearing an original Liberty scarf and Jem shows up as Jem and not as a Silent Brother?! Dirty. Crying. Like, to the tune of The Book Thief dirty crying. Snotty, moaning, nastiness. It was bad, ya’ll.
Now, I have a really good/bad talent of figuring out plots really quickly. Movies, books, TV shows…I can tell you pretty much what’s going to happen within 5 minutes. My husband hates this. I’m always right. These series were no different. I figured them out pretty quickly, but I loved them regardless. While reading TMI, I knew pretty early on that either Will or Jem was Brother Zachariah. I also knew that Clary and Jace couldn’t actually be siblings. For this series to continue, this couldn’t happen. There was too much sexual tension for this story line to progress much further. I didn’t really see the whole Sebastian story line coming though, and I have to admit that the end of the last book was a little too fast paced for me. Not too bad, though, and I’m really, really, REALLY excited about City of Heavenly Fire to find out what happens next!!!!
While you’re swooning just thinking about this series, head over to Goodreads to enjoy these quotes from City of Heavenly Fire (out May 27), from Cassandra Clare.
Things I can’t wait to find out:
- Who’s going to die? I have my list of probabilities, but I’m not sure. I obviously haven’t read an ARC of this, so I really don’t know.
- What happens with Magnus and Alec’s breakup? Ugh. This drives me insane. Please. Can we please put the cute couple back together? I can’t handle this breakup.
- Isabelle and Simon. Must. Be. Together. Like, actually together, together. Not this dizzying dance of push/pull/love/hate/makeout/fight thing that’s been happening. Izzy. Get it together. Simon is awesome.
- Can Jace and Clary FINALLY just be together? Without the world trying to cut them down? Please? I’m begging at this point. I NEED these two to be together. And I need some damn good feels scenes to go with it. I was so thankful for the club scene in City of Lost Souls just for the sheer release of some of that pent up sexual tension and even more excited to come across this DSCS (Dirty Sexy Club Scene) expanded version (you’re welcome, readers). Please Cassie Clare. Don’t disappoint me. Or I will cut you off like I did Veronica Roth when she killed Tris. Okay, not that bad since you’ve got plenty of other good books in the series ahead of this one, and the bridge scene gave you tons of feels cred. But still. Beware.
What are you most looking forward to in CoHF? Have you pre-ordered it? If not, go ahead and get that done in the Jones’ Book Store or stop by the Bookshelf in downtown Tville to order a copy (like I have).
I’m also really looking forward to all of the short novellas that Cassandra Clare and her writing partners are planning to add to this world in the form of The Bane Chronicles. There are 10 planned so far. Some are already out, but I’m waiting for them all so I can read them back to back as “Magnus’ Book.” You can order those already released or pre-order those that aren’t from the Jones’ Book Store.
Can’t wait for May 27th! I’d love to hear your love/hate and other comments, so please share and don’t forget to Read Up!
Book Anticipation: 3 Reads that are Sure to Deliver…Today!
Three. That is the magic number of amazing books that are being released today that you absolutely MUST read.
The catch?
They’re all companions or series finishers…which means that you have a bit of pre-reading to do before you get to these.
If you’re like me, though, you’ve already read them (some more than once) and have been anticipating these for months.
Here they are, along with links to their companions so you can complete the series and thereby complete your soul for reading these books.
First in the Amazing Book Release Line Up:
Breakable (companion to Easy) by Tammara Webber
I don’t even have to read this book to know that it is AH-MAZING! Tammara Webber is a fantastic writer. Not just the story, but the technique, the flow, the beauty of writing.
If you haven’t read the first book, Easy, you must. I don’t care what genre you usually read, you must read this book. If you have a girl in your circle of friends either in college or heading off to college soon, this is a must-read for her too. Today’s release, Breakable, is from the guy’s POV, so if you have a guy in your life, he must read this one.
What’s it about you ask?
Rape.
Yep. You read it right. The first time I read Easy (yes, I’ve read it probably eight times now), I was so caught off guard. It came as a recommendation after reading Beautiful Disaster, a new adult romance set on a college campus. I thought I was getting into the same thing, and on one level, I was.
Easy and the companion (read: not sequel), Breakable, are set on a college campus. It’s the story of Jacqueline, a pretty girl, and Lucas, an emo guy, and how they meet…which, oddly enough for a meeting, is when J is leaving a college party and has an encounter with a guy she knows. He’s drunk, he attacks her, Lucas saves her. This may sound unusual, but Lucas has a deep backstory. It puts him in just the right place at just the right time. I’m so excited to read the story from his point of view in Breakable! I actually learned a lot about rape, rape culture, and rape prevention from reading Easy. It has a powerful message for girls. This is a book that my daughter will certainly read when she’s old enough.
Because it’s under the new adult category, there are some pretty descriptive sex scenes. They are not dirty or nastily written, and are in fact, quite important to the story, both for Jacqueline and Lucas. If you do not like reading any adult scenes at all, then you can put these aside, but if you appreciate a few good scenes where they are appropriate (and not the entirety of a book), then I think you’ll like these.
I have absolutely no doubt that I will love Breakable. Let me know in the comments if you’ve read Easy! Did you love it?
Second on the list:
The One (The Selection trilogy finale) by Kiera Cass
This is a much anticipated season finale (or we think it’s the finale) for a series with an odd, but interesting premise. A friend of mine sent the first two to me, mainly because there are pretty dresses on the cover and we both appreciate pretty ball gowns. Best of all, these gowns actually have something to do with the book! Doesn’t it suck when you find a pretty cover just to realize it actually has nothing to do with the book? Gag.
So, sit down and don’t run away as I tell you the premise…
Dystopian. check.
Lottery system to be put into a competition for the New Kingdom. check.
Reality TV Beauty Pageant. check…wait, what?
Yep.
Basically, it’s The Bachelor meets Legend by Marie Lu.
Stop! Don’t run away! It’s actually not that bad. Now, the main character made me want to strangle her…a lot. She’s ridiculous. But whoever said we actually have to sympathize with the lead? I will admit that the story has a lot of holes. The writing could be better. The characters could be more lovable. However, after forcing my way through the first two, I have to find out if she actually wins…and what happens with the prince! Eeep!
This book sort of borders on Young Adult/New Adult. There are no intense sexual scenes, but these occasions are not completely missing.
I’ll recommend this one if you think you might find the premise interesting. If not, leave it alone.
Last for today, but certainly not least:
Rush Too Far (Rush book 3; Abbi Glines Rosemary Beach Series)
Do you have a Rush Crush?
I do! Well, actually, I kind of like Grant a little more, but that’s beside the point.
I somehow stumbled across Abbi Glines a long, long while back and she’s been my guilty pleasure ever since.
I started with The Vincent Boys series and then the Sea Breeze series and on into the Rosemary Beach series.
Rush Too Far is the third Rush Book, but these are tied into the Rosemary Beach books.
Let me stop here and say that Abbi Glines is pretty much the definition of the New Adult genre. If you aren’t into NA contemporary romance and aren’t okay with sex scenes: RUN! RUN FAR FAR AWAY!
If you’re a-okay with this and thought Fifty Shades of Grey was pretty decent (not considering the questionable writing, stolen story line, etc.), then girlfriend, keep on reading because you are going to fall in love with Abbi Glines and all of her men. My only problem, especially with the RB series, is that she’s really describing PC Beach, not the actual beauty and glory of the real Rosemary Beach (since that’s where the Jones’ spend the summer). Kind of annoying. I’ll let it slide though since she write feels scenes so well.
Now, the Rush story line is pretty much complete. We see a bit more of his family’s new life together in the other Rosemary Beach novels. This new release, Rush Too Far, is the original Rush story, but from his POV. So excited!
Get ready to get a glass of wine and get comfortable, ladies, this one is going to be good.
Because I’ve been highly anticipating these books, my current read, Everything Leads to You, will be put on hold. These are just that important!
You can purchase these books today through the Jones’ Book Store or check them at out at your local bookshop. If you’re in the Thomasville area, head over to The Bookshelf to see if they’ve gotten them in. Now the only problem to to pick one to read first! Enjoy and Read Up!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links where you can purchase through the book store. You can also order anything else you can dream of through these links so, check it out!
Assassin Nuns
See, I’m not the only one that loves His Fair Assasins! Here’s another blogger’s take on the series. I think she’ll really enjoy Mortal Heart…and so will you when it comes out in November! Read Up!
A couple of days ago, I was involved in a gathering of library workers to discuss reader advisory. During the discussion we were each tasked with finding ten different books in different genres and then asked to describe at least one of the books we selected. One person started off describing a book as “about assassin nuns.” Of course after hearing that I was intrigued about the book she was talking about. And then I discovered that I had read the series! I had read the first two books in the series and was excited that someone else was recommending the books, which then prompted me to write this blog. It’s a great series and has a bit of danger wrapped up in it as well. The series I’m talking about is the “His Fair Assassin” trilogy.
All three books are about young girls and women who are left at…
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Reading Up with the Joneses 