Little Moments :: Happy Heart :: Fifth Edition

Hello my lovelies! I hope you're all doing well. I'm.....okay. Sorta. In amongst the sad moments, there's been lots of happy moments. Truly! And I'm clinging to them right now. I think I'm still a bit in shock that mom's not here anymore, so my capacity for dreaming up happy blog posts about books and stories seems to be struggling a bit currently. But I'll get there, I just know it.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

I didn't want to leave this little spot blank for days and weeks, plus I know I am SO far behind on my blog reading/commenting. *sigh* I was already behind and this has not been helping my cause! Anyhoo, I decided to focus on the happy right now. Like I said, there has certainly been lots of happy in my life! And that means y'all get to smile along with me. (I hope.)

Onward!

Back at the end of April, I finally got around to shelving my books by color. And I love it! It makes me grin every single time I look over in that corner. :)

These are some of mom's pretty flowers. She always loved working out in her flower beds and I can remember dreadful hours spent in multiple plant nurseries when I was a kid. (If you can't tell, I was not a happy camper when mom said that's where we were headed. I always got so bored!)

This beautiful bouquet was delivered to me at work one day and it brightened me considerably! How can anyone stay down when glorious sunflowers are staring them in the face? Not possible! :)

Still haven't done a whole lot of reading, I just can't seem to find a book that will hold my attention. But this one did! I loved it! Hopefully I'll get to rhapsodizing on it soon, but until then I recommend you read it. Like now! :)

I met this gentle lady last weekend and was contemplating bringing her home with me. She was so sweet! Alas, I couldn't seem to commit quick enough and another family got her instead. I'm sure she's very happy there, but it'd definitely have been fun to have her around.

This picture is for the table. I found it last weekend as well and immediately loved it! It was such a great deal I had to bring it home. My nieces and nephews just shake their heads at all my yellow things, but they make me happy so... Also, I hope y'all will appreciate my Aslan sign! All my real life friends come in and ask "What's Aslan?"  (Only the awesomest lion ever!!! This experience has made me doubly determined to introduce more people to him!)

So, what's been making you happy recently?

Quick {Real Life} Update

Hello my lovelies! Just a quick check in to let you know that things will continue to be a bit silent around here for a while yet. I don't often write much about my personal life, but I wanted to give everyone a heads up. My dearest mother is not doing well at this time. In fact, she is now home with hospice care. So all my available time is being spent at home with her! Knowing I'm down to days if not hours and minutes with her makes this time so very precious. I'm sure you understand. I'm not certain when I will be back here, but rest assured I shall be back! I've not done a lot of reading in the last couple weeks, but I have several reviews yet to be written and a few other things I want to post about. So no worries that I'll be back! I shall look forward to catching up when I can! :) I trust y'all are doing well. And thanks for hanging in there with me.

Review: Named of the Dragon by Susanna Kearsley

Wow! What can I say about this story? About this writing? I've been seeing Ms. Kearsley's books around the blogosphere for some time and finally spotting this one in the library recently, I thought "Hey! There's that writer I've been wanting to read. I should try it!" So I brought it home, and while I wanted to read it, for some reason I waited until the day before it was due back to the library to start it. Silly me, of course I didn't finish it in time and now have incurred a late fee. But oh my goodness was it worth it! Because this story, y'all. I could not stop reading it! So yeah, count me as a new fan of Ms. Kearsley! :)

Where she hooked me first was her writing. It feels atmospheric and haunting. It's like it called wildly and vividly to me. That sounds funny, I know, but there is just something about the words on these pages. They swept me away from the very first sentence and I was so not ready to say goodbye.

And then there's the characters! Lyn is our heroine who's fighting a battle of heartache, which is reiterated by the dreams she keeps having. But then when she gets to Castle Farm and meets all the rest of the characters, each of them made a deep impression as well. Even though we don't get the full description of each of their pasts, somehow they all feel fully fleshed out, with depths that I want to know more about. I'm not sure how Ms. Kearsley did it, but every character felt real and I could imagine them moving in the background, even though they may not have been in the particular scene I was reading.

Also the story itself was so compelling. I sped through the pages and could not bear to pause, especially in moments where I knew I had to. Somehow it kept playing in my head while I handled real life and once I picked it up again, I was immediately swept back in with no problem. I loved all the bookish references (helped a great deal by the fact that three of the characters are writers! :), and the mystery of trying to figure out if the things that happened were real or simply Elen's imagination. The dreams that Lyn keeps having and how all the mythical discussions played into what was going on just intrigued me further. I tend to be the type that doesn't figure out what's really going on until the characters do and I loved how all the different clues finally started coming together and making sense.

Seriously, I could gush for paragraphs more, but I will stop here and say only that I highly recommend this one. It's delightful, and with just the perfect amount of romantic tension, I really think you should read it! :)

Goodreads :: Amazon :: Barnes and Noble

"The playwright," I prompted him, ignoring Bridget.
"Oh right," He nodded, picking up the thread of conversation. "Well, you'll have heard the name, of course-he's rather more famous than my brother, and a good thing too, because old James is vain enough already-"
A new voice interrupted from the back door; a cultured male voice, instantly identifiable. "That's slander, that is." He let the kitchen door swing closed again behind him as he came into the warmth, his blue eyes finding Bridget first, then Christopher, and finally coming to rest on me. "Miss Ravenshaw, I presume." The familiar smile flashed, as James Swift came across to greet me, offering a hand streaked with red from the afternoon's shooting. "Don't mind the blood," he said, "I've just committed murder."

Review: Sit, Stay, Love by Dana Mentink

This was just super cute! I love animals, especially dogs, I'm a fan of baseball, and as I've read and enjoyed another of Ms. Mentink's books before, I was pretty sure I'd like this one. I was right! It's a fluffy bit of sweetness that made me grin, what more can a reader ask for? :)

What this story looks like is exactly what the reader gets. A quirky old dog named Tippy, who you can't help but love for all her funny little idiosyncrasies (like her refusal to eat except when Cal is sitting on the floor beside her), and also an adorable romance between two people who sure didn't plan on falling in love and who both have some growing and learning to do. Cal and Gina are simply very sweet together. Cal is a little grumpy at first, but that's not who he really is inside, so it's not too long before Gina brings out his nicer side. For all they frustrate each other in the beginning, once they become friends, they truly understand each other. When they start realizing their attraction, Tippy is happy to do what she can to help it along, and the story just gets more fun.

If you're looking for a quick read that's sure to make you smile with all the cute and finish the last page with a happy sigh, this one is definitely for you. Tippy just makes it all the more enjoyable! :)

**I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Goodreads :: Amazon :: Barnes and Noble

Tippy launched herself at Cal. Off balance, he sat down hard. Tippy slurped her long tongue over his face, body wriggling as if she was spring-loaded.
"Knock it off," Cal said, shooing her away with his free hand and wiping his cheek with the other.
Tippy trotted happily to her food bowl and began to wolf down the kibble.
"Nothing wrong with her stomach now," Cal grumped. He got to his feet.
Tippy immediately stopped eating, staring at Cal with limpid eyes.
Gina's mouth opened in an O of surprise. "I think she wants you to sit with her while she eats."
Cal gaped. "You have got to be out of your mind."
"Just try it. Please?"
Reluctantly, he resumed a sitting position.
Tippy once again began to eat.