On My Bedside {Bloodlines Series}

I love Richelle Mead – you know, for a quick and easy and thoroughly entertaining vampire read.  After finishing her Vampire Academy series, I was excited to see she spun two of the most interesting secondary characters off into the Bloodlines series. 



Goodreads says: Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning

So far, there are three books out in the series (the next two titles have been announced), and I’ve just finished up the last – The Indigo Spell.  I found myself perplexed when I was trying to hunt it down in the library… wandering up and down the M aisle, wondering where on earth they could have hidden ALL of Mead’s books.  Weeeeell, um, you probably guessed I was in regular fiction section, NOT in young adult.  So I packed on our library book bag, my overflowing purse and my little one and headed for “Teen Corner”.  Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. 

As always, let me know what’s on your bedside!!  I go through all your comments and add them to my Goodreads to-read list!!
xoxo
 

See all of my reads here

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Best of 2013

It’s hard to believe that tonight we will bid farewell to 2013 and usher in a brand new year with the drop of a ball (or peach).  Like last year, I thought it would be fun to look back on YOUR favorites from the year…

Minute to Win It Holiday Party {Free Printables} 

Teacher Appreciation Round Up

Holiday  Monogrammed Canvas

Master Bedroom {Before & After}

Disney Cruise Tips & Tricks

Honey Does: DIY Flat Screen TV Cabinet

Southern Porch Screened {Before & After}

Honey Does: Garage {Before & After}

Dining Room {Before & After}

 

Dressing Southern Tots

In addition to the year’s top ten, a few posts of yore have been favorites for a couple of years now…

Monogrammed Canvas

The Road to Disney

Darling Easter Desserts

Messages from Mickey 

Guest Room {Before & After}

While sites like Pinterest and Bloglovin are climbing in the ranks, I don’t know where I’d be without the support and generosity of fellow bloggers that have been kind enough to feature me, promote me and just be my friend!  Many, many thanks go out to some of my top referrers, including…

 Savvy Southern Style

My Sweet Savannah

Kelly's Korner

House of Turquoise

Uptown Acorn

Southern Soul Mates

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

It's Overflowing

Mom Endeavors 

A Stroll Thru Life

It was a great year for giveaways in 2013!!  I love giving them as much as y’all love receiving them!!  Thanks for partnering with me this year…

Tamera at Scrappin Plus (fabulous wood monograms)

Tricia @ HKL Designs (darling personalized items)

Ron at The Uptown Acorn

Grits Bits (Georgia gourmet & gifts)

Harlequin Books

Initial Perfection (more monograms!)

And last, but certainly not least, thank YOU for coming to my little slice of the world wide web every day.  Your emails and comments brighten my day.  Every day!  Dixie Delights has been quite an adventure and I sincerely look forward to the fantastic things to come in 2014!

Happy New Year’s Eve, y’all!

xoxo

See the best of 2012 here!

See the best of 2011 here!

Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Miss Mustard Seed, Elizabeth and Co, Rain on a Tin Roof, Coastal Charm, Uncommon Designs, Mop It Up Monday, The Tablescaper, A Lived In Home, The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch,Remodelaholic, Evolution of Style

On My Bedside {The Handmaid’s Tale} + A Winner

I honestly don’t know what to say about The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.  It was good.  Really good.  I mean, it was the kind of book that had me wanting to read at stop lights, for crying out loud, and left me thinking about it for days afterwards.  But it was difficult to read – very wordy and not a lot of punctuation – and quite depressing at times.  It’s one of those dystopian America, set sometime in the not so distant future (or so I gathered) kind of reads, but this one focused on how the lives of women were changed.  A fascinating concept no doubt, but I had so many unanswered questions at the end that I felt quite frustrated and a little robbed.  Perhaps it was written this way so each reader could fill in the blanks, but I have enough to think about on a daily basis.  When I read, I just want a complete story told in complete sentences with a beginning, middle and end.



Goodreads says: Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...

I don’t want to deter you from reading this book because really, it’s worth the time.  I would love to know your thoughts, if you’ve read it!!

As always, let me know what’s on your bedside!!  I go through all your comments and add them to my Goodreads to-read list!!
xoxo

See all of my reads here

Follow me on goodreads here

PS. The winner of my House Proud book giveaway compliments of the Uptown Acorn / Bestie R is comment #190 (via random.org):

Sarah said...Back to say that I'm also a long time fan and follower of Uptown Acorn. Thanks!  

Shoot me an email with your address and I'll get it right out to you!!!

For those that didn't win, all is not lost!  Ron is giving away a second copy on his blog starting October 1!!

Great Books for Boys {43 Reader Recommended Series}

John is an extremely capable reader and we struggle with finding "just right" books (content and level wise) for him.  Add to the mix that he doesn't even like reading (or so he claims) and we've been in quite a pickle.  You see, Honey and I are both avid readers and would love to see our boys follow suit... not to mention I would really love to see him sit down and read for the required time each night without badgering and cajoling.  At the beginning of summer, I reached out for recommendations on great books for boys and I have made it my MISSION in second grade to help show the boy how intriguing and entertaining and wonderful reading can be!

To that end, I have compiled all of your comments and emails with some of our own favorites in the master list below.  I even looked up appropriate grade levels (per amazon) as I was going along because there were some that wasn't familiar with but didn't want to forget down the road.  I printed my list and we keep it in our library bag for quick reference.

Grade	Series	Author
1st - 4th	Andrew Lost	JC Greenburg
3rd - 6th	Animal Stories	Thornton Burgess
1st - 4th	A-Z Mysteries	Ron Roy
2nd - 5th	Bailey School Kids	Marcia Thornton
1st - 4th	Ballpark Mysteries	David Kelly
5th +	Baseball Card Adventures	Dan Gutman
2nd - 5th	Boxcar Children	Gertrude Warner
2nd +	Captain Underpants	Dav Pilkey
2nd +	Choose Your Own Adventure	RA Montgomery
2nd +	Diary of a Wimpy Kid	Jeff Kinney
1st - 4th	Dragon Slayer’s Academy	Kate McMullan
2nd +	Encyclopedia Brown	Donald Sobol
1st - 5th	Flat Stanley	Jeff Brown
2nd +	Fudge	Judy Blume
2nd - 5th	Geronimo Stilton	Geronimo Stilton
3rd +	Hardy Boys	Franklin Dixon
4th +	Harry Potter	JK Rowling
2nd - 4th	Horrible Harry	Suzy Kline
3rd - 7th	Humphrey the Hamster	Betty G Birney
2nd - 5th	I Survived	Lauren Tarshis
1st - 4th	Junie B. Jones	Barbara Park
3rd - 7th	Little House on the Prairie	Laura Ingalls Wilder
3rd - 7th	Magic Tree House	Mary Pope Osborne
1st - 4th	Marvin Redpost	Louis Sachar
3rd - 7th	Million Dollar	Dan Gutman
2nd +	My Father's Dragon	Ruth Stiles Gannett
1st - 5th	My Weird School	Dan Gutman
1st - 4th	Pee Wee Scouts	Judy Delton
3rd - 7th	Ralph S. Mouse	Beverly Cleary
3rd - 7th	Ramona	Beverly Cleary
K - 3rd	Ready Freddy	Abby Klein
3rd - 7th	Redwall	Brian Jacques
3rd - 7th	Shadow Children
3rd +	The Chronicles of Narnia	CS Lewis
3rd - 7th	The Enormous Egg	Oliver Butterworth
1st - 5th	The Invisible Inkling	Emily Jenkins
2nd - 5th	The Littles	Jon Peterson
3rd - 7th	The Mysterious Benedict Society	Trenton Lee Stewart
K - 3rd	The Prince of the Pond	Donna Jo Napoli
2nd - 4th	Time Warp Trio	Jon Scieszka
2nd - 5th	Toys Go Out	Emily Jenkins
3rd - 7th	Wayside School	Louis Sachar
2nd - 6th	Zack Files	Dan Greenburg

 
I sure hope I can report back with good news by the end of the year.  Happy reading, y'all!
xoxo

Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Miss Mustard Seed, Sugar Bee Crafts, Elizabeth and Co, Rain on a Tin Roof, Coastal Charm, Uncommon Designs, Mop It Up Monday, The Tablescaper, A Lived In Home, Monday Funday, The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch, Remodelaholic, Evolution of Style

On My Bedside {Karin Slaughter}

I’m going to lump a whole slew of books by one of my favorite thriller-mystery authors, long-time Atlantan Karin Slaughter, into this edition of On My Bedside.  I discovered her a few summers back and spent a few weeks straight devouring her entire first series.  Since then, I’ve worked my way through her second series as the books come out.  I adore her characters, love that her stories are all set in and around Atlanta and find every single one of her books to be a stay-up-all-night kind of page turner! 



Grant County Series
Goodreads says: Set in the fictional town of Heartsdale, Georgia, (in the fictional Grant County) the narrative takes place from the perspective of three main characters: Sara Linton, the town's pediatrician and part-time coroner; her ex-husband to whom she is remarried, Jeffrey Tolliver, who is chief of police; and his subordinate, detective Lena Adams, Slaughter's most controversial character.



Will Trent Series
Goodreads says: The Will Trent series takes place in Atlanta and features GBI special agent Will Trent, his partner Faith Mitchell, and Angie Polaski. The first two books in the series are Triptych and Fractured. Later, Sara Linton from The Grant County Series joins the series, and also appears in Undone, Broken, Fallen, Snatched (a novella), and Criminal.

I just finished up Criminal and am anxiously awaiting Unseen to come out this summer!  If you are looking for a good series to gobble up some time, I’d definitely add these to your list!  If you are already a fan of Karin Slaughter, you’ll be excited to know that the Will Trent series has signed a television film deal!! 

As always, let me know what’s on your bedside!!  I go through all your comments and add them to my Goodreads to-read list!!
xoxo

See all of my reads here

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On My Bedside {Matched Trilogy}

If you loved Hunger Games and Divergent, the Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie will be right up your alley!  I finished the series early this spring and was sad to see it end.



The website says: In the society before ours, everyone had technology, too much of it, and the consequences were disastrous. Now, we have the basic technology we need – ports, readers, scribes – and our information intake is much more specific. In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.  Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion.

These are easy and engaging reads, and the type of books that make you ask yourself “How did they get here?” and “Are we really too far away from this ourselves?”  I adored the entire trilogy, but found the ending of Reached a tad disappointing.  I was hoping to learn more about what was outside the Society, as I had speculated about it through all three books.  I suppose I’m hard to please when it comes to wrapping up a really good book :-)

What’s on your bedside?
xoxo

See all of my reads here

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On My Bedside {A Spear of Summer Grass} + A Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.  CONGRATS CARY AND JESSICA ON YOUR WINS!!

I literally squealed with delight when I was offered an advance copy of A Spear of Summer Grass by DeAnna Raybourn!!  The book was delightfully easy to read and a definite for your summer beach bags.  Set in vibrant and dangerous 1920’s Africa (which was fascinating in and of itself), the colorful cast of characters and unlikely romance kept me turning the pages late into the night.  More so than the whodunit thread, I found myself desperately wanting to see the dazzling and notorious Delilah open her steely heart to the deliciously mysterious Ryder White.  I only wish this was first in a series!
 

The official synopsis:
New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julie Grey series enters a new era with A Spear of Summer Grass.
Paris, 1923
The daughter of a scandalous mother, Delilah Drummond is already notorious, even amongst Paris society. But her latest scandal is big enough to make even her oft-married mother blanch. Delilah is exiled to Kenya and her favorite stepfather’s savannah manor house, until gossip subsides.
Amidst the wonders—and dangers—of Africa, Delilah awakes to a land out of all proportion: extremes of heat, darkness, beauty and joy that cut to her very heart. Only when this sacred place is profaned by bloodshed does Delilah discover what is truly worth fighting for—and what she can no longer live without.
If you blend glamour from The Great Gatsby and romance from “Out of Africa,” you are beginning to grasp the stunning new novel that is A Spear of Summer Grass.


I am thrilled to be able to offer copies of the book to TWO lucky readers, compliments of Harlequin!!  There are three ways to enter and the giveaway is open to US addresses only.  Post a comment for each of the following…
1. Follow my blog and leave a comment letting me know.
2. Let me know what’s on your bedside by leaving a comment.
3. Share the giveaway on your Facebook page, blog or twitter and leave a comment letting me know.

Winners will be announced Sunday May 5!
xoxo

See all of my reads here

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On My Bedside {The Hangman’s Daughter}

One of the things I loved most about The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch wasn’t discovered until the very end – that the author is a descendant of the Kuisl family and, after extensive research, wrote this engaging fictional account of his own history and ancestors.  The book provides an amazing sense of place in this peek into medieval Germany and I found myself in love with the hangman, of all people!  With the unfamiliar names and places, I did have to frequently stop to figure out who/where they were talking about.  And I had to just gloss over a few of the gory accounts of capital punishment.  Overall, it was a likeable read and I don’t regret staying up way too late a few nights in a row to finish. There are three more books in the series, although the fourth does not seem to have been translated yet.  I’ve added them to my “Want to Read” list and will pick them up as I come across them (as opposed to the kind of series where you have to immediately move on to the next to find out what happened.)



Goodreads says:  A historical thriller set in Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. Whispers and dark memories of witch trials and the women burned at the stake just seventy years earlier still haunt the streets of Schongau. When more children disappear and an orphan boy is found dead—marked by the same tattoo—the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos.  Before the unrest forces him to torture and execute the very woman who aided in the birth of his children, Jakob must unravel the truth. With the help of his clever daughter, Magdelena, and Simon, the university-educated son of the town’s physician, Jakob discovers that a devil is indeed loose in Schongau. But it may be too late to prevent bloodshed. 

Let me know what’s on your bedside!!
xoxo

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On My Bedside {The House at Riverton}

While down in Savannah, I mentioned that I was reading The House at Riverton by Kate Morton.  It came highly recommended by many of you and boy were you ever right – it was enchanting and engaging and thoroughly enjoyable!!  A perfect choice for those of us biding time until Downton Abbey comes back in January 2014,  (ugh, could that be any farther away?!!?) I often found myself marveling at how similar many of the characters and events in the book were to that favorite television series. 



Goodreads says: On the eve of a glittering society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again.  Winter 1999 - Grace Bradley, ninety-eight, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and old memories - long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind - begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge, something history has forgotten but Grace never could.  Set as the war-shattered Edwardian summer surrenders to the decadent twenties, The House at Riverton is a thrilling mystery and a compelling love story.

I have added a few of Morton’s other works to my list!!  Let me know what’s on your bedside…
xoxo

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On My Bedside {Rules of Civility}

I recently finished Rules of Civility by Amor Towles – and I adored it!  It’s not one of those can’t put it down, let the littles raise themselves for a day while I devour it cover to cover in no time flat kind of book.  Rather, it’s a poignant, sophisticated and beautifully penned coming-of-age story that had me savoring the words on each page rather than just charging forward to find out what happens next. 



Goodreads says: On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar with her boardinghouse roommate stretching three dollars as far as it will go when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker with royal blue eyes and a tempered smile, happens to sit at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a yearlong journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool toward the upper echelons of New York society and the executive suites of Condé Nast--rarefied environs where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.  Wooed in turn by a shy, principled multi-millionaire and an irrepressible Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, befriended by a single-minded widow who is a ahead of her time,and challenged by an imperious mentor, Katey experiences firsthand the poise secured by wealth and station and the failed aspirations that reside just below the surface. Even as she waits for circumstances to bring Tinker back into her life, she begins to realize how our most promising choices inevitably lay the groundwork for our regrets.

I very rarely read a book twice and almost never buy a book (I mean, I didn’t even buy the Twilight saga for cryin out loud) but I’ll do both with this one.

This one is a winner winner (chicken dinner…I couldn’t resist)!!!
xoxo

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On My Bedside {Gone Girl}

After hoards of you have advised me to add Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn to my must-read list, I finally took the plunge!  And you were SO right!! 



Goodreads says:  On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?  As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?  With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

I was fascinated with how a marriage can become so toxic so quickly, and with the whole innocent-until-proven-guilty conundrum that Nick found himself in with the media.  I adore a book where I can’t really figure out what the next page will bring, and Gone Girl certainly accomplished that!  I was a little let down by the ending and had hoped for something more after such a twisted book.

As always, I’d love to hear what’s on your bedside!!
xoxo

See all of my reads here

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On My Bedside {Shadow Man}

Y’all, I spent a few nights over the holidays engrossed and enthralled with The Shadow Man by Savannah native Mark Murphy.  A psychological thriller set in sultry Savannah, I found book to be a beguiling page turner and one of the best reads to have graced my bedside in a good long while.



Goodreads says: 
Savannah surgeon Malcolm King had a perfect life--a loving wife, devoted daughter, and a thriving medical practice. But when a random airport parking lot hit-and-run links him to a dead body in a Florida hotel and an acquaintance is found dismembered and stuffed into a garbage bag, Malcolm finds himself on the run as a suspected serial killer. But he's no murderer. Or is he?

Who is the mysterious Thin Man who lurks at the edges of his vision? Are the ravens that crowd the skies overhead a warning of impending doom--or do they exist at all?

With the help of Seminole tracker Billy Littlebear, Malcolm tries to untangle the web of clues left behind by a mysterious chameleon-like killer known as the Shadow Man. But will he be too late? The Shadow Man is a complex, atmospheric thriller in the tradition of Stephen King. Darkly evocative and relentless in its twists and turns, it dares the reader to put it down--even for a minute.

Now y’all share what’s on your bedsides!
xoxo

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On My Bedside

A few weekends ago I started and finished Defending Jacob by William Landay.  The fact that it was set in a community very much like mine with families that sounded very much like ours was both thought provoking and terrifying.  I don’t want to give anything away, but I struggled with the end – it left a few major unanswered questions and hurt my heart just a little too much.


Good Reads says “Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.  Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.  Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.”

I keep a running list of must-reads, so send me what you’ve got!
xoxo

See more reads here!

On My Bedside {Divergent & Insurgent}

For all you Hunger Games fanatics, I cannot possibly let another day pass without insisting that you add Divergent and Insurgent to your must-read list for the fall. 



Good Reads says…In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.  During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.



Good Reads says…One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.  Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Be forewarned that they are addictive page turners.  Like with Hunger Games, be prepared to let your littles run wild and your house turn to disrepair because once you start they are hard to put down.  There’s one more to come in the trilogy and you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be first in line for that one!

I’ve also recently read and enjoyed Delirium, Evermore: The Immortals, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and Matched.  Next on the list are Stranger You Seek and Stranger In The Room by Amanda Kyle Williams, The Violets of March and The Bungalow by Sarah Jio, and a whole slew of Southern stories by Karen White.  Thanks Mother and PP for all the recos!!

Lastly, whenever I write about books I always get the question “how do you find time to read?”  The answer to that is easy…I sacrifice sleep :-)  I usually read at night after the littles are asleep and will stay up until the wee hours of the morning if it’s a good one.  This summer when I was in Savannah or at the beach it was an easy choice because there were plenty of other responsible adults around to wake up at the crack with the littles.  It’s harder this time of the year when we all have to be up and at ‘em as the sun comes up!

I'm off to enjoy this glorious morning with a cup of joe and my baby on the porch!!
xoxo