Book Review and Giveaway: Season of Wonder by RaeAnne Thayne

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, Uncategorized4 Comments

season of wonder    This book was given to me by Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Summary:

Dani Capelli seized a chance to start over in a small town with her daughters. Now, facing her first Christmas in Haven Point, she wonders if leaving New York was a mistake. Dani loves working alongside veterinarian Dr. Morales, but her two children aren’t adjusting to small-town life. And then there’s Dr. Morales’s son, Ruben—Dani’s next-door neighbor. Gorgeous, muscled and dependable, the deputy sheriff is everything she secretly craves and can’t bear to risk loving…and losing.

Ruben never pictured himself falling for a big-city woman like Dani. But beneath her prickly facade, she’s caring and softhearted and she needs all the love and protection he can give. When Dani’s teenage daughter starts acting out, Ruben draws on family traditions to show the girls just how magical a Haven Point Christmas can be. But can he convince Dani that she’s found a home for the holidays—and forever—in his arms?

My Thoughts:

I have often said there is nothing happier than a Christmas romance novel, and this is no exception. I am a pretty seasonal reader – I tend to read with the seasons, and have a hard time with summery books in winter, and so on. But a Christmas romance I can generally read anytime, especially if I am going through something and need some happy in my life.

And this book certainly delivers on the uplifting, have faith in people, love one another front. Haven Point is all about second chances, so veterinarian Dani Capelli has landed in the right place for a new start with her two daughters. She works for just the type of vet you would expect in a small town, kindly and sweet. And Dani herself, despite a sort of standoffish demeanor with the residents of Haven Point, is nothing but love and cuddles and concern when it comes to the resident’s pets.  Dani would love to make Haven Point work for her and her daughters, but find herself holding everyone she meets at arm’s length, especially her boss’ attractive son Ruben.

However, when her daughter Silver lands herself in some hot water, Ruben steps in to help Dani and the family out. This whole thing, Ruben and his interactions with Dani, Silver, and Mia, is so heartwarming, that it makes the entire book. Ruben gives the benefit of the doubt where so many wouldn’t, and takes the Capelli family under his wing. He introduces Dani and her daughters to the traditions of the season in Haven Point, slowly but surely winning them over, one by one.

But Dani has a secret that she feels she needs to hide from the town. Can she trust Ruben with her secret, and her heart?

I loved this book. I loved Dani and Ruben, and my heart went out to poor Silver. But it is the sense of community in these books that gets me. A small town that cares about its residents, where people know each other, help each other, do things like bake cookies and shovel snow for neighbors. Practice forgiveness, extend a little understanding and compassion, and are not so quick to judge. The fact that all of this is taking place at Christmas makes it all the better. This book was a quick read, but a very good one. Perfect for a day that you need a pick-me-up!

The Giveaway!

To enter to win a brand spanking new copy of this book, just leave me a comment here with your email on this post by midnight on September 24th! A comment about a winter or holiday tradition would be fun, but not necessary. 🙂  I will choose the winner via randomize.com.

You don’t need a blog to win, just an email! Must also live in the US to be eligible for mailing purposes.

 

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized19 Comments
120bc-sunday2bpost  It's Monday! What Are You Reading
Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
My thoughts go out to all those affected by the hurricane on the East Coast. I worry about the people and their homes and all the animals – I love all those wild horses over there, although I read that they did well during the storm.
Last week we were so responsible. Lol. We did all our things – school, therapy, making the calls I needed to make, work. We were so good that on Friday, Wyatt’s day off, we took a field trip to the farm to visit my aunt and uncle. Wyatt arrived in time to take a trip around the yard on the riding lawnmower with my uncle, then we headed to the farm stand where I bought apples, a gigantic butternut squash that Wyatt just had to have, and a few tiny little pumpkin gourds. I had originally gone down for fresh corn – my aunt and uncle live on her family’s farm, which grows corn and potatoes. I was surprised to learn that the corn was over! I didn’t know that was even a thing. But now I know and next year I will make sure to get down there by the end of August!
Saturday Wyatt woke up with a tiny cold – thanks preschool! We didn’t end up doing too much, opting to stay home, out of the 90 degree heat wave we are having (another ew) and let Wyatt try to recover.
Today was a big day – we tried the Impossible burger at White Castle and were pretty impressed!! Lol.
Read Last Week:
where the fire falls
Where the Fire Falls – I really enjoyed reading this book. I hope to do a mini-review later this week!
Reading This Week:
I am a bit through Crooked House, and when I am finished I am moving on to The Impossible Girl. I am super excited to read it! I loved Kang’s book, A Beautiful Poison, and I am hoping for another great read.
Watching:
We finished Anne with an E, which I loved. I seriously loved that tv show so much! I realize it is not true to the book, which I am sure it really annoying to Anne fans, but I am sure that the relationships are similar, that the love between Anne and Marilla and Matthew is still the same love, the one that has let so much light into all their lives. I plan on revisiting the books again this winter.
We are sort of poking about, looking for something else to watch. I am watching Reign on Netflix, Billy is watching Jack Ryan. Reign is kind of like Mary Queen of Scots meets Gossip Girl, but I am enjoying it nonetheless, in its glossiness and glitter. I think we both feel a bit of television hangover, after watching Sharp Objects and Anne with an E.
What about all of you? What has been going on with you?

 

R.I.P. Readers Imbibing Peril #13

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn reading challenge, RIPXIII, Uncategorized4 Comments

RIP 13

 

This is my favorite time of the year, where we wave goodbye to summer and ease our way into cooler weather, bonfires, apple orchards, pumpkins, cold weather clothes, and crunchy leaves.   Oh yeah, and lets not forget yummy coffee drinks and hard cider! I simply love autumn and Halloween, and I am excited to participate in this challenge again!
The purpose is simple – read a book
or books from one of these types:
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
And to have fun!
There are a few different ways to participate as well!
Peril the First: Read four books from the previously mentioned classifications.
Peril the Second: Read two books from the types.
Peril the Third: Read one book. 
Peril of the Short Story: Read some spooky short stories – E.A. Poe or Shirley Jackson would do!
Peril on the Screen: Something on a screen large or small, a movie or a television show, that is seasonally appropriate! 
Peril of the Review: Submit any short review that you have written 
I intend to tackle Peril the First, and read four books and also Peril of the Screen, especially once October is here. I love a good spooky movie (or two or three..)
I am not positive yet on what books I will be reading for the whole challenge, but to start things off I will be reading these two this month for sure:
Any “spooktacular” recommendations? 

Book Review:Bleak Harbor

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized4 Comments

bleak harbor I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Summary:

Summertime in Bleak Harbor means tourists, overpriced restaurants, and the Dragonfly Festival. One day before the much-awaited and equally chaotic celebration, Danny Peters, the youngest member of the family that founded the town five generations ago, disappears.

When Danny’s mother, Carey, and stepfather, Pete, receive a photo of their brilliant, autistic, and socially withdrawn son tied to a chair, they fear the worst. But there’s also more to the story. Someone is sending them ominous texts and emails filled with information no one else should have. Could the secrets they’ve kept hidden—even from one another—have led to Danny’s abduction?

As pressure from the kidnapper mounts, Carey and Pete must face their own ugly mistakes to find their son before he’s taken from them forever.

My thoughts:  

I was immediately drawn to this book by this cover -so moody, so mysterious. And the name – Bleak Harbor – is a tip off that maybe this coastal town has some secrets that aren’t all sunshine and rainbows. Perfect for that beginning of fall read, where summer is waning and the leaves are just starting to turn, and instead of beach reads, you want something a little darker.

At first, this book seems pretty straight forward – a boy goes missing, and his family is desperate to find him. But then, little by little, all these secrets spill out, there are twists and turns, all woven together so well that the reader never sees them coming. And you never feel like something just came out of left field – it all masterfully falls into place, and the reader is drawn to finish the book as fast as possible, just to see what the heck happens next! And the characters were perfect in that perfectly human way – not without flaws, this was not a glossy magazine type family despite that they are the descendants of the town founders, they had their own past and secrets too.

As a Michigander, I love that Gruley is a Detroit native and that the setting is a small town on the water in southwest Michigan. Everyone loves to find bits and pieces of places and things that they know and are familiar with in a story, and it was neat to see references dropped in to cities I have visited. I especially liked the addition of a Mexican restaurant named Xochilmilco – I am only guessing but perhaps a named for one of the most popular Mexican restaurants in Detroit. I also liked how Gruley wrote Danny. He didn’t stick to a stereotyped version of someone who has autism, and in fact, addresses these stereotypes a few times within the book itself, and challenges the reader to change their perception of what they think autism is. I am not personally very familiar with the diagnosis, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of Gruley’s depiction, but I do like how he writes the character of Danny.

Overall, I loved this book. I found it exciting, and I couldn’t wait to see what would come next. It was chock full of mystery and surprise, and it was exactly the type of book I have been craving.

The Day of the Bear

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, mom life, Uncategorized2 Comments

black-and-white-floor-pavement-69927

It is raining today, and I am sitting here drinking my coffee. My little is at preschool after a bit of a tearful drop off this morning. It was hard to leave, when his little face was all screwed up in a sad face, swallowed up by his yellow duck raincoat. But I kissed his cheek and headed to my car, missing him too.

There is something about rain, right? That makes us more sentimental? Or is that just me? This past summer, Wyatt and I got up and were getting ready for our day, eating breakfast and reading books about bears. This kid loves bears. I was sipping my coffee, looking out the clear blue sky, talking and reading with him as he drank his milk and sort of ate his breakfast.  I thought about the beautiful blue sky outside, and how the days was supposed to be mild, only in the 70s. And I thought, it’s a great day for the zoo! I asked Wyatt if he wanted to go see a bear, right now, today, and he of course told me yes, in the way that he has. He doesn’t say yes, or shake his head yes, but he puts his hand up to his head and moves his hand forward, like he is going to shake his head. When he was a baby, and with his gross motor disabililty, we were showing him how to shake his head, by putting our hands gently on him and showing him how to do it. His takeaway was that you use your hand to manually do it. We know what he is saying though. And I want to add, he says the word no, verbally and very clearly…lol.

So, I left him to finish breakfast and began rushing about the house to get our stuff ready for a day at the zoo with a three year old. All the important stuff went into a backpack, I loaded his stroller and him into the car, and off we went, into the wild blue and green day. The weather was perfect, the music was playing, and then..fifteen minutes from the zoo, the sky opened up and it just started pouring down rain. I had thoughts of Noah and his ark as I headed down the highway. It wasn’t supposed to rain! The forecast never said rain. I called my husband and had him check the weather for me – and he reported that there was seriously one lone rain cloud over where the area I was. And the zoo. He also told me that he thought it would blow over quickly. I decided to keep going. We had decided we were going to see a bear, and we were going to see those bears, rain be damned!

I arrive to a mostly empty zoo, most sane people staying in out of the rain I guess. I headed in to the gift shop and bought a poncho for Wyatt and an umbrella for me. Neither worked out for us. The poncho was too big, and came too close to his face for my liking, and I couldn’t manage to push the stroller and hold the umbrella. But still, we were not giving in. I put the hood up on the stroller to keep him as dry as I could, tucked the poncho around his legs, and kept going, getting wetter and wetter with each step.

And of course, zoos are designed with the Big Attraction animals at the back, to make people walk through the whole thing. I don’t know if that is purposeful, but it seems like it to me. And the Detroit Zoo has an extraordinarily long walk into the actual zoo. So we basically had to walk all the way to the back of the zoo. We took random breaks under trees (it wasn’t storming, just downpouring) and stopped to look at other animals, if there was a shelter for us. But for the most part, we persevered. Wyatt thought it was a blast, honestly. I was soaking wet, and he was wet but we made it to the bears.

And it was awesome. We were the only ones there, just standing there in the rain, looking at the bears. One of the bears was sleeping in the sheltering cave feature, but the other was hanging out in the rain. He had been relaxing, maybe enjoying the cool rain for a bit, and when we arrived, he looked up at us. And there we were, the three of us, in a downpour, all looking at each other. It was a moment that I feel I will remember forever. Wyatt and I looked at each other, smiling, then back at the bear, who kept his steady brown gaze on us. Maybe he thought we were nuts. Maybe he wanted us to go away, as he had been enjoying the solitude, although we were not talking or making any noise. It was sort of..pure. Powerful. It was so quiet, just the sound of the rain pattering away on the umbrella and the trees. There was no attempt to grab a photo, especially with my arms full of preschooler and an umbrella. Nothing to distract from the moment.

We stood there a little bit, not too long, but long enough. Eventually Wyatt went back into his stroller, all tucked up, eating his goldfish which somehow he could eat without them getting soggy, and we slogged back to the car. But it felt different now. At least for me. I felt more carefree and less upset about the rain. I guess though once you are wet enough, who cares? I wonder if the morning would have been the same had I had our raincoats. I kind of think it wouldn’t have been.

Now when it rains, I think about the bear, and standing in the rain with my son, all alone, looking at a bear who was looking back at us.

The Sunday Post/It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized19 Comments
120bc-sunday2bpost  It's Monday! What Are You Reading
Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Autumn has arrived – at least for this weekend. It is cool and rainy and windy – I love it. This is my kind of weather. I got to pull out my jeans and long sleeve shirts! Not boots yet, but soon. I am thinking about soup and Halloween and coffee drinks and cider, and scary books too. This is my absolute favorite time of the year!
It was a week filled with reorienting ourselves to a schedule, with back to school and all that. This weekend was quiet. We went for a family walk in the woods, to a friend’s house for dinner, and then today (Sunday) Billy ran his first 10k while Wyatt and I cheered him across the finish line! So proud of him for all his hard work.
Read Last Week:

 

Last week I was waiting on so many books at the library – and of course, most of them came in all at once. So I finished up Bleak Harbor (so good!) and started Where the Fire Falls. I am enjoying this read so far – I love that it takes place in Yosemite in the 20s!

Reading This Week:

crooked house

 

I’m going to finish up Where the Fire Falls, and start Crooked House, which was my pick for our book club this month. I am looking forward to it – I have only read a few of Christie’s books but have really loved them. I need to read more!

Watching:

Anne with an E – I love this show, although it gives me great anxiety for the characters. Lol. We are also watching Land Girls on Netflix, which is really good, and the Great British Bake Off.

 

How about all of you? What is happening in your part of the world?

Saturday Snapshot

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, Uncategorized6 Comments

 

 

SaturdaySnapshot

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads

 

It’s September, and today, it feels like fall. Cool, breezy, that hint of autumn in the air. And fall means back to school – even for my little guy! My little sunshine boy went back to preschool this week – I will miss our daily adventures but I know that he is gaining so much from going. Today we retreated to the woods for a little walk, looking for the pileated woodpecker that has been hanging out, listening to our feet crunch through the leaves, and spotting squirrels darting about, hoarding the many acorns and black walnuts that are so plentiful there. It was the perfect start to a morning.

 

What Wyatt’s Reading: August Wrap Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading, family, family friendly, mom life, Uncategorized2 Comments

What

Happy Read a Book Day!

It has been a long time since I posted one of these, and I figured today would be a great day to celebrate some of the books Wyatt and I have been reading. We read so many books over the summer! Wyatt loves to read, I have stashes of books for him all over the house for him to pull out and look through. He is so cute, he will riffle through the pages, point to pictures, and say, “Oooh mom, ooh!” My reader’s heart loves that he loves books. These are some of the top winners that we read together in August.

These were a few that we particularly loved last month. Wyatt went everywhere for a while carrying Eric Carle’s Do You Want to Be My Friend, and also really loved Big Bear, Small Mouse and The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. I remember loving Eric Carle as a kid too, it is so neat to see that Wyatt really enjoys him as well. I loved Full Moon Lore and An Extraordinary Ordinary Moth, especially the latter. I think these will all have to be added to our permanent collection! Full Moon Lore just was so informative, and I loved the accompanying pictures, while Extraordinary Ordinary Moth was a wonderful story about finding beauty in the ordinary. I loved it to pieces. We bought Flowers Are Calling while we were on vacation, and that is another really cool book. The illustrations were beautiful, and it was full of interesting facts. I even learned a thing or two – like some flowers have caffeine and bees enjoy it! Being a coffee addict myself, I totally get it bees!

We have already kicked off September with quite a few reads, and in the past two days 9 of our holds have come in at the library, so we will be reading a whole lot more.

Any picture books on here that you have read, either with a child or as a child? What were some of your childhood favorites?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized20 Comments

It's Monday! What Are You Reading

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
We have been busy as bees this week, soaking up the last bit of summer freedom before school starts. I was fortunate enough to get to see Wicked last Tuesday, which was awesome; I took my little dude to Greenfield Village on Friday, where we walked around a bit and rode the carousel, then later Friday night, date with the hubby; Saturday, we went to Belle Isle, and today we took a mini road trip to Marshall, MI, home to “the house with a clock in its walls”, a book by John Bellairs. (which will also soon be a movie!) We toured the Honolulu House Museum while in Marshall. It was cool but a bummer that the owners in the Victorian era painted over all the tropical murals and changed the decor. It’s been fun though.
Read Last Week:
hazel wood   bleak harbor
The Hazel Wood – I loved this book. I am not usually a fairy tale reader – not of actual fairy tales, or retellings, or anything of the like. However, I adored this one. So good.
Bleak Harbor – From NetGalley. So far I am enjoying it. I love that the author is a Detroit native, and this book actually takes place on Michigan’s west coast, or “westside” as we call it. It mentions towns that I have been to, New Buffalo, Saugatuck, and I always love that.
Reading This Week:
It’s September! I have a whole new crop of book club books to read, including the one I picked for our book club. I have library holds on them all, and am first in line for them all, so I will read whichever one gets to me first!

 

 

Crooked House is my pick for book club. I am pretty excited to be reading it. Braiding Sweetgrass and Feral are both for two outdoorsy type book clubs I am in online.  I have to admit, I usually just read the books but don’t participate in the discussions, although I always intend to. If they are really good reads, I have my husband read them too, and then we talk about them. And then Where the Fire Falls – I am so obsessed with National Parks right now, and I read the first one in this series and enjoyed it, so I thought why not? I am not a big reader of Christian fiction but it seemed just like sort of the book last time, and it was fine. I don’t like feeling preached at by books, and I didn’t feel that way at all. So, we will see which book arrives first!

Watching:

Anne with an E (love it!), and that is about it. We are kind of in between tv shows right now! I am open to suggestions. We finished Sharp Objects and it was phenomenal. Like I could go back and watch it again, it was so good. I do need to reread the book as well.

 

So, what has been going on in your bit of the world? Any last minute summer things, checking things off the bucket list?  Avoiding heat, rain, fire? Hopefully everyone is staying safe!

 

Also, for some reason this post always gets all squishy! I don’t know why, I am sort of new to WordPress. Any thoughts?

Book Review: When We Found Home by Susan Mallery

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized2 Comments

when we found home Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Summary:

Life is meant to be savored, but that’s not easy with no family, limited prospects and a past you’d rather not talk about. Still, Callie Smith doesn’t know how to feel when she discovers she has a brother and a sister–Malcolm, who grew up with affection, wealth and privilege, and Keira, a streetwise twelve-year-old. Callie doesn’t love being alone, but at least it’s safe. Despite her trepidation, she moves into the grand family home with her siblings and grandfather on the shores of Lake Washington, hoping just maybe this will be the start of a whole new life.

But starting over can be messy. Callie and Keira fit in with each other, but not with their posh new lifestyle, leaving Malcolm feeling like the odd man out in his own home. He was clever enough to turn a sleepy Seattle mail-order food catalog into an online gourmet powerhouse, yet he can’t figure out how to help his new sisters feel secure. But affection isn’t Malcolm’s strong suit…until a beautiful barista teaches him that an open heart, like the family table, can always make room for more.

In this emotional, humorous and heartfelt story, Susan Mallery masterfully explores the definition of a modern family–blended by surprise, not by choice–and how those complicated relationships can add unexpected richness to life.

My thoughts:

I thought this book was a very sweet read about an nontraditional family. I think in this day and age, the definition of family is very fluid, and I think that this book celebrates the a family that has come together in a very unique, if complicated, way. The three characters in this book are all family, half-siblings, all with the same father, different mothers. Three different experiences growing up. Three different backgrounds, three different demons. When they are assembled together finally, all in one place, they need to learn to accept each other, these differences, and to trust one another. To do the things family does automatically – trust, love, respect. And these are things that Malcolm, Callie, and Keira need to learn how to do, and how to become the family that they are.

Malcolm has known his place for a very long time. He is the grandson of a wealthy man, a self-made business owner. Callie and Keira have both had more tragedy in their lives, that has left them a little more damaged. Malcolm has some issues himself, but at least he has always had the stability of his home, at least since he was ten. When his sisters finally arrive and they are all together for the first time, they start to sort themselves out. Reveal the vulnerabilities within, slowly but surely. Callie and Keira bond quicker than Malcolm does with either of them, but I think that makes sense. He has his reasons.

I loved this story, and enjoyed reading about how they all slowly became a family. Little by little and step by step, they all found happiness. And of course, there is the other stuff that is happening too – the love interests, their jobs, learning and becoming who they are supposed to be. Not just a family, but their full, complete selves.

This was a lovely read, a heartfelt book about family, and ultimately, coming home.