First Lines Friday, 56 and BBH ~ 5/8/20

Today's "First Lines" and "56" are from:

First Lines

My dearest Casper,

It's not easy to be the middle child, the one who is neither the oldest--the responsible legacy bearer--nor the youngest, pampered and cherished just because he is the last.

 56%

She looked like she'd pulled an all-nighter -- her hair stringy and limp, her skin sallow, her eyes -- oh, her eyes.  Cracked and angry.

 Q.  What platform do you use for your blog? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

 A.  I use Blogger as it is the platform that I started with over 10 years ago!  I can't believe it has been that long since starting my blog!

Colletta 

Also linking up to:

 

Journal Entry ~ 5/7/20

A few sentences about each day...

April 29, 2020 - May 5, 2020

Wed/29 ~ Kaylee's first day at work went well, I think.  She made it through, anyway :)  I was emotional all evening that my baby is all grown up and now working.  I made the mistake of looking at baby pictures and was a blubbering mess for a bit.  I stayed up until she got home so she could tell me all about her evening.

Thurs/30 ~ While waiting up for Kaylee to get home, Laken and I watched "Be Our Chef" on Disney Plus.  It is a really cute Disney themed cooking show where families compete against each other.  I admit that I dozed off on the couch.  I'm not used to staying up that late!

Fri/1 ~ I love turning my calendar to a new month.  I pray that May sees some improvement to our current pandemic situation.  Pennsylvania is starting to move some counties into phase "yellow" but my county is still on "red".  It makes no sense as to how they are picking counties to upon up.  Oh well.  Patience is a virtue.

Sat/2 ~ We finally had a nice day with no rain!  We spent a lot of time outside.  Kaylee enjoyed her Saturday off but said it went too fast.  Isn't that they way it goes?

Sun/3 ~ It dug out our Amazon Kindle fire and signed up for a free 2 month trial of Kindle Unlimited!  It was so much fun "shopping" for new books!  After home Church, we had Sunday dinner complete with homemade Apple Pie :)

Mon/4 ~ Today was gorgeous but very windy.  The wind about blew my car door off when I opened it at the gas station!  This is Kaylee's first Monday of working.  Over the weekend, we got her a lunch box and a metal water bottle to take with her to work.  Laken and I are watching "Mulan" while we wait up for Kaylee to get home.  Doug is on 3rd shift this week and already left.

Tues/5 ~ We sat in the bank drive-through for an hour today waiting to make a deposit!  After 1/2 hour I was ready to leave!  Patience prevailed and I got my banking done.  I've never seen such a line like that at the bank.  Kaylee is headed home from work as Doug is getting ready to leave for work.  She was able to leave early tonight.  I'm glad because I'm tired and ready to go to bed!

Until next week,

Colletta

Book Review ~ Lily for My Enemy by L.G. Rollins

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Title:  Lily for My Enemy by L.G. Rollins

Series: Lockhart Regency Book #2

Pages:  273

Date Published:  February 21, 2020

Publisher:  ??

 Blurb:

He's from Lords. She sides with Commons.
Watch out London, sparks will fly.

Felix Lockhart is tired of balls, tired of musicales, and most especially tired of society only seeing him as the heir apparent to a powerful seat in Lords. Then, one evening he meets the witty Jocelyn Hunt—perhaps the only young lady in London who isn’t impressed with him.

Jocelyn Hunt will never hold a seat in the House of Commons herself, but she is no less an ardent supporter. When she meets the brooding Felix Lockhart, she is determined he understand that the House of Lords simply cannot continue to ignore the changing times.

Though they quarrel at first, both Felix and Jocelyn find themselves irresistibly drawn toward the other. But when their roles as heir apparent and daughter of a prominent man in Commons push them apart, can their undeniable connection be enough to bridge two groups determined to hate one another?

My Thoughts:

This is the second book I've read my L.G. Rollins and I enjoyed this one just as much as the first book of the Lockhart Regency Series "Wager for a Lady's Hand".

We're introduced to Felix in Book #1 of the series, so I highly recommend reading it first to get the complete back story.  It really adds a lot to the feel for Felix's character and how much he changes over time and through love.

Jocelyn's character is nicely written.  Her character is "new" to the series so it was important to make her as memorable as Felix and the other characters that I'd already become familiar with.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the interactions between Felix and Jocelyn.  They didn't like each other in the beginning...or did they?  Let's say they were intrigued by each other even though they were from opposite ends of the political spectrum of the time.  As time goes by and they spent more time in each other's company, they each grow in different aspects of their character.

This was a quick, clean, sweet regency read.  The kind I adore!

I read this book through Kindle Unlimited and look forward to reading Cassandra's story in the next book of the series, "A Heart in the Balance."

On to the next book!

Colletta

A Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 5/5/20

Looking out my window:

As I write this Monday afternoon, the sun is shining and it is absolutely gorgeous outside.  I was sitting on my swing for a while this afternoon which is something I haven't been able to do for a couple days with all the rain we had!

I am thinking:

I am thinking that I am going to love reading on my Kindle Fire!  I've always been a paperback girl and never thought I'd switch to an ereader but I have to say I'm becoming a convert :)

I am thankful:

I am thankful that Kaylee is doing well with her new job.  She worked 3 days last week and will have a 5 day work week this week.  I'm also thankful that this is the last week of her semester at college.  She is looking forward to being done for the summer.  Then she will have to make some big decisions about what direction she wants to go in...

One of my favorite things:

One of my favorite things are lilacs!  They are getting ready to bloom here at my house.  We have a huge "bush" to the one side of the house with tons of blossoms.  I can't wait to smell them!

I am creating:

I am creating another granny square blanket using the following colors in Redheart Ombre and white.  I decided not to use the gray on this one.



I joined the first row and fully intend to join the rows as I complete them.  I don't want to have to spend a whole day tying in ends and joining squares like I did on the last afghan I made.

I have three rows done and crocheted together so far!

I am wearing:

I am wearing comfy clothes as I'm getting ready to get on the treadmill.

I am reading (read) /watching (watched) / listening to:

I downloaded this book for free on my Fire.  I'm almost halfway through with it and am really enjoying the regency era story.  L.G. Rollins is a new-to-me author but I have downloaded the entire trilogy :)

I am hoping:

I am hoping that Laken finishes out this last month of 7th Grade strongly.  So far this quarter she has all A's.  I'm also hoping that schools are able to open normally in the Fall.  Laken really misses the social aspect of school. 

I am learning:

I am learning to be more flexible and patient? you might even say. This has been a really hard couple months for us but I'm actually getting used to wearing a mask in public and thinking about staying away from other people.  At first, it seems really odd but any more it seems old hat.

In my kitchen:

In my kitchen on Saturday we made and  Apple Pie and a Fruit Medley Pie.  The Fruit Medley Pie was a combination of fruit we had leftover in the freezer so there were blueberries and raspberries and we threw in a handful of apples to boot!  I ate some of the Apple Pie and it was DELICIOUS!!!!  Probably the best Apple Pie I've ever eaten.  Mom and I did really good!

Shared Quote:

""The second is this:  'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no commandment greater than these."

Mark 2:31

A moment from my day:

Our azaleas are also blossoming!  I wanted to get a close-up of one of the individual flowers to show what pretty bright pink they are but it is SO windy outside that it kept blurring.

Have a Blessed Day!

Colletta

Book Review ~ Wager for a Lady's Hand by L.G. Rollins

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Title:  Wager for a Lady's Hand by L.G. Rollins

Series: Lockhart Book #1

Pages:  206

Date Published:  December 26, 2019

Publisher:  Amazon Digital Services

 Blurb:

Forced into a betrothal with an abusive man, the only way out might be to beat her fiancé at his own game.

Miss Marianne Twisden knows her best chance at a safe and happy life is to marry a kind man and leave her violent father behind. When her father signs papers betrothing her to Lord Cockell—a cruel and even more violent blackguard—Marianne is desperate for a way out. Her new fiancé gives her one: if Marianne discredits Lord Sheldon Lockhart, England’s newest barrister, Cockell will release her from the marriage contract.

Lord Sheldon Lockhart is determined to rid his neighborhood of Cockell—a man who preys on gamble-hooked gentlemen by loaning them far more money than they could ever hope to repay and then extracting it mercilessly. What he didn’t expect was to fall for Cockell’s most beautiful victim, Miss Marianne.
The seemingly simple game becomes complex when a deep, abiding affection grows between Marianne and Sheldon. It is made all the more perilous when Cockell refuses to play by the rules. Strategizing together, Marianne and Sheldon must think several steps ahead if they ever hope to out-play their opponent and have a shot at victory and their own happily ever after.   

My Thoughts:

L.G. Rollins is a new-to-me author but I love clean regency romance so I thought I'd give this book a try.  I downloaded the book from Kindle Unlimited for free, so why not?

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed "Wager for a Lady's Hand"!  It was quick, sweet, clean and fun to read.  The book reminded me of why I fell in love with regency romance when I was an early teen all those years ago!

Sheldon was the perfect hero.  Maybe a little too perfect if he had any faults.  He was chivalrous, handsome, forgiving and protective even if he was a second son :)

Marianne, while very sharp-minded and cunning, was forced into helping her despicable father and the hateful Cockell try to bring Sheldon down.  Even though she grudgingly was on the "wrong" side at times, she always knew what she was doing wasn't right and wished there was another way.

I loved getting to know the main characters as well as getting to know Sheldon's siblings just a bit as well.  The next book of the series features Felix (the first son) and I have it downloaded on my fire as we speak.

I really enjoyed my first book by L.G. Rollins.  It won't be my last :)

On to the next book!

Colletta