Can't Wait for The Songbook of Benny Lament

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

The Songbook of Benny Lament

By: Amy Harmon

Expected Publication: March 16th 2021 by Lake Union Publishing

448 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--From the bestselling author of What the Wind Knows and From Sand and Ash comes a powerful love story about a musical duo who put everything on the line to be together.

New York, 1960: For Benny Lament, music is his entire life. With his father’s deep ties to the mob, the Bronx piano man has learned that love and family can get you in trouble. So he keeps to himself, writing songs for other musicians, avoiding the spotlight…until the night his father brings him to see Esther Mine sing.

Esther is a petite powerhouse with a gorgeous voice. And when Benny writes a hit song and performs it with her, their collaboration thrusts the duo onto the national stage…and stirs up old issues and new scrutiny that the mob—and Benny—would rather avoid.

It would be easier to walk away. But the music and the woman are too hard for the piano man to resist. Benny’s songs and Esther’s vocals are an explosive combination, a sound that fans can’t get enough of. But though America might love the music they make together, some people aren’t ready for Benny Lament and Esther Mine on—or off—the stage.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

The Duke Meets His Match - Review

The Duke Meets His Match

By: Karen Tuft

Expected Publication: December 1st 2020 by Covenant Communications

pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate link. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--At thirty years of age, Susan Jennings has long been considered a spinster. Exceptionally intelligent, she has little tolerance for London and the dreaded Season—if that’s how one is expected to find love, it’s not for her. But when an invitation arrives that cannot be ignored, Susan leaves her comfortable life in the country and enters the fashion and frivolity she most despises. She quickly discovers, however, that there is more to loathe in London—and his name is George Kendall.

George, Duke of Aylesham, has learned to keep his distance from cloying females chasing the title of duchess. Susan Jennings, however, proves an entirely different challenge—a woman who has pushed him to the limit of his patience with their every encounter. But their simmering hostility is disrupted by a thoughtless slip-up: to avoid a marriage of political strategy, George claims he is already betrothed. And when pressed for the name of the lucky woman, only one name comes to mind: Susan’s. Their forced betrothal proves advantageous, but when their verbal sparring must change in order to be convincing, the line between fact and fiction becomes blurred by something neither expected: love.

The Duke Meets His Match started off a little slow for me. But once things picked up, I didn't want to put it down. I read most of the story in one day.

The description is again right yet gives the wrong impression. Susan and George meet at a wedding a year before the events of the main part of the story. Susan sought solitude in the back of a library with a good book. George used the same library for a private conversation concerning efforts to help the crown in ending the war with Napoleon Bonaparte without checking to see if the library was unoccupied. The two verbally spar after George catches Susan, although she couldn't help to overhear and was not attempting to eavesdrop. George since references her as "the harpy" in his mind while she in turn thinks of him as "His Loftiness."

Susan was to accompany her sister, Rebecca, to London for her coming out Season. Susan herself had three seasons in London and then has spent the rest of her time in the country. But Rebecca breaks her leg and is unable to make the journey. Rebecca pleads for Susan to go without her and she reluctantly decides to do just that. Lady Walmsley, affectionately called Aunt Margaret, is happy to focus her attention on Susan and ensure she has everything she needs for a proper London season.

Susan runs into George at her first London ball when her brother James introduces them. James works with George in his attempts at securing peace with the war effort. The two have as cantankerous of a 2nd meeting as they did the first. Yet George still finds himself claiming an engagement to Susan when pressed by the Prince Regent into a different marriage alliance that isn't to George's liking at all. He then has to convince Susan of the merits of marriage to him. As the description states, when the two join causes in an alliance feelings begin to blossom.

I didn't highlight any particular quotes, but The Duke Meets His Match was exactly what I needed. I devoured it. The characters were easy to root for, and thankfully none of the conflict caused me to roll my eyes as sometimes happens because none of it felt forced even though I spotted a few moments when perhaps other authors would have gone in the direction of forced eye-roll-worthy conflict. I'll definitely keep my eyes out for other books by Karen Tuft in the future. The Duke Meets His Match gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Duke Meets His Match? What did you think? Let me know!

Sunday Post - 12/6/20

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Probably my longest weekly update ever. I knew this was going to be a hectic week, and boy was that the case. My car was still in the shop. Husband borrowed his mom's car to take to work on Monday which allowed me to take the kids to school and then I ran to Hobby Lobby to look for Christmas ornaments for Dirty Santa that we do every year. I was not impressed with their selection. I was also looking for Christmas lights since we'd had some strands go out between last year and this year. They also had a terrible selection for lights. I ended up placing a Walmart pick up order for later that night for Christmas lights and then to make sure my order hit the needed amount to qualify for pick up, I added the ingredients for the kids and I to make gingerbread houses. When I got to Walmart all of the pick up parking places were full and people were making up their own random places to park. I only saw two employees and had to wait quite a while for my order. More and more cars arrived after I did as well. And then when I finally got my order they were out of stock of Christmas lights which was the entire purpose of the order. Normally they notify you of your out of stock items and substitutions before you arrive, but for some reason this time they didn't. And my dishwasher quit working. Tuesday, Husband worked from home since his mom needed her car. The kids had doctor's appointments for yearly check ups. They're both doing well and had no issues with the appointment. This was the first year that we made it between yearly check ups without any sick visits in between. I count that to be due to how much we were at home over the last year. Anyway, we got home and had lunch and then did gingerbread houses. This was my first time ever doing one so that was fun. We also met with an architect and his builder about doing some renovations to the house. We need to add on a bedroom and replace our roof. We might do a few other things while we're doing that, but it'll depend upon estimates. Then Husband had to run to the chiropractor. He did manage to fix the dishwasher for me, but it's a temporary solution. We'll need to replace it before too long. Wednesday, Husband borrowed his mom's car again. I had a dentist appointment at a new location. I made it out of the dentist just in time to pick the kids up from school. I also had an Etsy order for a sticker set that night, but that ended up being stressful because my Cricut was broken and I hadn't received my new one yet. Thursday, I had a doctor's appointment and ultrasound. We were running late to that so my mom met us at the doctor and switched cars so she could take the kids to her house and I could go on in without being terribly late. Baby Boy is measuring at 5 pounds 1 ounce already. I still have 6ish weeks to go. My nephew was BORN weighing that same weight (he was 4 weeks early). So I think we're going to end up having a big baby this time. While I was at my mom's the car place called and said that my car was ready but it ended up needing additional work done than we anticipated. The bill for that was quite high. I'm thankful that Husband had just gotten a bonus from work that allowed us to cover that, but man was that an expense we weren't anticipating. Husband left work a little early to run pick up my new Cricut from Walmart (we were just waiting on the pick up order to be ready). But he didn't quite make it home in time to go with me to pick up my car so his mom ran up there with me. And Friday was a mostly normal day. I got some Christmas present wrapping done, logged some financial stuff, fulfilled my Etsy order, ran to the post office and the bank. And generally handled other errands. Saturday was my normal grocery pick up day. And we just hung out around the house for the most part. The rest of the weekends this month are pretty booked. But needless to say, I did very little reading and certainly didn't get any new books this week.

THE PAST WEEK:

Monday: November 2020 EOM Wrap Up
Wednesday: Can't Wait for Winning the Gentleman (Hearts on the Heath, # 2) by Kristi Ann Hunter
Thursday: Review of Wild at Heart (Wild, # 2) by KA Tucker (4 Stars)

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Review of The Duke Meets His Match by Karen Tuft
Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday?
Wednesday: Can't Wait for Wednesday

Don’t forget to link up for the 2020 Series Enders Reading Challenge! You have until December 15th, 2020 to sing up. Each month there will be a giveaway for those participating with an end of the year giveaway too! Click on the picture below or the link above to find out more!

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!

Wild at Heart - Review

Wild at Heart (Wild, # 2)

By: KA Tucker

Publication: March 3rd 2020 by K.A. Tucker

400 pages

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

Source: Personal Kindle Library (birthday present)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate link. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--From the internationally best-selling author of The Simple Wild comes the continuation of a woman’s journey to Alaska and a life she never imagined for herself.

Calla Fletcher returns to Toronto a different person, struggling to find direction and still very much in love with the rugged bush pilot she left behind. When Jonah arrives on her doorstep with a proposition she can’t dismiss, she takes the leap and rushes back to Alaska to begin their exciting future together.

But Calla soon learns that even the best intentions can lead to broken promises, and that compromise comes with a hefty price—a log cabin in interior rural Alaska that feels as isolating as the western tundra.

With Jonah gone more than he’s home, one neighbor who insists on transforming her into a true Alaskan, and another who seems more likely to shoot her than come to her aid, Calla grapples with forging her own path. In a world with roaming wildlife that has her constantly watching over her shoulder and harsh conditions that stretch far beyond the cold, dark, winter months, just stepping outside her front door can be daunting.

This is not the future Calla had in mind, leaving her to fear that perhaps she is doomed to follow in her mother’s fleeing footsteps after all.

I had no idea when I finished The Simple Wild that KA Tucker would end up returning to these characters. But I'm so glad that she did. Because even though Calla and Jonah have the realization that being together is the most important thing, there are still logistics that they have to work through. Does Calla really fit in in Alaska? Will Jonah's love for his job and flying eventually be too much for them as he spends so much of his time away? Can they meet in the middle and compromise? I was so glad to get a chance to delve back into these questions.

As the description states, Jonah and Calla move to rural interior Alaska in an effort to compromise. But the isolation is hard on Calla. Jonah is still able to fly and take jobs, but Calla is constantly finding things "she just has to get used to." She meets two neighbors. One is a really rude man whose property borders theirs. The other is a family that runs a resort and small motors repair. Toby is a mechanic and his mom Muriel has her hands in everything that happens in their town.

Time seems to drag Jonah and Calla into unstable territory. Isolation, boredom, and a friend who is in love with Jonah adds tension between these two. Calla has to find her own place in Alaska.

To be honest as I was reading, I was expecting the journey to find something Calla can call her own to take more of the book. It seemed like through the process most of what she was finding was what wasn't her thing. And so once I got to the 70% mark I felt like there just wasn't time for her to find her thing since what the book had been focusing on didn't seem to be working for her. But KA Tucker did it justice in the end.

Jonah and Calla's fights and tension felt so real. We all think "love conquers all" right? So we just think that once we fall in love the logistics will work themselves out. But that isn't always the case. And we often find ourselves in situations like Jonah and Calla. If he turns down jobs he wants to take just because he doesn't want to upset Calla, how long will it take for him to begin to resent her? But on the other hand, if Jonah takes the jobs that take him away from Calla for days, weeks, and even a month at a time, how long will it take for her to begin to resent him? These are real issues that many couples face in some form or another. Love and choosing to put each other first takes hard work. And I liked watching these two learn to figure things out.

Favorite quotes:

-It’s easy to trust a person unequivocally when you don’t have to worry about what they’re not telling you.

-I’m also not naive. You can’t just turn off feelings for someone because they love someone else, as much as most people would like to.

-I’m not sure what annoys me more— that I don’t know about it or that Marie does.

I feel so strongly about this one. I can't stand the idea of anyone knowing something about my relationship that I don't know. It undermines your relationship.

-It’s strange how your relationship can feel impenetrable one day and vulnerable the next— with a misunderstanding, a few words, and a mountain of repressed worries that finally swell to the surface.

I really enjoyed Wild at Heart. I didn't quite blow through it, but I did hate to stop reading at times. I always appreciate relationships that put in the effort needed to make things work. Jonah and Calla had a whole new journey to conquer, and I was happy to be able to see it play out. Wild at Heart gets 4 Stars. Have you read Wild at Heart? What did you think? Let me know!

Can't Wait for Winning the Gentleman

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

Winning the Gentleman (Hearts on the Heath, # 2)

By: Kristi Ann Hunter

Expected Publication: April 20th 2021 by Bethany House Publishers

416 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Aaron Whitworth hasn't had control over most aspects of his life, but he's always taken pride in being an honorable businessman and better-than-average horseman. When both of those claims are threatened, he makes the desperate decision to hire the horse trainer of a traveling circus as a temporary jockey for his racehorses.

Sophia Fitzroy knows that most horsemen don't take her seriously because she's a woman, but she can't pass up the opportunity to get away from the tumultuous world of travel and performing. As she fights for the right to do the work she was hired for, she learns the fight for Aaron's guarded heart might be an even more worthwhile challenge.

As secrets come to light and past vulnerabilities are confronted, will Aaron and Sophia sacrifice their former dreams and forge a new one together--against all odds?

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!