The Magnolia Story

Posted on January 13, 2017 by opesopinions

Author: Chip and Joanna Gaines
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Biography
Source: Gift from my daughter Jennifer

Goodreads: Are you ready to see your fixer upper?

These famous words are now synonymous with the dynamic husband-and-wife team Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of HGTV s Fixer Upper. As this question fills the airwaves with anticipation, their legions of fans continue to multiply and ask a different series of questions, like Who are these people?What s the secret to their success? And is Chip actually that funny in real life? By renovating homes in Waco, Texas, and changing lives in such a winsome and engaging way, Chip and Joanna have become more than just the stars of Fixer Upper, they have become America s new best friends.

The Magnolia Story is the first book from Chip and Joanna, offering their fans a detailed look at their life together. From the very first renovation project they ever tackled together, to the project that nearly cost them everything; from the childhood memories that shaped them, to the twists and turns that led them to the life they share on the farm today.

They both attended Baylor University in Waco. However, their paths did not cross until Chip checked his car into the local Firestone tire shop where Joanna worked behind the counter. Even back then Chip was a serial entrepreneur who, among other things, ran a lawn care company, sold fireworks, and flipped houses. Soon they were married and living in their first fixer upper. Four children and countless renovations later, Joanna garners the attention of a television producer who notices her work on a blog one day.

In The Magnolia Story fans will finally get to join the Gaines behind the scenes and discover: The time Chip ran to the grocery store and forgot to take their new, sleeping baby Joanna s agonizing decision to close her dream business to focus on raising their children When Chip buys a houseboat, sight-unseen, and it turns out to be a leaky wreck Joanna s breakthrough moment of discovering the secret to creating a beautiful home Harrowing stories of the financial ups and downs as an entrepreneurial couple Memories and photos from Chip and Jo s wedding The significance of the word magnolia and why it permeates everything they do The way the couple pays the popularity of Fixer Upper forward, sharing the success with others, and bolstering the city of Waco along the way

And yet there is still one lingering question for fans of the show: Is Chip really that funny? Oh yeah, says Joanna. He was, and still is, my first fixer upper. “

Ope’s Opinion: I am not usually a biography reader, but this one was a great one. Reading their story from both their perspectives was enjoyable. You could actually hear their voices as you read it.

This was a Christmas gift from my daughter Jennifer. I want to thank her for thinking of me when she bought this gift. It was a wonderful read about real people with real lives. It seems from the book that the tv show has not changed them.

Where do you read?

Posted on January 10, 2017 by opesopinions

During the warm weather, I am a beach, out doors kind of reader. But as the weather has turned cold, I tend to curl up by the fire. Once in a while, I just need to get out, so…

Cold weather, Hot drink, Good book
That is how I ended up here at Starbucks!

Let me know where you read.

This Just In…..

Posted on January 7, 2017 by opesopinions

Published: April 26, 2016
Publisher: William Morrow

Goodreads: The author of The Pocket Wife explores the dark side of love, marriage, and infidelity in this sizzling novel of psychological suspense.

Everybody’s luck runs out. This time it could be theirs . . .

It isn’t safe. That’s what Joe tells her when he ends their affair—moments before their car skids off an icy road in a blinding snowstorm and hits a tree. Desperate to keep her life intact—her job, her husband, and her precious daughter, Lily—Dorrie will do everything she can to protect herself, even if it means walking away from the wreckage. Dorrie has always been a good actress, pretending to be someone else: the dutiful daughter, the satisfied wife, the woman who can handle anything. Now she’s going to put on the most challenging performance of her life. But details about the accident leave her feeling uneasy and afraid. Why didn’t Joe’s airbag work? Why was his car door open before the EMTs arrived? And now suddenly someone is calling her from her dead lover’s burner phone. . . .

Joe’s death has left his wife in free fall as well. Karen knew Joe was cheating—she found some suspicious e-mails. Trying to cope with grief is devastating enough without the constant fear that has overtaken her—this feeling she can’t shake that someone is watching her. And with Joe gone and the kids grown, she’s vulnerable . . . and on her own.

Insurance investigator Maggie Devlin is suspicious of the latest claim that’s landed on her desk—a man dying on an icy road shortly after buying a lucrative life insurance policy. Maggie doesn’t believe in coincidences. The former cop knows that things—and people—are never what they seem to be.

As the fates of these three women become more tightly entwined, layers of lies and deception begin to peel away, pushing them dangerously to the edge . . . closer to each other . . . to a terrifying truth . . . to a shocking end.

Thank you William Morrow for sending this book!

Sleepless in Manhattan

Posted on January 5, 2017 by opesopinions

Author: Sarah Morgan
Publisher: HQN Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads: USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan introduces a sizzling new trilogy about three best friends embracing life—and love—in Manhattan

Cool, calm and competent, events planner Paige Walker loves a challenge. After a childhood spent in and out of hospitals, she’s now determined to prove herself—and where better to take the world by storm than in the exhilarating bustle of Manhattan? But when Paige is let go from the job she loves, she must face her biggest challenge of all—going it alone.

Except launching her own events company is nothing compared to hiding her outrageous crush on Jake Romano—her brother’s best friend, New York’s most in-demand date, and the only man to break her heart. When Jake offers Paige’s fledgling company a big chance, their still-sizzling chemistry starts giving her sleepless nights. But can she convince the man who trusts no one to take a chance on forever?

Ope’s Opinion: I know this book is in the romance genre, so I expect some sex scenes, but this one had a little too much concentration on that and not enough on the story line for me. The story was a great one, so that kept me reading.

This is the first in a series of three – each book is about a different friend. I did like it enough to want to read about the other two friends.

If you are a romance reader this is definitely a book you won’t want to miss.

Best Way to Start the New Year!

Posted on January 2, 2017 by opesopinions

Reading with my granddaughter Emma is the best way to start the new year. I am enjoying passing on my love of reading. She is starting chapter books – so much fun!!!

Didn’t think our reading time would last this long!!
I hope this is how we spend a lot of this year.

End of the Year Stats

Posted on December 31, 2016 by opesopinions

My reading this year has been a little less, but there has been so much else in my life that filled in the spaces. Here is a look back over this year in books.

86 books / 28,640 pages

My average rating was 3.7 – that means most books I choose spend time with were worth
it!!

My top three picks were:
Mending Fences by Sherryl Woods
This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Choices We Make by Karma Brown

Surprising new author ( new to me ): One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank

Authors I want to read everything they write:
Rosalind Noonan
Kristy Woodson Harvey
Steena Holmes

Happy New Year!
Happy reading!!

Coming Soon…..

Posted on December 29, 2016 by opesopinions

…. On a Bookshelf near you!

In January I hope to read….

Publication Date: January 17, 2017
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Goodreads: On a cozy street in Philadelphia, three neighboring families have become the best of friends. They can’t imagine life without one another—until one family outgrows their tiny row house. In a bid to stay together, a crazy idea is born: What if they tear down the walls between their homes and live together under one roof? And so an experiment begins.

Celia and Mark now have the space they need. But is this really what Celia’s increasingly distant husband wants? Stephanie embraces the idea of one big, happy family, but has she considered how it may exacerbate the stark differences between her and her husband, Chris? While Hope always wanted a larger family with Leo, will caring for all the children really satisfy that need?

Behind closed doors, they strive to preserve the closeness they treasure. But when boundaries are blurred, they are forced to question their choices…and reimagine the true meaning of family.

What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?

Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!

The Marriage Lie

Posted on December 27, 2016 by opesopinions

Author: Kimberly Belle
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Mystery
Source: MIRA Books

Goodreads: Even the perfect marriage has its dark side…

Iris and Will’s marriage is as close to perfect as it can be: a large house in a nice Atlanta neighborhood, rewarding careers and the excitement of trying for their first baby. But on the morning Will leaves for a business trip to Orlando, Iris’s happy world comes to an abrupt halt. Another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board, and according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers on this plane.

Grief-stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it all must be a huge misunderstanding. But as time passes and there is still no sign of Will, she reluctantly accepts that he is gone. Still, Iris needs answers. Why did Will lie about where he was going? What is in Seattle? And what else has he lied about? As Iris sets off on a desperate quest to find out what her husband was keeping from her, the answers she receives will shock her to her very core.

Ope’s Opinion: Intense! That is the best way to describe this book.

When you are at the half way point of this book – go to the bathroom, get a drink, get comfortable and take a large breath because you are not going to put it down or breath until you are finished reading it!

I have loved Kimberly Belle books before, this was another great one! Try any one of her books.

Thank you Emer for sending this book.

This Just In…

Posted on December 23, 2016 by opesopinions

Both of these books came to me from HarperCollins.

A Simple Favor

Publication Date: March 21, 2017
Publisher: Harper

Goodreads: She’s your best friend.
She knows all your secrets.
That’s why she’s so dangerous.
A single mother’s life is turned upside down when her best friend vanishes in this chilling debut thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train

It starts with a simple favor—an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another. When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son Nicky after school, she happily says yes. Nicky and her son, Miles, are classmates and best friends, and the five-year-olds love being together—just like she and Emily. A widow and stay-at-home mommy blogger living in woodsy suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a sophisticated PR executive whose job in Manhattan demands so much of her time.

But Emily doesn’t come back. She doesn’t answer calls or return texts. Stephanie knows something is terribly wrong—Emily would never leave Nicky, no matter what the police say. Terrified, she reaches out to her blog readers for help. She also reaches out to Emily’s husband, the handsome, reticent Sean, offering emotional support. It’s the least she can do for her best friend. Then, she and Sean receive shocking news. Emily is dead. The nightmare of her disappearance is over.

Or is it? Because soon, Stephanie will begin to see that nothing—not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor—is as simple as it seems.

A Simple Favor is a remarkable tale of psychological suspense—a clever and twisting free-fall of a ride filled with betrayals and reversals, twists and turns, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge. Darcey Bell masterfully ratchets up the tension in a taut, unsettling, and completely absorbing story that holds you in its grip until the final page.

Miss You

Publication Date: April 4, 2017
Publisher: Harper

Goodreads: “If ever a couple was ‘meant to be,’ it’s Tess and Gus. This is such a witty, poignant, and uplifting story of two lives crisscrossing over the years, with near miss after near miss. . . . I couldn’t put it down.”—Sophie Kinsella

A wryly romantic debut novel with echoes of One Day that asks, what if you just walked by the love of your life, but didn’t even know it?

“TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.” Tess can’t get the motto from her mother’s kitchen knickknack out of her head, even though she’s in Florence on an idyllic vacation before starting university in London.

Gus is also visiting Florence, on a holiday with his parents seven months after tragedy shattered their lives. Headed to medical school in London, he’s trying to be a dutiful son but longs to escape and discover who he really is.

A chance meeting brings these eighteen-year-olds together for a brief moment—the first of many times their paths will crisscross as time passes and their lives diverge from those they’d envisioned. Over the course of the next sixteen years, Tess and Gus will face very different challenges and choices. Separated by distance and circumstance, the possibility of these two connecting once more seems slight.

But while fate can separate two people, it can also bring them back together again. . . .

I hope one or both of these books look of interest to you.

Thank you Heather!