Secret Lies Dirty Little Alibis - Jamie Blair & Dawn Rae Miller

There is nothing that Dawn Rae Miller writes that I do not like. And thanks to her, I've discovered another great author in Jamie Blair.

Secret Lies Dirty Little Alibis is the final instalment in the Kiss Kill Love Him Still trilogy.

This one picks up where book 2 ended. With the psycho Chloe causing havoc on our 4 beloved....friends??????

It continues to shift POV between the four ladies. Ladies! Yes, that's the word....cause really....were they....are they friends????

Anyways, I digress...

Each girl shares her thoughts about Chloe and who killed Jackson. Every time you think you know, another twist comes around the corner. We learn more about Haddie's dad and Livie's mum. We even get some insight into Val's parents. And it gets all wrapped together with a pretty bow that laughs at you when you reach the end and yell "But wait!!!! What about....."

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight - Darynda Jones

I use to be great at blogging about all the books I read. But this year, I seem to be lacking. Time to catch up!

I have been a huge Charley fan from Day 1. What's not to like about her? She's a spunky Grim Reaper/Private Investigator who learns she's also a God and is married to the Devil's son. Follow that?

This time around, Charley helps out Amber who is being stalked. She also gets hired by Reyes' adoptive brother..... is he considered a brother when the people who kidnapped Reyes then gave him away then go and kidnap another child? SMH It sounds hard to understand, but it's really easy to follow. :)

Charley also learns some new bad-ass powers she possesses. Told ya she was cool.

Often with series, after awhile, you can get bored of them, or you can start predicting the events. Not here. The book was exciting from start to finish.

Father's Day Interview

For the last few years, I've interviewed Ethan, about his dad, before Father's Day, and it's been fun to see how his responses have changed and evolved. You can see last year's responses here. Now I know Father's Day was last week. I was actually semi-organized. I interviewed Ethan before we left for the summer, but then realized I did not have a recent picture of the two of them. And while I did get some great ones of them in Disney, I was utterly too knackered to upload them. So, sorry for the delay, but here's this year's interview....

What is something Daddy always says to you?

Go to bed!

What makes Daddy happy?

People doing their jobs.

What makes him sad?

People not doing their jobs.

What does he do that makes you laugh?

He tells funny jokes.

What was he like as a child?

I don’t know…..funny, I guess

How old is Daddy?

I know this…I know this… 49!

How tall is he?

Ummmmm……daddy…..oh no, he’s not here….ummmmm, 5 foot 4, I know that’s short, but…..

What is his favourite thing to do?

Let’s think…..He liked being with his family.

What does he do when you're not around?

Work.
(That hasn’t changed!)

If Daddy was famous, what would it be for?

His amazing swimming.

What is he really good at?

Swimming

What is he not really good at?

Chess

What does he do for his job?

He does something about trucks.

What is Daddy's favourite food?

Ahhhhh…..ummmmm…pizza….I think…I don’t know….pizza….

What makes you proud of him?

He works hard

If Daddy was a cartoon character, who would he be?

Baby Robin……no it’s Robin from Teen Titans go!

What do you and Daddy do together?

Swim

How are you and Daddy the same?

We’re both part of the Nisbet family, we both like swimming, we both like pizza… yes, lots of things, do I have to name them all?

How are you different?

He’s older, he’s taller, he has a job, he’s better at swimming than me.

How do you know he loves you?

He says so

Where is Daddy's favourite place to go?

I don’t know…I really don’t know… I should probably ask him…

 Happy Father's Day Scott

Happy Birthday Dad

You came into this world,

so many years ago, 

bringing with you

your ever special glow.

So full of love

and with a big heart.

We're thinking of you today

even though we are apart.

I know you're watching us, 

even though you're not around.

Today we will celebrate,

and try our best not to frown.

You are always in our thoughts,

you are always in our prayers,

Happy birthday to my dearest dad,

my angel upstairs.

Birthday Tradition

I know you've all been wondering whatever happened to the birthday tradition of matching shirts! lol No I have not forgotten. In fact, Ethan choose the shirts this summer, that he actually forgot what they were.

But how could we celebrate Scott's birthday without the whole matching t-shirt tradition? Well of course we couldn't.

This year's theme is inspired by our plans to head to Disney this summer, and Ethan's newfound respect for the "evils".

Accepting Compliments

I have this wonderful friend named Hilary. She has no idea I'm writing this about her. Bur recently she taught me an important and valuable lesson.

So Hilary is funny, talented and ever-so helpful. She's Ethan's voice teacher, and while I've seen Ethan sing in shows before, I was blown away with his performance in Aladdin. And yes, I think the directors/teachers deserve credit, but so does Hilary. When you first meet her, she's there. You can't help but notice her. But she's also extremely humble.

A few months back, I saw her, and she had this awesome glittery makeup. It was so cool. She sparkled. And I let her know. She started telling me about it, but stopped. "I'm trying to accept compliments" she said. So, she said thank you, and then told me about her makeup.

I really didn't think much about it.

A couple weeks ago, she had the coolest red lipstick. It really made her pop. I rarely see her in lipstick, so a red really stood out. I told her so. She started to speak, but stopped herself. She shook her head, and said thank you. She said how it's still something she's working on, accepting compliments.

This week, I saw her at school. Her hair was shiny and gorgeous. I recently cut my hair, so think I was a little envious of her long locks. She started telling my friend and I what she's been doing. She suddenly looked at me. "Nope, thank you. Need to take the compliment!" and then she shared her secret.

Now, I'm not trying to embarrass her. But to share the lesson she taught me.

The same day I saw her at school, and admired her long hair, another friend saw me, and complimented me on my haircut. I started telling her about the style I was thinking, and what I did, and what I might do next time. When she left, it hit me. I never said thank you. I didn't accept the compliment, but instead gave the credit away.

Today my trainer sent me a message telling me how proud of me she was for my weight loss and how good I look. I texted back, "Am almost at my goal". But before I hit send, I realized I didn't accept the compliment. I didn't say thank you. So I made a point of saying thank you.

Why is it that Hilary and I have difficulty accepting compliments? I know I'm not the only one to give her one. And I know I've received them before. Is it us? Or women in general? Do we not know how to take a compliment? Do we feel the need to explain ourselves?

Thank you Hilary for teaching me a great lesson. I will make sure I accept compliments from now on. I never realized how hard that was before.

The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah

So I need to say a huge thank you to my dear friend, Hamidah, for telling me to read this book. She didn't just recommend it, she harassed me for a good 2 weeks. Each time I saw her, she'd ask if I'd gotten the book yet. Even though many people have recommended this book, as my other mate Louise said, "there aren't any vampires, are you sure you read it?", it's not one I would've read on my own. And to quote another friend, Juliet this time, "We are too far removed from war to really know the horrors it brings. It's so important that we read these books both as a remembrance and as a warning." So thank you dear friends. I loved this book. Despite it having broken my heart and had me in ugly sobs.

In The Nightingale, we meet sisters Vivianne and Isabelle. They are as different as sisters can be. Vivianne married her love and lives in the French countryside with her husband and daughter. Isabelle has been kicked out of, gosh I cannot recall how many, boarding schools. She's a true rebel.

During World War II, their father sends Isabelle off to live with her sister. Unlike Vivianne, Isabelle cannot sit quietly and watch her country being destroyed. She feels she must do something, and soon she becomes The Nightingale. She helps fallen soldiers make their way from France to Spain.

While Isabelle felt her sister "gave in" and accepted the war, women like Vivianne were left behind by their husbands, who went to fight. Vivianne, like many other women at this time, was forced to house two Nazi soldiers and was manipulated into betraying her friends. She then went on to save many children.

The Nightingale is a moving story of two completely different sisters who did what many women had to do. They survived and fought back in their own way.

"If I have learnt anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are."

- Kristin Hannah, The Nightingale