Monday 27 May 2019

Mailbox Monday - May 27th




Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog. Head over and check out other books received during the last week. 

Happy Monday! 

We decided to go on a bush walk yesterday to get out in nature and enjoy some time away from technology (and books).
It was a beautiful warm autumn day and we walked three trails, one easy and two moderate, which was a total of two hours walking time.
The  40 hectares of land was dedicated as a state forest in 1939. This land is right in the middle of high density population only 15 minutes drive from my home and we are so lucky to have these areas to roam and connect with nature. The land also has a plant nursery and a cafe. So naturally we had to stop for lunch.










 








The food was quite interesting with black sourdough bread accompanying my soup and a black burger bun but it was all quite tasty.




Books  received during the past week:


Received through Beauty & Lace Book Club


Mr Right Now by Karly Lane


Griffin Callahan and Olivia Dawson were inseparable. Everyone in town knew it. But when Griff went off to Ag College, Liv told him it was over and fled her family's farm to study law. Griff had never understood her reasons but eventually accepted that first loves don't last. Until now.

Currently back on the farm to help her twin brother with the harvest, Liv is the same gorgeous, laughing, hazel-eyed girl he'd always loved. Yet Griff can sense a difference, an uncertainty playing beneath the surface that wasn't there before.

Amidst crossed wires, drunken declarations, and families on a mission, will Griff and Liv finally have a second chance? Or will the old saying - If you love someone set them free - become their reality?


Received from the publisher for review:

 Devil's Lair by Sarah Barrie


After the violent death of her husband, Callie Jones retreats to a cottage in the grounds of an old mansion in Tasmania. The relative remoteness of the place and the wild beauty of the Tasmanian landscape are a balm to her shattered nerves and the locals seem friendly, particularly horseman Connor Atherton and his siblings at the nearby property, Calico Lodge.
But all is not well: the old mansion has a sinister past, one associated with witchcraft and murder. As Callie is threatened by odd events in the night and strange dreams overtake her sleep, she begins to doubt her own sanity. What's really going on beneath the surface of this apparently peaceful town? Are her friends and neighbours really who they seem? As events escalate, Callie starts to realise that the mansion may hold the key to unlocking the mystery, but the truth might have as much power to destroy as it does to save.

Wild and Crazy Guys by Nick De Semlyen

Wild and Crazy Guys is the larger-than-life story of the much-loved Hollywood comedy stars that ruled the 1980s.

As well as delving behind the scenes of classic movies such as Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places and dozens more, it chronicles the off-screen, larger-than-life antics of Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, John Candy et al. It’s got drugs, sex, punch-ups, webbed toes and Bill Murray being pushed into a swimming pool by Hunter S Thompson, while tied to a lawn chair.

It’s akin to Peter Biskind’s Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, following the key players through their highs and lows, and their often turbulent relationships with each other. Nick de Semlyen has already interviewed pretty much all the big names for Empire, as well as directors such as Walter Hill, John Landis and Carl Reiner, and is sitting on lots of unseen material.

Taking you on a trip through the tumultous ’80s, Wild And Crazy Guys explores the friendships, feuds, triumphs and disasters experienced by these iconic funnymen. Based on candid interviews from the stars themselves, as well as those who entered their orbit, it reveals the hidden history behind the most fertile period ever for screen comedy.



What Books did your postman deliver, or you downloaded, this week?

Post a link to your Mailbox Monday or simply list your books in the comments below.
 
 

 
 

Sunday 26 May 2019

Storybook Corner Book Review: Jacob's Toys (Children's Picture Book) + related children's craft


Jacob's Toys
by 
Claudia  Woods

Publisher: Harbour Publishing House 
Publication date: 1st May 2018
Series: #1 The Big Backyard Adventure 
Pages: 32
RRP: $16.99 AUD
Format read: softcover
Source: Courtesy of the author


First to flee were Ted and Dupree, then Tessa Turtle, Poncho and Mousy Dundee. Not far behind was the smallest of all, the teeny tiny reindeer that Jacob called Paul.
Jacob tells his mother that he is too old for soft toys and he wants to give them away. His mother washes them and hangs them on the line to dry. But wild weather sets the toys free and sends them on an exciting adventure across the garden.
What will become of the toys? Will they make it to their new home safely? Will Jacob realise he will never be too old for his soft toy friends?
Celebrating the concepts of friendship and loyalty, Jacob’s Toys is a heart-warming story for both young and old, which reminds us of the magic of childhood. The simple rhyming text encourages early readers’ efforts and makes it ideal for reading out loud to pre and early readers. It features stunning illustrations that bring the story to life.



Jacob’s Toys is a gorgeous collage picture book for ages 2+

Jacob decides he is too big for his soft toys so before finding them a new home they are washed and hung on the clothes line. A storm blows up and the toys are blown off the line.
We follow the toys, in a melodic rhyme and repetition of the six toys names, as they go on a wondrous adventure.
Each page is beautifully depicted in colourful collage materials and hiding on each page is a special insect to find.

Woods manipulates the text to emphasise the story using variations in size, colour and special effects to match the meaning of the word and in turn encourages the reader to change expression according to the text (loud and bold or tiny).

At five, Dot is the perfect age to understand the meaning behind the story and enjoyed the toys adventure and the added bonus of the look and find throughout the pages.

My favourite children’s picture book is Where the Forest Meets the Sea by Jeannie Baker and I am happy to say that Jacob’s Toys is up there with this brilliant book.

We have read this book many times over the last few weeks and sometimes just enjoyed looking through the pictures. We are eagerly looking forward to the second book in the Jacob’s Toys series.

                            🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Rated by Dot & Jay   5/5


*this review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge
and book #20 in the Australian Women Writers challenge
Letter 'J' in the 2019 A-Z challenge



Dot's favourite page was all the toys hanging on the clothes line. There was Ted, Dupree, Tess Turtle, Poncho, Mousy Dundee and teeny-tiny Paul.  



We decided to recreate the scene with our own collage materials that we collected from the backyard and the craft box. 



Dot thought she might add a few more artistic elements to finish it off. 






Claudia resides on the South Coast of NSW with her partner Peter. Drawing and creativity have always been an important part of her life. 

Claudia first became interested in writing and illustrating children’s stories whilst studying Primary education at university, with one of her early assignments being to write a children’s story. She enjoyed the creative process so much that she knew from that time, she wanted to have her own work published. For the past nine years Claudia has worked as an Early Childhood Educator where she loves sharing stories with the children and seeing them captivated by beautiful illustrations. 

The adventure of Jacob’s Toys was inspired by Claudia's son Jacob. Claudia is currently working on the next book in the Jacobs toys series. 





 

Saturday 25 May 2019

Book Bingo - Round 11 #BookBingo2019

Book Bingo is a reading challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse. Every second Saturday, book bingo participants reveal which bingo category they have read and what book they chose. 

This week I have chosen the category 'Themes of Justice."


Themes of Justice 

In a Great Southern Land encompassed this topic in a few areas. The first was justice for the convicts. They were treated harshly, far beyond their original crimes, beaten and underfed. Forced to work endless hours often until they fell dead in their tracks. Justice for the gold fossickers; forced to pay exorbitant licence fees the fossickers were set upon and killed with no justice for the way they were treated.

You can read my full review of In a Great Southern Land here





#BookBingo2019

 

Friday 24 May 2019

Book Review: Her Outback Cowboy by Annie Seaton

Her Outback Cowboy
by
Annie Seaton

Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: 19th June 2017
Series: Prickle Creek #1
Pages: 192
Format read: Kindle eBook
Source: Own read 



The last thing advertising art director Lucy Bellamy wants is to go home to the Outback, but duty to family calls. At least there’s one bonus—her first love, sexy cowboy neighbour, Garth Mackenzie, is there and the attraction between them is still explosive. But Lucy has no intention of getting stuck in this two-bit town and she counts down the days until she can go back to her real life.
After an engineering degree and working in the mines of Western Australia, Garth has returned to the Outback and is home to stay. His goal is to settle down, start a family, and work his beloved land with the girl he’s always loved. But if it comes to Lucy choosing between the glamour of the city or making a home with him in the Outback—he’d lose, hands down.





Her Outback Cowboy is book one in the Prickle Creek series. I recently read book two in this series and I enjoyed the character of Lucy so much I was eager to read book one where Lucy is the main character.


In Her Outback Cowboy we are introduced to the four cousins, Lucy, Liam, Jemima and Sebastian.
Confirmed city-girl Lucy is called back to Prickle Creek farm, along with her three cousins, to help their grandparents work the farm. The cousins decide between them to do three months on and three months off, continuing on with their careers in between.

Lucy meets up with neighbour and one time boyfriend Garth McKenzie and they strike up a friendly liaison. Lucy views this as a temporary arrangement as she is eager to return to her life in Sydney.

Lucy and Garth had a terrific relationship, their conversations were open, with each knowing exactly how the other felt. I loved garth’s confidence. He was always kind and considerate and he knew exactly what he wanted.

I was a little confused about the whereabouts of the cousins’ fathers. We do learn that Lucy’s father has died but the other two didn’t get a mention.

Seaton writes from the heart and her representation of life on the farm makes even the hard slog of farm life sound idyllic and appealing.

I am really enjoying this series and even though each story is stand alone I would recommend reading the series in order to get a clearer understanding of the characters and other side stories going on in the town of Spring Downs.


                           🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 
 My rating  5/5

 *this review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge


and book #19 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

 


Photo credit: Goodreads
Annie Seaton lives on the edge of the South Pacific Ocean on the east coast of Australia. She is fulfilling her lifelong dream of writing and has been delighted to discover readers love reading her stories as much as she loves writing them. Annie lives with her own hero of many years. Their two children are now grown up and married, and two beautiful grandchildren have arrived. Now they share their home with Toby, the naughtiest dog in the universe, and two white cats. Each winter, Annie and her husband leave the beach to roam the remote areas of Australia for story ideas and research. In 2014, Annie was voted Author of the Year, and in 2015 was voted Best Established Author in the AusRom Today Readers Choice Awards.