Review: Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boylan

About the Book: On a warm August night in 1980, six college students sneak into the dilapidated ruins of Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary, looking for a thrill. With a pianist, a painter and a teacher among them, the friends are full of potential. But it’s not long before they realize they are locked in—and not alone. When the friends get lost and separated, the terrifying night ends in tragedy, and the unexpected, far-reaching consequences reverberate through the survivors’ lives. As they go their separate ways, trying to move on, it becomes clear that their dark night in the prison has changed them all. Decades later, new evidence is found, and the dogged detective investigating the cold case charges one of them—celebrity chef Jon Casey— with murder. Only Casey’s old friend Judith Carrigan can testify to his innocence. 

My Thoughts: I was looking forward to reading this book and enjoying it because of the synopsis and then you realize, that the synopsis is basically what the whole story is about. I didn't really enjoy it. I picked it up because the traumatic events take place at Eastern State Penitentiary. I am a fan of Ghost Adventures and know about this prison and what it looks like from the show. 

This book also features time jumps from the 80's to 2015. There were also a couple characters who gave me Norman Bates vibes because he would talk to himself in voices. We find out that one of the friends has become transgender and is the only person who can help his friend who has been arrested for the murder of the girl who vanished inside the prison.

I had a problem with the dialogue from Wailer who is the missing girl. She used the word "Bloody" to describe almost everything and it was the most annoying thing. It was slow paced and it was not thrilling enough for me. 

About the Author: JENNIFER FINNEY BOYLAN is Professor of English at Colby College and the author of the bestseller She’s Not There, as well as the acclaimed novels The Planets and Getting In. A three-time guest of The Oprah Winfrey Show, she has also appeared on Larry King Live, Today, and 48 Hours, and has played herself on ABC’s All My Children. She lives in Belgrade Lakes, Maine.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

January TBR

This month's TBR is basically my December TBR. I didn't get to read these books last month because I was so sick, I could hardly do anything and when I was getting better, I has a consistent cough that just wouldn't go away and it made it very hard for me to breathe and even catch my breath. The day an I am posting this I have already read The Chalk Man and The Fame Game and The Heirs. I am taking a break from reading while I wait on my next review copy from Blogging For Books. I want to actually take breaks between books this year and enjoy them and think more about them. 

School Week 20 Photos

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I know we sure did. I am still sick with an annoying cough. We had a great and productive week that went by super quick. Cayce also got involved on Tuesday because he was given the day off work. Tuesday was a good productive day to start off our short week.

Monday: No School. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Tuesday: I slept in with Cayce. It's hard to wake up early when he is home on school days because that is when he doesn't have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to go to work. We started around our usual time when Sam came to wake me up like she does every morning. We started the day with morning work and then we watched two episodes of Planet Earth 2 because Netflix finally released it yesterday on Christmas. After, we started a new science lesson on living vs. non-living. The watched a YouTube video to introduce them and then I had Samantha and Ariana work on a collage and cut out 5 living and 5 non living things from magazines.

I had Cayce take Adalyn outside and have her point out living and non living things. She definitely enjoyed this little excursion with her daddy.

Checking our rain gauges

Wednesday: We had a very late start to the day. I was feeling worse and felt like I was getting sick all over again. We watched episodes 4 and 5 of Planet Earth 2. After, we discussed what we watched and they drew pictures. When they got done with that, I had Sammy read to herself. Ariana did workbook pages for the rest of the day and Adalyn did Easy Peasy.

Thursday: We had a decent start time to the day. We finished Planet Earth 2 and I think that was a rip.. only having 6 episodes. After, I had Addy work on Easy Peasy while Samantha and Ariana did a free write on what they watched.

When Sammy got done with her writing, she worked on some phonics worksheets for the rest of the day and Ariana read out loud to me. Addy did her Leapfrog tablet. She also did some pages in her workbook. Ariana also did some pages in her workbook. We finished the day with reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Friday: We had an early start day. Sammy started her Easy Peasy lessons before 8AM. She got through two days worth of lessons and then I had to go wake Ariana and Adalyn up because they were still asleep. These two never sleep past 8:30 and it was going on 8:40. I got them up and fed and then they started their school work 5 minutes before 9. We watched 3 episodes of Bill Nye Saves the World after they got done with their morning work.

After, Addy did Easy Peasy lessons while Ariana worked in her workbook. Sammy reads some to herself and to me and we finished the day with reading chapters 8 and 9 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Review: The Heirs by Susan Rieger

About the Book: Six months after Rupert Falkes dies, leaving a grieving widow and five adult sons, an unknown woman sues his estate, claiming she had two sons by him.  The Falkes brothers are pitched into turmoil, at once missing their father and feeling betrayed by him.  In disconcerting contrast, their mother, Eleanor, is cool and calm, showing preternatural composure. 

My Thoughts: This book was good in my opinon. It is about this rich family where the father dies from cancer and he leaves behind a legacy. His wife and their 5 sons are in the process of mourning when in comes a woman claiming that she had a relationship with Rupert and he had two sons with her as well. 

It is always the case when a rich person dies, that some "fraud" comes in trying to claim heirs to money. Eleanor gets rid of every last piece of her husband after he dies and then she gets the letter from the woman. She did not have proper time to grieve yet, she felt that her husband could have been unfaithful, and she kept asking her self, why couldn't she help out those two men because they looked exactly like her husband.

About the Author:  SUSAN RIEGER is the author of the 2014 novel The Divorce Papers.  She is a graduate of Columbia Law School and has worked as a residential College Dean at Yale and as associate provost at Columbia. She lives in New York City with her husband, the writer David Denby.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

December Wrap Up

I did not have a great reading month. I got sick and was not feeling up to reading anything and I am struggling to get through a book right now. I hope I don't start the year with a reading slump, but it might seem that way. I just don't want to read anything, not even books to the girls. I am even bored reading the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. But here are the four books that I read for the month of December. I enjoyed all of them. 

I had a good reading year, and I am hoping that I will read more amazing books in 2018!

Freebie Haul 12/18- 12/30

The freebies and samples for the past two weeks were very lacking. I am planning to take a freebie haul break in January. I am going to be revamping this blog and try to put more effort into my posts and have more variety and also I want to concentrate more on my YouTube channel. So this will be the last freebie post until February. Whatever I receive in January I will not be hauling. These two weeks were very magazine heavy.

Monday 12/18: Starting the week off with a magazine.

January 2018 issue of Vogue

Tuesday 12/19: No Freebies

Wednesday 12/20: Blogging For Books review copy of The Chalk Man

Thursday 12/21: No Freebies

Friday 12/22: I got two more magazines today. A Weight Watchers magazine and Sports Illustrated

January/ February 2018 issue

December 25, 2017 issue

Saturday 12/23: I got another Entertainment weekly magazine to add to the girls "school project" stash

December 29, 2017 - January 5, 2018 issue

Monday 12/25: No Mail. Merry Christmas

Tuesday 12/26: No Freebies

Wednesday 12/27: Goodreads Giveaway win and Seventh Generation Tampons

The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller

Seventh Generation Free & Clear Tampons

Thursday 12/28: Handy Manny DVD from Disney Movie Rewards and magazine

Handy Manny Big Race

December 2017 issue of Outside magazine

Friday 12/29: No Freebies

Saturday 12/30: Ending the year with another magazine.

January 2018 issue of Travel + Leisure

Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!!!
I will see you all for another freebie haul in February.

School Week 19 Summarized

This is going to be a straight written post about school last week. We were so sick last week before Christmas that I didn't take any pictures but we still did school because I needed to get us to that 90 day mark. My home school association and state has to have 90 day forms every year, and my home school association gives reminders from the very beginning of the school year straight till the new year to turn in our 90 day forms for every student. We did get some stuff done, but it was mostly Netflix on Monday and Tuesday and then we were so sick on Wednesday, that we just couldn't do anything.

I had Thursday planned as an off day right at the beginning because that was my birthday, and we were still sick as dogs. This day was the girls worst sick day. Friday we were feeling a little better and got more done than just watching Science documentaries on Netflix.

Ariana worked on her workbook and got some reading time in for herself. Addy got some Easy Peasy lessons done in both Getting Ready sets. Samantha also got some reading time in for herself and completed some workbook pages. We ended this short and awful week with reading some library books and chapter 3 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. After we finished this day, we all took a nap because we were worn slap out.

I hate that I didn't take any pictures what so ever this week, but I was just focused on getting our time in and also my girls not being awful in pictures when they were feeling so miserable.