The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand Description: Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed. My thoughts: To me, this book is like a soap opera. You've got love, loss, grief, the hint of a mystery, drug addicition, secrets and affairs in these pages, all set against a beautiful summer in Nantucket. You've got the present and the present. You've got the story from each living character's perspective. Each of the individuals in the story is affected by the deaths of Greg and Tess in their own way...
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Mailbox Monday and Library Loot

Thanks to Marcia at The Printed Page for hosting Mailbox Monday. I got few in the mail this week, all of which look great.     The Devil's Company by David Liss The year is 1722. Ruffian for hire, ex-boxer, and master of disguise, Weaver finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, pitted against Jerome Cobb, a wealthy and mysterious schemer who needs Weaver’s strength and guile for his own treacherous plans. Weaver is blackmailed into stealing documents from England’s most heavily guarded estate, the headquarters of the ruthless British East India Company, but the theft of corporate secrets is only the first move in a daring conspiracy within the eighteenth century’s most powerful corporation. To save his friends and family from Cobb’s reach, Weaver must infiltrate the Company, navigate its warring factions, and uncover a secret plot of corporate rivals, foreign spies, and government operatives. With millions of pounds and the security of the nation at stake, Weaver will find himself...
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Game Night

Last weekend we went to the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. We played a few games in the exhibition hall that seemed pretty fun. We haven't picked any of them up yet, but probably will, eventually. Ninja Versus Ninja Your Ninjas must defend the honor of their dojo against a rival dojo. Victory hinges on eliminating Ninjas and skillfully venturing into the opponent's dojo. But how far do your Ninjas dare to go... and will they return? I crushed David at this, but it was cute, quick and fun. Amber could play this one easily, too. Amuse Amaze Race to spell your way through the maze. Use and pick up letters tiles as you go. Block opponents and thwart their moves. Collect the target cards. If you're hedged in, use your gardener card to cut through. This one would be for me. I love word games and this one looks like a lot of fun. I may actually be able to get people to play...
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Booking Through Thursday

Suggested by Callista83: Do you read celebrity memoirs? Which ones have you read or do you want to read? Which nonexistent celebrity memoirs would you like to see? I don't read celebrity memoirs often. I've only read two in the last two years, Born Standing Up by Steve Martin and Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox, which I reviewed earlier this week. I didn't love either of them. As far as which ones I would like to read, Anglina Jolie's Notes from My Travels might be interesting. I don't know if Jim Henson ever wrote a memoir, but his would be one I'd love to have. What about you? Join in at Booking through Thursday....
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Audiobook Giveaway: The Juror by George Dawes Green

The Juror by George Dawes Green Annie Laird is Juror 224. A sculptor with a career going nowhere. A single mother struggling to raise a son. A good citizen who has been summoned to what looks like a rountine tour of civic duty. But the trial she is called to serve on is no ordinary trial. It is a mob trial, whose outcome has been meticulously orchestrated by a man of insidious power and deadly precision. A man who lives by the teachings of Lao Tsu...whose magnetism is irresistible...whose mind is as brilliant as it is twisted. He is know to some as the Teacher, and he's set his sights on Annie Laird. Pulled into the most chilling depths of the criminal underworld, Annie will be seduced by double-edged promises, stalked by the spector of terror, then, finally, driven to a shocking decision by the most basic motivation a woman can know. The Juror is a tour de force of crime and obsession, evil...
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