Book Beginnings and The Friday 56 - The Art of Arranging Flowers by Lynne Branard

I'm linking up with Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and Freda's Voice for Page 56.

 Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Pick the closest book on your book stack and

Come Join us!

The Beginning:

"Daisy was not crazy. At least not like they said. She wasn't unstable or paranoid. She wasn't dissociative or delusional, nor did she ever display homicidal tendencies."

Page 56 or 20% on my Kindle:

"Ruby, I know we don't know each other all that well. Our conversations have been limited to the books we find at the library and the state of the ground at the town park, and I also know that I am more than a few decades your senior, but I feel as if we would be excellent companions at the event."

From The Art of Arranging Flowers by Lynne Branard. I choose this book on Netgalley. It is not my usual reading choice and I wondered how I would like it. I just finished and found it to be a wonderful story that is really well written. The theme is love, loss and the language of flowers. Ruby has not turned away from the grief of her sister's Daisy's death 20 years ago. Two things happen that cause her to change. One is Will, a young boy who is grieving over his mother's death. The other is her friendship with Captain Miller, a retired astronaut.

Goodreads says: Ruby Jewell knows flowers. In her twenty years as a florist she has stood behind the counter at the Flower Shoppe with her faithful dog, Clementine, resting at her feet. A customer can walk in, and with just a glance or a few words, Ruby can throw together the perfect arrangement for any occasion.

Whether intended to rekindle a romance, mark a celebration, offer sympathy, or heal a broken heart, her expressive floral designs mark the moments and milestones in the lives of her neighbors. It’s as though she knows just what they want to say, just what they need.

Yet Ruby’s own heart’s desires have gone ignored since the death of her beloved sister. It will take an invitation from a man who’s flown to the moon, the arrival of a unique little boy, and concern from a charming veterinarian to reawaken her wounded spirit. Any life can be derailed, but the healing power of community can put it right again.

Book Beginnings and Friday 56

I'm linking up with Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and Freda's Voice for Page 56.

 Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Pick the closest book on your book stack and

Come Join us!

My Book Beginning and Friday 56 today is from On the Rocks by Erin Duffy. I won an ARC in a contest and it came yesterday. 

Here is the beginning:

"There has got to be a reason why they do this," I said as I turned and checked out the back of my dress in the three-way mirror. ' I mean, it doesn't make any sense."

And here is the selection from page 56:

"Being thirty-three, unemployed, and living with my parents probably isn't what babes are looking for in a guy, he mused."

What Goodreads says:

A heartwarming novel about friendship, family, and finding love in the Facebook Age-the perils, pitfalls, and dubious pleasures of being a modern young single woman-from Erin Duffy, the author of Bond Girl

Six months ago, Abby's life fell apart for all the world to see. Her longtime boyfriend-turned-fiancé, Ben, unceremoniously dumped her-on Facebook-while she was trying on dresses for the big day.

When the usual remedies-pints of Ben & Jerry's, sweatpants, and a comfy couch-fail to work their magic, her best friend, Grace, devises a plan to get Abby back on her game. She and Abby are going to spend the summer in Newport, in a quaint cottage by the sea, enjoying cool breezes, cocktails, and a crowd of gorgeous men.

But no matter how far away they go, Abby and Grace discover that in the era of social media-when everyone is preserving every little detail of their lives online-there is no real escape. Dating has never been easy. But now that the rules are more blurred than ever, how will they find true love? And even if they do, can romance stand a chance when a girl's every word and move can go viral with a single click?

Book Beginning and Friday 56

I'm linking up with Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and Freda's Voice for Page 56.

 Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Pick the closest book on your book stack and

Come Join us!

My book this week is Dangerous Seduction by Zoe Archer. This has been on my TBR pile for several months. It is book two in the series and it went to the top of my pile when I saw that book three is out.

Book Beginning:

'Trewyn, Cornwall

Wheal Prosperity Copper Mine

1886

The granite room shook. Hissing and grinding filled the chamber."

Page 56:

'Yet he didn't miss the cautious glances thrown is way by many of the other miners nearby or the wake of space around him."

From Goodreads:

"In Zoë Archer's Dangerous Seduction, Alyce Carr has no time for the strange man in her little Cornwall village, no matter how breathtakingly handsome he is. Life in Trewyn doesn't allow for much fun—the managers of the copper mine barely provide the miners and their families with enough food. Outsiders are suspect and flirts are unimaginable, but Simon Sharpe is as keen as his name…and Alyce can't ignore him for long.

As the founder of Nemesis, Unlimited, Simon Addison-Shawe is well accustomed to disguise and deceit. Yet he's not prepared for Alyce's dogged defense of her people and the injustices the copper mine has dealt them. With Alyce's help he can change the fate of an entire town, and convincing her to join him is only part of the thrill. Together, they ignite a desire in each other much too powerful to deny. But at what cost?"