Dear Abby - Videos Abby Likes: Dachshund Puppy and a Mirror

Dear Friends,

I hope you are having a good week and staying cool.  It is very hot here and I am enjoying extra time on my soft dog bed in front of the big box fan in the study.  Of course, this also gives me extra time to look for dog videos to share with you.

I found this video yesterday and enjoyed it a lot!  This silly dachshund puppy sees herself in a mirror -- with a fun reaction. 



If you have a dog or cat, have they ever seen themself in a mirror?  How did they react?  I have been in front of a mirror but have never been very interested in my reflection.  Go figure!

I hope you have a good weekend!

Love,

Abby xoxoxo

Book Review - Sweet Tea Tuesdays by Ashley Farley

Book Synopsis
Three best friends met every Tuesday for twenty-six years. And then they stopped.

From the author of the bestselling Sweeney Sisters Series comes a novel of friendship, family, and hope.

When new next-door neighbors Georgia, Midge, and Lula first assembled on Georgia’s porch in Charleston for sweet tea, they couldn’t have known their gathering was the beginning of a treasured tradition. For twenty-six years they have met on Tuesdays at four o’clock, watching the seasons change and their children grow up, supporting each other in good times and in bad. With their ambitions as different as their personalities, these best friends anticipate many more years of tea time. And then, one Tuesday, Georgia shares news that brings their long-standing social hour to an abrupt halt. And that’s only the beginning as unraveling secrets threaten to alter their friendship forever.

 

Purchase Link

Amazon

 
My Review
Sweet Tea Tuesdays tells the story of three friends named Lula, Georgia, and Midge who met on Georgia's front porch every Tuesday for 26 years for sweet tea and a visit.  When life changes suddenly one summer, their friendship is tested.  This novel tells the story of their friendship as well as their individual stories.

There is so much that I enjoyed about this book.  It is set in Charleston during the summer, and Ashley Farley captures summer in the south perfectly.  (I will admit that the constant mention of sweet tea made me make crave - and drink - more sweet tea than usual!)

At its heart, this is a book about friendship.  Lula, Georgia, and Midge have been great friends for many years.  They have been together through ups and downs in their marriages, through watching children grow up, and finding their own place in the world with work and life passions.  I really liked these three women.  The author did a beautiful job at delineating the characters and giving them each a unique voice.   The book is told from different viewpoints -- each of these women, as well as Lula's youngest daughter.

There is warm and unexpected kindness and some heartbreak in Sweet Tea Tuesdays.  I would recommend it for fans of books like Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe or movies like Steel Magnolias.  It was a wonderful summer read that found me reaching for the tissue box a few times.  Put this one on your summer reading list!

Author Bio
Ashley Farley writes books about women for women. Her characters are mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives facing real-life issues. Her goal is to keep you turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. If her story stays with you long after you’ve read the last word, then she’s done her job.

After her brother died in 1999 of an accidental overdose, she turned to writing as a way of releasing her pent-up emotions. She wrote SAVING BEN in honor of Neal, the boy she worshipped, the man she could not save.

Ashley is a wife and mother of two young adult children. While she’s lived in Richmond, Virginia for the past 21 years, part of her heart remains in the salty marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry where she grew up. Through the eyes of her characters, she’s able to experience the moss-draped trees, delectable cuisine, and kind-hearted folks with lazy drawls that make the area so unique.

I received a copy of this book from TLC Book Tours.

Book Review - Under a Summer Sky by Melody Carlson

Book Synopsis
High school art teacher Nicole Anderson is looking forward to a relaxing summer in Savannah, house-sitting and managing an art gallery for a family friend. The house is luxurious in a way that only old money could make it, and the gallery promises interesting days in a gorgeous setting. Yet it isn't long before her ideal summer turns into more than she bargained for: a snooty gallery employee who's determined to force her out, a displaced adolescent roosting in the attic, and two of her childhood friends--who also happen to be brothers--vying for her attention.

With the backdrop of a gorgeous historical city, incredible architecture, and even an alleged ghost or two, combined with the opportunity for romance . . . anything can happen!

Bestselling and award-winning author Melody Carlson invites you to spend the summer surrounded by splendor . . . and tantalizing possibilities.

My Review
Nicole Anderson is teaching art in Seattle when she gets an opportunity to spend a summer in Savannah.  A family friend offers her the chance to housesit for the summer and mind her art gallery while she is on vacation.  Nicole's summer turns out to be very exciting - with interesting work in a beautiful, historic city and with romantic possibilities involving two old friends, who happen to be brothers.

I grew up in a family that was originally from Savannah, and I lived there as a little girl.  I always say that part of my heart will always be in Savannah, and this book made me long to spend time there!  Melody Carlson did a wonderful job capturing the unique charm of this city, with old stories (including a couple of ghost tours), historic houses and architecture, and some of my favorite places like Forsyth Park and The Pirates House restaurant.

Nicole is a very likeable character.  She is a kind person who wants to help others, including a struggling teenage girl who is part of the family she is housesitting for, and a decidedly difficult gallery coworker.  I really liked her relationship with Ryan, which started as an old friendship.

Under a Summer Sky is a sweet, heartwarming novel, and it makes a wonderful summer read.  I recommend it for fans of women's fiction and contemporary romance ... especially in a unique, picturesque setting.  I have not read the previous books in this series, but Under a Summer Sky worked well as a standalone novel.

Author Bio
Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books with sales of more than five million. She is the author of several Christmas books from Revell, including the bestselling The Christmas Bus, The Christmas Dog, and Christmas at Harrington's, which is being considered for a TV movie. She is also the author of many teen books, including Just Another Girl, Anything but Normal, Double Take, the Life at Kingston High series, and the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. She is the winner of a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her many books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series and Finding Alice. Melody and her husband live in Oregon.

For more information about Melody visit her website at www.melodycarlson.com. 

I received a copy of this book from Revell Reads.

Dear Abby - Videos Abby Likes: A Gardening Dachshund

Dear Friends,

I have a fun video to share with you today!  Are you familiar with Crusoe the Dachshund?  He is a celebrity dachshund who has his own Facebook page and lots of fun videos on his Youtube channel.  

This is a video of Crusoe gardening!  He is very clever and good at digging.  (Dachshunds are exceptionally talented at digging and burrowing -- they were bred to get badgers out of underground holes.)  I enjoyed watching him help garden, and thought you might like this too.



If you have a garden, what do your pets think of it?  Do they ignore the plants or do they try to help (or find fruit or vegetables in the garden)?  I do not have a garden, but I am sure I would be helpful with both digging and gathering some of my favorite foods, like carrots and green beans.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!   I hope you have a great weekend.

Love,

Abby xoxoxo

Book Review - The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels & Other Gentlemen by Victoria Alexander

Book Synopsis
Really, it’s too much to expect any normal man to behave like a staid accountant in order to inherit the fortune he deserves to support the lifestyle of an earl. So when Derek Saunders’s favorite elderly aunt and her ill-conceived—and possibly fraudulent—Lady Travelers Society loses one of their members, what’s a man to do but step up to the challenge? Now he’s escorting the world’s most maddening woman to the world’s most romantic city to find her missing relative.

While India Prendergast only suspects his organization defrauds gullible travelers, she’s certain a man with as scandalous a reputation as Derek Saunders cannot be trusted any farther than the distance around his very broad shoulders. As she struggles not to be distracted by his wicked smile and the allure of Paris, instead of finding a lost lady traveler, India just may lose her head, her luggage and her heart.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

My Review 
The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen is a historical romance set in Victorian England and Paris.  It tells the story of India Prendergast, a fiercely independent woman who works for a living and values propriety.  When her beloved cousin, who is like a mother to her, goes missing after joining a Lady Travelers society, the nephew of one of the group's founders steps in.  Derek Saunders is handsome and charming, and India assumes he is a scoundrel.  But as they travel to Paris to search for her cousin (accompanied by a charming older couple who chaperone), a slow friendship - and romantic interest - develops between India and Derek.

This was such a fun read! I would call it a romp.  There is a lot of humor and lively dialogue.  I enjoyed the setting, especially the Paris scenes.  Their visit takes place during the Paris Exhibition of 1889, which featured the Eiffel Tower.

I really liked India and Derek and found their scenes together enjoyable.  I liked the way they became friends first and then romantic sparks flew.

The element of mystery -- the whereabouts of India's cousin -- was also well done and added extra interest to the plot.

The little quotes from The Lady Travelers Society Guide added some extra interest as epigraphs for some of the chapters.

This is my first read by Victoria Alexander, but I really enjoyed The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen and would love to read future books in this series.  I recommend this highly as a lively, engrossing summer read.

Author Bio
New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.

Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written thirty-one full length novels and six novellas.

Connect with Victoria

Website | Facebook | Twitter

   

I received a copy of this book from TLC Book Tours.