Irish Girls About Town

Author, various female Irish authors (Maeve Binchy, Cathy Kelly, Marian Keyes). From Goodreads, New York Times bestselling authors Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes top an impressive roster of the Emerald Isle's most popular women writers and prove that when it comes to spinning a good yarn, the Irish are the best in the business. Showcasing dazzling wit and remarkable insight in short stories that run the gamut from provocative to poignant, these Irish women will tug at your heartstrings and have you crying with laughter in no time. In Maeve Binchy's "Carissima," a longtime ex-pat and free spirit returns to Ireland from Sicily and shakes things up for her family, who finds her life utterly scandalous. In "Soulmates," by Marian Keyes, one woman's relationship is so bleedin' perfect in every way that it's driving her friends up the wall. In Cathy Kelly's "Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods," two women on a madcap, Stateside road trip have completely opposite reactions to a pair of insanely good-looking men. 

In these stories, and throughout this fabulous collection, Ireland's finest women authors celebrate the joys and perils of love, the adventure and constancy of female friendships, and their own irresistible brand of Irish charm. This anthology of sorts is written by female Irish authors. It is a perfect read while getting sun-kissed on the beach or for a lazy afternoon nap. So far, I found most of the stories simple, cute and a little entertaining. Well, there are some stories I liked quite a bit like De-Stress, The Twenty-Eighth Day, Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods, Carissima, and Girls' Weekend. The rest were either so-so or the main characters were hard to root for. However, I think I just don't really enjoy short stories as much as I do a novel with 250 pages or more. You don't have enough time to really connect with the characters and place yourself in their situations. I found myself yearning for more and then boom! I'd tell myself, "What? That's it?" and then I'm left with a feeling that the stories weren't really okay at all. So far, I'd rate this book, two bookmarks for entertainment purposes.

Tuesday Teaser

Welcome to the first Tuesday of April. Another day for our Teaser Tuesdays. This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To participate you: grab your current read, open to a random page, share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers. Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others! Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! For this week, actually I'm reading an anthology book. It's a collection of short stories authored by some of famous Irish novelists - Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes & Cathy Kelly, et al. The book is called "Irish Girls About Town". Here's a teaser from one of the short stories: There was a note on the door. Waited until half past. Understand that you mightn't have wanted to see me. If you were mine, I wouldn't want to let you our of my sight. 

Musing Mondays

Today's Monday musing from Miz B of Should Be Reading, where she will ask a book / reading-related question, and you answer with your own thoughts on the topic: What are you most excited about reading, right now? Can be a book you’re currently enjoying, or a book that’s yet to be published, etc. Actually, I'm excited with a lot of recently published book (sequels). So I'm making October my Sequel Month. Here are some of the books I'm excited to read in the next few days. Vanish (sequel to Firelight). To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone. 

Uncommon Criminals, sequel to Heist Society. Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. She's no Disney Princess. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners. There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply... the emerald is cursed. 

Presley Quinn, Tragic Love

My feet start to move wery quickly as I travel down through the old buildings toward the saloon. In a few short minutes, I make my way to the parking lot where I need to stop to catch my breath. The heat is sucking all the air from my lungs along with my guilt for what I’ve done. When I pull open the door I can hear Darcie screaming at Drake at the same time that Reggie is restraining his arms, pinning them behind his back. His eyes meet mine and they break all over again. I have to save him. I can’t bring him down with all the ugliness growing inside of me. I slowly walk through the bar and keep my eyes solely on his. Darcie is turning her anger to me, but I shut it down because only Drake matters in this particullar moment. No one else. I reach into my pocket and pull the small white pill from its depths. Placing it in the palm of my hand, I show him exactly what it is and his bloodshot, drunken eyes meet mine, slowly. Reggie releases his hold on Drake, allowing him to lower his arms to his sides.

“What’s that?” he asks with a slurred tongue as he shrugs his shoulders, loosening them from the tension inflicted by Reggie. “I didn’t do it. I was waiting for something good to stop me, and then... there you were. You are more important to me than my own life and I can’t hurt you by doing this,” I whisper as I pick up the pill and place it in his sweaty hand. His eyes focus slowly on the pill. He turns it over with his fingers in his hand, the confusion apparent as he studies the small white tablet. He can’t even look at me and I don’t blame him. I’ve ruined any trust he’s had in me and I deserve it. I’ve only been hiding from reality for a long time. Drake tips his hand to the side, allowing the pill to drop to the floor. As it hits the ground, Drake lifts his booted foot then slams it onto the tile. He twists his heel, grinding the pill into a fine white powder. He slowly lifts his head and looks over to Reggie. “So now you know,” he says then he pushes past me, brushing his arm against mine as he walks out on all of us.