Weekly Book Haul.....February 14, 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Showcase Sunday is hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea, Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews, The Sunday Salon is a new facebook group I've joined and Monday Mailbox is hosted by Marcia to be Continued.

What a week!  I went hiking last Saturday with one of my best friends, and when I came home, I suddenly had a cough deep in my chest.  Didn't feel super on Sunday and decided it must have been allergies, probably triggered by the dumb idea of exercise.  I went to work, and started some Claritin and Flonase, met my daughter for dinner, went home and began feeling more like death.

I went to work and ran over to urgent care, where I was diagnosed with pneumonia.  So I went back to work and finished out my day in a haze of coughing and fever.  Then I came home and spent the next three days on the couch, moving as little as possible, cowering in fear of the p-word.  

Let me explain, two years ago, I got pneumonia - 3 times in six months.  It was awful, but initially I kept going to work no matter how bad I felt.  I didn't stay home until the coughing was so bad that I was peeing my pants (nothing would be more awkward than peeing your chair in the middle of a meeting).  Then I stayed home and worked, sitting on a beach towel for my coughing spells.

I was tested for Valley Fever (an Arizona disease), had multiple X-rays, took multiple antibiotics, had all sorts of blood tests.  Everything was normal, except the pneumonia that I couldn't shake.  I finally had to admit that my stress level, and my refusal to rest was the real problem.  I just wouldn't give myself time to heal, because in my mind, work can't run without me.  No matter that everyone else has no problem being home sick and not taking calls, or answering emails.  I feel that Catholic guilt that compels me to keep giving until it hurts (me).

So I forced myself to stay home and rest, in the hopes that I can just kick it once this time.  The plus side of being laid flat is that the reading was awesome.  I just finished The Forgotten Room.  It was amazing, a five star read for me.  But this week, I got the newest Sarah Pekkanen, and that is always cause for celebration.  Here's what else I added this week....

NetGalley

Most Wanted by Lisa Scottoline.....Lisa Scottoline delivers another searing,

powerful blockbuster novel that explores hot-button issues within the framework of an intricately plotted thriller. When a woman and her husband, desperate for a baby, find themselves unable to conceive, they decide to take further steps. Since it is the husband who is infertile, the heroine decides to use a donor. And all seems to be well. Three months pass and she is happily pregnant. But a shocking revelation occurs when she discovers that a man arrested for a series of brutal murders is her donor - the biological father of the child she is carrying. Delving deeper to uncover the truth, the heroine must face her worst fears, and confront a terrifying truth. Most Wanted is sure to be Lisa Scottoline's most discussed, bestselling novel yet.

Will You Won't You Want Me? by Nora Zelavansky.....Marjorie Plum isn't

your average washed up prom queen. After all, her New York City prep school was too cool for a royal court. Yet, ten years after high school graduation, she is undeniably stuck in the past and aching for that metaphorical tiara.

But when her life takes an unexpected turn, she is forced to start over, moving in to a tiny box of an apartment in Brooklyn with a musician roommate who looks like a pixie and talks like the Dalai Lama. Desperate to pay rent, she starts tutoring a precocious 11-year-old girl-who becomes the unknowing Ghost of Marjorie Past, beginning a surprise-filled journey towards adulthood, where she learns about herself from the most unlikely sources: a rekindled childhood love, a grumpy (but strangely adorable) new boss, even her tutee.

In Nora Zelevansky's charming second novel, Will You Won't You Want Me?, Marjorie soon realizes only she can decide: who is the real Marjorie Plum?

The Perfect Neighbors by Sara Pekkanen.....The page-turning new novel

from the internationally bestselling author known for her “conversational writing style and a knack for making readers care about her characters” (The Washington Post) takes us into the homes of an idyllic suburban neighborhood where we discover the burning secrets hiding just below the surface.

Bucolic Newport Cove, where spontaneous block parties occur on balmy nights and all of the streets are named for flowers, is proud of its distinction of being named one the top twenty safest neighborhoods in the US. It’s also one of the most secret-filled.

Kellie Scott has just returned to work after a decade of being a stay-at-home mom. She’s adjusting to high heels, scrambling to cook dinner for her family after a day at the office—and soaking in the dangerous attention of a very handsome, very married male colleague. Kellie’s neighbor Susan Barrett begins every day with fresh resolutions: she won’t eat any carbs, she’ll go to bed at a reasonable hour, and she’ll stop stalking her ex-husband and his new girlfriend. Gigi Kennedy seems to have it all together—except her teenage daughter has turned into a hostile stranger and her husband is running for Congress, which means her old skeletons are in danger of being brought into the light.

Then a new family moves to this quiet, tree-lined cul-de-sac. Tessa Campbell seems friendly enough to the other mothers, if a bit reserved. Then the neighbors notice that no one is ever invited to Tessa’s house. And soon, it becomes clear that Tessa is hiding the biggest secret of all.