Teaser Tuesday: Slightly Cracked

After reading a very good but very dark book (A RELIABLE WIFE by Robert Goolrick), I needed something lighter. So, I've just barely started SLIGHTLY CRACKED by Susan Whitfield. I'm enjoying it so far. 

TEASER:
They'd grown up climbing trees, shooting B-B guns with the boys in the neighborhood, and pillow fighting when they had sleep overs. "I double-dog dare you" could be heard on a daily basis when one challenged the other.
[at 2% on my Kindle]


Genre: Women's Fiction
No. of Pages: 308
Amazon Link: Slightly Cracked


Goodreads Synopsis:
Lifelong friends Sugar Babe Beanblossom and Daisy Marie Hazelhurst are in the throes of menopause. If that's not enough, they suspect their husbands of cheating, they're gaining weight in spite of walking and working out at the gym, and life is just not a bed of roses.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "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 and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

Sweet Saturday Sample - October 5

It's been a month since I've contributed to Sweet Saturday Samples -- and that's too long! I'm back today with another excerpt from my WIP, Elly and the Geriatrics. This scene takes place after Elly has crashed her grandmother's golf cart into a pile of mulch, and Derek and Elly have shared their first kiss.

      After a quick explanation to her grandmother of what had transpired, amid apologies and assurances that the only thing injured was her pride, Elly headed for the bathroom. A glance in the medicine cabinet mirror confirmed what she’d feared. She looked terrible. Her hair stood out from her head like a red fright wig, a smear of dirt stretched from her nose to her right ear, and bits of mulch dusted her from head to foot like brown snowflakes.

      But Derek kissed me anyway.

      She ran her fingertips over her lips, remembering the feel of his mouth on hers. Those thoughts warmed her and made her wonder why he’d chosen that moment to make a move.

      Don’t question it. It was wonderful.

      Then a piece of bark fell from her hair onto her hand, bringing her back to reality. She shook her head. 
      The man must be as blind as Mrs. Bagley or else really desperate for female attention. 

      Thoughts of those kisses teased her while she showered, towel-dried her hair, and put on makeup. Once those tasks were done, she donned a clean pair of jeans and a cotton shirt. She slipped her feet into strappy sandals.

       I'm not really chasing after the guy.

       She fastened one hoop earring, then the other.

       And I don't want a relationship with him.

       She frowned at her reflection and made a face.

       What do I want?

       She spritzed perfume on her neck. Dammit, it felt good to have a man admire her. Maybe Granny was right. A little flirting wouldn't hurt. Would it?

What's Sweet Saturday Samples?

Each week, writers post brief samples of their work on their own blogs and then link them to the main site, so readers can conveniently “hop” from blog to blog, meet new authors and become better acquainted with ones they already know. All samples are rated PG-13 (or milder), though the books from which they're taken may be spicier. 
For more SWEET SATURDAY SAMPLES, click HERE.

Teaser Tuesday - Leaving Serenity

I've just barely started reading Leaving Serenity, but so far I'm enjoying it. The synopsis on Goodreads says: 
"Based on the life of Annette Bevels, Leaving Serenity takes the reader back to the quaint atmosphere of main street America in the 1960’s where everyone speaks the same language and success is measured by conformity. At sixteen, she falls in love with Jack Harris, a romantic hippie with an unsavory past. Leaving Serenity, Annette creates a new identity and becomes the master of her own destiny. Her journey to success is inspiring and empowering." 

TEASER: 
Changing my image gave my self-confidence a boost and elevated my career. No matter how many times they call me Annette, I've come too far to go back now. I am Nicky.
(5% on my Kindle)

Here's the link to the book on Amazon: Leaving Serenity

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "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 and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

- Sandy Nachlinger 

Teaser Tuesday - The Same Sweet Girls

I'm stretching the two-sentence limit to four today, but this excerpt from The Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King was just too good to abbreviate! Let me know if you agree.

"I think I've figured it out. Long as I can remember, I've been addicted to junk food, stuff like potato chips and soft drinks and candy bars. It's caused me problems all my life, cavities and stomachaches and acne, not to mention a big ass that I have to jog every day to keep under control. It's taken me a long time to see the connection, but here it is: The way I'm drawn to junk food is the same way I can't resist a man who's no good for me." (page 168)

Don't you just love that?


Synopsis of The Same Sweet Girls from Cassandra King's website:

     None of the Same Sweet Girls are really girls anymore and none of them have actually ever been sweet. But this spirited group of Southern women, who have been holding biannual reunions ever since they were together in college, are nothing short of compelling.

     There’s Julia Stovall, the First Lady of Alabama, who despite her public veneer, is a down-to-earth gal who only wants to know who her husband is sneaking out with late at night. There’s Lanier Sanders, whose husband won custody of their children after he found out about her fling with a colleague. Then there’s Astor Deveaux, a former Broadway showgirl who simply can’t keep her flirtations in check. And Corrine Cooper, whose incredible story comes to light as the novel unfolds.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

To find more Teasers, click here: Teasers

TEASER TUESDAY - May 17

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB and anyone can play. Just take two sentences from your current read, post them, and share the link here: Teaser Tuesday


I couldn't resist adding another two-sentence teaser from Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. There are so many funny snippets in this book! This one is on Page 207.
        
With my hands clamped between my knees, I fessed up. I told Oletta about Miz Goodpepper and the flying slugs--how Earl, the married policeman, had danced around the porch in his Zorro mask and underpants while swinging Miz Hobbs's brassiere, and how, when Miz Hobbs ran down the steps, she slipped on a slug and cracked her head open.


     
Note: If you like this, you'll love the complete description of the flying slug incident in Chapter 11.

BOOK REVIEW: Cold Sassy Tree

  

I just finished reading Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Anne Burns, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story takes place in the town of Cold Sassy, Georgia, its name derived from the cool shade under the sassafras trees nearby. Set in the early 1900s, after the War Between the States, the narrator (Will Tweedy) is the 14-year-old grandson of the owner of the town's general store. The conflict starts when his grandfather marries a much younger woman only weeks after the grandmother's death. This scandal causes an uproar in the close-knit, Bible-quoting community.

I felt that the story presented an intimate picture of life in that place, at that particular time in history. Some homes still had outhouses and used kerosene lamps, while others had electricity, indoor plumbing, and telephones. The automobile was a novelty. Yankees and "lintheads" (mill workers) were distrusted, and family was all-important. The humor, southern accents, and mispronunciations added charm and realism to the tale, though the dialect sometimes slowed down my reading. And although I found myself skimming the longer preachy sections, the plot kept me entertained and the characters charmed me.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Southern tales.

BOOK REVIEW: I Still Dream About You

Fannie Flagg is such a good Southern author. In I Still Dream About You, she creates wonderful pictures of a variety of Southern women, the likes of which I knew growing up in Dallas. As is true of the characters in this book, those moms and teachers and neighbors worried about hurting the feelings of others and would go out of their way to avoid any possible inconvenience to their friends. Of course, Fannie takes these traits to the extreme with her characters, especially protagonist Margaret Anne Fortenberry ("Maggie"). 


Maggie is a former Miss Alabama, selling real estate in Birmingham. In spite of her perfect façade, she's determined to end her life. She makes all the preparations--writing her suicide note by hand ("... the computer would be far too impersonal and certainly not in good taste"), making sure all her bills were paid ("She never wanted to give anyone the chance to say that a former Miss Alabama was a deadbeat."), placing ant traps under the sink, and even emptying her refrigerator to make sure no one had to deal with spoiled food after she's gone. The last thing she wants is to be a bother to anyone. Yet a performance by the Whirling Dervishes, a skeleton in the closet of a home she's trying to sell, and other inconvenient setbacks keep getting in the way of her plans to end her life. 


I won't post a spoiler and tell you how the story ends, but I will say that although the conclusion was predictable, Fannie Flagg entertained me from page one. While the book didn't contain the depth of Fried Green Tomatoes, it was well worth reading. This is a book I'd definitely recommend.


By the way, both of us Sandras are avid readers and we'll post random book reviews from time to time. These reviews will be from books we've borrowed from the library, bought new or used at book stores, received from friends, or downloaded to our Kindles. We receive no compensation for reading or reviewing these books.