Finding "Love & Luck" with "Rebecca"

It's been a rough couple of weeks; back-to-back conventions and dealing with the aftermath of my mother's death.  It's still hard, but I'm taking it one day at a time.  Reading helps.  I was able to start Jenna Welch's "Love & Luck" during a road trip to Virginia Beach, and I finished reading yesterday afternoon.  It was okay.  I liked her first book, "Love & Gelato," better.  That being said, I think it would be amazing if Welch wrote a third book, entitled "Love & Sushi," and centered it around a trip to Japan.  Perhaps involving just Addie and Rowan this time.  If I'm lucky,  Jenna Evans Welch will see this post and heed my suggestion.  In the meantime, I'll content myself by reading "Rebecca," by Daphne Du Maurier.  Yes, it's a classic.  It was so popular in its day that Alfred Hitchock, the "Master of Suspense" himself, directed a movie based on it.

"Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Manderley Again."
So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past the beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant -- the sinister Mrs. Danvers -- still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley.  

I think I missed something when I watched the movie.  After reading the book, I'll probably go watch it again...I'm hoping reading the book will help me gain a better appreciation for the Hitchcock masterpiece!  In the meantime, I'd better begin my 'journey" with "Rebecca!"

Finding "Love & Luck" At the End of "The Road Home"

So, I finished "The Road Home" by Richard Paul Evans. It is the third book in his "The Broken Road" trilogy.  It was okay, but the series as a whole was really kind of "meh," in my opinion.  I won't say I hated the trilogy, but I think it wasn't Evans' best effort.  It seemed to be more of a challenge to himself to see if he could write the antithesis to his "The Walk" series.  Rather than writing about a man who had lost everything and was walking to find hope, "The Broken Road" series was more about a man reclaiming what was lost and finding himself in the process.  I hope I'm more impressed with his upcoming autumn release, "Noel Street." It's due to be released on November 5.  In the meantime, I'll occupy myself with "Love & Luck".  It's the second book written by Jenna Evans Welch, daughter of Richard Paul Evans.  Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt's over-the-top destination wedding and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing that left her miserable and heartbroken--and threatens her future.  But her brother Ian isn't about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once-inseparable siblings.  But when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she's finally able to escape her anxious mind--and Ian's criticism.  And then their travel plans change.  Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world's smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute Irish-accented friend Rowan.  As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tail forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.  That is, if they don't get completely lost along the way.  I'm sure I'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Welch's debut novel, "Love & Gelato."  But only time will tell, so I'd better get started on my "Journey Through A Book" ASAP!