Monday, July 2, 2012

Mailbox Monday - Abdication and Objects of my Affection



Currently on a Blog Tour with a New Host Each Month


Title: Abdication
Author: Juliet Nicolson
Publisher: Atria Books (May 22, 2012)
Format: Hardcover; Pgs 344
Genre: Fiction
Source: Simon and Schuster


Overview

England, 1936.

The year began with the death of a beloved king and the ascension of a charismatic young monarch, sympathetic to the needs of the working class, glamorous and single. By year’s end, the world would be stunned as it witnessed that new leader give up his throne in the name of love, just as the unrest and violence that would result in a Second World War were becoming impossible to ignore.

During the tumultuous intervening months, amidst the whirl of social and political upheaval, wise-beyond-her-nineteen-years May Thomas will take the first, faltering steps toward creating a new life for herself. Just disembarked at Liverpool after a long journey from her home on a struggling sugar plantation in Barbados, she secures a position as secretary and driver to Sir Philip Blunt, a job that will open her eyes to the activities of the uppermost echelons of British society, and her heart to a man seemingly beyond her reach.

Outwardly affable spinster Evangeline Nettlefold is a girlhood friend to the American socialite Wallis Simpson, a goddaughter to Lady Joan Blunt and a new arrival to London from Baltimore. She will be generously welcomed into society’s most glittering circles, where one’s daily worth is determined by one’s proximity to a certain H.R.H. and his married mistress. But as the resentment she feels toward Wallis grows in magnitude, so too does the likelihood of disastrous consequences.





Title: Objects of my Affection
Author: Jill Smolinski
Publisher: Touchstone (May 1, 2012)
Format: Hardcover; Pgs 307
Genre: Humorous Fiction
Source: Simon and Schuster


Overview

Lucy Bloom is broke, freshly dumped by her boyfriend, and forced to sell her house to send her nineteen-year-old son to drug rehab. Although she’s lost it all, she’s determined to start over. So when she’s offered a high-paying gig helping clear the clutter from the home of reclusive and eccentric painter Marva Meier Rios, Lucy grabs it. Armed with the organizing expertise she gained while writing her book, Things Are Not People, and fueled by a burning desire to get her life back on track, Lucy rolls up her sleeves to take on the mess that fills every room of Marva’s huge home. Lucy soon learns that the real challenge may be taking on Marva, who seems to love the objects in her home too much to let go of any of them.

While trying to stay on course toward a strict deadline—and with an ex-boyfriend back in the picture, a new romance on the scene, and her son’s rehab not going as planned—Lucy discovers that Marva isn’t just hoarding, she is also hiding a big secret. The two form an unlikely bond, as each learns from the other that there are those things in life we keep, those we need to let go—but it’s not always easy to know the difference.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Two great sounding books in your mailbox.

http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2012/07/mailbox-monday.html

Alyce said...

Abdication appeals to me the most out of those two - I love that cover!

Kaye said...

Two very diverse books. Hope you like them both.

kay - Infinite Shelf said...

I have Objects of my Affection on my wishlist, it sounds very interesting. Happy reading!