Burn the Book or Read it

Entwined with You

2013-06-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

I just read "Entwined with You" by Sylvia Day. It's the third book in the Crossfire series. Let me just say "OMG!" If you have not read the series, you need to do so just so you can read the third book.

Seriously, it was amazing. I wish I could type up the plot summary, but I can't. It would give everything away. There is no way to summarize this book without spilling the secrets or at least giving hints about what happened. Let's just say that I loved every single minute of it.

It starts right where the second one left off. The sex scenes are amazing. I mean, they are unbelievably amazing. The story is awesome. I totally wasn't expecting most of it to happen, but it did.

I can't wait for the fourth book. I need it now.

67 Books you should read to your child

2013-05-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

I saw this list called "67 Books Every Geek Should Read to Their Kids before Age 10." I think that this is an excellent list of books that every parent should read to their kids regardless of whether they are a geek or not.

It's a great list if you have children. Check it out!

I cannot live without books.

2013-05-02T18:50:00.001-07:00

50 Books to Read

2013-04-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

I found a list of 50 books to read before you die that was created by the BBC in 2003. I have read 29 out of 50. That's not too bad considering I hope I have a lot more time before I die. I bolded the ones that I have read. Only 21 books to go before I have read the entire list!

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

How I feel about a good book

2013-03-25T07:42:00.002-07:00

You know when you start reading a great book... and then you kinda fall in love with it... But then it ends... How I really feel... Why did it have to end? I miss you so much...

All In

2013-03-09T17:42:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I read “Naked” by Raine Miller. I absolutely loved it. This week, I read the sequel, “All In.” The second installment is great and definitely worth reading.

At the end of the first book, Brynne finds out that Ethan was working for her father, so she leaves him. The second book continues from there. Ethan is determined to get Brynne back. Brynne’s past starts threatening her and she has no choice but to turn to Ethan for safety. He uses all he can to protect her after Brynne tell him her horrifying secret.

This book is told from Ethan’s point of view which I really didn’t like. While it was interesting to see things from his perspective, I really liked Brynne’s POV in the last book. Brynne endeared me with her narrative. I did not connect with Ethan’s thoughts as well.

One of my only complaints was that the middle dragged at times. Book one heard my interest the entire time, but book two didn’t do the same. I wished that the first book was longer. I did not feel that way about the second. Several times, I wished for the book to end, not in a bad way, just in a this-is- getting- repetitive type of way. I think that the author was trying to draw it out to please some readers, but I wished that this would have packed the punch that “Naked” did. Shorter would have been better.

Brynne’s story about her past was so heartbreaking. Actually, I don’t know if ‘heartbreaking’ is the word to describe it. It was horrifying and sad. I just wish that Ethan would have told her more about his past. At this point, the reader knows a lot more about Ethan’s past than Brynne does. I’m dying for him to tell her more. He needs to learn to confront his demons and Brynne can help him do that if he will ever let her in. Hopefully, it will happen in the next book.

I can’t wait for the third book. I think the next one will be even more drama-filled. It going to be so good. Read it!

Pushing the Limits

2013-03-04T08:31:00.001-08:00

“Pushing the Limits” by Katie McGarry was on my “to read” list for a while now. I’m not sure how I came across it, but I thought it would be good. It has amazing review on Goodreads.com, so I had high hopes. What I discovered was that I was too old to read this book. I usually love young adult books, but this one just seemed a little too immature for me. I probably would have loved it when I was a teenager, but this was not a young adult book that can be read by an adult.

Echo Emerson went from a popular girl with a jock boyfriend to an outsider with scars on her arms and no one knows why. Students like to gossip about her because of this. Echo doesn’t even remember what happened the night she got those scars. She just wants things to go back to normal. At the urging of her counselor, Echo starts to tutor Noah, a loner with a bad reputation. Despite the rocky beginning, they discover that they can help each other come to grips with the past and plan for the future.

It was a little angst-y. I just couldn’t connect with the characters. Everything was drawn out and overdramatic. The pacing was off especially in the middle of the book. I thought that it would never end. I felt like McGarry could have cut at least twenty pages in the middle and I wouldn’t have missed anything.

Divergent

2013-03-01T10:11:00.002-08:00

My sister has been bothering me to read “Divergent” by Veronica Roth for months now. I didn’t really want to read it since I haven’t read a good young adult dystopia novel in a while with exception of the “Hunger Games.” Finally, I read “Divergent” and it was pretty good.

Beatrice Prior lives in Chicago or what was Chicago. Her society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). At the age of sixteen, the citizens must take a test and choose which faction they will live in for the rest of their lives. Beatrice must choose if she wants to stay in Abnegation with her family or live in a different faction. She struggles with the decision since she feels that she doesn’t fit into just one faction. On Choosing Day, Beatrice makes a choice that surprises her and her family. She must learn to live with her choice as she undergoes extreme physical and mental test in her new faction.

I really liked how Tris evolved throughout the story. I honestly didn’t think she would do well in dauntless, but she becomes kickass. I’m glad.

I like the ending when the government is destroyed. It was the best part. As a reader, I thought it was great to see how Tris used her Abnegation upbringing and her Dauntless training to help save the day. Roth tied everything in together very nicely. I loved that Tris’s mother was just as badass as Tris is.

My sister tells me that this is being made into a movie. I can’t wait to see it.

Read it!

Rule

2013-02-18T10:19:00.001-08:00

I read “Rule” by Jay Crownover. Shaw has loved Rule ever since she met him at age thirteen. He was a tattooed, rebellious, black sheep. Rule thought Shaw was an entitled brat who was dating his twin brother, Remy. Shaw and Remy never really dated, but it didn’t stop Rule from thinking that they did. After Remy’s death, Shaw and Rule barely tolerate each other. Hate and love often get confused. Soon, Shaw and Rule can’t deny the attraction to one another. Rule teaches Shaw to find herself and not to try to please other people. Shaw teaches Rule how to love.

This was a case of good story, but terrible editing. I’m not a member of the grammar police, but this story was difficult to read at times due to lack of punctuation. There was a serious lack of commas in this book. What Crownover lacked in commas, she made up for with run-on sentences.

Despite all of the punctuation issues, I read the entire story. The reason? The plot and characters were so amazing. I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. The entire book was an emotional rollercoaster. I laughed. I cried. It was unlike anything I have read in a long time. I definitely recommend this one even if it has punctuation problems. Read it!

New Bridget Jones Book!

2013-02-11T17:03:00.003-08:00

It's no secret- I love Bridget Jones. I have watched the movies and have read the books. There is something about Bridget that reminds me of myself except I don't have such humorous adventures. I think that she is one of the greatest chick lit characters ever.

A new Bridget Jones book will be released in November. Helen Fielding, the author, announced last year that the book would be "set in present day London with an entirely new scenario for Bridget."

There have been rumors about a third movie called "Bridget Jone's Baby."

PS. As I typed this, I read it aloud in a British accent- Bridget Jones style.

Beautifully Damaged

2013-02-10T15:46:00.001-08:00

Beautifully Damaged by L.A. Fiore is about Ember Walsh who is your stereotypical bookworm. Her best friend takes her to a club one night and Ember meets a tattooed, gorgeous man named Trace Montgomery. Trace, a fighter, has a dark past. He has to over come his demons in order to create a lasting relationship with Ember.

When I first started this book, I was so confused. It said that Trace was a dangerous playboy, but he seemed to act just the opposite. It was pretty obvious that he was head-over-heels for Ember pretty quickly after meeting her. I didn't understand it, but it was explained why he acted that way.

Ember moves in with Trace while he's still a stranger to her. It really bothered me. It seemed out of character for a playboy to let a woman crash in his guest room without even trying to have sex with her. Of course, it makes a little bit more sense after he makes his big reveal at the end of the book.

The book felt a little disjointed. There was two parts to it. The first part focused on Ember and Trace's relationship. The second was a mystery. The plot had a lot of twists and turns- some of which I saw coming and some of which I didn't. There was a lot going on in the book. Occasionally, I had to stop and think about what had happened. I kept getting confused about what actually happened and what the characters thought had happened.

I felt like I should have taken notes. When it was all said and done, I liked the plot and the characters, but I didn't like the book. It was just a little bit too confusing. I felt like I was reading a draft for a manuscript. It wasn't quite ready for readers. It should have been a little bit more polished. The writing was a little choppy and it could have used some editing to make it really good. Beautifully Damaged had potential. Unfortuantely, it didn't reach its full potential.

It was close, but no cigar.

On Dublin Street

2013-01-28T09:11:00.002-08:00

I recently read “On Dublin Street” by Samantha Young. I didn’t have high hopes for this book. It’s been on my ‘to read’ list for a while now, but I kept putting it off because I thought it would be bad. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

Joss is a 22 American living in Scotland. She is an aspiring writer. Since her family died eight years ago, she has lived without any type of emotion and without being close to anyone. She knows that it is a sad way to live, but Joss doesn’t want to get hurt again.

Joss is very tough and blunt. I liked that about her. She’s different that the usual shy, wishy-washy heroines in contemporary romances. I think that she was very believable. Joss is honest with herself and everyone around her.

When Joss’s roommate moves, she is forced to find a new apartment. Finally, she finds a place on Dublin Street with a roommate named Ellie. Ellie’s brother, Braden, is hot and Joss likes him. They have instant chemistry. I wanted them to get together and couldn't wait to read it. As she resisted him, it only made him more curious and more interested in her, and it made me frustrated. All I wanted them to get together so bad! The sexual tension is so well written. It was surprising. I liked Braden, but I like alpha-males. I’m biased.

I think this romance had just the right amount of angst for my liking. I know I have said this before, but I was really surprised that I liked this book as much as I did. It’s definitely a read.

Fifty Shades Freed

2013-01-21T11:25:00.001-08:00

I told myself that I wouldn‘t do it, but I did. I managed to read “Fifty Shades Freed” by E.L. James. Have I mentioned that I hate this trilogy? I don’t know what possessed me to read the final book. I blame boredom and cold weather. I didn’t have anything to do this weekend and wanted to spend the day in book reading. Unfortunately, I read “Fifty Shades Freed.”

The good thing was that this book had a plot. I didn’t like the plot, but at least it was there. The characters did more than have marginally kinky sex with each other! It was a step up from the last two, but it wasn’t enough.

The book starts with Ana and Christian on their honeymoon. Yes, honeymoon. James skipped right over the wedding. After reading what they did every single day in the first two books, it seemed weird for her to gloss over the wedding. As a reader, I felt a little short-changed. It’s a good thing that I don’t care, because if I did, I would be mad that I didn’t get to read about their wedding.

Christian is just as imbalanced as in the first two books. He gets mad at Ana for going topless on a nude beach in the south of France. If he didn’t want her to go topless, then he should have planned a honeymoon in a place that requires clothing. Honestly.

So happiness doesn’t last long. Once they get back from their honeymoon, someone is out to get them. It doesn’t take much to realize that the person is Jack Hyde, Ana’s former boss. Then, Ana finds out that she is pregnant and Christian freaks out like he doesn’t know how that could happen. Umm. Ok. Maybe he should be having sex ten times a day if he doesn’t want a kid. The only birth control that is 100% affective is abstinence. At least that is what my private, religious school education told me.

Anyways, Christian leaves and decides to meet up with Elena, his pedophile ex-dom. Why isn’t that lady in jail? Pedophiles should be in jail. She could be grooming another young boy. Apparently, the characters don’t care about protecting the youth of Seattle.

Ana finds out that he met with Elena and they fight again. Blah, blah, blah. Seriously, maybe they should get a divorce since all they do is fight.

While they were not speaking to each other, Ana gets a call from Jack Hyde who claims that he kidnapped Christian’s sister and wants money in exchange. Ana tries to get the money, but Christian must confirm the transaction. He’s all upset because he thinks that she is leaving him. It’s just more of the same. He’s a jerk and constantly afraid that she is going to leave him. At this point, I wanted her to get the guts to actually leave him, but I wasn’t so lucky.

So she goes after Hyde. Did I mention that she is pregnant? I’m pretty sure that you aren’t supposed to do that. She needs to get a copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” Ana gets into a bad situation and Christian saves the day because he’s a super-stalker.

Ana ends up in the hospital due to her wounds from Hyde. While she is unconscious, Christian realizes that she loves him. I didn’t know that he didn’t know that. She only says that she loves him all the time. Christian decides that he wants the baby which makes Ana happy and they live happily ever after.

Gag.

I didn’t know I could hate a book as much I hate this book. It was the same crap over and over again. I don’t know how people can like this. There are so many better books out there. Burn it!

Weekends Required

2013-01-20T21:45:00.001-08:00

In “Weekends Required” by Sydney Landon, Claire has worked as assistant to Jason Danvers at Danvers International for three years. He has never really noticed how beautiful she is until the day she jumps out of a cake at his friend's bachelor party. Unbeknown to Jason, Claire is forced to work a second job at a party planning company to support her ailing mother. She is horrified when Jason finds out.

Jason decides to force Clair to work weekends, so she cannot work her second job. She has to travel with him to help with a merger. All the fantasies she has entertained for years about her boss seem to be coming true. The problem is that Claire realizes that she likes Jason for more than just sex.

Personally, this story was just a little too cutesy for me. I have a hard time believing that Claire doesn’t make good money. She is the assistant to a prominent CEO of a major company; yet, she still has to work a second job. Obviously, she needs to ask for a raise.

Also, Jason sees her jump out of the cake and suddenly he has to have her. He didn’t notice her for three years and BAM! He has to make out with her in the bathroom. Then, he decides to take care of all her money problems. Instead of being grateful, Claire insults him and thinks that he is trying to control her by fixing the money problems he helped create by not paying her enough.

It was a cute story even if it wasn’t always believable. I liked Jason simply because he was normal. I feel like the alpha-male type lead is usually irrational and moody in most contemporary romances. Jason was not which was a good change.

Explosive Eighteen

2013-01-17T12:49:00.001-08:00

I will admit it. I’m addicted to the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. They are repetitive, yet hilarious. I keep reading them for the antics of Stephanie and her friend, Lula. The plots are all the same. There is a crime, Stephanie messes up, one or both of the men in her life have to help her out, and everything wraps up in the end. I wish Stephanie would make the choice between Morelli, the cop, and Ranger, the “security business owner”/ bounty hunter. I feel like a fool. I would read as many books about Stephanie as Evanovich will write no matter how awful they get.

Stephanie is a bounty hunter and is really bad at her job. She’s completely inept. After eighteen books, you would think that she would improve a little bit, but she doesn’t. Her cars always blow up. She bounces back and forth between Ranger and Morelli because she can’t decide which one she likes better.

Stephanie constantly falls into these situations where she needs one of her men to rescue her. She’s a complete damsel in distress. I have started to wonder why either of the men is still rescuing her anymore. They should be getting sick of it. I wish Stephanie would learn to solve her problems. It’s getting old.

At the end of “Smokin’ Seventeen,” Stephanie heads off to Hawaii with a man. Who did she bring? Morelli? Ranger? I didn’t know. I read “Explosive Eighteen” just so I could find out.

“Explosive Eighteen” starts with Stephanie coming home for Hawaii alone. I was kind of disappointed. I wanted to know what happened in Hawaii. A change of scenery was have made this book a lot more interesting. Stephanie would have been out of her comfort zone. That was a missed opportunity.

In this book, Stephanie has to deal with the aftermath of what happened on her trip as well as fake and real FBI agents. Apparently, the person sitting next to her on the plane from Hawaii was murdered during a layover in Los Angeles and Stephanie managed to get herself messed up in it.

Since she took a man to Hawaii with her, I was really hoping for some sort of resolution to her love life situation. Unfortunately, there was none. In fact, I’m beginning to think that she should become a polygamist and marry both of them. She can’t make a decision between the two, so she might as well have both. I’m not sure, however, how Morelli and Ranger would feel about being “brother husbands.”

Will I read 19, 20, 21 and beyond? Yes, I will. I’m hooked. I’m a fool. Read it.

Janie Face to Face

2013-01-13T10:35:00.001-08:00

I started reading the “Janie Johnston” books by Caroline Clooney since I was in the sixth grade. I loved the movie of the first book, “The Face on the Milk Cartoon” in which Janie discovers that she is a kidnap victim and that her parents are not really her parents. She was kidnapped by Hannah, her “kidnap” parents’ real daughter. Over the years, she has had to deal with a lot. She tries to connect with her birth family, breaks up with her boyfriend, Reeve, and discovers that her “kidnap” father has known where Hannah is.

The fifth book in the series “Janie Face to Face” starts with Janie’s decision to apply to college in New York where no one knows her story and where she can establish her own identity. She sees both of her families on the weekends, makes friends, and starts to date Michael. Eventually, Janie discovers that Michael is being paid to research Janie by a writer who is writing a tell-all book about her. She ends up reconnecting with Reeve and they decide to get married.

Naturally, drama ensues. Hannah is afraid of being caught for kidnapping Janie and is upset that her father no longer sends her checks. Janie’s brother is afraid that Hannah will do something desperate at the wedding, so he tries to track her down in Colorado.

This book is packs a lot of story into a book. Especially at the beginning, it felt like I was reading the Cliff Notes version of Janie’s college years. Years passed in a couple of chapters. It felt a little rushed. I felt like it gave the story a detached tone which worked for the book since Janie felt detached from her life.

I thought that this book was a great conclusion to the series. Of course, if Clooney wrote more, I would read those books as well. I felt like it gives closure to the series. I got the answers I wanted. Read it!

Casual Vacancy

2013-01-07T13:54:00.001-08:00

This week, I tried to read “Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling. I’m not a big Harry Potter fan. I read the first four books, but then stopped when I grew a little too old for them. Nonetheless, I was excited to read Rowling’s first book for adults. There was so much buzz around it that I assumed that it couldn’t be bad. It seemed that everything I read gave it four or five stars. Now, I’m wondering if readers gave the book a higher rating just because it was written by the author of Harry Potter. Don’t just like a book because you feel like you should.

I tried to read this, but I couldn’t do it. I barely made it passed the first chapter before I quit. I was so disappointed since it was one of the most hyped books of 2012.

I thought the book was extremely boring. It couldn’t hold my interest. I would sit and start to read, but after a minute I would find myself just staring at the wall. I didn’t like the characters. They all seemed to blend together. “Casual Vacancy” is a dull book.

Maybe it’s me. However, I think it is the book. It was awful. I couldn’t do it. I don’t think that I will ever be bored enough to ever read this book. If this was the last book on Earth, I would not read it.

Rowling should have added some magical characters to the story. That would have caught my attention. She should have stuck with what she was good at doing – writing magical stories.

Burn it!

My Favorite Books of 2012

2013-01-06T12:34:00.001-08:00

Since 2012 is over, I wanted to take a moment and write about my favorite books of this past year. There were many amazing books published this year that I read. I managed to narrow the list down to five books. It was difficult, but I managed to do it. Here they are in no particular order.

1. Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard

I don’t think that words cannot express how much I love this book. I read it post-break up and I couldn’t get enough of the romance between Julia and Gabriel. It’s just so good that I read it over and over again.

2. Bared to You and Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

I couldn’t choose between these two books, so I decided to include them both. I counted them as one book on my list. Gideon Cross is so hot. Eva is a very lucky lady. I wish I had a boyfriend just like Gideon. But alas, I do not.

3. Slammed by Colleen Hoover

I cried so much when I was reading this book. It’s the most emotional book I read all year. I cried and cried and cried. The poetry amazed me. I don’t know much about slam poetry, but I felt like Hoover did an incredible job writing it.

4. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

It’s the final book of the Hunger Games series. Enough said. I can’t wait to see how they portray it in the movie. While Mockingjay is not my favorite Hunger Games book, it was still one of the best books I’ve read this year.

5. Naked by Raine Miller

This is such a short book that I believe it is considered a novella. It’s similar to Bared to You; yet, it still captured my attention in a very unique way. It is so much better than 50 Shades of Grey. My only complaint is that it is too short. I would have loved it to have been a full-size novel. That’s a good complaint to have.

Playing the Odds

2012-12-29T14:37:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading “Playing the Odds” by Nora Roberts. It is the first book published in the “Macgregor Series.” I like reading books in the order in which they are published; however, this book is considered the fourth one in the series. I don’t know if I read it out of order or not. There seems to be a bit of confusion online regarding the order of the series. That being said, I believe that this is the kind of series that a reader doesn’t need to read all the books in order to know what is happening.

Serena Macgregor has spent the last year working as a croupier on a cruise ship. She is intelligent and has three degrees; yet, she decides to work on a cruise ship so she can meet a wide variety of people from all over the world. Her family is very wealthy and her father is a financial wizard of sorts. She wants to be accepted for who she is and not who her family is.

Serena has quit her job after a year. She knows what she wants to do with her life and is going to ask her dad to help make her dream a reality. She wants to open her own casino/hotel.

During her last trip before she is finished working on the ship, Serena meets Justin Blade. Justin was given the trip by a friend who wanted him to take some time to relax. Serena can tell right away that Justin is a serious gambler when he sits down at her table one night. Serena tries to object to Justin’s advances, but can’t resist him.

Justin offers her a job as a manager at one of his hotel/ casinos in Atlantic City. Serena is resistant to take the job since she does not know what is going to happen between them. She is even more upset when she finds out who gave him the ticket for the cruise.

I didn’t like that Serena who has spent the last year proving to herself that she is more than just her family name feels like she has to go to her dad and get his approval and help to start her casino. Didn’t she just become independent? I would have like it more if she has a business plan and wanted her dad to give her a loan to start her business. This way felt like she was a whiny teenager who needed her dad to give her money for the mall.

I liked the characters. I really liked Justin. He was a complex person who had a sad history. I would have liked to see him make up with his sister. I felt like the fact that he and his sister don’t talk was just thrown into the story without being fully flushed out.

“Playing the Odds” is a fluff book. It is a cute, simple book. The twists are predictable, but the characters are likeable. It’s not one of Robert’s best.

The Marriage Mistake

2012-12-20T14:45:00.001-08:00

I finally read the third book in the “Marriage to Billionaires” series. In “The Marriage Mistake,” Carina Conte has a longtime crush on Max Gray, her brother’s friend. Unfortunately for her, he sees her as a child instead of a mature, adult that she hopes to be. Max feels protective of her almost like a big brother.

After she graduated from business school, Carina has moved from Italy to New York to join the family business. She wants to be taken seriously by her family and for Max to fall in love with her. Max and Carina work closely together as he shows her the ropes. He knows that she is off limits and tries to fight his attraction to her by telling himself that she is just like a sister to him. Carina is constantly provoking him by dating a man from work, talking about sex and dating, etc.

While she is good as certain aspects of business, she is not the best manager and Max makes sure to point that out. She is friendly to the employees. She sends them flowers when they call in sick even if they are really playing hooky.

To cut to the chase, Max and Carina are away on business in Las Vegas when her mother, a very traditional woman, catches them in a compromising situation and forces them to get married. Max feels obligated to do what is right because he wants to protect her and maintain good relations with her family. Carina knows that the only reason Max married her was because her mother forced him to.

Obviously, they have some major issues to work out.

Honestly, this was my favorite book out of the entire series. I only read it because I hate to stop in the middle of a series. However, I was pleased. I liked Carina better than Maggie or Alexa. It has some good twists and I really wanted the characters to get together in the end.

Like the previous two books, "The Marriage Mistake" is a quick, cute read. It has that cutesy feel to it. Read it. It's better than the other two.

The Help

2012-12-18T17:35:00.001-08:00

I did something that I don’t like to do- I saw the movie “The Help” before I read the book. I hate doing that because then when I read the book I can’t stop picturing the movie. This especially happens when the book and movie are very similar like with “The Help” or “The Da Vinci Code.”

“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett is a tale for what it was like to be a black maid in Mississippi during the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. The novel focuses on the history of race relations in the south. It shows the complex interactions between whites and black during that time.

The plot is about a white woman, Skeeter, who is secretly compiling a book of true stories from black maids in Jackson. Skeeter is trying to understand black maids and make people see that people are people no matter when race they are.

Stockett shows that black maids were seen as lower than the white women who pay them; yet, they are considered fit to raise their children. Aibileen is raising Mae Mobley whose mother does not want to be troubled with raising the toddler. Constantine was Skeeter’s maid when she was child, but disappeared one day. Skeeter is determined to find out what happened to her, but she doesn’t like what her mother says.

The writing style was impeccable. It went along perfectly with the plot. This was one of the few stories where imperfect grammar and spelling felt necessary. I don’t think I would have liked this book as much if it had been grammatically correct.

I loved Aibileen. She was a great narrator. Stockett did a great job creating a diverse group of maids to tell their stories. Each of them had their own voice and personality. Hilly was a perfect stereotypical southern belle.

My biggest pet peeve about this novel is that people take it as fact. This book is fiction. While Stockett did add a couple of historical facts, I have heard people talking about it like it really happened. As far as I know, these characters and their stories are all made up.

I did like this book. What’s not to like? Read it.

Naked

2012-12-14T12:43:00.002-08:00

This week I read “Naked” by Raine Miller. I have heard about this book and was excited to read it. I read a snippet a couple of weeks ago, but didn’t get to read the actual book until this week. I’m so glad that it did not let me down. It was so good.

Brynne is an American grad student living in London right before the 2012 Olympics. She supplements her income by nude modeling- the tasteful, artsy kind of nude modeling. She attends a gallery of her friend and photographer, Benny. After the gallery, she meets Ethan Blackstone, the handsome man who bought her picture. Ethan is the owner of a security firm and was a member of the Special Forces. He offers her a ride home and decides that he needs to get to know Brynne.

They start to date, but the scars from their traumatic pasts make the road a little bumpy. Their pasts are alluded to, but are not revealed. I have a few theories. Obviously, Miller wants me to read the next book to find out.

I loved Ethan. I really did. Miller did a great job writing him. He’s caring, protective, sexy, and thoughtful. Brynne and Ethan have amazing chemistry. The author does a great job of making their relationship hot- sizzling hot.

My only complaint is that the book is too short. I wanted more. I needed more. I read it in a couple of hours. “Naked” was over too soon. I would call it more of a novella than an actual novel. The ending leaves you wanting more. I know I did. I was sad when it ended. I couldn’t believe that it ended that way. Ugh. I’m still frustrated about the ending.

I have to read the second one, “All In.” I believe that it came out this week. I will be reading it as soon as I can.

The Marriage Trap

2012-12-12T15:04:00.001-08:00

To quote a review on Goodreads.com “It was good. I liked it, but it didn’t read my world.” That’s my thoughts exactly about “The Marriage Trap” by Jennifer Probst. It is the second book in the “Marriage to a Billionaire” series. Yes, I cringed when I typed that. I hate the series name so much.

The second book focuses on the two characters who appeared in the first on. Michael Conte is a sexy, Italian billionaire who owns a bakery. I’m not sure how owning a bakery makes you a billionaire, but I went along with it. He owns one bakery from what I gathered; yet, he’s a billionaire. Maggie is a headstrong fashion photographer. She grew up in a loveless household where she was raised by the staff and was never close to her parents. She is the sister to Nick who was the love interest in the first book. Nick is married to Maggie’s best friend, Andrea.

Michael’s younger sister becomes engaged; however, his traditional mother refuses to allow her to get married until Michael is married. Michael has no intention of ever getting married, so he decides that he needs to find a fake wife. Despite a disastrous date with him in the first book, Maggie agrees to pretend to be Michael’s wife in exchange for his promise to leave Andrea alone. Maggie does not approve of their friendship even though both have told her that they are just friends. Maggie believes that she needs to protect her brother and his marriage.

Michael and Maggie travel to Italy to meet his family. Michael tells his family that they were married in America. He plans to tell them in a year or two that he and Maggie have gotten divorced.

Maggie is welcomed with open arms into his warm, loving family who are the exact opposite of her own. She begins to feel like she is actually part of the family. Michael sees Maggie in a new light and starts to question his plans to be a bachelor forever. Soon, they start to fall for each other.

Michael’s mom tricks them into getting married for real. She says that she wants to see a ceremony and the faux-couple reluctantly agrees. Of course, getting married for real is not something that either of them wants to do.

They are too scared to admit their feelings for each other because they don’t think that the other feels the same. It’s frustrating for the reader. Here are two strong-willed people who take don’t seem to be afraid of anything; yet, they are too afraid to deal with their feelings.

It’s a cheesy book. It reminds me of a Lifetime movie which is something Maggie says once. If you are looking for a cute, light read this is for you. It’s not anything new or exciting. “The Marriage Trap” has a safe plot, safe characters, and it’s a safe read. Don’t expect more than this book can give you. Read it if you watch a lot of Lifetime.

Honor Thy Teacher

2012-12-03T19:05:00.001-08:00

I read “Honor Student” by Teresa Mummert a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t too excited about reading the second book “Honor Thy Teacher” not because I didn’t like the first one, but because it is the same story as the first book told from William’s point of view. I didn’t want to read the same book over again. It seemed like a waste. I’m glad I was wrong.

Sure you know what is going to happen in the plot, but Mummert did a great job making this book readable. She added details and answered questions that I had while reading the first one. I liked that she made William a much more complex character than in “Honor Student.” I liked seeing into his mind and his reasoning.

Like in “Honor Student,” William Honor is a hot, college professor who is extremely attracted to one of his students, Emma. He tries to restrain himself, but ends up losing control and goes after her. William does some things (I know that is vague, but I don’t want to give anything away) that I was surprised. Let’s just say that any guy who looks at Emma better watch out because William is territorial.

While the first book was from Emma’s POV, it gives up no insight into where William is coming from. She really doesn’t know anything about him. I like that we get an insight into his world and why he is the way he is. It makes me like him more.

The reader finds out what happened to him that made him the way he is, his self-deprecating thoughts, how much he cares for Emma and his dark past. His past is not what I expected at all. What he does to his ex-wife to keep her away from Emma also surprised me. I can’t believe that he would do that. What I couldn’t believe even more was that I still liked him after he did that.

Even though I didn’t want to read this book, I’m glad I did. I liked it better than the first one. The problems with the college seeming like a high school didn’t bother me because the author didn’t really write about the weirdest college I’ve ever heard of. I think I could have read this book without reading the first one. Emma annoyed me and I didn’t like her POV. William, on the other hand, was more intriguing and interesting. Read it.

Unwritten Rules

2012-11-30T20:08:00.002-08:00

Unwritten Rules by M.A Stacie is a really emotional book. Elle is relatively new to New York City. She is a smart, independent, successful web designer who works from home. The highlight of everyday is after her run when she checks her mailbox. Her mysterious and handsome neighbor, Jonah Quinn, checks his mail at the same time as she does. Jonah is inverted and incredibly shy. Elle and Jonah never say a word to each other until one day he says ‘hi.’ Elle must learn more about Jonah. The tortured musician has a dark secret that stops him from getting close to anyone including Elle. Jonah is certain that if Elle discovers his secret she will leave him, but she is determined to find out.

I must say that I am extremely attracted to Jonah. Not going to lie, I have a thing for tattooed bad boys with dark secrets and a good heart deep down. Jonah has been torturing himself for ten years over his past. Elle believes that is too long to suffer for an accidental mistake. I must agree. His secret isn’t a big deal, but I can see why he would think it was. I know if I did that I would beat myself up about it too.

I think that is why I like him so much. Jonah didn’t take the easy way out. In fact he made himself suffer for his wrong doings. My heart broke for him. I like how Elle finally lets him see the incident for what it is- an accident. Because of Elle, Jonah can finally start putting his life back together. Elle was so patient and understanding, yet strong. I liked her character and she was perfect for Jonah.

God! This book was so emotional. For a long time, I wasn’t sure how it would end. I like the ending and am glad that’s what the author chose to go with. I was worried that it wouldn’t end well because it could have easily gone both ways.

I ask myself the question - Would I have been strong enough and willing enough to keep pushing, to keep going and trying - to stay with him and help him? I honestly don't know. But Elle is a true example of a person who would stick to the one she truly cares about, one who is not a family to you but a neighbor, a friend, someone you fell in love with despite all his vulnerability, devastation and complexity.

This story is not just a love story. It’s about forgiveness and accepting the mistakes we make in life. It’s about getting to know a person and loving that person despite flaws, weaknesses, and pasts. It’s about unconditional love-not just romantic, but also familiar love and loving yourself.

Honestly, I like these characters. I like the plot. I just wish that the author would write more about them. Unwritten Rules is a standalone novel, but I can’t help wishing that there was more. Read it!