Edenbrooke

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

My Rating - 5 out of 5 stars



Oh my goodness! I am so in love with this book! It was such a cute, sweet, innocent yet mature read! For some reason I was a little skeptical about it but as soon as I started reading I was hooked! Marianne and Philip are just adorable and so like able! Ahhhhh, I think I am going to sit down tonight and read it again!

This magnificent book is set in England in 1816 and is a beautiful romance novel. Marianne Daventry was sent to her grandmothers shortly after her mother died. Now over a year later she is still waiting for her father to come home, is hearing all about the wonderful life her twin sister leads in London, and is bored stiff! Now she is off to Edenbrooke to meet her sister. On this journey she falls in love with the Edenbrooke, encounters a few life-threatening situations, and meets a charming stranger who she just can't seem to get out of her mind.

Please, please, please give this book a try. It is just that good!

Love the One You're With

Love the One You're With by Emily Griffin

My rating - 3 out of 5 stars

Meh.... This was just a okay book. I definitely have liked other Emily Griffin books more than this one. I was just kind of annoyed with the main character Ellen. She was just so quick to doubt her marriage just because an ex waltzed back into her life. Anyways, not the worst book but I just don't have much to say about it.

Happy Reading!

The Fifty Shades Trilogy

 Fifty Shades of Grey; Fifty Shades Darker; Fifty Shades Freed

by  E.L. James

My overall rating - 4 out of 5 stars

I decided to read these books mainly because of curiosity. I just had to see what all the fuss was about. I have never ventured into this genre of books and was a little wary but I decided why not? I love to read and so I might as well give everything a try, right? Anyways, while I was reading the books I kept thinking about what I was going to rate it. I had been reading all the other reviews and it seems people either love it or hate it. As we all know, these books have created a lot of controversy. Honestly, at times I loved it and other times I wasn't so sure. Ultimately I decided on 4 stars because I have to say I did enjoy these books. I read all 3 in a little over a week and was completely enthralled with the relationship between Ana and Christian. Christian is such a mysterious guy and I wanted to see if Ana truly could change him. It was obvious that Christian was going to change Ana, but could she pull off the impossible? To be honest, the relationship reminded me of an much more adult version of Twilight (without the vampires of course). Christian definitely reminded me of Edward. Gorgeous, serious, rich, and believes himself to be a heartless monster. And the fact that Christian claims he just couldn't stay away from Ana (sound familiar?). And Ana reminded me of Bella. Innocent, pretty but not in a obvious way, clumsy and ultimately looking for someone to take care of her. Their relationship was just so interesting to me and I found myself excited to see what was going to happen next. Their relationship is filled with drama and there are definitely some intense moments. I definitely could have done with less of the all the sex, but I was obviously expecting it. I also found myself unsure of Christian. I think I like him, under all of his armor. But I don't particularly agree with how controlling his is. I think this is one of the main arguments against this book. Anyways, if you are comfortable venturing out to this genre, definitely give these a try. The relationship is so much fun to read about, and the books definitely get intense at points. If you read the first book (Fifty Shades of Grey) you will definitely have to keep reading the other two. I have to say the first one is probably the best but Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed are not far behind.

Happy Reading!

Bet Me

 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Cute! I have been in the mood for a good, quick chick lit book, so this was perfect. I enjoyed both of the main characters, and even though their relationship was a bit predictable, it was fun to watch it all happen. I have to say that the last few chapters are a bit scandalous, but honestly, I didn't mind. Actually, throughout the book I was surprised how little sex there was, but that thought changed by the end.

We follow Minn Dobbs as she rudely get dumped by her boyfriend while at a bar. We quickly find out that Minn is not the skinniest of girls and her mom definitely lets her know it. She hasn't had much luck with men and she leads a somewhat boring life, especially since her career is to assess and avoid risk. Then we meet Calvin, a handsome man who has a reputation of getting woman to fall in love with him and then high tailing it out of there. Minn and Calvin don't exactly hit it off but they keep running into each other and weirdly enough can't get each other out of their minds.

Happy Reading!!!

Wherever You Go

Wherever You Go by Heather Davis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Wherever You Go follows three characters main characters. Throughout the book you switch between each character and get the chance to see the world through their eyes. The first character is Holly. A senior in high school who is dealing with a lot more than what a "normal" teenager should. Her boyfriend just died in a car crash (and she was also in the car) almost a year ago. Also, she is left to take care of her grandfather who has Alzheimer's and her nine year old sister while her mother is working two jobs to make ends meet. As Holly is dealing with all of this we see her try to greive, to move on and to just be.



Next there is Rob. Holly's dead boyfriend who is for some reason stuck and not able to move on. He finds himself following Holly, his family and his friends around and all he wants to is to be seen. He is so lonely. We try to figure out why Rob is "stuck" here and what really happened the night of the car crash.



And finally we meet Jason, Rob's best friend. Jason has always had a thing for Holly and so finally he has decided to go for it. They both are still grieving over Rob's death and both need some support, so why not lean on each other.



I found this book pretty good. Not my favorite, but a good, clean young adult read.

Happy Reading!



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The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I seriously can not get this book out of my head. The story is really good, but mostly it is just really well written! I became instantly absorbed and obsessed! John Green makes you fall in love with the characters and feel like you are living right there with them.



The story follows Hazel, a seventeen year old who is terminally ill with cancer. She is currently part of a new drug study that has miraculously stopped her tumor from growing. Hazel has become depressed and has started to pull away from the "normal" teenage happenings. She is part of a cancer support group and at one of them she meets Augustus, a fellow seventeen year old who lost his leg to cancer. Hazel and Augustus start spending a lot of time together and both become obsessed with the lack of ending to one of their favorite books. These two characters are utterly adorable together. Their relationship is amazing and heartbreaking at the same time.



I highly recommend this book, it is depressing yet you come away feeling thankful for the life and relationships you have. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:



"My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations."



"....it would be my pleasure to have my heart broken by you"



"As Augustus read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."




Happy Reading!



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The Last Summer (of You and Me)

The Last Summer by Ann Brashares

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I have to say that I am a little disappointed. I absolutely loved Ann Brashares My Name Is Memory and even though I didn't read all of her Traveling Pants Series, I did enjoy them, but this book was a big let down. It was a really quick read but I think I breezed through it so fast because I just wanted to be done with it. The characters were really annoying and I just could not relate to them at all. Why did they say they were best friends yet would not dare ask eachother any personal questions? Why did they go back and forth from loving and hating each other? Why were they so scared to hate each other? Ugh, they just did not make sense to me.



The book follows Riley and Alice (sister's) and Paul (the best friend/next door neighbor). It is set one Fire Island which is a hot summer spot with a bunch of summer homes. Riley, Alice and Paul's family summer homes are right next to each other so basically they have grown up together. They come back summer after summer and just pick up where they left off. Now they are in their mid-twenties and trying to set up their lives. But during this last summer on Fire Island they deal with a life-threatening illness, and a secret budding romance.



Again, I was just so disappointed with this book. However I am still hoping that Ann Brashares will eventually write a sequel to My Name Is Memory! It was so good!

Happy Reading!



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One Day

One Day by David Nicholls

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Well, this book was pretty good. It was my choice for book club this month and I picked this since I had heard great things about it and knew there was a movie coming out. I wish I would have read it before I picked it though. It was a good book, but not a great one - in my opinion. I was in the mood for a great love story, that was a quick, fun read. This is a love story, but it isn't one where you are just so sucked in you can't put it down. Does that make sense? Anyways....



The book follows Dexter and Emma. Each chapter is the same day, just the next year. We meet them right after their graduation from college. Dexter is getting ready to travel the world, Emma is more realistic and is trying to find a job and get on with her life. From the start we know that Emma has real, deep feelings for Dexter. Dexter on the other hand, is immature and selfish. He is living in the moment, from girl to girl, adventure to adventure. Each year/chapter we find Emma and Dexter in different jobs, relationships, and different variations of their own relationship with each other. I really enjoyed Emma's character. She seemed very real to me. Dexter on the other hand annoyed me. Through the years he settles down and becomes more "normal" but until then I just did not care for him.



If you like love stories, definitely check this out, just don't expect it to be the best thing ever. I am going to watch the movie, and am really excited. I just will probably wait till out it is out in DVD.

Happy Reading!



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A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was really good, just really long! It is 584 pages and jam packed with tons of stuff going on. I really loved the story, but I feel like the author could have made it a little less complicated and left some of the stuff out. What makes this book a little different from the other supernatural/vampire books is that the main characters are 30 something year olds. No teenagers! So that was a little refreshing. I don't think this is a young adult book, but it probably could be because there is no swearing and while there is talk of sex, there is very little descriptive sex scenes. Anyways, here is a little of what the book is about....

Diana is a historian whose family history is extensive and well known. She is part of the Bishop family who are a long line of powerful witches. Diana however has tried to forget and ignore the fact that she is witch. That is until while in the library doing work she comes across a bewitched manuscript. She sends the book back, trying to fight her urge to use magic to figure out this manuscript and that is when her life changes. Next thing she knows she is running into more witches, daemons, and vampires everywhere. She meets Matthew, a mysterious vampire. Together they try to understand and find the importance of this manuscript, they fall in love, fight off other creatures and try to bring Diana's witch out after being ignored and hidden deep inside her. There is a lot more going on too, but this gives you a taste.

A Discovery of Witches is the first in the All Souls Trilogy. The next book comes out summer of 2012.

Happy Reading!



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The Reader

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have to say this was a interesting story. I really liked how the story was told and the confusion of emotions the characters experienced.

The book is set in post WW2 Germany. 15 year old Micheal is on his way home when he falls extremely ill. Hanna, a woman twice his age, comes to his rescue. Once Micheal is well he goes back to Hanna's home to thank her. What follows is a passionate, odd and sexual relationship between the two. Then Hanna disappears. Fast forward to Micheal in law school following a case. He then sees Hanna who is on trial for a hideous crime. Hanna does not defend herself and Micheal is not sure what to do or think.

I just saw that this book was made into a movie in 2008, so I will have to check that out too.

Happy Reading



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Dining with Joy

Dining with Joy by Rachel Hauck

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Meet Joy, a cooking show host who can't cook. I know, what is that about. Her father was a amazing cook and died suddenly after just getting the show popular. Joy takes it over to make her dad happy. She tries to bring a new fresh and comedic way to the cooking show. It works for awhile, but her secret is eating away at her. Here she is, almost 30 and living a lie. She has no husband ( or prospects), no children, and no passion. Enter Luke, a handsome chef who is hired on to co-host the 4th season of the show. The rest of the book is about romance, life, passion, struggles, fears, lies and of course, yummy food. I really enjoyed this book. It was almost like I was watching a chick flick (which I love)!



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Books about Love

This week I read two books that are about love.

Even though they were about love, they were SO different from each other.
One about love and the triumphs and failures that come with it.
The other banning love and calling it a disease that needs a mandatory cure.

The first book is The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan.


The title pretty much tells you what it is about.
The author takes you through a relationship by filling you in on small, intimate stories
in the form of a dictionary.
It is a very cute, interesting, moving and unique way of writing about love.
The book is also a very quick read and would make a great coffee table book!

The next book I read was Delirium by Lauren Oliver.

This book was fantastic!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
It reminded me a little of The Giver and Hunger Games (not the violence, but how the government tries to control everything).
Anyways, Lauren Oliver takes you into a world where Love is thought of as a horrendous disease.
A disease that can kill whether you have it or not.
Once you turn 18 you have to be cured. After that you are matched with a partner and pretty much go on with your life with no feeling, no emotion.
The story follows a young girl who is scheduled to be "cured"in 95 days.
It follows her journey of believing wholeheartedly in the system set up by the government
to uncovering truth after truth that could shake everything she ever knew.
This is a series, but I am not sure when the next book comes out.
I sure can't wait to read them though!
I have also read Before I Fall by the same author and really enjoyed that as well.
You can see what I thought about it here.

Any suggestions???

Happy Reading!