I have had a couple of light, frivolous reads in a row, so I decided to pick something a little more complex and literary. I have had Cane River by Lalita Tademy on my shelf for a couple of years. This is what is up next...I know, I am way behind the times.
Happy Reading!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Fourplay
Fourplay by Jane Moore is a fun, frivolous read. (Another one of my beach picks that I didn't read at the beach.) It is also an endearing, touching tale. The book is about a woman named Jo who's husband leaves her and their two children for a secretary at work, and how she learns to deal with his infidelity, dating again, and finding herself.
It is a bit predictable, as most romance novels. But this novel is not just a romance, it is a story of personal struggle, family ties, and coming of age at 33. The novel spans a couple of years, so it really gives you a peek Jo's life and it is a more realistic view of relationships than most romance novels. It takes Jo some time to move on from her marriage, even though it wasn't perfect to begin with. I liked that she didn't just automatically jump into bed and fall in love with the next guy and ride happily into the sunset. It takes her some time to find a place for herself and there are bumps and bruises along the way. In the end, of course she rides into that sunset, but the journey there was endearing and touching.
I loved the other characters in the novel - her best friend, Rosie and her brother Tim. I loved that she was so close with her brother and the relationship that he had with her children. Jo's mother is also an interesting character that offers more complexity to the novel than a typical romance.
There was one event that I didn't see coming, that had me in tears. I love it when a book can get some form of emotion from the reader. I feel that the author has done a good job if the reader cares enough about the characters to be happy, sad or angry for them. There is definitely a moment in this book that requires tissues.
Overall, although mostly predictable, I liked this book. The characters were interesting and the story was sweet and heart felt. Not a top pick or one of my favorite books, but one that was worth my time.
Happy Reading!
It is a bit predictable, as most romance novels. But this novel is not just a romance, it is a story of personal struggle, family ties, and coming of age at 33. The novel spans a couple of years, so it really gives you a peek Jo's life and it is a more realistic view of relationships than most romance novels. It takes Jo some time to move on from her marriage, even though it wasn't perfect to begin with. I liked that she didn't just automatically jump into bed and fall in love with the next guy and ride happily into the sunset. It takes her some time to find a place for herself and there are bumps and bruises along the way. In the end, of course she rides into that sunset, but the journey there was endearing and touching.
I loved the other characters in the novel - her best friend, Rosie and her brother Tim. I loved that she was so close with her brother and the relationship that he had with her children. Jo's mother is also an interesting character that offers more complexity to the novel than a typical romance.
There was one event that I didn't see coming, that had me in tears. I love it when a book can get some form of emotion from the reader. I feel that the author has done a good job if the reader cares enough about the characters to be happy, sad or angry for them. There is definitely a moment in this book that requires tissues.
Overall, although mostly predictable, I liked this book. The characters were interesting and the story was sweet and heart felt. Not a top pick or one of my favorite books, but one that was worth my time.
Happy Reading!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Next Selection
When I gathered my books to take on vacation, I over estimated the amount of time I would have to read. I took Breaking Dawn (which is a very long book), and three others. I finished Breaking Dawn, and one of the others, Name Dropping. Now that we are back from vacation, I still feel like I want to be on vacation, so I grabbed one of the other books from my vacation reading selections: Fourplay by Jane Moore. It promises to be a fast, fun, frivolous read. What more can you want from a vacation book?
Happy Reading!
Happy Reading!
Name Dropping
While on vacation, after finishing Breaking Dawn, I read Name Dropping by Jane Heller. I took it along on vacation because it seemed like a perfect beach read. It did not disappoint. I almost completed it in two days and it only lasted until the third day because we came home and I had too much to do to finish it right away.
Name Dropping is the first book that I have read of Jane Heller's. On the cover, it was reviewed as being a funny book, with witty one-liners. It was cute, entertaining, fast, fun, easy and a little funny. But it was not laugh out loud funny like I was expecting from the cover.
The premise of the book is that a nursery school teacher, with a life that she feels is boring, suddenly has her life changed because someone with the same name, and a much more thrilling life, moves into her building. She begins getting this other woman's mail, phone calls and deliveries. At first, I didn't like the main character because I felt she was rude. Here she is getting this other woman's messages, and mail and she didn't deliver them immediately. She would wait for a couple of days. And she receives a delivery from a pharmacy that she knows immediately is not hers and yet looks at it anyway, snooping into this other woman's life, making judgements because of the medicines that were in the pharmacy bag. That bugged me. I didn't feel that it fit with the character profile and I didn't like that the character acted in such a manner. But I let it go and got past it, so that I could enjoy the story.
It was a sweet story with mystery and romance. I felt somewhat connected to the character's life because of her profession. Having small children and being the Assistant Director of a preschool, albeit a very different preschool than in this book, I could relate to her life and the mishaps in the classroom. There are a few twists and turns that, even though they were expected, do add interest to the story. In the end, she realizes that her life was not boring and that she she makes a difference in the world every day by working with these children.
It was a perfect beach read. A book that I took to the beach with out hesitation, and one that I wanted to finish to see the outcome. Of course, it has a happy ending. Don't all good beach reads?
Happy Reading!
Name Dropping is the first book that I have read of Jane Heller's. On the cover, it was reviewed as being a funny book, with witty one-liners. It was cute, entertaining, fast, fun, easy and a little funny. But it was not laugh out loud funny like I was expecting from the cover.
The premise of the book is that a nursery school teacher, with a life that she feels is boring, suddenly has her life changed because someone with the same name, and a much more thrilling life, moves into her building. She begins getting this other woman's mail, phone calls and deliveries. At first, I didn't like the main character because I felt she was rude. Here she is getting this other woman's messages, and mail and she didn't deliver them immediately. She would wait for a couple of days. And she receives a delivery from a pharmacy that she knows immediately is not hers and yet looks at it anyway, snooping into this other woman's life, making judgements because of the medicines that were in the pharmacy bag. That bugged me. I didn't feel that it fit with the character profile and I didn't like that the character acted in such a manner. But I let it go and got past it, so that I could enjoy the story.
It was a sweet story with mystery and romance. I felt somewhat connected to the character's life because of her profession. Having small children and being the Assistant Director of a preschool, albeit a very different preschool than in this book, I could relate to her life and the mishaps in the classroom. There are a few twists and turns that, even though they were expected, do add interest to the story. In the end, she realizes that her life was not boring and that she she makes a difference in the world every day by working with these children.
It was a perfect beach read. A book that I took to the beach with out hesitation, and one that I wanted to finish to see the outcome. Of course, it has a happy ending. Don't all good beach reads?
Happy Reading!
Breaking Dawn
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer is the final installment of the Twilight saga. I was anticipating this book because the first three books in the series were fabulous and left the reader wanting more. But I was also not really relishing reading it, because it was the final book for the series.
I will cut right to the chase...It was fantastic. I didn't want to put it down. It was fast paced, and intriguing enough that I literally carried the book around with me during the day from place to place so that it would be by my side when I had a moment to read. I started it just before we left for a family vacation, and took it with me to read. During the kids nap time, my only real down time on vacation, I read it non-stop for a couple hours at a time. Then at night, after the kids were in bed, I read until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I read it while I ate my breakfast and lunch, and while I waited for the kids to get ready to go out. I took it to the beach (which I thought I would never do because I treasure this book and didn't want to see it messed up with sand and sunscreen) and read while the kids played in the sand. It was that good.
The book was a little different from the first three. It seemed more fast paced. I expected there to be suspense about where things were going with the book ending with the big event either happening or not. But right from the beginning, things moved along at a faster pace then her other books. And early on there was a HUGE unexpected twist. One that shaped the rest of the book. Trust me, if you have read the other books in this series, this one will surprise you. No one that I know that has read the books expected it. Oh and how wonderful some of the fantasy is! I don't want to give anything away, but if only some of the sci-fi elements involved could be real. The desire for that left me breathless.
Throughout the book, small loose ends are wrapped up and the series is given its just due. I didn't feel that it was all resolved too quickly at the end, just because the author knew it was time to wrap it up. There are a few things that wrap up simply and easily, but I felt that this was done to give the reader great satisfaction when the book was over. When the back cover closes with a thump, the reader is left with a sigh and a feeling of closure that the other books did not provide. Aptly so, since this is the final book.
I do wish that we could have more. That somewhere, Stephanie Meyer has another leg of this story to tell. One can only hope!
Happy Reading!
I will cut right to the chase...It was fantastic. I didn't want to put it down. It was fast paced, and intriguing enough that I literally carried the book around with me during the day from place to place so that it would be by my side when I had a moment to read. I started it just before we left for a family vacation, and took it with me to read. During the kids nap time, my only real down time on vacation, I read it non-stop for a couple hours at a time. Then at night, after the kids were in bed, I read until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I read it while I ate my breakfast and lunch, and while I waited for the kids to get ready to go out. I took it to the beach (which I thought I would never do because I treasure this book and didn't want to see it messed up with sand and sunscreen) and read while the kids played in the sand. It was that good.
The book was a little different from the first three. It seemed more fast paced. I expected there to be suspense about where things were going with the book ending with the big event either happening or not. But right from the beginning, things moved along at a faster pace then her other books. And early on there was a HUGE unexpected twist. One that shaped the rest of the book. Trust me, if you have read the other books in this series, this one will surprise you. No one that I know that has read the books expected it. Oh and how wonderful some of the fantasy is! I don't want to give anything away, but if only some of the sci-fi elements involved could be real. The desire for that left me breathless.
Throughout the book, small loose ends are wrapped up and the series is given its just due. I didn't feel that it was all resolved too quickly at the end, just because the author knew it was time to wrap it up. There are a few things that wrap up simply and easily, but I felt that this was done to give the reader great satisfaction when the book was over. When the back cover closes with a thump, the reader is left with a sigh and a feeling of closure that the other books did not provide. Aptly so, since this is the final book.
I do wish that we could have more. That somewhere, Stephanie Meyer has another leg of this story to tell. One can only hope!
Happy Reading!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Next Selection
I am going to begin Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. It is the final in the Cullen series (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse). I want to be able to discuss it with my friend and my sister-in-law who have both read it. They have told me that it is surprisingly different from the other three books, but that it is good. It is a very long book; it may take me a while to get through it, given that I only have a few minutes a day to read!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Lean Mean Thirteen/Fearless Fourteen
I am lumping these two together because I read them in quick succession. I am a huge Janet Evanovich/Stephanie Plum fan. I have been reading her books for years and usually when the next in the series comes out, I go back and re-read all of the previous books prior to starting the new one. However, with four kids and a busy life, and thirteen previous novels, I can't do that anymore. So I just re-read the last one.
Lean Mean Thirteen is hilarious. Stephanie Plum is always funny, but this one really had me laughing out loud. There is a bit throughout the book about the cable company that is one of Evanovich's best. I love that every one's response to the cable company is exactly the same. In addition to the cable company laugh, there are exploding stuffed wildlife, and enough sexual tension to feel through the pages. For those who have not read Stephanie's previous adventures, there are two men in her life. This book gives a good mix of the two. For Ranger fans, there is quite a bit of Ranger action. For Morelli fans, there is also a bit of good Morelli sexiness and sweetness. Thirteen is one of my favorites in the series.
Fearless Fourteen is not quite as laugh out loud funny but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its moments. Moments that you just have to share with someone because they are so clever and funny. Lula plays a big role in this one, a side plot of her own in a way. I didn't feel that Grandma Mazur was in this one quite as much as the last one and she is a character that I love. This book focuses more on Morelli, but there are good Ranger moments as well. I feel that this one leaves Morelli and Stephanie's relationship on a different level. Morelli says some things that leave no doubt about his feelings for Stephanie and it is very sweet.
Overall, of course I would recommend it, but not one of my favorites. Usually the books in this series leaving me wanting more right away. Evanovich usually leaves us hanging with some detail. This one felt pretty wrapped up. There are only questions left about Lula's side plot -- not something that will keep me hanging until next time.
Happy Reading!
Lean Mean Thirteen is hilarious. Stephanie Plum is always funny, but this one really had me laughing out loud. There is a bit throughout the book about the cable company that is one of Evanovich's best. I love that every one's response to the cable company is exactly the same. In addition to the cable company laugh, there are exploding stuffed wildlife, and enough sexual tension to feel through the pages. For those who have not read Stephanie's previous adventures, there are two men in her life. This book gives a good mix of the two. For Ranger fans, there is quite a bit of Ranger action. For Morelli fans, there is also a bit of good Morelli sexiness and sweetness. Thirteen is one of my favorites in the series.
Fearless Fourteen is not quite as laugh out loud funny but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its moments. Moments that you just have to share with someone because they are so clever and funny. Lula plays a big role in this one, a side plot of her own in a way. I didn't feel that Grandma Mazur was in this one quite as much as the last one and she is a character that I love. This book focuses more on Morelli, but there are good Ranger moments as well. I feel that this one leaves Morelli and Stephanie's relationship on a different level. Morelli says some things that leave no doubt about his feelings for Stephanie and it is very sweet.
Overall, of course I would recommend it, but not one of my favorites. Usually the books in this series leaving me wanting more right away. Evanovich usually leaves us hanging with some detail. This one felt pretty wrapped up. There are only questions left about Lula's side plot -- not something that will keep me hanging until next time.
Happy Reading!
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