Saturday, December 31, 2011

Book 68 (2011): One Day

David Nicholls story about Dex and Em spans over 20 years, all on the same day, each year. From the moment Dex and Em slept together on the night of graduation from college they bound for the rest of their lives.

Then as their friendship grows and they change and evolve and their lives go separate ways, sometimes they're friends, sometimes not, and sometimes more.

This is a will they or won't they ever get together romance.

I like this novel. It's more than just chick lit and I think the characters are likable and then not so likable.

The one thing I did not like was the ending. At all. (437 pages)

A

Monday, December 26, 2011

Book 67 (2011): The Tenth Circle

I read this novel by Jodi Picoult many years ago but for some reason I couldn't remember much about it so I decided to give it a re-read over Christmas vacation, and I'm so glad I did.

I forgot how much I love her stories, with all the different narrative voices. And this one stayed out of the court room and was focused on one event and how it affected an entire family. I liked the twists and turns, and the shifting, drastic setting. And it's fun that there's experts of a graphic novel sprinkled throughout.

Jodi Picoult is at her best here and I certainly recommend The Tenth Circle. (400 pages)

A

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Book 66 (2011): Smokin' Seventeen

Smokin' Seventeen is one the best in the Stephanie Plum series. Stephanie and Ranger have sex. Lots and lots of sex.

And stuff blows up and bail jumpers get the best of Stephanie and the the former ho Lula, her partner in anti-crime. And since Vinnie's bail office is gone and is now in Mooner's RV, Stephanie has to catch more 'bad guys' to guarantee her job.

And her mother is working hard to get her to break up with sexy fellow bounty hunter Ranger and her on again-off again boyfriend cop Joe Morelli. She has a childhood friend of Stephanie's who is trying to cook his way into her heart.

There are dead bodies, Grandma Mazur at the funeral home, Grandma Bella's evil eye, Tasy Cakes and all other great things expected. (308 pages)

A

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Book 65 (2011): Burnt Mountain

Thayer grows up loving camp in North Carolina where she meets her first love and gets her first broken heart. She was an unloved child after her father died when she was young and could only find solace and happiness at summer camp or with her grandmother.

As an adult, Thayer marries Aengue, a Irish folklorist, and they move into her deceased grandmother's home, near her beloved childhood camp. Instead of finding happiness as an adult with a man she loves in a place bequeathed to her by her beloved grandmother, near her childhood haven, she finds scary truths about her past and present.

This is a wonderfully told story, spinning a Goth Southern tale. (323 pages)

A

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Book 64 (2011): The nineth Wife

I love love loved the book The Nineth Wife. And I am so glad. I checked it out from the library thinking it was probably going to end up as lighthearted chick lit cotton candy junk and I was so wrong and I am so glad!

The premise is that thirtysomething Bess had given up on love and marriage and then she meets Rory, an Irish musician and they fall in love. Then Rory drops the bombshell that he's been married before-- 8 times and she, Bess, would be wife number 9. Bess is taken aback and isn't sure that's a good thing for her so she decides to meet some of the exs, unbeknownst to Rory, as she takes a cross country trip with her fighting grandparents (helping them move), her gay neighbor, a mannequin, and a shar-pei.

Yes it is witty and silly sometimes, but it's also insightful. I like the changing narrator voice of Bess and Rory and how we, the readers, gets let in on Rory's marital history before Bess-- and we know far more than Bess.

Good read! (448 pages)

A

Monday, December 5, 2011

Book 63 (2011): South of Superior

I loved South of Superior! I loved the complex characters, the setting location, the characters felt like people I would want to know. I LOVED the voice of the story and I fell in love with the hotel and the UP. It was a story I didn't want to end.

Amazon says:

When Madeline Stone walks away from Chicago and moves five hundred miles north to the coast of Lake Superior, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she isn't prepared for how much her life will change. Charged with caring for an aging family friend, Madeline finds herself in the middle of beautiful nowhere with Gladys and Arbutus, two octogenarian sisters-one sharp and stubborn, the other sweeter than sunshine. As Madeline begins to experience the ways of the small, tight-knit town, she is drawn into the lives and dramas of its residents. It's a place where times are tough and debts run deep, but friendship, community, and compassion run deeper. As the story hurtles along-featuring a lost child, a dashed love, a car accident, a wedding, a fire, and a romantic reunion-Gladys, Arbutus, and the rest of the town teach Madeline more about life, love, and goodwill than she's learned in a lifetime. A heartwarming novel, South of Superior explores the deep reward in caring for others, and shows how one who is poor in pocket can be rich in so many other ways, and how little it often takes to make someone happy.

Wonderful!!! (384 pages)

A

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Book 62 (2011): Winters In Bloom


Amazon says the following about The Winters in Bloom:

Together for over a decade, Kyra and David Winter are happier than they ever thought they could be. They have a comfortable home, stable careers, and a young son, Michael, whom they love more than anything. Yet because of their complicated histories, Kyra and David have always feared that this domestic bliss couldn't last - that the life they created was destined to be disrupted. And on one perfectly average summer day, it is: Michael disappears from his own backyard.

The only question is whose past has finally caught up with them: David feels sure that Michael was taken by his troubled ex-wife, while Kyra believes the kidnapper must be someone from her estranged family, someone she betrayed years ago.

As the Winters embark on a journey of time and memory to find Michael, they will be forced to admit these suspicions, revealing secrets about themselves they've always kept hidden. But they will also have a chance to discover that it's not too late to have the family they've dreamed of; that even if the world is full of risks, as long as they have hope, the future can bloom.

Lyrical, wise, and witty, The Winters in Bloom is Lisa Tucker's most optimistic work to date. This enchanting, life-affirming story will charm readers and leave them full of wonder at the stubborn strength of the human heart.

I didn't find it enchanting at all, not optimistic or charming. I didn't really care for it at all... (288 pages)

D