Tag Archives: book review

2015 Book #6 – Something Blue by Emily Giffin

Posted in Book reviews, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Fiction, Reading Challenges by

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Title: Something Blue
Author: Emily Giffin
Date finished: 1/23/15
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: March 21, 2006
Pages in book: 338
Stand alone or series: Stand alone kind of but there is a related prequel, Something Borrowed

Blurb from the cover:

Darcy Rhone has always been able to rely on a few things: Her beauty and charm. Her fiance, Dex. Her lifelong best friend, Rachel. She never needed anything else. Or so she things until Dex calls off their dream wedding and she uncovers the ultimate betrayal. Blaming everyone but herself, Darcy flees to London and attempts to re-create her glamorous life on a new continent. But to her dismay, she discovers that her tried-and-true tricks no longer apply – and that her luck has finally expired. It is only then that she can begin her journey toward redemption, forgiveness, and true love.

My rating: 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Blue Cover” square. I absolutely loved Something Borrowed, and after reading it I just couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen to selfish, narcissistic Darcy. I even left work early (8pm but that’s early by tax season standards) and went straight to Barnes and Noble to buy Something Blue because I could not wait one more day to start reading it! This is the second book I’ve read by Emily Giffin and I have to say I just absolutely love her books. I am excited to read her other books that she’s published as well. She infuses such emotion and depth into her characters. Even with this book, I went into it not sure what to expect since after Something Borrowed I couldn’t help but think of Darcy as a bad person. But her growth throughout the novel was astounding. And there is so much put into each characters’ personalities, I feel as if I know them. They become real to me as I read the story and I find myself unable to put the book down. I think it was a wonderful story about love, friendship, and how much a person can change for the right reason. Darcy was determined to become a better person for her sons and I am so glad that she found love.

The bottom line:  I would definitely recommend this book! I loved it! The previous book, Something Borrowed, is great too!!

Author website: http://www.emilygiffin.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Something-Blue-Emily-Giffin/dp/0312548079/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1422112177

2015 Book #5 – Something Borrowed

Posted in Book reviews, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Fiction, Reading Challenges by

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Title: Something Borrowed
Author: Emily Giffin
Date finished: 1/20/15
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: June 1, 2004
Pages in book: 322
Stand alone or series: Stand alone kind of but there is a related sequel, Something Blue

Blurb from the cover:

Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy’s fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren’t always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.

My rating: 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Pink Cover” square. I have had this book on my to read list for quite some time and I saw the movie adaptation a month or two ago (even though it came out in 2011) and loved the movie. I haven’t ever read anything by Emily Giffin but her books always have looked good to me and almost all her books are on my to read list. And just as a side note I think they did a great job with the movie adaptation, the cast they selected to play the characters in the book was superb and though they skipped some details and swirled some others around, the emotions portrayed in the book came through loud and clear.
I loved this book, I just couldn’t put it down. Even having already seen the movie and knowing what was going to happen, I was drawn into the emotions of the book. It was fascinating to me to read a book where the heroine was someone I normally would’ve classified as the villain. Rachel has sex with her best friend’s fiance. A girl that she has known and thought of like a sister since she was a child and she betrays her in the most awful way. And yet somehow I find myself rooting for her, hoping that everything works out for her in the end. I can feel her pain in hurting her best friend but also her fear of losing the one thing that has ever mattered to her and the one man she’s ever truly loved. I love that this story contains a romance that isn’t cut and dried because that’s life. Life isn’t neat and tidy where everyone lives happily ever after. Real life and even real love is heartache and sadness and sacrifice. I can not say enough good things about this book, I just loved it.

The bottom line:  I would definitely recommend this book! I loved it! The movie is good too!

Author website: http://www.emilygiffin.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Something-Borrowed-Emily-Giffin/dp/031232118X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-3&qid=1421811075

2015 Book #4 – Trust No One by Jayne Ann Krentz

Posted in Book reviews, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by

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Title: Trust No One
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Date finished: 1/18/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Publication Date: January 6, 2015
Pages in book: 327
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

Working for a guru of positive thinking couldn’t be a better experience for Grace Elland. Used to bouncing from job to job, she’s finally found stability and success with the Witherspoon Way. Her marketing and social media skills have made Sprague Witherspoon the top motivational speaker in the Pacific Northwest.
Then Grace finds Sprague murdered. A vodka bottle on his nightstand is a terrifying reminder of the horrors of her past, a message to Grace that can be no coincidence.
When Grace retreats to her childhood home, Cloud Lake, to regroup, she suffers through sleepless nights and nightmares. She turns to breathing exercises, mantras, and meds to quell her fears. She tries to put everything she’s learned about positive thinking into practice – a process that is seriously challenged on a blind date. “Awkward” doesn’t begin to describe her evening with venture capitalist Julius Arkwright. She has nothing in common with a man who lives to make money, by any means necessary.
But the intense ex-Marine has skills that Grace can use – to figure out her future. Living by a simple set of rules – Trust no one and Everyone has a hidden agenda – Julius is the perfect man to help Grace, when it becomes clear that she is being stalked.
And as Witherspoon’s financial empire continues to crumble around them, taking a deadly toll, Julius will walk Grace step by step into her past to uncover a devious plan meant to destroy not only Grace, but everyone around her as well….

My rating: 4 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Free Space” square. I am a big fan of Jayne Ann Krentz (as well as her other pen names) and I really have been looking forward to this new release. I really enjoyed reading this book, I didn’t want to put it down. I did find the plot to be a tiny bit predictable, but there were some surprises thrown in there. At no point was I really thrown for a loop though. My rating would’ve been closer to a 5 if I had in fact been thrown for a loop.
Other than a slight lack of surprise, the book was quite good. I liked Grace’s character alot, she was strong-willed but also honest and genuinely cared about those around her, even the not so good guys. Julius was a pillar that Grace could lean on when she needed him most, and best of all he was smart. Some romance novels, the hero ends up being a glorified body-guard but Julius was such a successful and brilliant businessman and his company helped the police figure out the embezzlement of Sprague’s revenues. Julius was the strong, silent type and even when Grace protested he still was there to support her.

The bottom line:  I would recommend this book!

Author website: http://www.krentz-quick.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Trust-One-Jayne-Ann-Krentz/dp/0399165134/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1421602723&sr=8-1

2015 Book #3 – By Winter’s Light by Stephanie Laurens

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Cynster family series, Cynster Next Generation, Historical Romance, Reading Challenges by

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Title: By Winter’s Light
Author: Stephanie Laurens
Date finished: 1/14/15
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Mira
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Pages in book: 347
Stand alone or series: Series – Cynster family series Holiday special, 1st book in Cynster Next Generation series

Blurb from the cover:

It’s frosty December and six Cynster families come together at snowbound Casphairn Manor with members of their households to celebrate the season in true Cynster fashion—and where Cynsters gather, love is never far behind.
The festive occasion brings together Daniel Crosbie, tutor to Lucifer Cynster’s sons, and Claire Meadows, widow and governess to Gabriel Cynster’s daughter. Daniel and Claire have met before and the embers of an unexpected passion smolder between them.
However, Claire, once bitten, twice shy, believes a second marriage is not in her stars. Yet Daniel is determined. He’s seen the kind of love the Cynsters share, and Claire is the lady with whom he dreams of sharing his life. Assisted by a bevy of Cynsters—innate matchmakers every one—Daniel strives to persuade Claire that trusting him with her hand and her heart is her right path to happiness.
Claire is increasingly drawn to Daniel and despite her misgivings, their relationship deepens. But then catastrophe strikes, and by winter’s light, she learns that love—true love—is worth any risk, any price.

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “2014 Release You Missed” square. I have read all the other books in the Cynster series up to this point (many for which a review is posted on my blog, see link above) and I am very much looking forward to reading Lucilla’s story (to be released February 24). By Winter’s Light is the 23rd (technically) book in this series, with a seemingly never-ending listing of possible novels to come in the future. Laurens is just about to begin writing about the “next generation” with Lucilla’s story, and since Lucilla is one of about 70 cousins and extended cousins, we could see another 69 books from this generation (Jeez Louise that’s a lot). Anyways, its hard to keep who’s who straight sometimes. Luckily, Laurens has developed an extensive family tree that can show you all the children in each family (scroll over the couples to see the children’s names) that can help us make sense of where we are in the Cynster world.
I have to be completely honest. I went into this book expecting not to like it. I read about the whole Cynster family thus far and I’ve been so excited to get into reading about the next generation that I couldn’t help but think, who cares about the damned tutors?? But Laurens managed to surprise me yet again but making this a fun and interesting read. I found myself becoming involved in Claire’s story and rooting for her to open herself up to love. I also loved the back and forth between all the different P(s)OV. It made the overall story very well rounded and fun to see from all sides. Lucilla and Thomas’s interactions make me that much more excited to read her story on Feb 24.

The bottom line:  I would recommend this book both as part of the series and also based on the merits of the book itself.

Author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Light-Cynster-Stephanie-Laurens/dp/0778317471/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1421331366&sr=8-1

2015 Book #2 – Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Maiden Lane series, Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2015 checklist, Reading Challenges by

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Title: Darling Beast
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Date finished: 1/7/15
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: October 14, 2014
Pages in book: 321
Stand alone or series: Series – Maiden Lane #7

Blurb from the cover:

A MAN CONDEMNED . . .
Falsely accused of murder and mute from a near-fatal beating, Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne has escaped from Bedlam. With the Crown’s soldiers at his heels, he finds refuge in the ruins of a pleasure garden, toiling as a simple gardener. But when a vivacious young woman moves in, he’s quickly driven to distraction . . .
A DESPERATE WOMAN . . .
London’s premier actress, Lily Stump, is down on her luck when she’s forced to move into a scorched theatre with her maid and small son. But she and her tiny family aren’t the only inhabitants-a silent, hulking beast of a man also calls the charred ruins home. Yet when she catches him reading her plays, Lily realizes there’s more to this man than meets the eye.
OUT OF ASH, DESIRE FLARES
Though scorching passion draws them together, Apollo knows that Lily is keeping secrets. When his past catches up with him, he’s forced to make a choice: his love for Lily . . . or the explosive truth that will set him free.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2015 checklist under the “book with antonyms in the title” check box (darling and beast). I have read the other books in the Maiden Lane series, though none are yet discussed on this blog (hopefully that will be fixed in the future). I think that this is an excellent series, though I have trouble keeping the previous characters straight sometimes. Luckily, Hoyt has included a series of family trees to demonstrate the connections in the novels of the series.
I very much enjoyed this novel, there were a good amount of interesting plot twists and I was interested in the story throughout the novel. One piece of this novel specifically that I found very interesting was that at one point Lily is writing a farce (play) that her brother intends to sell to pay off his debts. I couldn’t find the exact words again but she describes a farce as a bunch of a bunch of plot twists each happening one after the other so much so that the whole idea of the play feels exaggerated and improbably. At the point in the novel when many of the characters were gathered together at the house party, I couldn’t help but notice that the events were happening much as Lily described a farce to be. I just found that interesting.

The bottom line:  I would definitely recommend this book both as part of the series and also based on the merits of the book itself.

Author website: http://www.elizabethhoyt.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Darling-Beast-Maiden-Lane-Elizabeth/dp/1455586307/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1420719107&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #106

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Fiction, Paranormal comedy, Undead series (Betsy Taylor) by

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The hundred and sixth book I read in 2014 was Undead and Unsure by MaryJanice Davidson. This is the twelfth book in the Undead/Betsy Taylor series by this author. I finished this book on 12/28/14. I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book picks up a few days (I think) after the last book leaves off. Betsy has just killed the devil in front of her half-sister (the devil’s daughter). This causes a bit of family tension at the Thanksgiving 2.0 holiday that Betsy has planned. The Antichrist is pretty upset that Betsy got her into this situation, where she’s stuck being the devil’s replacement.

Sinclair is ecstatic that he can now go outside in the sunlight with his two puppies, Furr and Burr. Betsy is ashamed that he is acting so “cute” and not at all like the bad-ass vampire king that she has come to know and love. Betsy is trying so very hard to recover her fragmented relationship with her sister and thinks that Thanksgiving dinner will do the trick. However, Laura has other ideas and drags Betsy to hell and then ditches her there. Also this whole time Dr. Taylor (Betsy’s mom) is very worried about the fact that no one knows when Jessica got pregnant, no one knows when Jessica is due, and no one seems to be worried about these facts.

Overall I really liked the story line in this book. The Antichrist acts like a scared little girl in this book, which was a tad different from how we’ve seen her in the past. And I loved that we got to hear pieces of the story from Eric’s point of view in this book. I loved that Jess’s babies turned out to be weird and I think its hilarious that Marc ended up having to deliver them. (Oh yea, SPOLIER ALERT 🙂 )I can’t wait to read the next book in the series (the new one)!!!

Link to author website: http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Undead-Unsure-MaryJanice-Davidson/dp/0425263436/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1419907889&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #105

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance by

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The hundred and fifth book I read in 2014 was No Strings Attached by Susan Andersen. I finished this book on 12/22/14. I rated this book 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Tasha Riordan and Luc Bradshaw. Tasha decides to go on vacation and while on vacation she meets a man that she becomes infatuated with, Luc. Luc is an undercover agent for the DEA and he gets word from his supervisor that his most recent undercover assignment might be falling apart. One of the people in the drug world where he resides as an undercover agent decides to set him up so that he falls out of favor with the head of the drug world.

Turns out though, that Tasha is alone in the hotel room when the Bahama police come to raid the room. She is arrested and kept in prison for three days, the longest three days of her life. She grows to hate Luc so big surprise when he turns out to be the long lost never known of brother to her best friend’s fiance’s. This whole plot line was a little too neat and convenient. Three half-brothers fall in love with three best friends.

Overall I was not a huge fan of this book. I found myself losing interest many times through the book and I could not seem to get myself involved in the story line. It was a cute story but it wasn’t my favorite in the least.

Link to author website: http://susanandersen.com/index.php

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Strings-Attached-Hqn-Susan-Andersen/dp/0373778872/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1419394737&sr=8-5

2014 – Book #104

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Fiction, Paranormal comedy, Undead series (Betsy Taylor) by

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The hundred and fourth book I read in 2014 was Undead and Unstable by MaryJanice Davidson. This is the eleventh book in the Undead/Betsy Taylor series by this author. I finished this book on 11/26/14. I rated this book 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5. This book picks up about a week after where the last book left off. Marc has just died and everyone is trying to deal with the repercussions of that. Betsy seems to be taking it less well than the others. Betsy is determined to save Marc and bring him back from the dead. Jess and Nick (those darned humans) are opposed to this idea but Betsy is going to do it anyways.

Fortunately for Betsy, she doesn’t need to do a thing. She goes into the attic to put something away and discovers zombie Marc just shambling around up there. And then we find out from Laura that the Book of the Dead is actually made out of Sinclair. Like from his skin. Because the devil skins him alive in the future and Betsy uses his skin to make the Book of the Dead. So then Sinclair goes off for awhile and Betsy thinks it’s because he is scared but I guess he was researching.

And then Ancient Betsy pops up and says that she’s waiting for something to happen but she won’t say what. So Betsy decides on a spur of the moment decision to do something a little unexpected and kill the devil. And then Laura will have to take her place. But hopefully because she doesn’t end up working with the Lena Olin devil, hopefully Betsy doesn’t do a bunch of bad shit and the world as they know it won’t come to an end.

Overall I did really like this book, as I liked all the books in this series. This book specifically I liked the plot twists and turns and I like that Betsy took some kind of action to try and save her and Sinclair. And since the Book of the Dead was gone in the end of this book, I’m hoping she succeeded. Good read and good addition to the series.

Link to author website: http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Undead-Unstable-Queen-Betsy/dp/B00B1LDDRE/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1417029191&sr=8-2

2014 – Book #103

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Fiction, Paranormal comedy, Undead series (Betsy Taylor) by

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The hundred and third book I read in 2014 was Wolf at the Door by Mary Janice Davidson. This book is technically part of the Wyndham Werewolves series but Betsy Taylor from the Undead series plays her own part in this book so I am reading it in my Undead series re-reading. It says in the preface to this book that it takes place after Undead and Undermined (the tenth book in the Undead series) but I’m pretty sure that’s not true. In this book Marc is already up and walking around and everyone knows about him. At the end of Undead and Undermined, Marc had just died. I think this book really takes place after the end of the next book or maybe even the one after that. Anyways, I finished this book on 11/22/14. I rated this book 3.0 stars out of a scale of 5. This book was about Rachael Velvela, a werewolf accountant, and Edward, a Bostonian who lives with a vampire and vampire hunter.

Rachael is asked by her cousin Michael (leader of the Wyndham werewolf Pack) to go St. Paul and keep an eye on the vampire queen (Betsy Taylor). Meanwhile Edward in Boston gets a copy of the vampire newsletter and decides to go check things out. The two meet by chance in a Barnes and Noble and boink their brains out. And eventually solve the mystery of some murders.

This book was ok. My main problem with it is that the timeline doesn’t really work. There is a lot of mention of Antonia dying, but she came back to life at the end of Undead and Undermined. And Marc had just died and was not yet a zombie (spoiler alert). I’m glad I had already read the next book in the series or else I would be pissed and confused about that point. Other than those issues, the book was cute and slightly entertaining. Overall definitely not one of my favorites but was an ok read.

Link to author webiste: http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-at-Door-MaryJanice-Davidson/dp/0425243117/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1416666186&sr=8-4

2014 – Book #100

Posted in Book reviews, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense by

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The hundredth book I read in 2014 was Long Time Coming by Edie Claire. This book was recommended to me by my cousin, Stephanie Gorman. I finished this book on 11/9/14. This was the first book I’ve read by this author. I rated this book 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Joy Hudson, who after 18 years away returns home to Wharton, Kentucky to care for her father and mother, both of which are not in the best of health anymore. Joy left home a long time ago and never looked back, too scarred by traumatic events that occurred at the end of her senior year to think of Wharton as home.

When Joy returns to Wharton though she is forced to face a variety of issues that she had up until then successfully avoided. Like why she feels so guilty about her best friend’s death in high school. And why she’s scared of Jeff Bradford (her best friend’s high school boyfriend) and how he makes her feel, even now eighteen years later.

Overall I did enjoy this book. I was interested in the story line and liked the mixture of paranormal and suspense in the plot. I thought that the characters could’ve been developed a tad bit more and had more depth. As much as we delved into Joy’s psyche I found her character to be a bit flat I guess. Other than that I liked the story well enough. Though I wouldn’t consider it one of my favorites, it was interesting and also free on Amazon Kindle!

Link to author website: http://www.edieclaire.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Time-Coming-Edie-Claire-ebook/dp/B004RJ7Y8Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415646021&sr=8-1&keywords=long+time+coming