Book Review: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

This book is beautifully written. She has a certain way with the words. That being said, I didn't like it! She never uses quotation marks for dialogue. WHY NOT?? I have no idea! It's hard to follow conversations. I thought it was going to be more Sarah Addison Allen but it was weird and led nowhere. The ending was very abrupt, you never find out what the hell is wrong with one of the characters (He turns into furniture?? I think?? Yeah, it is as weird as that sounds.), and just drags. It took me forever to read because I'd fall asleep after a couple of pages. Boo. Not reading Aimee Bender again.

Book Review: The Sisters Grimm Book 1: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

This book was so cute! If you liked Harry Potter you would get a kick out of the wonderfully imaginative The Sisters Grimm series. The two sisters are catapulted into a town where the 'Everafters' (all the fairy tale characters you've ever known) are residents stuck in Ferryport Landing. The girls, descendants of Wilhem Grimm, then start in the family business as detectives in their free time. Michael Buckley has a quick wit and creative writing that is just amazing! I have already downloaded the next 3 to my Kindle and look forward to reading them!

Book Review: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Another magical story by Sarah! She writes romantic Southern stories with a slight supernatural twist. There aren't werewolves or vampires or anything kinda 'normal'. It's something slight like the wallpaper that changes on its own with the occupants mood. All of her stories (Garden Spells and Sugar Queen are her other highly recommended reads) involve sweets which is a fun touch. I anxiously wait for her books and then relish reading them. I never want them to end (however, if they were neverending, I'd never get anything done!!) and am disappointed when they do. I want to be friends with her characters or live in their towns. That to me, is a great book.

Book Review: Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion

I needed something that was a quick, mindless read and this fit perfectly. Good, not great, predictable... A fine read as I waited for Sarah Addison Allen's The Girl Who Chased the Moon. Speaking of that, I didn't get a chance to read the whole book yesterday (its release date) but I did get a really good start! And, of course, I am loving it!!

Book Review: Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse #1) by Charlaine Harris

A Short and sweet book review... I was a little bored since I knew what was going to happen. I like True Blood (the TV Show based on this series) so much better. The characters in the book lacked depth. I had a hard time picking it up to read...

Book Review: Immoral by Brian Freeman

So I finally read the first one after I read the third one (Stalked) in the Jonny Stride/Serena Dial series. It was good. As with Stalked, I knew who was involved as soon as the character was introduced but didn't know how. There were a few curve balls thrown in there as well. All in all I thought it was pretty good and I look forward to reading the second book, Stripped, as well as the fourth book that's name is escaping me right now (Brian is a FB friend and he keeps posting about his books being published in other countries under different names and he is writing the 6th book but I don't know what happened to the 5th??? Brian- you are confusing me!). That is if I can ever keep my eyes open during The Likeness long enough to finish it! It is really good but I just keep falling asleep!

Book Review: In the Woods by Tana French

This book was so good! The characters were very well developed and interesting. It is set in Ireland and it is a detective story. This book won the Edgar Award and it was worthy of it. I was bummed at the ending but I heard through the grapevine that the issue will be revisited in her 3rd book. I am reading her follow-up The Likeness now and it's gonna be another good one!!

Book Review: Another Day in the Milky Way by David Milgrim

This book is an absolutely darling book for young children! The illustrations are so darn cute!! I loved it (I'm not sure if AJ even liked it but I did so...)! I just ordered it for AJ's bookshelf from Barnes & Noble (which is also where I snag all my book pictures). Give it a read if you have little ones!!

Book Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Ahhhh, the final book in the Twilight saga. It was great. Ended just like you want a book to end. I thought it was a little bizarre but I don't want to spoil it so I won't tell you why. The one thing I did notice, and this is true of Harry Potter too, is that if they cut out a lot of the 'fluff' this would be a more managable book and not as long. I kept thinking, 'Come on, come on, get on with it!' It was pretty predictable... but I did enjoy reading it thoroughly. I'm not going to read them again though so off they go with a large assortment of other books to be donated to the library. I finished it the day before we went to Vegas which was good because I did not want to lug that big book there! I am reading In the Woods by Tana French which is REALLY good. I don't want to put it down at night but sleepy eyes win that battle. I am looking forward to reading French's follow up book, The Likeness, as well. Already bought it at Sam's!

Book Review: 3 Willows by Ann Brashares

I have posted before that I really liked The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and this book is about a different group of girls from the same town as that group only they are younger. Their story is about the summer between 8th and 9th grades. It was good but nothing fabulous and would be suitable for a pre-teen to read. One thing I really liked about it was that they pulled the girls from Pants into it in little ways (like Polly babysat for Tibby's siblings and Lena's sister worked at the same retaurant as Jo, etc) and the Willows totally idolized them. It taughht a lot about self-esteem and friendship.

Book Review: Stalked by Brian Freeman

On my Facebook profile I have Harlan Coben listed as a favorite author and Facebook is how I found the very talented Brian Freeman. On the right sidebar on FB there are advertisements that pull things from your profile (example: if I have a certain TV show listed it will tell me when it premieres, kinda cool) and one day one of them said 'If you like Harlan Coben, you'll love Brian Freeman.' So I decided to give him a shot. He's good. He's very twisty turny and dark but it was solid writing and kept me turning the pages. I figured some things out but not everything so the book had succeeded in keeping me hooked and keeping it interesting. I am kind of bummed that I started with this book though. It is the third book following Jonny Stride and Serena Dial and I wish I would have started with Immoral and then Stripped. I think it'll be okay that I read this one though. There may have been some details from the first & second in the third but hopefully I have already forgotten them. It is odd to say that I 'like' this book because it is pretty sexually graphic with rape and murder and how do say you 'like' a book like that? It is a good read though!

Book Review: Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

A quick read- I read it last weekend without even trying to read it fast since the type is so big and the spacing seems bigger too- was Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich. As you know she is one of my favorites because she is fast and funny. It was a typical Stephanie Plum book and had me giggling out loud a few times. Lula, her ex-ho BFF, who is sassy and voluptuous (but tries to put her voluptuous body into clothes too small and tight) is planning her wedding to her 'boyfriend' which was a very humorous story line. All in all it was an entertaining, light read. Just the way they should be sometimes!

Book Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

I finished Eclipse last week and I really enjoyed it. I took my time reading it- didn't rush through it like Twilight, Midnight Sun & New Moon. I am waiting now until I am done with Stalked (which New Moon, Eclipse & Fearless Fourteen had backburnered) to start Breaking Dawn. I am still curious how Bella & Edward's story wraps up and am thankful that no one has spoiled it for me! My babysitter (who is now a junior in HS) was shocked that I didn't know how it ended but when you are on the verge of 34 (2 1/2 weeks), my gossip circle is a little different than a 16 year old's! I guess high schoolers ruin books for each other. I heard that Breaking Dawn is the best of them all after you get hooked in with Twilight so it should be good!!

Book Review: Henny-Penny retold & illustrated by Jane Wattenberg

Henny Penny isn't a new story by any means but this one is HILARIOUS! The 'illustrations' which are photographs cut out are so funny. Honestly, the pictures are a little scary for a youngin but I was cracking up the whole time! And when I read to my guy I use voices and accents (not very well but I still do it) and read loud and it was fun to read aloud. This book should be on your list the next time you are at the library.

Book/Movie Reviews: Twilight, Midnight Sun, New Moon

I am reading the Twilight saga... I like it. A lot. I don't know what is getting me sucked into this madness. Maybe it is the easy going writing, I don't know.

Twilight (the book) was awesome. I loved it. It was romantic and I didn't want it to end (and I have 3 books to go so I guess I'm in luck...). I'm not sure why it was romantic, I mean who would really want to fall in love with a vampire? Sounds really creepy to me actually. And the fact that he is always cold? That doesn't sound really comfortable when they are getting it on. Well I suppose there was no getting it on really... After all this is a teen book.

I thought the movie sucked. It didn't follow the book enough to do it justice and was super cheesy. Like I said before, I don't like Rob Pattinson. I don't think he is that good looking (and that is the one thing that was emphasized over and over in the book). And even though the whole family is suposed to be super fantastic looking- Jasper looked like a FREAK. They should have kept Peter Facinelli's (Carlisle) hair his own brown color (or just gave him highlights) instead of dying it blonde. Same with Nikki Reed (Rosalie). You could see the make-up lines that made them 'pale' and it looked awful. My high school's make up crew could have done a better job and they were all regular students!! And one other side note, why did they change the Biology teacher's name? Did they think people wouldn't notice? That was just weird. This is better than the movie. Check it out. It is hilarious!

So then my friend Lindsay told me about Midnight Sun which I read fast and furiously on my laptop despite the fact that to read the computer screen makes me sleepy. Midnight Sun is Twilight in Edward's perspective. It is only a partial draft as it was leaked onto the internet. So Stephenie Meyer was pissed that it was leaked and put it on her website and probably won't finish it. Here is the link to it. Bummer. It was again really good. And I didn't want it to end and it did right in the middle! I finished Twilight and read this 3 days later and it is basically the same book! What's wrong with me...

So I wasn't going to read the next one in the series so soon but since we were going to Boston I thought I would have time to finish it and not be ignoring my son while I was obsessed with reading it. I had also heard that this one was the worst book of the series. I liked it but didn't love it like Twilight. I am not crazy about werewolves and it was so obvious what was going to happen in this book that it could have been about 200 pages shorter. It ended on a weird note and was unresolved (maybe it will be resolved in Eclipse?). And there was hardly any Edward in it.

I started Eclipse late last night. I am also reading another good book (Stalked by Brian Freeman) at the same time. What I don't like about Stalked is that it is the third Detective Stride book and I haven't read the first two and it gave away the stories of the other two. Don't you hate when they do that? Certain books shouldn't have to be read in order. Twilight- yes. It is a saga and the books are obviously a series but Stalked was the only book that I could find at Barnes & Noble when I was there. Note to all the authors of the world: if your book isn't an obvious series, don't spoil the other stories within it!!! I hate that! They should really number things... Thank you Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton, Sweet Valley High & Babysitter's Club authors and all the other authors that use a system to their series! You make it a lot easier for people to read and figure out how to read your books.

Book Review: Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

My mom handed this book off to read. I liked it, definitely didn't love it. It was written about a young couple at the turn of the 20th century, much like what the author envisioned of the relationship between his grandparents at that time. I personally have a hard time reading primitive writing. It was written as if Julie, the main character, were writing it. I tend to keep re-reading the same sentence a couple times thinking that I missed something. I thought it was kind of repetitive and a little anti-climatic.

I have succumbed now to reading the ever popular Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I now see what the fuss is about. Not that the book is a great literary masterpiece but it is very addicting. I'm not sure why. It is very easy reading (since it is written for the pre-teen/teen crowd) and strangely compelling. I think I will like it. Also, I will see the movie after I read it because I heard the special effects are kind of cool and I want to see what it is like. I don't see what the big deal about Rob Pattison is though. I don't find him very appealling. Now if they would have gone with their first pick (he was too old at 25 to fill the role of a teen and doesn't look like a teenager (that is for sure!!)) of Henry Cavill, I would have been in line drooling. Henry Cavill plays Charlie on The Tudors and even my husband thinks the man is too good looking. Click here for some Henry eye candy... :)

Let her eat chocolate!

I gave up sweets for Lent. It was easier then I anticipated. I didn't even eat granola bars or graham crackers. The only things I allowed my self were Honey Nut Chex cereal in the morning and honey roasted peanuts. If I was really craving something sweet I would eat some pineapple or yogurt (which I think has just as much sugar in it as some sweets). Well, yesterday I ate enough chocolate to make up for the 40 days that I didn't eat any. We went to brunch in the morning and I only had a graham cracker & strawberry dipped in the chocolate fountain after that when we got home... I didn't even eat dinner since I had eaten too much junk. Bad me. I am happy that I can eat it again though since I made my little pretzel yummies and am really looking forward to digging in!

On that note, let me please recommend a fantastic book that came out in paperback (with this great new cover) today by one of my favorite authors (and Facebook friend!), Sarah Addison Allen's The Sugar Queen. Read it. It is great!!

Book Review: Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich

I love Janet Evanovich. She's just plain funny. Her Stephanie Plum books are hilarious. I like the numbered Plum books so much better than the 'in between' numbers books. It is a series that you have to start with 'One for the Money' and work your way up. She's on 14 now I think. Anyway, in between her numbered books she has books that are 'holiday' based. This one was St. Patrick's Day which was ironic because I started it on St. Patrick's Day! She has this character 'Diesel' in all the in between books who I don't get (which I think is the point) and would much rather she stuck to Morelli and Ranger and forgot about Diesel all together. So for a super fast read, give it a shot. But read the number books first!

Book Review: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

I shouldn't have gone to see the movie while I was reading the book because I had absolutely no motivation to finish it because I knew what happened! The book was good but (and I never say this) I liked the movie better. I don't know if it was because I saw it first or that I really liked Helen Mirren in the role of Elinor or it had some comedy in it... Probably all three of these things. I think the book lacked comic relief which was appreciated in the movie and would have been in the book as well. It is a good read if you like Harry Potter and sci-fi/fantasy books but don't see the movie first! I do have the second book in the trilogy but I am not going to read it for awhile. My book now is just a fast, funny one from one of my favorite authors, Janet Evanovich.

Book Review: Mary Had a Little Ham by Margie Palatini

This story was so cute! It is about a girl named Mary that has a pig, Stanley Snoutowski, who she knows is going to be a star! Stanley leaves Mary, his family and farm behind to find his way in the big city performing. He gets rejected and through his very encouraging friend, Mary, always gets back out there. It is a great book about the power of positive thinking, friendship and encouragement and self-esteem. It is a definite feel good book and teaches kids about not giving up.