I got a real kick out of this novel. The first person narrative is REAL and the heroine is witty and honest. Her friends are fun (the kind of friends I wish I had), the banter made me laugh, and the love story...I could feel it.
Lucy is BFFs with Will and Jenny. They've hung out for ages. They know each other's favorite foods, they rally around each other when there's a break up, they help each other pass exams and prepare for job interviews. So...imagine Lucy's surprise when after a rough break up (her bf was cheating, the jerk), she discovers that Will has feelings for her and has for quite some time and well...she has feelings for him too.
Is it a rebound thing? Something causes Will to think so. There's misunderstandings, petty arguments, trust issues, surprising revelations, and Lucy is faced with making a difficult decision: career or love? Sacrifice or make someone else sacrifice? Rebound or real thing?
Meanwhile, they are training for a major running/hiking/kayaking event to prove to Lucy's ex that she can do it. "I am proving to myself, and to Paul, that I am not a fat person in a skinny person's body. That I am a woman of substance and conviction. That I am woman worthy of love, and I'm every bit as tough and brave as Langley whatever-the-hell-her-name-is."
But really, she's getting HER LIFE in shape, not her tush.
My favorite moments (some of them):
"Jen and I have already renamed the master bedroom the 'Puta Palace,' because Jenny is Mexican, and she loves whipping out Spanish cuss words in a crisis."
And after seeing a half naked man while kayaking, Lucy..: "I turn quickly and begin to paddle as fast as I can. I'm not getting very far, because the curved oars of my paddle are facing the wrong way, but I'm pumping away to beat the band."
Hilarious conversation:
Jenny: "Was it like, 'stayed out in the heat too long' body odor or like, 'European earthy guy' body odor?"
Lucy: "I don't know-is there a difference?"
Jenny: "God, yes. European body odor kind of turns me on. It's like stink with a sexy accent."
Five stars. Extremely enjoyable. I would also like to note that this author pulled off the present tense very well. Not many authors can do that. Superbly done. I bought this on Amazon Kindle.
This just appeared in my mailbox one day, and having enjoyed Syrie's Dracula, My Love and Nocturne, I was excited to read it.
It's different. It's about angels, only they aren't called angels, and there is no mention of God. Matter of fact, they aren't sure where they get their orders from... It's like a paranormal CIA group. Alec is an angel trying not to be an angel, trying to live a normal teen life despite the fact he is actually over a hundred years old. Claire is...something else. A half breed angel and she and Alec are just figuring it out.. The problem is: Alec is supposed to hire/eliminate people like Claire, but he loves her... What a mess.
What starts out as psychic visions leads to were-wolves and strange fairy god mothers. The were wolf and the Vincent stuff were a little eye rolling to me, but this is a YA novel. I think the teenagers will enjoy it. And the ending left room for a sequel, so I suspect it's the start of a series.
Four stars. Well written, entertaining, just a bit too preposterous.
Really sweet, romantic story about a pastry chef and the father of her son. I say the father of her son and not boyfriend/husband, because they are not together. See, she wanted to get married and do the white picket fence...be a family, you know? He had the opinion that live-in-girlfriend was acceptable, PLUS he didn't want her starting her own business. Grrrrr.
No wonder she walked off. But it doesn't change the fact that he is sexy as all get out, and she still wants him.
Can they resolve things? The sex wasn't too risque, and I enjoyed the little kid interrupting things cause well, that's life. It was a realistic story and to the point. No blabbering on and on, no ridiculously lengthy descriptions.
I bought this on Amazon Kindle.
This is a very moving and touching novelette. It spoke to me because I know what it feels like to be shunned by others, to be ostracized and ridiculed for having a disability. I felt for Fei Fei. His own mother abandoned him, and perhaps her intentions were good, to get him educated in a blind school, but still, unforgivable.
This takes place in China, not sure the era. An old woman who can barely feed herself, takes in a boy abandoned at the bridge. He's blind. She takes him to the orphanage and is dismayed to discover, he's treated like a baby, not the intelligent 5 year old he is. Nobody wants to or has the time to focus on a blind boy, to educate him. They just make him stay out of the way. How many of us with disabilities have faced this at some point in our lives??? Too many of us, too often.
To me, this story teaches that handicapped are not any less capable than others, that people judge too quickly, and that love isn't necessarily dictated by blood. Because the old woman falls in love with the little boy and even sells her last piece of jewelry to care for him.
A beautiful story with a strong message and eloquent descriptions. It does need an editor, however. There were lots of discrepancies with tense usage and some odd word pairings.
"As she watches, Fei Fei quickly ate the orange and sat quietly awaiting his next instructions."
Like that.
Favorite quote: "...you must realize that the world is a very big place. You must keep an open mind and learn new ways to explore beyond what you already know."
Four stars and I got this on Amazon Kindle.
This is, so far, the most touching book I have read in some time. I had to dab my eyes on numerous occasions. It's a short read at 100 some pages, but it is loaded with touching stories and moments... It contains enough in those 100 pages to touch your very soul, especially the souls of pet lovers/pet parents.
Like dogs? Cats? Horses? Snakes? There's something for everyone.
There's the man who is afraid to go to sleep for fear he will miss the last dying breath of his loved one. Finally, in the throes of exhaustion, he falls asleep. His little dog wakes him just in time...
There's the woman who reaches out to touch the spot her dog (now dead) had always lied and says, "There you are" before she dies herself.
There's a snake that gives comfort, a cat that helps a woman move past her husband's death, a hamster that brings together a mother and son. And though each one of these stories is sad because someone dies, they are also moments of joy caught in a book forever.
Our pets do so much for us and understand so much more than we give them credit for. This book is a tribute to that. Wonderful. Five stars.
Also, unlike a lot of memoirs that tell and not show, Ms. Stang had a very engaging voice that transported me into the story. A huge thumbs up.
I received this in ebook format from the author in exchange for an honest review.
What a lovely read. It was short, but I feel it was the perfect length for what it was: a historical romance began through letters, involving deceit, high emotions, the baring of souls, and secrets.
It's after the Civil War and Susanna is a former southern belle now housemaid in a school for ladies. When one of the ladies obtains an unwelcome suitor via mail and her father's wishes, she pays Susanna money to write the letters and maintain the correspondence as she has eye and her heart elsewhere. However, whereas Susanna is supposed to convince the young man, Teddy, to look elsewhere, instead, she falls in love with him and the letters continue.
The letters start off funny.
Teddy's view on women and what they want: "Should I promise her the world only to be nagged into eternity when I don't deliver it on a silver platter?"
Susanna is feisty: "If many women have narrow interests, it's because we are confined to the homes of our parents until we are plucked from them by our husbands. We are denied the liberties men are insured."
Through letters, banter and insults turns into baring of their hopes and fears. But when Teddy desires to meet whom he believes in Charlotte, the you know what is going to hit the fan. Or will he forgive her upon finding out the truth?
Delightful, well done, and despite all the letters, it didn't do as many letter writing stories do and be all telling, no showing. It was done artfully. I enjoyed it.
Five stars. I got this from netgalley.
Wow. I love Choc Lit. It's a publisher whose books just work for me. Their latest is not disappointing, and just as good as I hoped it would be.
It's a thriller following a man with a shady past as some kind of secret agent and a woman who believes her daughter is dead, that she died in a car crash. The hero, Devlin, was with her daughter when she died...so they think. When he travels to England wanting to tell the girl's mother about her daughter's last moments, sparks fly between them and together, they uncover one twisted horrific fact after another as she, Kaz, tries to find out what really happened to her daughter and who did it.
Very well told. The love between the hero and heroine grows gradually even though the attraction is instant. Both of their "narratives" have funny, sarcastic, and honest bits. Both characters are extremely likable. The mystery... I confess I had the "whodunit" part figured out early in the story, but there's a lot more twisted and gruesome details than I anticipate and I was still surprised by a lot of things in the outcome.
Laugh out loud moment: (What does Devlin think when faced with a five year old girl?)
"He could do this. It was female. Pint-size but still female. Although the usual passwords, Manolo Blahnik, diamond earrings, weekend in Paris, weren't going to work here. He'd just have to go with charm."
Loved this book. Perfect blend of sex, suspense, horror, mystery, passion, and warm-hearted moments. 5 stars.
I received this as an egalley from the publisher.
I got a real kick out of this novel. The first person narrative is REAL and the heroine is witty and honest. Her friends are fun (the kind of friends I wish I had), the banter made me laugh, and the love story...I could feel it. 
