Sunday, November 23, 2008

Love and Other Natural Disasters


Love and Other Natural Disasters by Holly Shumas is the story of a woman, Eve, who is 8 months pregnant with her second child, who discovers that her husband is having an emotional affair. Eve must decide whether to forgive him or to get a divorce. The story follows the couple as they face these problems, holidays apart, family struggles and the birth of their daughter. I found the story and relationships very believable. It was a fairly easy read and had some humorous depictions of life with children. Overall, a good book. I recommend it to anyone who is married and has kids. 4 stars.

Just to catch myself up

I'm still taking a blogging break, but I wanted to post the books I've recently read (sorry, no in depth reviews!) so I will remember them and can add them to my 50 book challenge list.

So here's what I've been reading:

The Cure for Modern Life by Lisa Tucker (3 stars)
The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty (4 stars)
Dark Pursuit by Brandilyn Collins (3.5 stars) (ARC, review to follow)
Love and Other Natural Disasters by Holly Shumas (4 stars) (ARC, review to follow)
Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlan (4 stars)
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks (3.5 stars)
Forever Lily by Beth Nonte Russell (3.5 stars) (ARC, review to follow)
Alphabet Weekends by Elizabeth Noble (4 stars)
Big Boned by Meg Cabot (4 stars)
Hidden Truths by Brenda Youngerman (3 stars) (ARC, review to follow)

Children's books:

Lady Flatterley by Linda Wagner (ARC, review to follow)
The Dragonfly Secret by Clea and John Adams (ARC, review to follow)
Hoo, Hoo- Who is in My Tree? by Megan Miller (ARC, review to follow)

I am currently reading Cage of Stars by Jacqueline Mitchard.

So I have 7 reviews to write until I am caught up. After that I'm on reviewing hiatus until after the new year! Hopefully I'll catch up soon.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Thinking of Taking a Break

I am afraid I'm going to have to take a break from my reviewing for awhile. I'm expecting my 3rd child in January and I am busy trying to prepare for the birth. That, along with the holidays coming up, has me stressed and feeling rushed so I think I am going to take a book blog break for awhile. I will no longer review my fun reads for now. I will continue to review the ARCs that I have already received or requested, but I won't be requesting new ARCs at this time. I have a few ARCs to review that I have already read so I hope to post those soon. And I have a few more to read still. I am sorry to have to do this. I just don't feel like I have enough time in the day right now. I will keep up with my ARC obligations though and hopefully my break will be short. In the meantime, stay tuned!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

My Husband's Sweethearts


My Husband's Sweethearts by Bridget Asher is the story of a woman, Lucy, whose husband Artie repeatedly cheated on her and who is now dying. Lucy decides to come to terms with her husband's infidelity by meeting and inviting all of Artie's past girlfriends to come help her cope with his death so she doesn't have to go through the whole process alone. Along the way, she makes friendships and learns to forgive Artie for his infidelity and accept his death. The book had it's cute moments and it was well written. However, I just did not buy Lucy's feelings toward Artie and toward the women he cheated with. The light way infidelity was dealt with in the book did not sit well with me. I know the book was meant to be light and funny, but the subjects it covered from death to cheating were hard to take lightly. I just was slightly annoyed at Lucy's relationship with Artie and did not buy that she really loved him romantically. I did enjoy the book and I appreciated the writing. The characters were very real, likable, and had depth to them. I recommend the book to anyone who enjoys chick lit.

The Mighty Queens of Freeville

The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson is a book of memoirs written by the national advice columnist who replaced Ann Landers after her death. The book is a serious of stories about the author following her early married life through the present time where she is a single mother of an eighteen year old daughter. I really enjoyed the stories. Dickinson's writing is very real and makes you feel as if you are a part of the story. She weaves the stories together easily and paints a picture of life in the small town of Freeville, where she grew up and her family lives. Her description of small town life seems very true and honest, especially her depictions of relationships between women, mothers and daughters in her family. Overall, I think it was a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes memoirs or reading about women's relationships.

Chasing Diana


Chasing Diana by Jack and Robin Firestone is a screenplay book written by the only American couple to witness the car accident that resulted in Princess Diana's death. I had never read a screenplay before and I was not comfortable with the format. I found myself wondering what the characters were thinking. I found the characters to be very one dimensional and stereotypical. I thought the story was overall interesting, but at times very predictable and the dialogue was somewhat cheesy. I wish there were more details about Diana in the book as well. I chose to read the book because I am interested in the mystery surrounding Diana's death, but none of my questions were answered in this book. I think if the book was an actual book, instead of a screenplay, I would have enjoyed it more. I guess to someone who is used to reading screenplays the book may be a better read. The book was a very quick read. If the book is made into a movie, I would be interested in seeing it because it would be very action packed. I do recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading screenplays and watching action movies.

Kevin Takes a Trip




Kevin Takes a Trip by Liesbet Slegers is a very cute little board book. It is a very simple story about a boy named Kevin taking a plane trip with his Grandma. My 3 year old really likes it and asks me to read it over and over. My 16 month old likes it too.The illustrations are bright and vivid. I look forward to reading other Kevin books to my kids in the future.