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.

Schooled

Schooled by Anisha Lakhani is the story of Anna Taggert, a fresh-out-of-Columbia-University teacher who begins teaching at an elite Manhattan private school and finds herself thrown into the world of spoiled rich kids and their parents willing to do anything to get their child an A. Due to the low salary she receives, Anna starts to tutor students on the side and gets caught up in the perks the extra money and popularity with her students provide. Soon she is overcome with guilt that she is letting her students get away with not really learning or doing their own work and she faces a dilemma over whether to continue tutoring or go back to her first love, teaching. I waited to receive this ARC for over 2 months so I was very excited to finally read it. It did not disappoint. I really loved this book! It was fresh, interesting, and I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed all the references to fashionable brands and pop culture. Overall it was a very cute story. I really look forward to reading more books by Lakhani. 5 stars!

Love The One You're With

Love The One You're With by Emily Giffin is the story of Ellen, a woman who is a happily married newlywed, or so she thought, until she runs into her ex-boyfriend and can't get him out of her head. Ellen has to decide whether to choose to stay with her husband, a perfectly nice guy who is oblivious to her dilemma, and the one that got away, who is kind of a jerk. The story is meant be light hearted and funny, but, although I wanted Ellen to be happy, her problem had me frustrated with her and uncomfortable with her possibly choosing her ex over her sweet husband. I did enjoy the book and I am a big fan of Giffin's writing, I just was a little disappointed because I had been looking forward to reading the book for a while and felt slightly let down. It was a good book and I did enjoy it, I just didn't feel it was quite as good as Giffin's other books. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys chick lit or books written by Emily Giffin. 4 stars.

Keeping Faith

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult is the story of Faith White, a 7 year old daughter whose parents are in the process of divorcing and who, though raised in a non-religious family, is now hearing and seeing visions of God, performing miracles, and experiencing stigmata. It is an intriguing story that makes the character's and the reader question what their religious beliefs are and what is the truth. The mother-daughter relationships in the book are very real and complicated like they are in real life. I really enjoyed the book, although I did find that it was a little slow moving in parts. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Picoult's work or who finds themselves questioning truth in religion and in all aspects of life. 4 stars.

The Tenth Case

I really enjoyed this book! The Tenth Case by Joseph Teller is a legal thriller in which a criminal defense attorney, who goes by the nickname Jaywalker, defends Samara Moss, an Anna Nicole Smith type gold digger whose millionaire husband is found murdered. I do not usually read legal thrillers, but I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It had many twists and turns, a surprise ending and held my attention. The gritty characters seems very true to life and I could picture the action as if it were a movie. Joseph Teller is a great storyteller! I liked this book so much that I passed it on to my husband, who is not a big reader, and he liked it too! I look forward to reading the next book in the Jaywalker series. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good mystery. 4 stars.