Belong to Me

Belong to Me by Maris De Los Santos

What was this book about?

Neighborhood dynamics at their finest. Cornelia – moved from New York with her georgeous husband Teo. She has her secrets as to why they moved. She just doesn’t seem to be accepted here either though. Lake – a single mother with a genius for a child. Deve the boy who wants to find out who his family really is. Elizabeth – dieing of cancer, leaving behind a husband and children. Piper – the woman who looks like she is a hardened woman, but really cares more for her family and friends then anyone else.

They each find a place in each other’s lives. But that will affect their relationship with the outside world. Everyone has their secrets – but can they still be friends when these secrets are revealed?

What did you think about the book?

I have to admit it was a bit predictable. Did it take away from the story at all? Not completely. But from the beginning I knew who was going to get together, who was going to break up, who’s secrets would be found out and how they would be told.

Other then that though it was a very interesting neighborhood dynamic story. Not just divorce is covered but the pain of losing a child, losing a mother, losing a relationship, and gaining all those things as well. It is all about relationships and how they intertwine.

What genre would you consider this?
Family Dynamics

Overall:

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination (A Memoir)

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination (A Memoir) by Elizabeth McCraken

What was this book about?

Elizabeth McCraken and her husband were very happy. Part time writers who had been living in Europe were expecting their first child. Everything seemed to be going perfectly. Then the news – their child was stillborn.

Elizabeth talks about her pain during this part of her life. She speaks of the words of sympathy that helped her through. She speaks of how difficult it was to explain to everyone else in the world that her second child (who was born healthy) isn’t her first. She documents her pain for all the world to read – and it is definitely worth reading.

What did you think about the book?

“This is the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending”. While I understand what the author is saying her – that it started out amazing and ended sadly – the whole book is pretty sad. But that doesn’t take away from the writing or the story.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to have the baby that you are preparing for die before you even get a chance to have it. To go weeks with the baby growing inside of you and then never get to meet him or her. I feel like this book was both an homage to the child who died as well as a display of Elizabeth’s grief.

What genre would you consider this?
Memoir

Overall:

Darkest Night

Darkest Night by Gena Showalter (Lords of the Underworld)

What was this book about?

They were protectors of good and one bad decisions eons ago has cursed them all. They let out the evil’s in Pandora’s box because of jealousy. When the box went missing they were forced to have these evils live with them inside their bodies and fight them constantly for control of themselves.

Maddox, contains violence, and an act of violence on Pandora has doubly cursed him. He also must die every night (the way he killed her) and go to Hell – only to return the next day.

He knows when he runs into Ashley Darrow that it would be bad news for him to keep her. But she won’t leave. She has her own secrets. Can she help him get past his inner demons? Can Violence truly be stopped??

What did you think about the book?

I can’t wait to see how this works out. The book definitely came to a conclusion that was satisfactory but to see what happens next can make or break this series. I am so glad that several other books in the series are out so that I can get my fix.

It is just plain fun. I wasn’t sure if I would like the “dark” side of these Lords. I thought at first they would have to get them removed to survive and love. But it doesn’t look like that is the case..

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal Romance

Overall:

When Will There Be Good News

When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson

What was this book about?

You start by meeting Joanna Mason. She is a small child with a simple life. Then tragedy strikes. She is forced to live with the violence that occurred to her as a small child for the rest of her life. She has to think about what she would have done differently if she could have.

Joanna has grown up and become a doctor – helping out those in need. She has a loving husband and a child of her own that she dotes on. She has a babysitter 16 year old Reggie who loves the child as if it is her own. What Joanna doesn’t realize is that Reggie’s life isn’t what it seems to be.

Meanwhile Jackson Brodie is trying to find what is missing in his life (is it a child, himself, what could it be). He is a victim of a freak train accident that brings him into all of their lives.

So many people with lives that seem to be on a specific path – when all of a sudden their paths merge and they must chose what happens next.

What did you think about the book?

For me this is the perfect book club book. Why? It is definitely interesting enough to keep you wanting to read, has a touch of mystery, a touch of learning about human insight, and just generally is an easy read. At the same time there is so much more then just the surface when thinking about this book.

Now it is a little dark and depressing. It isn’t a feel good book where finishing it makes you feel like the sun is shining and all is right in the world. But I don’t think that it takes away from the book – in fact I think it adds to it.

What genre would you consider this?
Fiction

Overall:

Not Quite a Mom

Not Quite a Mom by Kristen Sawyer

What was this book about?

Elizabeth Castle is finally moving towards what she wants in life. She moved away from her small town and didn’t look back. She is on TV, has a boyfriend who finally proposed and things are going her way. But it doesn’t last long – she finds out that a very old friend who she hasn’t talked to in years has died and left her – her teenage daughter.

Elizabeth wasn’t ready for this. Her fiancé dumps her. She doesn’t know what to do with a teenager. She wants her old life back.

Meanwhile old high school date turned lawyer Buck is here to help her get through it all. Can he make her realize this new life is what she wants – not her old one?

What did you think about the book?

Some things I very much enjoyed about this book. This includes things like the fact that if you drop a child into someone’s life who hasn’t had children in it – it isn’t just roses. In fact it affects everything in your life and can destroy the things that you most wanted. So it isn’t just the death of a friend and guiding a young person through their own difficulties – but so much more.

I have to say though that I thought Buck was a wimp. He hadn’t seen his high school crush in years but was willing to let her walk all over him. I don’t know why he would ever keep wanting to be a part of her life when he heard about her stalking adventures with her ex. Yes she has redeeming qualities – but he hasn’t seen them in years. So why hold onto that. I was surprised that reality didn’t shock him into something.

What genre would you consider this?
Romance

Overall: :

The Touch of Twilight

The Touch of Twilight by Vicki Pettersson (The Third Sign of the Zodiac)

What was this book about?

We again find the Archer doing what she is supposed to do. Joanna who now pretends to be her half-sister Olivia is a agent of the Light. She is special though – she has both Light and Dark in her (her mother was an agent of the Light and her father is The Tulpa – the leader of the dark).

We find that things that Joanna has done before is affecting the agents of the Light. There is a prophesy that says she will turn towards her Dark side. She must prove to herself and the other agents of Light that it is not what she is doing.

Meanwhile old enemies are knocking at the door and trying to take out Ben. Ben was her lover in her former life as Joanna. He is also the father of the daughter she is trying to protect (by not letting anyone know about her). All this leads to a busy life.

What did you think about the book?

This is an interesting series with a very different sort of premise. So I have to say I was excited to see the next book in the series and where it would take us. While I enjoyed the book – I was a little disappointed to see the revelation of facts of how all this happened, where the mother is etc. We get some new ideas of how their world works but generally speaking we just didn’t move that much forward in this book.

Would I recommend it? Yes. I will say while I enjoy the series it is one of those that I feel dark when it is finished. Almost a little dirty. It isn’t that it is bad – just not anywhere in it is a feel good moment. Even those are awash with pain, suffering, and regret.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal

Overall:

Frostbite

Frostbite by Richelle Mead (A Vampire Academy Novel)

What was this book about?

We return to Rose and Lissa at the Vampire Academy. Rose is still out to protect her best friend Lissa. Lissa is living a complicated life trying to figure out how to best user her “spirit” powers without hurting herself. Meanwhile Rose is trying to balance her jealousy of Lissa and Christian’s romance. Christian is taking up all of Lissa’s time.

When the Moroi royal families begin to be murdered by Strigoi in attacks that are unusual everyone in the Academy and many of their families escape to a ski trip.

Can the Gaurdians stop the Strigoi? Before anyone else gets hurt?

What did you think about the book?

I ran home to read this book after finishing Vampire Academy and I wasn’t disappointed. I couldn’t wait to see more into Lissie and Rose’s world. A touch of paranormal, a touch of love, a touch of teenage angst, and throw in a touch of mystery about what is happening and you can’t help but love it.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal

Overall:

Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (A Vampire Academy Novel)

What was this book about?

Rose Hathaway is dhampir – and a guardian of the Moroi. And she has picked which Moroi she will protect when she gets older, best friend Lissa, a Moroi queen. Lissa and Rose have a bond that was forged years before that allow Rose to step into Lissa’s mind.

Moroi and Strigoi are both vampires – Moroi are living, breathing, blood drinkers who do not kill. Stirgoi have turned to the dark side, they are blood drinking (and killing) immortals. It is a gaurdian’s job to protect the Moroi from the Strigoi.

Something weird is going on at the Vampire Academy. Someone seems to want to hurt Lissa. But who? And why? Is it a so-called harmless teenage trick or something more? Rose must figure it out all the while fighting her attraction for Dimitri her tudor.


What did you think about the book?

Great! I don’t know why I took so long to read it. An interesting and unusual take on vampires which kept me interested while giving me enough to go on.

These are the sort of books that make me happy to read books marketed as “Teen” when I am definitely past that point in my life. Yes, it has an audience that is younger, but it doesn’t protect them in telling a story of love, passion, violence, and hate.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal

Overall:

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle
Brown

What was this book about?

Janice Miller thinks that today is going to be a great day. Her husband Paul’s business will be going on the stock market and they have earned millions upon millions, more money then she can even conceive. Then she gets a letter from Paul explaining he will be divorcing her (and oh yeah she doesn’t get any of the money).

Her 20-something daughter comes home to help her through these difficult times. What Janice doesn’t realize is that Margaret is really home to escape her own problems.

Her teenage daughter Lizzie is having a difficult time fitting in. She is mistaking sex for love and it has begun to give her a reputation. But this of course is all something her mother doesn’t know.

Each woman must work out her own problems and yet turn to the others for when she needs support.

What did you think about the book?

It was an interesting take on how life is not really all it seems to be. Sometimes we rely on things that we take for granted, and it doesn’t mean that it is best for us or for our life.

Seeing things from three different age perspectives is interesting in this book. The teen who tries her best to fit in. The 20-something who wants to be independent but has found things in her life going out of control. And the Mother who thought her life was what she wanted so these changes take some adjusting.

What genre would you consider this?
Summer Read

Overall:

Comfort: A Journey Through Grief

Comfort: A Journey Through Grief by Ann Hood

What was this book about?

Ann Hood, a novelist went through one of the most difficult things a parent can go through – she lost her 5 year old daughter. One day Grace was a happy healthy kid, the next she was dead.

Having a mother (and a writer) analyze their grief and get it down on paper has to be difficult. But that is what Ann has done in this novel.

What did you think about the book?

Ann Hood has also written “The Knitting Circle” which I definitely enjoyed. When I found out that that novel came from a tragedy in her own life – and she had written something about that I knew I had to read it.

It definitely didn’t disappoint. While it seems to jump from one place to another – in many ways I feel that it only represents what is really going on in her mind and her life. Grief for losing a child is something I can only imagine. While the book isn’t going to end all fairytales and roses, I feel it realistically both describes her grief and describes how she has as best she can continued on with her life.

What genre would you consider this?
Memoir

Overall:

Spectre

Spectre by Phaedra Weldon (A Zoe Martinique Investigation)

What was this book about?

Zoe Martinique has found that she is a “Wraith”. What that is even she doesn’t fully know. She has realized that the supernatural world has figured out she exists and that can be very, very, bad for her.

She has begun her relationship with Detective Daniel Frasier. While not being able to speak that relationship seems to be progressing. But he has no idea what she is or what she can do. And not realizing it he brings her into situations that risk him, her, and her family and friends.

Zoe must figure out enough about herself and her family and friends to stop the evil that is going on and threatening her.

What did you think about the book?

Despite reading the last novel – at the beginning I felt like I was catching up. There was just so much going on that I felt I needed the details with to progress forward in the novel – that I wouldn’t suggest that you read this without reading “Wraith” first. Of course once I got into the book more and more started coming back to me and I found that I enjoyed it.

Again this is an unusual take on the supernatural. Zoe – a Wraith isn’t like anything you have ever seen before. And neither you no her know really what is up with her powers or her past.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal

Overall:

Sweet Love

Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer

What was this book about?

Julie Mueller has lived her life well. She has a reasonable successful job, a teenage daughter who loves her, and is single. She never has gotten past the “one who got away” – the boy she has had a crush on since she was a little girl. Fate (and her brother and mother) kept them from ever getting together.

Things are always a little more complicated then they should be. She finally sees Michael in a cooking class that her mother gets her for mother’s day. She wants to move past the pain that they have each caused each other and see if they can at least be friends. Meanwhile she is juggling changes in her career, her mother’s health issues, and her own.

What did you think about the book?

I enjoyed this book as it is more then just a novel of revisiting a romance that was never to be. It is about the relationship of a woman with her mother. It is about the choices that we make in life – to follow a career, follow a relationship, move to being our own person – and how that can affect everything else there is. It is about how an illness can change your perspective on life – what is important and what maybe isn’t as important as you thought it was.

Throw in a little bit of a dessert junkie and you have “Sweet Love”. I have to admit this book made me hungry for the sweets – cheesecake, cupcakes, you name it I wanted it while reading this.

What genre would you consider this?
Summer Read

Overall: