Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Summer At Willow Lake


I wasn't sure if I would like this book, I read another book from the series and it just didn't spark any excitement, but this was hard to put down. Maybe it's because I've never been to summer camp, so reading about Olivia and other's good and bad times at summer camp was interesting.
This is the story of Olivia who faces another break up and runs away for the summer to help renovate the camp that her grandparents used to run so that they can have their anniversary there. Enter old flame Connor and flashbacks. It reminded me of the movie Indian Summer, which for all I know is where she got the idea for this novel. The ending was kind of cheesy, but it was a good book.

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Scarlet Letter


I wanted to read this book because I wanted to see the new movie Easy A which is like a teenage version of this story. The movie was better.

I'm not a fan of the classics, because the writing is hard for me to follow. While I'm sure this was a great book, when none of it makes sense, it was difficult for me to focus on it.

Basically, Hester got busy out of wedlock and had a baby, so everyone tags her as a adultery, and she had to walk around with a big red A on her clothes. What I didn't understand is why she had to continue to wear the darn thing for like the rest of her life. Isn't have a little girl running around proof enough that she did something she shouldn't? What annoyed me the most is how the author mentioned way to many times that she had a scarlet A on her breast. Yeah, we kind of figured that out from the title, no need to keep reminding us. I don't know why she just didn't take it off after a few years. Or why she didn't just move to someplace where she could start new.

"A is for Awesome!"

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Postcard Killers


Your typical James Patterson thriller. Fast paced and entertaining enough that you want to keep reading to find out what happens. This one is about a couple who goes around Europe killing other couples. It's pretty twisted. And lets hope a movie is never made from it, because I suspect that it would be pretty gory.

One Night


This book was pretty horrible. Clearly it's predictable in the sense that you know that Carrie and Kyle are going to fall in love even though they hate each other. But it seemed like there wasn't much of a thought out storyline. Like she just made up stuff as she went. Now, I'm not a professional writer, but I always thought that you had to have some ideas as to what you wanted to put in the story. Usually her books are like that. This one wasn't. The only reasonable character in the book was Kyle. What he saw in Carrie is beyond me. So skip it and go read the Blossom Street series.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Lakeshore Christmas


I was expecting more from this book. Something warm and inspiring. Like the cozy feeling you get from a Debbie Macomber book. I didn't get that. It was a decent book, just not enough excitement. And really not that much romance. Maureen, the town librarian, and Eddie an ex-actor who I think she was trying to seem like a bad boy are put together to make the Christmas pageant. Spending time together makes them realize that even though they are opposites they fall in love. That's about it.

There was another storyline about a single mother named Daisy and unless I zoned out, I don't think she ever told us which guy in her life purposed to Daisy.

There was to many characters so it was a little hard to follow. But regardless of all this, I'll still check out the other books in the series. I'll just read them in order, might make more sense.

Monday, September 20, 2010

A Bend In The Road


I didn't really like this so much. It was kind of predictable. Miles's wife dies in a horrible hit and run accident and he is left trying to find out who did it while raising his young son. Then one day he meets Sarah, and finally starts to feel like he's moving on with his life, then some new evidence comes up with the case of his wife's murder, and he pretty much goes crazy. Even before the author tells us who is responsible for the murder, I know who did it. And I suck at solving mysteries.

The Wedding


A girl at work lent me this book to read saying that it was really good. I remembered that I checked this book out from the library many months ago and never read it. So clearly this was sign that I was suppose to read it.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a little bitter towards romance. I have nothing against it and wish that romantic things happen to everything. I've just never had anything romantic happen to me, so I have a hard time believing that it actually happens.

This is the story of Wilson who is married to Jane who is the daughter of Noah and Allie who are the characters in The Notebook. Wilson forgets his and Jane's 29th wedding anniversary and worries that his marriage is about to come to an end, so he asks Noah (who I think is one of the best characters ever created)for advice and gets an idea how to save his marriage. It actually seemed like a really simple idea. Mostly he started to pay more attention to her and stopped working as much and lost some weight. One day their daughter tells them that she is getting married. In a week. On Wilson and Jane's 30th anniversary. So the book follows the preparation of this wedding. Actually, it was Wilson who does a lot of the work and while the daughter and Jane thank him a bunch of times for all the work he does, I kind of felt like the didn't give him enough credit. It was a good book with a twist at the end. I love the part with Noah and the swan. And I hated his kids for not believing his theory of it. I could see myself thinking the same thing that he does.

I didn't like Jane that much, kind of how I didn't really like Allie in The Notebook. The guys do so much to express their love for the women, but it seems like they do nothing in return. Maybe he just can't write women very well.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Christmas Letters


I started reading this book before maybe a year or two ago and stopped for some reason. Guess I thought it was lame and cheesy. It actually wasn't that bad.

It's a very typical Debbie Macomber romance novel, where at first the guy and girl don't get along, then they do, and by the end of the book they are planning a wedding even though they have only known each other for a few weeks. That's unrealistic and doesn't happen.

Katherine writes Christmas letters for people and one day runs into Wynn who wrote a best selling book about raising children. Katherine disagrees with his theories and this causes a conflict, but then they start to like each other, then another conflict happens, but by the end they have made up. No shock there. All her books are the same. Other than that, it actually wasn't to bad. The chapter where they babysit is kind of funny.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Wicked Witch Murder


Don't be fooled. The description of the book makes it sound like it takes place during October, but it actually starts in June and the happens expand throughout the summer into October. I was a little disappointed in that.

Diana the witch comes to town and opens up a shop and no one seems to have a problem with her except over religious guy Ike who blames her for everything bad that is happening in Tinker's Cove. First the lack of water, then some fires that happen, then floods that come, the death of his wife, the illness of his daughter, etc. The book is pretty much just him blaming Diana for everything and Lucy trying to keep her kids from doing witchcraft. Yes, there is a mystery. A guy who turns out to be a witch is found burned to death in the woods behind Lucy's house, so she tries to find out who did it.

It was entertaining and a little creepy.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Juliet


I've never been a fan of Romeo and Juliet. Someone killing themselves because the one they love is dead just isn't realistic. It's not that I don't find it romantic. Crazy maybe, but I guess every girl wants to believe that there is a guy who couldn't stand to live life without her.

I've never read the play, so I really don't know how much of this actually takes place in Shakespeare's work. I read somewhere that this book is like The DaVinci Code for girls. Maybe because there's romance involved, but there is a mystery too. Only, how much of this is really true, I don't know.

Julie Jones is a pretty boring 25 year old girl. Then one day her Aunt Rose dies and leaves her a letter, a passport, a key, and a quest. Julie who finds out that her real name is Giulietta Tolomei and is sent to Siena, Italy to uncover the mystery of what really happened to her parents, and find a treasure. Once she gets there she learns that her family and another family are a bit at war with each other. Much like in Romeo and Juliet. There is danger lurking around every corner and no one she should really trust. After all, when it comes to a 'treasure' everyone wants it.

There were lots of twists in this book, maybe it keep the reader interested. It was a good book. It tells the story of Julie, but it also tells the story of Romeo and Giulietta from 1340 and how they met, fell in love, and died. Even though I liked it, I got a little annoyed with how Julie's life basically was always based on this darn play. This is just proof that reading Shakespeare can get you into trouble.

I personally think that Juliet was a diva and Romeo was an idiot.