Splendor by Anna Godbersen
This is the last book in the Luxe series. I read it a few weeks ago and now I can't remember if I loved it or just liked it. That leads me to believe I just liked it. Because while I have no ability to remember the plots of books I read for more than a week, I can almost always remember if I loved a book or not.
I think my problem with this book is that things got a little crazy - there were murders and murder plots, and running away, and Cuba and heartbreak and one too many misunderstandings. All good things in moderation, but when they are all in one book it gets to be too much. But the series as a whole was fantastic! I really really liked it and would recommend it to anyone who likes historical romancey but not romance books.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
No. 88: What Happens in London
What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
I read this book because for some reason it was in my purse and I needed something to read at the doctors office. Lucky for me, I love Julia Quinn and this is one of her really good books.
It is about Olivia Bevelstoke who hears a rumor that her new neighbor might have killed her fiancee. She thinks that the logical response to this rumor is to spy on the neighbor from her bedroom window which conveniently looks into his office window. She sees many unusual and suspicious things but nothing that definitively indicates the man is a murderer.
I love the unusual courtship in this story, I love that some truly bizarre things happen (tabletop theatrics, unusual headgear and suspicious bodyguards to name a few) and I really love the interactions between Harry and Olivia, particularly at the beginning of the book.Very amusing.
I read this book because for some reason it was in my purse and I needed something to read at the doctors office. Lucky for me, I love Julia Quinn and this is one of her really good books.
It is about Olivia Bevelstoke who hears a rumor that her new neighbor might have killed her fiancee. She thinks that the logical response to this rumor is to spy on the neighbor from her bedroom window which conveniently looks into his office window. She sees many unusual and suspicious things but nothing that definitively indicates the man is a murderer.
I love the unusual courtship in this story, I love that some truly bizarre things happen (tabletop theatrics, unusual headgear and suspicious bodyguards to name a few) and I really love the interactions between Harry and Olivia, particularly at the beginning of the book.Very amusing.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
No. 87: The Assassins Gallery
The Assassins Gallery by David L. Robbins
This book started out so good - about a secret multinational band of spies and saboteurs being trained in Scotland during WWII. That is awesome. If this book would have stayed there we would have really been in business. But it moved on to a suspected plot to assassinate FDR carried out by none other than a real assassin - a Persian woman trained in the ways of the assassins of yore. Which seems interesting, and I did appreciate the many ways she thought of to kill FDR, you have to admire her thinking outside the box and tenacity. But the book was too long, I got bored around the middle and just had to hurry up and finish so I could know the ending. Not a bad book at all, but definitely dragged on. And I didn't love the MMC, or his friend Dag. Or Judith or any character for that matter. It would have been nice to like any of the characters in the book. But it was definitely an interesting concept.
This book started out so good - about a secret multinational band of spies and saboteurs being trained in Scotland during WWII. That is awesome. If this book would have stayed there we would have really been in business. But it moved on to a suspected plot to assassinate FDR carried out by none other than a real assassin - a Persian woman trained in the ways of the assassins of yore. Which seems interesting, and I did appreciate the many ways she thought of to kill FDR, you have to admire her thinking outside the box and tenacity. But the book was too long, I got bored around the middle and just had to hurry up and finish so I could know the ending. Not a bad book at all, but definitely dragged on. And I didn't love the MMC, or his friend Dag. Or Judith or any character for that matter. It would have been nice to like any of the characters in the book. But it was definitely an interesting concept.
No. 86: The Lake House
The Lake House by James Patterson
I am not sure whether I have ever read anything by James Patterson before, but I am fairly certain I won't be doing it again in the near future. I know you might be shocked because he is a famous bestselling author, but I am telling you this book was weird and not great. And if his other books are any thing like it, they are also weird and not great.
The only reason I read this book in the first place is because I was at a lake house, and I didn't have anything to read, and I saw this book and thought it might be a sign. That I should read a book called The Lake House at a lake house and it was destined to be good. I didn't even read the back cover, which was my second mistake (the first being ever picking the book up to read)
First of all, it is about bird children. Children who are part bird. That is weird, I could handle that maybe, if the rest of the book about the bird children was so interesting that it made up for the weirdness. Unfortunately for me it was not. It was just weird. It completely lost me with the mysterious killers and clones and shucking, and tragic lack of investigation into the GIANT RASH OF UNEXPLAINED DISAPPEARANCES in Maryland!!! And the clones, and robot wives, and of course, the whole book is about bird children. I like weird books as much as the next person, with crazy science and mystery - I read Jurassic Park and all the other Micheal Crighton books and liked them. But I guess I am no fan of bird children.
I am not sure whether I have ever read anything by James Patterson before, but I am fairly certain I won't be doing it again in the near future. I know you might be shocked because he is a famous bestselling author, but I am telling you this book was weird and not great. And if his other books are any thing like it, they are also weird and not great.
The only reason I read this book in the first place is because I was at a lake house, and I didn't have anything to read, and I saw this book and thought it might be a sign. That I should read a book called The Lake House at a lake house and it was destined to be good. I didn't even read the back cover, which was my second mistake (the first being ever picking the book up to read)
First of all, it is about bird children. Children who are part bird. That is weird, I could handle that maybe, if the rest of the book about the bird children was so interesting that it made up for the weirdness. Unfortunately for me it was not. It was just weird. It completely lost me with the mysterious killers and clones and shucking, and tragic lack of investigation into the GIANT RASH OF UNEXPLAINED DISAPPEARANCES in Maryland!!! And the clones, and robot wives, and of course, the whole book is about bird children. I like weird books as much as the next person, with crazy science and mystery - I read Jurassic Park and all the other Micheal Crighton books and liked them. But I guess I am no fan of bird children.
Nos. 83 - 85: The Luxe Series
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
Rumor
Envy
This is the first three books in this series, there is at least one more (and I hope even more after that) set in New York City in 1899 and 1900. It follows the stories of some of the leading families of the era, most particularly the Holland family and its two daughters Elizabeth and Diana. I have never read anything set in this time period and location, it was very interesting. And the stories are particularly engrossing, I read the first (which I got for FREE on my kindle) and then immediatly the second and third. I would have read the fourth one but I have been away from my internet connection (or a bookstore for that matter) for a few days and had to make do with whatever books I could find. More on those later.
Anyway, I absolutely don't want to spoil any of it because it is great. But I can tell you that the prologue to the first book is all about the very fancy funeral of Elizabeth Holland. And there is significant intrigue and plotting and even blackmail in the series and I cannot wait to find out what happens!!!
Rumor
Envy
This is the first three books in this series, there is at least one more (and I hope even more after that) set in New York City in 1899 and 1900. It follows the stories of some of the leading families of the era, most particularly the Holland family and its two daughters Elizabeth and Diana. I have never read anything set in this time period and location, it was very interesting. And the stories are particularly engrossing, I read the first (which I got for FREE on my kindle) and then immediatly the second and third. I would have read the fourth one but I have been away from my internet connection (or a bookstore for that matter) for a few days and had to make do with whatever books I could find. More on those later.
Anyway, I absolutely don't want to spoil any of it because it is great. But I can tell you that the prologue to the first book is all about the very fancy funeral of Elizabeth Holland. And there is significant intrigue and plotting and even blackmail in the series and I cannot wait to find out what happens!!!
No. 82: Falling out of Fashion
Falling out of Fashion by Karen Yampolsky
This was an interesting book, but I will have to admit that I might not have been its target audience. I love fashion magazines, I read Seventeen and all those stupid prom magazines religiously when I was in high school. They were awesome. I never cared much for Sassy (which is obviously the model for one of the magazines in this book) because it didn't feature enough makeup tips or ideas of how to get boys to ask you out. And those are the things I cared about in high school.
But despite this, I thought this book was great - the story of how a commune living hippie child makes her way into a rich and fancy magazine editor in NYC and how her life changes. It was really interesting, the characters were deep enough and well described enough that I had a real vision of them. I was happy with the ending (although I imagine a lot of people were not) and although I have no concept of the magazine publishing world outside of The Devil Wears Prada and Ugly Betty, it seemed very realistic and believable.
This was an interesting book, but I will have to admit that I might not have been its target audience. I love fashion magazines, I read Seventeen and all those stupid prom magazines religiously when I was in high school. They were awesome. I never cared much for Sassy (which is obviously the model for one of the magazines in this book) because it didn't feature enough makeup tips or ideas of how to get boys to ask you out. And those are the things I cared about in high school.
But despite this, I thought this book was great - the story of how a commune living hippie child makes her way into a rich and fancy magazine editor in NYC and how her life changes. It was really interesting, the characters were deep enough and well described enough that I had a real vision of them. I was happy with the ending (although I imagine a lot of people were not) and although I have no concept of the magazine publishing world outside of The Devil Wears Prada and Ugly Betty, it seemed very realistic and believable.
Nos. 80 - 81: Carter House Girls books 1 & 2
Mixed Bags by Melody Carlson
Stealing Bradford
A friend of mine had these books recommended to her as a good gift for her teenaged niece. She asked if I have ever read them and I hadn't but, in some bizarre coincidence, the first two books in the series were free for my kindle. So I said I would read them and give her some feedback.
After a promising premise - 6 girls from different backgrounds living together in one house - it went down hill pretty quickly. There was a lot of stupid misunderstandings, characters flipping from bad to good without a lot of support or reason, a super useless parental figure, waayyyy too many lesbian comments for no apparent reason, a lot of useless "be yourself messages" that if well executed could have been useful to the books target audiences (christian teenage girls) but in this book were lame and overplayed, the one real "come to Jesus" moment which again could have been great was similarly lame and overplayed. All in all, I didn't care for either of these books. The author was trying too hard to mix edgy teenage drama and Christian lit and instead of coming out with something great came out with a mess full of lesbian jokes. Seriously, what is this author trying to tell her readers with all of the lesbian jokes. I am confused.
Stealing Bradford
A friend of mine had these books recommended to her as a good gift for her teenaged niece. She asked if I have ever read them and I hadn't but, in some bizarre coincidence, the first two books in the series were free for my kindle. So I said I would read them and give her some feedback.
After a promising premise - 6 girls from different backgrounds living together in one house - it went down hill pretty quickly. There was a lot of stupid misunderstandings, characters flipping from bad to good without a lot of support or reason, a super useless parental figure, waayyyy too many lesbian comments for no apparent reason, a lot of useless "be yourself messages" that if well executed could have been useful to the books target audiences (christian teenage girls) but in this book were lame and overplayed, the one real "come to Jesus" moment which again could have been great was similarly lame and overplayed. All in all, I didn't care for either of these books. The author was trying too hard to mix edgy teenage drama and Christian lit and instead of coming out with something great came out with a mess full of lesbian jokes. Seriously, what is this author trying to tell her readers with all of the lesbian jokes. I am confused.
No. 79: Girl at Sea
Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson
Another book by this author, I was on a roll I guess. I liked this one better than The Keys to the Golden Firebird because it was less sad and depressing and more mysterious and interesting but not nearly as much as the Scarlett series. You don't figure out until the end what is really going on, but what is really going on was not quite as interesting as what I thought was going on - which was kind of a let down. I also thought the FMC was a little too into her roommate. I mean if you are going to go there, really go there. Know what I mean?
Another book by this author, I was on a roll I guess. I liked this one better than The Keys to the Golden Firebird because it was less sad and depressing and more mysterious and interesting but not nearly as much as the Scarlett series. You don't figure out until the end what is really going on, but what is really going on was not quite as interesting as what I thought was going on - which was kind of a let down. I also thought the FMC was a little too into her roommate. I mean if you are going to go there, really go there. Know what I mean?
No. 78: The Key to the Golden Firebird
The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson
I liked the Scarlett Series so much I started looking for more books by this author. I can't say I liked this one as much as the others, but then again it had a much sadder subject matter. That being said, it was still good. This book is about three sisters and their mother, the year after the unexpected death of their father. The oldest sister is a drunk, the youngest sister is having crazy panic attacks and the middle sister is trying to keep the family together and get her drivers license. I missed the humor that the other books by this author have, but it was still a good story.
I liked the Scarlett Series so much I started looking for more books by this author. I can't say I liked this one as much as the others, but then again it had a much sadder subject matter. That being said, it was still good. This book is about three sisters and their mother, the year after the unexpected death of their father. The oldest sister is a drunk, the youngest sister is having crazy panic attacks and the middle sister is trying to keep the family together and get her drivers license. I missed the humor that the other books by this author have, but it was still a good story.
No. 77: Scarlett Fever
Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson
The second book in the Scarlett series, just as good as the first. Maybe more funny lines - the best of which I posted about here.
The second book in the Scarlett series, just as good as the first. Maybe more funny lines - the best of which I posted about here.
No. 76: Suite Scarlett
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
I have read this book before, and I liked it a lot. It held up for the second read, still funny and interesting and sad and happy in places. I still love the idea of living in a hotel your family owns, even if it is broke and falling apart. It just seems awesome!
My posts are going to be short I think, I got WAY behind and now I have like a dozen books to post about. Hopefully I can remember them all :)
I have read this book before, and I liked it a lot. It held up for the second read, still funny and interesting and sad and happy in places. I still love the idea of living in a hotel your family owns, even if it is broke and falling apart. It just seems awesome!
My posts are going to be short I think, I got WAY behind and now I have like a dozen books to post about. Hopefully I can remember them all :)
Monday, August 2, 2010
No. 75: Infamous
Infamous by Suzanne Brockmann
A brand new Suzanne Brockmann book, and a paperback to boot! Very exciting! I bought the book in book form (rather than kindle) to add to my collection of every book Brockmann has ever written.
Even though this was not a Navy SEAL book (boo) there were SEALS briefly involved in the book, so that was nice. This was quite a different book than usual - although there was the usual action, and romance, and there was also the historical story that she used to include in some of her older Troubleshooters books. But this book is about a history professor working on a movie about a "heroic" US Marshall and how he vanquished a gang of notorious robbers and killers. The great-grandson of one of the notorious bad guys comes to the movie set to get the story straight - ably assisted in telling the true story by the ghost of his great-grandfather.
My favorite line of the book:
"I don't want you to love me."
"Then stop being so fucking amazing."
I love swearing in books! It reminds me of my favorite part of my favorite Suzanne Brockmann book, Out of Control, when Ken Karmody tells Savannah that she is "so fucking pretty" within 5 minutes of meeting her. Hysterical and awesome.
A brand new Suzanne Brockmann book, and a paperback to boot! Very exciting! I bought the book in book form (rather than kindle) to add to my collection of every book Brockmann has ever written.
Even though this was not a Navy SEAL book (boo) there were SEALS briefly involved in the book, so that was nice. This was quite a different book than usual - although there was the usual action, and romance, and there was also the historical story that she used to include in some of her older Troubleshooters books. But this book is about a history professor working on a movie about a "heroic" US Marshall and how he vanquished a gang of notorious robbers and killers. The great-grandson of one of the notorious bad guys comes to the movie set to get the story straight - ably assisted in telling the true story by the ghost of his great-grandfather.
My favorite line of the book:
"I don't want you to love me."
"Then stop being so fucking amazing."
I love swearing in books! It reminds me of my favorite part of my favorite Suzanne Brockmann book, Out of Control, when Ken Karmody tells Savannah that she is "so fucking pretty" within 5 minutes of meeting her. Hysterical and awesome.
No. 74: Charlie St Cloud
Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood
I read this book solely because I am interested in seeing a movie starring Zac Efron with no shirt. Is that wrong? But I can't just go see a movie - a movie so intense looking I almost cried at the preview - without knowing a little more. So I got the book, and I read it, and I cried the entire time. And I decided that no amount of Zac Effron with no shirt could persuade me to see this movie in the theatre. I HATE crying at the movie theatre, and I am guaranteed to cry for the majority of this movie. Just as I cried for the majority of the book.
The book is the story of Charlie St. Cloud who can see the spirit of his dead little brother and who gives up his life to spend every night playing catch with a ghost. Sad. But there is romance! But the romance is sad. But there is happy parts too! But the happy parts are also sad. So there was much crying. I think I will just get the movie when it comes out on Netflix and save my ogling and crying for home, where it belongs.
I read this book solely because I am interested in seeing a movie starring Zac Efron with no shirt. Is that wrong? But I can't just go see a movie - a movie so intense looking I almost cried at the preview - without knowing a little more. So I got the book, and I read it, and I cried the entire time. And I decided that no amount of Zac Effron with no shirt could persuade me to see this movie in the theatre. I HATE crying at the movie theatre, and I am guaranteed to cry for the majority of this movie. Just as I cried for the majority of the book.
The book is the story of Charlie St. Cloud who can see the spirit of his dead little brother and who gives up his life to spend every night playing catch with a ghost. Sad. But there is romance! But the romance is sad. But there is happy parts too! But the happy parts are also sad. So there was much crying. I think I will just get the movie when it comes out on Netflix and save my ogling and crying for home, where it belongs.
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