Monday, January 31, 2011

Happily Ever After (Deep Haven Series)

Happily Ever After (Deep Haven Series #1)Happily Ever After by Susan May Warren

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet and clean Christian romance set on the north shores of Lake Superior. Mona has longed to open a book store in the tourist town of Deep Haven. With her best friend she purchases a rundown Victorian home in hopes of remodeling it in time for tourist season. It doesn't take long or Mona and her friend to realize that they are going to need more help to fix the place up. Joe Michaels answers the ad for a handyman. Right off the bat there is chemistry between Mona and Joe. But each holds secrets that they are not willing to give up, not even for what they feel for each other.

After someone tries to sabotage Mona's book store, she loses faith in her dreams of opening it. Joe tells her not to give up, God never gives up on us or our dreams, she must have faith in God because it's His plan for her. As the feeling continue to grow stronger between Mona and Joe, their past tears them apart and both are left with broken hearts. Slowly the truths come around and Joe shows back up in Mona's life, but not quite as the same person as she thought he was!

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Bittersweet Rain

Bittersweet RainBittersweet Rain by Sandra Brown

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book sure had it's steamy parts but there were some storylines that were just a smidge creepy when you look at it as a whole. The age differences in a couple scenarios and the woman with the little girl mind had to be skipped in a couple of parts as well. I like Sandra Brown so I'm not giving it a two-star rating, but I hope the next books I read aren't quite so controversial in my mind.

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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Apothecary's Daughter

The Apothecary's DaughterThe Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a feel good book. A book that is sweet, charming, moving, romantic...its a book to feel good about reading!

Lilly Haswell, as the title states, is an apothecary's daughter dealing with a mother who has abandoned her family. Lilly must help raise her challenged brother and help in her fathers shop. But an opportunity arises for Lilly to live in London to further her education and perhaps find a suitor!

Lilly knows her background will likely become an issue for a well-to-do suitor but that doesn't prevent all the gentleman from flirting with the beautiful and charming Lillian Haswell. There is the Oxford trained physician, Dr. Graves, the well-to-do Roger Marlow from her home town, a very sweet gentleman named Roger Bromley or there is her fathers apprentice, Francis Baylor.

Lilly considers her future with each but some decisions come easy enough. When Lillys father becomes ill she must return home and help in her fathers shop. There she discovers that home is where she wants to be, even if it takes her awhile to realize it. But who will be Lillys true love? You will not be disappointed!

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Friday, January 7, 2011

Long Time Coming

Long Time ComingLong Time Coming by Sandra Brown

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I won this book from a Good Reads giveaway. I'm so glad because I think I found a new romance author I can't wait to read more of!

This book was published in 1988, over 20 years old. But the story is a timeless romance that hasn't lost it's edge.

With this book, I was sent four other Sandra Brown books. I am so excited to read them all!

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Thursday, January 6, 2011

Top 3 Books of 2010

I liked this book best because it was total sci-fi, it was incredibly fast paced with lots of fighting and "we're not going to take this anymore" mentality.
I liked this book second best because it's about discovering a past, discovering who you are and spans many generations and continents.
I am surprised I liked this book as much I did. It's based on a story in bible. It really brings you into biblical times and what it was really like back then. Fascinating!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Torment (Fallen #2)

Torment (Fallen, #2)Torment by Lauren Kate

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Excellent! I found this second book to be better than the first. Perhaps I better understood the characters and the plot more this go around.

I'm fascinated by the tangled web of Daniel and Luce's long and ongoing love story. Probably one of my favorite love stories to date, so much mystery and intrigue.

In this book there are many twists and turns and even though there is a major cliffhanger at the end leaving one thirsting for more, I'm pretty sure I know where its going. And I think I know what Luce really is which makes Daniels past actions for Luce and his good vs. evil decision that much more important and universe shattering than I initially thought! So, so, so good!

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It's been a long time!

I had PRK eye surgery on November 16th, 2010. Little did I know how long the recovery would take!

It has been seven weeks since the surgery and finally I'm comfortable enough with my sight to read a book. It has been too long, I have really missed reading. My next post will be my first book review in seven weeks AND for 2011.

Back to PRK. The main difference between PRK and LASIK is that LASIK involves creating a corneal flap, correcting the shape of your eye then placing the flap back in place. The vision correction is nearly immediate. With PRK there is no flap involved therefore your eye has to heal itself, new cells have to form to protect the eye. Basically your eye has to scab over but at a very, very slow pace. I was given steroid drops to both keep down swelling and to ensure a slow healing process. The first four weeks I had terrible ghosting/double vision. It was nearly impossible to read anything, especially computers which was extremely difficult for me to handle since my job entails me looking at a computer nearly all day long.

Long story short I missed more work than planned, suffered some anxiety and was pretty miserable. Seven weeks later I'm happy to report that my vision is nearly perfect and other than a little bit of dry eye, I'm very happy with the procedure.

Now, back to reading!!!!