The Charm School

The Charm School by Nelson DeMille
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great book, very suspenseful and full of unsuspecting twists and turns. It was brutal, sad, and unbelievable. Of course it was fictional, but wow, sure was realistic sounding.

I love the narration of Scott Brick but I found myself not liking the main female character and I think it was because of the way he portrayed her voice. I kind of felt like routing against her sometimes.

Nelson DeMille continues to amaze me with his writing and thought process. Crazy guy but he sure knows how to stretch the could-be-truth of the human psyche and conspiracy theories.

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Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't realize this was YA, but once you got past the quirky little teenage talk of some characters, it was really a very darling book. It was fun to read and a real page turner. A nice light read.

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Fly Away

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'll call this a 3.75 rating. :)

I do not recall much about Firefly Lane except that I liked it. I'd almost like to reread it to see how the characters early days were as I'm drawing a complete blank.

Kristin Hannah can either blow my mind or I can feel a little disappointed. This one was a little disappointing only because it is not a writing method that I love. It switches points of views so much, and the same character can be first or third person. It was easy to follow but I simply don't favor this method.

That being said, it was still a great story. It was incredibly sad and very moving as are most of her books. The character development in this book was major and I really enjoyed seeing each of the characters grow and move on from tragedy at their own pace.

I love Kristin Hannah's story telling. She is a master and I will eagerly await each and every book she writes! They are all SO different, you never know what you are going to get.

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Highlander Most Wanted (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs #2)

Highlander Most Wanted by Maya Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this one, but not as much as the first. It's a sad story of an abused woman who is rescued by a handsome Scot. It was sweet and intense like the first book, but didn't quite have "it", whatever "it" is. Good read though.

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Between Sisters

Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ahh, Ms. Hannah, you've pulled at my heart strings yet again. Her books always are an emotional read, tears and laughter every time!

Two sisters who had a tough up bringing and drifted apart struggle to connect when life brings them back together many years into their adult life. Meghan is an emotionally detached divorce lawyer who sees the worst of the worst in life and it skews her thoughts on marriage. Claire just wants to be loved and finds a man whom she quickly decides is the one and wants to marry now! Meghan wants to be there for her sister but struggles to keep her jaded view on marriage to herself. Meghan finds something in a mysterious man in town to whom she feels a connection and it scares her to death. Running away seems the easiest thing to do rather than get hurt like she has seen happen so many others so many times before.

Tragedy strikes one of the sisters and they realize that they need to confront their past, forgive, and catch up on the years of sisterly love they missed out on. To learn that past hurts cannot continue to define who you thought you were. Love and forgiving others and especially yourself is the main theme in this book.



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The Cinderella Deal

The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was so cute! Yes, this fake marriage story line has been told before, but I really, really liked this one. I've said so many times before that I'm not a huge contemporary romance fan, but every once in a while a cute, sweet, little gem pops up and I can appreciate the genre again.

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Love's Reckoning (The Ballantyne Legacy #1)

Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly I struggled with this book a little bit in the beginning. I just couldn't connect with the language or the story, I have no idea why. However a quarter of the way through the book I was hooked except for one little thing...

I have a family member struggling with a past and when something heart breaking happened in this book that reminded me of this person, it hit me really hard and I had to let the book sit for a while. It disturbed me and made me so sad and ask, "why did this have to be in the book? Why does such evil have to happen to people?" I'm not sure I felt the book dealt with it well, but it was the late 1700's and those things were not discussed.

I am glad I picked the book back up and was able to finish reading what ended up being a gloriously happy ending.

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Never Seduce a Scot

Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good and enjoyable read. Title doesn't match the book though. The title might lead one to believe its your typical cheesy romance, but it's not. I was pleasantly surprised by it's plot and look forward to reading more by this author.

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Blue Moon Promise

Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet Christian romance read. Maybe more like 3.5 stars but it's a good, clean read so I'll give it 4 stars.

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To Whisper Her Name

To Whisper Her Name by Tamera Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really sweet, endearing Christian love story set in post civil-war Tennessee. I felt the first quarter of the book was boring but it picked up from there and was a very enjoyable read.

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Wait For Me

Wait For Me by Elisabeth Naughton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really, really good book...and free on Kindle too! The story line was great and main characters were all fabulous. There were a few continuity and grammatical errors that could be fixed though. I wasn't a huge fan of all swearing and how many times, "son of a bitch" was (over) used. If a really good editor got their hands on this book, it could definitely be a five star read.

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Short-Straw Bride

Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cute and clean Christian romance set in the late 1800's Texas. Fun, sweet story with cowboys, love, and faith in the Almighty.

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The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes

The Secret Life Of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another amazing book by Diane Chamberlain. This was a deep, thought provoking, emotional story about a horrible choice of a teenager that led to a death and a series of lies and secrets so horrible they could never be told. But when a body is discovered, the secrets start to unravel, along with the guilty conscience of CeeCee Wilkes. She must make the choice to keep her horrendous past a secret forever or speak out risking the good and upstanding life she has created since that horrendous day over two decades ago. Is she willing to tear her family to shreds by telling what she knows? Can she throw away all the good she has done in her adult life to atone for the life changing mistake she made at 16?

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Worth Any Price

Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't think I can be disappointed by Lisa Kleypas. Another good one!

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Rainshadow Road (Friday Harbor #2)

Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second in the Friday Harbor series focusing on middle brother, Sam Nolan. The geek of the family, a vintner, and serial dater who won't commit to any woman. Or will he? Once he's cornered into taking care of Lucy Marrin after an accident, he's forced to deal with some overwhelming feelings he has and Lucy isn't ready to commit to anyone either. And certainly not after she was dumped by her live-in boyfriend who cheated on her with her own sister!

A man who vows to never commit to a woman and the woman he has to take care who is exceedingly vulnerable both physically and mentally... gee, I wonder what could happen. I didn't like it as much as the first book, still, it's a cute story and I enjoyed it!

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Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very fast read, finished in one day, really enjoyed it though. Cute, sweet, story of a widow, Maggie Conroy, falling for a man, Mark Nolan, who recently became guardian of his deceased sister's daughter. Mark knows he's ready for the relationship, to have a wife and a mother for his niece and he knows he's found that perfect woman in Maggie. Maggie isn't quite ready, she's feels she can't do a relationship after watching her deceased husband die of cancer. Mark isn't going to let her go so easily and slowly and carefully lets her know he's not going anywhere, he will wait for her.

So stinkin' cute!

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I've Got Your Number

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OMG, this was SO cute! This is only the second Sophia Kinsella book I've read...actually, scratch that, technically it's the first. I listened to The Undomestic Goddess after I had eye surgery and I absolutely loved that book, laugh out loud funny, especially by the narrator, hilarious.

Anyway, back to I've Got Your Number, it was a very enjoyable read. I love that Poppy Wyatt backed herself into so many corners and humorously got out of most of them. I cringed numerous times, wanted to reach through the pages and slap people, but mostly I laughed.

Sophia Kinsella is hilarious. Clearly she likes to put her characters through the ringers of morbid situations and are a bit extreme for your average female, but it's absolutely delightful to read.

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Love Knows No Bounds

Love Knows No Bounds by Boone Brux
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had huge gaps of time between reading each of the three stories in this Kindle Edition e-book. Overall I'll give the collection four stars. I'll be brief and rate each story on it's own.

Tweet by Boone Brux: 4 Stars. Cute little paranormal about a naive, shy gal who unknowingly makes a deal with the devil. Only love can break the spell!

Bittersweet by Brooke Moss: 5 Stars. Hot little chick-lit about a good looking chef who is willing to help out a mother's autistic son. Food, hotness, a man good with kids...a winner!

Remember Me by Nina Croft: 3 Stars. A paranormal that reminds me a lot of Fallen but darker and not as good. I get that these are short stories but this one was packed with too much and so went too fast. Not bad, just not great.

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Smooth Talking Stranger

Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really, really good. One of my favorites of LK's. But. Yes, there is a but. But the ending. I hate pretty, wrapped up in a perfect pink bow endings. Too predictable and a stretch in reality. (I'm not going to spoil it.) Would have been a perfect five if it hadn't been for that too perfect ending.



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Pandemonium (Delirium, #2)

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Umm, a lot of prose in this book. Sometimes a bit much, but could also be beautiful. Most of it was predictable but I still like how the story was written. I'm absolutely going to forget everything about this book except for the last page so I will definitely have to read this again before the next book is released. I am looking forward to how this series will wrap up, I'm completely stumped as to how the situation could be resolved! The big lingering question now is: WHO? :-)





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