by Cindi Madsen This is a new author for me. I finished this book in one sitting and I loved, loved, loved it. Dani and Wes have been best friends since college. They have seen each other through relationships and breakups. Wes' sister is getting married and his ex is one of the bridesmaids. Dani is jonesing for a big promotion at work and feels that her being single is hurting her chances. Together they devise a plan to help each other. A fake engagement. Dani agrees to go to his sisters wedding and Wes volunteers to accompany Dani on a work retreat to help impress her boss. What happens when best friends start acting like lovers? Cindi Madsen took one of my all time favorite premises and made it spectacular.
Dani and Wes have great chemistry that jumps off the pages. The dialogue is fresh and fun and had me laughing out loud. I was routing for them from the start, even before they figured out what everyone around them already seemed to know. One thing this author did really well was show us how close they were as friends before the love started to bloom. I appreciated how as they drew closer they started to build up walls to protect themselves. It felt extremely real and it took me back to when I was falling in love with my best friend all those years ago.
If you haven't read it yet make sure you put it on your TBR list. It's totally worth it.
Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines Recently I have been reading a lot of angsty YA stories. I tripped upon author Abbi Glines entirely by accident.
(From Abbi Glines website) Life outside of her house was a new experience for Della Sloane. The
dark secrets of her past weren’t something she ever intended to share
with anyone. They would never understand. No one would ever get close
enough to find out. There was always a chance she’d go crazy sooner than
they expected…
Woods Kerrington had never been one to be attracted to fragile
females. They seemed like too much work. He wasn’t in it for the work
just the pleasure. A night full of naughty fun had been exactly what was
on his mind when he’d laid eyes on the hot little number that didn’t
know how to pump gas and needed some help.
What he didn’t know was she was as fragile as they came.
The carefree girl who spoke her mind and didn’t care what the world
thought of her was more breakable than he could ever imagine…
This book, and I will admit out loud, I was looking forward to it.
Sadly, it was just okay. My impression of the hero had been formed in a previous book where he
made an appearance. Honestly, I was charmed. Plus the premise for this book reeled me in. Woods Kerrington and Della Sloane meet at a gas station. She needs help pumping gas since she's never done it before (yes it sounds far fetched, but there is a reason why this is true). He, being the gentlemen that he is offers up help. Things progress from there. Della has a great back story that I won't ruin with any spoilers. When I met Woods in the previous book he was portrayed as a southern gentlemen dedicated to his work. In this incarnation he didn't read the same way for me, or maybe it was just that after peeking below the surface the attraction was lost. I liked the version of him in the previous story better.
Another thing that really bothered me about this story was the ending. It was unnecessary. Completely. The only reason this author chose to end it the way she did is because she is writing a second book about these characters and wants to ensure I buy it. It didn't.
FYI authors: This practice seriously pisses me off.
Plus if felt as if the story ended in the middle of an incomplete thought.
I hate when authors do that. I get the appeal of the cliff hanger, and in this case the ending wasn't so much a cliff hangeras there was just no conclusion to the thought she was in the middle of. It was frustrating with a capital F. Overall, the book was a quick, light read and if your an Abbi Glines fan you probably won't be disappointed.
Okay if you haven't read the post from the deranged sorority girl, I want to share it.
PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED Seriously, "cunt punt" is now my new favorite saying. It beat out asshat and cock block for this honor. Tell me what you think, after you stop crying and can pick yourself up off the floor.
If you just opened this like I told you to, tie yourself down to
whatever chair you're sitting in, because this email is going to be a
rough fucking ride.
For those of you that have your heads stuck under rocks, which
apparently is the majority of this chapter, we have been FUCKING UP in
terms of night time events and general social interactions with Sigma
Nu. I've been getting texts on texts about people LITERALLY being so
fucking AWKWARD and so fucking BORING. If you're reading this right now
and saying to yourself "But oh em gee Julia, I've been having so much
fun with my sisters this week!", then punch yourself in the face right
now so that I don't have to fucking find you on campus to do it myself.
I do not give a flying fuck, and Sigma Nu does not give a flying
fuck, about how much you fucking love to talk to your sisters. You have
361 days out of the fucking year to talk to sisters, and this week is
NOT, I fucking repeat NOT ONE OF THEM. This week is about fostering
relationships in the greek community, and that's not fucking possible if
you're going to stand around and talk to each other and not our
matchup. Newsflash you stupid cocks: FRATS DON'T LIKE BORING SORORITIES.
Oh wait, DOUBLE FUCKING NEWSFLASH: SIGMA NU IS NOT GOING TO WANT TO
HANG OUT WITH US IF WE FUCKING SUCK, which by the way in case you're an
idiot and need it spelled out for you, WE FUCKING SUCK SO FAR. This also
applies to you little shits that have talked openly about post gaming
at a different frat IN FRONT OF SIGMA NU BROTHERS. Are you people
fucking retarded? That's not a rhetorical question, I LITERALLY want you
to email me back telling me if you're mentally slow so I can make sure
you don't go to anymore night time events. If Sigma Nu openly said "Yeah
we're gonna invite Zeta over", would you be happy? WOULD YOU? No you
wouldn't, so WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO IT TO THEM?? IN FRONT OF THEM?!!
First of all, you SHOULDN'T be post gaming at other frats, I don't give a
FUCK if your boyfriend is in it, if your brother is in it, or if your
entire family is in that frat. YOU DON'T GO. YOU. DON'T. GO. And you
ESPECIALLY do fucking NOT convince other girls to leave with you.
"But Julia!", you say in a whiny little bitch voice to your computer
screen as you read this email, "I've been cheering on our teams at all
the sports, doesn't that count for something?" NO YOU STUPID FUCKING ASS
HATS, IT FUCKING DOESN'T. DO YOU WANNA KNOW FUCKING WHY?!! IT DOESN'T
COUNT BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN FUCKING UP AT SOBER FUCKING EVENTS TOO. I've
not only gotten texts about people being fucking WEIRD at sports (for
example, being stupid shits and saying stuff like "durr what's
kickball?" is not fucking funny), but I've gotten texts about people
actually cheering for the opposing team. The opposing. Fucking. Team.
ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID?!! I don't give a SHIT about sportsmanship, YOU
CHEER FOR OUR GODDAMN TEAM AND NOT THE OTHER ONE, HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN TO
A SPORTS GAME? ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND? Or are you just so fucking dense
about what it means to make people like you that you think being a good
little supporter of the greek community is going to make our matchup
happy? Well it's time someone told you, NO ONE FUCKING LIKES THAT,
ESPECIALLY OUR FUCKING MATCHUP. I will fucking cunt punt the next person
I hear about doing something like that, and I don't give a fuck if you
SOR me, I WILL FUCKING ASSAULT YOU.
"Ohhh Julia, I'm now crying because your email has made me oh so so
sad". Well good. If this email applies to you in any way, meaning if you
are a little asswipe that stands in the corners at night or if you're a
weird shit that does weird shit during the day, this following message
is for you: DO NOT GO TO TONIGHT'S EVENT.
I'm not fucking kidding. Don't go. Seriously, if you have done
ANYTHING I've mentioned in this email and have some rare disease where
you're unable to NOT do these things, then you are HORRIBLE, I repeat,
HORRIBLE PR FOR THIS CHAPTER. I would rather have 40 girls that are fun,
talk to boys, and not fucking awkward than 80 that are fucking faggots.
If you are one of the people that have told me "Oh nooo boo hoo I can't
talk to boys I'm too sober", then I pity you because I don't know how
you got this far in life, and with that in mind don't fucking show up
unless you're going to stop being a goddamn cock block for our chapter.
Seriously. I swear to fucking God if I see anyone being a goddamn boner
at tonight's event, I will tell you to leave even if you're sober. I'm
not even kidding. Try me. And for those of you who are offended at this email, I would apologize but I really don't give a fuck. Go fuck yourself.
Okay, I think she has a future in fiction. What do you think?
We have a new BookHungry member so everyone please take a moment and welcome Blake to our little group. Oh, and she is the one who selected this months read.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare This is the first in the Mortal Instruments Series. I really, really wanted to like this book. And it did get off to a good start. Okay here is the synopsis from Amazon: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in
New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a
murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and
brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air.
It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to
everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to
show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s
first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the
earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a
Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a
jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a
vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a
demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like
Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The
Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .
Exotic and gritty,
exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously
entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never
want to end.
This book started off strong, but it didn't take long for me to see where this was going a la Star Wars. If you've read the book you know what I mean. (No spoilers here.) That just frustrated me. Plus as we discussed during our book club meeting, these kids did not talk like kids. I think that is paramount in young adult books. I finished it under duress and I don't think your reading should be under duress. The premise completely took me in and I had this on my TBR list before it was selected by our book club. There are four more stories in this series and chances are I will read the rest because I want to know how this series ends. Especially since Blake promised that all is not as it seems. I'm hoping this means we lose the Star Wars similarities.
So. Last night we had our very first Google Hangout for our BookHungry club. Yeah, we had a few technical difficulties we need to work through. But it was fun. I got to see the ladies I have been tweeting, blogging and talking to for the last three years. And that was delightful. Well except when Karla got to big for her britches, which should be hard for her to do since she has now officially lost over 110 pounds. She lost a whole person. Maybe a somewhat slight anorexic person, but still. We got to commiserate with Patty about dieting. Which we both hate. And we were all reassured just seeing Abby after the events at the Boston Marathon. We have been worried. I think the best part was we got to welcome a new BookHungry Member. It's been us four for so long that it was nice making a new friend. Of course I think Blake got the quick version on how we critique our books. Thumbs up or thumbs down we all just get together for the chit chat. And really, isn't that the whole point to girlfriends? Come back on Thursday and you can read my review for this months selection.
Flickster Friday Okay here is another movie that I am really looking forward to. I love movies with ensemble casts and Diane Keaton is one of my favs. Enjoy Are you going to go see it? Tell me what you think.
Falling Into You by: Jasinda Wilder Lately I have been reading books that are heart wrenching. I place this blame squarely on the shoulders of Karla Nellenbach. She knows what she did.
Falling Into You by Jasinda Wilder is no different. Nell Hawthorne has been in love with Kyle Calloway as long as she can remember. They're best friends. When you're sixteen you don't think about forever. But when tragedy strikes and Kyle is suddenly and irrovacably wrenched from Nell she is forced to face life without him and forever becomes very real. This book has stayed with me. I gave it three stars on Goodreads and I stand behind that rating, but now I do wonder why I can't seem to let this one go?
The first part of the book is about Kyle and Nell and their journey to move from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend to lovers. It was lovely. It was poignant. It was everything your first love should be. Nell and Kyle may have moved on and lived happily ever after, but with his death, she is forced to face some hard truths. Like the life she had mapped out for herself may not be the one she is best suited to. After the funeral the book picks up a few years later. Nell is carrying some scars from Kyles loss. She blames herself. When she and meets up with Colt, Kyle's estranged older brother, there have been some changes in her life and they become obvious quickly. I really liked how the author didn't turn this into Colt saving Nell or vice versa. This story is about moving on and learning to live with loss. It's not always easy, and in Nell's case it was somewhat self destructive, but you can do it. Colt was a deceptively intense character who jumped off the page at me. His relationship with his parents, with his brother, with Nell, they were all clearly outlined and the more we learned the more I wanted to know. This was not the golden son, like Kyle, Colt was son that had to work twice as hard for everything. I don't think I loved this story, but it made me think. It stayed with me and it kept me turning the pages. It wasn't a feel good kind of book, but it was well done and I did want these two to find their own happily ever after so in the end it was a good read for me. Plus the sex scenes were hot and intense and I am looking forward to reading more of her work. Have you read it? What did you think?
What did you do yesterday? Me? I sat in front of the TV feeling defeated by the images of the bombings in Boston. Even as I write this I am still unsure what actually happened. I have no idea who is responsible and while I, like any normal American feel a deep seated need for justice. Blood even. Right now my heart is hurting for the victims and their families. I know that justice will prevail. It may take some time as in the case of 9/11, but we will be successful. I know this because I know the type of people that make up this country. The majority are hard working, law abiding citizens who believe as I do. If you work hard for it, you too can be apart of our American dream. There will always be people who want to tear that down. Whether they are extreme terrorist, religious zealots or just the stupid folk who bask in their ignorance. But understand this; they are not the norm. We are.
So yesterday I felt a great pride for my fellow countryman when they answered that call. I saw so many tweets and facebook status updates offering food, water and shelter to those in need. While some news organizations say this may have started in the afternoon with a google spreadsheet I have to disagree.
In the twitterverse yesterday we were seeing these sorts of tweets as soon as news hit of the devastation.
I hate what happened in Boston yesterday. But once again, when hatred landed on our doorstep, I found myself proud to be an American.
God Bless everyone in Boston. The victims. Their families and the men and women who risked their lives rushing into the fire because someone needed help. That courage and bravery are why we can never be defeated.
Easy By Tammara Webber There aren't too many things I can say that aren't good about this read. This book was absolutely delicious. Normally I would share the book description here with you. But I don't think it did it justice and may have been a little misleading. I read the description and read the book because it was recommended, but don't know if I would have without the strong arm tactics.
This story goes for the jugular right from the start when our female lead is attacked after aparty. The rapist is thwarted by a young man she has never seen on campus before, but suddenly sees everywhere. My Gram used to say that if you want to make God laugh you should tell him your plans. Jacqueline gave up her dream to study music in college in order follow her high school boyfriend. Into their second year of college he has decided he needs to sow his wild oats. Yep, that is actually his excuse for the breakup. After a night of watching him do just that at a frat party, she is assaulted on the way to her truck. Out of the darkness comes the answer to her prayers. Lucas is everything her ex could never be. Of course there is a tremendous back story that just adds to the layers this author has created. And they are believable layers, emotional layers, yummy layers that had me turning page after page until the book was done. (Okay, I read this on an e-reader, so I wasn't actually turning pages, but you get the message right?)
Lucas has the look of a bad boy, but the soul of a poet. His artistic side softens him and the immediate connection Jacqueline feels towards him is unmistakable. Hell, the immediate pull I felt toward him was unmistakable. He is wounded, but not broken. And together they will learn to trust and heal each other.
But that trust won't come easy for either of them. In the beginning of this book you're convinced that the story is going to be about Jacqueline learning to trust again after her assault, but what we find in the course of this read is Lucas has demons in his past that have shaped and molded him into the man he is today and this story is about so much more than an attempted rape and happily ever after.
I love when authors do that.
Part of the book is Jacqueline learning to move on from a horrific ordeal, but it's also learning that sometimes you have to make a stand. And making a stand means not always doing what's easy, but doing what's right.
Part is watching Lucas grow from who he was into whohe is supposed to be with the help of this girl he had dreamed about for so long. And part is being immersed in the romance. There are so many good moments in this story I'm afraid if I started to mention them all it would sound a lot like rambling. Suffice to say if you haven't read this one you need to. Tammara Webber did an exceptional job here and you won't be sorry. I wasn't.
Argo Did you know it won best picture at the Academy Awards? Yeah, I didn't care about that either. Mainly because they never pick the movies I like. In this case. They nailed it.
Argo
tells the story of six diplomats who escape the American embassy in
Tehran after students and militant protestors supporting the Iranian
Revolution take over the embassy. I want to note that fifty-two
Americans were held hostage for 444 days. If these six statesmen had
not escaped that day the number would have been 58 Americans held
hostage. Sneaking off, they find sanctuary at the home of the Canadian
ambassador played by Victor Gerber.
With
the Iranians not aware of the secret six, our State Department starts
to look for ways to get them out. Enter Tony Mendez. A CIA operative
who takes a bad plan and makes it workable. Check out this clip as Tony Mendez and his boss, played by Brian Cranston, explain it to the Secretary of State.
It should also be mentioned that the acting in this film is extraordinary. John Goodman nailed his role. At the end you get to see pictures of the actual folks they represented and the casting for this was truly superb.
This movie is a historical drama thriller based on the novel by Tony Mendez, which I am going to have to read now, The Master of Disguise. I don't want to give anything away on this, but if you haven't seen this movie you need to. And I guess it's not really giving anything away seeing as how this is based on historical facts, so you already know they get out.
What makes this film work so well was the sequencing. I literally was on the edge of my seat for the last twenty minutes. To me, that is the mark of a great film maker. Check it out.
I found this book totally by accident. I was intrigued by the cover and the write up peaked my interest. Let me give you the lowdown. Caroline Reynolds is our feisty funny heroine. She lives in the San Francisco bay area working at a job she loves. Her apartment and her kitchen aid mixer are both new. Unfortunately she's not enjoying sex. In fact, she's lost her O. And in this book O definitely stands for orgasm. Simon Parker is the hot hero. He also happens to be Caroline's new neighbor. The Wallbanger. His nickname is richly deserved as he happens to wake Caroline up each evening with his bedroom antics. They have a common wall in their bedrooms.
Want to know more? Thought so. The Good: This book started off on the right track. It had everything. A hot, horny hero that I wanted to lick all over. He was a man-whore who didn't apologize for the fact that he was getting laid on a regular basis. What man would? The story was laugh-out-loud funny with characters I cared about and wanted to get to know better. The one liners and zingers were flying fast and furious. Did you read the part where I said laugh out loud. I meant it. I liked Simon from the start, but I really liked Caroline who; while on a dating sabbatical was missing her O. She made mistakes, she drank, and she cussed like a sailor. (I was a sailor so I know this to be true.) These two characters were so believable as written and acted accordingly to the ages as they were portrayed. Re-freshing. The Parts I had a problem with: Notice I didn't say bad, because this book wasn't bad. I believe it could have ended a few chapter earlier so much so that I did start to lose interest and may have skimmed over the last chapters. I was even able to go with the fact that this author decided that both of Caroline's friends were going to hook up with both of Simon's friends. (I know that cliche's are cliche's for a reason, but come on.) The real part of the story that gave me pause were the passages referring to Clive the Cat.
Overall that wasn't a deal breaker for me either. Just a little unbelievable. I can tell you if I had read this book in my twenties, I would have probably given it my highest rating, because I would have related to it from that twenty something perspective. This is a light, bright funny read that would be a great way to pass a day at the beach. Have you read it? What did you think? Tell me.
Lately I have been reading a lot of books. It's cause I love to read. No, love is too silly a word for that. It's because I need to read like I need the air to breathe. Reading really does sustain me.
This has led to me being more interactive on Goodreads where I like to star the books I have finished And since I have become somewhat of a reading savant (It's my dream, let me live it) I have decided to focus my blog on what I am reading and writing. Don't worry friends every once in a while I promise to sprinkle in some of my everyday life to keep you entertained, and probably humiliate myself in the process, but I really want to focus on reviews and sharing what I'm writing.
So here's how it's going to work. I will be reviewing books and sharing my opinions. I will also post said reviews on Goodreads. Yes, I am still on Goodreads for the time being. I'm waiting for them to get the new Riffle site up and running. If you haven't requested your invite you can do it here. http://www.rifflebooks.com/
I am hoping that it becomes an unbiased book reading site especially now that Amazon has purchased Goodreads. Some of you may disagree with me on that, and don't get me wrong, I'm still on Goodreads, but it bothers me that Amazon wants to own a book review website. We need to have places where we can go to review books honestly with out concern that those reviews will be deleted if they are not helping the largest online book seller sell said books.
Soapbox rant complete. I will NOT be reviewing books here that I don't like. I plan to still post my ratings on the book sites with one or two stars, but I am not going to trash any authors. I think if you don't have anything nice to say you should keep your mouth shut. I don't want to be a book basher. For me it's enough to rate the book with one or two stars because, let's face it, there is no way I like or even love everything I read.
I have a lot of respect for authors as a species. They are truly brave souls. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to put yourself out there as a writer. Not so much as a reader.
Don't worry Flickster Friday probably won't be going anywhere either. I still dig sharing upcoming flicks with you guys as well as what I think of the films I am watching.
So sit back and enjoy.
Also, book recommendations are always welcome as is my willingness to review about to be released works.
Are you a voracious reader like me? Than you should know about it. This is one freaking great website. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love the internet?)
Once you set up a profile and join the site you can request up and coming new books to read and review. This is brilliant. At least as far as I'm concerned. Okay so how does this work? So glad you asked. Let me break it down for you. Do you love to spread the word about new books? Do you review and
recommend books online, in print, for your bookstore, library patrons,
blog readers, or classroom? Then you are what we call a "professional
reader," and NetGalley is for you. Registration is free, and allows you
to request digital titles to read on your favorite devices.
When I read the above blurb from NetGalley I knew I wanted in. And it was just that easy. But here are couple of things. You have to be out there telling the word what you think of the books you read and review. This is important or you may never get selected to read said titles.
NetGalley is a service to promote and publicize forthcoming titles to
readers of influence. If you are a reviewer, blogger, journalist,
librarian, bookseller, educator, or in the media, you can use NetGalley
for FREE to request and read titles before they are published.
Don't tell me that just didn't make you tummy flutter a little bit?
So get over to their website and see if this service is something you may be interested in. And be sure to come back and tell me what you think of it.
Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire. I want to start this review by saying how much I love the cover art on this one. Absolutely gorgeous.
Okay.
Have you ever read a book and liked it but didn't know why? Beautiful Disaster was that book for me. It's Walking Disaster as told from the heroine's POV. I literally could not put it down. When I learned they were coming out with another Disaster book I was skeptical. How would this be climatic? I already know what happens. Would it be as enjoyable? Well I wasn't wrong, but I wasn't right either. I loved Walking Disaster and I know exactly why. Travis "Mad Dog" Maddox. He is a great hero. Now, wait, before you all start jumping up and down screeching about his personality lets break it down. Is he a little crazy? Yes. Does he go overboard with the jealousy and anger? Yes, absolutely. Do I still find him hot? You betcha. Travis is an old soul. With the loss of his mother at a young age, he learned early on that you can't always get what you want. He didn't want his mom to die, as he stated it in the beginning, "We need her more than Jesus does." And his reaction to Abbi. I loved it. There is an instant connection on his part and for whatever reason, she calms him. He doesn't understand it, only that she does. She's his lifeboat is a stormy sea. This is something I totally understand. That one person who seems to make the rest of it seem normal, even when it's not.
Do I think he could have been somewhat less dramatic. Sure, but then my heart wouldn't have leaped from my chest as often as it did. Let's face it, when your 19 and 20 love is all about the drama. And like the first book, there is plenty of that here. There were moments during this read I ached for him. They clearly had communication issues and maybe part of that, for me at least, was I did read the first book from Abbi's POV. If I were to get a do-over, I would read Walking Disaster and leave it at that. This perspective was a much better read and I gave the first one four stars! I also appreciated the Epilogue and that we got to see where these characters went in life. It's always nice to get closure. But now I'm wondering if were going to see the rest of the Maddox boys get their own stories?
