I realize January isn’t over yet, but since one of my goals was to read more for pleasure, I thought I’d share some of the books I’ve read so far. If we aren’t friends on Goodreads, please add me because that’s where I keep track of books I’ve read or want to read.
You may recognize this author, she wrote Something Borrowed, which is now a motion picture. I first heard about her back in 2008, shortly after we were first married and I had a newly acquired library card. I either bought or borrowed the first four books, even “reading” one of them via book on CD. So when I went to activate my new Nashville library card, I chose this as my inaugural read. I don’t want to get into any spoilers, so here is what Goodreads has to say about the book.
“Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her own mother’s warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life.
Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie–a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance–and even to some degree, friendships–believing that it is always safer not to expect too much.
Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children. But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined.”
The best part of Giffin’s books is that her “old” characters usually make guest appearances, something I always loved about Madeleine L’Engle’s books. This book was almost entirely full of new characters, but Teresa’s brother is Dex from the first novel, Something Borrowed, so you get updates on Darcy and Rachel, too.
I gave the book 4/5 stars.
Next up was Heat Wave, which should be familiar to anyone who watches the television show Castle. Castle is one of my favorite crime solving shows, so I figured I’d enjoy this book, which is the book Rick Castle writes on the show. They’ve come out with a few more books, each one corresponding to one he “wrote” on the show. It’s a neat concept.
While I enjoyed the book, it took several days to finally get me through it and I had the title for 3 weeks.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
Ah, a Nicholas Sparks novel. I have a goal to read all of his books. No matter how cookie cutter they are, I love them all. The Choice was no different. I remember someone, I think it was LoLo, asked me once if all of his books are depressing. I would say that the majority can be depressing, but the heart ache is what makes it such a good read, for me at least. I usually cry at least once while reading his books, and not many other authors can say they bring me to tears.
From Goodreads: “Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life — boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies — he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him…and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn’t help. Despite himself, Travis can’t stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heart wrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?”
Well LoLo, I think you might actually enjoy this, even if it is full of heartache.
I gave this book 4/5 stars.
I figure the only other person truly interested in this book is Trina, who probably won’t read this part because she’s afraid of spoilers. I can promise you I’m not going to post any spoilers. Dead Reckoning is book 11 in the Sookie Stackhouse series. The main storyline in this book is that Sam’s bar, Merlotte’s, has been picketed and then attacked, supposedly by people who are against Weres and other supernatural humans. In the vampire world, Eric and Pam are dealing with a new “master” and plotting to kill said master, which of course gets Sookie involved . This was the book I realized Bubba is the Elvis (yes, I am slow sometimes) and was thrilled to see a Romanov vampire. Have I mentioned I am obsessed with the Anastasia stories?
I gave this book 3/5 stars, simply because I felt this book was all over the place with too many story-lines going at once. I’ve also read enough of these books that the twists were not really twists to me, at all.
At first I was hesitant to read this book because earlier Pretty Little Liars books were heavy on the cliffhangers and I would want the next book immediately. Book 10 is actually already out and I believe the next two are coming out within the next 1-2 years, so there isn’t a super long wait for them. Also, the cliffhanger at the end of this book isn’t that bad.
The only bad thing about reading a book series that is a television show is you start to get confused between what happened in the books and what happened in the tv show. I’ve started asking myself, “Is this a book only thing or what?” So, yes, it does get confusing. Plus in the books, they have already revealed two A‘s, while on the television show they are just now going to reveal the identity of A at the end of this current season. I can’t really go into details of the earlier A’s on here, just in case it spoils the books for others, but in Twisted the girls are still recovering from what A did to them in book 8. The problem is, they have another secret, one that is even worse than anything A ever had on them before.
I gave this book 4/5 stars.
Finally, we have what may be my favorite Sookie Stackhouse book ever, A Touch of Dead. Instead of being a full novel, this is a series of short stories that occur between the other books. They include: “Fairy Dust (4.1),” “One Word Answer (4.3),” “Dracula Night (5.1),” “Lucky (7.1),” and “Giftwrap (8.1).”
I wasn’t sure how I would like these, but I ended up loving them. First of all, you get some additional details that add to the other stories, which I always love. Second, these stories are shorter, so you don’t have to build up to 400 pages of a climax before you get the good stuff.
I gave the book 4/5 stars.
So, what are you reading?
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