This book started off very confusing - 3 timelines about the life of a girl from childhood to her mid-thirties. She has a pretty crazy life and all the supporting characters are really interesting. I can see this book being studied in school one day. It's a bit depressing at times but it has a nice ending.
This was a book I couldn't put down. Basically it's about the different families living in an apartment complex who are all immigrants from Latin American countries. You really are hoping the characters get what they need the whole book. Some stories are happy and others are not, and they are all woven together. An interesting look at what it's like to move to a foreign country and try to fit in and get by. Definitely recommend this one.
This was another book with multiple story lines woven together. I bought a few centered around Paris. This one was okay - some characters I liked more than others, but it has a nice ending and the scenes the book paints are great.
Emily Giffin is one of those authors that I use as a go-to for beachy summer reads. Of course you probably know her writing from "Something Borrowed" and "Something Blue" - books that I think we all read in university. This one was actually a bit more of a mature theme for her writing - a book about a woman and the love she has for her friend's father. A bit of a taboo topic and sometimes you'll be cringing a bit with the thought but the characters really get to you.
This is a sequel to "The Midwife of Venice" - once again following the journey of a midwife helping families with the birth of babies. The first book had a bit more in the way of midwifery, but I liked this book too. Always a dire situation that seems like it won't end well but does. This time the ending is even happier!
I just saw a preview for this book as a movie. Had no clue when I read it, and now idea of how it will translate to film as it is quite a short book. It's about a girl who gets into a car accident with her whole family and only she survives - in a coma she has to decide whether she wants to live or die. It goes back to various points in her life to tell the story of her family and friends, and also them at the hospital visiting her. Very teenage love story - very sweet.
This was another Parisian book about two sisters living in Paris around the turn of the century and trying to survive as ballet girls with little money. I loved reading this one because there were so many sites mentioned that we visited in Paris, and the story is well-told. Definitely recommend this one.
I love a little paranormal fiction every once in a while, but at least this one is more of the adult variety versus the teenager stuff that's all over the place (though I'm guilty of reading many of those too). This one is about a young woman who does not speak who gets married to a man and moves to his village in Wales. You soon learn that she has a few magical gifts but she's not the only one in her new home. It's a "good versus evil" story with a little magic and a generally sweet story.
As with "Gone Girl", Dark Places is another book that I couldn't put down. Even darker that her first, this book will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. About a girl who's family is supposedly murdered by her brother - flashes between her mom and brother on the day leading up to the murders, and her about 25 years later. Did her brother really do it? Read and find out - and seriously - you will not turn out the lights before you finish this book - it's very addictive.
This is a nice beachy summer read where you wish that you lived in a quaint seaside town where you had all the money in the world to renovate a gorgeous house and just happen to have an even more gorgeous contractor helping you along the way. Very easy read and perfect for summer.
I have wanted to read this for a while. At first I was going to get it on audiobook because I hear Tina Fey's voice throughout the book anyway, but I wanted it for when I went away and it was honestly less expensive this way. Her book is hilarious. I read this on the train from London to York and I was giggling the whole time - people were giving me looks. Highly recommended!
Mindy Kaling is funny in a different way from Tina Fey. I have a hard time separating her from Kelly Kapour or Mindy from her show, and her book is sort of funny in a silly, random way. A fun read - just like talking to a girlfriend.
Another that took me a while to get around to, but I really liked it. My husband is a bit obsessed with Hemingway and other authors of that time (not surprising this occurred after seeing "Midnight in Paris"), and so reading this book showed me a bit about Hemingway's life (did you know he lived in Toronto for a while?) and his first wife, Hadley. If you know anything about him you know that they don't end up together in the end - writers are difficult - but it's still an interesting story.
I refused to watch the movie until I read the book, and now that I have I'm not sure I need to see the movie. The book was really good. An honest account of Solomon's life after being kidnapped and sold into slavery, though he is actually a free man. I know most have probably seen the movie, but the book is worth reading.
This book is hilarious and just great. An interesting look at how the lives of the rich and famous Asians are and how an american may not exactly fit in well to that world. Definitely recommend.
- Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon - Davina Porter is an incredible narrator and these books are amazing. What makes an amazing narrator? Someone who changes their voice depending on the characters and you don't need to listen to "Jamie said" to know who is speaking. Davina Porter does this. She can sound like Claire one second with her English accent and then flip to Jamie's highland Scot's accent and you just get lost in his dreaminess. I read the first few when I was younger but wanted to re-read and so glad I did. I just finished "Written in My Own Heart's Blood" and loved it. Can't wait for the series on Starz to air this Sunday!
- Harry Potter series by JK Rowling - Jim Dale once again is an amazing narrator. Obviously we've seen the movies but I read this series after only the third movie had come out and have read it again at least twice since.
- Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris - I read a few books once again before True Blood came out. The first few books are better than the later ones, but they are a fun supernatural read about Sookie and all her vampire, ware, shifters, witches, fairies, etc.
- Anything by Phillipa Gregory - whether it be the Cousin's war or the Tudor line - her books are just great. I was in love with the sites and palaces in and around London because of her.
- 50 Shades series by EL James - definitely make sure your windows are rolled up when you are reading this and stopped at a red light.
- House of Night series by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast - silly highschool vampire school books.
- Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl - more supernatural silliness.
- City of Bones series by Cassandra Clare - I'm still going to read the one that just came out, though.
- Divergent series by Veronica Roth - the first movie was actually pretty good too!
- Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins - I actually liked these books, and I get all excited about the movies.
- Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer - this was the second series I read after Harry Potter - great for the trip to and from school way back in 2008. Now they seem silly looking back on it.