Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: July 29, 2009
Format: Kobo ereader
Pages: - 
ISBN: 978 0061957659

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry – lonely, friendless, not too good at sports – spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates.  For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele – a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe, and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly’s with his estranged father and new stepfamily.  As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his “Husband for a Day” coupon, he still can’t make his emotionally fragile mother happy.  Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to posses an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand.  Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life’s most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others – especially those we love – above ourselves.  And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

My Thoughts

Told from the point of view of Henry Johnson, who is now married and has a family of his own, tells the story of the Labor Day weekend when he was 13.  I had seen the trailer for the movie and thought it looked fantastic and was basing my expectations on that.  The book however disappointed me quite a bit and feel like this could be a movie that I like more than the book...hate when that happens.

Three quarters of the book describes an adolescent on the verge of puberty wanting to discover the opposite sex.  The other twenty percent was about how emotionally damaged Adele was - and the last five percent was about Frank.  I would have liked more Frank.  Although somewhat unrealistic at times, I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel.

Looking forward to Hollywood's spin on just an ok novel.

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

Publisher:Random House Audio
Publish Date: April 23, 2013
Format: Audio
Discs: 11
ISBN: 978 0385361668

Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose during lunch at one of London’s fanciest restaurants.  But when his big question involves a trip abroad, not a trip down the aisle, she’s completely crushed.  So when Ben, an old flame, calls her out of the blue and reminds Lottie of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance.  No formal dates – just a quick march to the alter and a honeymoon on Ikonos, the sun-drenched Greek island where they first met years ago.

Their family and friends are horrified. Fliss, Lottie’s older sister, knows that Lottie can be impulsive – but surely this is her worst decision yet.  And Ben’s colleague Lorcan fears that this hasty marriage will ruin his friend’s career.  To keep Lottie and Ben from making a terrible mistake, Fliss concocts an elaborate scheme to sabotage their wedding night.  As she and Lorcan jet off to Ikonos in pursuit, Lottie and Ben are in for a honeymoon to remember, for better…or worse.

My Thoughts

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge Sophie Kinsella fan, and have been for many many year.  Hell I even enjoy reading Kinsella books as Madeleine Wickham.  But this, this was just downright awful.  I've read every book of her's (and Wickham's) and even own every single one of them...except Wedding Night. I made the mistake of listening to this on Audio and the narration was atrocious, which made it an even worse experience.

Where did Kinsella go wrong with this book?  It wasn't just the beginning or the middle or the end...it was the whole thing!  Every character drove me nuts and I don't even know how I managed to finish it, but I did.  It lacked the usual wit and endearing parts of the characters we all hate in the beginning then fall in love with in the end.  Also, it could have easily been 100-150 pages shorter.

Is Sophie Kinsella slipping or am I just outgrowing her novels?

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro

Publisher: Harper
Publish Date: February 4, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 456
ISBN: 978 0062257840

An inheritance from a mysterious stranger…

An abandoned perfume shop on the Left Bank of Paris…

And three exquisite perfumes that hold a mystery…and a secret.

London, 1955: Grace Monroe is a fortunate young woman.  Despite her sheltered upbringing in Oxford, her recent marriage has thrust her into the heart of London’s more refined and ambitious social circles.  However, playing the role of the sophisticated socialite her husband would like her to be doesn’t come easily to her – and perhaps never will.

Then one evening a letter arrives from France that will change everything.  Grace has received an inheritance.  There’s only one problem: she has never heard of her benefactor, the mysterious Eva d’Orsey.

So begins a journey that takes Grace to Paris in search of Eva.  There, in a long-abandoned perfume shop on the Left Bank, she discovers the seductive would of perfumers and their muses, and a surprising, complex love story.  Told by invoking the three distinctive perfumes she inspired, Eva d”Orsey’s story weaves through the decades, from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London.

But these three perfumes hold secrets.  And as Eva’s past and Grace’s future intersect, Grace realizes she must choose between the life she thinks she should live and the person she is truly meant to be.

My Thoughts

I really really enjoyed this book.  I read it very quickly and before I knew it, I had finished 100 pages in one sitting...a sure sign of a great novel.  Although I had a good idea of the outcome, I loved the entire story in between, I felt like I was transported back to such an elegant time period.  I loved how the perfumes were woven in, and so badly wanted to smell them!

A true journey of self discovery for both Grace and Eva and I found myself so intrigued with the lives they lead.  I felt the entire time I was reading I always had a connection with the characters.

My only tiny negative factor would be that I wanted more.  While the whole novel was so elegant and well delivered the end left me feeling empty.  I wanted more of Grace's journey and felt there could have been an epilogue instead of an abrupt ending.  That was the only thing holding me back from a 5 star rating, there was just not enough closure for me.

Overall a great historical novel, that I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to awaken their senses. 

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: October 21, 2003
Format: Kobo ereader
Pages: - 
ISBN:

This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai’i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place – and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.

Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman.  Then one day a rose-coloured mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her.  Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka’i.  Here her life is supposed to end – but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.  With a vibrant cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka’i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death.

My Thoughts

Wowza...what a roller coaster of a story.  Moloka'i is the fictional story of events that are very true.  As I was reading I found myself constantly doing research and wanting to find out more information about a time and events I didn't even know existed.  

This story is so full of emotion.  Such a heartbreaking tale of probably the most courageous fictional character I have ever read about.  There is so much death and despair that there were times I didn't think I would be able to keep going.  

"God didn't give man wings; he have him the brain and the spirit to give himself wings.  Just as He gave us the capacity to laugh when we hurt, or to struggle on when we feel like giving up."

I felt an emotional connection to every character - Rachel, Henry, Kenji, Sister Catherine and even Dorothy and eventually Ruth.  There are a few points of view in which the story is told, mainly women - and I had to keep reminding myself that this novel was written by a male, not a female.  Brennert knows how to tap into the hearts of his readers and delivers such a beautiful story.

This is a novel that will stay with me for a very long time and will always keep me wondering, where they better off on the island than part of society?  Highly recommended!

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) by Amy Thomas

Publish Date: February 1, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated
Format: download library
Pages: -
ISBN: -

Part love letter to New York, part love letter to Paris, and total devotion to all things sweet.  Paris, My Sweet is a personal and movable feast that’s a treasure map for anyone who loves fresh cupcakes and fine chocolate, New York and Paris, and life in general.  It’s about how the search for happiness can be as fleeting as a sliver of cheesecake and about how the life you’re meant to live doesn't always taste like the one you envisioned.  Organized into baker’s dozen of delicacies (and the adventures they inspire) that will tempt readers’ appetites, Paris, My Sweet is something to savor.

My Thoughts

So this is a memoir about self discovery.  Just under 300 pages of non stop complaining that she doesn't belong in Paris and that she doesn't belong in New York and where DOES she belong.  After being offered a job at Louis Vuitton (hello!? That happens?) Amy Thomas jets off to Paris from New York to start her new career.  I found the whole novel repetitive and sometimes boring and had to start skimming towards the end.  It was very Sex and the City meets Julie and Julia.

I was always starving reading this, and needed to bake 2 dozen strawberry cupcakes just to get through it.  Having such a sweet tooth myself I was envious of all the wonderful places she got to experience.  When I travel to Paris someday this will be my guidebook.

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publish Date: January 31, 2012

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 432

ISBN: 978 0385344227

Andy Barber has been assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years.  He is respected in is community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob.  But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy.  Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him.  Andy must.  He’s his father.  But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own – between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to burry and a future he cannot conceive.

My Thoughts

This is another one of those books that I wanted to love (cause everyone else has) but it was just ok.  I found parts of it rather slow and boring and wondering when it was going to pick up.  One aspect I really enjoyed was the transcript conversations with Andy Barber and Neal Loguidice, totally led me down a different path than what I was expecting.  There was not one character I enjoyed or was attached to, Laurie just drove me up the wall.

The redeeming quality was the end.  Oh the end.  Mind hole blown.  Was not expecting that what so ever.  The end is want bumped this novel up from a 2 to 3 star.  This was my first book by William Landay and would be willing to give one of his others a read, I never judge an author having only read one of their books.

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Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publish Date: February 2, 2010
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 391
ISBN: 978 0312364120

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sister can be.  One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard: the other followed a dream and travelled the world to become a famous photojournalist.  But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters.  As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night.  On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time – and all the way to the end.  Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago.  Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

My Thoughts

This I was not expecting.  I thought it would be your typical Chick-Lit Romance novel and would blend in like all the rest of them.  It was not.  I was completely blown away and taken by surprise by this story.  Like most reviews, it is a bit slow in the beginning with sisters Meredith and Nina constantly bickering (like sisters do) but I still found myself engaged with the story and where it was heading.  

At first I wanted to hate Anya, and how cold she was, but ultimately I knew there had to be a heartbreaking reason behind her emotionless demeanor...and is there ever!  It takes a lot in a novel to bring me to tears while reading, and more than once I found myself getting choked up and wanting to set the book aside.  But no matter how hard I tried I had to keep reading, I was just so transfixed by the "fairy tale."

With a surprise ending I was not expecting, that kept me wanting more I just can't say enough about this novel.  Hannah did not disappoint.  Highly recommended!

My Rating: «««««

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Publisher: Random House Audio
Publish Date: May 20, 2008
Format: Audio
Discs: 5
ISBN:

Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter is her favourite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her closet.  For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…Until she finds her closet harbouring Della Lee Baker, a local waitress who is one part nemesis-and two parts fairy godmother.  With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey’s narrow existence quickly expands.  She even bonds with Chole Finely, a young woman who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them – and who has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush.  Soon Josey is living in a world where the colour red has startling powers, and passion can make eggs fry in their cartons.  And that’s just for starters.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book, it was a really fun light-hearted story of one girl and her journey of self discovery.  I found all the characters enchanting and the magical touch of the story very charming.  I would have to say that Chole was my favourite - I wish books would just appear to me.  I would be saving a boat load of money.  There was just something so sweet and innocent about her that spoke to me.  Josey, you just felt sad for.  And Della Lee was there to bring them all together.  Very entertaining and leaves you with that warm fuzzy feeling.

I found the end was predicable, but but not realistic.  It ended the way I figured it would, but everything was just to neat and tidy and in it's place for me.  I like a little mystery in an ending and a little left to the imagination.  

This is the first book I've read by Sarah Addison Allen, although I've had her first novel Garden Spells on my bookshelf for years - it's about time it comes off for a read.
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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.