REVIEW for The Nanny Returns

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending me a copy of this book! I had been dying to read it!!!!!





TITLE: Nanny Returns

AUTHORS: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

GENRE: Chick Lit (yesss!!!!)

RATING: 3 Stars



I have read all the previous reviews for this book and I have to say that I was scared to read the actual book. The first book was good and, in my opinion, kind of developed the whole concept of "horrible rich NYC parents" and I was dying to know what Nan was up to, 10 years later.

I did reread the first book before reading this one - and I have to say that Nanny Returns falls somewhere in the middle for me. While the first book was great, this one is simply okay. The second book just did not bring out any strong emotions (one way or another) in me - unlike the first one. While I was extremely curious to see where Nan landed - she ended up landing kind of in the middle of "ordinary town", married, buying a house, building a family and finding a job - which is all fine - but the fun for me, was her constant exposure to a world she did not fit in - and I think this tied in well with her age back then. Now, it just feels as though she is too old, on some level, to be reliving the same thing she lived before.

On the other hand, there was some funny parts of the story and I like the overall writing, although the book did drag at times. I think this story would have been told in about 100 pages less!

Overall, not a horrible read, just not a top pick.

REVIEW for What I Saw and How I Lied

A huge, huge thank you goes out to Nikole at Scholastic Books for sending me this great book!

TITLE: What I Saw and How I Lied

AUTHOR: Judy Blundell

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

I really wasn't sure that I was going to like this book all that much as I am not a fan of novels set in war time and I don't normally care for the "noire" genre. All of that was thrown out the window the instant I opened the book and read the first few paragraphs.

This story of a young girl - Evie who finds herself daring to believe that her family, especially her mom and dad, can be happy and find a new life together after the war is touching in places but also thrilling and had me completely on the edge of my seat.

This story is billed as a mystery of sorts and I loved the way the author introduces completely confusion in Evie's perfectly built up dream. When Evie's dad decides to uproot the family and move to Florida for an extended vacation, the story quickly develops. There, we meet a grandmother that is less than thrilled with the thought of having her family on her doorstep, we meet an ex soldier who is both gorgeous and huge trouble, especially since he knows things about Evie's dad that is best kept secret. Between a mother who is just a tad too "needy and loving" and a father that has way too many secrets - we quickly find out that nothing, in this story, is to be taken at face value.

The writing is perfect and so is the pace and tone of the book. I like the Evie character because she soon figures out that her life is about to explode and she tries desperately to put all the pieces together and I love that all the pieces are difficult to put together - which leaves me/us guessing to the end.

What a great book!

REVIEW for Beautiful

Thank you to author Amy Reed an Simon Pulse for sending me this book.

TITLE: Beautiful

AUTHOR: Amy Reed

GENRE: YA

RATING: 3 Stars

I am not sure what to really write about this book. Beautiful is not at all what I expected and while I thought it was okay, I also had some reservations about it. I know that other reviewers seem to have thoroughly enjoyed this book, but as I was reading the story, I found a few thoughts kept coming back up to me. For one thing, this was a scary story.

Yes, I know that YA are different today than in my day (which was NOT that far ago) but as an adult, I felt a tad anxious about reading this story. Is it that easy for a teen to change? perhaps?! This was a frightening thought. The second and more obvious thing for me is that I did not connect with Cassie at all. I am not sure if its because she was not fleshed out enough for me or if its because she is such a follower, I found myself completely disconnected from her. Yes, I understand that she is lonely, sad and maybe even depressed. Yes, I understand that she is looking for "something", but this character does not seem to have been written with one single "yes, but what if" thought in her mind. Its as though she was written to be only a follower - without a brain.

The author does a fine job of showing us the peer pressure and the hell that YA can live in today, however, there seems to be "the other side" of this picture missing. I am not saying that people like Cassie do not exist and that their problems are not real, I just could not feel or care anything for her.

I am rating this as 3 stars because the author does a good job with the writing.

REVIEW for Love Undercover

Thank you goes out to author Jessica Brody and her publicist for so kindly sending me a copy of this book.

TITLE: Love Undercover

AUTHOR: Jessica Brody

GENRE: Chick Lit

RATING: 4 Stars

I have been lucky enough to read both books in this series and have thoroughly enjoyed both of them. I have to say that author Jessica Brody certainly has a way of taking a subject that is a very hot issue in our day - infidelity and kind of turned it on its ear by creating a whole novel that is based around it.

Although this book is quite chick litty, I have to say that part of me, while reading this novel, felt a little sad that somehow we have come to a point in life where infidelity is such a big issue that we write entire novels on it. Of course, this book is written for laughs and I should not be taking the entire subject quite so seriously - I mean, "Jennifer" makes her living off of infidelity - however, what really makes this book work is the premise that Jennifer has seen so much infidelity - how can she believe in true love? What is it they say about the shoemaker being shoeless? or something like that?

This book is written with great affection and humour and I thorougly enjoyed it.

AN UPDATE ON THE MAIL SITUATION

MY MAILMAN IS A CHICKEN

I received quite a few emails and comments after my last post about my mail and specifically about my mailman. Some of you have been asking if "my" mailman is still being nice and shoving/stuffing and generally pushing my packages into my miniature size mailbox.

Well, I thought I would give you a little update. As some of you may know, I am home again - as my contract with my previous employer ended last Friday, January 22. This means that I actually saw my mailman for the first time since last September and I have to say the news is NOT good.

First of all, I have to say that my ratio of packages delivered by Terry is horrible. Since the beginning of the year, he has had to deliver very few packages - which I suppose it not his fault, but that is only one of the issues :)

As you know, I live in an apt building with lots of seniors and this means that when Terry arrives he usually gets bombarded with people who are dying to get their mail - let me tell you that for 5 minutes each day - this guy IS the most popular guy on the block and yesterday was no different.

It seems that he has also changed his schedule of delivery, which I was not aware of - this meant that I kept having to check my mailbox for my books. So, I decided to make it easier on myself

and left him a post it note on my mailbox basically saying "Did ya drown? (it was raining alot yesterday) and ever so nicely said "where ^&%$$$%^% are my packages? (but in a nice way - I swear!).

As it turns out, I bumped into him anyway (which he was not too thrilled about since he was trying to get away before I could read the note that he wrote back to me) and we tried (and i do mean tried) to catch up a little on how things were going - but of course, this was pretty impossible since there were literally 7 people around us and everyone was talking AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!! I was exhausted just trying to find out if he actually had any mail for me and it only got worse as more people discovered that Terry was "here" UGH!

However, through all the action and commotion Terry somehow managed to tell me that "I was not aging as gracefully as he was ( we are both the same age) and that "nobody really wanted to hire me anyway and its no surprise I was not working".

Here is a picture I took today - I think I am aging pretty gracefully since I am actually 47!!!! (and I am not wearing ANY make up here)

At the time, none of this really registered because there was so much going on - but after I thought about it, I thought "WTF???" and sincerely hoped he was only joking as he seems to like to joke. So, I thought I would just tackle him today about it AND about what he wrote on his note back to me which basically said "I brought you a lot of packages last week, that should be enough".

Needless to say, my mailman is in trouble with me and guess what!!!

he knows it too cauz he managed to avoid me today (he sneaked in here and delivered the mail and then left before I could basically kill him arghghghghggh!

So, folks, my mailman is A BIG CHICKEN - Canada Post is going to be short a mailman as soon as I get my hands on him - if I can ever find him.

The things I do for my books!

REVIEW for The Cougar Club

A big, big thank you to Susan McBride for so kindly sending me a copy of her book!







TITLE: The Cougar Club

AUTHOR: Susan McBride

GENRE: Chick Lit

RATING: 4 Stars




The Cougar Club has everything that I love in a chick lit book, particularly the fact that this book is written about women who are over the "young" age of 40 something and are looking for younger men! Gasp!!!!! I loved it!!!! Its about time we reverse the roles here and this book basically describes my life to a "T". Yes, people, there are no guys my age left (or at least it feels that way) and actually, one of the only men I have ever loved was 10 years younger than I - so, I had a lot invested in reading this novel.

First of all, the characters are smart and witty and interesting. No wimpy little "poor me" characteres here and led by Kate - they are about to go on an interesting and kind of scary trek into the world of dating younger men.

The writing, although very smart, is also funny and down to earth. I found myself shaking my head at so many of the descriptions in the book and particularly at the reflections made by the women as they try to naviguate their way through romance and men of all ages.

I also like that the overall message is positive and optimistic - never give up on love (although I have, personally, wanted to do this many times). I loved, this chick lit book and I suggest you get to know The Cougar Club.

REVIEW for Long Powwow Nights

Thank you Lori for sending me this beautiful and educational book!

TITLE: Long Powwow Nights

AUTHOR: David Bouchard

GENRE: Children

RATING; 4 Stars

I live in Quebec and we have spent alot of time worrying about losing our French culture (and I don't mean the policical side of it). I am proud to see how different (and yet similar) we can all be and this is why this book attracted me.

I like reading about different cultures, it fascinates me and it amazes me that despite all the differences, we are still the same at heart.This is the premise behind Long Powwow Nights. This book was created with this view in mind. Author Bouchard has created a main character who is proud of her heritage and absolutely wants her child to understand and cheris this heritage.

This book takes a beautiful look at some of the valued traditions from the Native Americans. I had absolutely no idea about their culture and I was fascinated as I turned the pages and analyzed the various pictures.

This book is beautiful as well as informative and I thought it did a great job of telling us about someone else's "true life and story".

REVIEW for The Last Wild Place

Another wonderful book from the great people at Fitzhenry & Whiteside!

TITLE: The Last Wild Place

AUTHOR: Rosa Jordan

GENRE: Children Boook

RATING: 4 Stars

What an absolutely enchanting book. The Last Wild Place is aimed at children (middle age) and is a refreshing, charming and informative look at the word of friendship and animals. Chip is feeling pretty sad and lonely, but one day he discovers a beautiful family of panthers - they have been displaced and feel as down and confused as Chip.

Chip identifies with them, but when he discovers that their lives are endanger, Chip rallies everyone he can find to help with his plan to make sure the Panthers are protected. This story was incredibly touching and gave me goose bumps. I love the way the story is told as we see so many similarities between the panthers and Chip. Chip is an adorable character and this story is absolutely terrific.

If you are a fan of animals, then this book is for you. The writing is perfect for middle aged children and you will find yourself falling into the story yourself.

REVIEW for Milkrun

Thank you Adam! for sending me this chick lit!

TITLE: Milkrun

AUTHOR: Sarah Mlynowski

GENRE: Chick Lit

RATING: 3 Stars

I am a huge, huge fan of chick lit and Milkrun was an entry into the Red Dress Ink series originally. Now, it can be found under the MIRA label. Milkrun is a pretty typical chick lit - introducing us to angst ridden Jackie - who is young and in love with a man who decides he needs to "find" himself in Thailand. Then one day, he suddenly tells her that he is dating another woman in Thailand - this, apparently, is carte blance for Jackie to start dating her head off!!!!

Follows a story of Jackie and her friends embracing dating and more specifically, naviguating the dating scene detail by detail. While I loved part of this book, mainly the humor and the re-telling of mismatched dates and the guys that offer them (loved, loved this part) I also found the main character to be, at times, extremely annoying. She does not seem to be able to live in the real world for very long and tended to go off on tangents and daydreams that were a little ridiculous and at the same time, annoying as they seem to function solely to remove her from the reality of what was going on around her.

Still, the storyline was engaging enough (and yes, I did see the end coming) that it kept me reading until the end.

I enjoy chick lit so much, that I can suspend my disbelief, for the most part.

REVIEW for Living Outside the Lines

Thank you goes out to Lori at the wonderful Red Deer

Press!

TITLE: Living Outside the Lines

AUTHOR: Lesley Choyce

GENRE: YA Sci-Fi

RATING: 4 Stars

The premise of Living Outside the Lines is interesting - through a school assignment, Nigel writes story about a society made up of only teenagers (god help us!). Little does he know that his girlfriend Michelle is actually from the future and Nigel's story and Nigel himself becomes involved in time travel or does he?

Usually, I am not a fan of this type of novel, but I like Lesley Choyce's books so I gave it a shot. I am quite happy that I did. this story is clever and feels like a storyline within a story to me.Although part of the storyline is indeed about time travel and what the future holds for the world and for humans in general, this story is also about a young man who will be called up to the plate and will have to figure out what is important to him in the present and for his future.

As I mentioned, I thought the twists and turns in this storyline were incredibly clever and while there is a strong message here for the YA, it is done through the media of sci-fi and manages to touch the imagination that is within each of us.As always, the writing is clear, precise and extremely entertaining.

This is a must read for all sci-fi nuts.

REVIEW for The Gatekeeper

Thank you Adam at Harlequin!!!!

TITLE: The Gatekeeper

AUTHOR: Michelle Gagnon

GENRE: Thriller

RATING: 4 Stars

The Gatekeeper was a very, very pleasant surprise. I have gone off the thriller genre over the last few years, but occasionally, I am lucky enough to pick up a book that makes me remember why I use to read them so avidly.

The Gatekeeper features a likeable heroine in the character of Kelly Jones - she is both bright and interesting and what I love is that at no time is she portrayed as a helpless female. She is a strong female lead. I also liked Madison Grant who, in the beginning of the book is kind of a stupid young adult, but as the storyline progresses, she, herself grows progressively as a character and becomes a force of her own.

This story is about abduction, ransom and terrorists all mixed together and it works. From the first few pages, I was instantly hooked. I honestly could not put all the pieces together until the very end - which is something I love when I pick up a thriller. I also found myself NOT wanting to put the book down -"just one more page"....also a great sign of a great book in my opinion. This one is worth reading

REVIEW for Debt-Free Forever

Thank you to Amanda at Harper Collins Canada for sending this book to me!

TITLE: Debt-Free Forever

AUTHOR: Gail Vaz-Oxlade

GENRE: Personal Finance

RATING: 4 Stars

http://browseinside.harpercollins.ca/index.aspx?isbn13=9781554685905

I have always loved Gail's no-nonsense way of dealing with money, on her tv show, so I was very excited to find out that she wrote a book. Debt-Free Forever is simply perfect!Gail's view and attitude about finances has translated perfectly into this book. There is a ton of valuable information, including the "jar" process that I absolute love.

She basically covers off every possible issue connected to money.I like her view of asking ourselves whether what we want to purchase is a "need" or a "want". I tried this a couple of times and it turns out that most of the stuf I am considering buying are more of "wants" than "needs" and I kind of felt disappointed in this as I kind of pride myself on being "pretty good" with $$$.

This book is about your personal finance workout, the new workout that you are going to commit to in 2010.

If you are hoping to read a personal finance book that will tell you that "nothing is your fault", then this is not the book for you. In essence, Gail is telling you "you got into this, now you can get out of it if you choose to truly commit to the process". Kind of comforting.

This is the perfect book for any layperson who is truly ready to change their ways and get out and stay out of debt.

IN MY MAILBOX

I thought I would participate this week in the In My Mailbox loop since I got such great stuff this week!

This post is inspired by http://www.thestorysiren.com/search/label/in%20my%20mailbox.

Things were incredibly quiet on the book front in December and early January, but they really picked up this week.


I arrived home to find a huge (and I do mean huge) box of books from Scholastic Books for review! The publicist there knows my taste in books perfectly and she sent me the following books (and not ONE vampire, ghost or undead person book in the lot - thankfully!): This is me when I arrived home with my box (thank you Nikole!):

• Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten


• What I Saw and How I LIed by Judy Blundell


• Girls in Love by Hailey Abbott


• How to Make a Bird by Martine Murray


• Stolen by Lucy Christopher


• I Now Pronounce you Someone Else

From the people at Sourcebooks I received for review:

• Beautiful People by Wendy Holden


• My Own Personal Soap Opera by Libby Malin (read her first one and loved it)

From the authors:

• Love Struck by Chantel Simmons (great Canadian chick lit author)


• Home is Where the Wine is by Laurie Perry (loved her first one and was dying to read this one)

From various sources:

• The Diet Joke by Lisa Pedace


• THe Mayo Clinic Diet book and journal


• The Boneyard by Michelle Gagnon (from a great international Bookmooch friend)

As you can see, this was a great, great week. I also won the following blog contest:

• a pair of hand knitted mitts from:
  http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2010/01/winners.html. This is doubly exciting because I don't normally ever win contests that I enter through blogs AND I am a knitter who somehow never seems to be able to knit mitts - so it will be a great gift!

Finally, a few cool things that I discovered this week:

• A neat new TV show on life and weight its called: Carnie Wilson: Unstappled on GSN. Just watched the first episode and really liked it alot


• "24" stars a new run (possibly its last) on Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. on FOX

Also received an email from one of my favorite chick lit authors, Beth Kendrick who confirmed to me that she sent me, through the mail, a proof of her newest book Second Time Around which will be released in March 2010. I am salivating at the thought of reading this one.

That's it for this past week!

REVIEW for Home is Where the Wine is

Thank you, thank you to author Laurie Penny for sending me a copy of her book!

TITLE: Home is Where the Wine Is

AUTHOR: Laurie Perry

GENRE: Humor/Memoir

RATING: 4 Stars

Okay, reading Home is Where the Wine Is felt like the author was writing about my life. She is single, loves cats and is constantly questionning herself and everything around her - but with a healthy dose of humor!!

I love that author Laurie Perry has a somewhat sarcastic but always funny take on so many ordinary events. This book is loaded with random musings about things and events that happen to her (or don't happen). She somehow manages to take alot of the drama out of life and this was such a welcome change of pace.

The writing, as always is fun and it feels as though you are talking with your BFF - she does not hesitate to share some personal stuff with us and does so in an honest and forthright manner!!

My particular favorite story was definitely her take (and her cats) on meditation! hilarious. As I read, I found myself laughing out loud with actual tears!!!

Perfect read for this crummy time of year!! (or actually for any time of the year).

REVIEW for Chatelaine Earn Spend Save

As always, a big thank you goes out to the wonderful Erika at John Wiley & Sons Canada for sending me this book!

TITLE: Chatelaine Earn Spend Save

AUTHOR: Kira Vermond

GENRE: Personal Finance

RATING: 4 Stars

I am always on the look out for personal finance books that are written for ME - the layperson who is just trying to pick up a few tricks along the way.Well, Earn Spend Save was perfect for me, based on Chatelaine columnist Kira Vermond's research on all things "women and finance" this book is loaded with great information and tricks. Not only does it look at how you can earn your money, it also looks at ways to spend it smartly and how to save it smartly.This book is actually aimed at women!! what a novel concept - one of my biggest beefs with personal finance books is that they are always targeting men or families - what about us single women?

So I was doubly thrilled to read this one.The book is sectioned off very well and takes a logical look at all money events that can happen in your life. The beginning of the book has some very practical charts - i.e. for your budgeting that I decided to use in 2010. I also like the fact that the book gradually moves itself up to a six month step-by-step plan to get you on your financial feet.

This is the perfect time to read this book - get your finances healthy and growing in 2010!!!This book is a must read for all women who are wondering about their financial future - whether you have $1.00 or $100,000.00.

REVIEW for Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart

A thank you goes out to Phenix & Phenix literary publicists for sending this book to me!

TITLE: Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart

AUTHOR: Beth Pattillo

GENRE: Contemporary Fiction

RATING: 4 Stars

First of all, I have to say that I really thought this book had a beautiful cover! Having said that, this is not my usual type of book. I prefer my books to be alot more chick lit type, but I found the theme interesting and I like the whole concept of perhaps "finding the right guy" when you least expect it - especially if you are reading Jane Austen at the time you meet him.

This contemporay fiction novel features a very likeable main character in Claire Prescott. She finds herself having to go to a Jane Austen seminar in England and frankly, she would prefer not to be there. As it usually the case (at least in books) as soon as you are somewhere you don't want to be, something major happens - and in this case, two "something major" happens. She meets her potential "Mr. Darcy" and she ends up with the original of Pride of Prejudice.

While I enjoy romance as much as the next person, I have to say that what gripped me was the whole original manuscript theme. As a booklover, I have spent many a moments daydreaming about what it would be like to discover an unpublished work from a deceased author or even what it would feel like to have the original document they actually held in their own hands!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the author mixes a bit of everything in her storyline. Love, humour and alot of unanswered questions.

This was a good read, even if it wasn't chick lit :)

REVIEW for Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials

A big, big thank you goes out to author Rosalind Wiseman and Emily Bartek for sending me this great, great book!

TITLE: Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials

AUTHOR: Rosalind Wiseman

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

Can I tell you how much I loved this YA? Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials (that is one long title) is the exact type of YA book that I love. We meet our main character Charlie - who is your typical teen girl - she is new at Harmony Falls - and feels as though she may not fit it. However, on her very first day at school, she meets Sydney who will become her BFF instantly. As we will find out as the story develops, all is not what it appears with Charlie - there is actually a very good reason why she is at a new school and, unfortunately, slowly but surely her past will creep up to bite her in the derriere!!!!!

First, she will come face to face with a girl from her old school - someone she mistreated badly - and will have to work towards fixing her wrongs and trying to rebuild that relationship. Then, she will come across a friend who had left town and is now back and lastly, she will find herself in a moral situation where she will have to do the right thing.

This book is full of hidden and not so hidden messages aimed at teens - everyting from standing up for someone being bullied to drinking, driving and hazing to, in the end, doing the right thing. But the thing that I loved the most about this book is that while the author is telling us this story - loaded with morals - she never preaches and she never "forces the lesson upon us".

This novel is a joy to read, the pacing is perfect and I found that all of the teens portrayed in this book were very real life - with real life issues and problems. Its hell being a teen in this day and age - as this novel shows.

I loved, loved, loved this book.

REVIEW for Death Message

Harper Collins sent this book to me!! Thank you to them!









TITLE: Death Message

AUTHOR: Mark Billingham

GENRE: Thriller

RATING: 3 Stars



Although I believe that British chick lits (can you say Bridget Jones?) are always at the top of their game, I run hot and cold on British thrillers - with the exception of Mark Billingham - I like all of his books as he does not hesitate to write very dark, creepy and scary books.

Death Message rates somewhere in the between a 3 and 4 star review. One of the things I like about Billingham is that he never runs away from writing some somewhat gross and gruesome scenes - and he manages to do this without it being gratuitous somehow. Death Message does not really deliver this as much as in the previous books.

I like the basic premise - our returning character Detective Thom Thorne is back and he is getting "death messages" through his cell phone - with the killer sending him, at first, pictures of dead victims and progresses to sending him pictures of future victims. This, of course, triggers a massive manhunt for the killer - who we discover the identify of about 1/3 into the storyline. Maybe this is why the book was not quite as suspensful for me? not sure.

However, this book was still a good read and kept me entertained enough to stick it through

REVIEW for Tumbleweed Skies

Thank you to Lori, for once again, sending me an absolutely delightful book.

TITLE: Tumbleweed Skies

AUTHOR: Valerie Sherrard

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

What a beautiful bittersweet book. I love that this story is all Canadian - written by a Canadian author and based on a Canadian Prairie. The book tells the story of Lizzie who is "stuck" with her mean, old grandmother in the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan. Lizzie has lost her mom and now, her dad is leaving her with "a mean old grandmother" while he attempts to make a living on the road. The grandmother is bitter, in part because she blames Lizzie and her dad for the death of Lizzie's mother.

What I immediately felt as I read this book is that absolutely everyone in this story is broken and in desperate need of love. Although the grandmother character is definitely not adorable, we somehow get the feeling that she is living throuh her own kind of hell and is determined to share this with everyone, specifically Lizzie.

This book is so poignant - at times I hated all the characters for the way they were treating Lizzie and at times, I understood their pain. The lack of communication and verbally sharing of feelings is palpable. You wanted to scream "share, share what you are feeling".

A wonderfully put together book - difficult to read, but all too real.

REVIEW for Me and Miss M

A huge thank you goes out to the author for sending me a copy of her book!

TITLE: Me & Miss M

AUTHOR: Jemma Forte

GENRE: Chick Lit

RATING: 4 Stars

I love chick lit and I love chick lit that focuses on celebrity and how spoiled and ridiculous they can be and this book was the perfect answer to both of my "faves".

Me & Miss M features a wonderful character by the name of Francesca who wants to be "in the business" ever since she was a little girl and fell in love with "It's a Wonderful Life" - the movie - except that her mother soon puts a stop to THOSE dreams. Yet, somewhere, deep down, Fran is determined to make her dreams come true. However, this is not as easy as she thinks and she ends up working as a PA for a power couple - but mainly for the female counterpart by the name of Caroline - who is hell on wheels. Soon, Fran discovers that "being" the celebrity is NOT the same thing as "serving" the celebrity.

What ensues is a wonderful story, both hilarious and over the top (those celebrities really do think they are entitled to everything) as well as (and surprisingly) poignant and touching when we realize that Fran is truly struggling with trying to reconcile her lifelong dream with her current life - and all the people in it.

This book is partly gossipy (great little stories about the horrors of working in the industry) and partly a coming of age book - however, always written with dry humour and at the same time, an entertaining and fun turn.

I read this book in two days and loved it.

REVIEW for Jumping in Puddles

A big thank you goes out to Poolbeg Fiction - they have some wonderful chick lit!!!







TITLE: Jumping in Puddles

AUTHOR: Claire Allan

GENRE: Chick Lit

RATING: 4 Stars




I have just discovered this author as this is only my second book, however, I really like the fact that while Claire Allan obviously writes chick lit, its not your usual chick lit (although there is nothing wrong with that either). However, Jumping in Puddles is chick lit with a twist - we find 4 different characters dealing with the darker side of what life has to offer and for the most part, its, of course, related to the men in their lives and how difficult relationships can be.

I loved reading about the strength and the humour in this storyline! very inspirational and was an absolute enchanting and fun read. Allan does not shy away from writing about the hard subject matters and does it with frankness and compassion.

I really enjoyed this one.

REVIEW for Sila's Revenge

A big thank you goes out to Lori at Red Deer Press!!!

TITLE: Sila's Revenge

AUTHOR: Jamie Bastedo

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars








Red Deer Press is a wonderful Canadian company and they have the most wonderful YA novels and Sila's Revenge is yet another great addition to this genre.

Sila's Revenge is the second book in the series and frankly, as a rule, I don't usually enjoy "eco" type books very much as I find them either too preachy or too detailed, yet author Bastedo did an impressive job of avoiding both of these.

The results being that Bastedo created a very well crafted, informative, entertaining and surprisingly "mystery/like" novel that passes along the eco message loud and clear and yet, kept me completely hooked into the storyline and attached to the main characters.

I also like the fact that this book takes us along to various locations - showing us in the process that these problems truly are worlwide AND its only by working together that we can make a difference.

I loved this book and I suggest it to highly.

WINNERS!!!!!!

Hi all:

I am sorry it took me so long to announce the winners of both my ongoing contests;

1) The winner for the most comments left on my blog for 2009 is:

BERMUDAONION

2) The Winner of the book Unhallowed Ground by Heather Graham is:

ITSJUSTME-WENDY

Congratulations! to all and thank you for being such great followers!

I have notified all the winners.

REVIEW of the best tv show - The Good Wife

I am completely in love with the new TV show "The Good Wife" starring Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth.

I have been watching this show from the beginning and it somehow gets better and better every week. So I thought I would do a review of it.

I was completely hooked by the storyline - a prominent man (Noth) gets caught cheating on his wife with a hooker - and they have the videos and the pictures to prove it! This, of course, absolutely crushes Alicia Florrick - the Good Wife (Margulies) - as she stands by her man publicly, she tells him privately "that nothing will ever be the same". However, both Alicia and Peter will have lots of time to think about their futures as Peter is jailed for corruption while he was in his position as State's Attorney. So, not only does Alicia have to deal with the constant stream of videos showing her husband asking for sexual favors, she now has a convict as a husband. As Alicia struggles to find her balance, she decides to go back to work as a lawyer and with each episode, you see that she grows stronger on her own - and will, in my opinion, ultimately decide that her cheating husband is not worth it and (hopefully!) cut him loose!!

There are a couple of things that really capture me about this show;

First, both Margulies (who I never cared for in ER) and Noth (who I always care about - whether he is playing Detective Logan in Law&Order or Mr. Big in Sex in the City) give excellent performances every week.

There is a scene towards the end of one of the earliest episode where Margulies sits on her bed with her laptop and finally steals herself and actually watches (for the first time) the YouTube videos of her husband asking a hooker for sex - the look on her face is amazing! For every woman that has ever been betrayed by a man - that look said it all.

I also like the fact that Alicia is really struggling with the whole betrayal. Its not cut and dry for her, but you feel as though she has a level of dislike for the man that she once loved unconditionally and he seems perfectly clueless about this. In one episode, he says very calmly to her, while they are visiting in the prison courtyard "everything will get back to normal soon" to which she calmly responds "nothing will ever be the same again". Perfect and so sad.

Finally, I love that the Alicia character is strong and despite being the center of media attention and the butt of many jokes, she keeps her head up and does what she needs to do to survive!
Let's hear it for girl power!

You have to watch this show on Tuesday nights on CBS at 10:00 p.m.

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_good_wife/

REVIEW for Some Girls Are

A big thank you goes out to author Courtney Summers and publicist Katy for sending me a copy of this book!

TITLE: Some Girls Are

AUTHOR: Courtney Summers

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

Reading this book did a couple of things to me at the same time. First off, I found myself getting into the storyline from the first line - this book is entertaining but more than that, it is powerful and enthralls you. Secondly, it brought me back to my days as a YA in the early late 70's (yes folks! I am THAT old) where the biggest problem we faced was getting caught with the guys hand down your blouse (I swear that never happened to me!). But being a YA in this day and age is scary - bullying has become epidemic and these young people seem to have it down to a science.

In Some Girls Are, author Summers chooses to show us both sides of what it really means to be a "mean girl". Our main character Regina is a mean girl and likes it. She moves with the in crowd and particularly Anna Morrisson who is the "it" girl. I have always wondered what makes a girl so special that she somehow becomes so powerful? it has always struck me as odd. Anyway, one night, Regina finds herself in a difficult situation and the next day, rumors start flying that Regina did "something" with Anna's boyfriend - of course, Anna blames it all on Regina and Regina ends up knowing just what its like to be on the receiving end of one of the "mean girls".

What makes this novel special to me is that Courtney Summers chooses to write Regina differently than I would have thought. In fact, even while Regina is exiled and getting the full blunt of what it feels like to be bullied, she continues to be a bitch and to plot and plot herself. At the same time, I felt completely sorry for her and found myself going back and forth with my emotions for her. This is what was so compelling in this storyline for me. I actually did not like the main character most of the time, but still felt for her.

The writing is down and gritty and I loved it. Perfect for this storytelling.

I loved this book.

REVIEW for Wealth From Within

Thank you to author Lori Culwell for sending me this book!






TITLE: Wealth from Within

AUTHOR: Lori Culwell

GENRE: Spiritual

RATING: 3 Stars

I know that Lori Culwell has written chick lit, but I was quite surprised to learn that she wrote this one also! I read lots of self-help and I have to say that while this book was not life altering, I like what Culwell had to say. She tends to focus on the more spiritual aspects of self-help such as meditation and I thought that this was the most important aspect of this book.

I really enjoyed her take on the benefits of looking inward first and then the outward will follow. I also thought it was fun to read the list of other people who meditate and mane of these people I did not know meditated.

This book was interesting and its obvious that Culwell believes what she is saying - this is not some "get on the bandwagon to make a few bucks". However, I also thought that this book was a little "basic".

As I said, nothing earth shattering - but if you are looking for a down to earth look at the benefits of things such as mediation, then I recommend this one.

REVIEW for Nothing Like You

Thank you to author Lauren and to her great publicist at Simon Pulse for sending me a copy of this great book!

TITLE: Nothing Like Y9ou

AUTHOR: Lauren Strasnick

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

Nothing Like You is actually completely different from what I thought it would be and that is quite all right with me. I am a big fan of YA novels and a novel like this one is one of the reasons why.

Nothing Like You is written with a deep sadness, you can feel it envelop the storyline and, of course, the main character immediately. As we meet Holly she is about to "givr it away " and is not even sure why - is it because she actually likes the guy? Or is it something that goes much deeper and will only be revealed to us along the way.

That is kind of how this novel is, slowly, bit by bit, giving us just one more little piece of the puzzle - making us think and feel along the way. As we progress along the storyline we discover a lot more about the main character and the people around her and we begin to understand that maybe its not as easy as "yeah, I want to have sex with somebody else's guy" - especially when, as it turns out, that "somebody else" ends up being a friend.

Full of insight and thankfully never preachy, this YA novel is an excellently deep read

REVIEW for Louisa May Alcott

Thank you to Henry Holt & Co. and Ashley for sending me this great, great book!








TITLE: Louisa May Alcott

AUTHOR: Harriet Reisen

GENRE: Biography

RATING: 4 Stars


I have read my share of books on Louisa May Alcott as she is a favorite author, along with Lucy Maud Montgomery. It seems to me that they both have so much in common, starting with the fact that they both presented a very different "public" image and face than the one they really wore in their personal lives.

Louisa May Alcott, written by Harriet Reisen manages to look pass through all the public stuff that we have been fed for years and manages to dig deep to explain to us who Alcott really was. This book certainly does not offer us any fluff about the author's family, life and thoughts and I loved this about it! I have to admit that I am a little shocked at some of the revelations in the book, i.e. specifically about how dysfunctional the Alcott parents/children were. Yes, there had been inklings of this in other books, but this book rips the lid off the "wonderful Abby and Bronson" to brings us to two people who seemed to put their own views and needs above their children. I was also surprised at just how daring and sometimes crude Alcott could be - but this somehow just made me like her more.

Her life was both tragic and lucky - it must have been a very odd life for her to live - it certainly was an odd life to read about.

I am thrilled that I got the opportunity of reading this book.

REVIEW for The Weather Trivia Calendar 2010

Thank you Lori at Fitzhenry & Whiteside for sending me this totally cool item!

TITLE: Weather Trivia Calendar Canada 2010

BY: David Phillips

GENRE: Calendar

RATING: 4 Stars

I was totally thrilled when I saw this calendar. First of all, its my first ever review calendar and on top of that it features one of my fave subjects - weather.

The Weather Trivia Calendar for 2010 is both practical and informative and on top of that is lots of fun to go through. The calendar which is a full size wall calendar (standard size 12 by 12) features some beautiful pictures of some truly inspirational and awesome weather sites. It always freaks me out and impresses me at the same time how much power mother nature has and man has not yet managed to harness it (thank goodness!).

What adds to this calendar are all the great pieces of information (or trivia) that you will find sprinkled throughout on various days/months. Some of it is kind of amazing and I had to wonder how on earth that happened such as the September 1931 entry about a heatwave making the kernels on the cob pop. I mean, who the heck watches this stuff? But I am glad that someone out there is AND is keeping track.

The calendar is easy to read and is the perfect way to start my 2010.

This was a great, great item.

New Year's Day 2010 - good friend, food and fun

New Year's Dinner at my friend's Sharon!!!

Great fun!!!!!