REVIEW for The Mother of the Bride

A big thank you to author Kate Lawson for sending me a copy of her great, great book!

TITLE:                    The Mother of the Bride

AUTHOR:               Kate Lawson

GENRE:                 Chick Lit

RATING:                4 Stars

Okay, I have to say that Mother of the Bride is THE perfect chick lit novel - I loved it.


The entire premise is based on a wedding - which may or may not happen actually - and this sets off some of the funniest writing I have read in a long time.

The bride to be - who just happens to "meet" the annoying Oliver - just before she gets married - to her mother and mother in law - both of whom have their own ideas of just how this wedding should go off.

I felt for everyone in this novel - but although the premise is "supposedly" serious, I found myself laughing out loud way too many times. The writing is hilarious and some of the stuff that happens is just plain funny -

I think my favorite character was the mother in law (I love those and the nastier the better).

I loved this book it was a great, great read

Tish Cohen drops by for an interview

Most of you are aware that I recently reviewed Tish Cohen's newest release The Truth About Delilah Blue (great title!!!).

The author was kind enough to answer a few questions that I had, after I finished the book.  Here is that interview now :)

Thank you to author Tish Cohen and all the people at HarperCollins for making this possible :) and you can read my review of the book at

http://bookshipper.blogspot.com/2010/07/blog-tour-for-truth-about-delilah-blue.html

1.Your book deals with a very difficult topic - discovering who you truly are. Is this something that you feel most of us have to do, on some level?

Tish Cohen:  I think every one of us must explore who we are at one point or another. If you think about the way we grow up—surrounded by family members, all of whom have their own perceptions, hopes, and dreams for us—it is not at all strange that our “selves” are often less than clear. And even loving parents can inadvertently bestow us with limitations based on their own beliefs. It is vital we explore who we are once we start to view ourselves as independent.

2. Do you feel as though young adults today are very different than the previous generations?

Tish Cohen: Not really. There is this perception today that teens are self-centered these days but I really don’t see that the kids themselves are much different—it’s the world they’re bumping around inside of that is bizarre. You still have kids who feel insecure, bullied, gawky, invincible (wrongly!), rebellious, angry, etc. The kids themselves haven’t changed. What we’re feeding them has.

3.Which character in your book do you feel was the most powerful - other than the main one?

Tish Cohen: You may find it surprising, but I think Lichty is one of the strongest, most positive character in the book. He, like Elisabeth, has a tendency to criticize. But if you really examine them you’ll notice that Elisabeth’s harshness is meant to cut, to reinforce her own place in the world. Lichty’s criticism is meant to build artists who can go out and take whatever they may face from an industry that can shred your ego.

4.Do you believe that you can really ever know someone else - their thoughts, emotions?

Tish Cohen: Funny you should ask that. About a million times, since I was very young, I have tried to imagine what it would be like to live the movie that is someone else’s life, to actually be inside their minds and bodies and feel my way around. But it’s impossible without having lived their every moment, isn’t it? I find it fascinating…

5.If this book were turned into a movie, who would you see as the main players?

Tish Cohen: For Victor, a younger Jack Nicholson. For Elisabeth, I could see someone like Nicole Kidman or maybe Naomi Watts. Delilah could be played by Emily Blunt, maybe Rachel McAdams or Carey Mulligan - I loved her in An Education.

You can visit the author's website at: http://www.tishcohen.com/
 
and you can visit the HarperCollins site at: http://www.harpercollins.ca/books/The-Truth-About-Delilah-Blue-Tish-Cohen?isbn=9781554685868&HCHP=TB_The+Truth+About+Delilah+Blue

REVIEW for Portrait of An Addict As a Young Man

Thank you goes out to the people at HarperCollins Canada for sending me a copy of this book.

TITLE:                 Portrait of An Addict As a Young Man
AUTHOR:            Bill Clegg
GENRE:               Memoir /addiction/recovery
RATING:             3 stars


I had heard some wonderful things about this book and, of course, because I am a fan of addiction/recovery books I was really looking forward to reading this one.



Unfortunately, for some reason this book just did not touch me all that much.

Although, of course, I admire the author for being brave enough to write his story, somehow the whole story felt "staged somehow". While the author explains his childhood - interlaced with present day actions that are clearly self-destructive - I struggled to really find the addict in him. It felt more as though the author was using his childhood as a reason to do what he did - instead of what, in my opinion, is a true addict's actions - i.e. being compelled to "use" in order to numb their feelings. Somehow, the author was doing it backwards and I kind of did not buy the whole premise of the book.

I was, in the end, disappointed with this whole book.

REVIEW for Nice and Mean

A big, big thank you goes out to Simon & Schuster for sending me this great, great book!

TITLE:                    Nice and Mean

AUTHOR:              Jessica Leader

GENRE:                YA

RATING:               4 Stars

I don't normally read middle grade books - I find them, as a rule, a tad too simplistic, however, Nice and Mean can definitely be considered the exception to this rule. The author took a basic premise and turned it into an interesting and intriguing novel - joining two students together in order to make a video. Through alternating chapters, we are privy to the differences in both voices - from the so called "good girl" to the so called "bad girl".

I liked that the book clearly shows us the background of both of these girls - helping us better understand why both are the way they are today - the message is clear - don't judge a book (or someone else) by its cover.

I also liked the cultural references to India (a personal interest of mine) and the fact that while these two girls appear to be so opposite on the surface - they may or may not be all that different after all - deep down inside.

I read this book in one sitting - it was fun, deep in some spots and funny in others - a perfect blend - just like our two main characters.

WELCOME Lauren Baratz-Logsted

TITLE:      The Twin's Daughter

AUTHOR:     Lauren Baratz-    Logsted

GENRE:        Fiction

RATING:       4 Stars

As most of you are, no doubt, aware, I don't "host" authors on my blog very much.  Not sure why really, but when I had the opportunity of reviewing Lauren Baratz-Logsted's new book The Twin's Daughter I could not resist.  As an added bonus, Lauren was also completely willing to answer one "burning" question that I had for her. 


First off, I have to say that this is one author that I love.  I have read everything she has ever written and loved it.  In fact, as I write this, I am re-reading for about the 5th time, my favorite Logsted novel - Angel's Choice.  But enough about the "backlist", let's talk about The Twin's Daughter.

First off, you know the author is good when I  voluntarily read a book that is set in the Victorian era. As a rule, I don't like reading books that are not set in contemporary times, but The Twin's Daughter is so well written, that I actually enjoyed discovering all kinds of little tidbits about this time period, which, frankly, I know very little about.

Having said that, what really captured me about this novel is the characters.  The basic premise features a young girl, by the name of Lucy who, along with her mother, will discover that Helen, her mother's twin sister, is alive and well and hoping to develop a relationship with both her sister and Lucy.  However, not everything is as it seems and as the novel continues, you get the definite feeling that there is a serious dark undertone to the storyline and that things are not going to remain quite as "sugary and wonderful" as the beginning of the novel implies.

This is, to me, this author's strength.  She can lure you into believing that the storyline will go one way and while you are reading along, enjoying the story, she ever so slightly starts shifting the story into another direction, making you ask yourself "how did I get here?".  I love, love that in a storyteller.  A gifted author can manage to do this without giving anything away - and The Twin's Daughters is such a book.

I know that this book is to be released in August, so I will not give away too much, except to say that if you are looking for Lauren's usual wonderful writing, you will happily find it here and, if you are looking for a story with detours and twists that you will never see coming, then this is the book for you.

I loved it! Oh, the author has marketed this book as a YA book, but frankly, I think it is perfect for both YA and "older" adults :)

As part of Lauren's blog tour for her book, she has graciously agreed to answer a question:
Bookshipper:

Where do you see the publishing industry/world in 5 years?

LAUREN:

What a wonderful question! No one has asked me this yet. Perhaps because no one else sees me as a visionary? Hmm...looking into my crystal ball here... You know, there's been a lot of doom-and-gloom talk the past few years about the inroads that things like ebooks are making into the market and how this will adversely affect publishing in the long run. I'm not saying there are not legitimate things to be concerned about. Me, though, I'm a bit of a Pollyanna. And it seems to me that practically since the Gutenberg Bible first came out, people have been worrying about the demise of the book. The truth is, there are too many readers who love the feel of a book in their hands for books as we know them to ever completely disappear. Things will change, but some things will change the same. The other big forecast I have for five years from now, outside of the one in which the book as we know it does not die, is that the Young Adult market will continue to thrive. The range and quality of YA books has really grown in the past few years and I see no slowdown ahead. On the contrary, more and more adults all the time are discovering the rewards of reading YA. So, as we say down here in the States: the state of our union is sound. We say that in good times and bad, but, as you can see, I prefer to focus on the good.

BLOG TOUR FOR The Truth About Delilah Blue

I have been asked, by, the wonderful people at HarperCollins to participate in the blog tour for The Truth About Delilah Blue by Tish Cohen.

I have to say, in full disclosure mode, that this is not my usual type of book, but when I read the synopsis, there was "something" about the storyline that "called" to me - so I decided to read it.  I was thrilled that I did.  You will find my review below.

Thank you!  HarperCollins for making this book available to me :)

TITLE:              The Truth About Delilah Blue

AUTHOR:        Tish Cohen

GENRE:           Fiction

RATING:         4 Stars

This novel was incredible difficult to read because it was such a true reflection of what happens in real life, while you are simply trying to live one day at a time.  I think this may be why I love chick lit so much - it permits me to "escape".  However, in The Truth About Delilah Blue - the author asks you to live, through the eyes of the main character, Delilah's life experiences - the good, the bad and the sad.

This book is so well written that I found myself engaged and truly caring about all the characters almost from the first sentence.  Delilah is about to discover that everything she thought she knew about her life - may very well be lies. 

As the book goes on, we discover that Delilah's mother comes back into her life, with a little something in tow, all the while, Delilah must deal with the illness of her other parent.  Although, as I re-read my review, it sounds as though it may all be too much for Delilah, the truth is that the author manages to throw in all kinds of misfortune - without creating a cloying situation.  In fact, it seems as though the more "stuff" is thrown at Delilah, the more she becomes reflective AND strong by working through it, instead of around it.

This novel is incredibly empowering - confirming that we are only given as much as we can handle.  It is also about family and all the "crap" that can often be associated with it - but it is also about family love and strength and, most importantly, it is about finding your own inner strength - to deal with whatever the world throws at you - the good AND the bad.

Incredibly well written, a tearjerker in places (I hate crying when I read a book) and a wonderfully uplifting story.

If you would like more information on the book, visit:

http://savvyreader.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/07/the-truth-about-delilah-blue-blog-tour-kicks-off.html

Here is the complete list of tour dates, please visit these blogs:

July 7th

Kick off with Melissa on Savvy Reader
July 8th
Q&A at Bella’s Book Shelves
July 13th
Guest post at Lavender Lines
July 15th
Stop at Along The Way
July 19th
Q&A at Sogni Sorrisi
July 21st
Guest post at Britty Books
July 26th
Stop at Bookshipper
July 29th
Stop at Edwards Book Club
August 3rd
Stop at Serendipitous Reading
August 5th
Stop at Daisy’s Book Journal
August 10th
Stop at Book Chick
August 12th
Guest post at She Reads A Book
August 17th
Stop at Today’s Parent
August 18th

Closing remarks and ideas on Savvy Reader

BLOG TOUR FOR Not That Kind of Girl

I don't do many blog tours, usually because the books offered are not that interesting to me or because I feel too much pressure to read the book in a certain timeframe.

However, all of that went out the window when I got the opportunity to read Not that Kind of Girl by Carlene Bauer.

Thank you to Trish and TLC for making it possible!




TITLE:          Not that Kind of Girl

AUTHOR:     Carlene Bauer

GENRE:        Memoir

RATING:       4 Stars


I have to say that I basically devoured Not that Kind of Girl in two days! That is how good and engaging this memoir is.



Carlene Bauer writes about a subject matter that is timely as well as timeless. Regardless of the generation, many girls have grown up with mixed messages - that is 'that there is such a thing as a "good girl" and a "bad girl" and you always want to be the good gril - except, of course, that nobody really explains to you how to deal with things like hormones, love, lust, fear and peer pressure come in. You instantly find yourself in a world where things are no longer so black and white.


This is the basic premise of the memoir and I have to say that Bauer explores this theme with some humor, a healthy dose of self exploration, a degree of fear and alot of hope.

You can almost tell, in some parts of the books, where the author could simply have written "and I took a deep breath and just went for it - hoping it was the right decision" and this made the book incredibly realistic to me.

Bauer has a beautiful way with words and she managed to convey an enormous amount of feeling into each page.


I found myself nodding at so many of th passages, all the way cheering her on and encouraging her to find her own way - minus all the head stuff. I think I was partially doing it for her - and partially for me.


Lovely, lovely memoir.

REVIEW for This Georgeous Game

A huge thank you goes out to author Donna Freitas for so kindly sending me a copy of her great book!

TITLE:                     This Georgeous Game
AUTHOR:                Donna Freitas

GENRE:                   YA

RATING:                 4 Stars

This Gorgeous Game is a powerful, scary and all too realistic book about power, manipulation and fear.
Olivia, the main character is a good catholic girl - who believes that she has found a mentor in Father Mark. However, Father Mark has other ideas and through the guise of being her spiritual guide as well as her helping Olivia with her writing, he slowly but surely manoeuvers himself into a situation where he slyly manipulates every aspect of Olivia. However, will Olivia let him?

This story is incredibly scary to me - especially since I live in Quebec - without a doubt one of the most Catholic areas around. I have heard, firsthand, some horrible stories about some (a note here - there are many, many good clergy) however, as with most things, a few incredibly bad apples ruin the entire lot.

The main character is very, very bright and highly engaging which made reading this book alot easier. Father Mark is interesting - because he seems to have so many character facets - in fact, the entire storyline is involving, intriguing and all too real.

I loved, loved this book.

RANDOM THOUGHTS from Montreal

Rainbow over the St-Lawrence River

We have been having some very weird weather in Montreal - we had a heavy (one of many) thunderstorms last week and I took this picture - right outside my balcony. Isn't it beautiful?

Actually, this is the site I see (minus the rainbow, of course) everytime I look outside.  That is the St-Lawrence River - and when I moved to this apt 10 years ago, there were no buildings across the River - needless to say - I am not happy to see these expensive condos that have popped up over the last 10 years.

As some of you may know, I am currently not working and, while in theory, this sounds wonderful, I have to say that I am starting to feel restless and not quite sure about filling up all my days - and this is a huge problem as I tend to think (read: overthink) too much  when I have too much time on my hands.

I am definitely a "do" person.  In fact, one of my ex co-workers use to joke "if you want to make Tina crazy -  don't give her enough to do - she will actually start inventing stuff to do" and he is totally right.  The thing is that I want to make sure that I get the right job for me and where I am in my life right now.  Let's face it, I am no longer looking for the same things as I was when I was an ambitious 21 year old who wanted to climb the corporate ladder and just keep going.  This has come as a weird realization to me - I always thought I was this hard nose career woman- but since I hit 40, I no longer want to play with the "big boys in the corporate world" - although, one of the big reasons  is because I basically went toe to toe with them for the last 20 years of my career.  Still, this leaves me scratching my head as to where I am now - pretty clueless actually.

Of course, everytime something starts to tug at me - my food starts to suffer and I have to say that I am not eating well these days - which is B-A-D news. 

On the positive side, I have doing tons and tons of bike riding, yoga and even some cardio (although this will never change - I HATE cardio). 

I also find myself having to make some decisions about certain people in my life that I thought were gone for good.  I have been re-watching the Sex and the City DVD's (which IS my guy/life bible in a way) and I  feel like Carrie and Mr. Big - back and forth - trying to figure out if I have it in me to ever trust again - not sure about this one.  Of course, in the end, Carrie does end up with Mr. Big - but fairy tales and happy endings only happen in movies right?

Hand over the Big Mac.......I think I need to practice my yoga breathing :)

REVIEW for Promises to Keep

A big thank you to the wonderful people at Penguin books for sending me a copy of this book!
TITLE:       Promises to Keep

AUTHOR:  Jane Green

GENRE:     Contemporary Fiction

RATING:    3 Stars 

I have read each and every Jane Green book ever written - way before it was "fashionable" to read her books and I think this is the problem.



Green started her writing career with chick lit novels that were absolutely brilliant (Jemima J.) but, somewhere along the line, she took a detour into writing contemporary women's fiction and although I have religiously read all of these - I just don't find myself "in love" with the storylines.


In Promises to Keep, Green tackles a difficult and timely subject matter -fatal illness. This alone managed to make me dislike the storyline - I am NOT a big fan of reading about illness. However, to Green's credit, she turns a potentially depressing read into an uplifting one. However, having said this, I still found that the storyline completely over powers the characters, leaving me feel a little bit cheated.


I am starting to seriously believe that I am not the right target audience for Jane Green's newer stuff. Her writing is always tip top, but I think I am still living in the past, when she ruled the chick lit world and I really, really miss it.

Overall, this one was okay, but if you want to see just how talented this author truly is - purchase any of her first 3 books!

REVIEW for It Matters Totally

A huge thank you to the authors for sending me a copy of this book!

TITLE: It Matters Totally

I am a recovering food addict, in fact, I will be in recovery for the rest of my life (!). So, when books like It Matters Totally comes around, I love to read them - because they inspire me to continue on.

AUTHORS: Marielle School, Lisa Natoli

GENRE: Addiction/workbook

RATING: 4 Stars

It Matters Totally is actually quite interesting - it is a mixture of "down to earth approaches" mixed in with a belief that a power that is higher than yourself will help you get through your food issues/addictions. This book is touching - and, while, at times, I felt it was a little heavy handed, it nonetheless made me stop and think about quite a few things that, frankly, I had never even thought of to look and examine. You can tell that this book was, indeed, written deep from the heart (and from some very personal experiences) and I found myself answering the questions and taking some serious time to reflect on just how I am living my life and how it can contribute to my eating disorder.

I really thought that this was the perfect tool to keep me on the right road and I am grateful for the brave people who can write a book about such a difficult and personal subject.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Coffee Maker

Okay, I will own up - I am a huge coffee drinker, which makes me very,very picky about the coffee I choose.  Unfortunately, you can purchase the best coffee in the world, but if you are not using the right coffee maker - you will never, ever end up savoring that perfect cup of coffee.

It really does not make much sense to spend incredible amounts of money on the finest blends, if you are going to brew your coffee in a cheap, no-name coffee maker that will, without a doubt, ruin any coffee you may want to enjoy.

Fortunately, however, finding the right coffee maker does not have to be complicated, time consuming or difficult -in fact, you can now visit the CSNStores website for your "one stop coffee maker shopping". 


What I like most about this website is that you can find an impressive amount of brand name coffee makers - all of which are guaranteed to give you that perfect cup of coffee, without ever having to leave the comfort of your living room.  In fact, there is something for everyone and every budget.

Truly, there is nothing better than sitting back, with a good book and a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee - the best of every world!


I encourage you to drop by  http://www.cookware.com/Coffee-Makers-C105415.html to take a stroll through the amazing variety of coffee makers they offer and I challenge you to come away without finding exactly what you were looking for.

REVIEW for She Bets Her Life

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



TITLE: She Best Her Life

AUTHOR: Mary Sojourner

GENRE: Memoir/Adddiction/Recovery

RATING: 4 Stars




I read a lot of books on addiction and (hopefully) recovery. However, She Bets Her Life is the first book I have read on the addiction of gambling - which is, frankly, one of the addictions that scares me the most - because it seems to easily accessible to ANYONE.

In this story, the author tells of her journey towards self destruction - one little bet at a time. She is completely honest with her part in her own ruin and how this addiction gripped her so tightly that she felt as though she could not breathe and would, in fact, never recover. For some reason, I started crying when I read this one - which is something I rarely do when I read books on addictions that are not my own.

Anytime I read a memoir on food addiction, I bawl my eyes out because I can so readily identify - but usually with booze or drug addiction, I can sympathize, but I don't feel teary eyed - yet! for this one I was a blubbering mess. I think it is because gambling is something that is not easily defined. Much like food - gambling and eating too much "once in a while" is extremely acceptable in society and, for the most part, even if we over indulge, we do not then get into a car and potentially kill somebody.

No - gambling like food addiction is much more cunning - it creeps up on you - and society never picks up on the "down side" of these two apparently harmless things - until the addict is completely out of control. I loved this book. The author is both likeable and unlikeable at times, doing things that you would not believe (yet, I totally believe it). She and the other people who share their stories are brave and give me hope that, with the help of other addicts, who are in recovery and by writing about our feelings and experiences, we can keep on the road ahead - not always an easy thing to do.

If you have to read one memoir on addiction this year, then it needs to be this one - be afraid.

REVIEW for I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

Thank you! thank you! Nikole at Scholastic Books for sending me a copy of this book.

TITLE:            I now Pronounce You Someone Else

AUTHOR:      Erin McCahan

GENRE:         YA

RATING:        4 Stars
I was so pleasantly surprised when I started reading I Now Pronounce You Someone Else. This YA novel addresses a very interesting subject - for me anyway!



Imagining what your life "really" should be and then, getting the opportunity to actually live it.


The storyline immediately engaged me - although I have to admit to being a little annoyed, at times, with the main character "Phoebe". Sometimes I just wanted to scream at her - stop your whining - your life is not that difficult. Regardless of this, I loved that "Phoebe", who has always thought she should actually "be" someone else and have a totally different life than the one she has - fall in love and actually gets to see her wish realized. She is now in a loving relationship - which also comes complete with the kind of family she has always believed she should be part of.



However, "Phoebe" slowly starts to realize that maybe her dreams and the thing that she has always wanted so dearly may not actually be everything she thought - in fact, "getting what she wants" may end up not being what she needs at all.



Loved the writing style and the message that this novel contains - be happy with who/what you are and believe that you will always receive everything you need AND NOT everything you want.



I found this book entertaining and I was actually sorry to see it end. Very good read.

REVIEW for Intercept

A huge thank you goes out to the wonderful people at Perseus Books for sending me this book.

TITLE: Intercept

AUTHOR: Patrick Robinson

GENRE: Thriller

RATING: 3 Stars

Navy Seal Mack Bedford is back in this newest book by Patrick Robinson. Actually Robinson and a handful of others are the only authors I truly enjoy - who write in this "genre" as I don't normally like reading about terrorists, etc.

Intercept is okay - for some reason, I felt as though this one simply did not engage me as much as Robinson's other works and I think it is because I thought the pacing was too slow. One of the big problems I have with many authors is that they write thrillers, without realizing that, while details are important, they can also slow the storyline considerably and I think this is the issue here.

I like the character of Bedford who is both a hero and a bit of a horror as well - a nice mixture and I like the main premise of this book - finding 4 terrorists who were released by the US government in the first place, but I just felt as though this one was not up to par.

REVIEW for An Ideal Wife

TITLE:           An Ideal Wife

AUTHOR:     Gemma Townley

GENRE:        Chick Lit

RATING:       2 Stars









Okay, I have read ALL of Gemma Townley's books and I have to say that I think it is way time to retire this particular series, not to mention the main character.


My love for these characters and this series, started wearing thin in the last installment but, I remained optimistic that somehow, Townley would redeem the storyline.

If it is at all possible, An Ideal Wife is an even more annoying and frustrating read than the previous one.

The entire novel is about our main characters fear of somehow, not measuring up to some weird standard (it is never made clear exactly where this standard comes from) of what it means to be an Ideal Wife. Not only is this entire premise sexist and silly, it made for incredibly boring reading.

Every other sentence, spoken by Jess, is about how incompetent she is and how her husband will, no doubt leave her, because she can't cook. What follows is an entire storyline about various so called "hilarious" experiences where Jess desperately tries to cook or do some other "ideal wife" thing - just to show her husband how much she loves him.

The entire cast of characters seem to hover around her - somehow never connecting to just how stupid and silly she is, all the while "real" life problems abound, which, of course, Jess is completely clueless about.

I love chick lit and I am willing to suspend my disbelief - up to a point, but this one offended me on so many levels and on top of that IT WAS downright boring.

REVIEW for The Mosts

 Thank you so much Melissa, for sending me this great book!


TITLE: The Mosts

AUTHOR: Melissa Senate

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars




Okay, I will own up and admit that the first few pages of this book made me wonder if I was finally hitting upon the one book, written by one of my favorite authors, Melissa Senate that I was actually not going to enjoy. However, as soon as I got into the storyline (about 15 pages in) I was hooked.

The Mosts is, hopefully, the first book in a series .....and explores what its like to be a teenager, who just wants to "fit in" and...gets her wish - although - it may just end up, perhaps, not being (or maybe it is) exactly what our main character, Madeline has always thought it would be.

The main character is interesting because she is not a particularly likeable person, although she is not horrible either. Kind of in the middle, not actually sure where she herself should be and how she should act. This kind of makes her different than many characters I read about.

I also found myself liking the fact that this book starts off with Madeline's relationship with her boyfriend, pretty much on the rocks and just gets worse.

This story is fun because you find yourself immersed in the storyline by rooting for the "Nots" - although, you may find yourself identifying the "Mosts" on some level.

I loved this book, read it in a few days and am looking forward to the next installment???

REVIEW for Anji Mountain Soy Lime Green Yoga Mat

This is the wonderful, wonderful yoga mat that I received from the great people at
http://www.csnstores.com/

As a preferred blogger, I was asked to review one of their many products, available, online and I chose this yoga mat  - Anji Mountain Soy Lime Green Yoga Mat (AMB0700-0026).  I love working with this company because they are always looking for an HONEST review on their products - which is why I agreed to work with them.

As many of you know, I am heavily into yoga and, while I already had a blue yoga mat, it was apparent that I needed a second one as I keep one at home and one for my outside classes.

The Anji Mountain Yoga Mat is made entirely of 100% soy - giving this mat an incredibly smooth and soft feeling.  Many of my yoga poses require that I anchor my feet tightly into the mat, while spreading my toes - I can't tell you how soothing and comfotable that feels on this mat.

The mat is extra long and, while I wasn't overly crazy about the lime color initially - I actually thought it looked very attractive "in person".

I like that this mat is environmentally friendly and manages to also make my yoga practice comfy and soothing.

I love, love this product.

REVIEW for Vicious

A big, big thank you to the wonderful author Kevin O'Brien who has so kindly sent me copies of each of his books !


TITLE: Vicious

AUTHOR: Kevin O'Brien

GENRE: Thriller

RATING: 3 Stars

I am a fan of Kevin O'Brien, having read everything he has ever written and usually enjoyed them thoroughly. Vicious is actually a good read, but compared to some of O'Brien's other books, I thought it fell short.

While other readers have commented on the wonderful pace of the storyline, I found it a little slow, which is why I had a harder time with this one. Usually, when I read one of O'Brien's novels, I feel as though i am going at warp speed - there is always something going on - its non stop action and non stop suspense. While there was, of course, some of that in this book, I found myself having a harder time engaging. I loved the premise, the Mama's Boy Killer - was inspired!

However, when we find ourselve in the scenes where the killer may or may not be confronted with the children of the mother's he murdered - the story just did not provide me with the jolt I am use to.

This is a difficult review for me to write - I really wanted to ADORE this book, as I have so many of Kevin's other books, but I have to go with "good" this time around.

The writing style is always entertaining and fun! and O'Brien is great at creating characters that are different and intriguing, however, even all of these elements could not make me rate this one a 4 star :(

A LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD

Over the last few years, I have really discovered how important it is to slow down, smell the flowers, let go of the excess baggage that I tend to carry and surround myself with loving and kind people.


I have also discovered the importance of creating, for myself, a little corner of the world that I can call my own - one that I can turn to to meditate, do yoga, learn to breathe properly and to simply be able to "be myself".


I have been practicing Yoga for a little over a year now and as I discover more and more about this art, as well as healing practices such as Ayurveda, I am FINALLY, slowly, slowly starting to feel a tiny little bit more content - with a little bit more piece of mind - despite all the turmoil that has happened to me over the last few years.


I am finding a little bit more serenity in the things that I do - I am enjoying riding my bike, doing extra yoga sessions (at home and at the gym), I am really taking the time to be with those who matter to me and, I am making a concerted effort to stop attracting people who are toxic for me.  Actually, this is becoming easier and easier as I go deeper into my yoga practice.


Anyway, while I was in NY City, I visited a store that sold Indian articles and I found a beautiful"meditation table" it is a wooden table, with designs in the wood  and it stands about 4 to 5 inches away from the floor - perfect to put my photo of Buddha, my yoga statue and my candles. Unfortunately, it would have been incredibly difficult to carry home from NY (considering all the books I was bringing back).  It was a shame, because I had been looking for one of these tables for about a year and could never find anything in Montreal.


I forgot about it until a few weeks ago when I just happened upon a flea market at a corner church and lo and behold there was a meditation table - granted it was not as beautiful as the one in NY, as this one had a plain top - but it was also only $10.00!  I grabbed it and brought it home.  Now, everytime I meditate and do yoga, I use this table which sits proudly in my living room.

Apparently, everything happens in good time (and not on my schedule!) :)

REVIEW for Tell me a Secret

Thank you to Melissa at HarperCollins for sending me this book!

TITLE: Tell me a Secret

AUTHOR: Holly Cupala

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

Tell me a Secret is an incredibly heavy read. With a main character that spends most of her time looking backwards - trying to figure out what secret her sister brought to the grave with her - she has a hard time living in the present, much less the future. However, as life often does, reality must bring her back to her present life - when she finds herself confronted with a situation that may end up being the best thing that has ever happened to her - or the worse.

I fell in love with the writing style of this book. Each character is well fleshed out and I actually felt incredibly invested in each of the things there were living through.

However, this story is not for the faint of heart. It is very, very sad and nobody has a particular happy time here. Loaded with "what ifs" and a huge amount of hard decisions, it seems as though no YA should have to live through so much trauma - at such a young age.

The author does a wonderful job of telling the story without exploitation or judgment - but I just wished there were a few passasges of joy in this storyline.

REVIEW for They're Watching

A big, big thank you goes out to Sallie at St-Martin's for sending me a copy of this book!!!

TITLE:           They're Watching

AUTHOR:       Gregg Hurwitz

GENRE:          Thriller

RATING:        5 Stars


I have stopped reading thrillers, with a few exceptions and author Gregg Hurwitz falls squarely in those "exceptions".

It seems as though each and every novel he has ever written has been not only suspensful, but so engaging that I could never figure out the "ending" before he chose to tell it to me.

In They're Watching, we, once again, find Hurtwitz is supreme shape - although I have to admit that I had my doubts in the very first chapters as I thought they were, to be honest, boring and drawn out.

However, having said that, I am incredibly happy that I persisted because the rest of the book is an absolute powerhouse of twists and turns that had me baffled and more than a little curious. 

Patrick Davis, the main character is actually an interesting "main" because he is not all that likeable, which is also something that I like about Hurwitz - he is not afraid to write characters with flaws.  When we first meet Davis, it is obvious that he quite miserable and that his marriage is in deep trouble.  However, he hasn't seen nothing yet!!!

Hurwitz truly delivers in this one - like I said, everytime I turned the page, I had no idea what to expect next - and, in the end, the author somehow managed to make me say "how did he do that?" once again.

Loved, loved this book.

WINNER OF THE TEA KETTLE GIVEAWAY

Drumroll please!!! LOL!!!  There were 10 entries for this contest, which, I have to say, were pretty good odds :)  way better than the odds Loto Quebec ever offers us.

THE WINNER IS::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

LAURA!!!  (I used Random.org to get the winning number).

Congratulations!!! You will love this product.  I have emailed you separately.

REVIEW for Stolen

Thank you to Nikole at Scholastic for sending me a copy of this book!



TITLE: Stolen

AUTHOR: Lucy Christopher

GENRE: YA

RATING: 3 Stars





I have to admit that the premise for Stolen is one of the most original ones I have read about in a very long time. Actually, the storyline is incredibly timely and frankly, very scary. Gemma meets a man at the airport - they start talking and he somehow manages to drug her drink. He then kidnaps her and what follows is the story of two incredibly damaged and unstable people who are both self destructive as well as destructive to each other.

I think that what I found most fascinating about this story is how, somehow, two lost souls (one who was already lost and one that was destined to be) could somehow "meet up" and so completely destroy each other. For me, this was the crux of the actual story.

However, the author does push this storyline to the end, whereas Ty is actually put on trial for his crime, while Gemma tries to figure out her role and why she actually ends up missing the man who kidnapped her.

For some reason, while the storyline itself was intriguing, I just could not connect to either character, for different reasons, at various times. I found that both characters were too flawed, making it hard for me to hook unto something to "believe in". I also found this story scary - which kind of made me read it at arm's length - maybe I was afraid to get to committed to the storyline? Not sure. The writing is good, but there was definitely something missing for me ormaybe there is too much?