The Wedding
I honestly knew the ending close to the beginning of the book. However as the story progressed I began doubting myself and eventually gave up my original notion. But I was right. I think that the fact that the ending was so well covered up was a great writing feat.
I honestly didn't know what to expect from this one. I've never read Nicholas Sparks and I've not seen any of the movies based on his books. I think I have found another author to add to my list of favorites.
The story starts with a man who forgets his anniversary. While he decides that he needs to rekindle his romance with the woman he loves we get to see them fall in love all over again. Through the book there are flashbacks to when Wilson and Jane fell in love the first time. That is one of the great things about this book. We get to see them fall in love twice.
Not only is this a book that proves true love can always prevail but it shows that even when you think love is lost there is always hope. It may not be easy, but love never is.
The beautiful story is made even better with the beautiful landscapes describe in perfect detail. Sparks give enough information for you to get the whole picture without giving so much that the details become mundane. In my head all the landscapes were oil paintings, I think this is more from the cover art, but even without the cover art I would imagine my mind going to a beautiful oil painting anyway.
I got very engrossed in this book. Surprisingly I did not cry at the end, which is usually characteristic of me. But I was so moved by the story that I think crying would have distracted me a bit.
Overall I would say this was a great book. It had great character development and the story was more than captivating. I would recommend this to anyone that wants to be taken away into a great story.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
I have a new book on its way!!!!
Today I was checking my Paperbackswap.com account (cause I'm anal and I have to check my position in my wish list ALL THE TIME!!!) But anyway, I've been wanting this book called A Slaying in the Suburbs
It's about the Tara Grant murder. Being that I live in Metro Detroit her murder and the trial were all over the news here. I couldn't help but be drawn into what was going on. So today I go to check my wishlist and I have a message that I have a book waiting for me to approve. Now what really surprised me is that I was 5th on the list the day before so I wasn't expecting it, especially since I've been on the waiting list for almost a month and don't think I moved but one spot.
I also am getting Which was actually a giveaway book on goodreads that I didn't win, so I am going to get it from Paperbackswap.com.
I know I keep mentioning these two sites, and it's because I'm addicted to them both. I love Goodreads because I can keep track of what I've read and also see what my friends are reading. I love Paperbackswap.com because I can get books and keep them for as long as I want (unlike the library) and I only have to pay to ship books to other people, which is much cheaper than buying books new (which is a problem since I'm always broke).
If you want to try goodreads add me as a friend. Here's a link to my profile
Also if you have books that you don't want anymore and would like to get new books for them I would recomend Paperbackswap.com. If you join please list me as the person that refered you. Swap Your Used Books - PaperBackSwap.com
I just wanted to share. I should be done with The Notebook before this weekend. So I'll have a review for that posted soon!!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
As promised, some of my older reviews :-)
Knit 2 Together by Tracey Ullman
Read December 2008
I really liked the patterns in this book. My only problem with the book is that the clothing patterns (like most books) are not made for big girls. So I will have to do some tweaking for some of the patterns.
I did like that there were stories with some of the patterns. I like Tracy Ullman and I liked her even more after reading this book. For some reason when I find out a celebrity is a knitter it makes them more "human" to me.
Overall I think that these patterns were fairly straight forward. It seems that even the more difficult patterns are easy to follow.
Blue Moon by Lori Handeland
Read November 2008
Other than the Anne Rice Vampire chronicles I have never really gotten into supernatural fiction, and I don't think I've ever read a romance novel. So I didn't have high expectations for this book, but I was very surprised at how much I liked the book.
Mrs. Handeland really has something with this book. I was instantly captivated by the action that takes place at the beginning of the book. The main character, Jessie, was very relatable. I could see myself in her shoes and her thoughts and dialogue was something I could hear coming out of my mouth.
As the story progresses you begin to share the doubt that Jessie has and as new bits of the story come together I found myself trying to figure out who was the Wolf God.
Overall I think this was very well written and I will defiantly be getting the next book in the series. The only reason that I didn't give it a 5-star rating is that I don't see this book as being something that I would re-read. But I did like it and found myself for a few nights reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open, simply because I didn't want to put this one down.
The Way I Am by Eminem
Read December 2008
I'm not quite sure what I expected out of this book. I used to LOVE Eminem and not that I don't like him now but I'm not really into rap like I used to be. So for me reading this took me back to the time when I was into all of that stuff.
I think the book was fairly well written. Being a rapper it seems obvious that Eminem has a way with words, but the way he says things is so simple. He doesn't sugar coat or try to play around the issue. He says what he needs to say and that's it.
One thing I really liked about this book was it made him seem human. Underneath all of the bad boy image there's a man that is just like any other man you may know. Trying to be a good father, and living a real life. I think that being the star that he is people seem to forget that he's just a normal guy who happened to make it. I think this book did a real good job of making that point.
Overall I was pretty happy with the book. It was a quick read, and it wasn't confusing. I hate books that jump all over the place all the time and this was very linear. So not the best book I've ever read, but no where close to the worst either.
Cult Fiction by Chancery Stone
Read January 2009
This book is just a preview into the Danny series by Chancery Stone.
I don't know if I was intrigued or disgusted by this introduction. However I do think that after reading this introduction that I do want to get at least the first book in this series. I think I want it more-so because I want to get a more through feeling for the book before I decide if I like it or not rather than because I really want to read the book.
Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair by Laurie Perry
Read December 2008
I liked this book alot. I thought that the writing was witty. Quite a few times I would start laughing and my dog would perk her ears up and give me that look like "what are you doing?"
Having been through a break-up (not a divorce, but a long-term relationship break-up) I could relate to just about everything that she was saying. And for me being able to relate to the characters is one of my must-have features for a book to be enjoyable. Also being that it was a book about knitting, I knew all of the struggles that she was going through. Not sleeping because you just want to finish one more row (that inevitably turns in to 20 or 50)!
I think that this is a good pick-me up book. If you're down it can make you laugh, which is always a good thing to me. While reading I found myself laughing not so much because she was going through it, but because I have gone through the same things.
I would recommend this book to anyone going through a tough break-up, a knitter, or just someone looking for something amusing to read.
Knitting Under The Influence By Claire LaZebnik
Read January 2009
I won't say that I thought this was a great book, because I'd be lying. But I thought it was ok.
I really liked the book until the end. And I'm all for neat tie-ups and everyone goes away happy but I just didn't see all the outcomes in this book as believable. I know it's fiction but the characters should still be believable, right? The writing style was good and it was easy to follow the dialogue. The character development was great! I think that all the characters were fairly well-rounded and their personalities were fine, until the end. The end could have been so much better and still given the same outcome. I felt like you get to the end of the book and the author needed to get the last bit in but only had so many pages to do it, so she cut it so it would fit.
Bad ending or not I think it was an ok book. I'm going to find something else of hers to read as I really did like her writing style. It was very easy to follow.
Soul Harvest by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Read January 2009
I've read this book before but I wanted to get back into the series and I couldn't remember the whole story so I re-read it.
I have to say that I was very entertained by this book. I think that this series is so well written that if you don't believe in the Rapture that you would enjoy the story line.
The characters in this story are so well developed that you can't help but to form a bond with them. The book jumps around a bit, but it is not distracting and it does not deter from the story at all. In fact I think that this is a very well written book.
If you have not read any of the Left Behind books I would encourage you to start at the beginning. Although there is enough past written into this book that you could pick up most of what happened I would imagine that there are little things that add to the story that you would miss if you picked up in the middle.
Overall I think this is a great book and a great series. I'm going to start the next book as soon as I can!
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
Read February 2009
I really liked this book even though it ended up being somewhat predictable. Right from the beginning I hated Darcy. I grew to not really like Dex all that much either. I still think that Rachel was wrong for sleeping with Dex but I also feel that Darcy had it coming. A lifetime of living the perfect life and only being a good friend to Rachel when it suited Darcy's tastes has to be rectified in some way.
I do think that most of the book was predictable, but I totally did not see what Darcy's confession was going to be until moments before it happened. Which made me HATE her even more.
I connected with Rachel right from the beginning and the whole time I'm hopping that she will just forget about Dex and move on with her own life and try to leave Darcy behind also.
I thought the story was believable and that Emily Giffin has a good hold on writing. I also liked that the story was written from just one point of view. I've read too many books lately that seem to tell the story from multiple viewpoints. I just don't think that would have worked for this story. A really good piece of Chick Lit!
I am going to read the next book in the series, simply because I did really enjoy this one, however being that it is written from Darcy's perspective I'm already not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did this one.
Read December 2008
I really liked the patterns in this book. My only problem with the book is that the clothing patterns (like most books) are not made for big girls. So I will have to do some tweaking for some of the patterns.
I did like that there were stories with some of the patterns. I like Tracy Ullman and I liked her even more after reading this book. For some reason when I find out a celebrity is a knitter it makes them more "human" to me.
Overall I think that these patterns were fairly straight forward. It seems that even the more difficult patterns are easy to follow.
Blue Moon by Lori Handeland
Read November 2008
Other than the Anne Rice Vampire chronicles I have never really gotten into supernatural fiction, and I don't think I've ever read a romance novel. So I didn't have high expectations for this book, but I was very surprised at how much I liked the book.
Mrs. Handeland really has something with this book. I was instantly captivated by the action that takes place at the beginning of the book. The main character, Jessie, was very relatable. I could see myself in her shoes and her thoughts and dialogue was something I could hear coming out of my mouth.
As the story progresses you begin to share the doubt that Jessie has and as new bits of the story come together I found myself trying to figure out who was the Wolf God.
Overall I think this was very well written and I will defiantly be getting the next book in the series. The only reason that I didn't give it a 5-star rating is that I don't see this book as being something that I would re-read. But I did like it and found myself for a few nights reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open, simply because I didn't want to put this one down.
The Way I Am by Eminem
Read December 2008
I'm not quite sure what I expected out of this book. I used to LOVE Eminem and not that I don't like him now but I'm not really into rap like I used to be. So for me reading this took me back to the time when I was into all of that stuff.
I think the book was fairly well written. Being a rapper it seems obvious that Eminem has a way with words, but the way he says things is so simple. He doesn't sugar coat or try to play around the issue. He says what he needs to say and that's it.
One thing I really liked about this book was it made him seem human. Underneath all of the bad boy image there's a man that is just like any other man you may know. Trying to be a good father, and living a real life. I think that being the star that he is people seem to forget that he's just a normal guy who happened to make it. I think this book did a real good job of making that point.
Overall I was pretty happy with the book. It was a quick read, and it wasn't confusing. I hate books that jump all over the place all the time and this was very linear. So not the best book I've ever read, but no where close to the worst either.
Cult Fiction by Chancery Stone
Read January 2009
This book is just a preview into the Danny series by Chancery Stone.
I don't know if I was intrigued or disgusted by this introduction. However I do think that after reading this introduction that I do want to get at least the first book in this series. I think I want it more-so because I want to get a more through feeling for the book before I decide if I like it or not rather than because I really want to read the book.
Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair by Laurie Perry
Read December 2008
I liked this book alot. I thought that the writing was witty. Quite a few times I would start laughing and my dog would perk her ears up and give me that look like "what are you doing?"
Having been through a break-up (not a divorce, but a long-term relationship break-up) I could relate to just about everything that she was saying. And for me being able to relate to the characters is one of my must-have features for a book to be enjoyable. Also being that it was a book about knitting, I knew all of the struggles that she was going through. Not sleeping because you just want to finish one more row (that inevitably turns in to 20 or 50)!
I think that this is a good pick-me up book. If you're down it can make you laugh, which is always a good thing to me. While reading I found myself laughing not so much because she was going through it, but because I have gone through the same things.
I would recommend this book to anyone going through a tough break-up, a knitter, or just someone looking for something amusing to read.
Knitting Under The Influence By Claire LaZebnik
Read January 2009
I won't say that I thought this was a great book, because I'd be lying. But I thought it was ok.
I really liked the book until the end. And I'm all for neat tie-ups and everyone goes away happy but I just didn't see all the outcomes in this book as believable. I know it's fiction but the characters should still be believable, right? The writing style was good and it was easy to follow the dialogue. The character development was great! I think that all the characters were fairly well-rounded and their personalities were fine, until the end. The end could have been so much better and still given the same outcome. I felt like you get to the end of the book and the author needed to get the last bit in but only had so many pages to do it, so she cut it so it would fit.
Bad ending or not I think it was an ok book. I'm going to find something else of hers to read as I really did like her writing style. It was very easy to follow.
Soul Harvest by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Read January 2009
I've read this book before but I wanted to get back into the series and I couldn't remember the whole story so I re-read it.
I have to say that I was very entertained by this book. I think that this series is so well written that if you don't believe in the Rapture that you would enjoy the story line.
The characters in this story are so well developed that you can't help but to form a bond with them. The book jumps around a bit, but it is not distracting and it does not deter from the story at all. In fact I think that this is a very well written book.
If you have not read any of the Left Behind books I would encourage you to start at the beginning. Although there is enough past written into this book that you could pick up most of what happened I would imagine that there are little things that add to the story that you would miss if you picked up in the middle.
Overall I think this is a great book and a great series. I'm going to start the next book as soon as I can!
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
Read February 2009
I really liked this book even though it ended up being somewhat predictable. Right from the beginning I hated Darcy. I grew to not really like Dex all that much either. I still think that Rachel was wrong for sleeping with Dex but I also feel that Darcy had it coming. A lifetime of living the perfect life and only being a good friend to Rachel when it suited Darcy's tastes has to be rectified in some way.
I do think that most of the book was predictable, but I totally did not see what Darcy's confession was going to be until moments before it happened. Which made me HATE her even more.
I connected with Rachel right from the beginning and the whole time I'm hopping that she will just forget about Dex and move on with her own life and try to leave Darcy behind also.
I thought the story was believable and that Emily Giffin has a good hold on writing. I also liked that the story was written from just one point of view. I've read too many books lately that seem to tell the story from multiple viewpoints. I just don't think that would have worked for this story. A really good piece of Chick Lit!
I am going to read the next book in the series, simply because I did really enjoy this one, however being that it is written from Darcy's perspective I'm already not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did this one.
A new blog just for books
I've been doing my other blog (not often) since November, and I've been wanting to start getting some ARC books, so I decided that in addition to my other blog (www.justjennifertalking.blogspot.com) I'd start one solely for the books I've been reading.
My current reviews are all on www.goodreads.com my user name there is Jennmarie68. I have some reviews posted at Amazon.com and all my reviews are also on paperbackswap.com I'm Jennmarie68 there also.
So for right now I jsut wanted to get this thing set up and I'll probably pull some of my better book reviews and post them here later today. But in the mean time I'm off to find some ARC's.
Wsish me luck!!!
My current reviews are all on www.goodreads.com my user name there is Jennmarie68. I have some reviews posted at Amazon.com and all my reviews are also on paperbackswap.com I'm Jennmarie68 there also.
So for right now I jsut wanted to get this thing set up and I'll probably pull some of my better book reviews and post them here later today. But in the mean time I'm off to find some ARC's.
Wsish me luck!!!
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