Just Finished: All At Sea

It should come to no surprise to regular readers of this blog that I love Heather Wardell and all of her novels.  I was more than happy to agree to review her latest, All At Sea. As usual, her novel didn't disappoint! I devoured this book in three sittings...er...well, two sittings and one gym workout! It was one of those books that I couldn't wait to finish but I also didn't want it to end. Hallmark of a good story!

Here's the synopsis:

Melissa and Owen met on New Years' Eve and he proposed on Valentine's Day. Now it's March, and they're about to set sail on a two-week Caribbean cruise - and get married on the last day at sea. Though their relationship's moving fast, Melissa's wanted to be married for years and she knows the smart stable Owen is a great catch so she's sure they'll be fine.

At least, she's sure until she meets his brothers on the cruise and discovers she's dated both of them: Austin, the fun-loving flirt whose kisses still haunt her dreams, and Nicholas, the sweet horror movie fan whose lack of ambition upset her in ways she still doesn't understand.

Melissa expected to spend tons of time onboard with her fiancé, but he instead spends nearly his every waking moment in the casino displaying a previously unseen love of gambling. This surprise, and the time she spends with Nicholas and with Austin, makes her question everything she thought she wanted.

Her relationship with Owen was just fine before, but suddenly 'just fine' doesn't seem good enough to keep a marriage alive for a lifetime. Melissa has two weeks to decide: stay with Owen or jump ship.

As per usual, Heather created some exceptional characters. I was so invested in Melissa's story and was so worried about how things would turn out. Would she go through with the wedding? Would she be true to herself? It actually felt like I was going through this right along with her. That is how emotionally involved I was.

I also loved her friends. Wendy and Mark were so funny and so cute together. Wendy knew just what to do for Melissa when she wasn't sure herself and knew she couldn't keep quiet when her best friend was in such turmoil. I also thought that Austin was hilarious. I'm realllly hoping Heather decides to write a book that features him sometime in the near future :) All of the supporting characters really added to my enjoyment of this novel.

What made this book a little more fun for me was being able to recall my own time on a cruise ship. My sister and I went on our very first cruise in February and had a great time. I thought about where the quiet pool was on our ship, as well as the casino (no, we didn't go in there), and the towel animals that were left in our room. I just found that it was nice to have a personal experience with a cruise to help me enjoy the story just a little bit more. Not that you can't enjoy it if you've never been on a cruise! It just heightened the fun of it for me :)

Side note: I love that Heather was able to get the words "polar bear" into a novel that takes place on a cruise ship. She makes sure to slip it in in every one of her books and I love finding it!

Read All At Sea...seriously. It's wonderful. If you really want to get hooked, go back to the beginning of Heather's Toronto Series and read Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo (bonus - you can get it for free for your ereader! Click that link to get it for your Kindle). Characters from one book pop up in another and you'll enjoy the novels more fully if you understand the backstories. Heather has ten novels released now and I've read six of them. I wish I had the time to cuddle up with the remaining four over the Thanksgiving weekend (which, by the way, is this weekend for myself and my fellow Canadian readers). If only life didn't get in the way of reading time... :)

Happy reading and happy Thanksgiving!

Just Finished: Blank Slate Kate

I've already read (and adored) three other books by Heather Wardell so I didn't hesitate when she asked me to take part in this week's blog blitz for her newest novel, Blank Slate Kate. (You can check out my other reviews here, here, and here) As usual, I loved what I read and I think you will too.

Want to know what this one is about? Read on for the synopsis from Goodreads:

Waking up with a strange man is scary. Realizing you lost fifteen years of your life overnight? That's terrifying. With her memories from seventeen to thirty-two gone, Kate has no idea who she is and where she belongs. As she begins to fall for the man who found her, she wonders if she forgot those years for a reason. Should she keep trying to retrieve her original self, or start a new life?

I was immediately emotionally invested in Kate's story. I really couldn't imagine what she went through when she woke up and didn't know who she was, where she was, or who she was with. Not only that, but once she starts to get her bearings she looks up everything that's happened since she lost her memory. Do you want to relive the horror of learning about 9/11 all over again? I sure don't and I totally felt for Kate when she read about everything that's happened in the world since she was a teenager. I just wanted to give her a huge hug and tell her that, somehow, everything will be OK.

I love that I was able to get totally involved Kate's life. I felt what she was feeling, especially the absolutely heart wrenching moments (I won't give anything away but there's one moment with Kate and Ryan that had me tearing up). I commend Wardell on her ability to write in a way that made me feel like I was experiencing all of Kate's emotions right along with her.

I've read other amnesia stories before (most notably, Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella) and was interested to see how Wardell would put her own twist on this kind of story. I always say that I don't care if the ending of a novel is predictable if the journey to that conclusion gives me something different or exciting.  I really don't know a ton about amnesia so wondering how it happening right along with Kate was interesting. It was equally interesting to find out what had actually happened to Kate to make her lose her memory. It was something physical with a heartbreaking emotional tie to it.

I honestly had no idea what was going to happen with Kate in the end. She had so many options and so much to work through that I couldn't predict where she'd end up. I absolutely loved that. There are too many times when I can figure out what's going to happen in the books that I'm reading. I'm happy that Wardell kept me guessing and kept throwing me curve balls. This had me quickly turning the pages to find out the conclusion. The novel was wrapped up so well and I could not have imagined a more perfect ending.

Think you'd like to try out some of Wardell's books? Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo can be downloaded for free from a variety of sources (Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo) and Seven Exes Are Eight Too Many, which is exclusively on Amazon, will be free for this week only (January 23-27). So what are you waiting for? Get reading!

It's a busy week here at Books Etc. - stay tuned for an interview with Heather tomorrow (the 24th) and guest post from Heather herself coming up on Thursday (the 26th). Both are very interesting so you don't want to miss out!

Happy reading :)

Just Finished: Stir Until Thoroughly Confused

I cannot begin to tell you guys how much I love Heather Wardell's books. Stir Until Thoroughly Confused was the third novel of Wardell's that I have read and it's been added to my Favourites of 2011 list along with the other two (you'll get the full list sometime in December, don't worry).

Here's what this one is about, courtesy of Goodreads:

Mary's given up everything, including an unsatisfying marriage, to become a chef. But the career comes with a side dish: Kegan, her sexy but controlling new boss.

They're soon in a relationship, and in all-too-frequent arguments, and when it becomes clear they can't work together and be together Mary faces a dilemma: keep her dream job or her dream man?

What I really loved about the first three novels I read were that they were all a little bit connected (Wardell calls them her "Toronto" series). Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo was the first and Go Small or Go Home was the next one - if you're so inclined and haven't yet done so, you can read my reviews of both of them here and here. I loved them both so I was cautiously optimistic that I would love Stir just as much and I did! I was a little worried as Kegan had shown up in the first two novels and, honestly, I wasn't his biggest fan. I don't know why I worried because Wardell was able to introduce a "life event" that changed Kegan and made him, well, more likeable. I was also unbelievably happy that Tess and Forrest from Go Small made frequent appearances - my favourite was the best and most touching wedding I've ever encountered. I'm glad Wardell brought back Ian and Candice too. Even though I didn't like them quite as much as Tess and Forrest, I still loved Polar Bear and their story and was happy to see some sort of closure with Kegan and Candice.

Even though you can kind of figure out that the main characters (in this case, Mary and Kegan) will end up together it's always a journey and I love that. There are twists and turns that I don't expect and, to me, that's what makes a great novel. The twist in this novel comes from a fairly classic problem facing many women - should Mary choose her dream career or her dream man? I don't think you'll be disappointed with how Wardell handles this conflict and how she resolves it - I sure wasn't. 

Wardell's characters tend be interested in things or come across things that I never would have thought about. For example, in Stir Kegan plays on an underwater hockey team. Like Mary I had never heard of underwater hockey and was so curious as to why Wardell had decided to put that in and how she had heard about it. Also, how did she come up with the menu premise for Magma? Focusing each dish around a certain spice, and having the tastings all have one spice in common. So interesting! It was the same sort of thing with Tess in Go Small - I never would have thought to create a character who liked creating miniatures. It's a part of the art world that most people wouldn't think of and I love that I got to be exposed to it through Wardell's book. There are lots of little things like the above examples that keep Wardell's books interesting and a little educational too. 

Overall, I loved loved loved Stir Until Thoroughly Confused. Once again Heather Wardell has written a book that I couldn't get enough of. I can't wait to keep working my way through all of her other books. Lucky for me, there are quite a few of them and she just keeps writing more too! I highly recommend you check out her books because they'll leave you completely satisfied.


Happy reading :)

Just Finished: "Go Small or Go Home"

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I have found a new favourite author and her name is Heather Wardell. I read her first novel Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo back in June and I absolutely loved it (read my review here). I've finally been able to get to the next book in Heather's "Toronto" series Go Small or Go Home. Here's the synopsis, courtesy of Goodreads:

When massage therapist and aspiring artist Tess begins treating stressed but attractive hockey star Forrest, her art career soars due to his gallery-owning mother, but her creativity plummets under the weight of rules and deadlines. Soon, she's lost the freedom and joy she'd always found in art. Is having her dream career worth losing doing her art her way, or can she somehow have both at once?

I didn't think it was possible but I may like this one more than Polar Bear. The characters are so real and well rounded, the story flows, and I was engaged in the novel for its entirety. Plus, I loved that it focused on a hockey player - hockey isn't my favourite sport but I am Canadian after all :)

Tess has a big decision to make in her life - should she keep working as a massage therapist, something she enjoys and is good at, or should she focus on making art her career, not as profitable but something that she loves deep down in her soul? It's something that everyone likely deals with. When we're in school and growing up we think that we're going to have a job that we're absolutely in love with and fulfills us on all levels. However...that can't always happen for everyone. Most people have a job that they enjoy but it's not what they feel passionate about. I'm one of them. I like my job but reading and writing and thinking about books is what really inspires me. For Tess, it was her art that inspired her on a level that massage just could not. I know this is pretty deep but I think this whole idea is part of why I loved this book so much. It made me think a whole lot more than some other books I've read. Alright, time to move onto something a little more lighthearted...

Let's talk about the fact that Forrest is a professional hockey player and absolutely gorgeous. When I mentioned on Twitter that I had finished the novel, Heather replied with the following tweet:

Do any of my Canadian female friends agree? Do you think a good looking pro hockey player is a Canadian girl's dream guy? Maybe not even just Canadian girls...it seems Hilary Duff and Carrie Underwood are quite happy with their pro hockey players (both Canadian guys, by the by) Anyway, I loved Forrest. He was a real guys-guy - athlete, manly, and so on, but he had an amazing emotional depth to him as well, one that you don't see in many fictional athletes. He had obviously suffered more than just a physical injury and the way we find out about it is great, in my opinion. Tess finds out bits and pieces doing research but we get frustrated right along with her as Forrest is less than forthcoming with his past and his problems. And, of course, it was absolutely lovely to picture the scenes when Tess massaging Forrest... *cough* back to the review :)

Have you ever read a book that you loved so much that you were both sad and happy to be finished with? This was one of those books for me. I was reading outside in the sun on my lunch and as I "closed" the book (was reading on my Kobo) after reading the last words I actually sighed. That is how good it was, my friends.

Overall, the book thrilled me. The story itself was something totally different than I had ever read before with characters that have such unique interests and quirks. Their story grabs you and doesn't let you go, even when the book is finished.

I could probably go on and on about different aspects of this novel that I loved but I don't want to bore you. Instead, you should take the time to read the novel yourself! Trust me. You'll love it too.

Happy reading :)

Just Finished: "Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo"

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present one of my new favourite books...Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo by Heather Wardell. I'll start this rambling and lengthy post with the synopsis from Goodreads:

When Candice's in-laws died in a car accident eight months ago, she lost her husband Ian too. After only two years of marriage their guilt and pain have left them living together but apart. During Ian's month-long trip overseas, Candice plans to decide if her marriage can be saved, but when the first man she ever loved is the new client at work, she wonders what she truly wants from life and love.

When Heather first asked me to review her books a little while ago I poked around her website and found an excerpt from this book. I was hooked. I couldn't stop thinking about the story and the characters and wondering how they got through everything. I had quite a few other books to read but when I finally got around to reading Polar Bear I found that the rest of the novel was just as engaging as the first chapter.

There were so many things that I loved about this novel, so I hope I can remember to touch on all of them. First of all, the characters were fantastic. Each one was well developed and three dimensional. I really felt like I knew them and I wanted to be friends with all of them! And this was a very important thing. I think if I hadn't like the characters, the story would have been harder to take. Sometimes when cheating is at the centre of the plot it can be really hard to read and feel any sympathy or empathy for any of the characters. I felt like I could really understand the reason behind the decisions Candice, Kegan, and Ian were making.

My fave Giffin book!

Since I'm sure some of you don't know who Heather Wardell is (and you need to go educate yourselves right now...ok, finish reading this post, and then go check out all her books), I'm going to compare this novel to one by a well known chick lit author - Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin. A quick snippet from the Goodreads synopsis: This is the story for anyone who has ever wondered: How can I truly love the one I'm with when I can't forget the one who got away? I felt the same way about LTOYW as I did about Polar Bear...I could see why the characters were making their choices. I actually could see their reasoning so well that I knew exactly why they were having a hard time making the so called "right" choice. I'm not always ok with the whole infidelity storyline, just in case you think I am. In fact, I had a very hard time reading Heart of the Matter by Giffin. I was just not ok with Tessa's husband cheating on her (I was, however, amused that Tessa is Dex's sister. Yes, Dex from Something Borrowed). Anyway, slightly off topic now. Long story short - LTOYW and Polar Bear were similar but both were unique to the author and were equally delightful.

If you've been reading my previous posts you may have realized that I love reading Canadian authors and seeing whether they play up or ignore the fact that they are from Canada. Sometimes you have no idea if the characters are in Canada (see my post on Spin) and sometimes a Canadian city is named as the location, but that's it (see Love Struck). And sometimes, like with Polar Bear, you know the characters are in Canada and the reader actually gets to explore the city through the characters. At one point in this novel, Candice and Kegan head to Canada's Wonderland, the theme park in Toronto (technically it's outside Toronto...but when I'm driving south - I live north of T.O. - Wonderland signals the entrance into the dreaded GTA. I'm such a small town girl!). You're wondering where I'm going with this, aren't you? Well, the reason this part of the novel made an impression on me was because I knew what rides Candice and Kegan were on and Wardell didn't name the rides, only described them. I've been to Wonderland a few times and just thought it was so cool that I had been on the same rides the characters were on. Except Drop Tower. That ride just plain terrifies me. Anyway, this excursion by the characters actually prompted me to text my friend and tell her I wanted to go to Wonderland. Needless to say, she was a little confused as to why I was all of a sudden wanting to go :) Read this novel and wonder what the rides look like? Here ya go:
(PS Heather, did I get them all right? There were options for the wood and stand up ones!)


Drop Tower; SkyRider; Wild Beast; Swings of the Century

 Since I follow Heather on Twitter (and you should too! @HeatherWardell) and we are part of the same Chick Lit Challenge hosted by Samantha at Chick Lit Plus, I know that she is an avid reader. Turns out Candice is too, which the following two quotes show:

I was halfway to the door when a new Marian Keyes novel caught my eye. I picked it up to take a look and decided it needed to come hom with me.

Admit it. Many of you have felt exactly the same way at the bookstore.

Larissa stopped dead and gave me a good impression of a woman having a heart attack. "You...not going to Chapters? The world has gone mad!"

Love it. I think I want Candice to be my friend :)

Overall, I loved loved loved this book. Five stars, for sure. I've already told a few friends to read it and plan on making others to read it as well. The characters are amazing, the story flows, and you will not want to put it down.

What's that you say? Now that you've heard me talk about how amazing Heather's book was you want to know where to find all her books? Not to worry, I have you covered. (and, alright, I may be over exaggerating my influence :) Just a bit?) You can find them on Smashwords, Kobo, and Amazon. There may be more but this should be enough to get you started, right? :) I definitely urge you to check out Heather's books. I am looking foward to reading more of hers!