Life as a Bookworm: A Reader in Australia

Many of you know that I had a trip of a lifetime a couple of months ago. Thanks to my superstar family, I was able to accompany my boyfriend, Luke, and his dad as they travelled to Australia to visit their family. It was, in a word, incredible. I've been meaning to write about the trip for ages (we've been back for over two months now) but just haven't gotten around to it. I discovered a solution for this procrastination: writing multiple posts! In this one I will strictly talk about the bookish things I did and encountered while I was there. In another post (which will come sooner rather than later, I hope) I'll write about the awesome things we did and saw.

First up...when going on a sixteen day vacation, which includes a mother effing long plane ride (thankfully, with no mother effing snakes...sorry, bad joke), what does a bookworm plan to pack first? Books, of course.

This was the stack that accompanied me to the other side of the world. My plan was to complete the following (links lead to reviews):

Delicious! - Ruth Reichl
Then and Always - Dani Atkins
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
Cure for the Common Break Up - Beth Kendrick
I Don't Know What You Know Me From - Judy Greer
The Never Never Sisters - L. Alison Heller
The Man Test - Amanda Askell
Love and Chaos - Gemma Burgess (which I just realized isn't in the picture...annoying...and I'm too lazy to retake it!)
Twisted Perfection - Abbi Glines

That may seem ambitious, even for a speedy reader like myself but I'm happy to report that I have now read all of them, with the exception of Twisted Perfection. Woot!

My sister and I went to Florida two and a half years ago and I read on the plane with no issue. We would be flying for almost 20 hours all together this time around which meant tons of time for reading! Part way through our flight to LA I realized the worst: I could no longer read on a plane. Nooooooo. A headache hit almost as soon as I tried to focus on the pages so that plan was out. I managed to get a few pages read here and there on all flights but it just wasn't enough. Ah well.

I hadn't actually intended on taking Delicious! with me. I was about two thirds of the way through by the day we left and I just couldn't leave it behind. I finished that one on our first or second day there when we were being pretty low key and just hanging around the house (and recovering from our jet lag). We were staying with Luke's aunt and uncle and since they are both readers, they had no problem with me snuggling on the couch with my book. Once I finished Delicious! I finished Then and Always (so-so), Cure for the Common Break Up (loved), which I had to have read for blog tours, and The Never Never Sisters (ok but ultimately forgettable) in quick succession.

My view from the living room. Bliss.

Early on in our visit, I was brought to the bookstore in the small town of Kingsliff (next to the tinier town we were staying in). It's called Boardwalk Books and it was delightful. It was here I first realized how accustomed I've become to using my phone's camera. It's easy to take a sneaky picture of a store or something with a phone but not so much with a point and shoot (and especially not with the boyfriend's fancy pants camera). I really wanted a picture of the store but it just would have been too awkward! So just imagine a super cute little bookstore, ok? It was interesting to see the different book covers (I actually saw Delicious! there with a lovely bright blue cover). Some were the Canadian covers, some English, some American. And the prices! Hoo boy. I saw The Cuckoo's Calling there in a trade paperback size (not the small pocket book paperback but larger). Amazon.com has the print copy listed at $18.00 (before discounts) and Chapters Indigo has it listed at $20.00 (before discounts). In the store in Australia? $30. The price of a hardcover in Canada. Ack.

My sole purchase in the bookstore? This beauty:

This is the British cover and title of Sarah Dessen's Keeping the Moon. I already own that one but I don't have this cover. I just had to have it. She's my favourite author, after all.

The face of a happy (but jetlagged) bookworm.

I had brought my laptop with me on our trip because I knew I'd have to do some blogging. And, ok, I may be mildly addicted to social media. Here was my second reading related problem: no wifi. It may seem ridiculous but I just about lost my mind. On the one hand, it was really awesome to not have a constantly dinging phone and to be able to really be present in the moment. Highly recommended for all trips. BUT. I had blogging to do as I had assumed I would have wifi and didn't plan ahead and schedule posts. So, I did what any bookworm without wifi would do...I went to the library! The Kingscliff library was pretty small but it seemed to get the job done for its patrons. I didn't look around too much since I only had limited time there. Unlike my local library, you could only use the wifi (with the accompanying password) for two hours. My favourite thing about the library was the scenery. It was nestled into some trees and it was really nice to look out at the greenery while writing. The only downside of its locale was the need for the snake warning sign. Thankfully I never saw any snakes while I was there!

The second week of our trip had us staying in a farm house with Luke's uncle's son and his wife and his son and his girlfriend (Jodie). (Confused yet? Welcome to my vacation...I needed a family tree!) One of the first things I did was check out the bookshelves they had in the house. It was a holiday rental house and I was happy to see they had a good variety of books for the tenants to browse. Including two books by Canadians! If I remember correctly there was a Rohinton Mistry novel and a Margaret Atwood novel (there were also a couple of Atwood books in the bookstore).

This farmhouse gave this bookworm a couple of awesome things. The first was a fellow twenty something female reader. Jodie and I hit it off right away, especially when we realized we were both huge readers. She was reading a Nicholas Sparks novel when she arrived, which was a departure from her usual reads, and our discussion evolved from there. She actually gave me that Sparks book to take home with me since I hadn't read it yet. Not only was that very nice of her, it's also cool because its cover is one I wouldn't be able to get here. Once I learned she had read and loved The Hunger Games I told her she needed to read Divergent asap. She agreed and a month or so later I got a tweet from her saying she read it and did love it. Book pusher success! Then, just a week or so ago, she sent me another tweet in which expressed her displeasure for the end of Allegiant. Oops. :)

The second awesome thing about this house was the view we had. Oh my goodness, it was beautiful. My favourite reading spot was on the second floor balcony. It was so easy to get up at 7am, have a tea and biscuits, and read. Just look at this!

I spent a fair bit of time out there...

I also got some reading done on my birthday in a different, but equally beautiful, spot:

HP on my birthday with Mt. Warning in the distance. Love.

Sigh. I would like to go back now, please.

As I mentioned, I got almost every single book read (or at least started) while I was away. I saved Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the day before and day of my birthday as an extra treat. We stayed in a hotel the night before and while Luke and his dad watched TV, I happily read and drank some tea (hey, that rhymes...). Love and Chaos was a perfect holiday read - it's about a group of twentysomething girls in Brooklyn. The Man Test let me down, sadly, so I rushed to finish it before I got on the plane in Brisbane. I started I Don't Know What You Know Me From on the plane from Brisbane to LA and got a fair bit done before the headache took over. This was also a great non-fiction vacation read (and a great read overall) and I got another chunk done in LA while waiting for our flight back to Toronto.

And that's that. The bookish part of my wonderfully awesome trip to Australia. Stay tuned for another post (or maybe two...) on the rest of my vacation. Spoiler alert: there will be koala pictures!

Have you been wondering where I've been?

So you may have noticed that I've been MIA for the last little while. This is where I've been...

And we (my sister and I) didn't just get to go on a cruise to the Bahamas, we also went to Universal Studios...

Wheeee!!!

You may notice that I used the phrase "get to go." This awesome trip - a 4 day cruise and 3 days at Universal - was a gift from our equally awesome grandmother. We know, we know - we're totally spoiled and we're totally appreciative. My sister's been thinking that she'd like to work on a cruise ship and since we're both Harry Potter nerds my grandma decided to combine the two and surprise us with a trip.

Since I've been absent from this blog I decided I owed you an explanation and a few photos! They might make you jealous but I still wanted to share them with the world :) (or at least my few loyal followers, hehe)

Not only was this the first cruise my sister had been on, this was actually the first time we had ever been out of Canada. Needless to say, we were pretty excited. 

After a bit of a bumpy start on the ship, we had a great time on the cruise. Above you'll see a picture of us after our morning of playing with dolphins, a shot of the Atlantis Resort (my sister's wanted to go for the past 10 years or so, ever since we saw Holiday in the Sun which features none other than Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen), the signature whale tail of Carnival cruise line (we were on the Sensation) and the water slides on-board, and me enjoying my ridiculously overpriced drink (it was good but stupid expensive so it was my only drink I had on the ship. Sigh.) 

Once the cruise was finished we made our way to Universal Studios. Since we're huge Harry Potter fans we were especially excited for the Wizarding World area and rides. That part of the park was just beyond awesome - the shop fronts, the train, the Butterbeer (yum!). Just...amazing.

I found one of my giraffe friends by one of the stores in City Walk (and I was probably a little too excited...), the flying Ford Anglia from the HP books, my sister was very excited to get a picture with Curious George, and this is me with two of the dancers from the luau we went to at our hotel on our last night.

Overall, we had an amazing time. Not only was it a great trip but it got us out of Canada where our area got a dumping of snow and looked a little like this...

(Amusing side note...I checked out theweathernetwork.com for a photo from the week I was away. This pic was actually taken by the mom of one of my best friends. What are the chances??)

Pretty? Yes. Cold? Also yes.

I'd much rather be back here...

Thanks for checking out my vacation recap post! I'm going to try to be better with my posts and reviews but I'm actually moving and starting a new job this week, so please bear with me if I disappear again. I promise to come back! :)

Vacation Reads Challenge: My Jane Austen Summer

Ladies and gentlemen, I have completed the Vacation Reads Challenge! *curtsies* I honestly didn't think I would be able to get it done - six books in three months and that was on top of many blog tour reviews and everything else that happens in the summer. But I did it! The sixth and final book I chose for this review was My Jane Austen Summer by Cindy Jones.

I'm switching things up a little bit with the synopsis - this one comes from Indigo (because the one on Goodreads isn't really the synopsis, it's a review from Publishers Weekly. Not helpful):

Lily has squeezed herself into undersized relationships all her life, hoping one might grow as large as those found in the Jane Austen novels she loves. But lately her world is running out of places for her to fit. So when her bookish friend invites her to spend the summer at a Jane Austen literary festival in England, she jumps at the chance to reinvent herself.
There, among the rich, promising world of Mansfield Park​ reenactments, Lily finds people whose longing to live in a novel equals her own. But real-life problems have a way of following you wherever you go, and Lily's accompany her to England. Unless she can change her ways, she could face the fate of so many of Miss Austen's characters, destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
My Jane Austen Summer explores how we fall in love, how we come to know ourselves better, and how it might be possible to change and be happier in the real world.

I wanted to love this book. I really did. While I still haven't read Mansfield Park or Northanger Abbey, I still consider myself an Austen fan. I have all six of her novels, several other novels that revolve around some sort of Austen plot (like Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict), and a biography. I also have several movie adaptations and Austen-esque films (like The Jane Austen Book Club). I even wrote an essay on Jane Austen adaptations for a film class I took in fourth year university! (Yes, I had some amazing classes). So, long story short, I wanted to like this book because it promised me a world where Austen was queen. And she was, don't get me wrong, but something just didn't work for me in this novel.

Part of me wonders if the reason I didn't love this novel was because I haven't yet read Mansfield Park. From what I understood, My Jane Austen Summer drew from that particular Austen novel and the criticisms surrounding it. Not to mention the fact that Mansfield Park is the novel the characters are adapting into a play for the festival. I'm going to give this novel the benefit of the doubt and assume that I would have gotten more out of it had I had already read Mansfield Park. I think that's fair, don't you? :)

There was a lot going on in this book. There was the literary festival, its uncertain future, the death of Lily's mother, Willis, Vera and Nigel, Bets and her theatrics, Magda and Archie and their affair, and so on. Some things worked well together and the story flowed, such as Lily feeling slightly unhinged, shall we say, because of her mother's death and wanting to find a way to hide from her own life. On the other hand, there were parts of the novel (the storyline with Archie, his wife and children, and his affair with Magda) that didn't need to be as in depth as they were. The flow was a bit off and that may have been something else that stopped me from loving this book.

I loved the idea of this novel - traveling to a literary festival based around a wonderful author. This is the reason I chose this book for the Vacation Reads Challenge - not only because it takes place in England and I desperately want to travel there, but because it would be like living in an Austen novel for a little while. (Through a quick Google search I see that "Jane Austen festival" generates a great deal of options. Note to self: look into these festivals!) It's just such a neat idea to devote an entire event to one author and I think it would be a lot of fun to look into going to such a festival.

Overall, I didn't love this book. I just couldn't. That being said, I think I would still recommend it to other Janeites. I'd likely warn them that I didn't love the book and give a little insight why but I wouldn't let that stop them from reading it. I'm sure others would love this book and I wouldn't want to get in the way of that! Has anyone else read My Jane Austen Summer? What did you think of it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading! :)

Vacation Reads Challenge: A Year in Europe

Bonjour! I've finished my fifth read for the Vacation Challenge hosted, in part, by Ruby's Reads. I decided to read A Year in Europe by Rachel Hawthorne because it took place in three major European cities - London, Paris, and Rome. I would love to visit any of these cities, especially London and Paris.

Let's start off with the synopsis from Goodreads:

MEET THE GIRLS of A Year in Europe, a collection of three interconnecting novels about the adventures of traveling abroad.
Robin: Her junior year abroad in London takes a surprising turn when she falls for British hottie Kit.
Dana: Paris is the City of Love, and Dana's on a mission to find a gorgeous French boyfriend.
Carrie: She's crazy about Antonio, her Italian dream guy. If Carrie tells him the truth about her American heritage, she might lose him forever.
A Year in Europe. Three unforgettable stories. One unforgettable journey.

Overall, I thought this was a fun read. It was actually kind of nice to read about teenage girls who just wanted to have their first boyfriend instead of reading about women who are looking to jump into bed with someone or a teenage girl who wants to become immortal *cough Twilight cough*. I have to admit that I kept thinking, why are these girls so obsessed with getting a boyfriend and worrying about whether boys like them? Partway through Dana's story I realized that my friends and I used to act like Robin, Dana, and Carrie when we were 16. After that, I put my 16 year old self in their shoes and started to enjoy the book a little more.

I liked that the novel was based around the girls going abroad for a year and living and learning in another country. This is something that I never would have done myself in high school, since I was pretty quiet and liked staying close to home. I could really understand the tough emotions the girls found themselves having while they were away from their hometown, friends, and family. However, I couldn't quite understand why they were so clueless in their new cities. Carrie was the only one who had no problem where she was because her father's Italian and she's fluent in the language. Robin and Dana, on the other hand, had some difficulties - and Robin was only going to London! She had no idea that the "tube" meant the subway and the "boot" meant the trunk of a car. Maybe I'm judging too harshly, but I'm pretty sure I had a rough idea of the most common English lingo when I was their age. I do applaud Dana for heading to a country where she is not fluent in the language though - I can't imagine how difficult that would have been!

England is one of my top dream travel destinations (Scotland, Ireland, and Australia are also up there) so I was definitely most envious of Robin and her year abroad. I'd love to go to Paris as well, but since I'm nowhere near fluent in French, it would be a little more challenging. I took French up until grade 10 (one year past the mandatory French classes us Canadian kids have to take) but I didn't retain much - just enough to excel at the French questions on Jeopardy! :) Regardless, I would love to travel to Paris sometime in my life.

This novel was a fun read, nice and light for the summer. I would definitely recommend it to teenagers who are looking for a good book to lose themselves in. I've read quite a few of Rachel Hawthorne's books before and I've always enjoyed them. It goes to show that just because you're no longer a teenager doesn't mean you can't enjoy a good YA novel every once and awhile. Especially one that takes you to so many wonderful cities!

Happy travels...er...reading, everyone! :)

Vacation Reads Challenge: The Perfect Man

Welcome to another Vacation Reads Challenge post! This time I will be taking you on a Caribbean cruise with a stop in Ireland and Spain with the novel The Perfect Man by Shelia O'Flanagan.

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

From a bestselling author comes a captivating novel about family ties, romance and leaving the past behind Two very different sisters, Mia (still in love with Alejo, the married father of her daughter) and Britt (the ice maiden author of a romantic bestseller), join a luxury honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean where Britt is the guest lecturer. Also on board are recently widowed Leo, still reeling from the discovery of his wife's betrayal just before her death, and Steve, a ship's officer who's soon looking for more than a holiday romance with Mia. Can Steve replace Alejo and is there any chance that Britt and Leo can see that they really should get together? When the characters head for home -- Mia to Spain, the others to Dublin -- it seems that all romantic options are off. But love has a way of triumphing in Sheila O'Flanagan's novels, even if it takes till the very last page...

I've read another of O'Flanagan's novels before (Bad Behaviour) and liked it so I was looking forward to this one. It didn't disappoint! It was such a fun read. It's a fairly long book and the great thing about it is that the story doesn't get dull or stuck. There was always movement with the plot and development with the characters. It was an enjoyable read all around.

What I found quite interesting about the characters Mia and Britt was that they were sisters yet weren't all that close. They had a deeper and more intimate relationship than two friends would have because they grew up together. This trip gave them the chance to learn about each other all over again. They were comfortable with being themselves around each other but there were deeper personality traits that the other did not understand. For example, Mia is still in love with Alejo which Britt finds baffling. As for Britt, she is a bestselling author but hates the life that comes with it. Mia can see that Britt is fantastic with the publicity even if Britt can't see it herself. They learn from each other and I really enjoyed that.

Like any great chick lit novel, the romance in The Perfect Man was present but wasn't in your face. You could figure out from the beginning which man should be with each sister but O'Flanagan does a great job of putting little twists and turns in the story and characters' personalities that make you wonder if you really did figure it out. The area of romantic relationships was one of the areas that I had issue with...both Mia and Britt tended to be quite hard on themselves when it came to relationships and I wanted to shake them both because they had so many great qualities! Luckily, they both came to their senses and realized that any man would be lucky to have them.

The reason I chose this as a read for the vacation challenge is because my own sister and I have been toying with the idea of going on a cruise ourselves. She's trying to decide if she wants to work on a cruise ship but wants to actually GO on a cruise before committing herself to working on one. Of course, we'd love to go somewhere hot like the sisters in The Perfect Man did (we live in Canada...we need to escape the winter!) but I'd really like to avoid a "structured" cruise. I want to be able to do what I want, when I want, where I want - not sit down to some stuffy dinner :)

Overall, I had fun reading this book. It was easy to put myself on the cruise and feel the roller coaster of emotions the characters go through. I would definitely recommend it to chick lit lovers!  I'll also be checking out more of Shelia O'Flanagan's novels in the future.

Happy Reading :)

Vacation Reads Challenge: Burning the Map

First of all, I have to apologize for my apparent disappearance from the blogging world. It's been a whole two weeks since I last posted and I hate that it went on for that long *hangs head in shame* While I know I shouldn't make excuses, I have to say that it's been a crazy couple of weeks (I won't get into details but it involved much stress and hardly any free evenings or weekends). I hope to never go that long without sharing my thoughts on books again! Thanks for bearing with me and I hope you enjoy this MUCH overdue post.

With this review I am halfway done my reads for the Vacation Challenge! It's getting down to the wire and I still have two more to read (plus there's another post in the works...stay tuned!). So far I've "traveled" to Tuscany and Scotland, and with Burning the Map by Laura Caldwell I got to go to Rome and Greece.

Overall this was a fun and easy read - perfect for the summer. This was the kind of book that was great for someone who wants to travel or is about to start a new chapter in their lives - particularly on the job front. Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Picking up a first novel is a bit like unwrapping a present, an exciting peek into the unknown. Laura Caldwell's debut invites readers along on a special trip -- a voyage of self-discovery, with plenty of adventure (romantic and otherwise) and a chance to explore friendships, new and old. Casey Evers is at a turning point in her life. She's just finished her law boards, she's about to start a new job, her workaholic boyfriend is about to pop the question and she's desperate for a last taste of freedom before she settles down to mapping her course through her new, grown-up, self-supporting life. That's why she's talked her two best girlfriends (whom she's seen much too little of since getting serious about John) into a gals-only trip -- a few days in Rome, then a few weeks in the Greek islands. This is Casey's chance to recapture a part of herself she's nearly forgotten -- the wild, fun-loving, passionate woman she may never be free to be again. Casey, Lindsey, and Kat had been like sisters for a decade and little more than passing strangers for the past two years. They've come to make up for all the special times they've missed in the past two years, to try to build a new friendship on the foundations of the old. Far from home, in exotic settings, with plenty of sexy guys and no responsibilities, these three friends learn that emotional baggage is a lot lighter when it's shared.

I checked out Laura Caldwell's website and had realized that I've already read one of her books, The Night I Got Lucky. I enjoyed that one too and it had a similar theme - the protagonist was trying to have her so-called "perfect" life but realizes that what she thought would be perfect may not actually be right for her.

The synopsis also gave me the heads up that Burning the Map was Caldwell's first novel. I didn't think of it at the time but it does make sense that this was her debut. While I liked the characters I feel like they could have been more developed and the storyline was fairly simple. That being said, I really liked the book. The three friends, Casey, Lindsey, and Kat are off on a trip for one last hurrah before Casey settles down to an established job at a law firm. The synopsis also makes it seem like the trip was all about the girls rekindling their close friendship, and while that was a huge part to the story, it was really a struggle to get to the end. I could understand that they had a huge hurdle to overcome (Casey had been distant since she started dating John and focusing on her law career) but there were arguments and pettiness between the girls that I just couldn't quite get over. It was also hard to see these three friends who had been so close become so disconnected. It really made me think about my own friends and what our relationships might be like in the next few years. I'm hoping that we stay close as we establish our "grown up" lives and careers. :)

I also really envied the girls and the vacation they took. They planned out this great trip to Europe and were able to get the money and time off work to go away. I know so many people say that you should just go away without worrying too much about the money, but I guess I'm just a worrier because I couldn't bring myself to spend all my money on a trip when I was just out of university. Of course, now I sort of wish I had but I'm hoping to go on a nice vacation...erm...let's just say soon. It may not be to Italy or Greece - both are places I would love to travel to - but you never know! I would love to travel to those countries partly because of the history Italy and Greece have. Comparatively speaking, I live in a young country (Canada for those of you who didn't know) and our history and development as a country is so different than many European countries. Reading about these girls taking a trip of a lifetime was a lot of fun, even if I was a little bit jealous!

Along with trying to breathe life back into her friendship with Lindsey and Kat, Casey is trying to sort through the second thoughts she's been having about her soon to be permanent law job and her relationship with her boyfriend, John. It's easy for me to say, as a reader and objective third party, that she should have realized there were issues when she was starting to wonder if she was making the right choices. I'm sure if it was me I wouldn't be able to see the problems that were staring me right in the face. In the end, Casey discovers what she should truly be doing and is happy, which is the most important thing. While I think that one of her decisions was very abrupt and could have been dealt with in a slightly different way, I applaud her for going with her heart and doing what she truly loves.

Like I mentioned before, this is a book that's great for someone who's starting a new chapter in their life. Anyone who has been in that position will know that easy answers are hard to come by and you should almost always follow your heart. Unless it's telling you to run off with a goat farmer in a country where you don't speak any of the language and have no hope of finding employment. Then I would at least consult some friends :) Overall, this was a fun read and think many other chick lit lovers would enjoy it as well.

Happy reading!

Vacation Reads Challenge: Scotland by Starlight

Oh my gosh. That's all I can say to this novel right now. Wow.

*breathes*

Ok, that's better. Here we go...

I really liked Nancy Volkers' first novel, A Scottish Ferry Tale, so I knew I should like the sequel Scotland by Starlight as well. I was actually wrong. I loved the sequel. I started the book a few days ago, finished it this evening and during that time I have pretty much been thinking about it nonstop. It was that good. But...well, there's one thing I can't get over but I'll give you the synopsis from Goodreads first and then I'll really get into what I thought about this book.

Cassie Wrentham is on her way to Scotland again... but this time it's not vacation. She's moving in with Ralph Macnair, the charismatic Scotsman who stole her heart. But Cassie wouldn't be Cassie without doubts. Will she find a job in a tight U.K. economy? Would marrying Ralph now be only for convenience's sake? Will she fit in, make friends, make a life there? Or will it all fall apart? Bursting with a lively cast of characters, all with their own stories and challenges, Scotland By Starlight follows Cassie and Ralph from the new beginnings of their intense relationship to a conclusion like no other.

I read A Scottish Ferry Tale as part of a blog tour organized by Chick Lit Plus (if you missed my review, you can find it here). I really enjoyed it, and not only because it was set in Scotland (more about that later). Nancy oh so generously sent me a (signed!) copy of Scotland by Starlight a few months ago and I finally got to read it this week. This was one of those books that I did not want to put down and when I had to, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I don't know what it was about the story that grabbed me so much but I could really feel the intensity of Cassie and Ralph's relationship. Did anyone else feel that way? They love each other so passionately and it really seemed to come through the pages. Their relationship managed to be both idealistic and realistic at the same time. They were just like any other couple with their disagreements, insecurities, and doubts but they were so madly in love with each other and it showed. They seemed to have the perfect balance of a serious but fun relationship and I think that's something that everyone strives for.

One of the things I didn't like about A Scottish Ferry Tale was that Ralph was so much older than Cassie (twenty years older, to be precise...at least, I hope that's precise. My math skills aren't exactly stellar). It was an issue that I felt wasn't mentioned or even really acknowledged in the book. In Scotland by Starlight, however, it really seemed to be addressed, especially when Cassie talked about how she was worried about being left alone. This made it easier for me to really imagine Cassie and Ralph correctly (I used to see Ralph much younger...as you'll see in my review I pictured him looking Matthew Goode) and I think I appreciated the story even better. Personally, I still can't quite get over the twenty year gap, but their love for each other definitely overshadows their age difference.

Part of why I loved this book, and why I chose it as part of the Vacation Reads Challenge (see Ruby's Reads blog for details), is that it is based in Scotland. Being part Scottish (my last name is Stewart. Can't get a whole lot more Scottish than that!) I've always wanted to travel to Scotland. This was one of those books that made me feel like I was actually there. Not because they traveled to many Scottish tourist destinations (though Cassie does show her friend Leslie around a bit when she's visiting), it's more that the characters were all so incredibly Scottish. They live, breath, and speak Scottish on every page and I found myself totally immersed in it. It didn't hurt that Gaelic is spoken by Ralph and his friends and family in their everyday speech. Can you imagine your boyfriend/fiance/husband calling you "mo chridh", instead of the "my heart" or saying "Is tu m'annsachd" instead of "you are my best beloved". Swoon.

I also really liked that each chapter began with the motto of a different Scottish clan. It really added an additional Scottish element to the novel. Each motto was chosen for a reason as it related to the chapter that followed. Of course, I'm partial to chapter 17:

Virescit vulnere virtus

Courage grows strong at a wound

Clan Stewart

There are probably many other things I could say about this book but I don't want to give anything away. That and it's getting late and my brain has stopped functioning correctly. I have to say that I was blindsided by the ending, hence the needing to breathe at the beginning of this post. If you're like me (and a couple of other people) you will cry. A lot. I would probably give this book a five star rating if it wasn't for the ending. I know not all books can have a happy ending but having a sad ending come out of nowhere can be tough. However, that being said, the whole book is so intense, romantic, and real and the conclusion really reflects that. All in all, I loved Scotland by Starlight. I highly recommend you check out both of Nancy Volkers' books - and then let me know what you think!

Now that I've shared with you my ideal travel destination - who wants to tell me where they would love to travel?

Happy reading :)


UPDATE: When I finished this post I emailed Nancy to let her know that I had read, reviewed, and loved her book. I appreciated that she took the time to reply and thank me. I wanted to share a part of her email with you because it shows how authors don't always know how their stories will end up either:  

Many folks are upset by the ending.... all I can say is that I sat down one day and started writing in Ralph's voice, and that's what came out. I didn't like it much either! :-)

Vacation Reads Challenge: Under the Tuscan Sun

Under the Tuscan Sun is probably one of my favourite movies so when I signed up for the Vacation Reads Challenge hosted by Ruby's Reads and Manga Maniac Cafe it was one of the first books that I thought of and I'm so happy that I decided to read it. I really enjoyed Frances Mayes' account of life in the small town of Cortona, Italy.

I didn't choose this book simply because I love the movie but because I would love to be able to travel to Italy. I admit, the movie may have fueled that desire and the book made me want to go even more. If that ever happens I want to make sure that I try to visit some of the smaller towns and really get a feel of the people and the culture of Italy. Mayes actually touches on this a little bit in the last part of the book when she discusses what the movie adaptation has meant to the town of Cortona and her book. The townspeople say that the tourists who come are there to see the culture and experience the history. Not to be loud and obnoxious tourists. Only problem with checking out the smaller towns? The fact that I don't know any Italian...

 

Bramasole

The book centred around Mayes buying Bramasole and the restoration and renovations of the house (done in part while they were living in California...can you imagine? Renovations are hard enough when you're at the house watching all the work being done, let alone when you're in another country trying to "oversee"!). Throughout this process we get to read about Mayes' love of cooking and her decisions on how to use some of the fresh ingredient from the area. Talk about mouthwatering! I will gladly visit Bramasole if she will cook for me.

I found that I had to keep reminding myself that the book wasn't a story - it was an actual account of Mayes' life in Italy. This leads to a discussion of the similarities and differences between the book and the movie adaptation starring Diane Lane. I'm one of those people who know that things have to be changed in order to make a successful movie.

That being said, I'm not really sure where some of the things in the movie came from. The biggest difference was that Frances is buying a house with her current partner, Ed, not on her own. Not only that, but they're planning on buying a house in Italy - it's not an impulsive purchase while on a gay tour of Tuscany. (And those of you who haven't seen the movie, I really do mean a gay tour. Frances' lesbian friends send her on the tour they were supposed to go on. Just wanted to make that clear!) Speaking of the lesbian friends - they were nowhere to be found, nor was the young female neighbour who the young Polish male falls in love with. There were, however, steaming toilets (right before hosting a wedding no less!), a lightening storm that fries a dishwasher, and a wall with "Polonia" engraved on it.

I find it interesting how Mayes notes in the last part of the book that there was an Italian lover added for the Frances character. I think it's interesting because she's essentially referring to herself as a character which shows that she knows the differences between books and films and what happens in the adaptation process. At least, I think so - maybe I'm totally off base! I'm not sure why a lot of these things were changed and/or added. Maybe these were parts of Mayes' life in Italy that just didn't make it into the book. Or maybe, like the Italian lover, these bits were added to make the story flow a bit more and to make it, well, a story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I think it's a great read for anyone looking to travel or wishing they could. Be warned - it could make you extremely jealous of any friends you have who are traveling while you're reading the book - even if they're just taking a road trip in your own country (you know who you are :) ). Remember that this is considered a travel memoir and isn't going to be a story like the movie is. Under the Tuscan Sun somewhat romanticizes the area but you can feel how much Frances and Ed really feel at home in Cortona and I loved that. This book was well worth the read. I would love to hear from any of you who have read this, or if you have any other travel memoirs to recommend.

Happy travels :)

A New Challenge!

Here I am on a lovely Sunday afternoon, checking out the various blogs I read, and I got to thinking that I should try and find a new challenge to sign up for, just for kicks. Well, as I'm looking through some posts I happen upon the Vacation Reads Reading Challenge! What are the chances? It's being hosted by Ruby's Reads and Manga Maniac Cafe.

Here's the lowdown: (which, in full disclosure, I copied right from Ruby's site - which is also why the formatting is a little off and the colour won't change for me)

Participant Information: 

• Those who decide to participate in the reading challenge will strive to read six Vacation Reads. Six is the number we've chosen for the challenge, but you can always read more.  
• Anyone can participate, even non-bloggers. Non-bloggers can post their reviews on LibraryThing, Goodreads etc.
• Because of the short time the challenge is going to run, the deadline to join is June 21. The challenge runs from June 21 to September 23.

Qualifying Books:

• Any books in any genre, as long as the setting is somewhere you'd like to visit.
• The setting may be fictional, fantastical, or historical, so long as you explain in your review why you want to "visit" there.

If you're interested make sure you head on over to one of their sites (linked above) to sign up. Now I have to put on my thinking cap and decide where I'd like to travel and which books to read. Ooh, I've got one already! Stay tuned... :)