Just Finished: The Lucky Harbor Series

I did it, I did it! I have finished another Christmas book in time to make it on the list for the Book Lovers Inc. Holiday Challenge. Phew! You're probably wondering how the above three novels qualify for a Christmas Challenge, aren't you? I actually read Simply Irresistible and The Sweetest Thing together in the combo book Christmas in Lucky Harbor. Those two books, plus Head Over Heels, were all written by Jill Shalvis. I thought they were sweet stories and I enjoyed reading them.

I got these books courtesy of NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing. "Christmas" in the title of Christmas in Lucky Harbor was what led me to them and I figured I may as well read the third novel while I was at it! I'm not going to put the synopsis in this post for these books because it would take up a lot of space so instead I will direct you to the Goodreads pages for each. You can find them here, here, and here. :) In a nutshell, these books each focus on a different sister - Maddie in Simply Irresistible, Tara in The Sweetest Thing, and Chloe in Head Over Heels. In true romance novel fashion, each sister falls in love with a different man and after a few obstacles are thrown in their path they all live happily ever after. The nice thing about these novels was that the relationship between the sisters was just as important as the romantic relationships. The three are actually half sisters, same mother but different fathers, and have never spent much time together. In fact, they hadn't seen each other in five years when they all came together for their mother's funeral. As it turns out, Phoebe, their wild and carefree mother, owned an inn in the quaint town of Lucky Harbor and the girls inherited it and all its problems. It's great to see how all the relationship between the women progress through the three novels.

It's very easy for romance novels (ok, any genre really) to get predictable and fall into a pattern. I always say that I don't care if I know who is going to end up with who at the end of the book as long as I'm entertained throughout the rest of the story. Fortunately, the Lucky Harbor novels gave me three sweet and fun stories. The sisters have to learn to fix themselves before they can let anyone else in and it was nice to see how they grew and evolved over the course of the series.

The only thing that I found disappointing was that I went into reading Christmas in Lucky Harbor expecting it to be totally Christmassy. Sadly, it was not. By now you'd think I would have learned my lesson but every year I assume that if "Christmas" or "holiday" is in the title of the book then it's going to be all Christmas all the time. Oh well. Even though I wished there had been a lot more Christmas in the book, I survived and still enjoyed reading it.

Overall, I enjoyed reading these books and I'm glad I read them back to back to back. I didn't really want to leave the world of Lucky Harbor and the inn and kept thinking about the books when I wasn't reading them. I think chick lit and romance lovers alike will enjoy Jill Shalvis' series. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on other books by her in the future.

Happy reading and happy New Year everyone! :)

Just Finished: A Season to Remember

I did it! I managed to make it to the Serial Mistletoe-er level for the Book Lovers Inc. Holiday Challenge! Phew. I gotta say, I was a little worried that I wasn't going to make it. It's been a busy holiday season for me, as I'm sure it's been for all of you, and I've had a lot of reading to do so I haven't had as much time for Christmas books as I would have liked. Ah well. I've read four and am working on a fifth (even though I likely won't get it and the review done in time to count for this challenge). I'm happy with that :) My fourth Christmas book was A Season to Remember by Sheila O'Flanagan and I loved reading it!

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

It's Christmas at Sugar Loaf Lodge and everyone checking in to the luxury hotel has their reasons for spending the holiday away from home. A heartbroken guest tries to put the past behind her; a stressed couple long for peace and quiet; a young woman eagerly anticipates a romantic night with the man she loves -- although he should be spending it with somebody else. And it's not just the guests who are hoping for a happier New Year. Worried about their business surviving the recession, the hotel's owners are determined to make it a holiday to remember. As many more tales unfold, and a visitor from times past prepares to take her own journey, we watch and wonder: will everyone's Christmas wishes come true? This special book of touching and poignant stories is guaranteed to warm your heart on a cold winter's night.

The main thing that I loved about this book was the fact that it was actually Christmassy. All too often so-called Christmas books barely have anything to do with the holiday. Not only did the book focus on all the guests who were at the Sugar Loaf Lodge on Christmas but each story really captured the essence of Christmas - at least, what I think the holiday really means. There were wonderful family stories, old friends, and sweet romances. It was all about the relationships between the characters and they were made that much better because the stories and guests all came together at Christmas.

I loved that there were so many different characters who were guests at the Sugar Loaf Lodge because that meant lots of stories and insights into different lives. Each chapter held little snapshots of the characters' lives and they were written wonderfully. Just enough detail was given to really get a feel of their history and I felt like I knew the characters and understood their motivations. Definitely well done.

I also liked how O'Flanagan structured the book. Each chapter was a different story and was noted by the hotel room name (each was named after an Irish mountain). That being said, there were nine rooms (if I counted correctly) and many many many more characters. Needless to say, I found myself getting a little confused sometimes. Each story had a background element to it but there was also part of it that was in the present at the Lodge. This meant that characters were meeting each other and I found that I couldn't always recall the stories of some of the characters. I don't think this is really a bad thing - probably says more about me and my inability to remember details than the way the book was written!

I think another thing that I really liked was the setting of the book. The Lodge was almost another character, one who stood quietly by and gave everyone the little nudge they needed. Sometimes that was uninterrupted time together and sometimes it was time away from family. Neil and Claire, the owners of this lovely hotel, adore their work and are determined to make sure their guests have a wonderful time. Their love for what they do and their guests really comes through. Made me wish that I could stay at the Sugar Loaf Lodge myself!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading A Season to Remember. It's just Christmassy enough but I think you could still enjoy it at other times of the year. This collection has just confirmed for me that I really like Sheila O'Flanagan's work and I will definitely be looking for more of her novels in the future.

Happy reading! :)

Top Ten Reads of 2011

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. They created this feature because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature. This week's list is Top Ten Reads of 2011. Don't forget to check out their blog for a full list of everyone participating.

This year I really got into the reviewing swing of things. So much so that I have many books that I've bought for myself that are just sitting on my shelves, waiting patiently for me to get to them. I'm not sure when that will be but I hope to get to some of them soon! :) I read quite a few books this year (around 70ish) so it was difficult to just pick ten of my favourites. By the way, these are not in any particular order. The title links all lead to my reviews. This is just in case you missed them the first time around and/or you want to know more about what I thought of the book :)

1. Rock Star's Girl by J.F. Kristin
Loved the characters, loved the story, loved the conclusion. Just an all around lovefest for this book.


2. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
I have been in love with Sarah Dessen for almost ten years so it's not a surprise that her latest book made it on this list. While I didn't love this one as much as some of her others it still had to be featured. I don't care if she only writes YA, I will continue reading her books until she stops writing :)


3. Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick
This story had me sucked in right from the start. The circumstances that lead to where the friends end up is quite sad (vague, I know. Just read the book) but the friends are able to truly find out who they are and it's such a great read. Friendship, love, finding yourself. Recipe for a great book.


4. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a series that I absolutely adore and I am so happy that Brashares wrote this final novel. Even though there's a major event that is so sad and depressing (and yes, it made me cry) it is wrapped up in the most perfect way. I never really realized that I was lacking a good conclusion to this series until I read Sisterhood Everlasting.


5. Arranged and Spin by Catherine McKenzie
Yes, I'm sort of cheating a little bit but I couldn't choose just one of McKenzie's great novels. If I'm being honest, perhaps I did like Arranged a little bit better than Spin but each book kept me entertained and enthralled for its entirety. I can't wait for Forgotten, McKenzie's third novel, which is apparently due out in May!



6. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
I've seen mixed reviews about this novel but I loved it. It's a massive book but I loved every bit of it. It's got magical creatures (vampires, witches, and the like) as well as a lot of really great historical detail. I'm very excited to read the rest of the books in the All Souls Trilogy.


7. Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo, Go Small or Go Home, Stir Until Thoroughly Confused by Heather Wardell
I'm cheating again. Heather Wardell is definitely one of my top favourite authors as her books never fail to disappoint. I just had to include the three I read this year. I've got another to get to for January and I'm really looking forward to reading it!


8. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
I had been told to read this book for years but it wasn't until this year that I finally got around to it. All those people who had suggested it were right. It's a captivating story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.


9. Destined to Fail by Samantha March
For those of you who don't know, Samantha is the voice behind the popular Chick Lit Plus website. This was a book that grabbed hold of me and did not want to let go. The story is heavy but March does a fantastic job of telling it.


10. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
This was another book that many people told me to read. I wanted to get to it before the movie came out and I succeed. I ended up loving this novel, much to my surprise. It's got three interconnected stories that are told wonderfully.



And there we have it. My top ten favourite books of 2011. I hope you've found some more great reads to add to your 2012 to read pile.

Happy reading! :)

Chick Lit Plus Blog Tour: A Heart in Sun and Shadow

Welcome to another stop on the blog tour for Annie Bellet's novel A Heart in Sun and Shadow. This tour is being organized by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours and I'm happy I got to be a part of it.

Let's start with the synopsis from Goodreads and then I'll get into the review:

In an ancient Wales that never was...

Twin brothers Emyr and Idrys are cursed to live as hounds; Emyr by night, and Idrys by day. The twins believe they will be trapped this way forever until they meet the fierce and curious Áine, a changeling woman born with Fey blood and gifts struggling to fit into a suspicious human world. Áine unravels the fate of Emyr and his twin as all three of them fall in love. To free her lovers from the curse, she embarks on a journey to the realm of the fey where she confronts her own unique gifts and heritage. Ultimately, she must decide where her heart truly lies and what she's willing to risk to get what she desires most.

I decided to take a chance on this novel as it's most definitely not a chick lit book. I used to read all sorts of fantasy type novels when I was young and for some reason I got away from it as I got older. Good news - I found that I still enjoy a fantasy story. It's such a work out for my imagination which is probably why I loved them when I was younger. This book definitely needed a reader with a good imagination as there was a strong fantastical element to it. I admit, at times I found the story a little bizarre but at the end I appreciate how the story made its way to the conclusion.

I was a little confused at the beginning since the prologue introduced a character, Áine, who didn't reappear for a good while. We get the entire back history of Emyr and Idrys and how they become cursed before Áine comes back into the story. I understand that's part of the whole prologue deal but it just didn't work for me. Maybe it's because the story switched back to Áine's perspective and I read her back story before she was finally introduced to Emyr and Idrys the three of them. Of course, it could be just me. :)

There was a lot going on in this novel but it kept me intrigued from start to finish. I think this is the kind of book that you need to read with an open mind and a good imagination. I didn't love it but I enjoyed reading it. I don't think I'll continue reading the series myself, but I'm sure many other fantasy lovers would devour these books. All in all, I liked A Heart in Sun and Shadow (clever title, by the way) and am glad I got the chance to read it.

Happy reading! :)

Author Interview: Denise Grover Swank

Welcome to my first ever author interview! This is part of a blog tour hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours for Denise Grover Swank's novel Here. (Check out my review here) Thank you to both Denise and Samantha for this opportunity. I hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about the novel and the author behind it! :)

Books Etc. - There's a significant plot twist about halfway through Here. How did you keep from revealing too much of the plot? 
Denise Grover Swank - Lots of playing around with the plot. I found at first that I didn't reveal enough. There weren't enough clues so I kept going back and layering more and more until I thought that there were enough to pique the reader’s attention and not have the reader taken completely by surprise when the twist came, yet not give it away either. It’s a delicate balance sometimes and even though all of my books have a mystery/mysterious element, I found Here the most difficult to get just right.  

BE - How did you come up with the idea for Here?
DGS - I wrote Here because I had written several adult novels and my then thirteen-year-old daughter wanted me to write something she and her friends could read. (She actually read all of Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes with the exception of one chapter.)  But I wasn't really sure what to write. Paranormal was out for me. I love it but the market is saturated with it. I could have gone lite paranormal like I did with Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes but decided I wanted to try something different.  So there I was, back as square one. What was I going to write? 
I started thinking about what *I* love to read, television shows I love to watch, movies that make me excited and I narrowed it down to the TV show that has made the biggest impact on my writing: LOST. I thought about what I loved about LOST and then started spinning tangents off from there. And of course, since I wrote it for my daughter, there was a romance involved. 3. Did you always plan on making it part of a series or did you decide partway through writing the novel that you wanted to spend more time with this story?I planned a series from the beginning. Most YAs sell as a series so I kept that in mind as I wrote the story.

BE - You've written other types of novels before. Why did you decide to try your hand at Young Adult?
DGS - As I mentioned above, I wrote it for my daughter. That being said, the market had really swung toward the young adult market. It seemed like a good time to try it.

BE - In your research of other YA novels, were there any books or authors that influenced you?
DGS - I read a slew of YA before I started. My critique partner Trisha Leigh writes YA and stuffed book after book in my hand. I’m not sure any influenced me but I really loved The Hunger Game series and the Hex Hall series. (The two couldn’t be more opposite. LOL)

BE - What is your least favourite thing about being an author?
DGS - My least favorite part of being an author so far is the amount of time I spend on business.  I heard that it was time consuming and I thought I was prepared but it sucks much more time than I anticipated. Of course, I released four books very close together which was took a ton of time, but I’ve struggled to find a balance between the business aspect and making sure I’m still writing. I think, perhaps, I’ve found it now.

BE - Favourite thing?
DGS - My favorite thing about being an author is that I daydream - and get paid for it. I tell my kids that when I was little, I was a huge daydreamer creating elaborate stories in my head. That's exactly what books are: giant daydreams authors create and put down in words. I've got the coolest job in the world.


BE - Do you find yourself giving your characters qualities that you or people who are close to you have?
DGS - LOL No. If anything, I find myself making sure that my characters don’t resemble people close to me. Still, most of the time, I don’t think about it at all. The characters come to life in my head and become their own people. I rarely find myself attributing characteristics to them.
I do give my characters names of people around me, but I purposely know from the start that they are unlike the real person. For example, in The Chosen series, there’s a character whose sense of ethics and right vs wrong is questionable. I named the character Scott Kramer, after my friend Scot Kraemer who is a youth pastor. (Scot was a tremendous resource when I wrote Chosen and I jokingly offered to name a character after him. And then I did.)

BE - Are there any places where you find you get your best ideas or writing done?
DGS - There are two places I tend to have time to brainstorm and work through plot details: driving and in the shower. Could I be anymore clichéd? Yet it’s true. I’m performing a mindless task (although I’m not too mindless when I drive LOL) with nothing for my brain to do but sort through the mess I’m dealing with.
As for writing, I’m either at my desk (which honestly surprises me) or lately, in an overstuffed chair in my bedroom with my new laptop Scarlett. And of course, with headphones and iTunes.

BE - Now to end with something fun - where would you like to go on your dream vacation?
DGS - Wow, this is surprisingly hard. I love to travel and have a lengthy list of places I’d like to travel. Still, I really want to go to Italy. There’s so much history and it’s a beautiful.

Chick Lit Plus Blog Tour: Here

Welcome to another stop on the blog tour for Here: On the Otherside Series by Denise Grover Swank! This is another tour organized by Samantha over at Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours and I'm very happy I got to be a part of this tour. I enjoyed Here even if it didn't take the path I thought it would.

Here's the synopsis, courtesy of Goodreads:

Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before.

Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he’s volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can't ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she’s been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he’s really from.

I was loving the book up until the big plot twist (more on that later). Afterwards, I still really liked it. Even though the main characters were all teenagers, and therefore much younger than me, I was hooked on their story. Julia is so tortured with guilt and sadness and doesn't have anyone to turn to. I felt her pain and her delight when popular Evan starts paying attention to her.

As I mentioned earlier, this book had a crazy twist to it that I really wasn't expecting. While I knew something had to be revealed I was not at all ready for where Swank took the plot. Not that this was necessarily a bad thing, don't get me wrong. On Goodreads I only ranked this book as three stars but I think it's more of a three and a half. It would be a four if this twist wasn't so...futuristic...I think that's the way I want to describe it. It's not really the future but it has a crazy fantastical element to it. I really enjoyed the twist but it wasn't exactly a sub-genre that I enjoyed so I couldn't quite give it a full four stars. And no, I am not about to give anything away so that's all you're going to get out of me about that :)

If you like realistic novels but enjoy a good sci-fi book every once and awhile you will probably really enjoy this book. I'm not a sci-fi girl myself (I tend to lean more towards the fantasy side) so I think that's why I didn't find myself loving the book all the way through. By the way, Here is the first book in a series. Will I read the next books? Maybe. I do want to know what happens to Julia and her friends but I'm not sure if this genre is for me. I know others will love it because the story is captivating and Swank tells it well.

Stay tuned for my first ever author interview! My interview with Swank will be posted on Thursday the 22nd. And make sure you check out this link to see what other bloggers think of Here and leave a comment there - you could win a $10 Amazon.com gift card!

Happy reading :)

December Chick Lit Challenge Read: Wrapped Up In You

Here's is my final review for the 2011 Chick Lit Challenge hosted by the lovely Samantha at Chick Lit Plus. I have to say that I am so glad that I participated in this challenge as I got some great recommendations and met some awesome people. Because I had such a great experience with this challenge I will be participating again in 2012! (You can still sign up by going to this page. Go, go now!)

Since it's almost Christmas, I decided to read a holiday themed novel for this month's challenge and Wrapped Up In You by Carole Matthews was my choice. Here's the synopsis, from Goodreads:

A Christmas fling, or has Janie found the real thing? Thirty-something hairdresser Janie Johnson's single status is a constant source of gossip for her friends and clients. So after too many nights in with her cat, a blind date disaster and news that her ex is getting married, Janie realises it's time to do something dramatic with her life. It's time for an adventure! Leaving winter behind, Janie takes the plunge and books an exotic trip to Africa. Her friends think she's mad and Janie thinks they may very well be right ...but then she falls head over heels for her tour guide and fully fledged Maasai Warrior Dominic. But can Janie now face spending a snowy Christmas back home without him? Packed with unforgettable characters, romance and laughter, Wrapped Up In You is your very own perfect Christmas Carole!

When I love a particular author, as I love Carole Matthews (if you haven't read any of hers do it!), I tend to pick up their newest novels without paying much attention to what it's actually about. That was the case with Wrapped Up In You. It was by Matthews and it looked Christmassy. I was in. I wanted to love it. I tried to love it. I failed. Now, I definitely didn't hate it and I'm sure others would enjoy it but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I can't quite pinpoint what failed to excite me. Part of it is that it wasn't actually very Christmassy. Take a look at the cover up there. Now, reread the synopsis. I'm not crazy for expecting the novel to focus on Christmas, right? The novel started about mid December and went to almost spring (I think) with only a brief touch on Christmas. So, that was definitely unfortunate. I was also expecting something massively disappointing to happen to Janie. Everyone is incredibly wary of her new love, Dominic, and thinks that he's just using her for money and will leave her once he's wiped her out. All but one of her friends felt that way so I started wondering if it was true. I think that says something about the lack of connection I felt with Janie. I was believing her friends instead of believing in her and her love for Dominic. I didn't find myself rooting for her as I do for other characters in other novels. I also really wanted her to fall for her sweet and dependable neighbour Mike. The ending of this novel just didn't thrill me and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's because I just wish things had turned out differently.

I don't want to turn people off of Wrapped Up In You (it still had Matthews' signature humour to it which I loved) but I can't quite bring myself to recommend it to other Carole Matthews fans. I think you'll all be expecting something different and will feel like me, a little disappointed. I hate when I have such great expectations for a book and am left with a "well...that was...meh" kind of feeling. I wish I had better things to say about this one as I feel like this review is a bit of a downer. I will say that I will still read more of Carole Matthews in the future. I just might pay more attention to the synopsis. Ah well. Can't win 'em all, right?

Happy reading!

PS This book also adds to my total of Christmas books for the Book Lovers Inc. Holiday Challenge. One more book and I move from Santa's Helper to Serial Mistletoe-er. Stay tuned!