CLP Blog Tour: In Search of a Love Story

Thanks for stopping by my tour stop for In Search of a Love Story by Rachel Schurig. I was so intrigued by this book when I first heard of the CLP Blog Tour that I immediately signed up. I am so glad I did because I really enjoyed this book!

Here's the synopsis:

Emily Donovan doesn't have a romantic bone in her body.
At least, that's what her friends Ryan and Ashley keep telling her. They're convinced her bad luck with men is directly related to her life-long lack of interest in all things romantic. When Emily’s latest relationship crashes and burns, she decides to go along with her friends' plans for a romance research project. Sure, the idea that she'll have better luck if she learns about the great romances of literature and film seems a little silly, but Emily figures it can’t hurt.
In no time at all, Emily finds herself buried under a mountain of romance novels, chick flicks, and sappy love songs, hopeful that her hard work will pay off with true love. When she meets Greg, Ashley and Ryan are convinced she's found prince charming—after all, he's rich, handsome, and totally into Emily. What more could she want? And why does it seem that her friend Elliot isn't exactly happy for her?
Faced with misunderstandings, miscommunications, and a seemingly endless string of missteps, she is nevertheless determined to give true love a try. In doing so, Emily will eventually find that true romance, the kind that lasts, has little to do with stereotypes or clichés, and everything to do with finding out what's in her own heart.

I. Loved. This. Book. The plot, the characters, the way the story flowed. Just loved everything. I'll start my gushing with the story itself. It might sound like a novel you have read before, but Schurig wrote something that was fresh, interesting, and well paced. I'm a chick flick watching, romance(ish) book reading kind of girl but I definitely don't think of myself as romantic (in fact, my boyfriend had a really entertaining conversation with his co-worker about that fact just the other week) so I could see the humour and potential in this story. Was the ending kind of predictable? Sure, but that didn't bother me one bit.

Emily was a fabulous character. I want her to be my friend! She was smart, funny, down to earth, and just flawed enough to make her immensely likeable (no one likes reading about a picture perfect heroine). I loved that her job was so important to her and that Schurig made sure that came across in the story. She may not have the best taste in guys to start (Greg was just so smarmy and controlling and just...ugh) but we get to see her change and it was a wonderful evolution to read.

I felt like I was experiencing everything right along with Emily. Except when it came to Elliot. Why couldn't she see how he felt about her? Hello!?! And also Greg...blergh. As mentioned above, I was not a fan and I was yelling at Emily to wake up and realize she was better off without him! It also helped that Schurig created some excellent secondary characters. Emily's friends all filled important roles - no nonsense BFF from childhood, new girlfriend from college, gay male friend, and good guy friend - and I loved reading about them too. I know this book is part of a series so I wondered if Ashley (college friend) and Chris (guy friend), a sweet couple, will be the focus of book two. Or maybe it would be about Brooke (friend from childhood). Checking out the links for this book led me to see that book two is called An Unexpected Love Story. And, go me, it's about Brooke.

Rachel Schruig has a Three Girls series and I will definitely check those out now that I've read and loved In Search of a Love Story. I will also be reading the above mentioned An Unexpected Love Story and the third book in the series, An (Almost) Perfect Love Story (second round of applause required - it's about Ashley and Chris). In case you haven't been able to figure it out, I'll come right out and say it - I definitely recommend this novel. I adored it and think other chick lit lovers will enjoy it as well. It's cute, smart, and fun. What more can you ask for? Stay tuned over the next couple of days as I'll have a guest post from Rachel as well as a Q&A post for your reading pleasure!

Happy reading :)

Just Finished: The End of Your Life Book Club

I am so glad I was finally able to read The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe. I had been hearing so many good things about this book and was really looking forward to reading it myself.

Here's what this book is all about:

“What are you reading?”
That’s the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less.
This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual. The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as expressing gratitude and learning to listen. Throughout, they are constantly reminded of the power of books to comfort us, astonish us, teach us, and tell us what we need to do with our lives and in the world. Reading isn’t the opposite of doing; it’s the opposite of dying.
Will and Mary Anne share their hopes and concerns with each other—and rediscover their lives—through their favorite books. When they read, they aren’t a sick person and a well person, but a mother and a son taking a journey together. The result is a profoundly moving tale of loss that is also a joyful, and often humorous, celebration of life: Will’s love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page.

This was such a powerful and interesting book. I wasn't sure how it would read - would it be a typical non-fiction read for me (I'm the slowest non-fiction reader) or would it flow more like a novel? It turned out to be the latter, which was great.

Mary Anne was such a strong woman. Not only when she was fighting cancer (though her strength shone then as well) but throughout her whole life. For example, she had no issue going off to war torn countries to help those affected by war. I could never ever do that. She saw, first hand, that so many people were suffering and became set on trying to make their lives better. I'm so glad that Will included some of the moments when Mary Anne was honoured for her work. It makes me happy to know she was recognized for her work before it was too late.

Even though I had no idea who Will was or who his mother was, I was still interested in their stories. I admit to thinking that, had Mary Anne not led the life she did this book would not have gotten written. Not only that, but I'm sure Will's connections in publishing helped as well. These thoughts seem negative and/or disrespectful but those were the thoughts I had and these posts are all about my thoughts on what I'm reading. Of course, that being said, I'm glad that this book was able to be published. It's one of those books that shows you there's a bit of hope and there are ways to make what little time you have left with someone more bearable and enjoyable.

The End of Your Life Book Club isn't just about books, of course, and that's what makes it a great read. Will Schwalbe clearly loved his mother and the fact that he chose to share this story with the world is wonderful. You might find a few new titles to pick up when you read this book but, ultimately, you'll remember how important family is and the next time you see your mom, dad, sister, brother, you might hug them a little tighter and ask the question that started all of this for Will and his mother - "What are you reading?" You never know where the conversation will end up.

*I received a copy of this book from Random House of Canada in exchange for an honest review*

Sarah Dessen Read/Reread Challenge 2013

Hosted by I Eat Words

It's no secret that Sarah Dessen is one of my all time favourite authors. When I heard about this read/reread challenge (from Emma at Hopeful Happiness - thanks lovely!) I knew I had to look into it. I Eat Words is doing a very simple challenge - we read (or reread) a Dessen book every month, starting in February. This year Dessen is publishing her eleventh novel, The Moon and More, and this is a great way to honour that awesomeness. Not only that, but all of her novels have new covers so it's an excuse for some to buy all the new covers! (No, that won't be me. Have to save my pennies and a lot of my older ones are actually signed by her! Squee!) I've been reading her books for the past eleven or twelve years but I've only read each novel once. So, here I am, signing up for this challenge so I can reread some of my favourite books.

Here's the order we're following:

February - Just Listen

March - This Lullaby

April - Dreamland

May - The Truth About Forever

June - The Moon and More

July - That Summer

August - Along for the Ride

September -Someone like You

October - Keeping the Moon

November - What Happened to Goodbye

December - Lock and Key

Want to join in? Hop on over to I Eat Words' post and leave a comment. It's going to be fun!

Reading Bingo: Room

A few weeks ago I posted about the fun challenge Random House of Canada came up with for this year - reading bingo! (If you missed it, you can check out my post here) I'm going to try to fill in as many boxes as possible before the end of 2013 and I'm happy that I've already marked off one of the boxes this month - a book that is out of my comfort zone. Room by Emma Donoghue was definitely a book that I wouldn't normally pick up. I've heard fabulous things about it and know many people really enjoyed it but I just never planned on reading it because it wasn't something I was drawn to. So why did I read it? Because it was a book club pick. I'm interested to see what the other ladies have to say about it when we meet tonight because I certainly did not have a good time while reading it.

Here's the synopsis:

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

I don't think I've ever been so disturbed by a novel before. I finished this book about ten days ago and I still shudder when I think about it. I suppose I can see why it is an award winning novel. It still has me thinking about it and I really felt like I was there with Ma and Jack. But that doesn't mean it was enjoyable for me. Others may like it but it was so not my thing.

I was pretty conflicted about writing a review about this book since I didn't like it. I think I wanted to put my thoughts out there in hopes that others might offer their thoughts in response. This subject matter was just so...horrifying, really. These things actually happen. There are predators out there like Old Nick. It was hard to separate that knowledge from the fiction I was reading and it was very uncomfortable for me.

I just have to bring up how it was written. The whole novel is told from the perspective of Jack. He's quite a bright little guy but reading the story in his words makes it clear how hard it could be to raise a child in such conditions. Ma (so weird that we don't actually know her name) was a real heroine. Thinking about what she had to go through to keep both of them alive and trying to stay with it enough for her son...unbelievable.

In a way I'm glad I got to read Room. I've been hearing about Emma Donoghue's novel for awhile now (it was a huge deal when it was published in 2010) so now I know what all the hype is about. Like I said, I'm sure others may like it and may be able to handle the disturbing plot. I just have no idea who I would be able to recommend it to. Has anyone else read this one? I'd love to know what you thought of this novel.

Here's hoping for a more cheerful pick for the next reading bingo book!

Happy reading :)

This will be filled in by the end of 2013!

CLP Blog Tour: I Kill Me: Tales of a Jilted Hypochondriac

You know the books that you start reading and don't really knowing how you're going to feel about it? I Kill Me: Tales of A Jilted Hypochondriac by Tracy H. Tucker was one of those books for me. Good news though - I ended up really enjoying this one! It was so funny and I'm very happy I signed up for the CLP Blog Tour.

Here's the synopsis:

Christine Bacon has a fatal attraction. To all things fatal. A veteran hypochondriac, her near-death experiences are exacerbated when her husband proposes they have a menage a trois with Eleanor, his busty British massage therapist, to "shake things up." Christine reluctantly agrees (although she is more wholesome than threesome), never expecting just how much she'd be rattled. As her marriage to Richard, a/k/a "Dick," falls apart, so, too, does Christine, whose fear of her own demise causes her to research every freckle, blemish, cough, bump, lump, tingle and hiccup. She isn't a doctor, but she plays one on the internet.
There is solace for Christine: in raising daughters Lily and Carli, leaning on her friends, and wearing out the shower massager. In order to heal, she struggles to become her own person and to view her symptoms (and ex-husband) as less malignant, while searching for that special someone who will love her--despite her grave condition.

I think we've all read the novels where a woman has a two-timing and/or asshole husband. That's not new but Tucker managed to write something that provided a fresh twist on this common storyline. I liked that it was clear she was a mother first but that part of her life didn't take over the story. Her daughters were lovely (even though the eldest went through a bit of a rebellious phase but who can blame her?) and provided their share of humour as well. It also let us see another side of Christine than the hypochondriac divorcee.

I have to admit that the whole hypochondriac bit got a bit tiring after awhile. I understand that some people are really like that and I'm sure it can't be easy...but...it wasn't my favourite thing to read about. I feel like admitting this makes me seem like a horrible person...please still love me! :) There were times when it was written about in a light hearted way and other times when it was clear that this was a serious issue. I found myself wondering if she was actually going to end up getting some serious disease because she was always so worried. I'm really glad she finally met someone who truly listened to her and helped her through her issues.

It was great to read about Christine's journey and how she got through such a brutal life experience. I thought the ending was really well done. It could have been perfectly and tightly wrapped up but having things left a little loose worked with the story. What mattered was that Christine was finally OK again and not if she ended up with someone else in the end (and I'm not telling you if she did or not!).

I Kill Me: Tales of a Jilted Hypochondriac was an incredibly enjoyable read because of the humour. It's no wonder it was a semifinalist in the Humour Category for the Goodreads Choice Awards! If you're looking for a good and funny novel featuring an entertaining heroine, definitely pick up Tracy Tucker's novel.

Author Bio:
Tracy H. Tucker is first and foremost the mother of three of the best people on Earth. She has a Master's in Literacy from the University of Maine and has inspired the youth of America for seventeen years. She's an avid animal lover and would like to publicly thank her husband for putting up with the pet hair, the dogs in the bed, the things the cats hack up and the repeated requests for goats. It's a wonderful life.

Connect with Tracy!

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Guest Post: Meredith Schorr

It's my second stop on the A State of Jane CLP Blog Tour. Thanks for stopping by! I reviewed the novel last week (check it out here if you missed it) and today's post was written by the lovely author, Meredith Schorr. I'm always interested in the process author's go through when they're writing so I asked Meredith how she figures out the characters in her novels. I hope you all enjoy this insight into the world of writing - I sure did!

Getting Inside My Character’s Heads

Thanks so much for having me on Books Etc., Kaley.  I follow your blog pretty often so it’s pretty cool to be a guest today!!
When I wrote my first novel, Just Friends with Benefits, it was fairly easy to get into the head of my main character, Stephanie Cohen.  That was because when I wrote Just Friends with Benefits, I sort of inserted myself into a fictional story about a woman named Stephanie.  I got Stephanie into more trouble than I’ve experienced personally and I like to think I’d be smart enough to avoid a few of the mistakes she made, however, when I wrote Stephanie’s reactions to things, I often asked myself, “Self – how would you react under these same circumstances?” and I went from there. 

For instance, Stephanie tended to overanalyze things Ad Nauseum, especially statements or small actions from men.  I had a tendency to do the same - before I evolved J.  Stephanie tended to drown her sorrows in drinks with friends, multiple rolls of sushi and a vigorous run on the treadmill.  I do the same.  If there was a full glass of water on the table, Stephanie would be the one to accidentally knock it over. That’s usually my role among my friends and family. This was not the case when I wrote about Jane Frank, the main character of my second novel, A State of Jane. Jane Frank and Meredith Schorr have very little in common personality-wise so it was not simply a matter of looking inside myself to see what I would say/do given a specific set of circumstances.  I basically had to become Jane while writing the novel.  And that is, in a nutshell, what I do while writing.  I don’t know how I do it – certainly not by hypnosis or any magic spell but it just happens.  When I write, I become my main character (assuming I am not already her)… Jane Frank is a Type A, list-making, neat-freak who, at least when introduced to the reader, truly believes that if you do everything “right”, things will work out just as you want them to.  Perhaps it is a result of her upbringing.  She grew up the youngest daughter of an upper middle class happily married couple.  She met her first boyfriend at 16 and stayed with him until she was 25.  She works as a paralegal but has a job in her daddy’s law firm waiting for her when she graduates law school.  And her older sister met the love of her life and is trying to start a family and follow in her mother’s footsteps.  This is how life is supposed to look to Jane and she sees no reason why anything should get in the way of that.  I knew all of this when I started A State of Jane and took it all into consideration when writing what decision, judgment call or choice Jane would make, how she would react to disappointment, how she might respond to her world crumbling around her.  I must confess it was kind of fun watching the world slam the door in Jane’s face for a little while.  It was also rewarding to see how she resolved her issues and, in doing so, became a better person.  As Jane grew up, I almost felt like I grew up a little too.  I guess that’s what happens when you become your main character!  Quite the incentive for the Happily Ever After ending J

Just Finished: In Need of Therapy

I need to confess something. I did not, in fact, "just finish" Tracie Banister's fabulous novel In Need of Therapy. I read it at the end of November. Yikes! It happened to be in that bad time of finishing up school work, preparing for Christmas, and having a few other reviews on the go. Obviously I really need to start working on my bookish resolution of being more organized!

Here's the synopsis:

Lending a sympathetic ear and dispensing sage words of advice is all part of the job for psychologist Pilar Alvarez, and she’s everything a good therapist should be: warm, compassionate, supportive. She listens, she cares, and she has all the answers, but how’s the woman everyone turns to in their hour of need supposed to cope when her own life starts to fall apart?
While working hard to make a success of her recently-opened practice in trendy South Beach, Pilar must also find time to cater to the demands of her boisterous Cuban family, which includes younger sister Izzy, an unemployed, navel-pierced wild child who can't stay out of trouble, and their mother, a beauty queen turned drama queen who’s equally obsessed with her fading looks and getting Pilar married before it’s “too late.” Although she’d like to oblige her mother and make a permanent love connection, Pilar’s romantic prospects look grim. Her cheating ex, who swears that he’s reformed, is stalking her. A hunky, but strictly off-limits, patient with bad-boy appeal and intimacy issues is making passes. And the sexy shrink in the suite across the hall has a gold band on his left ring finger.
When a series of personal and professional disasters lead Pilar into the arms of one of her unsuitable suitors, she's left shaken, confused, and full of self-doubt. With time running out, she must make sense of her feelings and learn to trust herself again so that she can save her business, her family, and most importantly, her heart.

I had so much fun reading this novel! Pilar was such an interesting character to read about. Main characters who are psychologists are always interesting because, as we all know, no one is perfect and it's nice to read about how someone finally starts taking the advice they've been giving out. Does that make sense? Pilar, as a psychologist, helps her patients grow and work through their issues. I loved reading about how she finally took a good, hard look at her life and realized that she had some issues herself.

Pilar's family plays a fairly large part in this novel and they're...something else. Talk about a big and crazy family! I think I sometimes wished that there wasn't quite so much involving her family (especially when her mother was insistent that she was throwing away a good thing by breaking up with her seemingly perfect boyfriend - so frustrating!) because I wanted to get back to her career and romance issues.

Speaking of romance issues, I loved Ford. Just loved him. And his son? My goodness, he was so adorably awesome! I really enjoyed watching the romance begin between Pilar and Ford and wondered how Banister would have everything turn out. Would they get together? Was he actually still married? When are they going to smarten up and tell each other how they feel?!? There was enough happening to keep me guessing and I definitely appreciated that.

One final note - I loved Pilar's best friend Sara. She was just the kind of BFF a girl needs and I loved that we got to know just enough about her. Too often novels will focus too much on a secondary character and it takes away from the main story. I really liked how the ending featured her work and we got to know what happens to her in the end as well.

I would definitely recommend In Need of Therapy by Tracie Banister to my fellow chick lit fans. I have yet to read Tracie's first novel, Blame It on the Fame but it has moved up my to be read list after reading this novel!

Happy reading :)

*A copy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*