Review: The Rosie Project

I had heard SO many good things about The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion when it was first released in Canada this past May. I belatedly put myself on the library hold list and finally got the chance to read it (I say finally because my library didn't realize how popular it was going to be and didn't order enough copies even though Natalie from Browsing Bookshelves, a librarian in my city, told them to!). By the time I got the book I had totally forgotten what it was about and I think that was a good thing. I was able to enjoy the novel and getting to know main character Don without any expectations.

Here's the synopsis:

A first-date dud, socially awkward and overly fond of quick-dry clothes, genetics professor Don Tillman has given up on love, until a chance encounter gives him an idea.
He will design a questionnaire—a sixteen-page, scientifically researched questionnaire—to uncover the perfect partner. She will most definitely not be a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker or a late-arriver. Rosie is all these things. She is also fiery and intelligent, strangely beguiling, and looking for her biological father a search that a DNA expert might just be able to help her with.

The Rosie Project was completely different than any other novel I've read - which was awesome. I think some might compare it to A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time but I haven't read that one myself. One of the big things that makes the story different is the narrator. When we first meet Don, a genetics professor, he's about to present a lecture on Asperger's. It quickly becomes clear that he may have some characteristics that are associated with Asperger's. Since the story is told in first person, we really get a sense of Don and his...quirks, shall we say. He's very particular, analytical, and seemingly formal. For example, here's a paragraph from right at the beginning of the book:

The sequence was initiated by Gene insisting I give a lecture on Asperger's syndrome that he had previously agreed to deliver himself. The timing was extremely annoying. The preparation could be time-shared with lunch consumption, but on the designated evening I had scheduled ninety-four minutes to clean my bathroom. I was faced with a choice of three options, none of them satisfactory. (page 1)

The whole novel is written like that and while it may seem annoying it actually makes the book amazing. To the average person, Don's actions may seem odd but by reading in the first person we can see Don's motivations and understand why he's acting the way he is.

I wasn't sure how things were going to turn out in the end. There were so many options and I realized that I was really hoping that Don and Rosie would realize they were in love with each other and could be happy together. I really liked how Simsion wrapped up the story and thought it was a great way to end the novel.

The Rosie Project won't be for everyone but I found Graeme Simsion's enjoyable. It was a unique novel filled with both humour and serious topics and I think many others will like it as well.

Happy reading!

New Cover for Just Friends With Benefits!

Over the past few months I've come to think of author Meredith Schorr as an online friend. (And hopefully she feels the same otherwise this post has quickly turned stalkerish...lol) I adored her latest novel, Blogger Girl (review is here) and I enjoyed A State of Jane as well (review is here). But, even with all this love, I have yet to read her debut novel Just Friends with Benefits. Craziness! I'll be reading it soon but I wanted to share the lovely new cover today. I love what Meredith says on her website to explain the update:

I also assume that Just Friends With Benefits, the oldest of my three “children” might be feeling a bit left out and jealous of the attention bestowed upon A State of Jane and Blogger Girl and so I’m sure she’ll appreciate the makeover Booktrope is giving her in the nature of a new cover and some editorial tweaking.

I'm loving the new look of the cover. The font is super cute and I love the conversation hearts.

Here's what the novel is all about:

When a friend urges Stephanie Cohen not to put all her eggs in one bastard, the advice falls on deaf ears. Stephanie's college crush on Craig Hille has been awakened thirteen years later as if soaked in a can of Red Bull and she is determined not to let the guy who got away once, get away twice. Stephanie, a 32-year-old paralegal from Washington, D.C., is a 70's and 80's television trivia buff who can recite the starting lineup of the New York Yankees and go beer for beer with the guys. And despite her failure to get married and pro-create prior to entering her thirties, she has so far managed to keep her overbearing mother from sticking her head in the oven. Just Friends with Benefits is the humorous story of Stephanie's pursuit of love, her adventures in friendship, and her journey to discover what really matters.

Have you read Just Friends With Benefits yet? Or any of Meredith's other novels? Let me know what you thought of them! I can't wait to dive into this one :)

Top Ten Tuesday: Book to Screen

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.

It's been awhile since I've taken part in TTT! This week was just too good not to pass up: Top Ten Books I Would Love To See As A Movie/TV Show (set in a perfect world...in which movies don't butcher the books we love.) I'm a fan of adaptations and understand that they're two different things but, as a booklover, I'm of course going to be upset with some of the choices made by filmmakers. (See my TTT for my best and worst list of adaptations.) Read on to find out which books I'd like to see made into a movie or TV show! (Links lead to reviews)

Don't forget to check out their blog for a full list of everyone participating this week!

Any Sarah Dessen novel.
I'm not picky. That Summer and Someone Like You were already combined into a movie ten years ago (How to Deal) and I really enjoyed it. If I had to choose, though, I think I'd go with either Along for the Ride or The Moon and More. I'm partial to those, especially AftR, because they take place in the beach town of Colby.

Blogger Girl - Meredith Schorr
Once Meredith writes a sequel (she doesn't have a plan for that but I will convince her, haha), this would make for a great TV show, I think. It has a fun and flirty tone that I think would lend itself well to the small screen.

Finding Lucas - Samantha Stroh Bailey
This would make for a hilarious rom-com. And it would allow for some actors to really play up the wacky - I'm thinking of those who would play Jamie's moms and roommates. So much fun!

The Space Between Us - Jessica Martinez
This Canadian YA novel would be so great as a movie. The main characters are forced to move from Florida to Banff, Alberta because of some bad choices. It's a great book, which is part of why it'd make a good movie, but it could also highlight Banff - one of the most beautiful parts of Canada (so photos tell me, I've never been myself, alas!)

The Runaway Princess - Hester Brown
It's like a grown up The Princess Diaries. This needs to happen.

A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
History, magical creatures (including the ever popular vampires), and a great story. I think that'd be a win, don't you?

Where We Belong - Emily Giffin
There's already been success with a Giffin adaptation (let's get Something Blue on the go, shall we Hollywood?) and I think Giffin's latest would make a great movie. There's a lot of drama and is a great mother/daughter story. It could allow for a young actress to make a splash.

The Single Girl's To-Do List - Lindsey Kelk
I picked this one because it'd be a fun rom-com and also because it would allow for some more Canadian exposure. The characters spend time in Toronto and Niagara Falls and I'd love to see that on the big screen.

Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan
OK, this is a bit of a cheat because it is going to be made into a movie. But it hasn't been made yet (it's still in the very early days) so I'm counting it! There are so many lavish details that will translate well and I cannot wait to see it.

Arranged - Catherine McKenzie
This is another sort of cheat one because it is going to be made into a short film. The story is good and it has the added bonus of beachy awesomeness because part of it takes place in Mexico.

Review: Fool's Gold Cookbook

Let's get something out of the way right up front: I don't cook. I can (obviously since I'm still living) but I kind of hate it. There are a few recipes that are my specialities but for the most part my boyfriend is the one keeping me fed. So, it may seem strange that I'm reviewing a cookbook but I was intrigued by Fool's Gold Cookbook. The recipes were divided into seasons plus there was a short story included throughout as well. Then, when I got the book, I realized that Susan Mallery chose the recipes because of their simplicity. Simple? Sounds perfect for me!

Not only were the recipes divided by season but each season was subdivided by occasion: light meals, celebrations, breakfast and brunch, comfort food, and holidays are examples of what was included. You could find a recipe for almost any event and I loved that.

As I mentioned, the recipes in this book had been selected because they're quick and easy. However, when my boyfriend was making the Baked Potato Leek Soup (page 157) he found himself asking questions like: "Should the potatoes be peeled?" "Does the pot need to be uncovered or not?" He had to ask because the recipe was not clear enough And then he realized that there were no directions for the bacon. I had noticed a few recipes seemed overly simplistic in their directions so I worry this problem may come up again. These things aren't a huge dealbreaker but it's a problem for someone who doesn't cook ever (like me). Oh, and the soup? Freaking delicious.

Garnished with sour cream and green onions.
Also served with my homemade buttermilk biscuits!

I may not like cooking but I do enjoy baking. I discovered after finishing the book that most of the recipes I marked are those for something sweet. What can I say? I like my desserts. I picked one that I was most excited to try: s'mores bars. I adore s'mores so was looking forward to seeing how this recipe turned out. This was a crazy easy recipe to make, which was great. While the final product was pretty delicious, it fell apart a little bit. The graham cracker crumb crust probably needed a bit more butter and when my boyfriend was cutting his piece the chocolate layer came right off the crust. I think I'd also use a different type of chocolate chip instead of semisweet. Overall though, this is an easy recipe and a tasty one. I think it'd also be a fun recipe to make with kids. They wouldn't be able to mix the sweetened condensed milk and the chocolate chips over the stove or pour it on the crust but they could help press down the crumb crust and stick the marshmallows and crackers into the chocolate.

Dessert isn't complete without tea!

As for the story aspect of the book, I enjoyed it. I've never read any of the Fool's Gold stories before but I've wanted to. I love small town romances and when past characters pop up in a new story. Because this was just a short story, I wasn't too worried about being lost with the setting or characters. I especially liked that Ana Raquel and Greg had known each other as children. They were sort of rivals but it seemed like Ana Raquel disliked Greg more than he disliked her. In fact, he didn't seem to dislike her at all! The story was cute but there really wasn't much substance to it. I'm going to assume that had to do with the fact that it was so short and in a cookbook and not as a testament to the Fool's Gold series as a whole.

I'm looking forward to trying a few more recipes from Fool's Gold Cookbook and also checking out the whole series by Susan Mallery. I would have liked a few more pictures, more substance to the story, and more detailed directions, but, overall, this is a pretty good book. Who knows, maybe this cookbook will help turn me into a halfway decent cook! ;)

Happy reading...and cooking!

*A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: The First Affair

I've read and enjoyed a few of Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus's past novels (including The Nanny Diaries) so when I was given the chance to read their latest, The First Affair, through NetGalley I thought, why not? The novel was a good one and while I didn't love it as much as their others, it still had me frantically flipping pages (so to speak) to find out what would happen in the end.

Here's the synopsis:

Jamie McAlister has resigned herself to the fact that in this job market, her painfully expensive degree might only get her a position at Starbucks, when she suddenly lands a prestigious internship at the White House. Although she doesn’t hit it off with the other interns—lockjaws who come from so much money that ten weeks without a paycheck doesn’t faze them—she is eager to work hard and make the best of the opportunity while it lasts.
An unexpected encounter late one evening with the charismatic President Gregory Rutland seems like just a fleeting flirtation, but when he orchestrates clandestine meetings and late-night phone calls, their relationship quickly escalates. Jamie knows what she is doing is wrong: he’s married, he has kids, he’s the President. Yet each time she tries to extricate herself, Greg pulls her back in.
With the conflicted desires of the most powerful man in the world driving her to her breaking point, Jamie can’t help but divulge intimate details to those closest to her. But she must have confided in the wrong person, because she soon finds herself, and everyone she cares about, facing calculated public destruction at the hands of Greg’s political enemies, and—perhaps no matter how much he cares about her—at the hands of Greg himself.

The best thing about this book was the feeling of being behind the scenes of a huge scandal. Just as Kraus and McLaughlin's novel Between You and Me (my review here) made you think about what Britney Spears was going through during her breakdown, The First Affair put you in a position to really consider how Monica Lewinsky was feeling during the scandal with President Clinton. It's easy to forget that what we hear in the media isn't just another fictional story. These books allow us to remember there's a real person behind the reports and lies.

I know I'm going to sound contradictory with my next statement. I love McLaughlin and Kraus's writing because it feels like I'm experiencing everything right along with the character. But...feeling some of those things makes for an uncomfortable experience. The fact is, Jamie is having an affair with the President of the United States. That's some heavy stuff. Even a character having an affair with a regular married man could be hard to take but the things Jamie has to deal with, particularly at the end of the novel, are gut wrenching. Though I sometimes felt emotionally uncomfortable while reading, I still think the authors did a great job of writing this story and the characters. Even though you know what Jamie is doing is wrong and so, well, stupid, you still feel for her and you want her to be ok.

I have to point out that the novel wasn't all doom and gloom. There were several moments that had me laughing out loud, particularly about Jamie's age and current point in life. Jamie's 21 and trying to enter an extremely brutal job market. When Greg asks her about how she ended up at the internship she replied:

I had a complex strategy my generation is really perfecting. First I applied for every job in America. Then I applied to every internship. 

This is the sad but true reality of twentysomethings these days. Thinking about this, I suppose this line is really not all that funny but since I am in the same boat as Jamie (though a few years older) I can see the dark humour in it. The next line, though, is one that I think everyone can find amusing. Jamie is talking to her mom about life and after asking a horrified Jamie if she's on the pill, her mom says:

Look, I'd rather you were a bad Catholic than a good mother right now.

I couldn't stop laughing when I read this line. Hilarious.

While I was reading this book I wondered if I had a different take on it because I'm not American. Political sex scandals just don't happen in Canada. Seriously, I looked it up and there are hardly any and they do not reach the proportions of, say, Clinton and Lewinsky. The most scandalous story I knew had to do with the wife of a Prime Minister fooling around with the Rolling Stones in the '70s. I know it really doesn't matter that I'm Canadian and the characters are not but I couldn't shake the sense that I was reading it differently than an American would.

While the story of The First Affair was interesting, I struggled with making the connections for some issues (I still have no idea what the deal was with Jamie's ex) and the characters weren't particularly captivating. I did like that I was able to be surprised by some characters' actions and motives. That being said, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have written a solid novel. It explores an intense set of circumstances but allows for some lighthearted moments and does not shying away from the severity of the situation. I didn't love this novel but that won't stop me from picking up their next book.

Review: Lying to Meet You

I was really looking forward to reading Lying to Meet You by Anna Garner. Why? Because I've loved the two books I've read by Libby Mercer. Confused? Anna and Libby are actually the same person! Anna is one of the nicest authors I've come across through blogging and when she asked if I would like to read her new chick lit novel I jumped at the chance. There were a few little things that made the novel almost too cookie cutter chick lit but the story was cute and funny and I adored the main character. It was a win for me!

Here's the synopsis:

Does being in a relationship make you a hot commodity in the eyes of would-be suitors?
Chloe Lane is about to find out. When her childhood pal, Ethan Webster, asks her to play the part of his girlfriend in order to test this theory, she reluctantly agrees. As a work-crazed fashion designer, boutique owner and soon-to-be reality show judge, Chloe has no time for a real boyfriend, but being part of a faux pair will do just fine. Not that she has any intention of trying to attract someone else.
However…
Opportunity unexpectedly knocks when Chloe meets fellow reality judge, William Shannon. Super successful and super sexy, this high-powered entrepreneur inspires Chloe to test Ethan’s theory herself. Now, on top of keeping her fashion business productive, carving out a new role as a television personality, maintaining a fake relationship and attempting to lay the groundwork for a future relationship, she’s lying to William, lying to her friends, lying to her family and quite possibly lying to herself. Will Chloe be able to keep it all together, or are things about to explode?

The only real issue I had with this novel was that I needed more at the end. I found that the story ended sort of abruptly so there were too many loose ends and I had a lot of lingering questions. I can't really share any though because I don't want to give anything away! It was really just a matter of wanting to know why certain people did the things they did and how others reacted to some situations.

I adored Chloe and thought she was an awesome heroine. She wasn't flighty or immature, like you sometimes find with chick lit characters. Sure, she's got issues but we all do (don't try to lie) and her little quirks and flaws made her likeable. I think the other thing that helped make her seem down to earth (and explain why she was so successful) was that she was a little bit older (she turns thirty over the course of the novel). She just seemed more grounded than a character in her early twenties might be. I liked that the story sort of began and ended with her being really kick ass. At the start of the book Chloe chases down shoplifters and the final part of the story has her figuring out who's trying to ruin her, both personally and professionally. I loved how she stood up for herself and that part of her personality helped make her an even better character to read about.

I really liked the relationship part of this novel. I knew what would happen (it's very chick lit-esque after all) but I wasn't sure how things would progress with Chloe and William. I wasn't sure what the issue(s) would be that would force them apart or even if Chloe would realize that she had feelings for Ethan (or vice versa). Reading about the developing flirtation between Chloe and William was a lot of fun and I loved the solid friendship between Chloe and Ethan. I love stories where male and female friends realize they have feelings for each other and I found myself rooting for Chloe and Ethan. I really wanted Chloe to get her happily ever after, since the business side of her life was doing so well!

Lying to Meet You by Anna Garner was a solid chick lit novel. I enjoyed reading it and being immersed in Chloe's life. There was fun, fashion, and flirting and characters that you want to be friends with. I can't wait to read the next book Anna writes!

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

Cover Reveal: Zoey and the Moment of Zen

One of my favourite books last year was Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie. I absolutely adored it (as you can see in my review) so I had no problem agreeing to do a cover reveal for Cat's upcoming novel, Zoey and the Moment of Zen. I don't know if I can wait until October to read it!

This is what the new novel will be about:

When coffee shop owner Zoey Everwood takes her obsession with ex-boyfriend Braden too far, everyone—except Zoey—is convinced a bit of fun in the sun at the Moment of Zen Wellness Resort will help her get over him once and for all.
But Zoey's relaxing vacation turns out to be anything but peaceful when she meets Shane Lawson, a resort guest who bears a striking resemblance to Braden. And things get even more complicated when the resort's owner starts spilling secrets about Zoey’s aunt Nessa, the woman who raised her. Add a snarky Wellness Coordinator and Nate Holmes—Shane's grumpy friend—to the mix, and you've got the recipe for a perfect tropical storm.
When Zoey comes back home with a new husband instead of tacky souvenirs, she must convince everyone she hasn't completely lost her mind. As Zoey and Shane struggle to keep the magic alive outside the resort, Zoey discovers that she isn't the only one having trouble letting go of the past. And when Nate drops a bombshell that changes everything, Zoey must decide if the old saying is true—what happens at the Moment of Zen stays at the Moment of Zen.

 Doesn't it sound like fun? Now, ready for the cover reveal? *drum roll*

I need a beach and I need it now. What do you think of this cover? I'm really liking it! Do you think you'll end up reading Cat's second novel?