The Baby Planner by Josie Brown

Book Details
The Baby Planner by Josie Brown
Paperback, 352 Pages
2011, Gallery
ISBN: 1439197121

Synopsis
Katie Johnson may make her living consulting with new moms on the latest greatest baby gadgets no parent should be without, or which mommy meet-ups are the most socially desirable, or whether melon truly is the new black, but the success of her marriage to her husband, Alex, depends on controlling her own urges toward motherhood.

He's adamant that they stay childless. Sure, Katie understands that he's upset over the fact that his out-of-town ex-wife rarely lets him see their ten-year-old son, Peter. But living vicariously through her anxious clients and her twin sisters' precocious children only makes Katie resent his stance more deeply.

While helping a new client—Seth Harris, a high tech entrepreneur who must raise Sadie, his newborn daughter, as a single parent after the tragic death of his wife in childbirth—maneuver the bittersweet journey from mourning husband and reticent father to loving dad, Katie’s own ideals about love, marriage, and motherhood are put to the test as she learns ones very important lesson about family:  How we nurture is the true nature of love.

Review
The Baby Planner is a wonderful novel for anyone who enjoys a great pregnancy story, or several. Taking the concept of a wedding planning and twisting it for prenatal crowd works well and leads to funny and emotional scenes.

Katie is a wonderfully full character. Longing for a baby, but married to man who refuses to impregnate her, Katie fills the void by helping other women get ready for their own children. Having no real life experience, beyond being an involved aunt, she starts her business and quickly finds a niche market that never knew it was waiting for her. Through Katie's work, readers will experience multiple pregnancy situations - all of which lead to surprising ends.

Katie's marriage was something else entirely. She loves her husband, but he refuses to have a child with her. Their relationship and Katie's various pleas and tactics to get what she desires most left me wondering not about her sanity, but about my own. Katie's actions drove me crazy. I was never on the same page as her. I wanted her to "accidentally" get pregnant. She respects her husband and believes she can rationally convince him. I want her to run away from him as fast as she can. She then decides it's a good time to have a condom malfunction. You can tell early on how the story is going to play out, but there are some great twists along the way.

The Baby Planner is unique and thought-provoking at times. Laughter and tears come easily and often. You may not always agree with Katie's decisions, but you'll care about her from the very first pages.The Baby Planner is the perfect next step for chick lit fans leaving singledom and entering babyville.

Rating

Links

Josie Brown's
Website
Twitter
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Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese

Book Details
Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese
Paperback, 320 Pages
2011, St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 0312641516

Synopsis
Ade Patience can see the future and it's destroying his life. When the seventeen-year-old Mantlo High School student knocks himself unconscious, he can see days and decades into his own future. Ade's the best of Denver's "divination" underground and eager to join the heralded Mantlo Diviners, a group of similarly enabled teens. Yet, unlike the Diviners, Ade Patience doesn't see the future out of curiosity or good will; Ade gives himself concussions because he's addicted to the high, the Buzz, he gets when he breaks the laws of physics. And while there have been visions he's wanted to change, Ade knows the Rule: You can't change the future, no matter how hard you try.

His memory is failing, his grades are in a death spiral, and both Ade's best friend and his shrink are begging him to stop before he kills himself. Ade knows he needs to straighten-out. Luckily, the stunning Vauxhall Rodolfo has just transferred to Mantlo and, as Ade has seen her in a vision two years previously, they're going to fall in love. It's just the motivation Ade needs to kick his habit. Only things are a bit more complicated. Vauxhall has an addiction of her own, and, after a a vision in which he sees Vauxhall's close friend, Jimmy, drown while he looks on seemingly too wasted to move, Ade realizes that he must break the one rule he's been told he can't.

The pair must overcome their addictions and embrace their love for each other in order to do the impossible: change the future.

Review
Future Imperfect started off decent, but quickly went downhill. Ade can see the future, but only when he gives himself a concussion. This concussion also gives him a high that he's become addicted to. The worse the concussion, the stronger the high. This distracted me almost immediately. I loved that Ade could see the future. I loved that the novel began with his with his writing to different "experts" trying to find out why he couldn't change what he saw. I very much loved that he continued to do this throughout the book. I continued reading the book for that reason alone, because nothing else in the book really worked for me.

Ade gets these concussions by either throwing himself off a building or getting beat up. I couldn't help constantly thinking what an absolute wreck he must look like. The book brings his scars up pretty early on, but the scars didn't sound like they coincided with amount of damage described. Being that the book contained a romantic story line, I found it difficult to believe that the love interest never seemed to care at all about his looks or safety.

Speaking of the love interest, Vauxhall (apparently her parents were hippies) ends up having an ability similar to Ade's. Except that instead of a concussion, she has to be, well, slutty. Oh, and she gets a high from it too, you know, beyond the high from orgasm. And, predictably enough, she's also addicted. The entire situation brought about a series of obvious turns. Ade is jealous. Ade tries to accept it. Ade tries to quit his concussion highs and hopes Vauxhall will do the same. Vauxhall doesn't want to quit. Or maybe she does. At this point, I'm so not caring about either one of them, or anyone else in the book.

Ade's mom is some kind of Jesus-freak that approves of his concussions. His psychiatrist also approves, or at least understands, and make it so he's allowed to stay in school and not be admitted to a psychiatric ward, where he obviously belongs. Ade's dad is in a coma and his best friend is a lesbian who seems to be a lesbian for no other reason than adding an "alternative lifestyle" character.

The entire plot of the book is that Ade doesn't want to kill this guy Jimi. He's seen himself do it, knows he can't prevent it and sets out to stop it anyway. Everything leading up to Jimi's foreseen murder made me want to kill him, but Ade's conscious won't allow it. More than the obvious is at play here and I was impressed by the authors weaving of this particular part of the story. As the pieces leading up to the murder fall together, many surprising moments occur. The ending was good, but the motivation behind it left me annoyed at the convenience of it.

I didn't like Future Imperfect. As much as I love a good seeing-the-future book, this one wasn't for me. It felt forced. In an effort to be dark and edgy, Future Imperfect came off as trying way too hard.

Rating

Links

K. Ryer Breese's
Website

The Internet is a Playground by David Thorne

Book Details
The Internet is a Playground by David Thorne
Paperback, 368 Pages
2011, Tarcher
ISBN: 1585428817

Synopsis
From the notorious Internet troublemaker who brought the world the explosively popular "Next Time I'll Spend the Money on Drugs Instead", in which he attempted to pay his chiropractor with a picture he drew of a spider; "Please Design a Logo for Me. With Pie Charts. For Free," which has been described as one of the most passed-on viral e-mails of all time; and, most recently, the staggeringly popular "Missing Missy", which has appeared everywhere from The Guardian to Jezebel to Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish, comes this profoundly funny collection of irreverent Internet mischief and comedy.

Featuring all of Thorne's viral success, including "Missing Missy", The Internet Is a Playground culls together every article and e-mail from Thorne's wildly popular website 27bslash6.com, as well as enough new material, available only in these pages, to keep you laughing-and, indeed, crying-until Thorne's next stroke-of-genius prank. Or hilarious hoax. Or well-publicized almost-stint in jail (really).

Review
Somehow, in the hundreds of thousands of hours I've spent mindlessly procrastinating on the internet, I never came across 27bslash6. When I read the synopsis for The Internet is a Playground, the antics of David Thorne were totally new to me and I was intrigued. Paying a doctor with a drawing of a spider? It seemed just the right level of random and slightly insane that my sense of humor seems to gravitate towards.

In his emails, Thorne manages to walk the line of obnoxious without ever having to resort to rudeness. It's hard to believe these people continue to reply to him. The book is full of articles and emails from his website, but the best are the emails with pictures, either along the same lines as the spider or where people ask him to create something for them but give him way too much room to interpret their directions. Another favorite is a email conversation between Thorne and a hate mailer beginning with "I have read your website and it is obviously that your a foggot."

Those who believe that adults should act as such and take life seriously will find Thorne and The Internet is a Playground offensive. Most, I think, will wish they'd found him and his website sooner. Seriously funny on a hard to describe level, you'll either "get" David Thorne and his book - or you just won't. In my case, The Internet is a Playground caused out of control laughter and caused people to look at me funny.

Rating

Links

David Thorne's
Website
Twitter
Facebook

Dreadfully Ever After by Steve Hockensmith

Book Details
Dreadfully Ever After by Steve Hockensmith
Paperback, 320 Pages
2011, Quirk Books
ISBN: 1594745021
Series: Book 3 of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Synopsis
When we last saw Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy—at the end of the New York Times best seller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies—they were preparing for a lifetime of wedded bliss. Yet the honeymoon has barely begun when poor Mr. Darcy is nipped by a rampaging dreadful. Elizabeth knows the only acceptable course of action is to promptly behead her husband (and then burn the corpse, just to be safe). But when she learns of a miracle antidote being developed in London, she realizes there may be one last chance to save her true love—and for everyone to live happily ever after.

Complete with romance, heartbreak, martial arts, cannibalism, and an army of shambling corpses, Dreadfully Ever After brings the story of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to a thrilling conclusion.

Review
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies brought zombies to a beloved classic. Dawn of the Dreadfuls explained how the Bennet girls became warriors. Dreadfully Ever After takes everything we've learned so far and creates something more thrilling than the previous books combined.

Dreadfully Ever After takes the story up years after PPZ ends. Jane is happily maternal and Lizzie is happily without children. Being Darcy's wife already means she can't battle zombies. Why would she want children to further weight her down? When Darcy is bitten by a zombie, in an area than can't just be amputated, Lizzie is forced to turn to Lady Catherine who despises her. As Lizzie is sent on an unusual mission in order to save her husband's life, readers are treated to all the zombie mayhem they could wish for.

Mrs. Bennet has given up her matchmaking ways, hoping to keep her remaining daughters to take care of her. Mary and Kitty now face the life of a spinster, but at least they can continue to fight dreadfuls. Each takes the future of potential spinster-dom differently, but alas, each also manages to embark on a romance of sort so of her own.

Dreadfully Ever After is as sweet a romance as a zombie novel will allow. It's thrilling at times and horrific at others. Dreadfully Ever After is the perfect way to end the PPZ trilogy, keeping readers shocked and entertained the whole way through.

Rating

Links

Steve Hockensmith's
Website
Twitter
Facebook

Spotlight Series: The Mortal Instruments

Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Teheran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old. Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and which later inspired her current pen name).

After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.

Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her two cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.

My love of The Mortal Instrument series came as a complete surprise. It was yet another highly hypes series I didn't believe would live up to the expectation. The world-building was phenomenal and the characters immediately drew me in. I read the first three books in rapid succession and am impatiently waiting the next installment.

Important Characters to Know
Clarissa "Clary" Fray - Shadowhunter raised as human.

Jace Wayland - Orphaned shadowhunter, living with the Lightwoods.

Simon Lewis - Clary's human best friend.

Alec Lightwood - Oldest Lightwood sibling. Shadowhunter. Gay.

Isabelle Lightwood - Middle Lightwood sibling. Shadowhunter. Described as beautiful.

Magnus Bane - High warlock of Brooklyn. Bisexual. Dating Alec. 800 years old.

Luke Garroway - aka Lucian Graymark. Clary's mother's best friend and a father figure to Clary.

Valentine Morgenstern - Powerful and evil shadowhunter. Main bad guy.

The Mortal Instruments
(in reading order, links lead to my reviews)

1. City of Bones
2. City of Ashes
3. City of Glass
4. City of Fallen Angels
   

If you like the Mortal Instruments series, you should try:

The Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr

The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare

The Immortals series by Alyson Noel

The Evernight series by Claudia Gray

The House of Night series by P.C. Cast

The Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz

The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

Series Fans: You Must Check Out This Website!!

Do you read multiple book series? Then you must, MUST, visit FictFact! This website is exactly what I've been looking for in the last few years.

All you have to do is follow the book series you read and mark the books you've already read in those series. FictFact then complies a list of what book is next in each series so you never read the books out of order again! They also compile a coming soon list, detailing the next books to be released (with dates) in each of your series.

If that isn't enough to convince you that you need to visit this website like yesterday, FictFact also acts like a social website, allowing you to follow and friend your reading buddies (follow me here and I'll follow you back!) and recommends new series for you based on the ones you already read!

FictFact also holds a monthly contest for members. You can win a $50 Amazon gift card!

*I am in no way affiliated with FictFact. I just freakin love that site. Now if only someone could create the same exact concept for TV show episodes, I'd be in heaven.

Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

Book Details
Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith
Paperback, 287 Pages
2010, Quirk Books
ISBN: 9781594744549
Series: Book 2 of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies {prequel}

Synopsis
Journey Back to Regency England—Land of the Undead!

Readers will witness the birth of a heroine in Dawn of the Dreadfuls a thrilling prequel set four years before the horrific events of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. As our story opens, the Bennet sisters are enjoying a peaceful life in the English country side. They idle away the days reading, gardening, and daydreaming about future husbands until a funeral at the local parish goes strangely and horribly awry.

Suddenly corpses are springing from the soft earth and only one family can stop them. As the bodies pile up, we watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. Along the way, two men vie for her affections: Master Hawksworth is a powerful warrior who trains her to kill, while thoughtful Dr. Keckilpenny seeks to conquer the walking dead using science instead of strength. Will either man win the prize of Elizabeth's heart? Or will their hearts be feasted upon by hordes of marauding zombies? Complete with romance, action, comedy, and an army of shambling corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls will have Jane Austen rolling in her grave and just might inspire her to crawl out of it!

Review
Dawn of the Dreadfuls is the prequel to the mother of all monster/classic mashups, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I loved PPZ and was very excited to read the prequel. Steve Hockensmith did an amazing job of envisioning the rise of the Bennet girls as zombie fighters.

I was expecting something a little different when I first started Dawn of the Dreadfuls. I was misled by the title. I thought this prequel would be focusing on the first occurrence of the zombie menace, perhaps with an explanation as to why the zombies had risen. Instead, Dawn of the Dreadfuls focused on how the Bennet's shifted from the family Jane Austen envisioned to the one Seth Graham-Smith wrote about in PPZ. As much as I love zombie creation stories, I never once was disappointed by the route Hockensmith took.

In Dawn of the Dreadfuls, the characters stay true to both PP and PPZ. They begin just as Jane Ausen originally wrote them and continued on a great path leading to the girls we know from PPZ. I loved seeing Mr. Bennet in a larger capacity than previously seen. His standing up to his wife and training his daughters in the deadly arts was wonderful.

I also loved two of the new characters introduced in Dawn of the Dreadfuls - Master Hawksworth, the girls deadly arts teacher, and Dr. Keckilpenny, a academic taking the scientific approach against the zombies. Another great addition was Captain Cannon, a limbless army man who used to date Mrs. Bennet. He provided great comedy throughout the book.

Dawn of the Dreadfuls is an wonderful and very funny account of the Bennet girl's path to infamy. If you liked Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, you won't want to miss Dawn of the Dreadfuls.

Rating

Links

Steve Hockensmith's
Website
Twitter
Facebook

Beneath a Starlet Sky by Amanda Goldberg & Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper

Book Details
Beneath a Starlet Sky by Amanda Goldberg and Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper
Hardcover, 304 Pages
2011, St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312544421

Synopsis
Lola Santisi—CEO of a struggling fashion line, reformed Actorholic and daughter of Hollywood Royalty—is now not only bicoastal, she’s Bi-Lolar: That is the condition which causes her to swing like a pendulum between the opposing poles of the fashion world in New York and the real world with her Doctor Boyfriend in Los Angeles. She hardly knows which shoe fits her anymore: the Louboutin stiletto or the Croc. As Lola tries to launch Julian Tennant’s new dress line, it looks like they’re about to get their next big break: his wedding dresses have been chosen to feature in the top film at the Cannes Film Festival. And suddenly Lola is staging a full-blown couture show on a yacht – in the middle of the Med.  Think those super models had trouble walking down the catwalks at Fashion Week?  With an unexpected finale twist, this time it’s Lola who’s tumbling off the runway.

Having recently endured a disastrous break-up with Lola’s brother Christopher, Kate Woods, Lola’s BFF and CAA’s rising star agent, is newly single, and focused 24-7 on her clients. The only thing worse than thinking it was a good idea for Kate to date Lola’s brother, is thinking it was a good idea for Kate to put one of her most loose-cannon clients, Nic Knight, in Lola’s father’s movie. Among Kate’s other mega star clients is Saffron Sykes whose appearance on the cover of Vain magazine in Julian Tennant could be the difference between Julian Tennant, Inc. weathering the economy or going bust.

As Lola fights to survive the Cannes Film Festival, will she get swept into the French Riviera’s riptide of glamour and superficiality? Are real love and couture mutually exclusive?  Or can Lola have it all – the good doctor and her Louboutins. With her father and brother vying for the same prize, her mother starring in her new reality show, and one heartbroken girlfriend about to declare motherhood, it’s all on Lola to come up with the answers.  And it’s going to take more than one of her mother’s prosperity chants to save the day.

Review
Beneath a Starlet Sky is a wonderfully fun and often times outrageous novel that will appeal to readers who can't help but be mesmerized by Hollywood gossip. Lola's father is a famous movie director. She's done with dating actors and the whole Hollywood scene. She wants nothing more than to success in the fashion world as the CEO of her best gay friend's clothing line and to settle down with her doctor boyfriend. But when her mom gets her own reality show, her brother's film gets accepted to Cannes (to compete against their father's film), her boyfriend gets a taste of fame and her company has one disaster after another, Lola is sucked back into the cutthroat Hollywood world again and again.

Beneath the Starlet Sky will suck in any celebrity junkie from the very start. It's an entertaining look into Hollywood through the eyes of someone trying to escape its grasp. It's both snappy and addictive. Lola is immediately lovable and readers will find themselves rooting for her at every turn. With "cameos" from many well known celebrities, along with fictional movie and reality stars, fame has never looked so decadently and, well, dirty.

I loved just about everything in Beneath a Starlet Sky. Unfortunately it lost me occasionally when Lola's job was the focus. Fashion isn't my thing and I feel many readers will be confused. It seems as though the authors assumed that common folk would be know current trends in the fashion world and have a subscription to Vogue. Those who possess this type of knowledge will be fine. Those like myself, not so much. While I know of Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik, I can't tell the difference between them. When fashion took the stage during the book, I felt less involved in the story.

Beneath a Starlet Sky is scandalous at times and pure emotion at others. It contains a wonderful mix of crazed fame and real life. While some portions of the book may be a bit beyond the reader's understanding, be it film, fashion or celebrity obsession in general, Beneath a Starlet Sky is sure to delight.

Rating

The Dead Zone by Stephen King

Book Details
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
Paperback, 416 Pages
2004, Signet
ISBN: 0451155750

Synopsis
John Smith awakens from an interminable coma with an accursed power-the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in...the dead zone.

Review
I was a big fan of The Dead Zone TV show starring Anthony Michael Hall and couldn't help comparing the book to the show as I read. Knowing pretty much what to expect from having watched the show, the book had less of an impact than it would have if I had gone into the reading without any expectations.

The television show made some, mostly minor, changes in the interest of being able to produce the show long term. I personally liked their changes better than the book itself. Walt's role in the book is tiny and he isn't even the sheriff. Johnny never impregnated Sarah, so there was no JJ. And the Greg Stillson story line, my least favorite aspect of the show, ended up being a major part of the book.

Read today, The Dead Zone loses a lot of its scare potential. It's horror, but it isn't particularly traumatic. It felt a lot more like a paranormal thriller, with Johnny's psychic ability and the race to prevent a Stillson caused armageddon. More than anything else, Stephen King has the ability to really flesh out his characters, making them and not the horror the true focal point of his books. The Dead Zone features a lot of inner struggle and moral dilemma, mostly from Johnny and Sarah, but stretching beyond to Johnny's parents and Sheriff Not-Walt Bannerman.

The Dead Zone isn't horrific or gory. It is thrilling and psychological in nature. It's not the best of Stephen King's works, but it is a solid King classic.

Rating

Links

Stephen King's

Website

Trapped by Michael Northrop

Book Details
Trapped by Michael Northrop
Hardcover, 240 Pages
2011, Scholastic Press
ISBN: 0545210127

Synopsis

The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive....

Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision....

Review
I was prepared to absolutely adore Trapped. Getting stuck in an eighteen foot, week-long mother of all snowstorms ranks right up there with experiencing the zombie apocalypse for me. The synopsis called out to me, sounding like a very unique disaster novel.

I loved both the concept of this novel and the writing. Michael Northrop is very good with the details, making it easy to picture the scene the teens faced. A description of the endless piling up of snow may seem like it would be tedious, but it was very well done. Couple that with a very unique chapter page styling and the situation was perfectly set. I read an ARC and I very much hope they keep this design for the official publication. Each chapter had a darkened upper portion with snowflakes and the writing began where the pile of snow started. As the book progressed, the white snowed in portion would move higher and higher up the page, indicating the show piling up in the book. Kudos to whomever came up with the idea, because the effect is phenomenal.

Trapped was an engaging novel, but it never really brought the tension one looks for in a disaster situation such as this. The kids were in a life and death situation. They fully realized this and acted accordingly. Yet, even when death occurred, it never invoked the sense of trauma it should have. I never felt scared for the kids.

At one point later in the book, there is a definite Breakfast Club feel. The characters are trapped together and most of them are from different cliques. While not as clearly segregated as that 80's movie, when Scotty considered each character in turn thinking how they were more than just the stereotype he's originally assumed, all I could picture was Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy. While I don't believe this was the author's intended effect, I personally enjoyed the comparison - even if only in my own head.

Michael Northrop could have inflicted more pain and suffering on his characters in Trapped. The novel flowed well and the story worked, but I was left with the feeling that they were all getting off a bit to easy.

Rating

Links

Michael Northrop's
Website
Twitter
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I am Legend by Richard Matheson

Book Details
I am Legend by Richard Matheson
Paperback, 320 Pages
2007, Tor Books
ISBN: 0765318741

Synopsis

Robert Neville may well be the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone.

An incurable plague has mutated every other man, woman, and child into bloodthirsty, nocturnal creatures who are determined to destroy him.

By day, he is a hunter, stalking the infected monstrosities through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn....

Review
I only read I am Legend and not the ten short stories that follow in this edition of the book, so my review will only be of the one story I read and not the book as a whole.

I am Legend is considered by many as a classic horror story. I previously saw the movie adaptation starring Will Smith and let me warn you now, that movie is nothing like the book. It was very strange seeing Will Smith on the cover of this book while reading about Robert Neville who is very different, physically and mentally than the character Smith portrayed.

I am Legend is a not-sexy vampire book, closer to Salem's Lot (Stephen King calls I am Legend an inspiration for his writing) than the plethora of vampire romances today. Robert Neville is the only real focus of the book, being the last remaining non-vampire in the world. We see what he does all day, what he remembers of the past and his attempts to figure out a cure. The vampires are scary, but scarier still is the utter aloneness Neville lives with and his desperation to have someone to share this hell with.

I really thought I knew where this story was going, but the last third of the book shocked me. Having seen the movie did nothing to warn me of what was to come as the book and movie are so vastly different. I found the book to be scarier, but the movie was slightly more entertaining if it's really fair to compare them at all. I am Legend is a must read classic vampire tale with nothing in common with its movie adaptation.

Rating

Guest Author: Susan Jane Bigelow

Susan Jane Bigelow, author of Broken, has been kind enough to stop by Reading with Tequila to tell us about superheroes.

Superheroes are a longtime obsession of mine, ever since I was a kid! Originally, I loved their stories because, hey, super-powers! Who wouldn't want to fly or be able to shoot laser beams out of her eyes? Makes sense. But now I love the superhero genre because of the incredible potential for storytelling, and for exploring themes that I find incredibly relevant.

In a lot of ways, superhero stories are about those who are different or special in one way or another. Here are people who either have inborn or contracted special abilities or powers, or who are in some other way extraordinary. This makes them very different from the other people around them, sometimes in extremely visible ways.

Themes that tend to crop up over and over are those of isolation, loneliness and resentment, as well as misunderstanding and mistrust on the part of the non-superhero population. How do they deal with it? Do they withdraw from life, embrace their differences, or some combination of both? Superman has a Fortress of Solitude where can retreat from an impossibly demanding life. Batman has no real friends, and is focused to the point of obsession and beyond with his work. There are many stories of superheroes trying, desperately, to have some semblance of a “normal” life, either through a second identity in which they “pass” for a non-superhero (most famous example: Clark Kent), or through family, friends and work. And, suddenly, this is probably starting to sound familiar to a lot of people out there who have ever felt different or isolated.

One of the great things fantasy and science fiction can do is give us a lens through which to view our own society and its problems from a safe distance. Superhero stories allow us to think about how Western society views crime and law enforcement, for example. Clearly they can, in their better moments, also give us insight on how society treats those who are either visibly or invisibly different, and how they cope with what sets them apart. The best superhero stories, in my opinion, are those that explore these issues of difference within the context of a larger narrative. Watchmen comes to mind almost immediately as a great example of this kind of storytelling, as does Astro City and some of the better X-Men stories.

These differences are often portrayed in fantasy and science fiction as generally positive things (see: Harry Potter), and despite the negative effects readers are led to see them as more a blessing than a curse. Differences, the message tends to go, set us apart and can be a difficult burden to bear, but they also make us unique and special, and give us insights and experiences other people don't have. This is an incredibly awesome message.

So, sure, I love reading and writing about superheroes because what they can do is amazing and fascinating. However, I also love these stories because I can use them to talk and think about issues that really matter to me. How cool is that?

About the Author

Susan Jane Bigelow is a native New Englander and librarian with a passion for books, computers and writing. She lives in northern Connecticut with her wife and cats. Broken is her first novel.

About the Book

Broken figured she was done with heroics when she lost the ability to fly and fled the oppressive Extrahuman Union. But then the world started to fall apart around her, and the mysterious Michael Forward entered her life, dangling the possibility of redemption and rebirth. Can a shattered superhero help save humanity's hope for a better world?

Reading with Tequila's review of Broken

The Lucifer Code by Charles Brokaw

Book Details
The Lucifer Code by Charles Brokaw
Hardcover, 368 Pages
2010, Forge Books
ISBN: 9780765320933
Series: Book 2 of Dr. Thomas Lourds

Synopsis

AN ANCIENT MANUSCRIPT HAS REMAINED CONCEALED FOR CENTURIES -- WITHIN ITS PAGES LIES THE KEY TO THE MOST UNHOLY SECRET KNOWN TO MANKIND.

A sacred brotherhood has sworn, generation after generation, to protect this terrifying truth from those who would use it to unleash doomsday upon mankind.

When the unthinkable happens, and the holy scroll is uncovered, the race is on to reveal the true meaning of the cryptic language. Only one man, Dr. Thomas Lourds, the world's foremost scholar of ancient languages, who we first met in the bestselling novel The Atlantis Code, can safely decipher this most deadly scripture.

Lourds soon becomes the bait in the most lethal manhunt -- knowing he must confront the true face of evil if the world is to be saved...

Review
The Lucifer Code is the second book to feature Dr. Thomas Lourds, but the first one I've read. Thomas is rather famous, between being the foremost expert in languages, discovering the lost city of Atlantis and penning a popular novel that make the ladies swoon. Each of these accomplishments goes hand-in-hand with different sides of Thomas's personality. He's a highly educated, intelligent and knows it. He's got a lust for adventure. And he's a ladies man who fancy's himself quite attractive to the opposite sex, especially those much younger than himself.

Sounds like Indiana Jones to me, except Thomas lacks self-defense abilities and has no real instinct of self-preservation when faced with danger. Where Indy would whip the gun from the bad guy's hand, Thomas just kind of sits there waiting to be shot -- or saved by a much more impressive woman. Thomas is not exactly a womanizer, but feels as though he must take all carnal opportunities presented to him. He's visiting a former lover, currently sleeping with her (a lot) and yet jumps right into bed with a pretty young thing. When the former lover catches them, he expects her to be okay with it, because that's just who he is. Thomas's way with women will likely impress some and offend others.

The adventure starts off quickly and proceeds at a jaunty pace. Lots of shooting and explosions occupy the first chapters of the book. The pace slows once Thomas is tasked with deciphering an ancient coded language. The translations lead him on a race to save the world against the ultimate evil. The believability of this premise will depend on your religious beliefs. Personally, I found it to be a wildly entertaining ride, as long as I didn't try to see it as possible.

The Dr. Thomas Lourds series has been and will continue to be compared to the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown. An academic racing to solve an ancient mystery that effects the world today could easily be the description of The Da Vinci Code or The Lucifer Code. The difference is that the Da Vinci Code felt like it had a much higher probability of actually happening in the real world, even for religious skeptics. The Lucifer Code felt more supernatural towards the end.

Dr. Thomas Lourds isn't quite Indiana Jones or Robert Langdon. He's less likable that either as far as I'm concerned. The Lucifer Code is an exciting book that will appeal to fans of intelligently written adventure mysteries, as long as they don't mind rolling their eyes at the main character from time to time.

Rating

Links

Charles Brokaw's
Website

Guest Author: Tessa Adams + Giveaway

Tessa Adams, author of the Dragon's Heat series, has been kind enough to stop by Reading with Tequila to tell us about tequila!

First of all, thanks so much for having me today, Jennifer :)  I really appreciate it.  After all, what better place to talk about my new book, Hidden Embers, then here at Reading with Tequila?  One of my favorite scenes in the book actually takes place over a bottle of tequila, and like Jennifer says in her bio regarding her meeting with her husband, Jasmine and Quinn’s first conversation is also about tequila …

Speaking of which, I’m not much of a drinker, simply because I’m terrible at holding my alcohol—from the time I was legal, my friends have always called me a very cheap drunk.  But if I do end up having a drink, nine times out of ten, it’s going to be something with Tequila in it.  Maybe it’s because I was raised in Southern California where the margarita is king, or because Tequila always means a huge, fun party where I’m from, or maybe it’s simply because I think doing body shots is incredibly sexy (Quinn and Jasmine do a few …)  Whatever it is, tequila is definitely my drink of choice.

So, in that vein, I thought I’d pop up a couple of tequila drink recipes that I think are delicious—and hope that you like them as well.  The first one I ran across when I was researching one of my novels a few years ago, and my friends all agree—it’s a winner!

Silk Stocking (makes 2)
3 oz Tequila
1 oz crème de cacao
2 oz cream
1 tsp Chambord

Mix in a shaker with ice, then strain into a martini glass rimmed with sugar or shaved chocolate, and serve.

Another delicious tequila recipe is for a Mexican Sunset (makes 2):
3 oz tequila
3 oz orange juice
1 ½ oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
2 oz grenadine syrup

Mix in a shaker with ice, and strain into a martini glass rimmed with sugar.

And here’s the conversation I was talking about between Quinn and Jasmine:

The bartender slapped two shots of Patron on the bar between them, along with another shot glass full of lime slices. Jasmine reached for hers, aware that the guy sitting next to her was doing the same.

She might have thought it was lame that he ordered the same drink as her—like that would impress her or something—but there was a line of used shot glasses in front of him, and when he turned his head to look at her his breath smelled faintly of her favorite tequila.

“What should we drink to?” he asked in a low, smoky voice that made her toes curl inside her favorite pair of Sketchers.

She thought about it for a second, then remembered how good it felt to defend herself against the jerks outside. “How about to kicking a little ass?”

If she’d hoped to shock him with her response—which she was honest enough to admit she might have—she was disappointed. He simply lifted one dark eyebrow and asked sardonically, “So, you like to kick ass, do you?”

“Absolutely. If the occasion warrants it, I’m all for a good ass-kicking.” She raised her glass, clinked it against his. Then tossed the shot back in a hurry.

It burned all the way down, lit a fire in her stomach that worked its way through her bloodstream until every part of her was tingling and warm. Tequila didn’t usually have that effect on her, but she refused to give the guy next to her the credit. No matter how hot he was.

And God, was he hot. Long and lean with heavily muscled arms and a torso so sculpted she could see the outline of his six pack through his T-shirt. He was so sexy that she had to surreptitiously wipe her mouth to make sure she wasn’t drooling.

Add in the brooding green eyes, chin-length black hair and cut-glass jaw lined with stubble, and he was every late-night fantasy she’d ever had. Even as she told herself she wasn’t going to be sticking around long enough to find out if he tasted as good as he looked, a part of her was intrigued enough to turn toward him and watch as he lifted his own shot glass.

He caught her looking and grinned, a sharp, seductive expression that made her nipples tighten against the thin cotton of her tank top. She started to cross her arms over her chest, but saw that she was too late—his emerald gaze had already found the tell-tale peaks beneath her shirt.

“That was fast,” he said with a grin. She wasn’t sure if he was talking about her response to him or the way she’d downed the shot. “Can I get you another one?”

She shrugged. “Sure.” It wasn’t like she was going to be driving anywhere anytime soon.

He flagged down the bartender and ordered them both another shot before turning back to look at her. “So, whose ass did you kick tonight, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“A couple jerks who thought a woman stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire was fair game.”

The smile slid off his face and his eyes darkened dangerously. “Are they still alive?”

“Unfortunately.”

He scanned the bar. “Are they here?”

“Nope.. Why? You planning on coming to my defense?”

She held her breath as she waited for him to answer. She was all for a knight in shining armor, but she preferred a man who knew she could take care of herself—and who trusted her to do it.

“Not your defense, no. But I figure there are a bunch of women in here who wouldn’t be able to handle themselves as well in a similar situation.”

She melted a little at his words. Despite his very bad-ass exterior, it sounded like he was one of the good guys. At the very least, he had more than a passing respect for women. She could totally get into that.

“They’re long gone, so that’s one less thing for you to worry about tonight.” Even as she spoke, she couldn’t believe the flirtatious tone in her voice. She never went that route, usually went out of her way to avoid sounding like some silly schoolgirl with a crush. But something about this man was really ringing her bell—in the best possible way.

“I’m glad to hear that.” He spun his barstool toward her, so that his knees brushed lightly against her upper thigh. Pleasure fluttered inside her and she caught her breath, shocked that such a light touch could elicit any response from her at all, let alone one strong enough to have her libido stand up and take notice.

The sudden heat radiating from him told her she wasn’t the only one whose body was just a little out of control.

“Are you? Why?”

“Because as entertaining as it would be to teach those guys a lesson, I much prefer sitting here with you.”

“Really? And why is that?”

“You smell a lot better than they probably do—and you have excellent taste in tequila.”

“Yeah, well, a girl never knows when a taste for highbrow tequila will come in handy. Speaking of which—” she said, as she reached for her second shot. “Cheers.”

He inclined his head forward. “Cheers.”

She downed the shot in record time, but when she slammed her glass on the counter, she realized he still hadn’t taken his first shot—which was resting, neglected, between his fingers—let alone the second one that was sitting in front of him.

“Something wrong with your drink?” she asked.

“No. I just enjoy watching you indulge. Besides, I’m already a few ahead of you.” He nodded to the empty shot glasses the bartender had yet to clear away.

“You are indeed. Why is that, by the way?”

This time his smile was anything but warm, and she felt the chill of it cut through the rosy tequila glow currently enveloping her. “It’s been a rough year.”

There was something in the way he said it, something in the sudden sadness that wrapped around him like a cloak that made her think that his “rough” was a number of shades worse than hers. And that was saying something, considering her year to date had consisted of dealing with a serious outbreak of Ebola in the Congo, followed by being blown up in the third week of a research trip that had started going wrong the second she’d gotten off the airplane.

Still, no one was more surprised than she when she reached a hand out and covered his, where it rested on his knee. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”

His fingers clutched at hers like a lifeline. “Don’t be. You didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“Yeah, well, I’m having a pretty crappy year myself, so I can empathize.”

“Awww, don’t tell me that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I wouldn’t wish my luck on anyone.”

So how about you?  What’s your favorite drink, alcoholic or otherwise?  Leave a comment and be entered to win a copy of Dark Embers, the first book in the Dragon Heat’s series.  Have a great Monday!

About the Author

Tessa Adams, aka Tracy Wolff, lives with four men, teaches writing to local college students and spends as much time as she can manage immersed in worlds of her own creation. Married to the alpha hero of her dreams for twelve years, she is the mother of three young sons who spend most of their time trying to make her as crazy as possible.

About the Book

Deep in the New Mexico desert there is a secret race on the brink of extinction—the pure-blood shapeshifters of the Dragonstar clan. And they have one last, desperate hope for survival…

Quinn Maguire is a powerful Dragonstar healer at a tragic loss, unable to cure the insidious disease killing off his people. Yet even in such dire circumstances the conservative Quinn is secretly disapproving of the alternative: Dr. Jasmine Kane, enlisted by the head of the Dragonstar clan to help abort the virus. She is a wild card. She is an outsider. She is human.

Decked out in black leather and a tough attitude, Jasmine clashes with Quinn in more ways than one. And when destiny chooses her for his Mate, he doesn't know whether to rejoice or rebel. Because while Jasmine makes him burn hotter than any woman--dragon or human-- ever has, their differences make a relationship impossible.

But when a rival infiltrates the clan and attacks Jasmine, Quinn becomes desperate. Jasmine is now the first human to be infected with the disease—and Quinn must do everything he can to find a cure, and save the woman he has grown to love.

Giveaway

As she mentioned above, Tessa Adams is offering one lucky winner a copy of Dark Embers!

To enter, leave a comment answering Tessa's question. Be sure to leave your email address in case you win!

US/Canada.

Entry deadline: Sunday, April 24th at 11:59pm EST

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford

Book Details
Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford
Hardcover, 320 Pages
2010, Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780545107105

Synopsis
The Sullivan sisters have a big problem. On Christmas Day their rich and imperious grandmother gathers the family and announces that she will soon die . . .and has cut the entire family out of her will. Since she is the source of almost all their income, this means they will soon be penniless.

Someone in the family has offended her deeply. If that person comes forward with a confession of her (or his) crime, submitted in writing to her lawyer by New Year's Day, she will reinstate the family in her will. Or at least consider it.

And so the confessions begin....

Review
I think I expected Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters to be a little more edgy and scandalous than it ended up being. When the matriarch of a rich family demands confessions of wrong-doings in order for the family to stay in her will, three sisters write her letters admitting everything that their grandmother may have taken offense to. One fell in love, one told family secrets, one believed herself to be immortal, but none seemed even remotely bad, especially in today's world.

The family dynamics of Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters was the aspect of the book that kept me interested. The way the siblings interacted with each other, their parents and the grandmother was entertaining and heartfelt. I wish the book focused a little more on the entire family, especially the brothers, rather than keeping the focus solely on the girls and their supposed crimes.

Confessions from rich teenage girls should have been worse. These were truly good girls who made everyday decisions that the grandmother frowned upon. The ending, in which the grandmother reads the confessions and announces whether or not she has been satisfied was kind of a letdown. She, as evil as she's made out to be, reveals which crime it was that set her off in the first place and it's surprising in it's ridiculous nature.

This is a nice, sweet novel and would have been great if that's what readers are expecting when they pick the book up. Unfortunately, the way the book description makes it sound, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters should have contained shocking revelations of some sort. I expected something on par with the Gossip Girl novels, and got something far more inspirational and wholesome instead.

Rating

Links

Natalie Standiford's
Website
Twitter
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Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Book Details
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Paperback, 272 Pages
2007, Ace
ISBN: 0441014895
Series: Book 1 of Kate Daniels

Synopsis
Mercenary Kate Daniels cleans up urban problems of a paranormal kind. But her latest prey, a pack of undead warriors, presents her greatest challenge.

Review
The Kate Daniels series has all the makings of a spectacular series, but this first book, Magic Bites, crams way too much information into a short book.

The vampires and weres in Magic Bites were different than any I've ever read before. Every aspect of their characterization was unique to the series and it took a while to grasp even the basics. The vampires weren't just unsexy, but completely without will of their own. Left to their own devices they seemed to be more closely related to zombies than the common idea of vampires. They're controlled by a Master of the Dead, and seemed comparable (at least to me) to those unmanned Predator drones used by the military. I respect the creativity here, but the vampires didn't really appeal to me. The weres in Magic Bites were much more my speed, which is something I don't get to say very often about shifters. Instead of being separated into groups according to species, they're all ruled by Curran - The Beast Lord, making it appear that their very shifter-ness is more important to the story than the huge variety of species that could come into play.

Magic Bites features a very good mystery, but it was occasionally hard to follow the fight scenes - especially when magic was being used. Magic seems to play a large role in the world this series takes place in, but I couldn't fully grasp the how and they why of things.

I'm not quite sold on Kate either. She's tougher than many urban fantasy heroines, occasionally to the point of annoyance. She's obviously a magic user, but to what extent is anyone's guess at this point. The source of her power and the magnitude of her abilities is often hinted at in Magic Bites, but nothing is even vaguely explained. Equally hard, but in an obviously less self-destructive way, is Curran, The Beast Lord. His character made me smile even while Kate continued to rub me the wrong way.

I can't say I loved Magic Bites, but I can clearly see the potential in this series. I like Curran and get the feeling I could like Kate if we get past her rough exterior. The magic in Kate and in the world itself needs more explanation and I was honestly exasperated through much of the book. But strangely, I feel almost compelled to continue the series. Magic Bites was a decent start and I'll definitely be checking out the next book.

Rating

Links

Ilona Andrews's
Website
Twitter
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Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Book Details
Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
Hardcover, 288 Pages
2011, Simon Pulse
ISBN: 144240924X
Series: Book 1 of Gods and Monsters

Synopsis
Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

Review
Darkness Becomes Her is set in a post-apocalyptic New Orleans, but this isn't a post-apocalyptic novel. New 2 has been rebuilt and chooses to remain apart from the rest of the United States, making it a safe haven for supernatural beings and others who don't necessarily fit into the "real" world. Ari ventures into New 2 following a lead on her birth parents and finds a place that is as strange as she's always felt she was.

Darkness Becomes Her mixes witches, shifters and vampires with figures from Greek mythology. I was skeptical at first as to how well the themes would work together, especially set in New Orleans - where the culture leans more towards French Creole and African. Greek culture isn't very prominent in New Orleans beyond some Greek-revival architecture. I was happy with the result. Nothing felt forced as the characters related to the mythology didn't need the culture to support them.

Ari is an interesting character. In and out of foster homes for most of her life, she's recently been living with a couple of bond enforcement officers and has been learning the trade. This gives her some self-defense abilities as well as firearm training. I liked that she could defend herself and that these skills were learned as opposed to being the result of the supernatural. New 2 is an eye-opening experience for Ari and it's fun to watch her grow comfortable with the place and people.

Ari is more than just an orphan girl searching for her place in the world. Who she is, what she can do, and what that means for the people of New 2 are surprising reveals on a grand scale. Many answers are provided in Darkness Becomes Her, but the ending makes a sequel necessary and obvious. Ari's story is no where near done and I can't wait to read the next part.

Rating

Links

Kelly Keaton's
Website
Twitter
Facebook

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

Book Details
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
Paperback, 400 Pages
2005, Dell
ISBN: 9780440241904

Synopsis
Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets: Secrets from her boyfriend: I’ve always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken. Secrets from her mother: I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching Ben-Hur. Secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone in the world: I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is. Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger.…Until Emma comes face-to-face with Jack Harper, the company’s elusive CEO, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her...

Review
Can You Keep a Secret? completely captivated me. I sat down to read a few pages before bed and didn't put it down until I finished it hours later. I expected humor, and got lots of it, but I didn't expect to care about Emma as much as I did.

Emma's your average girl. She's always willing to tell a little white lie or a lie of omission in order to spare someone's feelings or avoid her own embarrassment. When she believes her plane is going to crash, she tells the man next to her every secret she's ever kept. She goes back to her life, thinking nothing of it until she learns her plane buddy is the CEO of the company she works for. And Jack seems to delight in hinting about those secrets at every opportunity.

Can You Keep a Secret? seemed so predictable until a huge twist made me question everything in the book so far. It was a wonderfully shocking surprise. The relationships between the characters were what made Can You Keep a Secret? so delightful to read. Emma and her boyfriend Connor. Emma and Jack. Emma and her roommates. Emma's parents and cousin. Emma's coworkers. Each character brought something special to the book, some insecurity or secret of their own, that really made them more than just side character's orbiting Emma.

You love and hate Jack right along with Emma, but she seemed to fall too hard, too quick. She needed to fall for him so the twist would invoke strong emotions, but it was too Wham-Bam-I-Love-That-Man for my taste. Sex causing immediate love is a huge pet peeve of mine, so I would have rather it all worked out some other way. Of course, this immediate love goes to show Emma's issues, quite obviously as her roommate points out that she can't love him having only known him a short while.

I will definitely be checking out more books by Sophie Kinsella after having be so thoroughly sucked into this one. Can You Keep a Secret? is a light, fun book that'll lead to both laughter, tears and questioning your own deeply hidden secrets.

Rating

Links

Sophie Kinsella's
Website
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All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins

Book Details
All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins
Paperback, 384 Pages
2010, HQN Books
ISBN: 0373774583

Synopsis
One Happily-Ever-After Rocking Chair…

and no sign of any forthcoming babies to rock in ol' Georgebury, Vermont. For Callie Grey, turning thirty means coming to grips with the fact that her boss (and five-week fling) is way overdue in his marriage proposal. And way off track because Mark has suddenly announced his engagement to the company's new Miss Perfect. If that isn't bad enough, her mom decides to throw her a three-oh birthday bash in the family funeral home.

Bad goes to worse when she stirs up a crazy relationship with the town's not so warm and fuzzy veterinarian, Ian McFarland, in order to flag Mark's attention. So Ian is more comfortable with animals…. So he's formal, orderly and just a bit tense. The ever-friendly, fun-loving and spontaneous Callie decides it's time for Ian to get a personality makeover. But dang, if he doesn't shock the heck out of her, she might actually fall for Vermont's unlikeliest eligible bachelor….

Review
All I Ever Wanted is a cute and fun romantic story with an amazing cast of characters. The romantic leads, Callie, Ian and Mark all sort of rubbed me the wrong way (for different reasons) but Callie's family and friends kept my interest throughout the book.

Callie is a little annoying sometimes. She's in love with Mark, her boss and childhood crush, and functions in a land of denial. Mark gets engaged to someone else, forcing Callie is accept the reality that they aren't going to end up together. Callie, who tends to see only the good in people, is shaken to her very core because she just can't see Mark for the slimy user that's obvious to everyone else. So, of course, Callie finds a new guy. One who doesn't seem the least bit interested in her or anyone else. Ian's got issues of his own, but for the life of me, I can't see why Callie considered pursuing him at all. Perhaps some version of small town desperation?

All I Ever Wanted truly shines when it comes to Callie's family. She lives with her grumpy one-legged grandfather. Her father is attempting to win back her mother after infidelity and over 20 years of divorce. Her mother is taunting her father by making him go on the Tour of Whores - introducing her to all the women he slept with while she was pregnant with their son. Her sister, who sees no need for men, is forced to date by her adopted daughter. And her aimless little brother provides much comedic relief. Add in the people Callie works with, the colorful townspeople and Callie's married best friend and the background of the story is even more entertaining that the plot itself.

Callie wants to be married in a way that I think many may have a bit of trouble relating to. She's a warm, loving character that can be exasperating at times. Her choices in love don't seem all that smart at face value, but in the end she manages to get exactly where she needs to be. All I Ever Wanted is surprisingly touching at times and will definitely leave you with a smile on your face.

Rating

Links

Kristan Higgins's
Website
Facebook