Damn Delicious

Damn Delicious
by Chung-Ah Rhee

So I'm always looking for new ideas for something to make for dinner.  This cookbook caught my eye at the library and I really liked this cookbook.  

Visually it's a stunning cookbook, the pictures of the food are beautiful.  This makes it easier to glance through a cookbook and if something catches my eye to start to look at the ingredients.  And what I really liked was the recipes were fairly simple with not a complicated list of ingredients.  I do not want to go out and buy one weird ingredient for one recipe that may or may not turn out.  I want to either use stuff I already have on hand or if it's something I would need to get, it's something I know I would use in other stuff.

And I am so happy to see she has a new cookbook coming out in just a few short weeks!  I am definitely getting my name on the hold list! 

The Writing Desk

The Writing Desk
by Rachel Hauck

Tenley has just had every writer's dream, her first book has become a success, spending 22 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.  However, now that her second book is due soon she has writer's block.  Her first book was such a success, how does she repeat that?

Tenley's mother asks for help as she goes through chemotherapy, so Tenley goes across the country.  She has rarely seen her mother in the past 20 years, so seeing them reunited was interesting.  They discussed her mother's failed marriages after she left Tenley's father and the mistakes of the past.  Tenley's mother genuinely did love her father.

This novel is split chapters between present day Tenley, and 1903 Birdie.  Birdie is presured to get married, but what she would really like to do is marry for love and to write.

I found the present-day story of Tenley a little more interesting than Birdie's.  It was interesting to see how their two stories would finally connect.  It was a decent story.

The Stepmother

The Stepmother
by Claire Seeber

Jeanie recently married Matthew and they both have children from previous relationships.  Matthew has two 15-year old twins, one of them named Scarlett, who takes a dislike to Jeanie.  Jeanie also has a secret from her past that she is hiding and hasn't told her husband.

Soon someone is trying to scare Jeanie.  Who is trying to scare her?  What is this secret that Jeanie is hiding?  I kept reading to find out both--what she was hiding, and then who was behind all the stuff that was happening.  Was someone trying to break Jeanie and Matthew up?  Was she going crazy?

I did not like Matthew and how he treated Jeanie at times.  He came across as a dirt bag pushing people around because he had money.  Then you had the jealous ex-wife, Kaye.  The daughter Scarlet was hard to read at times, she would be a typical snotty teenager, and then turn around and be nice to Jeanie.

It was a pretty good book, it kept my interest and I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going on.  I looked on Goodreads and it looks like this author has several other books so I added them to my to-read list.

The Druggist of Auschwitz

The Druggist of Auschwitzby Dieter Schlesak

This one was a little different.  There is a fictional account of Adam, recounting his time in Auschwitz.  And between the fictional narrative, are excerpts of actual testimony at the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial of 1963-1965, about Dr. Victor Capesius.  There are also interviews with survivors.

The fictional parts are in italics to help the reader distinguish between the factual and fictional accounts.  This did help to figure out which part I was reading.  I read some other reviews on Goodreads, and I agreed that this might have been better as a straight nonfiction book.  The interviews, the facts, it's well researched and could have been better as a nonfiction book.  The fictional character of Adam seemed to weaken the book.

This was filled with horrifying details about Auschwitz.  A disturbing read.

The Mentor

The Mentor
by Lee Matthew Goldberg

Kyle is an editor at a publishing house and he has recently signed a new author that appears will be a quite a success.  The new author already has a large advance and has people interested in making a movie about her book.  This success puts Kyle at the center of attention and perks the interest of his old professor.

William, his professor, approaches him about a book he is writing.  Kyle is happy to look at the book, thinking it will be really good as William was his favorite teacher back in the day.  Soon Kyle finds out the book is both horribly written but the content is also very disturbing.  

Kyle doesn't want to publish the disturbing book and things get weird then.  William is creepy and disturbing.  He is obsessed with getting his book published and starts stalking Kyle.

This book was a little strange, but then the William character was supposed to be a bit odd.  I thought it was interesting that Kyle's author he signed had a huge bonus received after only having 100 pages written.  I don't know how the publishing world works, but that seemed like a big chunk of change for something that's only partially done.

Jane Eyre laid bare

Jane Eyre laid bare
by Eve Sinclair

Eve Sinclair does a retelling of the classic Jane Eyre novel.  Basically it's a smutty Jane Eyre, it has bits of the Jane Eyre story line and then goes off into a different direction.  

This book caught my eye because it said Jane Eyre on the cover and the cover was pretty.  It was basically what I expected, something trashy.  Basically if someone wrote a fan fiction of Jane Eyre and was able to get it published.  I'm guessing in the aftermath of Fifty Shades of Grey.  (Which if you like those kinds of novels, check out Sylvia Day.  She has those racy parts in her books, yet her books still had an actual story line.)

The original Jane Eyre is quite a bit better.

The Walls

The Walls
by Hollie Overton

Kristy Tucker works on death row, she works in publicity, arranging media interviews with the inmates on death row and answers media questions after an inmate is put to death.  It's a hard job, she doesn't care for it, but it pays the bills.  Kristy has a teenage son and an ailing father that she takes care of.  

One day Kristy meets Lance, he seems perfect, she falls in love and they get married.  Things soon change after that.  He is brutal and mean, snapping at her at the smallest things.  She never knows when she will do something wrong.  He has charmed everyone else and no one knows this side of him.  He is threatening to harm her son or her father if she were to leave him.

One of the inmates picks up on the sparkle having left her eyes and that a few weeks ago she was holding her ribs.  He mentions an idea of getting rid of him and the idea starts to grow in Kristy's mind.  Lance is a monster and she starts seeing the only choice is to murder him.  Can she learn from the mistakes that others have made and pull off the perfect crime?

I really enjoyed this one.  When reading a book, I want to like the main character and be rooting for them.  I liked Kristy.  She was in a terrible situation and there had to have been someone, such as the police, to turn to for help.  However, I wanted her to be able to pull this off and get rid of this scum bag.

Life as I know it

Life as I know it
by Melanie Rose

Jessica is out walking her dog when she is struck by lightning.  When she wakes up, the doctor insists she is someone else: a married women with four children.  

Soon she is rotating between two different lives, when she goes to sleep in one life she wakes up in the other.  Jessica is a single woman who has a dog.  Lauren has been married for ten years and has four children. 

 Jessica struggles going from a single woman with no children to suddenly having four.  And she finds out that Lauren might not have been the best mother.  Lauren was selfish, cared only about herself and found her children annoying.  The house was to remain spotless and they weren't allowed to have a pet, or play.  The children notice a difference in their mother, as she is suddenly nicer and wants to play with them.

Jessica can only be awake in one life or the other at a time so trying to get that figured out was difficult for her, especially because when she is in one world she is in an almost coma like sleep in the other.  

I really enjoyed this book, I enjoyed her living as Lauren, the mother of the four children.  She genuinely cared about the children and tried to do a good job as she stepped into Lauren's life.

Chasing Forgiveness

Chasing Forgiveness
by Neal Shusterman

Preston's parents are constantly fighting.  Then one day when Preston is 12, his father is arrested for killing his mom.  The book then jumps to when Preston is 14 and his father has been released from jail.  

Preston and his younger brother had been living with their grandparents.  This would be the parents of the mom who was killed.  And they forgive their son-in-law for killing their daughter.

This book was okay, I think I wanted more of an explanation of why he killed his wife.  It feels like it was just glossed over, most people don't kill someone else and just kinda shrug and move on with their life.  And only two years seems like a pretty light sentence for murder.  It seems like there should have been more details.  However, this is a young adult book so maybe details like that weren't really meant for this book. 

It was sad when Tyler, the 5 year old son, was visiting his dad at jail asking "Why did you kill my mom?"  The dad didn't hear what his son said.  Still heartbreaking.  It just feels like there should have been a little more to the story.

The Blondes

The Blondes
by Emily Schultz

In The Blondes a sickness has started spreading among the population that only effects blonde women.  They become enraged, violent and deadly.  Women are soon shaving their heads or dying their hair darker.  It effects naturally blonde women and those who have dyed their hair blonde. 

In the middle of this is Hazel, a grad student who recently found out she is pregnant.  She had an affair with her professor.  

The idea of a sickness similar to rabies effecting only blondes was an interesting idea.  I picked this book up at the library because that sounded interesting.  The book flip flops between the past and the present and towards the end I was having a hard time figuring out which was the present day part.  

Overall it was an interesting idea and I enjoyed this book.

Uncommon Type

Uncommon Type
by Tom Hanks

I picked this book up because it was by Tom Hanks which made me curious.  Who doesn't love Tom Hanks.  Actually, I do know someone who said she didn't like Tom Hanks which made me a little suspicious of her.  No, not really.

Honestly, I was disappointed.  This book wasn't terrible, it was just, well, mediocre and not memorable.  There were a few stories I did enjoy, but most of the book was a bit of a snooze-fest.  I'll admit the common theme of a typewriter was a neat idea.

Tom Hanks might be an amazing actor, I just didn't care for his book.  Who knows, he might write another one and that one might be better.

City of the Lost

City of the Lost
by Kelley Armstrong

Casey, a homicide detective, killed a man when she was in college.  He was a grandson of a mobster and she was never caught.  Her best friend, Diana, is running from an abusive ex-husband.  Casey decides for both of their safety, they  need to disappear.

Diana hears about a domestic violence support town that takes in people like her.  It's in Canada.  Casey and Diana apply to get into the town and they do.  The town of Rockton is in need of a homicide detective, otherwise they probably would have been passed over.

I liked the character Kelley and this town of Rocton was interesting.  For some reason I found the first part of the book interesting, and then when I got to the second part I was starting to get bored.  It looks like this is the first one in a new series, I would probably read the next one to see where it might go.  

Dry

Dry
by Neal Shusterman

What happens when there is no more water?  There is a drought and a water shortage.  Then the Colorado river is cut off from California and there is no more water.  This novel rotates between characters as they struggle to survive and become increasingly desperate  for the basic necessity of water. 

This was an interesting idea, water is such a basic need, it makes you wonder what you would do if suddenly the facet no longer turned on.  How much water do you have around the house?  What would you do?  

The sad thing about this story is while there is a drought going on, they didn't need to cut the river off and cause people to suffer and die.  And it takes days for people to step in and help. 

I found myself drinking more water as I read this book.

I will pick up a book if I see Neal Shusterman's name on it as it's going to be a good, imaginative story.  His books seem to be consistently good.

Becoming

Becoming
by Michelle Obama

Wow, has this book been popular.  I have seen it set records and hearing about how people are on long waiting lists at their library.  I was personally on hold at a couple libraries, but I was able to get my hands on one of the library's quick picks.  These have a shorter checkout period and you are unable to renew them or put them on hold.  

Michelle starts her story as a young girl living in the city of Chicago.  She was taking two buses to get to school.  She described her life living in an urban setting, her loving parents, and learning to play the piano from her aunt.  I liked that she started her book out as a little girl, as it sets the tone for how she is just like anyone of us, except for obviously she is very smart as most of us would never be able to get into Harvard or Princeton.  She did go on to become the First Lady, but she's still human just like any one of us.

She goes on to school at Princeton, graduates from Harvard and is working as a lawyer, which she discovers while she is good at it, she doesn't find it rewarding.  She meets Barack, they fall in love and get married after a couple years. This was interesting reading about the future president and first lady.  

Michelle briefly discusses her troubles with becoming pregnant.  This was one of the reasons I wanted to read this book, to hear about what she went through.  For unknown reasons, her and Barack were unable to become pregnant when they wanted to start a family.  They were however successful with IVF.  This is such a common issue, I think their success with IVF could bring hope to others.  

I liked the behind the scenes as she helped campaign for her husband.  How she was suddenly in the spotlight and had to watch what she said since things could and would be taken out of context.  She did mention the lies and rumors that have surrounded her and her husband.  One of these was that Barack was secretly a Muslim and that is why they very rarely went to church.  She went on to say that no, it was because going to church was such a hassle with all the needed extra security and that she was afraid if they were to join a church it would be targeted like their church in Chicago was.  To me that makes sense of why they would be hesitant to go to church in Washington, not that they are not Christians or have a secret agenda. 

The behind the scenes in the White House were also interesting.  All the extra security, I realize they have a lot of security but I hadn't thought about it much.  It was interesting how she mentioned if she wanted to just sit outside on the deck, she would have to contact security so they could shut down an area of the road where tourists would be able to see her.  Wow, all she wanted  was to have tea outside, yet she would have to contact security for safety.  

This book was really hyped up and I found it to actually live up that hype, it was quite good and I found it interesting.  

The Brink of Darkness

The Brink of Darkness
by Jeff Giles

Book two in the Edge of Everything series finds Zoe and X separated.  X is back in the Lowlands, and as punishment has been stripped of his powers.

This book seems to have high reviews, but I thought it was just okay.  I ended up picking up the second book in the series at the library when I saw it on display and figured I would see where the series went.

The more interesting part of the book was X in the Lowlands, I was interested in the stories of the past and for him to find his mother.  I wasn't very interested in the parts featuring Zoe. Something about her I just don't care for.  I do feel bad for X though, trapped in the Lowlands, and for his mother separated from her son right after giving birth.  That's sad.  

I don't know if there will be another book in this series, as it looks like this one had come out not too long ago. I may or may not read it.

Little do we Know

Little do we Know
by Tamara Ireland Stone

Hannah and Emory live next door to each other and have been best friends since they were kids.  However, they haven't spoken in months due to a fight where words were said that hurt both of them.  This novel rotates chapters between Hannah and Emory.

Hannah is a preacher's daughter struggling with her faith.  She finds out her family is in financial trouble and that she won't be able to go to the college of her choice as her parents spent her college fund in an attempt to turn things around.  

Emory is dating Luke and is busy with her UCLA performing arts application and the school play.  One day Hannah finds Luke unconscious in his car in bad shape and he is rushed to the hospital.  

I kept waiting to find out what had happened in this fight to keep the best friend apart.  You eventually find out and yes, something should have been done about it earlier, but at least they do make things right.  I did not like Aaron, the guy that Hannah's father hired at the church..  Snake.  (Note: he did not have anything to do with the fight, I was just randomly commenting that I did not like that character.)

It was a decent story, I liked the alternating chapters.  I thought the book was maybe a little too long though, it felt like towards the end it was starting to drag with not much happening and it took quite a while to find out what this fight was about.  

Dad is Fat

Dad is Fat
by Jim Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan writes about being a father of five children in a small New York City apartment, being married, his love of food and more.  

I listened to the audiobook which was read by the author.  I thought it was pretty good, it made me laugh.  I recommended this book to my husband and he is going to listen to it on audiobook next from the library.  My husband reads maybe one book a year so that's high praise if he thought it looked interesting.  

I used to watch the Jim Gaffigan show when it was on tv a few years ago and it was pretty good.  I guess I missed I hadn't seen it in a while and didn't realize it had gotten cancelled.  

The book was amusing, funny, and I would recommend to any other parent.  It's still funny even if you aren't a parent, I just found many of the scenarios amusing because I have kids.  The kids dropping food on the floor, kids talking nonstop, birthday parties, etc.

The Edge of Everything

The Edge of Everything
by Jeff Giles

Zoe's father recently died in a caving accident.  One day her younger brother wanders off outside during a blizzard and she goes after him.  Along the way, she and her brother are attacked and are rescued by a mysterious man.

X is a bounty hunter, he is to collect the soul of the man who was attacking them.  X is from hell called the Lowlands.

After this short time, Zoe and X have decided they are in love.  I thought that was ridiculous, they were barely together, barely know each other yet they are in love. Okay, I'll go with it since it's a book and to continue the story line of how they want to be together but they can't, since she is human and he is from hell.  

This book was okay, for some reason I thought it would be a little better. Looks like there is a second book that came out not too long ago, and I'll probably read that one just to see where it goes. 

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful

by Arwen Elys Dayton

Oh, this was a good one.  Imaginative, reminded me a bit of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld and the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman.  They take you into a different world and make you think.

There were six different stories interconnected.  There was the brother and sister, both dying, half their organs functioning.  In order for one to survive, they take the organs from one and implant in the other.  One teen lives, one dies.

There was the girl who had been in a bad accident, and had her legs, heart, lungs, multiple major parts redone with the new technology.  The new technology that wasn't quite accepted yet.  She was afraid to tell people how much of her was no longer the original.

A young boy was modified at birth to be smarter and it had unintended consequences.  His head was visibly larger than it should be, and his legs were shrunken and not working.  They modify him to be part dolphin.

A teenager finds out he has cancer that has spread all over his body.  His family decides to freeze him, until a time when a cure for his cancer has been found.  He wakes up in a horror story.  His body is modified with metal and he is a slave mining Platinum.  Sad, his parents loved him and wanted him to survive, not to become a slave.

There is the daughter of a zealous prophet.  The father is very outspoken against any body modification.  Then his wife and son die and he dies a 180 and he is telling people to modify as much as they want.

Then the last story people have modified themselves to have wings, or blue-skin, four legs, four arms, extra eyes, anything goes.  People have modified themselves so much that they seem to be another species.  There are reservations where they keep people original, and one day anyone with a modification is getting sick and dieing.

This was an interesting book.  How to go from using this new technology to save the lives of people, such as when they are in an accident, to going to using it to make slaves, and then going to where people aren't even really human anymore.  

The Spite Game

The Spite Game
by Anna Snoekstra

After being bullied in high school, Ava carries a grudge against those who wronged her.  She can't seem to move on until she has had her revenge.  This novel rotates between present day and back to her senior year in high school.  

She starts with Saanvi, who went to school for architecture, and basically does something that ends up blackballing Saanvi for any future architecture jobs.  Then she goes after Mel, who was the ringleader.  She doesn't seem successful so she moves on to Cass.  Cass is getting married and while Ava is stalking her, she catches Cass cheating on her fiance.  

The end comes back to Mel, and through the book it is mentioned that Mel is missing in present day and Ava seems to be at a police station ready to confess, so you know something happened to Mel, you just don't find out until the end of the book.  

It was an interesting story.  It kinda felt like this Simpson meme while reading:

Ava could have a good life, she has people that care about her, things could actually turn out just fine.  But no, instead she is busy stalking old friends both via social media and in real life.  They were not worth her obsessing over them, particularly Mel.  Mel was by far the worst to Ava, Mel really messed with Ava's head.  Mel would pretend to be nice and her friend, then be mean, and go back and forth.

I looked on Goodreads and it looks like this author has several other books, so yay, I will eventually work my way towards those too.  You can never have too many books to read!

Antiques Wanted

Antiques Wanted
by Barbara Allan

This is the 12th book in the Trash n' Treasures series featuring Brandy and her mother Vivian.  They own a store together where they sell antiques and treasures.  

In this one Vivian has decided to run for Sheriff and enlists her daughter as her campaign manager.  (This part was hilarious.)  They receive a valuable signed photo of a cowboy actor and soon after an explosion sends Brandy to the hospital.  After there there are unexplained deaths around town.  Why is someone killing people over an old photo?

This one was a quick read, I enjoy this series, I like the quirky characters Vivian and Brandy, they are amusing.  Vivian normally has a chapter or two from her point, this book had more chapters by her and I enjoyed that.  The book is written as if Vivian or Brandy are writing it and they go off on tangents, or their editor is telling them to get back on track.  That quirkiness is why I enjoy this series.  I have read reviews where those tangents bugs people, but to me it's part of the charm of this series.

Before we Met

Before we Met
by Lucie Whitehouse

Hannah thought she wouldn't get married after watching her parent's get divorced.  Then she meets Mark and they get married shortly afterwards.  She moves from New York to London.  Mark has money and they live in a nice house, he makes enough so while she is currently looking for a new job, they are financially fine if she doesn't work.  She isn't pressured to start working unless she wants to and until she finds something that appeals to her.

One day Hannah goes to the airport to meet Mark and he doesn't show up.  She waits and waits.  Soon after she finds out a few things that disturb her.  Where is her husband?  

This one was okay. It was an interesting story, but I'm not likely to remember much of it down the road, it was okay, just not memorable.

Did anyone else think that the book print font was oddly small in this book?  I thought it was harder to read than normal.  Hopefully it's not my eyes!  I read a lot and this is the only font that has bugged me.

It's a Wonderful Death

It's a Wonderful Death
by Sarah Schmitt

By accident, 17 year old RJ is collected early by the Grim Reaper.  She is upset and wants to be sent back to her life.  She is given the choice to either remain in the Lobby waiting until her original life was supposed to end, or she can go back and replay three moments in her life.

RJ is popular, she has been been mean to others and is a self-centered teen.  She decides to go back and replay three incidents in her life.  These three incidents are times in her life where she could continue towards her self centered road or she could think about others.  

Instead of leaving a friend on the playground to get bullied by other kids, RJ stays behind and stands up to the bully, not leaving her friend behind.  A classmate is bullied and commits suicide, instead of being yet another bully she becomes his friend. He becomes a good, true friend.  A classmate is sick with cancer, and instead of stealing from the fundraiser that she organized, she stands up to the popular kids and makes sure the family gets the money intended to help them with the medical bills.

It was a fun book about a teen looking back on her life and making better choices.  RJ's struggle to want to stay popular made her more real, that is something most teenagers would probably also struggle with.

Tear me Apart

Tear me Apart
by J.T. Ellison

Mindy is only 17 years old and already has made quite a name for herself as a competitive skier.  She is on the way to eventually getting on the Olympic team.  She has an accident while skiing at an event and breaks her leg.  

During surgery, her doctors find out that she has leukemia.  Mindy has been tired lately but she assumed it was because she was training so heavily.  She is very sick and soon needs a stem cell transplant or she will die.  Her parents are tested to see if they are matches.  That leads to the discovery that they are not related to her at all.  

Who are her biological parents?  Why did nobody know that she was adopted?  The novel rotates between Mindy, her adoptive mother, her aunt and her biological dad.  And in between that there are letters between two friends from years ago that you try to figure out how they are related to your present day people.  It does sound like a lot of characters rotating between and to keep track of, but it worked and seemed fine.

I did enjoy this one, it was a good story that kept me interested.  I looked on Goodreads to see if this author has more books, and yay, there look to be quite a few that I can read down the road.

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating
by Christina Lauren

Hazel and Josh meet in college and then reconnect seven years later. Josh is mellow and more serious.  Hazel is outgoing, random, lacks a filter and is just off the wall.

Hazel was a fun character, just the random stuff she would say or do.  It made for an amusing read.  It was pretty clear that Hazel and Josh would end up together, however towards the end I was getting bored with the book and just wanted them to get together so I could move on to something else.  I was laughing and enjoying the first part of the book, so it just got a little draggy at the end.  But overall it was an enjoyable, light read.

If I Could Turn back Time

If I Could Turn back Time by Beth Harbison

Ramie is a successful, financially stable thirty-seven year old with a good job.  However, she wonders if her life is missing something: she is single and has no family.  When she is on a boat, she has an accident and goes overboard.  She wakes up as an eighteen-year-old in her old bedroom at her parent’s house. 

 This book had an interesting idea.  I was putting away books and read on the front cover: “What if your thirty-something self woke up in your eighteen-year-old body?”  This appealed to me because I am in my thirties.  Just the possibilities of thinking how would you do things differently if you went back in time are quite interesting. 

 The book was a quick read.  It was amusing at times when Ramie would talk like a thirty-seven year old but be in her eighteen year old body.  She would confuse people.   I liked how when she went back she had confidence that she did not originally have when she was a teenager the first time around.  She also handled things more rationally.

What would you do differently in your life if you had a second chance?

*This book review was previously published on November 24th, 2015 on a blog I previously contributed to.*

Hazards of Time Travel

Hazards of Time Travel
by Joyce Carol Oates

Okay, I will admit this book caught my eye because of the cover, and then I read the title and went oh, that sounds interesting!

This book starts out in the future, the world is no longer like it is now.  Everybody is watched and has to be careful of what they say.  Our main character is valedictorian of her class, which is apparently not a good thing.  Teens would purposely try not to do too well in school.   She makes an offensive speech and is arrested.  

After being interrogated, she is told she is being sent to be rehabilitated.  She is sent 80 years into the past to 1959 in Wisconsin.  Her sentence is four years, enough time to finish college.  She is shocked to see a typewriter and it was interesting reading her response to the different way of life from what she was used to.

I really enjoyed this one.  It was imaginative, just something different to read.  I read a few other reviews on Goodreads, and it looks like people have mixed feelings about this one.  I thought it was pretty good, others didn't.  People like different books and that's okay.

Geek Girl

Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Geek Girl is the first in a series about a geeky high school girl, Harriet, who is discovered by a modeling agent.  Harriet is more interested in studying than in being popular.  After being discovered, she gives modeling a try in an attempt to reinvent herself.  Will she loose herself in the new glamorous life?

This was a quick read that made me laugh.  Harriet’s antics were amusing.  When she got nervous she would hide under tables.  (Who does that?)  Or her long rambles when she got nervous and would try to impress people with all of her random knowledge.  Her classmate who stalks her, which should have been creepy, was actually funny the way they portrayed him.  And her nervousness about liking a boy was just sweet.

The library has the next book in the series, Model Misfit, if you read this one and would like to continue reading about Harriet.

*This book review was previously published on December 8th, 2015 on a blog I previously contributed to.*

Poison

Poison
by Galt Niederhoffer

Cass and Ryan appear to have the perfect family.  They have three children together, two from a previous marriage, and one child together.  They recently moved to Portland and have a nice, new house that they are working on remodeling.  Both have successful careers.  

The first few chapters everything seems find, a little to okay.  I kept waiting for something to go wrong.  And it does.  Then I spent the rest of the book wondering what was going on.  Was she being poisoned?  Who was doing it?  Was it her husband like she thought?  Or was she actually having a breakdown?  

I don't want to say too much and give away what was going on, but it was an enjoyable read.

A Good Woman

 A Good Woman by Danielle Steel

Annabelle Worthington comes from a wealthy family when her life changes when she is 19 years old and her father and brother die in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.  The book follows after that tragedy, and onto an early seemingly idyllic marriage.  Annabelle has a passion for medicine and does volunteer work; she continues in the medical field for her whole life.  After fleeing from a scandal, she volunteers at a field hospital during World War I. 

This was another good read by Danielle Steel.  Annabelle overcomes several setbacks and just keeps going forward.  Maybe it was the time period, but her devotion to her husband after he betrays her was hard to read.  He causes a scandal and everyone assumes she is the one who did something wrong, when it was actually the husband.  Even her own best friend shuns her.  As the title says, Annabelle is a good woman.  She goes through several tragedies throughout her life, and is always putting others before her.  Her genuine care for others over herself is commendable. 

This is maybe the third or fourth book I have read by Danielle Steel.  I can see why she has been so popular, she writes interesting stories.

*This book review was previously published on December 22nd, 2015 on a blog I previously contributed to.*

The Real Lolita

The Real Lolita
by Sarah Weinman

Sarah Weinman researched the 1948 kidnapping of Sally Horner and how it influenced Vladimir Nabokov's writing of his novel Lolita.

Most of the time I read fiction, and only occasionally something nonfiction if it's something that catches my eye.  I found this book interesting, I liked how the author just brought more to the story.  I recently read a fictional account of Sally Horner and Lolita, so reading nonfiction and reading more about both was interesting.  

I liked how the author wrote more details about Sally Horner, the author Vladimir Nabokov and his writing process of Lolita, and then just observations about the book Lolita itself.