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Showing posts from June, 2015

The Lady Taken: Part 1

It's the late 1800's and Lady Killane, a bold and wealthy widow, is on her way with her lover to a party when their carriage is overtaken by highwaymen.  Wolf, the leader, takes Lady Killane for ransom. They're drawn to one another and she has to decide if she wants to escape or give in to her desire for Wolf. So far, so good.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

The book started off slow and nothing really happened throughout, but I loved it anyway. I love Lockhart's novels. Frankie is a strong and clever young woman who feels as though she is as deserving, maybe more so, to be a part of the all-male secret society at the boarding school she attends. She is determined to prove that she is more than just a pretty girl who needs to be protected.

Wildflower Hill

I read this because: it was recommended to me by Goodreads based on my "favourites" shelf it has a high rating I loved the title This book was extremely boring. I liked the first little bit of the book as told from Beattie's point of view. The chapters were long and filled with nothing. This story goes back and forth between Beattie and her granddaughter, Emma. It starts off with Beattie as a young woman in the 1920's and follows her to Wildflower Hill. After her grandmother's death, and her career-ending injury, Emma has found she has inherited Wildflower Hill.

Catherine Dickens: Outside the Magic Circle

This book was interesting. The author gives Catherine Dickens a voice so she may speak about her marriage and separation to Charles Dickens. After a 21-year marriage and 10 children together Charles Dickens no longer wishes to be married to Catherine. He convinces most people to believe the lies he makes up about her and what it had been like to be married to her in order to take the heat off himself for leaving. He also would not allow the children to see or talk to their mother. He made me so angry!

The Raven

The way the poem flows is beautiful. It makes you want to keep reading. And the illustrations are gorgeous. A dark poem about a man who has lost his love, Lenore. He hears someone knocking at his chamber door, but when he opens it there is no one there. He then opens the window and in flies the raven. To every question the man asks the raven the answer is always "nevermore". The man's madness is palpable.

Ants on Peonies

We travel back and forth between the past and present, which spans from 1976 to 2007, to learn Vann's story. When she was a teenager she was in a horrible accident that left her with a head injury and without her best friend. Years later she has a picture perfect life - she's married to a great man named Will and together they have a little girl named Olivia. Unfortunately for Vann her past has a way of seeping into her future. A good read with realistic characters. I loved reading about her teenage years. My heart really went out to poor Vann.

Neverending Beginnings

Neverending is right. Kate's best friend is getting married after six months of dating. Not only that but the groom-to-be is Kate's ex-boyfriend. Kate has her doubts about the wedding and she's not afraid to let her best friend know. After a drunken toast she wishes she could turn back time so she can have a do-over. And that's exactly what happens.. six times. Each time she does something different in hopes of making everything right and moving on to the next week.

My Life in a Nutshell

As a child Brian was extremely sheltered by his mother to the point of it being unhealthy. So it's no surprise that as an adult Brain has isolated himself from the world - he is full of anxiety and avoids people as much as he can. He's constantly putting himself down and finding reasons why no one could ever like him. His world is turned upside down when he finds seven-year-old Abigail hiding in the mechanical room at the school he works at as a night custodian. He notices scars on Abigail and knows she's been through more than she should at her age. Brian wants to help but doesn't feel as though he should because he doesn't want to ruin her life. But after that day Abigail becomes attached to Brian and views him as someone she can trust and eventually she helps break down the walls he has built and in turn he has helped Abigail with her abandonment issues. I've struggled with social anxiety most of my life. It was weird reading Brian's thoughts and feelings

We Were Liars

This threw me off: Then he pulled out a handgun and shot me in the chest. I was standing on the lawn and I fell. The bullet hole opened wide and my heart rolled out of my rib cage and down into a flower bed. Blood gushed rhythmically from my open wound. then from my eyes, my ears, my mouth.  There are similar things like this written in the book and I actually enjoyed them after I figured out the first one wasn't really true. The way she wrote like this didn't bother me and to be honest I hadn't really noticed it until I read other reviews where people mentioned it and didn't like it. But what annoyed me was this, what annoyed me was this. I got it the first time. So, I'm thinking three star book because the repetitions were annoying. Until I read the last part. OH MY GOD. Soooo good!!! The ending was brilliant. I absolutely loved it!  This story is told by Cadence. She comes from a privileged family. Every year she and her family spend their summer on her grandfath

Said the Spider to the Fly

This is a romantic mystery about Mona Murphy as she returns to the small town of Copper Springs to attend her grandfather's memorial service. His death seemed accidental until insurance agent Preston Hitchcock and Mona discover bloody towels in the trash can. From there lots of strange things happen until her and Preston get to the bottom of all of it.

Does God Exist?: Are Science and the Belief in God Compatible?

This is definitely a thought-provoking read. Scientific and religious facts, opinions with analysis, and some examples of recent discoveries are linking the two closer together.

The Marriage of Opposites

Set primarily in St. Thomas during the 1800's The Marriage of Opposites tells the story of Rachel Pomie, a young girl who dreams of Paris and refuses to live by the rules. However, she has no choice but to do so when she is to be married to a widower more than twice her age in order to save her father's business. Rachel becomes a mother to his three young children then goes on to have four of her own, the fourth one born after her husband suddenly dies. Her husband's nephew arrives from France to settle her husband's affairs since women were not allowed to do so. It is then that Rachel falls in love and goes against her family, her religion and the island of St. Thomas to follow her heart and to fight for what she truly wants. Some chapters also tell the story of one of her sons from her second marriage - Camille Pissarro, who would one day become a famous painter. Often times confusing keeping track of some of Rachel's family, but another well-written and interesti