So Many Books, So Little Time: chick-lit challenge

Showing posts with label chick-lit challenge. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Blog Tour- Mating Rituals of the North American WASP

I just finished reading Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton.

From the back cover:

Peggy Adams is upset when she wakes up next to a strange man after a Vegas night she can't remember... but she's horrified when she discovers that she married him! Luke Sedgwick is WASP royalty, the last of the New Nineveh, Connecticut, Sedgwicks. He might also be perfect, if Peggy weren't already "pre-engaged" to her live-in boyfriend of seven years (she even has a "promise ring" to prove it). Peggy and Luke agree to get an annulment ASAP--and then received an offer they can't refuse...

Luke's eccentric great-aunt Abigail offers the two the chance to make millions on the family estate: All they have to do is stay married for a year. Peggy is soon pretending to be one-half of the perfect couple among New England's WASPy set on the weekends, while keeping her marriage a secret during the week. But she isn't prepared for what might be her worst mistake of all--falling in love with her soon-to-be ex-husband.

Peggy Adams is comfortable in her New York life, until she makes an unusual agreement with Luke Sedgwick, the last scion of an old New England family. The deal: Stay married for a year, and the two will inherit the Sedgwick mansion in New Nineveh, a quaint, preppy Connecticut town.But entering Luke’s world isn’t easy. Peggy must quickly learn how to pass herself off as a proper Connecticut wife and a perfect WASP.(Hint: At parties, nobody actually eats the food.) To make matters worse, she finds herself falling in love with the man she’s married to—despite that he seems to have no feelings for her.

When I first read the summary of this book, I knew I had to read it! I loved the plot. I could really identify with Peggy and her wanting to be married to her boyfriend Brock. And I could totally then picture the whole crazy night in Vegas and the aftermath that followed. I fell for Luke but at times I wanted to strangle him and wanted him to share his feelings with Peggy. At first, I sped through the book, but it took me longer to get into it, the more it went on. I liked how the story ended, just not the exact way that it got there (I can't explain more or I'll spoil the story). Overall, it was a fun summer read.

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

This book fullfilled items in the following challenges:
Chick-Lit Challenge: 10

About the Author:

I have a copy of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP to giveaway!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 Post a comment saying that you would like to be entered (make sure to leave your e-mail address or your comment won't count!)

+1 Post about the contest on your blog and leave the link in your comment

+1 Become a follower (or if you already follow me, let me know!)

~~For each thing that you do, please leave a separate comment or you will only be entered once!!
~~The contest will end on Wednesday June 3rd at 11:59pm
~~This contest is open to US and Canada only, no PO Boxes.

Thanks to Miriam from Hachette Book Groups for hosting this blog tour!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Challenge Completed- Chick-Lit Challenge!

I have completed my first Challenge!!

Back by popular demand, the 2009 Chick Lit Challenge has been expanded for the whole year! From January 1 through December 31, 2009, read at least 10 chick lit books. Books can overlap with other challenges and you can change your list at any time. If you join, please leave a comment here with a link to your challenge page, and click on the image above to leave a comment on the original page as well.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Book Review- Holly's Inbox

I just finished reading Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham.

Holly’s Inbox ▪ Bill Surie aka Holly Denham ▪ ISBN: 9781402219030 ▪ Fiction ▪ Trade Paperback $14.99 US ▪ June 2009

From the back cover:

It's Holly Denham's first day as a receptionist at a busy London corporate bank and, frankly, she can't quite keep up.

Take a peek at her email and you'll see why: what with her crazy friends, dysfunctional family, and gossipy co-workers, Holly's inbox is a daily source of drama. Laughter, friendship, and romantic interludes keep her going, until one day, Holly's secret past begins to catch up with her...

Written entirely in emails, this compulsively readeable UK smash hit will keep you laughing and turning the pages all the way to its surprising and deeply satisfying end.

When I first saw this 650 page book, I thought "oh boy, this is gonna take a while to read, especially with how long its been taking me to read books lately." But I was wrong--really wrong! I read 400 pages the first time I sat down and opened it. Not only is it quick to read because its written in email format, but because its also so entertaining! I found myself laughing at alot of things in the emails. I think maybe I partly enjoyed it so much because I a pretty nosy person and have to admit that there are a few people's emails I would love to read. I could identify with Holly and her friends (in fact, I have some friends that are just like Trisha, Jason and Aisha!) I want to read more--I hope there is a sequel!

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

This book fullfills items in the following challenge:
Chick-Lit Challenge: 9

Thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks for providing the copy for review and for setting up the guest blog.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Holly Denham is the pen name for Bill Surie, the owner of a placement service for receptionists and secretaries in London, a direct inspiration for Holly’s Inbox. He started the Holly's Inbox website (http://www.hollysinbox.com/) as a place to serialize his first novel, which received 90,000 visitors at its peak in 2007. When the virtual sensation was made into a book, it received incredible praise, including from bestselling UK author, Jill Mansell: “Funny, captivating, and completely addictive!”

Praise for Holly’s Inbox

On the incredible book:

[T]he story becomes more engrossing as fresh details come to light... explores a new format with compelling results. Booklist

Every tid bit of the book is JUICY and fun! A Novel Menagerie

[Ms. Denham] creates a warm, comedic heroine who slowly grows a backbone. There's a marvelous twist at the end... The Romantic Times Book Review

I am sure that this book will be compared to Bridget Jones’s Diary, but needs to be read and considered in its own right… I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how much you enjoy it. ChickLit Romance

"Receptionist Holly Denham is content with her life, but when the entire city starts gossiping about her, she finds out not everyone has been completely honest. Hilariously funny, this novel - in the form of easy to read emails - is a real page-turner!!!" OK Magazine (UK), 4 Stars

“The contents of Holly's inbox are once again laid bare for us to have another good gawp at...Very funny. 4 stars” CLOSER (UK Magazine)

“More compulsive reading from the internet phenomenon of last year. 4 Stars” LOOK (Britain's' best selling fashion weekly)

“It feels a bit like you're prying into someone's diary when you read it, but it's so compulsive, you just have to carry on.” LOVE IT! (UK Magazine)

“Funny captivating and completely addictive!” says Bestselling UK women’s lit author Jill Mansell

“Hilarious and heart-warming.” Capital FM (London's biggest radio station)

“Compulsive…” Heat Magazine, 4 Stars

On the addictive Website:

The BBC SAYS “The internet’s FIRST email soap opera!” “ Compulsive…”

The Guardian calls it - “Genius”

“Website of the day!” Yahoo.co.uk

“...Be warned though, once you start reading it's addictive and you'll be checking it as compulsively as your own emails...” ShinyFashionForums.com

“...a comic insight into the mind of a modern working girl...” Pocket-Lint.co.uk

You can also follow Holly on Facebook and Twitter!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Book Review- Trophies

Last night I finished reading Trophies by Heather Thomas.

From the inside flap:

Marion Zane is the top Trophy—she has it all: a faithful husband, loyal fellow-Trophy girlfriends, queen-bee status over the Hollywood "name-above-the-title" charities, and—best of all—no prenup!

She knows inside information is king, smiles hide jealousy, jackals lure husbands away (or, worse, steal personal assistants), housekeepers have the power to destroy, and that everyone has devastating secrets—including her! It's why she refuses to gossip yet remembers

everything.

So why is she so nervous?

Maybe it's because, after years of unchallenged social position, Marion forgets that in L.A., even enemies embrace—especially ones disguised as girlfriends. When she impulsively champions building a much-needed trauma center hospital downtown, Marion breaks the unwritten code by stepping on another Trophy's charity turf. It's a fatal mistake.

Her furious and jealously bitter "girlfriend" joins forces with a powerful mystery partner to destroy Marion. Drugged and framed as unfaithful and insane, she loses her dream life in one lurid, unforgivable humiliation.

Abandoned by her husband, her deepest secrets exposed, Marion is left shattered and literally penniless in paradise. Determined to build the hospital and regain her love, lifestyle, and dermatologist, Marion goes to hilarious lengths to hide her newfound poverty from even her closest friends, living out of her luxury car and using Magic Marker for eyeliner as she raises hospital funding at five-star restaurants.

Fortunately, Marion's loyal, lusty Trophy girlfriends discover her condition through her overwhelmed maid and come to herrescue, employing ferocious manipulation skills, ridiculous logic, and much-needed dermabrasion. Redirecting the same competitive hyperdrive that won the rocks on their fingers, the girls make Marion their new project even as they deal with their own crises.

Still, all the Trophy support in the world might not be able to stop Marion from betraying one of them; then her mystery enemy is revealed and she's given the choice of re-enthronement or vilification. After all, she's a survivor and didn't become Marion Zane by fair play alone.

It took me a while to get into this book. I kept getting all of the different characters confused, along with the details of each character. To me, this was just an okay book. I didn't really feel any warmth from any of the characters. I found myself not really wanting to read it. It did pick up towards the end though and I liked the ending (although I did figure it out before I read it). Overall, an okay book.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fullfills items in the following challenges:
Chick-Lit Challenge: 8

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Book Review- Sleepwalking in Daylight

I just finished reading Sleepwalking in Daylight by Elizabeth Flock.

From the back cover:

Once defined by her career and independence, stay-at-home mom Samantha Friedman finds that her days have been reduced to errands, car pools and suburban gossip. What was an easy decision for Sam years ago has become a nagging awareness that this life was her choice. Now she deals with a husband who shows up for dinner but is too preoccupied for conversation, and a daughter swathed in black clothing and Goth makeup who won't talk at all.

Believing she's an adopted mistake, seventeen-year-old Cammy has fallen into sex and drugs and pours herself into a journal filled with poetry and pain. On parallel paths, mother and daughter indulge in desperate, furtive escapism--for Sam, a heady affair with her supposed soul mate, fueled by clandestine coffee dates and the desire to feel something; for Cammy, a secretive search for her birth mother punctuated by pills, pot and the need to feel absolutely nothing.

Elizabeth Flock tells an engaging tale about a mother/wife, Sam, and her teenage daughter, Cammy. The story is written almost as if its in a journal form. We learn all about how Sam is unhappy in her marriage and is struggling to get along with her teenage daughter. We also learn all about Cammy's teenage-angst feelings towards her adopted family and life in general. And at the end, something surprising happens that changes the family's life forever.

When I first saw this cover I thought, "How beautiful". But the book inside was very dark. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book. It is told in a very frank and forward way and if a reader is easily offended, I wouldn't reccommend this book. But although it was dark, I felt like I could really identify with the characters. When I was reading the chapters from Cammy's point of view, I was remembering how I felt like I never belonged when I was a teenager (although I never acted out like she did). And when I read the chapters from Sam's point of view, I found myself hoping that my marriage wouldn't turn out like that. This book really engaged me and I couldn't put it down.

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

This book fullfills items in the following challenges:
Chick-Lit Challenge: 7

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Book Review- Knit Two

I just finished reading Knit Two by Kate Jacobs.

From the inside flap:

The sequel to the number-one "New York Times" bestseller "The Friday Night Knitting Club, KNIT TWO" returns to Walker and Daughter, the Manhattan knitting store founded by Georgia Walker and her young daughter, Dakota. Dakota is now an eighteen-year-old freshman at NYU, running the little yarn shop part-time with help from the members of the Friday Night Knitting Club.

Drawn together by the sense of family the club has created, the knitters rely on one another as they struggle with new challenges: for Catherine, finding love after divorce; for Darwin, the hope for a family; for Lucie, being both a single mom and a caregiver for her elderly mother; and for seventysomething Anita, a proposal of marriage from her sweetheart, Marty, that provokes the objections of her grown children.

As the club's projects--an afghan, baby booties, a wedding coat--are pieced together, so is their understanding of the patterns underlying the stresses and joys of being mother, wife, daughter, and friend. Because it isn't the difficulty of the garment that makes you a great knitter: it's the care and attention you bring to the craft--as well as how you adapt to surprises.

I was a little worried before I started reading this book because I hadn't read such great reviews about it. But I enjoyed it. I enjoyed The Friday Night Knitting Club more, but I still liked this book. I liked seeing how the characters had changed and grown. There was also a surprise (actually 2 of them) at the end that I didn't see coming. And this time they didn't make me cry!

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fullfilled requirements in the following challenges:

Chick-Lit Challenge: 6

A to Z Reading Challenge: K

Friday, May 1, 2009

Chick-Lit Challenge- May Update

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Book Review- The Friday Night Knitting Club

I finished reading The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs last night.

From the back cover:

Once a week, an eclectric group of women comes together at a New York City yarn shop to work on their latest projects--and share the stories of their lives.

At the center of Walker and Daughter is the shop's owner, Georgia, who is overwhelmed with juggling the store and single-handedly raising her teenage daughter. Happy to escape the demands of her life, she looks forward to her Friday Night Knitting Club, where she and her friends-- Anite, Peri, Darwin, Lucie, and K.C.--exchange knitting tips, jokes, and their deepest secrets. But when the man who once broke Georgia's herat suddenly shows up, demanding a role in their daughter's life, her world is shattered.

Luckily, Georgia's friends are there for encouragement, sharing their own tales of intimacy, heartbreak, and miracle making. And when the unthinkable happens, these women will discover that what they've created isn't just a knitting club: it's a sisterhood.

I have to be honest: when this book first came out, I had no interest in reading it. The title and cover just wasn't appealing to me. And neither was knitting. But boy did I miss out! This story was really heart-warming. I loved how the author gave us insight into all of the characters lives. But I have to say that I did not see the end coming. I thought it was going to completely go one way, but it went another and left me crying but enjoying the story all the same. I can't wait to read the sequel, Knit Two.

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

This book fullfilled requirements for the following challenges:

Chick-Lit Challenge: 4

Chick-Lit Challenge 2: Start a Series

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Chick-Lit Challenge- April Update

Here is the link to my original post: Chick-Lit Challenge

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Book Review- All You Need Is Love

I finished reading All You Need Is Love by Carole Matthews last night.

From the back cover:

Single mum and superwoman Sally Freeman wants a better life for herself and her son Charlie. But it’s not going to be easy when their home is on a run-down Liverpool council estate, so if she's going up in the world, she'll have to drag it along with her.

Just as Sally’s mission to improve their surroundings gets under way, she’s offered a ticket out of there, in the splendid form of Spencer Knight. He has everything she could wish for – the looks, the charm, not to mention the wallet. But is he the answer to her prayers, or does her hapless ex-boyfriend Johnny still hold the key to her heart? Her dilemma is made worse when, for the first time, her home has the glimmer of a futre. And as she struggles to choose between her head and her heart, she discovers that if The Beatles are right and all you need is love, then everything else will fall into place.

I'm not sure why but something just left me feeling a little off about this book. First, I didn't like Sally's best friend Debs. She wasn't supportive of Sally in anything and seemed almost condescending. I kept thinking "Why would you want a best friend like that?" And then, I'm not sure if its the way it was written or what", but I kept thinking that Sally was with Spencer just for his money, which really set me off. And then another part of the time I kept waiting for Spencer to just be using Sally for something and to admit that he wasn't really in love with her. Either way, I liked the ending a lot!

I gave this book a 3/5.

This book fullfills the follwing challenges:

Chick-Lit Challenge: 3

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Book Review- The Agency

I just finised reading The Agency by Ally O'Brien.

From the back cover:

Meet Tess Drake

She has everything she needs.

Now it's time to get what she wants...

I really enjoyed this book. There wasn't much heavy-duty substance to it. But I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn't reading it and I couldn't wait to get to the end to find out what happened. For some reason, I just really enjoy reading about the entertainment industry. And it doesn't hurt that the Florida Gators (I graduated from UF and am a die-hard Gator fan) and Westies (I grew up always having a Westie puppy).

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

This book fullfills items for the following challenges:

Chick-Lit Challenge: 2

Chick-Lit Challenge 2: 2)Pick a book that hasn't had a movie made from it.

Thank you to Booking Mama and St. Martin's Press for this book!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Chick-Lit Challenge- March Update

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Book Review- American Wife

I just finished the book American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld.

From the back cover:

On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband's presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House--and the repercussions of a live lived, as she believes, "almost in opposition to itself."

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice learned the virtues of politeness early on from her stolid parents and small Wisconsin hometow. Alice candidly describes her modest upbringing and the tragedy that shaped her identity; she recalls her early adulthood as a librarian, and her surprising courtship with the man who swept her off her feet; she tells of the crisis that almost ended their marriage; and she confides the privileges and difficulties of being first lady, a role that is uniquely cloistered yet public, secretive yet exposed.

As her husband's presidency enters its second term, Alice finds herself increasingly conflicted. Ultimately she must confront contradictions years in the making and face questions nearly impossible to answer.

I enjoyed this book. It was a nice break from all of the paranormal books that I have been reading. It really kept my attention and flowed well. Several time, after reading for a while, I would have to stop and remind myself that this is a fiction book. I kept thinking that maybe this book was about Barbara Bush because there are so many similarities, but I knew that it wasn't true.

And as it says on Barnesandnoble.com, " A word of advice before reading American Wife: put Laura Bush firmly out of your mind. While bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld has waxed rhapsodic about her admiration for the first lady, she insists that in this novel, her most ambitious work to date, protagonist Alice Blackwell is most certainly not Laura Bush. Sittenfeld has conceded that she drew on some major events in Mrs. Bush's life, such as the horrific car accident that killed a fellow student in high school and her marriage to a man who is eventually elected president and steers the country into a controversial war. The rest, she says, she invented within the framework of that reality."

So I know its not just me that was thinking about the similarities. The way the story was written really made me connect with the main character and there was one part where I gasped out loud!

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fullfills requirements for the following challenges:

Chick-Lit Challenge 2: 3) Read a new to you author

What's In A Name? Challenge: Relative

Read Your Name Challenge: A

Chick-Lit Challenge: 1