When this book came in my email box (I adopted this author, sight unseen for Adopt An Indie month), I really didn’t know much about it. I knew it was chick lit and the cover looked cool (yeah, I know, but I at least admit that I judge books by their covers!). So, I went into this without any real preconceived notions.

The writing is supremely clean and polished. It flows nicely and was obviously very well edited. The author does an exceptional job of giving each character their own “voice” so that you knew who was talking at all times – none of that awkward “lost in the conversation” stuff going on.

Because the characters did have such distinctive voices, I really really really didn’t like one of them. Quinn. I spent part of my time wanting to reach through my kindle and smack him around a bit and the other part cringing by his complete lack of sense. But, he’s a hot rock star, so I guess we’ll forgive him. But still… sheesh!

I’m not sure that it was entirely accidental that I didn’t like Quinn. I mean, it added to the story because I DID care, but I just didn’t like the guy. I really did like the main female character (George, of course!) though. If a bit of a silly “seriously this is not happening” character, she made an absolutely fabulous lead character with depth.

Look, it’s chick lit. It’s not Pride and Prejudice. I go in knowing that I will probably be annoyed by the love story, but I read it because I love it (gosh, does that make ANY sense?). For me, it’s escapism, I can be somewhere else for a while, usually somewhere fabulous with someone even more fabulous. This book delivers on this promise – and is topped with a really nice plot.

I had already figured out the big reveal at the end of the book, but the mini one before that I had NO idea was coming. *Hat tip* to the author – very few times does that kind of thing slip by me.

I would highly recommend this for chick lit readers. You’ll enjoy it. But ya know, even though just want a quick escape read, you’ll enjoy this too. It’s a great story, give it a shot.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 57

Ah, the 4th book in a series. It is usually really good or really bad (like most book 2 offerings). This one was a little middling for me. Let me say that I absolutely adore Imogen Rose, I’m a big fan of her work and she makes sure I get a preview copy. She has an amazing ability to bring the people and places in her books into my own reality and I sometimes feel like I kinda of know them – if Arizona were to walk by me in the mall, it wouldn’t phase me to stop and say hello.

This book picks up where Equilibrium left off very well… and then I kind of felt like it meandered a bit. It does manage to pick back up and the story straightens back out about one third of way in. There did feel like a bit of a disconnect there in the first part of the book. While I’m complaining, I’ll also say the cliff hanger might have been too much as well. No, you cannot please me.

I’m going to try to not spoil it, but there’s a phone call early on in the book that made me grin. I nearly wet myself hoping that two people would meet like I’ve been waiting for since book 1. I won’t share if it happened or not… but… well, you’ll see!

The writing and editing, as always, was absolutely spot on in this book. Imogen has always delivered nothing less than darn near perfection in that respect. I like that she is consistent in that regard. I do think it could have dealt with a little bit more of a content edit to straighten out a straggling plot point or two. Or perhaps that was on purpose for book 5? Hmmm…

Here’s what you really need to know about this entire series… it’s clean. There’s a few curse words (not a big deal, my kids hear worse in Elementary School) but it’s interesting and really well done young adult books. The characters (even the bad guys) are very likable. I especially like the main character, Arizona. I’ve watched her grow up in these books and I find her to be a very likable teenager (yes, I realize that’s a huge oxymoron). Honestly, she’s a great kid.

At the end of the day, I recommend this for teenagers, pre-teens and adults alike. I’m 30-something and I totally wanna hang out with Arizona and the crew.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 43

A friend bought me this book shortly after I had a surgery. It was the perfect book because I needed a laugh (or 300).

Ya know, there’s just something about a humorous gay dude that can freaking write. The author is amazingly funny. This book actually reminded me of another book I read earlier this year, The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers. It’s the same basic idea, a long time gay couple decide to get away from the city and move to the middle of nowhere. Only, Wade moved to the middle of nowhere and is obviously insane. Dude, the snow alone would send me screaming back home. Nevermind the freaky neighbor.

The writing itself is absolutely perfect. There was nothing in there that made me cringe. He’s very self-depreciating and very gay – I’m not just saying that, HE told me that in the book – repeatedly (which might be a little over the top to be honest). Having said that, his gayness makes the book. Without him sashaying outside dressed in $400 worth of clothes simply to take the trash out and getting attacked by a raccoon… yeah. His stories are only accentuated by the fact that he doesn’t mind the rest of thinking he’s a real big idiot.

This will most definitely NOT be my last book by this author. I’m trying to figure out which of his I want to read next. It also left me wanting to invite this guy over for dinner one night. Not because he was funny (well, not only because of that) but because he also shows that he has quite a big heart. At the end of the day, the heart is what needs to show through and despite his best attempts to cover it up, we find out that Wade is one heck of a guy. Gary is one lucky man.

This goes on my must read list for the year. I seriously laughed out loud so much that I was really glad I had pain meds to blunt the stitches pulling from the rolling.

I recommend this for just about everyone. It’s damn funny and we all could use a good laugh now and then.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 41

Oh, Southern Fiction. It’s good, it’s bad, it’s silly, it can be spot-on and it can be so over exaggerated that I want to scream. This one fell somewhere in the middle of all that for me. If you are looking for some insightful piece of fiction, you can easily skip this one. It’s not about teaching you something. It’s about making you laugh and making you roll your eyes all at once.

I will say that I was not in love with most of the characters. I found some of them to be SO annoying and so over exaggerated that I alternatively wanted to read it as quickly as possible and throw it down and go watch paint dry. I read about 80% of this and then finished it with text-to-speech on my Kindle during a busy time of the year for me. It was great because it was super easy to pick up and put down. However, by listening to part of it, I wasn’t entirely sure whodunnit until I met with my book club and they filled me in. It got lost either in my mind wandering or just in the muddle that became the end of this book.

The book starts out very strong with a little bit of southern fun (albeit, over-the-top), gets lost a little in the middle, comes back but the ending felt pasted together a bit. It felt like the author wasn’t sure how to wrap it all up together so she walked along picking up most of the loose ends, but I’m not sure it really all gelled for me, in the end.

A good southern chicklit book with lots of fun built in… recommended for those that would enjoy that.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 26

I’ve read entirely too many coming-of-age novels lately because I went into this one interested, but feeling like I’d read it all… yeah, not so much. This is more than a teenage girl finding herself, more than a the average 18-year-old finding himself. It’s about a group of up-and-coming 20-somethings who help each other find themselves through love, laughter and fun.

The start of the book is a little rough. It takes a while to get used to the “episodes” and it felt a little disjointed at first. I started out thinking it really could have used an overhaul to truly be successful as a novel. It also felt too short in places, but I usually feel that way about airy reads such as this.

Having said that, this was a breath of fresh air. It was an easy read, the characters were all strongly written and the plot was well thought-out. I found myself alternatively loving and hating the characters, but always coming back to how real they felt. I didn’t always agree with all of their decisions and directions, but it always made me smile.

I recommend this chicklit book for those who want an easy read and a few smiles.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 24

Dude. Ozzy wrote a book. No, really, seriously. I admit that I kinda scratched my head when I heard that he had one coming out. It’s taken me a while to read it because… well, I can barely understand what the dude is saying these days. I’m kind of scared of what he’ll write – or if it will be coherent. The man has taken so many drugs throughout his life, I’d be surprised if he remembers his own name…

Imagine my surprise when I found his story is actually quite fascinating. A big kudos to him for getting that story out and for his co-writer for putting it all together. I can’t imagine that could have been an easy feat, a lot has happen in his sixty-something years.

I will admit that Ozzy has always been a bit of a joke to me. There’s absolutely no doubt that he has talent – even today. There’s also absolutely no doubt that deep down there is this amazingly lovable family guy, anyone that watched The Osbournes saw that. You just can’t fake some things.

I guess I never thought about where Ozzy came from. I mean, he’s Ozzy Osbourne, Prince of Efffing Darkness. Would anyone claim him? I guess I just assumed he fell from the sky (or rose from the fire pits as the case may be), but I like that he let us into his younger life and who he was and where he came from. It humanized him.

I was also surprised by how honest Ozzy was. He says some pretty despicable things about himself – and he even says they were despicable. Shooting chickens just because, using women, abusing drugs to the extreme, hitting his wives, being wasted at times he really shouldn’t be, etc. I was shocked that he did these things, but they also didn’t make me hate him. I felt a little sorry for him (and, yes, I was laughing, they did a great job of making something horrible not be terrible). Now THAT is good writing.

Honestly, this memoir could have been a disaster and the first few chapters are hard to follow at times while you get used to the writing style. It ended up being very well done, indeed. I’m surprised I enjoyed it so much.

I was left a little sad that it took him so long to kick his addictions. He seems to have missed out on so much in life – and did things that he will regret until the day he dies. In that way, he’s a bit sad.

I recommend this for all fans of Ozzy or those who want to know more about his early life. Well worth a read.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 13

This was an interesting book for me to read. I’m a fan of Picoult’s books, although I consider them fairly light. They deal with heavier subjects, but the writing rarely gets deep into character study or anything like that. When I saw there were some new “short” stories to read out by her, I grabbed them and immediate read them.

They are fairly short. On Kindle, it’s less than 800 locations for all three stories. I thought this would be enough for the author to get her point across, but I was both disappointed and elated at the same time.

The first story is a story about the loss of a child. Something that I consider the absolute worst thing that can happen to a parent. I cannot pretend to understand what they go through. The fact that she tackled this difficult subject, I think, is commendable. I think she lost me a bit in some of the symbolism. I got it, but I think it was unneeded. I think this may have been a bit of an experiment for her. I don’t think it failed, but for what she was doing, it needed more length (even though it took up the first half of this short story collection).

The second piece is a letter she wrote to her son as he left for college. I will admit this chocked me up a bit. What a beautiful letter to prepare for your child that tells them so much. I’m sure as a mother, she must be so proud and I loved her voice here, the “cheering on” without a lot of preaching was really well done. I think I’ll just xerox this to give to my kids when they go off into the world (they are still in Elementary school)… I’ll just cross out her name and put mine there. *laughing* Seriously, this was very well done and I loved getting a look into her “real” life.

The third story is a story about a mom that takes a vacation, she just up and leaves the family to fend for themselves. I think all of us have had that urge to get in the car and get away from those people that keep yelling “Mom!!!” so I was sitting here cheering for the mom a few times. However, I think there was more going on and with the length, it was simply not able to be explored. While I am not sure it could be a whole book, I would like to see more about what was going on, the father mentioned a few things that made me think there was more to it. Having said that, I took away a little message from this piece about my own “hurry up and work work work” attitude. Sometimes you just need to leave it.

Overall, a decent undertaking by this author. I liked the format and it gave me something to read of hers while waiting for a new novel to be released.

Recommended for Picoult fans and other who enjoy short stories.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 8

I absolutely did not see this one coming. What a wild ride of twists and turns and general insanity. The story line for this book is really wonderful. Fairly unique and it opens up at a nice pace, I didn’t feel rushed and I didn’t feel like he was dragging it out. The pacing is perfection.

It falls a little left of believability. The author had me completely on his side until a final “reveal” and then he kind of lost me. I felt slightly cheated because there really was no foreshadowing there, it seemed to come out of left field. This doesn’t distract from the book itself, just one thing I noticed.

The writing is, as I’ve come accustomed to with this author, superbly done. The grammar and flow of words is fine, but the dialogue is where I think we get bogged down a bit. There’s a LOT of it. I really think we could have done with some narrative as far as finding things out. While it didn’t feel stilted, it just seemed overly explained at times and I kind of wanted the characters to just shut up.

I found Mateo’s character to be very sympathetic and even liked the wife. My problem came with the husband. I absolutely hated him. He seemed kind of wedged into the family and story itself, kind of a non-entity. I could have done without him all together *laugh* At one point, I told my husband that if they didn’t make this guy come through in the end, I was going to write hate mail to the author. I won’t tell you if the author got a letter made out of magazine letters or not…

Overall, the story is really good – really good. The writing is fabulous and the storyline is unique enough to have kept my attention. Where this novel truly shines is the pacing – not a dull moment in the bunch.

Recommend this book to everyone that enjoys a good thriller.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 5

When asked to review this one, I was very intrigued by the description. The idea that someone cannot swallow food is beyond my overweight brain’s ability to understand. *laughing* Seriously, though… it’s a very real and very scary condition and the book did make me go look up stuff about it because it really does sound horrible.

The writing is excellent. The author’s narrative voice is outstanding. I think the downfall comes with the dialogue. It’s a bit stilted and at times I felt like I had no idea what was going on. If Sophie said “um” or “ah” one more time, I swear, I was going to jump through my kindle screen and REALLY give her a problem swallowing/breathing. Dude, SPEAK. That’s why the author is giving you a voice. Use it. In that same vein, I had a hard time believing in the character. She was a Yale grad with all these credentials, yet she seemed like a big old mess. That’s not to say that I think she should have been perfect, but there were several times that I just found myself not believing her at all. Personally, I was fine with her being meek and a little left of center, but professionally, I felt with her kind of education and training, she should have been a little less ditzy. Having said that, the descriptions of what Sophie was going through during her swallowing episodes rings very true (and made me get a bit of a lump in my throat I had to swallow down too!)

I did, however, really like the storyline. I even enjoyed the odd relationships she had and how she managed to untangle herself into her true self and less of someone else’s possession. I especially enjoyed how the author wove her relationship with her father, his career and his downright self-centered-ness. The secondary character development in this book is so outstanding that it makes the entire book worth reading – right down to the very last “um”.

Overall, I’d recommend this to people that enjoy heavier chick-lit. It’s definitely chick-lit, but seems to be a sub-genre I’ve seen lately that comes with a bit of a message and might make you learn something.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2010: 99

I read this for my book club this month. I really wanted to like it and it had some redeeming qualities. I loved learning about the dance, the cultural, the costumes. That part of it was so interesting.

However, the stories were mind-numbing. The ladies were terrible, the stories were terrible. The writing was wonderful, but I really felt the author did a disservice to those of that are just learning about what Folklorico is. It deserved some really good, really strong stories to surround the culture with. Instead we were left with sub-par soap opera-esque stories that made me want to smack each and every woman in this book.

The ending was fine, and coupled with the way the culture was woven into the story, is the only reason this isn’t a one-star.

This book is recommended for those that don’t mind shallow soap opera characters and who want to learn more about Folklorico. I really wish I could say I enjoyed the stories. I just didn’t.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2010: 91