February 28, 2013

Cover Reveal: OUT OF PLAY by Nyrae Dawn and Jolene Perry

Hello everyone! Just wanted to share with you the Cover for the upcoming novel Out of Play from Entangled: Teen. It comes out August, 2013!!



Rock star drummer Bishop Riley doesn't have a problem. Celebrities—especially ones suffering from anxiety—deserve to party, right? Wrong. After taking a few too many pills, Bishop wakes up in the hospital facing an intervention. If he wants to stay in the band, he’ll have to detox while under house arrest in Seldon, Alaska.

Hockey player Penny Jones can't imagine a life outside of Seldon. Though she has tons of scholarship offers, the last thing she wants is to leave. Who'll take care of her absent-minded gramps? Not her mother, who can’t even be bothered with the new tenants next door.

Penny’s too hung up on another guy to deal with Bishop’s crappy attitude, and Bishop’s too busy
sneaking pills to care. Until he starts hanging out with Gramps. If Bishop wants a chance with the fiery girl next door, he’ll have to admit he has a problem and kick it. Too bad addiction is hard to kick…and Bishop’s about to run out of time.

GoodReads      BN      Amazon


Ps - thanks to Entangled Publishing for sharing the cover :)

February 26, 2013

Book Review: The Best Man by Kristan Higgins

At First Sight: Faith Holland ran away from Blue Heron, her family's winery in upstate New York, after her failed attempt to marry her long-time boyfriend Jeremy in what was supposed to be the wedding of the century in their hometown.

Faith had her whole life planned next to Jeremy, someone who was kind and awesome and always made her feel special, but it all went south when Jeremy came out on the day of their wedding and basically left her at the altar.

In the years since, distance has given her a little perspective, not that she's ready to forgive the one person who caused all her heartbreak: Levi Cooper, Jeremy's best friend, who interrupted the wedding and sort of gave Jeremy the nudge he needed.

But when a family emergency prompts her to go back home for an extended period of time, there is no way she can avoid Jeremy, or Levi for that matter.

Levi grew up on the wrong side of the tracks of their small town - his father left when he was little, and his mom struggled to make ends-meet. He was more surprised than anyone when Jeremy picked him to be his best friend, but friends they were and have remained ever since.

He didn't mean to hurt Faith, he just wanted to keep his friend from making a mistake. And now he's happy living in town, being the police chief and dealing with all the disasters big and small of his town, even if half the people that now love and respect him don't remember how they thought he was bad news when he was growing up, just because his family wasn't rich.

He never really thought he would have to deal with Faith again - or Princess Super Cute as he and his high school girlfriend used to call her - but suddenly she's everywhere. And he's remembering that regardless everything else, there was always a small spark of chemistry between them... and that maybe said spark wasn't as small as they both would like to believe. 

Second Glance: Oh, Kristan Higgins... I don't know what to do with you. The Best Man was a good book. It was pretty engaging, I like the setting and I actually really liked Levi and Faith too (though she could be a bit annoying quite often), but it wasn't great.

Part of it is, I think, because there is too much going on at the same time. We got the Levi-Faith attraction thing, Faith new friendship with Jeremy, subplot about older sister's sex life, subplot about Mr. Holland's dating an awful woman, subplot about Faith's grandparents hating each other, subplot about Levi's sister not adapting to college, subplot about Levi's ex, subplot about Faith's epilepsy and the death of her mom - and after a while the book starts to FEEL long.

If some of these things had been trimmed out the book would have flowed a lot better. While I was reading I kept thinking "Just wrap something up, already!" because there was just one thing on top of the other and the other and the other.

The final conflict kind of came out of nowhere too, and I was, like, oh really? seriously? two smart, grown up people are going to fight over THIS flimsiest of all flimsy excuses for a fight? And it's all going to be solved in the next twenty pages? Really? Can I haz Cheeseburger?

Lastly, while I liked Faith and Levi together, I kind of never really saw what they saw in each other other than sexually. I mean you get told they got this past history and whatever, but I have a really hard time believing these two are going to be together forever. And I'm realizing that I actually have that problem with about half of all the pairings in Kristan Higgins' books. 

Bottom Line: The Best Ban is a pretty solid contemporary read, and if you like Higgins style - characters that are Super Quirky Just Because They Can!!!! - and the whole "It takes a village" approach to populating a book, then go for it, you won't regret it. If you're looking for something a little more streamlined, then look elsewhere. Points because the dog was adorbs, though! 
starstar1/2
Alex

February 25, 2013

Book Review: The Other Side of US by Sarah Mayberry

At First Sight: Oliver Barrett was shocked to realize that his wife Edie had cheated on him for five and a half years out of the six they were married and on the wake of his discovery he's trying to deal with his anger and bitterness, so driving 12 hours to pack up the beach house that his recently deceased aunt left him and his brother sounds like a good idea... until he meets his neighbor Mackenzie.

Mackenzie Williams was a hot-shot TV producer on top of the television food chain, until she was involved in a bad car crash that left her body scarred and with a steep recovery curve to climb. A year later she still has trouble making it through the morning without throwing up and she's quite worried she's about to lose her job.

So when Mackenzie meets Oliver she's not exactly at her most friendly and each subsequent encounter does little to improve on each other's first impression, even if their dogs are mutually besotted with each other.

But, still, when a sudden storm puts Mackenzie's house in danger, Oliver goes over to help and afterward they strike a quick friendship. Soon they are talking about their pasts and their disappointments and fears and hopes for the future.

Their friendship is beautiful, and the intense attraction they feel is not entirely unwelcome either... even if the timing kind of sucks.

Second Glance: The Other Side of Us was a story about two people meeting and forming a friendship after what probably was the shittiest period of each of their lives. Mackenzie and Oliver are in their late thirties and both of them thought that they had their lives figured out until fate threw them massive curve balls that eventually lead them to live next to each other.

And once they make it through the first painfully awkward encounters, their relationship blossoms into something neither of them wanted or was prepared for, but that at the same time makes them feel alive and normal for the first time in months.

I loved getting to know Oliver, I fell for him from the start. He was such a good guy and didn't deserve what his ex did to him, he's a musician and loves his dog Strudel and it's trying really hard to work past his bitterness.

Mackenzie was harder to like, during the first few chapters I actually thought she was a bit of a bitch, but once she lets go a bit and she starts to open up more with Oliver, she grew on me. I still liked Oliver better but I could see why he grows to like her.

They had a great chemistry together and that was fun to see too. I also liked that they both acknowledged that their relationship was moving and growing much too fast, that the timing sucked and that they were both a little damaged, but that whatever they had between them was worth exploring anyhow.  

There were a few things I wasn't so wild about: the final fifty pages of the book felt a little rushed and, like I said, I didn't like Mackenzie that much at the beginning, but I'm not letting that ruin the book.

Bottom Line: I have said before that Sarah Mayberry is quickly becoming one of my Go-To Authors when I'm in need of good contemporary romance and The Other Side of Us is proof of why. I love the characters, I love that they spend a lot of time together and they get to know each other, I even liked the fact that they were a little older and more mature. Plus they were awesome dog-owners. 
starstarstarstar1/2Personal Favorite
Alex

February 24, 2013

At the Movies: The Silver Linings Playbook


Okay so the whole movie mania has struck my house and we have been going to the movies quite a bit in the last few weeks! And one of the movies I saw was Silver Linings Playbook

The story follows Patrick - a bipolar guy - as he tries to regain a sense of normalcy after being released from a psychiatric hospital, where he was sent after he assaulted the man his wife was cheating with, his whole motivation is to get back to his wife Nikki and he will do almost anything to make it happen. 

So when he meets Tiffany - a somewhat unstable young woman who recently lost her husband and she claims to be able to get him in contact with Nikki (because her sister Veronica is Nikki's best friend) he agrees to do her a favor in exchange for her help. 

Soon he's spending most of his day with Tiffany and seeing things in a different light. 

I had heard a lot of good things about the movie before I went to see it but I wasn't really expecting much, part of me was even braced to not liking the movie, but it surprised me by how funny and movie it was. 

Do I think it's one of the best movies of the year? not necessarily but, again, it was fun and sweet and I actually enjoyed the time I spent in the movie theater - which is more than I can say of, say, Flight.

It was a quirky romantic comedy and sure I was annoyed of how hung up Patrick was on his ex Nikki, and Tiffany was sometimes just Too Much. But both Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence had plenty of charm and chemistry to keep Tiffany and Patrick from being overly annoying. 

Secondary characters were great too, I really liked Patrick's therapist and Danny, his friend from the hospital that was always trying to escape. The whole subplot with Patrick's dad and his business as a bookie was a bit meh to me but it was okay. 

At the end of the day, I give the movie a solid B and I do see myself re-watching it in the future. 

February 22, 2013

Guest Post: Robin Benway's Top Ten Female Characters in Books, Film and TV

Hello my peeps!!
I'm very happy to host Robin Benway on the blog today. Last year I read her book The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June and I really liked it. 

Robin Benway has a new book coming out called Also Known As,which I'm dying to read and I hope my copy gets here soon! - and today she's sharing her Top Ten Female Characters in Books, Film and TV

Without futher ado, here you go: 


1. Ramona Quimby
When I was a kid, I felt like Ramona a lot. I wished I could crush someone's paper owl with my bare hands, metaphorically speaking. I wanted to go outside and roller skate when it was raining and color the biggest picture in the world. I totally sympathized with her frustrations with Howie and Willa Jean Kemp because let's be honest, those kids were pretty annoying. I loved how she always wanted something to happen beyond the normal, boring routine of everyday life, and how, because of her, it often did.

2. Leslie Knope from "Parks & Recreation"
Is it possible to love a fictional character as if they were a real person? I would vote for Leslie Knope tomorrow. I would seriously move to Pawnee, Indiana and register to vote because I think she's the best. She's passionate, she's a wonderful friend ("Ann, you beautiful, rule-breaking moth"), and she loves waffles! She's also a hoarder, but hey, who doesn't have a flaw or two?

3. Little Orphan Annie
Can we just discuss this resourceful little orphan for a moment? (I am, of course, referring to the 1982 movie version starring Aileen Quinn, aka The Movie of My Childhood.) She escapes from an abusive workhouse of an orphanage and manages to get adopted by abillionaire? During the Depression? And she can sing and tapdance her way into people's hearts? And oh hey, why don't you just rescue a stray dog while you're at it, Annie? And thwart your kidnappers and have a freaking ELEPHANT at your welcome home party? During the Depression??? (I'm still not okay with the fact that Miss Hannigan was at said party, but that's a different blog entry altogether.)

4. Claire Huxtable from "The Cosby Show"
Whoever messes with Claire Huxtable is a fool. She raised five kids while working full-time as a high-profile Manhattan trial attorney, loved her husband, and helped put on huge family lip synching shows for her in-laws anniversary. And remember when she told Elvin where he could put his macho attitude? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpEj00g9CyE) Well done, Claire.

5. Lorelai Gilmore from "Gilmore Girls"
I feel like Lorelai is me. There, I said it. Not because I had a baby at sixteen (I didn't) or because I run an inn (I don't), but because she talks too fast, drinks too much coffee, says the wrong words and does the wrong thing and still manages to make everything work. And I love love love her relationship with Sookie. And Rory. And her mom and dad. And I'm fine, it's just something in my eye.

6. Tami Taylor from "Friday Night Lights"
The hair and the y'alls (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vihYkEAQ_DY) and the ability to somehow shepherd a herd of high school kids into adulthood while raising her own two daughters? Please. I loved Tami because she represented what so many women do every day: raise their families, foster their communities, and work full-time. Also, I plan on memorizing the safe-sex speech she gave to her daughter and using it on my own kids one day because it was perfect. Y'all.

7. Angela Chase from "My So-Called Life"
I think Angela is one of the few characters I can watch twenty years later and still feel like I can relate to her. There's nothing about her words that feel dated or silly. Sure, it was filmed in the early 90s when everyone was wearing plaid and Doc Martens, but every single line of dialogue still resonates with the teenager in me. Why was there no second season? Excuse me while I weep.

8. Matilda Wormwood from "Matilda"
The little bookworm that could! Matilda was the first character I discovered who liked reading as much as I did, i.e. she was my Hermione Granger. I also loved how she outsmarted the adults, including her nincompoop parents, by using only her brain. Like, literallyher brain. She was telekinetic! 

9. Judy Blume
I tried to think of my favorite Judy Blume characters, but it was a too-many-way tie. Margaret? Deenie? Davey Wexler? Sally J. Freedman (as herself, of course)? So I know it's bending the rules because Judy Blume is very much a real person, but she's on the list. Anyone who can come up with the characters she's invented can be an Honorary Fictional Hero, too.

10. Claudia Kishi from "The Baby-Sitters Club"
I was either a Stacey McGill (even down to imitating her handwriting in sixth grade) or a Dawn Schafer type of girl, but I think Claudia was always my favorite because she was nothing like me. I loved how she excelled at art, not school, and never really tried to change that. It was just who she was, take or leave it. I hope she's living somewhere amazing now, like Soho or Shoreditch in London or Paris, drawing and painting and eating all the candy stashed under her pillow. 


So that was it!! 

More info about Also Known As (to be released on February 26th, 2013)

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. 

Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.




February 18, 2013

Book Review: Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

Welcome to another Free-Form Review!!!

Today's book is called Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt.  The book tells the story of Anna over the course of about a dozen years, starting when she was about six and ending when she's about 18.

There was a time when Anna and her mother were close as they could be. They lived in a small apartment and didn't have a lot of money, but they had each other and they were happy... until she was about seven and Anna suddenly wasn't enough to keep her mother happy and she started dating one guy after another.

After seeing her mother get in and out of so many relationships - getting married and divorced a few times, and moving about - Anna starts to have a very strange relationship toward boys and men and life in general.

She often lets guys use her, and she is whatever they want her to be, after the first guy - who basically feels her up in the bus and makes her touch him while his friends watch - Anna just goes with the flow, making each new guy she meets the center of her whole world, while engaging in destructive behavior at the same time - mostly sleeping around.

As she grows older the situations escalate and she grows more distant from her family and from all sense of normalcy.

The story was kind of hard to read, there was a part of it that was very emotional and I really felt for Anna in some ways, particularly when she was younger and trying to make sense to her mother's abandonment - her mom is in my Top Five Worst Parents in YA, easily - but as the time pases, the very way the narrative is constructed makes Anna sound so distant that by the end she doesn't quite feel real.

I get that it's a coping mechanism on her part, but still. Plus, she's not the most sympathetic of characters - this may be totally personal since I just don't get the way she flings herself at guys because it's not something I would ever do though I know a few people who do live like she does in the story- so she was hard to simply like and, at times, it's uncomfortable to read.

Also, the cover is a little misleading, I was sort of expecting something lighter, yeah maybe about a girl who had made a few mistakes but eventually meets a good guy, a good group of friends or something and her life gets better, this book is a lot more gloomy than that and though the ending of the book could be constructed as hopeful, it was kind of too little too late.

Uses for Boys isn't an easy read, it's uncomfortable in the same way I often find Sarah Zarr's books uncomfortable, making me think about things I sometimes rather not think about; but Scheidt lacks Zarr's compelling narrative. It's not a long book but by the end it feels that way. 
starstar1/2
Alex

February 14, 2013

Speed Date: Marco Impossible by Hannah Moskowitz

The Deal: Marco and Stephen are best friends and just a few days shy of finishing middle school and moving in different directions (and schools). They get busy planning one of their famous "heists". 

With the clock tickling out, Marco wants to break into the high school prom and confess his love for Benji, the exchange student he has had a crush on for months and whom is leaving soon. 

My Thoughts: I'm leaving the description very short, sorry about that but in very basic terms this is what happens in the book. The story is narrated by Stephen, who calls himself Marco's Sidekick, and he's a really sweet guy, I really liked him right from the start.

I had my doubts about  Marco, I eventually warmed up to him but I liked Stephen better, I thought he was a better friend to Marco than Marco was to him. I really liked the time period the story covered - this last bit of time Marco and Stephen get to spend together before going in different directions what with high school and what not.

Marco Impossible is a really sweet and funny story all in all, I'm not sure if it was as amazing as I was expecting given the glowing reviews of it that I had read before but it was worth my while anyway even though I had a little bit of problem connecting with the guys at the beginning.

Marco Impossible will be released March 19th, 2013
starstarstarstar
Alex


What's a Book Speed Date, you ask? It's a quickie review--about 150 words or so--of any genre book (variety is the spice of life, after all).

If you want to join in or just read other speed date reviews, check out The Book Swarm

February 11, 2013

Book Review: Kissing Kendall by Jennifer Shirk

At First Sight: Following the death of her firefighter husband Jake, Kendall Grisbaum has fallen into a bad emotional place. She's depressed, has been let go from her job and if it weren't for her two best friends who keep pushing her, and for her newly acquired puppy, she would stay home all day and be depressed. 

But now, she has decided to start doing something about her life, starting with opening her own bakery with the help of her friends, which includes Brad. 

Brad is the brother of one of Kendall's best friends, Georgie, and a police man who was also pretty close to Kendall's husband - in fact, he introduced them -and, once upon a time, he was pretty close to Kendall as well though they drifted apart after she started dating her husband. 

Brad has always been in love with Kendall, but never dared to make a move until now, when they are spending a lot of time together as he helps her to get the bakery ready. Part of Kendall tells her she's not ready for another relationship, but the rest of her just likes being around Brad. 

Second Glance: Kissing Kendall was a fun read, it was well written, the characters were nice and everything. The situation was a little sticky because of the whole love-triangle-with-the-dead-husband -thing and Kendall's fear of dating another man who routinely puts his life at risk for the sake of others. 

She was very traumatized by the way her husband died on the job, so a relationship is the farthest thing from her mind at the beginning. I liked seeing her with Brad, I think they worked quite well - and it was easier to believe because it's stablished that they were great friends once - but it could have used a little more of showing instead of telling. 

I also felt like Kendall held onto her fears for a little too long, because Brad sounded like a really good guy. 

Bottom Line: Kissing Kendall was an entertaining read, it made me hungry with all the descriptions of cupcakes and desserts, and the concept of the story is adorable, but it lacked a little in execution. 
starstarstar
Alex

February 8, 2013

Book Review: Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Okay! So, hello again and welcome to another chatty review!! I rather enjoyed free-forming it the other day so I think I might start doing it regularly. LOL

So, this week's book is Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay. I'm not gonna lie, the main reason requested this book from Net Galley was because I've seen a lot of bloggers that I know and respect - like Aylee @ Recovering Potter Addict - enjoying this book. 

Sadly, it wasn't for me...

The story goes like this: Nastya used to be a piano child prodigy until something happened and she wasn't anymore; so after a couple of years of being home schooled she has moved in with an aunt, and now has two missions in life: survive her last year of high school and take revenge on the people who destroyed her life. 

Josh, hasn't had it easy with life, the people he loved are gone and now all he wants is to be left alone and the kids in his high school usually let him be, except for the new girl Nastya. But how does Josh fit into her plans exactly?

Well, that's pretty easy to figure out so I'm no telling. What I am going to say is that this book was SOOOO depressing. It wasn't fun to read at all, and the start was kind of slow. I have a hard time connecting with characters who are gloom and doom all the time and Josh and Nastya were. They had their reasons and they were good reasons but yeah, I knew I should feel bad for them and at an intellectual level I did, but there was no emotional connection. 

And everything was so sad and draining that I was glad I wasn't feeling it. 

Sea of Tranquility is hard to read and if you're looking for something fluffy and fun, this isn't the one for you. If you like "issue books" then, go ahead, this one will be awesome for you, because it is beautifully written and the style alone got me to finish a book I would put down by chapter 3 otherwise. 

Not rating this week because this was so not for me. 

February 6, 2013

Book Review: Dirty Laundry by Heidi Cullinan

And you thought the
 previous ones were bad...
At First Sight: Adam Ellery - an entomology grad student - is not the type to hook up at the laundromat but when he meets Denver Rogers - after he chases away some drunken frat guys that were bullying Adam -  thanking him turns into them having sex right there in the middle of the laundromat; an event that should be a once off for Adam, but he can't stop thinking about Denver afterward.

Working as a bouncer at Tucker Spring's local gay bar - Lights Out - Denver has his pick of guys to have sex with - He might not be the handsomest guy around, but his strong physique and commanding air about him make him stand out - but since their first encounter he can't get Adam out of his head.

Neither of them have a great experience with relationships, but after a few dates they start a tentative relationship even if on the surface they don't have anything in common.

Second Glance: Dirty Laundry is the third book in the Tucker Springs series and it actually spins off a short story that Heidi Cullinan published a few months ago.

Once more, we are in Tucker Springs exploring the lives of two gay men. This book had a lot going for it actually, in the past book I grew to like Denver (he's El Rozal's best friend from Second Hand, and he and Paul show up a couple of times) and reading more about him and seeing things from his perspective  he won me over, he's not perfect but I liked him.

I liked Adam well enough too, he has severe OCD and other anxieties and it's hard for him to even be with someone - hanging out with friends, going to people's houses, using public restrooms - but he likes Denver, and he likes the person he is when he's with Denver.

They do have a Dom-Sub relationship, which was handled really well as boundaries were respected and the relationship was balanced; and in that aspect the sex in this book is a little more racy than in the previous ones in the series and it does jump at you more. I didn't have a problem with in particular but its also not something I particularly go out of my way to read in general.

Lastly, while I still like the community aspect of this series and I liked the characters in general, I don't really see me re-reading this in the future. I liked it but I think I still like Second Hand more.

Bottom Line: I enjoyed reading Dirty Laundry and I like the people involved, but it still was probably my least favorite of the series so far. Will I keep reading more about Tucker Springs? Probably yes - even with the bad covers and I'm curious about the next book which features a tattoo artist and a youth pastor (yeah, I know!). Fair warning though, the whole dom-sub thing is pretty explicit so it's not for the faint of heart. 
starstarstar1/2
Alex

February 5, 2013

Book Review: Back to the Good Fortune Diner by Vicki Essex

At First Sight: After losing her apartment and job in New York City, Tiffany Cheung was left with no other option but to return home to Everville, where she's stuck living with her parents, having to work (at least some of the time) at the family's diner The Good Fortune, and with a mountain of debt.

Tiff never wanted to come back to Everville, where she always stood out for being Chinese - even if she wasn't really teased, she certainly was largely ignored by her classmates - and where there is no much to do.

Chris Jamieson was Everville's golden boy - star of the football team and with a college scholarship - but these days his time is divided between running his family's farm, fighting with his father over how to run the farm and fighting with his teenage son Simon over his lack of interest on his future.

When he learns that Simon has failed English, Chris turns to the one person who helped him make sense of Shakespeare when he was in high school: Tiffany, who tutored him and helped him to get that scholarship.

Running into Chris was not in Tiffany's plans, let alone when she's so down her luck and he's still as handsome as he ever was and her crush on him never really went away. Agreeing to tutor his son was not in her plans either but at least its a job where she doesn't have to wear a hairnet.

Besides, it's only a temporary thing, and the moment she gets another job in New York City she's moving back, and Chris's sudden interest in her is not changing her plans.

Second Glance: I read Back to the Good Fortune Diner because for the SBTB's book club and all in all it was a pretty good read.

I enjoyed the setting - upstate New York - and the tid bits both about farm life and running the diner. I genuinely liked Chris and his son Simon and a host of other characters like Tiffany's brother Daniel and his girlfriend Selena and their grandmother. I loved the grandmother, she reminded me of my own.

But the book did have a flaw: Tiffany. Tiffany was so not a likable character, she was so ashamed of her family and of her heritage - she eventually comes to better terms with it, but it was too little too late for me - and I couldn't see what Chris saw in her. She was a bit of a snobby bitch when she first comes back to town.

The parts where I liked her the most were when she was tutoring Simon, but the rest of the time I didn't like her. Also, her dream to work in Publishing but you never really get a sense of why, and you don't see her enjoy her job so that whole part of the book felt a bit like a cope out.

Not exactly a minus but Daniel and Selena's story took over a lot of the book, it wasn't bad - it was actually pretty interesting - but it did take away from the main couple. Also, I didn't like Tiff and Daniel's parents either. 

Bottom Line: When all is said and done, I liked Back to the Good Fortune Diner, and I really enjoyed Mis Essex's style of writing, but I didn't like all aspects of the story the same, I didn't like the heroine and I would have liked a little more romance for the main couple. I will probably read this author again, though. 
starstarstar
Alex

February 2, 2013

Book Review: Confectionately Yours - Save the Cupcake! by Lisa Papademetriou

At First Sight: Hayley is going through a lot of adjustments following the divorce of her parents, her mom being laid off work and their having to move in with her Grandmother into a tiny apartment above Gran's Tea Shop.

At school, things are a little weird as her set of friends is breaking up. Her girl best friend is getting tangled with the drama crowd and ignoring Hayley; and her other best friend Marco is acting weird and it seems like Hayley can never say the right thing to him.

But there is one thing that never fails Hayley: cupcakes!! Through thick and thin, Hayley takes comfort in baking and in helping out at The Tea Shop where the troubles are never bigger than getting the current batch of baking just right.

Second Glance: Confectionately Yours: Save the Cupcake! was adorable you guys! Such a sweet, lovely read - and I don't say it just because Hayley shares a lot of cupcake recipes.

Hayley was a great narrator, she cared about her family and wanted to do right by them but she wasn't perfect and she made mistakes, yet I always liked her - plus, her mistakes were totally age appropriate -  and it was fun to see her grow up a little and come into her own.

I really felt for her and all that she was going through with her parents (her dad is really clueless and he made me angry all the time he was around, though I don't think he's bad per se, and Marco and Artie. And I was so happy for her when she began to make a new friend. 

Bottom Line: Save the Cupcake! is one of the most adorable things I've read this year (so far) and I loved it! I loved it so much that I went online and ordered the next couple of books of the series. It's sweet and funny and, well, totes adorbs. 
starstarstarstar1/2Personal Favorite