Garden of Lies

Title: Garden of Lies

Author: Amanda Quick

Pages: 359

Genre: Romance

Grade: B

Synopsis: Anne Clifton committed suicide while working as a secretary under contract for the Kern Secretarial Agency.  The owner of the agency, Ursula Kern, does not believe that Clifton would actually commit suicide and believes that Anne Clifton had actually left a coded message for Ursula before her death.  As Ursula starts to dig deeper and deeper into Clifton's past the startling truth begins to become clear.

My Review: This was a unique plot and storyline, but it was not a book that I loved.  It was, however, fairly easy to follow and did not leave a bunch of loose ends at the completion of the book.

Blackmoore

Title: Blackmoore

Author: Julianne Donaldson

Pages: 320

Genre: Romance

Grade: A-

Synopsis: Kate Worthington has told her closest friends for years that she will never marry. Her best friend Henry Delafield is a very eligible bachelor, but he has his sights set on somebody else, of whom his mother approves.  Kate's mother is pushing her to accept a marriage proposal that she has helped to obtain, but Kate consistently refuses.  When Kate asks her mother if she can visit Blackmoore, a large estate on the edge of the moors, they strike a deal where Kate must obtain and reject three marriage proposals from the  men at Blackmoore or else she will be bound to follow her mother's wishes.

My Review: I really enjoyed this book.  I found myself sitting in my car a little longer when I arrived at my destination and looking forward to my drives in the anticipation of the book.  There were parts that were funny, sad and frustrating and I enjoyed the picture the book painted in my mind.

Edenbrooke

Title: Edenbrooke

Author: Julianne Donaldson

Pages: 264 pages

Genre: Romance

Grade: A-

Synopsis: Marianne Daventry is thrilled to receive an unexpected invitation to join her sister for a visit to the sprawling estate of Edenbrooke in the British countryside. Her sister has the hots for the rich heir of the estate and Marianne expects to help her woo the object of her desires.  As Marianne's carriage travels to Edenbrooke the carriage is attacked and robbed, which dramatically changes the course of her visit.

My Review: This book took me completely by surprise.  I had heard good things about it, so I expected the book to be good, but I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the story and found myself laughing while I read.  The author is a neighbor of ours so we were excited to have her sign our book at the City Creek Deseret Book.  I believe that her intent was to pen a proper romance in the Victorian era and she certainly delivered.

Trouble in High Heels

Title: Trouble in High Heels

Author: Christina Dodd

Pages: 7 discs?

Genre: Romance

Grade: B

Synopsis:  Brandi Michaels is a young, sexy lawyer who just graduated from law school and is starting her first job at a big-name Chicago law firm.  Just a couple of days after arriving in Chicago, she finds our that her fiance has snuck off to Las Vegas to marry his pregnant girlfriend.  Brandi pawns her engagement ring and goes to a party to find somebody to help her forget about her ex-fiance.  She finds the gorgeous Italian Count Roberto Bartolini and spends the weekend in his arms...  When she arrives to her new law firm on Monday morning, she finds out that her first client is Count Bartolini who has been accused as an international jewel thief.  To make matters worse (or steamier if you prefer), the alleged jewel thief is remanded into her custody 24/7. 

My Review:  This is one of those books that I stumble across at the library when I can't find anything else to read so I close my eyes and just grab something.  The first part of the book was a little cheesy and superficial, but I found myself enjoying the latter half of the book as the plot thickened and I actually enjoyed it more than expected.

Disclaimer:  There was some language and love-making and not something I'd recommend to my kids, but everything came across as quite tasteful

Nights in Rodanthe

Title: Nights in Rodanthe

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Pages: 212

Genre: Romance

Grade: B

Synopsis: Adrienne Willis is a recently divorced mother of three who heads out to Rodanthe to watch her friends Bed and Breakfast before it closes down for the season. There is only one scheduled guest, Paul Flanner, who is a recently divorced workaholic looking to make some changes in his life. Adrienne was expecting time to relax and enjoy herself, but conveniently there is a hurricane force storm coming in from the ocean which requires them to board up the windows and doors and spend the weekend inside all alone together.

My Review: This was a fairly typical Nicholas Sparks love story. I had heard that it was a good book club book so I recommended it to Alison for her book club - and she didn't like it. Sorry Al. I think that I liked it better than she did, but there was still something about it that made it almost awkward (maybe because it's a love story featuring people like our parents...).

Mine Are Spectacular!

Title: Mine Are Spectacular!

Author(s): Janice Kaplan & Lynn Schnumberger

Pages: 10 discs

Genre: Chick Lit, Romance

Grade: B-

Synopsis: The title is taken from a quote at the end of a popular Seinfeld episode (I don't believe that I've seen it). Instead of a synopsis as usual, I will present a character list and describe their place in the story.

Sara - Divorced her first husband James after he disappeared to Argentina 8 years ago. Has been a single-mother to her son (who was born after her first husband left). Is dating Bradford and best friends with Berni and Kate. Junior-high art teacher invited to star on a cooking show on the Food Network.

Bradford - Dating Sara and very busy wall street banker. Has a 14 year-old-daughter and annoying ex-wife (Mimi) that is trying to win him back.

Berni - Hollywood agent that is quitting her job because she is pregnant with twins. Always complaining and best friends with Sara.

Kate - World-renowned dermatologist that works off 5th Avenue. Has perfect figure, skin and makes tons of money. Starts dating an extremely rich guy (who is married) and convinces him to leave his wife.

Kirk - Hunky soap-opera star doctor from Days of Our Knives. Goes with Sara to first filming of her Food Network show and is invited to co-star with her on it. Is always hitting on Sara and trying to convince her to leave Bradford.

James - Main Lady's divorced ex-husband that ran off to Argentina to find himself. Shows up 8 years later and wants to be a part of Sara's life once again.

My Review: This book isn't a trashy romance novel or anything, but it would certainly fall under the category of chick lit. If I was reading it in print I would have stopped early on, but because I was listening to the book on cd, then it's easier to sit through books that I normally wouldn't read. I think that the book has 2 authors simply because of all the desperate metaphors and similes in the book. Every paragraph seemed to contain one - and I doubt that one person could come up with all of them on their own. I did actually start enjoying the book by the last third or so. Not enough to recommend it, but enough that I can actually say that I liked the ending. From other reviews that I've read online, if you've got a penchant for chick lit, then you may just love this book.

Disclaimer: This book is a somewhat mild PG-13. There is no swearing, but there are references to boobs, implied sex, a stripper comes to a baby shower and a neighborhood party that turns out to be a sex-toy party.

True Believer

Title: True Believer

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Pages: 9 discs

Genre: Romance

Grade: B

Synopsis: Jeremy Marsh is a scientific reporter from New York City. He investigates ineffective antidepressants, cults and television clairvoyants discrediting the claims that they make. He gets invited to investigate mysterious lights in a cemetery in the deep south by Doris, a diviner who also claims to be able to determine the sex of babies before they are born. While researching the history and cause of the cemetery lights, he meets Doris' daughter, the beautiful librarian that helps him with his research.

My Review: This was a pretty good book. It seemed a little forced at times, but I enjoyed the story. There were times that the story was a little ridiculous and I was a little disappointed with the ending.

breaking dawn

Title: breaking dawn

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Pages: 756

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Bella Swan is still in love with both Jacob and Edward. How can she marry the vampire without hurting the "best man" in the process?

My Review: I just have to laugh when I'm reading these books. The plot line can get so ridiculous that it's almost comical. This book has so many twists and turns it will have you wondering which way is up. Although long, it's an easy read that will keep you interested. By the end, Meyer has done a surprisingly good job at tying up all the loose ends and somehow partially satisfying everybody.

From the Book: "(p. 188) Did you know that 'I told you so' has a brother Jacob?" she asked, cutting me off. "His name is 'Shut the hell up.' "

"(p. p. 259) Nudity was an inconvenient but unavoidable part of pack life. We'd all thought nothing of it before Leah came along. Then it got awkward. Leah had average control when it came to temper--it took her the usual length of time to stop exploding out of her clothes every time she got pissed. We'd all caught a glimpse. And it wasn't like she wasn't worth looking at; it was just that it was so not worth it when she caught you thinking about it later."

eclipse

Title: eclipse

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Pages: 629

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Bella Swan is preparing for graduation and immortality with her lover, vampire Edward Cullen. This book follows her last few months as a mortal and her preparations for becoming a vampire herself. The Cullen's are forced to fight for Bella's life, protecting her from other vampires. To Edward's dismay, she still spends as much time as she can on the Indian reservation with her good friend Jacob and realizes that she is madly in love with him as well.

My Review: While I feel that these books border on ridiculousness, I quite enjoyed this one. It spends a little more time delving into the stories behind the vampires and werewolves - which I find quite interesting. As for Bella's love struggles - like I said, I think she's being ridiculous. Although this book only covers a time period of a couple of months, I felt that it moved along well and didn't drag too much. Aside from being a little on the long side, it was a good read.

From the Book: "(p. 206) I was slowly realizing that vampires were much bigger participants in this world than I'd once thought. How many times did the average human cross paths with them, completely unaware? How many deaths, obliviously reported as crimes and accidents, were really due to their thirst? How crowded would this new world be when I joined it?"

"(p. 527) He was too strong to recognize that my hands, trying to yank his hair out by the roots , meant to cause him pain. Instead of anger, he imagined passion. He thought I was finally responding to him."

new moon

Title: New Moon

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Pages: 563

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Grade: B

Synopsis: Bella Swan has recovered from her close call with a vampire and things are going well for her in Forks. She is going with Edward to a birthday party thrown for her by the Cullens that is cut short when she trips and falls, getting cut on a piece of glass. Chaos ensues, Edward leaves and Bella begins to fall in love with her childhood friend Jake from the Indian reservation.

My Review: This was an interesting book for me. I liked most of the beginning and middle of the book more than twilight (I think I do anyway. I can't really remember that well that far back). The book after the middle was really anticlimactic though. I left the book on my shelf for 5 days when I only had 3 chapters left to read. If this had been a true thriller there's no way that I would have been able to go that long without finishing it. For the record, I like Jake. I like him at least as much as Edward and possibly more. Bella and Jake's relationship is so much more natural while her relationship with Edward just seems awkward. A classic love triangle has formed for eclipse which should keep it interesting.

From the Book: "(p. 74) Not tonight. Tonight the sky was utterly black. Perhaps there was no moon tonight--a lunar eclipse, a new moon.
"A new moon. I shivered, though I wasn't cold."

"(p. 200) 'Bears don't want to eat people. We don't taste that good.' He grinned at me in the dark cab. 'Of course, you might be an exception. I bet you'd taste good.'
'Thanks so much,' I said, looking away. He wasn't the first person to tell me that."

twilight

Title: twilight

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Pages: 498

Genre: Fantasy

Grade: B+

Synopsis: 17-year old Bella decides to move from sunny Phoenix, Arizona where she lived with her mom to always-rainy, always-overcast Forks, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula to live with her dad. Bella makes friends quite easily at the small high school in town. She quickly notices one family (the Cullens) in town that doesn't seem to fit in with the others. As she falls in love with Edward Cullen she begins to learn more and more about them.

Why I Chose this Book: My mom really liked it, lots of people here on the web like it and Alison read it just before I did.

My Review: This was an enjoyable, easy read. While I certainly didn't love it like so many other people have, it was a relaxing read. I thought that that Meyer was a little wordy at times and could have said what needed to be said in less words than she used. There was something almost amateurish about her writing style that was reminiscent of Eragon. Although this book is a love story it was certainly unique and hard to put down.

From the Book: "(p. 139, Bella's thoughts) And I knew in that I had my answer. I didn't know if there ever was a choice, really. I was already in too deep. Now that I know - if I knew - I could do nothing about my frightening secret. Because when I thought of him, of his voice, his hypnotic eyes, the magnetic force of his personality, I wanted nothing more than to be with him right now. Even if...but I couldn't think it. Not here, alone in the darkening forest. Not while the rain made it dim as twilight under the canopy and pattered like footsteps across the matted earthen floor. I shivered and rose quickly from my place of concealment, worried that somehow the path would have disappeared with the rain."

I only share the following quote because it's on the back of the book:
"(p. 195) About three things i was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was part of him - and I didn't know how potent that part might be - that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."