Love Reads!

By Jane Porter

May 2008

5 Spot

ISBN-10: 0446699241

ISBN-13: 978-0446699242

In Odd Mom Out we got to know Marta Zinsser, a single mom battling the working world while trying to get along with her teenage daughter. One of the obstacles in that story was that one of the PTA mothers at her daughters’ elementary school was often giving her a hard time. We finally get to hear Taylors side (the mom in question) in Mrs. Perfect the newest release by Jane Porter.

Taylor Young makes being a stay at home mom look like an Olympic event. She has perfected every task she has come up against, whether it be running the yearly PTA auction or figuring out the perfect anti-aging regimen; she has it covered.

This book starts a year after the last one ended and small cracks in Taylor’s perfect life are starting to show. The big event, however, that really gets the storyline running is when she finds out that her husband has been lying to her. For the past seven months he has been jobless and searching. The trouble is, he has also been keeping from her that they are in massive amounts of debt. The good news is he has found a job; the catch is that it is in Omaha!

So, off he go’s to acclimate to his no job and she is left with her head spinning. Not only does she have to prepare the house she and her husband built together to be sold, but she also has to figure out a way, all on her own, to get them out of debt without having to declare bankruptcy.

Mrs. Perfect was a great read! I enjoy how Jane can make a story more realistic and less fairy tale, but still make it that it is immensely enjoyable. It is heartwarming without being preachy and definitely shows that with hard work and some great friends to bring you through, life is not so impossible after all.

By Alisa Valdez-Rodriguez

July 2008

St. Martin’s Press

ISBN-10: 031234967X

ISBN-13: 978-0312349677

Those fabulous sucias you have come to know and love are back in Dirty Girls on Top! We begin the story five years after the fact; each of the five friends has gone in their own separate directions, but have decided to come together in New Mexico to catch up.

This year Rebecca has decided to host the now yearly get together at a posh resort. She has a new house nearby and thought some quality time in a warmer climate would be just the ticket for a stress free girls weekend. For a number of years now Rebecca has been married to the perfect man and is mulling over the possibility of selling her super-successful Latina magazine so that she can be focused on starting a family.

Usnavy’s, whose name I still cannot pronounce correctly to save my life, has now been married to Juan for five years and they share a very tomboy daughter. She still, however, can’t seem to feel fulfilled with her life. Juan who is a great Mr. Mom is getting on her nerves; it is almost as if he is too perfect and too emotionally even. She’s bored and has started looking elsewhere for affection, specifically at the moment from a former golf pro named Marcus.

Elizabeth is still dating her partner Sel and they together adopted a beautiful baby boy. Sel though is disgustingly self involved and cannot stand the baby or the lack of attention she feels she is getting from Liz. Liz still is head over heels in love with Lauren and thanks to some strong alcohol finally has a chance to publicly profess it to her. Will it be reciprocated or will she feel worse then before?

Lauren is still pretty immature, the boyfriend she is with is a huge loser in my opinion and she could do so much better. She still writes for the Boston Gazette and has started to get quite a following, but her self esteem is not much better then it was before and before she can be happy with the world around her she has to be happy with herself.

Sara now along with Elizabeth has her own cooking show which is running quite successfully and her sons are thriving now that their abusive father resides in Argentina, hiding out so that he doesn’t get arrested for killing their former maid which happened in the last book. Robert is slowly trying to worm his way back into Sara’s life though which given his track record could get very dangerous. Can she finally stand up to him and get him out of her life for good?

Cuitical is now a rock star and just finished her second album. She is still her fun loving and free spirited self able to get her message out to a much larger group of people. She still hasn’t been very lucky in love, which is only made harder by the fact that she is famous now. Every guy that shows interest in her she has to wonder, do they like her genuinely or because she is famous. She still has her best friend and manager Frank to lean on though; he from the beginning has been there for her and continues to be the sole person who understands her completely.

Sorry for the long review, but these five larger then life personalities cannot be cut short as it would be a huge mistake. Alisa has again woven a funny, thought provoking and heart tugging story. The characters are very real and their thoughts and emotions are totally relatable and if your Latin descent or not does not matter. The story is more about women banding together and realizing their inner strength, then where they come from.

5 out of 5

By Marian Keyes

June 2008

William Morrow

ISBN-10: 0061124028

ISBN-13: 978-0061124020

I have been reading Marian Keyes novels since I started reading Chick Lit. The first one I read by her was Watermelon and since then I have been hooked. Her observational style, along with her wit and deep understanding of emotions helps create stories that are not only readable, but worthy of reading despite the Harry Potter like length.

Paddy De Courcy is quite the ladies man, having probably had more girlfriends then most people have had cavities. Paddy also has a long string of women in his wake that have never been able to be the same after being in a relationship with him. Recently, Paddy has become engaged to a woman by the name of Alicia, from his checkered past, which causes some of the women who came before to wonder; why her?

Grace Gildee & Marnie Hunter are sisters who couldn’t be less alike, but despite their differences have always been each others best friend. Grace works at a local newspaper doing news and feature pieces and when she comes upon this new information and she knows now is the time to find the answers she has been looking for. Marnie, is a wife and a mother of two who unlike her sister lives with her family in London rather then Dublin. At first, it seems that she has quite a normal life, but despite all this she suffers from crippling fear most of the time and has developed a drinking problem over the years she just can’t shake.

Lola Daly is the most recent ex of Paddy’s and has gone as a result of the engagement announcement completely out of sorts. So much so in fact that she leaves her job as a stylist and Dublin behind in search of some mental and physical peace and quiet. I found this characters story to be the best as she is sweet, yet naive and well I will leave you to it with two words; cross dressers.

This book is a great read which takes turns telling the story that is the life of Paddy and his women in a sad, sometimes funny, relatable way. Though the story as is Marian’s trademark is long it at no point drags along and continuously keeps your interest the whole way through. A definite buy!

5 out of 5

By Amanda Goldberg & Ruthanna Khalighi

February 2008

St. Martin’s Press

ISBN-10: 0312362293

ISBM-13: 978-0312362294

Lola comes from a very famous family, her father a hot-shot director, her brother a sought after music producer. She, however, at twenty-five is still trying to find her niche, something that will make her famous in her own right, not just a daughter of.

She has tried many careers, after graduating from high school she went to art school for a year and created some interesting pieces, but she just couldn’t stay committed to it. She also tried fashion design, but was not able to come up with anything superb enough to warrant a full fledged career. Part of the trouble is partly because she has an addiction, one that not many know about, but to her can be just as devastating as any illegal substance. Lola is an Actorholic. This means that every boyfriend she has had to the present has been an actor, all of which having broken her heart into a trillion pieces, but she just can’t get enough!

He longest and most devastating was with SMITH (read it and you will figure out why there is a need for caps) a veritable nobody whom, (thanks to the leading lady having to go to rehab) she did a movie with and consequently fell for. Everything with them was great until the reviews came out and brutally ripped apart Lola’s performance, after which he breaks up with her because who in there right mind would want to be seen as such a failure? What a loser he is.

After some pretty literal soul searching she decides to make one last valiant effort in the working world by becoming a PR person for her BAF (best gay forever) Julian and try and get a few high ranking celebs to wear some dresses he has designed to get his name out there come Oscar night. Coming from a famous family, however, does not guarantee success, as she runs into one problem after another. Never has Hollywood seemed like such a zoo!

I enjoyed this book, Lola is funny and accident prone and you can’t help but root for her throughout the book. This title is a definite pick up, though panned by some other reviewers it has potential and is the perfect partner for your towel in that beach bag!

4 out of 5

By Lauren Weisberger

May 2008

Simon & Schuster

ISBN-10: 0743290119

ISBN-13: 978-0743290111

We’ve explored the workings of a fashion magazine and learned a bit about public relations, now get ready for a 180 because this time around, because the newest Lauren Weisberger title Chasing Harry Winston is nothing like its older siblings.

This story follows three friends Leigh, Adrianna and Emmy, all best friends, and all in dire need of a MAJOR life change! Each is very unsatisfied with the current state of their love lives and as they chat over dinner one night, they decide it is time for them all to stop just going with the flow and rewrite their futures. Each has a year and a major resolution to stick to. Will they make it through or lose steam quicker then they came up with the idea?

Leigh is a successful editor at the publishing firm of Brook Harris and has recently been assigned her biggest assignment to date. She will be the editor of genius author Jesse Chapman’s newest book! This is a big responsibility for a junior editor, but Jesse has asked for her specifically, after hearing her take on his previous titles. Outside the office Leigh has a very trying relationship with famous sports anchor Russell. Everything should be awesome but, for some reason Leigh does not feel anything remotely romantic kind of love when it comes to him. She keeps hoping the feelings will take root, but time is starting to run out.

Adrianna, daughter of a famous model, can have any man she wants. Her stunning looks and her mastery of men (thanks to her mothers teachings) she has had many a suitor. None of them, however, has ever turned into a full blown relationship. It’s always been that she pays attention for purely lustful and conquering reasons. So, Leigh and Emmy challenge her to have a full blown monogamous relationship with someone, which seems easy in theory, but not so much in practice

Emmy is in love, for five years she been dating Duncan, who she thinks is the perfect man for her. They have been together five years and she is waiting in anticipation for that meaningful piece of bling that will make her dreams come true. So, when Duncan drops the bomb that their not only breaking up, but he is leaving her for his twenty-two year old personal trainer, she is furious. Needless to say Emmy is devastated and at a complete loss for what to do next. So, her resolution the other two decide is to treat her love life more like Adrianna and not obsess that every man she comes in contact with could be the “one”.

The same insight that Lauren has became famous for with her books is throughout this novel, though in different packaging so to speak. The story is a little long and frustrating in places, but definitely worth reading.

4 out of 5

By Emily Giffin

May 2008

St. Martin’s Press

ISBN-10: 0312348673

ISBN-13: 978-0312348670

From the woman that brought you Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Baby Proof is her newest release Love the One You’re With. In this title we are introduced to Ellen, a recently married woman who has a chance encounter with an old but intense flame that makes her question the choices she has made to date.

Ellen is a semi successful photographer in NYC who is married to what most may think is the perfect man. Andy is a sweet, thoughtful and compassionate man of means, who is the brother of her best friend of Margot who she met in college. Ellen had always had a casual eye on him, but was in a relationship with a rather trite intense and brooding man by the name of Leo. Leo, however, was not as committed to their relationship as she first thought and she one day wakes up and realizes he has vanished seemingly forever. A little more then half a year later Andy FINALLY gets the guts to ask her out, hoping that a significant enough time has passed since her breakup that she might accept. She does (obviously) and a year or so later they are married.

Another year or so goes by and while making her way back home at the end of a busy workday, she sees Leo just casually walking across the street two years since their last meeting as if no time has gone by. The decide to meet up at a diner nearby and catch up, Ellen telling him about her still newlywed marriage and him telling her of his successful writing career. This meeting instantly brings feelings of anger, resentment and strangely, longing into her heart confusing her all over again about whether she made the right choice in not waiting longer and marrying Andy.

As are all Emily Giffin titles that I have read previously, this title is no less superb then it’s other siblings. Emily mixes all the emotion of love, loss and regret perfectly, keeping the reader guessing who will ultimately be chosen once and for all till the very last chapters. I highly recommend this title, whether you have read other books by this author or not is not necessary, as it is a stand alone story on its own. So, pick it up, snuggle into your ideal reading spot, whether it be with a coffee or a Cosmo and read on!

5 out of 5

By Kristin Harmel

February 2008

5 Spot

ISBN-10: 0446581437

ISBN-13: 978-0446581431

In the beginning our protagonist Emma exemplifies the phrase “the hits just keep on coming.” First, she is dumped by her fiancé completely out of the blue, then, she gets fired from a job she loves and last but not least finds out that one of her best friends was sleeping with said fiancé. Also, to make matters even worse the other friends in her group agree with that decision!

Emma spends the next couple of weeks understandably bewildered eating her weight in ice cream while counting the days before she is evicted and homeless. Her best friend Polly from college, however, comes to her rescue offering her a temporary way out acting as her assistant while she does publicity work for a famed actor turned musician named Guillaume Riche. The coolest perk by far is that in order to do the job she has to move to Paris for six weeks. Emma accepts on the spot but, once she gets there she realizes she may have gotten into more then she bargained for.

You see, Guillaume is a bit of a handful and prides himself it seems on the different kinds of trouble he can get himself into. Including but not limited to hanging from a rope between two buildings by his feet. Which is why Emma is so desperately needed, her sarcastic wit and quick thinking seem to do the trick when it comes to convincing the media? Well almost all, there is one strikingly handsome reporter who is a bit harder to sway.

I suggest picking this book up. The messes that Guillaume gets him into are pretty funny and there is a surprise connection between two of the characters that keeps the story interesting.

4 out of 5

By Sophie Kinsella

February 2008

The Dial Press

ISBN-10: 0385338724

ISBN-13: 978-0385338721

In Sophie Kinsella’s newest novel remember me, we meet Lexi Smart, a somewhat mousy girl who has a boring job at a carpet store and a pretty lousy boyfriend. One night after drowning her sorrows in drinks with some friends she falls down a set of stairs trying to catch a cab in the pouring rain and everything goes blank….

She wakes up the next day in the hospital, but something feels off, she looks a bit thinner and her belongings around her are not hers, or so she thinks. After some investigating and talking with her doctors she realizes that it hasn’t only been just a day, but THREE YEARS! No, she wasn’t in a coma; apparently it was a car accident that gave her amnesia, washing away the memories of those years.

There is apparently a whole lot that she has forgotten; last she remembers, it was the day before her estranged father’s funeral. Now she discovers she not only runs the entire carpet sector of the same company she worked for before, but she is also married to the most gorgeous guy on the planet. As each day goes by, though and she still doesn’t remember anything, she discovers details here and there that don’t quite add up. For example, her former friends ignore her now and apparently she is having an affair with her husband’s business partner? What happened to change things so starkly in a few short years?

This book is another gem in Sophie’s tiara mixing her trademark wit and smarts with a story that told any differently could have easily become confusing and muddled. I am impressed by her effort and hope that those who love her books or have ever wanted to try one to pick this book up.

By Carole Matthews

February 2008

Thomas Dunne Books

ISBN-10: 0312376669

ISBN-13: 9780312376666

As soon as I saw the title for Carole Matthews’s new book The Chocolate Lovers Club, I started to drool because it encompassed my two favorite things; good friends and chocolate!  Following the style of what I call friends lit, the book follows four friends who become close thanks to their sugar high and the situations they are faced with. 

Lucy is a temporary employee currently working at a firm called Targa, where she is filling in for their receptionist who is on maternity leave. Recently having found her boyfriend in the arms of someone else for the umpteenth time she is in a funk taking her life day by day.

Nadia’s husband has an online gambling addiction that is putting their family deep into debt.  As many people with addictions do, he does not recognize the issue as a problem and Nadia is at a loss about how to get out of the red; let alone how to get him help.

Autumn was a child of entitlement that rather then put her money towards designer clothing she instead does all she can and is living green and helping others.  Her brother Richard has recently paid her a visit and he as usual is in trouble.  Thinking that all he needs is a place to stay she allows him to take the spare bedroom, not realizing she is biting off more then she can chew.

Chantal is in a loveless marriage, she and her husband haven’t made love in ages let alone cuddle. She still loves him and therefore does not have the option of leaving him and resorts to random encounters.  Her last one was particularly interesting, the sex was great, it’s the stealing all of her valuables before she awakes that sours all the fun.

This is a good book to read even if you don’t like chocolate (though that helps) and is especially good if you enjoy books reminiscent of titles such as The Reading Group.  I enjoyed the laughs and a couple of the surprising little twists in the story.  So, do yourself a favor and pick up this perfect rainy day read!

5 out of 5

By Jennifer Weiner

April 2008

Atria Books

ISBN-10: 0743294254

ISBN-13: 9780743294256

Jennifer Weiner delivers her readers another hit with Certain Girls! This time around it is time to check up on Cannie. Last time in Good In Bed when the book ended we were left at a crossroads, but now we see her ten years later with a teenage daughter and a sweet and doting husband. It has also been ten years since the release of her book Big Girls Don’t Cry that started her career with those sorted (mostly fictional) dirty details.

Joy is now twelve and in a few months time will have her Bat Mitzvah. As the date approaches she has many extravagant plans, she has been to a few for her friends and wants to have the best one of all. At least as good as Ambers, who for the invitation alone had a slideshow on DVD. Joy idolizes Amber and is thrilled when she is invited to have lunch with her one day, though her best friends Tasmin and Todd are not exactly pleased. Amber and her friends ask her questions about her mothers book but Joy can’t answer them because she has never been allowed to read it. So, after some thinking she decides to pick up a copy at a used bookstore and is not very pleased with what she reads.

After Candace gave birth to Joy, thanks to some complications she is no longer able to have children. This fact has never really bothered her or Peter that much until he brings up out of the blue how she would feel about the idea of having a surrogate carry a baby for them. At first, she is hesitant but decides to at least give it some time and research to see where it ends up.

The great thing about Jennifer’s books is that as soon as you think you know how the story pans out you are thrown a curveball. This title is no exception; I was completely caught off guard and amazed. Picking up this book is a definite must it is a great read and it will surely join the ranks of its predecessors.

5 out of 5