Monthly Archives: August 2014

Lucky Me

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Author:  Cindy Callaghan                    lucky me
Publisher: Aladdin
Genre: Middle Grade
Source: BookSparks

 

 

Goodreads:  After breaking a chain letter, can superstitious Megan find a way to turn her luck around?

Meghan McGlinchey is the most superstitious girl in her family ;and probably in the entire state of Delaware. When she receives a chain letter from a stranger in Ireland, Meghan immediately passes it on, taking only a tiny shortcut in the directions.

But after a disastrous day, made complete by losing the election for class president and embarrassing herself in front of the entire school, Meghan realizes that tiny shortcut was a big mistake. Thankfully, her family was already headed to Ireland on spring break, and Meghan makes it her mission to find the original sender and break her extremely unlucky streak.

With the help of an eccentric cast of characters ;and one very cute Irish boy ;can Meghan figure out a way to stop her bad luck? Or is she cursed forever.

Ope’s Opinion:  This was a cute, middle grade read.  The book read fast.  I read Cindy Callaghan’s Lost in London and really liked it.  So I had high expectations for Lucky Me.  This one did not keep my attention as well as Lost in London.  I found I was getting frustrated with all the “bad luck” Meghan was having.  After a while it was just too much.

I am going to keep this one for my granddaughter.  I hope she will enjoy it when she is old enough to read it.

Rating:  Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
3 chairs

 

 

Payton has arrived!!

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Our second granddaughter has made her arrival!!!

 

Payton Elaine OteyPayton Elaine

 arrived at 8:04 pm
on 8/04/14

 

 

 

 

payton

 

She weighed 7 pounds
1.6 ounces

She is 18.5 inches long

 

 

 

We are proud grandparents celebrating our second granddaughter.

This is Payton’s first day.

Payton at hospital

Payton's tongue

Payton sticking her tongue out reminds me of her Papa and Mom.
When they concentrate that is how they look!!

Hard to believe how fast they go home now.  This is Payton’s first ride in the car.

in car

Payton at home.  Everyone is doing well.
at home

A Little Something Different

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Author:  Sandy Hall                                          a little
Publisher:  Swoon Reads
Genre:  Contemporary Young Adult
Source:  BEA

 

 

Goodreads:  The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.  But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together…

Ope’s Opinion:  This cute little book has a cute little story to tell.  It tells the story in a very unique way.  Gabe and Lea – the two main characters do not tell their own story.  It is all told from the perspective of those around them – including the bench and the squirrel.  Okay, the bench and squirrel were a little much for me.  

Although this was set on a college campus, the characters felt more like high school students.  Even the adults don’t really act their appropriate ages.

The story was moved along by all the characters points of view.  All the characters could see how Gabe and Lea were suppose to be together, but I struggled to see it through their eyes.  I do like that the author took a chance on writing the story this way.

It is a cute, quirky book.

 

Rating:  Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.

3 chairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After I Do

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Author:  Taylor Jenkins Reid                           after i do
Publisher:  Washington Square Press
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Source:  BookSparks

 

Goodreads:  From the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as “moving, gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching”—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both.

When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.

Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?

This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.

 

Ope’s Opinion:  This book starts out with a quick look at where Lauren and Ryan’s marriage is at the moment.  Then you go back in time.  It is a very cute, traditional courtship. Then the story brings you to the present to see how Lauren and Ryan think they need the time apart from each other.

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing  flows and her story is very easy to follow.  Each character has different situations going on, but it does not seem overwhelming.  Since each one has flaws and difficulties, it is easy to relate to them and root for the best for each one.

There is a lot of marriage advice given in this book.  It is interesting to hear all the different characters perspective of marriage, romance and love.  It will make you reevaluate what you think is important in your relationship.

I don’t usually quote a part of a book, but this one will stick with me for a long time –   when Lauren’s grandmother says, ” Just because you can live without someone doesn’t mean you want to. ”

** Side note – I am not sure why the author felt the need to insert the “f” word into odd places in the book.  It did not add any emotion to the book.

Rating: Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on….
f63c7-5chairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Perfect Life

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Author: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke             book          
Publisher:  Washington Square Press
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source:  Simon & Schuster

 

 

Goodreads:  With “a delicious, page-turning premise, and sweet and surprising insights” (New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster), Your Perfect Life perfectly illustrates that old adage: Sometimes, you to have to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to see what’s in her heart.

 

Best friends since childhood, Casey and Rachel couldn’t lead more different lives. While workaholic Casey rubs elbows with celebrities daily as the host of Gossip TV and comes home nightly to an empty apartment, stay-at-home mom Rachel juggles an “oops” baby, two fiery teenagers, and a husband who barely seems the man she fell in love with two decades before. After an argument at their twentieth high school reunion, Casey and Rachel throw back shots to get the night back on track. Instead, they get a life-changing hangover.

 

Waking up in each other’s bodies the next morning, they must figure out how to navigate their altered realities. Rachel is forced to confront the reason she gave up her broadcasting dreams when she got pregnant in college, and Casey finally steps out of the spotlight to face the truth about why she’s alone. And they soon discover that they don’t know themselves—or their best friend—nearly as well as they thought they did.

 

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke bring humor and heart to every page of this novel that is sure to please fans of In Her Shoes and The Opposite of Me. Your Perfect Life is a story about two very different women, what they didn’t know about each other, and how, by switching lives, they each learn to appreciate their own.

Ope’s Opinion: This is a perfect vacation read!  It was an easy read – the story and writing just flowed.  I did have to look back once in a while to remember whether Casey or Rachel were talking, even with that it was a really enjoyable read.

It is one of those books that you could just read as a surface, fun read or you could take away a lot of underlying life lessons.  This would be a good book club read.  I think it would bring about a lot of discussion.  I could see this as a movie too!!

Is the grass greener on the other side?  Would it be greener for you or are you exactly where you should be?  This book will make you think about positive parts of where your life is now.

I hope Liz and Lisa write together again.  I was impressed with the fact that you could not tell that two people wrote this book.  It was seamless.

This book left me with a good feeling.

 

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
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