This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, this touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here? Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8 year old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog. But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders, will he ever find his purpose? Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh out loud funny, this book is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose. Hardcover, 319 pages Published July 6th 2010 by Forge Books Current GoodReads Rating: 4.33 Stars My ReviewWar hero John Puller is known to be the top investigator in the US Army’s CID. So when a family with military connections is brutally murdered in a remote area of West Virginia, Puller is called to investigate, and soon suspects the case has wider implications. As the body count rises he teams up with local homicide detective Samantha Cole. As the web of deceit is revealed, it quickly becomes apparent that there’s much more to this case than they had first thought. It is an investigation where nothing is as it seems, and nothing can be taken at face value. Hardcover, 434 pages Published October 31st 2011 by Grand Central Publishing Current GoodReads Rating: 3.97 Stars My ReviewIt was high intensity and constant drama, but I was very disappointed in how easily the author killed off the romantic edge to the story without a drawn out sympathy. To me that would have been a happy ending, but I guess the author and I have different priorities.
For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game. To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high. Paperback, 296 pages Published July 1st 2014 by HarperTeen Current Goodreads Rating: 4.04 Stars My ReviewA light-hearted love story. It is not bogged down with sexual tension and steamy innuendos, but is full of sweet innocent flirting and rough housing. It’s about a tomboy who thinks she needs to become more feminine to get a boy, who realizes she was perfect the way she was. I love her brothers interactions in this story either ganging up to throw her in a lake or approaching her new preppy boyfriend looking as she says “constipated” trying to intimidate him then laughing at themselves at just how badly they tried to pull off looking mean. The story sets up a fun atmosphere as she not only realizes she doesn’t need to change in order to find love, but also that she can be honest with friends as well and they will love her just the same. This title is brilliant. You might have been able to guess from the beginning who the special boy might be; for me based on her complimenting his deodorant within the first chapter (who does that); but the author still keeps it interesting. She added the backstory containing the mystery of the mother intermingling into different aspect throughout and ending up being a major factor as the story wrapped up. The little cute details made this such a fun read like figuring out who the heck this Carol lady is who keeps giving her single dad advice on how to raise his only daughter. My favorite part by far though was those dang brothers of hers giving the love of her life that final stare down just to fight over who knew first as soon as he walked out the door. I gave this story five out of five stars and would recommend this to all young adult and romance readers. It incorporates sports and more of a tomboy vibe throughout so it would be a good starter romance for those who are afraid to dive into this genre. Also I found a fun quiz to take after you read this book to see how well you were paying attention, so take it and let me know how many you got right! I thought I missed the last one, but got 100%! On The Fence GoodReads QuizIn her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world—no matter how out of place they feel. Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes. Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes—which is a good thing, because Julia can’t seem to stop baking them. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also in the hope of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar . . . Baking is the only language the proud but vulnerable Julia has to communicate what is truly in her heart. But is it enough to call back to her those she’s hurt in the past? Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in. Hardcover, 269 pages Published March 16th 2010 by Bantam Current GoodReads Rating: 3.97 Stars My ReviewThe story hinted at several leads that could have held deeper developments but with so many different directions it was hard to go into enough detail about any of them in such a short book. The story introduced changing wallpaper, a missing child put up for adoption, and a man seeing through the wall to watch the woman he loved bake. I started to conceive all these directions and possibilities where not a single one played out. Each detail seemed to be a teaser and I was disappointed in the author not going into further detail, but a pro to that is that it was a simplistic story line that kept you guessing, but never went it the direction you though it would.
Once it revealed that Win Coffey boy appeared in Emily's bedroom the first night she was in town and made constant appearances after to watch her sleep, that screamed Twilight awkwardness. I was amused when he finally revealed why he couldn't come out at night, that after generations of this genetic mutation the best title they could come up with for it was something still so femininely dry, "the glowing". He loves me, and he doesn’t even know my real name. The limelight that follows him could expose everything I’m hiding. But even knowing the risks, I can’t force myself to stay away. I’m going to break his heart, but mine will shatter right along with it. Will we lose it all when I reveal what’s beneath this mask? Published September 29th 2014 by Meghan March LLC Current GoodReads Rating: 4.09 Stars My Review: I liked that it began at the moment of why she ran. It did not keep you in the dark about her past like other books that might give hints throughout and reveal the bombshell to the audience at the same time as her man. The twist of her hiding was unique to others I've read, but the author didn't intertwine it into the story as much as I was hoping. Her past always lived in the shadows being brought up in passing then finally it was delved into at the very end at which point it was too late to try and go too deep into the scam. After a year of hiding it didn't flow well that she was just now researching her past and thinking of a plan for her life after ignoring it and moving on for so long. I enjoyed the tattoos and bad girl vs good guy plot as he saw through her facade and loved who she was beneath her many masks. I think that boy was crazy to put up with her though. It's hard to imagine a guy walking away from a woman who strips naked and invites him to join her in a vacant pool because he wants a relationship and not a one night stand with her. It's the most annoying question and they just can't help asking you:Why are you single? On a brisk October morning in New York, Julie Jenson, a single thirty-eight-year-old book publicist, gets a hysterical phone call from her friend Georgia. Reeling from her husband's announcement that he is leaving her for a samba teacher, Georgia convinces a reluctant Julie to organize a fun girls' night out with all of their single friends to remind her why it is so much fun not to be tied down. But the night becomes a wake-up call for Julie because none of her friends seem to be having much fun: Alice, a former legal aid attorney has recently quit her job to start dating for a living; Serena, who is so busy becoming a fully realized person that she can't find time to look for a mate; and Ruby, a curvy and compassionate woman, has been mourning the death of her cat for months. Fed up being single in Manhattan, Julie sets off to find out how women around the world deal with this dreaded phenomenon. From Paris to Rio to Sydney, Bali, Beijing, Mumbai, and Reykjavik, Julie falls in love, gets her heart broken, sees the world, and learns more than she ever dreamed possible. Written in Liz Tuccillo's pitch-perfect, hilarious, and relatable voice,How to Be Single is the ultimate novel for the adventurer in us all. Paperback, 404 pages Published June 10th 2008 by Atria Books Current GoodReads Rating: 3.29 Stars My Review: The story starts with a woman getting out of a complicated long-term relationship and struggling to come to terms with her now single status. She then calls up her single friend, who calls up all her other single friends, to help get her out of her lull. She’s interested in how they each manage their single status and realizes that it’s not all it’s conveyed to be. The mismatched group learns to bond over the thing they all hold in common: being in their late thirties and checking the “Single” box. The story covers the up and downs of what single life holds before sending one of them off to discover how other parts of the world handles being single. I’m mostly glad that How to Be Single didn’t ruin the title by each girl ending happily ever after with the love of her life. It was enjoyable to learn the different courtship rituals from several parts of the world and how they might view single women. It was a very light read, with a little humor mixed in throughout. It held some hope for love, but ended with each independent. It finished how it should with each trying so hard to find love, failing, then coming to the realization that if its meant to happen it will when you are least expecting it. It approached the clichés of the extremes women go to make things work when they are not meant to be or vowing celibate in protest. The story felt like a mixture of Eat, Pray, Love and Sex and the City. I gave How to Be Single three out of five stars because it fell short of my expectations on what they could have captured and how much it lacked a connection to and depth of the characters. |