Book 15 - Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

Isabel (Issy) Randall is a hot ass mess.  She's sleeping with her douchebag boss in that delusional way of maybe this is love but in reality he's just using her for sex and food; she hates her desk job; and now she's been laid off from said shitty desk job and her douchebag boss knew all about it.  And yet she still pines away for him...UGH!  Now...the being laid off thing I can totally sympathize with...been there, done that; but it worked out for me in the end.  However, I can't deal with mooning over this dick, Graeme.  He wouldn't commit to her,  wouldn't let her spend the night, never went to her place, never met her grandfather, dropped her off in the fucking RAIN because he didn't think coworkers needed to see him dropping her off at work...THEN she finds out at the same time she's losing her job that HE KNEW THE COWORKERS KNEW THEY WERE FUCKING!  You, sir, are a MASSIVE TOOL.  And yet she still misses him!  Bitch, get it together.  Cry and mope over your job, sure...but not this asshole.  Okay...moving on...

Issy was raised primarily by her grandfather who had 3 successful bakeries so she, of course, is genetically predisposed to be a baker as well.  (Side note: Gramps has Alzheimer's...be prepared for some potential teary-eyes.)  With a quite handsome severance package, Issy decides to go through a slightly late quarter life crisis (she's 31) and rents a space to open her own bakery.  This is when we start to see a change in Issy.  She finally starts to get her shit together.  She's working her ass off to make her bakery a success...the mortgage doesn't pay itself after all. And, there may be a new love interest in the picture in the form of Mr. Austin Tyler, the banker.  Oh Austin.  Austin is one of the good guys...just one of those guys who you feel you can tell anything to, so you do.  They immediately have a connection and he schools her in all things finance and making a business hopefully successful.  Just as she's starting to get her shit together, both professionally and personally, here comes Mr. Fuckface, Graeme back into the picture again and she's blinded by her chiseled abs.  His personality is shit and he continues to treat her like she's a secretary.  In case you can't tell, this guy gets under my skin and I want to kick him in the dick.  He's worked out some scheme to buy a whole lot of property for his company, her cafe included, to develop condos and put money in his pocket.  Screw you, asshole.  

Thank GOD, Austin was there.  He risks his own job to put a squash on Graeme's plans...at least temporarily...long enough to buy her some time to figure something out so her business isn't closed down just when it's really getting good.  He's seriously a knight in shining armor...and who couldn't fall in love with that?!   

There's a lot more to it and a lot of other relationships and story lines that go on through this book and I really liked how Colgan gives you a piece of everyone's point of view and what's going on in their lives.  Issy, at certain points, feels completely alone and like the world is crashing in around her, but it actually turns out she had a large support system in the people surrounding her.  She always had everything she needed right there in front of her, she just had to go a bit out of the way to find it.  And who hasn't had to go through that before?  

There are several interweaving plots but not in the Game of Thrones kind of way.  Just enough to where I'm pretty sure there is a character somewhere in this book that is going through something we can all relate to.  I liked Issy's courage and determination to put all she had into a business.  God knows, if I knew I could make it in this shitty economy, I'd own my own little cafe, bakery, bookstore...but sadly for me, Barnes and Noble and Starbucks would put my ass out of business.  I liked seeing Caroline, on her rich high horse, get knocked down a few pegs to a more realistic level.  I liked seeing Pearl getting that chip on her shoulders removed, even though I still think she should have made a go at it with the postman.  There's just an all around sense of these people from different walks of life coming together to help one another out and better one another's lives...which is very similar to how the town they all live in is.  It's a very eclectic neighborhood, and here you have an eclectic group of folks coming together to basically become a family.   

It was a cute, light, funny, enjoyable read.  It's definitely one you should bookmark for taking with you this summer to read on the beach.  And by you mean, I mean women.  I'm about 98% certain dudes would not like this book :)  And that's okay.  I'll definitely be reading more by Jenny Colgan.  And I might even have to try out some of the recipes in here...see if I can make a go of any of them.    

Book 14 - The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston

I LOVE Paula Brackston.  I read The Witch's Daughter sometime last year and loved it so, of course, I had to read more by Brackston.  And I can tell you, I was not disappointed with this one, and I know I'll not be disappointed with the next 2 I plan on reading.  

Brackston's novels are light, interesting, historical, sometimes funny, sometimes romantic, and always entertaining.  I've found myself reading a lot of murder mystery and horror lately so I wanted to switch things up a bit, and I'll probably continue to do so for the next couple of books.  Brackston is a great choice when you want to read something that's not quite so intense or necessarily hard to figure out.  

Brackston makes it no secret after the first bit that Isolda is the bad bitch, I mean witch, in this book.  Let it be known...I HATE Isolda and feel she got everything she deserved.  And on the other hand, I love Morgana and feel she got everything she deserved...a husband who loves her, a home, and hopefully she got the family too.  From the very beginning you can't help but sympathize with Morgana.  She was traumatized by her father's disappearance and no longer had the will to speak.  She was then thrust into an arranged marriage because her mother was deathly ill and needed to make sure her daughter would be well taken care of.  Thank God Morgana caught the attention of a good man, Cai Jenkins.  I love Cai.  He is a good man who works hard and honestly tries to make a life with Morgana.  

Morgana has a wild spirit and is honestly a bit of a spit fire despite her being mute.  She loves the outdoors and can work with the livestock as good as any man.  These are all qualities that endear her to Cai and eventually help them bond and fall in love.  Then Isolda gets all power hungry and won't sit the fuck down somewhere.  

Isolda tries so hard to ruin Morgana's name and honestly succeeds for a period of time.  Everyone is so busy listening to the foul Isolda is spitting about Morgana that they don't see who the real evil is.  Isolda was willing to do anything and everything to have the power of the cursing well but it all backfired on her...there's an English teacher's metaphor and theme in there somewhere.  

I read this book and found myself, several times, yelling out loud...Get the fuck up off Morgana!  or Why do you all hate Morgana?  or Bitch, Please...you don't know who you're talking to.  A few times I even thought Isolda was a little big for her britches with some of the assumptions she was making about Morgana being weak...little did she know how wrong she truly was.  Morgana has a fierce spirit and determination to save the man she loves.  She'll stop at nothing to save the people she loves, and the people who love her, even if it hurts her to do it.  I honestly feel Morgana didn't want to have to kill Isolda but she forced her hand.  Morgana has so many good qualities that I found myself honestly wanting to be her friend.  I wanted to put myself in the time period and be someone on her side, someone who didn't follow the flock of persecutors.  I'm so happy that Morgana and Cai got their happy ending.  

I love the 'witchy' bits, the bitchy bits, the romance, and the entire story line.  I have now become a serious fan of Paula Brackston and can't wait to read The Midnight Witch.    

Book 13 - The Damned by Andrew Pyper

I saved this one for number 13 because it seemed fitting given the American culture and superstition surrounding the number 13...Friday the 13th and all...

I think I might be speechless...don't worry it will pass...

I think...this book broke my brain.  Not in a bad way...but in a...I honestly don't know what to say or think right now.  If this is one of Pyper's books that becomes a movie...do yourself a favor and read the book.  There's NO WAY they'll be able to convey the sheer FUCKED UP nature of Ash on film.  She's a serious psychopathic bitch...both in life and death.  She's not a character you feel for, no sympathy...just NO.  She needed to die but she still finds ways to FUCKING KILL YOU even in death!  Where does Pyper come up with this stuff?!  

Originally, it was a little weird to me...the idea that heaven and hell are either your best day in life or your worst day in life.  Honestly though, the more you read the less far fetched it actually sounds.  Reality is though, we don't have a clue until our number is up.  Danny seriously must have a guardian angel on his side on more than one occasion...and I know on his last occasion, it's Eddie.  

The more I sit here and ponder over it, the more I realize how much I actually liked this book...and specifically how much I liked Danny.  He, you can fully sympathize with.  I hear so often about the bond between twins.  I don't know what I would do if put in Danny's position where your twin who you are supposed to be so connected with actually was psychotic.  Ash is manipulative and a killer by the age of 16; whereas Danny is just trying to not be one of her targets.  The character of Ash will seriously just fuck your world up.  

It may have been a little late in life...and after years of torment by his sister (both her physical self and her spirit)...but Danny finally finds a reason to live.  He finds a reason to finally grow a pair and attempt to get Ash to finally just go away.  To me, yes he fell in love with Willa, but I think Eddie was a bigger inspiration for him.  His love for Eddie and want for Eddie to be his son, I think, were more of a driving force to get rid of Ash than falling in love with Willa ever was.  I love Danny even more for willing to sacrifice himself in order for Willa and Eddie to have their lives back.  I also have to give credit to Willa for not packing up her shit and getting herself and her son the hell out of there.  She stuck with Danny through all of it...his health and his sister.  It takes a strong woman to put up with bitchy in-laws, but it takes a different kind of woman to put up with a dead sister-in-law who is psychotic and haunting you...oh and trying to kill you all.  

If you want a book that will bend your mind...and maybe kind of keep you up at night...read this book.  It was a page turner because I kept wanting to see if Danny was successful.  He's a likable guy and I kept rooting for him because seriously...Ash is crazy.  If you thought your ex-girlfriend was crazy...nuh uh...she ain't got shit on Ash.  They were right when they said she wasn't damned, she was a demon.  Just...Holy. Shit.  Bitch is crazy.  

READ IT! 

Book 12 - The First Wife by Erica Spindler

L.O.V.E. --- LOVE ---- LLLLOOOOVVVEEEE 

May have just found a new favorite author in +Erica Spindler! I absolutely loved this book...obviously.  I'm a woman...and I like sappy romances...so I honestly didn't mind that the beginning kind of reminded me of a Lifetime Movie...and that may turn some people off but it drew me in.  I'm a hopeless romantic so I really liked that it opened on a whirlwind romance that will probably never happen to a normal girl like me.  I, of course, read the front cover so I knew people were missing and I knew it involved Logan...but I found myself within the few first chapters hoping, wishing, and praying it wasn't Logan who had made something happen to the first wife.  He was a likable guy and I wanted to believe their romance would last...I had hope!  I'm going to ruin the end for some...or let others breathe a sigh of relief...when I tell you...it's not Logan!  Spindler doesn't stick with the norm by having the significant other committing a crime...and that brings about a huge PLOT TWIST!  I love me a good plot twist and Spindler does not disappoint!

I could never quite put my finger on who was committing these potential murders...there were so many potential suspects.  Logan, August, Raine, Billy Ray, Henry, Paul...WHO IS MAKING THESE WOMEN DISAPPEAR?!  Little by little, secrets are revealed and my heart absolutely broke for the Abbott family.  So much tragedy, loss, and heartache should never happen to one family.  Maybe because of this I found myself rooting for Logan and hoping it wasn't him...and I found myself rooting for Bailey to be the silver lining in their lives.  Of course I became frustrated with her at times because of her doubt but I understand her doubt.  There were so many signs that pointed to Logan and all she had to go off of was the love in her heart...that gut instinct.  Honestly, I'm a firm believer in gut instincts so I kept telling her to follow her gut...follow those instincts...HE DIDN'T DO IT!  Luckily, she and I were right.  :)

Spindler has a way of writing that just lures you in and keeps you turning the pages.  Mostly with her unique plot twists.  Just when you think Bailey has figured it all out, she's in an accident and now has traumatic memory loss.  Do you know how frustrating it is as a reader to be so close and then not have answers?!  Spindler has a way of making the reader just as frustrated as the characters currently experiencing the dilemma.  I kept willing Bailey's memory to return as much as Bailey herself did.  And then the pieces were shocking as they fell into place.  Spindler does an excellent job of keeping you guessing up until seriously 2 pages until the end...then she gives you closure...but not completely.  You know who did it, but the why and the how are absent...but I don't feel like I was left hanging.  It's like I'm so glad Logan and Bailey got a happy ending that I don't need answers to the whys and hows.  Like I said, I'm a hopeless romantic and I love a good happy ending.

If you like a good Lifetime movie, romance and murder mystery all rolled up into one...then this book is for you.  I will definitely be investing in more on Spindler's work and I can't wait!  This book just kind of gives you the true love conquers all...which is ironic that I say that considering the first wife's name was True...

2015 ACC Tournament - DUKE! DUKE! DUKE!

So...yesterday I got a text message from my bestie, T, about attending a sporting event with her.  She had been given 2 tickets and wanted me to go with her.  Then she tells me it's a DUKE BASKETBALL GAME!  And not just any game...it's Session 4 of the fucking ACC Tournament!  Duke vs. NC State...if you've seen the game or read the sports page then you know Duke dominated them!  

Look at these awesome seats!  I didn't have to look at the jumbotron...I could see everything right from my seat!  They weren't just dots moving around!  

DUKE! DUKE! DUKE!

T and I after the game was over!  Thanks T, for being my bestie and for taking me to my very first major college basketball game!  I've only been to the basketball games of my alma mater, Presbyterian College.  So this...is the big leagues for this girl!  

TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY!

Book 11 - The Woman in Black: Angel of Death by Martyn Waites

Hmmm...read it in a day...which could be because the font is super large.  Not really all that frightening to me to be honest.  I think this would actually, in all honesty, be one of those books that high school teachers would use in English Lit to talk about symbolism of guilt and to show how guilt can take hold of you and rot you from the inside out.  It just seemed to be a recurring theme of the book for like all major characters involved.  Edward...guilt over his mother's death because he didn't come when called.  Eve...guilt over giving up her child for adoption.  Harry...guilt over not being able to save his comrades lives.  Jennet...guilt over not being able to raise her son and him dying.  It was all about GUILT.  Ugh...moving on.

Apparently, the original The Woman in Black by Susan Hill is supposed to be a great psychological thriller so I'm thinking of picking that one up.  This one is supposed to be a sequel and just loosely based on Hill's premise.  I'm hoping the first one will have more detail into what the fuck originally happened because this one just kind of hints at what the fuck is up.  It's one of those books where you legit have to read the first one to know what's going on.  You get the gist but there's no detail.  I would have to say though, I'm sure it will be much more frightening in film since so many creative liberties tend to be taken with movies.

Eh...on to the next book...

Book 10 - Dark World by Zak Bagans

Whilst I was reading I am Haunted by +Zak Bagans (see Post 7 about Book 6), I was so thoroughly enjoying myself that I ordered Dark World before I ever finished it.  While I feel I am Haunted was more autobiographical, I feel Dark World is more....educational.  NOT IN A BAD WAY!  

I DVR Ghost Adventures...new and old episodes.  I'm pretty sure I've seen them all...now some are on Netflix Watch Instantly...you're welcome for me sharing that with you.  Anyway...one thing that always cramps my style is that they have to cram so much into a one hour episode.  Dark World, though, expounds on some of their most compelling evidence and goes into some of the things that happen that we didn't see.  I LOVE being to able to see behind the scenes.  And honestly, every piece of evidence he spoke about, I can vividly recall the episode...like I've said...seen EVERY.EPISODE.  

I have no desire to go 'ghost hunting' but if I did, this book to me was actually a very good beginner's guide of how to...and in several instances...how NOT to.  It would definitely be a book I'd want in my arsenal.  

Now...when I say educational, I mean Zak explains the various equipment they use, sometimes a bit more in depth than what you may already know from the show.  He also explains the different levels in which demons can basically fuck your world up...I never knew.  He also explains differences in residual hauntings versus intelligent hauntings.  He discusses the different informal classes of EVP's.  You get the picture.  

But, the biggest educational lesson came from the ENTIRE section called SCIENCE!  Oh science...how I love thee!  I was a Chemistry major and a Psych minor in college.  I have my Master's Degree in Forensic Science.  I AM A NERD!  I love science and math.  You say scientific method and my ears perk up so I become a meerkat.  I got to this section and the pages started turning even faster.  I am not a quantum physicist and I never will be...I barely passed general physics.  But I did get an A in P.Chem. which covers a bit of quantum-ness...yes...it's a word to me.  Zak has this way of taking a topic that honestly would be over my head, bringing it down to my level, and then bridging it in some way back to the paranormal but not in a way that feels like he's grasping at straws.  He bridges these connections in a way that left me scratching my head going I think he might be fucking brilliant.  Either that or he's crazy as a bat...maybe both? :)  Either way...I finished the section looking around the room (that was absolutely empty so really I was just talking to myself) going "the man's got a fucking good point."  Seriously...MIND.BLOWN.  If you read nothing else in the book...read the science section.  The nerd in me was gaga for the whole thing.  I'm fully on board for compiling evidence into one location and seeing if paranormal science can't become an area of science as accepted as chemistry.  Thank you, Zak, for blowing my mind.  

Now...do I believe in the paranormal?  I don't know.  The weird thing is, there's one part in here where Zak talks about sometimes people are more accepting of the fact that there are human spirits walking the earth, but they don't accept that there are demons.  For me, I'm the opposite.  I fully and firmly believe in God and angels...the devil and demons...heaven and hell.  Because of that I fully believe their evidence, experiences, and footage of supposed demonic attacks, attachments, and possessions.  I think for me I have a hard time accepting human spirits...even though they have a plethora of evidence supporting it, because it's just heartbreaking for me that they've been left on this plane where they can't move on but they can't go back either.  It's like my belief is, you go before the Throne and God says Welcome or either you're cast into the fires of hell so this whole in between thing throws me off.  It leaves me with questions...many of them Zak himself asks in this book.  I wonder did they decide to stick around? Is it free will?  Is it unfinished business? Is God cool with you choosing to stick around?  Can they go back and forth?  For me it just opens a whole wealth of questions but there aren't any answers until we ourselves expire.  I just don't know...but I'm not going to scoff at those who do believe.      

Book 9 - The JAX Chronicles: Initiation by Jen Lemons

This book was sent to me in a free e-version by Jen Lemons after she reached out to me on Goodreads asking me to review it!  These things just keep working out in my favor! I'm so incredibly honored by someone wanting to me to read their work.  It's such an intensely brave thing, I think.  I feel like every author runs a risk when they publish their work.  I applaud and respect your bravery.   On to the review (Spoiler Alerts as usual...you should all be used to this by now):  

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!  

I want Part 2...immediately!

Now...I think this book may be aiming toward a Young Adult genre...but...beware parents...it's a graphic book.  Not in a sexually explicit kind of way although my favorite word (fuck) is used quite often and she talks about being turned on (which considering the 2 men she's surrounded by constantly...that shit makes sense)...it's not even THAT graphic in the gory details. BUT, it does deal with the physical and emotional trauma of an 8 year old girl watching her mother be gang raped and then having her skull bashed in.  Ten years later, said girl gets to bash in the head of the man who did so to her mother.  If you think your teen couldn't handle those sentences I just wrote, then you shouldn't let your teen read this book.  With that being said, I'm a 28 year old woman and I can handle it just fine.  So...that's my parental rating of the book.  

Sam is a bit annoying to begin with but eventually I learned to like her.  She was bratty yes, but weren't we all when we were 18?!  You can say you weren't but ask around...I bet you were.  Also, I'm pretty sure if you had witnessed the previously mentioned, you'd be fucked up and have attitudinal issues as well.  I'm just sayin.  I liked that there was a psychological and emotional element to this book.  Lemons gives an actual identity to Sam's inner conscious that wants to exact revenge on the killers of her mother.  She calls her Creature and the psychology minor in me was intrigued by this characterization.  Sam is complex character though...full of a want/need to be loved, pride, anger, need for vengeance, arrogance...so many complexities that in the future get her into a bit of trouble.  And her mouth...sometimes women just talk too fucking much.   

Sam is attacked in an alley by some wannabe thugs (her and her damn mouth) and after she seriously kicks some major ass she's rescued by a black knight in shining armor...X.  Oh X...I love you.  He thinks she'd make a perfect employee in the company he works for...a company of HIT MEN!  I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!  I was so intrigued.  Sam is recruited and has to go through the interview process which consists of training by X and the boss...Ace.  OH ACE...I agree with Sam...please just have your way with me.  He's lethal, muscular, tall, dark, and handsome...and just yummy.  The proverbial bad boy that every girl wants...but he really is...he's a hit man for fucks sake.  I liked her witty banter that she threw at him just to get under his skin.  Now, there were times I wanted her to just shut the fuck up and follow the rules, especially near the end, but I think secretly Ace liked her little quips and attempts at flirtation.  

I found myself continuing to turn the page because I wanted to know if she made it through training...would she pass the tests?!  Then it was...is she going to get the guy?!  I want her to get the guy!  I want to BE her if she gets the guy!  What?!  I found him sexy too...ijs.  I liked the relationships between the 3 of them.  She and X develop a relationship much like that of a brother and sister but noootttt quite because there's always this sexual tension between the two.  I think, though, it would never go that far because she wants Ace too much, and I think X knows she's Ace's. 

I loved that there was such detail in her training.  Lemons describes how to properly look around corners without getting your head blown off, how to walk into a room and make sure it's clear, how to basically be a hit man.  I was wondering the whole time how she knew this stuff?!  Video games, Google, HOW?!  Then I read the About the Author section and realized she has family in law enforcement...it all makes sense now.  I don't claim to know anything about weapons or tactical training or how to sneakily kill someone, but all the training in the book seemed legit to me.  

I was glad this book had a semi happy ending.  She does make it...in case you were wondering...her code name is Jinx.  I say semi happy because she has to kill her father, she breaks her leg, Ace holds a gun to her head more than once...but the three of them (JAX) have become like a family.  I'm just hoping she learns from her mistakes.  You don't fuck around with Ace and his business...you get yourself killed that way.  Please let there be more because I want to see what happens next!  If you like action...think Taken...that deals with the sex trade and killing people...then you'll like this book.  While at times it may seem a bit young adult, I didn't feel like it was too young for me.  I was legitimately enthralled with this book and couldn't put it down.  *sigh* Ace.....    

don't expect me to look at you while you talk when the game is on...

While I do read...a lot...especially since starting my Goodreads Challenge to read 60 books this year, I also work at least 40 hours a week in a clinical toxicology laboratory.  The main thing, though, that keeps me sane is spending time elsewhere.  While I love reading, I also need time away from the books...time with real people who support me and love me despite being neurotic, sometimes mean, and always crazy (in the good way...you know...the way that makes you laugh hysterically).
During FOOTBALL season, I am a New England Patriots fan!  Hate all you want but please keep the haterade comments to yourself...and stop drinking that shit...it's bitter and full of calories.

I LOVE me some Gronkowski! And Edelman, and Amendola, and Gostkowski, and Wilfork! 

During BASKETBALL season...it's college basketball...not big on the NBA.  So given that I live in North Carolina...that means I'm one of three...UNC, Duke, or NC State.  #GODUKE! Yep...I'm a Duke fan...I'm pretty sure my friends wouldn't let me be a UNC fan but I'm okay with that.  Sports to me are just a game.
I do, however, get quite passionately involved when it comes to....TENNIS!  Yes...tennis.  Love it...have my favorite players...dream of going to all four Grand Slams in the same year.  TENNIS!  For 2 years now, the Winston-Salem Open is held a couple of months before my birthday and one of my besties buys tickets for me...even though she's not a huge tennis fan.  I look forward to it EVERY.YEAR.

I always get to see Sam Querrey play.  So far...no such luck in seeing John Isner but for me...without his serve...I don't think he'd be playing on the pro circuit.  Just my opinion though.







My favorite player...Mr. Juan Martin Del Potro.
Oh...how I love him...let me count the ways.  He's been out for a bit though with wrist injuries.  Get well soon Juan Martin!  

And of course...what kind of tennis fan would I be if I didn't love some Rafa Nadal?!  I also have a soft spot for Djoko!  So...those are my favorites.  I look forward to Grand Slams every year...and even the Winston-Salem Open!

So...when I'm not reading, not watching something sports related either in my house (being wayyy too fucking obnoxious to my neighbors) or out with friends; and I'm not working...odds are I'm dog sitting.  More on my babies in a later post though...because I WILL get picture happy with them.  I love all 5 of them dearly...as if they were my own babies.  And yes...they're my babies.  Get the fuck over it.  

Book 8 - The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

HOLY. SHIT. Hello plot twist...fancy meeting you here...glad you could make it! I LOVED this book...after I got into it.  I must admit my mind was a little out of it because I have been expecting another book that I really, really wanted to read.  After I got over that I was fully engrossed in this book.  Typically, if you're an avid murder mystery reader, you can spot the killer pretty early on...NOT with this book!  All the way up until the end, I was just going who the hell killed this girl?!  It seriously could have been any of 5...maybe even 6 people!  

In the beginning, I'm not going to lie...I disliked Rachel and Anna...quite immensely.  I felt Rachel was a self-pitying, self-deprecating alcoholic, and I felt like Anna was born without a sympathy nerve in her entire body.  You stole this woman's husband, you bitch!  Yeah...she's gonna lose her fucking mind a little bit.  I, also, was not a big fan of Megan...maybe because I've never been in her position, but I really agreed with Rachel on the whole being pissed off that she was cheating on her husband...who seemed to love her dearly!  My thoughts were, you know it's hard enough to find someone who loves you despite being flighty and flawed, but yet here he is...loving you...in spite of yourself.  I eventually got over that when Hawkins expanded more on Megan's character and delved more into her perspective.  That was one good thing I liked...the story was told from each woman's perspective so I was able to really see why each made the decisions that they did.  Still not a big fan of Anna though...

I liked the men in the book though.  I felt Tom was just trying to keep peace between his current wife and ex-wife.  I felt he still cared for his ex in a very endearing manner.  I felt like he was genuinely apologetic for breaking her heart and he still wanted to make sure she was okay given the circumstances.  I also really liked Scott.  I actually kind of loved him...that he genuinely loved his wife.  Maybe I'm just jaded, but it's refreshing to see a man not only love his wife but be IN LOVE with her as well...even when sometimes she isn't all that lovable.  I did feel sorry for him at times. Since we know Megan's perspective, I knew she didn't want children and she'd never willingly try to have them with him.  I felt bad for him because he loved her...genuinely...and she had such a restless spirit, she couldn't stay true to him.  Makes me feel bad for her, too, that she was in such a state of unrest that she couldn't be content with him.  There's so much more to these characters that could probably be discussed all day and you'd get a different view point from different people reading about them.  Hawkins writes about these people in a such a way that you may just find yourself looking at the people around you wondering if this stuff could be happening to them...they felt real to me.  Maybe someone you pass every day on your commute to work has some crazy, absurd shit going on in their lives.  It's interesting, how so often we're so wrapped up in our own lives, we never take the time to wonder what's really going on with other people.  Maybe that's a blessing and a curse.  

I'm not going to say much more because I don't want to give too much away...but I was shocked at the killer...and the true nature of the character that isn't revealed until all is said and done.  Thus prompting the HOLY. SHIT. at the beginning.  Mind. Blown.    

This book was really an interesting read...thrilling and fast paced.  I kept turning the pages because I wanted...no I NEEDED to know who killed her!  If you're a mystery fan...READ THIS BOOK!  For her debut novel, I must say whilst applauding...Well Done, Paula Hawkins, Well Done!  I look forward to many more thrill rides!  

My Little Corner of the World

So I recently bought a second bookshelf because the amount of books overflowing on the one I had was quite ridiculous.  I'm a book fiend after all.  I'm also obsessed with coffee and pandas.

Who says you can't have a library in an apartment??

I'm absolutely obsessed with how awesome this turns out...and I wonder if maybe I shouldn't have been an interior designer.  Thank you Ikea for the awesome bookcases! It's so convenient having one less than 2 hours from my house.  Now if only my new punctuation bookends from Barnes and Noble would get here!  

Now I can house not only my leisure books, but also my grad school books for the day when I actually use them in my profession.  I'm just so tickled with how this turned out that I had to share it on every single possible media outlet there is! HIGH FIVE MYSELF!

Book 7 - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Wonderful...just...wonderful!

Where to begin?  Lisa See writes with such descriptive prose to make you feel as though you're part of the story.  This one was a page turner because I kept wanting to know what the next step for Lily was...what was going to happen next on her journey of life.  

I've never been one to read historical works but I'm so glad my colleague recommended and loaned this book to me.  See writes in such a way that prompts even my American self to have great respect for long ago Chinese traditions but to also be grateful those traditions were never enforced upon me.  For example, I absolutely cringed through the explanation of foot binding.  It was so descriptive I honestly held onto my own feet for fear someone would attack me in my home and bind my feet!  I have no idea how generations of women not only dealt with foot binding but were revered for it.  Power on ladies!  You were stronger and braver than I ever could be! 

The story is told in a timeline manner that I was a bit nervous would drag by but it really didn't.  Lily hits the highlights of life, thankfully.  I sympathized with Lily, I rejoiced with her when she was able to come up from her lowly beginnings, I rejoiced with her when her children were born, and my heart broke for when during the struggles of living in the snow covered mountains during the rebellion.  My heart broke for her again when she was an old woman and knew she had lived 40 years with regret.  It was honestly a cautionary tale in some ways.  

I also felt for Snow Flower...her upbringing, her shame, her lost children, her broken body.  She was just trying to make the best out of a bad situation...playing the hand she was dealt.  I wish See would go back and write a part 2 that was from Snow Flower's point of view.  I know she gives voice to Snow Flower's internal thoughts by having her friends at the end voice what really happened, but I feel it could make for an even better story with Snow Flower's thoughts and words in the mix.  

Lily and Snow Flower weren't just 'besties'...it was more than that...deeper than that...maybe even something deeper than sisters.  They cared for one another when no one else did.  My heart aches for Lily that she almost threw it all away over a simple misunderstanding...and yet I know there are people around me who throw away years of friendship over something that when looked back on years later, was incredibly insignificant.  Lily's great enemy this time was her pride.  

I loved this entire book and look forward to reading more from Lisa See.  She may have converted me over to a historical fiction fan!  If you're looking for some Women's Literature...pick up this book!  I hear Shanghai Girls is a good one too...maybe it will be Book 10.      

Book 6 - I am Haunted by Zak Bagans

Oh Zak...how I LOVE thee.  If you've ever heard of Zak Bagans or Ghost Adventures then read this damn book!  I hope it's an eye opening experience for you as much as it was for me.

 

Like I said, if you've ever seen the show, you know who Zak is...well, you know who TV Zak is.  Read this book and you'll see there's so much more to him...this 300 page book only skims the surface.  I'm going to be brutally honest here...I always thought he was quite dramatic.  I know you have to be somewhat dramatic because it's television and all but it seemed over the top.

Then I read this book.  My how opinions change when you see more than one side of someone.  I thoroughly enjoyed EVERY.SINGLE.PAGE. So much so that within the first sitting, I read 100 pages...and I'm not a fast reader, kids.  I took a photo to document the occasion!  

I finished the book the next day.  Picked it back up, had a bit of Starbucks in hand, and I was ready to go.  It was that big of a deal.  Like I couldn't wait to pick it back up but at the same time I didn't want to finish it, which is honestly how any book should treat you.  

There are so many things about Mr. Bagans that you just don't get to see in an hour of television in a week.  So many things that you can't learn from his tweets, or his bio on his website, or a Facebook page, or dare I say an outdated MySpace page.  It was a completely eye opening read and I'm SO GLAD I picked it up.  I knew when I resumed my reading that I had to order his first book Dark World.  It should have been here today (stupid snowy weather slowing down the postal service!) and quite honestly I'm so stinkin anxious to read it that I may put down Book 8 so I can go ahead and read it...it's that serious to me.  

Zak really lets his guard down with this book and lets us peek inside his life...his thoughts...his past...and a bit into his future.  I felt at times he was quite vulnerable with the information he shared and I think that deserves first of all, great respect, but also a huge thank you.  A thank you for letting us inside for a little while.  

He's honestly such an interesting person.  I never knew he was a sensitive and an empath.  I have found myself waiting to watch the latest episodes of Ghost Adventures until after I finish his other book so I can watch them with renewed eyes and perspective.  What he does is truly his passion and his love, and that's refreshing to see.  I know he would be doing what he's doing even if it never put a dime in his pocket.  He loves it that much.  

I loved that he wasn't afraid to say he doesn't like a lot of aspects of modern times like the Kardashians (gag).  He wasn't afraid to say that he's become a bit of a hermit now in his life.  He was completely and openly honest about where he is at this point in his life, and I can truly appreciate that.  I can also see how he's maturing, changing, learning what's important to him, trying to take precautions, and overall developing into the person and paranormal investigator he wants to be.    

I honestly LOVED this book and I'm pretty sure I love Mr. Bagans even with his jealous ghost and demon attachments.  I wonder though, if he'd rather spend more time in his dungeon because that's truly how he's feeling or if his attachments are having some influence on him making him withdraw.  *shrug* It's just a thought...probably wrong. :)  

I put this book down feeling like I had just spent a couple of hours in his presence...me drinking coffee while he drank tea.  Thank you Zak, for this look inside.  I can't wait for more.

Book 5 - Cut Here by Azzurra Nox

I was approached by a user on Goodreads and asked if a free e-version was sent to me, if I would provide a review for the book...so uh duh of course I said yes!  And it turned out to be an amazing decision on my part.  I must say though, I was asked to review content, not sentence structure.  I'm a bit of a grammar and spelling Nazi...not really when I'm typing in such an informal setting but when it comes to serious business.  But, even given my pet peeves on sentence structure, I was able to overlook any and all of it because the content was just that good.  Let's be honest though, if you can't deal with a bit of grammar and spelling mistakes, you shouldn't be reading e-books that aren't on the NY Times Bestseller List...and sometimes I even find mistakes in those.  

Azzurra Nox is an up and coming writer who currently lives in LA.  I highly recommend visiting her blog and checking out her novel which I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing.  She even has videos of the music she envisions playing throughout the book which I find to be awesome as I'm also an avid music lover! 

  

Photo from: http://yaboundbooktours.blogspot.com/2015/01/blog-tour-sign-up-cut-here-by-azzura-nox.html

I'm all about the paranormal as you'll see as we get to a few of my other book selections but I still don't know that I would have ever found this book had I not been approached by the author.  

The setting is LA at a Catholic school and honestly this book is in more of the Young Adult Paranormal Fiction genre but I'm all good with that.  SPOILER ALERT!  Lena has recently moved to LA with her father and shit starts to get weird.  People are supposedly committing suicide but there's this gigantic black feather found at the sites of the dead that is way too damn big to belong to a bird...and they all seem to possess a copy of a book called Cut Here.  Come to find out there's some archangels all up in the business and one crazy ass angel of death is killing people left and right and making it look like a damn suicide!  How crazy is that?!  Right near the end too...PLOT TWIST!  I actually gasped out loud...had people been around me they definitely would have given me a WTF look.  

It was a fast paced book and I kept turning the page because Nox writes in such a way that left me going what in the world is going on here?!  Is it a person?  Is it some weird monster creature thing?  Nope...angel. 

 After I kind of started to put together some of the pieces I kept turning the pages because I wanted to see where the relationships between the characters went.  Lena likes Jon, maybe even loves him (but as friends of course *eye roll*) but she loves Michael...yet another angel but the good kind.  Basically he's the angel of death that carries you to Heaven...woot woot!  But then Jon loves Lena but he's got Sydney over here and she lets him be himself and she's a cool girl like that.  It's this whole rectangle plus a few extra sides going on...you'll need a flow chart trying to explain it to other people but not when you're reading it.  It all makes perfect sense when you're reading it.  Anyway...I was rooting for Sydney to get Jon.  

I liked the characters in the book.  I got a bit annoyed that all of these dudes were fawning all over Lena...it's like she has beer flavored nipples or something.  But the one thing that really struck me about them was that they all seemed real.  They all had fucked up issues which, let's be honest, who doesn't?!  They all seemed like people you have encountered at some point in your life.  The people who have shit going on but all you see is what's on the outside and it's so incongruous with who they truly are.  Hell...I think some of us have probably felt like some of these characters, we just may not have taken it to the extreme of self mutilation or witchcraft.  And then there are some who have.  So, it's got a bit of diversity for everyone!   

I'm not trying to give away too much of the plot because I honestly think you should read it to figure out what really happens and how the book, the angel and the 'suicides' all tie in together.  It was quite creative how Nox works it all out.  I also feel there was enough resolution to end the book, but it also could be open enough to lead potentially to a series.  I definitely look forward to more works from this author. 

2 thumbs up and I'm so glad the author reached out to me!  I hope she does so again in the future.  

Book 4 - How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Noticing a  pattern here yet?  I liked How to Build a Girl so much I decided to read Moran's autobiography...and loved that she told it like it is.  I thought many times "YOU GO GIRL!"

FEMINISM!  If you could describe this book in one word...it would be feminism.  Which, based upon the title, I feel that seems pretty obvious.  Feminism can sometimes be off putting and to be honest I was a bit nervous about where this would lead when I started.  After all, I'm all for equal pay and women voting, but I'm not burning my bras...they make my boobs look too awesome and they're hella expensive.  BUT, I think all women and even men should read this book...at least the first few chapters for the men folk.  The struggle is real dudes...hair (on our heads and everywhere else!), undergarments, clothing, shoes (heels are from Satan and yet I own at least 5 pair), body shape and size...UGH.  I was all on board with Moran for the first bit and then we started getting into life milestones that I have not accomplished...yet...maybe ever.  Marriage and kids.  I do agree with her though on skipping the whole gigantic wedding ceremony.  As I've gotten older I've realized all I really want is the right man...and the dress.  The rest of it I honestly don't think I need...and with the monthly bills I have, I'm pretty sure I can't afford the bells and whistles.  Honestly, I'd rather go to the courthouse and spend my money on the honeymoon. ;)  

I also liked that she not only goes into why you should have children but also why you shouldn't.  And of course she discusses the topic of women seeming selfish by NOT having children...which honestly I think is bullshit.  Ever thought that maybe I haven't had children because I'm still a child myself?  Yes I may be almost 30 but honestly, I don't always feel like I have my shit together.  Especially not together enough to bring another human being into this world.  

So...I was all you go girl and then I was blind sided by a chapter on abortion...eekk...the dreaded A word.  Never been there and I hope I never go there but I will say...she adds perspective.  And that's all I'll say on that topic. 

I honestly did enjoy this book and I think you will too.  Moran is ballsy and swears and I love any other woman who has the vocabulary of a well educated sailor.  I laughed, I sympathized, I agreed, I said Hell Yes a few times, and I also disagreed.  This is a great read for all females, and most males, and I feel there is some part in this book that you'll be able to relate to.    

Book 3 - The Wolf by Lorenzo Carcaterra

First off...before I go any further...LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Now...we may proceed...

I cannot say enough good things about this book.  Just...damn I loved this book...everything about it...from beginning to end.  First though, I love Vincent aka The Wolf...I would marry Vincent...I fear Vincent...but mostly I would LOVE the shit out of Vincent.  He's so badass.  I knew I would love Vincent when within the first few pages he said: 

We open with Vincent's family, with the exception of his oldest child, his son Jack, being killed in a terrorist attack on a plane.  I'm not sure that subject will ever stop being a fresh wound...at least where Americans are concerned.  Vincent is the head of basically the American mob...he's a mack daddy of a crime syndicate.  He works along side the Italians, the Greeks, the Japanese, the Triad of China, and others to form this huge syndicate of organized crime.  Every dime in the world basically goes through these guys.  The enemy..the Mexican Cartel, the Russian Mafia, and the terrorists of the Middle East.  Once again...touchy subject.  Vincent is a badass and has obviously excellent resources at his disposal and some pretty badass people on his side.  He is able to spin it with his homies that this is not just about a personal vendetta against those who killed his family, but that it is a monetary issue...eventually the war would come and actually needs to occur.  It's not just personal, it's also business.  

I honestly don't want to say too much because I need people to read this book to find out how good it is for themselves.  I laughed...I CRIED...and I gasped more than once because of the plot twists!  I was so blown away with where Carcaterra took the story and I WANT MORE!  Carcaterra has left it so it's open for him to continue on with the story and I'm sincerely begging him to continue on.  I want more of this story line...I NEED more of this story line.  I cannot say enough good things about this book.  Bravo, Mr. Carcaterra, Bravo!  Now...publish part 2...and 3...and 4...etc etc etc.  I would read them all! 

*Sigh* I might have to read it again.   

Book 2 - Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Ever read something and thought "Eh...that was okay but moving on", and then realize a minute, hour, day, or week later that you actually had been mindfucked by what you read?  Well, that's exactly what happened to me with this book.  I initially thought "ugh pick a damn horror movie and stay with it" because it felt like parts from different movies had been pieced together...then it just kind of stuck with me and I was like whoa...let's reevaluate.  SPOILER ALERT! 

The main protagonist of the book is Ivy, but you get a different chapter from a different character's perspective, which actually makes the book fly by.  It opens with us learning Ivy's parents were killed by a serial killer and she was saved by the 5-0 showing up just in the nick of time.  Now she wants to stop living in fear that the killer will return for her despite the fact she feels someone watching her and leaving her presents that only someone from her former life would know about...cause she's been relocated and her identity changed.  So yeah...he's stalking you girl! 

 Enter an email from the Nightmare Elf promising a fun filled scarefest if you just submit your deepest, darkest fear.  The Nightmare Elf is one of those movie series like Nightmare on Elm Street where the villain just won't fucking die...same premise here only the Nightmare Elf gets into your dreams and makes that shit reality...much like Freddy.  Think Chucky meets Freddy and you've got the Nightmare Elf.  So now...7 strangers have been picked to live in the cabin where the Nightmare Elf does his dirty deeds and let's watch the scare begin.  Think Real World meets horror movie.    

Anyway...I was like blah blah blah for the first bit of it (luckily, like I said it moves quickly) and for me it didn't start getting good until you start learning everyone's fears because guess what...they have to face that shit in this book.  Now...I have several fears but one of them is snakes...and I can tell you right now...fuck having to face that!  I'm NOT going to do it.  I'd have a heart attack and die.  Suffice it to say, people start dropping like flies when they face their fears and finally it's time for Ivy and her love interest to face theirs and woot woot we have victory...BUT WAIT...PLOT TWIST...does the love interest really survive his fear...he lied in his submission after all.  Is Ivy really done with facing her serial killer fear?  Is he still after her?  Did he orchestrate all of this?  Is the Nightmare Elf truly real?  SO MANY QUESTIONS!  It left me mindfucked!  Luckily, Stolarz has Return to the Dark House coming out this year in July and yes I will be buying it and reading it immediately because damnit, I NEED ANSWERS!  

If you like horror movies and cliffhangers, this book is for you.  I'm not big on horror movies because I don't like things jumping out at me.  Psychological thrillers I can do (like Silence of the Lambs) but the movies where you have to scream DON'T GO UP THE FUCKING STAIRS don't really do it for me and they legit scare me.  So...reading it is a whole lot better for me.  I'm ready for July...I don't like being left in the dark feeling confused and wondering what the monkey is going to happen next.  Curse you Laurie, curse you!  (By curse you, I mean damnit you're good).    

Book 1 - How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran

You're a little bit behind as I'm now on Book 8 of 60 so we'll start at the beginning...you're welcome.  So I started off with Caitlin Moran's How to Build a Girl.  Whatever you've heard about this book (unless it's good), ignore it.  READ IT!  Even if you don't read my ramblings on the subject, read this damn book....BEFORE they turn it into a movie!

Oh my...the roller coaster I went on with this book.  I gave it a 4 stars out of 5 rating because I did honestly like it.  I tend to like when a book puts me through ups and downs and offers me a variety of emotions and thoughts whilst reading it.  I found the main character, Johanna aka Dolly, to be a conflicted ball of prepubescent hormones...which is exactly what she is so well done on conveying that to the reader, Caitlin...well done.  Honestly, I could NOT relate with Johanna's sexual appetite at the age of oh 14 or 15.  To be honest, for me she was a sex starved rabid animal and I'm 99% sure I skipped that part of puberty but maybe that's all in upbringing.  I'm sure others out there could relate to the sex starved chihuahua humping everything.  

I could however relate with Johanna wanting to 'kill' herself...or least what was currently her identity.  She never contemplates physical suicide but she does want to reinvent herself...and how many of us haven't wanted to become someone new?  Typically, though, in the adult world, when we need to reinvent ourselves we pack up our shit and move somewhere no one has ever heard of us...get new jobs...that sort of thing.  Instead, Johanna becomes a top hot wearing, cigarette smoking, substance using, alcohol imbibing clusterfuck...in a good way.  She was hilarious...she was confused...she was sleeping around...and it was ALL OKAY.  I feel like Caitlin was pretty clear in saying go do this shit...go get fucked up...go fuck around (be safe with it...but do it)...it's all part of growing up and finding out who you are and what you are.  

For me personally, while I may not have put a hat on my head and slept around, I did dread high school and I did use college to move 3 hours away from home because any closer would have been too close...and no one knew me...and it was GLORIOUS.  I was able to figure out who I wanted to be...and that shit is still changing when life throws me a curve ball (like my dad dying my senior year of college and my humor taking a dark turn).  

I think maybe I'm a bit too conservative for Dolly and to honestly approve of all of Dolly's decisions, but her motivations behind what she was doing are 100% understandable.  It's hard trying to navigate the world while having hormones flying around, boobs growing all of a sudden, and your hoohah begins bleeding every month...at 28, I can honestly say that bullshit wasn't all that fun growing up...and that last part is still not any fucking fun.  

Anyway I'm rambling...if you're a woman or even if you're a teen...read this book...I think it'll do you a lot of good.  And based on my experience, if you're the chubby girl with her nose always in a book trying to get good grades because you need a scholarship to go to college because your family is fucking broke...high school isn't that fucking important anyway.  College is where it's at...at least it was for me...and honestly in terms of friendships and personal relationships...it only got better. 

Basically...fuck it...do what you want...make mistakes...LEARN FROM THEM...in a nutshell, LIVE!  

Introduction...maybe my first and only post...who knows?!

Okay..so here we go...I've started a blog.  Not sure how long I'll keep this up and I make no promises to be helpful, entertaining, or to even be present all of the time...so please leave your expectations at the door.
A bit about myself...I'm 28, live in North Carolina, have a Master's Degree that I'm pretty sure I'm honestly not even using despite the fact that I'm still paying for it (but isn't that the majority of 30-somethings now days?), am a part time dog sitter, have a full time career, and I have recently taken the plunge to read 60 books this year thanks to an annoying pop up on my Goodreads app that demanded a set a goal for my life...I mean for 2015.  That last part is the main reason we're all gathered here.
I've been told my criticism is funny...it's mean..but it's funny so I'll do my best to live up to that.  I'm a rather blunt and honest person when I feel I should be...sometimes I feel it's none of my fucking business.  (Oh yeah...I have the vocabulary of a well educated sailor.)  And sometimes, the filter between my brain (which is so beautiful) and my mouth does not engage...typically what comes out is hilarious while sometimes being rather insensitive.  So...with all of that out of the way, let the book criticisms begin!  I am in no way educationally fit to provide them in that I was not an English major, have never been, and probably never will be an editor or a publisher...but I'm reading them and the authors put them out in the world so I feel I'm entitled to have an opinion.  Thank you authors of the world!