Something Blue by Emily Giffin

This is the sequel to Something Borrowed.

So, in the last book, we hear things from Rachel's perspective, but in this book we hear from Darcy, the crazy best friend. Darcy learns that maybe being as shallow as she has been isn't what will bring her happiness. And she's in for a MAJOR life change.

I really enjoyed these books. Easy reads, but not just fluff. I recommend them!

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

CUTE CUTE CUTE! I loved it!

Rachel is a New York attorney and has a crazy best friend, Darcy. Darcy is always getting the better end of the deal in life. Darcy is currently engaged to Dex, who is basically perfect. But are Darcy and Dex really the perfect couple they seem to be? Maybe not so much...

I thought this book was super cute and I want to read the next book, Something Blue. The end of the book actually doesn't completely resolve itself, so I kinda HAVE to read the next one.

Okay, two books I tried to read recently and did NOT like.
- The Devil's Queen by Jeanne Kalogridis: This book was all witchcrafty and I didn't feel comfortable reading it. Which is why I stopped reading it early. Don't even pick it up.
- Consider Lily by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt: There is only one word I can use for this book: OBNOXIOUS. Seriously, this book is poorly written and SO annoying to read. I bought it from my library for .25 and I still don't want to finish it. It's just that bad.

In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner

Let me just say, I think this book would have more meaning to me if I had a sister. With that said, I will now critique it:

It had too much sexuality. I almost put the book down for good at one point. But I kept reading and it turned out to be a decent novel. The story is about two sisters, Maggie and Rose. Rose is successful in her career and smart, while Maggie is pretty and successful with men. Maggie makes some dumb decisions and the two sisters end up not talking for a while. There's also another character in the story who makes things interesting; her name is Ella (but I don't want to ruin it for you!).

Bec, since you have sisters, you may want to read this book and it'll make you grateful for your sisters and make you want to call them. But just be forewarned that in the first half, Maggie's kinda skanky. Uncomfortably so. But I do like Jennifer Weiner's way of writing, so I thought it was a well-written book.

P.S. While I looked for this picture, I found out that this book was made into a movie! It has Cameron Diaz and that girl from Emma (Emma's friend) Toni Collette. Anyway, it's rated PG13, maybe I'll go get it!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

LOVED IT! READ IT! YOU'LL GET HOOKED!

Warning: this is book 1 of a series and you will want to read the next one as soon as you finish the first (I'm dying to know what happens, as I have to wait for the second book to become available in the library)

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

This book is a 'research' book that looks into different situations (obviously unusual and extra-ordinary situations) and shows why those situations are extraordinary. It talks about Bill Gates and how he became successful, why famous hockey players are mostly born between Jan- Mar., what lead to Korean Airline crashes and how they turned it around. It was such a cool book. I highly recommend it. It's really not a research book, but he does present information or data, but please don't be deterred. It's not like a textbook at all, it's really good.

"A Book of a Thousand Days" and "River Secrets"by Shannon Haleand

A book of a Thousand Days:
A girl goes to work for a wealthy family and the girl makes her promise that she will stay with her always. She promises and then finds out that the girl refused to marry a wealthy man and her father is putting her in a tower for 7 years or until she decides to marry him. The book is the maids journal and her thoughts, feelings and what they do. Don't worry, there's more to the story, but I don't want to ruin it.

When I started it I thought it was going to be so boring, 7 years in a tower...come on, boring. However, events turn and it ended up being a really good read. I enjoyed it.

River Secrets:
This is about a boy who is good friends with the king and queen (it's been awhile since i"ve read it and I can't remember the names...oops!). He is apart of the army and is suprised to find that he will is asked to be apart of a group that will be escorting a ambassador to a place that they just defeated in war. He continues to find dead bodies that resembles the way his country ended the war. He has to keep covering then up, so as not to start another war. He is trying to find out who is framing his country, and finds himself, as well as a little friend (yes, it's a girl...there has to be romance, right?!)

This book is a branch off (not quite sure if it counts as a trilogy) of the Goose Girl and Enna's burning. I didn't know this when I started, but it referred back to it. However, I couldn't remember the story that well (and I hadn't even read Enna's burning) and it really didn't matter. It did make me want to read the other books though. It was a good read, not the greatest, but still good.

Shannon Hale's writing style isn't my favorite. She really doesn't get to the true plot of the story until well into the book, so I get bored and it takes me awhile to finally get into it.

*Sorry Kathryn about all my run-ons and errors. I'm totally shot tonight. Just think of it as editing practice!

I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis

Oh my goodness. I LOVED this book. This book is 515 pages and I absolutely loved each page! Seriously, I don't think I can convey how much I loved this book. I really like historical fiction, so I had been reading a lot of Phillipa Gregory but her books have some really raunchy parts in it. But there was nothing even CLOSE to what Phillipa Gregory does.

The story is about Lisa di Antonio Gherardini, or Madonna Lisa, or Mona Lisa. She has secrets from her past that she doesn't even know about and she has to do some crazy stuff to not only find out about it, but to help save lives. The famous Medici family is in charge of Florence, but there is political turmoil, assassinations, love triangles, and I was totally gripped to the end! I think I read 300 pages in one day.

I strongly recommend this book. Strongly.