Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

I loved loved loved this book. If you've read her other stuff, you know Kinsella has a way of making the awkward moments so funny. I literally laughed out loud many times while reading this book. This is my favorite book of her's so far. If you've read any of her other stuff, you know she's kind of a potty mouth, but I feel like there wasn't as much (maybe it's been awhile since I've read 'Shopaholic'). I highly recommend this book.

Synopsis: It's about a girl, Lara, who is having all kinds of trouble in her life. Boy trouble, work trouble, etc. Her great aunt dies and she has to go to the funeral. At the funeral her dead aunt's ghost comes to her asking her about a necklace (her ghost is in her 20's because she says everyone feels like their in the 20's on the inside). The book is about their interaction with each other as they find the necklace and try to fix other problems. It's really cute! Read it!

The Time Traveler's Wife

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this novel. I'm not a huge science fiction person, so i didn't know if the time traveling thing would get all spacey and sci-fi-y, so I was a little apprehensive.

On a literary scale, this book is great. Very well written. The story was imaginative and character development was wonderful.

You guessed it; there's a but. There was a lot of violence and swearing. And sexuality. It was a timeless love story, but there were some scenes, some phrasing and moments that made me a little squeamish. If I weren't an LDS girl, they might not have been so bad.

For a Reader's Digest of the plot: Henry time travels and can't help it. He meets Clare when she is very young and they are basically predestined for each other. But she has to live with the fact that he time travels. Sometimes he gets hurt or doesn't come back for days at a time. But there's also a wonderful love story unwinding throughout the novel, and I'm always up for a sappy love story. Would I recommend you read it? Yeah, I think so. Just know that this author holds nothing back. Here's the official trailer for ya:

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

This is a book that discusses something that Paul and I like to talk about. Science vs. religion. This book deals with the conflicts of the "purists" of each group. One man who is very religious, as well as a scientist, has discovered something that will show that science and religion are linked. A science faction (that ONLY believes in science) springs from the grave, kills the man and takes his experiment and plants it in Vatican city (it's pretty much a massive bomb). Robert Langdon, a expert on this science faction and other religious symbology, is called in to identify and help with discovering this group. Along with the Physicists daughter, who worked with her father on the experiment, they set out to Vatican city to recover the experiment before it goes off. They have 24 hours, but complications arise when 4 cardinals (the pope had just died and they were electing a new Pope, so all the cardinals from around the world are there) disappear and a man from the science faction calls telling them at each hour a cardinal will die. They must follow the clues around Rome to stop the murders as well as find the experiment before it blows Vatican city and some of the surrounding area.

It was a good book, a little disturbing, but good. It was captivating and solidified my stance on science and religion. It also made me sad that people don't know the truth about God and why we are here and where we are going (mormon.org will help if you are wondering about these questions). It's not my favorite book, I don't love Dan Brown, but I enjoyed the intellectual adventure. It definitely made me want to go to Rome though!

Night Runner by Max Turner

This is a teen book...so you know where I'm going with this. This book is actually about a vampire. This kid has his life turned upside down when a crazy man crashes into the hospital where he is living and tells him someone is after him. From that point on the kid finds out that he isn't really "sick or diseased", but is a vampire. He finds out his dad wasn't really an archaeologist and someone really is after him. The whole book is about him running, the friends that help him, and his past coming together. It is one of a series (I think it's new, so there are no other books yet). It a fun and easy read. Nothing spectacular, but entertaining and a little different.

The Virgin's Lover by Phillipa Gregory

I know, I know, it sounds a little raunchy. But history FASCINATES me and she makes history interesting to read. Just be warned, there are some nasty scenes in there. Not as many as I expected, but there are some yucky parts.

Anyway, this book is about Elizabeth I, Queen of England. She comes to the throne without a husband, so England doesn't have a king to rule them. She starts a love affair with a (married) childhood friend and it gets crazy after that. What I liked about this book was all the historical information in it. They were at war with France and there were things going on with Scotland and Spain and it interests me to know all the politics that went on at that time. It's also cool that Elizabeth was able to rule without a male counterpart.

Content: PG-13
Grade: B+

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

This book actually earned Tyler a Pulitzer Prize. The cover is AWFUL: boring with yucky dull colors. But I try not to let that sway me...usually. Anyway, this is possibly the simplest novel I've read in a long time. It's about Maggie and Ira, a semi-normal couple that tries to keep their family together. Well, Maggie does anyway. Ira just gets annoyed by Maggie. It wasn't an "on-the-edge-of-your-seat" kind of book, but it was heartfelt and warm novel and a good read. It dealt with familial issues and issues that really, all women will probably face: trying to make your kids happy. I liked it. I liked its simplicity and the rhythm of the writing. And I liked that it was just like life: no fairytale endings, beginnings, or middles. Just cut and dry, like life. Isn't weird how we like to read about regular life sometimes?

Queen of the Summer Stars

I'm not quite sure how to rate this book. I liked it and yet was very disturbed by it. I think it's supposed to be a teen book, but there is no way I would let a teen read this, I'm not even sure I want you reading it. This book is about Guinevere and Arthur. I was intrigued because, quite frankly, I don't think I really knew what the outcome of Guinevere's and Lancelot's romance was. So a read it. I enjoyed the story and hearing the dynamics of the king and queen with each other, their knights of the round table, and the problems of joining the different tribes and peoples. I learned a lot about British history as well as how paganism was turning into Christianity (this is what I found most fascinating). Overall I really liked the book and the outcome of Guinevere and Lancelot was different then expected and i really liked it!

Now the reason I don't recommend the book. It is very sexually explicit. It's not very specific, but it is mentioned. One chapter (I forget the name, but it's her the name of her Uncle, if you read this book SKIP THIS CHAPTER) was so disturbing! Again, if you read it SKIP THIS CHAPTER, it is unnecessary, we would have gotten the point without it. It really was a good think the book turned out well to redeem for that chapter. Besides this chapter there is still some unnecessary things in it, but they easily can be skipped.

I'm still struggling to recommend this book, but I did like it overall, but hate it at the same time. So, I say, Read at your own Risk!