Little Bits of Wisdom- March 2010

Hey everyone! So, it's the last day of March, so it's time for me to post the quotes that I found and liked this month! I really, really love a few of them. =D I swear, I just need to do one of those cool wall murals with a whole bunch of quotes overlapping each other. That'd be pretty cool. So, anyways, let's get started!

"Life is about growing wiser... A true student should never bypass a ready chance to learn." -Sharon Lathan, My Dearest Mr. Darcy

"Your job... is not to screen me from life so that I do not mature in wisdom." -Sharon Lathan, My Dearest Mr. Darcy

"Oh bother! Simplicity is overrated. Spirit and passion are preferential." -Sharon Lathan, My Dearest Mr. Darcy

"I suppose when one is young, one imagines that all events are etched permanently upon the mind, but time has a way of eroding some memories, or perhaps the brain can only hold a finite amount of information." -Sharon Lathan, My Dearest Mr. Darcy

"Someday's better. It's always in the future, and it's always possible." -Luanne Rice, Safe Harbor

"Kids can see inside a person better than anyone." -Luanne Rice, Safe Harbor

"No matter what mysteries we're facing, we still have to live our lives." -Luanne Rice, Safe Harbor

"It's a simple thing for a man to forget his nature, to get lost in the present and forget how he was and how he will be." -Anna Godbersen, Rumors

"I don't want to hid from danger- that's not what it means to be a man. I don't think so anyway. To look in the face of hard things and keep moving forward-that's what one has to do." -Anna Godbersen, Envy

"Life was a short window, and there was no sense in doing the wrong thing over and over even if it was so difficult to stop." -Anna Godbersen, Envy

So, there you go. I love quotes, don't you? =D Anyways, I'm still working on Evelyn Lever's Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France. I've got some definite opinions about it right now, so I'm pretty sure that I will do the review. However, when that'll actually be up might be a very good question. I'm not quite halfway through, yet, so it may be another week or so? Possibly. I make no promises right now. =D Anyways, I hope everyone is having a nice week! Doing anything exciting? Feel free to leave comments and such! Oh, you should also follow the blog on Twitter! I'm getting better at actually tweeting now! =D There's a link somewhere on the right side of the page! --->

So, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

Splendor

Author: Anna Godbersen

New beginnings. Shocking revelations. Unexpected endings.

As spring turns into summer, Elizabeth relishes her new role as a young wife, while her sister, Diana, searches for adventure abroad. But when a surprising clue about their father's death comes to light, the Holland girls wonder at what cost a life of splendor comes.

Carolina Broad, society's newest darling, fans a flame from her past, oblivious to how it might burn her future. Penelope Schoonmaker is finally Manhattan royalty- but when a real prince visits the city, she covets a title that comes with a crown. Her husband, Henry, bravely went to war, only to discover that his father's rule extends well beyond New Yorks' shores and that fighting for love may prove a losing battle.

In the dramatic conclusion to the bestselling Luxe series, New York's most dazzling socialites chase dreams, cling to promises, and tempt fate. As society watches what will become of the city's oldest families and newest fortunes, one question remains: Will its stars fade away or will they shine ever brighter?

Just to put it out there: I demand another sequel!!! 

However, sadly, it's not to be. But, then again, I'm sure anyone reading this is tired of all my reviews on the series. But I just loved them so much! 

Again, I loved everything that I loved in all the other ones, like the characters, the openers, transitions, etc., so I won't talk about them again. If you want to read about those, you can see the reviews for The Luxe, Rumors,  or Envy.

I have to respect Anna Godbersen for all the twists she puts in her books. This was definitely the most intense book in the series, especially everything with Elizabeth. And, while I wasn't personally a fan for a few of the characters' endings (mostly because I love happy endings), I have to admit they were still wonderful! She always surprises you with everything, because nowadays we're so used to the happy ending, instead of the realistic one. But Godbersen definitely goes the realistic route. In my opinion, that's really a mark of a good author, when they're confident enough about their books that they don't feel the need to do what's happy or popular. So, kudos on that!

Also, I love how Godbersen doesn't feel the need to tell us every little thing or every piece of dialog. For example, the beginning of this novel is several months after the end of the last one, and plenty had happened in that time. She really knew what was necessary to the story and didn't waste time having to go over everything, especially the things we already know. So many authors make me so mad, because when someone asks for an explanation that we have already read, they actually make the them explain the whole thing over again! I mean, we already read it, why do we need to read it again? But there is thankfully none of that in these books, which is wonderful.

The only downfall in this book was actually some of the dialog. I thought it got a bit cheesy and overdramatic at times, which hadn't happened in the other ones. It lost some of the realism that I do love so much. But overall, it wasn't too big of a deal and I got over it. 

As you can most probably tell, I loved it. It was intense and unexpected throughout the whole thing. So, READ IT! The whole series, actually, because you won't understand what's happening if you start in the last book. But anyways, again, short review, but the series stays so consistent, that most of the things I like stay the same, so I don't want to constantly repeat everything. Next, I'm going to read a biography about-who else?- Marie Antoinette. It's called Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France by Evelyne Lever and I actually found it IN Barnes and Noble. They rarely have Marie Antoinette book IN the store, so I felt very happy and I'm excited to read it! So, I'll probably do a review on it, if I have anything to say... But if not, then I won't, but I'll post something else! 

So, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

Envy

Author: Anna Godbersen

Jealous whispers. Old rivalries. New betrayls.

Two months after Elizabeth Holland's dramatic homecoming. Manhattan eagerly awaits her return to the pinnacle of society. However, when she refuses to rejoin her sister Diana's side, those watching New York's favorite family begin to whisper that all is not as it seems behind the stately doors of No. 17 Gramercy Park.

In this thrilling installment of Anna Godbersens's bestselling Luxe series, Manhattan's most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: Wealth. Beauty. Happiness. But sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets....

So, just for reference and in case you didn't realize it, I most definitely did not write the italicized part above. I have made an executive decision based on the fact that I hate writing plot summaries because I never know what to tell everyone about and what to let them read themselves, so normally I give WAY too much away. So, I stole the idea of letting the author explain the plot of the book, since they know exactly what they want the reader to know going into the book, from about a million other review blogs.... It might just be laziness on my part, but I like to think the best summary comes from the person who wrote the whole book. =D So, from now on, I think I'm going to get the plot explained by posting what the back or the inside cover says the book is about. 

So, anyways, on to the actual review of this book! As with the past two books, I loved it, although maybe not as much as I loved the other ones. However, I still really enjoyed the chapter openers, transitions, the balance of all the different stories of the characters, and the time period, but I've talked about all of those in the other reviews. So, you can read about that stuff in my posts about The Luxe and Rumors.

I only had two problems with this particular book that I didn't have with the rest of the series, and they kind of disappointed me. My first was that a few of the chapters were dragging in my opinion. I've never felt like I didn't want a certain character's part to come up before, but I definitely felt like that for most of  Lina/Carolina's parts turned up after she returned from Florida. Also, her parts were really disjointed after that, as well. In one chapter she was back in the hotel after her return, in the next she was working for another society lady, in the next she was trying to get a job in a dressmaker's shop, and then she was at the will reading. But they were relatively short chapters, so it was all good, and we got to the parts I was more excited to read. =D

The other problem was predictability. I guessed Carolina and Elizabeth's big problems in the beginning of the book and so I wasn't very surprised when they happen. I'm used to having my jaw drop in this series, and I have NEVER predicted something completely correctly until this book. However, the ending was still completely unexpected, so that's the most important, because it was definitely setting up the next (and final!) novel. 

A new point that I loved that I didn't really think about until this book (but it was still really present in the others!) was that the author definitely succeeds in making you have feelings about the characters. I personally hate Penelope with a passion and I really hope she falls in a ditch in the next book, and I admit I smiled at the very end when she was upset. I feel really bad for Diana and Elizabeth because of their lost loves and really hope the end of the story is going to make them happy!!! You can also really tell that Henry has lost his way, and while he's trying to fix it, everything he does seems to make the situation worse and I feel for him. However, my opinion changes a lot about Carolina. I don't hate her, but I definitely don't like her, since she's pretty much the cause of the biggest problem. But, that's ok. I think that Anna Godbersen is doing a really good job with developing her characters and making each one unique from the other, which a lot of authors fail at when they write from the different point of views. 

So, I definitely loved the book, and I recommend it, along with the rest of the The Luxe series! As for me, I'm going to read the last book in the series, Splendor. Sorry if you're tired of those reviews, but I want to read it, so I'm going to! I'm just a selfish person, I guess. =D But, as always, if you have any comments, questions, recommendations, or anything, leave a comment! I just love those. =D 

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

Rumors

Author: Anna Godbersen

I literally finished this book about ten minutes ago and I'm STILL shocked!! Rumors was incredible and just as good as the first novel in the series: The Luxe. It's so insane! Just for reference, if you haven't read the first book, but plan to, I recommend NOT reading this review because there will be spoilers from The Luxe, but I'll try not to give away anything important for the second book! Don't you just hate when people do that?

So, this book centers on Elizabeth Holland, Diana Holland, Penelope Hayes, Lina Broud (aka Carolina Broad), and Henry Schoonmaker. As you'll know from the first book (if you read it!), Elizabeth had faked her death to escape from marrying Henry, because she was in love with her stableboy, Will Keller. She also knew that her little sister, Diana, was in love with Henry, and he with her. So, Elizabeth was finally reunited with Will in California, while New York's society is still in mourning for her death, except for those who knew that Elizabeth was actually still alive: Diana and Penelope. Henry is initially extremely upset because he believed that Elizabeth had killed herself to escape him, but when he finds out the truth from Penelope, who was trying to get Henry for herself, he finally realizes that he and Diana could be together. From there, a series of betrayals, gossip, secret deals, and even blackmail take place. Put that together with the extremely unexpected ending, and you have a great plot! I couldn't put the book down! I literally spent my last night of spring break reading! 

Now, usually, I'm not a big fan of those books that switch between different characters' points of view, because very few people can effectively make a graceful transition between them. However, Anna Godbersen does a very good job! I like how each character has their own chapter, instead of everything switching mid-chapter. I thought it made it a lot less confusing than other books like this. 

Once again, I loved the little chapter openers! I thought they helped the transitions a lot, because they made the switch between chapters less abrupt and smoother. They also gave you a clue about what was going to happen in each chapter, even if they were a bit ironic a lot of the time. But most of all, I think that they make you feel more involved in the story and like you're there. 

I loved the fact that it was set in the late 1800s and that the story lead right up to December 31st. I thought it was a good place to end the story and I think will make the next book seem like a new beginning for everything. 

And really, I think that's all I want to talk about right now. Sorry if the review is too short! But, overall I LOVED it. I highly recommend them to everyone! I actually went out to the bookstore last night to get the next book in the series, Envy, so that I could just continue on with the story. And now I'm extremely glad that I did, because I just HAVE to know what happens next! So, that's what I'm going to start reading as soon as I press the lovely Publish button. I'll get the review up soon!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

My Top 5 Favorite Books (That I Actually Have!)

So, it's taking me about forever and a day to finish Safe Harbor by Luanne Rice, but not because it's bad. I actually like it just as much as I did when I was younger. So that's good. =D I've just been incredibly busy, so here's a new post, like I promised! 

1. Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen

You just can't beat a classic. Especially when it's THE best classic EVER (in my opinion, of course. =D).

2. Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay Asher

I've never met anyone who's read this book and hasn't loved it. That just proves its awesomeness.

3. Anything Sarah Dessen.

I swear, I love every single one of Sarah Dessen's books. However, my favorites out of those would probably be  Just Listen or Dreamland or Along for the Ride or The Truth About Forever. Dreamland is by far the most intense, but they all are absolutely amazing.

4. Gone- Michael Grant

This is actually a series, so you can count Hunger in with this one. I must admit, I really didn't want to read this book, because I'm really not usually a fan of all that sci-fi stuff. But it was one of my good friend's favorite books and he asked me to read it so I did. I loved it and I am eagerly awaiting the next book, Lies. It looks epic and comes out 3 days before my birthday! =D

5. My Sister's Keeper- Jodi Picoult

I've only read it once, but it was amazing! It was WAY better than the movie, and was actually very surprising, and it's very hard to come up with unpredictable endings nowadays. 

So I had to get these all down soon since my books will be packed away in a few weeks, since my family and I are moving. However, I have decided that they will be the last things packed up (and they're going in my favorite suitcase!) and the first things unpacked! So, there shouldn't be a horrible backup in my reviews! I'll make sure to try to finish Safe Harbor soon and then will read Rumors by Anna Godberson  and post the review. So, if you want to discuss or talk about anything, make sure to leave a comment and such! 

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

The Queen's Dollmaker

Author: Christine Trent

I finished this book just a few minutes ago, and I'm not completely sure that I have a lot to say about it. I didn't think it was a great book, but I didn't think it was bad either. It was just more of a good book (in my weird ranking scale, that means above average).

I did really like the plot, which is most important to me in a novel, as I state in a ton of my posts (sorry for the repetition! =D). I thought it was a really creative idea that I've never heard of before. Claudette Laurent, daughter of a Parisian dollmaker, becomes an orphan after a fire claims her parents' lives. As she's unable to find her fiance, Jean-Phillipe, she travels to London and becomes a kitchen assistant to a horrible mistress. Along the way she meets many people that affect her life in major ways, such as Beatrice du Georges and her daughter Marguerite, Elizabeth Preston, and William Greycliffe, being some of the most important. Claudette tries to turn her situation around and make herself into a successful dollmaker, hoping to return to France someday. As her business grows more popular, she earns commissions from none other than the Queen Marie Antoinette (I know, who would've thought that I, of all people, would read a book involving Marie Antoinette?). The story continues from there, as Claudette has to deal with her own personal problems, her need for independence, and also her loyalty to the French monarchs, who become her dear friends, in midst of the revolution. Intriguing, yes? Absolutely. And while the plot was somewhat predictable at some points, Christine Trent also managed to add in twists that NO ONE would have guessed at, especially the ending. My jaw literally dropped. That never happens.

One of the problems I have with the book is that it kind of jumps around a lot, so sometimes I wasn't completely sure what was happening. One time, I was actually convinced I was missing a page or something, because one big event seemed like it was still in the process of happening, but then I turned the page and Claudette suddenly had an invitation to appear before Marie Antoinette. I sat there for at least three full minutes, trying to figure out what happened. 

Also, some of the scenes with Marie Antoinette seemed like they were randomly thrown in there. They weren't very relevant to the story, because she didn't even indirectly enter into Claudette's life until Axel Fersen decides to buy her one of Claudette's dolls, which happens almost halfway through the book. And while I think she did effectively explain parts of Marie Antoinette's life, like the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, in just a plain summary, I wish that Trent had presented some other parts of her life, such as the deaths of two of her children, with something other than a summary, like dialog, or correspondence, because I thought it seemed almost devoid of emotion, and she had an extremely turbulent and emotional life. I think that it would have been much more appealing with more of Marie Antoinette's thoughts or feelings included a little bit more.

The biggest problem I had, though, was historical accuracy and consistency. While I understand that in a historical fiction novel, you can take certain liberties, I think that if you don't have to change something to fit into your story, you should just keep it the same. I don't think it was a lack of research, because I've read several of the books Christine Trent listed in her bibliography, and they're really very good sources of information. For example, there were several places where Axel Fersen was referred to as Alexl. I've NEVER heard of him being called Alex, and it just bugged me every time it came up. Also, another example was that until the fishwives marched to Versailles, it sounded like the Palace of Versailles was IN Paris, but it really isn't. The Palace OF Versailles is in a town called Versailles, about 12 miles or so away from Paris. I had a problem with that mostly because when the royal family was taken to the Tuilleries Palace in Paris, Versailles suddenly seemed as though it were in a different place. So, mostly, it was a consistency issue. Those were my only two big accuracy annoyances, but I doubt it would bug anyone but me, just because I'm weird and anal about that stuff. 

So, ultimately, I did like it and would recommend this book to someone or read it again. Try it out, if you want and tell me what YOU think. Comments and emails (Kristi_reads@yahoo.com) are always accepted. =D Next I THINK I'm going to start Safe Harbor  by Luanne Rice, which I most likely won't write a review for because I read it about a million times when I was younger. But I'll figure out something else to write about if it takes me too long to finish. =D

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

10 Books I Want on my Bookshelf Now

So, I decided to make a list of the books that I've been dying to read for a while now and that I would buy in a heartbeat if I actually had any money. Also, I wanted to take a break from all the reviews and quotes. So here we go.

1. Secret Diary of a Princess- Melanie Clegg

Historical fiction + Memoir form= My favorite stuff to read! Add in the fact that it's about my favorite historical figure, Marie Antoinette, and it seems PERFECT for me! I've been dying to read the book since I first saw it on the author's blog, Madame Guillotine.  

2. Dear John- Nicholas Sparks

I loved the movie, except for the really dumb 5 second ending. So I really, really want to read 

this to see what the real ending was. Plus, it just seems like such a cute book!

3. The Reagan Diaries- Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was a great man and president and I really wanted to see what no one else 

can really tell us: his own thoughts and feelings.

4. Impossible- Nancy Werlin

The plot seems really interesting and I always find myself just drawn to it every time 

I see it in a store. I'm not completely sure why, but I just really want to read it! =D

5. The Private Realm of Marie Antoinette- Marie-France Boyer

Marie Antoinette + Interior Design= Kristi wants! Marie Antoinette had amazing taste and style, and this lets you explore the places she lived and created.

6. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister- Gregory Maguire

I love Gregory Maguire and have every adult book that he's written, except this one. That needs to be fixed. It's just wrong.

7. Postsecret- Frank Warren

This isn't a book with a plot, just postcards from people all over the world sharing their deepest secrets. My friends and I love looking at these books, and it still provokes TONS of emotion.

8. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen- Syrie James

I confess to not knowing much about Jane Austen's life (besides what I saw in a movie!), but this book seems like it can help me learn more about her. I love historical fiction about real people that I haven't heard of, because that usually sparks my interest in learning more! After all, the first book I read about Marie Antoinette was fiction!

9. Louis XVI- John Hardman

I've always been really curious about Louis XVI's life before and apart from Marie Antoinette. He's always mentioned as her shy husband who wouldn't consummate their marriage for years, but I really want to learn more about him and his life away from his wife.

10. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime- Mark Haddon

This is the only book I've actually read on this list. I loved it though and I really, really want to read it again!

So, there you have it! As always, feel free to email me at Kristi_Reads@yahoo.com or just comment on the blog somewhere! 

So, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

My Dearest Mr. Darcy

Author: Sharon Lathan

So, hello everyone! I finished this book ahead of schedule! A whole TWO DAYS. =D 

In case you haven't read the previous posts, what I decided to do was a "reading project" as I call them, meaning that I pretty much read a whole series from beginning to end. I was trying to get to the ultimate point of My Dearest Mr. Darcy, the third novel in Sharon Lathan's Darcy Saga. So, naturally, I started at the VERY beginning, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and then went on to Lathan's series, which continues the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. 

I must say, the newest book in the series absolutely blew me away! I completely loved it, especially in comparison to the first two. 

The very first page drew me in. It started differently from the rest of the books, in the form of a diary entry, from Dr. George Darcy, Mr. Darcy's uncle that we met in the previous book, Loving Mr. Darcy. This was a huge surprise to me, because he wasn't a huge character in the book. However, it was a good opportunity to become more intimately acquainted with Dr. Darcy, as he does play a larger part in the third novel. It also gave a new viewpoint on the events that happened in the second novel, and gave details to events that were mentioned quickly in passing, but not really given much attention, such as the Darcy's invitation to the Countess von Lieven's salon. I thought it was altogether a wonderful beginning to a great book!

I thought that Lathan's writing was enchanting, as always. She always uses such vivid descriptions and makes it extremely for me to get lost in Mr. and Mrs. Darcy's world full of love and happiness. However, in her previous two books, I thought that many things were unrealistic and cliche. 

I also don't want to sound like a prude, because, really, what kind of a teenager is a prude nowadays? I don't mind books that have sex in them. I've been reading those books for years. I mean, sex sells, right? That's got to translate into books, as well as everything else in life. However, my motto for a great book is "More plot, less sex". Not meaning none, just not enough that it overpowers everything else in the novel. That was my biggest problem with the first two books in Lathan's Darcy Saga. While it did have plot, it seemed like that wasn't the priority of the story. The plot is THE most important thing in a book, which is why someone reads it.

This third novel was a huge improvement on both of these counts. The plot was engaging, with little dramas along the way, instead of one BIG drama at the end. This approach to storytelling definitely keeps me more absorbed in the book, and I literally never wanted to put it down, only doing it when I absolutely had to. And while Lizzy and William never stopped "physically consummating their love", and we did hear about it, Lathan didn't think it was necessary to tell her readers every single time it happened, or to go into as much detail every time she added in an intimate scene. I thought she perfectly balanced the sex with the story, and I highly applaud her on that!

I also thought that she improved with her characters. I think that she expanded on them more, and made them more complex, and therefore, more human and believable! George Darcy is probably the best example of this. In the second book, he just seemed like a carefree guy who happened to be an excellent doctor in India. However, in the third book, we learned more about his life in India, and his childhood with Darcy's father, and the real emotions hiding underneath his lively spirit. We also get to see the relationship budding between George and his entire family, who had barely known anyone due to their distance apart. Sharon Lathan also expanded on various other characters, such as Anne de Bourgh and Col. Fitzwilliam. She even helped Lizzy and Darcy become more human by showing more of their flaws, instead of the near perfection that I gathered from the other books. 

I also have to say that I love the historical bits that Lathan includes in the novel, such as the bathing machines, which I had never heard of before, and the Magic Lantern show, and the launching of the hot air balloons.  I think that she did a wonderful job by not putting in so many details, as to make it not appealing to people who don't like history, while putting in just enough to appeal to those people, like me, who happen to love history. This is yet another example of her amazing balancing act in My Dearest Mr. Darcy.

So, I think that was all I was going to talk about. I highly recommend everyone to read this book. It was stunning and absolutely amazing! And I also recommend everyone reading it to visit Sharon Lathan's website (http://www.sharonlathan.net/) while you're doing it. I stumbled upon it just before writing this review and I really wish I had thought to look at it before, especially the Portrait Gallery part. It helps you visualize a lot of the places that she's talking about and how great a setting she chose. So, I've decided that you should all read My Dearest Mr. Darcy. Ok? Good. Yay!

And, as is my customary sign off, feel free to email me at Kristi_Reads@yahoo.com or comment this post for discussions, suggestions, comments, etc. The next book I think I'm reading is The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent, which I've been very excited to start. So, I'll get that review up as soon as I'm done! 

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi