Summer Breeze

Author: Catherine Anderson

The year is 1889, and Rachel Hollister hasn't set foot outside her house in five years. Ever since a savage attack left her family dead, she's cordoned herself off from the outside world, afraid to let anyone into her home-or into her heart. But now trouble has appeared on her doorstep-and suddenly she has no choice but to let a handsome rancher invade her well-guarded existence....

Confirmed bachelor Joseph Paxton grudgingly offers to take up temporary residence at the Hollister ranch-even though it's obvious Rachel doesn't want his protection. But once he catches a glimpse of his beautiful young ward and her remarkable spirit, he'll do anything to break through the dark spell that's walled off her heart. It may take a miracle, but he's determined to make her see the refuge he's offering in his embrace-and the splendor that exists beyond her front door. Otherwise he'll just have to build a safe haven big enough for the both of them....

Ok, I lied. I am doing a review for this, because I just realized that I am in a HUGE predicament. I have no unread books left on my bookshelf anymore! So, I have no idea when I'll actually have another book to review, unless I decide to do one on a book that I've already read (which I don't like doing, because I think the first reading is what will always tell you if you actually love or hate a book). But, for reference, it definitely won't be a long review. Mostly because I don't really have a lot to say about it.....

However, even if I don't have a lot to talk about, I still liked the book. It was definitely a romance, which I was expecting. It was really cute and it was touching at a lot of parts, like the letter in the very last chapter. I also loved the humor that was added into it. Especially in the very beginning when they were talking about how the first time Rachel and Joseph saw each other, Rachel tried to shoot him. The book really takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. You go from laughing to being sad and then moving on to being completely surprised.

My biggest problem with the book was its similarities to Anderson's Early Dawn. That's the only other book I've read by her, but I definitely thought that they both were following the same basic plot. One of the characters suffers from a huge family tragedy five years before the book starts and so they shut themselves off emotionally (or in this case, physically). Then something happens to threaten the girl's life, so the man comes to the rescue, then they try not to fall in love with each other, but do anyway. Then all hell breaks loose, and they get confronted by the people trying to kill the girl, the good guys win, then they end happily ever after. Sorry for ruining the ending, everyone, but it's kind of obvious once you actually start reading it. So, while the books had different details to make it different, I would have appreciated a little more varied plot. However, I did think that the details were creative enough to make it seem like a completely new story.

One of my favorite things about the book was the unpredictable "Whodunit" ending. I was literally like, "What just happened?" It's really intense and so surprising! I am still in awe of it!

But, I think that's all I have to say. So, I recommend that if you feel like a cute, romantic book, you should definitely read this one! Next I'm reading one of my favorite books, Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why. I guess I might do a review on it, unless I'm super lucky and manage to get a new book soon. I can only hope! =D Anyways, as always please feel free to leave a comment of sort! Tell me if you like my review, or hate it, or agree/disagree, or pretty much anything else. =D I like to talk, in case you haven't noticed, so chances are, if you leave a comment, I'll most likely respond! 

So, thanks for reading!!

Love,

Kristi

A Walk to Remember

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Just for reference, I'm going to try REALLY hard not to compare the book to the movie (which is one of my favorite movies ever!).  But I just have to say before I start, that they're really different and I recommend everyone who loves the movie to also read the book. 

This was also the first book I've read by Nicholas Sparks and I was pleasantly surprised. For some reason, I had this image in my mind of a super sophisticated piece that you'd have to dig into to actually understand any of it (why I had this thought, I have no idea!). And while I like books that make you think, I hate having to analyze symbolism and all that stuff, because I like reading for pleasure, and that just reminds me of the weird books we read in school. =D However, the book was easy to follow and seemed really relatable, even though it took place in the 50's, so a few things seemed weird to the modern perspective. But it was good, since that's how it was supposed to be. 

It was also really cute, as you would suspect. A few points were cheesy, but I thought it was ok, because it wasn't overdone. I also liked how there were a few funny moments, not in what actually happened, but in the things that Landon said. I thought that the author made a really good choice in making the novel in first person, as it provoked a more emotional response, from me at least. You got to really relate with Landon and what he was going through, first with being almost forced to be friends with Jaime, then eventually falling in love with her, and finally dealing with her illness. I thought the novel was extremely touching, and I was completely absorbed in the book the entire time.

The only thing I would have wanted would have been for it to be longer. I don't usually buy books that are under 250 pages (this one happened to be 207, and I actually borrowed it from my best friend) because I read them really quickly (as you can probably tell, if you looked at what time I wrote the last post). While I didn't think that there weren't enough details, I think that it could have easily been expanded on, although, if I think about it, adding more fluff could actually detract from the book. It was relatively straightforward, which I think is something you don't get a lot of nowadays. So, the shorter length was probably the best choice, and I think Nicholas Sparks made a good choice with that, as well.

So, overall, I think it was a great book, and I highly recommend it! What do you think? Leave a comment or email me at Kristi_Reads@yahoo.com and talk about it! Well, I think I've decided to read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, followed by Sharon Lathan's continuation series, since I got the third novel, and, I'm sorry to admit, I may have forgotten what happened in the very last book. Oops. So, a reread is always good. And once I finish the whole thing, I'll make sure to put a review of the newest book in Lathan's series, My Dearest Mr. Darcy, since it's the only one I haven't read (and, if you've read my previous posts, I only review books after I read them the FIRST time).

Anyways, thanks, as always, for reading!

Love,

Kristi

What I Did For Love

Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Hey everyone-if anyone's actually reading. I'm back! Sorry about the very long absence! My computer crashed during the summer and I JUST got it fixed. But I totally forgot what website I started this blog on and I couldn't figure it out, because I tend to have quite a few dumb moments. =D I've been super busy as well, getting all my college stuff settled, so I honestly wasn't trying very hard. haha. So, here's my review for What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips:

And here's my honest opinion: This book was disgusting.

This was a completely uncreative, unrealistic piece of cheesy romantic crap. Most of the plot was predictable and seen in various other places.

Let's take some of the characters for an example. Now, personally, I don't follow the lives of celebrities, but the main character, Georgie, her ex-husband, Lance, and his new wife, Jade, and the whole mess surrounding them, reminds me quite a bit of the rumors around Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt's breakup.  Weren't there a few rumors about Brad cheating on Jennifer with Angelina Jolie? And wasn't it also talk about how Brad wanted kids and Jennifer didn't? Please forgive me if I'm wrong, but I recall these rumors. Georgie broke up with her famous ex-husband, Lance, because he cheated on her with his charitable movie co-star, Jade. Lance also tells the tabloids that while he wanted children, Georgie didn't want any, which was the complete opposite of what happened (Now I wouldn't even mention this point, but apparently it was extremely important to the story since it was mentions several times, although in very awkward, random moments). The charities that Lance and Jade support sounds a lot like those that Pitt and Jolie support. Every time Phillips explained character traits of any of these three characters, my mind immediately shot to the whole Aniston-Pitt-Jolie triangle. Am I the only one who sees the similarities???

Now let's get to the plot. Georgie, who used to be the star of a very popular sit-com once upon a time, flips out in front of the paparazzi after learning about the baby that Lance and Jade will soon have, so she runs off to her friend Trev's house and asks him to marry her just to get the paparazzi off her back. However, who would've guessed the Bramwell Shepard, her former bad-boy co-star of "Skip and Scooter", who actually caused the show to prematurely canceled, would show up just in time to hear her desperate plea. Hearing her most hated enemy make fun of her, made Georgie mad, so she planned to take a trip to Las Vegas with her friend. However, her friend can't make it and Georgie soon finds herself face to face with Bram in the casino. But they end up going to a party in a hotel room, though why Georgie went with him, I still don't understand. To make a long story short, basically they both end up drugged and wake up married to each other the next morning. Sound like "The Hangover" to anyone? 

Georgie convinces Bram to stay married to her and they move into his house and try to convince everyone that they're a happily married couple. However, everyone who actually knows Georgie, knows how much she always hated Bram and tries to talk to her about it, including her ex-husband, who shows up as Bram and Georgie were hosting a dinner party. Then Jade comes in and tells everyone that as she and Lance had come straight from the airport after a charity trip, two of their staff had come down with a very serious ailment. Thinking it was SARS, the Health Department said that Lance, Jade, and everyone they had come into contact with, meaning the whole dinner party. This was the only slightly creative plot point in the entire book, but I found it so far-fetched and unrealistic, the creativity was wasted. 

After that, various things happen, and Georgie realizes that she's in love with Bram, who tries to use that to his advantage, they fight, she runs away, he realizes he's also in love with her, gets her back, and they live happily ever after and make babies. Add in Georgie realizing that her father did actually love her, and few random budding relationships, and you've got the whole story.

Overall, I obviously didn't like the book. However, I must say that Bram was my favorite character because he actually had some depth to him. He was a former bad-boy who was trying to go good, but trying to hide that part of him as well. I thought he was one high point to this book. However, that wasn't the author's intention. She wants the reader to be drawn to Georgie, the main character and "victim", but I usually took Bram's side in everything. So kudos for the one good character!

So I think that's everything I wanted to to talk about. If you love my review, or hate it, tell me! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the book or any other books as well. You can email me at Kristi_Reads@yahoo.com. Right now I'm reading The Luxe by Anna Godberson, and it's my first time reading it, so I'll try to get a review on here when I'm done.

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi!