didn't love it, didn't hate it...

In the book "Carry the One" by Carol Anshaw, the book opens at the wedding of Carmen and Matt.

At end of the party a carload of people, including Carmen's brother Nick and sister Alice plus their guests, leave the party.  They are all a bit drunk and stoned and while driving on a dark, secluded road, the car hits a girl and kills her.

The tale revolves around the siblings, Carmen, Nick and Alice and how they lives are forever changes by the death of the girl.

not the best of the bunch...

I finished reading "The Gilly Salt Sisters" by Tiffany Baker about a week ago and have been sitting on how I feel about it.  When I first started it, I found it a bit boring and thought it would be hard to get through.  I did finish it, and there were parts I liked, but on the whole I found the book rather dull.  There were parts that were dramatic, but in my opinion fell short.

The book follows the Gilly sisters, Claire and Jo, and the salt marsh where they live and work.

I read other reviews and I seem to be the only one who didn't love the book.  I am interested in finding out how others feel...

heartfelt and heartless...

I just finished "Another Piece of my Heart" by Jane Green.  I really liked it.  I think I have read most everything by this author and this one I quite enjoyed.

Andi gets married late in life, late in her 30's, to Ethan, a wonderful man with two children.  All Andi ever wanted to be was a mom, so she was so excited to take on that roll.  Sophia who is 8 years old is a wonderfully sweet and loving girl, happy to have Andi around, but Emily is difficult at age 12 and always resents Andi for marrying her dad.

Emily continues to spiral out of control and Andi cannot take the way Emily acts towards her and  contemplates walking away from her life with Ethan.

So much goes on in the story.  The characters are so real, in such pain that you can feel what they feel.  There is a lot of joy as well within this family and through all the ups and downs I wanted to route for each and every one of them.

sad, but uplifting too...

Wow, this book, "One Summer" by David Baldacci was so unbelievably good, sad too.  I even cried and I hardly ever do that for a book.

The book is about Jack Armstrong, who has terminal illness.  He is given very little time and is trying to find a way to deal with that.  His wife goes out to pick up some medicine for him and is killed in a car crash.  Jack's kids are taken away, split up and cared for by family and he is placed in hospice while he waits for his life to come to an end.  But then Jack starts to get better.  Doctors cannot explain it, but the disease he had is gone and he is given a clean bill of health.

Jack then gets all the kids back, moves from Ohio to South Carolina where his wife grew up.  He strives to become a better person and a better father.  He  is stunned when his mother-in-law sues Jack for custody of the kids because she thinks him an unfit parent.

I found this to be a story of love, loss, hope and the strong ties of family love.

the road no one ever wants to travel...

I am never without a book.  Never.  Reading is part of who I am and one of my favorite ways to escape the everyday ups and downs of life.  That being said, I just finished reading "Down the Darkest Road" by Tami Hoag.

The book follows the Lawton family.  They were a perfect family.  Lauren, Lance, Leslie and Leah.  They live in Santa Barbara and seem to have the perfect happy family until tradegy strikes.  Leslie is abducted and it seems that Leslie is the only one who is still interested in solving her daughter's case.  Even her husband couldn't take the pain and drove his car off a cliff.  Leah, the younger daughter, is having a hard time coping as well.

Such a great read!!

another mystery...

I think I have read almost everything James Patterson has writtten.  I just finished "Private #1 Suspect."  It was so, so good.  The book follows Jack Morgan who owns a private investigative firm, and his team as they try and solve their cases.

Jack arrives home from vacation to find a dead body in his bed.  It is his former girlfriend, who also worked for his firm.  Jack claims innocence and sets out to prove it.

Then there is the case about a movie star.  A case involving a known mobster.  And one more about murder that happens in a hotel.

James Patterson writes in such a way that it is so easy to follow along and I can read the book in a day.  I am always so eager to finish and look forward to finding out "who-done-it."

the butterfly effect...

"How it all Began" by Penelope Lively is my latest read.  It was a very easy read with interesting characters.  It is about how one thing can happen out of the ordinary and can change the way things play out.

I really liked the relationships between all the characters.  They are so real, dealing with real-life issues and touched my heart.