July 31, 2011

Series Sunday: Summer & The City

Series Sunday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Post a review/recommendation on your blog, FB, Twitter, Goodreads, or Shelfari pages.
  • Share your review/recommendation by posting the link in the comments section below.
  • Include the title, author, and name of the series so that other Series Sunday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.
Summer and the City: A Carrie Diaries Novel

My Series Sunday pick is Summer and the Citythe second book in the Carrie Diaries series by Candace Bushnell. It picks up exactly where The Carrie Diaries left off. Carrie is in love with New York City. The smell, the fashion, the writers, the crazy neighbors, the vintage clothing, and wild parties. Even better, she is in a writing class honing her skills and preparing her for a career in writing.


Carrie has fun navigating around The Big Apple, with Samantha Jones as a mentor figure and Miranda Hobbes as a spunky accomplice. She even starts a romance with a popular playwright. Reading about her fun, however, was not interesting enough. I picked up Summer and the City just to finish the series out. I wasn't all too crazy about the first Carrie Diaries novel, and especially didn't care for Sex and the City book. But the HBO series and movies made me a Carrie fan. So as that fan, I felt obligated to continue reading the series and see how our fave character began. 


Well, the young Carrie is nothing like the adult Carrie. It's like two completely different people but with the same name and location. The inconsistencies are few, but apparent. It is correctly labeled as Young Adult. But if you are an adult Carrie fan, it may bore you. Forget summer and the city as a teenager. I want grown woman tales of sex and the city!


Check out the trailer below and decide if worth reading. 




Title: Summer and the City: A Carrie Diaries Novel
Author: Candace Bushnell
Published: April 2011
Pages: 416
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: ♥

July 29, 2011

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 

  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.

Summer and the City: A Carrie Diaries Novel


"First Samantha asks me to find her shoe. When I locate it in the sink, she asks me to a party."

Summer and the City: A Carrie Diaries Novel by Candace Bushnell

July 28, 2011

Each of Us Has a Private Austen

Every once in a while, a movie is better than the book it is based on. It is a very rare occasion, and it happens with The Jane Austen Book Club

The Jane Austen Book Club (movie tie-in)

Five women and one man meet monthly to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Each person is responsible for one novel and hosting. In between the meetings, we see a glimpse into their personal lives and feelings. However, the book falls short of comparing the book club members lives to the classic characters. Each of the women have a private Austen. Jocelyn writes about love and courtship, but never married. Sylvia recently divorced her husband and isn't happy. Sylvia's daughter, Allegra, is a lesbian. Bernadette is a colorful, entertaining, knitting, comical genius. Prudie is a somber French teacher but has never been to France. And Grigg is brand new to Austen having never read her books. In fact, Grigg thought they were all sequels. Ha! Their lives are parallel to the characters in which they read and discuss. What an interesting bunch.

Like I said previously, I enjoyed the movie more. It was easier and more entertaining to visualize the characters and the book club's monthly meetings. 

An advantage are the book club questions for discussion that the characters themselves pose. There is also a separate section in the back matter with more questions, opinions and comments from Jane Austen's family and friends, and a brief synopsis of Jane Austen's six novels: EmmaSense and Sensibility, Mansfield ParkNorthanger AbbeyPride And Prejudice and Persuasion. I recommend the book AND movie for classic Jane Austen lovers and book club members. Nice job, Ms. Fowler.

Check out the movie trailer below. **whispering** Pssst! The entire movie can be viewed on YouTube.


Title: The Jane Austen Book Club (movie tie-in)
Author: Karen Joy Fowler
Published: May 2005
Pages: 285
Edition: Paperback / Movie
Rating: ♥♥ Paperback / 
♥ Movie


July 27, 2011

Down on Luck

Money Can't Buy LoveMoney Can't Buy Love starts off very interesting. Thirty-eight year old Lenora Stone was recently dumped by her fiance, deserted by her best friends, had her cashmere silver BMW repossessed, and foreclosed on her million dollar dream house. Clearly she is down on her luck and depressed. We see her on the verge of giving up with the first line. Whoa! What happened to this misfortunate main character? Well, she won $5 million in the Maryland lottery almost one year ago. She's been down on luck ever since. And so begins her recollection of the past year.


This book is the true cliche of money can't buy love or happiness. Connie Briscoe has a way of telling a predictable story, but keeping me interested and flipping the e-pages. I kept reading to see what Lenora would do next, if the money would change her, or if Gerald was really ready to commit. The characters are well-developed; although I wish the ending would have been more detailed. I wouldn't have minded another 25 pages or so.


If you're a Connie Briscoe fan, try Money Can't Buy Love. You may be annoyed with Lenora, but will enjoy the story.


Title: Money Can't Buy Love
Author: Connie Briscoe
Published: June 2011
Pages: 224
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥

July 26, 2011

Tumblr Style Tuesday


The hot pink coffee table is so my style.



I would love this garage door.



United States of Books

July 24, 2011

Series Sunday: G-Spot 2

Series Sunday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Post a review/recommendation on your blog, FB, Twitter, Goodreads, or Shelfari pages.
  • Share your review/recommendation by posting the link in the comments section below.
  • Include the title, author, and name of the series so that other Series Sunday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.

My Series Sunday pick is G-Spot 2: Pride: The 1st Deadly Sin, a 7-part serial tale by the Queen of Urban Erotica, Noire. The serial tale is called G-Spot 2: The Seven Deadly Sins. Yes, the sequel to G-Spot will be told in seven parts (Pride, Betrayal, Greed, Envy, Lust, Trickery, and Revenge). The eBooks are only $4.99 each. The series launched July 9 with a new "sin" releasing every month. Click the picture to order, or to read a sexy excerpt.


Juicy Monique Stanfield is back. After the murder of Granite "G" McKay, his own son Gino and Juicy ran off with the money stash. In Pride: The 1st Deadly Sin, they try to create a new happy life while hiding out from henchmen. Will they make it? It will definitely leave you hanging for part two. Good job reeling urban erotica readers back in, Noire.


Title: G-Spot 2 Pride: The 1st Deadly Sin (G-Spot 2: The Seven Deadly Sins)
Author: Noire
Published: July 2011
Pages: 73
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥

July 22, 2011

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 

  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.
Money Can't Buy Love

"Lenora stood above the polished chrome faucet in her master bathroom, razor blade held firmly in one hand, and thought of slashing her wrist."



~ Money Can't Buy Love by Connie Briscoe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

G-Spot 2 Pride: The 1st Deadly Sin (G-Spot 2: The Seven Deadly Sins)



"Have you ever rolled over in the middle of the night and been so damn thankful you just broke down and cried?"


July 21, 2011

Single Girls Got Things To Do

Single Girl's to-Do ListAuthor of the I Heart series, Lindsey Kelk, released a hilarious standalone novel titled The Single Girl's To-Do List. So I recommended it for a chick lit book club I'm in on goodreads, and it was selected for our July BOTM. What a great choice! Where are all my single ladies? Put your books up! This is a cute, fun read for the summer while lounging at the pool, checking out the guys underneath your shades. 


Makeup artist Rachel Summers is the queen of to-do lists. She cannot function without them. When her boyfriend Simon suddenly dumps her, she is unsure of what to do next. A five year relationship, a mortgage, and a co-signed car loan later, and he suddenly wants a break. Best friends Emelie and Matthew come to her rescue and help develop an entirely new kind of list - The Single Girl's To-Do List. It is the perfect cure for heartbreak.


Rachel's Single Girl To-Do List
 Bungee jump - or similar.
Get a tattoo.
Write letter to ex.
Find first crush.
 Break the law.


These were just a few of the items listed. Never in her 29 years would Rachel consider any of the list items. She is the type of organized girl who carefully plans out her day. But thanks to her two best friends, she has a new attitude and willing to do anything. While some of the items on the list seem impossible to complete within a short two-week timeframe, Rachel has fun trying to complete the adventures.


The point of the to-do list was to learn something new about herself, start a single girl's life, and of course tick off items upon completion. Readers will enjoy this adventure with Rachel as she branches out of her comfort zone and possibly finds romance in the process. 


As a subscriber of Lindsey Kelk's personal blog, I followed her progress in writing this book. I wondered if she would be able to master a standalone novel and completely separate these characters from those in the I Heart series. (And cleverly feature a cameo by Jenny.) Would it be just as interesting, if not more? Would it still have the perfect element of entertainment, chick lit, lovable characters, and pop culture references? Yes! Great job on this standalone novel, Lindsey Kelk!



Title: The Single Girl's To-Do List
Author: Lindsey Kelk
Published: June 2011
Pages: 265
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥

July 20, 2011

Love Square

Don't Tell Your CousinTwo cousins. A married man. A steamy affair. Sound like a twisted love square? It is.


Stephanie and Amanda are cousins living under the same roof. When Amanda sees a picture of her cousin's lover on her boss's desk, she realizes he is a married man and immediately informs her cousin Stephanie. Through a chain of drama-filled events, somehow Amanda ends up involved with the same married man. Hence, the love square. Soon Amanda feels the consequences of her actions.


Have you ever read a book and just wanted to shake the shat out of a character? Well that is how I felt about Amanda in Don't Tell Your Cousin. She just didn't get it. I was also disappointed in the ending for a couple reasons. First, Amanda never really learned her lesson. Second, it seemed incomplete leaving me with the impression it was unfinished. Hopefully new author Veronica E. Kelly purposely left it open-ended for a sequel. If you like drama, this is the book for you.


Title: Don't Tell Your Cousin
Author: Veronica E. Kelly
Published: April 2011
Pages: 306
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♡


July 19, 2011

Tumblr Style Tuesday


Love my annual cruises, but this right here? Is a rocky ride.



This is art. 



Looking for me? You can find me in my book sanctuary.