The Longings of Wayward Girls

The woods were a place of imaginative games and innocent wanderers. The swampy area was a harmless place until nine-year-old Laura Loomis went missing in 1974. The search continued for days with no clues found. A few years later, Sadie and her best friend are playing a harmless prank on a girl from the neighborhood. The result...the neighborhood girl disappears like Laura Loomis did.

Fast forward to 2002 and Sadie Watkins is used to being mistaken for one of the missing girls. In fact, saying "I'm not Laura Loomis" has become second nature to her. A boy from her old neighborhood comes to town sparking all of Sadie's old memories. The unsolved mystery and summer prank resurfaces.

The Longings of Wayward Girls had so much potential. The guilt of a grown woman over the disappearance of a girl, possibly her fault. The same grown woman grieving over a miscarriage while figuring out what really happened that summer. I really wanted to like this book. I realize I am in the minority with not caring for it. The premise sounded really good but it fell flat. There was no climax. My reaction to the ending was, "Oh." -___- Reiterating, this is just my opinion that does not mirror the majority. I longed for a better story line to The Longings of Wayward Girls but others may enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: The Longings of Wayward Girls
Author: Karen Brown
Published: July 2013
Pages: 327
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♥

 

Wedding Night

"I lean back proudly, feeling like the queen of remote-control honeymoon-fixing, all-powerful in my empress's chair." ~ pg. 241

Wedding Night is a chick lit comedy about two sisters. Lottie is carefree, starry-eyed and a hopeless romantic. Fliss is responsible, sensible, nurturing and protective. The book begins with Lottie breaking up with Richard "The One." Within pages, she rushes into a rebound relationship by way of marriage to an ex-boyfriend. They run off to a honeymoon. Practical sister Fliss is appalled at the news. She is doing everything she can to stop her sister Lottie from consummating the marriage so it can be annulled. Operation Stop Wedding Night in full effect.

Who would've thought someone would sabotage a honeymoon? Let alone your own sister! Wedding Night was the perfect funny story of when honeymoons go wrong. The characters were memorable. I could relate to both sisters. Even though Lottie is cray, she wants the fairy tale of being swept off her feet and in love. What girl doesn't? I can also relate to Fliss' responsible and level-headed side.

Sophie Kinsella is my favorite chick lit author. Wedding Night is another success and great for a summer beach read. Check out the book trailer below and video of Sophie Kinsella reading the first chapter.

Title: Wedding Night
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Published: April 2013
Pages: 340
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

Got My Mojo Back, Baby! Oh, Behave!

Lit Tidbits

• Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta seems to be a guilty pleasure to watch on Monday nights. Well Simon & Schuster is publishing a book titled Taking One for the Team by Stevie J. I can only assume it will be about how to get on the "bus." Would you read a book by Stevie J.?
• The Cuckoo's Calling is a debut mystery novel by Robert Galbraith. It was released earlier this year and received excellent reviews. The Sunday Times revealed the book isn't a debut novel after all. **GASP** Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling! I did not read the Harry Potter series but love mysteries and know that Rowling is a great writer. I've added The Cuckoo's Calling to my TBR list. Stay tuned for a review later this fall.
•  I recently read and reviewed Easy by Tammara Webber. It was such a great story; the thousands of positive reviews are deserved. An indie author, Jordin B. Williams, apparently thought Easy was so good that she plagiarized it! Did she really think avid readers wouldn't notice?! The book has been removed from sale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
• Juror B37 of the Zimmerman trial recently interviewed with CNN's Anderson Cooper. Her comments caused an online outrage among live tweeters (myself included—see screenshot below). Thanks to the power of Twitter, Juror B37 no longer has a book deal. Juror B37 statement: "The best direction for me to go is away from writing any sort of book." Ya think?

LiteraryMarie Juror B37 said it was too time-consuming to go through all of the evidence. That's your duty as a juror! She just wanted a book deal. 7/15/13 8:41 PM

 

On the Run from Reading

Have you ever been in a reading funk? I took a scheduled break from book blogging and reading to finish copyediting projects. Usually I am scratching like a fiend after one week of not reading fiction. But this time? I just cannot muster enough attention to sit and read a book. Perhaps I am picking up duds. Perhaps I am burnt out on reading. Perhaps I'm trying to end my break prematurely and my mind's telling me, "No, girl. Chill. Those books will be there. They aren't going anywhere." But my reading pile and review requests are steady climbing higher while I'm on the run away from book pages. So please bare with me, bookhearts. I'll be back to my regular scheduled blogging soon.

Thanks for your support and understanding.

 

June eMags

I am Living La Vida NOOK with these June eMags:

Essence ~ Turn Your Clutter Into Cash

Ebony ~ Living with Lupus 

The Writer ~ Flattered by Fitzgerald

US Weekly ~ Kate vs. Kim: Due the Same Day

Elle ~ There's Something about Kerry

Vogue ~ Summer's Casual Glamour: 88 Looks to Wear Now

Marie Claire ~ How to Wear the Season's Hottest Trends

Entertainment Weekly ~ Summer's Best TV

Jet ~ Eve Back with a Vengeance

MacLife ~ 20 Killer Mac Apps 

Real Simple ~ Ingenious Organizing Systems

Rolling Stone ~ Daft Punk: EDM's Secretive Superstars Finally Open Up

 

Series Sunday: J is for Judgment

(Kinsey Millhone Alphabet #10)

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Read an installment of a series.
• Share your review/recommendation below.
• Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is J is for Judgment, the tenth book in the Kinsey Millhone alphabet series by Sue Grafton. Wendell Jaffe has been dead for the past five years, or so everyone thought. His boat was found drifting off the coast. He left a note admitting to being broke with a bankrupt business and a criminal indictment soon to follow. With no corpse to prove Jaffe's death, California Fidelity paid the $500,000 life insurance policy to his wife. Until a former insurance agents spotted Jaffe at a resort near Cabo San Lucas. Now California Fidelity needs to rehire P.I. Kinsey Millhone to find out the truth: Is Jaffe dead or alive?

J is for Judgment is Kinsey's tenth mystery. It seemed more like a filler in the series than a strong installment. It was only 224 e-pages, but could have been shorter. Many of the pages were recaps or meaningless description. Again, I will stick to this series because it has earned my attention as a fan and I'm interested in seeing where the series goes.

Title: J is for Judgment
Author: Sue Grafton
Published: May 1993
Pages: 224
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥