Book Reporters

I’m in No Mood for Love by Rachel Gibson

Amber — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:44:57 +0000

Bleh.

I’m in No Mood for Love features goody goody Clare Wingate and her rebound from an engagement to a man who may or may not have been gay. Lucky for uptight Clare, her mother’s servant’s son, a wild, globe-trotting reporter, is in town.

Sometimes predictability is OK, as long as the writing is good and the characters are interesting. In this case, neither is true. In this case, Gibson turned to cliches to piece together a story we’ve all heard before.

Read only if you’re desperate.

The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

Amber — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:36:59 +0000

The Cinderella Deal focuses on Link, a stuffy professor, and his quest to land a coveted job at a prestigious college in Ohio. To do this, he needs a fake fiance; enter Daisy, a broke artist.

The Cinderella Deal is pretty predictable, but like all of Jennifer Crusie’s books, it’s still enjoyable. Her character development is spot on – I wanted to punch Linc and ask Daisy to be my bestie.

The Cinderella Deal is a quick, light read. Two thumbs up.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Amber — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:35:55 +0000

Book reporter Wendy reviewed this book last month, but now that I’ve read it, I wanted to share my review as well!

Twenties Girl is a quick, fun, easy read. There’s nothing earth-shattering or highly intellectual about it, but it’s a good book to put on your list. Some scenes in the book are a bit far-fetched, others are silly, but for the most part, they are entertaining.

There’s even a message in the book, which was well-written and genuine.

The only reservation I have is that I kind of wanted to slap Lara, the main character, in some parts. On the other hand, I loved her ‘friend’ Sadie (although if I was Lara, I would’ve wanted to slap her at times!).

Something Blue by Emily Giffin

Amber — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:12:45 +0000

I just finished reading Something Blue by Emily Giffin. It is the follow-up to my previous book review of Something Borrowed. The flip side version of the drama, as we all know there are two sides to every story.

Before beginning to read this book, a few people told me I would end up liking the main character, Darcy, after hating her in the first book. I must say, even half way through the book, I kept thinking, “What are these people talking about? She is awful.” In the end though, my opinion of her completely changed. Told you so.

I really enjoyed both these books and I highly recommend reading them back to back. After reading them, I feel like I heard a story directly from a friend. I love books like that. The characters truly came to life for me in a very charming tale of friendship and love.

Overall: Great book. Easy read. Page turner.

Book Report by Steffany.

Open by Andre Agassi

Amber — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:06:53 +0000

LOVED IT. I like tennis. I’ve never loved it. I liked Agassi. I never loved him. I watched a ton of tennis at home, because my mom loves it. Loves it enough that she will wake herself up in the middle of the night to see a match. So I followed it.

I’m amazed at the quality of writing in this book, by this athlete. Yes, I understand that he had editors and whatnot to help him along, but I was so impressed by his way with words. It was a great book. You have to enjoy tennis, at least slightly, to get through some parts. There is a LOT of tennis talk: matches, training, etc. But the story that fills in the gaps and time between matches, the parts of his life that he shares, they’re just moving.

Again, I think this book has drawn both good and bad reviews – both on the book and on his life – but I happen to (surprise) LOVE it. It gives me an entire different opinion of Agassi. Not that I had a bad one before, but it just changes the thoughts you have about someone whose entire “image” was shaped by sports media writers and commentators.

It’s soulful. It’s harsh. It’s funny at times. I strongly recommend.

Book Report by Sarah.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Amber — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:02:59 +0000

As I mentioned earlier, I just could not get into the last book I started reading (The Book Thief by Markus Zusak). I tried again over the Holidays and it just wasn’t happening. My mind would wander after each sentence and I had to keep going back to re-read pages. I ultimately decided to throw in the towel.

While perusing the aisle’s of Target for some toddler tunes, I decided to find something a little lighter to read. “Chick lit”, some may call it.

I picked up “Something Borrowed” by Emily Giffen and read 200 pages in one day. I finished it the next evening. It was a very easy read. Something happened each chapter that made you keep turning the pages. It was a little trashy….the kind of trashy that reality shows are. I think that’s why I got sucked in. I didn’t have to think much and it was like watching drama unfold in a reality show.

I give it two thumbs up for those of you who have baby brain (or just can’t focus lately) and need a light read.

Book Report by Steffany.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Wendy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:29:28 +0000

This book is just delightful. It’s so fun and has such a great twist close to the end. I highly recommend it! I am a big fan of Sophie Kinsella’s work. What I appreciated most about this book was the development and treatment the author gave the main character, Lara. She seemed to have more depth than Becky, the star of her Shopaholic series. In this book Lara finds herself with a new “friend” and undergoes a mission to find a missing necklace. Lara acts a bit nutty and scatter-brained like most of Sophie’s leading ladies do, but she seemed to be more grounded than Sophie’s other characters. I enjoy a scatter-brained leading lady because her hi jinx are humorous, but I also enjoy someone who makes thoughtful decisions. Lara is scatter-brained, tender-hearted and smart; a winning combo. I will say, this, however, that when Lara talks to Sadie in the book I couldn’t help but think, each and every time, how the people around her must have thought Lara was a complete crazy person. I wish Sophie would have done something different with those dialogue exchanges. Overall though, I give this book two thumbs up. It’s a fun read.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Wendy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:00:33 +0000

I really liked the cover art of this book. I’m not going to lie – that’s what initially drew me in. Then I realized that it’s by the same gal who wrote The Time Travelor’s Wife, which I very much enjoyed. Time Travelor’s Wife is a better story than this one, but this one isn’t particularly bad. It’s just weird. Weird in a way that I just kept waiting for something to happen. And it really, just, well, didn’t. The characters are all a bit strange and I kept thinking while I was reading the book that they were going to surprise me, that something they did was going to make me say, “whoah!” But it never did. These strange characters were strangely predictable.

I can’t really give this book a glowing review, but I can’t exactly give it a negative one either. I would suggest you read it. If you liked Time Travelor’s Wife and the fantasy-type world that it painted, then you may enjoy this book. It’s got some of the same elements – things that are unbelieveable but you believe them as the basis for the story.

The Four Seasons by Mary Alice Monroe

Wendy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:11:33 +0000

I must be honest, this book was a tad annoying. It was annoying in the way that it was so very predictable. Not just predictable, but unbelieveable. The story is about how three sisters go across country on a search for a child that was given up for adoption. The main characters of the book were a bit flat and, I’ll use the word again, predictable. The characters go through some pretty heavy stuff, but their stories were shallow. I didn’t feel for them, I wasn’t into them enough to really care. I kept reading the book simply to see how it ended, even though I knew how it ended because it was so predictable. And then I was thrown for a surprise at just how badly it did end. It ended how I thought, but the author threw in this plot point that, I guess, was supposed to tie the story together, from start to finish, but it was just stupid. I sort of feel bad that I don’t have anything nice to say about this book, but I just don’t. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Green by Ted Dekker

Amber — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:40:04 +0000

Ted Dekker’s Green both begins and completes his Circle Series, an epic story of good versus evil in which the main character, Thomas Hunter, travels between our world and another in an effort to save both worlds after his son Samuel turns his back on his family and his faith and decides to wage war on others in their world.

Green may be categorized as a fantasy book, but its theme resonates in the here and now. The parallels between the worlds in the book and between those worlds and our world make this book enjoyable and relevant.

Dekker paints the Black Forest so descriptively that it could be a real place. The pacing is such that I didn’t want to put the book down. And his characters are developed so well that their motives and actions are understandable. The only part of the book that was hard for me to grasp was the difference in time periods between the two worlds (2,000 years) and the difference between how years pass in each world (faster in ours than the Black Forest).

Whether you like to read for entertainment or for inspiration, I recommend this book. It is written so that it can complete or begin Dekker’s Circle Series, however I recommend reading it as the conclusion.