Throwing in the towel

Ok, I give! I am just going with this lovely premade template. Maybe eventually I will be able to figure out coding. Right now, however, I am completely baffled and so obviously coding challenged, haha!

I am currently reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. It is a part of a seven book series, the fifth of which is scheduled to be released this July. More later!

Ahhh!

Ok, so I have discovered that I am DEFINITELY horrible at blog layouts! Well, the coding part anyway. I am trying to upload and code my own background and such, but it truly is a pain for me. So, bear with me and my funky looking blog.

P.S. I Love You - Cecelia Ahern

"A novel about holding on, letting go, and learning to love again.

Now in paperback, the endearing novel that captured readers' hearts and introduced a fresh new voice in women's fiction — Cecelia Ahern.

Holly couldn't live without her husband Gerry, until the day she had to. They were the kind of young couple who could finish each other's sentences. When Gerry succumbs to a terminal illness and dies, 30-year-old Holly is set adrift, unable to pick up the pieces. But with the help of a series of letters her husband left her before he died and a little nudging from an eccentric assortment of family and friends, she learns to laugh, overcome her fears, and discover a world she never knew existed." (barnesandnoble.com)

I'm not even sure where to begin with this novel. I laughed, I teared up, and it made me think deeply about my own husband and what I would ever do without him here with me. Ms. Ahern wrote this beautifully. It follows Holly through the months after her husband's death and tells us of how she survives without him. Sometimes she is barely living and other times she manages to pretend to live. It is an amazing journey she takes us on as she learns to live without her other half.

Most of the time when I really enjoy a book, I like to zip through it, and while I was hoping to have finished it sooner, I felt more satisfied with it, even though it took me longer. Maybe this is the kind of book that needs to be taken in slowly. It is full of such strong emotions and truly grabs at your heart.

I felt as though I was in her shoes while I was reading. I could never imagine having lost someone, whether I had been with them for one year or one hundred.

For those of you (who like myself) have seen the movie, it is a bit different. For one, it does have some Irish style speaking in it, as Ms. Ahern is Irish and it takes place in Ireland, but it did not cause me to enjoy it any less. They both have still successfully caused me to become emotional though. ;)

Now, with that being said, I would definitely recommend this fantastic novel!

What I give this book:


Off to find something to read next. :)

Getting closer

Hopefully, the layout will be done soon. I know they don't match but I am horrible at coding and such and can't get my own background to work, so am sufficing to use this one for now. I know it doesn't match (haha!) my header and tag-things, but hopefully that will soon change. So ignore the construction for now. :)

I am still reading P.S. I Love You, but haven't gotten as much reading time as I would have hoped in so far. I have been incredibly busy with my son (Terrible twos? Try terrible threes!), work, and trying to make my brain understand coding all the while trying to combat my insomnia (you would think I would have more done, haha!). I will definitely be giving a review of this novel though as soon as I am able to finish it. Now if I could just kick my night-owl-ishness (made up word, I know), I would be good to go!

Alrighty, off to go read now!

Apologies!

Sorry I have been out. I have had a couple of dilemmas...

1) I am trying to spruce up my blog page, which is really a pain because other than posting, I have hardly a clue as to how to do custom editing on here.

2) I have been having the hardest time trying to decide what to read *shame on me*... There are just so many good ones and I have no clue which one I want to read next, but there will be a new review soon, I promise!!

3) This one is not a dilemma, but HUGE news!! I found out Thursday that I am going to be an aunt!! My husband's sister found out that she is going to have a baby. I am super stoked! Now I get to ruin hers rotten (like she does mine). Mwahahaha! ;)

At any rate, hopefully I will have it together soon.

Undead and Unwed - MaryJanice Davidson

"First Betsy Taylor loses her job, then she's killed in a car accident. But what really bites is that she can't seem to stay dead. And now her new friends have the ridiculous idea that Betsy is the prophesied vampire queen, and they want her help in overthrowing the most obnoxious power-hungry vampire in five centuries." (barnesandnoble.com)

First and foremost, this book had me laughing out loud - frequently and a few times to the point it hurt! This is the funniest book in chick lit I have yet to read. Needless to say, I was stoked when I realized it had several sequels.

The story follows Betsy, who starts out having this horrific day, only to die and come back. While having a bit of a vain designer shoe obsession, she is a very funny and likeable character. The only complaint I have is that the romance aspect took a bit longer to play out than I would have liked, but in all honesty, it is only because I am a sucker for love and romance.

I would definitely recommend this book, and have gotten my sister in law hooked on it as well. ;)

What I give this book:

Insatiable - Meg Cabot

So, it is now 2:38 a.m. About five minutes ago I finished Meg Cabot's book, Insatiable. I decided to start with this one first, why I don't know, but either way I started it yesterday. Okay, technically I started it Monday, but same difference right? ;) So, now to the good stuff...


"Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn't believe in them.

Not that Meena isn't familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you're going to die. (Not that you're going to believe her. No one ever does.)

But not even Meena's precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side. It's a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, Lucien's already dead. Maybe that's why he's the first guy Meena's ever met whom she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena's always been able to see everyone else's future, she's never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future…

If she even has one." (barnesandnoble.com)

I loved every bit of this story! It was romantic, funny, and dramatic. Meg wrote this wonderfully. Meena is quite a character (as is the rest). She is sharp-witted, funny, and charming. The only drawback was the ending, naturally. I won't give it away (the ending), but I am definitely excited for this summer! There will be a sequel!!! It wasn't so much a cliff hanger ending, but to me, not what you would expect.

What I give this book:


Tomorrow I will be starting the next book, though I am unsure of which one at this time. :)

Getting back at it...

5/16/2011
Monday

Recently I have tried to get back into reading. I used to devour books. What happened? I don't know that I can really say because I don't really know the answer myself. Either way, here it goes...


So, recently, I stumbled upon The Forest of Hands and Teeth series by Carrie Ryan. It was actually a book checked out from the library by my sister in law (while I was busy stuffing my bag with books for my three year old). A couple of days after our library trip, I stole it from her and started reading it. I'm not really sure what first drew me in. I was genuinely curious about what was going on, and of course not long after reading, that was figured out, so naturally I wanted more! The Forest, to me, is a must read. I loved every bit of it. I will warn though, it is a bit depressing. Here is the summary:

“In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?” - (barnesandnoble.com)

What I give this book:



Now, the following book, The Dead Tossed Waves, isn't exactly a sequel. It continues with the Mary's daughter, Gabrielle. I had a harder time with it, only because I was fresh from the first book, and with it being a completely different character, it kind of threw me for a loop. After the first couple of chapters though, I was into it as much as the first. I don't want to give too much away with this one, or the next one because they really are all connected, and it really surprised me!

What I give this book:



The Dark and Hollow Places, I am still working on. I am into it a little bit, but for some reason I felt like I needed a break from it, I don't know why I am having a harder time with this one. I will eventually finish it. This isn't the first time I have done this with a book.






So, to fill the spaces between, I have started Melissa Marr's series, Wicked Lovely. I started Wicked Lovely on Saturday and finished it yesterday. I wasn't sure how it was going to go because initially it started out kind of slow, in my opinion. It was like that for almost half the book. Something about it just kept me reading, however. I'm glad it did! I thought it was excellent, like I said, a little slow, but well done. One thing that really stuck out to me was that it went back and forth between characters, although it isn't written from the point of view of any of them, which is something I am not used to. Usually I read stuff from first person, but I still liked this. I also have not read books about faeries either, so it was exciting for me in that aspect. :)


“Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.
Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.
Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.
Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.
But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.
Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.” (barnesandnoble.com)

What I give this book:


So, that's it for now. :)