COMING UNDONE by Laura Dane

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COMING UNDONE
Author: Laura Dane
Source: Library
  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Berkley Trade; 1 edition (January 5, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0425232700
  • ISBN-13: 978-0425232705
SYNOPSIS:
After his parents’ death, Brody gave up a promising career to care for his family. Now, with his siblings grown, Brody owns his own business, and for the first time in years he’s alone. Elise has come to Seattle with her daughter to find peace. After years as a world-famous ballerina-and trapped in a marriage gone bad-she’s looking for neither love nor attention. But she finds both in the handsome, honest man who befriends her with no strings attached.

Brody and Elise discover in each other the wild, physical passion they need. But it’ll take a shadow from Elise’s past to make them look beyond what they need-to what they truly desire.

MY THOUGHTS:
This was my first book by this author.  I had read many reviews for her book, and I thought I would give it a go since I am always looking for new authors to read.
The book opens with Brody, who is a tattoo artist, Harley riding, looking good in jeans bad boy of the neighborhood.  He loves how his life has turned out and is ready to enjoy it.  Elise, who was once a ballerina, moves in across the street with her daughter, after leaving an abusive relationship. She comes looking for a fresh start and raising her daughter on her own.  The two become friends and more.  This book showed that not only can the author write hot and steamy sex romance, she can also keep it focused on family.  Brody is the man that is protective and yet caring, and Elise is independent yet feminine.  A perfect balance in a wonderful book.  
I am happy to have found a new author to keep an eye on.  The story flowed at the right pace and kept my interest the whole ride.  I will definitely be checking out her previous books and her future books.
MY RATING:


Very Good! Worth Spending Your Money on!

MY OWN PERSONAL SOAP OPERA by Libby Malin

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MY OWN PERSONAL SOAP OPERA
Author: Libby Malin
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (April 1, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1402229429
  • ISBN-13: 978-1402229428
SYNOPSIS:
Is life stranger than fiction, or vice versa?

Frankie McNally has found the perfect solution for life’s perplexing problems: as head writer for the daytime soap Lust for Life, she works them out on the air!

Meanwhile, Frankie’s being courted simultaneously by the dashing older man sent in to save the show’s sagging ratings and by the soap’s totally hot leading man. And just when Frankie thinks the plot couldn’t get more complicated, a jewel thief starts copying the show’s storyline-a development that could send the show’s ratings soaring, if it doesn’t get Frankie arrested first…
MY THOUGHTS:
I admit that I used to be a soap opera addict.  I would stay home sick from school and be forced to listen to the soaps on TV because my mom was determined to watch them.  They grew on me very quickly. As I became an adult, I still watched them. I would get the kids to school, do the housework, and sit and enjoy my soaps. I even read the Soap Opera Digest weekly.  Then I found books again and I recovered from one addiction and started another. Oops!
Well, I will say that this fun chick lit read was entertaining. I liked the characters, even if some of them were dull at times.  The witty dialogue was fun and the story moved along okay.  If you have watched soap operas you know they can be cheesy at times. Well so can a book about them.  I took it in stride though and enjoyed a nice little read by Libby Malin.  
Overall a great book for the lighthearted readers and would make great reading when you are sitting on the beach wondering what is happening on your soaps!
MY RATING:



Very Good! Worth Spending Your Money on!

RICK & BUBBA’S BIG HONKIN’ BOOK OF GRUB

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RICK & BUBBA’S BIG HONKIN’ BOOK OF GRUB
Author: Rick Burgess & Bill Bussey
Source: BookSneeze
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 30, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1401604021
  • ISBN-13: 978-1401604028
SYNOPSIS:
In Rick and Bubba’s Big Honkin’ Book of Grub, America’s sexiest fat men share wise observations and stories about grub as only they can tell them.
Rick and Bubba’s Big Honkin’ Book of Grub is exactly what a diet/recipe book should be—full of hilarious stories, good eating, and not a single mention of calories! New York Times bestselling authors Rick and Bubba are not ashamed to admit they eat for one reason and one reason only: they like the way food tastes. With family recipes from their wives Sherri and Betty (who have been keeping these two in grub for years) as well as the winning recipes from Rick and Bubba’s Big Honkin’ Recipe Contest, this book is a keeper. So pull up a chair, grab a fork, and enjoy!
MY THOUGHTS:
My first impression of this book, when looking at the cover, is look at all that great food on the front!  I thought I was going to learn how to make me some good ole fashioned BBQ grub!  Well, granted, there are about 12 recipes in all in this book, but most of it is just the comical humor from the authors who just happen to also be radio show hosts.
While I enjoyed the funny dialogue in the book, I was disappointed in the fact that there weren’t many recipes.  I thought this was going to be a cookbook that would have me anxious to start the BBQ in the middle of winter.  I loved the humor that the authors wrote. Who doesn’t like to make fun about SPAM or potluck food? I laughed several times while reading this.
Overall, if you are thinking this is a cookbook, there isn’t that many recipes to try.  If you are looking for some humor while you cook, then this is the book. This would make a good Father’s Day book though for the cooking and BBQing Dad though!
MY RATING:



Very Good! Worth Spending Your Money on!

SHADOW OF THE MOON by Rachel Hawthorne

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SHADOW OF THE MOON
A Dark Guardian Novel #4
Source: Library
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: HarperTeen (March 23, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061962902
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061962905
SYNOPSIS:
I can feel every Shifter’s emotions except Daniel’s—the only one whose heart I long to know. 
Hayden was born a werewolf, a Dark Guardian. But her ability to sense the feelings of fellow werewolves has made her life unbearable. She runs away, only to be tracked by charming, mysterious Daniel, a newcomer to the pack and the one Shifter immune to her powers. As she reluctantly follows him home, Hayden finds herself falling dangerously in love. . . . 
But even as her feelings for Daniel deepen, Hayden begins to wonder if he is who he claims to be. Where did he come from and why has no one ever seen him transform? When they stumble upon the body of a Shifter still in wolf form, her worries grow. Someone is killing her kind. Is her handsome tracker really a hunter? And is Hayden now his prey? 
MY THOUGHTS:
This series has been hit and miss for me.  While I enjoyed a couple of books from this series, there was certain parts of each book that annoyed me.
With Shadow of the Moon, the author has grown with her writing skills.  It flowed better and made more sense with the plot and characters. I loved the story of Hayden and Daniel.  Both loners of the pack, but with a special skill in each one.  The only frustrating thing about this series is the women of the pack. Can they please get over the sacraficial lamb part of their personality already? Can they just fall in love with their mate as quickly as their male counterparts and quit trying to sacrafice their feelings and emotions for others?  Kick butt already and claim those hunky men the author is trying to pair you up with already!  It is very annoying!
Overall, this book was my favorite of the series I think.  The story of Hayden and Daniel was written so much better than the others.  One I would read again.
MY RATING:



Very Good! Worth Spending Your Money on!

GONE by Lisa McMann

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GONE
Author: Lisa McMann
Source: Library
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Simon Pulse; 1 edition (February 9, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416979182
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416979180
SYNOPSIS:
Dream-catcher Janie must decide her fate: continue living in society and helping the police but eventually become blind and crippled, or isolate herself completely. The choice becomes even more difficult when her father, in a coma and on the brink of death, comes into her life for the first time and reveals important information to Janie through his dreams. Cabel remains a steadfast and loving companion, and Janie’s mother, a barely functioning alcoholic, plays a greater role in this volume.
MY THOUGHTS:
It has been so long since I read this series that I almost forgot what was going on.  I remembered how I loved the story of Janie and Cabel so I was still excited to finally get to read it. I had forgotten how the author has a unique writing style that can seem confusing at first if you haven’t read her first two books.  I think it is a really great concept in writing.  In this book, we got to see a lot of Janie’s family and her agonizing decision about taking the lonely road in life or the difficult road with family and friends.  You could actually feel her pain as she struggled with what to do.  I still can’t stand her mother, but at least we get some insight on why she is an alcoholic and we get to see Ms. Stubin again. 
Overall an okay book to finish the trilogy with.  I like how the story ends, but I would have loved it even more if Janie actually got to understand more in her father’s dreams.  I felt she could have done so much more with that part of the story.  Instead of it being a climatic end to a series, it felt more like a filler book that should have gone between the other stories.

MY RATING:

 
Perfect For Rainy Days From the Library!