Love the One You're With by Emily Griffin

Emily Griffin is the author of Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof. I read all of these books and loved them, so I was looking forward to her newest book Love the One You're With. The main character, Ellen, is married to Andy Graham, her college roommate/best friend's brother. They are happily married (some-what newlyweds) until Ellen runs into a love from her past, Leo. Running into Leo brings up many unresolved feelings from their intense relationship. Things get even more complicated when Ellen agrees to move with Andy from New York City to his family's hometown of Atlanta. They settle into the ritzy suburban life with Andy's family (Ellen's BFF sister-in-law and generous mother-in-law) right down the street. But Ellen doesn't like Atlanta. She misses her work, the city, and Leo.

Personally I thought the book was somewhat slow for the first half of the book. But the last 5 chapters more than make up for it. I was screaming at Ellen in the book and squealing at all the twists and turns the story took in the last 50 or so pages.

I found this particular statement in one of the last few chapters to be very poignant:
"...what it all comes down to. Love, not as a surge of passion, but as a choice to commit to something, someone, no matter what obstacles or temptations stand in the way...making that choice, again and again, day in and day out, year after year, says more about love..."

If you can stay with it through the first few slow chapters, it is so worth it in the end.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

I wasn't overly impressed with the first Twilight book. I could take it or leave it. But now I am hooked. I read this book obsessively. When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about what might happen next in the story. A lot of people have said they didn't like this book in the series, but I loved it.

In New Moon we go deeper into this secret vampire world. Edward is not as prominent in this book, but that was ok with me. Bella is sad through most of this book, which I could relate to.

I don't want to give away any of the plot line, so I will just say trust me, there is a reason this series is so popular. It is super romantic with lots of drama. The chapters are long, but it is an easy read. Each chapter ends with a cliff hanger which makes you want to continue reading. I think this style helps you get through the 500+ pages really quickly.

I will say I think this is dangerous for young girls to read. I mean Bella's whole world is Edward. It is the kind of love everyone dreams of. But this stuff just does not exist in real life, so don't get your hopes up girls.

It is a great book though. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

I also saw the Twilight movie this weekend. It was good. Edward was hot. Some scenes where very cheesy though. They did a good job with the normal scenes, but the love scenes with just Edward and Bella were cheesy and just laughable. They were some of my favorite scenes in the book and the movie just ruined them.

I'm going to see the movie again this week though, so it must not be that bad.

I'm also hoping to borrow the third and fourth books from someone soon so I can continue escaping to this super romantic vampire world!

One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

I have read every Candace Bushnell book and never been disappointed. From Sex and the City and Four Blondes, to Trading Up and Lipstick Jungle (currently my favorite TV series!) and now One Fifth Avenue, every book has been great. One Fifth Avenue is the story of a prestigious building in New York City and the lives of it's residents. There is power, status, mystery, scandal, sex, and all kinds of neighborly disputes. From Lola Fabrikant, the beautiful but shallow 20-something trying desperately to secure her spot in New York City to Annalisa Rice who is adjusting to being a hedge fund millionaire's wife instead of a Washington attorney, or Phillip Oakland and James Gooch, the building's two very different but almost equally successful writers. From the gossip columnist to the bloggers, you will enjoy getting to know each of the characters in this novel and follow them along their intertwined journeys through the power, status, and relationship struggles. There is lots of drama and there are lots of characters to keep up with, but it is well worth it. If you secretly dream of living in NYC and like to follow lots of drama, you will enjoy this book! If you can keep up with all the characters you will be left wanting to know more about where their adventures in NYC lead them next long after you finish the last chapter.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Also, if you haven't watched the Lipstick Jungle series on TV, you should. It is absolutely the best series on TV right now. I heard a rumor they canceled it, but hopefully they will have a change of heart because I will be very sad to see it go. Check it out Fridays on NBC.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

If you haven't heard of this series by now, you might be living under a rock. People are comparing this to the Harry Potter craze. I had so many people recommend this series to me that I just had to read it. When I first started Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, I thought I was going to become obsessed and finish it over the weekend. But to be honest with you I just couldn't get in to it for the first half of the book. It was the story of this high school girl, Bella Swan, who moves to a small town in the Northwest called Forks to live with her dad. She slips easily into high school life there and meets Edward Cullen. He is beautiful, dazzling, and kind of weird at first. Of course you should know this by now- he is a vampire. All the guys are crazy about Bella at her new school, so I'm guessing she probably isn't so bad herself. But for the first 300 pages or so it was just this little high school story.

I think the turning point for me was the baseball game. After that chapter, things started moving really fast and I got into it. For those last few chapters I could almost get the Harry Potter comparisons. It was exciting and you had to use your imagination to visualize what was going on. But Harry Potter this is not. It is a good book and I will read the others in the series: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. I will also see the movie. But I'm not jumping right in and reading all four books overnight. I'm going to take an Edward/Bella break for now, but I will come back for more.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Jen Lancaster's next book: Pretty in Plaid

Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomanical, Self-Centered Smart Ass Phase

Jen says of this book on her blog "I've been telling people Pretty in Plaid is a memoir about being a socially awkward 'tween, privately summing it up as The Book in Which I Go David Sedaris All Over Your Asses..."

The cover is super-duper cute!

According to Amazon it comes out May 5, 2009.

Something to look forward to for poolside/beach reading next year!

Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster

I finished Jen Lancaster's Such a Pretty Fat on the plane ride to Orlando. It was a pretty good book. Not as great as her first Bitter is the New Black, but still good. In this book Jen attempts to loose weight following Atkins, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, hiring a personal trainer, and taking up swimming.

The best thing about her books is her quick wit and her footnotes. Seriously, the footnotes are usually so funny. But in this book she used her footnotes to promote her other two books a few too many times for my liking. Also, now that she has published three books it is hard to feel sorry for her when she complains. At least for me...

Overall the book was a fun, quick read. I don't have much else to say except you will chuckle at her writing and adventures, but don't expect this to be life changing or anything. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Marley and Me as a movie!

Last year I read Marley and Me and I absolutely LOVED it! I'm a dog person and now having gone through the dreaded puppy stage with Cam I have so much sympathy for the owners of Marley. Dogs can bring so so much to your life it is impossible not to love them despite the accidents in the house, chewed household items, and embarrassing moments in public. If you are a dog person Marley and Me is a MUST read! I would give it 5 out of 5 stars!

I saw the preview for the movie Marley and Me this weekend and it is going to be H-I-larious! It stars Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson and comes out on Christmas Day. I personally can't wait to see it! And it may just be the one that is good enough to go see by myself so I can cross something else off my list!