Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

I actually really loved this book!  A few months ago I finally got around to reading Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand.  I loved it!  So someone else recommended Silver Girl to me. I added it to my paperbackswap.com wish list and the first one I was offered was the audio version, so I ended up listening to this one instead of reading it.

The story is about the wife of a man who lead a ponzi scheme.  Think Bernie Madoff.  In fact I think this had to be somewhat based on that because even in the book the husband is in a federal prison in Butner, NC which is where Bernie ended up.

It was so interesting to see the story from the wife's perspective.  How everyone hated her even though she was hurt in the whole thing too and had no idea what was going on.

There are also some side stories that get pretty good too.  I really enjoyed it!

I give this one 4.5 out of 5 stars

Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand

I LOVED this book!  A co-worker recommended this book to me years ago and I have had it on my bookshelf for a long time.  I do not know why I didn't pick it up sooner.

Here's the synopsis from Paperbackswap.com:

The ties between women can run as deep as the ocean-but so can the secrets. — For 20 years, Kayla, Antoinette and Val have performed their own special summer ritual. Once a year, the old friends put aside their daily, separate lives to drink champagne, swap stories and swim naked under the Nantucket stars. But on one of those bonding nights, one of their trio swims out from the shore and doesn't return. After the surviving friends emerge from their grief, they realize that the repercussions of their loss go far beyond their little circle, and they begin to uncover layers of secrets-and their connections to each other-that were never revealed on the beach. What has made their friendship strong now has the power to destroy-their marriages, families, even themselves.


What makes this book so good is that the story is so shocking and you can really see all sides to it.  It also has this underlying mystery that you are trying to figure out through the whole book.  What really happened to Antionette?  


It was really good and I can't wait to read more from this author!


I give this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

You should read this book.  Seriously.  If you have not read it, you should put it on your "to-read" list.  Same Kind of Different as Me is the true story of a wealthy art dealer and a homeless man and the unlikely friendship they find.

The book alternates between Denver, a former plantation sharecropper who jumps a train to escape his bleak future and ends up living his life as a homeless man for years, and Ron, a wealthy art dealer whose wife convinces him to serve the community at a homeless shelter.  That homeless shelter is where their paths cross and God moves in both of their lives.

This story really did make me view homeless people and serving others differently.  If you really want to make a difference in someone's life it doesn't happen in a day. 

It was inspiring to watch how God worked in both of these men's lives to change them and each other.

The book is very well written and will suck you in.  It is open and honest and tells their imperfect and inspiring story beautifully.  Not only is it a good story, but it may change your life- read it!

I give this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.

It looks like it is in production to become a movie.

Here's a good interview with Ron and Denver about their story:

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

I listened to this one on CD driving to and from work every day.  I loved it!  It is the story of Carrie Bradshaw (of Sex and the City) when she was in high school.  Most of it is centered around boy drama, but it touches on her passion for writing and early struggles with that as well.

I loved all the stories and her drama with Donna Ladonna and her friends.  I even loved how they did the different voices of the characters.

Here is a synopsis fro the authors website:

The Carrie Diaries is the coming-of-age story of one of the most iconic characters of our generation.

Before Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw was a small town girl who knew she wanted more. She’s ready for real life to start, but first she must navigate her senior year of high school. Up until now, Carrie and her friends have been inseparable. Then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture, and a friend’s betrayal makes her question everything.

With an unforgettable cast of characters, The Carrie Diaries is the story of how a regular girl learns to think for herself, and evolves into a sharp, insightful writer. Readers will learn about her family background, how she found her writing voice, and the indelible impression her early friendships and relationships left on her. Through adventures both audacious and poignant, we’ll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where her new life begins.

I think she has a follow-up book to this one called Summer and the City that I'm going to have to read now.

I've read all of Candace Bushnell's books and enjoyed them all so I highly recommend this one if you've read her other stuff and liked it.

I give this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.

After You by Julie Buxbaum

I loved this book.  After You by Julie Buxbaum is really the story of Lucy, Ellie and Sophie.  Lucy and Ellie were life-long best friends, but Lucy is murdered by a mugger while walking her daughter to school one day and her best friend Ellie drops everything, leaves Boston, and goes to London to take care of he goddaughter Sophie following Lucy's death.

Lucy's husband, Greg, Sophie and Ellie all live under the same roof while dealing with their grief over the loss of Lucy in their own ways.  Sophie stops talking for a while and Ellie just knows she cannot leave Sophie to go home.  They start reading The Secret Garden together at night and it seems to help both of them.

Ellie then discovers things about Lucy that she never knew and her marriage starts falling apart when she refuses to go home to her husband.

I don't want to give away too much but this book covers a lot of issues from losing a mother, child, wife, husband to discovering secrets you never knew your best friend had.  I fell in love with the characters and appreciated that the author didn't just wrap everything up in a nice little bow or take the predicted path with the story.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!  Highly recommended!

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown

I really liked this book!  It had so much going on it was hard to ever get bored.  The three main characters are Janice and her two daughters, Margaret and Lizzie.  Janice's husband just had a very successful public launch of his pharmaceutical company but that day Janice learns that her husband is divorcing her and has been having an affair with her best friend.  Talk about timing!  Meanwhile 28 year old Margaret is in debt up to her eyeballs and is realizing she is finally going to have to give up on her homegrown magazine ever making it to the big time.  And 14 year old Lizzie finds out she is not becoming popular, but instead has made a name for herself as the school slut.

I think this except from Paperbackswap.com sums up the story pretty well:

The three Miller women retreat behind the walls of their Georgian colonial to wage battle with divorce lawyers, debt collectors, drug-dealing pool boys, mean girls, country club ladies, evangelical neighbors, their own demons, and each other, and in the process they become achingly sympathetic characters we can't help but root for, even as the world they live in epitomizes everything wrong with the American Dream. Exhilarating, addictive, and superbly accomplished, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything crackles with energy and intelligence and marks the debut of a knowing and very funny novelist, wise beyond her years.

My heart broke for these three characters as they each dealt with their worlds falling apart in very different ways.  It opens your eyes to the fact that not everyone has it together, and as much as they try to make it seem like they do, one thing, or a series of events, can bring them tumbling down.  But at the same time it is inspiring because you see that no matter how far you fall you can always just pick yourself back up and start to put the pieces back together again.

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

I have turned in to a huge Jodi Picoult fan. Her books are always about topics with grey areas between what you typically think of as right or wrong and always make me stretch outside of my normal thinking about situations. They are the kind of books you can't put down and have you talking about the topics of the book with anyone who will listen.

I don't ever remember being a bully or getting bullied in school. But apparently it happens often. In Jodi Picoult's book Nineteen Minutes, Peter is terrorized by bullies from the moment he steps on the school bus on his first day of school. Throughout elementary school he has his one and only friend Josie. But when Josie finds popularity, she feels it is so precarious a status and is so afraid of losing it, that she stops being friends with Peter. Peter endures the physical and mental abusive throughout high school until one final event sends him over the edge and he commits an act of violence that can't be taken back.

The book follows Peter, his parents, Josie, her mother, and basically the whole town through the aftermath, investigation, and trial. It is so interesting to see how the different characters in the book react and cope with what has happened and there is a twist in the end that you might not see coming.

Again it was another great book from Jodi Picolt and one of my all time favorites.

I give this one 4.5 out of 5 stars!

How to be Single by Liz Tuccillo

I went to Boarders last week to get an educational audio book because the no music in the car thing for Lent was killing me. I needed something especially for my long drive last weekend to see my mom.

I limited my search to the Bargain audiobooks. The selection was slim and there didn't seem to be many educational books, or even good books for that matter. But then I found this hidden gem for $9.99. It wasn't listed as educational, but it had "How to" in the title and it was written by the co-author of "He's Just Not That Into You" and that one is educational right? I decided this was the best it was going to get and bought it.

In the book Julie is tired of the most annoying and unanswerable question ever "Why are you still single?" Julie is 38 and single as most of her friends are. She decides to leave New York on a journey around the world to see how other single women live their lives and then write a book about it.

Even though this was a novel it was very educational. She visits France, Italy, Brazil, Australia, India, Bali, China, and Sweden (or Iceland, or somewhere like that) and everywhere she goes the women have different views. It was just so interesting to see how women in different parts of the world view relationships.

There are also several subplots of her friends struggles and even Julie falls in love during her journey. It was so interesting!

One of my favorite parts of the book was towards the end where Julie and her friends have an impromptu ritual where they write all their past hopes and dreams for their lives on a napkin and then burn them. Whether it was dreams of getting married young and having the perfect family or a blank napkin because you have so lost your hopes and dreams in the process of just living; they all burned these dreams saying it's ok to let go. We are not these women, but what we are is just as good.

I loved it. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

I used to be a huge Nicholas Sparks fan. He wrote about the "movie love" that I love and he is from NC so most of his stories are set in familiar places. I cried my eyes out reading The Notebook and to this day that book and movie are still on my all-time favorites list. I loved Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember too. But slowly his books became too predictable for even me.

But since I now have to watch commercials due to not having DVR, I kept seeing the commercial for the movie Dear John. What can I say? I am a HUGE sucker for movie love and Channing Tatum is HOT and the actress that plays the female lead is on one of my favorite shows- Big Love. But since the book is always better than the movie, I had to read the book first.

I still heart Nicholas Sparks. I flew through this book in 3 days. I was reading it in my car at stoplights. It's just such an easy romantic read that sucks you in.

The main character Savannah is from Lenior, NC which is literally 15-20 minutes from my hometown of Morganton. So needless to say I could relate to her. The boy John is from Wilmington which I have been to many times. Savannah goes to UNC which is right up the road from where I am now. So really the whole story felt like it could be written by people I actually might know.

Savannah meets John while he is on leave from his army base in Germany. She is staying with a group of students from UNC who are there for a month to build some houses for Habitat for Humanity. He is there for 2 weeks visiting his dad. Their paths cross and immediately they are smitten with each other. By the time John's leave is up, they are full blown head-over-heels in love.

The rest of the story is about how they try to keep their relationship and love going through letters and short phone conversations and visits. You'll have to read it to find out the rest, but I will tell you it made me think about what true love really looks like and acts like.

It doesn't have that happily ever after ending I love, but it doesn't have that tragic someone dies ending either. At first I hated the ending because it didn't wrap up everything in a nice little happy bow, but I appreciate it and what the author is trying to get across.

It's a story about soul mates and love- in many different forms.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I still haven't seen the movie, but I heard they totally changed the setting and the ending.

Also last summer I listened to Nicholas Sparks other book The Last Song on my way to the beach. It was pretty good and apparently it is going to be made in to a movie too!

Flashbang: How I Get Over Myself by Mark Steele

This guy is freaking HILARIOUS! I saw this book reccommended on one of my pastor's blogs and he said it was great. He was right.

First of all I think this guy might have ADD because this book does not follow a normal flow. But it is great because it never gets stale. He has these conversations with himself that interrupt the story and backgroud autobiographical information breaks. It really was different than anything I've ever read.

It is some seriously funny stuff. The story of Claus literally had me putting the book down and exclaiming "No he didn't!"

I'm not good at explaining what books are about, so here's a summary from Paperbackswap.com:

"Mark Steele found himself trying to be a good Christian, but felt he wasn’t making any permanent difference. His life was turning into a flashbang — something that makes a lot of noise but leaves no permanent indentation. In this hilarious memoir, Steele gives autobiographical accounts of enduring 40 days of facial paralysis, suffering public embarrassment at a Presidential Inauguration, receiving treatments of shock therapy from a first-timer and giving blood in a Mexican hospital. Each story brings Steele closer to the realization that being a Christian is more than just saying you are. In the end, he reveals his secret to living a more meaningful life—how he got over himself."

It was very entertaining while helping me learn something at the same time!

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

This was my first foray into Christian Fiction. I had it sitting on my bookshelf for a while, but it just didn't appeal to me based on the cover. Well, it's true, don't judge a book by it's cover!

Redeeming Love is the story of Angel...or Amanda or Tirzah or Sarah depending on which point in the story you are. It takes place during the California Gold Rush. Angel is a prostitute in a town in California when Micheal Hosea sees her in the street and is determined to make her his wife. Quite an unlikely scenario given he is a good Christian farmer and she lives in a brothel.

The story takes you back and shows you how Angel ended up where she is. She had a horrific childhood that I just can't imagine. But Angel does not give up this life easily. She is determined at first that all she is is a prostitute. She runs away from Michael's farm multiple times. She causes a rift between Michael and his brother-in-law. Her heart is hardened and she is determined to not let anyone in.

Michael loves her and stands by her and rescues her time and time again despite her resistance towards him. It is a great story that is reflective of the kind of love everyone is searching for. The kind of love that doesn't judge and accepts you completely.

It is a great story with lots of twists and turns along the way. At some points I found myself frustrated because I thought their love for each other was too much. But the story sucks you in and just when you think things are getting wrapped up, the author throws another twist in there.

I highly recommend this book even if you aren't a Christian. I don't think it is too "preachy" and either way it is a great story that is sure to get you hooked.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

The Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Sarah Strohmeyer

I loved this book. It is totally unrealistic and if it happened in the real world I am sure things would go very differently, but it was a great story. Genie, the main character, has been dating her boyfriend Hugh for over 4 years. Being in her mid-thirties she has been waiting for him to pop the question for a while. Hugh has just wrote a NY Times bestseller with a very romantic plot line. While on his book tour he does a TV interview. As Genie is watching the interview, the interviewer asks Hugh about his own love life and this prompts him to give the most romantic on-air proposal ever. When Genie finally gets a hold of Hugh on the phone he explains that the proposal was not meant for her!

Genie is flabbergasted and everyone they know thinks the proposal was meant for her. So following the advice of her best friend, Genie goes along with it.

"You remind me of that idiot Sleeping Beauty, lying around like a zombie waiting for your prince. Well, guess what, he rode right past your castle and now you have a choice — you can either go back to bed or you can wake up!"

(I don’t really get how faking her engagement is “waking up” but whatever)

Hugh is over in England continuing his book tour, so he is not there to dispute it.

Genie plays the role of bride-to-be with her family, friend, and co-workers. She lets them start planning showers and the actual wedding. She even goes as far as buying a fake engagement ring. She feels like this is all Hugh’s fault anyway, so let him explain the mistake to everyone. It all makes for an entertaining story.

From the author’s website:
“Genie realizes that she never needed a man to start her life — to buy a home, to get a better job, or even to wear a diamond ring. And if Prince Charming wants to show up while she's at it, she just might teach him a thing or two.”

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Check out the author's website here.

Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch

I related a lot to Girls in Trucks. Even though I am not a debutante, even though I have never nor will ever live in New York City, even though I don’t have any Camellias that I will be tied to for life, I could just relate to the main character Sarah Walters and her trials and tribulations in this coming of age story.

Sarah grows up in South Carolina and is born into an exclusive old debutante society- The Charleston Camellia Society. She goes through cotillion training and throughout her life the Camellias are an influence. She’s kind of a rebel though doing a lot of things that aren’t too Caellia likeThere are a few stories that take place in SC as she is growing up, but then she move to NYC after college. It follows her along many of life’s adventures dealing with family, friends, and dating.

There was a quote towards the end of the book where Sarah is at a party back in SC talking to one of her ex-boyfriends and reminiscing on how much things have changed. But she says something like “as we looked around we were comforted by the fact that everyone ended up just where they were meant to be.” I loved that.

It is a great story and not too long, so it was a quick read. (I finished it over a week ago but have just been too lazy to write a review.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max

Since I started reading this book, I have talked about it to anyone who will listen. It was just so shocking! All the stories in the book are supposedly true accounts of Tucker Max’s hedonistic adventures. I just can’t believe there are guys like this out there! But at least he admits what he is. Here is the summary he wrote on the back of his book:

"My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole.

I get excessively drunk at inappropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging dickhead.

But, I do contribute to humanity in one very important way. I share my adventures with the world."

The stories are completely disgusting but also completely hilarious. He is a jerk. He is a drunk. He is a male whore. But he is also funny- his one redeeming quality. From a hit and run through the window of a donut shop in some random girl’s car to defecating in the lobby of an Embassy Suites and being banned for life from ever staying there again, it is hard to believe these things really happened. And his sex stories…don’t even get me started.

He has no filter and is very mean to girls. He doesn’t just “love em and leave em” he emotionally abuses them and uses them until they finally wake up and smell the nasty in this guy. I have no idea why any self-respecting girl would put up with him. But I guess there are a lot of girls out there who have no self-respect since he brags that his “number” is well into the triple digits.

His writing is actually pretty good though. The stories flow really well and he surprising has a pretty good vocabulary. The other “characters” in the book are pretty well developed. So as a writer, I give him props. It’s just that the content of the stories will leave you in complete shock with your mouth hanging wide open for hours.

This is very much a “guy” book, but for girls it will probably be like a car wreck…I just couldn’t look away. I was obsessed with it and finished it in less than a week. There is supposedly a movie coming out in September based on this book and I just don’t see how it is not going to be rated NC-17 or something because this book is just raunchy! But you better believe I am going to go see it.

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars because I loved reading it.
But I give Tucker Max a negative 2 star rating as a human being.
Keep the funny, but loose the meanness and get some morals dude.

Oh and he has a website and a blog…check it out at your own risk.

If you have read this PLEASE tell me what you thought of it! Was it as shocking for you as it was for me?

Milkrun by Sarah Mlynowski

I LOVED this book! I have already ordered Sarah Mlynowski’s other book Fishbowl because this one was just THAT good. This was so appropriate for me to read at this time because it is all about a girl whose boyfriend goes to Thailand to “find himself” and then pretty much breaks up with her through an email. This girl is resilient though and is now on a mission to become “Crazy Dating Girl”. (I’m feeling like Crazy Dating Girl in my life right now!) The story follows her along her adventures.

I loved her writing. I felt like I was having a chat with my best friend every night; or like she had emptied my thoughts out of my head right on to the page. She really writes just like your thoughts might flow though your head…well at least how they flow through my head! It was such a quick, easy, fun read!

I also loved how it wasn’t like a fairytale romance or ending. The guys portrayed in the book are exactly like the guys you would meet in the real world. About half way through, you kind of think you can see the ending coming, but it doesn’t end quite like you expect which was nice too. In fact, I didn’t want it to end. That is how you know a book is good!

If you are looking for something with deep meaning and eloquent writing, this isn’t the book for you. But if you are looking for a fun, entertaining story about dating and life in your 20’s then this is a great pick!

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

You can check out the author’s website here.

She is doing a lot of teen novels now, but she also has a lot of chic lit books out! I’ll let you know how the next one I read turns out, but she is already one of my favs now!

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!

The Book of Joe by Jonathan Trooper

The Book of Joe by Jonathan Trooper is a wonderfully written novel. The words dance together in perfect harmony and create a beautiful piece of work. He does use some big words (that made me want to break out the dictionary) but I think that is what made it so lovely to read. He uses out of the ordinary words to describe what’s happening which makes it more interesting and descriptive.

The story itself is about a guy, Joe, who returns to his hometown after being away for 17 years. He had good reason to stay away. He wrote a best-selling novel (which was turned into a blockbuster movie staring Leonardo DeCaprio) which was loosely based on the people in his hometown and the secrets and tragic events that defined his adolescence. Most of the people in the town were portrayed in a poor light and they are not happy about it. He returns to Bush Falls after his father has a stroke and within the first 24 hours he is there he is verbally abused, has a milkshake thrown in his face, has his life threatened, has copies of his book thrown at his house, and is beat to a pulp at the local bar.

Joe is finally forced to face his past, which is a good thing. There are unresolved issues and issues he didn’t even know existed for him to deal with back in Bush Falls. From his true love to his dying friend- From his so-called family to the legendary Bush Falls High Cougars and their beloved coach- the ghosts of his past are not going to let him get off so easy. It is a great story and really shows you how important it is for you to deal with your past to effectively live in the present and move on to the future. Even though it wasn’t easy, it was just what he needed.

I highly recommend it and give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

What has changed in the last 3 years of your life? If you suddenly lost all those years would you recognize yourself or your life? This is what happens to Lexi Smart, Sophie Kinsella’s main character in “Remember Me?” After a car accident she wakes up in a London hospital and thinks it is 2004. During the 3 years she lost, she has transformed into someone she doesn’t even recognize (literally thanks to a crash diet, collagen injections, veneers, and a great stylist). In that time she has been on a reality TV show (why do I keep picking books with references to reality shows?), gotten married, become the boss of her department (not to mention a millionairess), given up carbs, and lost her closest friends. She tries her best to figure out her new life and face all the secrets, schemes, and bombshells that come her way during the process as she figures out why, when, and how she turned into this person she doesn’t even know.

I loved this book! It was full of laugh out loud moments and suspense that kept me up late reading every night. It made me think about how unrecognizable my life would be in her situation. I would have missed so much! Overall it was a great book and I highly recommend it!

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

If you don’t already know Sophie Kinsella (real name- Madeleine Wickham, she also publishes under this name), she is the author of the Shopaholic series. Here is a link to her official site:
http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/kinsella/

They are making a movie out of her Shopaholic Series starring Isla Fischer (Wedding Crashers):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093908/

AND they are making a movie out of another book of hers “Can You Keep A Secret?” that will star Kate Hudson!
http://www.countingdown.com/movies/3519881

She is a GREAT writer and I predict someone will pick up the rights to this book too! Now who would I want to star? Hmmm…Reese Witherspoon maybe? She’d have to go brunette though. I’ve always like Rachael Bilson…