Queen of Babble Gets Hitched (Meg Cabot)

Big mouth. Big heart. Big wedding. Big problems.

It's the wedding of the century!

Things are looking up at last for Lizzie Nichols. She has a career she loves in the field of her choice (wedding gown restoration), and the love of her life, Jean-Luc, has finally proposed. Life's become a dizzying whirl of wedding gown fittings-although, oddly, not necessarily her own--as Lizzie prepares (sort of) for her dream wedding at her fiancé's chateau in the south of France.

But the dream soon becomes a nightmare as the best man--with whom Lizzie might once accidentally have slept…no, really, just slept--announces his total lack of support for the couple, a sentiment the maid of honor happens to second; Lizzie's Midwestern family can't understand why she doesn't want to have her wedding in the family backyard; her future, oh-so-proper French in-laws seem to be slowly trying to lure the groom away from medical school and back into investment banking-in France; and Lizzie finds herself wondering if her Prince Charming really is as charming as she once believed.

Is Lizzie really ready to embrace her new role as Bride? Or is she destined to fall into another man's arms…and into the trap of becoming a Bad Girl instead?

One thing's for sure: this is a wedding no one is likely to forget-if it ever even happens at all.

First off, I hate to say anything bad about Meg Cabot because generally I'm a big fan (of her adult books), and her lighthearted, fun writing does not disappoint in this book either. However, after the huge cliffhanger in the previous book "Queen of Babble in the Big City", I was looking forward to this conclusion in the series (at least I think it's the last). But, I gotta tell you, it no where compared to the first two books. The plot was lacking and it just seemed that Cabot was dragging the story to cover 300 something pages. In doing so, the character came off looking childish and annoying. The conflict was totalling lacking any substance and, therefore, once again, made the main character appear flakey, undecisive and at times whiney. The ending is a huge disappointment, for both the reader and the main character really. I recommend this book be loaned from the library rather than purchased.

Getting Warmer (Carol Snow)

From back blurb:

Honesty is the best policy. But sometimes it's just so boring. A fashion-backward high-school teacher, Natalie Quackenbush is approaching thirty, drowning in debt--and did she mention she's living with her parents? All in all, she'd rather not talk about it. So she and her friends have learned to entertain themselves on the Scottsdale, Arizona, social scene by getting creative. Okay--by lying.

It's an innocent game, but when Natalie finally meets a guy she likes, how will she explain that her mother isn't actually insane? Or that she really doesn't work with convicted murderers? Now she's looking for a way to come clean, get the guy, and keep her friendships intact. If only she can keep the truth from ruining true love.

This book was just okay. It lacked a decent plot to entice me to return to this story, so it took much longer than usual to finish this book. But I did at least finish it. The main problem with this story was it didn't have enough depth or action. The main conflict was the fact that the heroine lied to the hero and didn't/couldn't tell him the truth for whatever reason. A conflict that could have been easily overcome by the heroine simply acting her age and telling the hero "hey, I lied to you thinking I'd never see you again and, sorry, but here's the truth..." Plus the lies themselves were so farfetched and outrageous that any moron could have figured out the heroine was either lying or insane.

The writing itself wasn't bad. The writer kept the tone light which is true to the chicklit genre, however, at times I felt she tried too hard to keep it lighthearted and it ended up coming across as odd or just downright not funny. Such as this passage when the heroine has just heard the news that her pregnant sister is carrying a boy. "The thought of a tiny penis growing inside my sister's womb seemed intimate and beautiful and grotesque all at once."

I wouldn't recommend this book. It was a complete waste of time.

Island of Lost Girls (Jennifer McMahon)

From back blurb: While parked at a gas station, Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognizes it as a crime in progress. She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda joins the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before.

This was a terrific read. It had two mysteries that kept the suspense high throughout the story. The drops of pieces to the puzzle were well done and left me not having a clue to who the abductor was. The story is laced with twists and mystery leaving the reader wondering with anticipation where the writer was taking them.

Though I found the ending fulfilling, I was a bit disappointed with the climax of the one mystery. "I have a story to tell you." Finally, reading the entire book and having all the pieces of the puzzle I waited to fill the missing gaps with a juicy story. A real doozy of a twist. Instead, the story was basically what I had already concluded. I had done the unthinkable in mystery novels; I solved the mystery.

*SPOILER* - In addition, one of the pieces of the puzzle did not make sense. The children were not suspects in the death of Daniel since police had no evidence to link them. However, Lizzy's postcards would have been enough to show she had knowledge or some type of involvement in Daniel's death since she claimed she was with him even though he would have been dead by that point. But, overall, I was pleased with the ending and the mystery and would definitely recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more of Jennifer McMahon's work in the future.

Jemima J (Jane Green)

I loved this book. This book is what Chicklit is all about. Fun, easy with laugh-out moments. British writers, I have found, seem to have a grasp on writing the true chicklit, what their counterparts the American writers seem to lack. American chicklit writers tend to turn what should be a fun read into something serious. With the exception of Meg Cabot. I'm sure (and hope) there is more out there, but as of yet I have not found any others who have been able to capture the Chicklit style. I have heard some critism claiming the book is insulting and not taking the issue of self-esteem and body image seriously. I say, if you're looking for that type of book then I suggest you pick up a woman's fiction novel (think Danielle Steele, Jodi Picoult). This is Chicklit. Pure to the core.

The following is the blurb for the backcover: Jemima Jones is overweight. About seven stone overweight. Treated like a slave by her thin and bitchy flatmates, lorded over at the Kilburn Herald by the beautiful Geraldine (less talented, but better paid), her only consolation is food. What with that and her passion for her charming, sexy colleague Ben, she knows her life needs changing. But can Jemima reinvent herself? Should she? A brilliantly funny, honest novel about ugly ducklings and swans, about attraction, addiction and the meaning of true love.

Odd Mom Out (Jane Porter)

I didn't like this book. I struggled to get through it and had to give up around the 300 page mark because I couldn't stand to read another word. I had actually been looking forward to reading this book since I have experienced being the odd mom out. However, I wasn't impressed with it. The author showed her Harlequin roots. Now, this may sound like an insult, but if you're a Harlequin fan then you will very much enjoy this book. I'm not so much of one. The mother's obsession with the interest in her love life was so out of a harlequin romance novel it was on the point of irritating. The melodrama was so bad it made me want to gag and was the ultimate reason why I finally gave up reading this book. The thought of returning to those sappy, overwritten dramatic scenes was unbearable. And what was with the author's habit of blanking out swear words. Hello, am I twelve? That didn't jive with the fact she was trying to make the heroine some tough Harley Davidson bike riding mamma! That was just weird.

On a positive note, and I think the only one I could muster, there was definitely some uncomfortable parts of the story I could relate to when the author did step on familiar territory and I felt that old stab of being left out of the "mommy clique". But, unfortunately, it was actually the subplot of children dealing with popularity struggles where I felt the most discomfort in reading this book.

As a mother of two girls I felt their pang of not being included in the popular group, so I could relate to the character and her daughter's struggle. However, it was the mother's lack of communication that drove me insane. Throughout the majority of the book, she practically remains mute when it came to her daughter's wish to become a part of the popular girls. A group who made it no secret from the beginning of the book that the little girl was not welcome. Instead of teaching her child that she was better then them and to find true friends, the mother continues to allow her daughter to harp on this fantasy of becoming popular. Even after hearing her daughter being openly ridiculed by one of the popular girl's mother! It would have been at this point that a mother steps in and directs the child in a healthier path. One that won't harm her self-esteem. However, this mother seems more preoccupied (more like obsessed) over a complete male stranger (and again not jiving with her supposed tough go-it-alone feminist momma character). By remaining silent, the mother appeared, contrary to what she claimed, to actually want her daughter to be part of the popular group and was sitting back and seeing how far her daughter could push before she either was accepted or ultimately and painfully rejected.

Teaching children about relationships and the unfortunate presence of social hierarchy in the schoolyard is a parent's huge responsibility. And with so much prejudice and bullying in the schoolyard, what I think the lesson should have been was acceptance and equality. Teaching children to accept and yearn to be a part of the popular group is, in my opinion, an unhealthy message. Instead the focus should be on becoming part of a group that resemble and respect your child's individual personality. And if that happens to be with the unpopular kids, then so be it. Not sure sure if this was the author's message, since I couldn't finish the book, but since it was taking the entire length of the book to do so, I found that pathetic since, quite frankly, any parent would have caught on and quickly averted their child toward healthier relationships.

I would not recommend this book as it is far too melodramatic for my style or taste, but, as I said earlier, if you're the type who enjoys the drama of Harlequin romances, then you'll probably enjoy this book and should pick it up.

The Thirteenth Tale (Diane Setterfield)

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

I picked up this book when I heard it being called a modern classic in the style of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold up to all the hype. The biggest problem I have with it is, there seems to be a lack of action. The first hint of action or suspense doesn't actually occur to near the end of the book when a murder occurs. And, at last, grabbed my attention.

The book starts off very slow and I struggled to keep on reading. The narrator is what I refer to as a "talker". She describes every room and every scene and gives flashbacks to almost every character that makes an appearance. But, remove these, and there wasn't much of a story. Or a mystery, for that matter.

The book's entire premise is based on a mystery of a famous writer's true life story. A person the narrator seemed to forget that the reader needs to be able to relate or sympathize with in order to care what that mystery was. The writer didn't give me the chance or opportunity to connect with the famous writer, so I was left not really caring what her story was, and hence not interested in solving the great mystery. It wasn't until much further into the story that I begin to feel for the character of Adeline/Vida, but for some readers that can be far too late and have given up on the book.

My other beef with the story was it's overuse of the word "ghost". It was like the writer was trying to reiterate this was a ghost story. Over and over again. I would have preferred feeling the presense of a ghost rather being told about it. As well, she went overboard on the references to Jane Eyre. The author wrips from the classic novel but in no way can compare. An insult to Jane Eyre fan's, really.

Overall, the story wasn't bad, however, the author's writing style is very flowery rather than bold and straightforward which I think this story needed instead. And that, of course, is a matter of personal preference. Those who enjoy flowery writing might just well enjoy this book.