Holding the Dream is the second book in Nora Robert's The Dream Trilogy. It tells the story of Kate Powell as she is faced with a devastating scandal that stands to ruin what she has worked for her entire life: partnership in her accounting firm.
Kate is career driven and has been goal oriented her entire life. Her best friends, Margo and Laura, are also her sisters, not by birth but by necessity, as Kate's parents were killed when she was eight. She was taken in and raised by Laura's parents, The Templetons, who just so happen to own and run a strand of hotels by the same name around the world. The Templetons have given Kate everything she could have ever wanted, and now she wants to make them proud by showing them that with hard work she can be successful on her own. When she is suddenly faced with losing her job, her world begins to fall apart and so does she. Laura and Margo can only do so much for Kate. It's not until Byron De Wit steps in that the story takes a different turn.
This story is so much more than a love story. It is a story about one woman's struggle to prove herself to herself. It is a story about the importance of family, the importance of believing in yourself, and the importance of enjoying life.
The first book in this trilogy is about Margo and the last is about Laura. I took this middle book with me when we traveled to my in laws for Christmas. I did not, however, bring the last book. Instead, I chose to bring a new book by Emilie Richards. Big mistake. When you have read two books in a trilogy, you should never be without the third. So, I ended up reading about 50 pages in the Emilie Richards books and then tabling it once I got home and could begin Finding the Dream. I am not too far into it at this point, but I can see it being just as good of a conclusion to a trilogy as the last Inn Boonsboro book. I hope Nora Roberts has a new trilogy in the works for 2013. If she does, I bet it will be fabulous!
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
Thursday, December 27, 2012
#44: The Perfect Hope by Nora Roberts
The Perfect Hope is the final book in The Inn Boonsboro Trilogy by Nora Roberts and it was a perfect ending to this delightful series of stories.
I often find myself pushing my Nora Roberts books to the side to read other books like The Hobbit and Casual Vacancy. Then, when I finally pick one up, I am reminded that just because Roberts writes Romance books, it doesn't make her writing or her stories any less important, or any less interesting. In fact, I fnd that I enjoy her books more than some of those books that my english professors from college would do cartwheels over. Are they easy to read? Yes. And I think for that reason alone, many ladies pick them up and read them. They tell a good story, they leave you feeling good in the end, and they are quick reads. It took me weeks to read Casual Vacancy. It took me three days to read The Perfect Hope. And, not just because it was easy to read, but because I couldn't stop. I wanted to know what was going to happen next with Hope. I was laughing out loud at Ryder, and I was intrigued by Lizzie, the ghost. It was an all-around good read.
Now, about Lizzie. I have to admit that when I read the first book in this series, I was laughing at how ridiculous Lizzie and the idea of a ghost living in the Inn was. But, Lizzie appears in all three books and her love story is told alongside Clare's, Avery's, and Hope's. By the end of the last book, I was so glad that Lizzie had been included and I did not find it at all strange or bizarre. I loved it!
I was sad to reach the end of this series, but lucky for me, I had another Nora Roberts book (two, actually) on my bedside table. I happily reached for it and did not worry about it just being a romance novel. I just readied myself for another good read and Nora Roberts did not disappoint!
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
I often find myself pushing my Nora Roberts books to the side to read other books like The Hobbit and Casual Vacancy. Then, when I finally pick one up, I am reminded that just because Roberts writes Romance books, it doesn't make her writing or her stories any less important, or any less interesting. In fact, I fnd that I enjoy her books more than some of those books that my english professors from college would do cartwheels over. Are they easy to read? Yes. And I think for that reason alone, many ladies pick them up and read them. They tell a good story, they leave you feeling good in the end, and they are quick reads. It took me weeks to read Casual Vacancy. It took me three days to read The Perfect Hope. And, not just because it was easy to read, but because I couldn't stop. I wanted to know what was going to happen next with Hope. I was laughing out loud at Ryder, and I was intrigued by Lizzie, the ghost. It was an all-around good read.
Now, about Lizzie. I have to admit that when I read the first book in this series, I was laughing at how ridiculous Lizzie and the idea of a ghost living in the Inn was. But, Lizzie appears in all three books and her love story is told alongside Clare's, Avery's, and Hope's. By the end of the last book, I was so glad that Lizzie had been included and I did not find it at all strange or bizarre. I loved it!
I was sad to reach the end of this series, but lucky for me, I had another Nora Roberts book (two, actually) on my bedside table. I happily reached for it and did not worry about it just being a romance novel. I just readied myself for another good read and Nora Roberts did not disappoint!
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
#43: Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
I certainly feel as though I have tackled one tough book after another with #42 and now #43. As if The Hobbit wasn't hard enough to get through (it wasn't hard to read, just long and descriptive and you had to read every single word carefully in order to keep up and understand), let's try Casual Vacancy. I get tired just thinking back about what it took to read this book.
Casual Vacancy is written by JK Rowling, who wrote the amazing, life changing Harry Potter series. (If you have not read the Harry Potter books, stop reading this blog and go tackle those books first.) As a lover of Harry, I was intrigued to read Rowling's newest book, wondering how her writing would be when she's not writing about Hogwarts and Harry. Well, I can say without hesitation that she's a brilliant writer, but Casual Vacancy is no Harry Potter.
First off, within the first two pages of the book, a main character dies in such a way that you are left with your mouth wide open fearing headaches. Then, Rowling spends the next 250 or so pages describing a heard of characters like no other characters you've ever read about in your life. These characters are described in such vivid detail that you can see them in your mind, you can hear them, you know their thoughts, you can see what they are wearing...I still can, even weeks after reading this book (I finished it about two weeks ago, but am just now getting around to blogging about it.). While the character development is brilliant, it made me crazy that it took her 250 pages to finally finish crafting the 20 some-odd characters that were swimming around the pages of this book, and in my head. However, I kept reading knowing that eventually something would happen (oh, and it did) but I have to admit that it tested my patience.
So, after those 250 pages, the characters, who when you first read about them are introduced as separate individuals, begin to come together to create an elaborate and intricate, and rather riveting, plot. The plot of the book, if I can summarize 500 pages in a sentence, is how one English town fills the vacancy on their parish council that was left open when Barry Fairbrother dies (on page 1 of the book). It seems simple enough, but Casual Vacancy is anything but simple.
Aside from the masterfully crafted characters, Rowling is skilled like no other in weaving together their lives to create a story that will make you think. Once the actual story begins, you are forced to confront true politics, and not just politics on a grand scale (as in those we all dealt with during our recent Presidential election), but politics in a small town. What people will do to get what they want is a bit scary, if you ask me. What goes on behind the scenes, which as readers we are privy to, is even scarier.
But, the one part of this story that truly frightened me the most, and I wonder how many other parents of teenagers who read Casual Vacancy feel the same, was how the teenagers in the story ruined the lives of their parents. All with the click of a mouse. I am now very much aware of how much more my children know about technology than I do, and how they can use this knowledge for either good or evil. I am hoping for good, but I certainly do plan to watch my step around my girls. I knew teenagers could make your life miserable, but the lengths these teenagers go to to retaliate against their parents is quite scary. Very scary, in fact.
So, was Casual Vacancy worth my time (and lugging around a huge book)? Yes. The characters alone are worth the read, and stick with them. Once you get past the first 250 pages, you are set for a great, although often disturbing, story. It's not Harry Potter, but really, who expected it to be? But, it is JK Rowling, one of the world's most fabulous writers. For that reason alone, you should read Casual Vacancy.
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
Casual Vacancy is written by JK Rowling, who wrote the amazing, life changing Harry Potter series. (If you have not read the Harry Potter books, stop reading this blog and go tackle those books first.) As a lover of Harry, I was intrigued to read Rowling's newest book, wondering how her writing would be when she's not writing about Hogwarts and Harry. Well, I can say without hesitation that she's a brilliant writer, but Casual Vacancy is no Harry Potter.
First off, within the first two pages of the book, a main character dies in such a way that you are left with your mouth wide open fearing headaches. Then, Rowling spends the next 250 or so pages describing a heard of characters like no other characters you've ever read about in your life. These characters are described in such vivid detail that you can see them in your mind, you can hear them, you know their thoughts, you can see what they are wearing...I still can, even weeks after reading this book (I finished it about two weeks ago, but am just now getting around to blogging about it.). While the character development is brilliant, it made me crazy that it took her 250 pages to finally finish crafting the 20 some-odd characters that were swimming around the pages of this book, and in my head. However, I kept reading knowing that eventually something would happen (oh, and it did) but I have to admit that it tested my patience.
So, after those 250 pages, the characters, who when you first read about them are introduced as separate individuals, begin to come together to create an elaborate and intricate, and rather riveting, plot. The plot of the book, if I can summarize 500 pages in a sentence, is how one English town fills the vacancy on their parish council that was left open when Barry Fairbrother dies (on page 1 of the book). It seems simple enough, but Casual Vacancy is anything but simple.
Aside from the masterfully crafted characters, Rowling is skilled like no other in weaving together their lives to create a story that will make you think. Once the actual story begins, you are forced to confront true politics, and not just politics on a grand scale (as in those we all dealt with during our recent Presidential election), but politics in a small town. What people will do to get what they want is a bit scary, if you ask me. What goes on behind the scenes, which as readers we are privy to, is even scarier.
But, the one part of this story that truly frightened me the most, and I wonder how many other parents of teenagers who read Casual Vacancy feel the same, was how the teenagers in the story ruined the lives of their parents. All with the click of a mouse. I am now very much aware of how much more my children know about technology than I do, and how they can use this knowledge for either good or evil. I am hoping for good, but I certainly do plan to watch my step around my girls. I knew teenagers could make your life miserable, but the lengths these teenagers go to to retaliate against their parents is quite scary. Very scary, in fact.
So, was Casual Vacancy worth my time (and lugging around a huge book)? Yes. The characters alone are worth the read, and stick with them. Once you get past the first 250 pages, you are set for a great, although often disturbing, story. It's not Harry Potter, but really, who expected it to be? But, it is JK Rowling, one of the world's most fabulous writers. For that reason alone, you should read Casual Vacancy.
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
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