#48 Rush by Maya Banks

Blogging about this book makes me glad that my mother never reads what I write.  :)

Rush is the first in an adult audience only trilogy by Maya Banks.  I will, with a red-face, admit that I read this book in less than 24 hours.  It was addicting, it was captivating, and, yes, it was incredibly sexy. 

In the style of 50 Shades of Gray, Rush tells the story of Gabe and Mia, a man who gets what he wants and the woman who is brave enough to stand up to him when required.  I loved their story however I disagree with the RT Book Reviews who said it was "highly believable." It's anything but believable.  OK--so I am sure that there are people out there who live this erotic lifestyle and draw up contracts before they become intimate with people.  But, are they all multi-millionaires who can make someone their personal assistant, complete with high salary and full benefits just so she can be within arms reach when the mood strikes?  Come on.  Really? 

There was one truly disturbing scene in the book that made my stomach hurt and that made me want to hurl the book across the room.  I can only hope that this one scene is not part of the "highly believable" nature of the book.  I hope that what Gabe put Mia through never happens to anyone in the real world ever.  It's gut wrenching and highly disturbing and if Gabe were real, he'd be on the news by now.  If you've read the book, you know that I am talking about.  If you haven't read this book, but are needing a Christian Gray fix with a new character, Gabe is for you and you should read his story.  Just muddle through that one scene and be done with it remembering that this is fiction.

Yes, I will also admit that I am ready to read the continuation of the series.  But, I'm reading it on my iPad this time.  I just get too embarrassed thinking that someone is reading over my shoulder or is staring at the cover and judging me.  Not like I am about to admit to the entire world that I read it and liked it, or anything.   Geez.

This one is a Beach bag book.  And it is a good one.
:) Dodie

#47 When Will The Heaven Begin by Ally Breedlove

I knew how this book was going to end.  Unless you've been living under a rock, you've most likely seen Ben Breedlove's now famous YouTube video "This is My Story."  I cried when I first watched it and had no idea who Ben was, nor did I have any idea what he had lived with his entire life.  Now that I know, I am afraid to watch it.  I haven't actually.  Maybe I will once I've posted this blog.

Ben's story is detailed in the words of Ally, his older sister and his best friend.  The book literally spans his entire life, hitting the highlights, and some low points, too.  Ben's story is amazing and I was touched.  I was also reminded of a few things. 

It's almost Thanksgiving and most of us are thinking about the things we have to be thankful for, but we often do so with qualifications.  For instance, I am very thankful to have a job.  I am not so happy that I am getting a new student on Monday.  I am very thankful to have two beautiful, healthy daughters.  I am not so happy to be in the middle of their daily drama or to spend hours each night driving them places.  But, the bottom line is that I should be elated for all of the above, the good with the bad.  I should be thrilled that I am getting a new student on Monday, and that I have to dress as a farmer tomorrow and hang pictures in the hallway after school.  I should be thrilled that my daughters want to talk about their lives with me and that I get the pleasure of driving them places.  Because, bottom line, it means we are all still alive, healthy, and moving forward.  I bet Ben's mom would love some drama, or to be able to drive Ben somewhere.  I bet Ally wishes every day that she could send him a text and he'd reply.  Now, Ben, on the other hand, likes where he is and I am happy for him in that respect (you need to read the book to fully appreciate that comment).

I am certainly doing to try to look at life through new lenses.  Perhaps not rose colored ones, but just ones that remind me that while I am still alive, still breathing, and while my heart still does what it's supposed to, life is pretty darn good.

Thanks, Ben,  Thanks, Ally.  I've heard your message loud and clear and I am thankful for the reminder.

:)Dodie

#46: The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly

I am a big fan of Little Women. I did not read it until I was almost finished with college.  It was a book I picked up on sale at the bookstore,  and while I was buying the book, I was a bit embarrassed that as an almost graduate of college with a degree in English I had not yet read it.  Almost with the first page of the story, I fell in love with each and every character.  I identified most with Meg, being the oldest child myself and rather quiet and reserved.  I wished I had been more daring and outrageous like Jo, more beautiful like Amy, or just plain good like Beth.  I hoped one day I could be a mother like Marmee.  Once the movie was released, I was able to relive the story every time I cleaned my apartment or when I just needed to hear voices in the background as I worked on my school work.  I always hoped that my girls would love this timeless story as much as I do, but, alas, it has yet to happen.  Maybe one day they will stumble across the book and decide to give it a try on their own, despite the size of the book, which is the reason they have brushed it aside to this point.

Because of my love of Alcott's story, I was intrigued when I found The Little Women Letters.  I knew there had to be a connection to the original book and I was not disappointed in any way by this brilliant story that brought back my favorite little women, and reimagined their lives and their descendants in a whole new way.  

The idea is that Jo's great-great granddaughter stumbles upon a series of letters in her mother's attic while she is searching for recipes from another long lost relative.  Through these letters she learns first hand about her great-great grandmother, her sisters and their beautiful relationship, and her great love.  It was amazing to read more about those little women and how their lives went on after their first story ended.  And meanwhile, we, the readers, are introduced to four more remarkable modern day women: Lulu, Emma, Sophie, and Charlie.  Three are blood sisters; one is a close friend who should be a sister.  Quite in the same way as the original novel, we catch glimpses into the ordinary, yet extraordinary, lives of these four young women, each serving as a modern day parallel one of the original little women.  

The novel is brilliant and I am so glad that I stumbled across this gem of a book in the bookstore.  My only regret is that I did not read this treasure sooner.  For any fan of Little Women this book is a must-read.  I am going to happily place this book on my bookshelf next to my copy of Little Women  that I bought all those years ago.  Perhaps one day one of my own little women will stumble across both books and dare to give one, or both, a try.  Should one choose to, her life will never be the same.

Happy reading, 
:)Dodie

#45: The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler

I wanted to love this book.  I needed to love a book called The Bookstore, but sadly, I did not love it.  It made me sad and depressed and I walked away from the book shaking my head, not really understanding why an author would write an ending that way, with zero closure, or why she would create such sad and depressing, or just totally crazy and unrealistic characters. 

I can not recommend this book to anyone.  I wish I could, but I can't. 

On the off chance you want to read this book, however, I have a copy you can have. 

Happy reading, but pick something else this time.
:) Dodie

#44: The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

I absolutely loved this book, a combination of historical fiction, romance, and mystery.  And, I love it's lesson, or what I think to be it's lesson.  I guess that's the beauty of a well written book.  It becomes what you want it to be.

The Girl You Left Behind is told in two parts.  Part One is Sophie's story, told in 1916 in occupied France.  Part Two is Liv's story, told in London 2006.  The beauty of the story is not their individual stories, although they are unbelievable in their own rights, but in how the two stories become one.  It's brilliant, really.  "The Girl You Left Behind" is the name of a painting Sophie's husband, Edouard Lefevre, painted of her.  It hangs in their hotel, which eventually gets taken over by the Germans in WW1, and it is this painting that becomes the true main character of this novel.  However, one can quickly figure out that The Girl You Left Behind also refers to Sophie herself, as her husband goes off to war, and Liv, whose husband dies suddenly one night only a few years into their marriage.  These two amazing women tell their stories as they desperately attempt to move on after being left behind by their husbands.  The truly amazing part, the part I will not divulge here, is how their stories become intertwined and eventually become one. 

As with all really great books that I read, I feel smarter after finishing this book and I feel as though I have been reminded of what life is really all about.  It's not the money you have, or where you live, or what you wear, or even what you believe.  Life is about your family and about the love you have for your family and the lengths you will go to to keep your family intact. 

This book is superb.  I highly recommend it. 
Happy reading!
-Dodie

#43 The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarity

What would you do if you stumbled across a letter written to you by your husband, to be opened upon his death?  Would you read it?  What would you do if you stumbled across the very same letter, but your husband was still alive? 

And thus begins The Husband's Secret and my new love for all books by Liane Moriarity.  I am going to search out any others by her and stash them away for Christmas Break and Spring Break, if they last that long!  Her books are perfect vacation reads! 

I won't give away any details about this book because it is positively too good and I don't want to ruin anything about this delicious tale.  However, I will share this one thought that I have about The Husband's Secret. The book opens with the story of Pandora's box.  It is a great reminder of how we, as humans, are curious souls, and we often bring trouble on ourselves as we attempt to quench our curiosity.  Then, once we discover things about our lives, our families lives, or even our friend's lives, we are often suddenly faced with having to forgive and then we are angry about forgiving.  But, the irony to me is that this Forgiveness is something that we might not even have had to give if we had just kept the box closed in the first place.  Don't borrow trouble.  Keep the box closed.  But, it seems to me, after reflecting on the end of this amazing novel, that forgiveness is something we must give no matter what.  Or else, it will eat away at you and will possibly cause more harm than you ever imagined.

Are you now very curious about this book?  I hope so! Pick this one up and read it.  It's too good not to!

Happy reading!
:) Dodie

#42: The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

I made the mistake of reading this book on the plane ride home from Orlando last weekend.  To the very polite twenty-something sitting next to me by the window, I must apologize for crying like a fool as I read the ending to this book.  With not the first tissue in my purse, either.  What an idiot I am.  Who reads any Nicholas Sparks book without tissues? 

I must admit that I am a hit or miss Nicholas Sparks fan.  I love some of his books, and I mean LOVE, and others I have taken out of my permanent collection.  The Longest Ride is going into the permanent collection (once I get it back from my mother-in-law who borrowed it from me).  The Longest Ride is right up there with The Walk and The Notebook and I am praying long and hard that this one becomes a movie.  I will be the first in line on opening night.

The book tells the stories of Ira and Ruth and Sophia and Luke, alternating between the two.  Ira is an older man, in his seventies.  He has crashed his car and while he waits, freezing in the snow, for help, trapped inside his car, he begins a long conversation with his wife, Ruth, who passes away years before.  It is through these conversations that we hear their beautiful love story.  Meanwhile, on and off the campus of Wake Forest University, we meet Sophia and Luke.  Sophia is an art history major; Luke is a professional bull rider, whose paths cross and are never the same again.  Like only Nicholas Sparks can, he manages to weave these two individual stories into one brilliant story that I know will touch your heart. 

I will not say anything more except this...(for those of you who have read this book already, you will know what I mean.  For those of you who haven't, I hope I spark your curiosity enough so that you will pick up this treasure and devour it (with tissues!)) Ira...I totally understand. And, I would've bought the painting, too.  First off, right away.  It truly was the treasure. 

Happy reading everyone!
:) Dodie