Bittersweet (Sarah Ockler)

***

         Hudson used to be a great figure skater, but she hasn't competed since her dad betrayed her family and left them.  Now she bakes cupcakes at her mom's failing small-town diner and tries to accept spending the rest of her life working there.  Lately, though, Hudson has been feeling trapped.  She's been making secret excursions to the frozen lake to skate and think about the future she could have had.  Then Hudson gets a letter in the mail inviting her to compete for a skating scholarship.  She realizes that it's her final chance to make her dreams come true.  The only problem is that her childhood dreams don't fit easily into the life that Hudson is living now.

         This was a good chick-lit novel, but not outstanding.  It's been a while since I read it, so I don't really remember much.  I only know that I wasn't a huge fan of the ending.  It felt a little abrupt to me, as though Hudson hadn't developed enough as a character or as a person to make the decision that she made.  Bittersweet was kind of a cookie-cutter book, but as I've said before, that's not always a bad thing.  If you like chick-lit, you'll definitely like this - but I wouldn't recommend that you go out of your way to read it if chick-lit isn't usually your thing.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: August 31, 2012

Enchanted (Alethea Kontis)

***

         If folklore were true, then Sunday would be the most cheerful daughter in her family - but she isn't.  She gets a little lost in the chaos of a large family and likes to spend her time writing.  Unfortunately, Sunday has to be careful what she writes because it tends to come true.  When Sunday meets Grumble, an enchanted frog who likes to listen to her stories, she thinks she might be in love.  But trying to kiss Grumble doesn't work, and one day he disappears altogether.  What Sunday doesn't know is that Grumble isn't a frog anymore - he is Prince Rumbold, a man Sunday's family has held a grudge against for years.  Rumbold is determined to get Sunday to fall in love with the real him, and he's willing to do anything it takes to make that happen.

         I've always really liked fairytale retellings, so I try to read every one that comes in my path.  Enchanted wasn't my favorite retelling, although it did have some cool concepts.  I loved the fact that there were many fairytales tied together in one plot line.  There was a reference to a fairytale for most of Sunday's sisters.  Some were pretty obvious, but others were more obscure stories, which was very interesting.  However, I wasn't a fan of Sunday.  In some ways she was a strong character, but in other ways she fell flat.  Sometimes her attitude just annoyed me a bit.  That made it hard for me to get into the book, but it turned out to be good in the end.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: August 24, 2012

I am going to start reading The Casual Vacancy now.  Hope it's amazing, otherwise my dreams will be crushed . . .  Has anyone gotten their hands on it yet?  (If anyone actually decides to comment, which doesn't happen often but is encouraged, please DON'T SPOIL ANYTHING.)

Guitar Notes (Mary Amato)

***

         For Lyla, using the school practice room is part of her cello routine.  She's been playing since her mother died, and she's very talented.  But over the years, the pressure of competition has gotten to Lyla and her love of the cello has faded away.
         For Tripp, the practice room is a means for survival.  His mother took his guitar away in an attempt to force him to get a life.  Tripp doesn't want a life; he wants a guitar.  So he is secretly borrowing a school instrument to play during his lunch period.
         Lyla and Tripp use Practice Room B on alternate days.  They never see each other, but Lyla sees the trash Tripp left behind and leaves him a note of complaint in the strings of the school guitar.  And Tripp writes back.  Soon snappish exchanges turn into a musical challenge, and the unlikely pair become better friends than they would ever have thought possible.

         I liked the characters in this book quite a bit, but the progression of their relationship didn't really flow for me.  Lyla and Tripp are both nice people, so it's funny to see what they think of each other before they really know what the other person is like.  I was happy when they became friends because they understood one another in a way that their other friends (or not, in Tripp's case) didn't.  But when their casual friendship turned into a secret love, I just wasn't feeling it.  The ending just didn't seem right to me.  Over all, though, I thought Guitar Notes was a pretty good book.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: August 20, 2012

Happy first day of fall!  It's actually pretty nice weather today.  Much better than the cold and rainy homecoming game last night.  I skipped out on the game, but apparently we crushed the other team.  Football isn't really my thing, though - I get more excited about baking pumpkin treats.  What's your favorite part of autumn?  Post it in the comments.

My Life Next Door (Huntley Fitzpatrick)

****

         Samantha Reed's mother does not approve of the next door neighbors, the Garretts.  They're noisy and messy, have lots of kids, and don't seem to care what other people think of them.  But those are the exact reasons that Samantha's been watching the Garretts since they moved in when she was a little girl.  The idea of a close-knit family is very appealing to Samantha, who is getting sick of her mother's quest for perfection both in public and at home as she runs for reelection to Congress.  While her mom is busy campaigning, Samantha meets Jase Garret and is quickly absorbed into the chaos of his family.  Just when it seems as though Samantha has found a place with the Garretts, her mother does something unforgivable and puts Samantha's relationship in jeopardy.

         If you're craving some serious chick lit, My Life Next Door is the sort of thing you want to read.  There's plenty of drama and a super-sweet guy.  What more could you ask for?  This novel is a Sarah Dessen read-alike, for the Sarah Dessen fans out there.  I thought it was really cute.  To be read when you're in the mood for something girly, or when you've just finished a depressing book and are looking for a happy ending.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: August 17, 2012

What do you think about chick lit - love it or hate it?  Share the best and/or worst chick lit books you've ever read in the comments.

Nevermore (James Patterson)

***

Final installment in the Maximum Ride series.  To avoid major spoilers for those who haven't read Nevermore yet, I'll be as vague as possible.

         After evading demented whitecoats and fighting evil, Maximum Ride and her flock are trying to settle into a normal life.  Fang is out of the picture, leading a gang of his own while leaving Max to fulfill her destiny, whatever that may be, with Dylan.  Right now, that means going to school and pretending to be average kids.  But the flock has never been able to stay in one place long without attracting trouble.  When events spiral out of control and it seems as though life as we know it is about to end, Max is presented with a way to save the people she loves - if she's willing to make other sacrifices to do it.

         I have to admit that I was a bit let down by Nevermore.  When I read the first few Maximum Ride books in middle school, I loved them.  They were action-packed and Max's dry humor was refreshing compared to my usual reads.  But as time went on, this series seemed declined quite a bit.  The books just weren't as good from The Final Warning on out.  Though Nevermore was better than some of the books from the middle of the Max series, it wasn't one of my favorites, either.  The ending was almost anticlimactic.  And kind of confusing and weird, as well.  I finished the book, and my first thought was: wait, what?  After everything Max and the gang had been through, it seemed like a cop-out to finish the way it did.  Nevermore was lacking in a proper resolution.  Sometimes, that can be okay - great, even.  But maybe the execution was a little off, because the ending seemed to be missing something.  On the positive side, I was relieved to find that the love triangle has been resolved.  (Although I wasn't a huge fan of that plot development in the first place.)  Despite the fact that it wasn't my favorite Max book, I'm still glad I read it.  And I'll probably end up reading James Patterson's next series, an excerpt of which was very helpfully included in the back of Nevermore.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: August 9, 2012

Ever been disappointed by a book series that you really loved?  Post in the comments!

BookWatch: Something to Get Excited About . . . Big Time

         Blog readers, there is something that many of you do not know about me (at least, those of you who don't know me personally).  It's something you probably should know, seeing as this is a book blog, so I'll tell you.  I am a huge fan of Harry Potter.  I say "huge", but that's only a verbal representation of something that cannot really be expressed in words.  I've read J.K. Rowling's books so many times that I've lost count.  I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the day it was released.  I love, love, love everything J.K. Rowling has written.

So, I'm obviously quite excited about her new adults' book, which is coming out on 27 September:

Want to read a summary of the book on goodreads.com?  Click here.

Apparently, The Casual Vacancy won't have anything to do with the wizarding world.  Part of me is sad about that because I can't get enough of Harry Potter.  On the other hand, though, I'm excited to see what else J.K. Rowling can come up with.  My expectations for the book are super-high (which is probably unfair to the book), but I think Rowling will deliver.  Who knows?  Maybe this will be better.  Actually, I'm not sure that's humanly possible . . . but hopefully it's just as good as Harry.  

Any other Potter fans out there?  Will you be reading The Casual Vacancy?  Post in the comments to tell me what you think!

Introducing BookWatch

In an effort to mix it up a bit (book reviews can get a bit boring, after all) I'm going to start posting about exciting books that haven't yet been released.  BookWatch posts will mostly be about books by authors I've already read, either here on the blog or Before Books on the Bluff.  I'm always trying to keep track of the authors I love and all of their upcoming releases, and I know it can be a lot of work.  Hopefully BookWatch will help you stay on top of the list of books you're dying to read!

Expect the first BookWatch post sometime this week.  :)