Tag Archives: book review

Book Review: Meant To Be

Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors and I loved this book like I have all of her others.

Joe’s family is like American royalty. Everyone knows who they are, they are fabulously wealthy, and they live a privileged life. Cate comes from the wrong side of the tracks who makes it big as a fashion model.

When Joe happens upon a photoshoot Cate is doing on the beach, he falls for her. Cate tries not to fall back. She feels like there’s no way the two of them can possibly work given that they have such different backgrounds.

However, they were meant to be. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend it!

Meant To Be

Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors and I loved this book like I have all of her others.

Joe’s family is like American royalty. Everyone knows who they are, they are fabulously wealthy, and they live a privileged life. Cate comes from the wrong side of the tracks who makes it big as a fashion model.

When Joe happens upon a photoshoot Cate is doing on the beach, he falls for her. Cate tries not to fall back. She feels like there’s no way the two of them can possibly work given that they have such different backgrounds.

However, they were meant to be. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend it!

Book Review: Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance

I really love reading YA (young adult) books. At least some of them. I don’t really go for the fantasy and vampire books but the ones that are about kids in high school are usually pretty fun and Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Love is no exception. I also love to read about different cultures so this book also satisfied that requirement.

Radha is a very talented Kathak dancer with a very involved (overly involved?) dance mom. At a large international dance competition, she over hears other dancers talking about her and she is horrified and leaves the competition without dancing.

Radha moves to New Jersey where she is given a second chance at finding the “dance joy” that’s been eluding her but she’s unable to perform without having anxiety attacks. At her new school, she meets Jai, the leader of the Bollywood Beats dance group. They are minus one choreographer and have no dance for their winter competition at which scouts will attend and future dance opportunities can be achieved.

Jai and Radha like each other and Radha agrees to choreograph the dance for the group as it will also allow her to graduate without having to be onstage.

During this time, Radha also rekindles her relationship with her father in Chicago. He is a chef in his own restaurant and gives her a notebook of recipes that belongs to her grandfather. She starts learning  how to cook the Indian food her grandfather and father cook and discovers a new passion.

I loved reading about the dance competition, the relationship between Radha and Jai, and reading the Indian recipes a lot. This was a fun book and I highly recommend it! In the past I have read My So Called Bollywood Life by this same author, Nisha Sharma, and loved it as well!

L is for Lowcountry Boneyard

Lowcountry Boneyard (Liz Talbot Mystery, #3)Lowcountry Boneyard by Susan M. Boyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another fun read by Susan M. Boyer. I love the characters in this series. Liz is a smart private investigator who finds things the police can’t find.

This time, a young woman is missing and the police seem to have stopped looking for her. Her father hires Liz to do what she can to find his daughter. In the process, Liz finds a whole lot of intrigue in his wife’s family which eventually leads her to the killer.

There is a little friction between Liz and her partner/boyfriend Nate in this book but it turns out happy which is awesome. I love Colleen, her “spirit guardian”.

I loved this book and I can’t wait for the next one! 🙂

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Book Review: That Touch of Ink

That Touch of Ink (Mad for Mod Mystery #2)That Touch of Ink by Diane Vallere
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this book! It was a fun, fast read.

Madison is an interior decorator who designs mid-century modern and dresses like Doris Day. I loved her character. She received a $5,000 bill from an old boyfriend and that begin a story that was suspenseful, funny, and quick.

This is the second book in the Mad For Mod Mystery series and I’ve not read the first but I definitely will.

Two thumbs up! 🙂

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Book Review: Bread and Butter

Bread and ButterBread and Butter by Michelle Wildgen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having taken my first job in a restaurant when I was 14, I loved this book as much as I loved the restaurant business.

I loved reading about the food that was being prepared at the two recipes and it made me hungry.

The story of the three brothers is a good one. I grew up with sisters so I never really thought how brothers would act with each other. The two older brothers, close in age, never really gave much consideration to the younger brother, Harry.

When Harry moves back to town to open up his own restaurant, Leo, the oldest brother doesn’t buy in but Britt, the middle brother does.

In the end, both restaurants are super successful and the brothers are happy. It was a great book that I read straight through. 🙂

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Book Review: Dangerous Curves Ahead

Dangerous Curves Ahead (Perfect Fit, #1)Dangerous Curves Ahead by Sugar Jamison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. It was fun and I was cheering for Ellis who was doing life her way.

Educated as a lawyer, Ellis puts that aside to open a store for hard to fit women. As a plus sized girl, she is fully aware how hard it is to look cute when you aren’t a traditional size. She meets Mike, again, and falls in love with him which she also hadn’t planned.

I loved the characters in this book. I wanted to be Ellis’s friend and her parents were terrific, funny and quirky.

Two thumbs up for Dangerous Curves Ahead! 🙂

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Book Review: Buck: A Memoir

Buck: A MemoirBuck: A Memoir by M.K. Asante
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesome, awesome book. I could not put it down. When I read a book this good, I know my review will pale in comparison to the work but I try anyway.

Follow Malo through the streets of Philadelphia as his family falls apart and he succumbs to life on the streets. But, more importantly, cheer for him as he finds his way and becomes a writer.

Terrific book, I highly recommend. 🙂

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Book Reviews: The Heiress Effect

The Heiress Effect (Brothers Sinister, #2)The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. Historical novels are not at the top of my list usually but this one was terrific. I loved the character of Jane. She was so her own dog. I loved her spunk and how she knew her mind. I loved the love stories between Jane and Oliver and Emily and Anjan.

Miss Jane Fairfield is an unmarried young woman with a large dowry and no family. She and her sister are living with their uncle whom Jane doesn’t trust. She tries to keep everyone away by her choices of garish clothing. She wants to be able to stay unmarried and be with her sister until her sister is old enough to be on her own. In the process, she falls for Oliver and in the end, she gets to continue being herself.

Great book. I highly recommend it! 🙂

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Book Review: Lock, Stock and Over a Barrel

Lock, Stock, and Over a BarrelLock, Stock, and Over a Barrel by Melody Carlson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. It was fun. I loved the characters and setting and story line.

Daphne, a wedding announcement writer for the New York Times, returns to her hometown for the funeral of her beloved Aunt Dee. When Aunt Dee’s will is read, Daphne finds out that she is the recipient of Aunt Dee’s entire estate if she only meets the terms of the will within a year.

The only thing bad I can say about this book is that it ended kind of abruptly but I definitely want to read the sequel to see what happens! 🙂

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