The Uninvited Guests - Sadie Jones

Title: The Uninvited Guests
Author: Sadie Jones
Hardcover: 272 pages (my version paperback ARE)
Published date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins
FTC: Received ARE to review for TLC Book Tours


I had so much fun reading Sadie Jones' new novel The Uninvited Guests.  I took one look at the cover and knew that it would be perfect for my Downton Abbey-ish addiction.  It definitely was!

The synopsis:


With some apprehension, the Torrington family is about to celebrate the twentieth birthday of Emerald, the second of three children. Their housekeeper, Florence, plans an elaborate dinner for the family and a few close friends. Charlotte and her children—the romantically handsome and callow Clovis; nine-year old Imogen, known as Smudge, who plots a “Great Undertaking” for the evening; and Emerald herself—are disconsolate at the thought of losing Sterne, their beloved family home.

Originally purchased by Horace Torrington, Charlotte’s first husband and the children’s father, Sterne has become too expensive for the financially strapped family to maintain. Since Horace’s death and Charlotte’s remarriage to Edward Swift, the house remains an important link to the past, a symbol of the family’s position that is intertwined with their sense of identity.

As Edward sets off for Manchester in hopes of obtaining a loan, the rest of the family begins preparing for the dinner party. An evening unlike any other awaits them. Little can the Torringtons imagine, that more than just a few intimate friends are about to arrive at Sterne . . .

My thoughts:

For some reason I went into this book thinking it was going to be some kind of murder mystery a la Agatha Christie.  I think it is more like Downton Abbey mixed with Clue but without the murder(s) but still a ton of fun chaos and mystery.

I read someone's review and they said they didn't like the characters but man I absolutely loved them.  My favorite had to be Emerald. For some reason she reminded me of Downton Abbey's Lady Mary -- in that she was a bit stuck up at the beginning but I ended up loving her character.  (But I also pictured her wearing Lady Sybil's gown. Isn't it beautiful?)

Lady Sybil's Outfit from this site

My other favorite was Smudge, the precocious nine-year old daughter who's "Great Undertaking" is absolutely hilarious and I could totally see a little girl like her doing something outrageous like that.  Her parts in the book had me just cracking up.

Granted Clovis, the eldest boy and the mother, Charlotte are less attractive characters.  But as the story progresses and the family goes through all the crazy things that happen that one night, I love that the "children" really do grow and mature a bit - maybe the mother too.

The "uninvited guests" part is, I'll admit, a bit bizarre but I loved that I was totally not expecting the story to go that way and I ended up really enjoying it.  **I really don't want to spoil it at all for you and hope no one else's reviews spoil it either.  You really have to go into the story and not know where it's going to take you.

By the way, I mentioned the Clue aspect above but without murders.  There is definitely a mystery aspect to the story and there is a fun dinner scene that for some reason just made me think of Clue's classic dinner scene.  Loved it.

By the way, notice the beautiful cover above with the blonde lady with the phone?  I adore that cover but look what my ARE looks like:

Which cover do you like better?

Sadie’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, May 1st: “That’s Swell!”

Wednesday, May 2nd: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Thursday, May 3rd: Jenny Loves to Read

Monday, May 7th: A Chick Who Reads

Tuesday, May 8th: Paperback Princess

Thursday, May 10th: Stiletto Storytime

Monday, May 14th: Broken Teepee

Tuesday, May 15th: Amused By Books

Wednesday, May 16th: Unabridged Chick

Thursday, May 17th: Picky Girl

Monday, May 21st: Life In Review

Tuesday, May 22nd: Wordsmithonia

Thursday, May 24th: Wandering Thoughts of a Scientific Housewife

Wednesday, May 30th: A Library of My Own

Thursday, May 31st: Chaotic Compendiums

Friday, June 1st: The House of the Seven Tails

Friday, June 8th: My Bookshelf

TBD: Colloquium

Neverwhere Discussion Part 1

I am so excited to be joining Carl's reading-a-long of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.  Head over to Stainless Steel Droppings to check it out.

This is my second reading of Neverwhere.  I read it back in 2005 I believe and it was my first Gaiman book.  I adored it and have gobbled up Gaiman's work since then.  Since this was the first book I've ever read of his, it's become my favorite one...not because it's the best but because I just fell in love with his writing and the idea of London Below.

Before I forget, let me give a big thanks to the blog Adventures of Cecilia Bedilia -- I won my beautiful hardback copy with the cover to the left from her lovely blog. Thanks!  And thanks Carl for hosting the read-a-long of this awesome Gaiman book.


Here we go:


1. What do you think of our two villains thus far, Messrs. Croup and Vandemar?

I think one of the reasons that I adore Neverwhere and find it so incredibly entertaining is because the two villains are so incredibly evil and fun.  Just read this from page 7:

Mr Vandemar pulled the rat from the blade and began to munch on it, thoughtfully, head first. Mr. Croup slapped it out of his hands. "Stop that," he said. Mr. Vandemar put his knife away, a little sullenly. "Buck up," hissed Mr. Croup, encouragingly. "There will always be another rat. Now: onward. Things to do. People to damage."


They are like an evil underworld Laurel and Hardy.  Incredibly horrible and evil but there is also a bit of comedy there that lightens the mood.  It just works so well.

2. Thus far we've had a small taste of London Below and of the people who inhabit it. What do you think of this world, this space that lies within or somewhat overlaps the space the "real world" occupies?

Brilliant.  I love that people's gaze or notice just slides over Richard when he becomes part of London Below. I remember living in New York and how we totally get used to not looking at strangers or homeless people and how I could totally envision a whole world beneath our notice.  I also loved that the London Below has such awesome connections to real London - like the names of Subway stops and all that. For instance: Angel, Islington.  (I won't post any "angel" spoilers since we just met the angel Islington at the end of Chapter 5.)

I remember visiting London and the area Angel totally did up the "angel" theme. Let me see if I can dig out a photo.  I took this at night, but see how the flower shop has the angel theme?  I think the entrance to the shopping area has a halo suspended.

I would love to read about a New York Below and see what Gaiman comes up with.  How cool would that be?

3. What ideas or themes are you seeing in these first 5 Chapters of Neverwhere? Are there any that you are particularly drawn to?


I love that Lady Door is on a quest to save herself, find out who killed her family and why,  and perhaps take revenge.  I am always drawn to stories about families and this one is no exception.  I love Door's ability to open, well, a door anywhere.

As I'm typing the questions, I'm skimming over Carl's response and notice that he mentioned the "Alice in Wonderland" aspect which is awesome.  Head over to his post to check out his response.  When I was little, I too loved this type of thing -- the portal in the wardrobe, rabbit hole, etc.  We moved around a lot and every time we'd get a new house I'd knock on all the walls trying to find a secret passageway somewhere.  I think this story totally brings out that childhood fantasy of traveling to other places.

4. We've met a number of secondary characters in the novel, who has grabbed your attention and why?

I love Hunter -- Door's bodyguard.  She just seems like a kick-butt awesome character. And for some reason I keep picturing Zoe from Firefly as Hunter:

Also, the Rat Girl sequence just broke my heart.  I remember her part of the story from the first time I read the book but for some reason, this time, her story was just so heartbreaking and sad.  Poor Anaesthesia.  I wonder if her name was Anastasia before?

5. As you consider the Floating Market, what kind of things does your imagination conjure up? What would you hope to find, or what would you be looking for, at the Market?

Like Carl's response, I totally think of Stardust's market -- interesting how two of Gaiman's awesome books have markets -- perhaps because markets back in the day where such an important part of life.  I'm not sure I'd be looking for anything if I went but what an awesome shopping experience it would be.  I wonder what I could bring to sell?  One man's junk is another man's treasure.

6.  If you haven't already answered it in the questions above, what are your overall impressions of the book to this point?

I was a little hesitant in re-reading my favorite Gaiman book because, well, since I've read a few more of his books I was wondering if it wouldn't live up to my expectations.  I was totally wrong. I love love this book.  I swear I read Chapters 1-4 in like 30 minutes (I didn't but it totally felt like it.)



*****

If you've never read Neverwere, I encourage you to pick it up and give it a go!  It's never too late to read and then think or blog about your responses to the questions.  If you have read Neverwhere and/or are participating in the read-a-long -- head over to the end of Carl's post to check out other bloggers responses.

I, Iago - Nicole Galland

Title: I, Iago
Author: Nicole Galland
Paperback: 370 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published Date: April 2012
FTC: Received to review for TLC Book Tours

They called me "honest Iago"

from an early age, but in Venice,

this is not a compliment. It is rebuke.

One does not prosper by honesty.

I love that blurb on the cover.  When I read that this was Iago's - the villain from Shakespeare's Othello - story which was set in Venice, I was intrigued.  I had never read Othello so I also perused the Shakespeare play.  While reading the play I found Iago to be such an evil character. I wanted to know how someone could do the things he did.  I absolutely devoured this story. I can't wait to read more of Nicole Galland's novels.

The TLC Tours:

From the author of The Fool's Tale comes a brilliantly-crafted retelling of Shakespeare's Othello in which the "true" motivations of literature's greatest villain, Iago, are revealed. Everyone knows Shakespeare's classic tragedy of friendship and betrayal, love and jealousy: Othello. But the real story lies deep in the culture and biases of Venice and the childhood of a young man named Iago who coudl not escape his status as "runt of the litter" in his family nor his "distasteful" tendencies towards honesty that made him a social outcast.

In Nicole Galland's I, Iago we follow Iago from his childhood days playing pranks with young, naive Roderigo to falling in love with Emilia to betraying his closest friends and family, sealing his fate as one of the most notorious villains of all time.

My thoughts:

Loved it. Devoured it. Oddly enough, while reading Shakespeare's version I immediately hated Iago. But that's because we are thrown into the story right when Iago is plotting his revenge against Othello - the man he once trusted, respected, and loved - all because he felt slighted at being overlooked for promotion.  I devoured this book because it perfectly set the background for Iago's character - whom I came to understand, empathize, and kept hoping there was going to be a different ending than the one I knew.

Even if you've never read Othello or really never knew what the story was about, you will become engrossed in this book.  I only read half the Shakespeare play, mainly because I wanted to read Nicole Galland's ending first.  But if you are a Shakespeare aficionado, I think you will applaud her retelling of Iago's story.

I had someone say that while they liked the book it seemed a bit long sometimes.  I didn't find that to be true at all.  I loved the entire story - because it was Iago's story from his childhood to, well you know, the end.  I thought it was necessary to hear his story, all from his perspective, to really understand his character.  What a greater tragedy too to know that Iago had all this going for him but will always be known for his lies and betrayals.  (And yes I know he's a fictional character but still...)  I loved the characters: Emilia - the strong and beautiful wife, Othello - an awesome military man but oddly emotional when it comes to Desdemona, and of course Iago. I like Iago. I would never have said that if I had only read Shakespeare's play.  By the way, I could only picture Othello as Denzel Washington from the movie Much Ado About Nothing. 

Much Ado About Nothing

Last but not least, Venice.  A city I can't wait to visit and who's culture and traditions are so intriguing.  I loved that a large part of the story is set in Venice and how the city's traditions made an impact on Iago and the story.  

Extras:

You may notice that my copy above has a P.S. on the corner which means at the end of the book there's a very cool interview with Nicole Galland on how/why she wrote the story and how it involves her meeting her future husband, an actor who played Iago in a play she directed.  How awesome is that!  

Nicole’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, April 24th: Elle Lit.

Wednesday, April 25th: Dwell in Possibility

Monday, April 30th: Life In Review

Tuesday, May 1st: Unabridged Chick

Thursday, May 3rd: Picky Girl

Tuesday, May 8th: BookNAround

Wednesday, May 9th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, May 10th: Wandering Thoughts of a Scientific Housewife

Monday, May 14th: Reading With Martinis

Tuesday, May 15th: A Library of My Own

Wednesday, May 16th: The Whimsical Cottage

Thursday, May 17th: From L.A. to LA

The Winter Sea - Susanna Kearsley

Title: The Winter Sea
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Ebook: 544 pages (I think)
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published date: 2008/2010
FTC: Checked out ebook from library


Sometimes I read ebooks on my iPhone at night if I can't go to sleep.  I read on my iPhone because 1) an eReader is just out of my budget right now and 2) I can't find a book light I love so an ebook is just working for me at the moment.

When I read the synopsis for The Winter Sea I thought A) why not, I love a good historical fiction and semi-romance and B) hopefully it's not too similar to The Outlander series.  While Susanna Kearsley is not going to make my top five favorite historical fiction writers, I definitely had fun reading this book and will check her out more.

The synopsis:

History has all but forgotten the spring of 1708, when an invasion fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.


Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors, and starts to write.


But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory...making her the only living person who can know the truth of what did happen all those years ago -- a tale of love and loyalty...and ultimate betrayal.


My thoughts:

This was the perfect late night immerse yourself into the story type of book.  Sometimes when a novel has a flip between the present and the past, I tend to enjoy one of the stories over the other.  In this case, I had fun with both Carrie's story in the present day and Sophia's story set in past.

This isn't a time travel novel like The Outlander series but a "genetic memory" in that as Carrie gets inspired to write, her story just takes over.  As she's fact checking she comes to find out everything she's written is eerily real -- how would she know ship names and dates when people came to the castle?  She comes to find that she's probably getting the memories somehow of her distant ancestor Sophia.  While some reviewers didn't think that the genetic memory thing was necessary for the story, I didn't mind it at all.  It was a fun way to connect Carrie and Sophia.

What I liked most about both stories wasn't the love stories but the setting.  Did you know Slains Castle inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula?  If you head over to Susanna Kearsley's website, there's some awesome photos of the Castle and other locations mentioned in the book.  I just loved Susanna Kearsley's descriptions of the castle, the ocean, everything.  I feel like if I traveled there I would find the area familiar.

I also enjoyed the historical setting of the book.  I love this story because to be honest, if I lived in that day and age and in that area, I may have been a Jacobite. I always wonder how things would have turned out if the Jacobites had succeeded.  Interesting....

UK Version:

In the UK, The Winter Sea is published with the title Sophia's Secret.  What title/cover do you prefer?  I like my version above.  Sophia looks more terrified on this cover than hiding a romance.

Also Reviewed by:

The Book Nest
Library Queue
Madame Guillotine
The Book Worm's Library
Diary of a Bibliophile
Historical Novel Society
The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
The Royal Reviews (Interview)

Bring Me One of Everything - Leslie Hall Pinder

Title: Bring Me One of Everything
Author: Leslie Hall Pinder
Paperback: 330 pages (ARC version)
Publisher: Grey Swan Press
Published date: February 2012
FTC: Received from Kelley & Hall to review


Oh man. I hardly ever do this.  I did not finish this book. I'm 160 pages into it and I'm just struggling.  Don't get me wrong: Leslie Hall Pinder is a wonderful writer, poetical, and often there are quotes that I just love.  However.  I'm just not engrossed.  I really really wanted to love this one or at least enjoy it.  Alas.


The synopsis (from Kelley & Hall):

Bring Me One of Everything is a novel which weaves real-life facts and fiction into an eloquent tale of suspense and intrigue. The title of the book is based on what the management of the Smithsonian is said to have demanded when sending ethnographers to native villages to gather artifacts for its collection: “Bring me one of everything.” 
The novel is several layered stories centered around a troubled writer, Alicia Purcell, who has been commissioned to create the libretto for an opera about an anthropologist named Austin Hart. He earned fame in the 1950s for cutting down and bringing back to museums the largest remaining stand of totem poles in the world. They belonged to the Haida tribes who inhabit the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia. Hart’s subsequent suicide creates the mystery Alicia attempts to solve as she consults present-day tribe members, Hart’s friends and family, and his personal journals. Added to the complications of her search are Alicia’s imperious though ailing mother, a cast-off lover, a narcissistic composer, and her own demons of disaffection. But an overarching question dogs her and the reader: why she is so obsessed with Austin Hart and this quest?

My thoughts:

When I first went to college my dream job/goal/thing was to be an archaeologist.  After a concerned parent advised me that the job market was probably lacking in need of archaeologists, I majored in probably an even less job market degree - history.  O well.  I did take a few anthropology classes anyway and loved them.  So take my interesting in anthropology, throw in the ethical problems faced by anthropologists and museums, and add a mysterious suicide...sounds like an interesting and intriguing story!

But I'm just not engrossed. The writing is quite beautiful, the idea is very interesting, even Margaret Atwood wrote a blurb for the cover.  And I love Margaret Atwood.

My problems is maybe that I just can't grasp the character of Alicia Purcell. At the beginning of the story Alicia Prucell is just 19 years old or so and up and decides to kill herself.  There's really no rhyme or reason -- and obviously she doesn't in the end because, well there'd be no story if she did.

Fast forward years later. She's never been married, never had kids, it seems never really opened up to anyone.  Then she dumps her boyfriend and goes to help out her mom (who she also doesn't have a good relationship with) who is sick.  She's also asked to write the libretto for a new opera about Austin Hart's life and what drove him to suicide.  She then becomes completely engrossed in Hart's life and death.

While an intriguing plot and actually good writing, my main problems were that I just couldn't quite care enough for her character. There was really nothing in her character that made me want to know what happened next. That's a problem for me. I need to care for the characters and I just couldn't.  I couldn't get engrossed. I kept reading a chapter or two and then putting the book down for days and always finding reasons not to pick it back up.  So I decided to stop.


****Does this book sound interesting to you?  If you are a book blogger and would like to check this one out I'd be happy to send it on.  I'd love to see if someone else has a different reaction.

Extra:

The trailer for the book is pretty cool.  Check it out:

Enchantment - Orson Scott Card

Title: Enchantment
Author: Orson Scott Card
Audiobook: 17 hours, 26 minutes
Read by: Stefan Rudnicki
FTC: Library book


I had read Orson Scott Card's awesome retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story a long time ago.  While looking for a good fairy tale read for Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge, I decided to download the audiobook and re-visit the story.

Orson Scott Card is normally known for his sci-fi stuff and while this isn't your typical sci-fi, it does have time travel and magic.  I think this was the perfect choice for Carl's challenge.

The synopsis:

The moment Ivan stumbled upon a clearing in the dense Carpathian forest, his life was forever changed. Atop a pedestal encircled by fallen leaves, the beautiful princess Katerina lay still as death. But beneath the foliage a malevolent presence stirred and sent the ten-year-old Ivan scrambling for the safety of Cousin Marek's farm.

Now, years later, Ivan is an American graduate student, engaged to be married. Yet he cannot forget that long-ago day in the forest--or convince himself it was merely a frightened boy's fantasy. Compelled to return to his native land, Ivan finds the clearing just as he left it.

This time he does not run. This time he awakens the beauty with a kiss . . . and steps into a world that vanished a thousand years ago. 


My thoughts:


The story is such an inventive retelling of Sleeping Beauty.  Ivan and his family were Jewish Russians who immigrated to America when he was just a boy.  Before they left and while visiting relatives in the country, Ivan stumbles upon what seems to be an enchanted forest where it looks like a person is sleeping under a pile of leaves.  Frightened, young Ivan runs away -- but that experience will haunt him as he grows up.

Fast forward some years and Ivan and his family are living in New York.  Ivan's a professor of Slavic language/culture/mythology and Ivan is going to college to study the same thing.  He decides to travel back to Russia to do research and goes back to that enchanted forest to see if what he remembered as a child was real or not.

Without giving much more away -- the kiss, the beauty awakes, and they step into her world.

What I liked about the story was the time travel aspect.  I loved seeing Katerina's world through Ivan's eyes.  In this world magic exists, fairy tales really happened, and the evil witch Baba Yaga has it out for Katerina's kingdom.

The story is narrated alternatively by Ivan, Katerina, Baba Yaga, Ivan's mother, and Ruth (Ivan's American fiance).  I absolutely adored the alternate viewpoints.  Baba Yaga's in particular because she was so very very nasty.  For some reason the lady who did the audiobook made me think that Baba Yaga looked and sounded like this (which was awesome):

Agnes Moorehead from Bewitched

What was even better is that to escape from Baba Yaga, Ivan and Katerina end up spending some time in Ivan's world.  It's fun to read what a person from the middle ages would think of our world - airplanes, kitchen appliances, etc.

While I've actually never read any other Orson Scott Card books (appalling I know), you are almost guaranteed a well written and thought out story which is t he case with Enchantment.

I'll admit I did have some gripes with the story.  It was very convenient that Ivan, his father and his mother all knew the rare and no longer used Slavic dialect that Katerina spoke.  In the story I'm sure it's part of the curse but still...it kind of irked me.

Also, while the audiobook narrators did an awesome job, Ivan's voice was a very deep bass with a Russian accent while his character is supposed to be a thin guy with a runner's athletic body.  I just couldn't picture his voice matching his description.

And lastly, while I always love multiple narrators, I just didn't see the point of including Ruth, the jilted fiance.  It didn't detract from the story but I'm just not sure it was necessary.  I also felt that way with Ivan's family being Jewish.  There is a lot in the story, especially in the beginning, about how he had to convert to the Jewish faith of his mother's before they left Russia and while it didn't hurt the story line, I kept thinking that his being Jewish would have some impact on the story later on -- which it really didn't.
 
Other than that it was a fun book to listen to and a perfect choice for the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Beside a Burning Sea - John Shors

Title: Beside a Burning Sea
Author: John Shors
Paperback: 419 pages
Publisher: Penguin
Published date: 2008
FTC: Bought at library book sale


For the last few years I've been reading amazing reviews of John Shors' novels.  His latest one, Cross Currents, is set in Thailand set during the 2004 tsunami.  The previous one which caught my eye as well was The Wishing Trees about a recently widowed man and father who takes his daughter on a trip through Asia to find healing.

Fortunately this past year I've found The Wishing Trees and Beside A Burning Sea at library book sales.  I think I'm going to start collecting them.  Beside a Burning Sea is so beautifully written -- and the book itself is beautiful.  I'll snag a photo to show you at the end of the post.

The synopsis:

One moment, the World War Two hospital ship Benevolence is patrolling the South Pacific on a mission of mercy. The next, it’s split in two by a torpedo. A small band of survivors, including an injured Japanese soldier and a young American nurse, makes it to the deserted shore of a nearby island, never expecting the experiences awaiting them…

Akira has suffered five years of bloodshed and horror fighting for the Japanese empire. Now, surrounded by enemies he is supposed to hate, he instead finds solace in their company – and rediscovers his love of poetry. While sharing the mystery and beauty of this passion with Annie, the captivating but troubled woman he rescued, Akira grapples with the pain of his past while helping Annie uncover the promise of her future. Meanwhile, the remaining castaways endure a world not of their making a world as barbaric as it is beautiful, as hateful as it is loving, as forbidden as it is seductive…

My thoughts:


I originally picked up this book because I am drawn to WWII settings.  While I've read a lot of books set in Europe during this period, I wanted to read more about what was going on in the Pacific during this time.  I wouldn't really call this a historical WWII novel -- the story takes place during this time but it's really about the characters.

The survivors consist of Captain Joshua and his wife Isabelle (a nurse), Annie (Isabelle's younger sister and a nurse), Roger and Nathan (military men), Jake (the ship engineer), Ratu (a young stowaway on the ship), Scarlet (another nurse), and Akira (a wounded Japanese soldier).  The book is narrated by almost all of these characters which is something I love.  I always enjoy reading different perspectives and it really makes the reader get to know each character.

One of these characters is a spy and betrayed the ship to the Japanese.  While the identity of the spy is known from almost the beginning, the story still keeps it's suspense as we wonder if and when the Japanese will find the deserted but strategically perfect island.  The most beautiful part of the story though is the relationships - Captain Joshua trying to reconnect with his wife Isabelle, the friendship and then love that blooms between Akira and Annie, and the father/son relationship that develops between Jake and Ratu.

While the book is beautifully written the only detraction is there isn't really any major twists and turns in the novel.  The spy is known, the relationships are pretty set, and I even pretty much knew who would probably die and who wouldn't.  But I guess this isn't supposed to be a spy thriller -- it's about love in the time of war, it's about friendship and survival, and about the characters and their relationships.

I'm definitely going to be reading more of John Shors' novels.  I mentioned to someone that John Shors would be a perfect alternative to Nicholas Sparks.  So if you like Nicholas Sparks (or like me and have never been able to bring yourself to read Nicholas Sparks) check out John Shors.

Extras:

I love when publishers and authors add extra special touches to their books.  In this book there are individual chapters but each day is signified by a decorated page and on the reverse is a haiku (which is something that helps bond Akira and Annie in the story).

Also Reviewed By:

Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
Age 30+ A Lifetime of Books