Bright Side

Bright Side by Kim Holden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Do Epic!
Oh gosh... my heart. It takes a lot for me to dish out actual tears from a book. I can get sad & I can feel the feels, but tears? Yeah, a lot. & this book, I was totally hiding my face reading this book in public.
I loved the story & just loved all the characters. I love how it shows friends become family & being surrounded by people that you love & love you can make a life complete. I just really enjoyed this book & dreaded getting to the end - for more than one reason - & just feel like I love all the characters.
Gus, Keller & Katie... I am heart broken with all of you.

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Secrets. 
Everyone has one. 
Some are bigger than others. 
And when secrets are revealed, 
Some will heal you ... 
And some will end you. 

Kate Sedgwick’s life has been anything but typical. She’s endured hardship and tragedy, but throughout it all she remains happy and optimistic (there’s a reason her best friend Gus calls her Bright Side). Kate is strong-willed, funny, smart, and musically gifted. She’s also never believed in love. So when Kate leaves San Diego to attend college in the small town of Grant, Minnesota, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with Keller Banks. 

They both feel it. 
But they each have a reason to fight it. 
They each have a secret. 

And when secrets are revealed, 
Some will heal you … 
And some will end you.

An American Marriage

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was going to give this one 3 stars because at the end, I wasn't too happy with how it all turned out - but then the more I thought about it, the more I realized how invested I was in this book & how there really was no good ending that could happen, & it hit me how much I really did love the story & the REALNESS of this story & I liked it more than I thought I did.
This really was tough to read at times, & frustrating & honest. Some books just have that glaze over them that doesnt seem like real life - this one just felt like it could be someone's memoirs in a way. I really enjoyed the 3 different points of views in the story as well. Perspective is always different from another's point of view. I especially loved it in this story of a marriage falling apart & a best friend who was there in the midst of struggles.
I was glad for a rainy day to sit & finish out the story.

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Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together. 

The Kiss Quotient

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I keep seeing this one everywhere & all the raving about it.
Me? I thought it was ok. I wasn't as wrapped up in it as it seems everyone else is. That's OK. Why everyone has an opinion. I just wasn't expecting it to be so .... so.... R-rated. I have no problem with those sorts of books - I just wasn't expecting it in this one. I guess I should have known better when the main character is male escort. I didnt even realize that was the case when I picked up the book - I just grabbed it when I saw it at the library knowing it was what everyone else was reading.
In the end, I thought it was a simple read, but that's it - I didnt think it was much of a story besides the 'relationship' between the 2 characters. I thought it had its sweet moments when Michael would protect & care for "his Stella" but mostly I was just feeling like there was more to the deeper story with Stella's Asperger's that could have been touched on & it just wasn't.
This is still a fun weekend read if you are into that sort of racy & blushing sort of read.

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Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

Then She was Gone

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Talk about creepy & emotional.
This story of a missing girl & what happened to her really got to me. It held my attention & kept me wrapped up in how it was all going to end. I ended the book so sad for Ellie & her family & just so super freaked out at the crazy mentality of people.
I'm still a little confused about what happened to Frank - I mean, I know what happened to Frank - but the why. I dont think he deserved that ending really.
I really enjoyed the style of writing - seeing everyone's story from different time lines of the events. It makes me want to check out this author again & see if the suspense & the story telling is just as good.

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THEN
She was fifteen, her mother's 
golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. 
And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone. 

NOW 
It’s been ten years since Ellie 
disappeared, but Laurel has never given up 
hope of finding her daughter.
And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet. 
Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter. 
Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away. 

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age.
And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back. 

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go? 
Who still has secrets to hide?

Furiously Happy

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jenny Lawson... what an interesting person.
I read one of her other books & knew how she came across - so I was prepared. Some chapters have me laughing out loud & some have me frustrated & feeling like its rambling - but I hang in there because I know its all honesty.
I appreciate a person who shares her struggles with depression & mental illness in an open way.
This was another book full of insight, humor, struggles & yeah, for me, sometimes, rambling & frustration - but in the end, I totally understood her & appreciated her a little bit more

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In LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED, Jenny Lawson baffled readers with stories about growing up the daughter of a taxidermist. In her new book, FURIOUSLY HAPPY, Jenny explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.

According to Jenny: "Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos."

"Most of my favorite people are dangerously fucked-up but you'd never guess because we've learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal. Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, 'We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.' Except go back and cross out the word 'hiding.'"

Jenny's first book, LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED, was ostensibly about family, but deep down it was about celebrating your own weirdness. FURIOUSLY HAPPY is a book about mental illness, but under the surface it's about embracing joy in fantastic and outrageous ways-and who doesn't need a bit more of that? 

Surprise Me

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My first Sophia Kinsella book. Cute. I actually was surprised at some turns in the book & didnt see some things coming. I also laughed at Sylvie & the way she thought & really appreciated how it all ended. I also now want a job working in a museum.
I'll be trying out more of this authors books to see if they all have the sort of fun wit about them with that extra touch of drama.

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After being together for ten years, Sylvie and Dan have all the trimmings of a happy life and marriage; they have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, beautiful twin girls, and communicate so seamlessly, they finish each other's sentences. However, a trip to the doctor projects they will live another 68 years together and panic sets in. They never expected "until death do us part" to mean seven decades.

In the name of marriage survival, they quickly concoct a plan to keep their relationship fresh and exciting: they will create little surprises for each other so that their (extended) years together will never become boring. But in their pursuit to execute Project Surprise Me, mishaps arise and secrets are uncovered that start to threaten the very foundation of their unshakable bond. When a scandal from the past is revealed that question some important untold truths, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other after all.

Hillbilly Elegy

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I keep seeing everyone reading this & giving amazing reviews.... & the whole time I'm reading this, i'm like, "I dont get it". To me, it was boring & ordinary & nothing groundbreaking or earth shattering. Maybe because it just felt like reading a lot of my own family history? Mamaw & Papaw in this book sounded exactly like my own grandparents, some of the relatives in the book sounds just like my own family & the situations that I read in reviews that people are in shock about, just sounds like ordinary life. I mean, I do live in Kentucky but never considered our family "Hillbilly"... maybe I need to rethink that.


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From a former Marine and Yale Law School Graduate, a poignant account of growing up in a poor Appalachian town, that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class. Part memoir, part historical and social analysis, J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy is a fascinating consideration of class, culture, and the American dream.

Vance’s grandparents were “dirt poor and in love.” They got married and moved north from Kentucky to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. Their grandchild (the author) graduated from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of their success in achieving upward mobility for their family. But Vance cautions that is only the short version. The slightly longer version is that his grandparents, aunt, uncle, and mother struggled to varying degrees with the demands of their new middle class life and they, and Vance himself, still carry around the demons of their chaotic family history.

Delving into his own personal story and drawing on a wide array of sociological studies, Vance takes us deep into working class life in the Appalachian region. This demographic of our country has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, and Vance provides a searching and clear-eyed attempt to understand when and how “hillbillies” lost faith in any hope of upward mobility, and in opportunities to come.

At times funny, disturbing, and deeply moving, this is a family history that is also a troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large portion of this country. 

Dear Martin

Dear Martin by Nic Stone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I heard a lot about this book going around & when I saw it on sale this past week on Amazon, I snagged it up - & devoured it. It's a super fast read, but man, all the heaviness in it.
We see the struggles that a young African-American man goes through as he gets caught up in an incident that seems to snow ball into a series of unfortunate events. It really was intriguing to see how things rolled out & even more, how the media took situations & turned them to what they weren't.
This book is a look a prejudices in so many ways, through so many different eyes.
I really did enjoy this book completely. It held my attention & really made me think. I think its a book everyone should check out.


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Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.

Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack

The Hating Game

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I dont know if its because I read a rom-com right before this (The Beau & the Belle) but the characters reminded me a lot of each other. The kind of relationship where they want to take it slow & not rush into anything, & they both are full of a gentleman type guy & a kooky, funny, mess up everything they try, kinda gal.
I enjoyed this one just as much as the other book. I especially love the relationship having the rifts between them where they can take jabs at each other & laugh it off in good humor. & I really loved that this story takes place in a publishing company.
Another book where I laughed & swooned & rooted on the couple. Totally enjoyed it.

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Nemesis (n.)
1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;
2) A person’s undoing;
3) Joshua Templeman.

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

The Beau & the Belle

The Beau & the Belle by R.S. Grey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was my first time reading R.S. Grey & what a fun & spicy read.
I totally laughed so many times in this book. When I was reading it at work during lunch, someone even said, "why are you smiling so much? What are you reading?"... Lauren & Beau were just so funny together & the situations they got themselves in was just so cute & charming.
Makes you think back of those first crushes you had when you were a teenage girl.
I so fell in love with Beau myself (such a gentleman) & so wanted to be Lauren's friend (love a girl who embarrasses herself so easily).... & totally want to hang out in New Orleans with both of them.
This was a fast & fun & light read. Totally remember this one when warm weather comes & you need a fun beach read.

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eau Fortier starred in most of my cringe-worthy teenage fantasies.

I met him when I was a junior in high school, a time that revolved exclusively around bad hair, failed forays into flirting, and scientific inquiries into which brand of toilet paper worked best for stuffing bras.

That is, until Beau moved into the small guest house just beyond my bedroom window.

A 24-year-old law student at Tulane, Beau was as mysterious to me as second base (both in baseball and in the bedroom). He was older. Intimidating. Hot. Boys my age had chicken legs and chubby cheeks. Beau had calloused hands and a jaw cut from steel. Our interactions were scarce—mostly involving slight stalking on my end—and yet deep down, I desperately hoped he saw me as more of a potential lover than a lovesick loser.

Turns out, I was fooling myself. My fragile ego learned that lesson the hard way.

Now, ten years later, we’re both back in New Orleans, and guess who suddenly can’t take his eyes off little ol’ me.

My old friend, Mr. Fortier.

But things have changed. I’m older now—poised and confident. My ego wears a bulletproof vest. The butterflies that once filled my stomach have all perished.

When I was a teenager, Beau warned me to guard my heart.

Let’s hope he knows how to guard his. 

The Andy Cohen Diaries

The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year by Andy Cohen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was looking forward to this one... I love me some Andy Cohen.
I dont usually do audio books because I cant stick with the story - but I do like audio books for autobiographies - especially when the writer tells his / her own story.
This one, meh.... I did enjoy some of the stories - love Andy no matter what - but man, this one drug on forever in some stories. & towards the end, I thought we were never going to get to the end.
I think each chapter was over an hour long. Seriously - THE LONGEST AUDIO BOOK EVER!!!!!!!
I have his follow up book also on audio book - I may need a break before I go into that one.

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A year in the whirlwind life of the beloved pop icon Andy Cohen, in his own cheeky, candid, and irreverent words As a TV Producer and host of the smash late night show Watch What Happens Live, Andy Cohen has a front row seat to an exciting world not many get to see. In this dishy, detailed diary of one year in his life, Andy goes out on the town, drops names, hosts a ton of shows, becomes codependent with Real Housewives, makes trouble, calls his mom, drops some more names, and, while searching for love, finds it with a dog. We learn everything from which celebrity peed in her WWHL dressing room to which Housewives are causing trouble and how. Nothing is off limits - including dating. We see Andy at home and with close friends and family (including his beloved and unforgettable mom). Throughout, Andy tells us not only what goes down, but exactly what he thinks about it. Inspired by the diaries of another celebrity-obsessed Andy (Warhol), this honest, irreverent, and laugh-out-loud funny book is a one-of-a-kind account of the whos and whats of pop culture in the 21st century.

Meet Me Under the Stars

Meet Me Under the Stars by K.D. Proctor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a fun book....
First, I have to say, this isn't typically anything like I would read. It left me blushing a lot & saying "Language" out loud over & over... & then it just became part of the characters & I didnt seem to mind it as much. But again its NOT my typical book I read.
But I HAD to read this...just HAD to because the author is someone I have followed through the years & am so excited for her debut novel.
& I absolutely loved the store of the book. The characters of Charlie & Nate & this passionate love they had & then tore apart ... & the reason they have to come back together to their old stomping ground at camp, where they used to be camp leaders along with all of their old camp friends.
I feel like I should just be wearing shorts & flip flops & ratty t-shirts & hair in a braid reading it.
It was a fast read with parts that made me laugh, brought back memories, but would also make me cringe with frustration for the characters & heart ache for the people just not getting their act together to get to that happy ending.
The only reason I didnt give a full 5 stars is again, just because of my own hang ups on the content. I know some people that usually read chick-lit-beach-reads would think nothing twice of some of the stuff that had me blushing & saying "Oh gosh" ... & again, it didnt distract from the story - only made it more clearer of the passion of these two characters.
I'm sad to let Nate go... the perfect English accent boyfriend... every girl needs a Nate - I'm convinced of it.
Keep an eye out for this book if you are a fan of some hot steamy chick-lit reading... & you dont blush easily ;)

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When ratings for her popular DIY show start to circle the drain after the sudden death of her sister, Charlotte “Charlie” Conti has only one mission—to plan a comeback. But her sister had other plans. As part of the will, Charlie must work with *him* to create a memorial scholarship in her sister’s memory. The same *him* Charlie fell in love with three years ago while working at a summer camp.
​
The same *him* she dumped, to protect his heart.

Sexy, British player, Nate Walsh, has sixty days to find a new job or he’ll be deported back to England where he’s no longer welcome. He doesn’t have time to work on a memorial scholarship with *her*. The same *her* who shattered his heart without explanation or warning.

The same *her* he’s never gotten over.

Unable to agree on the specifics of the scholarship, Nate and Charlie challenge each other to a winner-takes-all competition. They both know the only way to win is to turn up the heat and tempt one another with the one thing they both want: each other. But as sparks fly, their true feelings resurface. Nate and Charlie must decide if their love is worth the effort and if they can overcome their disastrous past mistakes to spend forever together. 

The Matchmaker

The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was my first Elin Hilderbrand book - after hearing all about her books & how they are perfect summer beach reads. I see that.
A book that has touches of soap opera in them... drama, romance, dancer, more romance, fighting, abuse, heartache...
I enjoyed this one, the story of an old love coming back into Dabney's life... & enjoyed the corny 'matchmaking powers' of all things turning rosy or green. So corny. But the part that really got me was the "lovesick" thing. When you're lovesick, you dont need to take off work for 3 days because you hurt & cant move. That was just dumb to me.
But I did love the overall story of friendship, of family, of love that lives on ... even in the sad & heartbreaking parts.
I'll totally try another Hilderbrand book

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48-year-old Nantucketer Dabney Kimball Beech has always had a gift for matchmaking. Some call her ability mystical, while others - like her husband, celebrated economist John Boxmiller Beech, and her daughter, Agnes, who is clearly engaged to the wrong man - call it meddlesome, but there's no arguing with her results: With 42 happy couples to her credit and all of them still together, Dabney has never been wrong about romance.

Never, that is, except in the case of herself and Clendenin Hughes, the green-eyed boy who took her heart with him long ago when he left the island to pursue his dream of becoming a journalist. Now, after spending 27 years on the other side of the world, Clen is back on Nantucket, and Dabney has never felt so confused, or so alive.

But when tragedy threatens her own second chance, Dabney must face the choices she's made and share painful secrets with her family. Determined to make use of her gift before it's too late, she sets out to find perfect matches for those she loves most. The Matchmaker is a heartbreaking story about losing and finding love, even as you're running out of time.

The DUFF

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I hardly ever read a book in less than 24 hours... this one, I totally did.
Not sure why it held my attention as much... no, I kind do. I totally related. I have always been the DUFF in my life, so I could so relate with Bianca, in certain areas.
Not ALL the areas... goodness no. This book gets a little MUCH in areas, but I still could relate to the character & the actions she was taking.
In the end, the book had a great connecting reason for everyone to realize how they are seen by others & how they feel & the whole comparison thing we tend to do in our lives.
I really did just enjoy this book...
I was anxious to read it because I watched the movie trailer to get an idea of what the book was about... only to see the book is apparently NOTHING like the movie. I was kinda happy with that surprise. Made the book better to me.



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Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush, who calls Bianca the Duff--the designated ugly fat friend--of her crew.

But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone

Thirteen Reasons Why (Reread)

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SO I see I read this in 2011. 6 years. No wonder I didnt remember all the details watching the show.
But it was so interesting reading it again after watching the show & comparing. All the differences & all the things that are similar. All of it heartbreaking.
I do have to say, I like the order they did the tapes in the show compared to the book... I rarely say this, but I think I actually like the show better than the book.

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My Kind of Crazy

My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the story - it kept me wanting to read what happened. When a guy accidentally catches a tree on fire trying to ask the popular girl at school to prom by lighting sparklers... & then runs away when the fire spreads, but someone sees Hank. The strange girl Peyton Breedlove. She lets him know she saw him & he befriends her to keep her from telling it was him who caused this problem. Soon their friendship develops & they learn so much about each other.
It really held my interest, but I have to say I was shocked it was YA. Just the language & some situations in the book, I wouldnt let my "too" YA read it. For sure.
I really enjoyed how the book wrapped up too. One of those books that I enjoyed but wasn't the kind that was life changing or I'm screaming for the world to MUST READ. I did close the book though rooting on Hank & Peyton as they venture into life on their own.

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Despite the best of intentions, seventeen-year old, wisecracking Hank Kirby can’t quite seem to catch a break. It’s not that he means to screw things up all the time, it just happens. A lot. Case in point: his attempt to ask out the girl he likes literally goes up in flames when he spells “Prom” in sparklers on her lawn…and nearly burns down her house. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Peyton Breedlove, a brooding loner and budding pyromaniac, witnesses the whole thing. Much to Hank’s dismay, Peyton takes an interest in him—and his “work.” The two are thrust into an unusual friendship, but their boundaries are tested when Hank learns that Peyton is hiding some dark secrets, secrets that may change everything he thought he knew about Peyton.

The Princess Diariest

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I feel a little bad saying this... I just didn't enjoy this like I usually do biographies.
After Carrie Fisher passed away, I was turned on to this book & I was intrigued about it because while I'm not a Star Wars fanatic like some people are, I do have memories of seeing it in the theaters in the 70's & having a Prince Leah Barbie doll. I was interested in hearing the 'behind the scenes' things about the book.
To me, this was just full of not much information & sad to say, a lot of whining about how Carrie didn't feel beautiful or must of a sex symbol of the time. & don't get me started on the whole Harrison Ford affair. It just felt like the longest, most drawn out bunch of useless information ever.
I really just didn't enjoy this book at all.
It was strange though how many times she referred to her passing & how she would be remembered or just things about dying. Felt very strange getting this book a few weeks after her passing & seeing her words about that. Hindsight.
If you are a huge Star Wars fan, you may enjoy it... I just felt like it was a bunch of writing just to be writing - a lot of it senseless & useless.

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Forget Love

Forget Love by Babsy Tom
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Meh...
that basically sums up how I feel about this book.
I was afraid a book about a lady who has an accident & forgets her life & all her memories was going to be a shadow of "What Alice Forgot". Nope. Not even close. Loved that book. This one didn't compare at all.
It just seemed to be drug out in parts & then jumped really fast in others.
I got frustrated at all the drug out parts with the mother in law as well. I mean, chapters devoted over a side story that really didnt matter to me in the least.
I didn't mind Penny, whose memory was gone. I also really liked Tom, her "ex" husband - but the other guy, her boss, George. I still dont know what to think about that character. Half the time, I'm like, I dont get this. It just always felt weird & icky. I'm still not sure how their business interacting worked either. Just strange.
As for the end... ok... meh...
This passed the time just fine. But its not a book that I'd tell anyone else they had to pass their time with.

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When Penny Plage wakes up in the hospital, she has no idea who she is, where she is, how she got there—or even which man she loves. Does she belong with Tom, her aloof but disarmingly attractive artist ex-husband who looks great in his jeans and with whom she still shares a house and a dog? Or is she in love with George, her handsome boss in the designer suit who would do anything for her?

As Penny begins to piece together her past with the help of her devoted—and highly opinionated—BFFs, she discovers that she has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to begin anew. Although amnesia is no picnic, there’s a surprising amount of fun and laughter to be had in reinventing her life in ways she never, ever expected.

A frothy and fast-paced comedy that reveals the many quirks of the human heart, Forget Love reminds us that a good man, a couple of best friends, and a loyal dog can get us through just about anything. 

Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins

Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index by Kathy Griffin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can't help it... I've always loved Kathy Griffin. Something about her makes me laugh. Maybe its the attitude that she doesn't care what she says, but I've always been a fan of hers. I shake my head a lot at her, but still laugh at a lot of the things that comes out of her mouth. I think you have to know she's a COMEDIAN. People tend to forget that. & I also know she's not everyone's cup of tea. Comedy is like any art - its all in the eye of the beholder.
I actually did this one audio book & I'm not a fan of audio books - but I think doing this book that way is what made me give it the full 5 stars. Her voice, it wasn't like she was 'reading' - it was like she was just telling her life - & I KNOW she was adding in things that aren't in the book. Add in her own laughter as she was reliving these celebrity stories & I didnt want this to end.
It made me really like other celebrities more, & also have me give some side eye to some others after the real life interaction with these people. When you can come away loving Christine Aguilera more, you gotta like this book. Some of the stories are really endearing too making me 'ahhh' a lot of times & other stories just had me flat out laughing.... Leo DiCaprio & the bathroom scene, I choked laughed while I was driving.
SO MANY CELEBRITY STORIES!!! I was all about it.
& you gotta read it just for her story about being involved in one of the biggest serial killer trials in the US.
I will listen to this again just for the sheer fun of it.

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I'm Glad About You

I'm Glad About You by Theresa Rebeck
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF
I got about a quarter in & just didn't connect with this one.
I'm getting better at letting go of books that I don't care for. Why waste the time - so many good books, so little time.
I think it didn't help that I read reviews before & got the jest of the ending... & then a quarter through, the characters just irritated me & I flipped to the last few pages of the book (GASP!!!) & read... & yeah, knowing the ending, it didn't make me want to fill up the 'in between' so I just scraped it.
Maybe I'll try it some other time... probably not.

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