Something Blue

Something Blue, by Emily Giffin

Darcy Rhone thought she had it all figured out: the more beautiful the girl, the more charmed her life. Never mind substance. Never mind playing by the rules. Never mind karma. But Darcy's neat, perfect world turns upside down when her best friend, Rachel, the plain-Jane good girl, steals her fiance, while Darcy finds herself completely alone for the first time in her life with a baby on the way.

Darcy tries to recover, fleeing to her childhood friend living in London and resorting to her tried-and-true methods for getting what she wants. But as she attempts to recreate her glamorous life on a new continent, Darcy finds that her rules no longer apply.


It is only then that Darcy can begin her journey toward self-awareness, forgiveness, and motherhood. Something Blue is a novel about one womans surprising discoveries about the true meaning of friendship, love, and happily-ever-after. It's a novel for anyone who has ever, even secretly, wondered if the last thing you want is really the one thing you need.  FROM GOODREADS.
 
I read Something Borrowed for a book club in December and just finished this second one yesterday.  I enjoyed this one much more than I did the first.  And I think that's because I could root for the characters in this story, and in the first one I kind of thought they all stunk.
 
Darcy's transformation was believable, and her romance was too.  I liked it bunches.  The pregnancy stuff was interesting to me too, but I think that's just because I can relate to that stage of life.
 
Definitely a good beachy read or if you want something fun and feel-goody.  You have to read the first one though, because this does not stand alone.

Something Borrowed

Something Borrowed, Emily Giffin

Rachael is turning 30 and is a single, working lawyer in New York.  By 30 she thought she'd be married with a baby, or two, living in the suburbs.  These are the thoughts she's having at her thirtieth birthday party which ends with her and her best friend's fiancee stumbling to her apartment and beginning a summer long affair.

All the while, he's still engaged.

I listened to this audiobook so I think that colors my opinion differently than if I had read it.  The narrators personal opinion of the characters comes through in how they read their voices.

My first problem?  How are these girls still friends?  I mean I have had relationships, even best friends, that are toxic and negative.  But not much past high school, and definitely not past college.  Sure, you do not have to like everything about a person to be their friend, and everyone is flawed, but how are Rachael and Darcy still friends when they so clearly do not think very highly of each other?

Since this is told from Rachael's perspective, it's her opinion that Darcy is selfish, bossy, super competitive with her, and shallow.  I'm sure in the next book (Something Blue) we will hear that Rachael is a no fun, boring, wuss.

In truth?  They are both awful people.  At the beginning I thought, okay, Dex knew Rachael first, he had fallen in love with her over time, that's why the cheating happened.  He'll break up with Darcy, and that will be that.  Surely they wont continue such a lurid affair.  Surely they won't plan to meet and sneak behind his fiancee's and her best friend's back.

But they did.  The more they did, the less I liked them.  And neither one showed much remorse.  Darcy was selfish and manipulative, but these two are supposed to love her inspite those things, not do this to her.  If they had changed toward her, the noble thing, the thing a good person (that they both profess to be) would do, is tell her.  But they don't.

Inspite of these things, I did not dislike this book.  It was funny at moments and I did like some of the supporting characters even though the lead three really are sort of awful.  They didn't start out that way, and until about the last two hours of the book (so last 200 pages, maybe?) I was pretty enthralled.  And I did go get through it quickly.

So I would give this a three out of 4.  Worth reading.

Happy Ever After

Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts

Fourth one in the series.  Parker's story.  Probably my least favorite of the bunch.  Got so tired of all the wedding details.  Redundant.  BORING.  And, the book is over, and we don't get to see them all married off?  I mean really what was the point?

I'm glad this series is over.  I'm wondering if she's going to continue to do series books in the publisher's edition size or if she'll go back to mass market paperback.  I'm a little irritated with how expensive these were.  Especially considering how forumulaic they are.

But, I mean, come on.  What was I expecting?

Savor the Moment

Savor the Moment, Nora Roberts

The third in the Brides Quartet series.  This is Laurel's story, the cake maker of the four, and it follows the method of all of Roberts books.  Couple banters, realizes they like each other, fall in love, have some sort of falling out, make amends, get married.  If there were later books, we'd see them all getting pregnant.

I will pick up the fourth one, because I'm addicted to series'.  And I like all the characters.

However.

The conflict in these is just so lame.  And frankly, I'm tired of hearing all about how great these women are at their jobs.  I'd like to see Laurel drop a cake, or Emma clip the bloom off a rose accidentally or Mac miss the groom kiss the bride or SOMETHING normal.  These women are all supposedly super perfect, never fight, even in high stress situations and they talk about each other funny.  I have friends, but I don't sit around with them talking about how much I love them.

Mac's mom as the only bad guy is just old.  I hope the 4th one gets away from that but I don't see that happening.

Still ... fans of Nora Roberts will pick it up and read it quickly because it's easy and fun.  The next one comes out in November and is Parker's story.  So far, Malcolm is the most intriguing of all the male leads.

Chick Lit: Queen of Babble in the Big City

Queen of Babble in the Big City, Meg Cabot (3rd book for Chick Lit Challenge!)

The second book in the Queen of Babble series, we find Lizzie in New York City after her summer in France with her best friend Shari, Shari's boyfriend Chaz, and Luke, Lizzie's new boyfriend.

So everything's great, except that Lizzie has no job, no money, and no place to live.  Deathly afraid that the big bad city is going to chew her up and spit her out like it did some girl from Anne Arbor named Kathy, Lizzie takes a job that earns no pay, and agrees to live with Luke, who she's known for 3 months.

This book felt like a continuation of the other book.  Which, hello, it should as it's a series.  But more than that, it felt like it was supposed to be part of the same book.  Like Cabot wrote it all at one time, her publisher got a hold of it and said "I bet we can make three books" and chopped it up at the desireable points.

This is beneficial for one reason - I didn't have to sit through a chapter of "previously, on Queen of Babble."  Which gets soooo annoying.

It's also irritating, for one reason - the ending does not feel like an ending but more like an annoying cliff hanger from a prime time soap opera.  What will happen to Lizzie now?  What will her answer be?  How will she get out of this jam?

And, I can see the end from here.  It's not a bad ending, and really with Chick Lit, who can't see the end from 50 pages in?  It's part of it's charm.  It's comfort food in that you know what it tastes like, and it tastes good.  Chocolate ice cream for the book lover soul.

I still miss Luke.  He had that one charming scene on the train in the first book and it's like he's never been heard from again.  It makes me sad.  Shari, also, took a big jump out of this story, and was replaced by Tiffany and the lovely french people that own the bridal store.  Both of these are very funny characters, and I hope they are present in the next one.

I enjoyed the book, finished it in no time, and I enjoyed the back story of the wedding dress refurbishment and all the wedding info / quotes throughout.  Like I said, we're sort of in "wedding mode" around here so it's fitting and fun.  Definitely worth picking up at the library or the used book store.

Chick Lit: Queen of Babble

Queen of Babble, Meg Cabot

Lizzie Nichols has just (sort of) graduated from college and is going to England to meet her (sort of) boyfriend, Andrew, and spend the summer with him.  Andrew "rescued" her from a fire in her college dorm earlier that fall but then had to leave Anne Arbor, MI, when his student visa had problems.  In the land across the pond, Lizzie is horrified to find out that not only is he not the man of her dreams, but he told his mom she liked tomatoes, which she vehemently, does not.

Mildly heartbroken, Lizzie gets on a train to France where she meets up with her college roommate who is volunteering at a chateau that does weddings.  She runs into Luke on the train, the owner's son, not knowing it's him, and confesses her entire sordid story with college and the ex-boyfriend Andy.

Embarrassment, humor, and a wedding dress maid entirely of doilies follows.

Meg Cabot is most famous for The Princess Diaries and other YA books.  The Queen of Babble series was recommended to me by my sister and while it was quick and fun, the writing isn't my usual thing.  It's entirely too stream of conscious, and that's coming from a person that writes stream of conscious.

One other pet peev ... I was never sure how to pronounce some of the names.  She helps you out with this when characters are first mentioned, but it bugs me sometimes.  I liked that Lizzie got her foot in her mouth a lot (I do that - in far more embarrassing was than Miss Lizzie) and I liked Luke though there wasn't enough of him.  There was more the idea of him that was discussed.  So we'll see if he's more involved (he should be) in the next one.

It was good but different.  One of its best attributes, coming off a spell of books that are multiple POVs is that it stayed entirely in the first person.  Which seems to be really rare lately.

I'm definitely going to finish the other one (Queen of Babble in the Big City ).  And look!  I finished one more book in May!

Chick Lit: Vision in White

For my first book for the Chick Lit challenge, Vision in White, by Nora Roberts.

Nora Roberts one millionth book?  No but it's close.  So close that many think she's writing by committee now which is why so much of her work sounds completely different than her earlier work.  But whatever.  I still pick up whatever trilogy she has going.  I'm a sucker for a story that doesn't end.

Which brings us to Vision in White.

This new quartet is about a wedding planning company and the four women that work there.  This was fun for me because we are in the midst of my sister's wedding extravaganza and I can relate to the crazy requests that were brought up in the book.  And, more pointedly, the opinions that are requested and then disregarded immediately.

The love interest is formulaic in that comforting, peanut butter and jelly sandwhich kind of way so that's not all that interesting.  The dialogue (what I think Roberts is best at) is witty and fun between the four girlfriends.  Which is really the best part of this book, aside from the frilly, tulle ridden wedding backdrop of course.

This will probably end up being my least favorite in the series as the constant photography (not well researched I don't think) angle was just not good.  But, I'll bring it for my sister to read.  It's like a tub of ice cream ... a guilty pleasure that isn't helping you in anyway but it's very fun to partake.  I recommend for beach reading or warm bubble bath (with already mentioned ice cream) reading.

Chick Lit Challenge

The Twiga Blog is hosting the 2009 Chick Lit Challenge and since that sounds like a fun and easy challenge, and I like the button, I'm all about it.

It's 10 books over the next year.  I can't remember picking up one Chick Lit book last year but I do enjoy quick light reads so I thought, what the hey.  There's a whole bunch out there that I've never read that I thought I might try.

So, for the first stab at this list (and it will definitely, more than likely change):


1. Vision in White - Nora Roberts - REVIEW
2. Queen of Babble - Meg Cabot - REVIEW
3. Queen of Babble in the Big City - Meg Cabot - REVIEW
4. Chasing Harry Winston - Lauren Weisberger
5. Good in Bed - Jennifer Weiner
6. Certain Girls - Jennifer Weiner
7. Something Borrowed - Emily Griffin
8. Something Blue - Emily Griffin
9. Baby Proof - Emily Griffin
10. Dogs and Goddesses - Jennifer Cruise (maybe - it's multiple writers again and I'm not sure how I feel on that.)

But, most of this list are staples in the industry and I've yet to read a one.  I did read In Her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner several years ago because my sister read it and she said I had to because one of her friends read it and said that Megan and I were "just like" the girls in the book.  If you've read it, that's an insult to Megan.  We aren't really anything like those sisters, except that, we're sisters, and she has blond hair and I have brown.  And we both love dogs.  But that's where the similarities end.

Anywho - I have my beach reading for 2009!  And I think my bank account is going to suffer from all these challenges ... maybe I'll get these from the library instead.

PS - If you're looking for some interesting challenges for 2009, Jessica over at Bluestockings is doing 16 this year and has a complete list.  The What's in a Name may make it over here, but I have to ponder what I would read for that.  The other one I really like is 2009 Pub Challenge, read 9 books published in 2009.  I think that would help me stay current.  Also, if you haven't already, check out 5 Minutes for Books, they are doing a Classics Bookclub.  February they are reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  March is Les Miserables.