Book Review: Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

Title: Secrets of a Summer Night

Author: Lisa Kleypas
Series: Wallflowers #1

ISBN: 978-0060091293

Publisher: Avon

Pub. Date: 2004

Source: Kindle

Genre: Romance/ Historical Fiction

Pages: 384
Rating: 4 Kisses
Author's Website

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Four young ladies enter London society with one common goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband. So a daring husband-hunting scheme is born.  Annabelle Peyton, determined to save her family from disaster, decides to use her beauty and wit to tempt a suitable nobleman into making an offer of marriage. But Annabelle's most intriguing--and persistent--admirer, wealthy, powerful Simon Hunt, has made it clear that while he will introduce her to irresistible pleasure he will not offer marriage. Annabelle is determined to resist his unthinkable proposition . . . but it is impossible in the face of such skillful seduction.  Her friends, looking to help, conspire to entice a more suitable gentleman to offer for Annabelle, for only then will she be safe from Simon--and her own longings. But on one summer night, Annabelle succumbs to Simon's passionate embrace and tempting kisses . . . and she discovers that love is the most dangerous game of all.

My Reveries and Ramblings: Secrets of a Summer Night is the first book in Lisa Kleypas’s Wallflowers series. It centers around Annabelle, the oldest member of a group of friends who have made it their mission to find suitable husbands after years of being wallflowers. Annabelle, who is very beautiful, has been unable to catch a husband since she’s poor and has no dowry. In a last ditch effort to save her widowed mother and brother from being completely destitute, she makes one last great effort to catch a husband (with the help of the other wallflowers). However, in trying to snag a titled husband, she slowly starts falling for Simon Hunt, an affluent yet rough-around-the-edges businessman.
      This review comes years after reading the series many many times. To be completely honest, I didn’t like Annabelle the first time I read her story. However, I grew to like her. She’s got so many admirable qualities. She’s brave and stubborn. Yeah, she is very materialistic, but her loved ones ALWAYS come first.
      Simon Hunt is a very hardy outspoken man. Most people find him to be a bit much. But he has such a big heart. Ah, Simon. Definitely one of my book boyfriends. (Pretty much all the guys in Lisa Kleypas books are on that list). I just loved the way that Simon was always happened to be around to help her. Even though she pretty much rejects his help for most of the book, at least he’s there. Cue sigh.
      Secrets of a Summer Night is a great quick read. You’ll be smiling, gushing, and sighing the entire time. Being a huge fan of Lisa Kleypas, I can always count on a great romance read. Seriously, I reread her books at least twice a year. She has a knack for putting just enough of all the elements: romance, action, drama, humor, etc. You want it, it’s got it! Even though it’s not a Regency-era novel, it does make you feel like you are in a Jane Austenesque world. The story is engrossing and very romantic. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend not only Secrets of a Summer Night, but the entire Wallflower series.

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(pssst...It's $2.99 on kindle right now)

Playlist:

(Click Here if you want to listen to it on Grooveshark--if you don't have spotify)

Book Review: A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Title: A Dirty Job

Author: Christopher Moore

ISBN: 978-0060590284

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pub. Date: 2007

Source: Borrowed

Genre: Humor/ Fantasy/ Paranormal

Pages: 405
Rating: 3 Kisses
Author's Website

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, sort of a hypochondriac. He's what's known as a Beta Male: the kind of fellow who makes his way through life by being careful and constant -- you know, the one who's always there to pick up the pieces when the girl gets dumped by the bigger/taller/stronger Alpha Male. But Charlie's been lucky. He owns a building in the heart of San Francisco, and runs a secondhand store with the help of a couple of loyal, if marginally insane, employees. He's married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. And she, Rachel, is about to have their first child. Yes, Charlie's doing okay for a Beta. That is, until the day his daughter, Sophie, is born. Just as Charlie -- exhausted from the birth -- turns to go home, he sees a strange man in mint-green golf wear at Rachel's hospital bedside, a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird. . . . People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death. It's a dirty job. But hey, somebody's gotta do it. Christopher Moore, the man whose Lamb served up Jesus' "missing years" (with the funny parts left in), and whose Fluke found the deep humor in whale researchers' lives, now shines his comic light on the undiscovered country we all eventually explore -- death and dying -- and the results are hilarious, heartwarming, and a hell of a lot of fun.

My Reveries and Ramblings: A Dirty Job was so funny. Weird. But hilarious. My thoughts pretty much cycled through this: "This is really really weird.....OMG HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....huh???What's going on???......HAHAHAHAHA.....OH SHIT!!! OMG!!! OMGOMGOMG!!!!" and would just continue like that through the whole book. Kind of like how Charlie felt during the book. 
     Besides the writing (which was phenomenal!), my favorite aspect of the book was the characters. They were all so quirky and interesting. Even the obscure characters were intriguing, and so much fun to read. My top three, aside from the zombie-frankenstein-animals, were Charlie, Minty Fresh, and Sophie. Sophie was adorable! I just wanted to pick her up and squeeze her the entire book. Minty Fresh was hilarious! Everything he said pretty much made me laugh. And Charlie, Charlie was so funny and cute. There were quite a few times when Charlie reminded me of my boyfriend (who actually recommended the book to me). Oh, and the ending? Epic. Epic and OMG-what-just-happened worthy.
     I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good laugh and a strange yet exciting story.  

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Playlist:

(Click Here if you want to listen to it on Grooveshark--if you don't have spotify)

Book Review: Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay

Title: Of Beast and Beauty

Author: Stacey Jay

ISBN: 978-0385743204

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pub. Date: 2013

Source: Purchased

Genre: Romance/ Fantasy/ Science Fiction/ Fairy Tale/ Retelling

Pages: 400
Rating: 5 Kisses
Author's Website

Synopsis (from Goodreads): In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds. Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe. As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.

My Reveries and Ramblings:
     What a unique book!  I have never read anything like this.  It’s a fairy tale-science fiction-fantasy-myth-romance story.  Of Beast and Beauty starts out like a myth or an old legend.  The prologue is the history of this planet spoken by The Pure Heart (the good side of the planet).  The condensed version:  He explains to the readers what happened after the ships, filled with humans, arrived on his planet.  How he introduced magic to them and how they split themselves up into two groups: the Smooth-skins, people without magic and the Monstrous, people who started to mutate because of the magic.  The Smooth Skins locked themselves up in domes offering a sacrifice to The Dark Heart, the evil side of the planet, in return for an abundance of resources and safety.  So long as they kept giving a sacrifice, nothing bad would happen.  The Dark Heart placed roses in the city’s walls as a reminder of the deal.  Meanwhile, the Monstrous were banished to the desert and began to go hungry and cold.  After trying to convince the people to stop hating and killing, The Pure Heart used it’s magic to place a curse on all the people.  The Smooth Skins would be born either with some of the mutations of the Monstrous or they would be born with missing body parts.  The Monstrous could never shed tears.  The only way to undo this curse is: 

“If even one Smooth Skin and one Monstrous can learn to love the other more than anything else- more than safety or prejudice, more than privilege or revenge, more even than their own selves-then the curse that division has brought upon our world will be broken and the planet made whole.” -p.5

     Isra the current (blind) queen of Yuan, one of the remaining domed cities.  She is to be the next sacrifice as soon as their resources start to deplete. She lives each day knowing that she could be asked to die the next day.  Because her death is the city’s only way to survive, she is smothered by her protectors on a daily basis.  Isra wants nothing more than to feel the wind outside Yuan’s walls.  
     Gem is a Monstrous warrior.  He sneaks into Yuan to steal their magic roses to help save his people from suffering and dying.  He gets captured and is imprisoned.  Isra forces him to help her make a garden to help heal the people who were given monstrous traits at birth.  
      Gem is so large and masculine.  (I pictured a werewolf in human form….there are no werewolves in this story, though).  He wants to save his people, but instead is being forced to play gardener by Isra.  He hates her.  He hates her so much.  But he also pities her.  These two contrasting feelings frustrate him.  As he spends more and more time with Isra, however, he starts caring for her.  
      Now, onto why I really liked this book.  For starters, Ms. Jay created a heroine, who in every way should not have been one.  Here’s the thing, though, Isra knew that.  She had every card stacked against her.  Isra did what she believed was right.  She follows her gut instinct.  So what if she was blind.  So what if she was threatened with being locked in a tower.  Even blind, she figures out a way to help her people.  She’s stubborn. Even though her advisors treat her like a child and humor her, she does everything she can to help her people.  I admired her so much because of this.  She knew who she was and what her circumstances were.  She never let any of that get her down.  She was also very caring and wanted to prove that she can not only help her people, but lead them.
     Okay, so.... the romance….so perfect! Ms. Jay has Gem and Isra HATING each other in the beginning.  And that just sounds like a boy-and-girl-hate-each-other-then-fall-madly-in-love kinda YA book but it was different.  It wasn’t as superficial as one would think.  There so much at stake for both sides.  They have people they want to protect and help and no matter how much he/she likes the other person, they must hold true to their individual end-goals.  But after a while, Gem becomes protective over Isra, and becomes disgusted at how she’s treated by those around her.  Isra, in turn, wants to help him in his plight to save his people.  They grow to care for each other over a very long time.  The romance was really well developed.  Not cliched at all.  There is a love triangle.  It’s okay though! It’s VERY obvious which guy we want to win.   
     I hated the other guy, Bo.  UGH Bo! Bo and his father, Junjie, are conniving, manipulative, and just plain bad.  I wouldn’t go as far as saying Bo is evil.  But he’s definitely very very selfish.  Ugh, the last time I felt this way about the bad guy was with Prof. Umbridge *shivers*.   
     The final thing I loved about this book was the world-building.  It’s not an epic read, however Ms. Jay fleshed out a very detailed world.  The Smooth Skins and the Monstrous had their own ways of life, their own cultures and language, as well as physical appearances and characteristics, stories, etc.  Ms. Jay also gave the planet a voice.  Literally.  The spirit of the planet was the one who placed the curse over the people.  It was the one who wanted to make people stop hating and start loving.  I would love to dive back into this world.  I was very sad when I finished the book.  Of Beast and Beauty is a stand alone book.  So...no sequel :( 
     Of Beast and Beauty felt like a cross between Beauty and the Beast and the anime Romeo x Juliet (which if you haven’t seen, I HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND it...it’s a beautiful, EPIC, and very unique re-telling of the classic Shakespeare play).  Of Beast and Beauty had an EPIC ending!  Loved every minute of this book.  It had the perfect blend of sci-fi, romance, and fantasy with a dash of political intrigue.  I would highly recommend you read it this beautiful and one-of-a-kind re-telling...and then tell your friends to read it! 

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Playlist:

(Click Here if you want to listen to it on Grooveshark--if you don't have spotify)
Had so much fun making this playlist. A lot of these songs I actually listened to while reading the book and they fit perfectly with certain scenes. Like "Oblivion" played during the epic climax scene at the end. Hope you enjoy this playlist :)

Book Review: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Title: The Host

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Series: The Host #1

ISBN: 978-0316218504

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Pub. Date: 2008

Source: Purchased

Genre: Romance/ Fantasy/ Science Fiction/Paranormal Romance

Pages: 619
Rating: 4 Kisses

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.  As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love. Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human.

My Reveries and Ramblings: 
• What I really loved about this book was how Stephenie Meyer dove into human nature and really explored it.  When one small mistake can mean life, death, or even worse, capture, people turn to their most fundamental survival instincts (eat, sleep, kill, run, etc.)  That’s the world that Wanda gets sucked into by Melanie.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  

• Wanda was a really interesting character.  She was just as “human” as the real humans.  However, each side thought of the other as the monster. 

• Wanda has such an awesome outlook on life.  She saw so much beauty in Earth.  

• The Love Story:  There’s a love square going on.  It’s awesome and very complicated.  Love is very prominent in the book, but it’s every type of love: family, romantic, etc. 

• Stephenie Meyer was not afraid of killing characters, or having her characters experience real pain.  Which made this book so much better.  There was a threat to the happy ending which I so desperately wanted (both when watching the movie and reading the book).  

• Epic read!  It is definitely a long book, but not one scene was wasted.  Everything was put there for a reason.  Not much plot, but the characters were very strong (all character driven).  I felt like Wanda most of the time, torn between Ian and Jared.  One moment I was all TEAM IAN…and the next totally TEAM JARED. :P 

• Saw the movie first, because I was a bit skeptical about reading a book about aliens (which are slowly growing on me).  AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT!!!! Ummm, Hello Ian <3 so I HAD to read the book afterwards.  


If you liked Twilight, you’ll enjoy this book.  If you didn’t like Twilight, I still recommend you try this book…It’s nothing like Stephenie Meyer’s previous series, The Twilight Saga.  Also, this is an adult science fiction book…not YA.  So pick it up and enjoy ☺ 

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Playlist:

(Click Here to see Stephenie Meyer's Official Playlist for The Host)

(Click here to listen on Spotify)

Film Trailer: (SUPER EPIC!)

Book Review: My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

Title: My Name is Memory

Author: Ann Brashares

Series: My Name is Memory #1

ISBN: 978-1594485183

Publisher: Riverhead Trade

Pub. Date: June 2010

Source: Purchased

Genre: Romance/ Fantasy/ Historical Romance/Paranormal Romance/ Contemporary Romance

Pages: 352
Rating: 5 Kisses

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  The latest from Ann Brashares, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, a magical story of reincarnation and a love that lasts more than a lifetime Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. For all the times that he and Sophia have been connected throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. But just when Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally awakens to the secret of their shared past, the mysterious force that has always separated them reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.

My Reveries and Ramblings: My Name is Memory is one of those books where you read the first page, and you immediately know that it will be amazing. There is so much I have to say about this book, so bear with me as I try and collect my thoughts and communicate them to you. 
          I have a not-so-small obsession with stories that involve reincarnation and romance. Something about soulmates and love lasting lifetimes just warms my heart and makes me smile. There is a drawback, however, to reading so many stories like this; they tend to all start to mesh together because most of the time they are all too similar. This book is not like that at all! The story was so original. It was so grounded in reality! It barely felt like a paranormal romance. In fact, by the end I felt like it could totally be possible. 
          The book switches between Lucy and Daniel’s POV; It also alternates between lives. There are many chapters dedicated to Daniel telling the story of his past lives and how he came to meet Sophia (Lucy) in all the other lives. He can recognize her soul even though her body changes with each life. Her soul becomes a beacon throughout his lives. However, they usually are far apart in age and it almost always ends in tragedy. It was painful to watch Daniel in his past lives try so hard to be with her, make her happy, make her know, and to apologize for what he did to her in that first life they met, only to fail again and again.
          Daniel and Lucy in the present spend most of book apart. We see Daniel falling in love with Lucy through the stories of his past life. When Daniel transfers to Lucy’s school, she immediately becomes obsessed with him and that scares her. It’s the insta-love syndrome, but the heroine isn’t giving in to it (like in almost every other book), instead she seriously questions her sanity. When he approaches her after two years at the end of senior year, she remembers some of a past life with him. That is what causes her to run. She leaves him, heartbroken, because she is scared she has finally gone insane. The rest of the book takes place in the six years following the incident. She uses this time to flesh out her thoughts and feelings and find out the mystery surrounding Daniel. But neither of them realize that a danger from the past has been following them and wants revenge. This danger could tear them apart once again. 
          I feel so bad for Lucy. She is a very realistic person. The fact that she is being haunted by memories that knows didn’t occur in her lifetime very nearly convinces her she belongs in an institution. She spends a lot of the book trying to come up with an explanation for her love for a man that she’s barely spoken a word to, and the strange visions and memories. 
          There was only one teeny tiny thing about this book I didn’t really like that much. The pacing was inconsistent. The beginning was good and super interesting. Then the entire middle was long and ever so slightly tedious. The end picked up, though. But the information presented in the middle is extremely important for the series. It sets up the story and the history; plus the reader gets to see Lucy and Daniel fall in love. So it was still enjoyable. 
          What I really loved about this book (other than the reincarnation romance part), was that Ann Brashares explored the consequences of having memory as a special power. Daniel’s character changes throughout his lives. He learns and grows like most people do, but in many lifetimes, carrying those experiences over from life to life. His love and dedication to being with Lucy strengthens with each lifetime. 
          Ann Brashares has written a beautiful novel that touched my soul. While reading this book, I realized one of the reasons why I love reading about love is because it IS so beautiful. Words can caress the heart, bring tears to your eyes, pull at your heartstrings, make you stop breathing, make you laugh until your side hurts, and so much more. There were moments where I felt like crying. Their love was so beautiful it tore at my heart. 
          This book is not stand alone. It’s the beginning of an epic love story. The only sad thing is that now I have to wait for the sequel (THANK GOD it is a series), which from what I’ve heard, may or may not happen. Let me just say, IT BETTER! I’m serious, I will write a letter to the publisher if i have to! 
         So my recommendation, is that you stop reading whatever it is that you are reading right now, AND READ THIS!!!!

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Book Review: Torment by Lauren Kate

Title: Torment

Author: Lauren Kate

Series: Fallen #2

ISBN: 978-0385739153

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pub Date: June 2011

Source: Purchased

Genre: Paranormal Romance/ Young Adult/ Fantasy

Pages: 464

Rating: 3 Kisses

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Hell on earth.
That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous. What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else? The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series...where love never dies.

My Reveries and Ramblings:  Torment is one of those “in-between” books. You know, the kind of book where you LOVED the first and third one but the second is just eh. Well, I haven’t yet read book 3. But I’m really hoping I’m right. 
         I read Torment when it first came out. I didn’t like it very much. So it stayed on my to-be-reviewed shelf for a few years because I really didn’t want to sit and talk about a book that wasn't that great. However, recently I picked it back up, wanting to get back into the Daniel and Luce story. And I found myself flipping through the pages rather quickly--stopping when I couldn't stand what certain characters were doing--then picking it right back up again after popping some chocolate chips into my mouth. 
          Fallen (book #1) centered on the insta-love of Daniel and Luce. Book # 2 goes a bit deeper and has Luce questioning whether or not she trusts the mysterious Daniel, who has sent her away to keep her safe. In the process of trying to figure out who she is and was, she meets and befriends a whole bunch of really awesome people (Miles, Shelby, and a bunch of other angels, nephilim, and demons). 
         So I’m not going to lie, Daniel and Luce have a LOT of problems, starting with their ever-present and growing trust issues. Daniel spends most of the book trying to stay away from Luce only to fail and visit her while refusing to tell her anything useful other than “I love you.” and “You can’t do that.” Meanwhile, Luce is falling apart. She’s having a major identity crisis, which fuels her fights with Daniel. All the while, she is searching for anything that could help jog her memory of the past. 
          While I definitely related to Luce, I had a hard time accepting some of Luce’s decisions. It was so obvious what was going on, why she needed to be protected. But she just kept breaking the rules. Daniel, too. He was all “I love you!” but then when asked even a tiny question about what was happening, he was all brooding and distant. Come on! 
          Even though I wanted to strangle certain characters in this book, I still liked it and was able to finish it (with interruptions) in a day. I will FOR SURE be reading the 3rd book in the series.  

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