I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Little simple in terms on sentence structure and language, but what do you expect from a young adult novel. I read this after watching the movie and still managed to enjoy both.



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A Time of Peace - Barbara Cameron

A Time for Peace by Barbara Cameron

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was the third book in the Quilts of Lancaster County series, what I liked about it is even if you didn't read the first 2 books you would be able to read this one and not be lost. Although this book was about the 2 previous couples from the other books.



I enjoyed this book but it was not my favorite, it followed the normal amish fiction of a miscomuication, a accident with someone getting seriously hurt, and the happy ever after ending.



Jenny, who was in the first book, is living her dream life but realizes something is missing. She has been married for a while know but is unable to get pregnant, because her husband is amish he believes in God's will to get pregnant.

Jenny's aunt falls and while taking care of her Jenny finds some letters between her grandmother and her dad. She realizes that they interfered in her life all those years ago and she starts to wonder what is, etc.



It is a good book but not the best, I feel the author could of given me more.



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The Wonder of Your Love - Beth Wiseman

The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was the second book in the Land of Canaan Series. This is Katie Ann's story. Her husband left her in book 1 and also died. She has been raising her son alone with the help of family and a close friend.



She meets a relative of friends and they develop a wonderful friendship. Both want it to be more but are afraid. They are at different places in their lives, they live far away from each other, etc.



Over all a book I enjoyed and look forward to the third installment.



I do think a few parts could of been written better.



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1225 Christmas Tree Lane - Debbie Macomber

1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Debbie did an excellent job of finishing up this 12 book series. As sad as I am to see it end, I love how she brought it all together and let us know how each and every family from the beginning, 16 Lighthouse Road, to the end 1225 Christmas Tree Lane will be ok and live on if we let them.



This was the story of Beth Moorehead and her family. She had divorced her husband after her children grew up and moved from CA to Cedar Cove. The children decide that their parents should spend Christmas together and work out a plan to get their dad to Cedar Cove, he arrives with a girl friend in toe.



Besides this story we have the puppies that Beth is trying to find homes for and the revisit of all the other cedar cove residents.



Great job of closing out the series, that will be missed greatly.





http://jnut1-ilovebooks.blogspot.com





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Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


When Amazon sent me a recommendation for this book I was so excited. I am in that exact place in my life where I am single and going to all my friends' wedding and wedding showers (I went to two wedding this past month, really I am there), so I expected this book to be phenomenal and shed light into this difficult time in many womens' lives.

What I read in this book angered me beyond all measure. First of all even casually mentioning marijuana is inappropriate. You do know that marijuana is illegal in this country correct Jennifer? Having characters indulge in this "hobby" is horrible and setting a bad example. Also I do not think the main characters made it through one chapter without getting drunk. Can you say alcohol problem? And yes, I am saying this as a social worker, so I do have a point of view that is different from many. But still, the alcohol and drug usage in this novel angered me greatly.

Beyond that there were so many characters I cannot find a main character. I read this book over 2 days and in between the 1st and 2nd day I lost all semblance of remembering who these characters were and why I cared about them. I do not believe there was a single compound or complex sentence in the entire book. Chapters were divided into subsections that usually never even made it into a page of length, really? I can read better than that, you made it more confusing.

And finally I would like to sum it up with a message: Jennifer Close, I think you single handedly knocked women's rights about 50 years backwards. Women do not need a man to be happy, we do not need to settle, we can be happy on our own. None of your characters were strong female leads any girl would aspire to look up to. Horrible book, if I could I would give it 0 or even negative stars.



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Love You More: The Divine Surprise of Adopting My Daughter by Jennifer Grant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I come at this book from a very different perspective than most- I am not an adoptive parent, instead I am a birthmother. I am also a social worker with experience in the foster care system in this country. This is a unique and sometimes perilous point of view to have when starting single sotry point of view novels. I am not sure what I was expecting when I started this book but it was a lovely family story. I enjoyed getting to hear the perspective of an adoptive mother, especially one who is going through an international adoption, which is an area I know little to nothing about.

Now for the nitty gritty part. This story seems more like someone is telling you what happened, not that you are reading it. One paragraph does not always lead to the next and sometimes there are side stories I do not know why they are included. The writing was not difficult to understand but the story structure could be at times. I would have much preferred a chronological narrative not one that jumped from place to place. I believe this book was very cathartic for Jennifer Grant but I am not sure I got the point of sending it out to the general public.

Overall, it was a nice story but nothing I would recommend to the general populous. I am not sure it even really would open people's eyes to international adoption. It's cute but nothing superb.



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Just Like a Man By: Elizabeth Bevarly

Just Like a Man by Elizabeth Bevarly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Precursor to her "Male" trilogy. Not a great introduction to the other three in my opinion, I found the 1st in the trilogy introduced the situation and the bad guy better. Took a little while to get into this one but eventually turned out to be a good read. The 2nd couple had a slow start, did not really like them in the beginning but by the end their story outshone the main couple in my opinion.



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The Ring on her Finger, By: Elizabeth Bevarly

Different but good is how I would rate this book. The story was different than a lot of others I have read. I can't really explain and do justice but the characters were relate-able, even if the story was not always believable. Heavier than some of her other books and can drag at times but if you can get into it, it's worth the read.

Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats By: Angie Dudley

I have been making cake balls for awhile now but this book really helped me understand some new creative ways to make them and how to make mine better. The tips and tricks I learned in this book are very helpful, great for those making cake pops/balls at any level.

Room Service By Beverely Brandt

Rich girl suddenly becomes poor, isn't that the story line for a lot of books? Well this one did a good job of showing the reality of working of minimum wage and how the heroine had to develop a sense of self and develop her self esteem. I enjoyed this book I thought the hero and the heroine were well suited and the character development was good. The mystery throughout of who was sabotaging the hotel was a good addition to this romance novel. Good book, I would recommend it.

The Duke and I By Julia Quinn

1st book in Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series. It's a good introduction to the family but it is not my favorite in the series. If I read this one first I am not sure I would have read the rest of the series. I did enjoy it, it's good historical fiction but some of her others are better.

The Viscount Who Loved Me By Julia Quinn

Second book in the Bridgerton series, focuses on the eldest son who had to take over the father role when his father passed away at a young age. Quinn did a great job of working through the psychological issues of the two main characters. Overall, the story was good, I feel like there was a lot more character development in this book, where we got to watch the characters work through their demons and learn to love and trust one another.

Just Like Heaven By Julia Quinn

This is the first novel in the infamous Smyth-Smith quartet series. From the back of the book I thought I was going to fall in love with this book from the very first moment, but in reality I didn't. Sometimes there is a little too much medical information or focus on one of the characters medical issues for me, this definitely had that. I liked the heroine and thought she did a great job of being the strong one in the relationship and watching the hero have to recover from illness and fall for his best friend's sister was a lovely story line. Overall, it was good, just not great.