Contemporary · Fiction/Science Fiction · Young, New adult/College

Wonder – R.J Palacio

Book Chick2 Comments

11387515| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He’s about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

Untitled

My thoughts: What a heartwarming, sweet little book that I´m so happy I got to read (or actually listening on). The book is funny, sweet and makes you laugh and cry. Little to many cliches and the book is a little to fluffy sometimes but it is still a really great book.

We meet August. A boy born with a heavy facial deformity. He is starting a regular school for the first time and the book is about him, his first year, his friends, his enemy’s, his family and his family’s friends. We get to see and learn about August from all the people around him.

The book takes on the hard topic about being different and struggling in a world there everyone is suppose to be perfect. There is bullying, hard words, the struggle to fit in and the struggle to be a good person. The struggle to be brave and the happiness in being original and just your self.

Me myself got a huge flashback to my early school years trough this book. I was bullied a lot in school and had low self esteem. Hardly any friends. The desire to just fit in was big. The book brought it all out. I was August when growing up. I was his friends and his sister and the feelings I long ago forgotten started poring back. I think that is a huge reason to why I love this book, since I in some ways can relate with August even though I don’t have a disability. I can relate, understand and now as I´m an adult I can see that I have come really far from that small, scared little girl I once was. And it gives me the hope that everything is possible and if we all could look outside off our self, books like this wouldn’t be needed.

I love the book. And yeah i do agree with some of the reviews on goodreads that just being disable in any way do not make you great och deserves a medal. But I think some of them do not think that this is a more of a children book. It is suppose to have a happy ending. It is suppose to take up a hard topic in a way that i child can understand. It is supposed to show that great tings happens to great people and to be kind and open toward others.

In November the movie about August is having its premier. Me of course is gonna see the move and I’m totally gonna remember this one and read this for my future children.

Have you read the book and what did you think about it?

Contemporary · Romance · Suspense

Mackenzie´s Mountain – Linda Howard

Book Chick1 Comment

662323| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: A small Wyoming town is about to learn a few lessons from a new schoolteacher with the courage to win the heart of a man who swore he had nothing to give….

Mary Elizabeth Potter is a self-appointed spinster with no illusions about love. But she is a good teacher and she wants Wolf Mackenzie’s son back in school. And after one heated confrontation with the boy’s father, she knows father and son have changed her life forever.

Still paying for a crime he didn’t commit, Wolf Mackenzie has a chip on his shoulder the size of Wyoming. But prim-and-proper Mary Elizabeth Potter doesn’t see Wolf as the dangerous half-breed the town has branded him. Somehow she sees him as a good, decent, honest man. A man who could love…

Wolf’s not sure he or the town of Ruth, Wyoming is ready for the taming of Wolf Mackenzie.

Untitled

My thoughts: I’m so disappointed. I did not have any high hopes for this book but I generally like Howards books even if it is almost as old as me. But here it just did not go all the way. The book it self is predictable and the characters not that great. Wolf and his son is like the same character with the same voice. And it frustrating me like hell that they keep talking about that they are Indian and half breed and the racism. I understand that, i do, but it is the same thing through out the book and nothing with it is an eye opener or that could help me as an reader and non Indian understand how it actually really is. It dose not explain anything. It is just words and excuses for them to not do anything about there situation. They feel sorry for them self and the excuses just poring out.

The book is also kind of boring and riddled with cliches that makes me cringe. No. This was not a great book and not a book I would recommend. I give it a 2 in rating just for the humor in the book and that the first 40 % of it actually was really good.

DNF · Romance · Suspense · War/Military

DNF – Renegade by Catherine Mann

Book Chick1 Comment

6587714| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: X|

Goodreads synopsis: Untamed and Undercover: Third in the Dark Ops series.

Tech Sergeant Mason “Smooth” Randolph lives to push boundaries. But he never anticipated how far outside the box he would land when an in- flight accident sends him parachuting into Nevada’s notorious Area 51- and into the handcuffs of sexy security cop Jill Walczak.

Untitled

My thoughts:
Nope, nix, nada, never! I did not finish this book. Reason? Well it is boring. There is really nothing that keeps me going. The characters is stereotypical with no depth. The whole serial killer story is just not as center of attention which it should be when four/five is dead. The whole “in the killers mind” is just childish and not wherry believable and I think most of it is because of poor writing skills.

Sorry Catherine but I just don’t think your books is anything for me. This was the third book. I was not that excited after the first two but when I´m not even able to finish this one, I just feel that i have tried my best and it is time to devote my reading time to something that i would enjoy.

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Thriller/Horror

IT – Stephen King

Book Chick3 Comments

36013075| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis:‘They float…and when you’re down here with me, you’ll float, too.’

To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live.

It was the children who saw – and felt – what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one’s deepest dread. Sometimes IT reached up, seizing, tearing, killing . . .

The adults, knowing better, knew nothing.

Time passed and the children grew up, moved away. The horror of IT was deep-buried, wrapped in forgetfulness. Until they were called back, once more to confront IT as IT stirred and coiled in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.

Untitled

My thoughts:
It is a lot of talk about “IT” right now and it´s all because of the movie who had premier earlier this month. Me my self have not seen the new movie yet but I saw the old one when I was a kid. I thought that I should read the book this time since I don´t remember that much from the movie. So I did. I did not only read it. I also listened on the book so I could follow the story even when at work or doing boring house chores. Perfect solution. 🙂

It is a really good book. It is a good story, great characters and a exciting plot. Can not say that it is scary in any way though. But i´m not that kind of person who gets scared by books. I like that you feel like you are really there in the story. You can feel the heat of the summer sun in 1958. You can feel the panic and your own feet against the ground as they are being chased. You are just there. But you can also really clearly see that this is a Stephen King book. Because everything takes just to long. It is a little to much in the end and one thing just don’t make sense to me. And that’s to bad really.

I felt a few times through out the book that it was going to slow and I wanted them to “just get on with it”. Around page 500-600 it was dead calm. The calm before the storm, you could say, but it was a boring calm. If I didn’t have the pressure to get done with the book so I could see the movie, it would have been easy for me to lay down the book at that point. That’s the problem with me and Kings book. They are great, then they are like on hold, in a grey area that´s just pissing me off and makes the story stop. If I don’t get myself over those 100+ pages, I will probably never pick up the book again.

But I ended it and i´m happy for it. I would totally recommend this book to who ever likes to read big books. I don’t think you have to bee an horror fanatic och fantasy reader or anything like that to read this book. It is really for everyone, I believe. Just have an open mind.

Capture

Contemporary · Romance · Sports/Games · Young, New adult/College

The Wall Of Winnipeg And Me – Mariana Zapata

Book Chick1 Comment

29367958.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: Vanessa Mazur knows she’s doing the right thing. She shouldn’t feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.

But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she’s beyond shocked.

For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn’t find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He’s asking for the unthinkable.

What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?

Untitled

My thoughts: I have had like three books by Mariana Zapata in my electronic library for ever and when I finally read this, I certainly do not regret it. I dont know why I hesitated so to read her books. This one for example has an 4,34 in average rating and over 30.000 people have rated it and there is over 3000 reviews on the book. It should say something. But after my experience I do not often like the stuff that “everybody else loves”. But I did love this one. Not 5 star loved it but still loved. And I shall explain why.

First of, the book is on like 700 pages, but that I hardly noticed because the story captured me from the beginning. I love the characters and the dynamic in the book. I love the fast, funny banter between them and how it all just evolves. I love the up and downs and I specially love the female character Vanessa. That is a girl with skin on here nose and when you think on here childhood and the person she has evolved till, you cant stop loving her even more. Aiden however is so silent and closed for the major part of the book that its hard to get to know him, but also he is a great characters and you will see that as soon you get to know him.

The reason the book not got a full pot is because it was kind of slow. Not boring slow really, but still slow. Some things could have happen a lot sooner and some stuff should have been said earlier. Due to this it made me not get that 100% connection with the book that I need to have to be able to give a five star review. But the book is pretty damn close and I certainly will be reading more from her.

DNF · Romance · Sports/Games · Young, New adult/College

Bender – Stacy Borel

Book ChickLeave a comment

21971980| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: All Keegan wanted was a roommate who was quiet, minded their own business, and paid for part of the rent. Instead, she got Camden Brooks.

Camden, with his sinful body, sharp tongue, and the inability to stay out of Keegan’s personal space, couldn’t seem to curb his interest in the new girl who wouldn’t put up with his domineering ways.

Feelings were running rampant, sexual tension was thick, and both were struggling to let go of control.

To some people, getting a roommate simply meant living with another person. But to both Camden and Keegan it was a curve ball that neither was prepared to swing at.

Untitled

My thoughts: My good! I will not waste much more time on this one because i really hate it. Hate it!. Wow I do not say that often about books and I realize now that I should just have ended it and marked it as DNF (did not finish), but you fellow readers probably understands me when I say that I hoped that it would get better. I really did and so wrong I had. I need to start listening on my gut feeling. I saw early in the book that this would turn out to be nothing for me.

The writing is bad, the story is bad, the characters is bad. I wanted just to jump in the book, get in Keegans face and scream “GROW UP“. My god! I felt like I was back in high school there some moments and in the end all I wanted to do was:

440264.gif

Which pretty much says it all. So no more from me about this piece of crap. Over and out.

Everyday things

My next two weeks – IT here I come!

Book Chick3 Comments

img_0875Now for a time forward, there will only be reviews on old books published here on the blog. That is because I will be reading IT by Stephen King and I´m estimating that it will take me about two weeks (if i get the time i hope i will get) to get trough it. It is a freakishly fat book with just under 1400 pages. I´m not 100% sure but I think this will be the thickest book I ever read. I think about a 1000 – 1100 is my record so far.

I´m not afraid of thick books, but i´m a little afraid of this one. Not because it is a horror book about clowns. No, because i´m a little afraid that i wont like it. I saw the movie when i was a kid (like five years old). img_0879Yeah i know. Don´t know what my mother thought, letting me do that. However it did not effect me on any serious levels (probably because I had seen worse in real life). Now that the new movie have had premier I thought, maybe I should read the book before I see this one. Don´t remember much from the first movie and the book has been quite hard to get a hold of, until the movie hysteria that is going on right now.

So yeah. Just a little warning that I will have my nose stuck in this book the first weeks to come. Wish me luck. 🙂

Have you read IT? Would you recommend it to others? Have you seen any of the two movies?

Adult fiction/Erotica · Contemporary · Romance

Thomas – Liliana Hart

Book Chick1 Comment

18907480.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Cat Randolph is the best cat burglar in the world. But when a job goes wrong and she’s shot, it’s Doctor Thomas MacKenzie that comes to her rescue. Unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to keep secrets when you’re risking the life of someone you love.

Thomas MacKenzie knows Cat is keeping secrets, but getting her to trust him with them is a slow and steady process. But time isn’t on his side. Convincing Cat to stay in Surrender, Montana is harder than he could have imagined. He just has to make sure that their lovemaking is more addictive than the adrenaline rush she craves.

Untitled

My thoughts: Yeah I know that it is a short story and it suppose to be a short, erotic story. But in this one I could not stop thinking on how fast it was going. One minute she was one place and he another, next they where together and before you know it, they have sex and says I love you. Come oooon! It just got a little to much unrealistic for me to really enjoy the book. But if I try to not think about that and just the story itself it was great. Cat is a knock out girl with a lot of courage and skin on her nose. Thomas is a little meek and careful bot overall the book is okey.

 

Romance · Suspense

Exposed – Suzanne Ferrell

Book Chick1 Comment

26164240.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: U.S. Marshal Frank Castello is on medical leave and feeling restless. While at his friends’ wedding he finds himself attracted to Sydney Peele. Problem was, the cute, sassy blonde is the photographer for the weeding. Frank hates photographers. They’re a hazard to his profession, especially when he’s on witness protection duty.

Sydney Peele enjoys teasing the grumpy Marshal at her friend’s wedding, even when the big, sexy man begrudgingly offers to take her home afterwards. Her pleasure is short lived when her home and life is literally going up in flames. Her brother had been staying at her home and there is no sign of him anywhere.

When Sydney goes into a state of frozen shock, finely honed instinct has Castello rushing her from the scene to safety at his home. A visit to the fire scene the next day confirms his suspicions when the firemen on the sight show them not only was it an arson case, but someone had guaranteed her home would be destroyed by adding in a bomb.

As Frank and Sydney search for answers about who might’ve started the blaze, questions arise about her brother, also a photographer. Was he responsible for the fire? Or has he exposed his sister to something far more sinister?

Untitled

My thoughts: This is the fifth book in the series about the Edgars family and this last book is about Frank Castello. You meet Frank in the second book about Katie who is in the witness protection program. Frank is her handler and after that book he becomes one in the family but still is a little on the outside. So it was really nice to finally be able to read the book about him.

Frank is an grumpy man of few words. He loves his job and do it well, but he is kind of lonely (in my opinion). On a wedding in the family he meets Sydney. She is the wedding photographer and Frank heats photographers. When Sydneys home goes up in flames and her brother is missing, Frank can´t let his personal opinion to stand in the way to help a fellow human being. And then there is just full speed trough out the book.

And it is really good. I love Sydney who is a great character and she brings out more of Frank and the book is really funny sometimes. The book would have been a clear five star if it was not for the loose ends and questions I had in the end. No cliffhangers but it was just some small thinks that made the story unfinished. According to Ferrells answers on Goodreads, she will write more about the Edgars family in the future, but it may be some changes to series and what nots. So i´m really excited about that.