Non-fiction/Biography

Becoming – Michelle Obama

38746485| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African-American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments.

Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare. In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

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My thoughts: I’m not doing a full review on this one due to the fact that it is a memoir and I feel weird commenting on another persons life, thoughts and feelings. But I have to say I freaking loved it. It is well written, honest and I do understand the source to the hype. It’s unapologetic and the feeling I get is that Michelle have been honest and not concealed the less attractive attributes about herself or others but still emphasized that not all is what is seems and it does not always define a person. I would not determine the book as deep and a lot has probably only been scratched on the surface, but it still feel credible and always interesting. One thing I never got the feeling off (which is common in everything produced from that side of the world) is the “USA is the biggest, strongest and best no matter what” mentality. I do not doubt she love her country, but she was honest about her country’s flaws. It does not make USA worse than any other country, but it gave me a realistic view of how it is. Specially for me who never been there and my only source of information is media in different forms. And we all know how that information can be polluted at times.

My mental picture of Michelle is a down to earth, no nonsense, strong woman who is smart and only wants the best for her, her family and her country. She doesn’t want to run for president but in my opinion I believe she would have been great at it. Just as her husband. I though I would never read this book but now I’m happy that I did. It was a great nonfiction book I do recommend.

 

Everyday things

International women’s day – Five books by female authors I think you should read!

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38746485Becoming – Michelle Obama
I have not yet finished this book but I can already see that this is a strong book about a even stronger woman and I do feel every one should read it. 
2657To kill a mockingbird – Harper Lee
Harper Lee was a very private person and it bothers me not knowing why such a talent writer never wrote more than two book, the second published 55 years after To kill a mockingbird. I never read this book in school but I’m happy I finally did a couple of years ago. It is such a strong book that really makes you think. And to know she took a lot of heat due to the topic of the book and it has stand against time just makes it even better.
17347384Harry Potter – J.K Rowling
A series, loved by young and old in both books and movie form. It is certainly in my opinion one of the most influenced book series of my time. I grew up with HP and it will always have a special place in my heart. Then when you know Rowling’s story and struggles before it’s publish it makes it even better. It is the proof that if you are willing enough, you can make anything happen.
8745Desert flower – Waris Dirie
I read this many years ago. It is such a strong story about a woman grown up in a environment and culture so different from my own. It certainly made me realize how lucky I am just to be born from the mother I have, in the country I did.
1397964I have life: Raped, Stabbed & Left for dead – Marianne Thamm
I read it as a young teenager and it was absolutely horrific. But still strong, inspiring and proof of how strong a woman can be, no mater what. I was in a bad place at the time and this book help me in a way I can not explain. Not for the faint of heart but certainly a book worth reading.

 

Adult fiction/Erotica · Chick Lit · Humor/Funny · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense

Sweet Dreams – Kristen Ashley

18656253| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: She’s ready for the ride of her life . . . 

Lauren Grahame is looking to reinvent herself. After leaving her cheating husband, Lauren moves to Carnal, Colorado, and gets a job as a waitress in a biker bar called Bubba’s. It’s a nothing job in a nowhere joint . . . until Tatum Jackson walks in. Lauren has never seen a man with such good looks, muscles, and attitude. But when he insults her, Lauren doesn’t want anything to do with him. Too bad for Lauren he’s also the bar’s part owner and bartender.

When the rough-around-the-edges Tate meets the high-class Lauren, he thinks she won’t fit in at Bubba’s. Yet there’s more to Lauren than meets the eye, and Tate soon sets his mind on claiming her as his own. Before long, the desire burning between them is heating up the cold mountain air. But when violence strikes the town, Tate must reveal a dark secret to Lauren-one that may put an end to their sweet dreams.

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My thoughts: Overall I would like to describe the book as deep, complex characters, complicated, thrilling, butterflies in my stomach, knock me on my head, god damn perfect with that satisfying ending, horrible tearful chapters and beautiful closing. I can’t enough English words to try explain what I’m feeling. But for me, this book, was pure perfection and exactly what I needed, wanted and sought.

KA is starting to be an addiction. I literally have to prevent myself from binge reading all her books. That is how good she is. And this is as usual a book who takes hold of you from the first page. It hooked me and never let go. I’m happy I started reading this only a day before the weekend because work at Friday was awful. I could not stop thinking about the book. I dreamed about it in the nights and on the days I only wanted to look myself in my home, abandon society, all my responsibilities, sleep and food. All I wanted was Lauren and Tatum.

It is a sweet story really. I love the characters and how diverse they were. Ashley is such a great author who writes these perfect characters that are deep, complicated and so easy to love or hate. I get invested in all her books and it is like I know them. I connected so hard with this one that when I ended the book, I could not stand starting a new romantic book right now. That is how huge impression this book, these characters and their story made on me. I can only say, read it! Hopefully you will to, love it.

Contemporary · Romance

Rock chick revolution – Kristen Ashley

15752757| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Ally Nightingale has secrets. Secrets she doesn’t even share with the Rock Chicks. But two men know what she’s up to. One has her back. The other has her heart, but he doesn’t know it.

As Ally rewinds the last year of her life, she knows two things. One, she’s never going to get what every Rock Chick should have—her own Hot Bunch guy. And two, she’s a Nightingale through and through. She just isn’t sure what to do about that.

But as her secrets are revealed, the men in her life react. Darius Tucker, a lifelong friend, as usual takes her back. Ren Zano, the man she loves, isn’t quite so sure. The Rock Chicks, Hot Bunch and the entire gang at Fortnum’s weigh in, and a Rock Chick Revolution starts brewing.

It’s up to Ally to control it and prove what she knows down to her bones.

She’s a Rock Chick, she deserves her hot guy and she’s going to keep the one she wants…

Because she’s a Nightingale.

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My thoughts:I have been waiting and looking forward to Allys story through out the whole series. This is the eight book and since she has been a big part of the Rock Chick buildup and that her character have had pretty big parts in the earlier books, I thought I knew her pretty well. I was however pleased to learn that there was more to her than I first thought. She is probably the deepest character in the whole series. You get to know her on a completely other lever since you get to follow her and her action/reaction to the other Rock Chicks Sh*t going down.

The book is build a little different than the others. Here, Ren is already in her life and Ally is not in that kind of trouble as the other Rock Chicks have been in there own books. The plus with this is that the whole relationship buildup and fights, is pretty short, done and over with. Then certainly gets old after seven books so I was pleased. When the story really starts (after highlights of the last 13 months) it is more steady, calm but not in any other way less hot than what you are used to in the other books. The story is also a little more personal than what I would expect and it was nice. Refreshing. But in no other way bad.

The biggest problem I have is that is is a little to slow. There is to many things going on, but no one is really deep or action filled. I missed the suspense. I missed the nail biting, sitting on the edge, shaking my knees feeling that I was expected. I can certainly understand why it took KA 5 years to resume the Rock Chick series, since this was like an ending. It was done and the action is over with. No more hot bunch and no more Denver kickass. Since KA has a lot of other books and the few I have read, I have loved I do not see that as bad thing. But now, after this one I do understand why she never tried to continue it, until earlier this year.

I fair warning, this book did produce a lot of tears from me. Good tears, but still tears and there was a lot of different feelings in a lot of different levels. Just so you know. 😉

Adult fiction/Erotica · Chick Lit · Contemporary · Romance

The hating game – Sally Thorne

25883848| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: 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.

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My thoughts: So I finally read this one. I threw myself on the hating game wagon to see what all the fuss is about. I do not often like hyped up books as much as everyone else. I’m always that pessimistic person who do not find them as perfect and wonderful as the hype states. I hate it and often avoid books just for that reason. I think the hype itself destroys it for me. And I have to be honest and say that I was very skeptical to this book and it took me some time to get into it and feel relaxed while reading. I had expected something else. Something quite angst filled and repetitive. Some juvenile actions and over the top romanticism. Well this was nothing like that and now I’m a little mad at myself for the reason that I have had this book on my kindle for like a year and kept swiping past it. Because this is goddamn one of the best books I have read this year. Yes it is that good.

Lucy and Joshua is rivals and yes the book do start out with the rival in focus, but I was pleasantly surprised about how grownup this book was. There is no big drama or angst filled actions or misunderstandings. There are two strong people who talks instead of assume and do not drive over, push or leave without giving each other a chance to explain or make right. It feels very true to my experience of real life and it made me fall in love with the characters, side characters, the plot and the book itself so hard that it hurts.

It is an easy, sweet, funny and adorable story about an office romance between two enemies who fall in love. It filled me with such happiness, joy and glowing feelings that I hardly can keep it contained. I love Lucys history and how positive she is trying to stay throughout it all and I love Joshuas history and how he really tries and how the fit together. They are like two puzzle pieces who have not realized that they fit and make the whole puzzle picture complete.

It is so cleverly written with a plot and characters who snares you in, lock you up and the outside world is forgotten. I would love to read this again. Like right now. That is how good it was.

Classic/Historical · Fiction/Science Fiction

And the mountains echoed – Khaled Hosseini

17345748| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: So, then. You want a story and I will tell you one…Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah and his sister Pari live with their father and stepmother in the small village of Shadbagh. Their father, Saboor, is constantly in search of work and they struggle together through poverty and brutal winters. To Abdullah, Pari – as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named – is everything. More like a parent than a brother, Abdullah will do anything for her, even trading his only pair of shoes for a feather for her treasured collection. Each night they sleep together in their cot, their heads touching, their limbs tangled. One day the siblings journey across the desert to Kabul with their father. Pari and Abdullah have no sense of the fate that awaits them there, for the event which unfolds will tear their lives apart; sometimes a finger must be cut to save the hand. Crossing generations and continents, moving from Kabul, to Paris, to San Francisco, to the Greek island of Tinos, with profound wisdom, depth, insight and compassion, Khaled Hosseini writes about the bonds that define us and shape our lives, the ways in which we help our loved ones in need, how the choices we make resonate through history and how we are often surprised by the people closest to us.

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My thoughts: I loved “A thousand splendid suns” and I don’t know, maybe I had expected something as strong as that. Or maybe I had expected a story that make you feel fulfilled when ending. Neither happen here in my opinion. I found the writing somewhat confusing and it was hard to keep track of all the characters. I had particularly trouble with every chapter change because you did not get to know which character you now following. Most of the characters are so remotely connected that it does not work at all and it was not until the end you started to understand who this person really is and what connection it has to the main character. It kept me sitting like this throughout 90% of the book.

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I have read some reviews and found that it is not only me who feel this way or perceived this books as a bunch of different characters telling me about their own life history. The red thread and “main” character, you hardly see and some of the connections is just so farfetched that it is weird. The story in the beginning is good and I do get the point with the book. I do however find it flat when you do not get to follow the “main” character more than like 20% of the book.

I did however like the ending. It was a nice end with its way of tying the last strings together, even though I did not find it great since I did not get that happy, finally, good for you feeling. I give the book a strong three star rating due to that Hosseini is a great writer and he do writes in a way that snares you to the story. Any other author, I would probably have DNF it.

Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Shiver – Karen Robards

13547386.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Samantha Jones is the best damn repo woman on the books. The streetwalkers, the drug pushers, the bands of looking-for-trouble punks haunting the mean streets at midnight don’t intimidate her. These are her people. The guy she finds bound and bloodied in the trunk of a flashy new BMW is a different breed entirely.

Daniel Panterro knows he hasn’t seen the last of the vicious drug runners who kidnapped him from protective custody and left him for dead. His only recourse is to take his pretty savior and her four-year-old son hostage and force her to help him. With ruthless killers stalking their trail, Sam must trust this handsome, menacing stranger. But as she relinquishes control, she feels an unmistakable desire. What is the price of falling in love with a man who operates on the edge of danger—her heart, her life . . . or both?

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My thoughts: It took me a really long time to start reading this one. I kept seeing reviews where other “complained” about how bad the characters were and how Robards don’t have diversity in her way of building characters and plots. But I must say, I think this is one of my favorites so far.

I often find that a romantic suspense is to unrealistic for my taste. Either the plot is not believable and quite thin or the whole romantic part of it is forced and hard to not cringe or laugh at since it so often not realistic. I know it is fiction and often it is not supposed to be realistic, but that is just not the way I like it. Personally. But this book is great.

The plot seems realistic. I really like Samantha. You can really feel how much she hates her life and how she struggles and fights for her son. And when it all happen, the bad guys, the running and the fighting, it is just great. Believable, true and exciting. (Except the end part.) I fell and it captivated me, and that is just the way I like it. I love that the romantic part took some time, some build up and it was hot, hot and hot. I really liked the dynamic between the characters and how diverse they were. I do not feel at all that it is the same thing with a different plot.

Now I do not read a lot of Robards. I do believe that, if I had read several after each other, I would probably feel the same way as many of the other reviews.

If I’m going to complain I do have a couple of things to mention and they are the reason to why I did not give the book five stars. First of is Tyler. He is supposed to be four, soon five years old, but he is written so much older. More like seven or eight. It kept messing with my head and I actually had to remind myself all the time that he is only four. The other thing is how shallow Marco/Trey/Danny is. He is so focus on Sam’s “beauty” and thin body, and it gets tiresome in the end. And the third is that when they crash in the mountains, it is just too easy. It is snow, cold and they have freaking crashed, but no, they just stomp back down without a word of pain or cold. Miner details but stuff like that can drive me crazy.

Romance · Suspense · War/Military

Rekindled – Kaylea Cross

19547589.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis:He left her when she needed him most…

Four years ago, Dr. Grace Fallon lost everything that mattered in a terrorist attack she barely survived. Now she’s stronger than ever and in Pakistan with a UN-sanctioned team for the most important assignment of her career. She’s dedicated her life to eradicating the world of chemical weapons, and long ago accepted the inherent risks associated with her job. Until the man whose memory has haunted her for so long suddenly reappears and inadvertently makes her the target of one of the most dangerous terrorists on the planet. Forced to accept Alex’s protection, it’s impossible to deny the white-hot attraction still burning between them. And while she trusts him to guard her from this new threat, Grace must once again decide whether to risk her heart to the man who once shattered her entire world.

Now he’ll risk everything to win her back…

Four years ago, NSA agent Alex Rycroft left Grace because had no choice. But never again. Malik Hassani has escaped custody, he’s on the run, and has locked onto Grace as a means to target Alex. This time Alex will do whatever it takes to protect her—and convince her to give them another chance. Walking away from her nearly destroyed him and now that she’s back in his life, he can’t let her go. When the unthinkable happens and Grace’s life hangs in the balance, he’ll sacrifice everything to save her—including himself.

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My thoughts: I’m glad I finally got the chance to learn more about Alex and his history. He is the oldest character in the books and the most mysterious. I really liked the plot but it was somewhat slow written. And I feel that in a situation as the 5th book is taking place, should not be slow. At all! I did however like that I got to know how it would go with Dunphy. The 4th book quite ended on a cliffhanger when Dunphy regarded. It was hard to read but with a great end. Perfect when it comes to the circumstances.

Alex end Grace though  is quite slow and some what repeatably. Grace is hurt and I understand that but then they dont really talk about it. It just “fixes” itself and that was an downer.

The story about the terrorist is as exciting as ever. Cant say to much about it without giving out spoilers.

There is one more book in the series. It is an short book on 160 pages and more or less suppose to wrap any loose ends. I have read the five books in the series and will at some point in the future read the last one to. Just to be done. But I dont really feel the need to it. This book did not end on any cliffhangers and what ever question i sit left with is not that important to get an answer to. But I will still read it.

Adult fiction/Erotica · Fiction/Science Fiction · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

The Chemist – Stephenie Meyer

31188235| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life.

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn’t even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now, she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They’ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it’s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.

My thoughts: Surprisingly good. A real page turner. I must say that I was skeptical at first. I loved the twilight series until the movies came and totally destroyed it all for me. I was not interested to read anything more from her again. So to read something new from this author was me, trying to have an open mind. And i´m so glad that I did because this book is really great.

The characters are strong and interesting and I really like the female main character. She is smart, witty, resourceful, strong and insanely brave. I liked the twists Meyers throw in the story and one in the end really surprised me and got me really mad. Until I remembered how it really was and then I was so happy instead. Good job. An emotional roller coaster and that she also trow in some dogs (i´m an insane dog lover) in the story as well had me on the edge of the seat until the last page was turned.

Great work. Great book. Have you read it?

Romance

Lazarus – Jessica Gadziala

33852287| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: The war was over. The dust had settled. The numbers were increasing. Everything had finally started to calm down. Until one night on a walk, I came across her…

My thoughts: Gadziala is one of my favorite authors if i´ve not told you that before. I love her way to write an her story’s and how many off her series have a connection with each other and that is probably why she is the author I have read the most of. There is always a character in the book that you want to read more about and if that character do not have there own book (yet) you can get glimpses of him/her in the other books. Sometimes I feel like a lovesick teenager when I read her books and gets in love like that. Hehe

This book is number 7 in her The Henchmen MC series and I was quite excited to read it. I really liked Lazarus when he started to appear in sixth book. He was something different and refreshing. Specially after all that had happen throughout the series. Now however i´m a little disappointed. It feels like Gadziala could have done it better. A little deeper, a little more exciting and a lot more suspense would have placed the book higher up on my list. But I´m still glad that i read it and in the book you got to meet a new character who is Weird with a big W. He has his own book and of course I will read it. 🙂