254/300

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I read this because everyone and their mother raves about it. I don't really like fantasy books but everyone had such wonderful things to say, so I figured I would try it. Dumb move.

I found very little payoff to this book. It was 700 pages of questions with very few answers. It took me forever to get through because of the different terms in this world and just because I found it slow going. I enjoyed hearing of Kvothe's struggles as far as his family and his schooling but I was sick of Deena and her selfish ways, sick of dragons and other mystical creatures, sick of trying to figure out the point of it all. It felt like all set up for the rest of the series and nothing to keep me satisfied from this book itself. I will not be reading the rest of the series.



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253/300

Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have mixed feelings about this book. I wanted to devour it and see how it ended. I found it really interesting and heartwrenching. Yet as the pages remaining began to dwindle, I really started wondering how she was going to have the time to get into the recovery, the part that I would think is the most important in the book if you are really trying to send a message. But there really was no resolution. I found the ending to be a copout. Despite risking her life with ridiculously unhealthy behaviors, everything was solved as soon as she got help and found her true love. And now she can just eat whenever she wants and stop when she's full and she will stay at a "good" weight. I find this to be a complete crock and really disillusioning to the common person. I am glad I read it but I am disappointed at what I perceive to be a major missed opportunity.



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252/300

Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health by Toni Weschler




This book is a must for any woman. It is amazing how much we really don't know about our bodies. This book helps us learn.



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251/300

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I love Jodi Picoult's stories. I didn't really understand how the beginning of the book was related to the rest of it until more than halfway through, but it was a really enjoyable read with complex characters.



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250/300

Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Eh.



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249/300

The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I thought this was a cute book about starting over and finding yourself. I am a sucker for people who leave everything behind to open an eating establishment, and that is exactly what happened here. When Holly is dumped by her boyfriend, she moves back to a tiny island off of the coast of the Maine where she spent summers with her grandmother. When her grandmother dies a couple of weeks later, Holly decides to take over her grandmothers take-out and restaurant school, despite not knowing how to cook. I thought the story was well done without being too cheesy (despite being stereotypical chick lit) and I found myself wishing there was more to the story after I finished it.



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248/300

The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern




I have mixed feelings about Cecelia Ahern. I loved PS I Love You and I hated A Place Called Here. The Book of Tomorrow struck me as more of the latter, although I didn't hate it. I just didn't love it. Tamara comes from a life of luxury and never wanting, until her father commits suicide. This forces her and her mother to sell everything and move to the country with Tamara's aunt and uncle. I didn't find Tamara very likeable, but I really, really despised her aunt. She seemed to be unnecessarily cruel and heartless, while at the same time trying to come across as a martyr. The fact that there was a supernatural element to the book may have also been a part that turned me off, but that is an issue for me, not the book.



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247/300

A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


After loving Lehane's Shutter Island, I am trying to now go back and read his Kenzie and Gennaro series. I read one out of order before realizing it was a series and I am starting now from the beginning. Patrick and Angie are hired to find documents that a cleaning woman supposedly stole. There is much more to the story, though, and their lives are threatened a multitude of times. I thought the story was a little convoluted and it makes the city of Boston seem like the wild wild west, but I will still continue with the rest of the series.



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246/300

Ape House by Sara Gruen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was really hoping I would love this book as much as Water for Elephants and it did not disappoint. I was enthralled from the beginning. Isabelle lives in an ape's world. She does linguistic training with Bonobo apes and it is amazing to see how the apes can communicate. When an explosion at the center leaves the apes homeless and Isabelle injured, she does everything in her power to save the apes and make sure they are not being exploited. The story is touching and exciting and I look forward to more from Gruen.



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245/300

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Maybe it was a mistake to read this instead of Shadows of the Wind. But someone recommended both to me, and I chose to go with this one. From the beginning, I felt like a fool and I didn't want to tell the recommender it bored me because I felt dumb. Like I should be enjoying the lengthy descriptions and references to God. But I just didn't. In fact, I found the first 300 pages or so dreadfully boring. After that, I did become interested in how the story picked up and I wanted to find out what happened. The problem with that is that even though I finished the book a few hours ago, I'm still not really sure. Maybe it is because I was spacing out during some of the boring parts, or maybe I just don't have a mind for this depth. But overall, I am left unfullfilled.

I found Martin to be semi-likeable, despite the picture of him being portrayed as someone everyone is out to get. I really like Isabella and Senior Sempere but everyone else I could do without. There was so much death in this book, and it seemed like after each one, Martin simply picked up his coat and went on his way. I don't think I will be attempting any more Zafon.



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245/300

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was good. Everyone loves it. From my prior reviews, it is no surprise that I am not huge into YA. But this was cute and entertaining and wholesome. I think everyone can relate to Anna. Even if your parents never shipped you off to a foreign country to basically make themselves look better, everyone has had that time in their lives where they don't fit in. I hope more teen girls are reading books like this.



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243/300

Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Unfortunately, I read this book without knowing it was the fifth in the series. Luckily, I don't think that mattered too much as the stories seem like they can stand alone. Patrick Kenzie is a private eye who examines a case for a wholesome young woman. When the woman commits suicide, Kenzie decides to investigate what led to her death. This kept me interested the entire time, and I will definitely check out the rest of the series, starting at the beginning this time.



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242/300

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


A quick read. The story of Sophie, a self-proclaimed witch who has been kicked out of one too many schools and is finally sent to Hectate Hall, a school for the supernatural. It read like Harry Potter for the lovesick crowd. Typical high school bitchiness, love triangles and angst, but with a side of magic. As for the ending, I don't really understand why Archer was forced into seclusion when the person who implicated him was a demon. But alas, I guess that's where the next book comes in. I will be skipping that one.



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241/300

Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia by Marya Hornbacher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have been reading the reviews before I wrote my own and I have to agree with those that say they have a love/hate relationship with this book. While sometimes you get angry at Hornbacher for bragging about her unhealthy ways and giving tips to those that shouldn't be finding new ways to beat the system, you can also appreciate the raw look into the mind of someone with an advanced eating disorder. I read Madness before I read this, and I think this book is a little misleading since many of the manic points described could be attributed to her bipolar disorder, and not necessarily her eating disorders.

Her parents really disgusted me throughout the book, and I thought it was interesting how she defended them. I can't imagine what it must've been like to deal with a child intent on killing herself, but from the day she was born, they seemed like people who had no business raising a child. Despite getting angry at points, I would recommend this book as an insider's guide for those that don't understand why anoretics don't "just eat" and for those that will never grasp the concept of never feeling thin enough.



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240/300

Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Keeley Murdock discovers her fiance cheating on her with her maid-of-honor at her rehearsal dinner and throws the aforementioned hissy fit. To be honest, I didn't think the fit was all that bad based on the circumstances. I liked this book more than I thought I would thanks to the entertaining chick lit flavor, but I did have some issues with it. I don't know if it was because it was a library book, but the nook formatting was terrible. I knew the ending before I even started reading because of the formatting of the table of contents. But technological issues aside, I did not find the description of Will to be at all sexy. At the beginning of the book, I pictured him as old for some reason. I also took issue with people drinking in their cars while driving. What is that all about?? But I think my biggest beef was that Keeley was supposed to be portrayed as the girl next door (at least I think she was, but that was a little unclear also) with a less than perfect body and sagging bra straps, yet she was always dressed to the nines. And I couldn't get passed the description of the Manolo Blahnik's for $200. Seriously? Where did she get those from??? Aren't they about 5 times as much? I think the character developments could've been better, but overall, an enjoyable fluffy read.



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