The Snow Bride

The Snow Bride - Debbie Macomber

234 pages

Rating: 3/5 

Goodreads blurb:
A Snowbound Christmas...

A Second-chance bride! Practical Jenna Walsh has done something impratical. she's met a man on the internet and now, a month before Christmas, she's going to Alaska to marry him. Dalton Gray seems to be everything she wants in a husband -- sensitive, gallant, romantic . . .
On the flight to Fairbanks, she has the misfortune to sit beside Reid Jamison, who obviously isn't sensitive, gallant, or romantic. However, he's not impressed with her plan to marry Dalton, a man he detests (for good reason, as Jenna later finds out). So Reid takes it upon himself to change her destination -- and her marraigae plans.
Which is why Jenna ends up at Reid's cabin in tiny Snowbound, Alaska. It's currently a one-woman town (and the other woman's out of town.) That leaves Reed, a bunch of eccentric old men, a few grizzly bears -- and Jenna. Kidnapped! And then there's a blizzard. The two of them alone, stranded in Snowbound . . .
Hmm.  Maybe she'll be a Christmas bride, after all.

My thoughts:
Debbie Macomber is a new author to me, recommended both by mom and several book bloggers.  I am coming to know her as a great romance writer and all-time chick-lit writer.  I believe she is talented in that the two books I've read of hers so far have been very different, with no similarities in the plots minus the whole boy-meets-girl and they fall in love idea.  So far, I have enjoyed each of her novels.

I read this novel in one afternoon.  It was a quick, fun read.  I greatly enjoyed the setting and the world Macomber creates around the characters.  I cracked up many a time just at the fun characters and their antics.  That being said, I was not impressed with this book beyond a quick, fun romance read.  I was a little disappointed in the character development of Jenna and Reid.  It was as though she told us about who the characters were instead of showing us through the writing and events.

I had trouble getting into the mindset of writing this review, especially since it's been a couple of days since I read it.  And perhaps that is the general idea of giving this novel a 3/5 instead of a 4/5.  I enjoyed reading it, and I will pass it on to my mom.  However, there was nothing super memorable about the book.  I enjoyed it while I read it, but I had to pull the book out to remind myself of the plot, character names, and struggles within the characters.  I probably will not read the book again, and I won't find myself in the middle of a conversation saying, "Oh my gosh, you HAVE to read that book!"  Ultimately, I recommend it to lovers to romantic comedy and people looking for a fun, quick, light read.  Snuggle up with a cup of tea and prepare to laugh.

Fall Into Reading: Questions (2)

Fall Into Reading 2010 is a challenge hosted by Callapidder Days.  It is a self-set challenge in that each participant sets a goal for his/herself of the number of books to read during the fall season (Sept. 22-Dec. 20).  Then the participants post about the novels and progress as much or little as they want with a wrap-up post at the end.  Callapidder Days also hosts a weekly question about Fall Into Reading, as another way for us to connect and such.

This weeks question: Do you eat and/or drink while reading?  Or do you keep food and liquids away from your books?

Personally, I eat and drink during everything I do, reading is no exception.  I'll always munching on something, whether it be popcorn (not my favorite due to the grease factor - but sometimes I crave it), cereal, bread, candy, or whatever else is in my apartment.  Plus, I drink water and coke all the time, so chances are there is some glass of water (hopefully) somewhere close.  Now that fall and winter are coming, that glass of water is often times replaced with a hot cup of tea.   I've been known to spill a few times, but considering the amount of snacking I do when reading, I've destroyed very few books.  I think the snacking concept comes from nursing school when I never actually took a break to eat lunch/dinner/breakfast/snacks.  So reading just went along in the same mind set.


My progress:
My goal this fall is to read 50 books.  I have posted the list here, but on these question posts, I also wanted to post something about my progress.  I probably will not post a review about all of the books I read, so this is my virtual way of cross these books off of my list.

Books Read so Far:
1. The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baronnes Emmuska Orczy (review)
2. Sooner or Later - Debbie Macomber
3. Evermore - Alysson Noel (review)
4. The Snow Bride - Debbie Macomber
5. The Inn at Eagle Point - Sherryl Woods
6. Harbor Lights -  Sherryl Woods
7. She's Gone Country - Jane Porter (review)

Bonus: (i.e. books not on my list, but that I've finished reading in this time period)
1. Flowers on Main - Sherryl Woods
2. On the Steamy Side - Louisa Edwards

Progress: 7 down, 43 to go

Evermore

Evermore by Alyson Noel

320 pages

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads blurb:

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch.   Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…
Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition.  He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets.  Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head.  She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is.  Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

My thoughts:

Evermore is a young adult fiction novel revolving around Ever herself.  Told in first person by Ever, the novel opens our eyes to the world of immortals.  I will not say anything else related to the plot, as I tend to ruin things.  But I will say this: it was a new take in YA fantasy for me.

This novel surprise me.  For once, I did not have it all figured out.  And at times, I was as confused as Ever was about Damen and what the heck was going on.  As the plot was told from one person's point-of-view, Alyson Noel only gave us only so much as to the underlying happenings.  It intrigued me, which is saying a lot from a person who is almost on overload from YA fantasy.  I can get tired of the vampire, werewolf, alternate reality scene, but this fresh take on the world of immortals had me as intrigued as the first time I read Twilight (which was my first YA fantasy, vampire story ever).

That being said, Ever as a character got on my nerves.  Perhaps it is because she and I are not similar, but sometimes I wanted to hit her upside the head.  (Which was probably Noel's purpose.)  I've never been the popular pretty girl, but I've also never been the goth girl either.  So maybe that was my frustration with Ever, I just did not get her. There are times when I get irritated with first-person stories, and this was one of those times.  She just got on my nerves a little bit.  I could relate to what she was feeling, and I myself was frustrated with the situation - I just did not have patience for the way she was dealing with it.

Moving on, Damen as a character was a complete mystery to me right up until the end.  I was just as confused as Ever.  He was so hot/cold all the time.  I was stumped.  At least in Twilight, I kind of had a clue as to what was going on.  This - not a clue.  Even when he was explaining things to Ever, I was still like, "Oh my gosh - really?"  That being said, it was harder for me to get the whole loving-for-eternity thing from him.  Perhaps, Damen will be more convincing in the next book.  I believe it was just because I spent half the novel mad at him for being so hot/cold that I couldn't instantly change my feelings about him and start loving him.  Either way, he made a good opposing character to Ever.  And I do like them together, confusion aside.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book where I have some idea of what's going on.

Overall, I enjoyed Evermore.  I read the entire book in a day, and I could not put it down.  I got a little frustrated with the drama of some of it.  But, I feel that if Ever had not had those qualities to make me lose patience with her, I probably would have doubted her credibility due to a lack of emotions relating to her family's death.  The simple fact that she reacted made her more believable as a character.  I gave this novel a 4/5.  If I gave half points, I would have given 3.5/5 - but since I did read in one day and couldn't put it down, I thought it deserved to be rounded up.  I would recommend this book for lovers of YA fantasy.  I think it was every bit as good as other YA favorites that I have.  

I apologize if this review is vague.  I had trouble putting my feelings into words about this book without revealing too much.  My family is always on me about spoiling things, so that is that last thing I want to do for these books.  Ultimately, if you like YA books, go read it.  I believe you'll enjoy it.  Then, we can talk about my love/hate relationship with Ever.  You'll see.

What are you reading Monday

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.  Book Journey hosts something similar through It's Monday! What are you reading?  I use a little bit of both.

I had a great, crazy week of reading.  Due to Dewey's Read-a-thon, I read a ton, or at least it felt like it.  I haven't turned on the TV in several days, which is odd for me.  But I've been loving it.

Books Finished:
The Inn At Eagle Point (Chesapeake Shores) - Sherryl Woods (review to come)
Flowers On Main - Sherryl Woods (review to come)
Evermore: The Immortals - Alyson Noel (review to come)
She's Gone Country - Jane Porter (review)
On the Steamy Side (Recipe for Love) - Louisa Edwards (I'll review if I have time)
Sooner or Later (Deliverance Company #2) - Debbie Macomber (I'll review if I have time)

So I have lots of reviews to finish.  The read-a-thon sort of threw me off, because I read so much and did not review much.  But it's my plan to catch up some this week.

Books to Read:
Harbor Lights (Chesapeake Shores) - Sherryl Woods
Twenty Wishes - Debbie Macomber
Deja Dead: 10th Anniversary Edition (Temperance Brennan Novels) - Kathy Reichs

Books I received:
This week was a crazy week for Goodreads swap.  (Ok, I got a little carried away this week...)  I hope to get through most of these in the next few weeks.
The Rose Red Bride -  Claire Delacroix
Under Her Skin (Lone Star Sisters) - Susan Mallery
A Woman's Heart - JoAnn Ross
The Sparkling One - Susan Mallery
Home for the Holidays - Johanna Lindsey
A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox Mysteries) - Charles Finch
The September Society (Charles Lenox Mysteries) - Charles Finch
Blindness - Jose Saramago
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Masquerade (Blue Bloods, Book 2) - Melissa De La Cruz
A Whole New Light - Sandra Brown
One Reckless Summer: A Destiny Novel - Toni Blake
Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz
The Measure of a Lady: A Novel - Deeanne Gist
Dance upon the Air (Three Sisters Island Trilogy) - Nora Roberts
Jewels of the Sun - Nora Robers

I'll just leave my goal at three books, as I work three nights this week and need to catch up on reviews.  But obviously if I finish those, I'll have lots more to read.  We'll see what happens.  It looks to be an exciting week.

Hope everyone has a good Monday and beginning of the week!

Findings of Note (4)

This week I'm a little late on my Saturday Situation/Findings of Note.  But since I had the Read-a-thon yesterday, I think I'm excused. 

Books of Note:
Despite lots of wonderful posting by my fellow bloggers, I only have one book of note for you guys (well, one I just found this week...) mostly because I forgot to write some of them down and because I have been busy reading wondering books.

Other by Karen Kincy was introduced to me by Katelyn over at The Bookshelf Sophisticate.  She has a great review posted, and she convinced me to add it to my very large and growing TBR pile.

The other wonderful books I enjoyed this week I've either posted about or will review soon.  And I'll try to write the ones I find this week down so I can remember them for next Saturday.

Blogs of Note:

Since I've been nominated for a wonderful award, I will post later about some wonderful blogs I've been introduced to (that list of mine of posts-to-do is growing).  Because that will be coming soon, I am only going to post one new blog this week, as well as highlight some new giveaways I found.

The Bookshelf Sophisticate is a delightful blog written by Katelyn.  She reviews books often, and I have greatly enjoyed her insight into the many books she reviews.  She's a recently graduated English major who decided to start reading what she wanted and expressing her opinion about them.  I believe she reads mostly young adult fiction, but I could be wrong since I'm a new follower.

Debbie's Book Blog is hosting several new giveaways, and I thought I should highlight her blog again here.  I have also posted her button on my sidebar for this week.  She has author interviews posted as well as several copies of each book to giveaway.  Definitely something to check out.

Jessica over at Confessions of a Bookaholic also has some new giveaways.  I am continuing to have her button on my sidebar throughout October, because I think these giveaways are just too much to miss!

Lori over at Pure Imagination Blog  and Candance at Candance's Book Blog weekly host The Saturday Situation.  

Candance is hosting the Saturday Situation Giveaway this week, but Lori also has some great giveaways to check out.  I linked to her home page, as she has the giveaways linked at the top.  There are also links to great reviews and other giveaways through this weeks Saturday Situation. 

Happy Sunday and happy reading!

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Wrap Up Post

So I ended the read-a-thon a little early and headed back to sleep.  But I thought i would post my final stats, just to have a finale type ending.

Pages read: 846
Total books read: 2 plus a little bit of another one
Total Time read: approximately 10 hours

And though I did not get through my list, I had lots of fun!  And I'm very excited to join everyone again in April.

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Hour 22 Update

Woops!  It slipped into Hour 22 (or 23, I'm a little confused) while I was working on my blogging and browsing.  And I completely forgot to post about my progress.  So here it is:

Progress:
Currently reading: Harbor Lights - Sherryl Woods
Pages read: 784
Books finished: 2
Updated time reading: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total time read: 9 hours (approximately)

And Bennett and I are going back to listening to "The Eye of the Tiger" and reading... except I told him it was the Eye of the Puppy Dog, so he wouldn't get jealous.  :)