Synopsis:

His name is Royal, but he’s no prince charming. He’s not even a prince-though you could say I loved him once upon a time. He was my older brother’s best friend. Growing up, he sat at our dinner table every Sunday, teased me mercilessly, and pretended I annoyed him. When I was old enough, he took me on my first date. Royal taught me how to drive. Escorted me to my junior prom. Gave me my first kiss . . . amongst other things. He was my first taste of toe-curling, all-consuming, can’t-sleep love. We had our whole lives ahead of us. There was never anyone else for me but him. And then he disappeared. No letter. No explanation. Not even a good-bye. I’ve spent the last seven years trying in vain to forget my first love, but just when I think I’ve finally moved on, guess who’s back in town?

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book!  It reminded me a lot of the Poughkeepie series, which I was obsessed with. I usually don’t like when the author switches POVs but in this book it worked well. If I had to complain about one thing is that there was this big secret why Royal went missing for 7 years and he didn’t want to tell Demi until the time was right and when he thought she could handle it.  They made it seem like it was something sooooo unbelievably tragic (don’t get me wrong it was awful) but when there was this big reveal I was expecting so much more.  Other than that it was a pretty good book.  I’m definitely going to read the second book.

Synopsis:

This Passover Seder is not just any Passover Seder. Yes, there will be a quick service and then a festive meal afterwards, but this night is different from all other nights. This will be the night the Golds of Greenwich meet the Rothschilds of New York City.

The Rothschilds are the stuff of legends. They control banks, own vineyards in Napa, diamond mines in Africa, and even an organic farm somewhere in the Midwest that produces the most popular Romaine lettuce consumed in this country. And now, Sylvia Gold’s daughter is dating one of them.

When Sylvia finds out that her youngest of three is going to bring her new boyfriend to the Seder, she’s giddy. When she finds out that his parents are coming, too, she darn near faints. Making a good impression is all she thinks about. Well, almost. She still has to consider her other daughter, Sarah, who’ll be coming with her less than appropriate beau and his overly dramatic Italian mother. But the drama won’t stop there. Because despite the food and the wine, despite the new linen and the fresh flowers, the holidays are about family. Long forgotten memories come to the surface. Old grievances play out. And Sylvia Gold has to learn how to let her family go.

My Thoughts:

Great book!  As a parent I can relate to Sylvia in the sense that you have such great expectations for your children that you want to push them towards success, sometimes disregarding the fact that maybe they yearn for something different.  And I also could relate to Sarah because growing up I always wanted to please my parents even if it meant keeping secrets that I know would disappoint me.  I sometimes felt like I wasn’t doing a lot of the things that I wanted to be doing in fear that they’d judge me.  This book is so true to life when it comes to tight knit families.  I recommend this awesome read.

As all of you know, I’m a huge fan of RHONJ and I’ve been watching it from season 1.  So of course when all this went down about Teresa and Joe I watched like many as there situation unfolded publicly.  I was stunned when both were sentenced to prison- as a mother of 4 myself I just couldn’t imagine being away from my kids and in prison.  Watching the show there is no denying that Teresa Giudice is a devoted mother and wife and it really broke my heart that someone that loves her family so much would be ripped away from them (no matter what the circumstance it’s so sad).  There have been so many people out there saying “Why does everyone feel sorry for her?  She did the crime so she should do the time!”  I strongly believe that when you commit a crime you should definitely suffer the consequences, but geez there are so many people (really BAD people) getting off on murder, rape, drunk driving and risking the lives of those around them.  So yes, I find it fucked up that not only Teresa but her 4 beautiful young daughters had to suffer this unfortunate ordeal.

It took me a while to get around to reading this book, but I’m glad I did.  Of course the writing wasn’t the best; I mean this is Teresa Giudice we’re talking about.  The Teresa Giudice known for these one liners…

I got started with this book with no great expectation of reading a well written book.  In all honesty the writing (even with the help of K. C. Baker) was not good at all, but like I said earlier I expected nothing more.

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed reading this book.  Teresa takes us on a journey through her strict upbringing as a child and adolescence, shares how her and Joe knew each other since she was born, stories about falling in love, getting married and having her children and how BRAVO’S RHONJ changed her life.  I love how we see a humbled side of Teresa.  She gets real about how she broke knowing that she’d be away from her family and how she worried about everyone that she was leaving behind.  She wrote about her experience in prison and what the living situation, food and other inmates were like.  If you can get over the writing, I think that the book was pretty good!

Synopsis:

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him

My Thoughts:

I finished this book in one sitting!  It was such a cool book, very interesting in the way that each chapter alternates scenarios of what the outcome could be.  I thought that this book delivered such a good message- The choices and decisions that you make in life will ultimately lead you to where you’re supposed to be.  I totally believe that everything happens for a reason and even the bad in life is usually a blessing in disguise.  If I say more than the synopsis already tells, I might give too much away.  Go read the book!

I’m super excited about these books!  I hardly have the time to read these days but I hope that I can get through as much of these books as possible.  I’ve read some great reviews on each of them.

1. The Dinner Party by Brenda Janowit
2.  Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. Just Fall by Nina Sadowsky
4. Some Women by Emily Liebert
5. I’ll See You In Paris by Michelle Gable