2009: Year in Review

I read a lot less this year. I guess maybe still more than most, more than a book a week, but far far less than prior years. So, that should make it a lot easier to rate my favorites of the year, but I'm not so sure. I'll do my best though to summarize a few of the favorites and of course, the books that you can certainly skip.

Really good reads:
1. Bel Canto (#53)
2. Time Traveler's Wife (#49)
3. Second Glance (#47)
4. Long Lost (#14)
5. Sheer Abandon (#37)
6. The Hour I First Believed (#52)

Best Series:
1: Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty (Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, Charmed Thirds, Fourth Comings & Perfect Fifths)
2. Lytton trilogy by Penny Vincenzi (No Angel, Something Dangerous, Into Temptation)
3. Jen Lancaster books

Ones to skip... Mrs. Perfect, Dead Until Dark, Finger Lickin Fifteen, Body Surfing, The Last Summer of her Other Life, One Week in December

55. The Sugar Queen

This was a really cute read. A little romance, a little fantasy and an all around good story. I definitely recommend it.

Here's the description from B&N:

In this irresistible novel, Sarah Addison Allen, author of the New York Times bestselling debut, Garden Spells, tells the tale of a young woman whose family secrets—and secret passions—are about to change her life forever.

Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds her closet harboring Della Lee Baker, a local waitress who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey’s narrow existence quickly expands. She even bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them—and who has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush. Soon Josey is living in a world where the color red has startling powers, and passion can make eggs fry in their cartons. And that’s just for starters.

Brimming with warmth, wit, and a sprinkling of magic, here is a spellbinding tale of friendship, love—and the enchanting possibilities of every new day.

54. Lust, Loathing & a Little Lip Gloss

Good, chick lit, mystery fluff. This was an audio book so that worked well with my new knitting phase.

Here's the description from B&N:

Mystery writer and dabbling recreational sleuth Sophie Katz is head over heels in love—with a three-bedroom Victorian. She's just got to have it, despite a few drawbacks. Her slimy ex is the Realtor. The rich, creepy seller wants her to join San Francisco's spirited Specter Society. And her first tour of the house reveals, well, a lifeless body clutching a cameo with a disturbing history of its own.

There's no way Sophie is going to give up the ghost on her dreams of stained glass and original woodwork, though—even when things become officially weird. A Society member is found with a slashed throat, and Sophie's house might as well be yelling, "GET…OUT!" She's hearing footsteps, lights are turning themselves off and her stuff keeps moving inexplicably. To top it off, boyfriend Anatoly thinks it's all in her head.

Sophie is 99 percent sure her problems are caused by someone six feet tall instead of six feet under, but the only way to be sure is to track down the killer—before he pushes her kicking and screaming to the other side….

53. The Hour I First Believed

This book is not an easy read. 723 pages, most of them heart wrenching. I'm glad I finished it, and it is certainly well written, but really, as such a heavy read I'm not sure I'd recommend it. It's raw and emotional and, just tough.

Most of the reviews and descriptions give a lot more detail but I'm sticking with just what the book jacket says:

When high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his wife Maureen, a school nurse, move to Littleton, Colorado they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, while Caelum is away, Maureen finds herself in the library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed. Miraculously, she survives, but at a cost: she is unable to recover from the trauma. When Caelum and Maureen flee to an illusion of safety on the Quirk family's Connecticut farm, they discover that the effects of chaos are not easily put right, and further tradgey ensues.

If you want to know more, just go to B&N and read the overview. And if you do want to read it I own it and you are welcome to borrow it.

52. Bel Canto

This one was really good. A different story and unique style, but definitely one I'd recommend.

Here's the description:

Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening -- until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots.

Without the demands of the world to shape their days, life on the inside becomes more beautiful than anything they had ever known before. At once riveting and impassioned, the narrative becomes a moving exploration of how people communicate when music is the only common language. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped.

51. One Week in December

I think the person who write's Holly Chamberlin's book jackets is a better writer than she is. Cause I always think her books sound good, then end up getting them and being disappointed. That happened again (and I know, I need to just stop reading them). This one wasn't bad, but wasn't all that good either.

Here's the description from B&N:

In this compelling, heartfelt novel from the bestselling author of Tuscan Holiday and The Friends We Keep, a family reunited for the holidays explores the price of secrets, the power of regret, and the choices that can change everything…
The Rowans' rambling Maine farmhouse is just big enough to contain the family members gathered there in the week before Christmas. Becca Rowan has driven north from Boston with one thought in mind-reclaiming the daughter she gave up when she was a frightened teenager. Raised by Becca's older brother and his wife, Rain Rowan, now sixteen, has no idea she was adopted. And though Becca agreed not to reveal the truth until Rain turned twenty-one, lately that promise, along with all her career success, counts for little in the face of her loneliness and longing.

But while Becca anticipates shock at her announcement, she's unprepared for the depth of her family's reactions. Her brother is angry and fearful of losing the daughter he adores; her sister Olivia, oblivious to her crumbling marriage, reveals long-buried resentments, while Becca's parents are torn between concern and guilt. And as the Rowans' neighbor, Alex, draws her deeper into an unexpected friendship, Becca begins to challenge her own preconceptions about family, about love, and about the courage needed to live with-and sometimes change-the decisions we make…

50. Pursuit of Honor

Vince Flynn's latest and another good, thought provoking read. I went to his book signing last night and heard him speak. And while my own views aren't 100% in line with his, I do agree that there are a lot of people who make a lot of really big personal sacrafices for our country and that we don't really recognize how lucky we are to have them.

Here's a description of the book from B&N:

The action begins six days after a series of explosions devastated Washington, D.C., targeting the National Counterterrorism Center and killing 185 people, including public officials and CIA employees. It was a bizarre act of extreme violence that called for extreme measures on the part of elite counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp and his trusted team member, Mike Nash. Now that the initial shock of the catastrophe is over, key Washington officials are up in arms over whether to make friends or foes of the agents who stepped between the enemy's bullets and countless American lives regardless of the legal consequences. Not for the first time, Rapp finds himself in the frustrating position of having to illustrate the realities of national security to politicians whose view from the sidelines is inevitably obstructed.

Meanwhile, three of the al Qaeda terrorists are still at large, and Rapp has been unofficially ordered to find them by any means necessary. No one knows the personal, physical, and emotional sacrifices required of the job better than Rapp. When he sees Nash cracking under the pressure of the mission and the memories of the horrors he witnessed during the terrorist attack, he makes a call he hopes will save his friend, assuage the naysayers on Capitol Hill, and get him one step closer to the enemy before it's too late. Once again, Rapp proves himself to be a hero unafraid "to walk the fine line between the moral high ground and violence" (The Salt LakeTribune) for our country's safety, for the sake of freedom, for the pursuit of honor.

49. The Time Traveler's Wife

I'm kinda surprised it took me this long to read this one. I really liked it, though, based on the tear-inducing parts it wasn't all that wise of me to read much of it in a coffee shop. Oh well... :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Audrey Niffenegger's innovative debut, The Time Traveler's Wife, is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.The Time Traveler’s Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other, as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals -- steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

48. Lullabies for Little Criminals

Good, but incredibly depressing, I'll let the review below describe the story as it is completely accurate, right down to that "tear jerking" part at the end.

From B&N:

In her debut novel, This American Life contributor O'Neill offers a narrator, Baby, coming of age in Montreal just before her 12th birthday. Her mother is long dead. Her father, Jules, is a junkie who shuttles her from crumbling hotels to rotting apartments, his short-term work or moneymaking schemes always undermined by his rage and paranoia. Baby tries to screen out the bad parts by hanging out at the community center and in other kids' apartments, by focusing on school when she can and by taking mushrooms and the like. (She finds sex mostly painful.) Stints in foster care, family services and juvenile detention ("nostalgia could kill you there") usually end in Jules's return and his increasingly erratic behavior. Baby's intelligence and self-awareness can't protect her from parental and kid-on-kid violence, or from the seductive power of being desired by Alphonse, a charismatic predator, on the one hand, and by Xavier, an idealistic classmate, on the other. When her lives collide, Baby faces choices she is not equipped to make. O'Neill's vivid prose owes a debt to Donna Tartt's The Little Friend; the plot has a staccato feel that's appropriate but that doesn't coalesce. Baby's precocious introspection, however, feels pitch perfect, and the book's final pages are tear-jerkingly effective.

47. Second Glance

One of the few Jodi Picoult books I hadn't read, and as I recently learned, the author's favorite of her collection. At the beginning, and even in the middle I had so-so feelings about this one, but by the end I really liked it. A complicated web of characters and two subjects intertwined that didn't seem to belong together lost me, then hooked me. I know, doesn't make a lot of sense but, oh well, that's how I feel.

You should read this one for yourself if you haven't and let me know what you think.

Here's the description from B&N:

"Sometimes I wonder....Can a ghost find you, if she wants to?"

An intricate tale of love, haunting memories, and renewal, Second Glance begins in current-day Vermont, where an old man puts a piece of land up for sale and unintentionally raises protest from the local Abenaki Indian tribe, who insist it's a burial ground. When odd, supernatural events plague the town of Comtosook, a ghost hunter is hired by the developer to help convince the residents that there's nothing spiritual about the property.

Enter Ross Wakeman, a suicidal drifter who has put himself in mortal danger time and again. He's driven his car off a bridge into a lake. He's been mugged in New York City and struck by lightning in a calm country field. Yet despite his best efforts, life clings to him and pulls him ever deeper into the empty existence he cannot bear since his fiancée's death in a car crash eight years ago. Ross now lives only for the moment he might once again encounter the woman he loves. But in Comtosook, the only discovery Ross can lay claim to is that of Lia Beaumont, a skittish, mysterious woman who, like Ross, is on a search for something beyond the boundary separating life and death. Thus begins Jodi Picoult's enthralling and ultimately astonishing story of love, fate, and a crime of passion.

Hailed by critics as a "master" storyteller (Washington Post), Picoult once again "pushes herself, and consequently the reader, to think about the unthinkable" (Denver Post). Second Glance, her eeriest and most engrossing work yet, delves into a virtually unknown chapter of American history -- Vermont's eugenics project of the 1920s and 30s -- to provide a compelling study of the thingsthat come back to haunt us -- literally and figuratively. Do we love across time, or in spite of it?

46. The Lost Symbol

This is Dan Brown's newest and a continuation of the story of Professor Langdon from Angels & Demons and Da Vinci Code. It started slow, then got really good, and then by the end it lost me. Here the big drama was in the middle, and wrapped up before the end as opposed to the others. And, part of the big drama was very much only in DC, political crap that I find so incredibly frustrating on a daily basis living in this city and well, reading about it didn't make it any more appealing.

Here's a descirption of the book from B&N:

In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling -- a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object -- artfully encoded with five symbols -- is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon -- a prominent Mason and philanthropist -- is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations -- all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning-paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown's fans have been waiting for . . . his most thrilling novel yet.

45. Last Summer of Her Other Life

Eh.

At times I liked this book and at times I was only still reading because I started it and needed to finish it. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say it was good either. I think the author just tried to do too much. Everytime I turned the page another big revelation was happening, all out of no where. I think had there been an element of suspense or foreshadowing it may have been better, but instead it was just dramatic event after dramatic event.

Anyway, here's the description from B&N:

From Jean Reynolds Page—the critically acclaimed author of The Space Between Before and After and one of the most compelling voices in contemporary women's fiction—comes a dazzling novel of loss and redemption, of relationships that damage and those that heal.

Thirty-nine and pregnant by a man she's decided to leave behind in California, Jules' life is changing. Always the protected daughter, she must now relinquish that role and prepare to be a mother herself. But her efforts are upstaged by shocking allegations from a local teen in her North Carolina hometown. The boy has accused her of what the police are calling "inappropriate sexual contact." Three men rally in her defense: Lincoln, her brother, who flies in from New York to help her; Sam, her high school boyfriend, who after so many years still offers unconditional support; and Walt, the uncle of the teen, who charms Jules with his intelligence and unanticipated kindness.

Her search for the truth about the troubled teenager becomes, for Jules, a first step toward discovering the woman she wishes to be. But with so many wrong choices behind her, how can she trust herself with the future of her unborn child?

44. The Last Song

Nicholas Sparks' latest. Yes, it was sappy. Yes, it was predictable. Yes, it was set at the beach. Yes, it made me cry in public (I read it in B&N). Yes, I really liked it.

Here's the description from B&N:

Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.

The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels—first love, love between parents and children — that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them.

43. Body Surfing

I didn't like this one at the beginning. Well, for the most part, but then in the last few pages or so it redeemed itself a bit. Though, despite the fact that I liked how it wrapped up I don't know that I'll read others by the author and wouldn't necessarily suggest this one.

Here's the description from B&N:

At the age of 29, Sydney has already been once divorced and once widowed. Trying to regain her footing, she has signed on to tutor the teenage daughter of a well-to-do couple as they spend a sultry summer in their oceanfront New Hampshire cottage. But when the Edwardses' two grown sons arrive at the beach house, Sydney finds herself caught up in a destructive web of old tensions and bitter divisions. As the brothers vie for her affections, the fragile existence Sydney has rebuilt is threatened.

42. Sari Shop Widow

Mary wanted me to try out her Kindle and this was the book I read on it. I liked both - the book and the Kindle. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Pungent curry…sweet fried onions…incense…colorful beads…lush fabrics. Shobhan Bantwal's compelling new novel is set on the streets of Edison, New Jersey's Little India, where a young businesswoman rediscovers the magic of love and family…

Since becoming a widow at age twenty-seven, Anjali Kapadia has devoted herself to transforming her parents' sari shop into a chic boutique, brimming with exquisite jewelry and clothing. Now, ten years later, it stands out like a proud maharani amid Edison's bustling Little India. But when Anjali learns the shop is on the brink of bankruptcy, she feels her world unraveling…

To the rescue comes Anjali's wealthy, dictatorial Uncle Jeevan and his business partner, Rishi Shah—a mysterious Londoner, complete with British accent, cool gray eyes, and skin so fair it makes it hard to believe he's Indian. Rishi's cool, foreign demeanor triggers distrust in Anjali and her mother. But for Anjali, he also stirs something else, a powerful attraction she hasn't felt in a decade. And the feeling is mutual…

Love disappointed Anjali once before and she's vowed to live without it—though Rishi is slowly melting her resolve and, as the shop regains its footing, gaining her trust. But when a secret from Rishi's past is revealed, Anjali must turn to her family and her strong cultural upbringing to guide her in finding the truth…

41. Upside Down Inside Out

Cute, predictable fluff. Just what I was looking for. Though apparently this is the prequel to another of Monica McInerny's books that I read a month or so ago. Which is probably what made it so predictable for me... Oops. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Eva Kennedy is in a rut. After seven years of working at her uncle’s Dublin delicatessen, her artistic aspirations have slipped by the wayside and her latest relationship has fizzled. Whatever happened to the Eva who was going to be someone? Hoping to shake things up and find inspiration, Eva takes a break and ventures to Melbourne, Australia, to visit her old friend Lainey, who, for fun, gives her an exciting new identity. Eva is now exotic and adventurous and . . . not herself.

Joseph Wheeler is a successful London designer. Unfortunately his firm is thriving at such a high level that he doesn’t have time to actually design anymore. And his love life is nonexistent. In Australia on business, Joseph meets Eva, and the sparks fly–even as Eva is stuck pretending to be someone she’s not. Little does she know that Joseph has some secrets of his own. . . .

When what starts as a holiday fling quickly blossoms into something more, Joseph and Eva discover that romance can turn life upside down and inside out at the bottom of the world.

40. Into Temptation

The third in the Penny Vincenzi trilogy, I really enjoyed this one as well. The characters are well written and complex, that even when they are making stupid choices and mistakes you still care about them and want to see what happens next. I definitely recommend the series - and own all three if you are interested.

Here's a review from B&N.com:

The third in the Lytton family trilogy (Something Dangerous; No Angel) takes the patrician English clan-and all its jockeying for power, money and approval-into the second half of the 20th century. Set in London and New York, the novel opens in 1953 with the Lyttons in an uproar, as matriarch Celia drops two bombshells: she's leaving Lytton's, the family publishing house she has run for decades, and marrying sportsman Lord "Bunny" Arden. (Her husband Oliver died only a year earlier.) Baffled, her children contemplate how these changes will affect their careers and inheritances. Meanwhile, the narrative turns to Barty Miller, Celia's adopted daughter, who runs Lytton's New York and controls the majority share of the house thanks to her first husband's wealth, and Barty's headstrong daughter, Jenna. Barty also marries again, to Charlie Patterson, a smooth operator of relatively modest means who turns out not to be all that he appears to be. As this page-turner nears its conclusion, the Lytton family fortunes come under threat from the resentful Charlie. Will Barty and Jenna manage to preserve the Lytton legacy? Period color, deliciously shocking revelations and showy characterizations heighten this romance, which should be one of the summer's guilty pleasures.

39. Something Dangerous

The second of three by Penny Vincenzi chronicling the lives of the fictional Lytton family in London in the 1930s and 40s, it's another really compelling, really good read. I've already moved on to book three and can't wait to find out how this story concludes!

Here's a review from B&N:

Expansively written and lushly detailed, this fast-paced sequel to No Angel follows the Lyttons, a prominent British publishing family, into the mid-20th century. It's 1928 as the book opens, and the Lytton heirs apparent-Giles, Kit and their twin sisters, Venetia and Adele-are more absorbed in their personal lives than in steering themselves toward future stewardship of the family empire. Giles, ensconced in a mid-level Lytton post, feels a professional and social failure; Kit is bright, but only eight; and the beautiful 18-year-old twins are more concerned with their court debuts than with learning anything useful about publishing. Lytton foster child Barty Miller, who graduated from Oxford with honors, might take the business seriously; she shows remarkable intelligence and drive, but not the gratitude that Celia Lytton, senior editor of the house and matron of the family, would like. The business and family survive the Depression as the Lyttons begin publishing cheaper books, the twins lose their virginity, Kit grows into a fine young man and Giles gets married. Then WWII comes along and snaps, if not sense, then at least some backbone into the Lytton children. But is it too late? As family secrets and the Nazis both threaten to crush the house of Lytton, Vincenzi tightens her grip on readers, churning out surprising twists that not only resolve current conflicts but promise delicious future crises.

38. No Angel

The first in a trilogy by Penny Vincenzi, No Angel is set in the early 1900s. I generally don't like period books but this one is such a great family drama I'm really glad I put aside that preconception and gave it a shot. I'll be moving on to book 2 tomorrow...

Here's a review from B&N:

Bestselling British author Vincenzi follows the tumultuous lives of London's Lytton family through the early 20th century in her first novel to be published in the U.S. At the story's center is Lady Celia Beckenham, a strong-willed, blue-blooded beauty who forces her parents to bless her marriage to the lower-ranking Oliver Lytton, employed in the "rough world of publishing," by getting pregnant. Taking her maternal duties in stride (her ugly baby, Giles, is initially "something of a disappointment"), Celia talks her way into an editorial position at Lyttons Publishing House, and quickly proves herself a fast learner with a head full of successful ideas. As years pass and more children arrive, Celia becomes known for her editorial skills and her familial devotion. But when Oliver returns after four years of fighting in WWI, her perfect world begins to crumble he is dismayed by the books Lyttons has published under Celia's and his sister LM's guidance, and he has lost all desire for his wife. Celia seeks comfort in the arms of a handsome new author, and as she falls into an all-consuming affair, she begins to contemplate leaving Oliver: "She would have to go; go with Sebastian. Anything else was madness. She explored the decision for a few minutes, waiting for uncertainty to return. It didn't." But as Celia struggles to make her life-altering decision, events around her cause her to see herself and her family in a new light and to ponder what her life would be like if she weren't a Lytton. Through life and death, exuberance and sorrow, honor and disgrace, Vincenzi perfectly captures the intricacies of her characters and creates plots captivating enough to keep readers eyes' glued to this long and hearty saga.

37. Sheer Abandon

This was a good read... a complex story that intertwines the lives of many in an interesting way. Parts were very predictible, but then a twist would come out of no where. It's a long one, but worth reading.

Here's the description from B&N:

A number-one bestseller from one of Britain’s most popular novelists, Sheer Abandon is an all-consuming story revolving around the consequences of a desperate act . . .

Martha, Clio, and Jocasta meet by chance at Heathrow airport in 1985 as they are starting off on separate backpacking adventures, and they decide to spend the first few days of their trips together in Thailand. When they go their separate ways, they vow to get together in London the following year. But many years pass before the three cross paths again, and the once-capricious, carefree girls now all have thriving careers. One of them, however, harbors a terrible secret: On her return from her pre-college excursion, she abandoned her just-born daughter at Heathrow.

Clio has fulfilled her ambition of becoming a doctor, only to find herself trapped in a marriage to an arrogant surgeon who belittles her and her professional achievements. Martha is a highly paid corporate lawyer, just embarking on a political career. Dedicated to her job, she has had little time for personal relationships and lives a busy, but lonely life. Jocasta, a tabloid newspaper reporter with an infallible instinct for the big story, is in love with a charming colleague who can’t make the permanent commitment she longs for. The infant abandoned at Heathrow has grown up under the loving care of her adoptive family. Now a beautiful teenager named Kate, she sets out to find her birth mother—a quest that unexpectedly brings the women together and exposes the secret buried so many years before.

36. The Castaways

The latest from Elin Hildebrand, I liked this one just as much as her others, though it seemed to get a bit too much into unnecessary details at times, all in all it was a good read (well, actually listen as I listened on my iPod during a series of solo road trips).

Here's the description from B&N:

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.Once again, Hilderbrand masterfully weaves an intense tale of love and loyalty set against the backdrop of endless summer island life.

35. Greetings from Somewhere Else

A cute, quick read. I enjoyed this one just as much as the author's other books - Family Baggage, The Faraday Girls & The Alphabet Sisters - and am happy to know there is one that I missed when it came out last year that I can read soon. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Lainey Byrne is a master at controlled chaos, juggling her hectic, demanding job, her chef boyfriend with his crazy hours, and her roiling family with all its daily dramas. But her life truly threatens to spin out of control when her aunt May, who owns a B&B in Ireland, passes away. In order for the Byrnes to collect their inheritance, someone from the family must take over Aunt May’s business for a year. And apparently that someone is Lainey.Between running a run-down, virtually guest-free B&B (without the slightest ability to cook or clean), worrying about her family from afar, adjusting to country life, and dealing with the complications of long-distance love, Lainey is in way over her head. But when a reunion with a (gorgeous) childhood friend sparks unexpected complications, Lainey realizes that fate may have another path for her–a direction she never imagined.

34. Best Friends Forever

Jenifer Weiner's lasted, Best Friends Forever was a pretty good read. I liked the story line, though it was fairly predictable and (shocking for me to say I know) wrapped up a little too neatly at the end. One thing I wish would have been different... the chapters switched perspective and it would have been nice to have the character telling that section's name printed at the start of each. It was generally clear who it was fairly quickly, but that still would have been helpful.

Here's a description from B&N:

Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That's what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they're both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school's scapegoat.

Flash-forward fifteen years. Valerie Adler has found a measure of fame and fortune working as the weathergirl at the local TV station. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents' house in their small hometown of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. She's just returned from Bad Date #6 when she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat. "Something horrible has happened," Val tells Addie, "and you're the only one who can help."

Best Friends Forever is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat adventure; a story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets. It's about living through tragedy, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends together.

33. Harvesting the Heart

This is one of the few Jodi Picoult books I hadn't already read. It was good, but different and not quite as compelling and page-turning as the others. I wouldn't say not to read it, but I also wouldn't call it a must read.

Here's a description from B&N:

Jodi Picoult earned rave notices for her debut novel, Songs of the Humpback Whale. Now this gifted young writer turns her considerable literary talents to the story of a young woman overcome by the demands of having a family. Written with astonishing clarity and evocative detail, convincing in its depiction of emotional pain, love, and vulnerability, Harvesting the Heart recalls the writing of Alice Hoffman and Sue Miller. Paige has only a few vivid memories of her mother, who left when she was five. Now, having left her father behind in Chicago for dreams of art school and marriage to an ambitious young doctor, she finds herself with a child of her own. But her mother's absence, and shameful memories of her past, make her doubt both her maternal ability and her sense of self worth. Out of Paige's struggle to find wholeness, Jodi Picoult crafts an absorbing novel peopled by richly drawn characters and explores issues and emotions readers can relate to.

32. Finger Lickin Fifteen

The latest Stephanie Plum book, this one was just like the others - silly and ridiculous but still a quick, fun read.

Here's the description from B&N:

UNBUCKLE YOUR BELT AND PULL UP A CHAIR. IT'S THE SPICIEST, SAUCIEST, MOST RIB-STICKING PLUM YET.

Recipe for disaster: Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head —literally.

Throw in some spice: Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she'll talk to is Trenton cop, Joe Morelli.

Pump up the heat: Chipotle's sponsor is offering a million dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.

Stir the pot: Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah.

Add a secret ingredient: Stephanie Plum's Grandma Mazur. Enough said.

Bring to a boil: Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, A.K.A. Ranger, during the day. Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, solve Ranger's problems and not jump his bones?

Warning: Habanero hot. So good you'll want seconds.

31. Dead Until Dark

Eh.... this one was ok. I was told since I liked Twilight I'd like this series too but I think I'm over the whole vampire thing.

I couldn't find a description online (they all just promote the tie to the HBO series), but I did find a customer review on B&N that is pretty much exactly inline with my opinion so....

"I read this book on a suggestion from someone who had read Twilight. I'm not into vampire books in particular, but I really liked the Twilight series so I gave this one a try. The story is somewhat similar, but I had a hard time getting into it. I felt no connection with the personalities of the characters as you never really have a chance to get to know them. I didn't feel the love behind the two main characters, Sookie and Bill, and they were already professing their love 1/3 of the way into the book. However, if you are into murder mysteries and vampires, you may like this one. It did have a couple of funny moments that made me chuckle, but unfortunately it was not enough to keep me interested in reading further books in this series. There was also a part near the end where they introduced a character (Bubba) that was so ridiculous I almost put the book down right then and there. This is just one person's opinion and I know there are probably a lot of readers who really like this series. So I guess you'd have to find out for yourself if you are one of those people..."

30. The Fixer Upper

Another cute one from Mary Kay Andrews. A nice, light summer read, good for the beach or sitting by the pool.

Here's a review from B&N:

Andrews's latest Southern charmer begins with junior lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew in the crosshairs of a political bribery investigation. Suddenly unemployed and the victim of a sleazy smear campaign by her former boss, Dempsey decides to take up her father's offer of flipping a recently inherited family home in Guthrie, Ga. As it turns out, the house needs much more than a fresh coat of paint, and Dempsey's ornery cousin and her dog are squatting there. So it is that the formerly glamorous Dempsey steps into her dead uncle's overalls and chips her manicured nails as she scrubs and sands her way through fixing up the house, quickly finding a renovation groove, fitting in with the locals and embarking on a romance. Meanwhile, the FBI and a pesky reporter come asking questions about the bribery accusations. This authentic tale of cleaning up life's messes and self-discovery is bright, engaging and thoughtful, enlivened by Andrews's quirky characters and lovely backwoods setting.

29. Breaking Dawn

The final in the Twilight series... I liked it, but didn't at the same time. I do like things getting wrapped up neatly in a bow at the end, but it just seemed too long and drawn out. I did like getting to have part from Jacob's perspective, and thought that was a unique choice over Edward's. Anyway, I still think the series is worth reading and would suggest if you haven't read them yet.

I couldn't find a description online and didn't like any of the reviews so... you'll just have to read it to figure out what it is about. :)

28. Eclipse

This one didn't hook me as much as the first two but was still a good read. Here's the description from B&N:

Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour the paperback edition Eclipse, the third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

27. New Moon

Yup, I'm quite hooked. And think you should read these books too.

Here's the description of New Moon from B&N:

Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

26. Twlight

Yes, it took me quite awhile to jump on the bandwagon. And yes, I'm hooked. I'll be borrowing the other three from a co-worker tomorrow and imagine with a trip to the beach planned for this weekend will have them finished by this time next week.

So, if there is anyone else out there who hasn't read this yet... I liked it, and I do recommend it. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

About three things I was absolutely positive:
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him–and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be–that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife -- between desire and danger.

Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

25. London is the Best City in America

This is a re-read from several years ago. I likked it a lot then and still liked it this time around.

Here's the description from B&N:

Three years ago, Emmy Everett made the painful decision to call off her engagement and leave New York City behind. Since then she has been hiding out in Rhode Island working at a bait and tackle shop and haphazardly shooting a documentary about fishermen's wives. July 4th weekend has rolled around again and Emmy is mustering up the courage to return home to New York (the site of her own failed romance) to celebrate her brother Josh's wedding.En route to his bachelor party, Emmy is shocked when her typically resolute brother confesses that he is having serious doubts about getting married - and he may even be in love with another woman.Emmy is determined to help her brother face up to this decision - the one she fled from herself. With less than twenty-four hours to go before the wedding, she takes Josh on a road trip to find this mystery woman. Along the way, Emmy embraces her own hard-earned lessons about romance, commitment and what happens when we refuse to let go of the past.

24. Heart and Soul

The latest from Maeve Binchy, this one brings back many of the characters from her prior books. I liked the storyline but with so many people involved it did get a little confusing at times keeping things straight. Overall though, I did enjoy this one more than some of her other more recent books.

Here's the description from B&N:

“[Maeve] Binchy makes you laugh, cry, and care. Her warmth and sympathy render the daily struggles of ordinary people heroic and turn storytelling into art.” –San Francisco Chronicle

With the insight, humor, and compassion we have come to expect from her, Maeve Binchy tells a story of family, friends, patients, and staff who are part of a heart clinic in a community caught between the old and the new Ireland.

Dr. Clara Casey has been offered the thankless job of establishing the underfunded clinic and agrees to take it on for a year. She has plenty on her plate already–two difficult adult daughters and the unwanted attentions of her ex-husband–but she assembles a wonderfully diverse staff devoted to helping their demanding, often difficult patients.

Before long the clinic is established as an essential part of the community, and Clara must decide whether or not to leave a place where lives are saved, courage is rewarded, and humor and optimism triumph over greed and self-pity. Heart and Soul is Maeve Binchy at her storytelling best.

23. Ms. Perfect

A quick, easy, chick lit read...

here's the description from B&N:

As a young California girl growing up in a blue collar neighborhood, Taylor Young dreamed of being popular, beautiful, and acquiring a wardrobe to die for. Not to mention marrying a handsome, successful man and living happily ever after in a gorgeous house with three wonderful children. Now, at 36, Taylor has reached the pinnacle of her dreams, but is it all about to unravel? As the new school year approaches, Taylor prepares herself for playing the perfect alpha mom: organizing class activities, fund-raising, and chairing the school auction. But the horror! Her archrival, bohemian mom Marta Zinsser, is named Head Room Mom of Taylor's daughter's fifth grade class. As tensions rise at committee meetings and school activities, the two rivals seem to be destined for a final confrontation. But as Taylor plans her next move, she is floored by a more serious blow at home-her husband has been secretly unemployed for the past six months. With her posh lifestyle crumbling, Taylor struggles to maintain her alpha image-but could Marta, who cares little about appearances, be her only true friend?

22. Pretty In Plaid

Yet again, the full title is too long for the title box... "Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, Or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomanical, Self-Centered Smart Ass Phase"

Like Lancaster's other books this one was super funny and a great read. She recaps life from her childhood through to her early career and, well, yeah, I think you should read it.

Here's the description from B&N:

The hardcover debut from the New York Times bestselling author— the prequel to Bitter is the New Black.

In Pretty in Plaid, Jen Lancaster reveals how she developed the hubris that perpetually gets her into trouble. Using fashion icons of her youth to tell her hilarious and insightful stories, readers will meet the girl she used to be.

Think Jen Lancaster was always "like David Sedaris with pearls and a super-cute handbag?" (Jennifer Coburn) Think again. She was a badge-hungry Junior Girl Scout with a knack for extortion, an aspiring sorority girl who didn't know her Coach from her Louis Vuitton, and a budding executive who found herself bewildered by her first encounter with a fax machine. In this humorous and touching memoir, Jen Lancaster looks back on her life—and wardrobe—before bitter was the new black and shows us a young woman not so very different than the rest of us.

The author who showed us what it was like to wait in line at the unemployment office with a Prada bag, how living in the city can actually suck, and that losing weight can be fun with a trainer named Barbie and enough Ambien is ready to take you on a hilarious and heartwarming trip down memory lane in her shoes (and very pretty ones at that).

21. Life Sentences

I've read all of Laura Lippman's books and this one was just missing something. Not quite sure what, maybe it didn't have as much drama as her earlier ones. I did like the whole angle of how memories are really in the eye of the beholder and that when you are telling a story from your perspective it is true for you, but that doesn't make it the truth.

Still, overall, just an OK read.

Here's the description from B&N:

Author Cassandra Fallows has achieved remarkable success by baring her life on the page. Her two widely popular memoirs continue to sell briskly, acclaimed for their brutal, unexpurgated candor about friends, family, lovers—and herself. But now, after a singularly unsuccessful stab at fiction, Cassandra believes she may have found the story that will enable her triumphant return to nonfiction.

When Cassandra was a girl, growing up in a racially diverse middle-class neighborhood in Baltimore, her best friends were all black: elegant, privileged Donna; sharp, shrewd Tisha; wild and worldly Fatima. A fifth girl orbited their world—a shy, quiet, unobtrusive child named Calliope Jenkins—who, years later, would be accused of killing her infant son. Yet the boy's body was never found and Calliope's unrelenting silence on the subject forced a judge to jail her for contempt. For seven years, Calliope refused to speak and the court was finally forced to let her go. Cassandra believes this still unsolved real-life mystery, largely unknown outside Baltimore, could be her next bestseller.

But her homecoming and latest journey into the past will not be welcomed by everyone, especially by her former friends, who are unimpressed with Cassandra's success—and are insistent on their own version of their shared history. And by delving too deeply into Calliope's dark secrets, Cassandra may inadvertently unearth a few of her own—forcing her to reexamine the memories she holds most precious, as the stark light of truth illuminates a mother's pain, a father's betrayal . . . and what really transpired on a terrible day that changed not only a family but an entire country.

20. Perfect Fifths

I totally agree with the end of the synopsis.... this one is perfect in its imperfections.

I didn't really get into the switch to third person, and the pages of pure dialogue were a bit hard to follow, but... I loved being able to be in Marcus' head finally and I love how the story developed.

So, while not the easiest read in my opinion, a perfect ending to the series.

Here's the description:

Old flames are reignited in the fifth and final book in the New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series.

Captivated readers have followed Jessica through every step and misstep: from her life as a tormented, tart-tongued teenager to her years as a college grad stumbling toward adulthood. Now a young professional in her mid-twenties, Jess is off to a Caribbean wedding. As she rushes to her gate at the airport, she literally runs into her former boyfriend, Marcus Flutie. It’s the first time she's seen him since she reluctantly turned down his marriage proposal three years earlier–and emotions run high. Marcus and Jessica have both changed dramatically, yet their connection feels as familiar as ever. Is their reunion just a fluke or has fate orchestrated this collision of their lives once again?

Told partly from Marcus’s point of view, Perfect Fifths finally lets readers inside the mind of the one person who’s both troubled and titillated Jessica Darling for years. Expect nothing less than the satisfying conclusion fans have been waiting for, one perfect in its imperfection. . . .

19. Fourth Comings

Again, I think I liked this one more on the re-read than I did the first time around...

Here's the description:

Is the real world ready for Jessica Darling?

At first it seems that she's living the elusive New York City dream. She's subletting an apartment with her best friend, Hope, working for a magazine that actually utilizes her psychology degree, and still deeply in love with Marcus Flutie, the charismatic addict-turned-Buddhist who first captivated her at sixteen.

Of course, reality is more complicated than dreamy clichés. She and Hope share bunk beds in the "Cupcake" - the girlie pastel bedroom normally occupied by twelve-year-old twins. Their Brooklyn neighborhood is better suited to "breeders," and she and Hope split the rent with their promiscuous high school pal, Manda, and her "genderqueer boifriend." Freelancing for an obscure journal can't put a dent in Jessica's student loans, so she's eking out a living by babysitting her young niece and lamenting that she, unlike most of her friends, can't postpone adulthood by going back to school.

Yet it's the ever-changing relationship with Marcus that leaves her most unsettled. At the ripe age of twenty-three, he's just starting his freshman year at Princeton University. Is she ready to give up her imperfect yet invigorating post-college life just because her on-again/off-again soul mate asks her to...marry him?Jessica has one week to respond to Marcus's perplexing marriage proposal. During this time, she gains surprising wisdom from unexpected sources, including a popular talk show shrink, a drag queen named Royalle G. Biv, and yes, even her parents. But the most shocking confession concerns two people she thought had nothing to hide: Hope and Marcus.

Will this knowledge inspire Jessica togive up a world of late-night literary soirees, art openings, and downtown drunken karaoke to move back to New Jersey and be with the one man who's gripped her heart for years? Jessica ponders this and other life choices with her signature snark and hyper-intense insight, making it the most tumultuous and memorable week of her twenty-something life.

18. Charmed Thirds

This was probably the book in the series I have read the fewest times and hadn't read in the longest. I liked it more this time around, probably the more grown up version of Jessica didn't seem as shocking today as it did several years back.

Anyway, here's the description for part three....

Jessica Darling’s in college!

Things are looking up for Jessica Darling. She has finally left her New Jersey hometown/hellhole for Columbia University in New York City; she’s more into her boyfriend, Marcus Flutie, than ever (so what if he’s at a Buddhist college in California?); and she’s making new friends who just might qualify as stand-ins for her beloved best friend, Hope.

But Jessica soon realizes that her bliss might not last. She lands an internship at a snarky Brooklyn-based magazine, but will she fit in with the überhip staff (and will she even want to)? As she and Marcus hit the rocks, will she end up falling for her GOPunk, neoconservative RA . . . or the hot (and married!) Spanish grad student she’s assisting on a summer project . . . or the oh-so-sensitive emo boy down the hall? Will she even make it through college now that her parents have cut her off financially? And what do the cryptic one-word postcards from Marcus really mean?

With hilarious insight, the hyperobservant Jessica Darling struggles through her college years—and the summers in between—while maintaining her usual mix of wit, cynicism, and candor.

17. Handle with Care

Jodi Picoult's latest, and yet another amazing, emotionally charged book. Possibly my favorite since My Sister's Keeper, I guess I'm drawn to the medical dramas the most. Definitely a must read!

Here's a review from B&N:

In each of bestselling novels, Jodi Picoult pins her main characters on the prongs of a moral dilemma. In the case of Handle with Care, Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe have "two perfect daughters," but one of them, Willow, suffers from brittle bone disease, a genetic malady that requires expensive medical treatments and constant personal care. Overwhelmed by the costs, both financial and emotional, the couple decides to sue her obstetrician for wrongful birth. Though their decision to litigate is purely practical, it forces them to answer searing questions about who they are and what their children can be.

16. Second Helpings

I think this is my favorite of the series. Though, it could be that whichever one I've just read is my favorite... yeah, that's entirely possible. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Jessica Darling is up in arms again in this much-anticipated, hilarious sequel to Sloppy Firsts. This time, the hyperobservant, angst-ridden teenager is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her senior year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continue to distract Jessica, but her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and she can’t seem to escape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica’s parents won’t get off her butt about choosing a college, and her sister Bethany’s pregnancy is causing a big stir in the Darling household. With keen intelligence, sardonic wit, and ingenious comedic timing, Megan McCafferty again re-creates the tumultuous world of today’s fast-moving and sophisticated teens. Fans of Sloppy Firsts will be reunited with their favorite characters and also introduced to the fresh new faces that have entered Jess’s life, including the hot creative writing teacher at her summer college prep program and her feisty, tell-it-like-it-is grandmother Gladdie.But most of all, readers will finally have the answers to all of their burgeoning questions, and then some: Will Jessica crack under the pressure of senioritis? Will her unresolved feelings for Marcus wreak havoc on her love life? Will Hope ever come back to Pineville? Fall in love with saucy, irreverent Jessica all over again in this wonderful sequel to a book that critics and readers alike hailed as the best high school novel in years.

15 Sloppy Firsts

With the release of Perfect Fifths, the final Jessica Darling book just a few days away a re-read of the first four is definitely in order. After several years (and many re-reads) I loved this book just as much this time as I did the first time I read it! If you haven't read these books I definitely recommend them!!

Here's the description from B&N:

“My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.

14. Long Lost

So I read this one accidentally today at B&N. I have it on reserve from the library and was trying to wait patiently for it to come in. But I grabbed it off the shelf with a few other books to flip through while I ate lunch at the Cafe today and then next thing I knew I was a hundred pages in and at that point... yeah, there was no stopping.

It was a good read... Myron's character has shifted over the years and the stories have become a lot more intense and actually remind me more of Coben's stand alone books in that way. They still have a lot of humor and, well, generally are just a good read. So yeah, I definitely recommend this one and, if you wouldn't mind buying it that might get my friend off my case for being a 'freeloader' and reading it in the store. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Myron Bolitar hasn't heard from Terese Collins since their torrid affair ended ten years ago, so her desperate phone call from Paris catches him completely off guard. In a shattering admission, Terese reveals the tragic story behind her disappearance-her struggles to get pregnant, the greatest moment of her life when her baby was born . . . and the fatal accident that robbed her of it all: her marriage, her happiness and her beloved only daughter.

Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris, Terese has nowhere else to turn for help. Myron heeds the call. But then a startling piece of evidence turns the entire case upside down, laying bare Terese's long-buried family secrets . . . and the very real possibility that her daughter may still be alive.

In grave danger from unknown assailants in a country where nothing is as it seems, Myron and Terese race to stay a step ahead of Homeland Security, Interpol, and Mossad. Soon they are working at breakneck pace, not only to learn what really happened to Terese's long-lost little girl-but to uncover a sinister plot with shocking global implications.

13. Fireside

A quick read and a cute, predictable romance novel. Part of the Lakeshore Chronicles where each book features a new set of characters with the main characters from the prior novels taking on supporting roles. Anyway, I liked it and will of course keep reading them as the series continues...

Here's the description from B&N:

Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. That is, until life throws him a curveball. When AJ, the son he's never met, lands on his doorstep, Bo's life becomes a whole new ball game. He needs help—fast.

Enter Kimberly van Dorn. Hired to smooth Bo's rough exterior for the media, she expects the kind of shallow pro athlete she's used to handling. But Bo is willing to sacrifice everything for his vulnerable son. Kim can train him to hit a home run with the press, but over a breathtaking winter on frozen Willow Lake, she realizes he has far more to teach her about the game of life…and putting love first.

12. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World

This was a quick, cute read though it did bring on the tears on a few occassions.

Here's the description from B&N:

DEWEY is the heartwarming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa, as told by his owner and companion of nineteen years, Vicki Myron, the librarian who found him on a frigid January morning when he was abandoned as a kitten in the book drop slot. It is also the story of a remarkable small town, which burned down at the beginning of the Depression, only to rebuild itself, and which was almost shuttered during the farm crisis of the 1980s, before regrouping and rededicating itself to small town American values. Dewey's local charm and worldwide fame became a symbol of hope for this recovering town. Through Dewey's antics, we come to know and love many of the colorful and inspiring people of Spencer. But perhaps the most inspiring person in Spencer is Vicki Myron herself, a single mother who survived the bankruptcy of her family farm and working in a box factory to put two of her brothers through college to become one of the leaders of the Iowa library system. Dewey is one lovable, roguish cat who managed to transform an entire town and inspire people across the globe.

11. The Local News

I liked this one a lot, though I do think the synopsis is a bit misleading. Read it first, then I'll tell you why...

from B&N.com:

A deeply moving story of the complicated bond between brother and sister

“Going missing was the only interesting thing my brother had ever done.”Even a decade later, the memories of the year Lydia Pasternak turned sixteen continue to haunt her. As a teenager, Lydia lived in her older brother’s shadow. While Danny’s athletic skills and good looks established his place with the popular set at school, Lydia’s smarts relegated her to the sidelines, where she rolled her eyes at her brother and his meathead friends and suffered his casual cruelty with resigned bewilderment. Though a part of her secretly wished for a return of the easy friendship she and Danny shared as children, another part of her wished Danny would just vanish. And then, one night, he did.In the year following Danny Pasternak’s disappearance, his parents go off the rails, his town buzzes with self-indulgent mourning, and his little sister Lydia finds herself thrust into unwanted celebrity, forced to negotiate her ambivalent—often grudging—grief for a brother she did not particularly like. Suddenly embraced by Danny’s old crowd, forgotten by her parents, and drawn into the missing person investigation by her family’s intriguing private eye, Lydia both blossoms and struggles to find herself during Danny’s absence. But when a trail of clues leads to a shocking outcome in her brother’s case, the teenaged Lydia and the adult she will become are irrevocably changed, even now as she reluctantly prepares to return to her hometown.

Relentlessly gripping, often funny, and profoundly moving, The Local News is a powerful exploration of the fraught relationship between a brother and sister and how our siblings define who we are.

*******************************************************

OK, so I think it's the end of the synopsis, about the adult she becomes and returning home that make that sound like a much bigger part of the story then it really is. That part is maybe the last 50 pages, or maybe not even that, of the over 300 page book. I just kept expecting a big shift in the story that didn't really happen I guess.

Either way, it's a good story and one I'd recommend.

10. Driving Sideways

I liked this book a lot. It was quirky and off beat and a great story with a really relatable characters. I definitely recommend this one!

Here's the description from B&N:

Leigh Fielding wants a life. Seriously. Having spent the past five years on dialysis, she has one simple wish: to make it to her thirtieth birthday. Now, thanks to the generosity of the late Larry Resnick and his transplanted kidney, it looks like her wish may come true.

With her newfound vitality (and Larry’s kidney) in tow, Leigh hits the road for an excursion that will carry her from Wisconsin to California, with a few stops in between: Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, the Rockies, Las Vegas–and a memorable visit to thank Larry’s family for the second chance.

Yet Leigh’s itinerary takes a sudden detour when she picks up a seventeen-year-old hitchhiker, Denise, a runaway with a bunch of stories and a couple of secrets. Add a long-lost mother, a loaded gun, an RV full of swingers, and Hall and Oates’s Greatest Hits to the mix, and Driving Sideways becomes a hilarious and original journey of friendship, hope, and discovery.

9. American Wife

So I'm just not really in a reading mood lately, which is kinda surprising, but... oh well. I hadn't found anything that really grabbed my attention and hooked me, until this one. I liked it a lot and would love to talk about it with someone so if you read it let me know!

On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband’s presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House–and the repercussions of a life lived, as she puts it, “almost in opposition to itself.”

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice learned the virtues of politeness early on from her stolid parents and small Wisconsin hometown. But a tragic accident when she was seventeen shattered her identity and made her understand the fragility of life and the tenuousness of luck. So more than a decade later, when she met boisterous, charismatic Charlie Blackwell, she hardly gave him a second look: She was serious and thoughtful, and he would rather crack a joke than offer a real insight; he was the wealthy son of a bastion family of the Republican party, and she was a school librarian and registered Democrat. Comfortable in her quiet and unassuming life, she felt inured to his charms. And then, much to her surprise, Alice fell for Charlie.

As Alice learns to make her way amid the clannish energy and smug confidence of the Blackwell family, navigating the strange rituals of their country club and summer estate, she remains uneasy with her newfound good fortune. And when Charlie eventually becomes President, Alice is thrust into a position she did not seek–one of power and influence, privilege and responsibility. As Charlie’s tumultuous and controversial second term in the White House wears on, Alice must face contradictions years in the making: How can she both love and fundamentally disagree with her husband? How complicit has she been in the trajectoryof her own life? What should she do when her private beliefs run against her public persona?

In Alice Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld has created her most dynamic and complex heroine yet. American Wife is a gorgeously written novel that weaves class, wealth, race, and the exigencies of fate into a brilliant tapestry–a novel in which the unexpected becomes inevitable, and the pleasures and pain of intimacy and love are laid bare.