Happy Ever After (Nora Roberts)

This is the fourth book in the Bride Quartet series by Nora Roberts and it was as cheesy and good as the others. In this one, Parker Brown falls in love with the car mechanic, who turns out to be perfect for her. Everyone finds their guy and will live happily ever after. Sappy, predictable chick lit at its best.

Read: February 2011

Heart of the Matter (Emily Giffin)

Its hard to say exactly how I feel about this book. Its about infidelity from the perspective of the wife and the other woman. The chapters alternate between the two women so that you see both sides. Guilt, insecurity, worry, suspicion. Lots of emotions in this one! I wanted to know what happened - whether the wife found out, how she handled it, what the other woman did, etc. And it was very quick to read. But at the same time, reading about infidelity is hard because I just don't want to think about it. So read at your own risk! Emily Giffin's first two books were her best (Something Borrowed and Something Blue). I haven't loved any of the others. Not sure I'll try again.

Read: December 2010

The Carrie Diaries (Candace Bushnell)

Carrie Diaries is the story of Carrie Bradshaw as a senior in high school. It is full of high school drama - boys, mean girls, college applications, family drama, etc. Carrie and her best friends are not the popular girls, but they have a lot of fun. Carrie ends up dating the popular new guy, leading to lots of jealousy and cat fights. It made me feel really glad not to be in high school anymore! I liked the book overall and it was fun to see where Carrie got her start. The end of the book makes it clear that there will be a few more books covering Carrie's college years!

Read: July 2010 (from the library!)

Up Next: Camel Bookmobile

Bed of Roses (Nora Roberts)

Bed of Roses is the second installment in Nora Roberts' Bride Quartet series. I read 80% of this on our trip to Spain. It was the perfect, easy read for a vacation - no brain power involved. And even though the book is entirely predictable, I enjoyed reading it! Who doesn't love a fluffy love story every now and then?

This book follows the florist, Emma, as she falls in love and pursues her own happy ending. I can't tell you more than that without giving the whole thing away. Can't wait to read the next one: Savor the Moment. It comes out soon!

Dates: March 18-28

Length: 330 pages

Vision in White (Nora Roberts)

Cheesey girly romance novel centered around a wedding planning business? Yes. But a very enjoyable cheesey girly romance novel. And what girl doesn't secretly want to work in the wedding industry? This book is the first in a quartet that centers around four best friends who start a wedding business together. This one is about the photographer (hence the name - Vision in White) and how she finds love.

The next one is about the florist - Bed of Roses.

If you're in the market for a quick, fun, girly book, then I recommend this book!

Added bonus - I got this one at the library. But the second book has a loooooong wait list, so it might be awhile!

Devil in the Junior League

Emily let me borrow this book several months ago and I finally got around to reading it. I loved it!! Devil in the Junior League is one of those quick-witted chick lit novels that manages to make you laugh and surprise you. The plot is this: The fabulous Frede Ware, Junior Leaguer extraordinaire, is shocked when her husband leaves her and takes her money. To get back at her ex and recover her money, Frede hires her uncouth neighbor, lawyer Howard Grout. In exchange, she has to get his leopard-print wearing wife Nikki into the Junior League. The book is set in a small town in Texas and captures Texas high society perfectly. Think a cross between Highland Park in Dallas and Bellaire in Houston. Its fun and witty and I couldn't put it down. Perfect for laying by the pool!

Read: July 11-18

Up Next: American Wife

Breaking Dawn

Um. Wow. I loved this one the most even though it was so long. It felt like two different books (maybe even three) since the plot was so intricate. And I think there is room for a sequel...or at least a follow-up even if the main character was different.

Plot: Bella and Edward get married...and I can't spoil the rest because its too good!

Read: Jan. 2 - 29

Next Up: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

Eclipse

Well, I did not end up reading The Virgin's Lover next. After seeing the Twilight movie, I had to go get the last two books ASAP! I found them at Half Price Books in perfect condition. I was not as impressed with Eclipse. To be honest, the plot of this one sort of dragged. I wanted to read it so that I would know what happened, but I just could not get into it as much. Maybe that was partly because I tried to read it during a really busy time at work and over the holidays so I never had the opportunity to read a whole lot at once? I don't know. Still worth reading if you have read the rest (especially becasue the last one is SO good!!).

Plot: Something to do with an evil vampire chick and an army of newborns. I won't spoil it for you.

Read: Dec. 8 - Jan. 1

Next Up: Breaking Dawn

New Moon

This was even better than Twilight. The storyline really picks up, and the author developed Jacob's character really well. I don't want to spoil anything, but it was definitely a good sequel! Maybe even better than the first one. I think I read it faster anyway. Now I just have to track down my own copies (I borrowed the first two) of the last two books. Hopefully they are just as good!!

Plot: I can't give anything away!!

Read: Nov. 17-30

Next Up: The Virgin's Lover (another one by Philippa Gregory)

Twilight

I was skeptical about reading a vampire novel. I hate all things scary/gory/gross. But this, I liked. It was much more about an unlikely love story than about gross vampirey things. The book reads very quickly. Try it!

But beware...there are four in the saga and they will suck you in!

Plot: Bella Swan falls in love with her soul mate Edward, who happens to be a vampire.

Read: Nov. 6 - 16

Update: I saw the movie with my sister-in-law (who read all four Twilight books in about a week) and I thought the movie was almost as good as the book. It was good in its own way without deleting too many important parts or changing the story. Now that I have read all the books, I'm really curious how/if they will do them all as movies.

Next Up: New Moon (the 2nd book)