Just Like Heaven

Title:  Just Like Heaven

Author: Julia Quinn

Ideal Age Range:  Young Adult and Up

Mass Market Paperback: 374 Pages

Copyright Date: 2011

Blurb:  Honoria Smythe-Smith is: 

A) a really bad violinist  

B) still miffed at being nicknamed "Bug"  

C)  NOT in love with her older brother's best friend  

D) all of the above

Marcus Holroyd is:

A) the Earl of Chatteris

B) regrettably prone to sprained ankles

C) NOT in love with his best friend's younger sister

D) all of the above

Together they:

A) eat quite a bit of chocolate cake

B) survive a deadly fever AND the world's worse musical performance

C) fall quite desperately in love

It's Julia Quinn at her best, so you KNOW the answer is...

D) all of the above

My Rating:  (★★)

☆«·´`·.¸★☆★¸.·´`·»☆

I really normally love Julia Quinn's books.  Seriously, she is my absolutely favorite romance novelist (with Eloisa James nipping at her lovely heels), but her latest book just didn't do it for me.  I eat her books up.  Gobble them, if you will, but Just Like Heaven left a little bit of a hollow place in me as if I had eaten a sugar-free brownie instead of a delicious to die for German Chocolate Double Fudge Brownie sprinkled in wonder and powdered sugar.

Desserts aside, I am on a diet after all, Just Like Heaven was missing the Julia Glue that holds her novels together in witty perfection like a puzzle made out of words that coaxes laughter out of oneself as they read them.  I wasn't in love with Marcus Holroyd, and there wasn't much of a depth to Honoria.  As sad as I am that I didn't really like Just Like Heaven, and I understand that the Honoria has been a character in her books for quite sometime, so it's not as if Ms. Quinn would be able to change her name, I couldn't help thinking almost every single time that I read her name that it rhymes with Gonorrhea.  Or diarrhea. 

Maybe it's because I have an 8 month old baby boy and I deal with poop on a daily basis?  Who knows?  I just felt like some of the story was a bit... unbelievable.  The fever, and dealing with that just.. got in the way of the romance, I think.  Plus, Marcus was shy.  There was many instances that I remember reading that he didn't know how to flirt with Honoria, how on earth did he know how to bed her then?  There is no hint that Marcus was experienced, but it was obvious (ahem) that he must've been.

Overall, disappointing, but I still love her!  Hopefully her next novel with wash the taste of Just Like Heaven out of my mouth.  (Sorry, Ms. Quinn, gotta be honest even with my favorite author.  :) )

The Help

Title:  The Help

Author: Kathryn Stockett

Ideal Age Range:  Young Adult and Up

Mass Market Paperback: 444 Pages

Copyright Date: 2009

Blurb:  "Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step...

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss.  She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger.   Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child.  Something has shifted insider her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way.  She is devoed to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken. 

Minny, Aibeleen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi.  She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job.  Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation.  But her new boss has secrets of her own.  Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk.  And why?  Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times.  And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women-mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends-view one another.  A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

My Rating:  (★★★★ 1/2)

☆«·´`·.¸★☆★¸.·´`·»☆

I got a lot less sleep this past week because of a book.  Not because of my kid, or the cats, or the weather, but because of a book.  I finished Kathryn Stockett's novel, The Help just this morning.  After spending the last few nights staying up way past my bedtime to get in some reading time sans baby.  Not that I can't really read while the baby is awake, but it is much easier when he is safely tucked in bed.
I have to start off with something- this is not my normal fare of book.  It doesn't have within it's pages a hint of the paranormal, there are no werewolves hiding in the cotton fields of Jackson, or vampires in the humid League's hall.  It's contemporary fiction, perhaps set a few decades ago but the problems that are outlined in The Help still exist today, there is still racism, there is still sexism, and don't get me started about the discrimination of people of different sexual orientation than heterosexual.
Kathryn Stockett writes in each woman's voice, chapter by chapter the narration switches from Aibeleen, Minny and Skeeter.  And the differences of inflection and emotions are amazing.  This book is definitely character driven and there is a strength to each woman that makes you keep turning the pages to see what they can accomplish and how they change as people.
There is a depth to even sub-characters.  I felt intense dislike for Miss Hilly.  Pity and sympathy for Miss Celia.  I liked Skeeter's independence, and Minny's Sass (with a capital S).  Aibeleen's love for the white children she took care of hit me pretty hard.  Hardest thing to read was the last two pages, in my opinion, I won't say anything more, but if you haven't read The Help, you might want to pick it up, even if you are like me, not normally into books without vampires or werewolves, I'm sure you will like it.  You won't be able to help yourself.  ;)

The Hunger Games

With all the casting news of The Hunger Games movie going on, the latest being Donald Sutherland being cast as President Snow, one of my Facebook friends sent me this link of an amateur video on YouTube of the scene from The Hunger Games of Rue and Katniss.  If you haven't read the books, do not watch the video as it contains spoilers.


A note about this video:  You might want to have Kleenex handy.

It All Ends 7.15

It's really not that far away, is it?  July 15th.  The day it all ends.  And here is a video that I stumbled across on at Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, that was from Empire Magazine.  It's a few of the cast members of the Harry Potter franchise summing up their experience with making the movies into one word.  My favorite?  Emma Watson (Hermione Granger).  

Did you catch her response?  "It's got to be, Magical, isn't it?"  And nearly right behind it is Matthew Lewis' (Neville Longbottom) response, "S'allright." "Sublime" from Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) is right up there as well.  Considering Luna and Neville are probably my favorite characters in both the books and the movies, that's not surprising that I like their answers, I suppose.

Have you seen the trailer yet?  If not, here it is-  this is going to be one epic movie!

Trailer 1

Tv Spot #1

TV Spot #2

TV Spot #3

The Posters

It's both sad and exciting that the last installment of Harry Potter will be coming out in less than a month and a half.  What scene are you most looking forward to seeing?  The scene I can't wait to see is when Molly defends Ginny. What's yours?

Hush Hush

Title:  Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Ideal Age Range:  Young Adult

Mass Market Paperback: 391 Pages

Copyright Date: 2009

Blurb:  "A SACRED OATH, A FALLEN ANGEL, A FORBIDDEN LOVE.  Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan.  She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her.  Not until Patch comes along.  With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgement.  But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust.  Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends.  She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide.  And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.  For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen-and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life."

My Rating:  (★★)

☆«·´`·.¸★☆★¸.·´`·»☆

I finished Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush the other day, and though I thought it was an entertaining read, and not to mention, pretty easy as well, I thought that it held a lot of similarities to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight.  Mostly in the way that the writing is similar, Patch held a lot of the same qualities as Edward, like striking features, namely Patch's eyes and ripped body.  They meet in, of all places, their biology class, and Patch is kind of a stalker.

Sound familiar?  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Twilight, I'm just not sure the world needs more than one of them.  Those similarities could be considered the negatives of Hush, Hush, but perhaps not the only ones.  I thought that Nora was incredibly stupid sometimes, especially for supposing to be a smart girl, she made some really terrible decisions.  But I get it, it was the draw to Patch that made her do those things.  I thought Vee was a terrible friend.

I liked the second half of the book a lot better than the first half, and I liked the ending the best.  I will probably read Crescendo but it's not on the top of my To Be Read list.  All in all, it was worth reading, and really, if you loved Twilight, you will probably love Hush, Hush, as well.  I want to add that I loved the cover of this book.

Why?!

Why is it when I fall in love with a Television Show that the network it is on immediately cancels it?  It's happened at least 3 times in the past year!  It makes me really frustrated.  The latest of "My Shows" to get the axe?

Mad Love

Now, I have to admit that I didn't watch it for Jason Biggs (of American Pie fame) or Sarah Chalke (of Scrubs fame), and as much I as really want something to last and be successful for Judy Greer, the main reason I loved Mad Love was Tyler Labine who played Larry Munsch.  I could care less about the relationship between Jason and Sarah, but I loved the play between Judy and Tyler's characters.  And the last episode was last night, aaaand now it's cancelled.  I'm so irritated.

All I can do now is imagine that they got together and challenged each other all the way into happily ever after.  :)

The other two shows that got cancelled that I loved?

Are any of these newly cancelled television shows on your "love" lists?

ABC:
Better With You
Detroit 1-8-7
Mr. Sunshine
No Ordinary Family
Off the Map
V

CBS:
The Defenders
Mad Love
$#*! My Dad Says

FOX:
Lie To Me

NBC:
America's Next Great Restaurant
The Event
Law & Order: Los Angeles
Outsourced
Perfect Couples
School Pride

Of the most recent cancellations, it looks like NBC isn't doing very well, and thinking about all the shows that I do watch, I realize that I don't watch hardly anything on NBC.  Almost all of my shows I watch are on ABC and FOX.  I watch a few on CBS as well, namely Castle.

God forbid any shows work or are successful that don't include initials (NCIS, CSI), or the words Law & Order.  Although, the newest Law & Order seems to have broken the camel's back of the public's patience with brand spin offs.  What Television needs is original creative content, not a new spin on a already successful brand, but any show that seems to fit that bill gets axed!  I don't understand.

Here's to hoping next season of television brings new and awesome shows, as summer is kind of boring for tv, it's a good thing I love to read books!

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme where we share what books we have received in the past week, be it from the library, contests, or buying them ourselves!  This is my first week participating.  So- Hi!


Gift: From my Mom! (What a gal!)

Salvation Army Purchases: Bought for a total of $1.50

From PaperbackSwap: