Book Review: Foxman and the Cat Burglar

Title: Foxman and the Cat Burglar
Author: Delas Heras
Genre: Comedy; Fiction
Publication Date: December 17, 2021
Publisher: Double Six Books

A stagehand and an aspiring actor are drawn into a masked rivalry, never suspecting that hiding behind the mask is a familiar face.

Cassandra's life flashes before her eyes when she gets trapped in a subway door. It's a disappointing life: she never landed the big role and she may be engaged to the wrong man. Rescued by a kind-eyed stranger, Cassandra gets a second chance to make good on her Broadway dreams, straighten out her love life, and deliver some karmic justice to the city in the guise of a slinky Cat Burglar. So long as she can shake off that pesky Foxman and the bungling police detectives on her tail.

Wilfredo's skateboarding fox suit is a hit on Halloween. But an unexpected tussle with a fleeing thief in a Cat Burglar costume leads to a spectacular wipeout. He has no clue his mishap has been recorded in a soon-to-be viral video. Nor does he recognize his masked opponent as the green-eyed girl whose number he lost a month ago. Reveling in his every blunder is Captain Pete, the ventriloquist dummy from his childhood, whose snarky comments leave poor Wilfredo clinging to his sanity by his fingernails.

 

Rating

*A Thank you the author for allowing me to read this. This is my honest and unbiased review*

 

Hello Fellow Reader,

 

So, one thing I noticed in The Intergalactic Interloper was Heras ability to write unique characters, in Foxman and the Cat Burglar it is no different. While a bit outlandish and eccentric, Wilfredo and Cassandra were very realistic. Just two ordinary struggling artists in NYC just trying to get by who just happen to fall into extraordinary circumstances. Now, I didn't like every character, the detective duo were a bit annoying sometimes, but (and I can't believe I'm writing this) my favorite character was actually a ventriloquist dummy named Captain Pete. 

 

Hera's writing was hyperbolic, comedic and witty. I loved the conversations each character had and even the way that he describes situations were entertaining. Given how things have been going in the 2020s we need more books like this that provides heartwarming humor.

Overall, a fun book with great writing.

Book Review: My Ride or Die by Leslie Cohen

Title: My Ride or Die
Author: Leslie Cohen
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

For many women, finding the man of their dreams can be something of a nightmare. Luckily, they can often rely on their friends for the support they so desperately need. Friends for over a decade, Amanda and Sophie decide to flip the script. Why can’t they spend their lives with each other and just keep men on the side for fun, sex, and occasionally fixing things around the house?

Amanda is a lawyer who excels in her professional life but crumbles at the slightest sign of a common cold. Sophie is an aspiring artist who has lived all over the world and doesn’t crumble, period. Together since freshman year of college, they’ve been through it all. But when their romantic lives explode at the same time, they decide that enough is enough. Enough pretending that traditional relationships work for everyone. Enough fantasizing about an old-fashioned ideal. 

They enter into a mutual arrangement: They will rely on each other and give men the secondary role that they deserve. And much to their surprise, it actually works. Amanda and Sophie fix up a dilapidated brownstone and create the home they’ve always wanted. Soon, they have love and emotional support as well as a wide variety of male “crushes” on the side. But when one of their crushes becomes something more, Amanda and Sophie must reconsider the life they’ve begun to build and how far they’re willing to go to keep it.

 

Rating

 *A Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this. This is my fair and unbiased review*

 

Hello Fellow Readers,

This book had a very intriguing premise, two best friends swear off romance and decide they were going to be platonic soulmates. It's been a while since I've read a book that focused on friendship rather than romance so I was very interesting but unfortunately this fell a little short for me. Unfortunately, since the beginning of the book both girls just came off as self absorbed and catty, like they were better than everyone this instantly just made me disliked them. I would have loved the book had I felt a connection of some sort to either main characters. Sophie in particular was really annoying and eventually I started to feel the same way towards Amanda. 

 Overall, a quick read that just didn't connect with me but may connect with you.

Book Review: These Bodies by Morgan Christie

 

Title: These Bodies
Author: Morgan Christie
Genre: Fiction; LGBTQ+; Short Stories
Publication Date: December 8, 2020
Publisher: Tolson Books

'These Bodies' is a manuscript that highlights the relationships and experiences of people of color, LGBTQIA, women, and other underrepresented and minority groups. There is a tendency in literary fiction to not fully delve into the complexities and dynamics of POCs and other minorities, our relationships, spaces and dynamics that shape our lives. This is a collection of short stories that does just that, investigates the depths, joys, and malice faced and understood by so many. Through passions and fears, they are our stories, our bodies, these bodies, and an exploration of the spaces and loves we uncover as we uncover ourselves. I believe the collection is especially telling in the current social and political climate, addressing themes and concerns we have been addressing, that are being exposed in a very topical way.

* A Thank you to the author for allowing me to read this. This is my honest and unbiased review*

Rating

Hello Fellow Readers,

These Bodies are a debut collection of short stories written by Morgan Christine. They range from a number of themes and topics that you don't see very often when the stories are from the same author. The stories surprised me because there wasn't a single one I did not like, each story was different and well written with a wide array of characters and events. Christie's writing has a magical quality to it with a unique ability to get the readers unwavering attention. 

 

It's a bit hard to believe that this is Christie's debut collection as I firmly believe they are one of those must read writers from what I've seen in These Bodies. Each story in this collection bring forth emotions whether it be longing, sadness, happiness, or just empathy. Each character feels so intimately human that there was a slight perverseness in reading their written thought.

 

 I did not read this in one sitting because too many times I felt emotions well up in me that I only get when reading a favorite book. I had to stop to recenter my thoughts to prepare for the next story, since I wasn't ready to full move on from the previous one. There are some stories that did resonate more soundly then the others, but each one still left a little mark. 

Overall, a wonderful collection of stories from an author I hope to see more from

 

 

Lyssa Strata; Martti Nelson

Title: Lyssa Strata
Author: Martti Nelson
Genre: Humor; Fiction
Publish Date: May 14th 2020
Publisher: Radish

LYSSA STRATA, A modern take on the play "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes.
She’s mad as hell, and she’s not gonna give it up anymore.
Librarian Lyssa Strata has long begged the Town Council of Athena, Massachusetts, to repeal its disgusting old misogynist and racist laws. But the Council, an all-male entity for 400 years, has blown her off as a redheaded spinster—who, according to a 1673 law, should legally be run out of town at the end of a musket upon a poor fiscal year. So Lyssa seeks to invade the male bastion as the first woman ever on the Council. The men in charge treat her candidacy as a hilarious joke, which does not impress the female townsfolk.
The women are damn tired of being second-class citizens. For example, it’s illegal for them to use a toaster, as the manipulation of buttons is thought to impede brainwaves and cause menstruation. They decide to wield the only power left to them: Lyssa leads them on a sex strike as a revolt against inequality. The fellas are enthusiastic supporters! LOL no, they protest and issue death threats. Yet, when the national news shows up to cover the contentious election, everyone finally starts to listen to the ladies.
In retaliation against the motley crew of sex-strikers, the Council enacts the antique laws they assured Lyssa were merely charming historical trivia. She is accused of witchcraft and thrown in the stocks, as one does in 2020. Now this bookish dork, once content to hide in the stacks and distribute quiet feminism via checkout, is burning down her torture device and sending the evils of the past to the dustbin. When you want something done, do it yourself.
Or don’t do it—they’re on a sex strike, after all.

*A Thank you to Author Martti Nelson for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest and unbiased review*

 Rating

Hello Fellow Readers,

Right now I think we all need some humor, in between all this Darkest Timeline nonsense, a book that can literally make me laugh out loud is a godsend. This is exactly what I needed, because honestly I need some adult humor since I've sort of been in a YA fantasy/Romance binge, and it's just too much. Now, let me just say that while this is a humorous book, it does deal with some themes I think really needs be highlighted and Nelson does it in a way that expresses it's importance and can also make you laugh.

First of all I love Lyssa. You see her go from a mousy librarian that can't even talk properly in public to a bad-ass librarian that stands up for herself and what is right. It was lovely to see this transformation and be a part of it, because boy was it a wild ride. Lyssa and Misty's friendship was, in my opinion, the highlight of the book and such a lovely thing to read about. It's been a long time since I've read a book with such a close female friendship that I almost thought it was the romance. 

Of course, the real romance was Lyssa and Ben which although important didn't take away from the plot. Most of the time when a romance is introduced, it seems to take center stage but Nelson didn't do that and I am so grateful. I don't want to give too much away but this book did play with my emotions. One minute I was laughing, the next I was angry at how Lyssa was treated, and then I was back to laughing. I did devour this book in a day because once I started reading Lyssa Strata I couldn't stop. 

There was something I did take issue with, I feel that there should have been more consequences for what Lyssa went through. I mean she almost got her nose broken with a potato, but we don't really see any actions taken for that. I guess I'm just vindictive but I was hoping for some really bad news for these asses to bask in. When that didn't come I guess I was just a little let down. 

Overall, I really loved this book, and can't wait to see what else Nelson writes in the future.

Second DNF!

Title: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Book #1 The Wicked Years)
Author: Gregory Maguire
Genre: Fiction; Fantasy
Publisher: Willow Marrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: 2000

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?
Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.
An astonishingly rich re-creation of the land of Oz, this book retells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, who wasn't so wicked after all. Taking readers past the yellow brick road and into a phantasmagoric world rich with imagination and allegory, Gregory Maguire just might change the reputation of one of the most sinister characters in literature.

Hello Fellow Readers,

I won't lie, I got caught in the hype. There is a reason I read mostly indie books, because if I read a bestseller or a popular book my expectations are just way too high. It happened with this book. I love the Wizard of Oz movies and books when I was a child and I was always fascinated with the Wicked Witches. I have their dolls on my bookshelf!  However this book was nothing like I expected. I just didn't understand the need to completely twist everything about OZ. I know the book is for adults but this is technically still based off a children's book. I got around 35% of the book before I decided not to finish it, which is rare! I did not like any of the characters, even Elphaba, this may have changed the more you read but I honestly did not want to keep reading.

A Guide For Murdered Children; Sarah Sparrow

Title: A Guide For Murdered Children
Author: Sarah Sparrow
Publisher: Blue Spider Press
Genre: Fiction; Fantasy; Mystery
Published: March 20th 2018

We all say there is no justice in this world. But what if there really was? What if the souls of murdered children were able to return briefly to this world, inhabit adult bodies and wreak ultimate revenge on the monsters who had killed them, stolen their lives?
Such is the unfathomable mystery confronting ex-NYPD detective Willow Wylde, fresh out of rehab and finally able to find a job running a Cold Case squad in suburban Detroit. When the two rookie cops assigned to him take an obsessive interest in a decades old disappearance of a brother and sister, Willow begins to suspect something out of the ordinary is afoot. And when he uncovers a series of church basement AA-type meetings made up of the slain innocents, a new way of looking at life, death, murder and missed opportunities is revealed to him.
Mystical, harrowing and ultimately tremendously moving, A Guide for Murdered Children is a genre-busting, mind-bending twist on the fine line between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Rating

*Thanks to NetGalley and Blue Spider Press for providing me with a copy of this book for a fair and unbiased review*

Hello Fellow Readers,

First off if you are triggered by mentions of rape, child abuse and such DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. With that out of the way I wanted to like this book so bad! The synopsis really reeled me in, along with the title and great cover. I was impressed with the fact that this is a debut novel for Sarah Sparrow. However, the book did not live up to my expectations. 

Willow Wylde, the main character, is your stereotypical cop. He drinks hard, is a bad father and has mental fantasies of raping his neighbor. Not the type of person I want to really connect with in a book. Sparrow's writing at times felt disjointed and I had to reread sentences multiple times to make sure that I read it right. The writing combined with the confusion of characters speech and actions made this an incredibly hard book to read. I had to read the book in one day because I knew if I put it down I probably wouldn't have picked it back up again. 

I was so disappointed with this book. 

The Elfstones of Shannara; Terry Brooks

The magical Ellcrys tree is dying, loosening the spell that bars the Demons from enacting vengeance upon the land. Now Wil Ohmsford must guard the Elven girl Amberle on a perilous quest as she carries one of the Ellcrys' seeds to a mysterious place where it can be quickened into a powerful new force. But dark on their trail comes the Reaper, most fearsome of all Demons, aiming to crush their mission at any cost.

Title: The Elfstones of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy Book #2)
Author: Terry Brooks
Genre: Fantasy; Epic Fantasy; Fiction
Publication Date: January 1984

Rating

Hello Fellow Readers,

If you want to read my review of the first book in the trilogy you can do that HERE . One of my biggest gripes about the last book was the lack of female representation, Brooks seems to have fixed that with the introduction of Amberle and Eretria. While Amberle was prominent throughout the book Eretria was a bit of a side character. Wil (the main character and grandson to the previous protagonist of the last book) must continue the family business and save the world from darkness. This books pacing was better, yet it still had the long winded history monologues of the first book. 

I did like Wil and Amberle, although it pissed me off that no matter how many times Amberle asks Wil to keep her up to date on what was going on Wil still kept things in the dark. It is this weird cliche thing authors use about keeping the women safe and usually ends up just making things worse.  Besides that I really enjoyed the book. It was faster paced and seemed to carry more emotion with the characters than the last, at least for me. 

Reading this book does make me want to check out the T.V. show, I like comparing books to shows/movies. 

A Sister's Place; Savannah Page

Title: A Sister's Place
Author: Savannah Page
Genre: Women's Fiction
Publish Date: April 25th 2015

"Sisters Gracie and Juliette Bennett, once the best of friends, have grown apart over the years, each following her own life's path. But with the passing of their beloved grandmother Mimi their paths intertwine in the most unexpected and peculiar way.
Gracie and Juliette are set to inherit Mimi's house--the charming Santa Barbara Craftsman, a family heirloom three generations old. But there's a catch. In order to inherit their home away from home the sisters must live at 1402 Laguna Lane for one year...together.
Now under one roof, Gracie and Juliette have a chance to reexamine their relationship and confront their pasts. Over the course of the trying year ahead they will learn that Mimi's clever plan is about more than preserving a piece of family history.
But will they overcome their differences, perhaps even become the kinds of friends only sisters can be? Loyalties will be tested and secrets revealed. And in their darkest hours Gracie and Juliette will have to decide if a sister's love is what they need to get through the year. If a unique friendship between sisters is what they've needed all along."

Rating

Hello Fellow Readers,

I've been needing a feel good book, one that I know would end in a happy way. A Sister's Place is that book. The setting is a bit cliché, Gracie is the older more responsible and stable sister, while Juliette is the wild and free younger sister. The one thing I am glad I can say is that it doesn't start with the sister's having a falling out, they have just grown apart as people tend to do, however Mimi (a great character I wish was used more) knew this and concocted a really great plan to get them together.

I love the growth the sister have together, yes they are seemingly different but that overwhelming drama that tends to happen, doesn't happen too often, in fact instead of the sisters seemingly switch roles like most of these books tend to do, they Gracie and Juliette instead manage to accept each other flaws and all.

I couldn't, unfortunately, relate to the book. I don't have sisters, I never even wanted a sister ( I have two brothers and sometimes wish I was the only child) so reading this sometimes just made me shrug most of the touching scenes off. I didn't care too much, even though the characters were pretty great. If you had a sister you were close with, yet life got in the way I can tell you this book would be perfect for you.

The ending was a bit predictable for Juliette's part, however I didn't see Gracie's ending coming. I wish the ending gave me more though. I wanted a 'year later' scene that showed me what happened with the sister's relationship, who lives in the house and whatnot. I guess Page wanted you to use your imagination on what happens.

*This was given to me by Netgalley for a fair and honest review*

About the Author

Savannah Page is the author of Everything the Heart Wants, A Sister's Place, and the When Girlfriends series, heartfelt women's fiction. Sprinkled with drama and humor, her writing celebrates friendship, love, and life.

A native Southern Californian, Savannah lives in Berlin, Germany, with her husband, their goldendoodle, and her collection of books

Show me a Kindness; Nancy Brandon

Title: Show Me a Kindness
Author: Nancy Brandon

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publish Date: Feb. 7th, 2017

Rating

Hello Fellow Readers,

This book, man did this book make me feel. Considering the era this book takes place in I had to set aside my current beliefs and how I feel about certain topics to fully immerse myself into this book. Once I did I was able to fully commit myself to the book, and boy am I glad that I did.

Marthanne/Oma are two incredible personalities in one package. They are complete opposites of each other but have to communicate (despite seeing each other face to face), most of the book is trying to make this work, while also facing the complications or being mentally ill in an era where not much was known. Comfort was a incredible delight, she was such a warm-hearted but logical person. She was the rationale, the person with the most reason and surprisingly the most understanding with what was going on with everyone.

I also really loved Royce, I'm really glad the author didn't take him down the road I thought he was going to go down. Brandon did an amazing job on her research and giving her characters life. At first the multiple point of views really bothered me, I thought 'oh great another story I have to try and keep track of all the characters', by the end of the book I knew everyone pretty well and I never once had to go back a chapter to remember any of the characters.

I had wished the ended was different, it sort of broke my heart with what every one of these characters went through. Although the ending pretty much tore me up, it actually left me with some peace of mind. Brandon's ending was realistic, something you get too much everyday. I once even had to remind myself that this was fiction and I was not reading someone's memoirs.

In the end I am so glad I read this book despite the heaviness of it's contents.I'll be on the lookout for more of Brandon's work since I've enjoyed this one so much.

*Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this book for a honest review*

About The Author

Nancy Brandon grew up in middle Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia. For the past twenty years, she has taught college English in Savannah, Georgia, where she lives with her husband and two children. Her first novel, Dunaway's Crossing, was the finalist for the Georgia Author of the Year Award.

Blogger Girl; Meredith Schorr

Title: Blogger Girl (Blogger Girl #1)
Author: Meredith Schorr
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2013

Rating

Hello Fellow Readers,

Blogger girl was a quick and easy read, and as you know I never consider this a bad thing. I read this book within tow days, and I found it to be super fun. The main character is a book blogger named Kim (hmm... Like me). Her friends call her Kimmie (Like me and spelled the same way), however sadly this is where the comparisons end. Kim's book blog, Pastel is the New black is insanely popular, reviews Chick Lit books and has a pretty cushy job in a lawyers office that lets her read and write reviews. This made me a little bit jealous of her, well that and her tiny body, huge books and wardrobe, but that is besides the point.

Kim is a likable character but she's way too complacent with her life. It's not until she finds out her
childhood bully has written a book, and that it's Chick Lit to boot, that things finally start to crack.
She's asked to review the book and the moral dilemma for Kim begins. You start to realize right away
that Kim is refusing to realize the real reason why she's so upset, and despite the numerous people
and signs that are telling her what she really wants, she keeps denying it. 

The side characters were very enjoyable, Kim's best friends Bridget and Caroline were so great and
supportive. I always like supportive friends in books, none of that jealousy crap thanks! Also, Nicolas,
Kim's romantic lead, was pretty awesome and caring. I've gotten pretty fed up with girls falling for
the dangerous bad boy type. This time it's the workaholic lawyer who just tries to push you towards
your dreams. Too bad Kim let her insecurities get the better of her.

The ending was pretty cool and I am so glad that while I saw it coming a mile away Schorr didn't let
me feel like it was predictable and sappy. Schorr's writing was refreshingly witty and while there
were some cliche moments in the book I was really glad that she kept it to a minimum. Since this
is a series I can't wait to read her second book and find out what happens to Kim and her friends...

About The Author

A born and bred New Yorker, Meredith Schorr discovered her passion for writing when she began to enjoy drafting work-related e-mails way more than she was probably supposed to. After trying her hand penning children's stories and blogging her personal experiences, Meredith found her calling writing romantic comedy, women's fiction, and contemporary young adult fiction. She secures much inspiration from her day job as a hard-working trademark paralegal and her still single (but looking) status. Meredith is a loyal New York Yankees fan, an avid runner, and an unashamed television addict.

Quick Review; Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling

Title: Upside Down; Inverted Tropes in Storytelling
Edited by: Jaym Gates & Monica Valentinelli
Genre: Fiction, Anthology, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Published on: December 13th, 2016

Rating

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read a great book

Hello Fellow Readers,

This book was a bit of fresh air to read. A lot of books have become a bit predictable lately, and while not the authors' fault as it seems the only the cliche-ish of books seem to get popular (at least to me). I really did enjoy this, but I am really happy that it was short stories as opposed to one long story. I like that I was not able to predict what was going to happen. I was also eager to check out every new story to see where the author would take it.

Of course, you know that when you have an anthology filled with stories not all of them could be great and I did not like every single one of them. I won't list them here but I will list a couple of my favorite stories

On Loving Bad Boys: A Villanelle by Valya Dudycz Lipescu
Single, Singularity by John Hornor Jacobs
Chosen by: Anton Strout

Santa CIS (Episode 1: No Saint) by Alethea Kontis

The First Blood of Poppy Dupree by Deliah S. Dawson

While there were much more I like, these were the stories I wish the author would expand upon. I would love full books on this especially the Santa CIS. The stories I did like far out-weighed the stories I didn't like. I recommend this book for anyone who is tired of the everyday fairy tale and needs something new

#Beatthebacklist The Devil Wears Prada; Lauren Weisberger

Hello Fellow Readers,

I finally completed a book from my Book to Movie Challenge, as well as a book off of Beat the Backlist challenge.

Title: The Devil Wears Prada
Author: Lauren Weisberger
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
Publication Date: January 1st 2003
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Favorite Characters: N/A
Least Favorite Character: Andrea
Where to read: In your favorite boutique

I am just going to go ahead and say it. I did not like this book. I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't muster up anything. This mainly had to do with the main character. I really did not like her, to me she just seemed like a spoiled, whiny, 'intellectual', who felt she was too good for anything. so I really couldn't muster up any sympathy for her when she was put into a impossible situations by Miranda. 

The Character Andrea seems largely to wallow in her self to the point where she completely ignores the people in trouble who are close to her, until it's too late. I kept reading because I felt that I was missing something, something that other people were reading and were liking but it never did come. I was really disappointed and I wish I had kept this book off my challenge list. I'm still going to watch the movie and I'm crossing my fingers that it's better than the book. I won't write a comparison because I didn't like it enough to and I have better things to do with my time honestly. 

There's one thing I can say about the book as a positive, it does hold up well despite it being fourteen years old.

The Little Tea Shop of Broken Hearts; Jennifer Joyce

Hello Fellow Readers,

I've been looking for a fun read and I found it with The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts. I've been needing a pick me up after all those textbooks read. There is only so much a person can read on Evolutionary Biology before wanting to set your brain ablaze!

Title: The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts
Author: Jennifer Joyce
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: February 8, 2017

Rating

This book is very charming and I really love all the characters. The main character is Maddie who about a year ago broke off her engagement. The book has a flashback of Maddie at this time, so it goes to explain what happens in a gradual way. I really liked the flashbacks as it has shown how Maddie's priorities have shifted from her relationship and dead-end jobs to owning her own (sort of failing) Tea shop. The side characters that surrounded Maddie are all very interesting and while the minor petty squabble between Nicky and Victoria was annoying as hell, I still really like the book and how they all connected with each other. 

I also liked Maddie's budding relationship with Caleb, while it was an instant attraction the relationship was a bit of a slow burn. Maddie was great and I was able to relate to her (although she was much more easily embarrassed than I am) Her relationship with her parents was showcased as well and I loved her relationship with her dad (and an understanding of her lack of one with her mom) While much of the plot points were very predictable I loved it. The epilogue while a bit cheesy was great and I liked how it explained about how the characters lives went and how they all ended up happy. Sometimes we just need stories to have happy endings, and I'm glad this one did. Although Nicky's ending is still up in the air. Maybe a sequel?

Want to Pre-Order the book you can do that HERE

About The Author

A writer of romantic comedies who lives in Manchester with her husband and daughters, Rianne and Isobel, plus her Jack Russell Luna.


She has been scribbling down bits of stories for as long as she can remember, graduating from a pen to a typewriter and then an electronic typewriter. And she felt like the bee's knees typing on THAT. Joyce now writes books on a laptop (which has a proper delete button and everything).

The Aeronaut's Windlass; Jim Butcher

Hello Fellow Readers,

I have another review for you this time It's Jim Butcher's newest series The Aeronaut's Windlass.

 Title:The Aeronaut's Windlass

Author: Jim Butcher

Genre: Fantasy, Steampunk

Publication Date: Dec. 29th 2015

Rating

This is the first book in Butcher's planned The Cinder Spires series. The second book has yet to come out and but is currently called The Olympian affair. Most people state that Butcher is trying to cash in on the current Steampunk phase I honestly don't think he is. I've read multiple steampunk books and it seems like Butcher is genuinely trying to write because he enjoys it. Since this is the first book in the series it seemed slow to start but I didn't expect it to be as slow as it was. I kept stopping and reading something else hoping it will pick up. It eventually did but because it took so long my interest waned a bit. I will say the second half of the book was a lot better than the first, it had more action and you started to piece things together. 

I wish that Butcher had kept control of how many characters he had, I kept having to go back and see who was from where. It seems as if there are a total of 4 main characters, I could be wrong. The book had alternating points of view, even from the enemy, which despite the long list of characters I didn't have trouble with. I really liked Folly who is Master Ferus apprentice, and I hope the book expands more on that character and make her a little less childlike. The character who I didn't like reading her POV was Gwen. 

Reading about her from other people's point of view she is a strong female character. From her point of view, she is bratty and rash and seemingly impervious to fear. I didn't dislike any of the characters too much (except the villain, you have to dislike the villain).

Even though this book only got 3 stars from me it was not a bad book in any sense, I just wished it was a bit shorter and faster paced. I will be reading the second book when it comes out (hopefully it's better since it doesn't have to set too much up.)

About The Author

Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his hometown of Independence, Missouri.

Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually, only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.

All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.

How To Mend A Broken Heart; Anna Mansell

Hello Fellow Readers,

*This book was given to me by Netgalley for an honest Review*

Title: How to Mend a Broken Heart: An emotional, uplifting page-turner about love, loss, and friendship
Author: Anna Mansell
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
Publication Date: March 1st, 2017

Rating

 Kat is just got a promotion at work, although it seems to be more than she can handle when her boyfriend of 5 years leaves her with nothing but text. Rhys is just trying to hold himself together and is just brimming with questions (and guilt) after his brother commits suicide. Susan is a mystery wrapped up in a non-speaking package, however once Susan's story begins to get revealed These three characters will face nothing like they have ever faced before. This book was an Emotional Rollercoaster. While I didn't cry (it really does take a lot for me to cry) I was damn near close to shedding those tears. Kat's, Susan's and Rhys story draws you in and the way Mansell makes everything intertwine was great. There is so much I want to say about this book but I really can't without giving things away and I really don't want to spoil things for you.

The entire time  I just kept thinking please let everything end up well. Please let these poor souls get a happy ending, please just let there be peace. While I did enjoy this book I wanted to know a little bit more about Kat, her P.O.V didn't really feel as complete as Rhys and Susan's did. Also, I wanted more from the ending, It just didn't wrap up how I wanted it to for Kat. However despite that, I was also glad Mansell didn't go completely down the route I wanted her to go for Kat,

I recommend this book for those who have recently encountered Heart Break, Whether your significant other didn't work out, you just recently lost someone important to you, or maybe you made a wrong choice in life and have to just live with the consequences of that choice. Either way, this book is for you

Happy Reading!

About The Author

Anna Mansell Writes about the dark human grit and humor. She believes that reading is about the escape so she tries to end her stories in an uplifting way. 

When she is not writing she is taking care of her two children and loving it.

Book to Movie Reading Challenge

Hello Fellow Readers,

Books are not the only thing I enjoy, I am a stationary nerd, a Fashionista, a Beauty lover and also I maybe a cinephile. I spent most of my childhood (and I lot of my adult life) watching movie after movie. My dad loved movies and we spent tons of money at the video store renting out 5-6 movies at a time. We would watch them all in a day or so then return them.

I knew a lot of movies were previously books and well I've never read them so I decided. Why not read them?

So I issued myself a challenge.  I currently have give or take around 50 books that have been turned into movies on my list. These are books that I have not read, books I know the movie of (I may not have seen it but I know them) I also thought it would be cool that after I read the book I can watch the movie.

Gone with the Wind

Author: Margaret Mitchell

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Book Published Year: 1936

Movie Year: 1939

Summary: The story is set in Clayton County, Georgia, and Atlanta during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of the poverty she finds herself in after Sherman's March to the Sea.

Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Book Publish Year: 1813

Movie Year: 2005

Summary:  When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever

  

Forest Gump

Author: Winston Groom

Genre: Humor, Adventure

Book Publish Year: 1986

Movie Date: 1994

Summary: Meet Forrest Gump, the lovable, herculean, and surprisingly savvy hero of this remarkable comic odyssey. After accidentally becoming the star of University of Alabama's football team, Forrest goes on to become a Vietnam War hero, a world-class Ping-Pong player, a villainous wrestler, and a business tycoon -- as he wonders with childlike wisdom at the insanity all around him. In between misadventures, he manages to compare battle scars with Lyndon Johnson, discover the truth about Richard Nixon, and survive the ups and downs of remaining true to his only love, Jenny, on an extraordinary journey through three decades of the American cultural landscape. Forrest Gump has one heck of a story to tell -- and you've got to read it to believe it.... 

The Lovely Bones

Author: Alice Sebold

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery

Book Publish Year: 2002

Movie Date: 2009

Summary:The details of the crime are laid out in the first few pages: from her vantage point in heaven, Susie Salmon describes how she was confronted by the murderer one December afternoon on her way home from school. Lured into an underground hiding place, she was raped and killed. But what the reader knows, her family does not. Anxiously, we keep vigil with Susie, aching for her grieving family, desperate for the killer to be found and punished.

Water for Elephants

Author: Sara Gruen

Genre: Romance

Book Publish Year: 2006

Movie Year: 2011

Summary: Orphaned, penniless, Jacob Jankowski jumps a freight train in the dark, and in that instant, transforms his future.By morning, he's landed a job with the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. By nightfall, he's in love.

  

Stardust

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Book Publish Year: 1999

Movie Year:2007

Summary:Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.

The Shining

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Book Publish Year: 1977

Movie Year: 1980

Summary: Danny was only five years old but in the words of old Mr. Halloran he was a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father became caretaker of the Overlook Hotel his visions grew frighteningly out of control.  As winter closed in and blizzards cut them off, the hotel seemed to develop a life of its own. It was meant to be empty, but who was the lady in Room 217, and who were the masked guests going up and down in the elevator? And why did the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive? Somewhere, somehow there was an evil force in the hotel - and that too had begun to shine

The Princess Bride

Author: William Goldman

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Book Published Year: 1973

Movie Year: 1987

Summary: What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams? As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears. Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere. What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex. In short, it's about everything.

The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Book Publish Year: 2009

Movie Year: 2014

Summary: If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.Everything is going to change.Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.Remember. Survive. Run.When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Genre: Humor, Romance

Book Publish Year: 2003

Movie Year: 2009

Summary: Becky Bloomwood has a fabulous flat in London’s trendiest neighborhood, a troupe of glamorous socialite friends, and a closet brimming with the season’s must-haves. The only trouble is, she can’t actually afford it—not any of it. Her job writing at Successful Saving magazine not only bores her to tears, it doesn’t pay much at all. And lately Becky’s been chased by dismal letters from the bank—letters with large red sums she can’t bear to read. She tries cutting back. But none of her efforts succeeds. Her only consolation is to buy herself something . . . just a little something.

Memoirs of a Geisha

Author:Arthur Golden

Genre: Historical Fiction

Book Publish Year: 1997

Movie Year: 2005

Summary: we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction - at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful - and completely unforgettable.

Warm Bodies 

Author: Isaac Marion

Genre: Science Fiction

Book Publish Year: 2010

Movie Year: 2013

Summary: R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse. Just dreams. After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a burst of vibrant color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that R lives in. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world...

Jurassic Park

Author: Michael Crichton

Book Year Published: 1991

Movie Year: 1993

Summary: A billionaire has created a technique to clone dinosaurs. From the DNA that his crack team of scientists extract, he is able to grow the dinosaurs in his laboratories and lock them away on an island behind electric fences, creating a sort of theme park. He asks a group of scientists from several different fields to come and view the park, but something goes terribly wrong when a worker on the island turns traitor and shuts down the power.

Ella Enchanted

Author: Gail Carson Levine

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy,

Book Year Published: 1997

Movie Year: 2004

Summary: At birth, Ella is inadvertently cursed by an imprudent young fairy named Lucinda, who bestows on her the "gift" of obedience. Anything anyone tells her to do, Ella must obey. Another girl might have been cowed by this affliction, but not feisty Ella: "Instead of making me docile, Lucinda's curse made a rebel of me. Or perhaps I was that way naturally." When her beloved mother dies, leaving her in the care of a mostly absent and avaricious father, and later, a loathsome stepmother and two treacherous stepsisters, Ella's life and well-being seem to be in grave peril. But her intelligence and saucy nature keep her in good stead as she sets out on a quest for freedom and self-discovery as she tries to track down Lucinda to undo the curse, fending off ogres, befriending elves, and falling in love with a prince along the way. Yes, there is a pumpkin coach, a glass slipper, and a happily ever after, but this is the most remarkable, delightful, and profound version of Cinderella you'll ever read.

Beautiful Creatures

Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Book Published Year: 2009

Movie Publish Year: 2014

Summary: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Holes

Author:Louis Sachar

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction

Book Publish Year: 1998

Movie Publish Year:

Summary: Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes. It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

Beastly 

Author: Alex Flinn

Genre:Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Book Publish Year: 2007

Movie Year: 2011

Summary:I am a beast.

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster. You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell. Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

Ender's Game

Author: Orson Scott Card

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Book Publish Year: 1985

Movie Year: 2013

Summary: Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.

The Devil Wears Prada 

Author: Lauren Weinberger

Genre: Fiction, Comtemporary

Book Publish Year: 2003

Movie Year: 2006

Summary:Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job “a million girls would die for.” Hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile, fabulously successful editor of Runway magazine, Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada! Armani! Versace! at every turn, a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women and beautiful men clad in fine-ribbed turtlenecks and tight leather pants that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym. With breathtaking ease, Miranda can turn each and every one of these hip sophisticates into a scared, whimpering child. 

I am Number Four

 Author: Pittacus Lore

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Book Published Year: 2010

Movie Year: 2011

Summary: Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books--but we are real. Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing. But they know. They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. They killed them all. I am Number Four. I am next

Matilda 

 Author: Roald Dahl

Genre: Childrens, Fantasy

Book Year Published: 1988

Movie Year: 1996

Summary: Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she's knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she's a super-nerd and the teacher's pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda's world. For starters she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there's the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Mrs. ("The") Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge.

Breakfast At Tiffany's 

Author: Truman Capote

Genre: Fiction

Book Publish Year: 1958

Movie Year: 1961

Summary: With her tousled blond hair and upturned nose, dark glasses and chic black dresses, Holly Golightly is top notch in style and a sensation wherever she goes. Her brownstone apartment vibrates with martini-soaked parties as she plays hostess to millionaires and gangsters alike. Yet Holly never loses sight of her ultimate goal

City of Bones 

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Book Publish Year: 2007

Movie Year: 2013

Summary: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

The Golden Compass 

Author: Philip Pullman

Genre: Childrens, Fantasy

Book Publish Year: 1996

Movie Year: 2007

Summary: Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the alethiometer. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers"—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close 

Author: Jonathan Safran Foer

Genre: Fiction, Comtemporary,

Book Publish Date: 2005

Movie Year: 2011

Summary: Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he discovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace.

Carrie 

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror, Paranormal,

Book Publish Year: 1974

Movie Year: 1976

Summary: Carrie knew she should not use the terrifying power she possessed... But one night at her senior prom, Carrie was scorned and humiliated just one time too many, and in a fit of uncontrollable fury she turned her clandestine game into a weapon of horror and destruction...

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 

Author: C.S. Lewis

Genre: Children, Fantasy

Book Published Year: 1950

Movie Year: 2005

Summary: They opened a door and entered a world--Narnia--the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Lucy is the first to stumble through the back of the enormous wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old country house, discovering the magic world beyond. At first, no one believes her. But soon Edmund, Peter and Susan, too, discover the magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. And in the blink of an eye, they are changed forever. 

The Virgin Suicides 

Author: Jeffrey Eugenides

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction

Book Publish Year: 1993

Movie Year: 1999

Summary: They opened a door and entered a world--Narnia--the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Lucy is the first to stumble through the back of the enormous wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old country house, discovering the magic world beyond. At first, no one believes her. But soon Edmund, Peter and Susan, too, discover the magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. And in the blink of an eye, they are changed forever. 

 Wild 

Author: Cheryl Strayed

Genre: NonFiction, Memoir/Autobiographical

Book Publish Year: 2012

Movie Year: 2014

Summary: At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.

Divine Secrets of the YA-YA Sisterhood 

Author: Rebecca Wells

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary

Book Publish Year: 1996

Movie Year: 2002

Summary: When Siddalee Walker, oldest daughter of Vivi Abbott Walker, Ya-Ya extraordinaire, is interviewed in the New York Times about a hit play she's directed, her mother gets described as a "tap-dancing child abuser." Enraged, Vivi disowns Sidda. Devastated, Sidda begs forgiveness, and postpones her upcoming wedding. All looks bleak until the Ya-Yas step in and convince Vivi to send Sidda a scrapbook of their girlhood mementos, called "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." As Sidda struggles to analyze her mother, she comes face to face with the tangled beauty of imperfect love, and the fact that forgiveness, more than understanding, is often what the heart longs for.

This is Where I leave 

Author: Jonathan Tropper

Genre: Humor. Fiction, Contemporary

Book Published Year: 2009

Movie Year: 2014

Summary: The death of Judd Foxman’s father marks the first time that the entire Foxman family—including Judd’s mother, brothers, and sister—have been together in years. Conspicuously absent: Judd’s wife, Jen, whose fourteen-month affair with Judd’s radio-shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public. Simultaneously mourning the death of his father and the demise of his marriage, Judd joins the rest of the Foxmans as they reluctantly submit to their patriarch’s dying request: to spend the seven days following the funeral together. In the same house. Like a family. As the week quickly spins out of control, longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed, and old passions reawakened. For Judd, it’s a weeklong attempt to make sense of the mess his life has become while trying in vain not to get sucked into the regressive battles of his madly dysfunctional family. All of which would be hard enough without the bomb Jen dropped the day Judd’s father died: She’s pregnant.

The Jane Austen Book Club 

Author: Karen Joy Fowler

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Fiction

Book Year Published: 2005

Movie Year:  2007

Summary: In California's central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her eye for the frailties of human behavior and her ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Karen Joy Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships.

In Her Shoes 

Author: Jennifer Weiner

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Book Published Year: 2002

Movie Year: 2005

Summary: Rose Feller is thirty; a successful lawyer with high hopes of a relationship with Jim, Mr Not-Quite-Right, a senior partner in her firm. The last thing she needs is her messed-up, only occasionally employed sister Maggie moving in: drinking, smoking, stealing her money - and her shoes - and spoiling her chance of romance. If only Maggie would grow up and settle down with a nice guy and a steady job. 

Maggie is drop dead gorgeous and irresistible to men. She's going to make it big as a TV presenter, or a singer...or an actress. All she needs is a lucky break. What she doesn't need is her uptight sister Rose interfering in her life. If only Rose would lighten-up, have some fun - and learn how to use a pair of tweezers. Rose and Maggie think they have nothing in common but a childhood tragedy, shared DNA and the same size feet, but they are about to find out that they're more alike than they'd ever believe.

Rosemary's Baby 

Author: Ira Levin

Genre: Horror

Book Year Published: 1967

Movie Year: 1968

Summary: SUPPOSE you were an up-to-date young wife who moved into an old and elegant New York apartment house with a rather strange past. SUPPOSE that only after you became pregnant did you begin to suspect the building harbored a diabolically evil group of devil worshippers who had mastered the arts of black magic and witchcraft. SUPPOSE that this satanic conspiracy set out to claim not only your husband but your baby.

Well, that's what happened to Rosemary...Or did it...?

If I Stay 

Author: Gayle Forman

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Book Year Published: 2009

Movie Year: 2014

Summary: Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.

I sit up as much as I can.

And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

My Sister's Keeper

Author: Jodi Picoult

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary

Book Year Published: 2004

Movie Year: 2009

Summary: Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged... until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister—and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

Babe: The Gallant Pig 

Author: Dick King-Smith

Genre: Children, Fantasy

Book Year Published: 1983

Movie Year: 1995

Summary: When Babe arrives at Hogget Farm, Mrs. Hogget’s thoughts turn to sizzling bacon and juicy pork chops—until he reveals a surprising talent for sheepherding, that is. Before long, Babe is handling Farmer Hogget’s flock better than any sheepdog ever could. Babe is so good, in fact, that the farmer enters him into the Grand Challenge Sheepdog Trials. Will it take a miracle for Babe to win?

Le Divorce 

Author: Diane Johnson

Genre: Fiction

Book Year Published: 1997

Movie Year: 2003

Summary: Le Divorce is about Americans in Paris. Worse, Americans from Santa Barbara, California, in Paris. Also, French cultural superiority and American innocence. One sister's marriage. Another's illicit love. Infidelity. Family disapproval. A crime of passion. Perhaps murder. When California girl Isabel Walker, film school dropout, comes to visit her stepsister Roxy in Paris, she arrives on the day that Roxy's French husband, Charles-Henri de Persand, has left her for another woman. Roxy is distraught and pregnant. Charles-Henri's powerful and prestigious French family is counseling patience and acceptance: Isabel is soon caught up in the romantic intrigue and Roxy's parents are just as soon on their way to France to lend their daughter support. Add to all of this a contretemps over a painting belonging to the Walkers but given by Roxy as a wedding gift to her husband, which turns out to be extremely valuable. It is, as the French say, a situation. It is also the basis for a comedy of manners that looks with delicious wit at cultures and carnal desires in collision: at the absurd way in which love can lead us toward grand tragedy or, at least, toward jealous crimes of the heart. 

Bridge to Terabithia 

Author: Katherine Paterson

Genre: Childrens, Fantasy

Book Published Year: 1977

Movie Year: 2007

Summary: Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone.

That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits

Riding in Cars with Boys: Confessions of a Bad Girl who makes Good 

Author: Beverly Donofrio

Genre: NonFiction, Memoir/Autobiography

Book Published Year: 1990

Movie Year: 2001

Summary: Denied college, Beverly Donofrio lost interest in everything but riding around town in cars, drinking and smoking, and rebelling against authority. She got married and divorced and finally ended up in an elite New England university, books in one arm, child in the other. A book about the compromise between being your own person and fitting into society.

Interview with the Vampire 

Author: Anne Rice

Genre: Fantasy, Horror,

Book Published Year: 1976

Movie Year: 1994

Summary: Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly erotic, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force—a story of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of the extraordinary power of the senses. 

 Coraline Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy, Children

Book Published Year: 2002

Movie Year: 2009

Summary: Coraline's often wondered what's behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her "other" parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures.

The Nanny Diaries

Authors: Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Humor

Book Year Published: 2002

Movie Year: 2007

Summary: Nan has a tricky relationship with her employer, Mrs X.A non-existent relationship with Mr X. But she loves their little boy to pieces.In between looking after four-year-old Grayer and running a thousand errands for Mrs X, his rich, uptight Manhattanite mohter, Nan is trying to have a life. There's college, shopping, her friends, her cat George. And the gorgeous Harvard boy from the sixth floor...

But the X family's dramas keep intruding - visits from Mr X's predatory mistress, catastrophic family outings and, as a final straw, the case of the marriage-destroying panties. As Divorce looms, Nan realizes how attached she's become to the Xs' unloved son - and how nannying has become more than just a job.

Must Love Dogs  

Author: Claire Cook

Genre: Romance, Humor,

Book Year Published: 2002

Movie Year: 2005

Summary: Forty-year-old Sarah Hurlihy, a divorced preschool teacher whose life is her classroom, is about to meet her first date in more than a decade. It was the "Loves Dogs" that hooked her in the personal ad, and now she is scanning her neighborhood cafe a cute for the man with a yellow rose. And find him she does, but he's the last person on earth she expects to find there . . . 

One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest

Author: Ken Kesley

Genre: Fiction

Book Year Published: 1962

Movie Year: 1975

Summary: In this classic of the 1960s, Ken Kesey's hero is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the world of a mental hospital and takes over. A lusty, life-affirming fighter, McMurphy rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Nurse Ratched. He promotes gambling in the ward, smuggles in wine and women, and openly defies the rules at every turn. But this defiance, which starts as a sport, soon develops into a grim struggle, an all-out war between two relentless opponents: Nurse Ratched, back by the full power of authority, and McMurphy, who has only his own indomitable will. What happens when Nurse Ratched uses her ultimate weapon against McMurphy provides the story's shocking climax.

If you have any recommendations, let me know I am always up to adding more to the list. Also Feel free to join the challenge if you like.