Seven Up by Janet Evanovich

   The back of the book reads:
 
    "All New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has to do is bring in semi-retired bail jumper Eddie DeChooch. For an old man he's still got a knack for slipping out of sight- and raising hell. How else can Stephanie explain the bullet-riddled corpse in Eddie's garden? Who else would have a clue as to why two of Stephanie's friends suddenly vanished? For answers Stephanie has the devil to pay: her mentor, Ranger. The deal? He'll give Stephanie all the help she needs-if she gives him everything he wants...
    As if things weren't complicated enough, Stephanie's just discovered her Grandma Mazur's own unmentionable alliance with Eddie. Add a series of unnerving break-ins, not to mention the bombshell revelation leveled by Stephanie's estranged sister, and Stephanie's ready for some good news. Unfortunately, a marriage proposal from Joe Morelli, the love of her life isn't quite cutting it. And now-murder, a randy paramour, a wily mobster, death threats, extortion, and a triple kidnapping aside-Stephanie's really got the urge to run for her life..."



     I should just go ahead and join the Janet Evanovich fan club because I feel like a lot of my post are her books but they are just so good. It's amazing how much trouble one bounty hunter can get into. I love how Ranger and Morelli tease the crap out of Stephanie and always leave her wanting more. Both those guys seem so dreamy. No wonder Stephanie can't pick one over the other. In Seven Up things do not calm down for her. In fact she has that deal she made with Ranger. Will she give him what he really wants? I won't tell you if she does or doesn't, you have to read it for yourself.

   Grandma Mazur is a complete mess in this book. She is one of the funniest characters in this series. If you think Stephanie gets into trouble then you don't much about Grandma Mazur. This book is one of the best in the series. Evanovich is very talented for being able to keep this series going for so long and it not get boring or repeat the same story.

Thanks for being here,

Curious Reader xo

Elixir by Hilary Duff

    The following is what is written in the inside cover of Elixir by Hilary Duff:

    "Seventeen-year-old Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent politician, she has become a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a world that allows her to travel to many exotic places. But after Clea's father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea begins to notice eerie. shadowy images in her photos of a strange and beautiful young man- a man she has never seen before.

    When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father's disappearance, and they discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that hold their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives- and their futures."


    I must have been living under a rock when this book came out in 2010. I had no idea Hilary Duff had wrote a book let alone a whole series. When I first picked up the book to read the cover I read the first sentence and was thought to myself it was typical of an actor to write a book about someone in the spotlight. But I was proved wrong once I kept reading. I thought the book would be more about someone super famous and their life or something along that line but this book was not that, at all. I loved this book and was so surprised by Hilary's writing. The story was really original and again, not something I was expecting from her. It was extremely creative and kept me staying up way past bedtime to read more. It was very hard to put it down. I felt like I was there in the story with Clea and her mystery man feeling what they were. Amazing book that you should definitely pick up! If you've read it already well maybe it's time to reread it! I'm glad there is a second book because after the first one I had so many unanswered questions.

 

Thanks for being here,

Curious Reader xo



Accidentally Engaged by Mary Carter

      Accidentally Engaged is about a psychic named Clair who does a  reading for a woman named Rachel. Rachel came with her future sister-in-law Susan. Susan pulled Clair to the side before the reading and told her to give Rachel a good reading and she would give her $200. Apparently Rachel was having a case of cold feet and wanted to call off the wedding to Jack, Susan's brother. While Susan was outside the tent Rachel told Clair to lie and give her a bad reading and say it loud enough so Susan would hear it so she could get out of the wedding. If Clair did not give this bad reading Rachel said she would kill herself at the alter. After Clair followed Rachel's instruction she noticed something shiny on the table after everyone had left. It was Rachel engagement ring with instructions to bring it back to Jack and his address. Clair finds Jack and believes he is the love of her life. Once Clair arrives at the Heron residence to return the ring things go completely off plan. Things will never be the same for anyone involved.

    Part of me didn't like the book and part of me loved it. I felt like it was sort of all over the place. After reading a bunch last night I only had about 60 pages left to read today. Before I did finish it today I was going to say I didn't like this book but the last 60 pages have changed my mind. I really liked the ending. It had some twists to it although some of them I had already figured out. I think Clair was an interesting character who is a tad crazy/childish but she seemed to grow up a bit by the end. Overall it was a good book and I enjoyed reading it. The end is definitely better than the beginning. I would love to read more of the ending to find out what happens next.

 

 

Thanks for being here,

Curious Reader xo



Messy by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

    Messy is the sequel to Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. In Messy, Brooke has finally got her famous father's attention so she wants to take her career to a higher level to keep his attention. She launches a blog where she plans to tell it like it is in Hollywood. She wants this blog to be a success and she knows she needs a better writer. She decides to hire Max McCormack who agrees to be her ghost writer. The blog becomes a hit almost over night however Brooke can't live up to her intellectual wit in the blog in real life and Max doesn't want to hide her genius writing anymore. Throw in some boy trouble and this book will keep you turning pages.

    This book was really good and I would recommend reading both Spoiled and Messy. I found the beginning a bit slow but by the end I didn't want the book to be over. I love how the writers are funny and how they bring the Hollywood world to life as well as the average girl. They mix the two together well in their books. Brooke usually isn't my favorite character because she's a spoiled rich girl who doesn't care about others but there was a part in the book that I did actually feel bad for her. You sort of connect with her character a little more in this book than in the first one. She also seems to grow up more and understand the world doesn't evolve around her. Again it's a great book and would totally recommend Spoiled and Messy to anyone.

 

They also have such creative covers, love them!

 

 

 

Thanks for being here,

Curious Reader xo

 

The One and Only by Emily Giffin

    You guys I was so excited for this book to come out and then it took me forever to actually pick it up and read it. I but aside to read on a vacation trip I had coming soon but the book was a little too big for my already oversized bag. Then I finally picked it up and started reading and could not get past the first chapter. Let me explain that a little more for you. The book opens on the viewing a character. The character died from cancer and at the time of me reading this book I just found out that my aunt had cancer and needed some surgery to hopefully remove it. I just couldn't get through it so I had to wait a while (after my aunts surgery which did successfully remove her cancer) till I was ok with everything but the book was definitely worth the wait.

    I love Emily Giffin's writing style. She always writes with such great detail that it's easy to picture the setting and it feels like you are there with the characters. The book is about Shea Rigsby who has always lived and breathed Walker, Texas. Her little hometown of Walker is a live and die college football town. Shea grew up with her best friend Lucy who's dad (Coach Carr) is the head coach of the football program. Shea decided to leave her safety net and venture out of Walker only to find Walker isn't exactly how she always thought it was. Shea is forced to confront her fears, secrets, and desires.

    College football was a big element in this book and it made me want to be a die hard college football fan. I enjoy watching football but I don't follow college teams. The way the book made me feel reminded me of the movie Fever Pitch with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore in that it made you want to be a better sports fan. That you wanted to join the thousands of screaming fan cheering on their team. I love sports so maybe that's why I enjoy those types of movies and books that make you feel a part of something special and bigger than you.

 

 

Thanks for being here,

Curious Reader xo



Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

    I love this book so much! I think Mindy Kaling is absolutely hilarious and one of my favorite comedic actors/writers. This book is a must read for sure! I loved her from The Office, she played Kelly perfectly and it's great to know she is not similar to that character because Kelly had issues. I reread (I read it when it first came out in 2011) this book in honor of The Mindy Project coming back on tonight! Don't forget to watch!

   This is the overview of the book according to Barnes and Noble's website:

"Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!"

 

 

    Here are some quotes from the book. If these don't make you want to read it then you must not be human, jk. I can't give you page numbers because I read this on my Kindle.

 

 

• "However, you should know I disagree with a lot of traditional advice. For instance, they say the best revenge is living well. I say it's acid in the face- who will love them now?"

 

• "There has ceased to be a difference between my awake clothes and my asleep clothes."

 

• "Why isn't this more like Tina Fey's book? I know, man. Tina's awesome. I think she may have every major international trophy for excellence except a Heisman. (She might actually have an honorary Heisman, I should check.) Unfortunately, I can't be Tina, because it's very difficult to lure her into a Freaky Friday- type situation where we could switch bodies, even though in the movies they make it look so easy. Believe me, I've tried."

 

Thank you for being here,

Curious Reader xo

 



The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

    I'm pretty sure everyone knows either the movie or the book The Princess Diaries. The book is about a girl named Mia Thermopolis who lives in NYC with her artist mother. She's just starting freshman year with her best friend Lilly Moscovitz. Her father who lives in Genovia comes to visit and share big news with Mia which is that he is actually the Prince of Genovia which means Mia is the princess of Genovia. This news obviously changes her life so she has to learn to be a princess while also going through the normal high school drama.

    I really enjoyed the book but I am so glad I saw the movie first because the movie was so much better. At times Mia in the book just seemed to complain a bit too much but in the movie she didn't annoy me at all. Another thing is the grandmother was nicer in the movie than in the book. I liked the nicer grandmother over the meaner one. Julie Andrews played the grandmother amazingly in the movie! She was perfect, charming, graceful, and sweet. Sweet grandmothers are obviously better than rude old ladies. Of course the movie wouldn't have happened without the book. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the book and it was a bit different then the movie.

 

 



As you can tell this book is very old. It's from when the book first came out. I found it in a box of my sister's old books which I think got damaged in a flood.  When I get home from this trip I'm on, I will certainly be grabbing the next book in the series to read. Now excuse me while I go watch the movie.

 

 



   Thanks for being here,

Curious Reader xo