Cover Crazy #1

Cover Crazy was created by The Bookworms. It's a great way to share a book cover that took your breath away!

To me, there is NOTHING better than a cover of a book. One of my favourite places, in the world, is a book store. I can walk around them for hours just looking at covers of books. I am well aware of the saying "You can't judge a book by it's cover", I just don't believe it!

When I find a book cover that I love, I will always read the back and then make my purchasing decision, but... WOW... there is just something amazing about a gorgeous cover! So, moving forward, I am going to share those covers that just made me want to escape and read a book instantly!

Here is my latest 'Cover Crazy' moment:

The Summer We Came to Life by Deborah Cloyed

What did this cover say to me?

Walking through Wal-Mart this weekend, I wasn't specifically looking for a book but my trip is never quite complete without at least peeking into the book section. Normally, I don't purchase, I just drool, I mean browse. However, once in a while, a book makes its way into the cart!!

The Summer We Came to Life looks like a perfect summer read. Jumping off the dock, fully clothed, brings back that feeling of being a care-free child. The colours are so appealing and calming; it was an immediate pick-up for me.

Another thing that always grabs my attention is the 'teaser' that is on the front of most books. That little saying that gives you just a small peek into what the book is about. This one said "Four friends. Two worlds. One second chance." Sigh... a must-read has been born and yet another purchase has been made!!

What cover has taken your breath away?

Review: The Carrie Diaries

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

Pages: 416
Published: 2010
Genre: Fiction, Chick-lit

My Rating: 3/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

The Carrie Diaries is the coming-of-age story of one of the most iconic characters of our generation.

Before Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw was a small-town girl who knew she wanted more. She's ready for real life to start, but first she must navigate her senior year of high school. Up until now, Carrie and her friends have been inseparable. Then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture, and a friend's betrayal makes her question everything.

With an unforgettable cast of characters, The Carrie Diaries is the story of how a regular girl learns to think for herself and evolves into a sharp, insightful writer. Readers will learn about her family background, how she found her writing voice, and the indelible impression her early friendships and relationships left on her. Through adventures both audacious and poignant we'll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where her new life begins.


Review:

To start, I sort of feel like I was on the outside looking in. Those who are familiar with the Sex and the City series probably knew things would turn out a certain way, while I, an admitted SATC virgin, had NO IDEA!!

It was nice to finally imagine Carrie Bradshaw as someone other than Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP). Admittedly, I have never watched an entire episode of Sex and the City and I can honestly say it has everything to do with not being a HUGE fan of SJP. The Carrie Diaries may have swayed my opinion just enough that I am ready to watch an actual episode! (Thankfully, my sister is a big fan and owns the whole series)

Starting with the first day of her senior year, The Carrie Diaries follows Carrie Bradshaw, and her 'clique', through that final year of high school and all that it entails when you aren't at the top of the social ladder.

I found that all of the characters in this book were very identifiable. Every school, no matter what year you graduated, has a Donna LaDonna, a Sabastien Kydd, a Peter, a pair of Jen's, and even a Carrie Bradshaw. While you are reading, you will imagine these people with the faces of those who they represent in YOUR life... it was fun to remember an easier time... problems that seemed SO big at the time, but really aren't.

Overall, a great summer read. Nothing too challenging here and it will definitely make you jump up and grad Summer and the City as a follow-up read!

In My Mailbox #2

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi over at The Story Siren. The general idea is to share the books that you have purchases, that you have borrowed or that you have found.

It seems that even the Canada Post strike can't keep me down! I have found some alternative ways to get books in 'My' mailbox! Actually, thanks to Little, Brown and Company for another ARC to review (delivered via UPS) and Chapters for opting to find alternate delivery methods, I haven't really been all that affected by the strike. YAH me!!

Here are this week's arrivals:












And my ARC...












What's in your mailbox this week?

Happy Reading! :)

Trailer: I Don't Know How...

It really is amazing how many of the books that I read end up becoming major motion pictures... and it doesn't end here! I Don't Know How She Does It based on the book by Allison Pearson is due to hit theatres this fall. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan and Kelsey Grammer, the movie looks like a 'Mommy Night Out' type of movie... one that you will bring your fellow mommy friends to and enjoy with a bucket of popcorn and hopefully, some post-movie beverages!!



Somehow, I think I will enjoy this movie better than the book... always a first for everything, isn't there?!?!

Review: I Don't Know How...

I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson

Pages: 352
Published: 2003
Genre: Fiction, Chick-lit

My Rating: 2/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Delightfully smart and heartbreakingly poignant, Allison Pearson's smash debut novel has exploded onto bestseller lists as "The national anthem for working mothers".

Hedge-fund manager, wife, and mother of two, Kate Reddy manages to juggle nine currencies in five time zones and keep in step with the Teletubbies. But when she finds herself awake at 1:37 a.m. in a panic over the need to produce a homemade pie for her daughter's school, she has to admit her life has become unrecognizable. With panache, wisdom, and uproarious wit, I Don't Know How She Does It brilliantly dramatizes the dilemma of every working mom.

Review:

Being a working mom, I immediately thought that this book would appeal to me... but it seemed to miss the mark at just about every turn.

Kate, the main bread-winner in her family, works an obscene amount of hours, leaving the house before her kids have eaten breakfast and not getting home until after they are asleep. All day she agonizes over her work-life balance yet never seems to do anything to adjust it. Constantly pulled away from the home on business trips to other countries, Kate seems to have chosen her work-life over her home-life, to the point that she fantasizes about having an affair with an American client.

Have you ever heard the saying "You can't have your cake and eat it too"? That is how I felt about Kate... you can't expect to have kids and NOT give up some part of your life. Having obviously chosen her career over her family, it drove me crazy when Kate suddenly has an epiphany, when her kids are 6-years-old and 2-years-old, that she is throwing away her life with her children. It takes her husband leaving, her nanny falling ill and her assistant becoming the office 'joke' before she puts her life priorities straight. Immediately my thought was, "Really?!?! You wasted SIX YEARS of your relationship with your daughter and NOW you decide to be a 'Mom'"... Ugg.

Overall, this book was too unrealistic for me. It could be that my feelings on the whole work vs. family thing are a little too strong, but, as a mother, you will ALWAYS put your children first... ALWAYS!!

In My Mailbox #1

In my mailbox was created by Kristi over at The Story Siren. The general idea of the post is to share the books that you have purchased, that you have borrowed or that you have found.

I don't anticipate being able to do a weekly post, although I may even surprise myself. However, I have decided that I will post as I receive/pick-up books. That way, all of my 'peeps' can keep in touch with the books that I have added to my ever-growing to-be-read list. Oy...

So, without further adeiu, here is my 'In My Mailbox' update for today...























Gotta love second hand books sales. My local second hand store, It's Worth Repeating, has the best selection of books. Yesterday, there was a 'Please take these books out of our store' type sale and I picked up all 5 books for under $5. It was AWESOME!!

Check It Out: Summer Reading

Today is the official FIRST day of summer, also known as the summer solstice. When I think of summer, I imagine myself in a lounge chair on a beach surrounded by a frosty beverage (think Pina Colada) and a good book! If I were to narrow down my favourite genre for summer reads, it would have to be Chick Lit!! Nothing beats a great, funny read when you are catching some hot rays while relaxing!

In my search of a new summer read, I came across Summer and the City: A Carrie Diaries Novel by Candace Bushnell. Having never really gotten into the Sex and the City series but having wanted to, I thought THIS would be a great place to start.


Pages: 416
Published: 2011
Genre: Fiction, Chick-Lit

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Summer is a magical time in New York City and Carrie is in love with all of it - the crazy characters in her neighborhood, the vintage-clothing boutiques, the wild parties, and the glamorous man who has swept her off her feet. Best of all, she's finally in a real writing class, taking her first steps toward fulfilling her dream.

This sequel to The Carrie Diaries brings surprising revelations as Carrie learns to naviagate her way around the Big Apple, going from being a country "sparrow" - as Samantha Jones dubs her - to the person she always wanted to be. But as it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile her past with her future, Carrie realizes that making it in New York is much more complicated than she ever imagined.

With her signature wit and sparkling humor, Candace Bushnell reveals the irresistible story of how Carrie met Samantha and Miranda, and what turned a small-town girl into one of New York City's most unforgetable icons, Carrie Bradshaw.

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Having not read the original book, The Carrie Diaries, I am not sure if you have to read one before the other, but just the cover of this book makes me feel all warm and summery... I love books that have pink covers! Ah, glorious Chick Lit!!

Review: Secrets She Left Behind

Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 480
Published: 2009
Genre: Fiction

My Rating: 3/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

One afternoon, single mother Sara Weston says she's going to the store and never returns. In her absence, she leaves her teenage son alone with his damaged past and a legacy of secrets.

Keith Weston nearly lost his life in an act of arson. He survived but with devastating physical and emotional scars. Without his mother, he has no one to help him heal, no money, nothing to live for but the medications that numb his pain. Isolated and angry, his hatred has one tight focus: his half sister, Maggie Lockwood.

Nineteen-year-old Maggie Lockwood spent a year in prison for the acts that led up to the fire. Now she's back home. But her release cannot free her from the burden of guilt she carries. She grew up with Keith Weston, played with him as a child, and recently learned they share the same father.

Now the person Keith despises most in the closest thing he has to family until Sara returns. If Sara returns.

Review:

It could have been because I was dealing with some serious family issues while I was reading this book and wasn't able to devote my full attention to it, but I found the story to be just okay. Good, but not great.

The way this story was told was great - the break between past and present but I really wanted to know about the past before reading some of the current story. It was really hard to understand the back story of Sara and Jamie (Keith and Maggie's father), as well as Sara and Laurel (Maggie's mom) and having to wait for Sara's take was really annoying. While I understand that part of that was a must-read technique, I just didn't have the patience and found myself skimming ahead to read the back story.

As the story came together and the present became the whole story (about 3/4 through), the book really took off and was fabulous. Everything came together very well and the true heroes and villians were revealed.

Overall, a good read... bit slow, but if you can get to the last 1/4, it will be worth it!

Know Your Book Blogger #2

This is a new meme started by Melissa at Book Nerd Reviews. It was started so that we can all take a moment and get to know a bit about one another.

This week's question:

Q. Name the most recent movie that disappointed you. Why didn't it fulfill your expectations?

WOW, I have seen some pretty great movies lately so it's hard for me to think back to a movie that didn't quite add up... hmmmm. I would have to say that I was really diappointed in the movie Hop, with James Marsden and Russell Brand.

It's not really the movie that disappointed but the overall movie experience. It was the first movie that we (my husband and I) took our 3-year old son to and he was NOT impressed. So, while that tainted the movie, I really did feel that it could have been more exciting, more interesting and more... funny?!?! It was too adult for a movie that is geared towards children. I much prefer the 'Shreks' or 'Cars' type of movie... all kids with some adult humour thrown in. Know what I mean?!?!

That being said... I have a feeling that this movie may be overtaken by Cars 2 very shortly... just have that feeling.

Stay tuned on Sunday, each week, as the new 'Know Your Book Blogger' question is posted and answered.

Check It Out: So You're Going to be a Dad

Have you ever tried to find a funny, fictional book about a Daddy or a Daddy-to-be? Not as easy as it is to find a Mommy or Mommy-to-be book. Wonder why? In honour of Father's Day, I thought I would share a book that my husband read when I was pregnant, So You're Going To Be A Dad by Peter Downey.


Pages: 208
Published: 2000
Genre: Non-Fiction, Family

Summary (from chapters.ca):

For the first-time dad, useful and practical information about pregnancy, childbirth, and baby care, including: what to say - and what not to say - when you hear the news; taking care of moms-to-be; what childbirth feels like; crying, diapers, and bathtime; and baby-proofing the home.



_________________________

Peter Downey on the painless childbirth,

"This is crap. Total and utter crap. If you think about it,
childbirth is like trying to push a camel through the eye of a needle. The
camel is very big. The needle is very small. The needle will
experience a lot of pain. There is no such thing as a painless
childbirth."

A funny and light-hearted guide on Daddy-to-be do's and more importantly DON'Ts. A definite must-read for any daddy's-to-be!

Click here to read a small excerpt from the book.

Guess Who's on TWITTER?

Turning the Pages has joined the wonderful world of Twitter.

A new way to follow along. Click the 'Follow Me' picture in this blog entry (also found along the righthand side of the blog) or this link to be sent off to the brand new Twitter page.

Please join me there and let me know you're around by choosing to 'follow'.

Thanks and stay tuned for some more fun and exciting book news as the summer continues!

Coming Soon: Beth Harbison

Yet another great summer read is on the horizon. If you have read any of the books by Beth Harbison (Shoe Addicts Anonymous, Secrets of a Shoe Addict, Thin Rich Pretty, Hope in a Jar) then you will be as excited as I am for her up coming book, Always Something There to Remind Me.


Due Out: July 19, 2011

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Can you ever really know if love is true? And if it is, should you stop at anything to get it? Two decades ago, Erini Edwards was sure she'd already found the love of her life: Nate Lawson. Her first love. This one with whom she shared everything - dreams of the future, of children, plan for forever. The one she thought she would spend the rest of her life with. Until one terrible night when Erin made a mistake Nate could not forgive and left her to mourn the relationship she could never forget or get over.

Today, Erin is contentedly involved with a phenomenal guy, maneuvering a successful and exciting career, and raising a great daughter all on her own. So why would the name "Nate Lawson" be the first thing to enter her mind when her boyfriend asks to her to marry him?

In the wake of the proposal, Erin finds herself coming unraveled over the past, and the love she never forgot. The more she tries to ignore it and move on, the more it haunts her.

Always Something There to Remind Me is a story that will resonate with any woman who has ever thought of that one first love and wondered, "Where is he?" and "What if...?".

_________________________________________

This really sounds like a book that will hit home with so many women and I am thoroughly looking forward to reading and reviewing this one!

Review: Silver Girl

Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

Pages: 416
Published: 2011
Genre: Fiction

My Rating: 4/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing - because her husband Freddy cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars.

Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie's had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But, the island can't offer complete escape, and they're plagued by new and old troubles alike. When Connie's brother Toby - Meredith's high school boyfriend - arrives, Meredith must reconcile the differences between the life she is leading and the life she could have had.

Set against the backdrop of a Nantucket summer, Elin Hilderbrand delivers a suspenseful story of the power of friendship, the pull of love, and the beauty of forgiveness.

Review:

**NOTE** This book was received as an ARC (Advance Reader's Copy) from Little, Brown and Company. However, no monetary compensations were made for this review... it is my honest thoughts and feelings about the book!

Sigh, another book by Elin Hilderbrand set against my favourite backdrop... Nantucket Island! Once again, the sights and sounds of the island were warm and inviting and, as a reader, I really have started to believe that this island hold magical powers and your troubles will melt away as you step off the ferry.

Can you imagine what it would feel like if you found out that everything in your life was a lie? That the man you have lived with, loved, and had a family with was NOT the man you believed him to be?

This is exactly what has happened to Meredith Martin Delinn. Her million dollar lifestyle was ripped out from under her when her husband was charged with running a $50 billion dollar ponzi scheme. Everything she believed to be true, wasn't. Left with only 'pennies' in her bank account, she falls back on someone whom she shunned years before, someone who had always been her rock and someone who she hoped would once again be her one true friend.

Connie, having dealt with more heartache in the last three-years than she can imagine, receives a call from her long-lost best friend and together, the two of them depart on a whirlwind summer on Nantucket. A summer that will help them reconnect, help them deal with their own heartaches, and a summer that will set the stage for the rest of their lives.

Silver Girl is a book that relates to so many people on so many different levels. Being able to overcome your past demons and look towards a brighter future is something that most people strive for each and every day. Watching these two people, who have been so through so much, travel this road together was wonderful.

While there may be many bumps in the road, if you stay strong and keep your head held high, you will always get to where you are going!

**Check out a preview of this book in the Open Reads section of the blog**

Know Your Book Blogger #1

This is a new meme started by Melissa at Book Nerd Reviews. She started this so that we can all take a moment and get to know a little bit about eachother!

This week's question is:

Q. Name three things that are worth waiting in line for. What's the longest amount of time you've ever waited in line?

1. Concession stands. When you are at the ball park or the hockey rink, there is nothing better than food from the concession stand! Ice cold beer or Piping Hot pretzels... Mmmmm!

2. Tickets to an event. With the advancement of internet ticket sales, this is almost not necessary anymore, but I can recall sleeping outside of the local music store (when I was a young-un) for tickets to the boy-band of the day! Sigh, what fun those nights would be!

3. Morning coffee. Enough said... no explanation needed here!

Stay tuned on Sunday, each week, as the new 'Know Your Book Blogger' question is posted and answered.

Review: Summer People

Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand

Pages: 352
Published: 2004
Genre: Fiction

My Rating: 4/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

It was the summer that would change their lives forever...

Every summer the Newton family retreats to their beloved home on Nantucket for three months of sunshine, cookouts, and bonfires on the beach. But this summer will not be like any other.

When Arch Newton, a prominent New York attorney, dies in a aplane crash on his home from a business trip, his beautiful widow, Beth, can barely keep things together. Above all, though, she decided that she must continue the family tradition of going to Nantucket, and at the same time fulfill a promise that Arch made before he died.

Beth invites Marcus, the son of Arch's final and most challenging client, to spend the summer with her and her teenage twins, Winnie and Garrett, who have mixed reactions to sharing their special summer place with this stranger.

Always a place of peace before, Nantucket becomes the scene of roiling emotions and turbulent passions as Marcus, Winnie, and Garrett learn about loss, first love, and betrayal. And when they stumble upon a shocking secret from Beth's past, they must keep it from destroying the family they've been trying so hard to heal.

Review:

FINALLY, a review from the May Book of the Month... only a few days late and really, not my fault... I was waiting patiently for the person ahead of me to return it to the library!

As always, Elin Hilderbrand describes the beaches/summers of Nantucket so well. Having never been there, it is now a place that I dream, one day, of vacationing with the family. Oh how wonderful it would be to have our very OWN summer house! The descriptive powers allowed for me to sit back and see the blue/black of the ocean, smell the suntan lotion and hear the seagulls. It truly is magical.

The story, however, was much darker/sadder than I was expecting. With Marcus' mother, Constance, having commited murder and Arch dying in a place crash on the way home from a business meeting about her trial, it really set up some dynamic ties between the two families. It was easy to feel the underlying current of the whole situation throughout the entire book... hard to imagine, but easy to feel.

Add to that, as secrets on the island, from a long ago past, are revealed, it only adds to the stress levels of everyone and leads Winnie and Garrett to get revenge on their mother in the best way they know how.

Overall, a book that deals with the end of one life and the beginning of another... a family that is changed forever. It was a great read!

Blog Award

How the award works:

Thank and link the person who nominated you

Share seven random facts about yourself

Pass the award along to fellow blog buddies

Contact those buddies and congratulate them!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU goes out to LRAtRandom at At Random! What an honour... you are awesome! As this is my very first blog award, I am super excited to share it with everyone!

Seven random facts about myself... hmmm, where to begin?!?!

1. I am a reality tv junkie. I would like to think that stopping at the usual suspects - Survivor, Amazing Race, etc - would be enough, by sadly, it isn't. I find myself PVRing every type of reality show... Say Yes to the Dress, The Real Housewives (of anywhere) and lately, even My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Yep, I am THAT person!


2. I am a hermit. I prefer to stay inside (or at home) and not socialize!


3. I am a commitment-phobe. I am not talking about the type of committent that prevents you from getting married, I am talking about social commitments! Word to the wise - I will say 'Yes' to all social plans and then spend days and days dreading it... literally trying to think of any reason that I can to get out of said plans.


4. I LOOOOOVE cats and have no time for dogs


5. My favourite genre of music is Country... I think the lyrics to the songs are so amazing and yes, I have been known to get a little bit misty eyed while driving. On the music topic... (we'll call this #5A)... I steal my music from online websites like LimeWire and FrostWire. Don't judge... I am not the only one in the world!! :)


6. I am a chronic dieter... always on the search for the next best thing. One of these days a plan HAS to work, right?!?! No seriously, I lost 80+ pounds on Jenny Craig and am now doing Weight Watchers to maintain.


7. I have a book addiction... I know, I know, it's hard to believe, but seriously... I could shop for books ALL DAY LONG! Currently, I have over 50 books in my closet that are still 'to-be-read' and there are more on the way... YIKES!

Here are my nominations for the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award:

At Random
Mission to A(nother) Marathon
Food and Whine
The Big Girl Blog
Fed Up With Lunch: The school lunch project

So, once again... a SUPER BIG Thanks for this award! It makes it all worth it!! :)

Review: I'll Walk Alone

I'll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark

Pages: 352
Published: 2011
Genre: Fiction, Mystery

My Rating: 4/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

In I'll Walk Alone, Alexandra "Zan" Moreland, a gifted, beautiful interior designer on the treshold of a successful Manhattan career, is terrified to discover that somebody is not only using her credit cards and manipulating her financial accounts to bankrupt her and destroy her reputation, but may also ber impersonating her in a scheme that may involve the much more brutal crimes of kidnapping and murder. Zan is already haunted by the disappearance of her own son, Matthew, kidnapped in broad daylight two years ago in Central Park - a tragedy that has left her torn between hope and despair.

Now, on what would be Matthew's fifth birthday, photos surface that seem to show Zan kidnapping her own child, followed by a chain of events that suggests somebody - but who? Zan asks herself desperately, and why? - has stolen her identity.

Hounded by the press, under investigation by the police, attacked by both her angry ex-husband and a vindictive business rival, Zan, wracked by fear and pain and sustained only by her belief, which nobody else shares, that Matthew is still alive, sets out to discover who is behind this cruel hoax.

What she does not realize is that with every step she takes towards the truth, she is putting herself - and those she loves most - in mortal danger from the person who has ingeniously plotted out her destruction.

Even Zan's supporters, who include Alvirah Meehan, the lottery winner and amateur detective, and Father Aiden O'Brien, who thinks that Zan may have confessed to him a secret he cannot reveal, believe she may have kidnapped little Matthew. Zan herself begins to doubt her own sanity, until, in the kind of fast-paced explosive ending that is Mary Higgins Clark's trademark, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place with an unexpected and shocking revelation.

Review:

Having been a LOOOOOONG time fan of Mary Higgins Clark, I bought her new book without even reading the synopsis (actually still hadn't until I was doing this blog entry). It was a pleasant surprise to see that Alvirah Meehan, a recurring character in Mary Higgins Clark's books - whose debut was in Weep No More, My Lady but more famously, The Lottery Winner - was also a character. However, unlike most of the 'Alvirah and Willy' books, she wasn't a MAIN character and I was okay with that as she tends to be a bit over the top.

In typical Mary Higgins Clark fashion, this book kicked off with a bang and kept going with each and every turn of the page. Immediately, as with all 'who-done-it' books, you pick the most odvious of characters and the 'bad' guy but her writing style nevers lets you rest on that... maybe is becomes predictable that your first guess is rarely right but she has been known to throw enough curveballs in that you just never know. Switching from one 'bad' guy to another, wondering if she did it or didn't do it, really made this book a page-turner!

As a parent, if I had read the synopsis of this book, I would have been concerned about the whole kidnap and murder plot as I don't really like reading about young kids in distress (to close to home) so I was happy that the murder ...

... SPOILER ...

...wasn't of her child. In fact, it was nice to see/hear from Matthew a few times throughout the novel. (breathing sigh of relief)

... END SPOILER ...

Overall, another must-read by the queen of suspense.

June Book of the Month

Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

Read along or stay-tuned for my review later this month.