Adorkable by Sarra Manning

Yesterday night I started reading Adorkable by Sarra Manning, please notice that I mentioned in my previous post that I no longer read YA but Sarra Manning female characters aren’t just teenagers they are feminist and there is nothing innocent about them, their cheekiness is what makes them so fun and Jeane Smith is no exception.

ADORKABLE

So Far I like it but I only read 30 pages or so and I can already tell that this Michael character is too mellow for my taste (and looks ugly on the cover), he isn’t toxic at all and that I can tell will be an issue for me.

However I am picturing him as the actor from “Seducing Mr Perfect” (urgh…yuck, did I watch that too?):

Daniel Henney

Not bad, right? Em

Got myself a kindle

I haven’t written here for a very long time but this blog is still alive (just renewed my domain), more important: I got myself a kindle and I am back in the reading arena.

I haven’t checked out your blogs in a while so If a great do-not-miss unputdownable novel was released in the last year I wouldn’t be aware of it.

I saw today that Sarra Manning released  Adorkable and I got it from amazon, I also saw that she suggest a few novels on her blog and got some of them also 🙂

What else?

This summer I re-read I capture the Castle by Dodie Smith and fell in love with Cassy (again & again)

 It seems that I no longer enjoy YA novels, we all know how impossible it is to find a well written chick lit page turner so here are some suggestions:

You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane, so very  very english

 My One and Only by Kristan Higgins, so far my favorite by Higgins, cannot help myself: I love Divorce attorneys

 As it’s now available as kindle edition I strongly recommend Body Check by Deirdre Martin, it’s one of my favorite romances.

Purely based on my personal ranking of BEST SASSY HEROINES ever, Janna MacNeil fits all the requirements: she is smart, she has money, she isn’t looking for prince charming, she is persistent, she is a no-nonsense kind of girl, she has a sense of humor, she is urban as opposite to paranormal .

Talk Soon

Em

Johnny be good & Baby Be Mine by Paige Toon

One of the best chick lit duo ever!

An if you haven’t read Johnny be good when it was first released you are so so lucky because you can buy those two books together and won’t have to suffer a few years the way I had to.

Those books aren’t perfect and I’ll come to that soon but they have a strength that few chick lits seem to achieve those days: compelling characters, great storyline and a generous amount of swoon factor.

From Amazon:

If your boss was the hottest rock star on the planet, would you mix business with pleasure? I’m Meg Stiles. This is my leaving party. And that song we’re making a mockery of? That’s written by one of the biggest rock stars in the world. And I’m moving in with him tomorrow. Seriously! I am not even joking. Well, maybe I’m misleading you a little bit. You see, I haven’t actually met him yet …No, I’m not a stalker. I’m his new PA. His Personal Assistant. And I am off to La-La Land. Los Angeles. The City of Angels – whatever you want to call it – and I can’t bloody believe it! Celebrity PA to wild boy of rock Johnny Jefferson, Meg’s glam new life in sun-drenched LA is a whirlwind of showbiz parties and backstage passes. Cool, calm Christian, in town to write his famous friend’s biography, helps keep Meg’s feet firmly on the ground. But with Johnny’s piercing green eyes and a body Brad Pitt would kill for, how long will it be before she’s swept right off them again?

I was hooked on page 1, I love love love when HIM is a rock star … now if this was real life and I was Meg Stiles or she was a friend of mine I would say “RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN” except I am an helpless romantic, I will probably stay thinking that I can change the man, no matter how bad things are.

Things are very  bad, Meg suffers humiliations that no woman deserves, Johnny Jefferson has a good heart but he is seriously messed up, so why does Meg stick around?

She is in love, she is experiencing the same sort of love addiction that teens experience, that  ALL or NOTHING feeling, that “Love will tear us apart” obsession (except they haven’t been together yet but you know what I mean).

How could she not? Johnny Jefferson it’s one of those characters that you will love or hate (and if you were a Peeta’s fan you’ll probably dislike him, just saying), needless to say he is a favorite of mine as chick lit goes.

Yes, I am twisted like that.

And to be honest I enjoy a novel where characters are flawed, they cheat, they lie, they have sex without thinking a bazillion times if it’s the right thing to do, they go with the flow . It’s refreshing.

I stated before how much I dislike those novels in which she stars as damsel-in-distress and he plays the good natured saviour who will fix everything and beyond if only he can get her to trust him.

I like Trouble.

I also really like Christian, Johnny’s best friend, a music journalist who is writing Johnny’s bio, not just a supporting character but a key player in the story.

Unfortunately he is no trouble, just kidding , he is very likeable, you’ll love him.

Meg is a genuine character, she tells us her story and she is great fun to listen to, I could really relate to her humor,  her disappointments, her sadness, her choices.

Except when it comes to Baby Be Mine I cringed for the first 100 pages or so, I didn’t like Meg very much, she does the unthinkable, a deception that I could never forget, let alone forgive no matter her reasons.

The ending of Johnny be good is one of those that will let you disappointed, make sure you have the sequel or you’ll suffer  for a few days, get those characters out of your mind it will take a few days, you’ll want to start Baby Me Mine ASAP.

Now Johnny B. Goode  is among the most widely covered rock and roll songs in history, I like the Sex Pistols version, love their energy…chose you pick, there are so many !

Apart from the first 100 pages or so in Baby Be Mine (where something really twisted happens) those novels deal with addiction, alchool, drugs, rehab … it’a all far to simple and superficial but hey it’s a chick lit and I am more than willing to enjoy myself, I don’t need a real account of what happens when people deal with this sort of addictions.

Overall it’s a MUST READ for me, it deserves 5/5 because it’s really really absorbing and every time I start a new book that’s what I am looking for, something that can grip my heart and keep hold of it, I am glad to say that this is exactly what happened.

Casting Call:

Joe Anderson as Johnny (Am I the only one who has a massive crush on him?)

Amanda Peet  as Meg

Ryan Gosling ad Christian:

Other reviews:

About Happy Books by Sabrina

Em

If I were a ya character

I would be Jessica Darling .

Yesterday evening I saw Perfect Fifths on the floor in my room, I picked it up and read a few pages…I spent most of the night awake re-reading a book that for many years now has been one of my favorites.

I love The Jessica Darling Series, I am particularly in love with Perfect Fifths, I find it different, surreal and yet so real, it makes me long for that sort of meaningless  conversations that mean everything at some point in life.

Jessica and Marcus are so compelling, I wish there was more to this series, I am sure they are not together right now in their thirties but it’s only temporary and sooner or later they’ll find their happy ending.

How is it that ya series never turn into adult series? I want to see what happens when characters get my age and then older,  I especially  miss Jessica and Marcus.

I miss them a lot.

Who would you be if you were a ya character?

Em

A brief Summary

I can’t believe that my last post here was written more than one year ago!

For those of you who are interested here it’s a brief summary of my 2011:

* in february I moved back to Milan and for a while we had been renting a VERY little place in Milan;

* in may I had a baby, her name is Carola and she is almost six month old, here it’s a picture of us on vacation:

I had a natural childbirth because by the time I arrived to the hospital it was too late for an epidural, it was better & faster than expected…would I do it again? Next time I’ll make sure to be on time for my epidural 🙂

* I read a TON of books about babies (The baby whisperer by Tracy Hogg, a book by William and Marta Sears, Your Baby and Child by Penelope Leach and many others) , currently I am exclusively breastfeeding but weaning will be staring soon.  I am lucky because my little Caro is a very sweet baby who sleeps  through the night and sometimes takes a long nap in the early afternoon;

* during the summer we moved again (this time it’s our place, no more renting!) and we are currently decorating, we bought paint & stencils on-line, it’s hard work but great fun:

Right now I am on maternity leave but I don’t really have too much time for reading and reviewing,  here are a few books that I recently read:

Jane by April Lindner, Angie was right, I really enjoyed this retelling of Jane Eyre, although I am not crazy about the original one

You don’t have to say you love me by Sarra Manning, surprisingly I did not love this one, Neve and Max sort of got on my nerves but I must admit that I still haven’t come across a book by Sarra Manning that isn’t utterly compelling and somehow juicy

Pug Hill by Alison Pace, not my kind of story… I was bored from the beginning to the end

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, I completely agree with a few reviews that I found on Goodreads: THIS BOOK IS LIKE CRACK

The Help by Kathryn Stockett, a keeper! Now I understand what all the fuss was about, I loved it

My one and only by Kristin Higgins, I regard myself as a very picky reader when it comes to contemporary romance… I love the concept but actual books often disappoint me, this was not the case with My one and only, it’s really really fun

Ciao

Em

Blog On Hiatus

You might have noticed that I’ve been lurking on your blogs but I have temporarily deserted mine.

This blog will be silent for a while (it could be one more week or one more month) I hope to be back soon and I look forward to catching up with you on your blogs.

Those days I am only reading 5 pages a day and no, it’s not a reading slump as Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour is painfully good but I am in the middle of far too many projects (and changes) so  I shamefully admit defeat , I am unable to keep up with everything so …  talk you soon!

Em

BBAW – Day 4 – Forgotten Treasure

DAY 4: A forgotten Pleasure

I love this theme because I am sure today I will discover the most amazing books, this is where bloggers usually squeeze their brains and come up with the best answers.

Do I have a book that I wish got more attention from the book blogging community?

Yes I do, there are a few titles on my mind. First up it’s a delightful chick lit I read many years ago:

Kate Saunders is an English author, actress and journalist, she writes children books and chick lit, Bachelor Boys really made an impression on me.

Then I would like to mention Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman (ya? dystopian?):

I recommend this book because of its strength, it won’t leave you indifferent.

What’s your forgotten treasure?

Em

Book Blogger Appreciation Week — Unexpected Treasure

Today’s treasure is an unexpected one. Please share a book or genre you tried due to the influence of another blogger. What made you cave in to try something new and what was the experience like?

I read most of my books based on bloggers’ recommendations, one genre I could never really appreciate is Urban Fantasy (while I love Fantasy), I think I was unlucky with my first selection and gave up far too easily.

The book that made me change my mind is Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews and of course I decided to pick it up because I read this review on Angieville.

I am also not really into historical romance and I haven’t changed my mind on this but following Sara’s advise on GoodReads I read The Viscount Who Loved me by Julia Quinn and absolutely adored it.

What’s your unexpected treasure?

Em

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

I consider myself a relatively new blogger who has received lots of encouragement from fellow bloggers so it’s pay back time!

First Question: For those you new to BBAW, what was the first book blog you discovered?

I don’t remember the first blog I discovered but the first one that truly mattered is Angieville by Angie.

Why? I adopted her beloved shelf as my TBR list and so far it hasn’t disappointed me, her reviews are the best because they say everything by saying nothing (significant but spoilers-free) plus she really makes an effort to get to know all her followers. I often associate unpretentiousness and talent, Angie has plenty of both.

Second Question: for those of you who participated in BBAW last year, what’s a great new book blog you’ve discovered since last year’s BBAW?

I didn’t participate last year because I wasn’t blogging but a great book blog I recently discovered is Lit Snit.

Erin, Janelle and Daniela appeared on the blogosphere a couple of months ago but their blog has quickly become one of my favorite, they mix a bit of everything which I like, their reviews are never bland.

Like me they are always on the lookout for a good chick lit, not too obvious, not overly dramatic.

Em

Book Blogger Hop!

The Book Blogger Hop is is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books!

This Weeks Question: post a link to a favorite post or book review that you have written in the past three months.

My Answer: those reviews that I mentioned yesterday aren’t mine but they are truly remarkable and I highly recommend reading them.

Unluckily my reviews tend to contain spoilers that’s because I can’t keep my enthusiasm at bay, this is why a personal favorite of mine is this gushing review I wrote about The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner but if you are looking for something without spoilers I recommend the one I wrote about I wanna be your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert.

If you are here for the hop make sure to leave your link so I can come by and say hello.

Em