Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

** Vinegar Girl will be available in stores June 2016 **

Goodreads Summary

Kate Battista is feeling stuck. How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and uppity, pretty younger sister Bunny? Plus, she’s always in trouble at work – her pre-school charges adore her, but the adults don’t always appreciate her unusual opinions and forthright manner.

Dr Battista has other problems. After years out in the academic wilderness, he is on the verge of a breakthrough. His research could help millions. There’s only one problem: his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr…

When Dr Battista cooks up an outrageous plan that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, he’s relying – as usual – on Kate to help him. Kate is furious: this time he’s really asking too much. But will she be able to resist the two men’s touchingly ludicrous campaign to win her round?

Anne Tyler’s retelling of The Taming of the Shrew asks whether a thoroughly modern, independent woman like Kate would ever sacrifice herself for a man. Its answer is as individual, off-beat and funny as Kate herself.

My Thoughts

I was super skeptical about this book.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it at all and then when I first started reading it... I found it to be boring.  But, I kept reading and I realized that I was wrong!  Vinegar Girl turned out to be a very enjoyable book!

I could totally picture this as a movie.  But not a typical "these days" kind of movie.  More like an old classic!  With Audrey Hepburn playing the part of Kate!  It would have been so good! Oh, and I am aware that The Taming of the Shrew was made into a move in the 1960's but this is not at all the same.

Anyways, I really did enjoy this book (and the movie played out in my head).  I already have a few people in mind that would definitely enjoy this book.  Another book added to my "Recommend" list!!!

*Note: I received a copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

Goodreads Summary

A charming and laugh-out-loud novel by Lauren Graham, beloved star of Parenthood and Gilmore Girls, about an aspiring actress trying to make it in mid-ninties New York City.

Franny Banks is a struggling actress in New York City, with just six months left of the three year deadline she gave herself to succeed.  But so far, all she has to show for her efforts is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters and a degrading waitressing job.  She lives in Brooklyn with two roommates - Jane, her best friend from college, and Dan, a sic-fi writer, who is very definitely not boyfriend material - and is struggling with her feelings for a suspiciously charming guy in her acting class, all while trying to find a hair-product cocktail that actually works.

Meanwhile, she dreams of doing "important" work, but only ever seems to get auditions for dishwashing liquid and peanut butter commercials.  It's hard to tell if she'll run out of time or money first, but either way, failure would mean facing the fact that she has absolutely no skills to make it in the real world.  Her father wants her to come home and teach, her agent won't call her back, and her classmate Penelope, who seems supportive, might just turn out to be her toughest competition yet.

Someday, Someday, Maybe is a funny and charming debut about finding yourself, finding love, and, most difficult of all, finding an acting job.

My Thoughts

I actually bought this book several months ago, put it on my bookshelf, and sort of forgot about it!  I would remember occasionally when I was already in the middle of another book and then forget again later!  I can't believe it took me this long to finally read it!

I have been a huge Lauren Graham fan since Gilmore Girls and was absolutely thrilled when I heard that she had written a novel!  To be perfectly honest, it made me a little nervous to read this for fear that it wouldn't live up to my expectations.  However, I really enjoyed it!

Someday, Someday, Maybe is a very charming, fun read.  It wasn't super predictable, which made it even better, in my opinion.  It didn't end "just perfectly" like some might prefer, in fact, it was left open ended.  I hope that means she might write a sequel!  I have heard that it's might happen but I haven't been able to confirm it.  I would certainly be happy if she does!

I certainly recommend reading Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham.  It's a good book and I'm pretty impressed with Lauren Graham's writing.  It just makes me a bigger fan that I was before!

Last Act by Craig Shirley

Goodreads Summary

His name in American politics is more cited than any other president. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are radically different today, mainly as a result of Ronald Reagan and the force of his ideas. No twentieth century president shaped the American political landscape so profoundly.

Craig Shirley s Last Act is the important final chapter in the life of Reagan that no one has thus far covered. It is the kind of book that widens our understanding of American history and of the presidency and the men who occupied it. To tell Reagan s story, Craig has secured the complete, exclusive, and enthusiastic support of the Reagan Foundation and Library and spent considerable time there reviewing sealed files and confidential information.

Cast in a grand and compelling narrative style, Last Act contains interesting and heretofore untold anecdotes about Reagan, Mrs. Reagan, their pleasure at retirement, the onslaught of the awful Alzheimer s and how he and Mrs. Reagan dealt with the diagnosis, the slow demise, the extensive plans for a state funeral, the outpouring from the nation, which stunned the political establishment, the Reagan legacy, and how his shadow looms more and more over the Republican Party, Washington, the culture of America, and the world.

My Thoughts

Last Act was such a wonderful book!  I loved reading about Ronald Reagan and learning so many things I hadn’t heard before.  Insights into the kind of man that Reagan was, his character and his honesty, so amazing.

So many people loved and adored him.  Most of the people who worked under him seemed to love him as well.  I found all of it so interesting and I kept wanting to read more.

Last Act is a great read, especially for anyone who loved Ronald Reagan, but really for anyone who enjoys biographies.  Honestly, I don’t read that many biographies but this one was so interesting.  Definitely a book to recommend!

*Note: I received a copy of this book from BookLookBloggers in exchange for an honest review.

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

Goodreads Summary

Have you ever finished a meal that tasted horrible but not noticed until the last bite?

Eaten in your car so you wouldn’t have to share with your children? Gotten hungry while watching a dog food commercial? Does the presence of green vegetables make you angry?

If you answered yes to any of the following questions, you are pretty pathetic, but you are not alone. Feast along with America’s favorite food comedian, bestselling author, and male supermodel Jim Gaffigan as he digs into his specialty: stuffing his face. Food: A Love Story is an in-depth, thoroughly uninformed look at everything from health food to things that people actually enjoy eating.

 My Thoughts

If you like listening to Jim Gaffigan’s stand up comedy, you will love this book!  He loves food and he loves to talk about food!  In this book, he talks about food he likes, food he doesn’t like, and some of his favorite restaurants.

He is so funny!  He talks about being overweight and that he won’t take restaurant or food advice from skinny people because they aren’t passionate enough about food to overdo it!  Jim also said that he doesn’t call himself a foodie; instead, he says he’s an “eatie.”  Hahaha!

Food: A Love Story is a very funny book that made me laugh out loud quite often!  It is definitely a book that I will be recommending.  Actually, I already recommended it to my son and he’s reading it now!  However, I do feel that I need to put a warning out there…. Do not read this book if you are on a diet!  All of the talk about doughnuts, pizza, burgers, and all the other deliciousness will ruin your diet!

*Note: I received a copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.

First Love by James Patterson

Goodreads Summary

The New York Times bestseller First Love is now available in paperback, and illustrated with never-before-seen snapshots evoking the romantic trip of a lifetime.

Axi Moore is a "good girl". When Axi invites her best friend, Robinson--with whom she's secretly in love--to come with her on a cross-country road trip, she's finally breaking all the rules. But they soon find that, however far they run, they can't escape the heartbreaking troubles that brought them together in the first place.

In this madcap adventure full of love and loss, Axi realizes that her romance with Robinson might not have the happy ending she was hoping for....

My Thoughts

First of all, I bought this book with my nieces in mind.  We (my sister, my nieces, and I) had decided to do a book exchange for Christmas this year.  The plan was for all of us to bring a book, new or used, to exchange on Christmas Eve.

I didn't have any books that I wanted to give away (I like to keep my good books and I didn't want to give away a book that I didn't think was good) so I ran to the store to pick out a new book to exchange.  I found this one and it sounded so good that I wanted to read it before I gave it in the exchange.  I read the first two chapters the night I bought it and finished the rest of the book on the 5 1/2 hour drive to their house!  It was soooooo good!

I thought that it was going to be a cute, fun, little book about a girl and boy on an exciting adventure.  It was that in the beginning.... then it turned sad and heart wrenching!!!  It was still so good that I couldn't put it down.  If you enjoy tear jerkers then read this book!

Now, I didn't give it a full 5 stars on Goodreads.  There were a few parts in the book that I could have done without.  Maybe a few things I would change.  But still, I don't even give 4 stars away that often so for this to get a 4 means it's good!  First Love is definitely on my recommend list!

A Season to Wed (Three Winter Love Stories)

Goodreads Summary

They’ve helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples. Now twelve new couples will find themselves in the wedding spotlight in the second Year of Weddings novella collection.

Love at Mistletoe Inn by Cindy Kirk

Sometimes the road to happiness is paved with youthful mistakes.

Ten years after what she thought was her almost-wedding, Hope Prentiss discovers that the ceremony counted—and, as fate would have it, the jilted John Burke has just ridden back into town. After spending some time with John and helping plan a Christmas wedding for a mystery couple, Hope begins to wonder if she really wants a divorce . . . or a real wedding of her own.

A Brush with Love by Rachel Hauck

Revealing the beauty in other women might be Ginger Winters’s specialty—but it will take an unexpected kind of love to help Ginger see the beauty in herself.

Ginger Winters will be the “beauty-maker” for the Alabama society wedding of the decade.

But when high-school crush Tom Wells shows up looking for a haircut, Ginger’s thinly veiled insecurities threaten to keep her from love once again . . . despite Tom’s best efforts.

Serving Up a Sweetheart by Cheryl Wyatt

Meadow knows how to serve delicious food to match any wedding theme. But can she accept love when it's served up on a silver platter?

Meadow Larson is having the mother of all Mondays when her roof caves in during a blizzard, right before the most important wedding contract of her career.

Renovation contractor Colin McGrath offers to fix Meadow’s roof, even though he knows he is the last person she would accept help from.

But the more Meadow gets to know the new Colin, the more she realizes God may have something more permanent in store than a new catering kitchen.

My Thoughts

Sometimes I just get in the mood to read novellas.  To have a fun, enjoyable book that doesn’t take forever to read.  And what is better than a good novella?  Three novellas!!!  A Season to Wed is a collection of three Winter love stories and they were all good!

I’m not sure which one I enjoyed most because they were all pretty good.  Christmas/Winter/Holiday stories are my favorites!  I’m thinking that I enjoyed Love at Mistletoe Inn a little more than the others but I may change my mind later J

I’m so happy to be able to write another positive review!  I hate having to write negative reiews so this book totally made me happy!  I will definitely be recommending A Season to Wed to my friends and fellow book lovers!

*Note: I received a copy of this book from BookLookBloggers.com in exchange for an honest review.