Review: Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Call Me Irresistible
Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published: January 18, 2011
Hardcover: 387 pages
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 4 stars


Synopsis (from goodreads.com): R.S.V.P. to the most riotous wedding of the year . . . Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States. Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends. One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache. But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend's wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say "I don't," Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she's stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What's the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.

My Thoughts: This book was irresistible! I found it hard to put down and so enthralling, something different than what most chick lit is. We enter the story with Lucy about to marry Ted Beaudine, the most eligible bachelor in America. When she realizes that she has some doubts, her best friend (and main character) Meg tell her to follow her heart and cancel the wedding. Lucy decides to break it off right as she's about to walk down the aisle. What follows is a tale of Meg discovering who she is, what she wants in life, and the love of her life. The characters are relatable and real. Meg has been living off her famous parents for years, so when they cut her off, she has nothing. Nada. Seeing her overcome her financial situation and being entreprenuial at the same time makes her real. She is her own person and doesn't give into the ways of the small town gossips. Ted Beaudine ... sigh, where to start? He is truly perfect. I found out about halfway through the book that I was like every woman in the story and was falling for him! Seriously, he is Mr. Perfect, but Meg realizes that there is more to him, that something is holding him back.

This book is sassy, sexy, and enchanting. I wanted to pack my bags and move to this fictional town, but decided to stay where I am. If you enjoy chick lit or are looking for something a little lighter to read, I would recommend this book. I cannot wait to read more of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' novels!

Audiobook Review: Always Something There to Remind Me by Beth Harbison

Always Something There to Remind Me
Author: Beth Harbison
Published: July 19, 2011
Genre: chick lit
Audiobook: 8 discs
Narrator: Orlagh Cassidy
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 3 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): Two decades ago, Erin Edwards was sure she’d already found the love of her life: Nate Lawson. Her first love. The one with whom she shared everything--dreams of the future, of children, plans 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 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.


My Thoughts: After reading Jessica Lawlor's fab review of this audiobook a few weeks ago, it sounded like something that would be right up my alley. I enjoy listening to something that I can zone out to while I drive, and Beth Harbison's novel was just the thing I was looking for. This is your basic chick lit book but it's just so good! I do think that the narrator did a lot for this book because if I had been reading it, I probably would have been bored. The characters aren't anything great but the plot is intriguing. Afterall, who hasn't wondered what ever happend to their first love? Harbison explores that, going back and forth between the present day and the 1980s, when Erin and Nate fall in love as teenagers. This contributed a lot to the story and you really understood these two characters, seeing what they were like when they were younger and where they are now.


You might be wondering why I didn't rate this higher. While it was an enthralling listen, it was just your run-of-the-mill chick lit story. I did enjoy, it was great to zone out to, but not something that I would buy. I will be looking for more Beth Harbison audiobooks in the future, though. If you enjoy audiobooks and are looking for a great chick lit listen, then definitely check this book out!

Follow Friday and TGIF! (12-2-11)

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope that you are having a great first weekend of December and getting some of those things on your holiday to-do list done. I'm pretty much done with my shopping and just need to wrap it all, then my gifts are all done! Yay! Next weekend, I will be in NYC (cannot wait!), and then the holiday baking starts ... oh boy. I love baking, and have a few new recipes that I want to test out to see if they are worth making for the holidays. I will have to post pics of all the delicious things that I make. Now, onto the Friday fun ...

Parajunkee asks:

What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don't like love triangles or thin plots? Tell us about it!

I have a lot of book pet peeves (I'm picky, what can I say), but I will not list them all here, just my biggest ones.

I hate when chapters aren't consistent in length. I know, this is weird. But I like having chapters that are all around the same length. Authors, choose either short or long! Nothing aggrevates me more than when one chapter is 35 pages, and the next chapter is only 3 pages. It really throws me off and I can't get into a steady reading rythym (whenever I'm pressed for time, I like to say, "I will read one chapter now." Or, "I can read about five chapters now.") Like I said, this is a weird pet peeve.

I also hate it when characters have no depth. When the character doesn't bring anything to the table, I sometimes feel like I just want to walk away from the book. If they aren't bringing anything to the table, then why should I stay and read?!?

GReads asks:

Writing Reviews 101: What's your process for writing book reviews? Any tips or suggestions you would recommend to other bloggers?

My biggest tip to bloggers would be to write your review as quickly as possible. It's sometimes hard to remember the details of the book a week or so after you finished reading the book. If you realize something after you read the book, then just go back and change your review (easy to do if you plan out your reviews and have them scheduled a few weeks from now). That's my biggest tip and the thing that I do consistently when I write my reviews.

Do you have any review tips? What are your book pet peeves? Let me know, and have a happy Friday!

Monthly Wrap Up: November 2011

Another month has flown by my friends! I can hardly believe that tomorrow is December! I'm super excited for Decemeber ... the holidays are my favorite time of year and I love all the excitement and joy that abounds in December. It can be a bit stressful, but I find that everyone is much happier this month than in other months and much more giving. I don't know about you, but my Christmas shopping is just about done! I try to finish as early as possible but waited until the last minute last year, and it was disasterous! Lesson learned! So I have been working on buying everyone's gifts for the past few months now, so all I really have left to do is wrap them! How about you? How's your shopping going?

Well, enough about me and my love for the holidays. Let's see my reading stats for this month:

Number of Books Read: 8

The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin
A Lost Argument by Therese Doucet
Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson
Tabloid City by Pete Hamill
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin


Favorite Book of the Month: The Very Thought of You


Least Favorite Book of the Month: The Lantern

Well, not my best reading month, but here's hoping that I can squeeze in a few more books before the year is over! I have really been slacking in my blogging this month as well, and it seems to be taking me a long time to get around to writing reviews. Even though this next month will be busy with all the festivites, I'm going to try and get back on track!

So, how was your November? Read anything great? Let me know ... and I hope that everyone has a magical and wonderful December!

Waiting On Wednesday (11-30-11)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Each week, you highlight an upcoming release that you are eagerly awaiting. This week, my pick is: That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor by Anne Sebba (expected publication date: March 13, 2012).

Synopsis (from BN.com): This is the story of the American divorcee notorious for allegedly seducing a British king off his throne.  “That woman,” so called by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, was born Bessie Wallis Warfield in 1896 in Baltimore.  Neither beautiful nor brilliant, she endured an impoverished childhood, which fostered in her a burning desire to rise above her circumstances.

Acclaimed biographer Anne Sebba offers an eye-opening account of one of the most talked about women of her generation.  It explores the obsessive nature of Simpson’s relationship with Prince Edward, the suggestion that she may have had a Disorder of Sexual Development, and new evidence showing she may never have wanted to marry Edward at all.

Since her death, Simpson has become a symbol of female empowerment as well as a style icon.  But her psychology remains an enigma.  Drawing from interviews and newly discovered letters, That Woman shines a light on this captivating and complex woman, an object of fascination that has only grown with the years.

Since watching The King's Speech (which, if you haven't seen, you must! Seriously, it won't disappoint!), my interest in Wallis Simpson has grown. I wonder how amazing she was to lure a man away from his throne as the king of England. This is something that I will definitely be anxiously awaiting! So, what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Top Ten Tuesday (11-29-11)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week, 

they post a different topic, and you get to create your own top ten list. This week's topic:

Books on My TBR List for Winter

1) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - I read this back in high school and really want to reread it now that I am little older. I'm hoping to squeeze it in before the end of the year!

2) Before Versailles by Karleen Koen - I think this sounds like a great book and will help me get my fill of French aristocracy.

3) The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes - I keep on forgetting that this book is in my TBR pile and I think it's something that I would really like. Set during World War II, it's something that it is right up my alley.

4) My Korean Deli by Ben Ryder Howe - I have wanted to read this memoir for what seems like forever! Definitely going to have to make time for it this winter!

5) The Submission by Amy Waldman - this sounds like such a great book and even though it's a work of fiction, it's based in the real world (the Twin Towers memorial). I asked Santa for it, so I hope that I find a copy under the tree!

6) The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides - even though I haven't read Middlesex (yet), I cannot wait to read Eugenides latest novel. It seems like something that I can relate to (who doesn't long for a relationship like those found in Austen novels?!?) and would hold my interest. Another book that I asked Santa for.

7) Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah - I love Kristin Hannah and think she's a great writer, and it only makes sense to read this book during winter!

8) Holidays On Ice by David Sedaris - I have to read this one before Christmas!

9) The First Husband by Laura Dave - I actually plan on reading this one within the next 2 weeks. I need something light to read.

10) If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster - I have been wanting to read Jen Lancaster forever (I haven't read any of her books ... I know, how have I not read any of her books?!?), and I really want to get this one sometime in the next few months.

So, what books are in your TBR pile for the winter? Let me know!

Review: Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey

Becoming Marie Antoinette
Author: Juliet Grey
Published: August 9, 2011
Genre: historical fiction
Paperback: 453 pages
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 4 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): Raised alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress of Austria, ten-year-old Maria Antonia knew that her idyllic existence would one day be sacrificed to her mother’s political ambitions. What she never anticipated was that the day in question would come so soon. Before she can journey from sunlit picnics with her sisters in Vienna to the glitter, glamour, and gossip of Versailles, Antonia must changeeverything about herself in order to be accepted as dauphine of France and the wife of the awkward teenage boy who will one day be Louis XVI. Yet nothing can prepare her for the ingenuity and influence it will take to become queen.


My Thoughts: I find Marie Antoinette to be an interesting person and I often look for books about her life. When I heard about Juliet Grey's new trilogy about her, I was intrigued. After finishing this book, I can say that this is such a thorough explanation of Marie's life, with so much detail, that I was astounded and drawn into the story! This novel focuses on the time from Marie first learning of her engagement to the day that she becomes queen of France. Grey goes into so much detail about Marie's life, from her life in the Austrian palace to her preparations to become the dauphine, and yet the story never drags. I found it to be interesting and Grey's writing to be light, which, given the subject matter and knowing Marie's eventual fate, is quite nice.


There is a lot of depth in this book, with several pages talking about Marie Antoinette having braces placed on her teeth (can you imagine having braces put on during the 18th century?!? I couldn't even begin to imagine how primative they much have looked!) I really liked the pace of the novel and the depth. You are able to learn a lot about Marie and Louis. While it is a work of fiction, Grey has done a lot of research on her subject and it shines through.


I cannot wait until the second book in this series comes out (sometime in summer 2012). And even though I know what happens to Marie, reading Grey's take on it is refreshing. If you enjoy historical fiction, especially that during the French Revolution, then this is definitely a book that you should read! Just be careful ... it will leave you eagerly awaiting the next book in this series!