Audiobook Review: The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews

The Fixeer-Upper
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Narrator: Isabel Keating
Published: June 23, 2009
Genre: chick lit
Audiobook: 12 discs
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 3 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): After her boss in a high-powered Washington public relations firm is caught in a political scandal, fledgling lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew is left almost broke, unemployed, and homeless. Out of options, she reluctantly accepts her father's offer to help refurbish Birdsong, the old family place he recently inherited in Guthrie, Georgia. All it will take, he tells her, is a little paint and some TLC to turn the fading Victorian mansion into a real-estate cash cow. But, oh, is Dempsey in for a surprise when she arrives in Guthrie. "Bird Droppings" would more aptly describe the moldering Pepto Bismol pink dump with duct-taped windows and a driveway full of junk. There's also a murderously grumpy old lady, one of Dempsey's distant relations, who has claimed squatter's rights and isn't moving out. Ever. Furthermore, everyone in Guthrie seems to know Dempsey's business, from a smooth-talking real-estate agent to a cute lawyer who owns the local newspaper. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the pesky FBI agents who show up on Dempsey's doorstep, hoping to pry information about her ex-boss from her. All Dempsey can do is roll up her sleeves and get to work. And before long, what started as a job of necessity somehow becomes a labor of love and, ultimately, a journey that takes her to a place she never expected—back home again.


My Thoughts: Since I have listened to pretty much every Sophie Kinsella book on CDs that I can find, I have been looking for something to fill that void. A good piece of chick lit that I can pop in while driving and just forget about my 30 minutes drive to work. Luckily, Mary Kay Andrews seems to fill that void very well. The story is light and fluffy, following a woman who is caught up in a Washington scandal and trying to get away and figure out how to restart her life. There is cast of quaint Southern charaters who all exude that typical Southern charm that people love to think of when they think of small Southern towns. There's a handsome lawyer, the cranky old woman, the older gentlemen ... there's a whole cast of them and they all had a little something to the story.


There were a few flaws with this book. For starters, Dempsey, the main character. One minute, she's playing the damsel in distress, the next, she's acting like a boss. It was confusing and she came across as very wishy-washy as a character. The other thing that really bothered me was Dempsey and Tee's relationship. They went on one date and then they are talking about their future together. It just seemed to move very fast. Who starts talking about marriage after one date?!? It was just a little too odd for me.


I loved the narrator for this book. Isabel Keating has a great voice and pace. She was able to do a raspy, Souther, old lady voice, an older Southern gentleman's voice, a younger one's ... there was a large cast of voices and she differentiated between them all. They all had a distinct way of talking and she brings that across in her reading. It made for a great listening experience and I hope to listen to more of her work in the future.


Overall, it was a good listening experience. It was something that I could listen to and walk away from easily and was entertaining enough to make me laugh at times. I will definitely be reading more of Andrews audiobooks in the future.

Review: Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear

Among the Mad
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Published: February 17, 2009
Genre: mystery
Hardcover: 303 pages
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 3.5 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): It’s Christmas Eve 1931. On the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the prime minister’s office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if certain demands are not met—and the writer mentions Maisie by name. After being questioned and cleared by Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane of Scotland Yard’s elite Special Branch, she is drawn into MacFarlane’s personal fiefdom as a special adviser on the case. Meanwhile, Billy Beale, Maisie’s trusted assistant, is once again facing tragedy as his wife, who has never recovered from the death of their young daughter, slips further into melancholia’s abyss. Soon Maisie becomes involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict death and destruction on thousands of innocent people. And before this harrowing case is over, Maisie must navigate a darkness not encountered since she was a nurse in wards filled with shell-shocked men.


My Thoughts: I really enjoy the Maisie Dobbs series and this book just made me love the series even more. Still centered around the after effects of World War I, Maisie must work with Scotland Yard to find a madman before he goes on a killing spree in London. I thought that this novel was her most engaging to date. Maybe that it was on a bigger scale than before, but there was something that really pulled me to this story. I loved the mystery of this one and the people that she got to work with at Scotland Yard. I also liked Billy's story in this novel. I liked the way that Winspear brought up the difficulty of losing a child and the impact that it can have on a family, especially around the holidays.  I felt like this whole novel was a great addition to this series and I hope that it grows from this one, with Maisie taking on bigger cases and not entirely focused on WWI.

Book Blog Hop, Follow Friday, and TGIF (8-10-12)

Happy Friday everyone! I hope that you are having a great week and enjoying these last few weeks of summer. At this time in three weeks, I will be in London for my vacation and I can hardly wait! I am so anxious to go, since it will be my first trip there ever! Well, onto the Friday fun ...

Jen at Crazy for Books asks:

Who is your go-to author when you are in a reading rut?

I normally go for anything chick lit or Kristin Hannah. I love her books, but any chick lit book normally helps to get me out of a reading rut.

Parajunkee asks:

What would you do over if you were to start your blog again from scratch?

I think choosing memes to participate in. I was all over the place when I first started blogging, just trying out everything that I found. After a few months, I realized that it was kinda ridiculuos to do so many, so I pared it down to my Friday memes, Top Ten Tuesday, and Waiting on Wednesday.

GReads asks:

Unexpected Books: Which books did you have reservations about reading, but ended up loving once you did?

Any book that has a lot of hype surrounding it, I typically have reservations about reading. I always want to read them, but think that if so many people like them, then I probably won't. I felt this way when I read Harry Potter, which seems to weird to think about now!

So, what do you read to get out of a reading rut? Would you do anything over on your blog if you were to start again? Which books were you hesitant to read but ended up loving? Let me know and have a great weekend!

Waiting on Wednesday (8-8-12)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Each week, you highlight an upcoming release that you are eagerly anticipating. This week, I'm looking forward to Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff (release date: September 11, 2012).

Synopsis (from BN.com): A bright June day. A split-second distraction. A family forever changed.

Life is good for Maura Corrigan. Married to her college sweetheart, Pete, raising three young kids with her parents nearby in her peaceful Chicago suburb, her world is secure. Then one day, in a single turn of fate, that entire world comes crashing down and everything that she thought she knew changes.

Maura must learn to move forward with the weight of grief and the crushing guilt of an unforgivable secret. Pete senses a gap growing between him and his wife but finds it easier to escape to the bar with his friends than face the flaws in his marriage.

Meanwhile, Maura's parents are dealing with the fault lines in their own marriage. Charismatic Roger, who at sixty-five, is still chasing the next business deal and Margaret, a pragmatic and proud homemaker, have been married for four decades, seemingly happily. But the truth is more complicated. Like Maura, Roger has secrets of his own and when his deceptions and weaknesses are exposed, Margaret's love and loyalty face the ultimate test.

Those We Love Most chronicles how these unforgettable characters confront their choices, examine their mistakes, fight for their most valuable relationships, and ultimately find their way back to each other. It takes us deep into the heart of what makes families and marriages tick and explores a fundamental question: when the ties that bind us to those we love are strained or broken, how do we pick up the pieces?

So, what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Top Ten Tuesday (8-7-12)

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. So, this week's 

topic is:

Posts On Your Blog That Would Give The BEST Picture of YOU

1) The Devil Wears Prada review - this happens to be my most viewed book review of all time, and I think it's a pretty good review.

2) Harry Potter wrap-up - I wrote this after the final Harry Potter movie came out. I think a lot of us grew up in the midst of the Harry Potter phenomenon, so it was the end of an era when this movie came out. I just put my thoughts down about this time in my life, when I always had something Harry-related to look forward to.

3) To Kill a Mockingbird review - I think the hardest book to review is a classic. Lots of people have read them and reviewed and critiqued them, so it can be daunting to review them. I really liked the review that I wrote for this one and I think that I wrote something that truly expressed my thoughts on this classic.

4) Unbroken review - I LOVED this book (it was my favorite book that I read last year) and I was so excited to write this review. I just wanted to express how much I loved Hillenbrand's work, and I think that comes across in my review.

5) Dream When You're Feeling Blue audiobook review - this was my first audiobook review, which I was a bit nervous to write at first because I wasn't sure if I was doing it right (have you ever thought that about writing a review of a certain book?) But I liked my review and felt comfortable enough writing one to continue to review audiobooks.

6) Top Ten Tuesday from 12-6-11 - this was your top ten childhood favorites, and I just loved the topic!

7) Bossypants review - this review of Tina Fey's memoir was when I started to let loose and just let my thoughts flow into a review.

That's all that I can think of for this week. So, what are your favorite posts that you've done? Let me know!

Review: Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

Silver Girl
Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Published: June 21, 2011
Genre: chick lit 
Hardcover: 416 pages
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 3.5 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): 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. 

My Thoughts: When looking for a classic summer read, I always think of Elin Hilderbrand first. Her books are set on Nantucket during the summer and show how life is on the island. This time around, her novel mirrors life (in a way). It's easy to tell that the premise for this novel started with the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme that happened a few years ago. The Ponzi scheme is featured here and is what leads to Meredith Delinn losing everything in her life: her money, her homes, her family. Now, I don't know what Bernie Madoff's wife did while the trial was going on and whatnot. But this novel gives us a glimpse into what she might have been experiencing emotionally. Meredith had no knowledge of her husband's crimes. She did whatever he asked her to do, and it had worked out amazingly well for her. They lived in a Park Avenue penthouse, had a home in Palm Beach, and had billions of dollars. When her world collapses, Meredith realizes that she has lost who she is.

The characters in this novel were great. I loved Meredith and thought that she was so real. Once again, I don't know what Bernie Madoff's wife experienced as backlash once his Ponzi scheme was brought down, but I'm sure some of her emotions are exactly what Meredith experienced. I loved Dan and found him to be a great foil for the women, even though he had difficulties of his own. Connie was a bit confusing for me. There were times when I really liked her narration, and other times where I just found her annoying. I think she might have been my biggest issue with this novel. Like wanting Meredith to go into town, I just wanted to reach through the page and slap her (have you ever felt like doing this to a character?) She just seemed clueless at times.

If you are looking for a beach read this summer, then I highly recommend this novel. It's partly based on true events, but with Nantucket as the backdrop, you are sure to get swept up in the story and enjoy every moment of it.

Audiobook Review: The Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani

The Queen of the Big Time
Author: Adriana Trigiani
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Published: March 31, 2004
Genre: chick lit
Audiobook: 8 discs
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 3 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): In the late 1800s, the residents of a small village in the Bari region of Italy, on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, made a mass migration to the promised land of America. They settled in Roseto, Pennsylvania, and re-created their former lives in their new home–down to the very last detail of who lived next door to whom. The village’s annual celebration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel–or “the Big Time,” as the occasion is called by the young women who compete to be the pageant’s Queen–is the centerpiece of Roseto’s colorful old-world tradition.

The industrious Castellucas farm the land outside Roseto. Nella, the middle daughter of five, aspires to a genteel life “in town,” far from the rigors of farm life, which have taken a toll on her mother and forced her father to take extra work in the slate quarries to make ends meet. But Nella’s dreams of making her own fortune shift when she meets Renato Lanzara, the son of a prominent Roseto family. Renato is a worldly, handsome, devil-may-care poet who has a way with words that makes him irresistible. Their friendship ignites into a fiery romance that Nella is certain will lead to marriage. But Nella is not alone in her pursuit: every girl in town seems to want Renato. When he disappears without explanation, Nella is left with a shattered heart. Four years later, Renato’s sudden return to Roseto the night before Nella’s wedding to the steadfast Franco Zollerano leaves her and the Castelluca family shaken. For although Renato has chosen a path very different from Nella’s, they are fated to live and work in Roseto, where the past hangs over them like a brewing storm.

An epic of small-town life, etched in glorious detail in the trademark Trigiani style, The Queen of the Big Time is the story of a determined, passionate woman who can never forget her first love.

My Thoughts: This is the fourth Adriana Trigiani book that I've read and I think that it differed a bit from her other novels that I've read. It still featured an Italian-American leading lady and her big family. There is love involved. But for some reason, there was something that was a bit off in this novel. Focusing on Nella Castelucca and her family in Roseto, Pennsylvania, Trigiani tells the tale of Nella's life, from middle school to her death. You see her go from a young girl with a thirst for knowledge to someone trying to provide for her family. Nella matures and grows as a character, from someone who is focused on her education to someone who will do whatever it takes to provide for her family. I thought that she was a well-written character and a strong main character.

I liked some of the other characters. There is Franco, a young machinist who is madly in love with Nella. He was so amiable that you can't help but love him. And he is a good foil to Nella and her practicality. I also like Nella's parents. They are loving and supportive and only want the best for their children. Trigiani's novels feature a large cast of characters, but for some reason, there just seemed to be too many this time. It was distracting and sometimes hard to keep up with. Once again, I loved Cassandra Campbell's narration. I think she's my favorite audiobook narrator. She does voices so well that it's easy to differentiate between each character. She is also filled with emotion and you instantly empathize with the characters. While not my favorite Trigiani novel, it was still an enjoyable listen.