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The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

Posted on August 3, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • Anything to do with love letters appeals to me – especially ones from the past.

I also recommend:

  • The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
  • 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Summary from GoodReads:

It is 1960. When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply “B”, asking her to leave her husband.

Years later, in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper’s archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and hopeful that it can resurrect her faltering career. Perhaps if these lovers had a happy ending she will find one to her own complicated love life, too. Ellie’s search will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance.

My Review:

The Last Letter from Your Lover is an old-fashioned, classy type of romance book that had even me (who is thoroughly tired out when it comes to romances) swooning and feeling the romance love.

With quiet, unassuming writing, Moyes tells a dual story, one a little more focused than the other, but both with characters that are loveable. Jenny Stirling wakes up in November 1960 in a hospital. She suffers from amnesia due to a head wound and is slowly introduced into her high society life – but finds that there is something missing, a hole in her life.

.. and so begins the story. Full of misses, crossed paths, and a theme that reminded me of 84 Charing Cross Road, The Last Letter from Your Lover is an homage to the written word when it comes to love. It celebrates writing, the writing of letters as an expression of love and shows just how stark the modern world is with its texts and emails. It made me long for a love affair in which I received letters like Jenny received.

Is there anything new in the story? Not really, but it doesn’t really matter either, because the flow of the story and the characters and the writing make up for it. I do admit to being surprised a few times, and the author really strung me along because I was so longing for that perfect ending.

This is a gorgeous summer read and one worthy of putting on your list if you are looking for that bit of romance to spice up your reading life.

Check out these reviews!

Booking Mama

Book’d Out

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Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Posted on December 10, 2010
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Reason(s) for Reading:
  • In spite of saying I was swearing off Angels.. I couldn’t resist (plus, I’d already requested this from NetGalley)
I  also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

In the beginning, there’s a boy standing in the trees. . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she’s part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what it is, though, isn’t easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place–and out of place, at the same time. Because there’s another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara’s less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she’d have to make–between honesty and deciet, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

My Review (Spoiler Free):

I’m on a roll with picking up really decent YA literature these days.  Despite having sworn off Angel stories after a few.. really bad ones, I picked this up fully expecting to be disgusted with it within the first fifty pages.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Cynthia Hand’s treatment of angels doesn’t stem out of any sort of religion, necessarily.  She seems to take her information from mythology and refrains from putting any sort of religious slant on the book – which works.  A lot of the issues I had with other books dealing with angelic beings stem from their connection to God (or a god of sorts) and usually involved a bunch of breaking of the rules in order for the story to “work”.  And then the story didn’t work for me, no matter what the ending said was supposed to be happening.

So with just mythology backing up these angelic beings and a “purpose” being their reason for being on Earth, this story worked – and it worked well.  Plus, there’s a nice little twist in there that I didn’t see coming and couldn’t figure out how exactly it would work out.  I’ll be putting Unearthly on my list to watch for the sequel for and Cynthia Hand on my list of debut authors to watch.

Check out these review(s):

Good Choice Reading

Tales of Whimsy

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Salting Roses by Lorelle Marinello

Posted on December 9, 2010
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Reason(s) for Reading:
  • After several really good Southern fiction books, I jumped at the chance to read this one when I saw it listed on TLC Tours!
I  also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

A young woman abandoned as an infant on an Alabama porch is horrified to discover that she is the missing heiress to a vast Connecticut fortune—a birthright she is desperate to reject in favor of her Peachtree Lane roots.

Gracie Lynne Calloway—once left in a coal bucket on a front porch in a small Alabama town—discovers on her twenty-fifth birthday that she is the kidnapped daughter of a late New England financier and heiress to a fortune. When the tabloid press and her unwanted greedy relatives descend on her, she has to admit the quiet secure life she’s known and loved is gone for good. As Gracie struggles to stabilize her world and come to terms with her new identity, she learns that belonging is not about where you came from but who you are.

My Review:

I’ve only recently (as in this year) become a fan of “Southern” fiction, books set in the south and ranging from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind to Kathryn Stockett’s The Help to more modern stories such as Beth Hoffman’s Saving CeeCee Honeycutt.  I’ve been incredibly lucky to have read some fantastic titles, but also have read some.. not so fantastic ones.

So when I saw the description for Salting Roses I jumped at the opportunity to read it.  A sort of “Cinderella/Coming-of-Age” story? Yes please! I was so excited and dove right in.. and I was hooked, until things went even a little too overboard for me.

There is a lot of potential story in this book, and perhaps others will not have as much difficulty as I had, but there are so many “secondary” characters that I felt the story sort of.. got lost.  And then Gracie Lynn kind of got lost in it, and then I was confused as to what exactly the story was supposed to be.

I loved the start of the book, loved it.  I was a little perturbed by how outlandish the sum of money was that Gracie inherited, but I accepted that that’s a pet peeve of mine and got over it quickly.  I loved Ben and Artie and Alice, I loved the foundation being set for who Gracie Lynn was.  But then.. things drifted.

I think the problem with this book is that Ms. Marinello tried to get too much put into the story in too little pages.  I don’t think the book should have been longer though, just.. less conflict, less romance, less.. .something. Just one of those ingredients left out and I think it would have been better.  But instead, she seemed to go to extremes, starting with that pet peeve of mine – the huge amount of money.  Then instead of one mean person, there’s two.  Instead of one uncle, there’s an uncle and aunt… I could go on with a few more, but I think you understand what I’m talking about here.

The lesson in all of this is moderation.  With just a little bit less of everything, I think the story would have fit together more easily and been less confusing and more enjoyable. I don’t think the book was bad, I was just disappointed at how quickly everything had to move and everyone had to change to get to the ending.

About the Author

Lorelle Marinello has won numerous awards for her writing, including the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart for Best Single Title Romance in 2005.

Lorelle received her BA in Fine Arts from San Diego State University. She lives in Southern California with her huband and three children. In her free time she enjoys landscape gardening and researching her family’s Southern genealogy. Her first novel,Waltzing with Alligators, inspired by her Southern roots, will debut in 2008.

Visit Lorelle Marinello at her website here.

For more reviews on Salting Roses by Lorelle Marinello, please follow the book tour.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

Posted on November 27, 2010
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Reason(s) for Reading:
  • I’ve read every Nicholas Sparks book and it seemed this one would be a good choice for my first audio book.
I  also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo’s empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

My Review:

There used to be a day I’d greet each new Nicholas Sparks book with excitement and an eager desire to put everything else aside until I’d read the book in its entirety.  Then a pattern began to emerge, leading up to my current feelings of quiet acceptance that, yes – the story would be engrossing and yes, I’d cry, but there was no hurry to get through it.  This led me to the decision to listen to Safe Haven on audio during a long car trip to and from my folks house for the holiday.

In some ways, I appreciated the book more this way.  The story took longer to unfold and I felt less rushed to get to the “crying” parts of the book, but also, it showed some glaringly slow parts.  I liked the characters of Alex and Katie, but found their interaction to be a little cliche.  There were some pretty tired jokes made and the dialogue wasn’t as witty as I remembered Sparks being.. all in all it felt just a bit transparent, which disappointed me since I loved the relationship in, for example, The Notebook.

Overall, Safe Haven is a worthy addition to Sparks’ list of books, but not one of my favorites.  I wouldn’t recommend the audio, even sitting in a car for 12 hours wasn’t enough to keep my interest going at times and I found myself drifting off to sleep, or switching over to listen to music. I think I would have enjoyed the book more had I actually read it.

Check out these review(s):

Good Choice Reading

Stiletto Storytime

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