Drink Slay Love By Sarah Beth Durst

Goodreads summary:
Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.

The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

My Thoughts:
She had me at Acknowledgments. I will say that this book made me laugh at least three times from how ridiculous it is. I think it was a fun read. This book had a sense of humor about itself and by extension I don't feel the author takes herself overly serious. I will say that she almost lost me though with some of the unicorn stuff. Without spoiling anything I will say that while making fun of Twilight she unintentionally had some of the same annoying aspects to her book as Twilight. For instance I would for once like a book to show that love doesn't just happen over night but takes time to build and develop. Silly teenagers and rushing to use the love word!

That being said I would recommend this to anyone looking for an eye rolling good time. I wouldn't recommend this book if you are looking for a serious and or deep read.

While writing this review I was listening to the blissful silence that is my apartment on a quiet afternoon.

My oh My.... how time flies when you are doing math.

Tomorrow is the day....

Yep, I turn 30 tomorrow.

I am attempting to be positive about my birthday this year. I have never been a fan of them. Mostly, I like to sleep and not do a damn thing. This year I will be rocking some Thai food with my nearest and dearest. I am pretty excited to see my peeps. I haven't seen them much lately because of school. I took my final so I magically will have some free time until the second week of January.

My 30 for 30 project has been on the back burner for the last couple of months but as of tomorrow I am going to put it back in the forefront.

Bitter is The New Black By Jennifer Lancaster

Goodreads Summary:
This is the story of how a haughty former sorority girl went from having a household income of almost a quarter-million dollars to being evicted from a ghetto apartment...

My thoughts:
I am pretty sure that Jen Lancaster is my new best friend. Okay, not really, but I think she is pretty awesome. I loved this book. I dug her insight and lack there of. While reading this book I felt like I was hanging out with a richer less emotionally intelligent version of myself. I love me some designer clothes and the SHOES oh the shoes how I love thee.
I have read some seriously negative reviews of this book. I will say that Jen's narrative is definitely not for everyone. I think she appeals to a specific type of personality. I would not recommend this book to just anyone. She has the snotty bitchy attitude that a lot of women in my generation have. We feel entitled to a lot and when our expectations inevitably fall short we don't always handle it the best way but in the end we figure it out.

While writing this review I was listening to the snow melt from the first storm of the season.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Summary:
Caitlin has been living in her big sister's shadow her whole life. Out of nowhere that shadow up and moves away leaving Caitlin alone to figure out her own life. Rogerson comes into Caitlin's life and everything changes for her, but not in a good way.

My thoughts: SPOILER ALERT!
This is a departure for Sarah Dessen. Caitlin isn't a character I could immediately connect with. I have never really felt like I had to live up to my perfect siblings. Caitlin tries so hard have a different path from her older sister Cass. In the process of finding that path Caitlin looses herself. Rogerson enters Caitlin's life at just the wrong time, just when she is open to suggestion. She starts making choices that normally she wouldn't. The first time Rogerson hits her, she doesn't tell anyone. Caitlin deals with the increasing abuse for months.

I knew a girl in high school who dealt with beatings for months. She was addicted to the roller coaster. She wanted nothing more than to please him but he was rarely pleased. I saw her slow decline and heard her stupid excuses about the bruising. This book gives, in my opinion, an accurate account of what happens to women who are victimized. It starts with manipulation and ends with a fist.

I would say I liked this book over all. I would not recommend this to just anyone. I would imagine it would be a trigger book for those who have dealt with domestic abuse.

While writing this review I was listening to Grey's Anatomy.

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Goodreads Synopsis:
Walker and Daughter is Georgia Walker's little yarn shop, tucked into a quiet storefront on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Friday Night Knitting Club was started by some of Georgia's regulars, who gather once a week to work on their latest projects and to chat-and occasionally clash-over their stories of love, life, and everything in between.

Georgia has her hands full, juggling the demands of running the store and raising her spunky teen daughter, Dakota, by herself. Thank goodness for Anita, her mentor and dear friend, and the rest of the members of the knitting club-who are just as varied as the skeins of yarn in the shop's bins. There's Peri, a prelaw student turned handbag designer; Darwin, a somewhat aloof feminist grad student; and Lucie, a petite, quiet woman who's harboring some secrets of her own.

However, unexpected changes soon throw these women's lives into disarray, and the shop's comfortable world gets shaken up like a snow globe. James, Georgia's ex, decides that he wants to play a larger role in Dakota's life-and possibly Georgia's as well. Cat, a former friend from high school, returns to New York as a rich Park Avenue wife and uneasily renews her old bond with Georgia. Meanwhile, Anita must confront her growing (and reciprocated) feelings for Marty, the kind neighborhood deli owner. And when the unthinkable happens, they realize what they've created: not just a knitting club, but a sisterhood.

My thoughts:
I liked this book. It wasn't really what I was expecting. My friend recommended this book to me forever ago. I had been putting it off for one reason or another ever since. I can't say I had a valid reason for it. I am glad to say that I dug this book. I liked the variety of female voices with a common hobby; therefore, a common thread going through each story. I liked the voice of Georgia. She reminded me of my Mother in a few ways. My Mom has owned her own business for over 33 years now. My Mother, was not a single Mom so she didn't have that set of hardships to deal with. But the personality between Georgia and my own Mom was similar.
I liked that this club became a support system for each of the ladies in the story. I think it is important for adult women to maintain connections not just with family or work but other women as well.

I would recommend this to pink book readers and anyone who wants to be pleasantly surprised by a book.

While writing this review I was listening to Mya - Ghetto Supastar

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Good Reads Synopsis:
Who is the real McLean?

Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out.

My thoughts:
I read a lot of negative reviews on this book before reading it. I have to say I don't agree with any of them. I liked this book. I have said it before, but I just dig the way that Sarah Dessen tells a story. I love that she brings in characters from other books.
I liked the character of McLean. She is smart and adapts to her surroundings quickly. I like she changed not just her style every where she went but her name as well. I think most people have wanted to try on a different name and personality. I think to varying degrees we all try on different personalities at some point. I have always been fascinated with people who can so quickly adapt. In some ways McLean reminded me of my friend My friend like McLean can seamlessly put herself in any situation and excel.

I would recommend this to Pink Book readers or anyone who digs a good writer.

While writing this review I was listening to Emmapuppy grumble and moan about not being at the dog park.

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

Goodreads Synopsis:
Some bonds can never be broken...
Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That's what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they're both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school's scapegoat.

Flash-forward fifteen years. Valerie Adler has found a measure of fame and fortune working as the weathergirl at the local TV station. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents' house in their small hometown of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. She's just returned from Bad Date #6 when she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat. "Something horrible has happened," Val tells Addie, "and you're the only one who can help."

My thoughts:
Why does Jennifer Weiner always have an over weight character who gets skinny in order to love themselves? That would be my only complaint in this book is that Addie can't love herself until she drops weight. I am so tired of women having to drop weight before they can feel love from themselves or others. I am a heavier girl and I have love for myself and others.
That being said I liked the rest of this book. I liked the clash of personalities between Addie and Val. Addie is cautious and careful about her life. Val runs a bit wild in comparison. During various stages of my life I have been both overly cautious and wild. It was nice to read both perspectives of this life long friendship.

While writing this review I was listening to Extreme - More Than Words. Yep.

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

Synopsis via Amazon.com:
Sometimes all you can do is fly away home . . .

When Sylvie Serfer met Richard Woodruff in law school, she had wild curls, wide hips, and lots of opinions. Decades later, Sylvie has remade herself as the ideal politician’s wife—her hair dyed and straightened, her hippie-chick wardrobe replaced by tailored knit suits. At fifty-seven, she ruefully acknowledges that her job is staying twenty pounds thinner than she was in her twenties and tending to her husband, the senator.

Lizzie, the Woodruffs’ younger daughter, is at twenty-four a recovering addict, whose mantra HALT (Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired?) helps her keep her life under control. Still, trouble always seems to find her. Her older sister, Diana, an emergency room physician, has everything Lizzie failed to achieve—a husband, a young son, the perfect home—and yet she’s trapped in a loveless marriage. With temptation waiting in one of the ER’s exam rooms, she finds herself craving more.

After Richard’s extramarital affair makes headlines, the three women are drawn into the painful glare of the national spotlight. Once the press conference is over, each is forced to reconsider her life, who she is and who she is meant to be.

Written with an irresistible blend of heartbreak and hilarity, Fly Away Home is an unforgettable story of a mother and two daughters who after a lifetime of distance finally learn to find refuge in one another.


My thoughts:
I liked this book. I have been hit or miss with Jennifer Weiner's books. This one I am on the side of really liking. I dug the three female voices and seeing their respective views on the world and a shared heart ache. I did have hesitations with the main voice Sylvie as I have never been the type of person to give up everything for the person I am with. Sylvie lost herself in her husband and his life. I was glad that she finally found herself again in the end but she was the hardest voice for me to relate to.

I recommend this book to those who dig the pink books (chick lit).

While writing this review I was listening to Anderson Cooper 360

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Synopsis:
Just before her nineth birthday Rose discovers something off about herself as she is biting into a homemade lemon cake. She can taste the emotions of her Mother in every bite. She can taste the thoughts and feelings of those who prepare her food. From the sadness of her Mother to the rush of a restaurant cook. Rose has an older brother who she looks up to but his behavior is distant and then just bizarre as the story progresses.

My thoughts:SPOILER ALERT
Well shit. I wanted to like this book. I really tried liking this book, for 3/4 of this book I was on the firm side of like-age. Then Rose's brother Joseph turned into a chair. Yep, a folding chair to be exact. The whole first half of the book we learn about Rose and her awesome ability/ curse to taste the emotions of whomever is preparing the food or harvested the food she is eating. I liked Rose. I hated the Joseph character and what was done to him.

I don't recommend this book to anyone. It made me too mad.

While writing this review I am listening to Anderson Cooper 360

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

They call it Amor Deliria Nervosa and you will be infected without the cure. It kills you when you have it and it kills you even if you don't have it. The cure is the only way you can be happy. Everyone when they turn 18 receives the cure. You can tell the cured from the uncured by a three pronged scar on the neck from a needle which immobilizes you during the procedure. It isn't safe for the uncured to be alone with other uncured of the opposite sex, to prevent infection of course. The disease is sitting like a ticking time bomb in all of us, waiting to spread. You will be safe from infection if you follow the rules. Curfew at 9pm for the uncured. Do well on your school board exams. Do well in your evaluations. You will be rewarded with a mate who is best suited for you. You will be happy once you have been cured.

Lena has been counting the days until her own cure since her Mother died of the disease. Lena is terrified of being infected. Lena's worst fear comes true when she meets Alex. She is infected with Love. There are the sympathizers and resistors of course, as there are with every insane government movement. There are even the invalids, those who have lived outside of the grid. Alex was born in The Wilds, the area outside of city limits. He is an invalid, uncured, infected, diseased. Lena discovers all the lies about the disease, her Mother, and herself through learning to love Alex.

This book gave me goosebumps several times. Not because, we as a society, are expecting people to line up for lobotomies but because we probably aren't far off. This book is what happens when you drink too much of the cool aid someone else is feeding you. There is the ever present totalitarian government, acting for the safety of its people. Lies and fear are always effective in brainwashing people into thinking they need something fixed, cured, or changed which wasn't broken.( See cable news organizations)

I liked this book. I even liked that the ending isn't picture perfect. Most, if not all, endings aren't what we want them to be in reality. It is easy to want those pretty moments in books, but it is refreshing to have a book end on both a happy and depressing note. It makes the book feel more real. This book leaves several things unanswered. I have heard there will be a sequel coming out sometime next spring.

I recommend this book to those who like awesome writing, dig apocalyptic stories, and or political stories.

While writing this review I was listening to Poe - Terrible Thought off of Haunted.