In my bag this week 10/23-10/29

What I am carrying around this week and working on reading:

The Second Assistant: A Tale from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder: Mimi Hare and Clare Naylor

Also, got
The First Assistant: A Continued Tale from Behind the Hollywood Curtain: Mimi Hare and Clare Naylor (The sequel)

After the Party: Lisa Jewell (a sequel to Ralph's Party that I read earlier this year)

Edit: Pickup from the Library that came in: Game of Thrones: George R. R. Martin and Writing For Writing for Emotion Balance: Beth Jacobs 
The first in high demand so had to move up my list and the second is research for my nano, so looks like the week is devoted to those sadly enough.


I know I won't get to all of them but these are what I am working on this week and excited about.

Hollywood Ending: Lucie Simone

Trina has lived in LA for 10 years trying to live out her Hollywood dream. So, far she has gotten into debt by going to film school, teaches ESL to barely makes ends meet, and keeps striking out romantically. That is until Matiu sublets the apartment upstairs from Trina. Matiu, has come to LA to take a scenic design class, which he hopes will open doors for him when he goes home to New Zealand where more and more productions are filming.
The tension grows between Trian and Matiu as they interact yet they both keep finding ways to get pulled away from each other even when neither of them really want that. But, what is the Hollywood Ending that they really want and how are they going to choose is what it comes down to.

I enjoyed this book and just flew through it. (Is it just me or do others find they read ebooks fast that paper ones?) Both of the characters were well rounded for me, they had good qualities and bad habits or things they needed to work on and grow still, so they weren't perfect. This book truly is in my opinion a romantic comedy and the two genres are blended well. I think is what holds alot of the appeal of the plot to me. The characters and even supporting characters are well rounded with the background/backstory built up on all of them.

Overall I give this book 4 stars. It kept my attention and left me wanting to know more about the characters and keep following them. There were moments where I didn't want to stop reading, but couldn't keep reading because if I did I knew it would end sooner and I didn't want that too. I look forward to reading more of Simone's works.

Whispers from the Heart: Heather Hummel

Madison dosen't trust men and hasn't since she left her ex Rick and moved halfway across the country. But she is still looking behind her back, scared he will come back to her life. So, she keeps to herself with her one close friend, teaching her classes, and running. But, there are people appearing in her life and it may be time to let things change and trust again. While figuring herself out we also follow Madison as she teaches and her students go through a tough time. One of her students commits suicide and Madison is there for her other students as she deals with that. She has lead them in journaling before and continues to use journal to help the students deal with what they are feeling.

The plot of this book really deals with some tough issues. Madison getting over the hurt and the emotions she has left from her past relationship and the emotional abuse she is getting over. Then there is teenage suicide and how that effects not only Madison, but the teens that she mentors. The plot follows how she helps them with their emotions. I think in helping her students deal with their lose and their journals Madison learns some about herself. She starts to let down her wall through it and in that starts to deal with her own emotions and who she lets into her life.

Overall, though parts of the emotions were actually dealt with was glossed over at points, which I can understand being done to keep the plot moving, I would suggest this book to others. Heather has other books in her Journal from the Heart Series and I interested to read more of those and to see how she continues to use journals in the plots.

My review is part of the Chick Lit Plus blog tours. And if you leave a commented on the tour page you are entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card, http://chicklitplusblogtours.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/whispers-from-the-heart-by-heather-hummel/.

I was provided a copy of the book for review, but the summary and thoughts on the book are mine.

Carrying around this week 10/16-10/20

This week I am reading...

Dollars to Donuts: Kathleen Kole
For chick lit plus blog tours look for the review in November

The First Assistant: Clare Naylore and Mimi Hare
Got this from the library after finishing Catching Alice

Catching Alice: Clare Naylor

Alice has recently lost her boyfriend, her place to live, and her job. Crashing at her cousins' while he is out of town, she is spending  her time fielding his long lone of cast aside females who keep calling and dropping by. Everyone else's lives seem to be better than her. One day while out Alice runs into Tash, her former roommate from school who lives in LA now. Tash sweeps Alice off to LA and throws her into her glamours life. Alice gets a job in PR and Tash sets her up on a date. Someone has other plans for Alice though as she has a secret admirer. An admirer who some of her new friends think is a stalker and are jealous of, but Alice thinks it is just kind of romantic, at least right now.

A few places I have read said that this is a re-imagination of Alice in Wonderland. I didn't really see that, but maybe it is because I haven't read Alice in Wonderland and am only familiar with the movies, those I don't see as much in this plot.

This was really kind of a fish out of water story in my opinion. Alice is thrown in really the deep end of LA. Tasha works in film and they all end up going to dinners and on dates with others in the movie industry. Alice doesn't know the social etiquette and makes some mistakes. She makes her own way and chooses who and what she wants to do. Even when she is pulled the other way by her friends.

Personally, I enjoyed this book. I liked seeing Alice grow as a character and finally stand up for herself. It works out and comes together for her in a way that you knew it was building to something at the end that I didn't want to stop reading at the end. I would suggest this book for a classic chick lit story with out getting all lost in clichés that get lost in many of the modern or the plots that were found when things were just being turned out. But, I do see how some people see it as a bit stereotypical, I just think that it looks at in a different way and I enjoyed that.

In my bag this week

Little more traveling this week going home, then sending the Husband off for two weeks. So, maybe there will be some reading done.

Catching Alice: Clare Naylor

Got a Yoga book that I am looking at (don't have it here right now, will try to update this) I may give up on it soon though. 

Besides that, got reviews for blog tours and some reading for that coming up. 

Thirtynothing: Lisa Jewell

Dig Ryan just turn thirty and wakes up once again with a young girl in his bed leaving him question where he is really headed with his life. Nursing his hangover he goes to his best-friend since school Nadine. In discussion they make a bet that they will both start looking for real relationships and the first one who succeeds wins. On the way home they run into Delilah, Dig's first love and the one who pulled Dig and Nadine apart before. Dig on a trip down memory lane causes strife in their relationship again. So, Nadine looks up her first love, Phil. But, things aren't always what they appear to be in either of their past relationships. And maybe in realizing that what they have been missing hasn't really been missing as much as they thought.

Much like with Jewell's other book that I read there were some great moments in the plot and didn't want to stop reading, but there were also moments where I didn't understand and it was hard to keep going at times. The plot covers where the characters are now and then goes back and reviews how their relationships started, grew and ended earlier in their lives. This allowed parallels between the times to come through and to show development of characters to the readers.

Overall, I would say that though there are times I felt the plot got caught up in details at times if does have great character development overall. Though I could see some of the twist coming how they all worked out was worth it to keep reading. I would suggest this book to others, but it is not a typical chick lit. If you are looking for light and fluffy this is not the book, but to see character development and detail this is worth a read.

Carrying around this week

Here is what is in my bag this week:
Thirtynothing: Lisa Jewell (should finish this week)
Head on Vacation with the Family so will grab something off the TBR physical stack on the way out the door and will have the ipad/kindle on me.
Probably going to start Hollywood Endings: Lucie Simon
or
Dollars to Donuts: Kathleen Kole