Goals

Someday…

Well…I checked out “War and Peace” again. I am determined to get through this entire book at some point in my life. Didn’t make it this time…but will try again!

One Last Thing Before I Go

One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper

My rating (out of 5 stars):

4 stars—I really liked it!

Description from Goodreads.com:

“In 2009, Jonathan Tropper—whose previous novels have been acclaimed as superb, tender, smart, honest, sweet, deft, and magnificent, among other praise—made his Dutton debut with This Is Where I Leave You and promptly landed on bestseller lists nationwide. And now, with One Last Thing Before I Go, he offers his greatly expanded readership a novel every bit as hilarious, every bit as heartbreaking.
 
Silver has begun to accept that life isn't going to turn out as he expected. The exwife he's remained friends with is about to marry a terrific guy Silver can't quite bring himself to hate. And his Princeton-bound teenage daughter has just confided in him that she's pregnant—because he's the one she cares least about letting down. As the wedding looms and the pregnancy sinks in, this broken family struggles, bonds, and wrestles with each member's individual anxieties. Lives begin anew, change radically, or, in Silver's case—as he discovers that he could die at any moment without an operation he refuses to have—may be about to end in an instant.
 
One Last Thing Before I Go demonstrates yet again Tropper's deft touch with the darkest of materials and his ability to make readers laugh out loud in one paragraph and move them to tears in the next.”

My Thoughts:

I love Jonathan Tropper! His is ridiculously talented. He is able to reveal true, genuine emotion in such a realistic way. His characters are rich and witty.

In this one I loved the dynamic between Silver and his daughter Casey. Their relationship was complex and touching. They didn’t connect, but they did...it was a realistic love/hate relationship. Silver hadn’t been present for Casey, and seeing the damage that can do was valuable.  There was one conversation between them that had me laughing so hard I cried. I wish I had written it down!

The one thing that kept me from giving this book a 5 star rating was the ending. I didn’t like it. I’m not sure what I wanted in an ending, exactly, but not what was given.

I’ve liked every book by Tropper that I've read. If you haven’t tried him, I recommend starting with “This is Where I Leave You." That's my favorite so far. This one was very close though!

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Rizzoli & Isles series (starts with The Surgeon) by Tess Gerritsen
2. A Time to Kill by John Grisham
3. Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber
4. See Jane Score  by Rachel Gibson
5. Every Child is a Genius  by Elise Griffith
6. 501 Ways to Boost Your Child’s Self Esteem by Robert Ramsey
7. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
8. Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
9. Back Roads by Susan Crandall
10. Blueprints for Building Better Girls  by Elissa Schappell

Crystal Cove

Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas

My rating (out of 5 stars):

3 stars—I liked it.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“As the proprietor of a successful boutique hotel, Justine Hoffman has the life she has always wanted. But there is still something missing: Love. A spell was cast on Justine when she was born, with the result that she will never find her soul mate. But she is nothing if not determined and eventually Justine finds a way to break the enchantment—never dreaming of the dangerous complications that will follow…”

My Thoughts:

I am a huge Kleypas fan. Her historical romances are divine.

This is the fourth installment of her contemporary Friday Harbor series. I liked it, but didn’t love it. The writing was spectacular (as always with Kleypas!) but there was  too much of the “magic” theme for my taste.

Lord of Vengeance

Lord of Vengeance by Lara Adrian

My rating (out of 5 stars):

3 stars—I liked it.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“Taken captive by Gunnar Rutledge, a dark knight sworn to destroy her father, Raina d’Bussy must teach forgiveness to a man who knows no mercy and lives only to exact revenge on his enemy. But time in Gunnar’s keep stirs an unwanted passion in Raina, and something far more perilous, when she finds herself falling in love with the one man she should never desire.

For Gunnar, vengeance is all that matters. He seeks the ultimate price from his enemy’s beautiful young daughter, claiming Raina as his hostage. But the proud beauty defies him at every turn, tempting him like no other. Setting out to break Raina’s glorious spirit, Gunnar instead finds himself bewitched by her goodness, her strength. Can he seize the justice he is due without losing Raina forever?”

My Thoughts:

This is a historical romance and it was decent. I felt the characters were a little shallow and the story drawn out too long. But overall it was a pleasant diversion!