Monday!

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. Love Wins by Rob Bell
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
3. Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult
4. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
5. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
6. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
7. Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh
8. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
9. Shelter Me by Juliette Fay
10. Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl

The Lost Husband

The Lost Husband by Katherine Center

My rating:

3 stars—I liked it.

My thoughts:

I am a Katherine Center fan. I like her voice. This was a good story. I liked the characters developing throughout.  My only complaint would be that the story wraps up too quickly and neatly. The relationships in this one had a distance, too shiny…

Description from Goodreads.com:

“After the sudden loss of her husband in a car crash, Libby Moran falls on hard times-so hard, in fact, that she's forced to move in with her hyper-critical mother. There, sleeping on the pull-out sofa so her two children can share the guest room, she can't stop longing for the life she had. So when a letter arrives from Libby's estranged aunt offering her a job and a place to live on her goat farm, Libby jumps at the opportunity. But starting over is never easy. With an aunt who is nothing like she imagined, a shaggy farm manager with a tragic past, a psychic at the feed store who claims to be able to contact the dead, and a bully at her daughter's school, country life isn't at all what Libby expected. But it also offers her what no other place can: A chance to define the good life for herself. A chance to piece together the mysteries of her own past. A chance, even, at love. And, finally, a chance to bring herself, and her family, back to life.”

Seduction of a Highland Lass

Seduction of a Highland Lass by Maya Banks

My rating:

3 stars—I liked it.

My thoughts:

This was the second book in the McCabe trilogy. This trilogy is a recommend for the Scottish historical crowd. I have a soft spot for this genre!

Description from Goodreads.com:

“Fiercely loyal to his elder brother, Alaric McCabe leads his clan in the fight for their birthright. Now he is prepared to wed for duty, as well. But on his way to claim the hand of Rionna McDonald, daughter of a neighboring chieftain, he is ambushed and left for dead. Miraculously, his life is saved by the soft touch of a Highland angel, a courageous beauty who will put to the test his fealty to his clan, his honor, and his deepest desires.

An outcast from her own clan, Keeley McDonald was betrayed by those she loved and trusted. When the wounded warrior falls from his horse, she is drawn to his strong, lean body. The wicked glint in his green eyes ignites a passion that will follow them back to Alaric’s keep, where their forbidden love draws them deeper into the pleasures of the flesh. But as conspiracy and danger circle closer, Alaric must make an impossible choice: Will he betray his blood ties for the woman he loves?”

The End of Normal

The End of Normal by Stephanie Madoff Mack

My rating:

4 stars—I really liked it.

My Thoughts:

This book was beautiful in parts, but haunting on the whole. I felt deep, genuine emotion from the author.
The downside…the author wrote this so quickly after her husband’s death that some of the emotion was too raw. The war with his family was hard to read about. I wanted to scream at all of them.

Many reviewers found Stephanie to be unlikable and I could see that point. There were times that I couldn’t understand where she was coming from. I felt she really created and fed on the drama around her. One part, as an example, is where she demands that she and the children change their names (but she is using Madoff to sell books?). And when she has a complete meltdown about some flowers that her brother-in-laws girlfriend sent and put her name on. And the way she was so threatened by his first wife and his older children. It was heartbreaking when she didn’t want to give away some of his things to his older children after his death.

And then there is the fact that she completely blames his parents for his suicide. But people go through things much more difficult than this in life and they don’t choose to take their own life. His suicide is on him, really, no one can be blamed for a decision that he ultimately made. She could have inserted something here about helping people who show signs of being suicidal, but she didn’t. Only the blame game, which helps no one.

Overall, I felt really strongly for her and her loss. She was raw and honest and still has a long way to go through her grief.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“A memoir of the author that tells her idyllic wedding to Mark, Bernard Madoff's son, on Nantucket, what it was really like to be a part of the Madoff family, the build-up to Bernard's confession, and the media frenzy that followed.”

An Unforgettable Lady

An Unforgettable Lady by Jessica Bird

My rating:

2 stars—It was okay.

My Thoughts:

So…Jessica Bird is the same author as J.R. Ward! And J.R. Ward is one of my favorite authors with the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I didn’t like this book, as much. It didn’t even seem like the same writer! It’s possible my expectations were too high...but I wouldn't highly recommend this one.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“Forced into the spotlight by her fabulous wealth, heiress Grace Hall isn't always prepared for the consequences of her standing. When a string of attacks against the city's most prominent women leaves Grace vulnerable, the refined beauty reluctantly hires a bodyguard. Now she finds herself subject to the ironclad will of her new protector. In spite of her frustration, Grace is drawn to John Smith in ways she can't explain. For beneath his tough exterior and dark past, there's an inner core that is tantalizingly seductive.

John knows that when you're a professional bodyguard, it needs to be all business. But such conduct makes for a solitary life with few ties and too many good-byes. Grace was supposed to be just another assignment on a long list. Yet there's something about her that gets under his skin. With each passing day, the attraction grows more intense - until John is faced with a decision he never thought he'd have to make. Can he give up the only life he's ever known to be with the only woman he's ever loved?”