VOTE!!!

Everyone please take a second to vote for your two favorites from the books that Tempie and I suggested!

My Suggestions

Okay, girls, I have a new computer... a Mac and unfortunately, I can't figure out how to save the pictures of just the books, so I'm going to post the book titles I am suggesting and highlight them with the links to the page they're on at Barnes and Noble.

Thanks for being patient with me. :)

The Last Summer of You and Me

Summer's Child

Thanks everyone and try to post a suggestion tonight! :)

July Suggestions

I'm leaving for my vacation tomorrow and as I was going through my books trying to decide what I wanted to take with me while I was sitting on the beach I decided I should post my suggestions for July so here they are:

This is Where We Live

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Goodreads. Reading the description of the book it sounded like I would really like it. Once I started reading the book it didn't really live up to its promise. The book was mediocre. It tells the story of a married couple who are trying to achieve their dreams while also suffering from money troubles. The chapters alternate between the husband & wife's point of view. I thought both of the characters were whiny selfish individuals and never really seemed to grow as characters. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

April and Oliver

Ok, I LOVED this one. Like, really LOVED it. I have a rating system for my books...0 being couldn't read/couldn't finish, it was that bad. And 5 being perfect (which very few are on my "perfect" list). I would give this a 4.5...and at some moments a 5. It surprised me, because I had no expectations going into this one. I hadn't heard much about it, just saw it on some list and my library had it, so I gave it a shot.

It's sort of a love story, but a very complicated one. Two old friends/step cousins are brought back together after a terrible tragedy. They were inseparable during their childhood but their lives have taken different paths. Now back in each other's lives, they are trying to figure out exactly what their relationship is. There is a lot of sexual tension and I was on the end of my seat trying to figure out what their next step would be. I couldn't put it down.

This is the author's first novel and she is fantastic. Her writing is so beautiful, that you can actually envision every single scene right down to the hand gestures and facial expressions. This could totally be a movie, and a really good one.

With all that being said, it's not exactly a "happy" love story. There is tragedy and heartbreak, and the characters' flaws and problems in life are very real. It's a little dark, but I wouldn't call it gloomy or depressing. I don't want to give anything away about the ending because you'll be wondering throughout the entire book how it's all going to end and I don't want to spoil that at all. I would stay away from the reviews on B and N if you really don't want a hint on how it ends either because those who didn't like it kind of give it away. I thought the ending was perfect, but I could see how some would be disappointed.

Read it and enjoy....or at least I hope you do :-)

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

I went ahead and started this one so I could get it back to the library in time. It's definitely different. I started the book out trying to figure out what was fiction and what wasn't (obviously anything involving vampires was not real). It got to the point I was driving myself crazy so I have decided to just read it and forget it is about Abraham Lincoln and that is helping. I on page 98 so I still have a little way to go.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

I started this yesterday afternoon and I was hooked from the first chapter. For those of you who haven't started this yet the book is told from the dog's perspective. In the 1st chapter he is talking about how he is getting old and not feeling all that great and it is just time for the owner to let him go. I got all misty eyed because we have a 10 year old lab who has a tumor that we have decided not to operate on and when she starts getting uncomfortable it will be time to let her go. There are some many things in this book that remind me of her. This book also seems like a fast read, I have already made it to the half way point. I would love to hear what you guys think.