"Twenties Girl" by Sophie Kinsella

It took me quite a while to read this book for I just wasn’t interested. The beginning was very dull and the characters were annoying and cliché.  This story was too generic after reading The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern.

I really think Kinsella tried too hard and should have trashed the idea long ago.  The entire book is about a girl who is visited by an obnoxious ghost (and I'm sorry to say we don't even find out why) with only limited plot included.  The heroin Lara Lington has no special qualities and is in fact identical to all other heroines in Kinsella’s books.  The only parts I enjoyed were those including the romantic interest Ed and when the ghost shouted into people's ears. 

Unless this book was given to you as a Christmas gift and will only collect dust on your shelf, I do not recommend reading this book.  The only books I do recommend by her are Remember Me and The Undomestic Goddess.

"The Book of Tomorrow" by Cecelia Ahern

This was definitely my favourite summer read.  The ending was unexpected and it completely blew my mind!  The only complaint I have about the book is it starts out kind of slow. 

Ahern did a great job at developing unique characters.  The main one Tamara is only “16” but her wit is unlike characters from other books I have read.  And her aunt is just plain creepy.  I was perplexed by her throughout the entire novel which made the ending more climatic. 

I don’t want to say too much for I do not wish to spoil the story.  Starting the book, it seems to be geared toward younger readers but it doesn’t feel that way when finishing.  My advice is to push past the somewhat dry first half and then it will be clear sailing from there to the end.  So if you have not assumed, I highly recommend this read.

"Love the One You're With" by Emily Giffin

I had high expectations going into this book after reading Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Giffin.  Throughout the entire book, nothing exciting ever happens and I felt bored even on the last pages.  The plot (if you could call it that) was completely dull and very generic.  "Ooh I love two guys, who should I pick? I suppose I should be indecisive for 300 pages and then do whatever is morally correct."  I mean why not pick the great sex and do something exciting like move to India and belly dance for a living? Anything would be exciting in comparison to this ending.

The worst part is before one even reads the book; the ending can already be predicted by the title alone.  How this book got a 3.5 on weRead is beyond me. So maybe it is just my cynical opinion but this book deserves a huge yawn and is a complete waste of time!  I do not recommend this book to anyone.  I do however recommend her earlier books Something Borrowed and its sequel Something Blue.

"A Kiss Remembered" by Sandra Brown

As a flea-market-purchased book, my expectations were gladly surpassed.  This is a light story and can easily be read in a day.  What drew me into the book is the plot centering around a student-teacher romance, but not a creepy one in which some fifty year old seduces an innocent teenager.  This romance is set at a university with minimal flashbacks to high school.  Their age difference is surprisingly small but the forbiddance of it is still fantasizing.

Although the story line is not very original and the characters are nothing special, I still found it enjoyable.  The scenes are hotly descriptive and reading a couple chapters could certainly get you in the mood.  So if you are having a lonely night and are out of batteries, this is a suitable substitution.

"Darcy's Story" by Janet Aylmer

Last week as I walked through Chapters, there seemed to be dozens of Pride and Prejudice spin offs.  I have attempted reading a couple in the past but usually cannot get through one for they don't come anywhere close to being as good as the original.  [Do not even try The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullogh if you are an avid Jane Austen fan.  Although usually a great author, she fell really hard on this one.]  However, Darcy's Story really stands out.

This novel does not babble on about honeymoons or obnoxious children but retells the original story through Mr. Darcy's perspective.  Alymer did a fantastic job at keeping to the writing style of Austen herself and the characters were not significantly skewed.  I enjoyed the way she developed Darcy's character which made me like him even more (if that was possible).  However there's a warning: those looking for more intimate moments between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, you won't find them in this book.  I much preferred this from an accuracy perspective, but as a 21st century reader, it can be disappointing.

Recommendation = anything by Austen.

"Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks

After Sparks wrote The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, he went downhill when it came to originality and well thought out storylines. But this book rebounded him adding another classic to his shelf.

My reasoning is he actually incorporated the element of unpredictability. Usually when I read one of his books, I can figure out the entire ending before I'm even a third through.  When I tried to do that with this book, I kept getting thrown off course and I did not know the ending until I was actually reading it.  In addition, Sparks also created great characters in this novel; especially the male heroin who is not the typical pretty boy with female characteristics, but a rough edged man who has a hard time expressing himself.  His match is with a woman who is the complete opposite and the way they interact validates that opposites attract.

This story is not a peachy cliché love story but a realistic one with an obstacle that some real life couples have to overcome.  It is this truth along with the setting and time limitations that make this story one of my favourites by Sparks. If you enjoy this book, The Notebook is an obvious recommendation.  But if you are looking for something outside of Nickolas Sparks I'd suggest The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom or Resistance by Anita Shreve.

"The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks

If you are a Sparks virgin, STOP!! (and go back three spaces).  Well more like thirteen years or so to the classics that are Nicholas Sparks.  He is a very formulaic writer, and although his formula is very enjoyable to read, it's hard not to get bored of it after a while.  So if you have already read The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and/or Message in a Bottle then proceed with caution.

What I love about this book is the plot centers around a teenage romance, which he has not done for ten years since A Walk to Remember.  Although this was first written as a screenplay for Milley Cyrus (which for some could be the make or break on devouring this book), the main characters are realistically portrayed.  But this does come at a price. Sparks does spend a long time developing characters which I find slows down the pace of the book.  However, a lot of sub plots are created making the ending worthwhile and truly climatic.  And of course, included in the Sparks formula are tear jerking moments that will catch even the cynical readers like myself.

In general, I do recommend this book (so long as you do what I have outlined in the first paragraph).  Although my complaints on his books are always the same (repetitive characters and always being set in the same State), I still seem to buy and devour each new release.  So if you are not yet a Sparks reader, you are missing out.