HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU: MHAIRI MCFARLANE

Yesterday I was talking with my friend Suzy about this book and I looked on Goodreads to see what I had written about it and I realized I had forgotten to review it! Do you ever do that? I'm sure I do it more than I realize, I read too much.

With this particular book, I think I forgot because I planned on sharing how much I enjoyed it on the blog, and I kept putting it off and I forgot. Well enough about my scatter brain self and now on to why I liked this book.

McFarlane's writing style is pretty specific to her. She likes to make lots of jokes that honestly distract me quite a bit. But I like her stories and honest characters so much I don't mind being a tiny big distracted. If you are a British chick-lit fan (and if you actually read my blog you should try a few if you haven't read any before), then I would read Mhairi's first book You Had Me At Hello and then if you love it then you will probably love this too.

BOOK BLURB:
The new novel from the bestselling author of You Had Me At Hello. What if the last person you wanted to see was the person you needed? After the runaway success of You Had Me At Hello, Mhairi McFarlane is back with a new cast of characters in her second book, Here's Looking At You. In essence it's an ugly duckling tale. Our heroine Aureliana returns to school after fifteen years for a reunion. School doesn't hold happy memories for her, as being a roly poly Italian (known as the Italian Galleon), and always armed with a Tupperware full of pungent Mediterranean food, she was bullied incessantly throughout her years there. Now in her 30s, Aureliana wants to put the past behind her once and for all and face up to the bullies who made her life hell. But she is much-changed from the girl she once was - all curves and because I'm worth it hair - and no one recognises her when she arrives. Losing her bottle, she backs out on her plan for revenge and slinks off, hoping never to be reminded of her years at school again. But fate gets in the way, and after the reunion her path keeps crossing with James - major hunk and Aureliana's major crush back at school. But alas, as a cronie to the bullies, Aureliana to this day believes that his beautiful exterior hides an ugly interior. As they continue to cross paths a love/hate relationship ensues until eventually something shifts, and they both start to discover what the person underneath is really like...Full of Mhairi's trademark laugh out loud humour, Here's Looking At You is a novel about facing your demons and being happy with who you really are.

You can read more about this book HERE.

WILDFLOWER: ALECIA WHITAKER

I loved Alecia's first book The Queen of Kentucky. It was adorable and sweet and one of the few younger coming of age stories that I actually liked. I wanted it to be a series because I could have read about the main character for much longer than one book. 

Because of this I was really looking forward to Wildflower, and I am very excited to realize (now that I am done reading it) that it will actually be a series. The only problem I had with this book was I thought the pacing was a bit off, but then when I realized that there was going to be more books with these characters I was ok with it, and I am excited to read them too. 

These are great, clean, sweet books.

BOOK BLURB:

The best songs come from broken hearts.

Sixteen-year-old Bird Barrett has grown up on the road, singing backup in her family's bluegrass band, and playing everywhere from Nashville, Tennesee to Nowhere, Oklahoma. One fateful night, Bird fills in for her dad by singing lead, and a scout in the audience offers her a spotlight all her own.

Soon Bird is caught up in a whirlwind of songwriting meetings, recording sessions, and music video shoots. Her first single hits the top twenty, and suddenly fans and paparazzi are around every corner. She's even caught the eye of her longtime crush, fellow roving musician Adam Dean. With Bird's star on the rise, though, tradition and ambition collide. Can Bird break out while staying true to her roots?

In a world of glamour and gold records, a young country music star finds her voice.

  

You can read more about it HERE.

THE BEST THING I NEVER HAD: ERIN LAWLESS

I love British Chick-Lit. Why is it better to me than what we have in the US? I don't know maybe I just have a secret dream of living in London. Anyway, this one is a bit confusing at first. There aren't too many characters in this book, but in my opinion way too many are introduced right away and it took me a while to get them straight. In fact I almost started a cheat sheet so I could remember who was who. Also, the writing style might throw some people off. It just skips from one moment to the next and can take a bit to get into the flow. But I dug it pretty fast and just loved it. 

Definitely a go to book if you loved Mhairi McFarlane’s You Had Me at Hello. Plus here is some good news. It is only 99 cents on Amazon! How awesome is that?!

BOOK BLURB:

Miles and Nicky are getting married. Unfortunately, their wedding party is a tangle of ex-housemates, ex-friends and ex-lovers. So this wedding isn’t just a wedding, it’s a reunion. Can anything be salvaged from the past? And what really happened between them all, back at university?

Read more about it here. Thanks NetGalley for the read.

PIVOT POINT: KASIE WEST

I don't think I would have ever read these if I hadn't loved Kasie West's contemporary book The Distance Between Us and loved it. That would have been a shame because these are really smart and totally great. 

When I finished the last page of the second book I closed my copy and said out loud: "Wow that was clever." Which I didn't think once while I was reading because I was too entertained to notice how clever and well thought out this whole story was. So on top of a great premise, the writing is fun, clever and guess what? It is completely clean for you moms that have little (or not so little) readers in your home. 

Normally I HATE alternate reality stories. In fact I just read one (or attempted to read it) and I couldn't keep the different stories straight and I hated reading a story that kept getting interrupted by the other reality. In Pivot Point, the interruption of the stories in this is a minor offense because both story lines were equally good and different enough to keep me from going crazy trying to keep them straight. 

BOOK BLURB: (For book one only because the blurb for book two contains spoilers for book one!)

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Be sure to check out Kasie's other books too. I haven't read On The Fence just yet, but I adored The Distance Between Us.  

Find out more about Kasie and her books HERE.