Book Review and Giveaway: I'm So Happy For You: A Novel About Best Friends by Lucinda Rosenfeld

I'm So Happy For You: A Novel About Best Friends by Lucinda Rosenfeld





rating: 4.5/5.0









From the back of the arc:

What if your best friend, whom you've always counted on to flounder in life and love (making your own modest accomplishments look not so bad), suddenly starts to surpass you in every way?

Wendy's best friend, Daphne, has always been dependably prone to catastrophe. And Wendy has always been there to help. If Daphne veers from suicidal to madly in love, Wendy offers encouragement. But when Daphne is suddenly engaged, pregnant, and decorating a fabulous town house in no time at all, Wendy is...not so happy for her. Caught between wanting to be the best friend she prides herself on being and crippling jealousy of flighty Daphne, Wendy takes things to the extreme, waging a full-scale attack on her best friend-all the while wearing her best, I'm-so-happy-for-you smile-and ends up in way over her head.

Finally - a true to life book about groups of friends. I don't know about you, but I have never been in a group of friends where some back-stabbing and jealousy went on. Women are just this way. I'm So Happy For You explores that fact and Ms. Rosenfeld does a wonderful job with it.

Both Wendy and Daphne are likeable characters. I see some of myself in both of them. I couldn't completely hate either one at anytime no matter what was going on. Disagreements and jealousy are a fact of life.

Despite all of this, this is not a depressing novel, in fact it's just the opposite - it's fascinating, a true study in human behavior, with laugh out loud moments and very cringe-worthy moments.

It's a great look into how a group of friends truly acts and it makes you think about how you act too. I loved the look into Wendy's mind and her thought process, the paranoia from time-to-time (who hasn't had that) and the self-realization that she finally comes to. There are some surprises along the way and the book was very difficult for me to put down.

Try it out - it's an outstanding book!

Binding: Paperback
On-sale Date: July 29, 2009
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Pages: 288

Thanks to Miriam Parker at Hachette Books I have one copy to giveaway. The contest will be open through August 15th. US and Canada residents only please. Please enter by:

1. Commenting on my blog, make sure I have a way to contact you. (+1)
   
2. Become a blog follower or let me know if you are already a follower (+1)
3. Tell me any other Lucinda Rosenfeld books you have read and enjoyed (+1)
4. Tweet about this review and giveaway, use @cfulcher in the tweet so I can find it (+1)
5. Follow me on Twitter (or let me know if you are a current follower) (+1)
6. Blog about this contest and let me know the link (sidebar or post is fine) (+1)

So there you go - 6 ways to get an entry into this contest. You can leave them in separate posts or one post, it doesn't matter, I will make sure you get your entries, just make sure to let me know what you do.

ARC Arrival: Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Legacy by Cayla Kluver

I received this from Natalie Surowiecki at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide.

Publisher: Amazon Encore
Publish Date: August 19, 2009
Pages: 464

From Amazon.com:

Bronze Medalist in Young Adult Fiction in the 2008 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards; Finalist in Young Adult Fiction in the National Best Books Awards 2008, sponsored by USA Book News. The first boy disappeared on the day of his birth, on a night when the pale yellow moon of the nighttime sky turned red and bathed the heavens in the ghastly color of blood, on the same night the Kingdom of Cokyri abruptly ceased its merciless attack.

Across the land of Hytanica, under the shadow of the crimson moon, infant boys continued to vanish. Not until the blood had faded from the sky did the disappearances stop and the bodies of the murdered infants were found outside the gates of the city, a final word from the greatest enemy Hytanica had ever known. For the next sixteen years, peace reigned, but one mystery remained unsolved. The Cokyrians had abducted forty-nine newborns, but returned only forty-eight bodies.

Now, as seventeen-year-old Princess Alera of Hytanica is besieged from all sides by suitors vying for the Throne, a teenage Cokyrian boy, Narian, is encountered within the walls of her Kingdom, a boy who will show Alera a world where women serve a purpose and not just a husband. As Narian helps Alera find her voice, she struggles against an arranged marriage that will shatter the life she has scarcely begun to live. And when Narian's shocking past is uncovered, and war with Cokyri looms once more, he must fight to defy a fate ordained at his birth.

About the Author:

Writing has always been Cayla Kluver's passion. It wasn't until her freshman year in high school that she discovered this made her different from her classmates. She was writing in a notebook at the lunch table, when a friend asked her if she was doing homework. When Cayla said no, she was just writing down some ideas, her friend's stunned response was "You write for fun?" Cayla wrote the first draft of Legacy during her sophomore year in public high school. She then worked very hard to combine her junior and senior years so she could graduate early. She completed the first draft of Allegiance, which continues the story begun in Legacy, the following year. In addition to writing, Cayla enjoys such activities as movies, theatre productions, singing, horseback riding, and hanging out with friends. She is sixteen years old, and lives with her family and her muse (Nina, her cat) in Wisconsin, where only the hardy survive. Legacy is her first novel.

I was thrilled to be contacted to review this book. It sounds absolutely wonderful and it's by a 16 year old! Cayla Kluver was born the year I graduated from high school! I am really excited about this book - the cover is beautiful and it just looks like a great book.


PS - check out the amazon.com link for the book - it has really great music - DH and I both loved it.

Book Arrival: Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction by Laura Bergman Fortgang

Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction by Laura Berman Fortgang

I received this from FSB Associates.

Publisher: Tarcher
Publish Date: April 2005
Pages: 288

From the book cover:

In Now What? pioneering life coach Laura Berman Fortgang shares the process that she has used so successfully to help hundreds of clients make major changes in their lives. Whether it's moving on from a dead end job, discovering an entirely new creative outlet, or answering the age old question "What am I meant to do with my life?" this book provides a clear and infinitely practical 90-day program that can help you make major changes in your life.

Readers will learn from the success stories of Berman Fortgang's clients, including:

• A Woman who left her unfulfilling job to discover the rewards of doing motivational work with professional athletes.
• A high-fashion shoe executive who found more gratifying work helping adoption agencies around the world place children in permanent homes.
• A highly paid corporate consultant who became a minister.

Full of inspiring and empowering exercises and tools, Now What? guides reader--day by day and step by step--through a process that will lead to true life satisfaction and fulfillment.

About the Author: Laura Berman Forgang is a pioneer in the life-coaching profession. A renowned speaker and president and owner of InterCoach, Inc., a full-service life-coaching business that works with individuals, small businesses, and corporations, she is also the author of The Little Book on Meaning, Living Your Best Life and Take Yourself to the Top. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey. For more information please visit http://www.nowwhatcoaching.com.

I was asked to review this by FSB Associates and jumped on it. I am at a point in my life that I am kind of getting a new start with my health so I think this is just the book for me at the moment.

ARC Arrival: Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle

Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle

I received this from Laura Mihalick at Abrams/Amulet Books.

Publisher: Amulet
Publish Date: October1, 2009
Pages: 352

From the book cover:

What do Katie-Rose, Yasaman, Milla, and Violet all have in common? Other than being named after flowers, practically nothing. Katie-Rose is a film director in training. Yasaman is a computer whiz. Milla is third in command of the A list. And Violet is the new girl in school. They’re fab girls, all of them, but they sure aren’t friends. And if evil queen bee Medusa— ’scuse me, Modessa—has her way, they never will be. But this is the beginning of a new school year, when anything can happen and social worlds can collide . . .

Told in Lauren Myracle’s inventive narrative style—here a fresh mix of instant messages, blog posts, screenplay, and straight narrative—Luv Ya Bunches, the first in a four-book series, is a funny, honest depiction of the shifting alliances and rivalries that shape school days, and of the lasting friendships that blossom from the skirmishes.

I haven't read any tween books before, so this will be a new experience, but I am looking forward to it. This looks like a great book and the start of a great series.

Win Arrival: To Beguile A Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

To Beguile a Beast (Book 3 in The Legend of Four Soldiers series) by Elizabeth Hoyt

I won this from Meghan at her Medieval Bookworm Blog, go and check it out. Thank you so much Meghan for hosting this giveaway - I am really looking forward to reading this.

From the back cover:

CAN A WOUNDED BEAST . . .

Reclusive Sir Alistair Munroe has hidden in his castle ever since returning from the Colonies, scarred inside and out. But when a mysterious beauty arrives at his door, the passions he's kept suppressed for years begin to awaken.

TRUST A BEAUTY WITH A PAST . . .

Running from past mistakes has taken legendary beauty Helen Fitzwilliam from the luxury of the ton to a crumbling Scottish castle . . . and a job as a housekeeper. Yet Helen is determined to start a new life and she won't let dust-or a beast of a man-scare her away.

TO TAME HIS MOST SECRET DESIRES?

Beneath Helen's beautiful façade, Alistair finds a courageous and sensual woman. A woman who doesn't back away from his surliness-or his scars. But just as he begins to believe in true love, Helen's secret past threatens to tear them apart. Now both Beast and Beauty must fight for the one thing neither believed they could ever find-a happy ever after.

Review Copy Arrival: Italian for Beginners by Kristin Harmel

Italian for Beginners by Kristin Harmel

I received this from Miriam Parker at Hachette Books.

Publisher: 5 Spot
Publish Date: August 13, 2009
Pages: 400

From Amazon.com:

Thirty-four-year-old Manhattan accountant Cat Connelly has always lived life on the safe side. But after her little sister gets married, Cat wonders if she has condemned herself to a life of boredom by playing by the rules. She decides to take a chance for once, accepting an invitation to spend a month with an old flame in Italy. But her reunion with the slick and gorgeous Francesco is short-lived, and she finds herself suddenly alone in Rome. Now, she must see if she has the courage to live outside the lines for the first time - and to face a past she never understood. It will take an unexpected friendship with a fiery Italian waitress, a whirlwind Vespa tour of the Eternal City with a handsome stranger, and a surprise encounter with an old acquaintance to show Cat that life doesn't always work out the way you expect, but sometimes you have to have fall in order to fly.

I have been enjoying the books I have been reading from the 5 Spot imprint and I am really looking forward to this one.

Book Review and Giveaway: Daniel X Watch the Skies by James Patterson and Ned Rust

Daniel X Watch the Skies by James Patterson and Ned Rust


rating: 4.0/5.0






From Amazon.com:

All's quiet in the small town of Holliswood, the television sets a-glow in every home. But not all is as perfect as it seems.

A terrifying outlaw has just arrived in town, with the goal of throwing it into chaos--and filming the pandemonium for the fellas back home.

Only one person can stop him and his thugs from destroying the city and everyone living there. Daniel X assembles an all-star team of his own creation, but not even he could imagine the enormity of this made-for-TV-villain's powers.

I loved the first Daniel X book and I was eagerly awaiting the newest one. So I was thrilled to receive this as a review copy from Miriam Parker at Hachette books.

The second installment doesn't disappoint, it has Daniel back facing 2 new nemesis aliens from The List. I love his secondary characters who are from his imagination. His interaction with them is fascinating. This book also brings in interaction with a new real character and possible love interest. This added a new dimension to the book.

The background happenings and the reason Daniel is after 2 aliens on the list makes and interesting story line and it catches your attention and you don't want to put the book down.

It's a quick, fun read and I will be eagerly awaiting the next installment. These books are rocket science, they really don't require much thought, just time to read for genuine enjoyment.

Binding: Hardcover
On-sale Date: July 27, 2009
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 288

Miriam Parker at Hachette books has kindly offered to send one of my readers a copy of the newest Daniel X book. The contest will end on August 15, 2009. US and Canada Entrants only please. Please enter by:

1. Commenting on my blog, make sure I have a way to contact you. (+1)
   
2. Become a blog follower or let me know if you are already a follower (+1)
3. Tell me if you have read the first Daniel X book and whether you liked it or not (+1)
4. Tweet about this review and giveaway, use @cfulcher in the tweet so I can find it (+1)
5. Follow me on Twitter (or let me know if you are a current follower) (+1)
6. Blog about this contest and let me know the link (sidebar or post is fine) (+1)

So there you go - 6 ways to get an entry into this contest. You can leave them in separate posts or one post, it doesn't matter, I will make sure you get your entries, just make sure to let me know what you do.