33: Good Enough to Eat

Good Enough to Eat, by Stacey Ballis, is a very feel-good story. Melanie Hoffman has been married to her husband, Andrew, for ten years. They are both lawyers and both happy, but Melanie is extremely overweight. Through exercise and diet she manages to lose over 145 pounds, but then her husband announces he is leaving her… for someone equally as heavy as she used to be! So, Melanie does what any typical lawyer would do (ha!)… she quits law and opens up a bakery of healthy foods. 

The book goes through her foray into a  new relationship, and Melanie also starts making friends and takes on a roommate. While the book was good, I did not necessarily love it, but I thought it was a good and fun read. I give it a 6/10 stars.

19: Mini Shopaholic

Mini Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella, continues the story of Becky Brandon (Bloomwood)  and her husband Luke, and their two-year old out of control daughter, Minnie. The book follows a very traditional storyline that Sophie Kinsella has mastered with these books, in that Becky messes up, makes a big act of something else, and then manages to pull it together, all while spending way too much money and annoying everyone in her path.

This time, Luke hires a Super Nanny for Minnie, because he wants to get her under control before they agree to have another child (something that Becky really wants). The nanny catches all of her behavior on tape, and Becky tries to justify everything. Throw in the fact that Luke is having a huge birthday party and Becky manages to give him the most extravagant party of her life, even in the midst of a global recession. It really bothered me that she was throwing this out of control party (fire-eaters, jugglers, etc) while her parents had lost all of their money. Have some compassion, Becky!

These books are getting old. Becky has never learned any lessons and she continues to spend to the point of ridiculousness, and now she buys for Minnie (I did laugh at the “Pocket Money” fiasco). I had a hard time finishing it only because Becky has never learned to grow up and be an adult. Everyone has to at some time, and it’s about time Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) does.

I give this a 5/10. I think I’m done with Shopaholic books for a while.

18: Comfort Food

Comfort Food, by Kate Jacobs, is the story of a soon-to-be 50 year old cooking show hostess, who dreads aging and the birthday party she is expected to throw for herself. But all of this changes when her boss adds the spicy Spaniard, Carmen Vega as her new cohost to her very traditional show. (The whole time I read this book I pictured Paula Deen).

This book was cute. It was a super easy read, and was very funny in parts. Some of the food things were funny (when Carmen made octopus, EW) and some of the parts were unrealistic (uh, the wedding scene in general). I wasn’t attached to any of the characters, but I definitely liked the book overall. I think I liked her other book, Friday Night Knitting Club, even more though.

I give it a 6/10. Nothing spectacular, but a good, simple book about love and hope.

15: Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, written by Jody Gehrman, is a young adult book about the trials and tribulations of love in high school. It’s witty, funny and easy to read.

The main character, Genna, has planned the perfect summer with her best friend and wild child Amber, and her pristine and virginal cousin, Hero (named for Shakespeare). However, like oil and water, these two do not mix. Throw in some boys, the heat and a few summer parties, and the fact that they all work together at the coffee shop and you have the recipe for a good story.

There was more sex stuff than I expected in this book. The storyline loosely follows Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing play, and I would love to see a high school class read this as a supplement to the play, but as a teacher it would get awkward reading this with students.

This book is the first in a series. It’s good, and definitely an easy and fun read, especially for high school girls. I give it a 7/10.

13: The Sleeping Beauty Proposal

The Sleeping Beauty Proposal, by Sarah Strohmeyer, is a lighthearted and easy read. It was perfect for after my last book (in fact, I MAY have started it that same night because I was all freaked out and needed something girly and easy to put my mind at ease. MAY HAVE.). In all honesty, I've read a lot of her books and I've always liked them, and this one is no different.

Genie is an admissions counselor at a university that lives in Harvard’s shadows. She’s dated the same guy, Hugh, for years. Hugh writes a very wonderful and bestselling novel and during his press tour and interview with Barbara Walters, he proposes to the love of his life. Except… it isn’t Genie. However, to everyone around her, it certainly should be her! So, she fakes it. She pretends that yes, he DID propose, and lets her mother plan a wedding and registers for presents and buys a fake ring and then Hugh comes back…

It’s cute. It’s easy to read. It’s funny and you feel for Genie. She’s dated Hugh for four years and he proposes to someone else on national TV?! He’s lucky he lives, is what I’m thinking! This would be a great book for when you need something light and easy to read. Airplanes, beach vacations, after you read a book that scares the socks off of you. Whatever :)

I give it a 7/10. Easy to read, but drug a little in parts. Still, a great book to make you smile.

9: Coming Back to Me

Coming Back to Me, by Caroline Leavitt is a story about a man and a woman who fall in love at first sight (in a diner) and then get married and have a baby. Neither the wife nor husband comes from any type of cohesive family, and so they have this “us against them” mentality. Well, right after Molly gives birth, she falls into a coma and Gary has to learn to take care of the baby, his incredibly sick wife and also accept help from strangers. 

I felt… depressed while reading this book. A lot of storylines were discussed, with very little wrapup about them. What happened to Molly’s mom?  How much time are we talking about? How long was Molly in the coma? How old is the baby when she comes home? Is she ever okay? Does the baby always prefer her sister, his primary caretaker for so long? 

I’ll admit… the concept of being very ill or dying during or after childbirth is so scary to me. I was terrified when I had high blood pressure after I had Ryan and we stayed in the hospital longer. So, maybe I read this a little detached. But still, I feel like there could have been more information given throughout the book. I give this a 6/10. A solid read, but not one I would come back to again.

8: My Summer of Southern Discomfort

My Summer of Southern Discomfort, written by Stephanie Gayle, is a fairly simple concept of a book. Woman lawyer has an affair with a married man at the firm. She takes the fall for something he did, flees New York and into Macon, Georgia where she works at the district attorney’s office. She learns to slow down with life, takes a few risks and redefines her relationship with her parents.

The book works, overall, however, I was not in love with any of the characters. I felt like Natalie was portrayed as this perfect princess (granted, who had an affair, but she was a virgin when she started the affair at age 26) and I just could not relate to her for most of the book. I felt like I should be able to, but the author’s writing style made me feel like information was lacking. 

The whole battered woman subplot, while a very important topic, was kind of thrown in there, like an afterthought. And the part where the dog died? AWFUL. No discussion, nothing. Just, “oh yeah, Captain died.” 

I think this could have been a better book with some stretching out and adding to it. It was fine, and easy to read, but I wanted to be more involved with the characters than I actually was. I give this a 6/10.