October Book Review

I have been averaging three books a month which isn't too bad considering I spend most of my days running around an energetic 14 month old.  I really try to make some time for myself to indulge in one my favourite hobbies, even if its just half an hour of Lucas' nap time, or a little before bed.  I find that it helps having a little me time to restore my mental energy during the day.  On to this months reads.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

So I'm loving this series a lot more than I thought I would, and I know for someone with an English degree it might be a little embarrassing to admit that this young adult novel is entertaining, but the nerd wants what it wants.  Besides sometimes I just need a little easy reading!  The second installment sees the protagonist begin to learn and attempt to understand this power that she was born with, but grew up not knowing she had.  Its all very supernatural, and unrealistic, which is just the perfect dose of fantasy that I need to help my brain shut down for a few hours hehe.

Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts

 

This is the fourth book in the brother series I started last month, and it was by far my favourite of the series.  If you remember, the series centers around foster brothers who come together to raise and help a new child that their adoptive father had taken in shortly before his death.  All these men have suffered personal traumas, and grown up in broken, and fractured homes; and we discover that Seth, the "new" son is in fact the grandson of their benefactor.  Besides all these tedious details, this novel was just so warm, if that could be used as a description for a story.  Its lovely to see a series come to fruition, when the novelist revisits Seth's story as an adult, finding his own love to tell.  Like most of Roberts series, I highly recommend this one. (Sidenote: sometimes I struggle whether I should continue this series, but then my mom was over the other day and took this series home based on my reviews, so I was sold to continue with them!)

Revenge Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

 

I read the prequel to this novel just before the movie came out, and loved it way more than I thought I would.  The movie is fantastic, Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep portray the characters pretty much exactly as I had envisioned them.  I don't usually put too much stock in sequels that are written so many years later, I find that it comes off as contrived, and often it ruins the original story for me.  I was pleasantly surprised with this one, I must admit.  The plot is fresh, very current to family ideals nowadays, and struggles that women face today with fulfilling roles they want, and others they think they need to attain.  We revisit Andrea ten years after the last novel, successful in her own right now, as she struggles with friendships, marriage, new motherhood, owning a business, and leaving the past behind.  A lesson that I took from this novel was that you can only make yourself feel inferior, and when necessary remove from your life the ones who are helping you feel that way!

Happy reading everyone!