REVIEW: The Fault In Our Stars

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Published: January 10, 2012 Dutton Books 

Source: Goodreads









Thoughts: I don't really know where to start. I was explaining to a friend of mine that this book is filled with big improbable words for a 16 year old, yet I wasn't thrown off by it. Hazel was clearly smarter than me.

How do I explain how I feel without spoilers? A gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters. Couldn't have said it better myself really.

This is just one of those books that grabs you, holds you and imprints you. Many years from now it will be on your book shelf, worn and well used from the countless times you've thumbed through the pages over and over unable to shake the feeling of loss and strangely wholesomeness.

When you get to the ending, after you've sat there with the book closed on your lap, rethinking everything that just happened you can't help but to see an ending any other way. You knew that it was always going to end this way despite the early signs and statements saying this was not true but you had to keep hope alive. A hope of a happy ending, even if its not the happy ending you imagined it was still happy.

"You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do get some say in who hurts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers." - The Fault In Our Stars

5 Stars

REVIEW: Running on Empty (Mending Hearts #1)

I had the perfect life. 

Beautiful and loving husband.Three gorgeous little girls. 
Successful career. 

The only thing missing was the white picket fence. I really wanted that fence. 

Three years ago, I lost that life. I lost my husband. And I lost myself. But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness. I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world. I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse. 

But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.

There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down.Absolutely no way. 

The question is…

How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

Published: January 4th by L.B. Simmons
Source: Goodreads

Thoughts: Usually when reading you pick sides. You're either rooting for the protagonist or the lover: wishing the protagonist would get her sh*t straightened out be with him already. Not this book. I found myself rooting for neither. Her for being thoughtless and him for being a spineless wimp, putting his life on hold for "the one that got away" *cue eye roll*

To be honest the reason I chose to read this book was because there was a sequel and I can never seem to find sequels with this kind of story line. 

Lately I've been drawn to romantic single mom stories, and for some reason they're really hard to come by, at least the well-written ones. 

Running on Empty was a prime candidate for what I was looking for. Single mom with three daughters, husbands unexpected demise. It had all the makings of what I was looking for, except when I started reading I just didn't like it. It wasn't really the story was the problem but how it was written: I felt as if I was reading a book and I did not like that. Most (avid) readers know that when a book is truly good/great you don't feel like you're reading it but experiencing it. It's like watching a movie through words. Which I believe is why we have such high hopes for castings when our favorite book turns into a movie; but I digress. 

I'm all for fun family life, but for a thirty-something mother of three to come off as a tad immature and with the fact that I kept questioning her parenting skills, I found that couldn't get behind the main character or the story.
It was too one-dimensional. Everything was focused on the main character, I felt as if there was a lot of talk about her children and what's best for them but we didn't get any insight into their feelings. I mean what kid likes a guy their mom is seeing after day one? These children were obsessed with Blake. It just didn't seem real. 
Alex's best friend Harlow seemed like a really interesting character. I wanted to know more about her, all we got were a few rampant thoughts about her from Alex that didn't seem like they should be in the book in the first place but I guess was the authors way of gearing us up for a Harlow book in the "Mending Hearts" series...book 2. 

P.S. 
Words like "evidently" and "giggle" should no longer be in this authors dictionary of words to use for the next book or two in this series. 

2.5 STARS