Reaction to... The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

"'Again?'
'We need to make sure we really test this theory as thoroughly as possible.'
'We do?'
'Yes, Avery. I hereby demand as a completely impartial outside observer with absolutely no personal interest in the outcome of this experiment that you need to kiss me again.'"

I always read romance books; it's very rare that the story I'm starting doesn't have romance somewhere in it. And with that core love story I can take on about every genre, slice of life contemporary being no different (though my least favorite to explore—which funnily enough contains some of my all time favorite stories—don't ask me how that makes sense). And romantic little stories like this I will remain a perpetual sucker for.

You see, Avery Shaw is geeky, quiet, shy, and more than a little anxious (medically speaking). And she believes herself to be in love with her long-time bff, pseudo-twin brother Aiden. Their families have been entwined since the respective mothers' mutual prenatal yoga class. He is her anchor and her crutch and Avery is totally smitten by the idea of being in love with him. That is, until he breaks her heart. Gently but nonetheless brutally, which puts her squarely in the arms—naked ones, I feel compelled to mention—of his older brother, Grayson, whilst in the middle of his shower.

Oram couldn't have created a more perfectly familiar scenario while still making it read as unique. Because of course Post Shower, Grayson has had his eyes opened (and he wouldn't be shy about telling you that her shirt plastered against her ample chest did wonders as far as overdue revelations go). And now he wants her, in all the delicious ways a near-adult high school boy can want an unsuspecting pretty mouse of a girl.

Avery is a nice enough girl, and a decent, likeable main character, but it was Grayson who stole the show. Really, Oram is to blame by giving him rule over his own chapters in the book. He's charming, self-assured—a bit of a cocky bastard really—but still retains this adorable amount of class and sensitivity without reading as unrealistic. And his predicament—crushing on girlfriend material while the girl in question remains almost stubbornly oblivious—helps create a fantastic, hilarious story line.

I had so much incredible fun with this story! If I could copy and paste every single bookmarked page for your benefit, I would completely. But I much rather you read the book and experience the body-seizing laughter you'll be susceptible to as you progress. Anything will do the trick, i.e. Avery's best friend, Libby, and her sexual prowess, Owen's horror at the aforementioned best friend's "objectification" of him, a handful of stereotypical nerds, learning Newton's laws, winning pool, etc etc.

Then there's the somehow innocently sexy bit to it, the way Oram makes the moments pre-kissing somehow far sexier than the much anticipated kissing. Like learning to dance. With Grayson playing the role of tutor.

"Dancing," he said, "is about feeling, not thinking.
Grayson lifted one of my arms above my head and rested it on the back of his neck. My fingers instinctively dug into his soft, thick hair. I hadn't told them to do that. I felt Grayson's cheek lift into a smile against the side of my head, as if he fully approved of my action.
"Now we move together."
His arm came around my waist, and he suddenly knocked his knee forward into the backs of mine, forcing them to unlock. Unprepared for the shift in weight, I buckled, but he'd been ready for this. He caught me, held me up tight against him, and began moving us in an almost-circular motion.
My entire body heaved a shudder of pleasure, and then I drifted away from reality into a world where nothing existed except for the two of us.

It had all the goods of a happy, palette-cleansing contemporary. Feel good, sexy, happy, slightly fluffy, and with decent writing paired along with hilarious characters. I was a gooey mess by the end and to put it bluntly, I enjoyed the hell out of The Avery Shaw Experiment. Honestly, you try it and see if you can resist Grayson Kennedy and his schemes to win the girl by helping her patch up her broken heart.

A wayward kindle deal gone right once again.

Ebook / 278 pgs / May 4th 2013 / Bluefields / Goodreads / $2.99

I bought this because it's a kindle deal without meaning to be.

Reaction to... The Next Best Thing by Kristin Higgans

"There's so much love in the world. Sadness, too, and heartbreak, but more than those, there are love and happiness and miracles of joy."

Since I began with my adult contemporary romance kick, I've secretly been wanting to try one author's work in particular—guess who. And with some idea of where to start, I went in a completely different direction due to the super easy access I had to this one, The Next Best Thing. After reading the story, I can appreciate the way this new cover fits—perfectly, down to the lounging cat and up to the beard growing on Ethan's model's face. Now, was I blown away by exemplary writing? No. Excellent plotting? Uh-uh. What Higgans seems to excel at, though, is the voice of her main character and characterizing every individual in that MC's life.

That's what addicted me. I was completely drawn in by Lucy's voice—an interesting mix of disconnect and outright humor. I couldn't not laugh at her faults, her narration, her situations. She made everything funny in less of a cruel, mocking way and more of an easygoing, almost ironic one. She has a knack for trying out a joke at a less than suitable moment, and there's no more inappropriate time to be so hilarious than while she's still clearly wading through the grief of losing her husband.

Lucy..." He started to say something, then stopped. "Oh, Lucy." He covered his mouth with one hand. "Uh... you... um..." He started laughing. Wheezing, really.
That was it. I fled to the bathroom, took a look in the mirror. And screamed.
My face was bright red, imprinted on the left side from the corduroy pillow on the couch. My right eye still had some grayish-green dried mud on the lid, which was preventing me from opening it all the way, sort of a stroke victim look going on there... Apparently, the aging mud mask had caused a rash, because my cheeks were red and bumpy. And my hair! Oh, Lord, my hair! Never cut your own hair while intoxicated... sure now I remembered that particular rule. Seems so obvious, doesn't it?

Pathetic, that's what I was. A pathetic, drunken, smeary widow with orange skin, insane asylum hair and a rash. Insult to injury. Not only had God taken my Jimmy... He'd let me go on a White Russian bender while armed with scissors and tan-from-a-can! It was enough to make me an atheist.

There were things that fed my inner nit-picker, too. I could enjoy this book, sure, but if anyone in this book used "honey" other than to describe the substance that bees were a bitch about hoarding, I was going to hurl. Or flip to the next page, unsympathetic. There's only so much of an endearment you can take! Then there was all this angsty inner monologuing and self-doubt, that while I could tolerate because it made sense I didn't particularly enjoy. But what I feel justified in making a legitimate fuss about is the lack of finesse when it came to the plot. There were far too many lulls where it seemed like Higgins, to put it kindly, moseyed on with it instead of cutting it shorter because that would've made even better sense for the story. I wasn't bored enough to drop the story (plagued by curiosity like that—hah, I don't think so!) but I did find myself skimming until I returned to a comfortable, interesting point in the story again.

The Next Best Thing makes for fun, delicious snacking for the mind. Helps you relax after an easy day or a hard one and can get you to a place where everything is warm, happy, and sexy, and nothing can put a damper on it until the morning where work awaits and a gorgeous, lonely, yearning guy does not.

So sad, but that's why I'll be reading more of her work before much longer.

Paperback / 400 pgs / Aug 27th 2013 / Harlequin / Goodreads / $7.99

I received an e-galley of this from Harlequin via Netgalley.

Meager Musings On... Two of a Kind and Just One Kiss by Susan Mallery (Fool's Gold series)

This SHOULD be the last of the adult romance I have to read, and I'm both happy and upset by this. Happy because there're some fabulous young adult books I'm now feeling in the mood to jump (The Coldest Girl in Cold Town, Sweet Peril, maybe Of Triton), and already feeling nostalgic after this blissful week and a half I've spent reading these fantastic (in their own way) adult contemporaries. Since I finished Three Little Words recently, I couldn't stop there when I had Two of a Kind and Just One Kiss on hand. WHO DO YOU THINK I AM? Anyone but Asher is capable of restraint, so really you shouldn't be surprised.



Now I didn't read these two books in chronological or publication order; I randomly picked up TWO OF A KIND first. In this installment of the Fool's Gold series we get events that happened just before those that took place in THREE LITTLE WORDS. It turns out that Gideon Boylan, a Fool's Gold radio sensation, is another of the mysterious military men that are somehow drawn to this sweet, happy small town. Talk about scarred and messed up. Gideon was held prisoner a few years back and was left for dead for quite a long time, wherein he suffered unimaginable torture and witnessed the deaths of his friends on his team. The man has serious complexes about who he is as a person, what he deserves (or rather, doesn't), and what he can handle.

Then Felicia Swift of the memorable night in Thailand years back relocates to Fool's Gold. She's scarily brilliant, lonely, and desperately hopes to make her mark in the town as a normal woman, one who wants to get married and have a family (though she's scared she'll fail at both). When things heat up between her and Gideon, very fun sexual shenanigans ensue leading them both into a "practice" relationship, where Gideon'll show Felicia the ropes as to what it's like so she can be confident in all future romantic endeavors. As if he's doing her a favor. AS IF.

"I wonder if Patience and Justice will have children." Her voice was wistful. "That would be nice."
He fought the need to back away. "You looking for a white picket fence?"
"If you mean I want what it represents, then, yes. In reality, I've never found that kind of fencing to be efficient. The upkeep alone would be daunting."
Okay--he didn't know how she did it. One second he wanted to run, and the next he wanted to pull her close and kiss her senseless. She could look him in the eye and tell him the specifics of her sexual interest and yet be nervous about taking a job because of her emotional connection to the town.
"You didn't come for coffee," she said.
"I didn't?"
She shook her head. "You're checking on me. You want to know if I'm okay, which is very sweet considering I'm the one who initiated our sexual encounter."
"Are you?"
"I'm fine. The physicial intimacy was better than I remembered, which is extraordinary. I have an excellent memory. I don't want you to worry. I don't feel that I've bonded with you as a result of my orgasms, but if it starts to happen, I'll handle it myself."

I love this chick! Felicia's differentness, brilliance, and disarming humor are responsible for the slow decimation of Gideon's walls. I loved seeing him scramble to fill in the gaps, then scramble at the hard, unexpected things life throws at him. These two together are fun and great to watch navigate those murky waters familiar to men and women across the ages.

Paperback / 384 pgs / June 25th 2013 / Harlequin HQN / Goodreads / $7.99

I received an e-galley of this book from Harlequin via Netgalley.



Funnily enough, JUST ONE KISS takes place just before TWO OF A KIND, featuring the love story between Patience McGraw and Justice Garrett, childhood friends and first crushes who were separated very abruptly. As it turns out, all those years ago Justice was actually in the Witness Protection Program (where better to hide than Fool's Gold?) and the day Patience was to tell him of her feelings, he was swept away by the marshals guarding him.

Mallery really seems to have a hang on all my favorite plot lines and romantic ploys in a romance book. That's what makes these books fun, engaging, and sweetly (slightly cheesily) romantic. I don't mind them as books because they're meant to be what they are: happy reads. Even though I wasn't too keen on the scenes where Patience and her girlfriends would gather together--they just weren't as enjoyable to read--I enjoyed the story. I liked the writing better this time around as well.

There's a slight ominous feel to the plot as we're all waiting for one of Justice's ghosts from the past to emerge and make things scarily thrilling. (It's funny to see such huge events take place in such an ordinary town.) Mainly, though, like with the last two books, I loved reading as Patience and Justice tried to figure things out, stumbling over their mutual sexual attraction and becoming more involved in each other's lives.

I love happy endings and these books are the perfect way to get some.

Paperback / 384 pgs / May 28th 2013 / Harlequin HQN / Goodreads / $7.99

I received a signed copy of this book at Book Expo America.

Reaction to... Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer

I think it’s important, before I begin in any sort of way, to demand that you check out Angie’s blog, Angieville, and her review of this book. It’s the whole reason I requested this book from my library, actually paid attention to its due date, and MADE SURE I read it before then.

I was looking forward to this with a tentative sort of enthusiasm, the kind that is the love child of excitement and uncertainty, and I can blame my everlasting love of this book on Angie. Happily. She is the kind of blogger, if you don’t already know, who when she reviews a book and has a positive (or in this case, besotted) reaction, there’s an instantaneous draw now to that book.

I love many books, but always in different ways and in varying levels, which is why I tend to pay extra care in my reviews to make sure you understand the difference. But when Angie loves a book, that review becomes a force and there’s no need to figure out why and what kind of love it is. I’m so happy with this book; I can see floaty hearts everywhere. In a non-dangerous-mind way, of course. Anyway, if my review does NOT convince you to read NOWHERE BUT HOME, I implore you to check out Angie’s. Then, I can be assured that you most probably will.

TO UNCOVER OR BE COVERED:
Objectively, I don’t know what to make of the cover. I kind of get what they’re trying to do with it and what kind of message it’s supposed to send, but had Angie not reviewed it, I probably would’ve passed on it on the look alone. Which infuriates me, because I’m sure there will be other people who will do the same and miss out on one of my perfect books. But because this is now one of my all-time favorites, I’m completely biased and love it like crazy. Because it is attached to this book. And this book is gold.

SUMMARY:A brilliant, hilarious, and touching story with a Texas twist from Liza Palmer, author of Conversations With The Fat Girl (optioned for HBO).

Queenie Wake, a country girl from North Star, Texas, has just been fired from her job as a chef for not allowing a customer to use ketchup. Again. Now the only place she has to go is home to North Star. She can hope, maybe things will be different. Maybe her family's reputation as those Wake women will have been forgotten. It's been years since her mother-notorious for stealing your man, your car, and your rent money-was killed. And her sister, who as a teenager was branded as a gold-digging harlot after having a baby with local golden boy Wes McKay, is now the mother of the captain of the high school football team. It can't be that bad…

Who knew that people in small town Texas had such long memories? And of course Queenie wishes that her memory were a little spottier when feelings for her high school love, Everett Coburn, resurface. He broke her heart and made her leave town-can she risk her heart again?

At least she has a new job-sure it's cooking last meals for death row inmates but at least they don't complain!

But when secrets from the past emerge, will Queenie be able to stick by her family or will she leave home again? A fun-filled, touching story of food, football, and fooling around.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS:
The first thing you notice about Queen Elizabeth Wake is her disdain for anybody who dares pour ketchup on a perfectly good plate of eggs, and the fact that she got fired over it. Well, maybe that’s not completely true. Perhaps the first thing you notice is her name and the fact that she goes by Queenie (but I’m telling you, I love it, love her name and how freaking awesome it suits her; it really grows on you). Now that Queenie has been fired from this latest job after six months of investment, she has to once again leave another city behind in the long trail of US cities she’s already been to. It doesn’t take a genius to decipher the cause of her 10-year-long trek all over the country: Queenie is both running from something and trying to find something, but with no success. And the journey is finally catching up with her.

As she sits, all forlorn and lost, a phone call from her older sister has her warily picking up and heading on home to North Star, Texas, the last place she really wants to be. Because back home the women whisper behind their hands about BJ Wake, town slut, cruel woman, and failure of a mother, and look down, judge, and ostracize the two women she gave birth to. Because back home the agonizing despair and even more painful yearning for her first and only love, Everett Coburn of the mighty Coburn line, is too much to bear. And because back home it’s only more obvious that Queenie Wake is going nowhere. Except home, where the memories—good and terribly bad—are everlasting. Inescapable. Unbearable.

But as Queenie settles back in, she discovers a love of her sister and nephew she can’t help but regret she left behind, the excitement? and healing that comes from cooking last meals for the inmates at Shine Prison (leading her toward a closure she desperately needs), a place she never thought she had in the home she never believed was her own, and a chance at love that maybe never had a chance to blossom to its fullest capacity. Until now. NOWHERE BUT HOME is about a lost, secretly despairing woman finding hope, love, self, and home.

WHERE WE GO:
I would say NOWHERE BUT HOME is very much a character driven novel. But that’s not to say nothing particularly exciting happens, because in this small town there’s never any lack for entertainment and buried secrets making it’s way aboveground. Liza Palmer has an awesome gift: she brings North Star to life in everything, from the society gossips to southern customs to every plate of delicious southern cuisine, from attending church in your Sunday best every weekend to knowing what bourbon and branch means. She doesn’t have to describe the picture; it already exists and she’s just taking you to it and through it.

And learning it’s—North Star’s—secrets is about one of the most fascinating things to do. Because nothing is ever really secret in a small town, not like everyone would like to believe, so everything that’s been lurking in the shadows is actually just sitting in the shade where everyone can see. EVERYTHING, including Queenie and Everett’s “secret” affair, her nephew’s father’s “secret” identity, and so on. As Queenie steps back into her hometown, that instant is the start of the unraveling of everything that has happened in that town spanning the last twenty years. A riveting breakdown of stories that say something about every character you meet, and tells you why Queenie is seriously bitter about everything there.

WHO WE ARE WITH:
Queenie specializes in quick wit and self-deprecating humor, the non-annoying kind I assure you. The ironic, dry, “come on, really? What’s next?” hilarious kind. There is so much cause for laughter in this book and she’s the guilty culprit. There were moments I’d have to put this book down flat on the open page right on my belly as I roared. But then there’s the other side of things. The point where you realize how miserable, lonely, and despairing Queenie really is. She’s been dealt a God-awful hand and has been bluffed out of the pot many, many times. And it’s not fair, and that’s all you can think, wanting to hurl curses and punches at all the injustice and hopelessness of it.

Do the people of North Star honestly think Merry Carole and I are just like her?
Merry Carole and I are the women North Star thinks we are. The women you're with in the shadows, but not the women you take to the Saturday dance. We're the women you're infatuated with, but not the women you love. The women who raise your unwanted children alone. The women who ruin you. The more Merry Carole and I fight the chains of our mother's legacy, the more they bind us.

She and her sister, Merry Carole, are never anybody else except harlots bred by the original Jezebel herself. No matter how good they are, quiet or careful, they are forever judged by the sins of their mother, and what’s worse, those damnable belles prey on them mercilessly, pouncing at the slightest mishap, slightest inkling of a mishap. And that’s part of why I love this novel so much: Merry Carole and Queenie don’t yell out a “suck it” and keep it moving, no, instead they learn how to be unaffected, to ignore the gossip and the judgment, and learn how to be happy, as they make decisions for themselves as if the crowd were invisible. Developing that skill, taking away the importance of other people’s opinions, is infinitely more satisfying.

I loved Queenie’s sister, the happiness she finds in her son whose eyes are nothing but “sweetness and light” as she’s so adorably fond of saying and the happiness she finds later on in so much more. I loved that Merry’s son is made of gold, a good kid through and through, and a pillar of hope in the family, a fresh start to the Wake name. I loved Fawn and Dee and Shawn and West. I loved Jace and the Dent boys. And I loved that those two 11-year-olds from twenty years back, who decided right then to have a secret romance, as adults end up with the best of everything, everything I could’ve hoped for.

THE LITTLE THINGS:

1. I HAVE TO SAY IT: The Number One
2. Merry Carole And Hair
3. The WAKE #5 Jersey
4. Red Construction Paper And A Flower
5. Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream *BAWLS*
6. Everett Is Missing One Person In The Coburn Clan *CHEERS!!!*

I swear I am going back to young adult books. I know it seems like I’ve been on an adult contemp kick this week, but sometimes, you not only need that breather, but they’re just worth stepping outside of what you’re used to. I wanted to get NOWHERE BUT HOME read because I couldn’t renew it again and something in my gut made me not want to pass up the chance. And because I took that chance I have yet another all-time favorite to share with you, on par with Jellicoe Road and This Song Will Save Your Life and The Sky Is Everywhere. This book is just so beautifully crafted, a heart-full book that means so much to me.

NOWHERE BUT HOME is coming home with me, you’d better believe, as soon as I can find the time to order it. Because I can’t live without a copy of this in my collection. ‘Nough said.



Paperback / 384 pgs / April 2nd 2013 / William Morrow / Goodreads / $14.99

I borrowed a copy of this book from my local public library.

Meager Musings On... Three Little Words by Susan Mallery (Fool's Gold, #13)

You guys may or may not remember when I dived into THREE SISTERS a couple months back, but it was a revelation for me that I could enjoy adult romance novels NOT written by Nora Roberts and still come out feeling satisfied instead of occupied. So, OF COURSE, I went mad and like a proper psycho I jumped ship to both of Susan Mallery’s lines at BEA to get more of her books. And when I saw a galley of hers up on Netgalley of another new book, WE ALL KNOW what I did. And I feel no shame so if you’re thinking to walk in here wearing your judgey pants, you’d better walk back out and take ‘em off because I WON’T STAND FOR IT.



And, dammit, I can’t help it. They’re just too good. Her books are not, and probably never will be, Jellicoe Road good, or The Sky Is Everywhere This Song Will Save Your Life good. But they’re not really supposed to be; or rather I don’t anticipate them to be. These are the kind of feel-good romance novels you read when you get home from a crappy day in retail almost wishing you hadn’t left your last job after discovering that you have no strength when it comes to men since being around your first college crush was so painful with his new girlfriend in the next office you had to leave, draining all hope and belief in everlasting love. Yes, dramatic, but may I remind you I’m on that awkward line between teen and adult. I’m entitled.



With a fun plot line we all know and love—fauxmance, anyone?—I couldn’t stop laughing even as I barely resisted audibly sighing at that Hendrix boy. You know sexy, dangerous, ex-SEAL Ford Hendrix of the incredible muscles and make-all-women-melt smile. I’d never read a Fool’s Gold book, so I did worry that I would be a little lost in all that familiar sauce but HAVE NO FEAR. You may not know who every character is nor how they came to be friends, but you can still enjoy them, and they make you want to read previous books to get to know them better. Mostly, I just enjoyed the dual romance in this book, following Isabel and Ford, Consuelo and Kent. THREE LITTLE WORDS is a happy book, so since I’m not an unhappy person, I have no complaints and just basked in all the happy things waiting to hug me. I’ll be smiling all day.



Paperback / 336 pgs / July 30th 2013 / Harlequin HQN / Goodreads / $7.99

I received an e-galley of this book from Harlequin via Netgalley.

Reaction to... Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

TO UNCOVER OR BE COVERED:
Like Rainbow’s books themselves, the covers for them are not all gazed at with fondness and appreciation, but I love them to pieces. They’re cute and simple, charming and quirky. And they make you wonder what the book is about. There is always some element about them that makes me want to own them just for the sake of looking at them; they make me happy. Just like her books do from the inside.

SUMMARY: Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office e-mail. But the women still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can't seem to tell her husband about her anxieties over starting a family. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period.

When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he hardly imagined he'd be sifting through other people's inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company e-mail, but he can't quite bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can't help but be entertained-and captivated- by their stories.

But by the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late for him to ever introduce himself. What would he say to her? "Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you." After a series of close encounters and missed connections, Lincoln decides it's time to muster the courage to follow his heart . . . even if he can't see exactly where it's leading him.

Written with whip-smart precision and charm, Attachments is a strikingly clever and deeply romantic debut about falling in love with the person who makes you feel like the best version of yourself. Even if it's someone you've never met.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS:
Even if you weren’t yet born or were fairly young (as I was) at the time, I’m sure you know about the craziness that exploded during the turn of the millennium and Y2K (the ORIGINAL apocalypse, people!), and that’s when this book takes place. It’s 1999 and Lincoln O’Neill (don’t you just love it when book summaries give you the last name? So many books have stopped doing that and then you forget it…) has jumped off the college scene… again. With two Masters under his belt, a welcome spot in his mother’s home, a lackluster social life, and absolutely no direction for his life in mind, Lincoln doesn’t think it’ll hurt any to be the night watch “internet security officer.” Don’t be fooled though, because if you’re thinking, as Lincoln did, that that means fast-paced virus terminations and building firewalls and anything else that sounds remotely cool for an IT guy to take on, IT’S NOT. Instead his position leaves him with barely anything to do and his job description should’ve really said “glorified e-Peeping Tom.”

Monitoring the use of company email doesn’t seem like much of a biggie. At first. Reading through red-flagged emails seems justifiable. Initially. Until he gets very hilarious personal emails from two women who work at The Courier, Beth and Jennifer, who, though they suspect there’s a Tron-like monitor perusing their emails, fear the mysterious officer very little, assuming that people who get warnings for internet misuse are also the ones who watch porn on break. Lincoln is technically supposed to report them. But he doesn’t. And he keeps reading, even against his better judgment. And then he does something really stupid: he falls in love with Beth.

WHERE WE GO:
Now I’m sure there are MANY many books interspersed with naturally witty and charming modern epistolary. But I’VE never read one, and I’m so happy that Rainbow gave me my first shot at it. ATTACHMENTS is told in two manners, one from Lincoln’s third person perspective and the other through the emails that Beth and Jennifer send to each other. Theirs isn’t an impersonal, intangible section of the book chronicling the lives of two mere women. IT’S THE OPPOSITE. It’s candy for the soul, it’s relatable, funny, and blunt. It’s like if two of your favorite women were best friends and wrote emails to each other only you were privy to. Hell, I kept thinking that if Steph and Kat had a part in a book, this would sorta be them (minus the typos :P).

And after reading those incredible emails, riddled with pop culture references of the time, anecdotes that range from hilariously embarrassing to heartbreaking, peppered with wit and fun, I worried that Lincoln’s parts wouldn’t live up. But they do. Not only because of who he is, but because of his journey as a person. ATTACHEMENTS is about how a person can retreat so far into his shell he forgets what it is to experience the outside world, and then that person steps out—gets woken up—and realizes it’s not so bad out there after all; there’s much more to live for. Pages and pages of dungeons and dragons, a mother’s cooking, crappy boyfriends, and baby dramalamas later, I feel like I learned something.

And loved something. Possibly, most probably all of it.

WHO WE ARE WITH:
This is always my favorite part of talking about my feelings on a book. And sometimes it’s also the hardest, much like this time. Because how does one go about describing Lincoln, Beth, Jennifer, and the remaining parade of people who go through this book?

ATTACHMENTS plays up the fact that the world really is a small place, that there are tons of people who intersect with you on your intergalactic journey through your own personal universe. There are no small characters in this book—sure there are those show up less frequently than others, but they all have something to say, some part in Lincoln’s life or in the shaping of his new one. From Dave and Christine and the rest of his D&D crew, to his sister, Eve, and his nephews, his mother, to his party animal friend Justin. His ancient dinner partner, Doris, his first love, Sam. The people who revolve around Beth and Jennifer’s world, Mitch and Chris. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE. And what’s more, you don’t have to keep track of them because they’re just there; they’re fixtures or presences you can look forward to in each of the main character’s lives. Like knowing your neighbor or the guy who slices your sandwich meat at the super market.

They just are.

THE LITTLE THINGS:

1. Lincoln
2. Lincoln’s Past
3. Beth
4. Beth’s Being Sarcastic
5. Jennifer
6. Jennifer The Cynic
7. RAINBOW'S WRITING
8. The Mishaps, Misunderstandings, and General Cyber Shenanigans
9. THE Kiss

Some might argue that nothing happens in this book; I’ve seen it said before. But evolution is a slow and subtle process, and one of the most beautiful when it’s of the soul and the very life you lead. Nothing about this book is ordinary even as it brings forward ordinary life, because Rainbow’s gift makes it not only relatable, but almost magical. ATTACHMENTS is about growth, moving on, courage, finding yourself even when you think you’re late in the game. It’s about love and starting over. It’s about life, and it reminds you of how imperfectly simple and perfectly beautiful it really is.

(I read this because of Asheley from Into the Hall of Books, and I THANK YOU, MY FRIEND.)

Paperback / 323 pgs / April 14th 2011 / Dutton Adult / Goodreads / $13.50

I bought a copy like new off of Abe Books.

Reaction to... Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

TO UNCOVER OR BE COVERED:
I know some people had a few problems with the cover of ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell, at least before reading the book, but I don’t see how one could EVER have NOT liked this cover. Loved it, even. It’s simple, yes, but before I even opened the book I had a sweet intuitive idea as to what I was going to be getting myself into. The cover is somehow powerful in its simplicity, because nothing draws your attention away from the fact that this book is about those two people indicated on the cover. AND THE DRAWINGS. I love them too! Making their headsets into something that joins and creates the “&” is brilliant and says so much as well. Basically, I think the cover is effing beautiful. Even more so after finally reading this book.

SUMMARY: "Bono met his wife in high school," Park says.
"So did Jerry Lee Lewis," Eleanor answers.
"I’m not kidding," he says.
"You should be," she says, "we’re sixteen."
"What about Romeo and Juliet?"
"Shallow, confused, then dead."
''I love you," Park says.
"Wherefore art thou," Eleanor answers.
"I’m not kidding," he says.
"You should be."

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

What can I say that hasn’t been said? Oh, yeah, I HATED THIS BOOK… for being so awesome. Not. While I can say that it may have started out with favorite vibes and finished leaving me uneasy and a little dissatisfied (not wholly, though, which is a plus!), this book, in so many of the parts that make up the sum, is absolutely as beautifully tender and romantic as everyone says it is.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS:
So, Eleanor, right. She’s the new girl in school, and nobody but nobody is willing to roll out the welcome wagon or their extra seat on the bus, for this girl who’s big, frizzy-haired, and wears all the wrong things. Except for a reluctant Park, who can’t help but be embarrassed for her a tiny bit more than himself (because who wants to be seen sitting with the new Bozo?). Instantly, the two judge each other on sight, one declaring the other “that stupid Asian kid” and the other “a dumb redhead.” But something about Eleanor’s silence, the way she keeps to herself and never asks of anything from him (including a conversation), the way she reads Dickinson, the way she unintrusively follows along as he reads his comics, sparks a tiny bit of SOMETHING. Friends, more than, neither could be sure of what will unfold, but all Eleanor knows is that she’s found one person, even before the first word between them, she wishes she could sit with all day long.

WHERE WE GO:
Star-crossed lovers? Well, maybe a little. Because it seems no one approves of even a friendship between Eleanor and Park. Not the kids at school, not Park’s mom (after meeting her once), and God only KNOWS what Eleanor’s mom would’ve said. Because at first glance, it doesn’t seem that Eleanor and Park would have one thing in common, they’re so different. Not just in appearance, but in attitude. But, even with all the disapproval circulating, all the difficulty of developing any sort of connection, Eleanor and Park GET each other almost instantly. The story is about them understanding that, if they’re together, they’re not alone, two kids who dig the weird in the 80s.

There’s this mystery of Eleanor’s life from the past year and how it translates to an even worse time in her terrible home. Her stepfather is a drunken bastard, her mom is broken and too tolerant, and her little siblings don’t see her the way they used to. As for Park, who has a relatively normal household, acceptance is a shortage from Park’s dad, who, though in no way is a bad person, wants something from Park that doesn’t align with who Park really is. On the surface, Eleanor and Park should never have bothered with each other, but from the second they share a headset listening to Park’s Walkman, they realize they speak each other’s language, which they both realize takes precedence over what people think.



WHO WE ARE WITH:
From the minute Park gave up his prized solitude on the bus for Eleanor I knew I was going to enjoy the dust jacket off this book! And I knew I loved them both. That love grew from sympathy, understanding, and then awe at everything these two are and are together. Park is a closet weirdo, and asks questions about himself and what he wants that he’s too scared to the find answers to, but just by being in Eleanor’s presence, who’s brave enough to be seen as different or crazy-haired or whatever, he begins to learn a little something about courage. And as confident and cool as Eleanor must seem in the face of all the teasing and bullying coming from the bus demons and their lesser minions, she’s actually really insecure about her body and the way she looks. But she accepts it as it is what it is. She’s still brave—that girl has endured SO MUCH—but not quite enough to love her body. She’s a lonely, openly sarcastic, defiant soul and is more than a little surprised when Park seems to have some unexplained interest in her. But Park isn’t interested in dishonest kind people, but someone who isn’t scared to say what she thinks about anything. Someone he can debate the next issue of Watchmen with, someone he can turn on his Walkman for and swap thoughts on his music, someone who might be a little scared to hold his hand.

THE LITTLE THINGS:

1. Every Moment of Bus Time
2. That First Kiss
3. Park Tells Eleanor She Doesn’t Need a Nickname
4. That First Phone Conversation
5. Park Holds Eleanor’s Hand on the Bus
6. The "Sad Hobo Clown" Scene
7. Park’s Parents And Their Story
8. On. The. Couch.

The only part of ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell that I have mixed feelings on is the ending. Honestly, it’s a good thing I didn’t write my review right after and gave it almost a day to stew and process. After letting it digest a little bit more, I’ve decided I don’t necessarily want to stab it with a fork, but it’s not the ending I would’ve preferred. You’re probably giving me that judgey face that says, “What? Did you want an easy happily ever after?” and I’d have to say only a small part of me does. The rest of me just CAN’T DIG THE ENDING completely. I didn’t like what it did to each of them, and it was vaguely open-ended, which I normally hate on sight. But BECAUSE it’s ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell, it went down a little easier. But, you, my fellow reading lovers, can take away from this review the fact that it doesn’t end badly at all, even from in my shoes.

Ultimately, ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell is a special book, with dreamily perfect writing to suit a truly mag story. A sweet and scary and beautiful one all about firsts, and that person who's your first everything... and maybe only. There’s a reason why most people don’t have a bad word for this book, and neither do I.

Hardback / 325 pgs / Feb 26th 2013 / St. Martin's Griffin / Goodreads / $18.99

I received a copy from my library, which is ALWAYS on point.

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