Review: A Not So Simple Life (Diary of a Teenage Girl) by Melody Carlson

 

Summary from Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Maya Stark seems to have it all–fame, fortune, a Beverly Hills lifestyle, and an eighties pop star dad who’s making a comeback. But looks can be deceiving, and on the inside, Maya is miserable. Her parents are divorced, her dad is away on tour, and being biracial, she struggles with her identity. Then, to make matters worse, her mother has returned to using drugs and is quickly depleting their finances. In a plan to become emancipated from her messed-up mom, Maya takes a job on Rodeo Drive. Selling designer clothes compromises Maya’s earth-friendly “green girl” values, but she is desperate.

Just when Maya thinks she’s got it all worked out, her life caves in. Her mom “embezzles” Maya’s savings and is later arrested on DUI and cocaine possession charges and is facing jail time. With nowhere to live, Maya is sent to spend the summer with her relatives. In the collision of two very different worlds, Maya must figure out where she fits in–or does she fit in at all?

My Thoughts:
    I liked this book. Maya is the main character of the book and it's written in diary format. She's a regular fifteen year old girl, but her dad is a famous pop star from the 80s and her mom is a drug addict. Maya has basically had to raise herself because her mom leaves her for days at a time and her dad is on tour. This book was an easy read. It's the type of story where you read it and relax for the evening. Once I got into it, I wanted to know what would happen to Maya. I liked the Green tips at the end of every chapter especially about the multiple uses of baking soda. This was my first time reading this series and I plan on reading the second book of Miss Maya.

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee and AllisonCanRead.
When you've read a book, what do you do with it? (Keep it, give it away, donate it, sell it, swap it?)

If I bought the book, I'd keep it. These days most of my books are library books so I return them.

Review: Say Amen, Again by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Publisher: Gallery Press
Publish Date: 7/5/2011

Summary from Goodreads:

The spirited Houston congregation featured in ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s Let the Church Say Amen and Everybody Say Amen has a major scandal unfolding—and, as always, the outspoken Rachel Jackson Adams is at the heart of the drama.As the First Lady of Zion Hill, Rachel is not only Pastor Lester Adams’ wife—she’s currently his eight-months-pregnant wife, who’s going toe-to-toe with Lester’s onetime mistress, congregant Mary Richardson, also pregnant. Her baby may or may not be Lester’s, but Mary’s doing all she can to win sympathy and turn her fellow churchgoers against Rachel—even threatening to blackmail Pastor Adams with a paternity agreement. After all, where can an unmarried mother-to-be go but to the Lord? Rachel has a few choice answers for exactly where Mary can go . . . but as these expectant moms do battle, hostilities erupt into a drama unlike anything Zion Hill has ever seen! Something has to give, and while Rachel contemplates everything from transferring her lifelong church membership to packing up and leaving Lester, she knows deep down God is calling her to forgiveness. Will the arrival of the new babies bring a new understanding? Or harden forever the anger that’s dividing them?

My thoughts:
Say Amen, Again is the third installment in the Amen series. I finished this book in one day. There was drama as soon as I opened the book. I couldn't put it down. The short chapters helped the momentum in the book. As I was reading I was like, 'Rachael is crazy.'  Well, everybody was crazy, which is why I liked the book. Within the first couple of pages, Rachael is beating up her husband as she's waking up from a disturbing dream she had about her husband's mistress. I was hooked from that point on. Jonathan has his issues that he's dealing with and their father is sick with cancer which brings in seriousness to the book. It had everything in a book that I like drama, fights, comedy, scandal, and a good ending.

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.
These are a couple of books that I got from the library.

Follow Friday!

Follow Friday is a meme hosted by ParaJunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

This week's question: What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don't like love triangles or thin plots. Tell us about it!

My main pet peeve is typos and grammatical errors. I don't like those. For some reason, I get mad when I see those in a book. I can over look one or two things, but if it happens on every other page, I can't finish the book. I know I'm not the best writer, but that's what makes me go uggghh!

Review: Eat Vegan on $4 a Day by Ellen Jaffe Jones

Eat Vegan on $4 a Day by Ellen Jaffe Jones explains that you can eat healthy without breaking the bank. I found this book to be very informative and easy to read. I like a book that teaches me how I can save my money and eat quality food because I like to think of myself as a "frugalista". I don't see the point in spending loads of money that I don't have in order to eat good. I'm not vegan, but I do like to read about how to be healthy and getting in more fruits, veggies and grains into my diet. After reading this book, I listened to a few podcasts interviewing the author and learned that the book is written in a way that you can go to Wal-mart to find the foods in the book which is pretty helpful. It also has a bunch of recipes for different types of dishes for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. This book is good for anyone who wants to learn how to eat healthy without going broke in order to do so.

Review: Bought by Anna David

Summary from Goodreads and the back of the book:

Anna David turns her reporter's eye for detail toward Tinseltown's seedy underbelly yet again and "eloquently and humorously unveil[s] what could be a new subgenre: Chick Lit with a Message" (New York Post).
Tired of gathering banal quotes from the B-list on the sidelines of the red carpet, Emma Swanson publicly yearns for a more substantial career but privately dreams of a hotshot boyfriend to transport her into the beating heart of the Hollywood scene. Instead, she meets Jessica—beautiful, cavalier, manipulative—who shamelessly trades sex for the gifts it can bring. Convinced that writing a story about Jessica and her ilk would seriously boost her journalistic cred, Emma soon finds herself sucked into a world where the luxuries of prettied-up prostitution may cost more than she ever expected.

My thoughts:
 

This book was interesting and I liked it. Emma is this lowly Hollywood reporter that gets to go to these big Hollywood events and interview the stars on the red carpet and was pining for her ex boyfriend who didn't deserve her. She starts out with no confidence in herself at all. She thinks her sister has it made because she's with a prince, knows how to cook and to top it all off is beautiful. Emma's best friend, Claire, is married and their relationship is changing. Emma's journey to finding herself starts when she wants to do a story on prostitutes in Hollywood for a magazine hence the book title "Bought". Emma befriends, Jessica, who is a working high class prostitute in Hollywood. She takes Emma under her wing and shows her the lifestyle that she lives and how she does "business". Jessica also helps Emma to discover who she wants to become and in a twisted way gives her confidence. This book was about self-discovery with drama, some scandal, and a little bit of romance.

Follow Friday!

Follow Friday is hosted by parajunkee an Allison Can Read.
This week's question: Letter to Santa: Tell Santa what books you want for Christmas!

I want a lot of books, but since I can't have all of them I really wouldn't mind Santa bringing me Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, Divergent by Veronica Roth,The Crowning Glory of Calla Lilly Ponder and The Hunger Games trilogy.:)

Follow Friday!

Question: Today's Question is something new, an activity. We want to see what you look like! Take a pic with you and your current read. Too shy? Boo! Just post a fun pic you want to share.

I am kinda shy. Lol. But here I am.

 

I'm reading Bought by Anna David.

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.





I got these books from the library.

 
Bought by Anna David     

Swiss Chocolate by Eva Johnson


Living Beyond Your Feelings by Joyce Meyer

Sugar and Spice: An L.A Candy Novel by Lauren Conrad

Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel

From NetGalley I got:

Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food: Kick Your Fake Food Habit, Kickstart Your Weight Loss by Christine Avanti, CN

Follow Friday!

Q. If you could have dinner with your favorite book character who would you eat and what would you serve?

A. Since I just read Dirty Girls On Top, I would want to eat with UsNavys because she was fun and loves to eat. We would eat at a fancy restaurant and I would order whatever she ordered and see if I could keep up.

Book Review: Mai Tai One by Jill Marie Landis

Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (8/24/2011)
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Mystery
Summary from Goodreads:

Six months ago, if anyone would have told Em Johnson she'd end up divorced, broke, and running the dilapidated Tiki Goddess Bar on the magical North Shore of Kauai she would have told them to shove a swizzle stick up their okole.

As if all that isn't bad enough, when an obnoxious neighbor with a grudge is found dead in the Goddess luau pit, suspicion falls on Em and the rest of the Goddess staff. With the help of a quirky dance troupe of over-the-hill Hula Maidens, Em and the cast of characters must ban together to find the killer and solve the mystery before the next pupu party.

My Review:
This is the first book in the Tiki Goddess series. This is the first time I've read a book based in Hawaii. I liked it. This story was something different. I felt like I was on The Island sipping on a Mai Tai. This book has it all: a little romance, a little murder and the Hawaiian atmosphere. This is the type of book that you can read and it makes you feel like you are on a vacation. My favorite characters were the Hula Maidens because they were "I Love Lucy" or a "Golden Girls" type of funny.

Book Review: Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress by Kyra Davis

Summary:
 In Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress by Kyra Davis, we meet up with Sophie, Dena and Maryanne celebrating Maryanne's engagement to her boyfriend. Since this is a Sophie Katz novel, somebody mysteriously gets shot which means that Sophie will want to find out who done it and why (with a coffee beverage in hand, of course) whether she gets help or not. Leah, her sister, Marcus, the witty gay hairstylist, Maryanne, Dena's childlike cousin, and Anatoly, Sophie's boyfriend are all here to help make this book entertaining and fun as only a Sophie Katz novel can be. 


My Review:
 This is book 5 in the Sophie Katz series. Sophie is still with Anatoly and she is still crazy, but I like a little crazy. I was shocked that Dena got shot. Under the circumstances, we got  to meet Dena's parents and why she is the way she is. It was very interesting. The way the book is written even if you haven't read all of the series, you can get caught up with the characters. It was a good book overall. I couldn't put it down. I know Anatoly is the love interest and he's fine and everything, but he's starting to get on my nerves. They are starting to fight like Ron and Sammi from the Jersey Shore. He's still a stranger to Sophie and she knows it. I think she needs a new boy toy. The end cliffhanger was very good which means there will be another book coming. I think it's going to be juicy. I personally think that this series should be a TV show or movie. It has romance, action, and drama. It was a fabulous read as usual.

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkie and Allison Can Read every friday.

This week's question: If you could pick one character in a book, movie, or TV show to swap places with who would it be?
This is a hard question. For the book and movie character, I would swap with Rebecca Bloomwood from Confessions of a Shopaholic, since I love to shop. For a TV show character, I wouldn't mind being Dr. Bailey from Grey's Anatomy because her man friends are fine. Especially the nurse. I forgot his name. :-)

Follow Friday!

This meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Allison Can Read every Friday.

Question: Do you have a favorite series that you read over and over again? Tell us a little bit about it and why you keep on revisiting it? 

 

My favorite series would have to be the Shopaholic series and the Sophie Katz series. I don't have all of the books yet, but those are my favorites.

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading.
To play along, just answer the following three questions:
What are you currently reading? What did you recently finished reading? What do you think you'll read next?

What I'm currently reading?

What did I recently finished reading?

What will I read next?

Review: Why I Love Singlehood by Elisa Lorello and Sarah Girell

Why I Love Singlehood by Elisa Lorello and Sarah Girell is about Eva Perino who is a happily single coffee shop owner who used to be a college English professor. She starts a blog about why she loves being single hence the title of the book. However, when she finds out her ex boyfriend is getting married she learns that she's not really all that happy being singlehood. This starts her journey into dating again. It seems that she's trying to get over her ex. Her friend, Minerva, tells her to write about her experiences in the blog because everybody loves her writing. I think they are a bit nosy, too.

This book was funny and real. I liked that Eva owned a coffee shop, that was part of the reason why I wanted to read it. I love coffee. I felt like I was sitting in the shop while her friends talked about nothing and everything while drinking a caramel machiatto. Eva felt real to me. I related to her. She was a successful woman who wanted love, but also liked her freedom. Her friends had their own stories and problems which made the story rich with layers. This was a fabulous read. I want to know what will happen next to Eva or have a book with Minerva being the main character.

In My Mailbox

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

From the Grounds Up (Maggy Thorsen Mysteries) by Sandra Balzo

Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress by Kyra Davis

Diane: A Signature Life by Diane Von Furstenberg

The Beauty Detox Solution: Eat Your Way to Radiant Skin, Renewed Energy and the Body You've Always Wanted by Kimberly Snyder

The Castaways: A Novel by Elin Hilderbrand