It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover-376 pages 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lily Bloom has a complicated past with an abusive (to her mother) father who just died. She vows that she'll never be like her mother and stay in an abusive relationship. However, she meets Ryle Kincaid after moving to Boston and finally opening her own floral shop. They fall in love and he's mostly sweet and kind at first. Ryle is prone to fits of anger, though, and he hurts Lily a few times during these fits/episodes. Will Lily be able to leave Ryle like her mother couldn't with Lily's father? She has so many complicated feelings for a past love who she recently reconnected with and for Ryle, even though he's hurt her. What will Lily ultimately decide? This is definitely heavy material and not for those who are looking for a light read. That being said it is a good book and a good read. I wanted to read it in anticipation of possibly watching the movie based on the book.

 

Seven Perfect Things by Catherine Ryan Hyde-308 pages

Thirteen-year-old Abby lives in an unhappy home in the Sierra Nevada foothills where her father makes life miserable for her and her mother, Mary. One day Abby sees a man dump a litter of puppies into the river. Diving in to rescue all seven, she knows she won’t be able to bring them home. She takes them to an abandoned cabin.  Returning every day to care for them.

Grieving widower Elliot's life has lost meaning. Looking for comfort, he retreats to the hunting cabin he last visited years ago, before his wife’s illness. Not expecting to discover seven puppies and one determined girl with a huge heart.

As Abby and Elliot’s friendship grows, Abby imagines how much better her life―and the puppies’ lives―would be if her mother were married to Elliot instead of her father. But when Abby’s father moves the family hundreds of miles away without any warning, Abby and her mother must decide how long they’re willing to put off being happy.

I enjoyed this book very much.  A teenager that has a purpose; a man who is willing to help and her mom who is willing to change, fight back and try again at love  You find yourself rooting for Abbey and Mary and the pups.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

 Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks-Audiobook, 6 CDs (340 pages in print)

I listened to this in my car on a recent road trip. It's a good listen. Katie Feldman (aka Erin Tierney) arrives in a small seaside town in North Carolina (called Southport). She has a hidden past and tries to keep to herself. However, with a little pushing from her new neighbor, Jo, she starts to fall for the local general store owner (and widower), Alex. He has two young children, Josh and Kristen. Katie falls for them, too. Katie ran from her abusive husband, Kevin Tierney and ended up in Southport. I won't say anymore, except that I liked this book. It's my favorite Nicholas Sparks novel so far (I haven't read nearly all of them, though). 

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King-336 pages; Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book, 2011; Edgar Award Nominee, 2011

I read Glory O'Brien's History of the Future (also by A.S. King) for class during library school last summer and thought it was pretty weird, but decided to give this one a try when I saw it was a Printz Honor Book. I enjoyed reading this one a lot better. There was still a bit of strangeness, but it was believable strangeness. I especially liked the ending when Vera finally tells the police (and her dad) the truth about what happened to her best friend (most of the time) Charlie Kahn and who really burned down the pet store. Another thing I like is the reality in the story and how it could be very relatable, not only to teens but also to anyone reading it. Finally, I like that the protagonist comes to terms with herself and her relationship with her dad and her mom's departure (that was one good thing about Glory O'Brien, as well).

Killer Girlfriend: the Jodi Arias Story by Brian Skoloff

Killer Girlfriend: the Jodi Arias Story by Brian Skoloff, 144 pages

If you were following the Jodi Arias trial a few months ago, then you probably do not need to read this book.  I was one of the few people who was not familiar with the details of the case, so I thought I would read this book.  It was a interesting read that gave both her lies and the facts of the case.  The book detailed information on Jodi and Travis and how they met.  It also included intimate details of their relationship and how obsessive and manipulative she really was.  It was disturbing that she needed to stab him so many times and then shoot him.  If you like true crime, you may want to give this a read.

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks, 292 pages

It has been so long since I had read a Nicholas Spark book that I had forgotten his style.  His books always start out as a predictable love story that has some shocking twist that sucks the reader in and makes you not want to put the book down.  In this, his most recent book, Amanda and Dawson, high school sweethearts, return to Oriental, North Carolina for the funeral of their lifelong friend, Tuck Hostetler.  A spark is reignited in their relationship although they had broken up 20 years earlier when Amanda left to go to college.  Although, Amanda is married, she has had a tragic life, losing a child.  What follows is a twist involving Dawson's cousins and a great shock that reminded me why I have read all but two of Nicholas Sparks books.

Amy, My Daughter - Mitch Winehouse

Amy, My Daughter by Mitch Winehouse - 301 pages

  On July 23, 2011, Amy Winehouse's family, friends,and fans around the world mourned the tragedy that this remarkable, talented, and extraordinary generous woman was now gone. A legion of dedicated fans had lost their Amy. With this difficult news came an outpouring of love and grief from her fans, along with troubling questions about Amy's very public struggles with drugs and alcohol, as people tried to understand how such a soulful singer had been silenced so young.
  Now, in this intimate and tender account, her father and confidant, Mitch, offers an inside view of Amy's life as she lived it, putting to rest once and for all the controversies that have long surrounded her.