The Kari AnnAlysis

Books Read:
Running Dark
Missing Mabel
Manifest
Finger Lickin’ 15
No One Lives Twice
Firefly Lane
The Starlet
Scandal
Always the Baker Never the Bride
To read the reviews on these books, click here.

Pages Read: 2789

Bookmarks Given:
1 bookmark: 0
2 bookmarks: 1
3 bookmarks: 3
4 bookmarks: 2
5 bookmarks: 3

Favorite Book:
There were a few books that I really liked this month, but I would have to say my favorite was Firefly Lane. I could not get enough of it and although it was 400+ pages, I was through it in no time. It’s a fantastic read and I keep recommending it to all of my co-workers.

Least Favorite Book:
I never thought I would say that a Private book would be my least favorite in a month, but Scandal was it. The other books were just so intense, this one didn’t do it for me. I thought it was a little boring, but am looking forward to the next one, as the ending left us with a major cliffhanger.

I did stop reading Match Made on Madison this month. I didn’t really give it a lot of time. I got some other books that I had been waiting on and since I just started, I just as easily stopped. I will get back to it at some point.

Goals for September:
I am really excited for the month of September. For one, it’s my birthday month! Woo! And this year, I am getting a Nook! Woo Again! So, I will probably put some books that are on my TBR shelf aside (obviously they already are) and check out some freebies and NetGalley’s on the Nook.

I have another goal with NetGalley. I want to get better at getting the books read and reviews ready before the books come out. This past month, I wasn’t able to do that. It’s September 1 already and I have three that came out today that I haven’t even started.

I am pretty much caught up with the series I am reading, but this month, I am looking forward to finishing The Hunger Games and the rest of the books in this series that are staring at me from my bookshelf.

And finally, I hope to make some more progress on my writing WIP. I have gone back through and made some additions and changes to the first 50 some pages. I have added some twists and turns that I really like and am still really excited about it. This month, I have a shift change on Friday’s and will be getting off at 12:30 all months on those days. I plan to spend those Friday afternoons, as fall nears, writing on the porch.

Reed comes back from St. Barths to find her whole life at Easton has been bulldozed. Everything she knew, everything she loved, the one thing that made her feel like she was something special, gone. But she is bound and determined not to let Billings die. And when she gets a book, dating back to 1915, explaining a secret society of former Billings’ girls, she has her answer. Now she has to find the right girls, find the right place to hold the meetings and do it all under extreme care because the new headmaster is out for the head of the Billings’ girls.

Now of course the drama follows Reed. Don’t think that a near-death experience on a tropical island would slow her down. Reed has as much drama as ever, well, that may be a lie. No one tried to kill her in this book, but she has plenty of boy and girl drama to go around.

This is my least favorite book out of the series. I had waited a while between the last book and reading this one. The last one was filled with crazy twists and turns and this one just didn’t live up to the hiatus hype as I had wished.

I have always liked Reed throughout this series. She was the low man on the totem pole who worked her way up the ranks. There were times where she turned her back on friends, but I was still able to understand. In this book, I couldn’t. I know she was going with the “rituals” and history, but I felt like she really turned to the B word side. There was no reason she couldn’t add 4 more people into the Billings Literary Society. As mentioned by one of the girls, no one was going to rise from the dead and confront Reed for adding and extra person.

Now while I pretty much hated Reed in this book, I did admire her for standing up to the former Billings women who came after her. She has gotten some serious confidence since entering the school, but as mentioned in the last paragraph, it may be too much for her own good.

The only thing that will keep me reading this series after this book is the very last couple of pages. If anything, Kate Brian leaves us with great cliff hangers. I give Scandal 2 bookmarks.

ISBN: 9781416984702
Published: March 9, 2010
Buy from Amazon
Kari bought this book from Borders

Emma Rae is one of, if not the, best bakers in Atlanta. And she has just landed an amazing gig as the head baker at a brand new hotel. This is a place for Emma to express her creativity, expand her horizons and fall in love? Of course Emma’s boss is a total hottie, but there are a couple of things holding them back. 1. Is is wrong to date your boss? and 2. Less than two years ago, his wife died of cancer. Is it too soon?

I have never really been one to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but recently I have been trying my hand at cupcakes. They have turned out pretty spectacular, if I do say so myself. But I never thought I would be interested in books that focus on a cook, chef or baker. This is the second book from NetGalley that I have read that has had recipes between the chapters, and I absolutely love them. After I write this post, I am going to pull the book back up and get the recipe for Emma’s Mocha Latte Cookies. Doesn’t the name just sound delicious? And they are dipped in chocolate! I can’t wait to make them.

I have a bad habit of not reading the summary of the book, so based on title, I was surprised with this story. I thought it was going to be more about a baker’s bad dates, but it was so much  more and I loved it! It was cute, southern and there were a few love stories thrown in.

Although this is more of a girly, cooking, weddingy book, this is a book of growth for a man who lost his wife. Not that you ever want to tell someone it’s time to move on, this would be a great book to do just that. I hope that I would never have to give this to a friend, but I am sure at some point, someone will lose someone and hopefully I will remember this book to pass on.

This book is also good for diabetics. Emma is a diabetic, who bakes with sweets on a daily basis. She considers it a naughty trick from God. I would hate to not be able to eat the goodies I bake. But Emma does just that. She allows herself a sliver, but deals with it. It may not be a huge part of the story, but it’s a nice story for diabetics to show that you can do anything that anyone else can. My brother needs to read this!

Now I mentioned the recipes between the chapters. I find myself really liking books that have something to break up the chapters. In this book, there were recipes and since Emma bakes for weddings, different tips for weddings. Some of which I wish I had for my wedding (which our year anniversary is about a month and a half away wow). There was a list of some more non-traditional ways to get married, like have a murder mystery dinner or do it in the morning and have tea. There was also a list of wedding favors. My favorite was small packs of coffee with personalized labels that say “A Perfect Blend”. Isn’t that adorable?

I give Always the Baker Never the Bride 5 bookmarks. Loved the characters, loved the story.

ISBN: 9781426707629
Published: September 1, 2010
Buy from Amazon
Kari got this book from NetGalley

Welcome to part 2 of my Questions for Readers. ENJOY! If you missed my first installment, click here.

19. What is your favourite language to read? English

20. What makes you love a book? Oh there are so many things. Falling in love with the characters, laughing, crying, a crazy twist that totally catches me off guard.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book? I don’t really read the same genre as a lot of my friends and family, so I normally don’t waste my time. But when I run across a book that I cannot put down, I will always find someone to recommend it to.

22. Favourite genre: YA

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did): autobiographies

24. Favourite Biography: I couldn’t tell you the last time I reada  biography

25. Have you ever read a self-help book? (And, was it actually helpful?) The only book I think I could consider self-help is He’s Just Not That Into You. I went to a motivational conference a couple of years ago and really liked it.I ordered the book, but still haven’t read it.

26. Favourite Cookbook: I don’t do a lot of cooking, I get most of my recipes from the Taste of Home magazines.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction): Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

28. Favourite reading snack: Hmmm Chips or cookies

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience: Lovely Bones

30. How often do you agree with the critics about about a book? I don’t read a lot of critic reviews before or after reading. And when I compare my review to those of friends, it varies book-by-book.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? I think it is my duty as a book blogger to be honest about the book and I think that authors know that not everyone who reads the book will love it. I always try to find the positive.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose? I took French for 6 years, but am EXREMELY rusty. I wish I could read that better.

33. Most intimidating book I’ve read: I would say size wise, it was The Historian. I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into and it was big.

34. Most intimidating book I’m too nervous to begin: Anna Karenina

35. Favourite Poet: I’m not really big into poetry. I am not that deep. 

Juliette is on a much  needed vacation after her ex-husband was murdered and her most recent fling was with a movie star, secretly battling cancer  in the hotel where she worked. But her vacation is cut short when one of Hollywood’s biggest starlets takes a plunge in a fountain. Juliette, who has dealt with Mercy a number of times in the states, takes the drug filled star to the amazing property that she and her cousin share, complete with villas and a mini castle.

Juliette thinks she’ll let the star sleep it off and they’ll be done. Little does she realize that Mercy’s fling was just found dead and Mercy believes it is murder. Getting Mercy off the fountain was probably one of the most drama inducing decisions Juliette will ever make. This decision will put her on set of a movie, in the middle of a huge drug investigation, in the face of another possible murder and deciding between the arms of the hot-to-trot cancer fighting actor and her boss.

Upfront, I am going to say the books that The Starlet most reminded me of are the books written by Chuck Palahniuk. There are some of his I love, others I hate, but they are all so crazy. The Starlet follows in those footsteps. There is another crazy twist, murder, sex story around the corner and to me, it was definitely not what I expected. For that fact, I give props to Mary McNamara. I often read books and wonder “how did someone ever think of this?”. This is one of those cases.

Underneath all of the drama and drugs and death, this book does tell a good story of a woman who has been fighting getting over the death of her parents for over a decade. Juliette will not talk about the death with anyone, including her cousin, who also lost his parents during the tragic train accident. It’s a story of growth and recognition, with a little crazy mixed in.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with the characters in this book. Mercy, through all of her drug problems and show-stopping antics, is just a teenager, doing the one thing she is good at. Juliette may be hard-headed, but she has a huge heart. This has gotten her in trouble, with her cheating ex, but she means well and all she wants is to help this troubled, young star. Gabe may have a rocky past that was riddled with cocaine, but now he is extremely level-headed and straight forward. And finally, oh my Devlin. Dev is Juliette’s boss and I absolutely love him. He always has the answers, even a sea away and is there in a second when he believes his girl, Juliette, is in trouble.

While reading this book, I wasn’t in love with it. I felt that it was slow at times and although there was a lot of drama, it didn’t really pull me in and keep me there. Looking back though, I don’t hate it. I give The Starlet 3 bookmarks. It was just Meh for me.

ISBN: 9781439149843
Published: June 20, 2010
Buy from Amazon
Kari got this book from Crazy Book Tours