[Review] The Reluctant Bachelorette by Rachael Renee Anderson

The Reluctant Bachelorette by Rachael Renee Anderson
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publishing Date: Sept 16, 2012
304 Pages
Format: Kindle ebook

Synopsis

Luke Carney has no idea what possessed him to move back to Shelter Springs, Colorado, to set up his veterinarian practice. His parents have long since left, the small farming community is on the brink of extinction, and only one close friend from his childhood remains--Taycee Emerson, his best friend's little sister, who isn't so little anymore.

Then there's the matter of Shelter's Bachelorette, an online reality dating show created to raise some much needed funds for the town.

Unwittingly cast as the bachelorette, Taycee wants out, especially when she discovers that Luke, her childhood crush, is back in town and will be one of the bachelors. To make matters worse, it's up to the viewers - not her - to decide which bachelors stay or go. And they all seem to like Luke.

Unwilling to let him break her heart again, Taycee launches a subtle attack on Luke's good name with the hope of getting him voted off the show. But she'd forgotten that Luke's an eye-for-an-eye kind of guy, and when he discovers what she's up to, it means revenge.

My Review

This was the perfect book to pick up yesterday! Its romantic, funny, and sweet. Taycee loves her life as it is, though she could probably deal with a few less relationships-gone-wrong. Her character is sweet and you just can't help but like her right away. Same with Luke. Yes, he left for years with no communication, but the moment he walks back into Taycee's life, you just want them to be together! He's charming and funny, and a really good guy!

I thought this story was very cute and entertaining. Sometimes I'm not sure what to expect with books that are free for Amazon's Kindle, but this one didn't disappoint! I enjoyed it so much that I finished it in one day! I also really want to read Ms. Anderson's other books as well after this one! Definitely a wonderful romantic comedy (:

I loved it so much, that I wanted to share a few teasers of the book to convince others to read it!

"The silence that followed made him feel exposed, as if he'd put his heart on a platter for her to take or wave away. A few more seconds came and went without a word. Not good. Was she trying to think of a nice way of letting him down, or was she scared too - like Luke? Hopefully the latter. He should reach for her hand, touch her, something. Only a few inches and his hand would brush against hers. Still, Luke hesitated."
                             pg. 199

"Luke stared at the starlit sky, feeling that his world had suddenly aligned. As though all the dots had been connected, creating an awesome picture, way better than Hercules or Draco or any of the other constellations out there. He felt something good. Something real. Something he'd never expected to find with his old friend from Shelter Springs, Colorado."
                            pg. 199 

Buy on Amazon

Wishlist Wednesday

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop hosted by Dani @ Pen to Paper where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our shelves :)

This week, I've been seeing many posts and reviews about Jennifer Brown's books, specifically Hate List and Bitter End. These sound like really great books that deal with incredibly sensitive topics. These are the types of books I love to read. I think an author that can tackle a taboo or sensitive subject can send really powerful messages to everyone: teens, adults, etc. So those are the two books that are new to my wishlist, but hope to get off that list and onto my shelf fairly soon! 

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should be Reading. To participate, simply answer the three following questions:

- What are you currently reading?

- What did you recently finish reading?

- What do you think you'll read next?

What am I currently reading?

Started off a little slow, so I'm still unsure about it, but I'm going to keep reading it!

What did I recently finish?

Really enjoyed this book! You can find my review here. 

What will I likely read next?

I've had this book for so long and haven't gotten around to reading it! Mostly I'm worried about the size of it because then I won't be getting many other books done. But, I've decided this is a good time to start it. (:

Tell Me Something Tuesday

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Heidi @ Rainy Day Ramblings. Each week a new question is presented. Check out Heidi's blog for all the details :)

This weeks question:

Who are your favorite authors? 

As any book lover can probably tell you, this is a very difficult question to answer! However, since it does say 'authors' I can definitely list more than one!! (: These are some of my favorite, in no particular order!

Jodi Picoult

  

Nicholas Sparks

  

Sandra Brown

  

James Patterson

  

JK Rowling

  

When I was younger, I loved the Thoroughbred Series by Joanna Campbell, so she is definitely one I would need to add to my list (look for a post regarding her books later this week). Same with Lurlene McDaniel. I devoured her books and couldn't get enough of them! Sometimes I still want to go back and read them again now! 

  

[Review] The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers

The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publishing Date: 2009
307 Pages

Synopsis 

Their mother asked the impossible.  Their father did the unthinkable.

Lulu and Merry's childhood was never ideal, but on the day before Lulu's tenth birthday it became a nightmare. Mama warns Lulu not to let her father in, but he bullies his way past her. She runs for help, but discovers upon her return that he's murdered their mother, stabbed five-year-old Merry, and tries to kill himself.

Effectively orphaned by their mother's death and father's imprisonment, the girls' relatives abandon them to a terrifying group home. Even as they plot to be taken in by a well-to-do family, they come to learn that all they have to hold on to is each other.

As the sisters spend thirty years trying to make sense of what happened, their jailed father shadows their every choice. One spends her life pretending he's dead, while the other feels compelled to keep him close. Both dread that someday he'll win parole.

A beautifully written, compulsively readable debut, The Murderer's Daughters is a testament to the power of family and the tics that bind us together and tear us apart.

My Review

This book has been sitting on my TBR pile for quite some time, and I'm happy I finally got around to reading it! I thought this book did a really great job of portraying how a family can be affected by such a tragic act of one person. Merry and Lulu's father killed their mother and attempted to kill Merry. He completely tore their family apart. Not only did the girls no longer have a mother, they didn't have a father, or much of any extended family that were willing to care for them.

I identified much more with Lulu than I did Merry, and it was simply because of how she handled her father killing her mother. If that had happened to me, I know I would have likely handled it the same way; I wouldn't want anything to do with my father. However, even though the girls handled this incident in completely different ways, their father still controlled so much of their lives. Merry felt she needed to be a support system for her father because he guilted her into it... it was always: "you're the only one I have... I don't have anyone else...I need you so much..." On the other hand, although Lulu pretended he was dead, he still affected her daily choices. It determined what she told her friends and classmates about her life, what she tells her future family, how she deals with the internal struggle of every day living, etc. Both of these girls were affected in such a terrible way by what their father did. Their mother wasn't the only victim; the children were as well. I think society often forgets about how family members are affected by heinous crimes such as this, and we often think so much about the victim that was physically harmed, whether killed or injured.

Now I know why my future mother-in-law read this in just a couple days when we were on a road trip to Florida! It was a very fast paced read and takes you through 30-odd years of Merry and Lulu's lives. I would definitely recommend this book to others (:

Buy on Amazon

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga @ Tynga's Reviews. Its all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, whether physical or virtual books. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks! Tynga posts this meme on Saturdays, but you can post on any day that works best for you! Check out the guidelines by visiting Tynga's blog!

 

Review Copy from Bethany House

 

 

I'm definitely a skeptic, so I thought this would be a good book for me to read (:

 

 

 

Bought

 

 

I've heard about this book many times before and it sounds really interesting, especially since its from the parents' point of view. I think when people commit tragic acts, we often forget about their families being victims as well.

 

 

 

 

 

I love everything that James Patterson writes, so I couldn't pass these two up when I saw them for only $2.00!!!

 

 

Again, I love everything that she writes, so I couldn't pass up $2.00 for this one either!

 

 

 

Feature and Follow Friday!

Feature and Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community. If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers. But you have to know, the point of this hop is to follow other blogs also. I follow you, you follow me. 

The general rules are: 

- Follow the Feature and Follow Hosts (Parajunkee and Alison Can Read)

- Follow the Featured Bloggers

- Put your Blog name and URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts. 

-Grab the button up there and place it in a post. This post is for people to say hi and that they are now following you in your comments. 

-Follow, Follow, Follow as many as you can. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Don't just follow, comment and say hi in the post! Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say 'hi'

-If someone comments and says they are following you, please follow back! 

This weeks question: What book are you embarrassed to admit you LOVED? (Think beyond Twilight)

Oh, this is a tough one. I don't know if I could really just pick one book, so I'm going to cheat a little. Romance novels are usually some that I don't tell everyone about loving. Favorite authors for this genre would be Sandra Brown, Nora Roberts and Nicholas Sparks. (: