Sunday, November 1, 2015

Review of BIGLAW by Lindsay Cameron

The Devil Wears Prada meets One L, BIGLAW provides an insider's view of the cut-throat world of big New York law firms. Mackenzie Corbett has always dreamed of living in New York City. Now, almost two years into her job as an associate at a premier Manhattan law firm, she's living her fantasy--big salary, high profile deals, cute boyfriend, designer bag on her arm. The giant bags under her eyes from lack of sleep don't fit into the fantasy, though. To make matters worse, she's being tormented by a bitter, bitchy senior associate, her boyfriend is annoyed she never has time for him, and now she's stuck on the deal from hell with a partner whose biggest claim to fame is throwing a stapler at a cleaning lady because she touched his ficus plant.  With the opportunity to secure a prestigious secondment on line, the overachiever in her is determined to endure whatever it takes to close the biggest deal in the firm's history. But when Mackenzie finds herself the focus of a devastating investigation her dream job begins spiraling into a nightmare. In this pitch perfect, frightening accurate novel, Lindsay Cameron throws back the curtain to this intriguing world exposing the truth about life in Biglaw.
(Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I received this from BookSparks for their Fall Reading Challenge 2015. I was hesitant at first to read this book because I had had to reread it but I'm so glad I read it. Lindsay paints a picture of a girl who just wants to get the credit she rightfully deserves after all the hard work she has had to endure as well as being verbally abused by her superiors. Reading Biglaw reminded me of The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger because (in my opinion) Miranda Priestly was like Saul Siever except the fact she was female. The way Lindsay Cameron wrote, I was able to follow the story and get to experience the ins and outs of working as a lawyer and rooting for Mackenzie that she makes it to the finish line. 

Review of Guessing At Normal by Gail Ward Olmstead

I received this book for an honest review from the author. It's a love story about a woman named Jill, working in a job that's going nowhere in a dead end town, who meets James and something instantly clicks between them. It's about their ups and downs as a couple and being in the spotlight and trying to find their path in life. I really enjoyed this sweet love story mainly because it's out of my normal genre. Jill is a likable character because you can picture her so well in your mind. 

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Review of The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain


What if the life you thought you knew was a lie? What would you do? This is what happened to Riley McPherson. She has always been under the impression her older sister Lisa committed suicide when she was a teenager. After the death of her father, Riley travels to New Bern, North Carolina, to clean up her father's house to eventually sell it so she can move on with her life back in Durham, North Carolina. As she does that, she finds evidence that her sister may not have committed suicide, actually ran away and assumed a new identity.  What really happened to Lisa McPherson and why?

You must read The Silent Sister to find out what happened to Lisa McPherson. I have loved Diane Chamberlain's work ever since I read The Secret Life of CeCe Wilkes nearly ten years ago. Ten years?! I can't even believe it's been that long. Diane has a way of creating characters that make you feel as if they're right there standing next to you. I cannot believe this is a work of fiction. I was riveted from the very first sentence to the very last. As I met and grew to know Riley, at first I didn't like her but then realized she was a good person, just confused by what life threw at her. There isn't an order of books you have to read, you can start anywhere. If you're not able to get a copy, start with CeCe Wilkes. If you are able to get your hands on a copy, read it stat! 

Friday, September 4, 2015

Book review of The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos

It is about a woman Eustacia who at 35 years of age has only loved three men in her entire life: Ben, her high school sweetheart, Marcus, her brother and a man who never really showed her love, also known as Wilson, her vicious, spiteful, hateful father. He has a new family, his wife Caro and their 16-year old daughter Willow. Wilson has nothing to do with his "past" family and you're itching to find out why. Wilson asks Eustacia, otherwise known as Taisy) to come visit him after he suffered a heart attack because he has a proposition for her. I don't want to give more away but you come to find why Wilson is still nasty to Taisy and what happened when she up and left Ben, the one she loved with all her heart.

This was the first book I read by Marisa de los Santos and her writing really made me envision each character perfectly. I felt like I was in the story next to Taisy, Wilson, Willow, Caro, her mother and Marcus. I felt the pain of Taisy trying to win the affection and loved she so desperately wanted from Wilson. I'm lucky to have a father who loves me in my life but I always feel for those who don't see or speak to their biological fathers who aren't in their lives due to whatever reasons that may have occurred. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a little conflict, a little mystery and some bits of romance.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Hailey's Dream Bucket List

This blog post is a contest entry for Harlequin’s Come Away with Me Bucket List Contest located at http://bit.ly/1fhFAhz

1. Trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas. 

2. Learn how to drive. 

3. Drive cross-country across the USA. 

4. Visit Australia with my parents to see my sister and brother in-law. 

5. Put a down payment on a brand new car. 

6. Go to college. 

7. Tour of Italy. 

8. Swim with the dolphins. 

9. Walt Disney World trip with my family. 

10. Hire a personal trainer to finally lose weight. 

Thursday, July 30, 2015

A Review of Center of Gravity by Laura McNeill

The truth could cost her everything.
Her whole life, Ava Carson has been sure of one thing: she doesn’t measure up to her mother’s expectations. So when Mitchell Carson sweeps into her life with his adorable son, the ready-made family seems like a dream come true. In the blink of an eye, she’s married, has a new baby, and life is wonderful. When her picture-perfect marriage begins unraveling at the seams, Ava convinces herself she can fix it. It’s temporary. It’s the stress. It’s Mitchell’s tragic history of loss. If only Ava could believe her own excuses. Mitchell is no longer the charming, thoughtful man she married. He grows more controlling by the day, revealing a violent jealous streak. His behavior is recklessly erratic, and the unanswered questions about his past now hint at something far more sinister than Ava can stomach. Before she can fit the pieces together, Mitchell files for divorce and demands full custody of their boys. Fueled by fierce love for her children and aided by Graham Thomas, a new attorney in town, Ava takes matters into her own hands, digging deep into the past. But will finding the truth be enough to beat Mitchell at his own game?
From the very first page, I just KNEW I had to read this book by a true gem of a writer. Reading about what happened to Jack at school, I felt as if it were happening to me that very second. I didn't really have an opinion of Mitchell until he was showing off his dark side; then I wanted to scream in his face and ask him why he was treating Ava and the boys the way he was. There is always two sides to every story but Mitchell never gave the chance for Ava to tell her side. I felt like a character in this book and was rooting for Ava the entire length of the book. Graham Thomas (the lawyer that has Ava's back) is a likeable character and you know he just truly cares for Ava and what the aftermath will entail for her and her boys. Center of Gravity is a book that you need to read in one sitting. Every chapter you finish, you want to continue and read till the very last page. If you don't, you'll be wondering what's going to happen next to Ava, Jack, Sam and even Mitchell (even if you don't really care about what happens to Mitchell). I can't even believe this is a book and not a real story because it is THAT great of a book. I would really like for this to be a movie.