Thursday, August 31, 2006

I got my mojo back

So how's everyone doing? as you've probably noticed, it's going well on my reading :) I've bought more books and I've been reading them :) So here are 2 reviews.


Caroline's Journal by Katherine Stone: 4/5

What can I say about this one? It was a nice story. What I liked the most was the change of pace from the other books. The story was nice and touching and it was slow, which for this one was good.

I'm putting up the book synopsis, because surprisingly, it's pretty close to the story:
Caroline, a successful architect, is finally and joyfully pregnant. She keeps a journal throughout her pregnancy, conveying her feelings and plans, and is also reestablishing her relationship with her much younger sister, Meg. Meanwhile, her husband is prosecuting a murder case involving a pregnant woman, and as a father-to-be he finds the case particularly distressing. When Caroline has feelings of foreboding, she chalks it up to her usual worrying. But at the start of her third trimester she is diagnosed with preeclampsia, and Caroline discovers that it will be a struggle to keep both her and her baby safe.
So it's pretty much Caroline's last possible pregnancy as she is 36 years old and she already miscarried 3 or 4 times. Jeffrey, her husband, has caught a case in which the father-to-be has killed his pregnant fiancée and he finds it difficult, not only because the victim was pregnant, but also because the murder occured almost at the same time as Caroline's miscarriage. Meanwhile, Caroline and Meg's relationship has suffered a lot after their parents' marriage. Meg has turned to drinking and Caroline thinks she did a poor job at providing a motherly figure to Meg; but both are trying hard to mend their relationship.

I really liked the story but somewhat, I felt cheated: the book wasn't long enough and I thought there was not enough detail. It was a nice change that the main characters were in love with each other, but I'd had like for Caroline to recount how she met Jeffrey and fell in love with him. I'd had like a bit more storyline too, like a bit more things happening. Aside from that, it's a classic Katherine Stone - you have relationships that need mending, conflicts, love and a medical condition. The characters were all nice, no TSTL heroine, no annoying characters. It is probably a bit weak compared to Pearl Moon, but it is a very nice relax read, a true Katherine Stone classic and it was much better than the Cinderella Hour which restore my confidence in Katherine Stone's books to come.



Foot Loose by Leanne Banks : 3.5/5

This book came very close to a 4, but there's just a tiny something missing.

Amelia just got dump by what was supposed to be the love of her life, William... She's been with him since elementary school, has made so much sacrifices for him, has live the way he liked and now, he has dumped her. Apparently, he outgrew her. How dare him? So, following advice from the shrink, Amelia has to discover herself, learn who she really is. In order to do so, she writes up list of things to do and try to do them.

For the past few years, Amelia has been working as a temp at Bellagio, designer shoes manufacturer and is loved by everyone. She's the temp that the cie will assign in every difficult situation and now, she's been assigned to LillianBellagio, one of the founder's widow, in Keys. There, she meets Jack O'Connell. Jack is a venture capitalist and the bastard son of Dario Bellagio, i.e. Lillian Bellagio's stepson. However, Lillian has long paid off Jack's mother and so, Jack never really had the opportunity to meet his father. Nonetheless, he'd like to be part of Bellagio, but on his terms and due to his abilities. That day has almost come as Bellagio needs money and Jack is happy to provide, only if he can becomes a board member. Anyway, Jack and Amelia meet in Keys where Jack helps Amelia to discover herself, gets some on Bellagio from her and become lovers. Of course, when she realized that Jack used her, she's not very happy and is reluctant to forgive him...

Anyway, this was a good book and I really enjoyed it. I liked Jack a lot and Amelia was a nice heroine too. The story went smoothly and was good. However, I wished we've seen a showdown between Amelia, Jack and Will... I mean, the author did reunite them, but nothing really happened. Also, I thought that the jail scene was unnecessary.