Review: There Goes the Bride by Lori Wilde

This book first caught my attention when I did my list of upcoming books back in last spring... Then, once it came out, I decided not to buy it. Lucky for me, because I won this over at Kristie's, during one of her "Guess the book" contest. So I thought I'd shared my opinion of it, especially since Kristie hasn't read it yet.


There Goes the Bride by Lori Wilde
published in June 2007 by Grand Central Publishing

Legend claims this antique Irish wedding veil can grant your heart's deepest desire.But be careful what you wish for...The moment Texas socialite Delaney Cartwright touches the veil, she knows she can't go through with her wedding.And it's not just because she envisions a stranger's dark eyes and irresistible lips the second her fingers hit lace.But she can't simply call the whole thing off.The nuptials to her nice, predictable childhood friend are the social event of the season (not to mention that her mother would freak).To fan the flames of this dying ember, Delaney abducts her fiance for a night of passion...and grabs the wrong guy!It isn't her fault that Detective Nick Vinetti of the oddly familiar eyes and lips has crossed her path--and looks game for all kinds of sexy fun.Now Delaney hatches an outrageous plan to get out of marrying:she'll hire her own kidnapper.With an altar to avoid and a cop to dream of, this runaway bride is hoping a little Irish magic will unveil the true destiny of her heart.

Genre: contemporary romance
Series: Wedding Veil Wishes, Book #1

I don't really know what I was expecting when I read the back blurb of this book. I guess a little magic - because of the veil part, and a lot of romance. In the end, I get neither. Delaney is the rich heiress that is unsure of herself and is marrying her childhood friend - someone she knows well and who'll be a good match for her, even though their sexual life is less than exciting. At her friend's advice, Delaney attempts to spice up their sex life by "attacking" him at the end of his work day; however, she ends up jumping on the wrong guy, Nick. Both Delaney and Nick are attracted to each other, but they don't think they'll ever see each other again... till Nick's grandmother hires Delaney to stage her house. In the end, Delaney decides not to marry her fiance, but she doesn't have the guts to tell him or her parents and end up staging her own kidnapping... the only problem is that the kidnapper is not the one she hired. There was also a subplot about Delaney's parents - how her father feels he failed his family and her mother is not who she really is.

Okay, so my main problem was Delaney... I didn't like her. I think the author wanted the readers to feel sympathy for her and so Delaney was the ugly duckling turned swan and she also lost her older sister, which resulted in a more strict upbringing by her parents. Now, she's seeking her own happiness... I guess I dislike Delaney because she went with the motion and when she finally decided it was time to stand up, she didn't have the guts to do, i.e. confront her parents and fiance... instead, she staged her own kidnapping. She reminded me more of a little kid than an adult... and let's not talk about the fact that she "imagines" her dead sister. As a hero, Nick was so-so. He too is emotionally crippled: he married a woman who cheated on him during their honeymoon, he's also a cop who's on disability due to a bad knee and has recently lost his grandfather. Now that I'm typing this up, I find the setting of the book kind of depressing :P

Everything could have been saved with a good plot, but then, everything was too rushed. Too much time spent on settings and subplot, not enough on our two main characters. As a result, their attraction seemed unlikely. Also, the pacing of the book was weird... but at least, the author does save the book with the parents' subplot and interesting secondary characters/interactions.

It took me a while to pick up this book and finally, I did once I was in the mood for a contemporary romance... Personally, I don't think the veil had much to do with the storyline, except that it confirmed to Delaney that she shouldn't go through with the wedding. I'd had like something more focused on the romance btw Delaney and Nick... So for me, this book ended up being btw meh and okay.

Grade: C

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!


I got this from Sula (thank you very much Sula):




and I'm giving it to the following persons: Holly, Rosie, Kristie, Chantal and Jennie


I hope you have lots of fun today and that we all get lots of candies :P

My vacations are now officially over...

Sigh.

Yes, it's over. My week off is over and... sigh. Seriously, a week is not enough and it goes by way to fast. I didn't even get time to be bored with myself yet. So how did the rest of my vacations go? Very good :D

Thursday, I went to see my professor who was my supervisor during my Master. He was there! Yay! (I went on Wednesday, but he wasn't there, so I had to go again the next day). I also got to see some labmates that I haven't seen on Wednesday. You know, it's weird how the labmates I've seen on Wednesday didn't tell my prof about me coming to visit them. I don't know, it's something I would have told him... Of course, I was coming back the next day, but what if I didn't? So we caught up :) Also, he really boosted my ego and self-esteem, cos everytime I see him, he asks me if I want to do a PhD with him :D And you know how nowadays, it's quite difficult, cos you need apply to fellowships and grants on your own... and professors are reluctant to take you in unless you have any kind of fundings... but my professor was all "I'll find funding for you and no one is working on your project at the moment..." Seriously, that is rare to hear, that a prof will provided all the funding necessary... Funding was one of the main reason why I didn't do a PhD or even just a regular Master degree - I don't know, I have difficulty to sell myself or to beg for money... Of course, my professor is really good at getting fundings, but still... He's getting a new PhD or Post-doc student from Brezil and even that person was only accepted because he had a fellowship. So yeah, it was good to hear and personally, I really like my professor. Unfortunately, I don't think that I can go back to school :( My mind just doesn't want to. But really glad I went to see him :D

Friday was an okay day. I went out with my mom and we picked up my sis for lunch. She hasn't been in a great mood lately, because she has to study (midterm tonight). We went to a chinese restaurant (one my mom chose)... the food and service wasn't great... but at least, we got to spend some mother and daughters time. Then, we drove my sister back to school and my mom and I went to get a haircut :D I have to admit, I'm happy to have my hair short once again.

On Saturday, I work at the Fathers' place the whole day (from 8.30am to 9pm). People often ask me why I work there since I have a full-time job. I actually only work from 4.30pm to 9pm usually, although lately, I've been replacing my friend a lot. I grew up with my grandparents living right with us... so I guess I miss being around with old ppl. Also, they needed someone and no one was willing to do the Saturday evening... so in a way, I'm helping them out. Of course, the extra money doesn't hurt, but seriously, I work only 4.5hours/week so it's not a major issue. Of course, considering the stability of my full-time job, I think that having a job on the side is good, even if it doesn't pay much. Anyway, I like it there... but doing a full day like that, not as much :( But it's really fun to be around these old men... they were all missionaries in Afrika and even if now, most of them are 70y.o. and up, it's amazing how they are still autonomous and self-reliant.

Finally, Sunday was a quiet day. I stayed in bed and read What a Lady Wants by Victoria Alexander. Once I was done, I went grocery shopping, cos I was hosting a Wii party at my house. Then, I had to clean up my room a litte... My friends got here at 4pm except for Emily. Emily called me later and she was like: It's today? At your house? LOL :) it was sooo cute, she was so lost :P Anyway, in total we were 8... we finished most of the chips, carrots, dips and salsa... Then I ordered pizza... but seriously, I should have ordered more... well I'll know for the next time, right? 8 is really the perfect number to play Wii. Enough ppl to play and rotate and enough ppl to watch and laugh :D The party did end early though, since it was Sunday and most ppl had school or work the next day...

By the way, miscellaneous thing... we played at Brain Academy... and my brain weighs 1173g LOL :) and of course, I'm above average :P but seriously, I really liked that game... Otherwise, I suck at the others... and I hate trying to navigate a car or a spaceship or a submarine on a Wii... I just can't do it!

So how was your week-end all?

ps. first day of work after vacation is hell... seriously sucks. Not only it's hard to get back to work, but I did sooo many mistakes today... ugh.

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

As I said in my previous post, I got this book because of DC's review even if I'm not a fan of Young Adult books. However, this one was really worth reading and I think very powerful.


Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
published by Penguin Young Reader Group in October 2007

Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, hell find out how he made the list.

This is not the typical novel that I read where two persons meet, fall in love and end up happy ever after. This is the story of a teenager who committed suicide and left a series of tapes to people who were involved in her life and contributed to her decision. Clay, the main character, wondered why she did it? Why did she leave these tapes behind? And I think that she wanted people to care... they didn't while she was alive, but I think that she hoped they finally would once she wasn't alive anymore.

I think that for a first novel, M. Asher really wrote something powerful and insightful. Just like DC, I was completely sucked in the book and could not put it down. We follow Clay's emotional journey as he listens all these tapes in one night. Right, only one night... so basically, this novel tells a story that is in the past and it doesn't go beyond that very much, but it's really a great book. I think that M. Asher captured high school life very well... which got me thinking... you know when kids are done with elementary school and they're ready to take their next step. They are usually so excited to go to high school... however, high school is actually scary. Really scary and it's so easy for everything in your world to go so wrong, just like it did for Hannah.

This novel doesn't preach, but it makes the readers think... and I think it captures the way teenagers think very well. I have no complaints about this book at all, except perhaps one thing... How old are they? The author says senior, junior and freshman... but because of where I've been to school (i.e. Quebec province), I'm really not familiar with these terms so I don't know what age correspond to them. But as I said, aside from it, I think this is a very good novel and I was so very sad for Hannah.

Grade: A

My new books!!!

So, I was chatting with Ames and Holly and when I told them I bought books, their first question was: What did you buy?

LOL, I wasn't about to type up all the new books twice!! And then, I was so tired from transporting that box of books to the car, my arms, shoulders and back were hurting ^^;

Anyway, so here are my new books :D

From the bookstore

- Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - I'm not a big fan of Young Adult novels, but I've been wanting this book ever since I've read DC's review. Ever since she reviewed it, I wanted to read it. It is a very good novel by the way.
- Immortals: The Gathering by Jennifer Ashley
- What a Lady Wants by Victoria Alexander
- Secrets of a Proper Lady by Victoria Alexander
- I think I Love You by Stephanie Bond
- No Holding Back by Liz Allison & Wendy Etherington
- Wicked Deeds on A Winter's Night by Kresley Cole

*Have you guys been wondering through a bookstore lately? Seriously, how difficult is it to find some new contemporary romance? I'm talking about straight contemporaries, not paranormal or romantic suspenses. Just straight contemporaries. There really aren't a lot out there.

From the McGill Bookfair

- Blue Willow by Deborah Smith (for Holly :)
- Rules of Engagement by Kathryn Caskie
- Prospect Street by Emilie Richards
- A Summer Affair by Susan Wiggs
- The Goodbye Summer by Patricia Gaffney
- Young Wives by Olivia Goldsmith
- Pearl Moon by Katherine Stone (a personal favorite of mine, for a friend)
- Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella (I got 2 copies, tradepaper back and HC... it was so cheap, I didn'T know which one I should buy... so I got both :P)
- The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
- Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot
- Boy Meet Girls by Meg Cabot
- The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot (those are because of Rowena, she's such a fan, I had to know why)
- Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern
- Brighid's Quest by P.C. Cast
- Elphame's Choice by P.C. Cast
- Our Husband by Stephanie Bond
- The Butler did it by Kasey Michaels
- Homeport by Nora Roberts (my first NR and one of my favorite, for a friend)
- Seal Island by Kate Brallier
- The MacGregor Grooms by Nora Roberts
- Eden Burning by Elizabeth Lowell
- This Time Love by Elizabeth Lowell
- Nip, Tuck, Dead by Lori Avocato (wait a minute, do I have that book already? hmmm)
- The Parting Glass by Emilie Richards
- Tall, Dark & Hungry by Linsay Sands
- A January Chill by Rachel Lee
- Where Truth Lies by Christiane Heggan
- Hearts Divided - it's an anthology and I bought it for Katherine Stone :D
- O'Rourke's Bride by Barbara Dan
- The Waitress by Melissa Nathan
- Desperate Duchess by Eloisa James
- The Scoundrel by Lisa Plumley

*So what do you think of my finds? Authors that I saw the most at the bookfair were Stephanie Laurens and Mary Balogh... for my greatest surprise.

From the UBS

- A little bit Wicked by Victoria Alexander
- Lady in Question by Victoria Alexander
- The Pursuit of Marriage by Victoria Alexander
- Carnal Gift by Pamela Clare
- Sweet Release by Pamela Clare
- Lady Midnight by Amanda McCabe
- Merely the Groom by Rebecca Hagan Lee (I wanted the Gossamer, but couldn't find it)
- California Holiday by Kate Cann
- Grecian Holiday by Kate Cann
- Blooming All Over by Judith Arnold
- Love in Bloom's by Judith Arnold
- Name Dropping by Jane Heller
- Off Limits by Michelle Albert
- A Gentleman by Any Other Name by Kasey Michaels
- The Dangerous Debutante by Kasey Michaels
- Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan (I have this book, but I've been wanting a new copy for keepsafe and this one is in pristine condition!)


So, what do you think? Sorry, they're not in order :P Let me know if you've read any of this and if yes, what you've thought of it?

Have to run now :D Have a nice day all!

and the vacation continues!

LOL, do you really want to know what I've been doing? If yes, well keep on reading :)

Day 2 was a very quiet day. Basically, I've been having difficulties mustering interest twds my TBR pile and haven't been reading much. So I haven't been reading much lately... instead, I've been re-reading Loving Jack by Nora Roberts - this in my opinion is one of the best serious hero meets lively heroine and she thaws him out plot :) I've also re-read Vrigin River by Robyn Carr (loved this book LOL) and Now You See Her as well as Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard. I think those are my two favorites by this author :D

So basically, I lazed around, read and slept. It was a rainy day, not very nice weather. I still went downtown to pick up my sister - cos I'm nice LOL :) It was hellish to find a parking place though... ugh. Then I wondered around a little bit since I was early... bought myself an ice cream to cheer me up and window shopped... then, of course, stopped by the bookstore... and I didn't come home empty-handed LOL :) I'll make a list of my new books in the next post :P And that's about it :P

Day 3 - i,e. today - was much more exciting. It started early because I had to go downtown and wanted to miss traffic. Today was the McGill Bookfair at the downtown campus. Basically, the McGill Bookfair is a charity event: during the whole year, they accept book donations and during 2 days in October, they sell them. It started at 9am, so I wanted to be there early. I picked up my friend, cos she wanted to come with me, and also drove my sis to school. My friend and I went for breakfast then head to the bookfair. Ugh, I guess it doesn't matter at all how early you get there or not, there was a LOT of ppl present there already. I went through the books for about 2 hours... I was so tired afterwards (actually, still am). There were books on the tables and under and very little space btw the tables. The hardest was crouching down and looking through the boxes, having ppl stepping over/behind you and then, standing up again... with a tons of books in your arms! So final count? 28 or 29 books! The thing is I bought some books for friends too... so I'm not certain yet :P The worst though was to lug all the books back to my car! I had a box and had to transport it... by the end, my arms felt like jello!

Afterwards, I went to buy some manga and went to the lab where I did my internship.... however, my professor wasn't there!! So I have to go back tomorrow. So afterwards, my next stop was the UBS. I've been meaning to go this week so I could really laze around and explore, but after the bookfair, because well I didn't want to get the same book twice... Plus, books at the bookfair were cheaper... They were still holding the Buy 3 get the 4th Free sale :D So I ended up with 16.

Finally, I went to the video rental store and got my weekly fix of TVB shows. Went back to the Mcgill campus to pick up my sis, beat the traffic and got home... however, I'm exhausted now! Book shopping is really hard LOL :) but I think I'm done for the week!

I'll be listing my new books soon :D Stay tuned!

Day 1 of vacation!

hey everyone :D

man, even if it's been a few days, I miss blogging. My problem is that I haven't been reading much lately :( For some reason, I'm not interested by any books in my TBR pile. In addition, it seems I'm on a paranormal overdose :( Anyone has a suggestion? Holly has recommended Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. So I'll be looking out for it. I really want to go to the bookstore, but tomorrow is the McGill bookfair... I'm thinking I should stop myself, cos I mean, perhaps I'll find the same books at the bookfair for much cheaper... of course, I could always return the ones bought at the bookstore. Ah well, we'll see.

So what did I do on my first day of vacation? LOL :) Nothing really interesting. I cleaned my room and now I'm actually able to walk in it! Next step is going to be the closet... maybe :P and going through my books, but then, again, I'll be doing that after the bookfair... Do you think I have too much hopes for the bookfair? I have the feeling I'll end up being disappointed. Sigh.

Then, I brought my car to the garage for a check-up, oil change and a lavage. I went for professional lavage, because they have the really powerful vacuum cleaner + it smells so good afterwards... and it was really worth it! Also, the whole thing was cheaper than I expected. So I was quite happy.

I also went out with a friend... She actually picked me up at the garage and drove me back to pick up my car later in the afternoon... it work out really well because I don't like waiting for my car, but at the same time, I don't like having them driving me home... So we went for sushi :) I love Japanese lunch menu because their specials are really worth it! You get the miso soup, the salad, your lunch and ice cream for 10$ How cheap is that?!? Also, the food was excellent :D

All in all, a very nice first day of vacation. In addition, the weather was sooo nice! Sunny and about 22°C. It was hard to believe we are in October. Oh and I got Road to Hell by Jackie Kessler, the 2nd installment after Hell's Belle.