Baby, Come Home by Stephanie Bond

I have never really thought about why I started to like books so much until today. When I was younger my parents were so overprotective, and at times I felt suffocated, so I would grab a book and I would forget that feeling. Anyway, I was reminded today because my dad was working on a water leak at home (under the house). As I was helping him, I remembered a specific incident that brought back memories like a flood. My dad didn’t want me to have a cell phone; he said it would be a distraction or something crazy. My mother being the bad ass that she is bought me a cell phone, but made it clear that my dad was not to find out. One day my cell phone rang (ring tone was some sort of kitty sound) and apparently my dad thought there was a cat under the house, and down he went searching for said kitty. I should probably tell him that there was no kitty under the house but it’s funnier this way.

Baby, Come Home by Stephanie Bond

It’s obvious that I love to read (especially about hardworking men). When I picture a hardworking man, I picture a shirtless man, tan, with muscles flexing. Yes, that’s exactly how I picture the Armstrong brothers, too (I love the book covers!). So, in the first book we learned about Porter and Nikki. Now in the second book focuses on the middle brother and his love interest Amy. Amy grew up in a harsh environment, her parents died when she was very young and was raised by her aunt. Amy had to deal with the bullying of kids her age, and fell in love with Kendall when he stepped up for her. They had a sweet young love, but Amy didn’t want to stay in the same town she grew up in, she wanted to get away and build a new life elsewhere. Kendall didn’t want to leave because he was rooted there by his family. Amy decided to leave without him, and asked that he never talk to her again.

After thirteen years Kendall still has not been able to stop loving Amy. He is filled with regret for not stopping Amy when she left. Amy comes back to Sweetness to help the brother re-build a bridge, and is confronted by Marcus (older brother) to tell Kendall the secret she has been keeping since she left. Kendall on the other hand, is trying desperately to win Amy back. I love his persistence, and the challenges he is willing to take on to win her back. The entire story is a huge misunderstanding, secrets, and bottled up feelings. I was a little disappointed with the end because it felt like it was cut short. I still enjoyed the book and I am waiting for the last book to be released in November.

Baby, Drive South by Stephanie Bond

Have you ever tried to add how much money you’ve spent on books? (I don’t recommend it.) I was going through tough times and I thought food or books? Obviously, I know how to set my priorities straight and I decided to continue purchasing books, I could go about three weeks without eating. Anyway, after a while I realized that food was necessary to have the energy to read, so I re-considered and decided to only download free e-books. I read the first few pages of some, and I kept skipping over Stephanie Bond’s free book Baby, I’m Yours and I honestly don’t know why I did such a thing. I finally ran out of resources and read the prequel to the Southern Roads Trilogy. Like Stephanie has mentioned before the purpose of BBB is not to say negative things about books we don’t like, but to share the ones we love. I didn’t exactly love Baby, I’m Yours but it did a little nibbling at my curiosity and I absolutely loved the first book in the series Baby, Drive South (I finished the book in one day).

Baby, Drive South by Stephanie Bond

Porter is the younger brother in the Armstrong family. He is Tall, muscular, with cobalt blue eyes (yum). The brothers have embarked on a project to re-build their town Sweetness. They created an ad to attract about 100 women to live free with room and board for two years. The idea behind the ad was for the prosperity of the town and to help rebuild it after the town was destroyed by a tornado. Porter and Kendall (middle brother) are positive that their advertisement will work; Marcus (older brother) is not so sure and he doesn't think of women as being an asset to their project. Porter is hoping for good looking women to surround them, but once the women start to arrive it's comical to see how little the brothers know about women. Women arrive on a caravan and Porter is so excited he decides to get a better view and climbs a water tower and of course injures himself in the process. When he is treated by the new physician in town he is clearly disappointed, and doesn't hide it (I am not going to lie, I thought he was a douche in the beginning).

Nikki regrets arriving to Sweetness the moment she realizes that the man (Porter) she is helping, doesn't hide the disappointment in her appearance. She immediately thinks about the warnings her friend Amy gave her about small towns and southern men. Nikki underestimates her good looks because she doesn't try to impress anyone, but she thought that by moving to Sweetness she could hide from the heartbreak she experienced. I personally liked the misunderstandings and confusion between Porter and Nikki. She doesn't fall for his charms (so she thinks) and he can't believe that he can't convince her to stay, because women always fall for him. Anyway, I loved the way Porter's feelings developed for her. His feelings transitioned from trying to convince her to stay for the benefit of the town to his own. I just finished the second book and will be posting a review about it next time.

If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern

A few weeks ago, Stephanie and I went to Starbucks and while we were talking I accidentally called someone (I think my boyfriend) Ivan. I loved the story so much and if I was to create a list of qualities a man must have, I would base them on Ivan. I am not saying he is perfect, but the tenderness of his being and selflessness are definitely worth noting. I mean haven’t we all imagined what it would be like to be with someone who was perfect to us? I know I have. What if you were the only one who could the one you love?

The interesting thing about the story is that Ahern created a different type of heroine. By different I mean there were times when I wanted to slap her, but as the story develops it’s easy to understand her situation and the reason she acted the way she did. One of the best qualities about Elizabeth was her sense of loyalty. No matter what, no matter how she felt, and no matter what happened she fought. Her mother abandoned her family when she was younger. Her father barely speaks to her; her sister is a disaster and irresponsible mother. Elizabeth had to take care of her six-year-old nephew Luke, because her sister wouldn’t do it. Luke (even if you don’t like kids) is a really sweet child who needs to be loved and cared for. Elizabeth loves and takes care of him, but she doesn’t know how to show affection. At times she can be too harsh for a child his age, but he is surprisingly mature.

The beginning of the story is a little slow and I have to say that I really had to push myself to continue reading, but once Ivan was introduced I was in love. Ivan has the innocence and fun of a child, but he is also very knowledgeable and caring. The purity of his love and his intentions are so sweet! But Ivan has never met anyone who made him feel the way Elizabeth did, and it was a new phase in his life and he was forced to make a decision that would be best for everyone. Ivan thought Elizabeth that it was okay to let go, to have fun and to share her feelings with people around her. Ivan proved that there is always a second chance at love, and sometimes all we need is to let go for one day. To me, Ivan was that hope that Elizabeth had deep down, to find someone to love, and to finally let herself be happy.

Before I read this story, I would have never read a story with an ending that wasn’t what I expected. I mean, we all want to have a happy ending but sometimes a happy ending doesn’t deliver the message of a story, and I think I just wanted some change. Now, don’t get me wrong I am not saying there is no happy ending, but perhaps it’s not an ending that we are all used to. I am currently reading another book by Ahern, I really like her style and her books are sweet and sentimental (not sappy).

One Day by David Nicholls

Someone once told me “guys and girls can’t be friends.” His theory was that there are always hidden intentions in that sort of relationship. This someone and I were friends for a while and later became a couple. After we broke up he reminded me that he was my “friend” only because he had an interest in me and wanted to date me. Our relationship was not really a normal one after we broke up (big surprise!). Anyway, One Day reminded me of the good times I’ve had and with people who have meant something to me. The book was not something I am used to reading, and I was pleased to finish the story. I was pleased to finish the story because it is not in English, so you’ll have to translate everything (keep your hair on! I was kidding). I have to say that I read this book a little slow because I had to look up some words (crockery, the bollocks, nappy, crisps). Oh, the cultural differences!

One Day

I found the structure of the book interesting; the story is told by revisiting the lives of Emma and Dexter every July 15. When I first read the reviews I have to say that I was worried, but the book was well organized. Emma and Dexter are acquaintances from school and after graduation spend the night together. They are initially attracted to each other, but they don’t become romantically involved that night. It was interesting to see how their lives evolved apart.

Dexter leaves to travel but keep in contact with Emma. She writes him letters (hilarious) about the job she hates and about what she wishes to accomplish. Dexter is comes from a wealthy family and becomes a TV personality, eventually his job gets to his head and he starts using drugs. Emma on the other hand, is a waitress and hates her job. Unlike Dexter Emma accomplishes her most of her goals at a slower rate than Dexter. Because Dexter has chosen this unhealthy lifestyle, it has given him a different perspective of Emma and they stop talking to each other. Have you heard of such a thing?! I mean, the main characters have nothing to do with each other for two years. Nicholls created great characters and it was easy to want more from them individually. Anyway, they eventually started to see each other at friend’s weddings and eventually reconciled. They both have relationships with other people, but it’s easy to understand that they would much rather be together. Eventually Dexter decides to get married to Sylvie, who cheats on him with his college friend. At this point Emma is successful and has moved to Paris to work on her book, and Dexter meets her there. Paris is the city of love, yeah? Because Emma ditches her hot French guy to spend time with Dexter.

I loved both characters, but I really liked Emma she was definitely not “all fur coat and no knickers” She had her knickers on. Emma was passionate, smart,witty, and had great taste in music. I loved her sense of humor and her overall loyalty to Dexter. She made him a better man, and it was sweet to see that he knew this. Even though he had the fame and the “friends” at any given moment, he would have rather talked to Emma. Too bad there were things they never said to each other, but still they knew they depended on one another. I would definitely recommend this book, it was a very lovely.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Singing in the shower (and maybe dancing) is a good way to relieve stress. When I am singing in the shower, I imagine myself to be the artist. I imagine myself singing, dancing and waving to an adoring crowd. Who hasn’t had a dream about being a famous artist? Who hasn’t imagined having their amazing talents discovered? I think we all have at one point, but never does it occur to us that it could be a nightmare if that passion dies.

One thing I found interesting about Where She Went was that it was from Adam’s point of view. It was a really good read so much that I could not put the book down. If I Stay was a lovely read, and it was very emotional and compelling. I was glad to see that Forman was able to keep consistency with both stories.

Where She Went

It has been three years and Adam is now the lead singer of a very successful band. He is getting ready to go on tour, but the fame and the lack of normalcy have gotten to him. The most life changing thing for him however, has been the fact that Mia left him. After three years, she is still not a topic that he is comfortable discussing and protects Mia and himself from his chaotic life (media, his new girlfriend). I don’t know about you, but I think not having closure on an emotional subject can be a little consuming. What if you have no idea what happened? What if one day, the person you love most just stopped talking to you and you have no idea why? I mean, most of us would move on but in this case Adam has a hard time letting go.

The story develops a little slow, and we don’t learn about Mia’s reason for ending their relationship until much later. I was a little angry with her, because when they finally see each other (pure coincidence) she avoids the topic all together and embarks on this tour of New York while Adam is trying not to explode with questions. When Mia explains her reasons it makes a lot of sense, and it ties back to If I Stay. Mia didn’t want to stay. Adam has always felt guilty for making her stay, and he promised that he would let her go if she did.

Anyway, the last part of the book was pretty amazing! I am a sucker for lasting love, and these two little music birds sure did know who to show it. I strongly recommend the book. It's just that type of story, even if you haven’t read If I Stay you can still understand the entire story. I can't wait to read another book by Gayle Forman, she is a talented author.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

What is the one thing that always makes you happy? In my case it is music, I purchase music once a week (Yes, I purchase all my music because I can’t bring myself to download illegally). I am definitely grateful for iTunes’s $0.69 deals! I was pleasantly surprised when I found If I Stay because of the significance music has throughout the story. I have to admit that that I was scared to read these books. I read some reviews and I didn’t want to read such a depressing book. I thought I would be weeping throughout the entire story, but there were only a few scenes that made me cry like a baby. Anyway, I really enjoyed Forman’s writing, she can definitely evoke emotions.

If I Stay

Mia lives with a great family, her parents are cool and her little brother is sweet. Mia loves to play the cello and practices almost 8 hours a day, so it’s interesting to see her relationship evolve with Adam. Adam the rocker and Mia the classical musician. They have a sweet, loyal, and honest love for one another. Adam becomes the third child in Mia’s family household. He spends a lot of time with Mia at home and they enjoy every single moment they are together. One of My favorite moments in the book is of Mia and Adam alone in her room and Adam asks Mia to “play” him (You’ll have to read the book to see what I am talking about). You will enjoy it as much as I did. Trust me.

But it’s just as they say, we can’t have it all. We always have to choose, we can never have the best of both worlds. When Mia and her family are involved in a fatal car accident her life turns upside down. Mia has an out-of-body experience and sees everything that happens to her parents and her brother. She sees everything that happens to her while she is in the hospital. Mia understands that she has to make the choice to stay or leave – it’s difficult for her to decide when she sees the people that wish for her to stay. This is when my second favorite moment happens; Mia realizes what happened to her family and I was expecting a chaotic reaction, but instead it was the opposite and somehow that silence portrayed the pain. Ultimately Adam and music helped Mia to make the choice between life and death.