REVIEW: The Castaways- By Elin Hilderbrand

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to another review!  Another great adult fiction novel that is perfect for a summer read. To be honest, I was not so sure I was going to like this book. I had my hopes up that it would be better than I expected. Well... it was. I will without a doubt add it to my Favorites List. The audience for this book is probably not for everyone. If you are a young teen you might find this book trivial, sad and probably boring. This book involves all adults with tragic events and real adult problems. With that being said, I found the book delightful. So let me tell you something about it.

The book opens up with a punch. The death of Tess and Greg. They are part of a larger group of friends, consisting of Chief&Andrea, Delilah&Jeffery, Addison&Phoebe. These 4 couples were a close knit group living in Nantucket. They have a fairy tale friendship. But underneath what seems to be 4 perfect coupled lives, are complex patterns that are tattered and sown over. There are secrets upon secrets that make you wonder about all adult couple friendships.

When Tess and Greg die in a tragic sail boating accident, whatever strength the group had left was completely swept away. Andrea and Tess were more like sisters than cousins. Andrea fell into a depression. Along with Delilah who was in love with Greg, and Addison who was in love with Tess. As you can start to tell, those people are not their spouses. Each couple had their own tattered weaves to sow because no one was faithful, no one truly wanted the other spouse. The grass seemed greener on the other side.

The book was organized into the point of view of each character. This style was perfect and quite honestly awesome. I loved being able to get inside the head of each of the characters, completely, as if I was them. It was truly remarkable. I felt what they felt and at the same time was taking on a third party role of wanting to help and save the friendships that were left. It was an emotional journey.

Tess and Greg left behind their twins, a boy and girl, who ended up living with Chief&Andrea. The twins ultimately unite them to repair the bonds that were broken. What seemed at first to be some murder mystery, turned into 3 sets of friends trying to cope with enormous amounts of grief and finding themselves at the same time. I thought the mystery of Tess and Greg's death was going to be further looked into however, it ended up just being deemed an accident even though the evidence seemed the contrary.

There are dozens of mini stories throughout this book that make you fall in love with each character. There are moments of pure happiness and of sorrow, however, I think the book was beautifully intertwined and created a great lesson for all of us to appreciate life and the people that you love the most. The book was very scandalous which I think ultimately saved the book for me. It could have been a huge flop but it is definitely a page turner. Highly recommend for adults or if you like mature reads.
Let me know what you think or any suggestions that you may have for me, not only reading but what you would like me to write or see more of. I will keep trying to entertain!

** Next up will be the ever popular "Something Borrowed" By Emily Giffin. This was also adapted into a major motion picture if you didn't already know. I'm really excited to see what this is all about since I haven't seen the movie either. Please join me ! :) **

Books for Life...

HELLO!

I just want to send a quick message out to everyone that I am still here and still reading every day... Much like the e-card suggests. I am really, really loving  "The Castaways" so far! It's another great. I can't believe how many great books I have been reading, all in a row! Usually I'll come across a book that I pretty much know won't be too great but I'm willing to give it a try and never works out well. Anyways, I suggest if you wanna start reading do it now! I'm almost done with the latest book and I should have the review up by either the weekend or early next week. This book has a very unique structure that I love!

Any future suggestions  Let me hear them!

Ciao,

Cheryl :)

REVIEW: Sundays at Tiffany's- By James Patterson

Ladies and Gents,

Here is another review for your enjoyment. Sundays at Tiffany's had been suggested to me a number of times. I saw it all over and for some reason I just never gave it a chance. But when my mom came home from work with it, I felt the time was finally right to see for myself.

This book is largely an adult fiction novel. This genre is not something I frequent often. I find it repressive to abandon my beloved teen fiction just because I am 21 and considered a legal adult. But I regress...

Patterson is a best selling author and immediately... and I mean IMMEDIATELY I could see why. I can remember reading just a page or so and felt instant love for Patterson. His writing style, diction, vernacular and charm was seeping through EVERY single page. I am highly complimenting Patterson. I think he has a one of a kind style and ability to capture a reader, something that in my opinion, takes years to develop if not something inherently part of someone.

Set in New York City, with no particular era known, Jane Margaux is an eight year old girl with an imaginary friend named Michael. Her single but famous mother Vivienne is much too pre-occupied with finding new husbands and her latest productions.

 Michael was sent to her because that is what happens in this reality when there is a child in need. However, Michael can only stay with Jane until she is nine and the day that she turned nine Michael had to leave her but told Jane she would never remember him because that is just what happens. Unfortunately, they both never forget each other and Jane grows up thinking about Michael everyday.

One day, in between missions, Michael spots grown up Jane. However, that is never supposed to happen. He feels compelled to follow her and eventually Jane spots Michael forcing them to reconnect.
Something that thew me off up to this point was that Michael with Jane as a child was invisible, like most imaginary friends are, however when Jane sees Michael all grown up, she actually sees him and so does everyone else in the world. This issue was not really properly addressed and something I think was major to the story. It was brought up that Michael felt he was becoming more human but there was not much mention after that nor did Jane discuss it with Michael. That seems like something I would want to know about but anyways...

Michael and Jane fall in love and catch up on each others lives. Jane still has her mother breathing down her neck but eventually cracks and leaves the family business. Jane and Michael fly away together and here starts the most passionate part of the story. So real, so raw and so vivid... I know I wanted to be Jane.

However, Michael still does not understand his purpose and why all things that shouldn't be happening are. His theories led him to leave Jane in the middle of the night only to be guided to a hospital back in NY where he feels his answers lie...

This story creates the most fairy tale happy ending, I was smiling from ear to ear. The plot twist was unexpected and was exactly what the story needed to make it memorable. If you love a happy ending then you will most definitely love Sundays at Tiffany's. I love everything about Patterson's ability to write so much in such short chapters. I think he found the key to creating a can't-put-down- novel. Without a doubt this is a book lovers gold mine.

** As a quick update I will be reading and reviewing next - THE CASTAWAYS By: Elin Hilderbrand**
JOIN ME!

This is pretty accurate

REVIEW: Finally! The Moon and More- By Sarah Dessen

I was so excited to start reading Sarah Dessen's newest release and I was even more excited to finish it. No, not because it was boring but because I really had no idea how it was going to end and I was so anxious to find out. Like I had previously said, Sarah did not stray from her usual genuine and charming style. It was the real Dessen but just with a different flair.

Something that I most definitely loved about the book was the way I connected with the main character Emaline. I think one of Sarah's great strengths and talents is her ability to make her main characters relatable. I think she has been able to master that skill.

True to Dessen form, there was a girl who had a boyfriend that ended up fizzling out to mistakenly fall for  another boy. It is the typical theme that is always a comfortable favorite of mine.

And so Emaline, who is going to to college in the fall, has lived in Colby,  a beach town her whole life, always admires the tourists that come and stay at her family's rental home business because of the new and endless possibilities to them that are nothing special to her.

Luke being her boyfriend for 3 years, had a great relationship with Emaline, that got distracted by Theo, the city boy tourist on a work related vacation, to film a documentary with the famous Ivy on a local artist who made it big in New York but left mysteriously back to his hometown.

Theo was nothing like Luke but on the day the high school lovers broke up, Theo ended up kissing her and the rest was just a summer romance. Emaline learned more about him and found nothing was what it had seemed.

All the while she was trying to repair a relationship with her estranged father who was not around her whole life and left a trial of broken promises and disappointments. She ends up coming to terms with her paternal circumstance and learning to love her 10 year old step brother Benji.

Without giving it all away, I would have to say this book was great but not amazing. There were many plot lines that were left unfulfilled and the ending seemed harshly abrupt. The characters seemed to evolve rather quickly but then everything in the book happened very fast. Personally, I would have written it differently but that's okay. It is genuine Dessen quality; I just felt it lacked in spots.I wish I could say that it was amazing because I love Dessen but it was still great and I still highly recommend reading it, especially if your a huge Dessen fan like myself.

I think I gave just enough to tease you into buying it. There are a ton of more people and events that I wouldn't be able to fully map out for you so it's my job to get you to read the book! Try it for yourself and let me know what you think ! :)

*Remember: Sunday's at Tiffany's is next up!*
P.S. The picture I took on the first day the book came out. It is from my nook on my intsagram:cherylelizabeth

Inspiration

Recently I've been thinking about what inspires me to get up everyday and live life to the fullest. Besides my boyfriend and my family, books have been more like my friends then some people I know. (Rolls eyes) My exaggeration is harmless. But for the most part I think everyone should find what makes them happy and pursue it. And that is what this blog is all about, pursuing what makes me happy. Blogging, reading and writing are all passions that I greatly enjoy pursuing for your enjoyment and my pleasure. I know this because I will wake up in the middle of the night just dying to keep reading or write down that idea I had. It's when it takes up the majority of your thoughts that not even sleep can get them to rest. 

If you want send me a message or comment on what inspires you to love life. Let's get some dialogue going because I would love to connect with those who are reading what I have to say. You deserve a gold star and my endless gratitude. 

This post is  a means to connect and fill in the space and time while you await the Sarah Dessen review. As an update, I am loving it so far. It has Sarah's genuine flair and charming zest. So far so good. Don't forget to reach out! 

Ciao :) 

UPDATE: NEW SARAH DESSEN BOOK! AND FUTURE REVIEWS!

Hey everyone!

Today, no matter what, is a great day because the new Sarah Dessen book is out, The Moon and More. Maybe I am giving into the hype of one of my beloved authors, but I love to be obsessed with things and this just happens to be one of them. And I think a good obsession anyway.

Sarah Dessen has been nothing but a constant love in my life. It is rare, for me, to find books from an author that I truly love and are inspired by. Sarah Dessen and Nicholas Sparks are on the top. However, I am more of an eclectic book lover and I try hard not to discriminate. However, I am a huge Dessen fan and I plan to stay that way, even if she writes for YA and I'm 21 and sort of reaching the limit on that genre. BUT, who doesn't love a cheesy YA book to get you feeling alive again. Probably just  me. (shakes head)

Anyway, I am going to start reading the much anticipated book and hope for the best! As for the review I hope to have that up by the end of next week.... fingers crossed!

***The next book will probably be Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson.
I've heard great things about this book and I'm super excited to see for myself!***

Ciao, Cheryl :)

REVIEW: The Best of Me - By Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks does it yet again. The Best of Me was clearly a challenge for him as he revealed in his acknowledgments at the beginning of the book. I kept that in mind as I was reading the book. I was trying to find the difficult challenges he may have faced.
It became more clear as you continue reading at the vast amount of knowledge one needs to create a book becomes almost an insurmountable obstacle.

Sparks created various different characters each with their own individual personalities and purposes. He created numerous plot lines that were flawlessly intertwined to create one "Spark"tacular book. (cue the cheesy eye rolls.)

As Sparks customary, the setting was in his native North Carolina. Dawson and Amanda the main players in The Best of Me have an almost Notebook like romance. Amanda, a southern debutante who never liked to follow the rules fell in love with the wrong man from the wrong side of town. But their romance was that one of a kind, deep down to the soul kind of true love that you only get one chance at. And the chance was ruined when the pressure from Amanda's parents and the time to leave for college left them leaving each other behind.

What Dawson faced in his life next was a life that most people thought he was destined for, jail, after he accidentally hit and killed the only doctor in the small town. To which Dawson never fully recovered, harboring the guilt to his death. Dawson had a rough life growing up, his mom left and his dad was an abusive alcoholic. He would run away to live in Tuck's garage, an old lonely man who lost his wife. Tuck became a God like presence in both Amanda and Dawson's life that tried to change fate from the grave however his efforts only falling short.

Dawson was truly not like his family and vowed to make a change. But Dawson kept to himself and went through traumatic experience on the oil rig he worked on. After his near death experiences, he started to see a man,with a blue track suit, showing up at these moments that forever changed people's lives and eventually stopping Dawson's life forever. The man was the doctor he killed back when he was younger, pushing him to save his sons life while also ending Dawson's.

As you can tell, the plot has so many twists and turns that every other page was a new persons story evolving.

Dawson and Amanda were re- united over the death of Tuck over 20 years later. They tried to rekindled the old flames but Amanda's marital guilt forced her to think of her family and not her own desires to get back to the man she loved. Where Dawson was trying to keep hidden from his family who was out to get revenge that ultimately put the nail in his coffin.

Without trying to revel the complete story, I wanted to give the parts I felt would make anyone want to gt up and read the book. It was pretty clear that it is kind of hard to really write about this book because there was just SO much going on and so many plots to unravel that it would probably be easier to draw a map.
In any case, I wanted to give you the gift of this review because this is a highly recommended book, like Sparks books are. Some things that I left out were the true ending that leaves you with an almost sad satisfaction. This turned out bad but they could have been much worse and if it had to be this way than there was no better way for it to end.

In the end, I loved another one of the Sparks emotional roller coasters that leaves a definite remembrance.

UPDATE: LOOK OUT FOR NEW AWESOME REVIEWS

Hey everyone,

Look out for a new review coming soon. I am really excited about this one and I bet most people have heard of Nicholas Sparks. Yep, I will be reviewing the Nick Sparks book - The Best Of Me. It is really been great so far and I am close to the end. Hoping to have the review up by the end of the week. Check back soon or shot me some suggestions for future reviews. 

I am also SUPER SUPER excited about the next book that I will be reading by one of my very favorite authors Sarah Dessen who inspires me everyday to pursue my dreams. Her new book: The Moon And More is coming out on Tuesday the 4th and I have already pre-ordered it to my nook so I can read at all times of the day. Hopefully I will have that review up within the next two weeks. 

SO, as you can tell there is so much to look forward to on The Book Bound and hope everyone comes along for the journey. 

Ciao :)