When the World Was Young: A Novel by Elizabeth Gaffney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book, loved the characters, didn’t want it to end.

Wally is nine on VJ Day at the end of World War II. She is the daughter of Stella, who is a doctor and granddaughter of Gigi who is also a doctor. Her dad is serving in the Navy overseas.

The story wends it’s way through Wally’s life from the time she is nine until she gives birth to her own daughter.

This is a richly woven story and I highly recommend it!

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Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a great book!

Annie and her dad move to Kansas City where her dad has been hired, back into baseball, to be a pitching coach for the Royals. Specifically for a new rookie pitcher who might be a handful.

Annie wants her dad to move away from Arizona and the place where her mom can find them since every time her mom comes around, it emotionally destroys her dad. She quickly assimilates to her new school, new team (she’s a track star) and new life as a Royals kid.

She also falls in love with the rookie pitcher her dad is coaching. I loved this story and the people in it. I’m glad Annie and Brody got together at the end.

I highly recommend this book! 🙂

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Flawless by Jan Moran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this book! The characters were wonderful and I didn’t want the story to end.

Verena Valent is the head of a skincare company that her grandmother started when she first came to America. With a proposed expansion into Asia and the bad economy Verena finds herself in a bad spot financially and trusts her fiance’ to come through with funding for her. He seems to only be involved with her to take her company away which he finally does in the end.

He was icky and I didn’t like him at all. But Lance, the chef that Velena bumps into one night after a gala she had to speak at. He cooks for her then and he is captivated by her. She has feelings for him which she eventually gives into and by the end of the book they are together.

I loved Verena’s spunk and I loved her friends. I felt the characters were really well written and I hope to read more about them! I highly recommend this book.

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A Different Me by Deborah Blumenthal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a really great book about a girl who is obsessed with having her nose “done”.

Allie is 15 years old and all of her insecurities revolve around the fact that she has a bump in her nose. She wants desperately to have a nose job but hasn’t told her parents. She joins a plastic surgery forum and meets two girls who feel the same. They become good friends. After the second friend has her surgery, Allie finally talks to her parents who agree that she can also have the surgery.

While all this is going on, Allie is assigned to tutor the most popular, beautiful girl in school. An unlikely friendship is born. After Amber’s mother has some depression issues and Amber is pulled out of school, Allie is given David as a fellow student to mentor. Another unlikely friendship is born.

I love how Allie grew through these two friendships and, after seeing how she looked to other people, was able to see herself more clearly.

I think this is a well written, positive book of growth and highly recommend it! 🙂

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Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG this was a GREAT book! I couldn’t put it down.

Really well written, creepy, grabby, I loved the stories. The book is told from four different viewpoints. It took me awhile to see how on earth they would ever intersect but they do. Beautifully.

The police discover a dead body but it’s more than just a dead body because it’s have human and half animal. The killer strikes two more times before they finally figure out who the murderer could be.

This is horror, fantasy, good. It reminds me of old Dean R. Koontz. I love the characters as they are developed and was on the edge of my chair at the end of the book when everything starts happening quickly.

Loved it! Highly recommend. I’ve never read the author’s work before but I will be checking it out.

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All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a cute book that I really enjoyed! I will say there were a couple of times I wanted to kick Kat and Lucas in the butt but overall. loved it.

This is a cute story about a guy named Lucas who secretly loves Kat who is wasting her cupcake baking talents in her aunt’s very old fashioned cupcake bakery. Unbeknownst to her, he enters her into Cupcake Combat, a reality show. He did it to show how much he loved and supported her but belatedly finds out that if she wins, she will be moving to New York for a year to work in a famous bakery.

The story takes them through Cupcake Combat and to each other. I highly recommend this book! 🙂

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Jasmine Skies by Sita Brahmachari
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this book a lot. I read in the reviews that it was a sequel but I would have never guessed that a book came before it. I didn’t feel like I was missing information or drowning in back story.

Jasmine Skies is about Mira Levinson who flies to India to meet her cousin’s family. She knows that her aunt and her mom had had a falling out many years ago and she wants to discover what happened to cause it.

Mira finds India to be exciting and interesting and she eventually learns the family secrets while finding a new best friend in her cousin and love with Janu.

I highly recommend this book. I loved the descriptions of India and the story itself. I will definitely put Artichoke Heart, the first book, on my to read list! 🙂

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