Author Archives: GPL

Review: All Your Perfects

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All Your Perfects
by Colleen Hoover
5 stars

Colleen Hoover is one of my absolute favorite authors. I know I will drop whatever I’m doing and finish her newest release in a day or two. They are so hard to put down! The best thing about Hoover’s books is that all of them are so different. It’s best to go into each one blindly and enjoy the ride. All Your Perfects is about a troubled marriage. Graham and Quinn have been married for seven years and are deeply in love but mistakes, memories, and secrets have built up over the years and are now tearing them apart. The chapters alternate between the past and present, showing how they met and how they got to this point. I loved the chapters taking place in the past. They met in a very unconventional way and it really sets the tone for the present-day chapters. Hoover always manages to make me emotional in every book. I highly recommend this book as well as her others!

Read-alikes

Can’t Stop Believing by Jodi Thomas

Sharp Edges by Jayne Ann Krentz

Review: My Plain Jane

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My Plain Jane
by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
3 stars

It felt like I waited FOR-EV-ER for My Plain Jane by the writing crew known as “The Lady Janies” to hit the shelves.  Their first book, My Lady Jane, is one of my all-time favorite reads so to say I was super eager to get my hands on their latest story would be an understatement.
My Plain Jane is Jane Eyre meets Ghostbusters .  Yes, you read that correctly.  The story begins in a terrible, horrible, no good very bad school where orphaned Jane Eyre befriends the budding novelist Charlotte Bronte.  Charlotte likes the quirky Jane, but things get a little crazy when she discovers that her new friend has the ability to communicate with ghosts.  The story unfolds much like the classic tale except for the introduction of a dashing supernatural investigator and an epic ghost hunt, which, you have to admit, sort of fits.  Jane finds herself working  as a governess at the home of Mr. Rochester when things start to get a little creepy.  And there unfolds a dastardly plot years in the planning.
While some of the charm and humor that I loved so much in My Lady Jane was missing, the interludes from the narrators still tickled my funny bone.  The introduction of Charlotte Bronte into the story as a main character was also genius and a fun explanation for how she came up with her much beloved tale.  You should definitely do yourself a favor and check out The Lady Janies and their strong, fierce female characters – especially if you’re in the mood for a laugh.

 

Read-alikes

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Review: How to Code a Sandcastle

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How to Code a Sandcastle
by Josh Funk
5 stars

We’re living in the age of STEM education, with a conscious effort to encourage scientific skills in young minds. At the library, this means weekly Full Steam Ahead programs for our school-age kids. And for publishing, this means more engaging nonfiction books, and a growing variety of STEM-themed picture books.

How to Code a Sandcastle is a fun, simple introduction to the ideas and principles behind coding. It focuses on Pearl and her robot, Pascal, who are enjoying a day at the beach. Pearl wants to make a sandcastle. She decides to get help from Pascal, but discovers that the directions she gives must be precise. Pascal gets into all sorts of trouble with her faulty code – at one point continuously piling up sand because Pearl did not know to close the loop. For kids who want to learn more about coding, this is a fun introduction to basic tools like if/then and loops.

 

Read-alikes

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

Charlotte the Scientist is Squished by Camille Andros

Papa’s Mechanical Fish by Candace Fleming

Review: Wicked and the Wallflower

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Wicked and the Wallflower
by Sarah MacLean
3 stars

Sarah MacLean begins her new Bareknuckle Bastards (what a name!) series with Wicked and the Wallflower This Regency romance brings us Lady Felicity Faircloth, a shunned daughter of the nobility, and Devin (AKA Devil), the illegitimate son of a duke. Devin’s father, who never had a legitimate heir, gathered his bastard sons during their childhood and pitted them against each other to be picked has his heir. The sons came to an agreement that one of them, Ewan, could inherit the dukedom…but only if he never married. They didn’t want their abusive father’s genes to be carried on. When, years later, Ewan enters the scene announcing his intent to marry, Felicity is thrown in his path. Devin steps in to put the kibosh on the engagement by ruining Felicity. Of course, as the reader might expect, Felicity turns the table on him. While the ending is a given from the beginning, MacLean has written engaging characters that grow delightfully throughout the novel. Their love story is a great adventure. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Read-alikes:

 

Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas

Then Comes Seduction by Mary Balogh

Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught

 

 

 

Review: The High Tide Club

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The High Tide Club
by Mary Kay Andrews
4 stars

After devouring Karen White’s The House on Tradd Street series, I was desperately looking for my next favorite southern fiction read when I stumbled upon The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews.  It did not disappoint.
The story is set in modern day Georgia where lawyer Brooke Trappnell is working to uncover long hidden mysteries of Talisa Island in an attempt to secure the estate of the ailing millionaire, Josephine Bettendorf Warrick.  Josephine is desperate to make amends with the heirs of her closest friends (The High Tide Club) and to keep her family home from falling into the hands of those who would want to see the beautiful island developed.  As the story unfolds, you come to love the women of Talisa Island and admire the friendships, though fractured, that changed their lives forever.
Fast paced and filled with mystery, The High Tide Club is a perfect summer or weekend read.  The sweeping story bounces seamlessly from past to present ending with a satisfying conclusion.  As much as I loved learning about Josephine and her friends, I especially enjoyed watching the relationships grow between their descendants in modern times.  There were definite Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood vibes, and in case you’re looking for an audiobook – narrator Kathleen McInerney does an excellent southern accent!  Now to find another Mary Kay Andrews to read…

 

Read-alikes

The Girls of August by Anne River Siddons

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Dreams of Falling by Karen White