Something Blue

A while back I posted a review of Emily Giffin’s Something Borrowed. (Laura's Book Nook: Something Borrowed) It still holds up as one of my all time favourite books and I definitely love the sequel Something Blue just as much.

Just to recap, Something Borrowed tells the story of a young woman named Rachel as she goes through a secret affair with her best friend, Darcy’s, fiancé. The realistic narrative of this novel made it relatable to me, even though I have never been (and never would want to be) in a similar situation to Rachel. It may sound silly, but I’m sure that all readers will find themselves rooting for Rachel. If you’re a chick lit lover and have somehow managed to avoid this book up until now, do yourself a favour and check it out.

Giffin’s follow up, Something Blue, takes a different approach by showcasing the affair’s aftermath from Darcy’s point of view.  This is interesting because throughout Something Borrowed readers tend to dislike Darcy because of her bossy and manipulative personality. Giffin's decision to have Darcy as the focal point of a sequel whose predecessor was based around a very likable narrator could have been seen as a risky decision. I questioned the decision initially because I assumed Something Blue would not have the same relatable and fun aspects that I loved so much about Something Borrowed.

I was wrong. Readers (just like me) who loved Something Borrowed will find very similar themes and qualities in its sequel. Although Darcy continues to come across as spoiled and controlling you get to see a lot more depth to her character in this book (and rightfully so since she is the narrator this time around). I was able to sympathize with her in this book – something I was unable to do throughout Something Borrowed – and I really got a feel for what she was going through.

After finding out about Dex (Darcy’s fiancé) and Rachel’s affair, Darcy flees to London where she quickly learns that she can no longer get by on her charm and good looks alone. Something Blue showcases Darcy’s journey towards self-discovery, understanding and true love.

This book does a wonderful job of wrapping up an already fantastic story. It shows that there are always two sides to every story and that friendships and romantic relationships are not always as cookie cutter basic as other chick lit novels often make them out to be.  Something Borrowed is Rachel’s story and Something Blue is Darcy’s. They are two very different characters with two very different stories – each equally as fast passed and entertaining. 

I cannot say enough about how absolutely fantastic this two book series is. It’s fun and quirky with characters that feel like your best friends.

There is still no official word if Something Blue will be getting a movie adaptation to follow in the footsteps of 2011’s Something Borrowed Staring Gennifer Goodwin and Kate Hudson. I'd love to see it happen. 

Buy Something Borrowed: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312321198/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687782&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0312323859&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1EQ0KA264STZ2CZ80XVS

Buy Something Blue: http://www.amazon.com/Something-Blue-Emily-Giffin/dp/0312323867/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

Happy Reading! 

I'm Back!

Oh hey 2015, what’s up? It may have been several years since I’ve posted on here, but I’m so happy to be back!

I started this blog back in 2011 while I was in the midst of my Post Graduate Public Relations Program at Niagara College. After graduation I quickly got swept up in many new experiences and I lost touch with the routine I was in with my blog posts. But now I’m back and ready to start the ball rolling here again.

Over the past few years I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world. After finishing my PR program I spent two months in Europe. I loved travelling and exploring before I took that trip; but I definitely came home with a serious case of the travel bug. I knew that I needed to find a job that would allow (and hopefully even require) me to travel. So I did just that. I spent a year working onboard cruise ships as an activity host/ coordinator. I got to visit amazing places including Alaska, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Central and South America, Bora Bora, Tahiti, Fiji, Australia and all over The Caribbean. I feel extremely grateful to have had this experience. I know I never would have had the opportunity to see even half of these places by the age of 26 if it wasn’t for that job.

I’m now spending a bit of time living in England and I can’t wait to get back into blogging. I’ve been keeping up with the latest and best chick lit and I’m eager to share my thoughts and suggestions with my friends and everyone else who shares my reading interests (or my travelling interests). I've always said that Chick Lit and traveling go hand in hand since it's an often humours light-hearted form of literary fiction - perfect for a bit of light reading on the beach or at the airport.

Be sure to check back weekly for my upcoming reviews.

Happy Reading!

Good Reads

For this post, I have decided to share with you one of my favourite websites. http://www.goodreads.com/ is a social networking site that allows users to:
• get book recommendations from their friends
• keep track of what books they’ve read and what they’d like to read
• form book clubs
• answer book trivia
• collect their favourite quotes

I love this site, and I’m sure that anyone who enjoys reading will find the services to be fun and rewarding. Over 4 million book fans currently use goodreads, and over 120, 000, 000 books have been added to the site. Creating an account works almost the same way as it does when you sign up for facebook of twitter. It is free and extremely easy to use.

Think of it as being an online library that you can browse through and explore. It’s exciting to find out what your friends are currently reading, and what their favourite books are. The book reviews and trivia are an added bonus.

I encourage all of you to check out this website. Regardless of what you like to read, you will find something that you like from goodreads.

Have any of you used this site before? If so, what do you think of it?

Happy Reading.

Sophie Kinsella or Madeleine Wickham?

This week I have decided not to talk about a specific chick lit novel, but rather about a specific author. Last week I discussed Sophie Kinsella’s Twenties Girl, and while doing some background research on her I discovered that she uses a pen name. Kinsella’s real name is actually Madeleine Wickham.
For those of you who might not know, a pen name is basically a fake name that an author adopts and uses when they publish a book. Using a pen name is not extremely popular, but there have been several well known authors who have followed this trend. Some of these authors include George Orwell (his real name was actually Eric Author Blair) and Mark Twain (his real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens).

Anyone who is a fan of chick lit has likely heard of Sophie Kinsella, most likely because of her widely successful Shopaholic series. What many people do not know is that Kinsella has also published several novels under her legal name, Madeleine Wickham. Some of these books include The Tennis Party, A Desirable Residence, Sleeping Arrangements, and The Wedding Girl. Although these books are supposedly written in a similar style to the books that she has published under her pen name “Sophie Kinsella,” I had not heard of any of them before doing this research. Kinsella has not published a book with her real name since 2001. This is because she decided to stick with her pen name after the Shopaholic books became so popular.

Have any of you read any of Kinsella's books that are published with her real name, Madeleine Wickham? If so, which one is your favourite? I am excited to read some of them since there are currently no new Kinsella books for me to look forward to. I encourage anyone who may be looking for a light, fun read to do the same.
Happy Reading.

Something Borrowed

To start my blog, I want to talk about a book that I really love, Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. This is not only my favourite chick lit novel; it’s also one of my all time favourite books from any genre. It’s Giffin’s first novel, and is a New York Times bestseller.

My cousin recommended this book for me, and I have to admit that I wasn’t very excited to read it at first. I trusted my cousin’s judgement, but when I read the book’s synopsis and found out that the plot revolved around the main character, Rachel, having an affair with her best friend’s fiancé, I really didn’t think that I was going to like it at all. I took my cousin’s suggestion to heart, but really had no intention of reading this book.

About a week or so later, I was at my local bookstore – which is one of my favourite places to go. Seriously, I’m a huge nerd. I can literally spend hours and hours just browsing around bookstores.

Anyway, I was at the bookstore and I came across Something Borrowed, and I noticed that there was a review on the cover from Lauren Weinberger, who is one of my favourite chick lit authors and is most well known for writing The Devil Wears Prada. She said, “You don’t have to lust after your best friend’s boyfriend to worship this book … Here’s a heroine you’ll root for and a book you won’t want to put down.”

I finally decided to give it a try, and I am so glad I did.

The thing that surprised me most about this book was that even though the main character Rachel was a great big cheater, I didn’t hate her. In fact, I kind of loved her right from the start. She was probably one of the most likable and real characters that I’d read about in a chick lit book in a long time. She seemed like a normal, smart girl, someone whom I would want to hang out with – but I guess I would probably want to keep my fiancé away from her.

Oddly enough, It was Rachel’s best friend Darcy (the same friend whose fiancé she was cheating with) whom I didn’t like. She was an annoying, spoiled girl with a seemingly over-perfect life. She irritated me so badly – but that could be because the story was written from Rachel’s perspective.

I wanted to hate Rachel, I really did, but I just couldn’t. I’m sure that anyone who reads this book will feel the same way. You’ll find yourself rooting for Rachel until the end.

I won’t give anything away from the plot because I want anyone who’s interested to go out and read this book. It is chick lit at its finest, very realistic and totally believable.

There is also a sequel called Something Blue, which is also great. It’s told from Darcy’s perspective, and it gave me a bit more sympathy for her. If you read Something Borrowed and like it, I would highly recommend reading part two. It’s equally as fun and quirky.

Also, look out for the movie version of this book that’s set to hit theatres May 6, 2011. It stars Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin, John Krasinski and Steve Howey.

Happy Reading.