Book Review: The Sonnet Lover - Carol Goodman

From the moment I started this book I was captured by Goodman's writing style. As a Shakespeare fan myself, the topic was especially interesting, and worked it's own magic in my mind. The basic premise is the story of a professor who travels to Italy to do some research on Shakespeare's Dark Lady as a foundation for a screenplay written by one of her students. I don't feel like I can say too much with out spoiling, so this will be brief.
I loved the romance and intrigue mixed with historical fiction. This book had everything I could ask for in a novel. I really felt like I was in Italy as Dr. Asher was doing her research, and I was anxiously turning the pages, anticipating her findings, hoping that all would be right in the end.
This was the first of Carol Goodman's novels that I have read, but I will be picking up more of her books in the future.

Recommend it: Definitely! I loved this book, it was awesome. Again, it's a romance, but it has some good substance to it. :)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Book Review: In A Heartbeat- Elizabeth Adler

(Belated) What I’m Reading Wednesday

Normally I love Elizabeth Adler's books, but this one didn't impress me as much as I expected.

One reason i picked this book over another on my list of hers to read is because two of the main characters were from the south, and T thought that would make things a little more interesting. I think that took part of it away for me.

Also, I didn't like the premise that the happily married detective fell in love with Zelda/Mel and thought that maybe a man could love two women in his life. That is certainly possible, but I don't like reading books about affairs or men who cheat on their wives, and now, men who fall in love with other women.
I also didn't much like the fact that Mel left her daughter in California for a while expecting Harriet to watch her. It just seemed a bit flighty.

I did, as usual, like how she added suspense and intrigue into her plot line to make it more than just a sappy romance novel. I always love how easy it is to read her novels. She has a style of writing that pulls you in and just flows as she tells the story. She does a wonderful job of describing characters and getting you to like them and root for them, or dislike them and want them to be caught.

Recommend it: I would recommend this book to anyone who likes love stories.


Rating: ★★★☆☆

Book Review: My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

What I’m Reading Wednesday

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares was really an absolutely wonderful book. I have not read a book that delightful in quite a long time. I knew less than a chapter in that I was going to love the book fiercely, and I was right. I was so excited every time I read this book. Every time I picked it up I just could not wait to dive right in to the story.
This book is a love story, of course, but its a timeless one. It is very very similar to the Time Travelers Wife, in that the story takes place in many different times of the world, as well as different places. The difference is that the story is told by a soul, Daniel, that travels on, sort of like reincarnation through different people.
Daniel believes that the soul of Sophia is his soulmate, and he lives many different lives searching for her. The difference in the two of them is that Daniel remembers almost everything. He remembers from a very early life when he first met Sophia (which is like 700 AD in Africa or something of the sort) all the way though to present day. He finds Sophia as 'Lucy' at a high school. Lucy doesn't have the long memory that Daniel has, so she does not remember her past lives as Sophia and the other girls she has been. This poses a problem for them as Lucy thinks Daniel is crazy when he calls her Sophia, and tells her he has known her for a long time. Daniel knows that Lucy does not remember, but he is so frustrated and wanting her to remember him that he freaks her out a little bit and she runs away from Daniel.
Lucy goes with her best friend Marnie to a psychic some time later who ends up being some what legitimate, and the psychic talks about Daniel, asking Lucy why didn't she believe him, and that he truly loves her. Lucy gets overwhelmed, but eventually decides to look a bit further into this situation, and she goes to a hypnotist. This experience prompts her to travel to England and visit a house her soul once lived in as 'Constance' during a war time. Lucy finds a letter from Constance to herself "whoever she is now".
Because of the details of the letter, Lucy, at this point, learns a bit more of the truth, and accepts it. She becomes depressed, feeling miserable with out Daniel, as she has not seen him since high school. Enter Daniel's evil brother, who wants Sophia for himself (as she was once his wife in an earlier life) which brings in some action and mystery. Evil brother tells Lucy that he is Daniel, and takes her away.

I know I'm not too good at book summaries and reviews, so I'm going to stop there. I do want to say that this book is definitely now one of my top favorite books. The only reason it isn't scoring 5 stars is because of the reading level. It was a bit young, not quite a teenage book, but it was still YA. Anyway. I loved the book and the passion and romance that flowed all through it.

Recommend it: YES! For sure- to any one who loves romance books.

Rating: ★★★★☆