Author: Cindy

The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns Review

Posted on by Cindy

PUB DATE: June 2009

Thank you to Harrison and Bruce from Bancroft Press for sending me this great book to read and review. I loved the book and it was such a fun and quick read.

This is Elizabeth’s first novel and she has a total of three under her belt and is working on a fourth one.

When Lucy was almost eleven years old, Ellen, her sister was was hit by a truck while riding her bike one evening in October. Ellen lay in a coma and the chances of her surviving weren’t that good. What the family needed was a miracle.

In their backyard was a kids mailbox that Ellen and Lucy would use and pretend that it was magical. Lucky wrote a letter:

“To Whom It May Concern:
I know I’ve asked for things in the past that I said were really important, but this time I’m not lying. I swear I’ll never ask for anything else if you make this one wish come true. Make Ellen wake up and I’ll be forever in your debt.

Sincerely,
Lucy Burns”

The next morning the family got good news that Ellen was awake. Lucy went outside to destroy the letter. The letter was gone but there was a reply saying “Its a deal. Happy Birthday. I’ll be in touch. Sincerely To Whom It May concern”

From that day Lucy basically sold her sole to the devil. So be careful what you ask for you never know what can happen.

Lucy is now an adult and is working for the devil himself. She is a facilitator to hell. Her basement is one gateway to hell. There are more all over the place. She is given names that she must bring into her home and show them the basement. Meaning she shows them to hell.

She finally realizes that she is tired of her job and not being able to have a real relationship. Working with the devil is rough as he wants undivided attention among his employees.

When she gets to meet her idol Teddy Nightingale. He realizes who she really is and offers to help her out. He tells her the three steps she needs to learn so that she can give her notice to the devil. He tells her it won’t be easy and its not at first. She figures she will try it out and basically has nothing to loose.

She is willing to risk it all for Luke who is a professor at the university. Will she be able quit working with the Devil or will he make it hard for her to leave?

This was a funny and charming quick read and I loved it. There were so many spots that I laughed at (her getting totally drunk on Halloween at a Pampered Chef’s party she is hosting). I loved Lucy. She came off sweet and innocent but yet she knew what she was doing and knew how to get the job done.

I plan on looking into getting her other two books and can’t wait for the fourth one to come out.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Miranda’s Big Mistake Review

Posted on by Cindy

PUB DATE: June 2009

I have to send a huge Thank You to Danielle at Sourcebooks for sending me this book. She has introduced me to a fantastic UK author that I probably would never had read otherwise.

I loved this book and I can’t wait to read her Millie’s Fling.

I have to say right off that there is alot of characters in the book. There is Miranda, Chloe, Bev, Fenn, Florence, Danny, Greg, Bruce, Miles, Johnnie and a bunch of other characters which all have small parts in the book. Even though there is alot of characters and story lines happening, it was really nice to see that they all play a part in Miranda’s life and they all came together in the end.

Miranda is a young trainee at a hair salon. Her boss is the famous Fenn Lomax. She’s constantly late and always has the greatest excuses for being late which Fenn never believes. Miranda is a sweet and kind person who goes out of her way to make everyone around her happy. She even makes it a point to give half her lunch to a homeless guy and brings him gloves (which she takes from the salon after a customer left them behind) Then she discovers that the homeless guy (Danny) really isn’t homeless but that he is a making a documentary about life on the street and they want Miranda to okay her part. She is mad at first but then they become friends and perhaps more?

Chloe is married to Greg and works at Bruce’s store. Greg and Chloe seem to have the perfect relationship until Chloe tells Greg that she is pregnant. He isn’t happy and he lets her know. He leaves her because it hates the fact that Chloe broke their wedding promise about not having kids. Chloe decides that she will have the baby. When money becomes tight she decided to look for another place. Thankfully Bruce’s mother Florence tells Chloe that she can move in with her tell she gets on her feet again.

Greg takes tickets that Chloe had for a celebrity event and goes with his friend to the event in hopes to meet Daisy. Its at this party that Miranda and Greg meet. They hit it off instantly and quickly become a couple and then engaged. Greg hasn’t told Miranda about Chloe and swears he never will.

Now as any good book would go of course we know that fate plays a part and the paths of Miranda and Chloe cross. They are now housemates with Florence. How will this play out in the book? Will Chloe realize who the man in Miranda’s life really is?

I loved Miranda and I felt bad for her when she found out about Greg and what he did to her. He got what he deserved in my opinion. Then when she found Miles (the race car driver who was at Grand Prix in Montreal) It was sad to see that didn’t work out and it wasn’t by choice. Then there is Danny will he be able to win Miranda’s heart in the end?

There was alot of love happening in the book. Florence got her man in the end and even Chloe got hit with the love bug while she was having her baby.

These are two cover images I found online for the books. I really like the one with the drawings on it. Which one do you like?

The next book set to be released this fall in North America is Millie’s Fling. I am really excited and can’t wait to read it. I am sure it will be fantastic. I love reading chick lit and I am loving Jill’s books. If you haven’t read anything by Jill yet then you really need to pick it up.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Secrets to Happiness Review & Early Bird Blog Tour

Posted on by Cindy


PUB DATE: March 2009

Thank you to Miriam at Hachette for sending me this book to read and review. This is part of the Early Bird Blog Tour.

Here is a list of some of the participating blogs touring the book today:
Participating Blogs:
http://www.writeforareader.blogspot.com/
http://bfishreads.blogspot.com/
http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/
http://bookopolis.blogspot.com/
http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/
http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/
http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
http://www.readingwithmonie.com/
http://www.myspace.com/darbyscloset
http://epicrat.blogspot.com/
http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/
http://jennsbookshelf.blogspot.com/
http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com/
http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com

My Review of the book:

Sarah Dunn is the author of The Big love which I haven’t read yet.

First I have to tell you my favorite part of the book. It was this passage on page 109.

“So, on this particular Sunday afternoon, before she has so much as walked through the bookstore’s front doors, Holly had made a few rules for herself: (1)she could only buy books she actually intended to read; (2)they had to be light enough that she could take the subway home; and (3) she couldn’t spend more the thirty bucks.”

I could relate to this in so many ways as I am always saying something like that before I walk into a bookstore. Thankfully the second works really well if I go downtown to the bookstore as I am busing it and then the metro. Needless to say and I admit I don’t follow the rules. What fun would it be to do that?

Secrets to Happiness is about Holly Frick who is a divorced (she is still in love with her ex, Alex)television writer. Her career is slowly dwindling. She’s written a novel called Hello, Mr Heartache but it sold less than 500 copies. Not your typical best seller.

Trying to get over Alex has been hard for Holly. She is still hoping that they will get back together. She still loves him. When Holly attends a baby shower given by her old friend Betsy she meets Betsy’s 22 year old brother Lucas and begins an affair with him. She figures she should have some fun if Alex is.

Amanda is Holly’s best friend and she’s married to Mark. They have a thirteen month old son named Jacob. Amanda tells Holly about her affair with Jack. She tells Holly that she has to meet him. When Holly agrees to meet him she doesn’t like him. Then a chance meeting she sees him and they agree to go out for coffee.

Amanda ends her affair with Jack when she realizes she doesn’t want to loose what she has. Amanda insists that Holly contact him. Really what kind of person would do that? I don’t think I could do that, could you?

Holly and Jack begin to date. Dating Jack, Holly ends her affair with Lucas. Shortly after Amanda and Jack decide to continue their affair and realizing he still cares about Amanda he breaks up with Holly.

I should also mention that in the beginning of the book Holly decides she is going to adopt a dog. She goes to the animal shelter to adopt a dog. There is one that catches her eye a dog named Chester. Chester has a brain tumor she finds this out after being drawn to him. His owners brought him to the shelter cause they couldn’t afford the operation. A vet has offered to do the operation so that Chester will live. I think this was a great thing that Holly did to adopt a sick dog.

There is alot going on in the book and at times it can be confusing. I know at times I had to flip back a few pages. Over all I enjoyed it. I was even laughing out loud at a few spots.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Kindergarten Graduation Today

Posted on by Cindy

Its hard to believe that Michael will be graduating from Kindergarten today. How fast the year has come. I wasn’t sure we would ever make this day with the struggle I had getting him to school the first month and a half. It makes me really happy to hear him saying every morning “Mommy do I have school today?” or while we are waiting for the school bus to come “Mommy why is the bus late?”

Congrats to you Michael on your kindergarten graduation today. Love you munchkin.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Our Corner Grcoery Store Review

Posted on by Cindy

PUB DATE: April 2009

Thank You to Tundra Books and Sylvia for sending us this book to read and review.

If you remember my last review about Tundra Books I was inquiring about the jacket of the book and Sylvia kindly emailed me to let know that in fact this was only on Tundra Books. They are called posters. I think this is a great feature of the books.

This was such a fun book to read and the illustrations were fantastic. Michael really enjoyed the book. He loved naming everything in the pictures. We talked about the price of the items.

Anna Maria is a little girl who loves to help her grandparents in their grocery store on Saturdays. Its a very small grocery store. She helps to arrange fruits and vegetables, greet the customers that come in and making sure the store in clean and neat. From the book we learn through all the customers coming in how this store is needed in the community.

There is even a kitchen attached to the grocery store. They make sandwiches for the customers to buy. They are a busy grocery store from the time they open till the close. They sell all kinds of fruits, vegetables, breads, milk etc in the store.

This is a great book that makes you appreciate those little independant grocery stores.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

The Lime Green Secret Review

Posted on by Cindy

PUB DATE: February 2009

Gloria is the happiest little girl because she is the flower girl in her sister’s Fran wedding. She has a brand new satin gown, (its really pretty) long white gloves, brand new shiny white shoes, pretty lace socks and even a tiara.

Her mother has warned her that she is not to wear or play with the dress until the day of the wedding. Gloria has a hard time because at night time the dress hanging on the back of the door looks like a hovering radiant angel in flight.

Even when she plays she can’t stop thinking about her outfit. She can conduct better in the white gloves. The the next day she can’t leave the white shoes at home so she sneaks off to school in them and cleans them after school. She gets caught fixing the tiara and her mother is upset. Then one day she dresses up in the whole outfit and spots her friend outside so she sneaks out the show her and her friends at the park. She feels like a queen until her cousin comes to the park. She is scared and runs home. Telling her dolls and animals that she will never do it again decides to have a tea party with lime soda. Accidentally she feels a cup with too much soda she goes to drink it put it spills on her dress. Scared she doesn’t tell anyone and hangs it up with stain inside. When the day of the wedding comes she discovers that her bouquet will cover the stain and no one will notice until the bride throws her bouquet. Fran and Gloria are more alike then they knew.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Georgia Graham, born and raised in Calgary, has been a compulsive drawer as long as she can remember. Throughout grade school, she filled up endless sketch books and margins of scribblers with doodles and characters. She graduated from the Visual Communications program at the Alberta College of Art in 1982. The Lime Green Secret is the eleventh book she has illustrated and the third she has written. She visits elementary schools, mostly in Alberta, demonstrating her drawing techniques and sharing her love of writing and illustrating. She enjoys Bible storytelling at her church and at camp. Georgia is a self-proclaimed introvert who loves people and talks too much. She lives on a tree farm in central Alberta with her husband and her dog, Ginger, who is depicted in this book.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

My Cousin Rachel Review

Posted on by Cindy


PUB DATE: Orginally in 1951 but re-released in June 2009

A thank you goes out to Danielle at Sourcebooks for sending me this book to read and review. Thank you so much.

The was Daphne du Maurier’s tenth novel and it was published in 1951.

Historical fiction is a genre that I never really got into. I read historical fiction in high school but honestly never got into it. Although I am always willing to try in hopes that that book will be the one that lures in me and then I am hooked for life.

I enjoyed reading My Cousin Rachel. It was intriguing and suspenseful.

My Cousin Rachel begins in the 1840’s in Cornwall. The main character, Phillip Ashley is a young man about to inherit his cousin Ambrose’s estate. Ambrose is actually Phillip’s cousin but is like a father figure to him because he raised Phillip.

Ambrose has married a younger woman named Rachel. The got married in Italy. Just before Ambrose’s death he sends Phillip a letter informing him that he isn’t happy in his marriage and fears that Rachel isn’t the girl she portrays herself to be. Phillip cares a lot about his cousin so he decides to go and visit them and check out the situation. Perhaps help his uncle out. From the time the letter is sent and Phillips gets there his cousin is already dead. The death is rather suspicious.

Phillip then returns back to the estate in Cornwall grieving his cousin’s death. Suddenly Rachel appears on the doorstep. Phillip doesn’t trust her even though she is a beautiful woman. She is basically too good to be true. (We were warned about these kind of people.)

Before long Phillip begins to fall for her even though he thinks that she will eventually kill him like Ambrose.

What is Rachel up too? Is she really too goo to be true or does it just look that way? Did Rachel really love Ambrose?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.