I enjoyed this book. It was a very simple book but kept my interest. The book takes place in the mid 1800’s and is the story of the journey of a young man, Luke and his new bride Mattie, as they head to their new homestead in the Colorado Territory. This is not a marriage based on romantic love, yet Luke is a good husband and Mattie is a dutiful wife doing her best to make a home for her new husband in this harsh land with minimal supplies. This is a book about the beginning of these times and how the pioneers arrived and started their lives. The neighbors are few and far between and there is always the threat of Indians, bad weather and the scarcity of food, yet Luke and Mattie always have each other.

Mattie is an amazing young woman and rises to the occasion, often depending on her diary to get her through the loneliness and difficult times. Mattie is a kind woman and makes friends although she misses her people and family from back home in Missouri. Mattie quickly becomes pregnant with her first child and is thrilled to have some company and a little one to give all her love and affection. Luke, who Mattie loves with all her heart, is very forgiving of his moods and lack of affection toward her.  Luke has some secrets that test the love of his devoted wife and small family.

I find this time period interesting and how the pioneers paved the way for all of us. How they survived, especially in Colorado during these times and very cold times is quite amazing.  This is not the best book I have ever read but I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

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Book’s Author: Lionel Shriver

My Review:

I recently bought this book while on a layover in an airport.  It delves into the life of Eva and her family.  Over a series of letters to her estranged husband she details the struggles with becoming a mother and coming to terms with her son’s crimes against his classmates. This book took me from wanting to throw it across the room to not being able to put it down.  The writing was so beautiful even though the subject so dark and disturbing.  I could not stop thinking about this book even days after I had read the last sentence.  If you can handle a dark dark book this book is worth the read.

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This story starts out in the 1850’s in Iowa. We follow a young girl, an only child, Camilla, being raised by her strict and loving Christian parents. Camilla is a lonely girl and she meets a boy. It is a very common story with a twist. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, run away from her disapproving parents, and have a family. However there is no happily ever after when the boy is part of the Mormon Church and believes when the church tells him in order to have a happy eternity he must have more then one wife.

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The first thing that comes to my mind with the book is that it is an EPIC love story. This is the second in The Bronze Horseman trilogy. The saga continues on where the first book left off. Tatiana is only 18, pregnant, and has just been told that the one and only person she has left in her world, her husband, Alexander, has been killed. So with no other options, she begins her journey to America as her and Alexander had planned for the two of them.  She makes her escape through Finland and beyond and starts a new life in New York City .

Although Tatiana is a widow in her heart of hearts she just cannot believe it. Her love with Alexander is too strong and too deep to believe that awful truth and she never lets go of that hope. While Tatiana holds on to her truth, Alexander is alive and fighting for his life in Russia where he is trapped with no way out and no way to get back to his love. What Alexander endures is too much to imagine at times and makes you love him all the more that he does…always with her in his heart.

This book gives background history from the first book. You learn about Alexanders family and more about how his parents ended up in Russia.

Just like the first book this is heart wrenching and quite the page turner. The love these two have for each other and their connection to each other have made them my all time favorite character couple. I just cannot get enough of them and am so happy that there is one more book to go.

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Mockingjay is the third and final book in the Hunger Games trilogy and this book does not dissapoint.  The book picks up right where Catching Fire left off and I have to admit as quickly as I wanted to get through the book to see how it all ended, I am now so sad to been done with the series.

With everything that has happened so far in the first 2 books, Mockingjay is centered around the actual uprising and war. Having survived 2 Hunger Games and the rescue, Katniss continues in her role as the voice of the revolution and becomes the Mockingjay. This book is harsh and gritty and involves even more heartbreak then the first two books. Panem is in the midst of war and there is nothing easy about the work that needs to be done. These characters  have all been through so much already and  you wonder how much more can they take, and at times they just can’t take more. This book is difficult to read because you have been with these people for so long and you can see how broken both physically and emotionally they have become. Unfortunately that makes it all the more realistic. They have been through so much change and deception and have all suffered so much loss, and yet they just have to keep fighting for their revolution and for change.

I know this is not the most uplifting review but it is not a fairly tale and it is harsh. With that all said, you will have to read it if you have read the first two book. No matter what you think of the third installment you will want to get to the end and see what happens, especially with the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale.

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This is the second book in The Hunger Games series and it picks up right where book one left off. If you have not read The Hunger Games, do not read any more of this review. I will try not to say to much or give much away about Catching Fire, but I don’t want to spoil anything if you haven’t at least finished the first book.

Katniss and Peeta return home to District 12 and quickly find that after the berry stunt in book 1 Katniss has unknowingly started a movement against the Capitol. She is also finding herself as the new figurehead for this movement. As you can imagine the Capitol is not happy about this and Katniss gets a personal visit from President Snow, which scares the daylights out of her. The visit starts a series of events that are shocking and that no one sees coming.

I know it is hard to believe, but Catching Fire is literally just as brilliant and amazing to read as The Hunger Games. You will not be able to put this down. That is all I am going to say about the book except I know that you will be as anxious to read it as I was.

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All the hype about this series that you have heard about it completely true! These books are amazing and have it all…thrill, suspense, shock and awe and heartbreak! At first, when my neighbor was going on and on about this great book she was reading I was somewhat appalled by the story line she described, but she was so taken in by the book I thought I would give it a try. Well let me tell you, by the end of page one I was completely hooked and you had to pry the book out of my hand to get my attention.

The story takes place in the future and the country as we know it has been divided up into 12 Districts and is ruled under the tight regime of the Capitol. As a reminder to the citizens of Panem who is in control of their lives, there are the annual Hunger Games, where one boy and one girl is chosen from each district to fight to the death leaving only one winner. Like I mentioned, the thought is abhorrent, but as you read the story and follow the main character Katniss Everdeen,you are sucked right in. As you get to know Katniss and her commitment to her family, you will be in awe of her, and be constantly surprised by this young teenage girl.

I have already finished 2 of the 3 books and can’t wait to see how it ends. I am not a big fan of going to see books made into movies but I will be running to see this movie in the theater. It is quite the phenomenon and I am glad my neighbor told me about it. There are almost 3000 reviews of this book on Amazon and almost a perfect 5 star rating, so don’t wait, make Hunger Games your next book, you will not be disappointed.

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Breathless….I have never read a book that left me breathless, but this love story set in an unlikely place left me feeling just that.

The story takes place at the beginning of World War II in Leningrad. The author was actually born and raised there and you can feel the realism of her experience in her writing. The story centers around Tatiana Metanova, who is working hard to help contribute to her family. She is ready for her life to begin when war breaks out and her whole world changes.

Tatiana lives in a small two room flat with her twin brother, grandparents, parents and her best friend/ sister Dasha. Her family is everything to her.

On this horrible day, Tatiana meets Alexander, a soldier to whom she is immediately drawn too. When Tatiana brings him home to meet her family she is startled to find out that this is the same soldier that her sister has been talking about and claiming her love for. From here a complex and complicated love triangle develops.Tatiana is a strong girl with determination and the conviction to live and to save her family, no matter what the cost.

This is truly an epic love story and one I will remember always. It is now one of my all time favorite books and I can’t wait to tell everyone I know to read it.

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Love love loved this book!!! In fact, so far it is the best book I have read this year. The only reason I am happy that I am finished with it, is that it kept me up until midnight for a week because I just couldn’t put it down.

The story takes place in the early 1800′s when a 7 year old girl is orphaned while on board a ship from Ireland. Not knowing what else to do with the young girl the owner of a tobacco plantation brings her home with him as one of his slaves. The young girl, Lavinia is in a precarious situation….she is young, all alone…living as a slave yet she is a white girl. Livinia slowly recovers from her grief and becomes a part of her new family who she loves as her own. She grows up in the kitchen house where all the food is prepared and then brought to the big house where the master and his family live. As Livinia grows up and is given more responsibilities she is accepted into the big house and helps the mistress of the house while her husband is away. Livinia is young and truly unaware of the differences between black and white. However as she grows up and becomes part of the white world she quickly figures it out.

This book is a work of historical fiction and the writing is so well done you feel you are right there going through every situtation with this family during this time period.

Make this the next book you read and let me know if you loved it as much as I did.

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I love Tina Fey and after reading this book I wish she was one of my friends. This book is just funny! Not laugh out loud Chelsea Handler funny but regular smile while you read funny. One of the fun parts for me was that Tina spent a lot of time in Evanston, Illinois where I grew up, so I loved her references to places I knew like Gigio’s pizza, the Evanston YMCA, and of course Second City. The only part for me that really didn’t capture my attention was the talk about 30 Rock since I have never seen the show. However, after reading the book, I am anxious to go back to the beginning and start watching.

I wish I had more to say about this book, but it is a typical memoir that chronicles her life and she is witty and sooo sarcastic, which I throughly enjoyed. I definitely recommend this book.

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