Tune in Tuesdays #3 (The 90's Edition)

 This meme is hosted by Ginger at GReads and showcases music. Each week you can post an old or new song so that it gains more interest! So head on over and link up.

So, I missed the 90's edition last week because I had already scheduled the post :P but I decided to put it up today! And I chose the Backstreet Boys' Everybody, because they just bring me back. :)

So, What song Plays for You?

Book Review: Head in The Clouds by Karen Witemeyer

Love the cover.

At First Sight: Adelaide Proctor quit her teaching job and went in search of the man that had been 'courting' her for the last few months. But when said man turned out to be a cad who failed to mention he was already married, Adelaide's dreams of a home and family of her own, crumbled. 

Not one to let herself fall into despair, Adelaide procures a new job and becomes the governess of a mute little girl named Isabella, daughter of a sheep rancher by the name of Gideon Westcott. 

Mr. Westcott is the third son of an English baron who came to Texas to try his luck at ranching, and is struggling to do her best by the little girl that was left in his care - Isabella is his ward, though he loves her as if she was her own daughter - and he's delighted that the best for his girl is Miss Proctor, who is funny and sweet and is slowly drawing Isabella out of the despair the little girl fell into after the death of both her parents.

Much as Adelaide tells herself she must stop her romantic daydreams that usually led her into trouble, and much as Gideon tells himself that she's just a governess, out in the isolated ranch, with just a handful of friends/employees, Gideon, Adelaide and Isabella soon become a family; even as a dark cloud threatens their new found happiness.

Second Glance: I first saw Head in The Clouds at In The Hammock and the first thing that stuck me was how whimsical the cover was, and in a way it sums up the tone and feel of the book pretty well. 

Adelaide is a nice protagonist, she's young but capable, yet prone to occasional daydreaming, and she only wears yellow because when she was little her father told her she reminded him of sunshine, she has a very open and loving personality that endear her to those around her without making her saccharine. Gideon was a nice, decent man who was just doing the best he could and who always tried to behave honorably. Both were a little too 'good' to be true, but they weren't annoying or anything.

Isabella and the rest of the people at the ranch are a little less developed but don't feel cartoonish, there is a villainous villain and all who provides a some tension to the story, but over all it was just a sweet, comforting read. 

This is Christian Fiction though, so though there is romance woven into the story, there is nothing hot and heavy about it.

Bottom Line: A comforting read for any given afternoon, Head in the Clouds is, in one word, sweet. I wouldn't recommend it if you're looking for something hot and sexy, but if you're int he mood for a cute story, this one is pretty good.

Favorite Quote: "Westcott Cottage did have a handsome prince as it turned out, and she’d just floured him like a drumstick headed for the frying pan."

2/3

Retro Friday (18) - I Did (But I Wouldn't Now) by Cara Lockwood

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! 

For this week I chose I Did (But I Wouldn't Now) by Cara Lockwood, which was first published in 2006 and is the spin off I Do (But I Don't).

At First Sight: Lily has always been the unreliable, flaky sister - particularly when compared to her older sister Lauren who is a successful wedding planner - so no one is surprised when she up and marries Ted Dayton, an up and coming musician, after only a few weeks of knowing him. And people are even less surprised when, a couple of years later, she finds herself in the middle of a nasty divorce.

With assault chargers pending over her head, forty thousand dollars in debt and tabloids running pictures of Ted (who is now a rock star) and his new gorgeous actress girlfriend 24/7; Lily decides to visit her best friend and former boyfriend, Carter, in London.

There she gets a momentary reprieve from the tabloids - though her lawyer isn't letting her forget her court date- and she's happy to let her fate up to a set of tarot cards - since she figures they can't be any wore than she is at making decisions.

But when Carter convinces her to volunteer at the hospital he works at, Lily soon has more to occupy her mind with, like Brigid - Carter's psycho girlfriend - and the fact that she's not being linked to UK football start Sean Gates.

Second Glance: I so had been looking forward to reading Lily's story, though I was a little worried about it too. In I do (But I don't), Lily came off as the type of person who always got away with stuff; she jumped into things without a second though, expecting others to pick up her messes.

But in I did (But I wouldn't now), life has finally caught up with Lily: she's broke, her husband doesn't want her anymore, and the only one willing to take her in is Carter.

In some ways, Carter is the one who got away, but he's also her best friend.  Carter is far from perfect, in fact, he tends to check out the rational part of his brain whenever he's at the beginning of a relationship (basically, sex makes him stupid), plus he's a womanizer, a coward and has a very low threshold of pain.

Still, he is a surprisingly good friend - and it sort of threw me off whenever Lily called him toxic, because aside from the "sex makes him stupid" thing, he was supportive and kind to Lily. I had a bit of trouble buying him as a romantic interest, because he is very cowardly - though, to his credit, he gets what a "Big Gesture" is supposed to be like, and acts accordingly when the occasion arises.

There is also a large cast of supporting characters - among them Carter's roommate Ian,  Sean and Tanya Gates, Arnold the overweight pup, and even Lauren and her son Tyler and husband Nick making surprise visits - who keep things interesting.

Bottom Line: I did (but I wouldn't now) it's funny, engaging and witty. Lily turned out to be a great narrator, as she tells her story with Ted and with Carter and how she's handling things now. I wouldn't call it a romance novel, this is definitely more of a chick-lit story, but I still recommend it.


Favorite Quote: "People think they know the difference between hate and love, but most of the time you just can't tell." - Fran.
2/3

Book Review: Ditched, A Love Story by Robin Mellom

Couldn't find an image without the ARC thing

At First Sight: Justina Griffith wasn't the kind of girl who dreamed about prom night, until her best friend Ian Clark asked her to their senior prom.

So, she left behind her black clothes and decked herself out in a royal blue dress - with matching shoes, watch and bag - and hoped the night would be magical. The night when she and Ian would finally cross the friend barrier.

Instead, she ends up in a ditch, miles from home, without her phone, her purse or even her dignity; she has a big bump on her head - she might have rolled out of a moving car - a tattoo on her arm - Tinkerbell, and she's hoping is just temporary - and her dress has many stains of indeterminate origin.

With effort, she manages to get herself to the to a 7/11, where - after her mom fails to answer the phone, and she's left stranded  - she starts to tell the story of her night to a clerk named Gilda.

Second Glance: Ditched was a surprisingly funny story. I wasn't expecting much of it, other than a few laughs. But It was very nice. 

Justina was both funny and likable, and her stories had me cracking up - by the way, all the chapters have really funny names. She starts telling the story from the moment she was getting ready for the prom, and follows with how everything went wrong. 

As her narration progresses, we get to know more about Justina and Ian, as she weaves in little details of their life before he asked her to prom, and I really felt like I was getting to known the two of them. And the mystery of why Ian did what he did kept me engaged.

Bottom Line: For me, Ditched at a little bit of a Forrest Gump feel - as in Justina is sitting around telling her story to a stranger, sharing her night and how she got to be there. It was funny and sweet, and original.

Oh, and btw, Ditched comes out in January 2012!

Favorite Quote: "Food, a cellphone and my dignity... all things I do not have."  - The Prologue.

Tune in Tuesdays #2

 This meme is hosted by Ginger at GReads & showcases music. Each week you can post an old or new song so that it gains more interest! So head on over and link up.

This week I'm picking Maroon 5's Wake Up Call. I find the song so full of energy, and I just love it

What song is playing for you?

Love, Alex.