The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins

Being a widow has defined Lucy Lang's life for the last five years since the night her husband fell asleep while driving and crashed into a tree. But when her younger sister has a baby, Lucy realizes that she still young and that she wants babies of her own, so Lucy decides that it's time to get back to dating and finding herself a new husband.

And the first step toward finding a new husband is breaking things off with her shag-buddy, Ethan Mirabelli, who's her best friend and brother-in-law. Once that's taken care of Lucy starts her search for her a new husband, she has a few requirements - like high good father potential, and no risk taking behavior - and she doesn't really want to fall in love again, since it seems like the women of her family are doomed to be widowed young and Lucy doesn't want to face heartbreak again.

Okay, I've read several of Ms Higgins - even one that included a woman falling for her brother in law (Fools Rush In) - so I had reasonable hope that she could make it work, but The Next Best Thing just doesn't. Lucy has such an idealized version of her husband Jimmy in her head that really clouds everything, even the way she sees Ethan, both Ethan and Lucy get treated like second-rate offspring by their respective parents.

There is also Parker, Lucy's best friend and the mother of Ethan's son, who constantly encourages Lucy to give Ethan a chance. I'm sorry, but people aren't that civil. And I couldn't find any of the things I usually love about Ms Higgins books, like the friends and families of the protagonists, they just weren't there for me this time.

Grade:
1/2

At the Movies: Clueless

Welcome to Beverly Hills and the life of Cher Horowitz, daughter of a rich lawyer, who lives surrounded by beautiful clothes, good friends and handsome boys.

As one of the most popular girls of her school, Cher is always busy trying to fix everything to suit her, which often brings her to play cupid for the people around her such as two of her teachers, which conveniently helps her improve her grades.

When a new girl, Ty, is transferred to Cher's school, Cher and her best friend Dionne immediately take her under their wing, giving her a hot make over and trying to help her hook up with one of the guys from their group of friends.

And that's when things start to get a little complicated for Cher as things don't go her way and she finds herself being rescued by her ex-step brother Josh - who is possibly the only person to ever tell her she's a bit superficial - much to their mutual annoyance.

But! Never forget, between love and hate there is but one small step.

Okay, so Clueless has been out for quite a while now and I have to say that, even though the movie's pop references date it a little, I still love it. Every time I see it I'm reminded of how bright and flashy the 90's were. I was about twelve years old when the movie first came out - I wasn't actually allowed to see it until it premiered on TV, because it was considered not apt for Tweens - and I remember what a craze it was.

Here in my country we usually got kid-movies or adult movies, and there was a huge limbo in between, Clueless was one of the first movies that main-streamed teen movies for us and it was just so much fun.

As lots of people well know, this is Austen's Emma re-told and re-vamped, and I consider it a must - a rite of passage for any teenage girl.

Saving Grace by Julie Garwood

After three years of a hellish marriage, beautiful Lady Johanna was left a widow, and she would like to remain that way but King John has different plans for her. To avoid being forced into another awful marriage, Johanna instead follows the advice of her brother Nicholas and journeys to the Scottish Highlands to marry Laird Gabriel McBain.

McBain is regarded as a great warrior in the Highlands, and is laird of two clans: The McBains and the MacLaurins (he's the illegitimate son of the former MacLaurin laird) and though he wasn't particularly eager to marry an English noblewoman, Gabriel agrees to the marriage in order to secure his land - said land technically belonged to Johanna's first husband and then is given to Johanna as sort of a dowry.

At first, Gabriel doesn't think much of his new bride, for she looks small and delicate, hates the cold and seems timid, but she is very beautiful and shows acceptance of Gabriel's own illegitimate son Alex. Meanwhile, Johanna is a bit intimidated by Gabriel, especially since he's a big and strong man (much bigger than her first husband, who hurt her so much). But, in time, they both come to see what the other is really like: yes, Gabriel is a giant but he's also kind, and Johanna might seem fragile but she has an iron will and is very smart.

Saving Grace is one of the few medieval romance I've read and it's certainly one of the sweetest. I couldn't help to cheer for Johanna and Gabriel as they embarked in their love story; I admired Johanna's strength to fall in love after surviving an abusive husband and I liked that Gabriel didn't fight his feelings for Johanna once these began to surface.

There is also a rich cast of secondary characters, from Johanna's brother Nicholas to Auggie (an old man who enjoys playing rudimentary golf all day long) as well as Alex and even Gabriel's dog. And there are a couple of subplots through out the book - like the unification of the two clans Gabriel leads; and a secret Johanna knows -which add to the central story quite nicely.

Grade:

Cover Love #4 - Wanted

Here's the cover for the eight and final Pretty Little Liar's novel, Wanted (to be released on June 8, 2010).

I sort of think it's my least favorite.

What say you?

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Finnikin of the Rock, son of the head of the King's Guard, has been living in exile since he was nine years old, thanks to a curse placed on his birthplace following the murder of the royal family of Lumatere. The curse prevents those inside to leave the kingdom, and those who left the kingdom before the curse was placed, to get back in.

Ten years later, Finn and his mentor Sir Topher find a young woman named Evanjalin who makes quite a few unbelievable claims: One that the true heir to Lumatere's crown - Finnikin's childhood friend Prince Balthazar - might still be alive. And two, that she can walk the sleep of those trapped inside Lumatere. With said claims, Evanjalin sets in motion a series of complex events that will force Finnikin to face his destiny.

It's so hard for me to review a book from an author I love, and I certainly love Melina Marchetta. Now, Finnikin of the Rock is very different from Ms Marchetta's other books yet it's also quite wonderful.

The book starts a bit slow and there is so much information to take in (with a few complicated names thrown in). I found the pace to be a bit uneven, sometimes it seems like everything is happening at once and some others it's like all you do is wait, that being said the storytelling is engaging. Sometimes I grew annoyed at Finnikin and Evanjalin but they also felt like friends, so it was all good.

Finnikin of the Rock is an epic and I do think that it has to be your kind of book, you either like it or you don't.

I did.

Grade:
1/3