One Day by David Nicholls

I borrowed this book from my sister who said and I quote "This book is amazing you have to read it." Now this is a phrase that is passed quite casually from book lover to book lover when suggesting a new read and really does not carry too  much weight considering that a lot of people love a lot of books a lot of the time. I find that even when a book isn't spectacular it is hard for me to give it a negative critique because even a subpar book is something you dedicate yourself to, immerse yourself in and whether you like it or not you grow attached to the characters and their stories. A subpar book is like an annoying family member, they may not be your favorite but at the end of the day they know you, you know them and there is some love there. So with that being said I take suggestions with a grain of salt because I know how difficult it is for me to say that book was just a waste of my perfectly good weekend. However my sister is completely different because she is not really a reader. In all our years growing up together I don't think I ever saw her reading a book and that includes the required school reading. I am not saying she couldn't read or that she was too stupid or really any other superior condescending reason you may be thinking right now but in reality she didn't read because she didn't want to, just wasn't her thing. So when she actually took the time to read a book (with an active one year old to keep up with by the way) I knew this book must be great.... right?


Well the book was pretty great, most of the time. One day is about Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew who after years of studying at the same university never spoke a word to each other but after one fateful party end up spending the night together and becoming life long friends. What I found to be super interesting about this book is it flipped between Dexter's point of view and Emma's point of view which isn't exactly ground breaking or anything but what I did find extremely interesting was the authors choice to have the entire book center around the same day each year. The book spans from 1988 to 2006 taking you through Emma and Dexter'f friendship as well as their own individual lives.

Emma is an intelligent, caring, clever girl who refuses to admit or acknowledge her own self worth. People constantly use the word beautiful when the describing Emma however you never hear Emma describe herself with anything but the word awkward. As a woman I found Emma's character to be extremely relatable. The self doubt and searching to find who she is, what she wants and really the ability to believe and trust herself is something that I think all young people can really understand. With that being said her constant inability to be happy, the always wanting something she doesn't have or feeling like she should want more even though she is content became a tedious trait of hers. But really when it comes to tedious character traits Dexter takes the cake.

Dexter is the opposite of Emma in ever way imaginable. Not only does everyone use the words handsome or even beautiful when describing Dexter, Dexter himself uses these words and more to describe how physically perfect he is. Dexter is self satisfied, cocky, unreasonably happy with his life considering its constantly in a state of  disarray and turbulence. He is almost always drunk or drugged and only ever really thinks of himself. The only likable thing about Dexter is his friendship with Emma.

People come and go through their lives, spouses, friends, parents, lovers but in the end they always have each other. Dexter and Emma, Em and Dex they are unable to move on from each other and have to come to terms with how much they love each other. I have never read a book where two people who so obviously belong together fight it as though to be happy is a bad thing.

Stephanie and Me !

One Day is funny, interesting, well written however at times tedious because you feel as though you are on a merry-go-round. Not only are you examining the same day every year over and over, the characters, well really Dexter has the same problems over and over and over again. He is in a constant circle of booze and boobs and refuses to grow up. This book is pretty well loved (by my sister especially) and although I enjoyed it I did not love it. The ending especially left me feeling completely cheated.. I don't want to give anything away so I will leave it at that. Even though I did not LOVE this book it is still worth reading, I thought the concept was new and really pretty fascinating and the characters for better or worse were complex and interesting. So give it a read and tell me what you think, am I being overly critical and harsh? Would love to get some opinions on the book because I feel like I might be looking at it the wrong way, trying to make it something it is not. Pick it up and let me know, Who was right me (questioned but truly liked) or my sister Stephanie (pure and unquestioning Loved)???

Happy Reading!!!

The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey

I owe you a review! I said I was reading an amazing book and now that I am finished with said amazing book it is time for me to give you an amazing review that is going to make you want to run out right now and borrow, buy or download The Yellow House immediately. The only problem with that is The Yellow house is one in depth book! So here goes nothing!

The Yellow House is set in Northern Ireland during turbulent times and centers around Eileen O'Neil of the great "warrior" probably more importantly CATHOLIC O'Neils. It spans from the time she is a small child to when she is a grown women with children of her own. Eileen's life begins happily enough in her family's yellow house with her strong and loving mother, her full of life father and her two younger siblings.  It doesn't take long for extreme poverty and extreme personal tragedy to catch up to the O'Neils and tear them apart. Eileen ends up in a mill, working her fingers to the bone in deplorable working conditions but she bites her tongue (no small feat for her) and saves her money with hopes of reuniting her family under the roof of her beloved yellow house. 

Along the way Eileen finds herself torn between two men and her own will. Eileen's family history, misguided decisions, and the turbulent political environment shape this novel into an epic story of one Catholic women's journey to find peace in her heart and country both of which are at war with themselves.

This is one of those books that keep thinking about long after you have finished it. There are so many emotions that I went through while reading; Joy, sorrow, anger, frustration, disgust, incredulity. Isn’t that what a good book does to you? This book transports you to Ireland in the early 1900’s when your religion was just as relevant and important as  any skills you possessed. A time where every today was a struggle and every tomorrow was a question mark. 

The Yellow house is an epic story about love and loss, family pride and pride in yourself, old dreams and new dreams but above all I found this story to be about resilience. I would suggest this book to anyone and everyone. Happy Reading!

***Disclaimer***
Ok I take that back I would not suggest this book to anyone under the age of 16 due to graphic violence, sex and an all around mature subject matter. All though I did not find any of this gratuitous and all of the above mentioned incidents had intricate and important roles in telling this story of turmoil and strife I still do not think it is age appropriate for anyone under the age of 16.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

So as I have already stated I absolutely adore reading. Nothing can transport you farther and faster to a different time and a  new world with people you could never have dreamed of meeting. I challenge you all to think of something much more comforting then curling up with a good cup of coffee or tea, a delicious little dessert and a fabulous book........ Times up you will never think of anything more relaxing because it does not exist! With that being said I think it would be fun for me to give you little reviews of books i read and a recipe that I think would go perfect with it (once in a while lets not get carried away I do have a full time job!)


The first book I am going to do is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I  read this book a couple months ago and let me tell you it is one of the best books I have read in a long time. This book is set in Jackson, Mississippi when segregation was in full swing. It is about a a white women who is challenging the separate but equal practices of the south, believing that things really aren't all that equal. This women decides to write a book depicting the relationships that white women have with their black maids and what follows is humor, heartbreak, and a story of friendship like I have never read before. This book made me ashamed, made me laugh out loud, cry and I was truly sad when it ended. Kathryn Stockett gives you cast of characters you fall in love with and some you hate. It is hard to believe how ignorant and hateful people were but the ending was something to be proud of and gives you hope for the future.
When thinking of what recipe to pair with this amazing book, I thought of one thing... PEACHES!!! I think peaches and the south go hand in hand so I thought I would try a Peach 'n Berry Pie. So grab the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and a piece of peach n' berry pie curl up in your favorite spot and relax!!!!!

PEACH 'N BERRY PIE  

CRUST
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups butter flavored shortening
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
1/2 cup cold water

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, shortening, sugar and salt. Blend together with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Then in a small bowl, mix egg with water. Blend into flour mixture. Chill until ready to use.

This makes enough for a double crust pie

**** Helpful hint **** When rolling the pie crust out roll from the center to make the desired size circle. To make it easier to transfer this to pie pan fold that circle in half, then the half in half making it 1/4 size and unfold in the pie pan.


FILLING
4 Cups fresh peaches-peeled, pitted and sliced
1 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter, softened and cut into pieces
1 Tablespoon coarse granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place peaches and berries in a colander for about 15 minutes to drain any excess fluid, then transfer to a large bowl. Gently toss with sugar,flour and cinnamon. Transfer to pie crust. Dot with butter, and top with 2nd crust. Cut slits and sprinkle with coarse sugar. (Feel free to do a lattice top if you prefer)
Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crust is a golden brown.

Oh and if you are wondering... The movie was AMAZING! So many times movies based on books are a complete let down but let me assure you this is not the case with the help. It took a delicate subject matter and it attacked with integrity and in good taste leaving out some of the more gruesome scenes from the book which for me is a positive thing (reading and seeing two very different things!) The acting was wonderful and the story was followed beautifully, definitely worth seeing!

Dreaming about Reading

Well I am in the middle of an excellent book right now. All I can say at this moment is be excited, be very excited. But fresh off my rededication and redesign of my blog (hope you love it so much more then the last design, I know I do!) I felt like I should share the picture of my dream reading nook!

Are you as in love with this as I am???? I do have a lovely reading room that my lovely fiancee Ryan helped me create and sometime very soon I will do a tour!  I just thought I should share my perfect idea of a reading room So take a peak, dream about YOUR perfect space and leave me a picture or description in the comment sections!  Happy Reading!

The Book of Tomorrow: A Novel by Cecelia Ahern

The Book of Tomorrow is about Tamara Goodwin who is a spoiled rich brat who's life is just completely upended when her father commits suicide leaving Tamara and her mother to sell off all they own to pay their debts. With everything she has ever known and loved gone, Tamara and her mother move in with her controlling Aunt and Uncle she has only met a handful of times. While Tamara is dealing with the loss of her father and her ritzy lifestyle she is also trying to pull her mother out of her catatonic stupor all while trying to not die of boredom. Enter Marcus, a handsome college man who drives the traveling library to towns without libraries. Meeting Marcus changes everything for Tamara because it is in the traveling library that she finds a blank diary that upon opening she discovers reveals to her the events of tomorrow.
Through the knowledge the diary provides Tamara begins to unravel family mystery and discovers that nothing is as it seems.

First off the reason I wanted to read this book is because the cover is absolutely beautiful (the picture really doesn't do it justice!) I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but it was too hard to resist when I saw how cute this book looked I had to give it a shot. With that being said this book was a total let down! I was expecting a magical experience and instead I got underdeveloped characters, weird writing, and an overall shallow story. There were some interesting parts, and the ending is a surprise but this might not be worth picking up. It was extremely difficult to get into the book and then when you do it leaves you unsatisfied.

I really am at a loss to suggest this to any group of readers because I believe that most adults will find it far to "fluffy" and underdeveloped however I feel that some of the material in the book (sexual situation involving a teenager and young twenty-something, foul language, underage drinking etc.) make it a little inappropriate for the age group the story itself is best suited for.

So the best I can do is to say if you need a quick read that requires no thought or emotional involvement but I will say has some funny moments this is the book for you. Definitely read better though, can't love 'em all I guess!

My Harry Potter Love Affair and Butterbeer Recipe

Some of my very favorite books of all time are the Harry Potter series, I can read those books over and over again and every time I am as enchanted as I was the first time.

J.K. Rowling created a world in which her readers all secretly hope exist. All the characters are engaging and every plot twist is a surprise. Your heart breaks for Harry when he must return home and you find yourself just as sad as he is whenever the school year is over and he must leave Hogwarts and all his new found friends.

As I am sure you all know the final installment of the movie franchise Harry Potter and the deathly Hollows has recently been released and I have been spending my weekend watching the other movies and trying to enjoy the ending of an era as much as possible (if you can't tell I am a huge fan!)

The book The Deathly Hollows was by far the best of the entire series. Rowling has done an excellent job in growing with her readers, making each book a little darker and more mature then the last. From start to finish the book was engaging, exciting and bittersweet at the end. How everything came together was nothing short of poetic. Which is why I have such high expectations for the final movie! Of course I feel as though the books are superior to the movies (as books always are) the movies have done an excellent job bringing this magical world to life. I am going to see the movie tomorrow and will make sure to report back  with my review!

In the mean time, I have decided to give a recipe for the favored drink of the wizarding world BUTTERBEER a try, you should too because it was delicious!

Butterbeer
*makes four servings*


1 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 TBSP water
6 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp cider vingear
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 tsp. rum extract
4 12-ounce bottles cream soda


In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 on a candy thermometer.


Stir in the butter, vinegar and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature


Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract


In a medium bowl, comine 2 TBSP of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2-3 min.


To serve, dived the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass) add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each. 


Grab one of the Harry Potter books, or put in one of the Harry Potter movies; curl up and Enjoy a truly magical experience!

The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss

Even though no one reads this but me I have to apologize for completely defaulting on my blog! I let the fact that I am not getting tons of feedback and followers discourage me ( by tons I really mean absolutely zero) but really I am doing this for me. I have a true passion for reading, I love to write and as most of my friends and family would tell you I love to share my opinion. So I am rededicating myself to this blog. I am going to share the books I love, the books I hate and everything in between. Even if I am the only one that ever sees the damn blog!


So to kick it back off I am going to give a review for a book I didn't just like but I LOVED! I literally could not put this book down, amazing characters, amazing writing, amazing plot basically the book was amazing.

The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss 


The story takes place in early 1800 England and is centered around a destitute orphan named Lucy Derrick who is the unwanted house guest of her greedy and grumpy uncle. The story really began when a mysterious and more importantly cursed stranger stumbled to Lucy's home to warn her not to marry the local mill owner. Lucy proceeds to rid him of the curse that drove him to her and discovers that the mysterious stranger is the notorious ladies man Lord Byron.

Lord Byron is convinced he loves Lucy but unwilling to denounce is wild ways he asks Lucy to forget her already questioned morals and be his lover but not his wife. Enter the other swoon worthy male lead Jonas Morrison, a man from Lucy's past with questionable motives.

What follows is a war between two worlds; the industrial and the world of the working man with a liberal dose of magic thrown into the mix. All of this is swirling around Lucy and she is brought to face where her loyalties lie, as well as her trust and her heart.

Lucy Proves to be an Austen worthy heroine and Lord Byron and Jonas Morrison prove to be very Willobey Vs. Colonel Brandon. The book is full of adventure, intrigue, romance and sacrifice. As far as magical books go my heart still belongs to Harry Potter but The Twelfth Enchantment is worth reading.