Complete List 2012

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (262)
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (271)
3. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (283)
4. Lethal by Sandra Brown (325)
5. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning (342)
6. Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning (229)
7. Always Time to Die by Elizabeth Lowell (390)
8. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella (291)
9. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (560)
10. Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda*

*This book never got a review but it was tremendous!  It was a heartwarming story about an adopted girl who seeks to find out about her birth parents.  The story is told from the birth parents' point of view, as well as the adoptive parents, as well as the daughter.  It is heartbreaking and incredible!


This year I failed miserably in my book challenge.  These are the only 10 books I kept track of.  But I know there were about 5 more.  That's a terribly low total :)  I read this article talking about how every few years your personality goes through minor changes.  Apparently my new personality doesn't like to read.  It's very weird, after years of being a HUGE bookworm.  But it is what it is.  However, with the addition of a new baby in our lives, 2013 is already starting out to be a better reading year.  There are many days that I've sat with a baby in my arms and nothing to occupy my mind other than a book.  So hopefully I'll do better than 15 this year!

L #9- The Distant Hours

I first read a book by Kate Morton last year.  The Forgotten Garden was my favorite book that I read in 2011.  I picked up The Distant Hours many months ago, and have been waiting for the right time to read a book this large and with heavy subject matter.

This story was just as captivating as the other Morton book I read.  However, it did take me awhile to get into.  I was probably 200 pages in before the story really gripped me and I felt compelled to read faster.  The concept of the story is very fascinating, I just think the beginning could have been condensed. 

This is the story of 3 sisters, the Blythe sisters, that have grown up in Milderhurst Castle.  Their family has lived there for many years, and during the course of this time, many sinister and secretive things have happened.  The sisters are trapped in the castle, with their pasts shrouded in mystery and a terrible tragedy that made the youngest sister, Juniper, lose her mind.  Their father, Raymond Blythe, is a literary figure due to a mysterious story he had published many years before.  He is at the center of the mystery.

Many years later, a letter that has been undelivered for decades, shows up to Edie Burchill's mother.  This letter starts Edie's journey to the castle and the Blythe sisters.  Edie uncovers the dark past, and finds the answers to the questions plaguing the literary world in the years since Raymond Blythe's book was published.

This is not a light story.  And there isn't a happy ending.  However, Morton writes beautifully and paints a very descriptive picture.  I would definitely recommend this book, but only when you're ready for a heavy read.

560 pages.

L #8- I've Got Your Number

Last year, I read the hilarious Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella.  So when I heard she had a book coming out on Valentine's day, I made sure to finish up the book I was reading in anticipation of this one.  Kinsella, once again, did not disappoint.

This book is about Poppy Wyatt.  She has lost her engagement ring, which is a family heirloom of her fiance's family.  She is in a panic, and while searching for it, has her phone stolen.  When she finds a mobile in the trash, it seems cosmic and she claims the phone as her own.  When the phone rings, from a Sam Roxton, Poppy starts texting and speaking with him regularly.  While she's searching for her ring, their lives become interwoven.  This one was just as hilarious as all of Kinsella's other reads.  I loved it!

291 pages.

L #7- Always Time to Die

I've had this Elizabeth Lowell book sitting on my "to-read" shelf for quite some time.  The pile is getting daunting.  And somehow I still add to it, or upload books to my nook and never quite make a dent.  So I decided to try to get through some of the pile.

This book is about the Quintrell and Castillo families.  They have lived closely for many generations.  At the start of the book, Senator Quintrell has just passed away.  His son, governor Quintrell, has presidential aspirations.  But there are secrets in the family closet.  Secrets that are very disturbing.  Aunt Winifred, sister in law to the Senator, hires Carly May to write the Castillo (maternal side) family history. Carly starts to uncover the secrets and her life is threatened.  She meets Dan Duran, who has grown up and lived closely with the Quintrell and Castillo families.  Dan helps Carly start to piece together the mystery of why someone wants her dead, and why Aunt Winifred is so intent on the Castillo history.

I found this book enjoyable, if a lot predictable.  I saw the ending coming a mile away.  But that's not always a bad thing. 

390 pages.

L #6- Bloodfever

This is the second installment in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.  I didn't anticipate reading it so quickly following the first.  But you know what they say about curiosity!

This book picks up where the first left off.  Mac has recently been injured in a close encounter with a vampire and the Lord Master (the one who is leading the dark Fae in the human world).  She begins to realize Jericho Barrens is the only one who can keep her safe.  She meets a whole group of other sidhe-seers, such as herself, but does not learn much about them.  I suspect that's for later books.  There are more questions than answers in this book, as Mac's life takes on darker and darker twists.  She is no longer the naive girl who first came to Ireland and she is faced with very tough choices as she and Barrons try to locate the dark book.

I decided to take a small break from these books, and read some things that are more realistic.   But I know I'll be back to finish off the series. 

This one had 229 pages on my nook.

L #5- Darkfever

Well, I joined/started a bookclub.  So far there are only 4 girls in the bookclub.  Three of us had just finished the Hunger Games series and were starving for another, really awesome, series of books.  We debated between Divergent (my pick, and hopefully coming soon!!) and Darkfever.  In the end, the Karen Marie Moning book was chosen because all 5 books are currently out.  Whereas, the Divergent series hasn't been fully released yet.  I typically jump on board with a popular series well after they have become a "thing" (e.g., Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight) and so I am not used to waiting (e.g., the Matched series that I started last year).

Darkfever is WELL outside my comfort zone. But, as Matt reminded me, that is the point of a bookclub.  So with a bit of trepidation, I started the Fever series.  It starts off simply enough, like a murder mystery.  A young girl, Mackayla Lane (Mac, for short) finds out that her sister Alina has been murdered overseas in Ireland.  The police are unable to provide any information or leads about the case.  Scared, heartbroken, and angry, Mac heads to Ireland to see if she can find her sister's killer on her own.  Though her parents greatly discourage the trip, Mac has to know what happened to Alina.  When she arrives, her world is turned upside down.  Mac discovers the world of Fae, dark fairies that are preying on the human race.  And Mac discovers that she is not just an ordinary girl either.  She can sense the presence of Fae, while other humans are oblivious to their existence.  She encounters a man, Jericho Barrons, who begins to partner up with her in the fight against Fae.  Not sure if she can trust him, Mac joins forces with him because she simply has no other options.  The book is a fast, easy, read (I feel like I say that about almost every book!).  But again, well outside my comfort zone.  There is a particular Fae who uses humans for sex and they become addicted to it, until the point of death.   I found that really disturbing and gross.  It was particularly graphic during some parts as well. And honestly, I felt as though the story would have been just as powerful without that particular aspect.  There were plenty of other scary creatures on nearly every page, without including the sexual perverseness of a fairy.  I'm not sure whether I will finish the series.  I am willing to bet my curiosity will win over, as well as the fact that I think the rest of the bookclub will want to read them all.

This one had 342 pages.

L #4- Lethal

Lethal, by Sandra Brown is about a woman, Honor Gilette, who finds a man accused of murdering seven people sprawled in her front lawn.  As he makes his way into her home, holding her at gunpoint, she'll realize things aren't always what they appear to be.  He is looking for something left behind by Honor's late husband that will expose a crime ring in Louisiana.  This is complicated by Honor's 4 year old daughter, who is also dragged on the run with them.  This was a real page turner and easy to read.  I did find it a bit predictable, but in the fiction world, that's sometimes ok.

325 pages.

L #3- Mockingjay

I finished the trilogy last night.  I honestly don't even know what to say about this book.  I'm conflicted about my feelings.  I feel like the progression of the books was pretty intense.  And then at the very end, it just.....wraps up.  Weirdly.  I don't think she slapped it together hastily, but I just wish it hadn't been so anticlimactic.  I guess maybe that would have added another 100 pages, though.

I'm disappointed in Katniss' character.  I kept waiting for a moment when I'd start to like her, and it never really happened.  She is blind to the love other characters feel for her and I never cared for the way she treated Peeta.  I'm glad she ended up with him, though, I was always rooting for that. I also was upset with the way she voted to have one last hunger games with the Capitol children.  I don't personally understand how on earth she could think that was a good idea after everything she had been through. 

As for the main plot and the way it ended.  I think Katniss made the right choice with not allowing the district 13 president to reside over Panem.  But I was really disgusted with the scene where the children are murdered.  That is hard for me to stomach and I felt very angry at the thought of it.  I still think the whole plot of this series is disturbing.  But it is also gripping and easy to read.  I had to get through them all, quickly, because I needed to know what happened.  It was an interesting take on what happens to people and their motives during times of strife.  I'll admit, I had a lot of discussions with Matt during the course of reading these books about how this represented the world we live in.  And that shows the mark of a great writer....one that gets you thinking.

This one had 283 pages.

I'm thinking maybe I need to devote my time to more series type books this year.  I am much more inclined to keep reading, and rather quickly at that, when I am attached to a story line and want to get through it all.  I'll have to look into it.

L #2- Catching Fire

Well, I guess it was obvious this was my next stop.  I started Catching Fire yesterday morning, after finishing The Hunger Games at 2 am.  I only had 80 pages left yesterday when I decided to do the sensible thing and actually get a decent nights' worth of sleep.  So I finished it today.

This story picks up where the last left off.  Katniss and Peeta have returned from the Hunger Games.  Their lives are never to be the same.  Katniss is on thin ice in the Capital, where it appears as though she has defied them in order to bring Peeta home alive with her.  However, the citizens adore her.  They see her and Peeta as star crossed lovers.  Halfway through the book, a twist is revealed, and Katniss and Peeta are faced with their lives in danger yet again.

I really enjoyed this book as well.  Despite the fact that the story has the same type of premise, I found it to be less violent and easier to read in that sense.  My love for Peeta only grew stronger and I can't wait  to find out what the future holds for all of the districts of Panem.

271 pages

L #1- The Hunger Games

To ring in the new year, I started reading Suzanne Collins' trilogy. Both my sister and Matt have tried to convince me to read these books.  But I've held out, thinking the premise was too sickening and gruesome.  Turns out I wasn't wrong.  But neither were they.

This is the story of Katniss Everdeen, who lives in District 12 of Panem.  Each year, as a reminder of why  no district should ever try to rebel, the Capitol hosts the Hunger Games.  This is when a boy and girl from each district are placed in an arena to fight to the death.  Only one can walk away.  Katniss volunteers for the Hunger Games when her younger sister is chosen.  A boy named Peeta is chosen from her district as well.

Collins writes wonderfully.  It is a very easy read, so quick to get through.  I grew attached to Peeta and thought his devotion to Katniss was incredibly selfless and heartwarming.  I must admit, the games themselves were hard to read about.  I felt so heartbroken that children would be put in such a terrible life and death position.  And I felt disgusted with the gamemakers and the president of Panem.  While it's an "easy" read, it is not light subject matter.  Even still, I found myself engrossed and stayed up till 2 am to finish the book.

262 pages

Lauren's Complete List for the Year 2011

 Well, here it is.  All the books that I read in 2011.  I fell short of my goal, but I am still proud of what I did accomplish because this was a busy year with not a whole lot of time for reading!  There are 40 books and a total of 14,147 pages.

1. Playing the Game by Barbara Taylor Bradford (385)
2. Pursuit by Karen Robards (365)
3. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (309)
4. Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz (403)
5. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (288)
6. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (549)
7. Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah (391)
8. Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson (309)
9. True Colors by Kristin Hannah (494)
10. Black Hills by Nora Roberts (472)
11. The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner (402)
12. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult (466)
13. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (331)
14. The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner (466)
15. Vanish by Tess Gerritsen (336)
16. In too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz (324)
17. The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen (350)
18. The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen (366)
19. Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (305)
20. Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal (205)
21. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (359)
22. Naked Heat by Richard Castle (288)
23. The Funny Thing Is... by Ellen Degeneres (177)
24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (759)
25. Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner (284)
26. The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen (355)
27. Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah (377)
28. My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson (341)
29. Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger (368)
30. Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella (273)
31. She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot (354)
32. Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (278)
33. Love You More by Lisa Gardner (351)
34. Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt (166)
35. Who Loves You Best by Tess Stimson (261)
36. The Baby Planner by Josie Brown (278)
37. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (305)
38. The Next Always by Nora Roberts (324)
39. Matched by Ally Condie (366)
40. Crossed by Ally Condie (367)

L #40- Crossed

This is the second book in Ally Condie's Matched series.  The story begins where the last left off.  Cassia is trying to track down Ky's location since he has been transferred to the outer provinces.  This story is action packed.  Cassia escapes her work assignment to go find Ky.  When she gets to the outer provinces, she realizes that Ky has escaped as well.  She begins a long, treacherous journey through the Carving, to try to find Ky.  She also learns about the a group of people who are trying to go back to the way things were before the Society existed.  There are also secrets to be learned about Xander, and even though he isn't prominent in this story, Condie has set it up for him to be very important to the third story in the trilogy.

I loved this book.  I read it in an afternoon.  I am disappointed to have to wait till later in 2012 for the 3rd book to come out.

367 pages.

L #39- Matched

I picked up this Ally Condie book at a scholastic book sale.  My sister in law works there and informed me that this is the first in what will be a trilogy.  Normally I scoff at young adult books, but given I learned my lesson when the Harry Potter series proved to be the most amazing books ever (I admit I was wrong!), I thought I'd give YA books another chance.  I'm glad I did.

This is the story of a dystopian society.  Cassia Reyes is ready for her Matching ceremony.  This is where the Society tells each young adult who they are to marry.  The Society decides everything.  Who you marry, where you live, what your job is, what you eat, etc.  Cassia has looked forward to this day for awhile.  But when the time comes, she finds that her match is someone she knows, her childhood friend Xander.  She brings her microcard, with the information she needs to know about her match, home to view it.   She is shocked when she uses the microcard and realizes another boy's picture shows up.  It is another boy she knows, named Ky.  Cassia and Ky begin to fall in love.  And Cassia realizes there are flaws in the Society.  At the end, it is perfectly set up for the next book.

I very much enjoyed this story.  It was an easy read, with a fun topic.  I love stories that get your mind turning and make you wonder how a world like that would be to live in.

This one had 366 pages.

L #38- The Next Always

I used to read Nora Roberts all the time.  I was a sucker for her love stories.  After reading almost all of them, I found the formula predictable and boring.  I had trouble picking them up again.  But I grabbed this one on a whim.  And, while it was still the same old formula, I still really enjoyed it.  This one is going to be a trilogy.  It is about 3 brothers who are building an inn in the town of Boonsboro.  Obviously, they are each going to find love in their individual stories (surprise, surprise!).

324 pages.

L #37- The Language of Flowers

This book, written by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, was very intriguing.  The story is about Victoria, a girl who has been raised entirely in foster care.  At 18, with nowhere to live, she plants a garden in the park.  Eventually she finds a job with a florist.  The story moves between past and present, showing the reader how Victoria came to know the language of flowers and how it has changed, and continues to change, her life.

While this story was very interesting and I really enjoyed reading the meanings of different flowers, I never felt "attached" to Victoria's character.  It made it more difficult to finish this book.  But I still think Diffenbaugh is a fantastic writer.

This one had 305 pages.

L #36- The Baby Planner

This book, by Josie Brown, is about Katie Johnson.  When she loses her job due to budget cuts, she plans to open her own business.  Katie loves babies and decides to run a business helping women plan for the baby's arrival.  She helps them find the safest products, decorate their nursery, etc.  Her husband, Alex, doesn't want to have any children and this is a constant source of tension between them. 

This was another quick read that I enjoyed.  While I didn't agree with a lot of the choices Katie made, it was still fun to read about them.  There is a twist at the end that I definitely saw coming, so it wasn't as climactic as it probably should have been. 

This one had 278 pages.

L #35- Who Loves You Best

Who Loves You Best by Tess Stimson is the story of Clare.  A woman who supposedly has it all; her own business, a gorgeous, younger, husband and is expecting her first babies....twins.  When life doesn't go according to plan and Clare hires Jenna, a nanny, to care for her children, Clare and Jenna both learn valuable lessons about life and love and motherhood. 

I very much enjoyed this story.  Tess Stimson has a way of writing that makes it easy to flip through the pages quickly.  And while some of the story was very predictable, it was still a really fun read.

This one had 261 pages.

L #34- Making Toast

I picked up this Roger Rosenblatt story awhile ago.  It's about grandparents who unexpectedly lose their daughter.  They move in with her husband and her 3 young children to help care for the family.  I started reading it and didn't even realize this is a non-fiction story until I was halfway through.  The way it is written is completely unexpected.  It is like snippets of Roger's new life, moments in time where small things or large things make him sad or happy or filled with despair.  It is almost like a journal of jotted down notes from day to day life.  It is written without emotion---that isn't to say the story isn't sad.  It's just that he presents all the snippets as facts, as just the way of his new life.  And there is something incredibly beautiful about that.  It brought tears to my eyes several times.  I enjoyed it very much.  It had 166 pages.

L #33- Love You More

Well, I will admit that Lisa Gardner certainly knows how to write a murder mystery.  Everything that I've picked up of hers has been dark and twisted.  There are parts that are hard to stomach.  But she definitely keeps you turning the pages.  This one is about Tessa Leoni, a state trooper who has murdered her husband.  Their 6 year old daughter is missing.  It is up to detective D.D. Warren to crack the case.  And of course, things are never what they appear to be.  I finished this book very quickly.  It had 351 pages.

L #32- Chasing Harry Winston

I had a REALLY hard time getting into this Lauren Weisberger book.  I've really enjoyed some of her other works, so I'm not sure why this one was tough to adapt to.  But in any case, I had to push myself through.  This one is about 3 friends who make a pact to change their lives.  And honestly, I don't even feel like writing anything else because I thought it was boring.

278 pages.