Forgotten, by Catherine McKenzie ~ Book review

Catherine McKenzie has quickly turned into one of my favorite authors.

Her latest novel, Forgotten, is a quick and easy read, a fun and slightly quirky story, and an interesting concept, all rolled into one.

Part of me doesn't want to tell you the concept, but I know if I don't you'll just pick up the book, read the back cover and see for yourself. So I'll give it to you in a lite-version.

Emma loses her mom, and finds out her mother's last wish is for her daughter to take the incredible African vacation that she never got to. While Emma struggles with this idea - this was her mother's dream, not hers - she ultimately decides to go.

Emma's feisty. She's inspired to go in what I'd say is a bit of an act of rebellion. And then she goes, and is gone a lot longer than expected. She's gone for so long that she's kind of considered missing. And then she's considered beyond missing. Emma is considered dead.

What? What the heck? Yeah, I know. She's gone for like six months and they think she's dead? Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

McKenzie does a fantastic job of walking us through why everyone in America (okay, everyone in America who knew Emma, anyway) thinks she's deceased. There are environmental factors and more. But she's obviously not dead - no spoiler there - she's the main character of the book! And she returns home to find her life, well, pretty much gone ... so yeah, there's that.

Emma doesn't know this yet when she returns to her apartment to find Dominic living in what she believes is still HER apartment. She doesn't know this as she tries to reach her boyfriend and her best friend (oh, how I love her best friend!).

While some twists in the story felt a little bit predictable, we definitely had suspenseful moments that led us to think - what WILL happen here? Will Emma return to her normal, everyday, pre-not quite deceased-life? Will she go back to being a full-time lawyer? Turn her world on its head and move forward from there?

As the front cover of the book asks, if you had a chance to start over, would you take it?

Should she?

There is so much depth to this story, and a little bit of a mystery that Emma gets involved with solving, as well. There is friendship, romance, sex, love, emotion, back-stabbing and a lot more.

As I've said before, Catherine McKenzie has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her stories are fun reads, easy to escape into, and enjoyable. They're not predictable stories, they've all got twists in them, and they're fun to try to figure out. They're also easy enough to not feel pressured to get through, as you fly through over 400 pages in no time at all.

To find out more about her you can check out her Goodreads page here. I feel like I know her so I should tell you to tell her I sent you! But that might be a little bit odd. But you can certainly share this link with her as your "reference" if you'd like!

Happy reading!

Sidenote: Have you read my reviews of Catherine McKenzie's other books?

Here are the links for your reference:

Arranged

Spin

* I received a copy of this book and cover image from HarperCollinsPublishers. The book was provided to facilitate my review and all expressed opinions are completely my own. *

Ocean Beach ~ Book review

Have you had the chance to read Ten Beach Road yet? I recommended it to my readers here last summer. It wasn't my favorite beach read, but maybe that's because I rarely make it TO the beach? I don't know, but Wendy Wax is back with her latest release, Ocean Beach. And I'll tell you what ... I liked it! I actually liked it better than the previous novel.

So while yes, it is a continuation of the characters from Ten Beach Road, it's okay if you haven't picked that one up yet. Because you can totally make it through the story without the previous chapters of their lives, and find yourself enjoying it.

Maddie is back, but she's not as primary this time. Or she is - but she kind of floats in and out of scenes. Her daughter, Kyra has a stronger role this time around.

And Avery is a huge part of the story, as well, but it's more focused on her relationship with her mother. Which, with or without the history, you know is tense. And Wax introduces that information to you throughout the read. You're sure you know Avery loathes her mother. And then you slowly are reminded why.

A huge addition to their story is Max. The homeowner of The Millicent, the beautiful place they're trying to bring back to life. The women are working on a fix-it-up kind of TV show - which - to their surprise - is more of a reality show. That's not what they signed on for. That's not what they planned to give. The presence of two camera men on-site all the time? Not cool. And yet I kind of liked them. I liked Troy, anyway - and as you read on you may like him, too. Or hate him. Or find yourself thinking both. It's all good.

I think that although Wax again broke 400 pages and then some, this book flowed more smoothly than her previous novel. I hate to compare, but when it's the same author you're bound to, and when it's the same characters, well, you get caught up in that even more than you planned.

Either way I think Ocean Beach was a good read. Max, alone, is a character that saved this story, because he's so entertaining, so enthusiastic, and so loving and well-loved. He also brings some mystery to the plot, and while somewhat predictable to this reader, leaves you hanging on and off throughout the journey to fix The Millicent. You may think you know the answer, you may question yourself, and then you may say - I KNEW IT all along! But either way, I think you'll enjoy how it all plays out. It's at the very least worth a stop to the library before your next weekend at the beach!

* I was provided with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

In The Bag ~ Book review

This book was really cute. It wasn't intensely literary. It wasn't a heavy and emotional novel. It was an easy and enjoyable read.

The primary characters are Daisy Sprinkle (yes, I know) who is a chef of all trades and Andrew (whose last name I have no idea about right now). Daisy and Andrew aren't the only characters in the book, though. They each - separately - have a teenage child.

Andrew has a son named Webb. Daisy has a daughter named Coco.

Names aside, these characters are kind of fun, quirky and even interesting.

The way the book plays out leaves us with overlapping mystery ... sort of. Mystery is a weird word for this kind of story. It's not the kind you turn each page waiting to find out whodoneit? - and it's not the kind that you look for clues along the way, either. But the connection between the four characters, which - honestly, is revealed rather quickly in the book - carries on well throughout all 300+ pages and does so well enough to avoid boring me as I make my way through each chapter, through each character's personal view and perspective.

Travels that overlap. A connection that one knows about and the other does not. Teenage angst. It could be considered chick lit. It could be looked at as Young Adult. It's not your stereotypical story of either genre, though. For me it was just a fun and lighthearted read.

I think you'd enjoy it if you picked up a copy. Don't expect it to be groundbreaking, let yourself sit back and enjoy the story as it unfolds and you'll find yourself entertained!


* I received a copy of this book from TLC Book tours to facilitate my review. All expressed opinions are my own. 

I'll never make it ...

Well, I finished #47! So that would mean there are 3 more to go for me to hit 50 books for 2009!

Yesterday I completed Mrs. Miracle, by Debbie Macomber. Today I am reading Christmas Wishes, by the same author. I would LOVE to say I'll hit 50 for the year, but hey, if I can finish 48 that isn't TOO bad, right?

I've already started a "new" challenge. It was supposed to be for 2010, but we started a wee bit early. Some friends and I are doing a 100 book challenge on Goodreads.com. We started on 12/17 (I think) and have a year from that date to reach the total of 100. I'll probably continue tracking my reads here, but I will hold off on starting fresh until tomorrow. It'll be a confusing thing having two lists, but hey, what the heck!

So, as we journey through the last day of 2009 together, what has been your favorite read of the year? I'm quite sure I have too many to list, but I'll peek back at my previous reviews and let you know!

And what books are on your "to-read" list for the coming months? I'm hoping that this link to my Goodreads to-read list works:

my to-read shelf:


Come and join me, if you'd like. Just find me on there and I'll help you join the challenge group once you do. The more the merrier when it comes to talking books, I think.

HAPPY READING!