China Rich Girlfriend

China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians, #2) by Kevin Kwan
Published by Knopf Doubleday on June 16, 2015
Pages: 378
Goodreads
four-stars

Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians, is back with a wickedly funny new novel of social climbing, secret e-mails, art-world scandal, lovesick billionaires, and the outrageous story of what happens when Rachel Chu, engaged to marry Asia's most eligible bachelor, discovers her birthfather. On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiance willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won't be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore's It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia's most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it's like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.

Hello!
I’m back with yet another book review. These past couple of weeks have been a rather slow reading period for me, partly not wanting to read, but me also reading slowly and also in the midst of doing a million other things. Recently I did finish the second book in the Crazy Rich Asians series China Rich Girlfriend.

As you can probably deduce from the synopsis this book picks up a few years after the first book in which Rachel met Nick’s family and then Nick became estranged from his family due to his engagement with Rachel. Rachel also in the first book discovered the truth about her father and who he could possibly be. This book also shows off another side of the wealthy Asian population and not only how they live in Singapore. We meet some new characters in this book as well as catch up with a few of my favorite characters from last book.

I would recommend this book if you have already read Crazy Rich Asians or have seen the movie and would like to keep up with Nick & Rachel or someone who is looking for a fun series to devour in a weekend or longer.

The Happiness Project

2 / 25 / 202 / 25 / 20

The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin
Published by Harper on December 29, 2009
Pages: 301
Goodreads
four-stars

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.
In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

Hello!
I know that it has been a minute since I have written a post here, but if you have been following along with my Goodreads, always linked in the sidebar, you will know that I still have been reading. There are a few books that I finished this month that won’t end up being reviewed here, but if you saw that I finished it feel free to ask for my quick thoughts on the books. I may also end up doing a monthly wrap up of everything that happened this month, but we’ll see what happened.

Let’s get back to the real reason why we are here, I finished Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project earlier this month and it was a quick read. I loved that every month was a different chapter and in ways it felt quit a bit like some of the books she referenced. I also loved that she had some thought on goals and resolutions and creating a detailed vision of each month. This also gave me the idea of starting my own version of the project, but there will probably be for another year. There is just a lot happening this year ( more on that in a later post).

I would definitely recommend this book for someone who likes Gretchen Rubin, and someone who is into self help books. If you have read quite a bit of self help books you might find the information a bit repetitive, but Gretchen’s presentation of the information is different than others and it is worth giving a shot.

Luckiest Girl Alive

2 / 3 / 202 / 1 / 20

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
on May 12, 2015
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
three-half-stars

HER PERFECT LIFE IS A PERFECT LIE.
As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.
But Ani has a secret.
There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.
With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears.
The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?

Hey!

I’m back with yet another book review. Yes, I know that I have been doing a ton of reviews lately, but I also have a catch up life post that is coming later this week. As you can tell today’s post is a review on Jessica Knoll’s Luckiest Girl Alive. I had wanted to read this after I had read The Favorite Sister last year, but got distracted by other books. If you want to read my review of that book you can do so here.

I can honestly tell you that I liked Luckiest Girl Alive a bit more than I liked The Favorite Sister. I found this book very relatable to what has been happening in today’s society in the last few years as far as school shootings go. I also thought that Jessica Knoll painted a good picture on what is expected from women in today’s society. I’ll try not to spoil the ending, but I’m glad that Ani decided to be stronger and stand up for herself in the end even though doing the right thing and telling the truth meant disappointing her mother and losing some things that she thought that she wanted.

I would recommend this book to someone who has read The Favorite Sister, but wasn’t impressed by it. Someone who loves best sellers and someone who likes thrillers/ mysteries and suspenseful novels without them being murderous and scary. I will be back soon with a more real life post and a catch up on 2020 so far 🙂

Outer Order, Inner Calm

1 / 30 / 202 / 1 / 20

Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin
Published by Harmony on March 5, 2019
Pages: 208
Goodreads
four-stars

Bestselling author of The Four Tendencies and The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin illuminates one of her key realizations about happiness: For most of us, outer order contributes to inner calm. In a new book packed with more than one hundred concrete ideas, she helps us create the order and organization that can make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative.
In the context of a happy life, a messy desk or crowded coat closet is a trivial problem–yet Gretchen Rubin has found that getting control of the stuff of life makes us feel more in control of our lives generally. By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, as well as things that don’t work, don’t fit, or don’t suit, we free our mind (and our shelves) for what we truly value.
In this trim book filled with insights, strategies, and sometimes surprising tips, Gretchen tackles the key challenges of creating outer order, by explaining how to “Make Choices,” “Create Order,” “Know Yourself–and Others,” “Cultivate Helpful Habits,” and, of course, “Add Beauty.”
When we get our possessions under control, we feel both calmer and more energetic. With a sense of humor, and also a clear sense of what’s realistic for most people, Gretchen suggests dozens of manageable steps for creating a more serene, orderly environment–one that helps us to create the lives we yearn for.

Hey!
I’m back with yet another book interview. I’m still pulling my life together with the latest computer migration along with some crazy personal life things that have happened recently. I’ll talk about all of this a bit more in a later post. Right now we’re here to talk about my latest read Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin. This was the January read for the Paper & Glam book club, which means that I am currently doing well with my reading goals for the year.

I thought that this book read a quite a bit like Marie Kondo’s The Magic of Tidying Up. If you want you can read my review of that book here, it was actually last January that this craze hit! I thought that Gretchen Rubin’s take on tidying up was less drastic and crazy than Marie Kondo’s so that the two methods can be used in conjunction with each other to completely a tidy up. I would recommend you read this book if you have already read the Marie Kondo book and need a bit more motivation for tidying up or have cleaned out Marie Kondo style and are wondering what’s next. I loved Gretchen Rubin as an author and plan on reading a couple more of her books this year.

Let me know what you have been reading lately and if you have read this book or are planning on reading it. See you soon!

WinterWood

1 / 23 / 201 / 30 / 20

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw
Published by Simon Pulse on November 5, 2019
Pages: 323
Goodreads
four-stars

Be careful of the dark, dark wood…
Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.
Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing.
But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.
For as long as there have been fairy tales, we have been warned to fear what lies within the dark, dark woods and in Winterwood, New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, shows us why.
From New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance perfect for fans of Practical Magic, where dark fairy tales and enchanted folklore collide after a boy, believed to be missing, emerges from the magical woods—and falls in love with the witch determined to unravel his secrets.

Hey!
I’m back with yet another book review. Also I apologize if it looks like a hot mess around here for a bit. I am in the midst of switching computers, so I am trying to get things back up and running around the scenes. I do miss you guys and I hope to be back here more with more real entries, but the beginning of this year has been a little rough.

I had finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I just haven’t had the time to write about it here. In case you haven’t figured it out, but this entry is going to be a review of the book Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw. This is Shea Ernshaw’s second book, if you haven’t read my review on her first one you can read that here, I actually included it my Creating & Co September Readathon called the TBR Throwdown, since I didn’t get to read it when it was an actual read for the Creating & Co book club.

I won’t give a huge long summary since I’m hoping to get my blog a bit more fixed up, before this entry gets full fledged read by the masses. In general I enjoyed the book and it kept with Shea Ernshaw’s theme of creating very atmospheric story. I can’t remember if she did the back and forth between the two characters, but I thought that it worked in this book really well. I really should learn to expect the twist at the ending of these books, but I haven’t gotten to the point yet. I was still really surprised for the twist and yet I loved it all the same. I especially loved the witchy aspects of the books with the spells and such.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who have previously read Shea Ernshaw’s book and if you are into atmospheric books. I would also recommend this to someone who would like the slight witchy vibes to the story. Let me know if you have read this book and what you thought of it. I hope to be back soon with another post.