The Rules of Magic

10 / 15 / 2010 / 10 / 20

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
Published by Simon & Schuster on June 26, 2018
Pages: 367
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
four-half-stars

Find your magic
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man.
Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.
From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.
The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.

Hello!
Welcome to the Fifteenth day of October! I hope that your year has been going well. If you have been with me a while, you will know that every year I attempt to watch a lot of scary movies for October mostly to cure myself of my wariness of scary movies. When I started this series several years ago, I could barely sit through a scary movie to save my life. Now since doing this series I can say that I am much better. Last year, I decided to attempt to add books to this series. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up completing this series last year, but I have high hopes for this year 😉

This book was part of the recommended reads for the Paper & Glam book club read back in 2019, but alas I didn’t get to it then. I was finally able to read the second book in the series, which you can read the review on that here. I was hoping to also review this book during this series, since it went so well together and after reading the other book I couldn’t wait to spend more time with the Owens family.

I loved that Alice Hoffman chose to do a prequel to Practical Magic first because it gave me a better perspective on Franny & Jet and life that they led before they came to be the aunts that would raise Gillian & Sally. It was interesting also see how the small town in Massachusetts changed over the years.

I would definitely recommend you read this book if you are looking for a fun Halloween read that isn’t too scary. I would also recommend this book if you have read Practical Magic and want to spend more time with the Owens family. Recently another book in this series was released and I can’t wait to read it since it goes back to the beginning and we learn about Maria Owens.

I hope that you have been enjoying the content so far and that you’ll stick around for more content that will come throughout the rest of the month. See you soon!

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 🙂

The Favorite Sister

9 / 10 / 1912 / 2 / 19

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll
Published by Simon & Schuster on May 15, 2018
Pages: 375
Goodreads
two-stars

When five hyper-successful women agree to appear on a reality series set in New York City called Goal Diggers, the producers never expect the season will end in murder…

Brett’s the fan favorite. Tattooed and only twenty-seven, the meteoric success of her spin studio—and her recent engagement to her girlfriend—has made her the object of jealousy and vitriol from her cast mates.

Kelly, Brett’s older sister and business partner, is the most recent recruit, dismissed as a hanger-on by veteran cast. The golden child growing up, she defers to Brett now—a role which requires her to protect their shocking secret.

Stephanie, the first black cast member and the oldest, is a successful bestselling author of erotic novels. There have long been whispers about her hot, non-working actor-husband and his wandering eye, but this season the focus is on the rift that has opened between her and Brett, former best friends—and resentment soon breeds contempt.

Lauren, the start-up world’s darling whose drinking has gotten out of control, is Goal Diggers’ recovery narrative—everyone loves a comeback story.

And Jen, made rich and famous through her cultishly popular vegan food line plays a holistic hippie for the cameras, but is perhaps the most ruthless of them all when the cameras are off.

Hey!
I know that I have been promising real posts for some time, but that time isn’t yet so please enjoy the plethora for book reviews that are coming your way. I finally finished this book after starting and stopping this book for months. The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll was the Paper & Glam Book Club read for April simply because of the umbrella on the cover.

I apologize that this review will not be as in-depth as my reviews usually are, but I found the book rather dull and uninteresting which is why I kept putting it down throughout reading it. If you like reality tv and are interested some of the stories behind the scenes of a fictional reality tv show this book is for you. Honestly this book being marketed as a mystery thriller is a bit of a joke, since though we find out that Brett is dead in the beginning of the book we don’t even really touch on why she might be dead throughout the book and don’t come back to that topic until the end of the book.

I’ll be back soon with more reviews and hopefully a surprise in the future that will bring you back to reading the blog once more. Happy Reading!

Book Review: Revenge Wears Prada-The Devil Returns

6 / 26 / 183 / 25 / 20

Book Review: Revenge Wears Prada-The Devil Returns Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns (The Devil Wears Prada, #2) by Lauren Weisberger
on June 4, 2013
Pages: 400
Goodreads
two-half-stars

Almost a decade has passed since Andy Sachs quit the job “a million girls would die for” working for Miranda Priestly at Runway magazine—a dream that turned out to be a nightmare. Andy and Emily, her former nemesis and co-assistant, have since joined forces to start a high end bridal magazine, The Plunge, which has quickly become required reading for the young and stylish. Now they get to call all the shots: Andy writes and travels to her heart’s content; Emily plans parties and secures advertising like a seasoned pro.
Even better, Andy has met the love of her life. Max Harrison, scion of a storied media family, is confident, successful, and drop-dead gorgeous. Their wedding will be splashed across all the society pages as their friends and family gather to toast the glowing couple. Andy Sachs is on top of the world. But karma’s a bitch.
The morning of her wedding, Andy can’t shake the past. And when she discovers a secret letter with crushing implications, her wedding-day jitters turn to cold dread. Andy realizes that nothing—not her husband, nor her beloved career—is as it seems. She never suspected that her efforts to build a bright new life would lead her back to the darkness she barely escaped ten years ago—and directly into the path of the devil herself...

Hey!
I’m back again with yet another book review. I know that I am unintentionally turning this into a book blog, but I swear that there are more real life posts coming soon. I’m even going to be changing up my youtube channel, but more on that in another post.

Let’s get back to the topic at hand. This book review in case you haven’t noticed is about the book Revenge wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger. I will be honest and tell you that I received this book as part of an Pop Sugar Box which I previously subscribed to.

This book sat on my TBR shelf for a number of years and I just couldn’t get into it. I recently decided that this was finally the year that I’m going to clear my TBR shelf and read all the books that I have been hoarding for so long. I had read the Devil wears Prada right around when the movie came out and I loved it. I even loved the movie based on the book, however I found this book long and winded in getting to the conclusion that it has already drawn 1/3 of the way into the book.

I will try and keep my promise to not spoil the ending of the book too much, though I’m pretty sure that you can take a stab in the dark and probably guess correctly as to what happens in the end. Lauren Weisberger has also written another book in this series that is now dedicated to Emily Charlton I’m also contemplating reading that. I wouldn’t say that this book is completely predictable but if you can guess from the synopsis I gave you the writing is clearly marked on the wall what happens next. I had wished a bit more for the book and had hoped to see more from Andy Sachs.

Let me know if you have read this book and what you thought or if you just saw the movie and were interested in the book. I also added a Currently Reading section in my sidebar instead of the usual books I’ve read. If you have any recommendations for books I should read this year, let me know 🙂 I’ll see you soon with another post.

Book Review: Wishful Drinking

2 / 6 / 188 / 21 / 20

Book Review: Wishful Drinking Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
Published by Simon & Schuster on December 2, 2008
Pages: 163
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
four-stars

In Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher tells the true and intoxicating story of her life with inimitable wit. Born to celebrity parents, she was picked to play a princess in a little movie called Star Wars when only 19 years old. "But it isn't all sweetness and light sabres." Alas, aside from a demanding career and her role as a single mother (not to mention the hyperspace hairdo), Carrie also spends her free time battling addiction, weathering the wild ride of manic depression and lounging around various mental institutions. It's an incredible tale—from having Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother, to marrying (and divorcing) Paul Simon, from having the father of her daughter leave her for a man, to ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.

Hey!
I’m back again with yet another book review. I’m still planning on writing a real post here on how life is once it calms down because in reality my life went from holiday crazy to real crazy in about a month just when I was adjusting to 2018 *sigh*

This book review is going to be for the Creating & Co Book Club and this month’s theme was Set in the Past. One thing I like about this book club is that I can read what I want as long as it applies to the theme, in addition to that this book club also has readathon’s twice a year. Wait, that’s more than one thing. Let’s just say that I’m working toward accomplishing my goal of reading books this year. Now you might think that I’ve become obsessed with Carrie Fisher since I also finished another one of her books this year, well that could be said to be honest though I just discovered that she was an author and after reading the first one I knew that I had to pick up another book.

In Wishful Drinking, Fisher tells her life story as she remembers it as of 2008 in the most honest telling I have read. What I knew about Carrie Fisher before reading her books was that she played Princess Leia in Star Wars, her mother was Debbie Reynolds, and that she tragically died in 2016. (I call it tragic, you can call it whatever you want). Carrie takes readers on the journey of her life from beginning to the point in which she finished the book. She talks about her mother and her mother’s crazy Hollywood romances along with a few stories about her brother, Todd. Fisher speaks most honestly about her daughter Billie and how she’s the greatest thing in her life.

I loved Carrie Fisher’s honesty throughout the book as well as her dry sense of humor. If you don’t like dry humor than you probably won’t like the book. My cover of the book tells me that it was an HBO movie, I haven’t seen it yet and can’t seem to find it anywhere not that I’ve been trying that hard.

Let me know if you have read this book or seen the movie and what you thought about it. I also added a Currently Reading section in my sidebar instead of the usual books I’ve read. If you have any recommendations for books I should read this year, let me know 🙂Hopefully I’ll see you soon with another post.