Review:: Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

Title: Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Author: Helen Fielding
Publisher: Random House Audiobooks
Narrator: Samantha Bond
Length: 11 hrs 21 min
Format: Audiobook provided by Audible.

Bridget Jones is back!

Great comic writers are as rare as hen's teeth. And Helen is one of a very select band who have created a character of whom the very thought makes you smile. Bridget Jones' Diary, charting the life of a 30-something singleton in London in the 1990s was a huge international bestseller, published in 40 countries and selling over 15 million copies worldwide. Its sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, published soon after was also a major international bestseller. Both were made into films starring Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.

Set in the present, the new novel will explore a different phase in Bridget's life with an entirely new scenario. As Helen Fielding has said: "If people laugh as much reading it as I am while writing it then we'll all be very happy."

Review::
Narrators are super important. They can ruin a perfectly good book. Or in this case they can actually MAKE the book. Narrator Samantha Bond is the perfect Bridget Jones. She is such a fantastic narrator that upon finishing the book I went to see what else she has narrated. I need them all! She is my favorite narrator of all time. The story came to life in a way I could have only enjoyed as an audio. I'm so glad I listed to this one instead of read it. It made all the difference. I found myself smiling wide as I was walking down the street and even laughing out loud as I was waiting to cross the street. When people looked, I just had to tell them what I was listening to!

Time has moved on from Bridget's 30 something dating days. She married Mark Darcy {yum!} and they have two kids. Mark sadly passed away {boo!} and Bridget is back in the single game. It's hilarious! Oh so funny. The situations that Bridget gets herself into made me laugh so hard because I've done it too! Bridget Jones is like every other woman out there. Only we don't realize it. The diary style is really fun and it was really easy listening.

 If you haven't read Bridget Jones yet then you are really missing out! This is such a fun book and I only wish it wasn't over.

Review:: The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden

Title: The Kiss of a Stranger
Author: Sarah M. Eden
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Pages: 252
Format: Kindle

When Crispin, Lord Cavratt, thoroughly and scandalously kisses a serving woman in the garden of a country inn, he assumes the encounter will be of no consequence. But he couldn't be more mistaken--the maid is not only a lady of birth, she's the niece of a very large, exceptionally angry gentlemen, who claims Crispin has compromised his niece beyond redemption. The dismayed young lord has no choice but to marry Miss Catherine Thorndale, who lacks both money and refinement and assumes all men are as vicious as her guardian uncle.

Trapped between an unwanted marriage and a hasty annulment, which would leave his reputation tainted and Catherine's utterly ruined, Crispin begins guiding his wife's transformation from a socially petrified country girl to a lady of society. Their unfolding relationship reveals encouraging surprises for both of them, and privately each of them wonders if theirs may become a true marriage of the heart. But their hopes are dashed when forces conspire to split asunder what fate has granted. As a battle of wits escalates into a life-threatening confrontation, will it be possible for Crispin and Catherine to live happily ever after?

Review::
I've been eyeing Sarah Eden's books for awhile now and just haven't bitten the bullet and tried one out. They are a little pricey for the size of book you get and wasn't sure if it was worth it. When my sister called to say she'd read one and loved it that was all I needed to know. I snagged this one on sale too! Win win!

I'm in love with this time period. I'm also in love with stories about rich Lord's. Lord Cavratt has a lot going for him! Except for his name. I just can't get behind a name like Crispin {nickname Crispy....}. I kept changing it in my mind to Christopher or Cameron. Then just Lord Cavratt.

I love this kind of plot where two people are forced into a marriage. Possibly incredibly scary to the character's at the time. To me it is so terribly romantic.  What will happen? I just really like the idea that people can be forced into a situation but still make it. It is like destiny really is in control. Fate takes a hand. It has been awhile since I've read a book that has done it this well. All the details just really work so well.

Catherine has had a rough couple of years living with her uncle and Lord Cavratt puts her in a...situation...that then leads to their quicky marriage. She ends up feeling safer than she has is years. She and Lord Cavratt have some decisions to make. Annulment maybe? Or maybe fall in love instead?

What I'm trying to say is that this is a really romantic book and I just loved it. I re-read all my favourite parts before I could close the book. I then wanted to read ALL the books by Sarah Eden. You won't be disappointed. I just want to live inside this book!!

Mini Review: Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles

Title: Wild Cards
Author: Simone Elkeles
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Pages: 288

After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

Review::
I'm a huge Simone Elkeles fan. She writes one heck of a great teen romance. I've been waiting for something new forever. Wild Cards didn't disappoint.

At first I thought this had a lot of similarities to Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally. You all know how much we loved that. Girl plays football, someone on team has a dad who plays in the NFL, hot boy plays football too, etc... But, really that is where the similarities end. They are very different stories. The only thing I didn't like was how hot and girly Ashtyn was. I mean, in the interests of reality a girl who plays football would probably be more of a tomboy or at least a little bit more muscle. Ashtyn was skinny and girly. Not that they can't be...but it just didn't fit in my mind. I know I'm being stereotypical but the stereotype is there for a reason! I couldn't wrap my head around it.

I really loved this book. I read it in one sitting. I just devoured it. I loved Derek and Ashtyn's stories and how they came together. If you love Simone Elkeles then you know. She's just good! She'll do you right. Wild Cards is worth it.