Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick

Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick was a book recommended to me.  I really enjoyed it.  It is about a group of women who were all English majors at the same college in New York. After graduation they meet at one of the woman's family home each Fourth of July weekend.  They all talk about how they wish they were all doing something else with their careers and often talk about how maybe English wasn't the best major to have. They inherit $250,000. each and have a second chance at doing what they really want. They end up testing other things, some are happy and some not so much.

I loved and could relate to each of the characters, I could easily see myself being friends with these women.  It is a story of love and loss, finding new beginnings and moving on with life.  It would make a great movie as opposed to all the old movies they are now remaking :)

Beth Kendrick is another new author I have found this summer and will definitely look up some other books by her to read.

A great quick read, read it in a day.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

One of my book clubs chose Still Missing by Chevy Stevens, not sure if I ever would have picked it up otherwise but I must say I enjoyed it.  It is a psychological thriller about a realtor who is having an open house and as she is packing up, a man shows up and talks her into letting her look at the house.  He abducts her and puts her through a year of hell.

I like the way the book is written, each chapter is her session with the psychiatrist she is seeing.  The content of the book is disturbing but I found I could not put it down.  There are some twists and turns I did not see coming.  It kind of reminded me of a Nicci French book, which are disturbing but always hold my attention.

The book shows all the emotions a woman who was abducted goes through and how she can move on with her life.  Interesting format to the chapters.  I will be looking up more of Chevy Steven's books and will try another one.  That is what I love about book clubs, it introduces me to so many books I would not normally read.

This book is not for the weak, if you are looking for a quick, easy read this isn't it, it is a bit more intense.

The Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

I never read her Blue Bloods series but thought I would give The Witches of East End a try. It is a story of witches in a fictious New York town - North Hampton.  The Beauchamps are a family of witches- mother Joanna, daughters Ingrid and Freya. They are immortal, but ever since they got busted at the Salem witch trials they have been under strict orders to live as normal people and not use their powers. As the story opens, Ingrid can no longer stand by and watch helplessly as a middle-aged co-worker struggles to conceive a child. Freya makes her first appearance in the book having sex with her fiance's brother. Though this makes her less than likable, she too is drawn back to witchcraft by her desire to help others. Even Joanna finds herself going astray. It was just ok for me through most of the book.  I often found myself skimming pages just to get through the end, which I did not like.  In the last part of the book, it turns out that the characters are not actually witches but figures from Norse mythology. It was assumed that the reader had some background knowledge of Norse Mythology, which I do not. I don't know if any of this is mentioned in her Blue Blood series.  I think this is supposed to be the first in a series of books, I don't think I will be reading the next ones.  

The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch

This is another book I picked up by an author I have never read before.  In The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch, Tilly Farmer is living her ideal life. She is married to her high school sweetheart and still in touch with her best friend from high school who is, in turn, married to herhigh school sweetheart. Plus, Tilly works at her old high school as a guidance counselor, where one of her major responsibilities is helping to plan the prom, one of her favorite events of all time. Life is going swimmingly; she might even possibly be pregnant, although it is far too early to tell.

But then she runs into an old high school friend working as a fortune teller. Instead of giving Tilly a reading, she says she is going to give her a gift, the gift of clarity. Suddenly, Tilly begins seeing bits and pieces of things before they happen. Bad things. Things that upset the idyllic life that Tilly is leading. Things that force her to decide what she really wants out of life.

I found the book slow at times and there were parts were I had to keep reading to see what would happen next.  It wasn't my favorite but an easy read, if you are looking for something quick.