In a Class by Itself (Sandra Brown)

It's been a while since I've read this book, but I shall do my best!

I read "In a Class by Itself" by Sandra Brown as part of my 2015 Reading List (which I doubt I'll be able to finish at this point!) as my choice for book by an author with the same initials as myself.  I had heard good things about Sandra Brown and she seems to be a very popular author, so I chose one of the many books on the library bookshelf and ended up with this one.

Dani and Logan have a history together, which causes some tension and brings up some old memories when they return for their high school reunion.  When Dani returns, she has some questions to ask Logan and Logan is also looking for some answers about their past.

From what I remember, seeing as I read this book about 6 months ago, it was an easy read and also had a few twists at the end.  I hadn't been able to predict what their past involved or what their current challenges were.

It was a good book, though written in the 1980s, and still contains a nice love story for those who want some romance.  Considering when the novel was written, it contained more details about ther relationship than what I would have expected.  Recommended for someone who likes their romance novels. 

My 2015 Reading List Update

• A popular author's first book
• A book that was originally written in a different language
• A book written by an author with your same initials - In a Class by Itself (Sandra Brown)
• A memoir - Some Girls: My Life in a Harem (Jillian Lauren)
• A funny book
• A book with a colour in the title
• A book you own but have never read - Six Years (Harlan Coben)
• A book with a one-word title
• A book written by someone under 30
• A book you can finish in a day
• A book with non-human characters
• A book set during Christmas

The Choice (Nicholas Sparks)

Wow.  I just thought I would first take a moment to say that YES, I'm still alive.  Since June 2013, I'm sorry to say that unfortunately, reading was not at the top of my priority list. 

I spent last summer working in an office, playing baseball, coaching little kiddy soccer and going for long walks on the Boardwalk.  Since the fall, I have been trying to keep up with the every day planning and marking of a full time contract teaching courses I'd never taught before at a local high school and trying to maintain some kind of a social life. 

During Christmas, I tried to make it through a book (Divergent!), but the busy holiday schedule just wouldn't let me and then came exams, report cards.... *sigh*  Excuses, excuses... 

Long story to say that recently, I was able to take a short break from it all and go to the lovely Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  While I was there, I started a nice beach read - "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks.  Though I wasn't able to finish it on my trip, this morning I took an hour after I woke up way-too-early-for-a-weekend and finished it off. 

"The Choice" is about the stories of Travis and Gabby, and, as you can probably guess just based on who the author is, about love.  Travis is a veterinarian who is living in a small town, who never seems to be too serious about his girlfriends.  Enter Gabby, a new neighbour, who is in a long-term relationship already, but who is often alone when said-boyfriend is travalling for work.  After a weird first few meetings, Travis and Gabby start to hit it off as friends and start to discover that maybe they would consider wanting more from their friendship-relationship-whatever-it-is. 

As it's stated on his website, the book is truly about "How far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?"

I loved reading about the early stages of Travis and Gabby's friendship and their chance encounters in the small town.  I found it was very true to what people often go through when first meeting someone and want to discreetly spend more time with that person.  By part two of the book, I wasn't so sure that I wanted to continue reading about their story since the book took quite a turn - don't want to give away any spoilers other than that.  By the end of Part Two, I didn't even know if I wanted to read the Epilogue because I was feeling so much hate towards a decision that was made.  However, I really did feel some good closure by the end of the book. 

I would recommend this book to those who love an occasional Nicholas Sparks book and to those who want to read another love story.  This book was perfect for the beach read I was looking for during my trip!

Fifty Shades Freed (E.L. James)

One of my favourite places to enjoy a book
during the summer... On the dock by the lake!

Well, I officially finished the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by E.L. James yesterday.  I'm still not too sure what to think of the books.  I don't want to give anything away for those who want to read all three, so maybe I'll just make some general comments.

First of all, I am very excited to be done these books.  Now, whenever someone asks me, "Are you reading the Fifty Shades books?" I can just reply, "Not right now..." or "No."  

Of the three books, I would definitely say that I liked the second one the best, "Fifty Shades Darker."  I just found there was a lot more substance in that book than there was in the first one, so I was more interested in it.  I enjoyed the third one, but I still felt like there were a few things I was kind of missing at the end of it.

They're not the typical kind of book that I read, but I found that they kept my interest for the most part.  I didn't breeze through them as quickly as I thought I would (considering all the hype they have been getting lately...)

And let's just add that a duck was
ready to eat my foot
while I was out reading
on Tuesday.

*If you read the first book and enjoyed it, then I would safely say that you will enjoy the rest of the trilogy.

*If you read the first book and weren't sure about it (kind of like me), maybe give the second book a chance.  The "content" and "plot" picks up a bit in the second book. 

*If you read the first book and just couldn't handle it, skip the rest of the trilogy.

Fifty Shades Darker (E.L. James)

Despite the fact that I didn't think I would make it through this book until at least next week when my course was done, I was glued to the pages and motored through it... On nights when I should have been sleeping, I stayed away for an extra hour or two, knowing that I would be tired for my early class... I just needed to know what was going to happen next.

"Fifty Shades Darker" is the second book in the Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James and it most definitely did not disappoint.  The story continues right where book one left off.  Without giving anything away, I will just say that this book continues with so much more information about the two individuals involved, Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.  You really start to understand why each of them is the way they are.  I enjoyed the second book more than the first one.

Based on the two books I have read so far, I am very much looking forward to the final book!  With the end of my summer course only one day away, I will enjoy spending the beginning of my "real" summer holiday on the deck, with a beautiful view, reading "Fifty Shades Freed."

Fifty Shades of Grey (E.L. James)

I was so excited that summer was finally here, mainly because I knew that summer means no teaching for a couple of months and more time to do the things I love to do.  However, being in my mid-twenties and only a couple years into my career, I made a last minute decision and I'm doing what I have to do to make myself more employable - I moved away 4 hours north from my already-northern-Ontario community to take an additional qualification!  Having summer school (and homework!) will definitely cut into my summer reading for the next couple of weeks...

That being said, I did have time during this first week of summer school to finish up the first book in the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy by E.L. James - I've been slacking for a few days, though, before I've finally gotten around to writing this.

 The book is about the roller coaster relationship between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.  The two meet by chance as Anastasia interviews Christian for a college newspaper article.  After this interview, their whole relationship starts to grow and develop.  Their relationship, however, is much different than what society views as the normal relationship. 

I liked the book.  It's definitely interesting and exciting and keeps you intrigued.  For the first half of the book, I was reading every spare minute I had - at home, of course, because I wouldn't bring my hard copy of the book into public! 

There is still so much that you are waiting to find out about the characters after this first book.  It ends very suddenly and makes you want to immediately start the second book in the trilogy. What happens next?  Why is he acting this way?  What is she thinking? 

Forgive me if the speed at which I bust out my reviews this month is slow... After working on my "homework," sometimes I just don't have the energy in me to read any more!