Something Borrowed

Your very best friend since kindergarten tells you she's getting married, and of course, you couldn't be happier for her. You were happy for her when she was dating the most popular guy in high school, you are always happy for her when she finds the perfect outfit or gets the most perfect haircut that makes her look even more stunning, and now you are happy for her for getting the most beautiful man on earth to propose to her. Everything always falls into place for your best friend, and what do you get? A measly celebration for your much anticipated 3oth birthday. . .

Emily Giffin's character, Rachel White, in Something Borrowed goes through just that.

While modest and genuine good girl, Rachel is indeed ecstatic for her best friend, Darcy, she wants nothing more than to forget about her birthday, curl into a ball, and wallow in her own misery. All she ever wanted was to have a job that she loves with the man of her dreams by her side.

As Darcy has a sensational PR job and a gorgeous diamond on her finger, Rachel is left in the dust still pining away for her dreams in her single and job-hating life.

Although Darcy has thrown Rachel the best 30th birthday party that anyone could ask for and inviting millions of friends who are thrilled to celebrate with her, Rachel is still missing the two things she wants in life.

So when Darcy becomes too drunk to last any longer at the party, Dex, her husband-to-be, suggests that she call a cab to carry her home. While the party slowly dies down and everyone has left, Rachel is left alone in the bar with Dex.

They chit chat about simple things: job, friends, life. Somehow neither one of them mentions Darcy or the upcoming wedding.

While Dex and Rachel fall into a cab to head their separate ways for the night, Dex suggests one more bar, then another, and another. . .

Before she knows it, Rachel is in her apartment falling into the arms of betrayal and her best friend's fiance.

As the fresh affair gains momentum, Darcy decides to set Rachel up with Marcus, Dex's best friend, thinking that Rachel will greatly appreciate finally having a man in her life. Naturally she has to suffer through countless dates with Marcus in order to please her best friend, but unbeknownst to Darcy, Rachel seldom misses a night with Dex.

Something Borrowed is a great read involving friendship, betrayal, and more than one secret romance. This is sure to be a book you won't be able to put down, and you don't have choose sides to enjoy it. First in a two-part novel, this story is real and certainly displays that the line between right and wrong is just a little fuzzy sometimes, but it's always better to do what's best for you.

The Guardian

What would you do if your loved one passed away and left for you a dog and a promise to always watch over you? Would that be enough?

For Julie Barenson in The Guardian, it can be. Before her husband passed away he left her with that same promise and Singer, a Great Dane puppy. Singer follows his master very obediently, just like a good dog should. He's always there for her, protects her, and loves her unconditionally. Maybe he's even a reincarnation of Julie's husband, watching over her in the form of a dog.

After four tough years, Julie is finally ready to make a romantic commitment again. While she has been dating Richard Franklin, the wealthy engineer who treats her to the most extravagant, glamorous dates, Julie just doesn't feel that click with him. Richard is kind, extremely generous, and treats her like a queen, but those things don't phase Singer. This dog smells that something just isn't quite right with Richard.

Soon she discovers that Mike Harris, her husband's best friend, is interested in her. They have become quite close over the years since her husband passed away. Other than Singer, Mike was the only person who was really there for her and helped her through everything.

Julie decides it's best if Richard becomes just a friend, as her interest in Mike becomes mutual. This, however, doesn't suit well with Richard.

As Julie and Mike begin dating, with much approval from Singer, Richard seems to pop up everywhere. They may live in a small town, but he "bumps" into Julie an awful lot. From Mike and Julie's dates to a walk in the woods with Singer, Richard really is everywhere.

The more he comes into contact with Julie, however that may be, the more uncomfortable and uneasy she feels about him. Not to mention the fact that Singer is becoming more alert as th nights progress at the Barenson house. Could Richard actually be stalking her?

The Guardian is another great novel by Nicholas Sparks. Although the tradionally love story is still at hand, The Guardian is a much more suspenseful, hair-raising, edge-of-your-seat type of romance novel. It's full of jealousy, newfound love, and shocking twists. With an ending you'll never forget, this book will thrill, chill, and leave its readers knowing that late loved ones are never really gone.

The Other Boleyn Girl

Imagine that you are living in the 16th century, and King Henry VIII has his eyes on you. Even though he already has a queen, your family is going to try everything in their power to get the king to be with you. That way, your family will be in the king's right hand, and you'll give your family name a new meaning. All this pressure is now on you to stay in the king's favor and keep your family's trust. How can you get Henry VIII, king of England, to stay interested in you and raise up your family's reputation?

In Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl, two sisters begin the ultimate challenge: fight for the king.

It all begins when Anne Boleyn returns to her home in Tudor England when she finds her young sister, Mary, married to William Carey. Even though Anne is older and should’ve married before her sister, she is nonetheless happy for her and asks for all the details of married life.

Everything is going well for Mary and her new husband until rumors spread that the king is not in love with his queen anymore. King Henry VIII is falling for the young Mary Boleyn. Whatever the king wants the king gets, married or not.

The Boleyn family pushes their youngest daughter away from her husband and into the arms of the king. The closer Mary gets to the king, the closer the Boleyn family gets to the throne.

But with her timid, innocent personality she can’t keep Henry’s attention forever, despite the fact that she’s falling in love with him. Soon the Boleyn’s decide to pawn their other daughter onto the king. And the game begins.

Anne’s abrasive, seductive, dark personality makes it easy for her to make Henry’s eyes turn to her and forget all about the little Mary.

However, when Mary discovers she is pregnant with the king’s child, the tables turn again.

The Boleyn family is ecstatic to know that their family has an heir to the throne. Anne is thrust into the background yet again, until Mary is bedridden and can no longer see the king unless he visits her. So Anne has Henry all to herself and the power is back in her hands.

The battle continues between the Boleyn girls, but who will win?


The Other Boleyn Girl is a marvelous fiction story of history icons caught in the middle of a love triangle. This novel is full of deceit, desire, and determination among family members the notorious King Henry VIII. A real page-turner, this book will grab readers’ attention and keep them on the edge of their seat with each new treacherous scheme. Also turned into a film, the movie is as deceitful as the novel.

PS I Love You

With the passing of a loved one, heartbreak is always sure to follow. Time heals all wounds, but is time enough? When you love someone you lose, you want to hold on to them for as long as possible. What if there was a way to stay connected to that person?

Cecelia Ahern's PS I Love You tells the story of Holly Kennedy, a recent widow who suffers from the loss of her husband, Gerry. Holly can barely make it out of bed. Her bank account is slowly thinning, and she hasn't even begun to look for a job. She's alienating herself from her friends and family. Worst of all, she misses Gerry more and more every day.

Everyone idolized Gerry and Holly. The high school sweethearts were the perfect couple, together and apart. They always had a ball together, even when they were fighting. Holly simply can't imagine her life without him. She doesn't know how to go on.

But Holly soon discovers that her husband isn't gone. He comes back to her every month in the form of a letter.

Each letter has a month written on the front, and there's a letter for 1o months in the year. Gerry planned out almost a whole year for Holly for after he had passed away. He doesn't want her to mourn over him. He is the only one who knows Holly better than she knows herself, and he can't let her waste her life away.

In Gerry's letters, he gives Holly instructions ranging from buying a bedside lamp to going on a vacation with her friends. Each time she opens a letter she is filled with the happiness she felt when Gerry was alive. It's almost as if he is still with her.

After she completes each task, her heart mends a little bit more and her life starts piecing itself together again. Even though Gerry is gone, Holly feels his presence every once in a while. When she reads his letters or sees something that reminds her of him, he is suddenly there by her side. But what happens when there are no more letters left?

PS I Love You is creative, sad, heartwarming, and funny all at once. It's a brilliant new twist on an uplifting love story. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one is sure to appreciate this novel. It brings hope to those who need to pick themselves up and start a new life and a new beginning. Also turned into a movie, the film is gratifyingly similiar to the novel and equally as good.

Stephenie Meyer

Vampires, romance, and werewolves: the Twilight series has been named a Publisher's Weekly best book of the year, a Teen People "Hot List" pick, a nationally acclaimed bestseller, and has been translated into 20 languages.

Author Stephenie Meyer never imagined her Twilight books would receive this much limelight. What was only a dream to her is now a favorite multimedia image to teens across the world.

After Meyer had a dream about emotionally realistic characters in a captivating field, household chores seemed to float to the back of her mind as she raced to write down everything she could remember about her mesmerizing dream.

Three months later she had written Twilight, and with encouragement from her sister, Meyer sent her manuscript out to several publishing companies. Surprisingly soon enough, the publishing company Little, Brown took Twilight under its wings and the book became the most talked about novel in 2005.

Stephenie Meyer received her bachelor's degree in English from Brigham Young University and lives in Arizona with her children and husband. Being a stay-at-home mom of three boys, she never knew that her one little dream could've possibly unlocked a new career and all her newfound success. Twilight hit number 5 on the New York Times bestseller list, New Moon landed the number one spot for more than 25 weeks in a row, Eclipse turned the saga into a worldwide phenomenon, and Breaking Dawn sold 1.3 million copies in 24 hours of it's release. Released on November 21, the Twilight movie debuted the box office at number one with 70 million dollars.

A new twist on the classic Romeo and Juliet, Twilight truly is worth all its hype. It is wonderfully well written and really connects its readers to the characters through emotions. That's what makes all the fans swoon over Edward, the handsome, god-like vampire who says all the right things. Who wouldn't fall in love with the Twilight series?

http://stepheniemeyer.com/

Expecting Adam

Martha Beck, a Harvard grad student, has just discovered that she is pregnant, again.

While living in a small apartment just off campus, Martha and her husband, John, are already struggling to raise their 18 month old Katie, juggling homework, and trying to manage each other's hectic schedules and thriving careers all at the same time. But they can handle another child. They can make room for the baby in the apartment. Everything will be perfectly fine.

During Martha's first pregnancy, she was completely cursed with morning sickness 24/7. This time around is heading in that same direction. Except this time she is even more sick than before, and she constantly has to skip classes and schedule doctor appointments. Martha was sick before, but not this sick.

After several painful visits to the doctor's office, a blood test finally reveals that the baby, their baby boy, has down syndrome. The Becks' family members, colleages and classmates suggest terminating the pregnancy, but Martha and John can't do such a thing. They know that this baby is a miracle, a gift like all of God's creations. This baby may have down syndrome, but that doesn't make him any less of a human being at all. He's more than that.

As the pregnancy progresses, Martha encounters what she calls, "the seeing thing." During these experiences, she actually "sees" events that are happening in different places of the world or even just below their apartment. She can actually smell, hear, and taste the environment that her senses transport her to. Being the logical college-grad that she is, Martha tries to dismiss these experiences as dreams, but they continue to occur so vividly that she begins to doubt her own judgement.

Many other extraordinary experiences happen to Martha during her pregnancy with her baby boy, Adam, whose name just came to her from nowhere in particular.

From being pushed out of their burning apartment building by an invisible spirit to being totally unharmed in a car accident, the Becks' soon discover that anything is possible.

Expecting Adam is a wonderful, witty memoir that proves that whether you believe in angels or not, miracles do happen. This book will enlighten its readers, and certainly keep them intrigued with a few laughs thrown in along the way. Martha and her family's experience with Adam is a truly remarkable and emotional journey. Expecting Adam is sure to inspire everyone who reads it.

Dear John

When you fall in love, you would do anything to be there for that special someone, even if they were a hundred, a thousand, or a million miles away. Long-term relationships can work from a distance. There are lots of forms of communication: e-mail, telephone, writing. You can make time to talk every day even if you can't physically see each other. You can make it last right?

In Dear John, by Nicholas Sparks, John Tyree and Savannah Curtis have to hold on to their love by continuing their long-distance relationship.

Rebel John drops out of school to join the army, leaving behind his only family member, his quiet and reserved father. Despite the fact that John and his father are complete opposites, he still regrets leaving him alone in North Carolina. So when he returns, he's determined to try everything to form a more solid relationship with his dad.

After a long day's surf in the ocean, John spots four college kids on the dock. One of the girls is yelling for her friends to help her save her bag that was knocked into the water. John can tell that her friends don't care so much about her bag, so he decides to do his good deed for the day and save the bag. Savannah's bag.

As a reward for saving all her valuables, Savannah invites John along with her to their beach cottage. Several other college students are staying there as well, to work on their Habitat for Humanity project. John agrees and their connection is instantly made.

John and Savannah continue to spend as much time as possible together. However, Savannah works during the days on the construction site at the same time John's father is at work. As soon as Savannah is finished, John spends time with her at night, while his father is alone at home. On his break from the Army, John really wanted to become closer to his father. He was determined to make this happen. Savannah, being the pure, caring, loving person that she is, sees this when John speaks of his father. She can see that they've never really been that close, and John's father is difficult to talk to as well. So she asks John if she can meet his father. This way John can be with her and his dad at the same time. This only strengthens the bond between John and his father, and John and Savannah.

Soon, John has to return to the Army, and Savannah has to follow her peers back to school. As quickly as their adventure begins, it ends, but their love continues despite their distance. They write love letters to each other every single day, and John phones her from his base whenever he can. He doesn't have that much time left in the service. He plans to settle down with Savannah as soon as he gets out, and she wants to marry him and start a family as well, but when 9/11 comes around, John has no choice but to fight for his country.

More years pass that John and Savannah are apart, and the letters begin to come less frequently. Until the very last one..

Another brilliant novel by Nicholas Sparks, Dear John proves that not every negative thing said about long-distance relationships are true, and sometimes, opposites really do attract. This book is all about love, family, and determination. This book proves that love can stand through the toughest times, whether it be a relationship between a man and a woman, or between father and son. With love, anything is possible.

Can You Keep a Secret?

You're terrified of flying. Yet, here you are on a plane trying to advance your career. Accounting executive just isn't cutting it anymore, so you volunteered for the next available business presentation. Of course the presentation wasn't that terrible. You made a good first impression, and you think you got your company's point across, minus the fact you spilled cola all over the boss, the presentation went off all right! You try and take your mind off of work and off of the fact that you're a million miles up in the air, until the turbulence hits. You grasp the arm of the handsome businessman next to you and try to relax yourself by making small talk. Small talk that turns into dishing out all your deepest, darkest, most private secrets. When your flight finally lands and you realize what you've done, you decide it's alright. That man was a complete stranger and probably someone you will never see again, right?

This is exactly what happens to Emma Corrigan in Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella (also author of Confessions of a Shopaholic). When Emma returns to her familiar cubicle in the Panther Cola corporation, she discovers that everyone is in a hype about Jack Harper, the CEO of the company, who is visting the building. Everyone wants to impress Jack, but Emma, still recovering from her trip decides to just keep pretending to act business-like at her desk. After all, if she did try to impress him, she might slip in her shoes and stumble on top of Mr. Harper, making him spill his coffee all over his expensive suit.

As soon as Mr. Harper enters Emma's floor, she feels as though she's been struck in the chest by a thousand pounds of brick. Jack Harper, the CEO of Panther Cola, her boss, is the man from the plane!

Emma revealed all her secrets to him, including the ones about work. Like, how the coffee at work tastes awful, and the boss of her floor is a total idiot, and she feeds orange juice to her antagonizing co-worker's plant. She's getting fired.

After trying and failing to avoid Mr. Harper, she figures out that he's not going to reveal her secrets and he's not going to fire her. He's actually teasing her. He remembers every little detail of every secret she revealed to him on that flight. Even all the secrets about her boyfriend, Connor. When Mr. Harper and Emma are stuck in an elevator together, Connor is brought into the conversation. Mr. Harper actually says to Emma that Connor isn't right for her. He says they are two, totally different people. Emma is stunned by his bluntness and outraged that he could say such a thing about Connor, her handsome, sweet, boyfriend.

Soon enough, Emma comes to the realization that Jack, which he insists she call him, was in fact right about Connor when he begins to look for a home for the two of them, and Emma isn't ready for that kind of commitment. Emma decides to end the relationship, all the while thinking work will be a lot more difficult now because Connor works in the same building as her, and everyone thought they were perfect for each other.

Word of the breakup spreads like wildfire in the office, and soon everyone believes Emma to be the bad guy and Connor the victim. When Jack finds out about the split, he wastes no time in asking her out. For some reason, Emma is drawn to him and immediately says yes.

Everything about Jack is perfect..except for the fact that he's so secretive. He knows everything there is to know about her, yet she knows absolutely nothing about him. Even when she tries to find out more about him, Jack gets defensive and puts up a shield. On top of that, he keeps running off on her to work on something new and big for the company, and Connor keeps questioning her about her "new man" even though Emma and Jack's relationship is a complete secret. Jack seems to have a lot of secrets, but can he keep them all?

Can You Keep a Secret? is a great read for anyone who has a secret, which is pretty much 99.9% of the world. It's funny, riveting and very entertaining. This book will leave it's readers believing that anything can happen, even by chance and even the craziest scenario.

Love the One You're With

Have you ever had that one true love? That special person that makes you hot and cold at the same time? That relationship that intensifies with every move and leaves you floating on a cloud?

In Emily Giffin's book Love the One You're With, Ellen Graham has this exact same love...with her ex-boyfriend.

Of course Ellen is very happily married to the love of her life, and her best friend's brother, Andy. She has everything she could ever want with her new, sweet husband. They have a cute, little apartment in the grandest city in the world, and the perfect family in-laws. Andy's a lawyer, he's rich from his parent's southern inheritance, he's handsome, and has a great sense of humor. On top of that, he's a very easy person to get along with, and he's incredibly thoughtful. Everyone loves him! Why would Ellen ever want or need anything else?

But there's always that one moment whenever Ellen hears, smells, tastes, touches, or looks at something that reminds her of him. She's swept back into her powerful past relationship with Leo. It wasn't a bad relationship, but it was different than her relationship with Andy. Leo just didn't want a commitment. The relationship ended abruptly, and Ellen wasn't ready for that. With the help of Margot, Andy's sister, Ellen was finally able to move on from intense Leo.

Everything's going good for Ellen. Her photography career is blooming, and she's loving her newlywed life, until she sees him on a rainy New York City day. She slowly regains composure from her unexpected run-in and thinks it was "like seeing a ghost." After a polite, very brief chat with Leo in a cozy diner, Ellen focuses on her present life and pushes the past demons out of her head. Until. . .

She gets a phone call from Leo as she's on a double date with Andy, Margot and her husband. Leo has arranged for her to photograph the famous Drake Watters for a magazine cover. At first Ellen is ecstatic! This could do wonders for her career, but since it's Leo, she knows she has to turn it down. She couldn't risk being around him, which she knows it will happen since Leo is writing the article on Drake for the magazine. But. . . it is for her career, and she's a married woman now! What would it hurt?

Just to be on the safe side, Ellen invites her sister, Suzanne, along for the ride to California for the photo shoot. Coincidentally, Leo is staying at the same hotel as the girls. Again, Ellen has to push the memories of him away and stay physically far away from him. Ellen and Suzanne decide to stay in their hotel room to eat and drink, after quickly declining a dinner offer from Leo, and enjoy the night alone. The next morning, however, Ellen wakes up with the vivid details of her dream fresh in her mind. All the details consisted of Leo.

Love the One You're With is an excellent read for anyone who is in love, has been in love, or is just looking for a good chick book. It's all about friendship, family, marriage, love and long lost love. This book should be sure to thrill, entertain, and leave the reader in suspense for more. There are even a few laughs thrown in there along the way. This novel is really all about loving the one you're with, whoever that lucky person may be.

Mission Statement

What woman doesn't love a good book and a delectable piece of chocolate? I know I do! Anyone can generally discover what brands of chocolate her taste buds desire, but sometimes it's not as easy when it comes to books. There are so many out there that it can be hard to find books along the same genres that you prefer. Once you've had a great read, you want more, of course! Well, that's what this blog is designed for: books for woman. Not to say that men can't read these books as well, but women generally prefer them more than men. I've read lots of great books by fantastic writers, and I want to let people know how many are out there. Lots of writers write along the same genres but in different styles making each read unique and fabulous in its own way. So sit back, relax with a big bar of chocolate, and enjoy your chick-read!