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!