Sundays at Tiffany's

Everyone has had an imaginary friend at some point in their life, right? It’s that one special person who knows all your secrets, your hopes and dreams. Your imaginary friend that only you can see and only you know exists.

In Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet, Jane Margaux grew up pretty much on her own. Her mother, Vivienne, was always busy with her Broadway theatre company in New York to pay any attention to her little Jane. But, one secret that she had from her mother was the fact that she was never truly alone. Jane always had Michael.

Michael was Jane’s imaginary friend. He was always there for her, and she could count on him for absolutely anything. Every Sunday Vivienne would take her daughter, and a friend, to the St. Regis, so she could discuss her work and watch over Jane without having to actually be with Jane.

But Michael was always there. Michael always ordered melon balls and lemon sherbet, while Jane had coffee iced cream with hot fudge and smooth whipped cream on top. That’s what they always ate together at the St. Regis while they listened to Vivienne mom rant and rave about the theatre gossip before marching off to see mammoth-sized diamonds at Tiffany’s.

When Jane’s ninth birthday comes around, she discovers that her best friend in the whole world has to leave her. Michael says that imaginary friends are only there to guide their children for a little while until they are on their way to finding their place in the world. Despite Jane’s crying and protesting, Michael has to leave, and she’s once again left alone.

Twenty-three years later, Jane is working with her mother at the production company. She’s very successful at what she does and she even has a modelesque boyfriend now. Jane had created her own play, Thank Heaven, which managed to become a smash hit and win a Tony Award.

Although Michael was no longer in her life, she had Hugh McGrath, who played the role of Michael in Thank Heaven. Jane’s play was based on her long-ago relationship with Michael. Even though she was dating the incredibly handsome Hugh McGrath, it was never the same as what she shared with her imaginary friend, once upon a time.

One day after visiting Tiffany’s, Jane decided to head to the St. Regis and order her coffee ice cream for old times’ sake. What she saw inside gave her the shock of her life. It was Michael. The one person she had been longing to see. He looked exactly the same as she remembered him. She thought it must have been her imagination.

No. It really was Michael. With shaking hands and knees, she built up her courage to go talk to him. Then as quick as that, Michael was back in her life.

They spent more and more time together, just like when Jane was a little girl, only this time she was all grown up and Michael wasn’t imaginary any more. They were both adults and they were together, free to make their own grown-up choices, including choices of love. And the more time they spent together, the more that choice of love grew inside both of them.

There was just one question Michael had to ask himself: If imaginary friends are just for children, why was he suddenly back in Jane’s life?

Sundays at Tiffany’s is a unique look at love almost through a child’s eyes. While James Patterson, the usual thriller writer, took a chance with Gabrielle Charbonnet to write a romance novel, an imaginary friend that turns into a soul mate is definitely an atypical plot. Its uniqueness makes it a great read full of friendship, hope, and the power of love.

Where the Heart Is

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a baby in a Wal-Mart store? Neither did Novalee, but that’s exactly what happened to her.

In Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts, seventeen-year-old Novalee Nation and her boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens, head off to California to find fame and fortune for themselves and their future baby. When Novalee loses her only pair of sandals through a hole in the bottom of their car, Willy Jack reluctantly pulls into a Wal-Mart so she can relieve her bladder and buy a new pair of shoes.

While Novalee did manage to find a cheap pair of rubber thongs, her change came out to $7.17. Being terrified of the unlucky number seven, she threw the change back at the cashier and ran into the parking lot to find Willy Jack. He was already long gone.

Abandoned at Wal-Mart, she runs into Sister Husband who mistakes Novalee for someone else. Although Novalee has never met Sister Husband before she was very kind to her by giving her a gift basket and an invitation to her house.

Later, she met the photographer, Moses Whitecotton, on a bench inside the Wal-Mart store. Moses gave Novalee some important advice on the value of names, and he told her to give her baby a good name. He even offered to take her baby’s pictures for free if Novalee came back in the future with her newborn.

A little after seven, Novalee met Benny Goodluck, who offered her his lucky buckeye nut for her to make a wish on. Before leaving, he gave her one of his family’s buckeye trees for free.

After a long day at Wal-Mart and meeting many new people, Novalee realized that the store would be closing soon and she had nowhere to go. Before she knew it, the customers and employees were exiting and the lights were going off. She was left completely alone in the Wal-Mart store in Sequoyah, Oklahoma.

With no other choices, Novalee just decides to actually live in Wal-Mart.

For two months, she ate Wal-Mart food, made herself a bed in the middle of the store, and hid every morning so she wouldn’t be seen by the first shift employees. It wasn’t perfect, but living in Wal-Mart actually worked well enough for her.

During her time in Sequoyah she stopped by at the local library where she met Forney Hull who gave her a book about trees. Novalee spent more time at the library with Forney and even visited Sister Husband at her house.

Novalee knew her baby was coming. She should have planned better for her child, but before she knew it, her water broke in Wal-Mart. After all those baby books she read, the time had come and she didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t handle the pain and blacked out.

When Novalee woke up, she was in the hospital with tons of people waiting to see her and her famous Wal-Mart baby. She had been saved, but by who? And now that everyone knew she had lived in Wal-Mart for two months, would she be in trouble? Where was she going to live now?

Where the Heart Is is a down-to-earth, southern comfort novel that is sure to entertain its readers. This book was featured in Oprah’s book club for its wonderful heroine and her remarkable journey. Also turned into a movie, the plot and characters are surprisingly similar. The message in the novel and the movie remain the same and both portray an unforgettable journey with Novalee Nation.

Nora Roberts

You've got to figure out the way a man's brain works, or just run away screaming.

Author Nora Roberts has been surrounded by men her whole life, and she's come to the conclusion that the best thing to do is to put herself in a man's shoes. This is why most of her books are so in-depth when it comes to the male's perspective, which is much appreciated by readers.

Nora started out as a legal secretary in Keedysville, Maryland after school and found that this career wasn't fitting her. A few years later, she had two sons and became a stay-at-home mom.

While at home, Nora experimented here and there with different hobbies and skills until she was actually forced to sit down and write. In 1979 during a February blizzard, she was trapped in her house with her sons and nothing to do. She decided to try her hand in writing.

As her whole family enjoyed reading, Nora was quite a reader herself. She knew some of the tricks of the trade. After several manuscripts and rejections, that one blizzard paid off, and her writing career was born in 1981 with Irish Thoroughbred.

Nora has written 164 New York Times bestsellers and has published about 190 full-length novels. Her books have been published in over 34 countries and more than 400 million copies of her books are floating around in print copy worldwide.

What may have been destruction to some was a blessing to Nora Roberts when she found her niche as a writer during the Chicago Blizzard of 1979. Now she has enough novels to spread out from New York to Los Angeles 18 times!

http://noraroberts.com/

Boy Meets Girl

When boy meets girl, anything’s possible. . .

In Meg Cabot’s novel Boy Meets Girl, Kate Mackenzie is introduced to the man of all men, Mitch Hertzog. Mitch is the brother of Stuart Hertzog, who is engaged to Amy Jenkins, who is Kate’s boss, who hates her guts. Mitch is also the man who gets Kate fired from her job.

It all started when Ida Lopez, the Craft Food Services dessert cart operator for the New York Journal, refused dessert to “the” Stuart Hertzog, legal counsel to the Journal.

Kate has just broken up with her boyfriend of several years and is frantically searching for a new place to live, so she can stop mooching off of her best friend and her husband. While Kate has enough problems in her social life, Amy aka the T.O.D. (Tyrannical Office Despot) has decided to put her in charge of firing Ida. The other employees at the Journal love Ida and her desserts, including Kate.

Much to her dismay, Kate does as she is told and fires Ida. While she is trying to pick up the pieces of her life and continues to ignore her stalker ex, Kate soon discovers that Ida isn’t going to leave peacefully. Ida tries to sue for breach of contract.

This is when Mitch Hertzog and Kate Mackenzie meet, as he is the lawyer representing Kate and Amy. Mitch sets up a conference to interview Kate about the whole dilemma. After the meeting, however, the game changes for Mitch. Not only does he find himself attracted to Kate, but he also finds that Kate is on Ida’s side because she never thought she should have been fired in the first place, and he completely agrees.

Stuart finds out that his brother is doing work on the case behind his back and this work happens to side in favor of Ida instead of against. Then with much deception, Kate is blamed for not completing the proper steps in Ida’s termination, and everything comes tumbling down.

Boy Meets Girl is an awesome chick lit book that’s quite a different and unique read. This novel isn’t your typical chapter-and-paragraph-formed story. Although it has the typical plot structure of other books, this plot unfolds in the form of emails, instant messages, phone conversations, and letters. With much deceitful drama, handsome men, and crazy exes, this book will entertain its readers with many laughs along the way.

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.