Review -- A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans

A Hopeless Romantic
by Harriet Evans
Simon & Schuster, 2007
544 pages
* I bought a copy at the bookstore.

Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Laura Foster is a hopeless romantic. Her friends know it, her parents know it - even Laura acknowledges she lives either with her head in the clouds or buried in a romance novel. It's proved harmless enough, even if it hasn't delivered her a real-life dashing hero yet. But when her latest relationship ends in a disaster that costs her friendships, her job, and nearly her sanity, Laura swears off men and hopeless romantic fantasies for good. With her life in tatters around her, Laura agrees to go on vacation with her parents. After a few days of visiting craft shops and touring the stately homes of England, Laura is ready to tear her hair out. And then, while visiting grand Chartley Hall, she crosses paths with Nick, the sexy, rugged estate manager. She finds she shares more than a sense of humor with him - in fact, she starts to think she could fall for him. But is Nick all he seems? Or has Laura got it wrong again? Will she open her heart only to have it broken again?

Review: Laura Foster is annoying and yet I love her. In the beginning of the novel, Laura makes romantic mistake after mistake and her choices effect her family and friends. Once she realizes the terrible mistakes she has made and looks to put her life back together, that is when the tale really picks up speed. At 544 pages, it is a bit long, some sections drag while others race by. In the end I was happy to have read it. It was an enjoyable and entertaining read. Rating: *** out of 5.

It's Monday! What are you reading? -- 5/2

Happy Monday everyone!! Today is my last day of class for the semester. My final paper is finished. The powerpoint is all prepared. Wish me luck!

Though I haven't been blogging, I have been reading! Currently, I am about 75 pages away from finishing Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. The books are getting a lot of buzz due to the HBO series, so I needed to see what the fuss was about. This book is fantastic. If you like fantasy, heroes and heroines, but for an adult audience only, then definitely give this book a try.

Okay -- off the work and then class. Have a great day!!

Friday Finds -- 4/8

This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.

Happy Friday! This week my find is The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. Here is the publisher's description from their website:

In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.

But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth—the ultimate betrayal—that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her...

What did you find this week?

Friday Finds -- 4/1

This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.

Happy Friday! My find this week is The Sherlockian by Graham Moore. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:

In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective's next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning — crowds sported black armbands in grief — and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin. Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had "murdered" Holmes in "The Final Problem," he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found. Or has it?

When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he's about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmes-ophiles: the missing diary. But when the world's leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold - using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories - who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.

What did you find this week?