The Overnight Socialite by Bridie Clark

Synopsis: Lucy Jo Ellis, from a small town in Minnesota, moved to New York with the dream of becoming a famous designer, but so far, working in a dress shop cutting out patterns, she hasn’t gotten very far. Wyatt Hayes is a Harvard-educated anthropologist from money, very old money, who just dumped his socialite girlfriend. Suddenly inspired while waiting for a taxi, he bets his friend that he can turn a girl, any girl, into a bona fide New York socialite, no matter how corn-fed she is. Lucy needs a job, so she agrees to the experiment. In a whirlwind of personal trainers, designer gowns, spa retreats, and elocution lessons, Lucy is transformed, and now she must decide which of the Lucys is really her, and if Wyatt is simply a scientist or if there is more to his story.

My thoughts: the main reason why I picked this book – besides the fact that it cost me a dollar to buy – was the huge resemblance to My Fair Lady, the Audrey Hepburn’s musical/romance/comedy movie in Technicolor, since it’s no mystery that I’m a Hepburn fan. I proved myself to be absolutely right.

                This book is about a socialite anthropologist to pick a random girl and turn her into the next “it” girl of le crème de la crème of Manhattan. Does it ring a bell? Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgings, phonetic academic, perhaps? Anyway, Wyatt – that’s the name of the anthropologist – makes a bet with his friend Trip Peters that Lucy Jo – that’s the random girl – would be perfectly ready for the grand-huge-master-super-dupper-important ball three months away and that she would fool every blue-blood in the room.

                So the games begin. As I said, this reminds every bit of My Fair Lady’s plot, except its period of time – one was around the eighteenth/nineteenth century and the other was twenty-first century – and the fact that the story brought other characters into view, such as Cornelia Rockman – Lucy Jo’s nemesis - , Eloise Carlton – Lucy’s best friend and a designer as she wanted to become one day – and others that don’t come to mind now. Those other angles were what kept me from saying this was a complete copy – although it is, most of it anyway – of the movie.

                Wyatt is a stupid little macho when the story is beginning. But after a while, when he realizes that he actually cares for the girl’s feelings, he starts to respect her and support her with what she has always wanted in her life: to be someone in the fashion industry. But it’s saddening to think that only by this path that a man can finally respect a woman’s wishes and decisions – but let us not be so gloomy. I cannot say I didn’t have my share of laughter – it is a chick-lit novel after all – but this is not enough to make into my top 10 favorite books of all times.

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OMG!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Wow! I never thought I’d have made this far!! I’m really thankfull for all of you guys who read it, visit it and everything!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!

Outlander by Diana Galbadon

Synopsis: The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

My thoughts: I’m in love. This is definitely going to my top 10 books, soooo good! I’ve always loved Scotland and the UK all in all, but now I just wish I could live there!

    This book isn’t only about romance. In its almost 800 pages you can find adventure, mystery, suspense, anger, envy, all kinds of feelings and book genres that I can possibly think, except horror (actually, thinking again, there was a part that I felt horrified). Diana Galbadon made an exquisite work in creating these characters; all of them had depth, a past, a future, no exception at all. It’s been a long time since I made so many faces during a reading, she made me hate Randall and love Jamie and worry for him as if he actually existed! Its twists made the reading so pleasant! I thought that I would finish it in four months - if not more - and yet I finished in half of it because it was so good and easygoing to read it - I would've finished sooner if it wasn't for my University. And the author isn’t done yet: no, she already wrote eight volumes, with about the same amount of pages as the first one, but why stop it, right? Sooo, she’s writing a ninth volume! Is she competing with George R. R. Martin from the Game of Thrones saga or something?? I don’t have time – nor money – to read all this! :P

     The scenario is greatly written, very detailed, letting you create the whole thing in your head. Sometimes, though, it was a little distressing to keep searching for pictures of the plants and flowers that she used in the scene – she is an ecologist, so it is expected – but it didn’t bother me that much. It was a learning – even though I don’t remember most of the flowers anymore.

      I loved Claire, but the way she is portrayed in the TV series, in some way it seemed a little bit different for me. In the book, her inner strength and strong will is shown most of the time in her attitudes, more than in her manner of speak. In the series is the opposite, but lovely just the same. It's starting to become usual to see strong women in books and I really hope that it continues to be so! We need more and more in order to show girls that damsels in distress aren't the only possible occupation for a lady! ;D

      Jamie though… he is my true love. ;) He is strong, romantic, faithful, stubborn, maddening, everything that makes him a perfect gentleman and in the same time a great scoundrel and a magnificent warrior and Scot. He is different from any character I’ve ever seen because every word he says isn’t off the place or off the beat, he seems to know what to say, when to say and how to say it in a way that will make him ever cuter! In all the reading, I never felt as if the character was “being forced to say” that sentence – I don’t know if it makes sense, I just feel it. When he was suffering I felt it in my bones as if I was watching him right in front of me and I cried and had to close the book for a while before being able to open it again - and that folks, never happened to me before, I can assure you. Even my friends, when they saw me reading it, got preoccupied that I would burst into tears.

     Randall deserves to die a very slowly and painful death that will consume him piece by piece until he is so crazy and tired that he will beg to be killed. That’s all I have to say about him.

    Dougal Mackenzie is different than what the series portray. While reading, I imagined that he would be tall, with mid-length brown hair and black eyes, and in his forties. The series made him look older, I believe.

   Angus and Rupert are the funny duo. Despite their clumsiness, they are the type of person that you can count on. Murtagh, even though he doesn’t talk much, he was, for me, one of the most loyal persons I’ve ever seen, and very protective as well. Miss Fitzgibbons is so cute and reliable I wished I had such a governess to help me every morning!

  Starz is making a wonderful job in turning this saga into a series. I could never ask for a better cast to give Claire and Jamie life.

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To everyone who got interested in the series:

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

My thoughts: I’m drop dead and with my mind blank. Seriously. I have no words to describe the novel I’ve just read. Just…

OH MY F***ING GOD, THAT WAS AWESOME!

And now I just found out that it isn’t over and that it’s going to have sequels!! I’m so happy because the ending to this book left me speechless. It’s the first time this ever happened. I can truly agree to the fact that this book became one of the best books I’ve ever read in my few years on this planet. Well-written, beautifully describing, engaging conversations and characters with strong and deep features. This was the first novel ever to give me Goosebumps and butterflies in my stomach, but not from excitement, from for disgust and fear and… ok a little bit of excitement. What can I say? I like a little bit of blood. :P

I have nothing to say about this one. The ending, as mentioned before, and all the unfolding of this novel left me in utter shock and inner conflict. Juliet is a great character: strong headed, resolute, but also timid and profound, with a lot of layers underneath it. I mean, when your father is cast out of London accused of being a lunatic and heretic, all your wealth becomes ashes, your friends desert you and your mother dies when you’re young, it’s kind of obvious that she would built such walls around herself for protection.

I’m team Montgomery, the family butler’s son, all the way through. He’s a gentleman, sweet and seductive, but without leaving his wild – since he was raised in the middle of beasts, it’s expected. He was one of my favorite characters because he had secrets that made my chin drop to the ground, but you’ll have to read to find out what.

This book was based in an classic novel and I must say, compared to Splintered (view my older posts for this review), this book is hands down better. No unnecessary parts, everything fell into place as if it always belonged there. I can’t wait to read the book that gave base to write this one, as well as all the other volumes of this one! Highly recommended for everyone who likes some mystery and adventure, with a touch of blood and gruesome, passion and suspense.

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Divergent by Veronica Roth

Synopsis: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

My thoughts: Meh. This one was a little complicated because while it didn’t catch me very much, I finished this book in three days. So, it’s kind of a dilemma here. This book reminds me so much of Hunger Games, from the time when the story happens – in a post-War U.S. where chaos is so strong and balance so delicate that only with a “tyrannical” or a righteous government will survive – to the main character – a strong willed girl – but it still had some subtle differences: comparing the first novel of both – because that’s what I’ve read so far – HG, despite the gruesome part of the deaths of the tributes, isn’t as visceral as in Divergent, because in this time she sees all the blood and loss on her party – I’m not going to tell who dies that is related to her, but it is still pretty strong.

Also in comparison, I think that Divergent is much better written than HG. I’m sorry, but this one isn’t only about what is on her head, all the abstraction. It’s still there, but not so explicit as in HG; in Divergent there was more talking, more activity and dynamic, making this one not that tiresome. It gives you some insight that aren’t only for the book, but actually for the future. For example: don’t ever settle for one thing or another; don’t let people label you, you can belong and fell belonged anywhere you want; don’t let anyone influence on your decision, but whatever you choose, face the consequences, no matter what they are.

As usual, I liked the strong girl character. I think it gives a good image to stimulate girls to be strong and face their fears. I started to enjoy this book near the end; before that It was in a bit of a slow motion, even though it had some pretty fearsome parts: like, jumping from a roof into a gigantic dark hole and maybe death.

It was predictable at some parts – like, I already knew who Four was before Tris figured that out – but all-in-all it wasn’t such a bad thing. I liked the ending and I’m looking forward to read the sequel. My only worry is that because writers discovered this gold mine, this goose of golden eggs – because, guys, these books sold like water, especially to YA readers – they won’t try to innovate it, and keep the same modus operanti as the writers from historical romances do – especially the ones who likes to write about Jane Austen’s era. Please, please, don’t do that! Don’t kill another book gender because of greed!

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and a half

The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

Synopsis: WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE 
Strange things are happening on the remote and snowbound archipelago of St. Hauda’s Land. Magical winged creatures flit around the icy bogland, albino animals hide themselves in the snow-glazed woods, and Ida Maclaird is slowly turning into glass. Ida is an outsider in these parts who has only visited the islands once before. Yet during that one fateful visit the glass transformation began to take hold, and now she has returned in search of a cure.

"The Girl with Glass Feet "is a love story to treasure, “crafted with elegance and swept by passionate magic and the yearning for connection. A rare pleasure” (Katherine Dunn, author of "Geek Love").

My thoughts: Meh. Ali Shaw gives us a romantic/fantastic novel, but there are a few (many) things that I thought were so unnecessary. For an instance, small bull-winged moths?!?! WHAT?!?! I mean, WHAT!?!?!?!

                The only thing that kept me going was the couple. Ida and Midas were really sweet, both trying to solve their shit. Their romance was so pure and simple, they gave each other support despite all things. Because of her, Midas found the strength he needed to get free from his Father’s shadow, and from him, Ida learned that maybe the more important things weren’t to base-jump or to dive in a lake, but to be together with the ones you loved, especially when you needed them most.

                Despite the fact that the Author is really gifted with describing scenarios – really, it was so detailed that astonished me – the book was a drag. I really considered not finishing at all – just to give you guys an idea.

                Also, all those chapters about their relatives and people around them – from an distant Henry Fuwa and his relation with Midas’s mother to Ida’s uncle feelings regarding her mom – for me were unnecessary. Ok, maybe one or two had a meaning because without them, a few things would be left behind without explanation, but not all of them.

                The book left a few unsolved things. For an instance, how did Ida got these “disease”? It couldn’t be like a cold, so how? And how to make it stop? Is there a cure at all? And what about those winged things? What’s the meaning? For me: NONE. The base of the whole story for me was to find a cure for her, but if you don’t know what in God’s name is it and how did you get it, how can you find a cure?

                I don’t know… this book didn’t catch me at all, and I’m kind of glad that it ended.

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Milkrun by Sarah Mlynowski

Synopsis: "Milkrun" -- a novel about drinks, dates and other distractions -- is the fun and compelling story of hyperactive 25-year-old Jackie Norris. Her luck with dating is analogous to riding the bus: intending to take the express, but finding herself on the painfully long local. In "Milkrun," we see Jackie doing the Singles Scene: going to bars, meeting men and making up her own -- hilarious! -- dating rules. Join Jackie on her mission as she deals with life's many problems...and discovers what she really wants.

My thoughts: I laughed my heart out on this one, I gotta tell you guys! Very, very funny! Every page was a different laughter. Jackie Norris is one of the most neurotic characters I’ve ever seen! If a man touched her arm by accident – there he wants to marry her and have kids and live in a beautiful country house with a dog. If another one offered her a drink – there he was going to say that he fell in love with her at first sight and was not going to lose her. I mean, come on! You’re not the hottest girl on the neighborhood, and even if you were, you don’t’ have to be so neurotic about every man! LOL That was a thing that kept me thinking for a while: she was so desperate to find a guy to be with her that she wasn’t trying to improve herself, or to love herself first. It seemed to me, after I finished the reading, that only by finding a boyfriend you’ll find true happiness, reminding me of those 50’s vision that only with a husband and kids you can call yourself a happy woman. I think that:

1)      You got to love yourself

2)      By loving yourself and being happy with it, whatever comes next – man, boyfriend, husband, kids, dog and house – is just the profit.

3)      If you love yourself first, your man will respect you enough. You don’t need his approval for anything!

                This book has a quick and different rhythm, always bringing different reactions. I can’t tell how many times I screamed and squeaked while reading it – my brother saw me and was worried with my sanity, so you can get the picture here.

                Jeremy was a douche. My Goddess, how could she get such a guy as her boyfriend? What kind of man makes a girl give up on her master’s degree?! Or makes her move to Boston with him only to tell her “well, you see, I’m going to Thailand by myself, because, you see, I’m kind of lost and need to find myself…” WHAT?! I mean WHAT?!?! Did the doctor hit your head on the wall when you were born and your insides got jumbled?!

                From all her friends, the one that I thought was different from everybody else was Wendy. She is focused on her stuff and she took a lot of pressure before breaking down.  I’ll sound self-centered now, but I think liked her the most because she reminds me. :P

                One of the guys Jackie dates was a pain in the ass, gotta tell ya. At the beginning he was cute with his e-cards he sent to her at her work, but after a while… SWEET JESUS HOW THAT WAS ANNOYING! >:(

                I didn’t like the ending. I was expecting so much from it, and then got… that. I wanted to know with whom she was going to hook up with, and it didn’t tell! But it was kind of predicted, at least for me. I already had my bets on whom she was going to get together with – and I’m not going to tell who! You’ll have to read and see for yourselves. So the ending was expected and unpleasant. I had actually thought that it might had a sequel, but to my despair there isn’t: what you see it’s what you get. And I was expecting more at the end. No more complaints regarding the insides because I had a good deal of laughs, I really only disliked the end.

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and a half