New Uses for Old Boyfriends by Beth Kendrick

You start with a main character you will probably hate.  That's the bad news.  The good news?  Change is coming.

I don't always like start over stories.  I don't always like cutesy romances.  But something about the direction this author went in really won me over.  I liked the eccentric mother.  I liked the cute ex-boyfriends who kept popping up when the girl returned to her home town.  I liked the lessons she learned.  More importantly, I like who she ended up as.

Fast read.  Give this one a go.  I'd give her 3 1/2 smiles, but 1/2 smiles aren't really my thing.
3 smiles.

Sick by Tom Leveen

"What exactly would constitute an emergency at this point, and who the hell would we call anyway?"

Let's start with some admissions.  First, I hate zombie books.  Last time I remember trying to give one a chance, I ended up trashing the poor author with my review because the book was terrible.  Secondly, I was torn between wanting to love this author (because I've met him and I actually do think he's great) and wanting to hate him (because, you know, jealousy).  Alright here we go...

This book was so fast paced it caught me off guard.  I picked it up thinking I had a little time to read one chapter...and read the first half of the book, schedule be damned.  I have been taking longer to read a book lately, but this one was done in a day.  You just have to keep flipping pages.

The content will not really surprise you, since you have to see the cover art to read it.  But there are differences between what you are expecting and what you get.  There are places that make you think and the characters are smart and lovable.  I liked this way more than I was expecting.

Mr. Leveen is destined for greatness if he keeps writing like this.  Get this one, you won't regret it!

5 smiles

Accused by Lisa Scottoline

I like Lisa Scottoline's writing.  I like the way she crafts her stories, with twists and turns that keep you guessing.

That being said, I had a few problems with this one.  It's a slow start, I struggled to wade through the beginning before I got to something that kept me turning pages.

I didn't really fall in love with our main character either.  It's not really Scottoline's fault that I had issues with Mary.  As a character, she's pretty good.  The problem is I'm getting a bit tired of the female lead being the same in every book.  It's like people finally decided to have women be in powerful roles, and then promptly decided that made us all the same.  There were things about Mary that are different, sure, but it felt like those were downplayed.  All working women do not always ignore good advice and chase ideals that make us basically ignore people who love us.

I also felt like the Italian family was a bit stereotyped.  I know some of those things are accurate, but again maybe try to play up their differences instead of the cliche.

I'd say 2 smiles.  I'll give her a wink as well.  Although the ending was easy to figure out there were a few twists that surprised me.

If you aren't tired of that work driven female lead and you aren't bothered by the Italian stereotype, give this one a go.  Actually give this one a go anyway and let me know if you agreed.