The Bride Test

This is the quintessential beach read. The plot is over the top, the characters are almost too quirky (if that's possible), and it is overall super cheesy. I clearly devoured this book in one setting. It was cute, regardless of how ridiculous the entire scenario was. I kept rooting for the characters even though it's soo predictable how it will all turn out. Khai's mother is soo worried about her autistic son never getting married that she finds a likable, honest female janitor in Vietnam and convinces er to be a mail order bride for her son. She agrees because she wants to find a better life and maybe a father for her young daughter. Khai agrees to give her a trial run and they soon find themselves in the awkward predicament of living together and getting used to each other quirks. Over the top, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Other Wes Moore

I get what this book is trying to accomplish and it is motivational, but their was something missing for me. I can't quite pinpoint what it was however. The Other Wes Moore is the story of how two young men, from the same city, with the same name, the same race, similar ages, and similar childhood led vastly different lives. One is a Rhodes Scholar and veteran while the other is serving a life sentence for murdering a cop. Wes Moore (the successful one) starts writing to the other Wes Moore in prison and soon the two are meeting and comparing lives. Wes then breaks down critical moments in their lives where their actions defined how the rest of their lives would end up. The book is about how choices determine our fates and how the little things can really add up. At the back of the book are a lot of resources on organizations that are meant to steer people on the right path and how to fix up some of their mistakes. Motivational and inspirational, but somehow still a miss for me.

Women Talking

DAYUM! This book was eye opening and painful to read. The writing was wonderful but the subject matter itself was so hard to stomach, even more so because even though this story is fictionalized, it's based off of true events. Between 2005 and 2009 hundreds of Mennonite women and children were drugged in their sleep and raped. The small Mennonite colonies thought that demons and ghosts were violating them in their sleep, when they reported it to their husbands and fathers no one believed it at first, when women started taking to each other they realized that it wasn't just them, nearly all women (regardless of age) were being attacked in the night and then waking up violated with blood and semen on their thighs and bed. The rapes continued happening until a woman caught two of the attackers sneaking into her house before they could knock her out with the Belladonna spray. The men were then arrested (for their own safety), but the woman found no solace. They were soon told that in order to get to heaven they had to forgive their attackers and allow them back into the community. Women Talking is a fictionalized account of the women meeting and trying to talk out their feelings and their best plan of action for when the men return. They decide that they have three options: stay and do nothing, stay and fight, or leave . Over the course of two days they discuss the pros and cons of each and in the process reveal their deepest, fears, concerns, and questions of faith. It's heartbreaking, empowering, and a must read. Wonderful, albeit upsetting.

We Hunt the Flame

Rich, complex, and fantastical; this young adult fantasy is filled to the brim with memorable characters, beautiful world-building (very old world Arabian), and atmosphere. Zafira has always braved the wicked forest of Arz to help feed the people in her community. Only a handful of people close to her know that she is "the hunter," the kingdom is rigidly patriarchal and would bite the hand that feeds them rather than accept that a woman disguised as a man is their savior. When Zafira is visited by a silver witch who invites her on a quest to bring back magic to the world, Zafira is torn, but ultimately decides that she has to go. Little does she realize that the people who will accompany her on this dangerous mission are more bloodthirsty and cruel then the darkness of the Arz. A little overwhelming at times with special language inserted into the dialogue and into the names of all that surrounds them, but as the reader gets further along in the story it all starts to click into place. It wouldn't be a young adult fantasy without some romance so of course we have a little of that and a LOT of action. I can't wait for the next one in the series!

Cari Mora

I had higher hopes for this. I've only been waiting half a lifetime to read something new by Thomas Harris. His Hannibal Lector trilogy is on of my all time favorite book series and as a kid I read it REPEATEDLY. His beautiful prose, fiendish villains, and strong female protagonists are still present, but the story-line and plot left a little to be desired. Cari Mora is about a young woman who fled violence in her own country only to fall back into it in the US. Cari is the caretaker for the infamous Escobar house in Miami; she's used to working with film crews and others who want to rent the space, but when a group of seedy looking men rent the house out, she quickly ascertains that they have something sinister in mind. They are looking for hidden gold, rumored to be hidden somewhere beneath the house, and they will stop at nothing to obtain it. Cari must resort to the cunning, shrewdness and survival instincts she thought she had left behind to keep from falling prey to these evil men.

Wooing Cadie McCaffrey

I really wanted to like this book, but at most I could give it a "meh." I do like to see more inspirational romance hitting the market and I think many readers may enjoy it, but it was just a little over the top for me and I didn't necessarily love either of the characters. I didn't hate them, they were just a little to underwhelming for me. Cadie McCaffrey has a great job and a great boyfriend, well great"ish." She and her boyfriend have been together for four years although the past year has been a little off. He's been working more and she thinks things are a little strained because of their "sex talk." Things reach a braking point when Will works late and misses her birthday/their anniversary that SHE COOKED and their make-up dinner a few days later goes south (of her pants!!!!).  Cadie can't handle it anymore, she wants to spend the rest of her life with him, but she is resigned to the fact that he won't ever ask her to marry him. She breaks it off and Will is shattered. He decides to watch all her favorite romcoms for inspiration and recreate some of the biggest most romantic gestures in them to win her back. Of course, nothing goes to plan and things get derailed pretty quickly. Wooing Cadie McCaffrey is a meet cute rom com with a splash of religion and a heavy dose of romantic pop culture. I didn't hate it, but I really didn't love it either.

The Lost Family

I don't know where I expected this book to end up, but it wasn't what I imagined. That being said, it wasn't a bad thing, this book took me along for a ride that was different and unique. The characters are all horribly flawed, while still being likable and sympathetic. The book opens with Peter Rashkin, a Manhattan restaurant owner who is grateful for escaping the Nazis, but also feels safest hiding in a kitchen. He lost his wife and twin daughters in a camp and to honor them he names his flourishing restaurant after his wife. For two decades he's devoted every minute of his day to the success of his restaurant, he has no time for relationships or fun. That is until he meets a charming model named June Bouquet. She's easily two years his junior and they share next to nothing in common (except for their good looks) but they strike up a romance that turns out to be what neither of them expected. June always feels she is in the shadow of Peter's dead wife, and Peter just wants the simplicity of the kitchen with an occasional spice from June. As their story progresses it expands, shrinks, aches, and longs to be fulfilled. The Lost Family is the story of a non-traditional romance with heavy baggage and the tolls it takes on those involved. I liked how the story progressed across decades, the characters were also rich and complex and it felt so real. A fulfilling tale of loves progression and recession.