Waiting on Wednesday ( or Molly )

It's Molly Ringwald.

Need I say more?

Due out from Harper Collins April 27!

From the publisher's website:

From the endearing and witty star of the beloved John Hughes “brat pack” classics Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink, Molly Ringwald defined teenage angst, love, and heartbreak. Now a wife and mother of three, and a star on the current hit television drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Molly is facing a new angst-inducing time in her life—her fortieth birthday! Encouraging every woman to become “the sexiest, funniest, smartest, well dressed, and most confident woman that you can be,” Molly shares a lifetime of experience in a vibrant, fun, stylish, and sexy collection of intimate stories and candid advice: Getting the Pretty Back, a fully illustrated “girlfriend’s guide” to life.

Book Description

The iconic Molly Ringwald shares intimate stories and candid advice in this fun, stylish, and sexy girlfriend's guide to life

To her millions of fans, Molly Ringwald will forever be sixteen. As the endearing and witty star of the beloved John Hughes classics Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink, Molly defined teenage angst, love, and heartbreak. While remembered eternally as the enviable high school princess Claire, or the shy, vulnerable Samantha, Molly has just celebrated her fortieth birthday. Facing a completely new, angst-inducing time in her life, she is embracing being a woman, wife, mother of three, actress, and best friend with her trademark style, candor, and humor.

In Getting the Pretty Back, Molly encourages every woman to become "the sexiest, funniest, smartest, best-dressed, and most confident woman that you can be." She shares personal anecdotes and entertaining insights about the struggle to get through the murky milestones and identity issues that crop up long after the prom ends. Whether she's discussing sex and beauty, personal style, travel and entertaining, motherhood, or friendship, Molly embodies the spirit of being fabulous at every age, and reminds us all that prettiness is a state of mind: it's "the part of you that knows what you really want, that takes risks."

Lavishly illustrated by Ruben Toledo, Getting the Pretty Back is sure to charm women of all ages with Molly's unforgettably personal, refreshingly outspoken take on life, love, and, of course, finding that perfect red lipstick. . . .

Happy Reading!

red headed book child

Review #61: Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman

Title: Arcadia Falls

Author: Carol Goodman

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Genre: Fiction

ISBN: 978-0-345-49753-6

Format: Own copy

Price/Pages: $25.00/355

Out in stores now

My Review and Description:

This book came my way as a gift from my friend, Cheryl. She now lives in Atlanta and has been busy going to many author events. This one came to me autographed! I had my eye on this one when I saw it on a new release table at the bookstore I work at. I have read two other Carol Goodman books; The Lake of Dead Languages and The Seduction of Water. The Lake of Dead Languages was pretty darn good and The Seduction of Water was so-so.

Her books always have such rich descriptions that you can't help but jump on them. Most of them involve some sort of academia; boarding schools, colleges, etc and educated women. Arcadia Falls fit that bill.

Meg is a recently widowed woman and mother of a teenage daughter, Sally. Having been out of the workforce for some time, Meg accepts a teaching position in upstate New York. Arcadia Falls is tucked away from any hustle or bustle of the city. It's dark, heavily wooded and mysterious. Meg and Sally move in to the run down cottage that used to belong to the founding ladies of the school; Vera and Lily.

Arcadia is a home for gifted, promising art students. It is a place that prides itself on collaboration and expression. Run by Dean Ivy St. Claire (once an assistant to Vera), it still holds a mesmerizing quality over all its guests and students.

Meg is a teacher of folklore and her fascination with the secrets and history of Arcadia and of Vera and Lily propel her into a whirlwind of mystery. When a student falls into the gorge and dies, Meg is quickly swept up in the true darkness of Arcadia. Vulnerable and curious, Meg seeks help from the town sheriff and her fellow teachers. Who can she really trust? How can she keep her own daughter safe?

The plot of this book was quite involved. Told in two parts, I liked how it all came together. Meg's story was first and foremost but upon finding Lily's journal, you then get pieces her story and the background of Arcadia school. What was the relationship between Lily and Vera? What caused Lily's mysterious death at the same gorge? How much does Dean St. Claire know?

Goodman's writing, in my opinion, has improved. She could be compared to Joyce Carol Oates but lacks a bit of fine tuning. I had no real issues with this one. I enjoyed it. It surprised me, it kept me intrigued. The ending, though a bit complicated, shocked me and I liked that. I enjoyed Meg and her inquisitive, yet respectful nature.

I would say this was a ghost story but not overly done. It wasn't trying to spook me but she set the mood quite well with the descriptions of the campus, the woods, the cliffs and the cottage. The actual town of Arcadia Falls though near this lush school, was left somewhat abandoned and run down. You start to get the feeling of how imposing the school really was on everything and everyone.

Cheryl said that once I started it, I would not be able to put it down and she was right. When I did set it down for a bit, the story stuck in my head and I itched to get back to it. I always like when a book makes me feel like that.

Rating: 5 stars/ 6 stars

I highly recommend this one. If you are in the mood for a mystery, a ghost story, a love story or even a historical account of the arts, this is for you. It has a little bit of everything. When I closed the last page, I was satisfied. If you have not read her before, I think this would be a good one to start. The older ones I read are some of her firsts and like I said, her writing has gotten better.

Author's website:

Carol Goodman

Happy Reading and thanks again for stopping by!

red headed book child

ISBN: 978-0-345-49753-6

The Library

The Library by Sarah Stewart

ISBN: 0-374-44394-7

Farrar Straus Giroux

With my recent good fortune in acquiring a library job and my recent guest spot on A Novel Source's Sunday Serenade, I've been thinking all about ME lately. (how is this different then any other day?!)

What motivates me, what inspires me, where I came from, where I'm going, yada yada.

Don't worry, I'm not going to get all Dr.Phil on you all.

One of the questions I answered in the Sunday Serenade was Is there a favorite book that you re-read? I initially answered No because, in all honestly, I don't go back and read my favorite novels. But I do re-read a lot of children's picture books. For some reason, in my weird brain, I just didn't think that counted. I read five books with my son every night and we re-read some of my favorites.

One of my favorites is The Library by Sarah Stewart.

This magical little story is about a skinny, red haired girl who falls from the sky. She spends every moment reading; under the covers, while she's walking, at school, doing chores, etc. etc. She grows up and instead of going on dates, she reads. She gets lost one day and buys an old house and fills it with books. She reads on her head, she reads even while cleaning the house, bumping into walls. One day she realizes she can not fit one more book in her house, so she donates all of them to the town. The town library is then created!

This book has such a sweet spot in my heart and I've been thinking of it fondly because of how important libraries are and were to me. So if you have not seen this book or any book by Sarah Stewart, please check her out. Her books are illustrated by her husband David Small.

Some of my favorite lines:

" Elizabeth Brown

Entered the world

Dropping straight down from the sky.

Elizabeth Brown

Entered the world

Skinny, nearsighted, and shy.

She didn't like to play with dolls.

She didn't like to skate.

She learned to read quite early

And at an incredible rate."

"She manufactured library cards

And checked out books to friends,

Then shocked them with her midnight raids

To collect the books again."

"She read about Greek goddesses

While vacuuming the floor.

Attending only to her book,

She'd walk into a door."

"She didn't want a bicycle,

She didn't want silk bows.

She went straight to the courthouse-

"May I have one of those?"

"The form was for donations.

She quickly wrote this line:

I, E.Brown, give to the town

All that was ever mine."

(Sigh) I just love it so.

As much as I support the continuation of bookstores, I will always find peace at libraries and rally for their success as well.

Go to this website and read about Sarah Stewart and read about her stories and love for reading and writing.

www.pippinproperties.com/authill/stewart

Happy Reading to you all, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Check me out!

Hi all!

Stacy at A Novel Source featured me on her Sunday Serenade!

If you want to get the dirt on me, head on over!

Happy reading!

red headed book child

Review #60: Cooking up Murder by Miranda Bliss

Title: Cooking up Murder

Author: Miranda Bliss

Series: Cooking Class Mystery #1

Publisher: Berkley Signet Crime

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Format: Own copy

ISBN: 0-425-21291-2

Price/Pages: $6.99/233

Challenges: 2010 Cozy Mystery Challenge

My Review and Description:

I discovered this series from just good old fashioned cover love. I was shelving away at my part-time bookstore job and this one was on my cart. I am such a sucker for cozy mysteries that I easily fall in love with the silly themes and titles they have, whether they are food, animal, or holiday related.

Cooking up Murder is a really quirky, fun, simple cozy. Eve and Annie are two best friends who can't cook to save their lives. Why do they decide to take a gourmet cooking class? Call it a quick decision made on the heals of good ol' heartbreak. Annie's husband left her for a new tartlet and she is left with zilch for self esteem. Her boisterous, bubbly, beautiful blonde best friend, Eve, pushes her into moving on with her life.

So they find themselves at Tres Bonne Cuisine Cooking School with a scrumptious instructor that comes fully loaded with a Scottish accent. They figure they'll learn how to bake a potato, maybe toss a salad or two. They didn't expect to find murder! One that involves some scary international gun smugglers!

Like most cozy mysteries, you find a character or two who are ordinary folks who get stuck in quite extraordinary circumstances; like tripping over dead bodies, walking in on murders, etc. Even though most of the situations make me laugh a little, I still love reading them. Probably because I am such a crime show nut, that I imagine myself to be an amateur sleuth.

Oh who am I kidding? If I found a dead body, I would be scared shitless. (pardon my language!) I just like watching it on Law and Order.

Rating: 3 stars/ 6 stars

Cooking up Murder is not anything exceptional but it was fun. With cozies, I have to like to characters and the location to really get into it. The crime itself doesn't really matter. Annie and Eve are pretty normal gals with normal jobs, completely relatable and fun. The location is the Arlington, VA/Washington DC area which is really fun to read about.

I would recommend this one for fans of cozies. No real complaints here!

Challenge: This is the first book I read for the 2010 Cozy Mystery Challenge.

Happy reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

We have a winner on this rainy morning!

Good Morning Everyone! It's a rainy morning here in Minnesota. A perfect day to stay home and read.

We have a winner of Eat Nap Play! Congratulations to Jacki at

The Raven's Spell.

Thank you to all for entering and stopping by!

Happy reading!

red headed book child

Review # 59: An Earl to Enchant by Amelia Gray

Title: An Earl to Enchant

Author: Amelia Grey

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Genre: Historical Romance

Series: The Rogues' Dynasty

Format: Review copy from Publisher

ISBN: 978-1-4022-1761-6

Price/Pages: $7.99/352

Release Date: April 2010

My Review and Description:

Though I have said before I have figured out I am not a huge fan of historical romances, this one definitely caught me by surprise. On the cover of the book there is a quote "Witty Dialogue and Clever Schemes...Grey's characters will charm readers".

That says it pretty clearly. The plot is seemingly similar to other romance novels. Strong willed woman vs. an equally stubborn strong willed man, tensions arise and love is the result.

Lord Morgandale is the man in question. He is a known bachelor, preferring the company of women for really only one reason. He has no interest in marriage.

Arianna Sweet is a independent educated woman who finds herself on his doorstep one stormy night in search of Morgan's grandmother. Turns out her father is distantly related to a former husband of Morgan's grandmother.

Expecting his mistress, Morgan's reaction to Arianna is confusing and unsettling. Arianna brings a mystery along with her, in needing the help of Morgan's grandmother. With the news of her death, Arianna is left trying to figure out her next step. Her father was a scientist and something very precious was stolen from him. Arianna is trying to get it back and fulfill her father's work.

What I liked about this book was the dynamic between Morgan and Arianna. Morgan, though stubborn, wasn't a jerk and his developing feelings towards Arianna were really quite sweet and honest. Arianna, though independent, wasn't a bitch. She was direct and down to earth. Witty and charming indeed! And, well, their love scenes were pretty darn fun to read too!

The plot line with her father and his work threw a different twist in as well. It brought a bit of mystery along with the romance, something I found refreshing. It was nice to not just have a typical cat and mouse game between an unavailable woman and an aggressive man.

Thank you to Danielle at Sourcebooks for providing me a copy to read and review. I so enjoy my romance adventures in reading. I feel my eyes open even further to the massive genre that is Romance.

Rating: 4 stars/ 6 stars

For fans of a good romantic story with a little suspenseful twist, I would recommend this book. There are two previous books in this series; A Duke to Die For and A Marquis to Marry.

Authors' Website: Amelia Grey

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child