Sincerely Mayla by Virginia Smith

About the book: Kregel Publications is pleased to announce the release of SINCERELY,
MAYLA: A NOVEL by Virginia Smith. In this heartwarming sequel to JUST AS I
AM, Mayla Strong’s life is finally starting to seem normal. She has been
working at the same job for four years, living with a good friend, and
enjoying a deep relationship with God. But when Mayla is suddenly laid off
from her job, the placid surface of her life is shattered. Taking
advantage of her newfound “vacation time,” Mayla flees to her
grandmother’s house in Florida. But one by one, her problems follow . . .
literally.

My Review: I enjoyed Just As I Am, and figured I would enjoy this follow-up as well. Boy, did I! This book is an exquisite piece of Christian chick lit with snappy dialogue, a completely loveable and real heroine, and a host of alternately amusing and touching events that take place. It reminds of exactly what this genre can be and sort of makes me want to dive into a pile of chick lit for the next month. :)

Mayla is just so real. It's so easy to identify with her, she is not a fashion princess, she doesn't always say or do the right thing, but her heart is in the right place. I blew through the book and am hoping hoping that we will get a third. The ending was satisfying, but there is just so much more story that can be explored with all of the delightful and well defined characters in this book.

These are the first books I've read by Virginia Smith but they won't be the last! I already own Stuck in the Middle and plan to hunt down everything else she has written. If you love well written chick lit, I think you will love this book!

Review: Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck

Read the book synopsis here.

I'd only read one book previously by Rachel Hauck, which was Georgia on Her Mind. Both of her Nashvegas books sit in my TBR pile, but I haven't had a chance to get to them yet. I think the main reason being that while I enjoyed Georgia on Her Mind, it wasn't the kind of book that screamed at me that I must immediately read everything she'd ever written.

Sweet Caroline, I'm pleased to say, is quite the opposite. It's an absolutely lovely book from the sweet cover to the delightful cast of town characters.

Hauck does an excellent job of bringing the town of Beaufort to life, giving it rich character, and investing you in the fate of the Frogmore Cafe. Meanwhile, it was very easy for me to identify with Caroline's dilemna of worrying she wasn't living up to her potential. The love story and her conversion both felt authentic to the story as well.

I was dismayed when the book was over, and I hope we might get to revisit Caroline in the future. While this story may seem simple, it has the ring of truth and it's hard not to be moved by it.

Review: Only Uni by Camy Tang

I. Loved. This. Book.

In fact, I may venture to say it's the Christian chick lit I dreamed could exist but hadn't yet discovered.

I say this because while it is delightfully funny, it is also wonderfully deep dealing with real to life true issues. Trish Sakai is such a rich, warm, endearingly flawed, and human character that is impossible not to understand her, root for her, and long for that happily ever after for her.

I enjoyed Sushi For One? but I have to admit that it wasn't a page-turner for me. But Only Uni, I was dismayed to put down and had that dizzying rush to the end and sharp disappointment when it was over.

If you are looking for a novel with a humor, romance, love for God, and redemption, than I hope you'll pick up Only Uni!!!!!! I don't think you'll be sorry.

Sisterhood: Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane and The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Sometimes reading takes you in a cycle of different books that touch upon the same issues and that's what I found in my own recent reading. On the surface, these books are as different as night and day, a modern day chick lit novel and a fictionalized account of the lives of Mary and Anne Boleyn. However one central theme binds them together and that is the complicated nature of relationships between sisters.

In Names My Sisters Call Me, Courtney is the youngest of three sisters. All three sisters are distinctly different in personality and a feud exists between Norah and Raine which dates back to Norah's wedding. But when Courtney's boyfriend proposes, Courtney decides she wants Raine to be at her own wedding festivities. Her reunion with Raine, however, takes her on a journey to examining her own life decisions.

This was my favorite book by Crane yet. It blends the perfect amount of humor and depth. It's completely absorbing, laugh out loud funny in parts and alternately touching in others. These characters feel real which is an accomplishment in itself. If you like chick lit...can't recommend it enough!

"...'Your trouble William is that you have no ambition. You don't see in life that there is ever only one goal.'
'And what is that' William asked.
'More,...just more of anything. More of everything.'" The Other Boleyn Girl

In The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, Mary Boleyn is a young girl of Henry VIII's court who catches his eye. Her relationship with the king makes her both a valuable commodity to her family and a rival to her sister. Gregory does a pretty good job of capturing how Mary and Anne Boleyn were both fiercely loyal to each other while being dangerously competitive.

I remember learning about Anne Boleyn very briefly in history class in high school. World History covers a lot of territory, so I pretty much only remember learning she was beheaded for failing to produce a male heir to the throne. I felt a general sense of injustice and have rarely thought of her since. I was never previously interested in this period of time in history, and this is where Philippa Gregory excels. I spent something like two hours reading Tudor history this weekend. When an author can make a new world, time, or place accessible to the reader, you have a great book. That's reading at its best.

Gregory paints Anne as destructively ambitious. There is some indication that she may have been so, but I feel her death was more about the power hungry Henry VIII than anything else. I love when a book causes me to think about things in new ways, and opens up new questions in my mind and this book did all of that.

As a side note, I decided to read this book when I saw a trailer for it two weekends ago. I'm so glad I did. The movie comes out at the end of February.

Thank you, Megan Crane!

Megan Crane, aside from Sophie Kinsella, is probably my favorite chick lit author.

She has just three books out, but they've all been wonderfully funny and true to life. Plus, she blogs.

I had a very exciting moment when Megan gave away ARCs of her next book, Names My Sisters Call Me, on her blog a week ago, and she chose me among the many commenters to receive one!

It is very exciting to get a book not yet available in stores from one of your favorite authors personally signed to you!

After I have a chance to read it, I'll post an undoubtedly glowing review here.

What is the best thing you've ever "won"?

Kissing Adrien,Moon Over Tokyo, The Cubicle Next Door by Siri Mitchell

I will have read all three of Siri Mitchell's chick lit books by the end of the week. I finished Kissing Adrien late last week and Moon Over Tokyo yesterday. I am now reading the Cubicle Next Door.



I put off reading Kissing Adrien because I knew it would make me miss France. I don't know how to explain it other than this...I wanted and felt called to live in France since I was in the seventh grade. It became the defining theme of my life since then until about a year and a half ago when I realized it was probably not going to happen. That's the story in a nutshell. There are more details, but that's the short of it. It was a good book, heavy on description, a few dips into cultural understanding of faith, cultural sin, etc. And, of course, it was a nice little romance.



In a very strange world, Ms. Mitchell has lived in both France and Japan in her lifetime. (the two countries I love!) So I knew Moon Over Tokyo would probably be the same, heavy on description and make me miss Tokyo. What I found to be one of the most interesting aspects of this book was how well she captured the expatriate experience of resenting the country that's hosting you. I didn't feel that way. I loved Japan. I was fascinated with it and enjoyed it completely. But I knew a lot of people who did feel the very way her main character did about Japan.

Another interesting part of this book is that it was almost like a guidebook of what to do your first year in Tokyo. The characters went on all the famous trips, or at minimum they were mentioned. Kamakura, Nikko, Hakone, and of course the required trip to Kyoto. And other more local things like cherry blossom viewings and Tsukiji Fish Market. Other little details were also included of daily life in Japan. What was odd to me was that Allie, the main character, had lived in Japan for two years before doing any of this stuff! It took her two years in Japan to try sushi! Something else that was lacking was the complete lack of Japanese characters. There was only one Japanese character in the book, Yuka. She served the role of explaining Japanese customs and culture to Allie. The best part of Japan has to be the people. I am so thankful that I was able to make Japanese friends and that my days at work were spent with Japanese people.

I am now more than half way through The Cubicle Next Door and I think that setting is a big role in all of Ms. Mitchell's books. This one is set in Colorado and is quite significant in the plot as well.

What I think I really like about these books are the main characters. She is often likeable with strongly held beliefs. She is also often filled with fear at change and risk. I identify with that really strongly in my life right now, and it's good to read someone's journey, even if it's fiction. I also like the way Mitchell weaves description of places into the story and uses it as metaphor for the character. I think it's almost profound!

These books contain social drinking of alcohol. (how did she get away with it?) They are also at times, quite light on the God talk. I'm not sure any Scripture is quoted. But they are realistic portrayals of women today, I think, and they are worth the time invested in reading. (if you like chick lit)