Book Review: An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell

An Offer You Can't Refuse
***

In this book by Jill Mansell, the main character, Lola, is madly in love with her high school boyfriend, Dougie, and ready to plan a future with him. That is until his rich mother offers her a lot of money to get out of her son's life for good, as she's just not the kind of girl the woman wants her son to end up with.

Of course Lola isn't going to take the money, until she finds out that her step-father gambled an ungodly amount of money away and was now being chased by loan sharks. She is forced to take the money to save her step-father and end her relationship with Dougie.

Years later they meet up again. She wants him back and goes through borderline stalker measures to get back into his life. I loved the subplots and the supporting characters in this novel, but I really wasn't crazy about Lola or Dougie. I felt like she was a little pathetic in her attempts to win Dougie back over while he was just a snob about it. There was nothing likable about Dougie, not even at the end of the novel where, I suppose, you are supposed to like him.

I would recommend this read as something fun, but it's the subplots in my opinion that actually carry this book.

Book Review: Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Jill Mansell

Don't Want to Miss a Thing
***

This is the third novel I've read by Jill Mansell, and while it was another cute book of hers, the premise just wasn't one of my favorites. It was a story where the male lead's sister died suddenly, leaving the male lead, who was a wild bachelor, to care for his sister's infant daughter.

A cute story, but I felt like she could have done a lot more to warm it up. Perhaps if the child would have been a little bit older and had more of a part in the story than grabbing hair and saying things like "BRRRRRR" and "GAAAAHHH" the whole time. That part of it got a little old for me.

The story was pretty predictable but an enjoyable read nonetheless. It was something light and fun to read; heartwarming like the rest of her novels. Overall, I still love this author, but this is probably my least favorite of the books I've read of hers so far.

Book Review: Bully - A Fall Away Novel by Penelope Douglas

Bully - A Fall Away Novel
**

This book was probably one that the younger crowd would enjoy more than I did. It was OK, but from the beginning I couldn't buy the fact that this girl would be in love with a guy that was bullying her. I also didn't understand how the two main characters could go from being such great friends to him hating her for no real reason. He hated her so much that he made her high school years miserable. At the same time there was sexually charged energy between them, but it really just wasn't my thing.

It is a well-written book in terms of the author's writing style. The book does have good reviews on the internet so I'm lead to believe a lot of people liked it. I do think that 18-year-old me might have liked this book, but from my point of view where I'm at in my life right now, the characters were immature and the lead male didn't make much sense to me. I didn't find anything appealing about him, especially when it was explained that the reason he was so mean to her all those years was because he was trying to protect her. Protect her from what? The popular crowd of kids that he thought were a bunch of jerks and any guy that wanted to date her. Somehow that is supposed to be heroic. I just didn't get it.

Book Review: Take a Chance on Me by Jill Mansell

Take a Chance on Me
*****

I've already mentioned that I fell in love with Jill Mansell's books late last year. I just loved the way she tells her stories and how her books involve so many different people and a lot of different twists that you weren't expecting. All of her books I've read so far carry a similar theme. They are centered around a few main characters and relationships - with lovers, with family and with friends. All in all, they are good light reads.

That being said, this one is my favorite of the three I've read so far. I loved the characters and I especially like it when the main male character sounds like someone I would love to know myself, which was the case in this novel. The ending was one of the sweetest things I have ever read. I do not often go back and read books more than once, but I liked this one so much that I might just do that.

I think Jill Mansell is a really good author and keeps her books interesting. But she does carry the same types of themes in her books which can be viewed as both good and bad. Good because you know what to expect when you pick up one of her books. Bad because if you read too many all in a row, you might get bored of the same kind of book over and over again.

Still, if you are going to check her out, I suggest this book in particular. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Book Review: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

OUTLIERS

****

I first became interested in this book when my husband bought a book by Malcolm Gladwell called Tipping Point. I mentioned this to a friend and she told me a little bit about Outliers. The book is about what makes the true Outliers in the world (for example, Tiger Woods) outliers. The idea of the book intrigued me, and my friend's recommendation made me think it was worth looking into.

I tried to find an audio copy but it was ridiculously expensive so I canned the whole idea. Then one day I was browsing through books on my online Nook shop and found it for a reasonable price so I purchased it. The first few chapters were kind of interesting, but it seemed like Malcolm Gladwell was Captain Obvious. One of the first points he makes in the book is that if a student is one of the older students in class (depending on how birthdays fall) there are a lot of advantages, to include opportunities with sports. That seemed like a no-brainer but I kept reading anyway and I'm glad I did.

There are many interesting things about this book and many points I had not considered before reading about them. For example, Asians do have a mathematical advantage over us because the naming convention for their numbering system makes more sense than ours. That being the case, they are able to count higher at a younger age and the advantage continues from there.

Gladwell himself is an interesting character. I saw him recently in an interview on 60 Minutes, where he talked a little about why the underdog can actually have an advantage by being the underdog. If the underdog knows he can't beat the favorite by conventional methods, he may work to find an approach to winning that would not have otherwise been thought of, in which case, the advantage actually goes to the underdog.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a different way of looking at things and being introduced to some new concepts. It's a good non-fiction book from a perspective that you haven't already heard a hundred times before.

Book Review - Nadia Knows Best by Jill Mansell

NADIA KNOWS BEST

*****

I downloaded this book a few weeks ago for the bargain price of $1.99. The reader reviews raved on and on about the book and the author, so I hoped it would be a cute story.

I started reading it and after the first chapter or two, I got involved in a different book I was reading and finished that one first, then returned to Nadia Knows Best. At some point I fell in love with the characters. Not only does Jill Mansell have a compelling story line for all of her characters, she also keeps mystery and intrigue flowing throughout the book.

There are several different love stories within this book and something crazy going on with every character. Just as the book's moving in the direction you think it's going to go, something unpredictable happens that changes everything and keeps you turning pages. There is an undercurrent of a broken family trying to stick together through everything. There were so many layers to this book, yet at the same time, it was a fun, lighthearted read.

I was enjoying this book so much that two-thirds of the way through it, I downloaded a half-dozen more books by the same author. I had never heard of Jill Mansell before but she is a best-selling author out of Bristol in England, and she has sold more than 7 million copies of her books.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a lighthearted read with lovable characters and something more than the boy meets girl and they live happily ever after story.

I Could Have Missed the Pain...But I'd Have Had to Miss the Dance

I could’ve missed the pain…but I’d have had to miss the dance.

There are so many things I could say, so many memories, so many songs that have new meaning. This week, my family lost a beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, uncle and friend. It has been the worst week of my life. Normally I can find a way to be OK with things like this, but I couldn’t pull it together this week. My feelings for my uncle were one thing to deal with, but they weren’t the only thing. There was also the family that was close to him – my aunt and my cousins – that I couldn’t stop grieving for. By the time everything was over, all the tears, all the hurt, all the shock, all the despair, the words to this song rang truer than they ever have for me before. I could have missed the pain…but I wouldn’t have given up the dance for anything.

My uncle was a unique individual to say the least. I never remember a time when he wasn’t in my life. When my sister and I were little, I remember him and my aunt coming to visit often and I remember how much he would play with us. The thing that strikes me so much about it now is that he wasn’t even a blood relative, but I knew he loved us so much and I knew that being around us was one of his favorite things.

Through the years as we were growing up, I remember generosity beyond measure. There were little things – like when I was a kid and I was at his house one day and he handed me a bag and told me he couldn’t get it open, so I opened it for him and inside was a coveted vinyl Michael Jackson album that put a grin on my face that didn’t fade for a week. Then there were the big things like when he and my aunt opened up their house to me and my sister for an entire year during college. I realize now what a huge imposition many people would consider something like that, but I don’t believe either one of them thought twice about it.

When I think about my uncle, there are a few things about him that really stand out to me: He was always happy, always smiling, always up for a good time or a good joke. He never wanted to antagonize anyone or focus on negative things. He wanted good for everyone, and if he could make another person’s “good” a little better, he would do it. One of the things my aunt said today was that she heard so many stories of things he did for people that she never even knew about. She said he just did it and didn’t talk about it. If I could put my finger on one thing that made my uncle such a great person, this would probably be it.

But really, he was so much more than that. He was a man who truly cared about the people he loved and he lived his life in a way we could all learn from. The man enjoyed the moment, enjoyed the day, and enjoyed the company he was with. He did things that made him happy. He raised two wonderful girls with my aunt, and he had a huge extended family of people who loved him.

We all lost a little part of our hearts this week. I wouldn’t want it any other way, though.

I want to remember him for everything he was to me and my family. I want everyone reading this to know what a good person he was and how much he is loved and will be missed.

I love you, Uncle Jim. And I wouldn’t trade anything for that dance.