Penned Perspective

Maybe Someday is a contemporary romance written by Colleen Hoover and tells the story of Sydney and Ridge. Sydney is a 20  something  woman who did all the right things, she has a steady job, a longtime boyfriend and is rooming with her best friend. Though she is interested in the coming and goings of her neighbor Ridge, she is a typical good girl. Her life is thrown off track when she discovers that her boyfriend and best friend have been hooking up behind her back thanks to Ridge's observations.

Good Impressions

I liked Ridge and Sydney together. Most of their relationship is built on desire and frustration, These are two people who want desperately to do the right thing by each other and the other people in their circle.  After meeting Sydney, Ridge struggles whether to admit to her that he's witnessed the affair between her boyfriend and best friend. Once he tells her, she moves in with him after punching the for mentioned people and they struggle with a strong attraction.

I liked that their connection is fairly easy. Nothing feels forced and they don't end up in bed after one drunken night. This story takes is time developing their relationship so that it feels natural. Despite the fact Ridge is in a committed relationship to Maggie you really feel as though he loves them both just differently.

Not so Good Impressions

The secondary story line with Bridget and Warren was not as endearing as Sydney and Ridge's. I understood the awkwardness of their relationship initially but found that it wasn't as interesting or engaging as Sydney and Ridge's. They hooked up because it was convenient by found they had genuine feelings for each other later. I don't fault that type of relationship but find it paled in comparison to the "epic" desire between the main characters.

Also there is no epilogue!!! What happens to these couples? What happens to Tori and Hunter (Sydney's ex)? Does Sydney ever speak to either again especially now that she's over their betrayal?

My Verdict: 4 Stars




There wasn't much to dislike about this one. It was romantic and well written. I personally don't care for lyrics to be written in the story but found even I enjoyed their prose. I'm sure that I will be adding Colleen Hoover to my "to read" authors.

Grey ( Fifty Shades of Grey as told by Christian) by E J James tells the the extremely popular story of the romance (sexual relationship) between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. Christian is a millionaire entrepreneur who is entranced by Ana after she interviews him for her college newspaper. Christian seduces virginal Ana and introduces her to the world of S&M and Bondage culminating in her awakening.

Honestly after reading the original version Fifty Shades of Grey, I still found the story interesting even in this new version. This version just re tells the same events only this time from Christian's perspective. Readers who fell in love with the premise like myself were able to revisit some of our favorite scenes from the story, like Ana and Christian's first meeting.

I particularly liked to be invited into Christian's memories of his childhood. It was heartbreaking to read about how hungry he always was in the care of a junkie mother and her abusive boyfriend. The author also took us with Christian into his early days with his adoptive parents.  I understood some of his issues with food better which was one of the things that I didn't like much in the original version. I hated the way he always seemed so obsessive about feeding Ana but the reader was treated to another more vulnerable side of the control freak we've all grown to love.

This book's focus on Christian brought up some other things I really didn't like in the original version. Christian's interest in Ana seemed more like an obsession than someone falling in love. This was downplayed in the original but through Christian's eyes I felt more uncomfortable for Ana. When he shows up at her house after she sends the initial goodbye message, I felt compelled to call the authorities for her.

Also Christian felt less charming and overbearingly controlling. As the story progressed I didn't feel the same interest or attraction to the character. I was almost relieved when it was over and felt that I probably should have skipped this book.

My Rating:

I really enjoyed the first book but after spending more time with Christian my interest in the series has changed quite a bit. I read the trilogy and really liked the characters but this is probably because as a reader I only read Ana's POV. Christian's POV troubles me and I hope that this was a one time thing for the author.

Review:  Strings Attached by Judy Blundell 

Strings Attached is the "coming of age" story of Kit Corrigan, a seventeen year old aspiring star who moves to the big city, New York for the opportunity to make it big. The story takes the reader on a flashback filled journey through Kit's triumphs and failures while she continues to fight for her dream.


The story wasn't bad. Listening was hard early one especially because I was listening to an audio book. But eventually I was able to distinguish between the characters and their roles in relation to Kit. I did  enjoy learning about Kit's childhood and how her father became a widower forced to care for triplets. Kit's relationships with her family made sense based on their experiences and I also enjoyed the mob element of the story.

I liked the author's vision of the glamour of New York. She picks a great background in which to base the story and describes it beautifully. I also loved the ending, it was a great fit to the story.


I  detested Billy! OMG was he was the worst love interest ever in this story. There is nothing that makes you want to root for  Kit and Billy together. Billy has a serious temper and Kit is so naive!  She keeps finding herself on the outs with Billy because of her mistakes. I was  over the back and forth and was relieved when they split for good. Nate, Billy's father is even worse! There isn't any redemption for Billy either as readers learn something about Billy that makes you like him even less. 

I also didn't like that the flow of the book was disrupted by all of the flashbacks. Several times I had to rewind the audio book to remember what year I was in. Something interesting or dramatic would happen in the 1950's and then suddenly we have gone back 13 years. 

Kit also likes to feel sorry for herself. She is not a strong heroine or even a tolerable one.


The Verdict:

Because I enjoyed the ending, I can say that this book wasn't with redemption. Again, I really didn't like Kit and found that I didn't care about her love story. But I was sad that there was no epilogue to find out if she did indeed become the big star she thought that she would. She certainly deserved it after all the traumatic things she experienced over the course of the story.

Review of Delicious by Susan Mallery



This book begins the four book saga of the Buchanans, a wealthy family who made their fortune in the restaurant industry, and their search for love. Delicious features the story of Cal and Penny, ex-spouses who find themselves pushed together for the sake of the Buchanan's family restaurant.

The Good:

The writing is excellent. This is my first Susan Mallery book and I can definitely see why she's popular. The story had a natural flow with enough comedy and sweetness to get you through the typical push and pull of a romance. Cal and Penny's relationship had just enough of everything. There were some funny parts and they balanced well with sad beats as well as the span of their love story. I really enjoyed the secondary characters like Walker, Reid, Dani, but especially Naomi. Naomi was a nice balance to Penny's independent but often cautious nature. I enjoyed Cal's brothers' relationships with Penny and Penny's friendships with about all of the other characters.

The Not So Good:

I liked the secondary characters more than Cal by far.  I didn't get the reasoning behind their original break up. The story about Cal's mystery child, Penny's miscarriage, and that mysterious' child's cancer battle was a bit too heavy.  And when you add in Gloria, Cal's overly domineering Grandmother, it was just too much.  Cal didn't seem like a very heroic or even likable character.

The Verdict:



Overall I liked the story (just not Cal as much) and am interested in finding out about the love stories for the rest of the Buchanans. It was a sweet start for the series.