Hotel Nantucket

July 5, 2023

Hospitality, ghosts and relationships are the 3 things that came to my mind after reading “The Hotel Nantucket” written by Elin Hilderbrand. What happens when a group of complete strangers come together to work at this renovated but yet a haunted Hotel Nantucket.

Xavier is an investor who bought the abandon hotel with quite a haunted reputation, with the mission of having it become the first hotel that the famous hotel reviewer gives five keys to.

Along with Lizabeth who he hires as the new hotels General Manager, she hires a whole cast of characters to run the hotel alongside her.

But when the hotel has had a history of being haunted it takes a while for people to book rooms.

A common compliant is when there are too many characters to follow. I would say that if it is done right, it can turnout fantastic. However, I believe this book might have had one too many characters. I understand the point was to show how many people it takes to run a hotel, but when you also try to give everyone a backstory as well, it just becomes a little overwhelming and hard to follow.

One character’s story I could have probably live without was Lizabeth herself. Yes, she is the main character and the General Manager of the hotel, and she is trying to rebuild her live after a rough breakup. But I just felt that as though she had no personality, no charisma.

On the other hand, Grace was a character that I loved. She was a part of the original history of the hotel, and she now gets to see it renovated and brought back to life. I love how she also sends little signals to the guests as well.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I thought it could be dry at times and just not that impactful. It lacks things but gave too much at the same time.

P.S. It does make me want to go to Nantucket and stay at the hotel this story was based on. So, I guess it did its intended job.

BearTown

June 14, 2023

Small town, hockey and the truth are three words that come to my mind after reading “BearTown” by Fredrik Backman. When the truth comes about a terrible incident the small hockey town will never be the same.

BearTown has always lived and breath hockey. It is the type of town that treats their athletes as stars around town. They can do no wrong.  It is also time for the team to really buckle down and win the Simi-finals. However, when a terrible incident occurs at a party, leave Maya absolutely devasted, she is left picking up the pieces and the burn of deciding to tell the truth or hold the truth to protect the only thing the town has ever known. And when the truth finally does come out, who will people believe? Will Maya finally be able to begin the healing process or will the burn just be too much for her?

This story is a story of consent, truth, and strength. A story that brings a very necessary storyline to light. The power that society and especially a small town gives their athletes can lead to devasting results one way or another. The truth is no one is above law no matter if you can make basket, shoot a goal, run for a touchdown, or even led a country. The truth is if we all care for each other, listen to one another, and respect one another, there just might be just little less hurt in this world.

Fredrik Backman’s way of storytelling is one of my favorites. He has a way of bringing his characters to life in such a way that the reader really gets invested into their lives and story. His books are full of emotion, depth and will always have an important message hidden inside. They have always left an impact on me, and I hope they will leave an impact on you.

The Dating Plan

April 24, 2023

Love, family drama and fake relationships are the three things that came to my mind after reading “The Dating Plan” written by Sara Desai. When old flames reunited unexpectedly and start to fake dating, what could possibly go wrong?

Daisy Patel and Liam Murphy are old high school flames, whose relationship ended after Liam never showed up to take Daisy to her senior prom and left town for good.

Now ten years later Daisy and Liam unexpectedly run into each other at a tech conference and to fix their own individual family situations they hatch a plan to start fake dating. However, when the old feelings for each other come flooding back but the truth of that last night is revealed. What will happen to these once high school lovers, turned heartbreakers and now fake fiancés?

Let me first start out by saying I love the fake relationship tropes. They sometimes are corny and predictable. But with Sara Desai adding in these characters families, back stories and reasons behind the fake relationships, it really laid out the high stakes out this relationship was for Liam and Daisy.

Overall, I really enjoyed and appreciated all the little things and big things this book had to offer.

The Nightingale

April 17, 2023

Survival, War and Love are three words that comes to my mind after reading “The Nightingale” written by Kristin Hannah. When two sisters are living in the same war but react in two different ways, will their sisterly bond uphold and how will they come out on the other side.

The Germans have invaded France and Isabella and Vianne Mauriac are faced with having two different perspectives on the war. While Vianne wanted to watch the war run its course and just survive with her family, Isabella wanted to fight and join the resistance of the war.

The truth is I have never been able to fully appreciate and take in a book about WW2 because of the all the war talk. However, “The Nightingale” and Kristin Hannah’s ability to tell a story about the women of war is quite special. Both Isabella and Vianna were characters that I was able to root for through out the whole book. Their growth throughout the story was my favorite part.

I would recommend “The Nightingale” to anyone who is looking for a war focus with women empowerment story that will keep you captivated and the turning the pages to the every end.

Someone Else’s Shoes

March 1, 2023

Friendships, Unexpected situations and relationships are the three things that come to my mind after reading “Someone Else’s Shoes” written by Jojo Moyes, when a mistake has taken place leads to unexpected journey and friendships.

Nisha was facing getting kicked out of her penthouse and an unexpected divorce that will resort to her being completely broke and stranded with no place to live. Sam is facing getting fired from her job and dealing with a husband who is depressed. When a slight mix-up with gym bag, results with these two lives colliding and taking them on a journey they soon won’t forget.

Jojo Moyes did a great job with the storyline of both women and the ups and downs of their individual journeys. I also appreciate the character growth and relationship building throughout this story. And how two women from two different lives can come together for a common goal with a blossoming friendship.

Husband Material

February 24, 2023

Love, Weddings and Commitment are three words that come to my mind after reading “Husband Material” written by Alexis Hall, a conclusion to the Boyfriend Material Series.

With several weddings to attend in short amount of time, one Luc’s best friend and another Luc’s ex boyfriend’s, it has left Luc and Oliver thinking about their future together as a couple. And that brings up whether they are both willing to commit to marriage or just being together as a couple.

If I am being honest, I enjoyed “Boyfriend Material” more than “Husband Material” I felt has if it was a bit too long for what needed to be done. There were some parts that were reparative and unnecessary, but it was still a sweet ending to a love story I have been committed to.

Boyfriend Material

February 6, 2023

Luc is stuck in a bit of a bind when his dead-beat, washed up rockstar starts to make his comeback Luc is stuck being chased and caught up by paparazzi everywhere he goes, and they paint them in the worse of light. And with the most important fundraiser coming up at work, his boss forces him to clean up his act. This translates into a scheme of getting a fake boyfriend.

Now Oliver who is also in need of a fake-boyfriend for an up-coming family event agrees to go in on this scheme with Luc. But happens when these to enemies – fake boyfriends start to actually spend time with each other and get to know each other? And what happens when real families and emotions start to get involved?

Alexis Halls does a beautiful job with the sarcastic and hilarious banter between Luc and Oliver and when real life gets in the middle of this fake-relationship it is most definitely a page-turner of a comic and heartwarming romance.

Big Little Lies

January 30, 2023

Lies, Secrets and Drama are the three words that came to my mind after reading “Big Little Lies” written by Liane Moriarty. A captivating story of Desperate Housewives meets a murder-mystery thriller.

When Jane moves to Sydney Northern Beaches and enrolls her young son Ziggy into a private school there, she soon finds herself in the middle of all of the drama and secrets of the school moms. All the while maybe holding onto the biggest secret of all to herself. And when the school fundraiser threatens to expose her secret, not every comes out alive.

Liane Moriarty is my new favorite for drama and thrillers. She does a great job creating characters that you As a big fan of Desperate Housewives type of show, Big Little Lies and Liane Moriarty does not disappoint.

Spare

January 27, 2023

Trails and tribulations and family are the three words that come to my mind after reading “Spare” written by Prince Harry. A story about a Prince and his not so royal life.

Growing up you dream about being a part of the Royal Family and being a Prince or Princess and let me tell you after reading this, that dream as been dashed and is the last thing I wan to do.

Prince Harry takes the reader through his life story starting with stories of his childhood, especially the moment that his father told him about the death of his mother Princess Diana, and through his school years, going to war and of course his life afterwards.

My biggest take away from Spare is Prince Harry talking about his relationship with his father and brother Prince William. Describing the grieving and coping process of his mother and lastly his relationship with Meghan. And of course the relationship with the media throughout his life.

Starting with King Charles and his lack of affection towards his sons. King Charles was more of a boss than a fatherly figure in the boy’s lives. Especially has the boys grew into adulthood. And Prince William only became a brother to Harry when it was convenient for Prince William to be a brother to Prince Harry. Other than those times he didn’t really want anything to do with Prince Harry. I believe that Prince William saw Prince Harry as a threat at times growing up.

Prince Harry’s relationship with the media really started from the time he was born. They captured him his mothers arms outside the hospital days after he born. And the cameras haven’t left his side since. Even causing the tragic death of his mother. and capturing a little boy grieving and following into adulthood and capturing every missteps along the way. Prince Harry had a troublesome relationship with the media before his relationship with Meghan and it only seem to elevate into a whole new level once the relationship took off.

Prince Harry never asked to be born into the Royal family. He wanted the life his mother had dreamed of. Once he saw history repeating itself with his wife Meghan and the media, he knew that he needed to get his family out of harms way. He wants to see his children to grow up with their mother. A luxury that he wasn’t awarded due to the cruelty of the media.

The last and biggest thing that I took away Prince William his a mini Kings Charles and Prince Harry is definently his mother child. Therefore I would take the Spare over the Heir any day.

Illuminae

January 25, 2023

Life V.S. Death and Artificial Intelligence V.S Human Intelligent are the things that come to my mind after reading Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kirstoff. It is a Sci-fi thriller that will have you questioning whether or not AI is actually going to take over our lives in the future.

After their homeland is destroy by a warship, Kady and  her recent ex-boyfriend Ezra are separated and left to pick up the pieces. All the while trying out run and avoid another attack. If that wasn’t enough pressure a deathly disease threatens to take over the ships leaving many people dead and or mentally unstable.

There is an artificial intelligence machine on one of the ships that was designed to help and guide anyone on board with the war. However, it soon turns on Kady and she is left on her own with Ezra being the only healthy one left on the other ship, will they be able to outrun the enemy and save all of mankind?

While this book was entertaining with all the battle fighting. It also brought on a new prospective that could relate to our own human life.

It got me thinking about how much we have human beings are becoming more and more reliant on Artificial Intelligent to get by in our day-to-day life. With having things like Siri, Alexa and so on, in the palms of our hands, they are making us more lazy and less useful to society. And how in the Disney Channel original movie “Smart House” the Artificial Intelligent helper “Pat” was helpful to start but soon got too started and turned on the humans in the house. This has me thinking that is artificial intelligent the helper of the future or the enemy of the future.