Books to Get Lost In and Books to Lose

It's that time again, finally sharing another series of book reviews. I am so very behind on my 52 books in 52 weeks project. Mostly because I am working approximately 30 hours a week more than I was when I first started this challenge. And sometimes because I pick up a book that's not very good but I just want to force myself to finish it. I need to learn how to say "no" when a book just isn't very good! Here's the amazing, the decent and the bad:

1. Full Of It by Wendy French
This book was good... in a very strange way. The story line wasn't typical, I liked the variation and the fact that it wasn't like every other book I've ever read before. Story line- girl has a big mouth and always blurts out what she's saying without thinking first. She destroys friendships and relationships on accident. Her aunt dies and she inherits a house. Girl forms real friendships with people and learns about love in it's truest form- the love a child. Some crazy twists as the end so I won't ruin it for ya!  It was very strange to read because I didn't relate much to the main character- at all, actually, and yet I still couldn't put the book down. I finished this one in less than a week!

2.  Angels by Marian Keyes
I cannot recommend this book enough. I absolutely loved it. I fell in love with the main character and her story. This is the story of Maggie, a boring, average-looking, rule-follower. This is the story and how her life falls apart when she finds out that her husband has fallen for another woman because they've grown apart and been living very distant, unhappy lives together. This is a story about your first love, your last love, your worst love, the love you thought you loved but you're so happy you didn't end up with them after all, and the love that never stops loving. This is a story about sisters, best friends, hollywood hilarities, and getting a little wild when you're trying to figure out who you are. Bonus- it's also a story about infertility, pregnancy loss, sadness and happiness. I also love how it touches on the fact that not every woman wants to be a mother- some have no desire at all, a feeling that I am not at all familiar with, but loved reading about. Let's be honest, even for those of us who want to be mothers, the thought of childbirth and motherhood is frightening even while exhilarating! Mostly, this book is a little slice of heaven and I loved getting lost in it.

3. Slicker by Lucy Jackson
Meet Desiree, the 20-something whose just found out that her father is leaving her mother, for his gay lover. Desiree is tired of her life, she's tired of her mother's sad despair, her grandfather's deteriorating health, her father's sudden decision that he's gay, and she's especially tired of her college-boyfriend when he tells her "I like you verrrrry verrry much" after she loses her virginity to him. In the middle of the night, Desiree pulls out a map, closes her eyes and points. She packs up her things, leaves her mother's apartment in New York City (where she was born and raised,) and travels across the country to Honey Creek, Kansas. She will spend the next couple of months in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by people who are unlike any other she's ever met (so close-minded and shallow- Jew's and gays are unheard of in this religious town,) and mostly, she learns about falling in love with a boy who deserves her, and staying in love with your family- even when they are crazy and unpredictable. A good read if you want to get lost in somebody else's world, but I wasn't head over heels in love with it.

4. Home for Christmas by Andrew M. Greeley
When I bought this book, I thought it was going to be amazing. The story of two childhood best friends, who have always been in love with each other. Until he enlists in the military and is sent away for years on end. Pete thinks about writing his life-long love, but never does. Then one day, Peter finds himself on a spiritual journey, on the brink of death (he is in a war, after all,) and is given another look at what his life could have been if he had stayed with her. Sounds good to me. Until I cracked open the book and discovered that every other chapter is written from the point of view of a Catholic priest-in-training. The Catholic terminology was so hard for me to understand and it's in every sentence. (I attended a Catholic church until I was 7 years old- I STILL didn't understand it.) The book was very hard to read and I didn't like the overall structure or writing of the book. After 4 weeks, I was only on page 45. I was determined to finish it before passing judgement, but I'd only make it a page or two before I got bored and put it down. Finally, I came to relax a little and accept that it's okay to not finish a book if it's not good. I'm still counting it as one of my 52, because I sure tried to finish it.

Overall, this was a great in my reading list. I loved two of the books, liked another and hated the last. Not every book is meant to be read, I suppose. Or at least not read by me! I just started on a new book and am loving it so far- so I'm glad that I put down that last one and kept on trudging through the challenge! What have you read lately that you loved?