Two for the Dough [Review]

Stats:
209 pages [Kindle]
First Published 1 January 1996
ISBN:  B000FC0VZW
[Amazon::Barnes&Noble]


Synopsis:
From the author of One for the Money comes the second clever comic mystery featuring irrepressible bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Here, Stephanie finds herself on the trail of a killer who happens to have a distant relative who's a vice cop with questionable ethics, a libido in permanent overdrive, and a habit of horning in on Stephanie's investigations.


My Thoughts: 
Stephanie Plum is the-bomb-dot-com! Yep, I said it! I went there.

I love how Evanovich writes. It's so witty, funny, and entertaining. I really hope they make this one into a movie as well because it is even better than the first book! I enjoyed more of Morelli and more of Grandma Mazur. I love an author that is willing to throw some worty dirds in there and makes the story more believable and realistic. The second installment stays true to everything Evanovich laid out in the first story. The bounty that Stephanie is hunting in this one is a very crazy guy who happens to be related to Joe Morelli. You are constantly on the edge of your seat, wanting to know what happens next! I am more than ready to read the next one!


Previous Review:
Scott Pilgrim Volume 1: {here}

[Counts toward my TBR Pile challenge: here] 

Linked up at...

Bout of Books 5.0 Goals

Oh yeah! Bout of Books 5.0 starts reallllll soon - next week, in fact, on August 13th. I'm really excited about it because in July I read 3 books and got super behind in all my reading. Each month I try to read around 8 books. So right now I have 4 from June and 6 from July that I didn't get around to reading and I really want to catch up. I really want to get back into reading more. Lately I've been in such a slump trying to read anything. Not that I'm bored with reading, I just get so tired trying to read. :( So here's the plan...because I'm the (wo)MAN WITH THE PLAN!

The Goals:

• Read 300 pages each day.
• Finish 5 books - Finished 1 Finished 2
• Participate in at least 3 challenges - Two finished on Tuesday Done on Weds.
• Participate in 2 Twitter chats - One down on Monday Done on Weds.
• Visit bloggers also participating and leave lots of comment love - every day!
• Beat my last readathon accomplishments: 4 books, 1393 pages At 2 books, 867 pages

The Books:

• The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
• The Death Cure by James Dashner
• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - Monday
• Linger by Maggie Stiefvater - Wednesday
• Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
• Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
• Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
• Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich

Total of 9 books and 3227 pages. To get all of these done, I would have to read over 400 pages a day. But I like to overchallenge myself. :) I at least want 5 books read and 300 pages each day. We'll see what happens!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 13th and runs through Sunday, August 19th in whatever time zone you are in.  Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week.  There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional.  For all Bout of Books 5.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.

Scott Pilgrim Volume 1: Precious Little Life [Review]

Stats:
168 Pages [ebook]
Published 24 August 2004
ISBN: 1932664084
[Amazon::Barnes&Noble]


Synopsis:

Scott Pilgrim's life is totally sweet. He's 23 years old, he's in a rock band, he's ""between jobs,"" and he's dating a cute high school girl. Nothing could possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott's awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle? The short answer is yes. The long answer is Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

My Thoughts:
I'm sure most of you all have heard of Scott Pilgrim, the movie, with Michael Cera in it. I saw it a while ago and really loved it. I had no clue it was based on a comic and jumped at the opportunity to read the comic. What happens in the first volume doesn't include the whole movie, so I definitely
want to go find the rest of the volumes!

Scott Pilgrim is a 23 year old Canadian in a band called the Sexy Bob-ombs with his friends. He is a year post-break up with his last girlfriend and has started dating a little 17 year old named Knives Chau. He starts having dreams involving a girl with pink hair on rollerblades and then while at the library with Knives, Scott sees the pink haired girl, Ramona Flowers.

If you haven't seen the movie, I highly suggest reading the comics first and then watching the movie. All the fun starts happening when Ramona shows up, but I don't want to give away too much! It's such a quirky series. This volume included a little section where the author, Brian Lee O'Malley talked about his inspiration behind the characters and sketchings of how they have evolved and changed throughout time.

Thank you to NetGalley and OniPress for the galley of this awesome comic!




Previous Review: 
The First Husband by Laura Dave {here}

The First Husband [Review]

Stats:
210 Pages [ebook]
Published 12 May 2011
ISBN: 1101515139
[Amazon::Barnes&Noble]


Synopsis:

Annie Adams is days away from her thirty-second birthday and thinks she has finally found some happiness. She visits the world's most interesting places for her syndicated travel column and she's happily cohabiting with her movie director boyfriend Nick in Los Angeles. But when Nick comes home from a meeting with his therapist (aka "futures counselor") and announces that he's taking a break from their relationship so he can pursue a woman from his past, the place Annie had come to call home is shattered. Reeling, Annie stumbles into her neighborhood bar and finds Griffin-a grounded, charming chef who seems to be everything Annie didn't know she was looking for. Within three months, Griffin is Annie's husband and Annie finds herself trying to restart her life in rural Massachusetts.

A wry observer of modern love, Laura Dave "steers clear of easy answers to explore the romantic choices we make" (USA Today). Her third novel is packed with humor, empathy, and psychological insight about the power of love and home.



My Thoughts:
I just want to start out by saying...this needs to be made into a movie. I am NOT a chick flick kind of girl and I'm really not a big chick lit girl either, but I loved this book. It was funny and romantic. It was sweet and cute. It was real and gripping. Dave has an excellent, fluid writing style that makes it very easy to be engrossed in not only the story, but the characters, as if they were people you really knew. Annie is a 32 year old travel columnist, who has been dating Nick for 5 years. One day, Nick comes home and says his "therapist" told him he needed a break to figure things out. After the separation, Annie falls into that typical chick flick depression. Her ex's sister gets her to get out of her funk and that's when Annie meets Griffin.

I don't want to give away too much, but I will say that I really liked Annie. I really loved the ending too. It was the one I was rooting for and again, why I say that it should be a movie! Now!

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Group USA for the chance to review this book.


Previous Review: 
Talented by Sophie Davis {here}

[Counts toward my TBR Pile challenge: here] 

Linked up at...

August TBR List

Books leftover from June:

• The Scorch Trials by James Dashner [Currently reading]
• The Death Cure by James Dashner
• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
• Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake [We Heart YA BOTM]
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak [We Heart YA Runner Up]

Books leftover from July:

• Two For the Dough by Janet Evanovich [Currently reading]
• Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
• Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
• The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
• The Magician by Michael Scott
• Fallen by Lauren Kate [We Heart YA BOTM]
• Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo [We Heart YA Runner Up]

Books for AUGUST...yes, actually August:

• Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
• The Sorceress by Michael Scott
• The Necromancer by Michael Scott
• The Warlock by Michael Scott
• The Enchantress by Michael Scott
• Beyond the Wall [NetGalley]
• Shadow of Night [NetGalley]
• Poltergeeks [NetGalley]
• Across the Universe by Beth Revis [We Heart YA Themed BOTM]
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green [We Heart YA Regular BOTM]

Also, We Heart YA is doing a summer challenge - books you read spells Summer.

So as it appears, I have a busy, busy, busy, busy August coming up. Luckily, August 13 to 19 is Bout of Books readathon time!! YAY!

I have 22 books to read. This is super doable. I can do this. Hopefully (: