44 Cranberry Point (Cedar Cove, #4)
by Debbie Macomber (Goodreads Author)

4 of 5 stars

Read from July 15 to 22, 2013

This is the 4th book in the Cedar Cove series. I enjoyed learning more about the lives of the inhabitants of Cedar Cove. The 3rd book left the cliff hanger of who killed Maxwell Russell. I am glad we finally find out at the end of this book who it was. I was quite surprised by it. I didn't see it coming even though I should have. I just wish it didn't take the whole book to find out. This book is leaving us with more cliff hangers. I think the most strangest and exciting one is going to be why and who is sending strange messages to Roy and Carrie. I hope it doesn't take the whole next book again to find out.

I am looking forward to reading book 5 in the series. I want to see how the other residents of Cedar Cove continue with their lives. There a lot of questions to be answered. At this point I feel like I live in Cedar Cove which I wouldn't mind living in.

I am so glad I have a list of all the characters in the book and little notes about them. It gets confusing after a while especially since the different subplots intertwine with one another. Each chapter concentrates on one at a time. Just when you are really getting into the subplot, it switches over to another and doesn't show up again until chapters later. So there is a lot of switching back and forth. Quite a few books by different authors use the same technique. I am not sure if I like that but I am compelled to finish reading this series. First because it is now a television series and I am hooked.

Book Tour:THE WANDERER by Robyn Carr  Aug. 5-8 participants:

This will be my first time participating in a book tour.  Stay tuned for upcoming reviews.

  August 5th - http://griperangsbookmarks.blogspot.com/

  August 6th -   http://readingnks.blogspot.com/

 August 7th - http://p-j-630.blogspot.com/

 August 8th - http://www.create-with-joy.com/

311 Pelican Court (Cedar Cove, #3)
by Debbie Macomber (Goodreads Author)

Jul 17, 2013  ·  

4 of 5 stars

Read from July 09 to 12, 2013

I thought this book was good. I was sorry to see that Zach and Rosie got a divorce. I was also surprised by the difficult arrangements for visitation rights. I am glad it caused them to get back together which is very unusual. Also happy to see that Cynthia played a role in bringing Allison back to the way she was before her parents divorce.

I don't like Stan at all. Who is he to think that he can march right back into Olivia's life after divorcing her years ago.

I am not thrilled that you are left hanging about the mystery of the dead man at the Bed and Breakfast, but I know Macomber left it as a cliffhanger so that you will find out in the next book in the series.

I was happy to see that Olivia finally married Jack. Their courtship was way too drawn out in the series.

I was glad to see that Grace finally found something worthwhile in her life.

Looking forward to how the characters' lives continue in the next book in the series.

Looking for Me

Looking for Me
by Beth Hoffman (Goodreads Author)

Jul 06, 2013  ·  

5 of 5 stars

bookshelves: 2013-new-authors-for-me

Read from July 03 to 06, 2013

I loved this book. It was vividly written with likeable characters. I was able to picture the settings, characters, and scenery so easily because of the vividness of the author's writing. To name a few themes, it's a story about love, hopes, loss, and fulfilling dreams. It's also a story about family life and the ups and downs of life in general. I felt different emotions while reading this book. I like when books do that for me. Even though I would like to discuss parts of the book with others, I don't want to discuss story details in this review because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read the book yet. I highly recommend it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

palisades park

Palisades Park
by Alan Brennert (Goodreads Author) 

5 of 5 stars

Read from June 21 to 30, 2013

I loved this book. First of all, I think every New Jersey girl would like it. It brought back memories of Palisades Park for me. Olympic Park and Coney Island were other places in the book and I certainly have fond memories especially of Coney Island. I was familiar with all the town names too.

The book was definitely a historical saga taking place between the 1930s and early 1970s. The author included events such as what it was like during wartime, problems of segregation and the hardships of life during those years.

The characters were very real to me and the author did a lot of research for this book to make it as real as possible. There was a combination of happiness, sadness, and determination with the characters.

I feel the message that was being conveyed was always follow your dreams and don't let anyone or anything stop you from achieving them.

I am looking forward to reading other books written by this author.

204 Rosewood Lane (Cedar Cove, #2)
by Debbie Macomber (Goodreads Author)

Jun 20, 20 13  ·  

4 of 5 stars

Read from June 14 to 20, 2013

I thought this second book in the Cedar Cove series was good. It delves more into the complicated lives of the inhabitants of Cedar Cove. Without giving too much away, we finally find out what happened to Dan, Grace's husband. It was a little too dragged out for me. I kind of wish I didn't have to wait until the end of this book to find out about his sad story. It brought tears to my eyes.

As far as the other couples go, I am still curious which way their lives are going. Every one of them has some hurdle to overcome when it comes to either their marriage, separation, divorce, and their new budding romance and just life in general. A new couple is introduced into this book and of course they end up having marriage problems too. In their case, I feel the wife, Rosie, is the total cause of the problem. She always found her activities outside the home came first before her husband, Zac, and the kids. Not a good thing.

I see that the third book, in the series, will concentrate on this new introduced couple. Of course the other couples continuing stories will go on too. I am curious to read on and see what happens to all of them.

16 Lighthouse Road (Cedar Cove, #1)
by Debbie Macomber (Goodreads Author)

Jun 13, 2013 

5 of 5 stars

Read from June 08 to 13, 2013

I started to read this Cedar Cove book because starting this summer, The Hallmark Channel will have a series called Cedar Cove and I wanted to try to read the books first. I know I won't get them all done in time, but whatever I can get done will help.

I really liked this book even though there were so many characters in it. I had to write notes about each one so I wouldn't mix them up which I have done before in other books I have read. The book focuses on the lives of 5 people and the things that are going on in their troubled lives. So there are 5 subplots. Debbie Macomber wrote the book in such a way that she keeps jumping back and forth between subplots. There were heartbreaking situations as well as positive outcomes.

I liked most of the characters, but Justine was getting on my nerves because of her inability to make decisions. I thought it was pretty obvious about her future. I wanted to hit her on the head and tell her to wake up. I felt sorry for Grace and it should be interesting to see how things progress for her in the next book. I was happy that Cecelia and Ian were working out their differences thanks to Olivia. It's too early to make comments about the lives of Charlotte and Olivia.

I am looking forward to book 2 in the series---204 Rosewood Lane. It should be interesting to see how life continues for the characters. I think Cedar Cove would be a nice place to live.