23
Nov 2008

Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern

By 9 Comments

Imagine having to wait until you’re 50 years old to be united with your true love! What a long wait.

Rosie Dunne and Alex Stewart have always been best friends. They first met when they were five years old and have always been together through thick and thin. They did things like all best friends did together. They roughed it out through school, making their teachers and parents go crazy over their silly antics.

One fine day, Alex and his family had to move to Boston as his father was being transferred in his job. Alex and Rosie are from Dublin. Naturally, they’re upset because they can’t spend time together that much any longer. So they kept in touch through letters and e-mails.

Alex was supposed to return to Dublin to accompany Rosie to her debs or prom night. However, he missed his flight and Rosie had to go with someone else, a guy named Brian. She got drunk and the unexpected happened. Rosie then ended up being a pregnant 18-year-old. She couldn’t go to college in Boston anymore and also couldn’t be with Alex.

It’s evident that Alex and Rosie have strong feelings for each other but numerous things always got in the way. Just when Rosie might have confessed her feelings to Alex, he and his girlfriend, Sally, announced that they’re to get married! Rosie, wanting to move on, met another guy, Greg and got married too. Both friends were at each other’s weddings but felt weird seeing each other walking away from the altar with someone else.

Both friends also showed obvious dislike for the other’s spouses or partners. Rosie strongly expressed her dislike for whoever Alex was dating or was married to. Alex would also find fault with Rosie’s husband, Greg. And they’ll go on and on criticizing but they never got around to confessing their true feelings because they had to think of others, especially their children. They still do ponder over the ‘silence’ which they experienced after Rosie kissed Alex.

Anyway, Rosie’s daughter, Katie seemed to be experiencing the same thing like her mom. She also has a guy best friend, Toby, and never gave a second thought of having feelings for him. Katie and Toby are like the younger versions of Rosie and Alex!

Where Rainbows End is written in the form of letters, e-mails, and instant messages so it’s a very engaging read. Reading it was very quick even though it’s a rather thick book. Some boring parts could have been taken out so as to make the book thinner. Rosie’s e-mails tend to be terribly long as she can drone on and on about her job, her kid, Alex, Alex’s wife/girlfriend and her husband, Greg.

I definitely enjoyed reading this, just like Ahern’s other novel, PS, I Love You. Some things didn’t make sense in this novel but they can be excused. Can’t wait to read more of her books! Ahern sure knows how to write funny, heart-and-soul, touching and moving kind of stories.

Other Reviews: Annie, Alice, Rima, Kittycat

Popularity: 72%

Categories: Authors A, Genre - Romance, Titles W Tags:
10
Jun 2008

P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

By 14 Comments

I stayed up until 2.30 a.m. last night to finish reading this book. I was eager to know the ending, so staying up late for it was no big deal!

There’s no doubt that this book has been a huge hit and so was the movie starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. No, I did not watch the movie yet though I’d really want to. It should be interesting to see Holly opening Gerry’s letters every month on screen and following her on her journey of self-recovery and doing some soul searching.

Holly’s husband and soul mate, Gerry, passed away due to brain tumour. She just can’t imagine life without him and thought she’d never be able to let him go. Then later, she receives a package from Gerry himself! He sent it just before he died. In the package are 10 sealed envelopes for Holly to open every month. She cannot cheat and open all of them at once, although she’d loved to do it!

And so Gerry’s letters help Holly move on in life without him. It’s hard but Holly is extremely lucky to have a supportive family and best friends to help her go through it. Her parents are a great help. Richard, the secretive and quiet oldest brother, surprises Holly in a number of ways. Jack, Holly’s favourite brother, has been quite distant, much to Holly’s disappointment. Then, there’s Ciara, the loud and noisy younger sister and Declan, who’s always holding a video camera nowadays.

Let’s not forget Holly’s best friends, Sharon and Denise. Both try their best to cheer Holly up as much as possible but sometimes they wonder if she’ll ever get better or if she’ll forever be depressing. However, it’s not easy on Holly’s part when she witnesses her friends’ moments of joy and happiness. Moments that she can never have with Gerry.

Holly makes a new friend too and his name is Daniel. He has recently broken up with his girlfriend and moved to Dublin while buying up a bar called Hogan’s at the same time. He’s good-looking and has been an understanding friend, but does he expect to be more than friends with Holly?

The ending was totally unexpected. Well, I didn’t expect the ending to be like that actually. All the same, PS, I Love You is definitely an enjoyable book, despite the sadness of it all. Ahern’s writing style is easy and funny, just like a chick lit book. Is this book considered as chick lit? Hmm, maybe not. If you’re the overly sensitive and emotional type, prepare a box of tissues when you read it! =)

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Maria, nylusmilk, Kathleen, Melody, Tricia, KittyCat

Popularity: 70%

Categories: Authors A, Genre - Romance, Titles P Tags:
02
May 2008

An Amazing Story by Carlo Gabbi

By 1 Comment

You may think this is purely a love story but no, it is not. It is mainly the story of Dolores who is on a quest to find true love, happiness, and her purpose in life. The book starts with Uncle Bill narrating his experiences while in Brazil and also how he met Juanita. Juanita is Dolores’ mother.

There are many characters in this book but I’ll just start with Uncle Bill, as Dolores calls him. He does not have a happy marriage and finds comfort in the arms of Juanita. He believes Juanita is his true love but they cannot be together since he has to return to his promiscuous wife in Australia. Bill also treats Dolores like his own daughter and he’s one of the few people whom she can trust.

When Bill and Juanita separate, Juanita met another man, Jack. At first, Dolores looked up to Jack as a loving father but he has been sexually abusing her without her knowing it because she’s still too young to understand and all. She thought that he’s just being a loving father figure.

One night, Juanita thought that Dolores was trying to steal Jack away from her although Dolores was just actually trying to save her mother from Jack’s cruelty and selfishness. Since then, Dolores wasn’t on good terms with her mother. Her mother was certainly very blind to everything and naive at that time.

Dolores left for Sydney, working as a dancer. But she didn’t stay long at the job. After that, she tried to get herself recruited into modeling agencies but to no avail. Things got so bad and she was absolutely desperate for money until she decided to be a high class prostitute at The Brazil nightclub at Kings Cross. She vowed to save up enough money so that she can return to Brazil to start a brand new life.

Cupid’s arrow struck her when she met Thomas, a famous photographer who thinks that he is not capable of loving a woman. However, she’s unsure if he really likes her or just using her. She’ll just need to wait and see how things go then.

Dolores wrote parts of life down in her diary and she sent a manuscript to Uncle Bill, probably hoping that he’ll write a story of her life. That’s how the story began.

It is an interesting and unique book though there are obvious grammatical errors in it. There are also many events in the story and it gets complicated if you don’t read it properly. Besides that, I think that girls and women should read it as it is a story for women after all. Apparently, An Amazing Story is a partly true story, to what extent I do not know. Is there a real Dolores out there?

All the same, if it is a true story, it’s good that it is written. Maybe it can be a guide for young women who may feel that they have nowhere else to go or have completely given up on love. Dolores’ story is capable of helping women out there.

***Thanks to Carlo Gabbi for providing me a copy of this book!

Other reviews: Faisal

Popularity: 4%

Categories: Authors G, Genre - Romance, Titles A
29
Nov 2007

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

By 24 Comments

I gladly plucked out this book from the shelf because I’ve watched the movie a few years ago and liked it. Well, the movie was quite similar to the book. Some things were changed though. Anyhow, this is a great book and if you’re the sentimental type, you’d probably cry at certain parts in the book. I noticed that there’s a lot of crying in it.

Landon Carter is already 57 years old and he’s telling his story of what happened to him when he was 17. His life changed when he started spending time with Jamie Sullivan, when they were 17. Landon was considered a bad boy and other parents assumed he’s plain trouble. His father was a congressman and was rarely home to be with his family.

On the other hand, Jamie Sullivan is the daughter of Beaufort’s Baptist minister. That’s where they all lived – Beaufort, North Carolina. She’s not fashionable and she always carries her Bible wherever she goes. So it’s certainly obvious that she and Landon have not much in common. That’s what Landon thought.

Incidentally, Landon did not have a date to Beaufort High’s homecoming dance. Most of the girls already had dates or he didn’t fancy going with the less attractive ones. In the end, it was either go to the dance alone and clean up puke in the toilet or go with Jamie Sullivan and risk being teased by his friends. She did smile at him in class, so maybe she might agree to go with him. Finally, he asked her and surprisingly, she accepted. On one condition, that is, he must not fall in love with her. He agreed. Anything is better than cleaning up puke.

Landon found her to be a very kind and understanding person who always looked on the bright side of things, no matter how horrible they are. However, after the dance, he did not feel like spending any more time with her. That time, he still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend, Angela.

But then later, Jamie asked him to join the Christmas play. Initially, he didn’t want to join but after some pitiful remarks from Jamie, he finally gave in. So, they rehearsed the play and then, it’s show time. Without warning, Landon fell in love with Jamie when she appeared looking amazingly beautiful.

All in all, it’s a nice story with a wonderful plot. Incredibly sad, though. Also, I found out what the title ‘A Walk to Remember’ refers to. It’s the kind of book where one may want to change to become a better person after reading it. And if you like books where the guy changes himself for the girl, then this is the book for you.

Popularity: 12%

Categories: Authors S, Genre - Romance, Titles A
22
Mar 2007

Roommates by Katherine Stone

By 2 Comments

Carrie arrived at Stanford University with high hopes and then her hopes faltered when she thought she could not fit in with university life. But after meeting her roommates, Megan and Beth, who are totally different from each other, she made up her mind to enjoy herself as much as she could.

Megan wants to be a famous actress while Beth is more interested in the science world. Carrie’s older brother, Stephen is also studying at Stanford and has a mysterious roommate, Jake. Jake never tells anyone about himself and no one wanted to ask him to tell more of himself.

Carrie learned important lessons in life as she spent time with Megan, Beth, Stephen, and Jake in and out of campus. The ups and downs that the characters go through are absolutely heartwarming and you are able to feel the joy, sadness, loneliness and pain as you read the whole book. ‘Roommates’ is a beautiful book and it will keep you captivated till the last page.

I read this book in 2004.

Buy Roommates

Popularity: 33%

Categories: Authors S, Genre - Romance, Titles R