"Life and Other Inconveniences" by Kristan Higgins is Heartwarming and Touching

Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins is a heartwarming, touching novel about family, love, grief, marriage and personal relationships. This is not a book with action but about life issues such as brother rivalry, unwed mother, marriage, suicide, single parenting, death, wealth, self-esteem, illness and family relationships.

 It started out slow for me and I was a bit confused at first because of so many characters to keep straight. I even set it aside and almost gave up on it but am glad I finished it.  I liked the dogs though and Luigi, Miller's cat.  The ending was very touching and made me tear up. I chose to read this one because I saw a book club recommended it and I saw it also recommended other books I enjoyed. Discussions questions are included in the back for book clubs. (4 stars)

Teaser from page 5: A few years ago, I’d told Riley the facts: Genevieve London of the adorable purses was my grandmother, and I’d lived with her for ten years after my mother died because my father couldn’t take care of me. I explained that Genevieve wasn’t the nicest person, so we didn’t talk anymore.


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"Windfall" by Jennifer E. Smith is Interesting (We Differ on this one!)

In Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith, Alice and Teddy have a very close friendship. On Teddy’s 18th birthday, Alice, who has a huge crush on him, bought him a lottery ticket with numbers she picked. Teddy won a big payday! Teddy and his mom, who had next to nothing, now can have everything! How will this change Teddy? Will Alice and Teddy’s relationship grow or will it break apart over money?  I enjoyed this book because Alice and Teddy are both great characters and I liked the ending.
(Gerard’s review, 5 stars)

Karen's review:
I didn't care much for Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith and quit on it about half way through. It just dragged along for me and I didn't much like any of the main characters. I thought Alice was a fool, Teddy was kind of a jerk and his friend (Leo I think his name was) turned me off because he was gay.  Gerard told me how it ended and I think I might have enjoyed the second half, but just got tired of plowing my way through all the lame conversations.  (1 star)

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"Suspicion" by Joseph Finder

Suspicion by Joseph Finder deals with a dad whose daughter attends an exclusive school.  When he cannot come up with the money for a school trip to Italy and falls behind on her tuition, another dad whose daughter attends the same school pays it for him.  Problem solved, or is it? 

This book is filled with twists and turns which make it a real good page turner.  I always wanted to pick it up to see what would happen next!  Do not miss this one!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"Together Is All We Need" by Michael Phillips (Book 4 of Shenandoah Sisters series)

Together Is All We Need by Michael Phillips is a wonderful book about friendship and family sticking together and sacrificing to help each other out.  This is a very enjoyable coming of age series with a marvelous ending.  Kathleen and Mayme not only became friends and together worked to save Kathleen's plantation and made it productive again after the Civil War, but also built a very unusual household with both blacks and whites living together under the same roof in harmony.  The girls also learn from a good friend, Henry, how to trust the good Lord. 

I highly recommend you read the first three books of this series before this last one to fully appreciate it.  I absolutely LOVED this historical Christian fiction series and zipped through all four books.  They were enlightening, giving insight into how things were after the civil war for both whites and blacks and how even though the slaves were set free, they were still looked down upon by most.  This series shows how much people can accomplish when they work together unselfishly.  I look forward to reading more books by this author.
(Karen's review, 5++ stars)

The first three books in this series are:
Angels Watching Over Me
A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton
The Color of Your Skin Ain't The Color of Your Heart

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Dark Places" by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn is a winner! WOW, this is good! Libby Day, age 7, survives a night when her mom and two sisters were murdered by their brother in "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas." Libby testifies to this in court. However, 25 years later, the money she inherited runs low so when she is offered money to sell family mementos, she agrees but begins to have second thoughts if her brother was the murderer.

I liked the writing and lots of twists and turns with a surprise ending. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy suspense and murder mysteries. I also loved GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn.
(Gerard's review)

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"Who's The Dummy Now? by Terry Fator

10 Stars!  Inspirational!
Who's The Dummy Now? is about Terry Fator, who won $1,000,000 on America's Got Talent 2.  He is a ventriloquist.  He tells his story in a fun way.  He overcame an abusive father, no friends really and everybody telling him he could not do it, but he did. 

Way to go, Terry!  I enjoyed your book so much!  I think everyone would like this one.
(Gerard's review 2/5/09)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?