Another Piece of My Heart

Author: Jane Green
Goodreads Rating: 3.60
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 352 Pages


Another book I got on advance from my mom. She brought home the audiobook for me and I got to listen to it (obvo). If anyone else has noticed the cover for One Pink Line, as Dina Silver says "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." As long as she's taking it like a champ. Both books were great, so no complaints here. 


Goodreads Synopses:


From the New York Times bestselling author of JEMIMA J, and THE BEACH HOUSE, comes Jane Green’s most emotional and powerful novel yet:  a story that explores the complications of a woman marrying into a ready-made family, and the true meaning of motherhood. Andi has spent much of her adult life looking for the perfect man, and at thirty-seven, she's finally found him.  Ethan--divorced with two daughters, Emily and Sophia--is a devoted father and even better husband.  Always hoping one day she would be a mother, Andi embraces the girls like they were her own. But in Emily’s eyes, Andi is an obstacle to her father’s love, and Emily will do whatever it takes to break her down. When the dynamics between the two escalate, they threaten everything Andi believes about love, family, and motherhood—leaving both women standing at a crossroad in their lives…and in their hearts. ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART is a novel that illuminates the nuances and truths about relationships and is Jane Green at her absolute best.


My review after the jump!

Q&A with Dina Silver, author of One Pink Line

Author: Dina Silver
Goodreads Rating: 4.27
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pages: 260


Because this post is a special one, its going to go a little differently than before. For this post, the wonderful Dina Silver has agreed not only to a question and answer but also to giveaway a copy of One Pink Line. I personally won a copy of One Pink Line and that was how I found this book (that I loved) and author(who I also love). I have a shorter review of the book posted here rather than the usual longer post as well as the synopses.


Goodreads Synopses:


Can the love of a lifetime be forever changed by one pink line? Dina Silver’s tender, absorbing novel, One Pink Line, is the warmhearted, wry story of love, loss and family, as seen through the prism of one singular, spirited young couple who find themselves in a predicament that changes the course of their lives, and those closest to them. With heart, humor and compassion, this debut work of women’s fiction is certain to stir anyone who relishes a good laugh, can stand a good cry, and, above all believes in the redemptive power of love.  


My Review:


I really enjoyed this book because it has all the best things in Chicklit; young romance, babies, children, pregnancy, girlfriends and mothers. I had few complaints about the book, and my only one was too much detail about insignificant characters, other then that it was fun and flirty, and a lot of fun as you started to connect the dots as the story of Grace and the story of Sydney unfolds. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun girly story. (Because with that much pink on the cover you can't get any more girly.)


Q&A with Dina Silver after the jump!

Goodreads.com

If you haven't noticed, in nearly every post, I mention a website called Goodreads, whether it be winning free books or getting the synopses and rating from this website. I tell everyone I know who loves books that this is the best website and if you aren't already a member, I'm going to tell you more about this website that has amplified my love of reading.

Giveaways

This is one of my favorite parts of this website. Although there are so many people on the website, and so many books to enter to win, you still manage to win once in awhile. Since I became a member at the beginning of November, I've entered 270 giveaways and won three books; One Pink Line, 9 Miracles, and the latest is Mr. Churchill's Secretary. I don't discriminate much when I enter, but I have heard of people that limit themselves to specific genre's so they win less often. Since I like to push my boundaries, I'll try anything, and I'll enter a lot of different giveaways. 9 Miracles was not the type of story that I would ordinarily read, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. In my opinion, its free for you and while it's not required to review, it is recommended.



Bookshelves
When you register for your account you have 3 bookshelves; read, to read, and currently reading. To help with sorting the 700 books I've read, I created new bookshelves including, young adult, dystopian, memoirs, historical fiction, among others. While this feature isn't that big, for someone with hundreds, nearly thousands of books, it makes it easy to sift through them and say "Yep, these are my favorites," or "Oh you want a recommendation for a historical fiction? Let me look through and see if I can find any" rather than going through pages and pages and pages of books.

Groups
This is also another fun part to the site because it gets you interacting with other people. I happen to be in about 7 groups that range from Book Buying Addicts Anonymous to Goodreads Feedback to Never Too Young for Young Adult. Many of these groups are also books clubs and discuss a book of the month. I'm not glued to the discussion groups but I can see how you can be dragged into all the discussions. I personally like reading the books of the month although I only just started this month, it helps push me to read more and discuss what it is that I'm reading. These groups are also a great source of information when it comes to company rumors and tech support.

Reading Challenge

This too is a great motivator as far as pushing me to read more. As you can see, Ive set myself to the challenge of reading 150 books in the next year. So far I've read 5 books, and there is a message next to my bar stating "Great work, you're 2 books (1%) ahead" making me feel great about how much I'm reading. It also tells you when you've fallen behind and how many books you need to get back on pace. It also tells you when you've surpassed your goal.

Recommendations
I don't use this feature all that much lately because I have too many books in my possession and on my list to read that I try not to look at my recommendations. What this page does is say "You like these types of books, try these" and not only that but it will recommend books based on the different shelves that you've categorized. It's not the most accurate but it is just going based on the types of books and content, but there are plenty of good books that you can find from it because it doesn't just recommend bestsellers and popular authors but it recommends some of the obscure books and authors.

Choice Awards

Another fun part that is more interactive is the Goodreads Choice Awards. This past year, the three rounds of voting started October 31 and ended on November 30. The first round started with 15 selections with the ability to "write in" nominations, the second round selected 5 of those write ins to becomes nominees and the final round narrowed the nominees to 10. The best part about the Choice Awards was because not only did it also provide great recommendations but it also shows you what other people are reading. Several of the books on my "To-Read" list came from the choice awards.



Final Thoughts
This website has a lot to offer, and it has personally become my new facebook. I have good friends on this site and I continue to make friends on it without having to share all of my information. With the 2012 Challenge and group challenges, I am finding new books and more exciting ways to engage myself in reading.