Matched by Ally Condie

Ok, so. Matched. I've checked this out of the library at least 3 times, and every time it goes back untouched because of the love triangle plot. It's not a subtle bit of the plot, it pretty much IS the plot.  Love triangles are pretty much my least favorite plot ever. (Ok, maybe child murders or something, but I don't pick those up at ALL.)  Here's the summary of Matched from Amazon.com:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

See? So even though everyone on earth loved it, I kept sending it back.  Then BlogHer asked if I'd like to read it for the BlogHer book club and I decided to let them force me into finding out what happens. And what happens is that I ended up enjoying it (as usually happens).  Matched is one part The Giver (assigned careers) and a bit of Divergent (how you dress, how you live, your place in society) and a bit of Fahrenheit 451 (book burning!) If you're a fan of dystopian novels and you like a little romance you'll probably enjoy this. Especially if you live love triangles. (I admit to having a favorite here too, of course.) It's not my favorite book, but it is worth taking a look at. It is clearly the first part of a trilogy tho, so be prepared that it doesn't come to a neat tidy ending.

You can find Ally Condie online on Facebook, Twitter, and her blog.

I received this book from BlogHer in exchange for my review and participation in the BlogHer Book Club discussion of said book. All opinions are my own.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

You may recall that this is the year that I'm reading all of Janssen's favorite books from last year. I'm doing pretty  good with her list on my own, but when BlogHer book club offered me a chance to review one of them for you I couldn't pass it up. I don't know that I've ever read an amnesia story before (despite my love of romance novels, tyvm), but since Janssen loved it, I had to try.

So, Alice falls off a bike at the gym, hits her head, and wakes up ten years in her past. She doesn't remember her children (oh this killed me to imagine, but Moriarty does a good job of balancing being sad at not remembering and not really being affected, cause DUH, she can't remember them!), she doesn't remember why she's on the outs with her sister, she doesn't have a clue why she's divorcing the husband she's madly in love with, and she's shocked at her 39 year old self. What Alice Forgot is both funny and heartbreaking, often on the same page. It really makes you (made me, anyway) think about what your choices do to you. Little things add up until you become a person you can't imagine being and might not even like, if you weren't her.  At the same time, it's chick lit- it's not heavy and slow and full of tremendous imagery.  It's a serious situation but still manages to be fun and romantic. (When is Janssen gonna start replyin to my posts with "I told you so" is the only question I have now.)

This post is a sponsored review from BlogHer Book Club. To see more opinions and discussions please click here. All opinions in this review are my own.

The First Husband by Laura Dave

The First Husband by Laura Dave is the most recent book for the BlogHer Book Club. I signed up for it because it sounded sweet and romantic (something BHBC books don't tend to be) and like something I would enjoy.  Annie Adams has it all, a great job, a long term boyfriend, a great dog. Until the day her boyfriend comes home and announces he needs a break. Annie moves on, meets another great guy, and marries him in a whirlwind courtship. Then, just as she's questioning her place in his world, her ex comes back and asks for a second chance. (That's all from the book cover, no spoilers.)

Ok, so you guys have been reading me for years, and most of you skip my romance reviews (don't deny, I can tell) but if you've paid attention at all, I typically avoid anything with two love interests. This time I took a deep breath and told myself I'd power through, that most books end satisfactorily, and this would too. But then a funny thing happened- it turned out that the book wasn't so much about them as it was about her. The longer I waited for the inevitable showdown, the closer to the end of the book I got, and ultimately, it was perfect and painless.  Dave does a great job, a terrific job, of getting into Annie's head and making the struggle real, without really painting anyone as the bad guy. It's never about the guys (tho I admit to having a favorite, and I suspect it's intended that way,) but always about Annie herself.  I enjoyed this one a great deal and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys chick lit with a strong romance.

The First Husband
by Laura Dave (@lauradave on twitter)
Penguin Books
2011
For more information and links to reviews, visit the BlogHer The First Husband page here.

Disclaimer: I am compensated for my review and participation in the BlogHer Book Club, but all opinions are my own.

Why Women Need Fat

At the end of last year I read a really great book called The Kitchen Counter Cooking School, by Kathleen Flinn. While the entire book was excellent, there was one chapter about eating out of the box, about how mixes have taken over for cooking, even though they don't really save that much time. Food out of a box is full of ingredients and preservatives that we wouldn't be eating if we just made those items from scratch. I had just finished that book and was pondering making a lifestyle/eating change when the BlogHer Book Club offered me the chance to read Why Women Need Fat: How "Healthy" Food Makes Us Gain Excess Weight and the Surprising Solution to Losing It Forever. Since I was already in the mood to read more about food, I accepted the title. It arrived during the craziness of Christmas so I didn't start reading until after the new year.

The content of the book was really fascinating, and (as the writers would hope) I thought their argument had merit. Their science made a lot of sense, and I'm more than willing to try their suggestions.  I did find the writing a bit circular and at times a tad (ok, very) dry and hard to focus on, but I found that if I skimmed those bits and came back they would make more sense. Their basic premise is that the addition of so many processed oils, replacing more natural animal fats, have lowered beneficial Omega-3s and raised the more harmful, more fat inspiring, Omega-6s. They'd have you drop processed food and oils. This jibes well with my thinking from the other food reading I've been doing, so I was willing to go along for their ride.

If you want to join the discussion and learn more about how you can add fat and lose weight, you can click through to the BlogHer Book Club page here. The first topic of discussion is "This means I get to use real butter, right?"  I mean, how can you not follow through on that?

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Faithful Place by Tana French

I finally got around to reading a book by Tana French, thanks to the BlogHer Book Club. There were parts of Faithful Place I really liked, and parts that I decided just weren't for me. You'll have to click over to my review to find out which parts were which!  To see what other people in the Book Club thought of the book, click through to this page, where you'll find links to all the reviews (so far, anyway!)