Books I Love: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Isla and the Happily Ever After 

by Stephanie Perkins

This is a book that I've been waiting to come out for a long, long time. And it was worth the wait. Such a great story, and of course it has a happy ending, because of the title. One of the things I love about Stephanie Perkins is that she brings the characters back for little appearances. It brings the entire trilogy full circle.

Isla (pronounced I-La) is a student at School of America in Paris. She has had a long-time church on Josh, another student there. When they run into each other over the summer, Isla decides that it must be fate and something needs to happen. But Josh has issues of his own, and the story goes from there.

Have you read it yet? What did you think? If you haven't read any of Stephanie Perkins yet, you simply must. You can start at the beginning with Anna and the French Kiss, or read Lola and the Boy Next Door. However, they can be read out of order. 

Books I Love: Magnolia by Kristi Cook

Magnolia by Kristi Cook

This book is set in the deep South in a small town. Jenna grew up with Ryder, and their mothers want them to get together and eventually marry. But they don't even like each other right now. The story is pitched as a reverse Romeo and Juliet. And the story is fun, quick and sweet. I think I loved the setting in this story as much as anything, and the characters were well developed. Overall, it is a fun read.

Kristi Cook also wrote  Haven,  the first in a trilogy that I also really enjoyed. The books are interesting and the pacing is good. Haven  is a vampire story with a unique twist. Have you read anything by her? What did you think?

Friday Five: Summer Vacation

1. Just got back from vacation, which is why I haven't posted. I wanted to plan ahead and do it, but then I needed to plan ahead for my jobs that actually make me money and the blog got pushed to the end of the list. We went to visit my sister in Ohio. The kids were great, and somehow we managed the eight hour drive that seemed to go on forever. But it was very pretty.

2. The weather up in Ohio is much nicer than here in North Carolina. I don't know how I'd feel in the winter. But man the summer was nice. Highs of 84. Cools down at night to 51. There is some humidity, but nothing like here. I loved it just for that. We had a lot of fun going to the pool and the zoo and just hanging with the little cousins.

3. It was nice to really take a break from all work. And I'm finding it hard to motivate myself to go back. I need to get to work today and I've managed to procrastinate it for several hours. I may still be procrastinating it in several more. Just one of those days when you want to recover.

4. The car ride did get a little rough, with some screaming that "He's touching me. Make him stop touching me."  Fortunately, no one got car sick. The kids actually did pretty well for the most part. At the six hour mark things got a little tense. But we made it without killing each other.

5. Now it's time to start back to school shopping, clothes, school supplies and everything else. Only a few more weeks left of summer vacation! Eek. But I'm ready to get back onto a solid routine!