Book Review!

Reading is a big part of my life. I read because I love to immerse myself in a fictitious web of events (preferably romance...), but I also do my share of reading for research purposes. I write and therefore sometimes I have to study subjects that aren't particularly an interest of mine (at least not at first).

One of the recent novels I read is called Family Man, by Jayne Ann Krentz. I have never read this author's novels before, so this was my first. I like her style of writing very much. She did not use any flowery, tangled language. She got to the point, plain and simple, and it was easy to read and lose myself in the characters' lives. But when I have to read, reread and reread and ponder over and over again what it is the last sentence was supposed to mean, I have a strong urge to shove the book out the window, or better yet, toss it into my fireplace. There is an author (very well received, rather, whom I do enjoy occasionally), that pops into my mind that uses every obscure word in the English dictionary, which makes me, as the reader, feel stupid for not knowing what the word onerous means.

Family Man...

The book is about a young woman in her late twenties that cares for a rich, elderly woman who owns a successful chain of restaurants. There is suspicion that somebody is embezzling the money from the restaurants. The old woman has an estranged grandson that she feels would be capable enough to pull the business out of its hardship. Katie, the main character, with the woman's insisting, meets the grandson and practically begs him to rekindle his relationship with his family. Reluctant to do so at first, Zach agrees to get to the bottom of the embezzelment scheme. He claims the only reason he is sticking around is to help rebuild his family's business. However, the more time he spends with Katie, the more he becomes intrigued by this angelic girl who took care of his grandmother for years. Katie cannot wait to end her position as the personal assistant and begin her own business, but one event leads to another, and Katie soon finds herself tangled in Zach's family affair....

P.S.: Onerous means difficult. :)

Yankee Candles!

These are my favorite. Their scent reaches every corner of my house. No wonder they're pricey. :)

It's hard to choose a favorite!

My weakness is that I love cats too much.

The love of my life. I came across this picture as I was going through my photos, deleting whatever wasn't necessary. This was taken a few years ago of Suski and me. 

He just loved boxes!

LOL! I think I woke him up. His morning face. :)

 

My Saturday.

My Saturdays are always somehow "planned" so we end up running errands and I never actually spend the day at home . . . even though sometimes I want to. This morning I went to my friend's house because I missed her birthday party last weekend since I was in Tampa at a concert. We decided to go out later in the afternoon. 

At Pizzeria Valdiano in Winter Park Village. 

Sharp-tongued Miss Nana. 

In Black & White boutique. 

Technically, I wasn't supposed to take snapshots in the store, but I didn't know at the time. Whoops. :)

Yours truly. 

My Nature Walk.

On my way to the store, I took a few pictures because a.) I live in Florida, b.) It's so gorgeous outside, I couldn't resist! c.) I am pretty good at taking photos of nature, don't you think...? Lol.

The Park is my place of residence. I have enjoyed my stay so far.

My black and white view. 

I hope you enjoyed. That is my neighborhood. :))

Movies & Books.

Growing up, I've heard about various famous (Croatian as well as English) literature phenomenon, such as Anna Karenina. I've never read the book, but I heard it was a good, solid romance that takes place sometime before or during World War I (forgive me if I'm mistaken, I don't know the details). Recently the actual movie came out, starring Keira Knightly as the heroin of the story. I am pretty sure it is the kind of a story I will definitely enjoy.

 

The second book that came out--or is coming out soon--is called Summer In February, starring none other than our DAN STEVENS from Downton Abbey. It is a wonderful, historical World War II drama of an English family living in the English countryside. I am not the one to have "TV crushes" but I find this actor not only appealing in looks, but he did a splendid job as Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, and I am looking forward to watching this new project in development.

 

 

 

******

 

A few years ago during the Twilight madness, everyone seemed to drool over this modern vampire series, where I, being I, was left dumbfounded and in the darkness. I didn't understand what all the craze was about. I appreciate the Anne Rice novels and I am a big fan of Interview With The Vampire, and after reading a few pages of Twilight, I realized it wasn't up to par. Sadly to say, I was disappointed. Many books begin to get interesting somewhere in the middle--and that alone speaks for itself--that the beginning should be altered so the novel is interesting from the beginning, not towards the end. Sorry, Twilight fans. However, I did watch the first movie and it was okay, granted the actors were terrible (no, only Kristen was terrible). Then I heard another book came out last year called Fifty Shades of Grey. I decided to give it a chance and guess what . . . another disappointment. The books did not appeal to me first and foremost because they were badly written. I felt like I was reading a fifth grader's essay on how he perceived romance. No, no, no. Bad, bad, bad! Then a movie called Hunger Games came out, and the title itself did not interest me. Then the other night, a friend of mine rattled on happily how the books are amazing and so I have once again decided to give it a try. Apparently, fantasy isn't my kind of genre. . . . I have, however, read the first book of Harry Potter and I did enjoy it very much. *smiiile*

 

 



Update on Time of Loving.

I have created this blog a few months ago because I've always liked the idea of blogging. At first, I found the idea of YouTubing interesting, but feeling lost among all these "Beauty Gurus" I felt it wasn't my place. Since I enjoy writing, I thought this would be the perfect solution. This is an open blog, anyone can view it, granted I only have a couple hundred viewers. I created this place to share my own personal interests, from fashion, to literature to animals. I have a wide range of hobbies and interests, and I need a place where I can vent. Most of what I enjoy to do, 95% of people find quite boring, so I've kept it to myself.

 

As I've mentioned in my last post, I recently began a new project, called Time of Loving, which deals a lot with a blood disease called leukemia. I began my research a few days ago, and the book I am currently reading is called Leukemia, which covers mostly children or young adults that have been dealt with this disease. When a person is diagnosed with leukemia, they automatically think they are going to die, but in the progress medicine has made in this last decade alone, people are at a much higher chance of survival.

 

I enjoy reading romance novels and I enjoy even more writing them. Time of Loving, as with any of my previous and future stories, deals with love, loss, betrayal and tragedies. They take place during World War I or II, and yes I do cover serious topics in all of them, but in this specific story, I feel that it is not a subject to be taken very lightly. The story contains two characters, young adults, who are diagnosed with leukemia and throughout the book, the question weighs whether they will beat the disease or will they lose the battle. (I will not spoil. Sorry.)

 

So far, the book is coming along just fine. I have close to one third of the story finished, and then comes the editing. I edit as I go along. When I complete two chapters, I edit as much as I can, but once I complete the first draft (which is usually my ONLY draft, I only correct the mistakes, I don't rewrite the storyline), I go over the content a few more times to polish it over.

 

(Pssst! I have come at the end of Chapter 8, where Giovanna's ship has been torpedoed and she was transported to a battleship, where she meets Andrew Edwards, a man that plays an important role in her life. That is all I am going to give out.)

 

Until next time. :)