Star Audio Book Review: Summer and the City (The Carrie Diaries #2) by Candace Bushnell, Read by Jenna Lamia

Hot days, warm nights, designer handbags and stiletto heels. You know what that means? Carrie Bradshaw is back in New York in Candace Bushnell’s Summer and the City: The Carrie Diaries #2. I loved this second novel in the series that gives SATC fans a glimpse at the life of Carrie before she was the glamazon NYC Sex columnist with a fetish for designer anything. I listened to the audio, read by Jenna Lamia, and I felt like I was watching an episode of HBO’s Sex and the City. I really enjoyed this book more than its predecessor, The Carrie Diaries.

Carrie Bradshaw is out of high school, almost 18 and eager to return to the city she loves before heading off to Brown University in the fall. Now that she’s not in high school, Carrie is eager to begin her reign of independence. She finds an apartment to rent with several roommates, revisits with newest friend, Samantha Jones and signs up for a writing class at a local university.  You’ll meet another one of the infamous foursome in Summer and the City when Carrie seeks the advice of a redhead working at an upscale department store.

Samantha invites Carrie along to some of the hottest parties in NYC and before she knows it, Carrie’s part of some of the chicest social circles in town and while also making connections to further her career. In one night she meets new boyfriend, Bernard and a playwright enthusiast named, Bobby, who promises Carrie his loft/studio to perform her play once she finishes it. Excited to get a head start on her writing career, Carrie vows to complete her play if it’s the only thing she does this summer.  Of course, writing is NOT the only thing Carrie does all summer, emerging from her youth as a social butterfly and a few other things you’ll have to listen to or read the book to find out.

You won’t want to miss a second of this audio book. Summer and the City is full of surprises right up to the very end.                                               

                                          4 STARS

Star Audio Book Review - Delirium by Lauren Oliver; Read by Sarah Drew

           

            What would you do if you just met the love of your life but everyone told you that you had to give up on love...forever? In Delirium, Lauren Oliver’s second YA novel, readers and listeners are brought into a futuristic, dystopian world in which scientists have discovered a cure for the delirium, the disease that has been brought upon humans due to love. They say love causes a delirium that has been devastating to society through divorces, infidelity, heartache and even the exciting or “good” qualities associated with the feelings of love. Society promises that once “cured”, humans will no longer find themselves victim of the attachments, emotionality and instability of love; thereby freeing humans from the anguish and, by default, also, the blessings of love. The end result is a planned, predictable and more stable way of life. Anyone who goes against these rules and regulations is either labeled a sympathizer or a resistor and is hunted down and banished to exile forever. 

Lena Holoway, a high school student in Portland, Washington, has always done the “right” thing or more accurately, she’s always done whatever was expected of her. She eagerly awaits her procedure, counting down the days to when she will be cured of the “disease”. Prior to the procedure, she undergoes a detailed evaluation to find out what profession, spouse and other aspects of her future will entail. Scientific questioning reveals her future husband, college and career but one day, the unthinkable happens – and Lena falls in love with a boy in town named Alex. All of a sudden her whole world, her beliefs, her perceptions, her ideas, dreams and hopes for the future are all up in the air. She is more confused than ever and for the first time, Lena isn’t doing what’s expected of her. The girl who eagerly counted down the days until her procedure is now debating whether or not she even wants to have the procedure; only it might not be up to her to decide.

In a futuristic tale of Romeo and Juliet, Lauren Oliver explores what happens when a young girl comes of age and discovers love in a world where love has been forbidden. Find out what happens when she starts thinking for herself and how she learns to handle the conflicts and inner turmoil that take a toll on her psyche. Will she have the procedure that supposedly will free her from the restraints of love? What will become of her and Alex?

                                                                                                            

Sarah Drew does an excellent job narrating from the young adult perspective and has come become one of my favorite young adult narrators.

This was my first experience reading or listening to a dystopian-type novel and while I applaud Lauren Oliver for her creativity in manifesting a world in which science has broken the spell of love, I’m not so sure this is the type of book I am most interested in.  Like I said, I think Lauren Oliver did a fantastic job writing the story and has a great imagination for what it would be like to be a teenager, falling in love for the first time in a world where love had been banned but for me, I was not as interested in the concept as I would have hoped. Maybe it was because I had read so many great reviews of this book, that my expectations for it were unrealistically high, but there were many parts where I just felt the novel moved too slowly for me. Listening to Delirium definitely allowed for a more interactive and engaging experience for me, but overall, I was disappointed in the book as a whole. I would still be interested, however, in checking out Lauren Oliver’s first novel, Before I Fall, to see if maybe that is more a story to my liking. Check it out for yourself and tell me what you think! I still love the cover of Delirium – I think it is just beautiful.

  3/5 Stars

            

For more information on Lauren Oliver, visit her web site at

http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/

   Other audio books read by Sarah Drew:

    The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

              

Read my review of The Carrie Diaries at the Chick Lit Club!

Waiting on Wednesday - Summer And the City (The Carrie Diaries 2) by Candace Bushnell

"Waiting On Wednesday"(WOW) is a weekly event, hosted by Jill from Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases eagerly anticipated. This is my first week joining the 100 plus book bloggers who participate in the weekly meme and I am very excited to be a part of it. I hope to hear from you and your own WOW so that I can add some more books to my TBR shelf.

Last week, the country celebrated Groundhog Day and Pennsylvania’s forecasting furry friend, Puxatwaney Phil, did not see his shadow. According to legend, then, Spring is right around the corner. I know I am ready for the longer, warmer days of Spring and Summer – enough with all this cold and snow, already!! Fitting with the warming trend, my pick this week for Waiting on Wednesday is the second book in a long awaited young adult/teen lit series, Summer and the City (The Carrie Diaries #2) by chick lit queen, Candace Bushnell. Summer in the City is the second story in the saga of Carrie Bradshaw’s life before her days as the glamazon, fashionista and women’s columnist we know and love from Sex and the City.

I absolutely adored the first novel in this series, aptly titled The Carrie Diaries, in which readers got a sneak peek at the life of Carrie Bradshaw in her high school days. In the second release, Candace Bushnell reveals how Carrie met bffs, Samantha and Miranda. Just like Carrie and her limitless styles of designer shoes and handbags, there are multiple, fashionable covers designed for book two of  The Carrie Diaries (see below). I literally, CANNOT WAIT for this one!!

Summer and the City (The Carrie Diaries #2) by Candace Bushnell

Meet teenage Carrie Bradshaw as she hits the bright lights, big city of New York for the very first time! Find out how Carrie transforms from country girl to super-cool fashionista in the second explosive CARRIE DIARIES novel from the globally bestselling author of SEX AND THE CITY. Summer is a magical time in New York City and Carrie is in love with all of it -- the crazy characters in her neighborhood, the vintage-clothing boutiques, the wild parties and the glamorous man who has swept her off her feet. Best of all, she's finally in a real writing class, taking her first steps toward fulfilling her dream. This sequel to THE CARRIE DIARIES brings surprising revelations as Carrie learns to navigate her way around the Big Apple, going from being a country "sparrow" -- as Samantha Jones dubs her -- to the person she always wanted to be. But as it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile her past with her future, Carrie realizes that making it in New York is much more complicated than she ever imagined. With her signature wit and sparkling humor, Candace Bushnell reveals the irresistible story of how Carrie met Samantha and Miranda, and what turned a small-town girl into one of the New York City's most unforgettable women.

The above synopsis was found on Goodreads via the Hardcover edition.

Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell will be released April 26, 2011

If you visit her web site, you can see an Author video of The Carrie Diaries, Candace Bushnell’s bio, previous media releases and publications and more!!