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!!

Tackle it Tuesday - Sugar and Spice by Lauren Conrad

Sugar and Spice (L.A. Candy #3) by Lauren Conrad

I read the first two books in the L.A. Candy series almost immediately upon their release, in 2009 and 2010. Actually, to be more accurate, I listened to both L.A. Candy and Sweet Little Lies and they went by really fast. When the third and final installment came out, I was only able to obtain an e-book copy via my local library’s media site, Overdrive. Unfortunately, by the time I got around to reading it and was really into it, the lending copy I had borrowed expired out of my Digital Library and I was stuck…back on the waiting list for the next copy…after approx. two weeks and another book I finished along the way…I was finally able to download the e-book, Sugar and Spice.  I was elated to find out that the application on my phone that I used to read Sugar and Spice had actually held my spot in the e-book during the entire waiting period when I had no access to it. (God, I love modern technology!)

Needless to say, Sugar and Spice (LA Candy Series #3) by Lauren Conrad makes for the perfect pick for my first Tackle it Tuesday. Tackle it Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tasha at Book Obsessed at http://book-obsessed.blogspot.com/. Tackle It Tuesday is a play off of a similar meme of the same name hosted by Janice and Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom.

At the Book Obsessed version of the meme, the idea is to "tackle" books that have been sitting on your shelves collecting dust waiting to be read. Or to "tackle" those you’ve started, but yet to finish because life has gotten in the way. It’s also a way to help encourage Blogger interaction, which is always a plus.

For more, great Daily Meme ideas visit:

http://thedailymeme.com/

This was the first of the L.A. Candy series books that I did not listen to but I still liked it just about the same. In fact, it was a close tie between the first one, L.A. Candy and this last book, Sugar and Spice, as far as which one I liked best. I have a feeling that reading it might have been just the thing to push it over the edge towards being the more favorable of the two – after looking back on the series. As much as I love reality TV queen, Lauren Conrad, I did not find her audio narration of Book 1, L.A. Candy to be one of the Young Adult series. By book 2, I assume LC had proven her right as an “author” and a more established narrator, Cassandra Campbell, took over as the voice of the series, creating a more varied and articulated drama. So in Book 3, Sugar and Spice, I had to use my own imagination to infer the conversations and interactions as they occurred, which, to me, usually makes for a very vivid and satisfying story in its own right, allowing the voices of characters to be open and

Overall, I was really happy with the way the three-part story wrapped up. It didn't seem to end too abruptly nor did it tie up every loose end, allowing the transition and flow of events to seem natural and purposeful. In Sugar and Spice, readers arrive back where we left off on the set of L.A. Candy and in this final season, Jane and Scarlett seem to take on opposite roles as far as their perspectives on the L.A. Candy reality show and their relationships with its producer, Trevor, go. Scarlett has made an agreement with Trevor to become more complacent with the expectations of the show, no matter how incredulous, exaggerated or at times, just blatantly, untrue. In contrast, Jane, who was historically the more agreeable of the two L.A. Candy pop stars, becomes the renegade of the show after stumbling upon a notebook belonging to Trevor. The notebook reveals all his "plans" for their upcoming shows, a devious and twisted play-by-play of all the maneuvers and tactics Trevor intends to use to pit the L.A. Candy stars against one another to increase viewer ratings. The more Jane reads the notebook, the more she vows not to allow herself to be a pawn in Trevor's sick game of her life. She tries to stay one step ahead of him at every scene but as always, the nastiest of Trevor’s tricks are only present in his mind, and even Jane, who has the "other team's playbook" can't prevent or even foresee everything that is about to happen on the set and in her life.

Like the other L.A. Candy novels, Sugar and Spice “spices” things up by throwing in a few added characters to its cast of regulars, this time in the form of Madison Parker's baby sister. Sophie Parker quickly reveals that she’s a girl who knows exactly what she wants and will stop at nothing and for nobody to make sure she gets it. Jane and the other girls are taken aback by this super-mini-me version of Madison and soon realize she might not be who they think she is.

          This final novel in Lauren Conrad's L.A. Candy series proves once and for all that reality TV is full of all the drama, excitement and rehearsal that we expect of it now. Her series makes readers wonder how much of LC's life actually paralleled that of which we saw on TV and it may open the eyes of some fans to the reality of reality TV. This was a quick, yet enjoyable read. I’d recommend to any fan of Lauren Conrad, MTV’s reality TV series and teen/young adult lit. Bring this book to the beach!

 3 STARS

Girls Night Out! Chick Flicks - See Jane Date (2003); Novel by Melissa Senate

First Date

I’ve been wanting to add a new feature to my blog for some time based on all the Chick Flick movies that have become blockbusters and even those that may have been not-so-liked by film experts and movie-goers. These movies are the types that, much like their paperback counterparts, hold a special place on my shelf, often making my heart melt, causing an eruption of giggles amongst girlfriends and tantalizing the senses with the cutest of eye-candy. In my recent research on “chick flicks”, I have become aware of the vast number of movie bloggers out there and to respect this enormity and the unique, effortful and intricate details that comprise their blogs, I’ve decided that this won’t be a weekly feature but more of an “every-so-often” feature of sorts. In no way do I intend to presume that my reviews are the end all, be all of chick flick information but merely they are the sole representation of my opinions and interests. In this random series of features, I am to highlight those “chick flicks” that I have viewed in their entirety, especially those that started off as novels by some of my favorite authors. So tonight (and, really, what better night than a Weekend Night?) in hopefully what will be the first of many, I am excited to announce a new feature at Lip Gloss and Literature: Girls Night Out! Chick Flicks.

Fitting with the theme of firsts, my first pick for Girls Night Out! Chick Flicks was the very first novel written by Melissa Senate and also the first book ever published by the late “chick lit only” publishing house, Red Dress Ink. See Jane Date published in 2001 quickly became a hit with female readers across the nation. It’s the story about a career-minded woman in New York who is starting to wonder if she will ever find her one true love or at very least someone she would care to go on a second date with. When her younger and more bubbly cousin, Dana, announces her engagement and upcoming wedding at the prestigious Plaza hotel, Jane is devastated she can’t’ even secure a “plus one” on the invitation. To make matters worse, she gets a rather unwelcome blast from the past at work, when former high school-rival-turned-D-List actress-wannabe, (G)Natasha Nutley is assigned under Jane’s guidance as she writes her autobiography about her alleged (and very illicit) affair with “The Actor”. Determined not to let “The Gnat”, Natasha, make Jane feel inferior as an adult, Jane makes up a “serious, live-in boyfriend”, figuring Natasha would never meet “him” anyways; that is until Dana catches Jane and Natasha at a business lunch, and insists that Natasha must come to her wedding, after all Natasha was Dana’s favorite babysitter as a child (not to mention the added gossip and glam it will add to Dana’s wedding party). Natasha eagerly accepts with the excitement of not only seeing little Dana get married but with the added hope of catching a glimpse and meeting Jane’s “boyfriend”. When it appears that everything that could go wrong, can only get worse, Jane’s friends and office mates begin setting her up on a series of blind dates with the hope of meeting someone at least eligible to make the second date at Dana’s wedding. It’s a cute, well articulated novel which has all the elements that today, have come to be considered the “classic” devices and caricatures of chick lit. It came as no surprise when two years later, in 2003, See Jane Date became a made-for-TV movie starring hit TV actress of the time, Charisma Carpenter of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame.

See Jane Date the movie* deviated from its paperback counterpart, as movies so often do to allow for the appropriate timing and organization of scenes, story lines and settings, but unfortunately, in this case, I feel like it really took away from the delivery of the movie, especially in a case like this where the story was altered and, in my opinion, too many scenes landed on the “cutting room floor”. The result was a short, fast-paced movie with too quickly explained scenarios and wide gaps in character development and relationships.  I would have to agree with the famously quoted line, “Don’t judge a book by its movie” (JD Egan), as the movie did not hold a candle to the novel itself and was considered by many to be a “flop”. For an ABC Family Movie, especially, it did however, have its fair share of famous actors and actress, among those included: Charisma Carpenter as Jane, Holly Marie Combs, of Charmed, Antonio Sabato Jr, of Calvin Klein ads and day time soap opera hits and finally, Fox TV’s 15-minute wonder Joe Millionaire, himself, Evan Marriott. I think more often than not, a hit cast not only won't guarantee a hit movie but exactly the opposite happens: all the assumed "greatness" of the movie that may have been riding on the stars' purported fame ends of making for less time put into the development of plot and characters. For example, I didn't feel like "the great divide" between Jane and "The Gnat" Natasha was apparent in the movie and if anything, I felt like Natasha was much nicer than the paperback character and even looked up to Jane as a role model for support and guidance from the very beginning of their interactions in the movie. This was in stark contrast to the book in which Natasha did not reveal her true personality or any hint of weakness until much later in the story line.

Nonetheless, I would never say I “hated” the movie because I did really enjoy the book and the movie held up to the cutesy expectations I had for a made-for-tv chick flick with its romantic qualities and sappy ( I mean, happy) ending. Ok, ok, I would definitely not recommend it, but I would not discount it either for anyone who wants to see it after reading the bookJ You can decide for yourself. You may not be able to see it on TV again but it’s available on Amazon for a mere $4.99 (plus shipping). If you do watch it (or saw it on its world premiere night on ABC), please come back and let me know what you thought about it.

My Chick Flick Rating: 2 Stars.

For other great chick flick movies and the latest in chick flick news and rumours, visit the Chicklit Club’s Screen Scene feature. Other great chick flick blogs around the web:

http://www.chickflickreviews.net

http://justchickflicks.com

*Big thanks to Stacy for leeting me borrow her copy of See Jane Date so that I could watch it after finishing the book. Thanks again! See you on Goodreads!!

Waiting on Wednesday - Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee

"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.

For my second week participating in this meme, I am featuring a novel I just found out I was one of 200 lucky winners on Goodreads to win a pre-release copy of Linda Francis Lee’s latest novel, Emily and Einstein. Linda Francis Lee is probably most well known for her 2006 novel, The Devil in the Junior League, but she has published 20 books in total with editions around the world.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to wake up this morning to an email saying that I had won a copy of this book. In fact, just last night I was thinking about all the books to come in 2011 and what I might put at the top of my wish list – and here it is! What are you Waiting on this Wednesday?!?

Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee

He was a man who didn’t deserve a second chance. But he needed one…

Emily and her husband Sandy Portman seemed to live a gracious if busy life in an old-world, Upper West Side apartment in the famous Dakota building. But one night on the way to meet Emily, Sandy dies in a tragic accident. The funeral isn't even over before Emily learns she is on the verge of being evicted from their apartment. But worse than the possibility of losing her home, Emily is stunned when she discovers that her marriage was made up of lies.

Suddenly Emily is forced on a journey to find out who her husband really was . . . all the while feeling that somehow he isn't really gone. Angry, hurt, and sometimes betrayed by loving memories of the man she lost, Emily finds comfort in a scruffy dog named Einstein. But is Einstein's seemingly odd determination that she save herself enough to make Emily confront her own past? Can he help her find a future—even after she meets a new man?

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

Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee will be released March 1, 2011

If you visit her web site, you can read an excerpt from the Prologue of Emily and Einstein or check out all the info on her previous novels, appearances, her blog and more!

Teaser Tuesday - Privilege (Privilege Series #1) by Kate Brian

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“I like gray. I feel gray,” Ariana told her, staring straight ahead as they walked.

Privilege (Privilege Series #1) by Kate Brian; Unabridged audio book edition, Narrated by Justine Eyre; (Beginning of the book – sorry no page number available)

            I am excited to share with everyone my first Teaser Tuesday (TT), hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading,  and picked out this dark and fitting quote from Chick Lit Teen novel and audio book, Privilege by Kate Brian.

In Privilege, Ariana Osgood has been sentenced to 20 years to life for the brutal killing of a male classmate but she is determined to get out. Used to the ritz and glamour of a much more posh society than that of a criminal’s, Ariana is determined not to live the rest of her days behind the bars of the Brenda T Trumbull penitentiary for women, especially over what she considers to be “one little mistake”. She has been plotting and planning her escape since her first day in her cell and dreaming with her cell mate, Kaitlynn about what they would do together if they ever got out. Run the streets of Paris? Italy? New York? California? Ariana will stop at nothing to see the light of day again; will she ever get out?

            I’m only about 2 hours into this 6 and a half hour audio book, and I’m already hooked! I can’t wait to find out what Ariana might say or do next. Great main character with a strong lead and a sweet Southern accent to fool everyone who gets in her path….well, almost everyone….

            Check back for my review on Goodreads and here, on my blog, once I complete the audio book in its entirety.

For more great teasers, check out Should Be Reading's linky for all the daily quotes.

A Weekend to ReCOVER - Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham

     A Weekend to ReCOVER! – A weekly meme hosted by Her Book Self, a fantastic blog by a self proclaimed “author addict” and lover of all genres. The premise of this meme is fairly simple: post an image of a book cover or other bookish illustration or artwork and talk about it on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday! (This meme originated at Miss Page-Turner's City of Books as ReCOVERy Friday and has been passed on to Lisa at Her Book Self - Thanks very much to both Literary Ladies!!)

            If you’ve followed my blog since its days over at Where You Wish Upon A Star, you may remember a post I once did comparing various covers created for chick lit books in the United States versus the United Kingdom – the differences are vast! (You can still find the old WYWUAS post here and another one I did while contemplating various covers of chick lit series.)Taking a cue from these previous posts as well as the British-based chick lit web site, Chick Lit Reviews’ feature, Cover Wars**, where the Cover Art of Chick Lit novels from around the globe are compared to one another, I’ve decided to continue A Weekend to ReCOVER in a similar fashion.

One of my current reads is Madeleine Wickham’s dark and humorous tale, Cocktails for Three, which portrays the lives of three young women struggling to balance the demands of work, friendship and romance. Londoners, Roxanne, Candice and Maggie, bond together every month over cocktails, catching each other up on the comings and goings of their lives. As the story takes place, each one, whether they are aware or not, are at a crossroads in life, either getting acquainted to a new beginning, making a bargain with the present or figuring out a proper ending. I’m about half way through the novel and with every turning page, become more and more enamored with the three women characters, who are eclectic, intriguing and yet, so relatable all at once. I can’t wait to get back to it and find out what happens next and ultimately how the story concludes.

Interestingly, as different as each of the women characters are in this book, so, too, are the many covers designed for its release. Probably the two most popular (well-known) covers include the UK and US initial releases:

In August, 2010, another cover was released in a re-branding strategy to re-release several of Madeleine Wickham’s books, coupled with her pseudonym, Sophie Kinsella, emblazoned on the cover:

Finally, (although I only recently came across these in a search for the first covers), there were also two other covers; one, for the Hardcover edition and one for the Mass Market Paperback edition:

I love the 2010 newly released cover as well as the UK edition. The only explanation I can even come close to mustering up is that maybe I’m so used to the US edition, with the green background, sunglasses and cocktails on the front, that I like the others for their variety. Perhaps, also, just as I’m most drawn to the personalities and relationships amongst characters in chick lit books, I’m more drawn to the covers which feature an artist’s depiction of what those characters look like.

Which one(s) do you like best and why?

Either way, whichever of the 5 covers is chosen, I’m really glad I picked up this book again. It’s a great story and I’m eager to reach its end (at the same time that I don’t want it to ever endJ) Look for my review on my blog once I do finish it!

 **If you want to check out Chick Lit Reviews for their previous posts on cover wars, visit  http://chicklitreviews.com/category/cover-wars/ and decide which covers you like best! 

***All covers retrieved at Amazon.com

Star Book Review: Everleigh in NYC by Cathleen Holst

Everleigh in NYC by Cathleen Holst 

Have you ever dreamed that you had supernatural powers or abilities? I’m not talking about flying or being able to teleport or zap somebody (although, don’t get me wrong; if that stuff could happen, it’d be pretty out of this world!). No, I’m talking more about those supernatural talents that might be considered a little closer to the realm of our Earthly reality. How about predicting the future or mind reading? I mean, come on, you see them in the Yellow Pages, TV advertisements, commercials and around town all the time –psychics, fortune tellers, tarot card readers – so why not you? What if you woke up one day and crossed someone’s path and suddenly realized that you were “reading” that person’s mind? Ever think something like that could really happen? Well, that’s exactly what did happen to Everleigh Carlisle, lead heroine of Cathleen Holst’s debut novel, Everleigh in NYC.

On a sweltering night during Mardi Gras, after a few too many drinks, Everleigh and bff, Christina, decided to visit a high voodoo priestess to learn about Everleigh’s destiny. Unbeknownst to Everleigh, an unspoken wish is granted, and soon all kinds of events start happening that she never dreamed possible. Suddenly, Everleigh's whole world is turned upside down - she walks in to find her longtime boyfriend making out with her (old) best friend, gets hired by a prominent New York based Fashion magazine and meets Mr. Right. Trouble is, Mr. Right is also her boss and she can hear his thoughts; and those thoughts all seem to be about her! Always one to rise above the pressures of life, Everleigh doesn’t allow herself to get too flustered by any of this and dives headfirst into what she does best and she works, and works and works and works.

After the move of her life, from Atlanta, Georgia to the Big City of New York, will Everleigh ever figure out her place in the world? Or what (or who) it is exactly that she wants? Is it the high-speed, glossy lifestyle offered by NYC? The comfort, familiarity, and peacefulness of home in Atlanta? Will she ever find "the one"? Read the entire story to find out these answers and more as Everleigh embarks on a search for self and the adventure of her life.

Everleigh in NYC was an excellent debut novel from author Cathleen Holst. I am so happy that I bought this book. It's a definite keeper - a roller coaster ride of romance, business, drama, conflict, excitement, surprise and a whole lot more. So fun, you won't want to skip a single sentence.

You can find out more about what Cathleen Holst is up to on her web site at http://www.cathleenholst.webs.com or check out the wonderful Author Interview she did with me on my blog at http://lipglossandliterature.blogspot.com/2011/01/special-guest-post-with-cathleen-holst.html.

Rating: 4/5 Stars