Kathleen Rear

Now that the Christmas rush and New Years is over I’ve been a reading machine so, I’m going to spread out February’s Bookworm over two posts.

Anna and French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Last year I read the last book of this series (Isla and the Happily Ever After) and loved it! Her characters contain all the quirks of people I know over here in reality.

“A few months ago, my father enrolled me in boarding school. His air quotes practically crackled over the phone line as he declared living abroad to be a “good learning experience” and a “keepsake I’d treasure forever”. Yeah. Keepsake. And I would’ve pointed out his misuse of the word had I not already been freaking out.”

Anna’s fish out of water journey is great. We get to see Paris through the eyes of an absolute beginner, that’s always a fun plot point for me.
Etienne St. Clair is a treat of a character. He’s all swagger and charm but it hides some very deep wounds.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Number two in the (French Kiss) series, brings us back stateside to San Franciso and Lola Nolan who would like her parents to approve of her older hunky, rockstar, boyfriend. Not gonna happen. Lola, however, has a bigger problem now, the boy who broke her heart and then moved away is back.

“…But I’m jogging now, hauling Betsy down the hill. Something’s not right. And I’m positive it’s happened—that Max has left or my parents have cornered him into a heated argument about the lack of direction in his life—when I reach my street and everything clicks into place.
The moving truck.
Not the brunch.
The moving truck.”
“..I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. What are the chances?
Except . . . there’s always a chance. The movers lift a white sofa from the back of the truck, and my heart thumps harder. Do I recognize it? Have I sat on that love seat before? But no. I don’t know it. I peer inside the crammed truck, searching for anything familiar, and I’m met with stacks of severe modern furniture that I’ve never seen before.
It’s not them. It can’t be them.”
“…Max examines me with an unusual curiosity. “Your parents say you know the family.”
No. NO.”

All Fall Down by Ally Carter
First books in a new series can tend to be all about world building and establishing characters, usually to the detriment of the story. That’s some what true with All Fall Down. There’s a lot crammed into the first two chapters, but then the adventure starts for Grace and her friends and it’s a fun one that leads to a game changing ending. And now I get to drum my fingers impatiently for book two. Please write faster Ms. Carter!

“Three years ago, Grace Blakely witnessed her mother’s murder, but no one else seems willing to even acknowledge that it was a homicide, so this daredevil decided that she will have to solve the killing herself. It doesn’t take long for Grace to realize that none of her Embassy Row connections will help a jot; in fact, her powerful ambassador grandfather and his cohorts badly want her to stop ruffling feathers and return to her place as a just another pretty face at the government receptions. An intriguing new series by the author of the Gallagher Girls series.”

“…First lesson.”
Noah broadens his stance, taking his place firmly on the embassy side of the threshold. “in the United States,” he says. Then, with both feet, he leaps on to the sidewalk. “Out of the United States.” Quickly, he jumps back toward me. “In the United States.” Another jump across the threshold. “Out of the United States. In. Out. In –”

“Is this the part where I hit you?”