"Central Park"

Last night I completed reading Central Park by Debra White Smith and my reaction was so emphatically "Oh my that was such a good ending!!!", that I felt compelled to call my friend whom I knew had already finished reading it as well.

Although I have never read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, I am almost tempted to do so now because Central Park is somewhat of a modren times retelling of that story as it would happen in the US. The characters are endearing and the story quite good. Oh yes, and for anyone likes happy endings, as I mentioned before, I thought is was quite sweet.

"Arena"

When a book is really good you buy it and re-read it. I am currently reading Arena by Karen Hancock for the second time and enjoying every second of it. The cover is pretty, which only adds to the appeal of reading eventhough it shouldn't matter.

Callie is transported to an alien world filled with dangers given only a guide book and backpack of supplies. In order to get back home she is instructed to jouney to and pass through two differant gates. She meets up with a man named Peirce and his band trying to find the way back to thier homes as well. Together they make mistakes and discoveries, encounter parties of maurauding Trogs, and fight thier fears.... stuff like that. I feel as though I sound really lame, but trust me it is a really good book!!

"Shout Down the Moon"

A while back I read the book Shout Down the Moon by Lisa Tucker and recently I have had a yearning to re-read it. Patty, the main character, is the singer in a band and has a hard life. Patty has a young son and between taking care of him, trying to get along with the others in the group, the reappearance of her son's father and other lifechanging decisions/experiences I was enthralled with the story. The novel was compelling and interesting to read. At times the book made me a little emotional. I would seriously recommend it to just about anyone.

"Confessions of a Shopaholic "

Last night (or rather quite early this morning) I finished reading Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. The main character is Becky; a shopaholic. I must say there were a few times I flinched at the extravagent purchases Becky made. Being somewhat of a tightwad, though natural born window shopper, I felt a slight anxiety over her situation. The events that happened made me laugh aloud more than once at chance encounters, wild immaginings, embarrassing moments, and whole host of other jolly circumstances. Then of course there is the dashing Luke and a hint of romance to keep the dreamers in us occupied. Through and through, the story was quite good. The author is whitty with a nice sense of humor. This is the first book in the shopaholic series, so if you are looking for someting new to read, this might be the book for you.