A Time To Dance By Karen Kingsbury

This book is about marriage on the rocks. John and Abby were the perfect couple. Childhood sweetheart. Have the perfect family. All rosy and daisy.

But then they fell out of love with each other. Abby suspected John cheating on her . John felt neglected by Abby in the past years since she was concentrating in her work.

They thought of getting divorce but then their daughter announced that she is getting married.

Well, they decided to postpone the announcement so that it won't ruin their daughter's day.

I give this books 3 stars out of 5. I find that this book is depressing and long winded. But no doubt the issues highlight here are very real.

I received this complimentary book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their blogger review programme. I am not required to give a positive review and all opinion expressed herein are my own.

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Really Woolly Bible Stories By DaySpring

I just received this really cute book titled "Really Woolly Bible Stories" from Thomas Nelson, the publisher as part of their Bloggers review programme. I am not required to give a glowing review on this book. All opinion express herein is mine.

This is a padded board book with lovely illustration.

In it there are several favourite all time Bible stories. It's being told in simple way. Some are in the form of a few lines that rhymed.

My two year old boy love this books. He would point to the illustration and say "Stars", "Baby Jesus" and surprisingly he even recognised the word Lions.

I think it's a good way for him to start learning about the Bible and at the same time have fun doing it.

This book is suitable for toddlers and young readers.

I give it 5 stars.

The Choice By Nicholas Sparks

After a few hours of non-stop reading, I have finished this book. Started reading around 4p.m. this afternoon.

Once started, I can't put down this book. It was THAT good for me though others might disagree

This is a simple love story. Travis, the hero in this story is the only unmarried male in his group. He changed girlfriends as fast as he change clothes. Nope, he is not a playboy. It just seems that he haven't found THE ONE yet.

Gabby just moved next door to Travis. Gabby moved here so that she can be nearer to her long term boyfriend. They have been together for four years and yet he have not pop the question. She thought she was happy but deep down inside she feels something is missing

Soon she discovered her prized dog, Molly, was pregnant and she suspected that Travis dog have something to do with it. She have been hiding her dissatisfaction  against Travis for quite some time. From the loud music that he play at night to his roaming dog.

Finally she went over and "exploded". Accused Travis' dog impregnating her dog. Though Travis tried to explain but she refused to listen

Then she brought her dog to the vet and discovered the vet is Travis. Travis explained to her that her dog is indeed pregnant but not from his dog coz his dag have been neutered. Gabby was very embarrassed and apologise profusely. Travis was very forgiving.

Since then Gabby tried to avoid Travis due to her embarrassment but Travis kept seeking her out. He was attracted to her. He was a bit disappointed that she have a boyfriend but yet he did not give up.

They found that they were attracted to each other and soon fell in love.

This is not the simple ending. In the second part of the story, Travis was faced with a tough choice whether to let Gabby go as Gabby willed or to define her will.

The first part of the story was light hearted. The joy of courtship. Ahhh...the wonderful experiences. Reminds me of my dating times. Such great memories. The part where Gabby was faced with a choice whether to stay with her boyfriend or to go with Travis was very touching.

The second part have a bit more suspense. I can't help cheating by flipping to the last page to know the result. Yes, it's very bad of me.

I give this book full marks.

The Devil In The Junior League By Linda Francis Lee

Just finished this book last night.

Fredericka Mercedes Hildebrand Ware(wow...what a mouthful), Frede to her friends have the perfect life. She is rich and from the old money group in Taxes. She is a member of Junior League of Willow Creek and is expected to be the next president-elect of JLWC. The members of JLWC are consist of those rich and high power women in the society. They are the trend setter.

She have a handsome husband, Gordon, that is until one day when she found a a mousy woman standing by her door step claiming that she is pregnant with her husband child. She threw her out with her husband. Unknown to her, Gordon had siphoned her money and assets away too.

Her impeccable reputation was in jeopardy and so is her financial situation. There is only one person who could help her. Howard Grout, a shark of a lawyer who is also her neighbour.

The price that he wanted for his services was something that Frede might not able to deliver. He wanted her to get his tacky wife, Nikki(once was Frede bestie), into JLWC.

To make the matter worse, Pilar(another one of her former bestie), who is also in JLWC seems to be up to something.

At first Frede did not really want Nikki to be in the JLWC. But later on she grown fond of Nikki.

My first impression of Frede in the first few chapter is that she is just a shallow and snobbish woman. As I read on, Linda managed to turn Frede into more human.

The part where her starving artist boy friend is actually super rich seems to be familiar. I recall reading a similar plot in Chris Mansby "marrying for money". The ending also seems to be something like "The First Wives Club" by Olivia Goldsmiths.

I just wish she would elaborate more on Frede's no good husband. The ending seems too convenient and easy for him

Overall it's a acceptable read. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

Bought this book from BookXcess at RM9-90 only. Worth the money

The Magpie Bridge by Liu Hong

This book is about Jiao Mei who is in London to further study. She is staying with Barbara, her father's former lover who sponsor her to further study there.

One night she was visited by her grandmother,Tie Mei, spirit. At first she thought it's just a dream. But later on the visit become more frequent.

The spirit told her that she is pregnant with British boyfriend's baby

At first it was unclear the purpose of the visit but later it was revealed that Tie Mei wanted Jiao Mei to find their ancestor's treasure, a piece of brass mirror which carries a terrible curse.

To me this book tried to imitate Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club but fail.

There are flash back between present and past for Tie Mei, Jiao Mei and Barbara. Also trying the merge the western influence and eastern influence together. Instead of making the story flow nicely together, this confused me. The constant flash back and changing view point makes me unable to enjoy the "mood" of the story.

Not a good read. I give it 2 stars out of 5.

This is my personal opinion only

Azazel Fantasy Stories By Isaac Asimov

I found this gem during one of my rampage at Paylessbooks warehouse sale. Got it under the bargain book, RM12 for 5.

This is one of my most prize possession in terms of books. It is not a brand new book but the stories inside makes me want to read this again and again.

I was hooked on Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series a few years ago. Found that he have great vision on the future of this world. At the time when he wrote the Foundation Series, we still did not have the technology described therein and we still don't

Anyway, Azazel is totally different from the Foundation series.

It's about this two inches tall devil who have a great big ego. He have the power to grant wishes but his power is limited.

Each time when he was summon by his friend to help in one thing or another, the result would be disastrous.The Murphy's Law thingy.

There are 18 stories in this book.

You have to read this brilliant work with an open mind.