Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin

I have a song running through my head as I write this:


I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

Ya know the Bonnie Tyler song from Footloose *sigh*...anyhoo...this book makes me want to believe in heroes and cowboys and the innate goodness of people.  Tyler is such a swoon worthy main character and while he may be a *tad* unrealistic it is still fun to believe that there are heroes left in the world.

Book Description via Amazon.com

Publication Date: April 3, 2012

Third generation Texas Ranger Tyler Steele is the last of a dying breed-- a modern day cowboy hero living in a world that doesn't quite understand his powerful sense of right and wrong and instinct to defend those who can't defend themselves. Despite his strong moral compass, Ty has trouble seeing his greatest weakness. His hard outer shell, the one essential to his work, made him incapable of forging the emotional connection his wife Andie so desperately needed.
Now retired, raising their son Brodie on his own, and at risk of losing his ranch, Ty does not know how to rebuild from the rubble of his life. The answer comes in the form of Samantha and her daughter Hope, on the run from a seemingly inescapable situation. They are in danger, desperate, and alone. Though they are strangers, Ty knows he can help-- protecting the innocent is what he does best. As his relationship with Sam and Hope unfolds, Ty realizes he must confront his true weaknesses if he wants to become the man he needs to be.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

A-dorable.  Read this in one sitting and it was delicious. 

Book Description via Amazon.com

Publication Date: January 2, 2012

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas

Yay, an adult book, finally!!!  This is just what I needed, a breezy, light read with a perfect mix of romance with a hint of magic.  This reminded me so much of the Debbie Macomber series Cedar Cove...you fall in love with the setting almost as much as with the characters.  The second book in the series comes out in August and it will be the *perfect* vacation/beach read!!!

Book Description via Amazon.com

Publication Date: February 28, 2012
Series: Friday Harbor

Lucy Marinn is a glass artist living in mystical, beautiful, Friday Harbor, Washington. She is stunned and blindsided by the most bitter kind of betrayal: her fiancé Kevin has left her. His new lover is Lucy’s own sister. Lucy's bitterness over being dumped is multiplied by the fact that she has constantly made the wrong choices in her romantic life. Facing the severe disapproval of Lucy's parents, Kevin asks his friend Sam Nolan, a local vineyard owner on San Juan Island, to "romance" Lucy and hopefully loosen her up and get her over her anger. Complications ensue when Sam and Lucy begin to fall in love, Kevin has second thoughts, and Lucy discovers that the new relationship in her life began under false pretenses. Questions about love, loyalty, old patterns, mistakes, and new beginnings are explored as Lucy learns that some things in life—even after being broken—can be made into something new and beautiful.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

For all those who love Domesday Preppers...this book is for you!  I don't know if I can say I liked this book...I could not put it down...but it left me unsettled.  Your whole perception changes once your a parent and that includes my reactions to books.  I automatically think...what would I do?  Carl and I had an hour long conversation on what we would do if an asteroid did in fact hit the moon.  Now I will admit that this conversation took place over cocktails, while the children were having a sleepover at Nan and Pop's, and it became a hilarious joke very quickly but it gets you thinking.  I will warn you, this book will make you want to start hoarding food and supplies, I joke (kinda.)

Via Amazon.com. 

I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonald’s still would be open.

High school sophomore Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth, the way “one marble hits another.” The result is catastrophic. How can her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis are wiping out the coasts, earthquakes are rocking the continents, and volcanic ash is blocking out the sun? As August turns dark and wintry in northeastern Pennsylvania, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in a year’s worth of journal entries, this heart-pounding story chronicles Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all—hope—in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world. An extraordinary series debut!

Awards: ALA Best Book for Young Adults, CCBC Choice, Junior Library Guild Premier selection, Listening Library selection, Amazon.com Best Book of the Year, 2011 ALA Popular Paperback, winner of six state awards

Divergent by Veronica Roth

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!  I cannot believe I waited so long to read this book - it was A-mazing.  You can keep you Team Peeta/Team Gale (and Edward/Jacob for that matter) because Team Four will forever have a place in my heart *sigh*.  Combine that with post-apocalyptic deliciousness and I have discovered a new favorite book...well until the next one comes along...

Via Amazon.com

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the YA scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral

One part journal, one part scrapbook, Chopsticks tells the story of Gloria as she simultaneously falls in love and falls apart and I LOVED IT!!!  First of all, visually it is beautiful, each page is a piece of art.  Second, the story - oh, my - it was at times sweet and lovely and at times sad and heartbreaking.  This book does not take you long to read - one hour tops - *but* it is the kind of book you can look through again and again...just wonderful  .

From Amazon:

Glory is a piano prodigy. 

After her mother died, she retreated into her music. Her father raised her with the goal of playing sold out shows at Carnegie Hall and across the globe. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to Frank, who moves in next door. She loses herself in his paintings and drawings, mix CD’s and late-night IM conversations. Soon, Frank becomes both her connection to the world--and her escape from reality.

Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song “Chopsticks”; F and G notes moving closer together, and farther apart.

Now, Glory has disappeared. But nothing is what it seems. And we must decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I wanted to love this book, I really did, but that was not meant to be.  A great premise, good characters, great love story...all things I love...but it just fell short - a tad too tidy and predictable.  I found myself speed reading through the end just to see if I was going where I thought it was, and it did.  I am mildly curious at the sequel but it will be low on my TBR list.  So overall just meh.

Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2011: Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author of Before I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice. --Jessica Schein