Update - Moved to Goodreads!

So I found a new way to keep track of my books... it's so simple to create lists of things I want to read, keep track of things I've read, rate books, etc.  It's Goodreads, and I've already started keeping track of my things over there.  :)  It also gives you recommendations of what else you might like based on your books and their ratings.  Yay!

You can also search your friends, share book lists, and the like.  :)

To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell

★★★★★

The hardest part of love is moving on... 

It's been a year since Ellie Kendall's husband, Jamie, was killed in an accident, but she's still haunted by his memory. In fact, she finds herself talking to him regularly. At the urging of Jamie's successful actor father Tony, Ellie moves to London's glamorous Primrose Hill, where nobody knows her past...

But even in her new home-and with her hardworking new boss, Zack McLaren; and Jamie's best friend Todd to distract her-Ellie can't seem to leave Jamie behind. Will Ellie stay stuck in the past?

Or will she realize the man of her dreams is flesh and blood-and right in front of her eyes...

Oh, this is not the first time I've said it, but I just LOVE Jill Mansell!  I was so excited when this book came available at bn.com for $1.99!  To the Moon and Back is characteristic of Mansell's stories:  Great characters, quirky friends, lots of humor (like the laugh-out-loud kind), and a great love story.  She puts an element of depth and reality into her stories that make them such great reads!!

Falling for You by Julie Ortolon

★★★★☆

What happens when Mr. Slow and Steady…

The forecast is smooth sailing for Oliver Chancellor, scion of Galveston’s premier financier. Destined to take his place in the hallowed marble corridors of his family’s bank, Chance is content with the future that’s been mapped out for him, right down to his upcoming engagement to a prim debutante enthusiastically approved by his socialite mother.

Finds himself on a collision course…

But when beautiful Rory St. Claire crosses his path, Chance recklessly plunges into uncharted territory with nothing but his heart to guide him-and a beautiful woman to tempt him…

With Ms. Full-Speed-Ahead?

Propelled by a lifelong goal to buy the island home reportedly haunted by her colorful ancestors, Rory desperately needs Chance’s help in securing a business loan, and she won’t take no for an answer. In the midst of convincing the hesitant blue blood to take a chance on her dream, Rory unexpectedly lands in Chance’s arms, stunned by his red-blooded passion-and her own awakened desire. Now, the mismatched pair can’t keep their hands off one another, and something tells Rory she’s headed for trouble-trouble in the name of love… 

I have to admit... I usually choose (or don't choose) books partially based on their covers.  So shallow, I know!  :)  The cover of this book made me think of 'corny romance novel,' but it had a ton of good reviews over at bn.com.  Plus, it said "USA Today Bestselling Author"... so I decided to give it a try.  I really, really liked Falling for You!  It wasn't a corny romance novel at all!!  The setting is awesome, an old historic home on Galveston island that Rory wants to convert to a bed & breakfast.  Both the setting and the storyline are unique.  I love Rory and Chance.  :)  This book is part of a trilogy, and I most definitely would read the other books in the series.  Recommended!

Her Restless Heart by Barbara Cameron

★★★☆☆

Mary Katherine is caught between the traditions of her faith and the pull of a different life. When Daniel, an Amish man living in Florida, arrives and shares her restlessness, Mary Katherine feels drawn to him and curious aboutthe life he leads away from Lancaster County.

But her longtime friend Jacob has been in love with her for years. He’s discouraged that she’s never viewed him as anything but a friend and despairs that he is about to lose Mary Katherine to this outsider.

Will the conflicted Mary Katherine be lost to the Englisch world, or toDaniel, who might take her away to Florida? Or will she embrace her Amish faith and recognize Jacob as the man she should marry and build a life with?

I've seen this book as a freebie several times, and recently I decided to download it.  The story is about young Amish adults, and to be honest, I wasn't sure how exciting the story was going to be!  Her Restless Heart was a decent book, but it was very simple and a little slow.  The characters are extremely naive, which makes it hard to relate to and difficult to really get into the story.  I realize that is the nature of an Amish fiction book.  I probably won't be adding more Amish books to my library in the near future!

A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand

★★★☆☆

Claire Danner Crispin, mother of four young children and nationally renowned glassblower, bites off more than she can chew when she agrees to co-chair the Nantucket's Children Summer Gala. Claire is asked to chair the benefit, in part, because she is the former high school sweetheart of rock star Max West. Max agrees to play the gala and it looks like smooth sailing for Claire-until she promises a "museum-quality" piece of glass for the auction, offers her best friend the catering job, goes nose-to-nose with her Manhattan socialite co-chair, and begins a "good-hearted" affair with the charity's Executive Director, Lockhart Dixon.

Hearts break and emotions are pushed to the limit in this riveting story of one woman's attempt to deal with loves past and present, family, business, and high-powered social pressures. Elin Hilderbrand's unique understanding of the joys and longings that animate women's lives will make this her newest summer bestseller.

I was a little disappointed in A Summer Affair.  On one hand, the characters were realistic and it was a well written book... but this book really was about the affair that this mom of 4 is having.  It's about the lies, secrecy, and guilt that goes along with having an affair, and quite frankly, I did not like even reading about it!  I just had kind of a sick feeling for this lady.  I did like some of the (non-affair having!) characters, but overall I was ready to be done with the storyline.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

★★★☆☆

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

Oh, I have mixed feelings about Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet!  On one hand, I think it sets out to be this epic novel, as a story taking place during World War II and with talk of internment camps and other serious injustices of the time period.  The book felt very authentic historically, like it takes you back in time.  But on the other hand, in my opinion it was a very slow moving book.  It keeps you just interested enough to keep reading, but there are really no surprises.  It really does turn into a love story, but not the kind that make for page-turners!  It was a good book, and I stayed up late to finish reading it, but only so I could get to the end and start my next book.  :(  It gets really good reviews pretty much everywhere, so maybe I just don't like reading this type of book.  I think the undertones were too depressing throughout the book for me to thoroughly enjoy reading it.

Hired by the Cowboy by Donna Alward

★★★★☆

Alexis Grayson is good at looking after herself—she's been doing it all her life. So what if she's alone and pregnant? She'll cope! But gorgeous cowboy Connor Madsen seems determined to take care of her. And Alexis can help him—he needs a temporary wife; she needs somewhere to live until the baby's born. A short-term marriage will solve all their difficulties!

As Alexis gets to know the courageous, honorable Connor, she realizes that she might have made the biggest mistake of her life. Because all this wife-for-hire wants is a marriage for real!

Hired by the Cowboy was another freebie I picked up, and I'm not sure why!  I don't think I've ever read a 'Harlequin Romance' and wasn't quite sure what to expect!!  I decided before I started reading that if it was corny and smutty, I wasn't going to keep reading it.  I'm glad I read it... it was far from either!  Like probably most romance novels, there was an element of predictability about it, being that you know it is a love story.  However, I thought the author developed the characters very well and developed their love story over time.  It is a relatively short book (145 pages on my Nook anyways), but I was really pleasantly surprised with this story!!  I guess I might keep my eye out for more Harlequin Romances in the future.  :)