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.  :)

Jenna's Cowboy by Sharon Gillenwater

★★★★☆

Jenna Callahan Colby thought she was content. A partner on her father's successful ranch, she is surrounded by family and friends. But she never expected to see Nate Langley back in town--the first guy she ever noticed, the one her father sent away all those years ago.

And she never thought the attraction they felt would be as strong as ever.

Jenna's cowboy has some healing of his own to do, though, after two tours of duty in the armed forces. With the help of good friends, strong faith, and a loving family, he hopes to put the horrors of the past behind him--and become the man Jenna deserves.

I really enjoyed Jenna's Cowboy!!  It was a freebie, so I decided to give it a try and really ended up liking it!  It's a love story - of course.  :)  Jenna and Nate knew each other in high school, and although neither knew it, they had been attracted to one another back then.  Jenna has since married and had a baby, only to be walked out on by her husband.  Nate returns from the armed forces as the hometown hero, but he's struggling with the effects of war - PTSD.  This element definitely adds an aspect of depth and realism to the story.  Of course Jenna and Nate fall for each other, and that's where the love story happens!  Before reading this book, I never realized the impact of PTSD on a person's life... the author herself became well-educated on the subject before writing this story, so it's role in the story feels very real.  I really enjoyed this book!!

My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

★★★★★
Kate Donovan is burned out on work, worn down by her dating relationships, and in need of an adventure. When her grandmother asks Kate to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania, to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance, takes a leave of absence from her job as a social worker, and the two of them set off. 

Upon her arrival in Redbud, Kate meets Matt Jarreau, the man her grandmother has hired to renovate the house. From the first moment she meets Matt, Kate can't help but be attracted to him -- he's got a combination of good looks and charisma that draw and tug at her. But she knows there's zero chance of a romance between them. Matt's in love with his dead wife, and even if he weren't, Kate realizes that she's way too ordinary for him. For Matt Jarreau is no ordinary guy. Kate discovers that he was once a great NHL hockey player who left the sport when his wife--an honest-to-goodness former Miss America--was diagnosed with brain cancer. Matt's been hiding from people, from God, and from his past ever since. Yet Kate is absolutely determined to befriend him, to try to reach him, to help him in some small way. 

No, Kate's not looking for love. She knows better than that by now. But when the stilted, uncomfortable interactions between Kate and Matt slowly shift into something more, is God finally answering the longing of her heart? Or will Kate be required to give up more than she ever dreamed?

Oh my goodness, I LOVED this book!!  Like stay-up-late, read-while-putting-on-makeup loved.  I'm not even joking... I brought my Nook in the car so I could read at the stoplights, hahaha!  I've realized recently that, by far, love stories are my absolute favorite kind of books to read.  My Stubborn Heart was so authentic and real.  Some love stories can teeter on the brink of trite or predictable, and sometimes it's okay to read those.  But this book was so well-written... the characters were really well developed, there is a cast of funny senior citizens, and the love story between Kate and Matt is palpable.  My Stubborn Heart is a christian fiction story, so there is also a spiritual aspect to the story that centers on God's timing.  This book had everything I love to read about all wrapped up into one.  I will most definitely be keeping my eye out for more books by Becky Wade!

The Mother Road by Jennifer AlLee

★★★☆☆

Within the course of a week, Natalie is dumped by her husband, receives an urgent call home from her father, and discovers her estranged sister is pregnant.

A road trip on Route 66 may not help, but it sure couldn't hurt. Or so Natalie thinks, until Lindsay's boyfriend starts stalking them. Will their trip down the Mother Road bring the two sisters closer together or turn out to be the biggest wrong turn yet?

I just finished reading The Mother Road, and I'm kind of glad it's over!  :(  It was definitely a slower-paced book, and there were many depressing undertones to the book: a mom who has Alzheimer's and doesn't remember one of her children, the sad dad who has to care for her, the main character's marriage that has crumbled after 18 years, and a lost-soul sister who is pregnant and unwed.  Although it ends hopeful, it wasn't an extremely uplifting read.  There are cute parts to the story, but overall I am glad this book is over.  I am ready for a good read!

The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs

★★★★☆

From the bestselling author of The Know-It-All comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible.

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers.

The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes.

Jacobs's quest transforms his life even more radically than the year spent reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica for The Know-It-All. His beard grows so unruly that he is regularly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations - much to his wife's chagrin.

Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah's Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain. Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, The Year of Living Biblically is part Cliff Notes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down.

My sister lent me her copy of The Year of Living Biblically, so technically I didn't read it on my Nook!  (I will say, it takes me much longer to finish a paper book than when I'm reading on my Nook.  :)  )  Anyways, I really enjoyed this book!  The author, who was born Jewish but is an agnostic, decides that he will immerse himself in the Bible for an entire year, and that he will follow it as literally as possible.  This book recounts his experiences.  I liked that he was coming into this 'project' with no preconceived notions about religion or what the Bible says.  He was really reading it for the first time and interpreting it without many outside influences.  Along the way, he meets with many members of the Jewish and Christian faith, some of them extremists.  Some of his experiences are hilarious, and it's funny to read about his wife's reactions to some of the stuff he does over the course of the year.  He came away from this experience a different person than the guy he started as.  This was really an enjoyable, funny, and insightful read!

Bluegrass State of Mind by Kathleen Brooks

★★★★☆

McKenna Mason, a New York City attorney with a love of all things Prada, is on the run from a group of powerful, dangerous men. McKenna turns to a teenage crush, Will Ashton, for help in starting a new life in beautiful horse country. She finds that Will is now a handsome, successful race horse farm owner. As the old flame is ignited, complications are aplenty in the form of a nasty ex-wife, an ex-boyfriend intent on killing her, and a feisty race horse who refuses to race without a kiss. Can Will and McKenna cross the finish line together, and more importantly, alive?

I loved Bluegrass State of Mind!  What's not to love about a hunky but kind and humble main character!!  Kenna experiences almost a cultural shift as she moves from hectic NYC to down-home Kentucky.  The people of the town are so loving and friendly, although they all know your business!  I loved the cast of characters in this book, and it was a fresh storyline.  There is a love story along with some mystery and drama.  Great new story!