Newest summer reads

My husband was out of town this week and I had the week off, so needless to say, I got a lot of reading done.

I didn't expect to, but I really enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. The story was engrossing and the characters believable. The parts about foot-binding seemed so real that is was hard for me to read. It was a powerful book about friendship and family.
Shannon's Grade: A-



The Memory Keepers Daughter was a good read, but I found the story line a bit hard to believe. A young doctor delivers his own twin babies during a snowstorm and discovers that the girl has Downs Syndrome and the boy is normal. He gives the baby girl to his nurse and tells her to take it to an institution. He tells his wife, who had passed out from ether during the delivery (and didn't even know she was having twins) that the baby girl had died. What I found hard to believe is why he didn't just let her believe she had only one baby. SHE NEVER WOULD HAVE KNOWN! The rest of the book was about how the rest of their lives are shaped by his duplicity. Predictable but not entirely boring.
Shannon's Grade: B-



I think my love affair with Jodi Piccoult is well-known, but we had a little falling out after I read Songs from a Humpback Whale & Nineteen Minutes. Well, after reading Mercy, we're back on! This was a great book, although because of the actions of certain characters, it made me a bit uncomfortable to read. It continues to amaze me how Piccoult can write about an issue; and no matter how strongly your beliefs for or against it, she can make you understand how a person could commit an act of murder or adultry. She doesn't always succeed in this, but she really did in this book. Salem Falls is next...
Shannon's Grade: A



You knew there had to be a romance novel in there somewhere! I admit that I'm obsessed with the Cynster Series. The first 3 that I read where great, but I must say that Scandel's Bride did not measure up. I wasn't crazy about the hero, and the heroine was a complete dolt. She was suppossed to be the "Lady of the Veil", who I guess is like a clan laird in Scotland, only she worships some nebulous god-like "Lady" (I know, huh?). Basically the hero had to respect and follow her orders and religion to get beneath her skirts. Needless to say, it hit a little too close to home if you know what I mean...
Shannon's Grade: C-

I ordered a bunch more of the Cynster series, so there will be more reviews to come!