Kate Rivet

Taking a break to read

Posted on: October 10, 2010

I’ve been so busy writing lately that I’ve had a stack of books lying by my bed I’ve neglected to even crack open.  I’m happy to say that over the past week or so, I’ve managed to read three books, and I absolutely loved them all!  I thought I would take a minute and write about each one just a little.

Book #1: Mini-Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

This was the first book I managed to start and finish out of the three, and I absolutely loved it.  I’m a big fan of Sophie Kinsella, and own all but one or two of her books, so as soon as this was released, I ran out and picked up my copy.  I loved all of the Shopaholic books (and the movie, which I hear might place me somewhat in the minority), so I was glad to be able to see what Becky and Luke were up to.  To recap shortly: the last Shopaholic book ended with Becky and Luke having their own baby, Minnie Brandon.  They had tried to buy a house, but the deal fell through; instead, they moved in with Becky’s parents until they could get on their feet again.  Mini-Shopaholic picks up two years later.  Becky’s still working for The Look part-time, and Luke’s still running Brandon Communications; he’s still trying to settle everything from the Arcodas disaster.  They’ve had the deals fall through on more than just a few houses now, and are still trying hard to move out of Becky’s parents’ place.  We get to follow Becky in this book as she attempts to throw Luke a huge birthday party, and she tries to tame Minnie’s shopaholic habit that she’s picked up from none other than Becky herself, all while Luke tries to keep everything in check as the banks start to have failure issues.  It’s a great book, and the ending was really nice.  I don’t know if Ms. Kinsella plans to write any more Shopaholic books, but I’d love to read another.

Book #2: Sugar and Spice by Lauren Conrad

Full disclosure: I love reality television.  I watched Lauren Conrad faithfully on Laguna Beach and cheered for her against Kristin Cavallari, then I watched her on The Hills for a season or two before the show started to bore me (and before Spencer and Heidi got as crazy as they became).  I actually met Lauren Conrad a few years ago when she was in town promoting her clothing lines, and she was a total sweetheart.  As soon as I heard about her first book, LA Candy, I had to go get it.  I was utterly surprised at how good it was!  I didn’t think much of it, because I never saw Lauren as an author, but she definitely has a great story she’s been telling.  I thought the same of the second book, Sweet Little Lies.  Everybody seems to say that you should write what you know, and Lauren definitely knows a lot about how reality television works.  So, her third book, Sugar and Spice, picks up where Sweet Little Lies leaves off.  The heroine of our story, Jane Roberts, is recovering from her second break-up with her boyfriend Jesse, and she’s now torn between three guys — Jesse, his former roommate Braden, and a former high school boyfriend, Caleb.  Jane’s got all of this drama in addition to one of her LA Candy costars, Madison, on her tail trying to ruin her and make herself the star of the series.  Jane’s best friend Scarlett is also stuck with some serious thinking to do when she has to decide between staying at USC or transferring to any of the other colleges she’s secretly been applying to, all while trying to keep her first serious relationship afloat despite the LA Candy producers seemingly trying to ruin it all.  It’s a good conclusion to the series, and I was surprised to find out some of the twists relating to Madison, then later, Jane.  It’s definitely worth a read, and I really did like this series in general.

Book #3: Priceless by Nicole Richie

Priceless

Yes, I loved Nicole on The Simple Life with Paris Hilton.  Yes, I own Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD.  Yes, I was on Team Nicole during her feud with Paris.  And yes, I own her first book, The Truth About Diamonds.  I think Nicole has a great voice that shines through her books.  I really enjoyed hearing the story of Chloe Parker, and all her struggles and triumphs throughout that novel.  I have reread it at least two or three times, and I like it more with each read.  I had actually forgotten that this had come out, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon it at Barnes and Noble the other day while I was picking up Sugar and Spice.  I sat down and read it this morning (I’m a quick reader), and I loved the tale.  This book tells the story of Charlotte Williams, a girl whose father spares no expense on his princess.  Her mother was killed in a car accident when she was just seven, and she was raised by a nanny for a few years named Miss Millie.  The other staff of the house, Davis and Greta, also helped to raise this pampered girl.  She’s just returned from a year in Sorbonne — she’d been studying at Yale before she had a drunken incident which involved her torching the school’s political science building as revenge against an ex-boyfriend.  Things seem to be back to normal, but that changes rapidly — her father is arrested for securities fraud, and her family is now under investigation by the FBI and the SEC, as well as the police.  Charlotte’s apartment that she grew up in is seized, so she chooses to head to New Orleans and find Miss Millie, who has offered for her to come stay.  There are a few problems she encounters on the way — all of the money her late mother left her is frozen by the government although it is entirely separate from her father’s, and she suddenly has a psycopathic stalker threatening to kill her — but it’s her new friends, Kat and Jackson, and her beautiful singing voice that provide her with a bright spot on the horizon.  It’s a great story from start to finish, and I highly recommend it.

Well, there you go!  Three books that I’ve read, and they’re all worth borrowing, if not buying.  I do love reading as well as writing, and it’s been very fun to delve into other authors’ works for a change.  Not that I don’t love my books — because I do! — but it’s always great to have a slight vacation, isn’t it?

Until next time,
Kate

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