Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Title: Can You Keep a Secret?
Publication: December 27th, 2005
Publisher: Dell
Genre: Adult Fiction
Rating: 5 out 5

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Synopsis: Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets: Secrets from her boyfriend: I’ve always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken. Secrets from her mother: I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching Ben-Hur. Secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone in the world: I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is. Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger.…Until Emma comes face-to-face with Jack Harper, the company’s elusive CEO, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her...

Thoughts:  Emma is having a midlife crisis. She doesn’t love her “perfect” boyfriend, her job is at a standstill, and let’s not forget the spiteful sister making life miserable. She bottles up her feelings until a fateful incident on a turbulent plane ride. She spills all of her darkest secrets to a stranger, then finds out the next day that the man is her companies CEO Jack Harper.

All of the characters in the book are well developed. Everyone has secrets – Emma more than most – and watching her get caught sparks the life she’s been wanting (and at the same time not wanting). Through out the book you see her evolving into a better, mature person. It’s humorous with a tad bit of drama. Definitely a chick lit feel-good read. You really feel for Emma, which means the character is relatable. One of the biggest reasons people like books is to feel an emotion for the characters situation. You certainly have these feelings in this book. Jack is also someone you want to get your hands on. He’s so gorgeous, funny, smart, and successful. Mmmmmm.

Sophie Kinsella is the author of the famous series Shopoholic, which I had no desire to read (shopping isn’t my thing). After reading this book I’m having second thoughts. I would love to follow this author closer, and give this book five stars.

Review: Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Title: Sisterhood Everlasting

Author: Ann Brashares

Publication: March 6, 2012

Publisher: Random House

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Genre: Contemporary/Women's Fiction

Audience: 17 and up

Website/Goodreads/Amazon

Goodreads Summery
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.

My Thoughts:I have followed the sisterhood from the beginning and have been excited about this installment. This was an emotional journey for me. The story begins with a retelling of how the “Septembers” came to be, as told by Carmen. I loved learning about how the girls’ lives have changed since freshman year of college. I was saddened to see that the girls had drifted apart a little but that is to be expected when living so far apart. I was excited for the girls to get together again. Tragedy strikes before their reunion really begins. I spent the rest of the book in tears. I wanted the girls to come together and support each other with their loss. They were unable to support each other and it takes Tibby’s planning and foresight to bring the girls together. Even though Tibby is not heard from, first hand, in the book she plays such a major role in the girls lives and she knows just what it will take to get the girls threw the tragic circumstances that they face.