27. My Best Friend's Girl

I liked this one a lot.

How far would you go for the best friend who broke your heart? This internationally bestselling novel tells an enchanting tale of life’s most unpredictable loves and heartaches, and the unforgettable bond between a single woman and an extraordinary five-year-old girl. From the moment they met in college, best friends Adele Brannon and Kamryn Matika thought nothing could come between them—until Adele did the unthinkable and slept with Kamryn’s fiancé, Nate. Now, after years of silence, the two women are reuniting, and Adele has a stunning request for her old friend: she wants Kamryn to adopt her five-year-old daughter, Tegan.

Besides the difference in skin color—many will assume that headstrong, impulsive Kamryn is Tegan’s nanny—there’s the inconvenient truth that Kamryn is wholly unprepared to take care of anyone, especially someone who reminds her so much of Nate. With crises brewing at work and her love life in shambles, can Kamryn somehow become the mother a little girl needs her to be?

In My Best Friend’s Girl, Dorothy Koomson takes us on a warm and wondrous journey through laughter and tears, forgiveness and hope—and the enduring love forged by the unlikeliest of families.

26. Guilty Feet

This was a re-read, probably one I re-read about once as year as it is one of my favorite cheesy red dress ink books. Probably because I can totally picture myself doing something as ridiculous as the main character does here...

Here's a review from B&N.com:What would you do if your boyfriend told you that you were going to end up like your mother? You'd walk out on him...and that's just what Jo did to Dan. What if he didn't make any effort to get you back and, according to your upstairs neighbor, let your downstairs neighbor take your place? You'd be madder than a wet cat. What if, on top of all that, you lost your job? Wouldn't that be enough to make you wish you were someone else…and maybe just crazy enough to create a new email account so you could have an online flirtation with the lover you still wished was anything but ex? Well, Jo did that too…. That's when her life really went nuts. All her friends suddenly had unsuitable but great-in-bed new boyfriends. Her mother decided to try sexual experimentation. Then Jo's dad moved in. In times like this, anyone might find the safety valve of an Internet alter ego was the only thing keeping her going, even if that alternate identity was romancing her own unrepentant ex-boyfriend. At least on the Internet the only thing that can get dumped is data. British import Kelly Harte takes her chronicle of the life of this slightly overwhelmed London single into the electronic age with inventiveness, humor, passion…and absolutely no guilt at all.

25. Fifteen Minutes of Shame

This was a quick, cute bookstore read today.

Here's a review from B&N.com:

A real-life dating columnist and book author (Stop Getting Dumped!), Daily puts her debut novel's heroine into her professional shoes. Darby Vaughn, 31, is enjoying her success as the nation's most popular romance expert: she's got bestselling books, TV appearances and even her own perfume. But her empire threatens to topple when her cheating husband, aka her publicist, humiliates her and leaves her vulnerable to giant aftershocks in the press. After a few days of intense girlfriend therapy, Darby emerges from the haze of margaritas and sappy movies to rebuild her life starting with "spin dating"-i.e., "dating for publicity." Besides being photographed canoodling with a basketball star and a young model, Darby hires the best divorce lawyer in town, who also just happens to be the hottest. Daily keeps things moving along quickly, and though her style is not exactly seasoned, she delivers some surprising depth and a heroine with heart to root for.

24. The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square

I read this one in the bookstore and really really liked it. You might call it chick lit, but since the characters weren't in their 20s I don't really think of it that way. It was just a good novel... a little romance, some quirky characters, a nice picture of small town life in the south, just a good read overall.

Here's the description from B&N:

From the author of Tied to the Tracks comes a charming new novel set in Lambert's Corner, South Carolina-a beautiful town where no one's secrets remain secret for very long.
For John Dodge, moving to new places and reviving ailing businesses is a way of life. So when he sees an ad for Scriveners, a stationery shop in a small town in South Carolina, he decides to take the plunge.

As soon as he arrives in Lambert's Corner, Dodge falls happily into the whirl of gossip, gifts, and quintessential Southern hospitality. Link Kay, one of his employees, warms up to him after Dodge admires his expertise on pens. Bean Hurt-a feisty and outspoken ten-year-old-becomes a fast friend. And Maude Golden, the mayor, supplies him with indispensable information. But the one person who really catches Dodge's eye is Julia Darrow-the beautiful but aloof pajama-wearing owner of the Cocoon, a popular store specializing in luxury linens. Dodge tries to befriend her, but she remains elusive and mysterious. Everyone knows that she is a widow, but no one seems to know why she came to town or why she never leaves Lambert Square-or does she?

Like Dodge, Chicago-born Julia is fleeing a tumultuous past. But with the help of a hilarious and endearing cast of characters, Julia and Dodge learn that, sometimes, you don't need to go far to find home.

23. sTori Telling

Yes, I ready Tori Spelling's memoir, and it was pretty interesting. A quick read, it made me realize how little I actually knew about her life despite all of the rumors and tabloid stories I've heard.

Here's the description:

She was television's most famous virgin -- and, as Aaron Spelling's daughter, arguably its most famous case of nepotism. Portraying Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210, Tori Spelling became one of the most recognizable young actresses of her generation, with a not-so-private personal life every bit as fascinating as her character's exploits. Yet years later the name Tori Spelling too often closed -- and sometimes slammed -- the same doors it had opened.

sTORI telling is Tori's chance to finally tell her side of the tabloid-worthy life she's led, and she talks about it all: her decadent childhood birthday parties, her nose job, her fairy-tale wedding to the wrong man, her so-called feud with her mother. Tori has already revealed her flair for brilliant, self-effacing satire on her VH1 show So NoTORIous and Oxygen's Tori & Dean: Inn Love, but her memoir goes deeper, into the real life behind the rumors: her complicated relationship with her parents; her struggles as an actress after 90210; her accident-prone love life; and, ultimately, her quest to define herself on her own terms.

From her over-the-top first wedding to finding new love to her much-publicized -- and misunderstood -- "disinheritance," sTORI telling is a juicy, eye-opening, enthralling look at what it really means to be Tori Spelling.

22. Protect and Defend

The last of the Vince Flynn books, this one was a good read, but not quite up to the same standards as the last two I read. I think because it takes place in Iran and I had a hard time keeping several of the characters straight since I know nothing about the Iranian government. I also felt like this one left some loose ends with minor characters - maybe they'll get picked up in the next book, who knows...

Anyway, here's the description from B&N:

An action-packed and all-too-realistic vision of nations navigating the minefield of international intrigue, Protect and Defend is Vince Flynn's most explosive political thriller yet. The action begins in the heart of Iran, where billions of dollars are being spent on the development of a nuclear program. No longer willing to wait for the international community to stop its neighboring enemy, Israel launches a creative and daring operation that leaves a radioactive tomb in the middle of Iran's second largest city. An outraged Iranian government publicly blames both Israel and the United States and demands retribution. Enter Mitch Rapp, America's top counterterrorism operative. Rapp convinces President Josh Alexander to sign off on a risky operation that will push Iran to the brink of revolution. But when Iran recruits Hezbollah master terrorist Imad Mukhtar, and a CIA effort goes disastrously wrong, Rapp and Mukhtar are set on a collision course that threatens to engulf the entire region in war. With the clock ticking, Rapp is given twenty-four hours, no questions asked, to do whatever it takes to stop Mukhtar, and avert an unthinkable catastrophe.

21. Act of Treason

For some reason the writing style seemed a bit different in this one than the others but I can't put my finger on exactly why. I love the humor that Flynn manages to weave into the most seriously and deadly situations though - my favorite in this one was Rapp, the US's top spy/assassin putting all of the evidence together onto a Power Point presentation to make it easier for a press conference. It made me laugh out loud. :) Anyway, only one more to go til I've read them all.

Here's the recap on this one:

CIA operative Mitch Rapp follows a trail of contract killers leading directly to the heart of our nation's capital in New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn's eighth explosive thriller.
It's a gorgeous autumn day in Georgetown. The Democratic candidates for president and vice president of the United States are dutifully glad-handing voters and the media outside a grand estate where a national security conference has just been held, bringing together the world's greatest minds to discuss the issues that are threatening the country. It's American politicking at its best. That's when all hell breaks loose.

When presidential candidate Josh Alexander's motorcade is ambushed by a group of terrorists, the nation is thrown into turmoil. Two weeks following the attack, Alexander is carried to victory by a sympathy vote, but his assailants have not been found. On the surface it appears to be the work of al-Qaeda, despite the tremendous job that the U.S. and her allies have done eliminating terrorist cells within the heart of America. While the FBI and the rest of the government begin scouring the world for jihadists, CIA director Irene Kennedy and Special Agent Skip McMahon are presented with classified information so toxic that they consider destroying it altogether, as it contains intelligence pointing to some of the most powerful players in Washington.

Enter Mitch Rapp, the one man reckless enough to follow the evidence to its explosive conclusion. His journey takes him through the shadowy world of contract killers, into the darkest corners of the globe, and eventually back to Washington, where the fragile pillars of power are shaken to their core.

20. Consent to Kill

Just when I think they can't get better, they do. This was the best Vince Flynn book I've read yet. Filled with twists and turns that I never saw coming, I think I raced through these 675 pages because I just couldn't put this book down.

Here's a description:

For more than a decade and a half Mitch Rapp has been on the front line of the war on terror. He has killed with impunity, tortured to avert disaster and shown he's willing to do whatever it takes to stop the crazed fundamentalists from fulfilling their bloody wishes. His bold actions have saved the lives of thousands, but in the process his list of enemies has grown exponentially. There are even those within his own government who would like to see him eliminated. Rapp is far from naive to the fact that there are thousands if not millions of zealots who would gladly trade their life for his, but even knowing all of this Rapp could never have imagined the mayhem that is about to visit his doorstep.

Thousands of miles away the influential father of a dead terrorist demands retribution for the death of his son at the hands of the infidels. His hate-filled plea is a simple request from one father to another. He wants Mitch Rap dead, and he has found sympathetic ears. In the tangled, duplicitous world of espionage there are those, even among America's allies who feel Mitch Rapp has grown too effective. They have been looking for an excuse to eliminate America's number one counterterrorism operative, and they have decided to seize the chance. The hunter is about to become the hunted.

In Consent to Kill, Vince Flynn's seventh novel, Mitch Rapp and his family are placed directly in the line of fire. A tragedy of unimaginable proportions is about to befall him, and Rapp must use all of his cunning and skill, and ultimately his ruthless determination, to stay alive and seek vengeance against those who have turned his life upside down.

19. Remember Me

The lastest from Sophie Kinsella was a quick, cute read I enjoyed at B&N today. I liked that the main character wasn't quite as flighty and ditzy as some of Kinsella's other characters, and of course, as usual, I liked the happily ever after ending. :)

Here's the description:

When twenty-eight-year-old Lexi Smart wakes up in a London hospital, she’s in for a big surprise. Her teeth are perfect. Her body is toned. Her handbag is Vuitton. Having survived a car accident—in a Mercedes no less—Lexi has lost a big chunk of her memory, three years to be exact, and she’s about to find out just how much things have changed.

Somehow Lexi went from a twenty-five-year-old working girl to a corporate big shot with a sleek new loft, a personal assistant, a carb-free diet, and a set of glamorous new friends. And who is this gorgeous husband—who also happens to be a multimillionaire? With her mind still stuck three years in reverse, Lexi greets this brave new world determined to be the person she…well, seems to be. That is, until an adorably disheveled architect drops the biggest bombshell of all.

Suddenly Lexi is scrambling to catch her balance. Her new life, it turns out, comes complete with secrets, schemes, and intrigue. How on earth did all this happen? Will she ever remember? And what will happen when she does?

18. the girl who stopped swimming

like gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia - this was another really good read from Joshilyn Jackson. I read it in one sitting at B&N - I almost put it down at one point to go home because i had a headache but it was such a page turner i couldn't bear to stop reading.

I definitely recommend this one!

Here's a description from B&N:

Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty, whether she's helping her mother make sure the literal family skeleton stays in the closet or turning scraps of fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts. Her estranged sister Thalia, an impoverished Actress with a capital A, is her polar opposite, priding herself on exposing the lurid truth lurking behind middle class niceties. While Laurel's life seems neatly on track--a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in suburban Victorianna--everything she holds dear is suddenly thrown into question the night she is visited by the ghost of a her 13-year old neighbor Molly Dufresne. The ghost leads Laurel to the real Molly floating lifelessly in the Hawthorne's backyard pool. Molly's death is inexplicable--an unseemly mystery Laurel knows no one in her whitewashed neighborhood is up to solving. Only her wayward, unpredictable sister is right for the task, but calling in a favor from Thalia is like walking straight into a frying pan protected only by Crisco. Enlisting Thalia's help, Laurel sets out on a life-altering journey that triggers startling revelations about her family's guarded past, the true state of her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.Richer and more rewarding than any story Joshilyn Jackson has yet written, yet still packed with Jackson's trademarked outrageous characters, sparkling dialogue, and defiantly twisting plotting, THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING is destined both to delight Jackson's loyal fans and capture a whole new audience.

17. Memorial Day

Yet another page turner by Vince Flynn. Whenever I think I am getting tired of these and probably need to take a break I read another that is just really really good.

Here's the description from B&N:

Fighting terrorism on foreign ground, CIA superagent Mitch Rapp does whatever it takes to protect American freedom.

CIA intelligence has pointed to a major terrorist attack on the United States, just as the nation's capital prepares for a grand Memorial Day tribute to the veterans of World War II. Racing to Afghanistan, Mitch Rapp leads a commando raid on an al Queda stronghold in a remote border village -- and defuses plans for a nuclear strike on Washington. The crisis averted, the special ops work is done. But Rapp knows, in the face of a new kind of enemy, nothing is as it seems -- and it's up to him alone to avert a disaster of unimaginable proportions.