The Girl He Used to Know / Tracey Garvis Graves / 291 p.

Jonathan Hoffman and Annika Rose first meet at a Chess Club at the University of Illinois.  Jonathan is at the university to start over from a bad experience at Northwestern.  Annika is studying to be a librarian, is very introverted, shy and awkward with some autistic tendancies. Their meeting eventually evolves into a tender, loving relationship. Jonathan graduates and takes a job in NYC with the plan that Annika will follow after she graduates a year later. Unfortunately, fate is not kind to Annika as she finds herself in a crisis that she can't handle. She drops out of school and discontinues contact with Jonathan.
    A decade later Jonathan and Annika bump into each other. They start to see each other informally. So much has changed and Jonathan realizes Annika has grown into a capable librarian living on her own. Their story takes us through the difficult road back to each other with some very significant bumps along the way - including the fateful September 11, 2001 twin towers tradedy.

Birthday/ Meredith Russo/ 288 pages

       Morgan and Eric have been best friends since birth and have become very close over the years. In this novel we see them once a year on their birthday and learn how they have grown. We see the changes they make for themselves in order to become who they truly are while they also learn how much they need each other. 

          This story was so sweet. I feel like it is a must read and be prepared for tears. You grow so attached to these characters and Meredith Russo did such an amazing job at creating such a realistic novel. I absolutely loved this one.

     

     

Lies You Wanted to Hear/James Whitfield Thomson/404 pgs.

Lucy and Matt meet on a blind date. Lucy is from a dysfunctional, yet wealthy family: her mother is alcoholic, and her father is unfaithful. Matt has been raised by his mother, a single parent, and is a police officer. Matt falls for Lucy--head over heels-- and they eventually marry and have children. It's when Lucy's past catches up with her in the form of ex-boyfriend, Griffin, that the marriage totally unravels. The book is told in alternating chapters in Lucy's and Matt's voices. It's like watching a train wreck--you want to turn away, but you just have to see how it ends! Recommended!

Luckiest Girl Alive/Jessica Knoll/341 pgs.

TifAni FaNelli appears to have it all: a cool job working for a women's magazine and a wealthy fiance, who has good looks and "old" family wealth.  In the midst of planning for her wedding, Ani, as she now prefers to be called, has agreed to go back to her old high school, to participate in a documentary, pertaining to events that had occurred ten years ago.  Told in Ani's voice, the story slowly sucks the reader in--an intriguing debut. Highly recommended!

The Canterbury Sisters by Kim Wright (316 p.)

After her mother dies and her long-time boyfriend leaves her, Che Milan travels to London to fulfill a promise to spread her mother's ashes along the Canterbury Trail in England.  Che joins a group of women who are also making this sixty mile pilgrimage from London to Canterbury.  The leader of the tour is an English professor of Chaucer.  She tells the group that they will choose a theme and each person will have a day to share their story (real or fictional) that follows the theme.  The theme she presents to them is "love." The individual stories will move you, make you think and even make you laugh.  There is plenty to talk about in a book club after reading this book!

Christmas List / Richard Paul Evans 353 p. 20th Century Challenge

Christmas List / Richard Paul Evans 353 p.

It's three weeks to Christmas.  James Kier died in an automobile crash.  His death is reported in the newspaper.  It is big news when a real estate mogul dies.  The twist is that he didn't die.  James is unwillingly pitched into learning just what people really thought of him.  He is a fierce competitor, and frequently ruthless.  Blogs are filled with personal comments about him.  When his mistress fails to show up at their 'destination', he is disappointed.  When he appears at her home and finds her surrounded by all the expensive items quickly charged to his account before the news of his death can close it, he learns some very harsh home truths.  And he continues to learn more about himself at every turn.  And his ex- doesn't seem to be ready to welcome him home with open arms.  At the other James Kier's wake, he finds a man who is truly mourned, and who's life made a positive impact on others.  This gives him a wake-up call.  He has prepared a list of people he has most actively hurt over the years.  And does his executive secretary hand over quite a Christmas list for him to work through as he prepares to change his ways.