MIDNIGHT AT THE BLACKBIRD CAFE / 336 p. / Heather Webber

Anna Kate has returned to her recently deceased mother's home of Wicklow, Alabama after her Granny Zee has also passed away.  Anna has now lost her mother and her grandmother and is forging ahead trying to fulfill her mother's wish to have her go to college to become a doctor AND her Granny's wish that Anna Kate takeover the family bakery in Wicklow.
   This is a story of Anna Kate's fractured family and her longing to find the truth behind her father's death before she was born. Anna Kate also needs to find what she wants to do in life. The story is full of Southern charm, kindness, forgiveness and love.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, 498 pages

Beautiful epic story that anyone who loves books would enjoy. The world the author created was so fantastic I've not wanted to live in a book since HP and Hogwarts. The first I've read from this author, but definitely want to read her first book as well. She writes with this sense of wonder that I have never experienced before. It was like reading magic.

The Rules of Magic/ Alice Hoffman/ 367 pgs

Hoffman wrote a very popular book in the 90s called Practical Magic. They even made a movie based on it starring Sandra Bollock and Nicole Kidman. Twenty some years later she decided to write a prequel to that book. The Owens family has a history that traces back to Maria Owens, who was labeled a witch in the 1600s. Maria supposedly cursed her descendants in love, meaning anyone they fall in love with will suffer a bad end. Some of the Owens' embrace their magical side while others are slow to accept it. This story focuses on three siblings, Franny, Jet, and Vincent who are growing up in the 1960s. There isn't really much plot to this novel. It weaves in and out of the lives of the three as they grow up, fall in love, try to stay out of love, suffer through tragedy after tragedy, etc. The writing is quite lovely but we never seem to get to know the characters in-depth as we skim through their lives. I have not read the original book so that may or may not have affected my experience with this one.

Exit West / Mohsin Hamid / 231 pages

Exit West is about a young professional man and woman who meet and fall in love while living in a Middle Eastern city that is becoming overrun by militants. As the new couple deal with blackouts, lack of food, and increasingly strict rules over their conduct, a phenomenon begins. Doors begin appearing all over the world leading from one country to another in a blink of an eye. When our new couple takes one of the doorways to escape their war-torn land, they find more problems than they bargained for in Greece, then London, and finally America.

Exit West is a pretty slim book, and I read it one day yesterday. Usually a book that captures my attention like that is a book that I rate very highly. However, I was disappointed that the author did not bother to explain more about how these doors affect the world, especially when so many political and economic refugees start using them to enter countries that are considered "the West." The first half of the book deals only with how things are going in the unnamed Middle Eastern city, and the second half is about the flight, but it felt super rushed. Therefore, I'm going to give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Sundays at Tiffany's / James Patterson / 309 pgs

This is one of those books I would have never picked up if not for the reading challenges I do. That said, for a romance, it was pretty good! The ending was a bit cliche and it looked like it was heading for the kind of ending that was in the movie "City of Angels" but I'm glad it didn't quite go there. 

The story involves Jane, the daughter of a famous actress, who doesn't feel loved or have friends save for her imaginary friend, Michael. Michael looks like a handsome 30 year old. On Jane's 9th birthday, he leaves her for good, saying that all imaginary friends must move on to their next assignment once a child hits 9 years old. He tells her that she won't even remember him. In this case, however, Michael was wrong. Twenty-three years later, Jane is an adult, still in the shadow of her mother, in a relationship with an actor who doesn't even care for her. Then she sees Michael, her imaginary friend, looking exactly like he did when she was young. Michael, on the other hand, is at a total loss as to why the sweet little girl all grown up is back in his life.

Like I said, I'm pretty particular when it comes to romances but I really liked the unique twist in the book, the idea that imaginary friends aren't so imaginary. I recommend it for someone who wants something a little different in their romance.