Petty Cash (Kimberly Vargas) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

55. Petty Cash by Kimberly Vargas
      Topic/Theme: book with a blue cover

Synopsis:

This is the romantic office comedy that human resources warned you about. Florida resident Rebecca Blake works as an assistant to a group of psychologists. She is strikingly beautiful and athletic. People see her as a nice, likable girl who is fine in her role but who could never really aspire to more at the company. Rebecca is told in her performance review that in order to get promoted, she is going to have to work on her credibility. As part of her career development plan, she is sent to a behavioral training course (nicknamed 'Club Detention') at company headquarters in Virginia. In error, she is partnered with Foster Diamond, who has the highest intelligence scores in the company. Even though he is a genius, Foster has own issues around interpersonal skills, attitude and his perception overall. Rebecca and Foster have nothing in common, but between his weakness for her beauty and her admiration of his intellect, they forge an unlikely bond. During the course they find that by pooling their respective strengths, they may be able to improve their careers. Sooner rather than later, their startling natural chemistry begins to take their partnership in another direction, and they must face their glaring differences or part ways.

My Review:

I selected this book for two reasons: one would be the requirement of having a blue cover and second, I thought the plot was unique. I don't believe that there are many office romance books out there. Rebecca gets sent off to a behavioral training course (who knew that even existed) to work on her credibility, making sure that she has the drive to get promoted within the company. For the time there, Rebecca gets paired with Foster, the genius of the company. However, Foster always ends up at Club Detention for attitude and personality issues. As they don't have anything in common, they get off to a rough start. They end up forming a sort of partnership, using the other's strengths to make changes in themselves. Foster doesn't adapt easily to Rebecca's suggestions at first, but eventually she becomes a positive influence to him. Due to their time spent together, they start a romance and discover slight things in common. It's a relationship that has its ups and downs, but comes to a head when an ex of his gets in the way. Foster has to prove once and for all that he's the one for Rebecca. 

Here's my take. While I do believe that opposites attract, Rebecca and Foster literally had nothing in common. Foster was domineering and did things according to his own agenda. To me, a relationship means an equal partnership and each person's opinion matters. I couldn't really see them together or making it as a married couple. This was just alright; the story didn't have the magic spark that I like to have in a book. There were numerous mistakes throughout as well.

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

❤Meg❤

41: A Portrait of My Father (George W. Bush) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

53. 41: A Portrait of My Father by George W. Bush
      Topic/Theme: political memoir

Synopsis:

Forty-three men have served as President of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a President told the story of his father, another President, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush’s life and career, including his service in the Pacific during World War II, his pioneering work in the Texas oil business, and his political rise as a Congressman, U.S. Representative to China and the United Nations, CIA Director, Vice President, and President.  The book shines new light on both the accomplished statesman and the warm, decent man known best by his family. In addition, George W. Bush discusses his father’s influence on him throughout his own life, from his childhood in West Texas to his early campaign trips with his father, and from his decision to go into politics to his own two-term Presidency.

My Review:

First, I just need to clarify that I kind of cheated by choosing this book for the above topic. Technically, it's not a memoir since George W. Bush wrote this about his father, but it's his viewpoints and a little bit is about how his father's decisions in office influenced his own decisions as President. 

Second, my review is not going to be based on what my political party is or my own political beliefs. I'm not someone who would read a political based book in general. Regardless of my registered party, I don't classify myself as a Democrat or Republican as there are issues that I agree with and don't agree with on both sides. 

Since I was really young during George H. W. Bush's presidency, I don't remember his four years in office. From that perspective, I enjoyed learning about his political years. I did like how George Bush wrote about his father's life as a whole. So much of the choices and decisions that we make as an adult are influenced by our upbringing or how we were raised. And that extends to any of the Presidents, past, present, and future, except that they have an entire country who are affected by those choices. It was interesting to get to know more about both of the Bushs' lives, whether that be politically, family life, and everything else in between (well at least when it pertains to #41).

While I can say that I enjoyed reading this book, I can't necessarily say that I liked every decision George H. W. Bush made. No matter the President or a person in general, there's always going to be things I like about what they do and things I don't like. No one is perfect and mistakes do happen. And there are times when the decisions we make don't work out the way that we wanted them to or how we thought they would turn out. 

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

❤Meg❤

Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

46. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
      Topic/Theme: New York Times bestseller

Synopsis:

“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.”

So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank’s mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank’s father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy — exasperating, irresponsible, and beguiling — does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father’s tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.
Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank’s survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig’s head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors—yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness.

My Review:
Frank's writing style was a little different from what I'm used to. It did take a little while to grasp that, but once I did, I came to appreciate it. It's a great narration of what it was like to grow up in a time of poverty and the additional challenges of dealing with the alcoholism of his father. Alcoholism is a disease. For Frank's father, it was his way of coping with deaths in the family, especially that of his daughter, among other troubles. It was interesting to read about what life was like in the 1930s and 40s in Ireland. Poverty can affect each and every country and everyone of all backgrounds. Just like the US has experienced the Great Depression and other economic crises, Ireland has also had its fair share of problems. It was such a good attribute of Frank's to be able to write so descriptively of those hard times. To be able to overcome those challenges was incredible. Anything is possible if you're willing to work hard and keep fighting through by not giving up.

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

♥Meg♥

The Tour (Jean Grainger) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

45. The Tour by Jean Grainger
      Topic/Theme: book that takes place in Europe

Synopsis:

Every week, Conor O'Shea collects a new group of American visitors from Shannon Airport, from where they embark on a high end tour of the Real Ireland. But this particular tour, with its cast of unintentionally hilarious characters, presents even seasoned tour guide Conor with dilemmas that render him speechless for the first time in his life. Among this eclectic group are Corlene, a gold digging multiple divorcee on the prowl; Patrick, a love starved Boston cop; Dylan, a goth uilleann piper; Dorothy a poisonous college professor who wouldn't spend Christmas; Elliot, a wall street shark who finally shows his true colours. Then there's Ellen, back on Irish soil after so many years after so many years, to discover a truth no-one could ever have guessed at, least of all herself. And that's just a few of the colourful cast. The locals they meet on their journey, - West Brits, passionate musicians, Ukrainian waitresses and Garda high flyers all help to make this a tour no-one will ever forget. And of course, there's Conor O'Shea in the thick of it all, solving problems and mending hearts, but what about his own? 

My Review:

Conor is at the center of this story, but an eclectic group of people make it even better. Getting to learn about Ireland through Conor's elaborate, but not overly detailed, explanations offered a nice change of pace. Each character brought something different to the table and with that came their own personalities. An assortment of personalities led to some clashes among the group, as they dealt with their own problems and reasons for being there. Conor, the seasoned tour guide, always goes the extra mile to help each of them with their questions and anything else they may need. Not to mention that Conor tends to help them solve their problems (by giving advice for example), showing that he genuinely cares about each member. In the process, he has to deal with his own troubles, but doesn't let it get in the way of everything else. He manages to keep everything under control, even the unforeseeable obstacles that arise. Jean Grainger did a great job at keeping all the main characters at the forefront of the story without getting confused or lost. As you get to know each member's backstory, you can't help but feel for them when they come to terms with some events in their lives.

Despite each character's unique personalities, I can't imagine this story without any of them.

Where would you like to visit someday? And what was your favorite vacation spot?

I would like to visit Australia, France, Ireland,  and England. My favorite vacation spots include Niagara Falls, Yellowstone National Park, and North Conway, New Hampshire.

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

♥Meg♥