The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (44/81)

A tale of love, candy and magic to bewitch even the most skeptical reader... Twenty-seven-year-old Josey is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season, shes a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her hidden closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mothers house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night Until she finds it harboring none other than local waitress Della Lee Baker, a tough-talking, tenderhearted woman who is one part nemesis and two parts fairy godmother. Fleeing a life of bad luck and big mistakes, Della Lee has decided Josey's clandestine closet is the safest place to crash. In return shes going to change Josey's life because, clearly, it is not the closet of a happy woman. With Della Lee's tough love, Josey is soon forgoing pecan rolls and caramels, tapping into her startlingly keen feminine instincts, and finding her narrow existence quickly expanding. But her life is changing faster than she knows...

Well the picture of the cover really doesn't do this book justice ....... It is soooooooo pretty .... And sparkly .......

I read this book in two sitting ....... It is a really easy read ........ And really funny in parts ..... The mean character of Josey is a rich girl who is not what people would call pretty so she is stuck in this life looking after her older mother ....... which to be honest the mother (Margaret) is a real cow !!! .......... The only thing in her life that she enjoys is watching and seeing Adam the mailman every day ........ But her life starts to change after the appearance of Della Lee who for some strange reason is living in her Closet !!! ......... The character of Chloe I loved as well and the special relationship she has with books did make me smile ........ As you read the novel it does focus alot of Relationships ....... Not only the romantic kind but also Friendships and Family .......

I found this book a very easy read and if you love your Chick Lit books you will like this one ... I am rating it 4 **** mainly because in the world of Chick Lit books it is up there .... Light, funny and a no brainer ...... which sometimes it is great to escape to that world for a while ...... It would actually really make a good wee movie ......(Hint Hint - to any production company) ... There are a few swear words in the book but that is mostly to the end of the novel other from that it is just a cute wee read ......

I rate this book 31/2 ***

The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski (12/81)

Meet June Parker. Until the day she offered Marissa, a young woman she had just met, a lift home she thought her life was okay. She had a horrible boss, was battling to lose a few pounds and, sure, finding that special someone was tough, so things weren't exactly fabulous, but she was happy enough. She didn't know that Marissa was going to die ... and it would be her fault. As she washes away the blood from Marissa's handbag so she can return her belongings to her family, June discovers a list - '20 things to do by my 25th birthday.'

The guilt weighs heavily until a chance meeting six months after Marissa's death finds June committing to finish the list. Some of the tasks aren't too difficult ('Run a 5K') but others are near-impossible ('Change someone's life'). As June races to achieve each goal before the deadline, she learns a great deal more about herself and her own life than she ever bargained for.

This book is a quick read and you would class it as a chick book ....

The concept is interesting that because of the guilt that June feels pushes her to complete a list of 20 things which Marissa ( the girl who died ) wanted to do.

It really is a journey more so for June than anybody else ... Some of the tasks are easy and others are more difficult, and some of them don't necessarily finish the way June expected. There are moments that you will laugh out loud ... but there are some swear words littered throughout if you are sensitive to that and one scene which I could have done without !! ... But all in all it is a OK book and I did enjoy it and made me think of starting up my own Bucket List !!

I rate this book 3***

One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell (20/81)

This one is a toughie. I haven’t decided whether I liked this one or not.... yet. I’m leaning towards the not liking direction though.

The story revolves around the lives of the residents of a luxury building on Fifth Avenue. A place that just by living in it or being seen entering or exiting from it - meant wealth and power. Each resident of One Fifth is interconnected somehow and it was neat to see how one of their actions would cause an effect in one of their neighbors’ lives. I also liked that architecture was the center-piece of the story. I will say, that there were a lot of characters (each written in the first person) introduced all at once, which was confusing at first, but once I got passed that and actually started focusing on who was who and what was what it became easier to read and the pages began turning. The writing was very hip and fresh and I loved her comments on 20-somethings, bloggers and the Internet.

But in the end, it just didn’t strike a note with me. I don’t know if it was that I just didn’t connect with any of the characters or that we have no similarities in common, but I found that none of the characters were likeable. There was one character that I did like but she was the one that we barely read about (figures). I got the impression that this book was expressly written to become a movie or tv series.

All in all, if you like reading stories about New York City life, sex, lies and money, (Drama, Drama, Drama), then this is something that I’d recommend you read.