Catching up

Recently I've finished two books...not as far I had hoped to get in July, but I really enjoyed the two books I read. The first was Take Two by Karen Kingsbury, book 2 in her Above the Line Series. I finished this a week or so ago. I just finished the second book today, and that was Matters of the Heart by Danielle Steel.

Take Two by Karen Kingsbury:

Blurb: Filmmakers Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison have completed their first feature film, and Hollywood is buzzing with the news. In the wake of that excitement, the producers acquire rights to a novel that has all the ingredients they want for their next project. At the same time they cross paths with a well-connected player who introduces them to the right people, and suddenly every studio in town wants to talk to Chase and Keith. The producers’ dreams are on the verge of coming true, but Chase’s marriage is strained and Keith’s daughter — Andi Ellison — is making questionable choices in her quest for stardom. The producers are gaining respect and are on the verge of truly changing culture through the power of film — but is the change worth the cost?

My thoughts: As usual, with any Karen Kingsbury book, I absolutely LOVED it!! It was a great continuation to Take One. I was most interested in what was happening with Chase and his Wife, Kelly, and also with Andi. It was interesting seeing how she wanted become her own person, independent from her parents. I am very eager to find out what happens in Take Three, both with Chase and Kelly, and also with Andi, and even with Bailey and Cody. I didn't like Bailey so much in the Baxter Series, but I like her better in these books.

Matters of the Heart:

Blurb (from amazon): Hope Dunne has carved out a name for herself as a top photographer, known the joys of marriage and motherhood, and the heartbreak of loss. In her chic SoHo loft, Hope is content with her life, finding serenity and beauty through the lens of her camera. She isn’t looking for a man or excitement. But these things find her when she accepts a last- minute assignment to fly to London at Christmas and photograph one of the world’s most celebrated writers—an Irish-American author known for novels of thrilling literary darkness.

To Hope’s surprise, Finn O’Neill exudes warmth and a boyish charm. Enormously successful, he is a perfect counterpoint to Hope’s quiet, steady grace—and he’s taken instantly by her. He courts her as no one ever has before, whisking her away to his palatial, isolated Irish estate.

Hope finds it all, and him, irresistible. Finn’s magnetism and brilliance are undeniable. But soon cracks begin to appear in his stories: gaps in his history, a few innocent lies, and bouts of jealousy unnerve her. Suddenly Hope is both in love and suspicious, caring and deeply in doubt, and ultimately frightened of the man she loves. Alone, thousands of miles from home, her mind is reeling. Is she just being paranoid? How many lies has he told? Are there more secrets to come? Is it possible that this adoring, attentive man—like the characters in his novels—is hiding something even worse? The spell cast by a brilliant sociopath has her trapped in his web, too confused and dazzled to escape as he continues to tighten his grip on her.

My thoughts: Even though I put this book down to read other books on two seperate occasions, this still ended up being one of my favorite of Danielle Steel's books. I loved the element of suspense. I even stayed up until 3:30 am last night reading because I wanted to find out what happened. Then, when I woke up this morning, I got right back to it. I had a feeling I knew what was gonna happen at soon into the book, a couple of my predictions were somewhat correct, but there were still plenty of surprises. My heart was racing during the last 50 or so pages of the book. I was so happy with how it ended! I will definitely need to read something lighter for my next book.