If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins

Summary
The drama, hilarity and tears of sisterhood are at the heart of the thoroughly captivating new novel by New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins—a funny, frank and bittersweet look at marriage, forgiveness and moving on 

Letting go of her ex-husband is harder than wedding-dress designer Jenny Tate expected…especially since his new wife wants to be Jenny's new best friend. Sensing this isn't exactly helping her achieve closure, Jenny trades the Manhattan skyline for her hometown up the Hudson, where she'll start her own business and bask in her sister Rachel's picture-perfect family life…and maybe even find a little romance of her own with Leo, her downstairs neighbor, a guy who's utterly irresistible and annoyingly distant at the same time. 

Rachel's idyllic marriage, however, is imploding after she discovers her husband sexting with a colleague. She always thought she'd walk away in this situation, but her triplet daughters have her reconsidering her stance on adultery, much to Jenny's surprise. Rachel points to their parents' perfect marriage as a shining example of patience and forgiveness; but to protect her sister, Jenny may have to tarnish that memory—and their relationship­—and reveal a family secret she's been keeping since childhood. 

Both Rachel and Jenny will have to come to terms with the past and the present and find a way to get what they want most of all.

Quotes

"You deserve a husband who'd cut off his own dick before he'd cheat on you, Rach. You do."

"What I didn't quite expect was that as soon as I left Manhattan behind, the beneficient, regal creature forgot me. It tolerated me when I was a student of eighteen, it gave me my chance, it celebrated me when I made it, and it forgot me the second I drove over the Henry Hudson Bridge. You're always just a foster child in the city that never sleeps. The second you go, someone else takes your room."

Impressions
Touched and impressed by the author style!

It's a beautiful story about women, sisters, mothers, love and relationships. Simple but full of emotions that are able to grabb you from the start.

To be honest, when I was trying to tell a friend why this story was amazing, I said: "there is nothing. No boom, no crash, no murder, no blood. But it's the simplicity and how the author is able to make it amazing."
As a reader, it's the best feeling ever. To be surprised and hooked by the characters' emotions.

In this book, we follow two sisters. One who has a perfect life with the perfect husband, perfect children, perfect house. And Kristan Higgins brings us behind the scene. Behind the perfection to understand the exhaustion of pretending as well as the reality of her perfect marriage. A husband who cheats and how her life will spiral.

But it's not an ugly story. The emotions are real, perfectly proportionned. Like you and me could have reacted. And it's much more about this woman journey...
You will find Rachel much more colorful, strong and alive along the road.

Then, you have Jenny. She had a perfect husband until he asked for a divorce and offered all she wanted: love, a child and his attention to another woman.
How she is trying to stay friends to pretend everything is still perfect. But her life has already taken a new turn when she moved out and meet Leo.
Her journey is funny, sad, pathetic, hopeful and she is not afraid to try again.
She has a lovely heart even if she doesn't see it.

Was very impressed about this story because how true and proper were the emotions. Not too much, not too cliché. Just a vision of perfection, of the expectations we can project and how difficult it is to be true to yourself.

A really lovely and charming book!

Source 
Arc provided by Netgalley. I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

James Bond : 101 voitures de légende de Jean-Antoine Duprat

Résumé
En cinquante ans d'une existence trépidante, le plus célèbre agent secret de Sa Majesté est monté à bord des plus belles voitures du monde. Impossible de parler de James Bond sans évoquer ses plus belles conquêtes qui ont pour nom : Aston Martin, Chevrolet, Rolls Royce, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Lamborghini, BMW et autres Maserati. "Au sujet des voitures, Bond avait des marottes bien à lui. Il avait acheté, presque neuve, l'une des dernières 4l 500 Bentley, avec compresseur Amherst Villiers.
Il l'avait soigneusement mise à l'abri pendant la guerre, la faisait réviser chaque année ; un ancien mécanicien de chez Bentley, qui travaillait dans un garage près de son appartement de Chelsea, l'entretenait avec un soin jaloux. Bond conduisait dur et avec un plaisir presque sensuel", souligne d'ailleurs Ian Fleming au début de son premier roman Casino Royal. Le ton est donc donné : James Bond abuse tout autant de son permis de conduire que de son légendaire permis de tuer.

La collection que James Bond s'est constituée est mythique ! Bolides légendaires, vieilles anglaises iconiques, tout-terrain indestructibles, décapotables classieuses... Toutes (ou presque) bardées de ces désormais célèbres gadgets imaginés et installés par le non moins indispensable "Q". Ces 101 voitures de légende qui passent entre les mains expertes de Bond, le poursuivent ou croisent sa route ont toutes pour point commun de nous avoir fait rêver ! A l'instar de leur héros, ces belles carrosseries sont devenues mythiques et indémodables.
Les voici enfin réunies... Rien que pour vos yeux.
Un livre tout en couleurs, découpé aux formes de la mythique Aston Martin DB5.

Réactions
Un ouvrage passionnant pour tous les amateurs de belles carrosseries et les fans de James Bond.

Ce livre reprend toutes les voitures qui ont été aperçues dans la saga en vous donnant des détails impressionnants sur leurs caractéristiques, le film duquel elles sont issues et les nombreux gadgets qui les ont équipées.

Un vrai moment de bonheur! En tournant les pages, on ne peut s'empêcher de sourire en repensant aux aventures dans lesquelles elles se sont retrouvées ou simplement ouvrir les yeux en grand pour admirer la beauté des lignes.

Un beau cadeau à offrir sans modération!

Impressions
For the James Bond's fans as well as the lovers of beautiful cars!

I was really surprised by all the details you learn about the movies while turning the pages. Of course, there is a lot of technical details about the cars' abilities but you learn also about the gadgets or some secrets about the movie where the car was involved.

Lot of them can have been forgotten by the spectator, so it's amusing to read this book while remembering the episode or the 007 you can associate the car with.
Fun and really interesting.

Will be a perfect Christmas present!

Ishiuchi Miyako: Postwar Shadows by Amanda Maddox

Summary

A maverick in the history of photography, Ishiuchi Miyako (b. 1947) burst onto the scene in Tokyo during the mid-1970s, at a time when men dominated the field in Japan. Working prodigiously over the last forty years, she has created an impressive oeuvre and quietly influenced generations of photographers born in the postwar era. Recipient of the prestigious Hasselblad Award in 2014, Ishiuchi ranks as one of the most significant photographers working in Japan today.
 
Spurred by her contentious relationship with her hometown, Yokosuka — site of an important American naval base since 1945 — Ishiuchi chose that city as her first serious photographic subject. Grainy, moody, and deeply personal, these early projects established her career. This choice of subject also defined the beginning of Ishiuchi's extended exploration of the American occupation and the shadows it cast over postwar Japan.

Ishiuchi has since addressed the theme of occupation both indirectly — through her photographs of scars, skin, and other markers of time on the human body — and more explicitly, with her images of garments and accessories once owned by victims of the atomic blast in Hiroshima. Essays featured in this volume reveal the past as the wellspring of Ishiuchi's work and the present moment as her principal subject.
 Ishiuchi Miyako: Postwar Shadows — which includes a selection of more than 100 works — is published on the occasion of an exhibition by the same name, on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, Los Angeles, from October 5, 2015, to February 21, 2016.

Impressions

Powerful, delicate, ghostly and full of emotions.

Through her lenses, Ishiuchi Miyako told us stories. Of the past, of objects, of human beings, of war, of life that where changed.
It's touching and powerful.

I love all her three phases for the feelings to evoke in me. But I have a think for hands when I draw. And her close up are full of emotions. The scars series are showing so much more than burned or mutilated skin. It shows bravery, pain, strength, beauty, reality.
Amazing how this artist's work speaks loudly in its simplicity.

And of course, her photos of  pieces of clothes from Hiroshima are inhabited.

A beautiful read with amazing pictures.

Source 
Arc provided by Netgalley. I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

The Raven Room by Ana Medeiros

Summary
Anything you can imagine. Everything you crave. For the members of The Raven Room, it’s every fantasy fulfilled. But for some, that desire is a matter of life and death. 

Drawn by needs he cannot control, Julian ventures to The Raven Room, a secret and exclusive sex club in the underbelly of Chicago. It goes beyond sex. It goes beyond kink. The Raven Room is the only place where Julian finds release from the dangerous urges that threaten to destroy the successful life he’s worked so hard to build. 

When the police link the Raven Room to the death of a young woman, it threatens to expose a number of powerful people—people who would kill to stay anonymous...

Meredith’s body can’t get enough of Julian. He has opened her sexual horizons to tempting new possibilities. But out of bed she’s an aspiring journalist, and The Raven Room is the story she’s been looking for. By writing an exposé on the club and its elite clientele, she plans to launch her career. 

As Meredith embarks on a sexual journey into the forbidden world that Julian inhabits, questions emerge, and dark appetites threaten to swallow her whole. How much can she trust the man who has laid bare her erotic nature and how much will she sacrifice in order to protect him?

Impressions
A mystery/suspense story with erotic elements rather dark sometimes.

It has been a long time since I've read a BDSM story that I grab my attention. And with "The Raven Room", there is some interesting aspects. I like the relationship between Alana and Julian. 

I've liked the magnetic dangerous bond they share from the start. 

As well as the secrets, you've learned about them as you start to discover the plot. They have a dark past, a need to dominate and submit through pain and even darker play.

Something vulnerable and delicate was taking place between them and the author was really good at making them strip  of there walls in front of the reader eyes. The sex scenes between them are hot too.

What has given me mixed feelings, it's Meredith's role and character. She is ambitious and curious to uncover Julian's secrets. But her reasons are cold.

It's really not about a love triangle as the characters have non exclusive sex but Meredith, even if she cares and love Julian, is off for me. Something is not working with me in her persona.
So much that in the middle of the book, I thought of closing it, as she was ruining my read with ther reactions. Strong feelings for a fictional character. Lol.

But I'm glad I've continued until the end since the thriller part was interesting. The ending is good and let you with a lot of questions.
Too bad it has taken too much time for real actions to take place. In my opinion, the author spent too much time trying to build an atmosphere and on sex scenes before really going into the mystery part.

So a bit unbalanced but with some potential now, that the sceneray is standing flat on the table.
The sequel should be promisssing.


Source 
Arc provided by Netgalley. I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

May I Quote You on That? by Stephen Spector

May I Quote You on That? 
A Guide to Grammar and Usage 
by Stephen Spector 

Summary

We all use language in different ways, depending on the situations we find ourselves in. In formal contexts we are usually expected to use a formal level of Standard English-the English codified in grammars, usage guides, and dictionaries.

In May I Quote You on That? Stephen Spector offers a new approach to learning Standard English grammar and usage. The product of Spector's forty years of teaching courses on the English language, this book makes the conventions of formal writing and speech easier and more enjoyable to learn than traditional approaches usually do. Each lesson begins with humorous, interesting, or instructive illustrative quotations from writers, celebrities, and historical figures. Mark Twain appears alongside Winston Churchill, Yogi Berra, Woody Allen, Jerry Seinfeld, Stephen Colbert, Oprah, Lady Gaga, and many others. These quotations allow readers to infer the rules and word meanings from context. And if they stick in readers' memory, they can serve as models for the rules they exemplify.

The lessons then offer short essays, written in a conversational style, on the history of the rules or the words being discussed. But because English is constantly changing, the essays offer not only the traditional rules of Standard English, but also the current opinions of usage panelists, stylists, and language specialists. When rules are controversial, Spector offers advice about stylistic choices. A companion website features a workbook with practice drills.

This book will appeal to anyone who wants to write well. It's aimed at those who are applying to college, taking the SAT, or writing a job application, an essay, or anything else that requires clear and effective communication.

Reactions
"You may find that some of these quotations are memorable. That's good, because if you remember them, you can model your own sentences on them." And it's true.

This book is based on quotations to help you understand the grammar rules through examples and famous words. But it's also a lot more.

Sure it helps you to know how to use "Further" or "Farther", "Pendantic" or "Didactic" and give you tools to remember when to use "May" or "Can": "Here is a rule that I'll bet you've heard: if you can do something, you have the ability to do it; if you may do it, you have the permission."

But it also help you with punctuation if you are into editing and using the correct abreviations. You learn about the common nowadays mistakes. Like with "Kudos" that is a singular Latin noun, everybody thinks is plural. :-)

Honestly, it's not a book you read before bed. But It's one, I was enjoying opening in the Métro to improve, review my vocabulary or just to enjoy the quotes.
I've also appreciated all the side informations given by the author to make the grammar fun. It's like someone is telling you an historical or a practical story that you are able to understand easily.

It's a really cool read if you are into words and learning how to use them correctly.
A great Christmas present too.


Source 
Arc provided by Netgalley. I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

Fated by Courtney Cole

The Bloodstone Saga Vol 2

Summary
Seventeen-year old Macy Lockhart thought she had it all figured out.

As a Keeper in the ancient organization, the Order of the Moirae, she literally holds fate in her hands. She lives over and over in lives that end tragically; all to further the good of mankind as she does her part to control destiny.
But there’s one lesson that she hasn’t learned well enough. Nothing is ever what it seems.

Startling new revelations about her identity surface and Macy realizes that she’s more important than she ever imagined.

As she struggles to grasp her new reality, everyone she loves is threatened. Is she strong enough to save them all?

Impressions
A little dissapointed.

The first opus was interesting because the author has mixed some Egyptian drama and her personages were strong, funny and brave. So I was really impatient with the sequel.

If I was happy to meet again Macy, her present adventures were confusing. It's like the author was trying to rush the plot before revealing the Olympus drama.
I was dissapointed by that part. Why talk about the band, the beach scene if all the development was going to take part in Ancient Greece ?

And Gavin and Jane were not characters you can really can relate or bond with.

It has changed when all the intriguide is moving to Olympus. Ares was my favorite as well as the Amazon warriors. Aphrodite a little too inexistant and Gavin was really lacking of charisma in this volume.

But the ending is good and interesting. The author was able to catch, once again my interest.

Not so grabbing. Let's see what the next volume has in store...

The Bloodstone Saga
Every Last Kiss vol 1

Under the Moon care

Under the Moon care

Once you were a sight

In the middle of my nightmare

Able to make me see light

When I was in despair.

Sad, I've whispered my heart's secrets

To the enthralled ears of Lady Moon

Under her care no tears, no regrets

She promises my smiles will return soon

She told me:

When the sun will seductively set

Using fire and rich colors in his golden dance

It will be your clue to sigh his name and forget

But never look back, even for a glance.

Tonight, I will do as the lady said

Then, why am I praying for a cloudy sky instead?

Sea under the moon

A4 Watercolor, Ink

Lucie F 10/09/2015

How to Survive Mercury Retrograde by Bernie Ashman

Summary
Prepare yourself for the retrograde cycles of Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Join renowned astrologer Bernie Ashman as he shows you how to arm yourself with the knowledge to handle those areas of life that will most likely be affected by a retrograde planet.

Discover how to avoid negative tendencies or thoughts during a retrograde period and very importantly how to take advantage of the opportunities offered by retrograde planets.

This book will help you make better choices about relationships, communication, and business matters during a retrograde cycle.

Impressions
Easy to understand.

With all the talk about the Mercury Retrodrade for the past weeks, I was wondering what all the fuse was about.
Since people were blaming the planet, going backward, for everything going wrong in their life, I was getting curious.

Bernie Ashman was able to provide easy answers and explanations about how Mercure will affect the zodiac signs. The author also gives tip for finding positive aspects to the planets like Venus and Mars as well as Mercure when they are retrograde.

Good News...Today is the last day of the 3 weeks periode where Mercure was playing with our nerves. Meaning tomorrow Mercure will go direct again and we will have less trouble in our communication and plans.

 A good read if you are into astrology as well as if you want to know more about your mood changes during the year.


Source
*Arc provided by Netgalley.
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

Paris In Style by Janelle McCulloch

A guide to the city's fashion, design and style destinations


Summary
Paris always seems to keep something slightly hidden: those intriguing ateliers and fashion museums, enticing boutique hotels, secret gardens, enthralling bookstores, irresistible antique stalls...
Having written three bestselling books about Paris, journalist, author and photographer Janelle McCulloch thought she knew most of the best places in which to stay, wander and explore.

But the more time she spent in Paris, the more she realised how much there was still to discover.

Paris in Style reveals this city's most surprising and fascinating fashion, design and style destinations.

It is the ultimate insider's guide for travellers seeking style, creative inspiration and unforgettable experiences.

Impressions
Lovely pictures, great adresses: a nice read!

I'm always curious about Parisian books see through the eyes of foreigners. As I'm born and grow up in this city, I know there is a lot of tourists places but also a lot of fabulous little areas, nobody has heard about unless you are a real Parisian.

Janelle McCulloch, if I'm honest is a little snob in her description of Paris and the fashion and design of the capitale.
Not really a critic. It's often the way Paris is seen.

Her book is a delight if you are looking for posh and stylish boutiques or if you are looking to spend time in luxuous hotels.
She also add some great quality details about cheaper accommodations.
But, I would say that some "quartiers" are forgotten or that you only hear about shopping at Hermès or Chanel.

Of course, if you have money and want to spend it in luxuous stores, Paris is a great place. As well as all the principal capitales in the world. :-) Would have prefered to heard about the small designers that are fabulous or the less trendy shops.
If you want a nice "viennoiserie" or delicious pastries, you don't have to go to "Pierre Hermé", you can push the doors a lot of "boulangeries."

But, I'm being hard. ;-)

 Her book is very well detailed one. By reading it, you will be able to prepare a great trip in this city.
Just remember that there is also a lot of hidden treasures and getting lost in Paris is also the best way to discover them.
An advice that Janelle McCulloch gives you that you should really follow!

And our taxi are not so bad! LOL! But Metro is the best if you really want to enjoy Paris.

A lovely book with tips, adresses and places to visit.

Source
*Arc provided by Netgalley.
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

Sex, Love, and Dharma by Simon Chokoisky

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Relationships

Synopsis
Discover your dharma type and prepare your body, mind, and spirit to attract and build a lifelong union with your soul mate

• Explores how the dharma types align in relationships, giving quick and simple insights into which dharma pairings work and which ones need work

• Details methods for attracting a mate as well as practical techniques for improving your sex life, including the best time to have sex during the day

• Provides self-tests to determine your dharma type and outlines unique ayurvedic diet, exercise, detox, and lifestyle tips for better health and sex appeal

The people of ancient India understood that most humans are incomplete without an intimate partner, a soul mate to share life’s journey. Drawing upon astrology, Ayurveda, and dharma type--your personality and spiritual purpose archetype--they developed detailed systems to analyze physical, emotional, and spiritual compatibility between people. This analysis encouraged joyous relationships by revealing the sexual compatibility of a couple, the innate relationship conflicts they face, and their potential for financial success together. In this way, couples were able to distinguish biological attraction from long-term compatibility, lust from love, and soul mates from playmates.

Sharing ancient Vedic secrets of sex, love, health, and dharma, Simon Chokoisky explains how to prepare your mind, body, and spirit for the right partner and how to determine if a potential mate is a good match for your unique chemistry. He provides self-tests to determine your dharma type and outlines unique ayurvedic diet, exercise, detox, and lifestyle tips for each type to reclaim your health and vitality and, by doing so, your sexiness. He explores how the dharma types align in relationships to create harmony or disharmony, giving quick and simple insights about which dharma pairings work and which ones need work. Highlighting the skills inherent to each dharma type, he makes suggestions on how to improve day-to-day relationships for personal and financial benefit and to build lifelong romance that grows into a spiritual union. Moving to the bedroom, the author details methods for attracting a mate as well as practical techniques for improving your sex life, including the best time to have sex during the day and month.

Showing how knowing who you are will help you find your right mate, and keep away those unsuitable for you, Chokoisky explains how living your dharma helps you flow with nature in a way that makes life and your relationships more fulfilling.

Impressions
Very interesting!

There is lot to discover with this book. It's not at all what you think about when you see the cover. The author explains about indian customs, daily routine for your health, talk about medecinal plants, ask you to take test. It's fun, very interesting.
You are a reader and a little more as you are implicated in your read.

There is also aspect as a western woman that have not convinced me. Some beliefs about women that I found old fashion but at least it has helped me to have a vision of traditions.

A great journey where you learn, discover and probably roll your eyes but I've spent a nice moment.



Source
*Arc provided by Netgalley.
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

Shattered Blue by Lauren Bird Horowitz

The Light Trilogy Vol 1
Summary
For Noa and Callum, being together is dangerous, even deadly. From the start, sixteen-year-old Noa senses that the mysterious transfer student to her Monterey boarding school is different. Callum unnerves and intrigues her, and even as she struggles through family tragedy, she’s irresistibly drawn to him. Soon they are bound by his deepest secret: Callum is Fae, banished from another world after a loss hauntingly similar to her own.

But in Noa’s world, Callum needs a special human energy, Light, to survive; his body steals it through touch—or a kiss. And Callum’s not the only Fae on the hunt. When Callum is taken, Noa must decide: Will she sacrifice everything to save him? Even if it means learning their love may not be what she thought?

Impressions
Grrrrrrrr!
Ok, it's not really a title for a review but it's exactly my feelings after finishing this book.

The beginning is slow but nice. The author is leading you into a sweet romance between a Fae and a human but with paranormal manifestations... The story is a bit sad also because the characters have lost loved ones.
Then, the pace is taking some speed with Judah's apparition. It becomes darker too with torture and mind game. Noa feelings are unstable and it has started to get on my nerves as I was asking myself where the author was going.

And Bang! The last scenes are full of revelations. Nothing is black and white. Got really frustrated with the end because I was ready to give up on this love triangle when the author has succeeded in hooking me again. So Grrrrr!

Don't know if I like it or not. Will need to read the sequel to make up my mind. ;-)
Nicely done by the author!



Source
*Arc provided by Netgalley.
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.