A Slice of Brie Book Club: Wrapped Up in You by Carole Matthews

Hello Book Clubbers! I can't believe this is the final book club of the year. As I also mentioned in the last book club post, this will also be the last book club for the next few months. With baby arriving in two weeks, I don't want to over commit myself until I get into the groove of managing my time with a toddler and a newborn. I like to think I'll still find time to read, but who knows! Hopefully we can pick back up in the spring though! I want to thank each and every one of you who has supported this little online book club. It means the world to me that you wanted to be a part of this and participated in the discussions. The only thing I love more than actually reading, is sharing that love of reading with other people. So thank you, thank you!

On that note, I also feel like I need to apologize for ending this book club with such a bust of a book! All I wanted was to read something light and fun and Christmassy, and this book was none of those things for me. (Maybe I also need to apologize right now to those that read this but loved it!) I know when it comes to a book club it's often a gamble on whether the book will be good or not, but I do take responsibility for this since I put a lot of work into selecting what I think will be good books to vote on. This book has pretty darn good reviews on Goodreads and was listed under several different "Christmas Themed Books" book lists, so I'm not sure what happened. Oh well, as much as I would have loved to end this with a bang, I'm hoping we can all have a good laugh at it instead!

OK quick reminder: if you're new to book club, this is a place for discussion, more than a review, so spoilers are aplenty. But, with that being said, I don't think this book can really be spoiled, haha. I also want to say, I don't take pleasure in rating a book poorly or bashing it, but there are so many things I disliked about this book that I can't help myself. Please forgive me.

Quick synopsis: Wrapped Up in You is the story of Janie, a 35 year old single hairdresser who lives alone with her cat. She's recently split up with her long term boyfriend whom she's pretty sure she wasn't actually ever in love with. She's given up on ever meeting anyone and is completely oblivious to the fact that her handsome and kind neighbour, Mike, is totally smitten for her. Janie is then set up on a blind date from hell by her best friend (and co-worker), Nina. Except this guy won't take no for an answer and continues to stalk Janie. Around the same time, Janie's ex tells her he's getting married and having a baby. So Janie does what any sane woman would do, and blows all her life savings on a week long trip on an African Safari after a client of hers leaves her a brochure on it. Oh, and this trip takes place over Christmas. In Africa, Janie falls in love with her "Maasai Warrior/safari guide", and when she returns to England, she is hell-bent on doing whatever it takes to be with him. Forever.

Here's what drove me nuts about this book:

• Janie's complete obliviousness to the fact that her neighbour and good friend, Mike, liked her. And that she used him whenever she was feeling lonely or needed something done for her.
• The whole bit with the bad blind date. I don't believe for a minute that Lewis, the most self-centred, annoying man I have ever read about, would continue to beat down Janie's door to try to convince her that they were meant to be together. But OK, let's say she happened to go on a date with the one crazy guy in her small town. Am I really supposed to believe that Janie believed her going to Africa for a week was what he needed to finally get the picture that she wasn't interested? 
• I definitely can buy that Janie was attracted to and lusted after Dominic, the Maasai Warrior she meets in Africa. I even buy that she would sleep with him. I mean, what happens on vacation stays on vacation, right? Wrong! This isn't just a little holiday fling. Janie AND Dominic both profess their love to each other at the end of the week. OK, so I can see a woman getting a little wrapped up in such a lust, but I don't buy that Dominic would be so quick to fall in love. He's built and spent his whole like in a tiny village in Africa as a warrior and has standards and beliefs he follows to a T. He spends his time working on these safari's and this is the first time he's fallen head over heals with one of his clients?
• Oh but wait! Dominic has Facebook! He only has to walk 10 miles to get to the nearest computer though, so Janie and Dominic can totally continue their long distance romance. Easy peasy. 
• How does someone as primitive as Dominic (I mean, he only needs a few hours of sleep at a time, has wrestled lions in the flesh, survives on only fermented milk mixed with the blood of his cattle, and lives in a small village), also be somewhat educated (he speaks pretty darn good English and clearly knows his way around a computer)?! 
• I just can't accept that Dominic would so willingly jump on an airplane and leave his family and life behind to be with Janie. What do they talk about?! Love is one thing, but is that enough to sustain a relationship especially when one person is being completely removed from their life as they know it? 
• I found their whole relationship uncomfortable. Dominic was just portrayed as her protector and lover, and all he ever asked her was "are you happy?" 
• And for the love of god, if I had a dollar for every time Janie referred to Dominic as "her lover" I would have more than enough money to pay Becky back for actually having to purchase this book. Gag me.
• I honestly didn't like any of the characters except for Mike. He was the only normal one, but I felt bad that he was wasting all his time and energy on Janie. 
• Dominic was a pro-snowboarder his first time ever on one. Riiiiiight.
• When Dominic runs away at the end of the book, he becomes a hero and everyone likes him now because he attacked a mugger to get an old woman's purse back. Would this story really make headline news?! 
• Why oh why did this book need to be over 400 pages long?! What was even the plot? 
• I feel so duped by this book. The cover is so misleading...with the wintery landscape and the caption "Will Janie bring home true love this Christmas?" Nope, nope, nope. Not a Christmas (or wintery) book AT ALL. 

OK, phew! I needed to get those things off my chest. I know I left some things out. You guys can remind me of what I missed in the comments, haha! Or maybe you liked this book (sorry for dissing it in that case) and you can let me know why! 

No questions this go around. I just want to hear what you thought about it...if you agree with my bullet points...if I missed any major issues with the book...and/or what did/didn't work for you with this book. 

Again, thanks to every one who has participated in book club this past year! Even thought we didn't go out with a bang, I hope there will still be interest to pick this back up in the spring some time. In the event that you have a post on this book you want to link up, I've included a link up below. Happy reading!

A Slice of Brie Book Club: December's Pick!

Hello Book Clubbers! Since I'm combining November and December's book, I'm just calling the next book club December Book Club. I was actually surprised by the outcome of the votes for this book - I thought for sure everyone would vote for Elin Hilderbrand given she's a more well-known author - but I'm really excited for our next book! Wrapped Up in You by Carole Matthews sounds super cute and fun and the perfect easy read for this busy time of year. I don't really read holiday themed books, but after researching books to vote on for this month, I think that's all going to change! There were quite a few I came across that I added to my wish-list and also seemed to be readily available at my library.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A Christmas fling, or has Janie found the real thing? 

Thirty-something hairdresser Janie Johnson's single status is a constant source of gossip for her friends and clients. So after too many nights in with her cat, a blind date disaster and news that her ex is getting married, Janie realises it's time to do something dramatic with her life. It's time for an adventure! 

Leaving winter behind, Janie takes the plunge and books an exotic trip to Africa. Her friends think she's mad and Janie thinks they may very well be right . . . but then she falls head over heels for her tour guide - and fully fledged Maasai Warrior - Dominic. But can Janie now face spending a snowy Christmas back home without him? 

Packed with unforgettable characters, romance and laughter, Wrapped Up In You is your very own perfect Christmas Carole!

If you're new to book club, then welcome! You can read more about book club in this post, but here's the gist of it:

• Book Club for Wrapped Up in You will be on Wednesday, December 7.  My post with review and thoughts, along with some discussion questions, will go live the morning of. This gives you exactly 5 weeks to read the book.
• Come visit the post, share your feelings and opinions on the book and participate in the discussion! (Of course, participation isn't mandatory - you're more than welcome to just read along quietly!)
• There will be a link-up for bloggers who have written their own review post, or have reviewed the book in another post. You can use this graphic to link back, or grab my button from my side bar. Writing a post is totally optional and not mandatory.

• EVERYONE is welcome! You do not have to have a blog to participate. My blog is just the space where I host the book club, but I encourage everyone to join - tell your friends! :)
• Most importantly, have fun! There's no pressure or obligation to "sign-up" or "RSVP". You can choose to read the book now, or closer to the date we meet to talk about it. It doesn't matter to me! 
• For my local friends: there are a few copies available at the Calgary Library. You can also order this book through Chapters right now, but they only have the ebook in stock, or Amazon. 

It goes without saying that this will be the last book club of 2016! Thank you for everyone that has supported this little idea of mine by reading along, participating in the discussions and linking up! I've had so much fun this past year and I'm glad I was able to encourage some participation. If there's one thing I love more than reading, it's sharing my love of reading with other book worms :)

On that note, at this time, book club will not be resuming in January (so no vote for a book in December), as I am going to take a month or two (or maybe more) off from it after I have my baby. I still hope to get in reading when I can once baby joins our family, but like a lot of things in life when you have kids, you just never know what's going to happen or how crazy busy things will be! Hopefully we can start up again in the spring! In the meantime, I'm still planning to continue with my book posts where I talk about the books I've been reading, and as well, I share my most favourite reads on Instagram. 

Happy reading! If you have any questions, let me know!

A Slice of Brie Book Club: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (& Next Month's Book Pick)

Hey there book clubbers! Sorry again for the delay! I hope everyone was able to get through this book and is ready to talk about it...or at the very least, has seen the movie. Ha - just kidding! You should always read the book before the movie. I remember a time when this was an easier thing to do, but now a days, it feels like every movie is based on a book. Anyway, I digress.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (which from here on out will be referred to as Miss Peregrine's), has been sitting on my bookshelves for years. Five years to be exact. I remember purchasing it when I was working at a bookstore and it was just released. I was intrigued by the cover and the eeriness of it. Of course, as is the fate of many books that come home with me, it sat there on my shelves, unread. So I was pleased it was picked for book club as it meant I was finally going to read it...and just in time to see the movie! Which I think looks really good.

Anyway, just a few reminders here before we get into the book...if this is your first time here, this is your warning that this post will have spoilers (what would a book club discussion be otherwise?!) At the end of the post, I will have a few questions to get the discussion going which you can answer in the comments section if you like. And lastly, if you have a blog post about the book, you can link up at the end of this post!

Also - if you aren't here to discuss Miss Peregrine's, but would like to participate in the next book club, then be sure to jump to the end of this post to vote on the book you'd like to read for November/December! If you're new to A Slice of Brie Book Club, in a nutshell, it's an online book club for fellow book lovers. A place to talk about a chosen book from the comfort of your own home/computer! Everyone is welcome (so tell your friends!), and you definitely do not have to have a blog to participate. Every month, we vote on which book to read for the following month. The poll will stay open until Monday night and I will announce the book next Wednesday. No commitment to join, but if you've ever wanted to join a book club, this is a great place to start!

*****

Before I get into what I thought about the book, here's a quick summary of it: 16-year old Jacob finds himself traveling to a small island off the coast of Wales, with his father, after the traumatic death of his grandfather. Jacob's grandfather lived a pretty secret life, and while he tried to share things with Jacob, it was all too unbelievable and Jacob assumed it was all just "stories". But the clues his grandfather left behind, had Jacob wondering the impossible, and so he travels to the island to find out the truth and is led to the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

I will admit, I haven't been looking forward to writing about this book. Fantasy isn't really my genre of choice, and while I can enjoy it, I find it difficult to talk about. This book was well written, and my favourite part about it was the physical beauty of the book itself - from the thickness of the pages, to the inclusion of the (real) vintage photographs, to the pretty pages dedicated to each chapter - it's really a work of art. That being said, I wasn't completely enthralled with the story. Some bits I was confused (like trying to wrap my head around how all the time-loops worked), and who the hallowgasts were and their role. Again, fantasy and my brain don't always mix well together, haha.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the romance developing between Jacob and Emma either...it seemed a little wrong, given both her actual age and the fact that she still seemed to be in love with Jacob's grandfather. I just don't think it was really necessary. Unless the author thought there needed to be a love interest in order to make it seem believable that Jacob would stay behind? Who knows...even Jacob as a character was pretty flat for me. There wasn't really anything likeable about him or had me "rooting" for him, or hoping for one ending over another. I felt pretty "meh" the whole time I was reading this.

I definitely think I expected this to be a creepier read. The setting is right, the endorsements on the book lead you to believe so, and the pictures should add an eerie element. But, it's not. There wasn't one part where I felt creeped out, or on the edge of my seat. Which is fine, but I think the cover and synopsis are misleading.

And the ending? I have a big pet peeve when it comes to cliff-hangers in a series. Thankfully, this wasn't a huge one, but it's obvious that it was written with the intent for their to be another book (or two in this case). I'm undecided if I will finish the series off....part of me always wants to know what happens, but I also wasn't invested enough in this book to want to run out and read the next one. I'm also not even sure I fully understand what happened at the end of this book, or where these kids are hoping to row out to. That's right - row! How far can you get in the ocean in row boats?! With no food, water, shelter or supplies, not to mention "a silent procession of battleships punctuated the horizon"! Ya, a weak ending in my opinion.

Overall, I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it. I might just not be the right audience. Or maybe I just went in with the wrong expectations? Like I said above, it's well written and I didn't have any issues with that, I just wasn't as sucked into the story as I was hoping I would be!

So this is usually where I would have some discussion questions for you...but I'm having a hard time coming up with any! Instead:

• Tell me what you thought of the book: did you like it, love it, hate it? 
• Do you usually enjoy fantasy books? 
• Were you expecting the book to be more creepy? 
• How did you feel about the romance developing between Jacob and Emma? 
• How did you feel about the ending?

*****

NEXT MONTH'S BOOK PICK

So there's only going to be one more book club for the rest of the year. Seeing as how we are already getting into November, and since December is historically a busy month for almost everyone, it makes sense to only do one more.  That being said, I want to read something light, fun and a bit romantic to finish the year off! So I've picked three Christmas themed chick-lit fiction books to choose from. Cast your vote and I will announce the last book club book of 2016 next Wednesday!

Links to check out these books on Goodreads: Winter Street//Christmas at Tiffany's//Wrapped Up in You

And now to vote!

Happy Voting! And don't forget to link up your posts so I can check them out! 

A Slice of Brie Book Club: October's Pick!

Hello Book Clubbers! Well, I wasn't sure which book was going to win as the votes were all very close to start with, but Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children started to creep ahead and stayed there. With the movie adaptation just coming out, and considering I already own a copy of this book, I am happy that I will finally be getting around to reading this book! I also think it's a fitting book for Halloween next month!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs. 

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. 

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows. 

If you're new to book club, then welcome! You can read more about book club in this post, but here's the gist of it:

• Book Club for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will be on Wednesday, October 26. My post with review and thoughts, along with some discussion questions, will go live the morning of. This gives you exactly 4 weeks to read the book, which is plenty of time considering it's a young-adult book and has pictures in it ;) 
• Come visit the post, share your feelings and opinions on the book and participate in the discussion! (Of course, participation isn't mandatory - you're more than welcome to just read along quietly!)
• There will be a link-up for bloggers who have written their own review post, or have reviewed the book in another post. You can use this graphic to link back, or grab my button from my side bar. Writing a post is totally optional and not mandatory.

• EVERYONE is welcome! You do not have to have a blog to participate. My blog is just the space where I host the book club, but I encourage everyone to join - tell your friends! :)
• On October 26, we will vote for November's book pick, and then book club will take a break until the new year. I'd like to do a Christmas or winter theme to the books we vote on, so if you have any books you'd like to suggest for voting on, please let me know and I will try to include them!
• Most importantly, have fun! There's no pressure or obligation to "sign-up" or "RSVP". You can choose to read the book now, or closer to the date we meet to talk about it. It doesn't matter to me! 
• For my local friends: the hold list at the Calgary Library is ridiculously long. I'm sorry for that! You can also order this book through Chapters right now for $10 (<---affiliate link), or Amazon. I also see this book at Value Village a lot. 

I hope you'll be joining us next month! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! Otherwise, happy reading and I can't wait to meet back in a month to talk about this book! 

A Slice of Brie Book Club: One True Loves (& Next Month's Book Pick)

OK Book Clubbers, I am SO excited to talk about this month's book! This is without a doubt, my favourite book we have read so far!

One True Loves has been getting some serious love these past few months and I knew it was a book I wanted to read. I almost didn't even bother having us vote last month and was just going to decide for us, but voting is still fun, and I was pretty confident that One True Loves would win. And win it did - by a landslide! It's also nice to be on top of reading a book that has just recently come out since I'm almost always several months and years behind the hype.

Anyway, just a few reminders here before we get into the book...if this is your first time here, this is your warning that this post will have spoilers (what would a book club discussion be otherwise?!) At the end of the post, I will have a few questions to get the discussion going which you can answer in the comments section if you like. And lastly, if you have a blog post about the book, you can link up at the end of this post!

Also - if you aren't here to discuss One True Loves, but would like to participate in the next book club, then be sure to jump to the end of this post to vote on the book you'd like to read for October! If you're new to A Slice of Brie Book Club, in a nutshell, it's an online book club for fellow book lovers. A place to talk about a chosen book from the comfort of your own home/computer! Everyone is welcome (so tell your friends!), and you definitely do not have to have a blog to participate. Every month, we vote on which book to read for the following month. The poll will stay open until Sunday night and I will announce the book next Tuesday. No commitment to join, but if you've ever wanted to join a book club, this is a great place to start!

*****

OK, enough of that. On to One True Loves. You guys, I LOVED this book. Like, I want everyone I know to read it! I was hooked from page one and could have easily devoured it in one night, but I also wanted to savour every page so I forced myself to slow down a bit. And when I was done, I was overcome with a strong desire to start the book all over again, and that is something I RARELY feel. Quickly, this book is about Emma, a 31 year old woman who has just found love again after the death of her husband 3 years prior. Emma's first husband, Jesse, was the love of her life. They started dating in high school, traveled the world together, and got married one year before Jesse went missing after the helicopter he was traveling in went down. His body was never found. Emma, a complete mess after this, decides to move back home to her hometown, where her parents and sister live. As fate would have it, she ends up running into Sam, an old friend and co-worker from high school. Deciding that she needs to accept the death of Jesse and that she wants love to return to her life, she starts to date Sam. Then, a few months after Sam and Emma get engaged, Emma receives a phone call: it's Jesse and he's alive. Having survived the crash and life on a tiny island for the past 3 years, he's coming home. 

I can't even think about this scenario without getting goosebumps. Can you even imagine being in such a situation? What I really liked about this book, was the development of both of the relationships that Emma is in. The first part of the book is all about Emma's and Jesse's relationship: how it started and their immense love for each other even as the years move on. There's no denying their love. And then the book moves into Emma's grief and healing before we move on to her and Sam's relationship. Sam is the polar opposite of Jesse, yet he's also perfect for Emma in his own right. Their love is also passionate, easy and natural. 

At first, I was so torn between the two possible endings: should Emma go back to Jesse, or should she stay with Sam? As much as I loved Jesse and the love the two of them shared, my heart told me Sam was the right man for her to be with. What I loved so much about this book was how it addressed change, and how we aren't the same person we are at 20, 30 or even 40 years old, let alone the same person after a tragic event. Emma was this wild and carefree person in her 20s, but when she moves back home, she really does some soul-searching and figures out who she is in the right now. I related to that part so much - sure, traveling and living pay-check to pay-check and not having a secure future is fun when you're young, but now that I'm older, I know my wants and needs have changed, just like Emma's did. I want security, I want a family, I want stability. Emma's change wasn't drastic, but it felt natural. And I loved that she fell in love with reading (after hating it for most of her life) and genuinely wanted to run her parent's bookstore that they always wanted her to run. 

The turmoil that Emma (and Sam and Jesse) went through once Jesse came back was so raw and executed so well. It's not a simple situation and I really liked how it wasn't about "choosing" Jesse over Sam, but about choosing who was right given who present day Emma was. Was Jesse still right for her, or was Sam? I knew in my heart it just had to be Sam. Three years is a long time to be apart, and Jesse's and Emma's time apart wasn't natural. Emma eventually had to choose to move on with her life, while Jesse didn't. His hope of being reunited with Emma was what kept him alive, and rightfully so. But that just means that when they were reunited, they weren't the same people at all. 

I also really liked that this was the story of Emma - the person left behind when someone goes missing or dies in an accident. The focus wasn't on Jesse's story of survival (although we were given just enough of his story to feed that curiosity and answer any questions). 

The ending was perfect in my opinion, and not just because Emma stayed with Sam. It was perfect because it was messy before it got better, and it just felt real. Feelings were going to have to be heart no matter which way you looked at it. There was going be a need for closure, for both Emma and Jesse. Sam was going to go through his own emotional rollercoaster and Emma had to understand the potential for her actions. While there was a moment where I was like, "if this was real life, I could see no one ending up with anyone", but I'm so glad that wasn't the ending for this book! 

Oh man, I can't stop talking about this book! I'm sorry, if you've read this far, you deserve a cookie! But seriously, I loved this book and I really hope you all loved it too! 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU (Feel free to discuss in the comments!):

1. Do you think Emma, believing that Jesse might not have been dead, should have waited longer for him to be found before moving on? No. I think two years was a long time and Emma needed to move on for her own sanity and good-will. She deserved to be happy again and find love, especially at such a young age. In reality, how long DO you wait?! I don't think there's a right answer, but I think Emma knew she was ready to stop waiting. 

2. Do you think moving back home, running the family book store and putting her life of travel behind her, was the right thing for Emma to do? Did you feel it was a natural progression or an outcome only because of her grief? I do, I really do. Like I said above, we change as we age and we for sure change after a tragic accident. I don't think Emma was ever trying to be someone she wasn't (in fact, I would even argue that the young Emma was trying to be someone that maybe she wasn't). I think older and wiser Emma was just more comfortable in accepting what she wanted and who she wanted to be.

3. How did you feel about the weekend Emma spent with Jesse at his family's cabin in Maine? Do you think that level of intimacy was necessary in order for Emma to figure out what she wanted, even though it risked hurting and losing Sam? At first I was like, Noooo, you can't go and be alone and have sex and risk ruining everything with Sam. But, I knew it needed to be done. Emma needed to figure out who Jesse was/had become, she needed to figure out if they were still the same people as they were when they were still married and madly in love. It was closure that ultimately needed to occur in order for anyone to move on.

4. Who did you want Emma to choose: Jesse or Sam? Sam. Definitely Sam. I adored Jesse, but I knew he wasn't right for Emma anymore. He was changed, Emma was changed, and that tragic gap would be too much for them to overcome. And I just knew that Jesse wasn't happy with the new life Emma had built for herself (moving back home and running the bookstore) and I knew that it wasn't a life he would ultimately want for himself. 

*****

NEXT MONTH'S BOOK PICK

Here are the choices for October's book club. I decided to choose mystery/thrillers in the spirit of Halloween being next month. Local friends - I try to find books that don't have super long wait lists, but it was a difficult task this go around. Even if you aren't sure you can participate, vote anyway! You never know if you might get a chance to read it and participation can be anonymous if you like :) So vote for a book, and then next Tuesday I will announce the winner!

Links to check out these books on Goodreads: I Let You Go//Behind Closed Doors//Miss Peregrine's

And now to vote!

Happy voting! Don't forget to link up your posts so I can check them out! 

A Slice of Brie Book Club: September's Pick!

Hello Book Clubbers! Like I mentioned in this post, due to scheduling of past book clubs, we're just going to skip an actual August book and move on to a September book. It was a pretty unanimous decision for the next book, and I have to say, I'm really glad it was picked! I've heard and read nothing but great things about One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid. 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.
On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.
Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.
That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.
Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?
Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

If you're new to book club, then welcome! You can read more about book club in this post, but here's the gist of it:

• Book Club for One True Loves will be on Wednesday, September 21. My post with review and thoughts, along with some discussion questions, will go live the morning of. This gives you exactly 4 weeks to read the book.
• Come visit the post, share your feelings and opinions on the book and participate in the discussion! (Of course, participation isn't mandatory - you're more than welcome to just read along quietly!)
• There will be a link-up for bloggers who have written their own review post, or have reviewed the book in another post. You can use this graphic to link back, or grab my button from my side bar. Writing a post is totally optional and not mandatory.

• EVERYONE is welcome! You do not have to have a blog to participate. My blog is just the space where I host the book club, but I encourage everyone to join - tell your friends! :)
• On September 21, we will vote for October's book pick. If you have any books you'd like to suggest for voting on, please let me know and I will try to include them!
• Most importantly, have fun! There's no pressure or obligation to "sign-up" or "RSVP". You can choose to read the book now, or closer to the date we meet to talk about it. It doesn't matter to me! 
• For my local friends: there are 9 copies of One True Loves at the Calgary Library, and there are currently 2 copies available at this time, so get your holds in! You can also order this book through Chapters (<---affiliate link), or Amazon. 

I hope you'll be joining us next month! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! Otherwise, happy reading and I can't wait to meet back in a month to talk about this book! 

A Slice of Brie Book Club: Keep Me Posted (& Next Month's Book Pick)

Hey there Book Clubbers! Sorry again about the confusion yesterday, I promise it won't happen again! Hope you're ready to talk about July's book....

Keep Me Posted by Lisa Beazley was a book that I kept seeing pop up all over my social media so I was pretty excited that it was the book picked. Sometimes it seems so rare that I read a book while it's still current, you know? Anyway, just a few reminders here before we get into the book...if this is your first time here, this is your warning that this post will have spoilers (what would a book club discussion be otherwise?!) At the end of the post, I will have a few questions to get the discussion going which you can answer in the comments section if you like. And lastly, if you have a blog post about the book, you can link up at the end of this post!

Also - if you aren't here to discuss Keep Me Posted, but would like to participate in the next book club, then be sure to jump to the end of this post to vote on the book you'd like to read for September! (Because of scheduling for this month, we're just going to skip having an actual August book). If you're new to A Slice of Brie Book club, in a nutshell, it's an online book club for fellow book lovers. A place to talk about a chosen book from the comfort of your own home/computer! Everyone is welcome (so tell your friends!), and you definitely do not have to have a blog to participate. Every month, we vote on which book to read for the following month. The poll will stay open until Sunday night and I will announce the book next Tuesday. No commitment to join, but if you've ever wanted to join a book club, this is a great place to start!

*****

Ok! So on to Keep Me Posted! This was the perfect middle of summer read, in my opinion. Life has been super busy this past month and out of the entire year, this is the least amount of reading I've done. But I really did enjoy this book. Quickly, this book is about two sisters - Cassie and Sid - who live across the world from each other. Cassie is in NYC with her husband and twin toddlers, and Sid is in Singapore with her husband, her teenage son, and her toddler. Cassie lives for social media, and Sid doesn't even exist on it, so one Christmas, they decide to go old school and start a correspondence via letter writing in hopes to get to know one another again. This all seems like a fabulous idea until Cassie decides she wants to preserve every single letter sent and received and uploads them all to a private blog she creates. Except said private blog somehow becomes public one day and all of their private and intimate letters are out there for anyone to read. And before Cassie even has time to do damage control, the blog is getting some serious attention. 

Keep Me Posted was a fun read and I loved the concept of going back to hand writing real letters and sending them by snail mail. It brought back the days of my childhood when I had a handful of pen-pals I loved writing to. It really made me wonder if penning letters and mailing them is truly a dying art? I know I no longer write letters to anyone and it's a miracle if I can get a card in the mail on time. This kind of makes me sad and I'm tempted to convince my own sister to embark on a similar journey as the sisters in the book. 

Anyway...I really liked both Sid and Cassie, and I felt I could relate to a lot of what Cassie was going through as a stay at home mom of toddlers. I liked her relationship she had with her husband and I was rooting for them the whole time. I was so mad when Cassie got sloppy and kissed her ex-boyfriend, but I was so glad that it didn't progress to more than that. I also thought it was incredibly dumb that Cassie choose a private blog as the means to preserve her and Sid's correspondence. Couldn't she have just scanned them and saved them in a folder on her desktop?! Or printed out her scanned copies of her letters and made a scrapbook? I know there would be no book without this part, and I guess people do do dumb things all the time.

My biggest beef with this book was the blowing up of the blog once it went public. There are a billion blogs out there and if no one knows about your blog, the odds of someone finding out about it are pretty slim, no? I mean, most bloggers I know work their butts off to get their writing out there and to gain readership. It doesn't happen overnight and certainly doesn't happen to a blog that is just out there sitting there. How did people even stumble across it, let alone tens of thousands of people? I dunno, am I the naive one here, or am I reading too much into this? 

I also felt that Cassie's husband's response towards the blog going viral was a bit of an overreaction. Not that he didn't have a right to be upset, but he really punished her for an honest mistake. And not even for the fact that she kissed another guy, but just for the reason that she was stupid enough to post the letters on the blog. I'm glad they were able to work through it, but I didn't think he needed to make Cassie suffer for as long as he did. 

The ending, while I liked it, wrapped up a little too perfectly. A perfect solution to everyone's problems! How nice! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a happy ending, and this one definitely was one. And I like when everything is tied up at the end without leaving the reader with too many "but what happened next?!" thoughts. But this ending was just a little too neat. 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU! (Feel free to discuss in the comments!)

1. Could you relate to what either of the sister's was going through in their personal lives? Did you relate to one more than the other, or neither of them? I could definitely relate to some of what Cassie was going through - the struggles with being a stay at home mom, the old wardrobe, the frequent use of Facebook - but I can't say that I understood her need or mistake to make out with an old flame or the lack of communication in her marriage. 

2. Do you think it was dumb that Cassie chose to save the letters in the way she did, by uploading them to the internet? Or in theory, was it a good way? Would you have done the same to keep a record of the correspondence? So dumb. BUT, as someone who puts a lot of her life out there on the internet, I get it, although I would never do something like she did with the intent of making it private. Does that make sense? If I truly wanted to keep something private, I would not be uploading it to the internet. In the spirit of handwriting letters, I like to think I would save them all in a scrapbook/journal thing. 

3. Do you feel Cassie's husband Leo's reaction to the letters going public was justified, or do you think he overreacted? I totally think he overreacted. Or at least, I think he shouldn't have shut Cassie out as much as he did, or for as long. Even when they "resolved" all their problems, there wasn't much of a conversation, and that kind of bugged me. 

4. Did you like how relevant this book was to today? So many books, while taking place in present day, don't make mention to things like Facebook, social media, blogs, etc, in efforts to not date a book. Do you think this book will still be relevant or relatable to people reading it in 5 years, 10, longer? I like both: I like when a book doesn't date itself by including too much pop culture or things (like Facebook or Instagram) that could potentially not be relevant to future readers. But a book like this is also really enjoyable because it's relatable to real life. Texting and Facebook and social media aren't going anywhere. 

*****

NEXT MONTH'S BOOK PICK

Here are the choices for September's book club. Since it's already the middle of August, we're just going to skip having an August book, and get right to September's. Even if you aren't sure you can participate, vote anyway! You never know if you might get a chance to read it and participation can be anonymous if you like :) So vote for a book, and then next Tuesday I will announce the winner!

Links to check out these books on Goodreads: One True Loves//The Mountain Story//One Plus One

And now to vote!

Happy voting! Don't forget to link up your posts so that I can check them out!

A Slice of Brie Book Club: July's Pick!

Hello Book Clubbers! July's book choice won by a landslide, so I hope everyone is looking forward to reading Keep Me Posted by Lisa Beazley! It looks fun and easy - another perfect summer read.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Sisters Cassie and Sid Sunday have not done a bang-up job of keeping in touch. In their defense, it hasn’t been easy: life veered in sharply different directions for the once-close sisters. Today, beautiful and big-hearted Sid lives an expat’s life of leisure in far-off Singapore, while harried, iPhone-clutching Cassie can’t seem to make it work as a wife and a mom to twin toddlers in Manhattan.  It doesn't help that Sid spurns all social media while Cassie is addicted to Facebook. So when Sid issues a challenge to reconnect the old-fashioned way—through real, handwritten letters—Cassie figures, why not?  The experiment exceeds both of their expectations, and the letters become a kind of mutual confessional that have real and soul-satisfying effects. And they just might have the power to help Cassie save her marriage, and give Sid the strength to get her life back on track. But first, one of Cassie’s infamous lapses in judgement comes back to bite her, and all of the letters wind up the one place you’d never, ever want to see them: the Internet...

If you're new to book club, then welcome! You can read more about book club in this post, but here's the gist of it:

• Book Club for Keep Me Posted will be on Tuesday, August 16. My post with review and thoughts, along with some discussion questions, will go live the morning of. I know summer is busy so I figured an extra week to read this book would be nice.
• Come visit the post, share your feelings and opinions on the book and participate in the discussion! (Of course, participation isn't mandatory - you're more than welcome to just read along quietly!)
• There will be a link-up for bloggers who have written their own review post, or have reviewed the book in another post. You can use this graphic to link back, or grab my button from my side bar. Writing a post is totally optional and not mandatory.

• EVERYONE is welcome! You do not have to have a blog to participate. My blog is just the space where I host the book club, but I encourage everyone to join :)
• On August 16, we will vote for September's book pick. If you have any books you'd like to suggest for voting on, please let me know and I will try to include them!
• Most importantly, have fun! There's no pressure or obligation to "sign-up" or "RSVP". You can choose to read the book now, or closer to the date we meet to talk about it. It doesn't matter to me! 
• For my local friends: there are 12 copies of Keep Me Posted at the Calgary Library, and there are currently 7 copies available at this time, so get your holds in! You can also order this book through Chapters (<---affiliate link), or Amazon. 

I hope you'll be joining us this month! If you have any questions, please ask! Otherwise, happy reading and see you back here in 5 weeks to discuss Keep Me Posted! 

A Slice of Brie Book Club: The Royal We (& Next Month's Book Pick)

Hello Book Clubbers!

Even though I disappeared last month, I hope some of you still read June's book and are ready to talk about it! The Royal We, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan has been on my to-read list for months, so I was pretty happy it was the book of choice this time around. If this is your first book club with us, then just a heads up that spoilers are fair game since this is a discussion (and not just a review). At the end of the post, I will have a few questions to get the discussion rolling, but you by no means have to answer them. If you have a blog post in which you reviewed or discussed The Royal We, there is a link up for you!

Also, there's a poll at the end of this post, so make sure you vote for next month's book! If you're new to A Slice of Brie Book club, in a nutshell, it's an online book club for fellow book lovers. A place to talk about a chosen book from the comfort of your own home/computer! Everyone is welcome (so tell your friends!), and you definitely do not have to have a blog to participate. Every month, we vote on which book to read for the following month. The poll will stay open until Monday night and I will announce the book next Wednesday. No commitment to join, but if you've ever wanted to join a book club, this is a great place to start!

*****

Ok! So on to The Royal We! You guys, I adored this book. Absolutely, 100% adored it. I'm not going to go into too much detail about what it's about, but in short, it's basically a fictional re-telling of the love story between Prince William and Kate, except in this case, their names are Prince Nicolas and Rebecca (Bex). The book spans over a decade, starting with how they met (Bex is an American and decides to take a semester abroad at Oxford, and Nick resides in her dorm), to all the in-between ups and downs of their courtship and relationship, and ending (and beginning) with the eve before their big wedding. Bex, with no doubt in her mind that she is madly, truly and deeply in love with Nick, can't help but wonder if everything she is giving up to be with him (her privacy, her normalcy, her job, her citizenship), is well, worth it. 

I'm not sure if I loved this book as much as I did because I have a serious crush on the real-life Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, but this book fulfilled that obsession I have with them. While the facts and events in this book are so different from things that actually happened during the dating years of Prince William and Kate, the similarities were enough that I couldn't help but picture them while reading. It was so exciting to be pulled into their world - a world I can't even imagine getting a glimpse of, let alone being a part of. The characters, while not without their faults, were all fantastic and everyone was so well developed. I truly felt transported into the pages of the story while reading it.

Of course, I also find the life of the Royals utterly fascinating and I enjoyed that look into what their life is most likely like to some degree. I especially enjoyed reading about all the work and effort that went into grooming Bex to become the wife of a Prince. I've always wondered how many people are truly behind the scenes in Kate's life and just how much "help" she has. Wouldn't it be wonderful if she had a blog (were she allowed to!)!? Or her own Instagram account? And by that I mean, an account where she posts the photos and gives us glimpses into her everyday life. 

But more than that, I just enjoyed this story. Even if there was no Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in which this novel got it's inspiration from, I still would have loved it. The love story had me in tears at times, and even the side relationships felt real and I was just as invested in all of them. I liked that things were often messy in their life and relationship and that their love spanned years, not just days and months. So much growing up was down in this book, and I feel like that's so rare in contemporary romance. 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU! (Feel free to discuss in the comments!)

1.  Would you be able to give up large parts of your life to marry into an establishment like the Royal Family? Is love enough? Well, let's be honest here, I'd love to be in Kate's shoes - I mean, I'm pretty sure we've all fantasized about what it would be like to marry a prince, haven't we?! I don't believe love on it's own is enough, but I truly felt convinced that what Bex and Prince Nick shared (love, friendship, honesty, compassion and loyalty) would get them through the toughest of days. So yes, in a similar situation, I like to believe I could marry into such an establishment given the right circumstance. 

2. What did you think about Bex's twin sister, Lacey? Do you think her reactions and how she handled herself in regards to her sister dating and marrying a Prince were justified? I had moments where I loved Lacey and moments where I wanted to shake some sense into her. I was horrified when she dropped out of medical school just to be a part of her sister's lifestyle. BUT, I also think it would be really tough to be the twin-sister of someone dating an actual Prince. It would be weird and I admit, I'm sure I would have major moments of jealously. I think Lacey made some very poor mistakes, but I think she needed to find herself and figure out a way to be more than just Bex's twin sister. 

3. Would you have given up your citizenship just because the Queen basically told you to? Do you think your citizenship is important enough to fight for, or is it a compromise that you would be able to make? This is the one thing that bothered me about the book. Not the fact that Bex decided to go ahead and sign the papers to give-up her American citizenship, but once she signed those papers, even though Prince Nick told her not to, it was never brought up again! I like to think, if I was in her shoes, my Canadian citizenship would have been more acceptable to the Queen, haha! 

*****

NEXT MONTH'S BOOK PICK

Here are the choices for July's book club pick. Feel free to vote, even if you aren't sure you can participate. Really, you can read the book at any time before we meet to discuss it, so you don't have to decide now if you will have time to read it or not! I will announce the winner next week and you'll have 4-5 weeks to read the book. 

Links to check out these books on Goodreads: Everything, Everything, Keep Me Posted, & Still Mine. 

*Local friends: the first two have copies available at the library, but the last one has a waiting list. 

And now to vote!

Happy voting! Don't forget to link up your posts so that I can check them out!