Book Review: Dating da Vinci by Malena Lott

ISBN: 978-1402213939

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Paperback: 288 pages

Genre: Women's Fiction

First Line: I never intended to take home da Vinci.

One Word Review: Touching

Publisher's Description:

A gorgeous young Italian, with nowhere to go... His name just happens to be Leonardo da Vinci. When he walks into Ramona Elise's English class, he's a twenty-five-year-old immigrant, struggling to forge a new life in America - but he's lonely, has nowhere to live, and barely speaks English...

She knows she shouldn't take him home... Picking up the pieces of her life after the death of her beloved husband, linguist and teacher Ramona Elise can't help but be charmed by her gorgeous new student. And when he calls her 'Mona Lisa' she just about loses her heart...

The cover of this novel and it's blurb had me expecting a light-hearted chick lit romp. While it definitely could be considered contemporary women's fiction, it's deeper and with a more meaningful message than what I originally had assumed it would be. I think readers will sympathize with Ramona's situation and relate to her insecurities and doubts. While I felt that the male characters were at times a little too perfect (though this is pretty common in romances), I thought Ramona was written really well. The story itself is touching, yet it still maintains the fun aspects of 'chick lit.' Fans of books like P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern and movies like Under the Tuscan Sun (though not the book, as it's vastly different) will appreciate Ramona's emotional journey.

Book Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

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The Wednesady Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

The Wednesday Sisters explores the ties of friendship that bind five women together. Set against a backdrop of the turbulent 1960's and 70's, Frankie, Linda, Kath, Brett, and Ally come together each week as they form a sort of writer's group. It soon evolves into much more than that as they share in each others' successes, failures, heartbreaks, and joys.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was compelling, and the setting was perfect. Having not experienced the time period first hand, I gained a lot of insight into the roles of women before the liberties I take for granted were ever realized. It actually helped me to understand and appreciate my mother a little more. The Wednesday Sisters is a beautifully written and touching novel that speaks to every woman's desire to find her place in the world. The characters are vivid and real, and the first-person narrative left me feeling as much a part of the group as any of the 'sisters.' I cried, laughed, and cheered right along with them. We should all be so lucky as to find our own 'Wednesday Sisters.'

P.S. I Love You

Holly and Gerry had a 'perfect' life together. That perfect life got turned upside down when Gerry was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor. Thus begins the story of love and loss depicted in P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern.

I probably would never have picked this book off the shelves were it not for the movie that was made from it. It looked like something I'd enjoy, so I decided to read the book first. It started out very strong - sweet and sad, with some really tender moments. And it finished pretty well, too. Somewhere in the middle, though, I started thinking that the film might possibly be better than the novel. It's not that anything happened or didn't happen to make it unenjoyable. It's more that there was so much shoved into the story that was fairly unnecessary. It easily could've been condensed by 100 pages and been just as good. That being said, it was still very well written - the characters were believable, the plot was pretty well-paced (just a bit wordy at times), and the ending was actually a bit of a surprise. All in all, I thought it was a very satisfying read. Now, I can watch the movie and see if they did it justice.

Buy this book on Amazon.