Review of Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Title: Time Between Us (Time Between Us, #1)
Author: Tamara Ireland Stone
Published by: Hyperion
Pages: 384
Source: Library
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary From Goodreads:  Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

A sweet romance that defies time and space.  Time Between Us mixes romance and time travel in a way that will touch your heart and make you smile. 

Anna and Bennett are the type of characters you adore in a novel.  They are both sweet, good kids who like a little adventure, but ultimately are kind and good hearted.  The one problem I had with them was the insta-love thing.  I felt that Anna fell for Bennett extremely fast and that overshadowed some of her decision.  She seemed a bit naive and I had a problem with her not being more cautious with Bennett and his unique ability.  I was also quite upset with her when she put Bennett in a horrible situation and didn't realizing the agony she was causing him.  I'm sure if I was in the same situation I would have gone beyond begging him, but being an outsider I thought it was a bit selfish and unfair of her to ask such a thing. 

The story line was cute and a bit predictable, but I don't think that took away from the novel.  I knew it was going to be a sweet love story and that is what I received.  I also like that Tamara Ireland Stone bought up some interesting questions about how one incident can change the entire course of a person's future.  It's crazy to think about having such an amazing ability, but more crazy about how careful you have to be not to change history or one's life.  That is a lot of pressure for one kid to handle. 

After reading this novel I have a craving to read The Time Traveler's Wife.  I'm sad to say that I have never read that novel and with a story line that mirrors Time Between Us I think I will finally get around to reading it. 

Have you read both of these novels?  How similar are they?

Audio Review of Crash by Lisa McMann

Title: Crash (Visions, #1)
Author: Lisa McMann
Narrator: Allyson Ryan
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: 5 hours; 19 mins
Source: Simon & Schuster Audio
Format: Audio
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.  What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.  The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

A modern day Romeo and Juliet with a twist. 

What a heartbreaking thought to not only see a horrifying vision all the time that only you can see, but to see the face of the one boy you love in one of the body bags.  Jules does not have an easy life.  It is a little twisted with her dad a compulsive hoarder, working nights at her family's Italian restaurant, the boy she loves completely ignores her while their families feud, seeing visions of a scary crash...and oh yea, driving the restaruant's food truck to high school with two big meatballs on the roof.  (Ok, that last part had me laughing out loud everytime I heard about it).

Jules is a great character.  She keeps seeing this vision in everything and as much as it freaks her out, once she sees Sawyer's face in one of the body bags she knows she has to do something about it.  She's not one of those tough, instant hero types.  She's a normal girl and she is scared out of her mind, but she can't just stand back and do nothing.  I really admired this about her and I think that her being scared and freaking out made her more real to me.  Plus, she has an awesome relationship with her siblings which I love.  Trey sounds like a great big brother and I love that as crazy as he thinks his sister is at times, he's always there for her. 

Allyson Ryan did an amazing job with the audio.  Her voice, along with the story, put me in a trance where I didn't want to stop listening.  I needed to know what was going to happen next and some of the little mysteries that surrounded the characters.  Lisa McMann did an amazing job at hiding all these intricacies in the novel that you don't even really notice until it all comes together in the end. 

This is one series that you don't want to miss out on.  Plus, isn't the cover for Crash interesting and attention grabbing?  At first it freaked me out a bit, but now I'm digging it.  What do you think of the cover?
 

Audio Review of Swipe by Evan Angler

Title: Swipe (Swipe, #1)
Author: Evan Angler
Narrator: Barrie Buckner
Published by: Oasis Audio
Length: Approx: 8 hours
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Logan Langly is just months away from his thirteenth birthday and the biggest day of his life—the day he will finally be marked. The mark lets people get jobs, use public transportation, or even buy concert tickets. Becoming marked means becoming free—or so he is told. Five years ago when Logan's sister went to get her mark, she never came back. Now Logan can't shake the feeling he's being watched... And then he finds the wire.

Logan Langly is being watched.  Everyone just thinks he is being paranoid, that is until he meets Erin.  Erin and her father just moved to town because he is on some big top secret case and she figures the sooner she solves it the soon they can move back home.  Soon these two team up and launch an investigation that could put both of their lives in danger. 

I'm not sure if it was because Swipe was a middle grade novel, but I found some of the characters to be a bit immature.  For example, Logan's best friend Dane got super jealous over nothing and totally cut Logan out of his life.  He was rude to him and overall just a jerk.  He didn't want to know the truth or want to talk about it.  It was hard for me to come to the mindset of the characters being younger and therefore being extremely impulsive.  Erin didn't really care about anyone but herself and seemed like she just wanted an adventure.  I didn't actually like her very much, because it never seemed like she wanted to help Logan, instead she just wanted the thrill of finding out what was happening to the missing kids.  Logan on the other hand was the only character I did like.  He was a genuinely good kid and nice person.   As much as everyone thought he was crazy, he new what he believed was true and he stood his ground.  He really grew as a character throughout the novel and by the end he was quite brave and daring.

Even though these characters were not my favorite, they were memorable and seemed to work well with the plot.  I liked that the story wasn't completely predictable, instead having some unexpected twists at the end which will lead nicely into the next novel in the series.  The narrator, Barrie Buckner, did a good job, but I wasn't fond of his voice for Erin.  It felt forced and a little manly.  Otherwise though, he kept me engaged and interested throughout the entire story. 

I like the concept behind Swipe, but I wish that Evan Angler would have gone into more world building in this dystopian-like novel.  I want to know why society is the way it is now and why the need to be marked.  Hopefully this will be covered in the rest of the series.     

Friday Night Date Night: Snowwhite and the Huntsman

Friday Night Date Night is a feature on my blog that showcases movie reviews (mostly movies that were adapted from books). Hopefully some of these reviews will help you decide what to watch on your date night or a night of relaxing at home.

 

 

With all the remakes on fairy tales and Snow White in particular, I wanted to check out this version as well.  I'm sad to say that while I enjoyed the different take this iconic tale, I didn't enjoy the movie as much as I hoped to. 

 

 

I watched this movie with my sister and brother-in-law and while I have never really enjoyed Kristen Stewart as an actor, I thought it was both funny that they both commented on her lack of facial expressions.  I guess I'm not the only one...or at least it runs in my family.  Besides the mediocre acting (mainly Kristen Stewart), the movie was a lot darker than I expected.  It was definitely not your Disney version, that's for sure.  The writers did add some interesting twists though that kept me watching and wondering how the tale was going to play out.  Plus there is a bit of a cliffhanger that makes you wishing (crazy, I know) for a second part.   

 

While this movie wasn't one of my favorites, it's originality was a bit refreshing and I kind of liked the dark side to a childhood favorite.     

Review of Pivot Point by Kasie West

Title: Pivot Point (Pivot Point, #1)
Author: Kasie West
Published by: HarperTeen
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher/Edelweiss
Format: ARC ebook
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

Addison is one of those special girls in her paranormal society that can search into her future when given a choice and see both outcomes played out.  She's not a very popular girl, but soon gains the notice of the star quarterback around the same time she learns that her parents are splitting up.  Now she is left with a big choice--stay with her mom and keep living in the paranormal compound surrounded by her friends and this new crush, or move with her dad to live among the norms always hiding who she really is.  Of course, left with such a big decision she uses her power to search both futures. 

Pivot Point started off a little slow, but right around the middle of the novel I realized I was hooked as we explored both directions of her choice.  What a choice to have to make when you can see both the good and the bad of what each future holds.  I loved that this wasn't an easy choice for Addison and with both choices she will have to make huge sacrifices.  Kasie West didn't gloss anything over and made the readers realize how complicated each choice we make can sometimes be.  Unfortunately,  and unlike Addison, we cannot see the outcomes of our choices, but it's interesting to think about how things may change depending on what we choose.

The characters in this novel, both the paranormal and the norms, come to life.  They are very real with their issues and interactions, though I found them to be a little predictable.  You could easily guess their roles in Addison's life and how they may influence which future she will chose.  I did like the characters, but a lot of this story was based off the interactions between the characters so I wish they would have had a little more deapth. 

By the end of the book I was a bit heart-broken for Addison.  I couldn't quite believe Pivot Point ended like it did, so I'm happy to hear that this will be a series.  I look forward to seeing how Addison will go on with the future she chose and if there is any possibility of a cross over from the other future. 

Audio Review of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Hobbit
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Narrators: Multiple
Published by: HighBridge Company
Length: 4 hours; 14 mins
Source: Library
Format: Audio

Summary from Goodreads:  Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole by a wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of a large and very dangerous dragon.

I'm the type of girl that when I see a movie adaption of a novel is coming to theaters, I will rush out and read that book, even if it didn't seem interesting before.  That happened over ten years ago when I first saw a preview of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.  I was never interested in fantasy books before, but the movie looked really good so I had to read the books.  I ended up devouring the trilogy even before the first movie came out, but for some reason or another I never ended up reading The Hobbit.

Well low-and-behold, a few months ago I saw previews for The Hobbit and the same cycle repeated itself.  Only this time I decided to try the audio.  I did a little research and I found out that this version from HighBridge Company was supposed to be one of the best adaptations.  The version was originally broadcast on National Public Radio and featured many narrators to dramatize the lives the main characters and the novel itself.  I've listened to audio books before where there were multiple readers and I've enjoyed them immensely.  However, this version was a little different.  It was read as though they were putting on a play only I couldn't see anything.  The main characters all said their lines (without the he said/she said parts), and the narrator filled in the story line, but it wasn't read in the style of the actually writing of the book.

I had a really hard time listening to this version of The Hobbit.  I was often confused and had to re-listen to parts.  Surprisingly, I think I actually enjoyed the book less because of this version of the audio than I would have if I had actually read it (which is a bit unusual for me...I almost always enjoy the audio more).  The characters themselves were fun and I loved seeing how part of this epic quest all started.   Though because the novel was so short, the story often felt choppy and pieced together.  The resolutions to many of their conflicts happened too fast and without much detail. 

I'm not sure that I can give this novel a fair rating because I'm sure most of my bias comes from the audio instead of a mixture between the audio and the story.

Have any of you read The Hobbit?  If so, what did you think of it?  Or has anyone listened to a different version of this iconic novel?  If so, which one and did you enjoy it?  

DAC Blog Tour: Review of The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Title: The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter, #1)
Author: Megan Shepherd
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 432
Source: Debut Author Challenge ARC Tours
Format: Paperback ARC
Rating: 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Scandalously, thrilling and a bit disturbing; The Madman's Daughter is a book like no other. 

Megan Shepherd introduces us to Juliet whose family fell from society with the accusations about her father's inhumane experiments that forced him to flee London causing rumors of his death.  By a chance encounter she learns that her father is still alive and has the opportunity to go live with him on a remote island and determined for herself if those accusations where true. 

This story was so good.  There are so many little mysteries and surprises that totally catch you off guard...well at least I didn't see them coming.  Initially I was caught up in the scandal but as soon as I met Dr. Moreau, like Juliet, I was a bit repulsed and yet completely intrigued.  As grossed out as you may get at times, the story still pulls you in and makes you want more.  Even though this was a longer novel I flew through it.  I tried to slow down and savor it, but I ended up not having the will-power. 

Not only does the story completely engross you, but the characters are just as fascinating.  Juliet is a forward thinking young lady who has learned medicine, but her father's experiments may be too much or reveal too much about the sickness that may run in the family.  While Juliet may think she is mad, I think she was just ahead of her time.  She was independent and wasn't the docile girl that she was supposed to be.  The relationships she forms with both Montgomery and Edward keep the novel from getting too disturbing and heinous.  The romance is interesting, but there is so much underlying baggage that goes with the characters that you never quite know what to think.

The best thing about this novel was the questions it made arise.  I won't go into the complicated web of theories and moral issues that are floating around in my head, but let me warn you that this novel will stay with you long after you've devoured it. 

 

P.S. Don't Forget to enter my giveaway for Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison. There is a giveaway for both US and International readers!

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Romances

Today I'm participating in Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

 

Top Ten Favorite Romances (not sure if this is for couples or for physical books, so I went with couples)

 

I had a hard time picking just ten and I'm sure I missed a ton but here they are...

 

 

Just thinking about these makes me want to go and reread them all!  Are any of these your favorite couples?  If not, which ones are?

 

 

P.S. Don't Forget to enter my giveaway for Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison.  There is a giveaway for both US and International readers!

Review of Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison + Giveaway!

Title: Notes from Ghost Town
Author: Kate Ellison
Published by: Egmont USA
Pages: 336
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback ARC
Available: February 12, 2013
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: When sixteen-year-old artist Olivia Tithe is visited by the ghost of her first love, Lucas Stern, it’s only through scattered images and notes left behind that she can unravel the mystery of his death. There’s a catch: Olivia has gone colorblind, and there’s a good chance she’s losing her mind completely—just like her mother did. How else to explain seeing (and falling in love all over again with) someone who isn’t really there? With the murder trial looming just nine days away, Olivia must follow her heart to the truth, no matter how painful. It’s the only way she can save herself.

A hauntingly beautiful tale.  Notes from Ghost Town is the type of story that will instantly draw the reader in with its mystery and keep you around because of the intriguing characters.

Olivia has lost it all when her mother went to jail for the murder of Lucus Stern, Olivia's best friend and secret love interest.  Not only does she get kicked out of her fancy art school, but she starts seeing Stern's ghost and gets the sneaking suspicion that not was all right with the murder investigation.  This poor girl has been through so much and yet as much as she wants to give up, she doesn't.  While I didn't connect with Olivia, I did respect her despite some bad decisions she made.  I'm sure if I was in her situation I would have rebelled far worse than her. 

Throughout the mystery of Stern's ghost and what really happened that night he lost his life, Olivia is determined to find out the truth, even if it does mean she's crazy.  She finds an unlikely ally in Austin, the boy she thought she hated.  I felt things with Olivia and Alex were a little rushed.  First Olivia hates him, then he's obsessed with her, then they are sort of friends.  It was all just a bit confusing and their relationship felt forced for the plot of the story. 

The mystery itself was intriguing with a couple of plot twists, but at the same time it was easy enough to have a pretty good guess as to who did it, but not why.  That was the part that exploded at the end.  Kate Ellison's writing kept the mystery alive and though the material was dark she didn't make it depressing.  She had a great balance between making us wonder about the murder or if Olivia was slowly losing it plus adding in some humor as well. 

Notes from Ghost Town had the perfect mix of murder mystery and a touch of possible paranormal that has you guessing what was real. 

Intrigued?  Here is your chance to read Notes from Ghost Town for yourself.

Want a chance to read Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison ? Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win not only a hardcover copy of Notes from Ghost Town, but also the new paperback release of The Butterfly Clues provided by the wonderful people at Egmont USA. 

That means you could win two books by Kate Ellison!

Plus some more great news...Egmont USA accidentally sent me an extra ARC of Notes from Ghost Town so I thought I'd give my international readers a chance to win as well!

Giveaway rules:
You need to be at least 13 years old to enter
The giveaway for Notes from Ghost Town and The Butterfly Clues is open to US and Canada readers
The giveaway for an ARC of Notes from Ghost Town is open to International readers
The winner will have 3 days to respond before a new winner is chosen
I am not responsible for any lost or damaged items.

US and Canada Rafflecopter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

International Rafflecopter 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Deity (Covenant, #3)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published by: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 330
Source: Library
Format: Paperback
Rating: 4.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner... and so is Aiden.

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed... and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate...

It took me awhile to get into this series, but now I'm loving it like cheesecake!

Alex is my favorite type of heroine.  She's full of sass, determination and is not going to be slowed down by rules or Uncles and Stepfathers who are determined to set them.  I love her spunk and total disregard for her own safety in light of helping others.  Plus she has two guys who are after her and they are hello-sexy (though quite infuriating at times).  

I loved seeing different sides of characters in Deity along with a few new characters as well.  It is about time that some of the other characters in the series got some much needed attention.  Obviously I love the main characters, but it adds so much to a story when we get bits and pieces about other characters as well.  It feels more real to me and like I'm chilling with the whole family instead of just my besties.

Besides all the supporting character love, I cannot believe how much action and plot twists Jennifer L. Armentrout threw into one book.  I feel like I could go on forever about many of the events that took place in Deity.  Some were epic and completely shock worthy, while others made me furious and at times a bit confused.  I thought I had everything figured out, but apparently there are some things you could not have guessed.  For instances the ending...I was crushed!  I couldn't believe what happened and now I have to wait until the next book to figure what is going to happen next.  Uggh!

I'm pretty sure I'm confusing you and I probably sound pretty cryptic, but I don't want to give anything away because trust me this book is worth reading.

Audio Review of The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Title: The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, #3)
Author: Rick Riordan
Narrator: Joshua Swanson
Published by: Listening Library
Length: ~ 15 hours
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close—the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

The Mark of Athena was an intriguing mix of Greek and Roman mythology sure to command your time and attention. 

How I love Percy Jackson!  I wasn't too sure about the first two books in this spin off series of the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians but The Mark of Athena shined and made me appreciate the Heroes of Olympus just as much. 

The seven demi-gods of the quest finally meet up and start their adventure.  Each of these characters have such distinct and unique personalities that even though there are many main characters there are is no trouble keeping them apart or seeing one as the weak link.  I love that Rick Riordan gave each of them a special talent and something completely their own.  I think people can really relate to this by each of us having our own talents and gifts that we can contribute to a whole and make it that much stronger.  And here you thought that a middle grade fantasy book would teach you nothing about life's important lessons...leave it to Mr. Riordan to prove you and I wrong. 

Not only did The Mark of Athena have great characters, there was always some sort of action to keep you on your toes.  Of course there were some epic battle scenes, but also there were puzzles and mind games that the characters had to work their way through.  Sometimes the battles they were fighting were not even external, but instead some weakness or insecurity in themselves.  The plot was very well rounded and the story definitely could stand on it's own instead of just being a place holder in a series. 

Joshua Swanson has read all of the Heroes of Olympus novles and does a wonderful job.  His different inflections for each characters voice really brings them to life and gives us more insight into who the character is.  I really love his voice for Leo.  It's a bit rough and gravelly and adds so much to his character.  I hope he continues on with the series as now I am so used to his voice it would be a shock for me to hear another. 

I definitely enjoyed The Mark of Athena best out of all the books in the Heroes of Olympus series and after the gaps-inducing ending of this book, I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Friday Night Date Night: What to Expect When You're Expecting

Friday Night Date Night is a feature on my blog that showcases movie reviews (mostly movies that were adapted from books). Hopefully some of these reviews will help you decide what to watch on your date night or a night of relaxing at home.

 

I have to admit that I actually have read some parts of What to Expect When You're Expecting.  No I do not have children, but since I live with my sister, brother-in-law and niece the book has been laying around the house and I've checked it out a couple of times.  I have not read enough of the book to tell you if it is similar to the movie so I can only tell you my thoughts on the movie.

I wasn't sure what to expect (haha...I didn't even realize the pun until I reread this sentence) when seeing this movie.  One of my besties saw it and loved it (disclaimer:  she was pregnant at the time).  I on the other-hand liked the movie, but wasn't really sure what to think of it.  I like that it seemed to be completely honest and show not only the amazing things that go along with being pregnant, but also the not so great things.  I think there is a stigma that everyone should have this glowing, wonderful pregnancy and people are afraid they will be judged if they are not completely in love with being pregnant.  They movie showed that it is not always beautiful and fun. 

 

Another unexpected thing I really enjoyed about the movie was Anna Kendrick and Chase Crawford.  They had really good chemistry and while their storyline was heartbreaking, I still enjoyed them.  Rebel Wilson was hilarious as usual and completely out there, but it worked well with her character.  Plus the Dad's Club was amazingly awesome! 

 

Overall it was an good, movie but I felt the story lines were a bit pieced out.  It almost reminded me of New Year's Eve or Valentine's Day (directed by Garry Marshall)...you know where there are a lot of known celebrities who each have a very small part in an eclectically thrown together film.  I'm not yet sure if I like this style or not.  I didn't enjoy Valentine's Day, but I did like New Year's Eve and this movie...so the jury is still out.