Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells - Book Review

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre(s): Fiction, chick-lit
Pages: 400
Publisher: Harper
Published: 2004
My Rating: 4/5

Siddalee Walker needs her mother's help with a play she's writing about women's friendships, so Vivi sends her the letters, photos, journals, and souvenirs from the Ya-Ya sisterhood. Inside the scrapbook, Siddalee starts to learn a lot about her mother's past, but is still left wondering. So comes a story about the power of love and forgiveness.






My Thoughts:
I don't really know how to express what I want to say about this book.
Well, actually, let me start off by saying that I could not stand Vivi throughout a lot of the story. I wanted to punch her for treating Siddalee (her oldest daughter) like a piece of crap.
At times, Vivi annoyed me to the point where I wanted to scream at her. She struck me as melodramatic and snobby. If the author was trying to make Vivi an unlikable character then she did very good.
The Ya-Yas (Caro, Teensy, Necie, Vivi) were interesting to read about. I liked reading about when they were younger. They had weird lives and Teensy struck me as a pervert. But it's all good. It was still interesting to read about.
Siddalee annoyed me also. Now, don't get me wrong, she seemed like a nice person, but she was so damn obsessed with her mother that it was insane and odd. She always talked about Vivi's smell and how she knew she was near because of her smell. Strange, right? I just found it odd that she looked up to her mom so much, yet the woman was pretty much a... *the b word* to her. Although we do come to learn a lot about Vivi's childhood, and she didn't have the best upbringing.
At times I found this book to be too much of a drag. I got really bored and didn't want to continue reading. I mean, the whole thing was pretty much Siddalee reading the Ya-Yas Divine Secrets and then Siddalee reminiscing about her own past. Although, you do learn a lot of things about each character throughout the reminiscing and reading of the Divine Secrets.
All in all, this was a pretty good book. I did enjoy it most of the time. This was also something that I would have never read had I not picked it up at a thrift shop for pretty much nothing. I'm glad I gave it a chance.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - Book Review

Beautiful Creaturesby Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre(s): Paranormal romance, urban fantasy
Pages: 563
Publisher: Little, Brown
Published: 2009
My Rating: 4/5

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

My Thoughts:
I thought Beautiful Creatures was a great read. I enjoyed the plot and characters. When I first bought this book I thought it was going to be just like Twilight and have not so great writing. I was wrong. I thought the writing was excellent. I enjoyed the plot and the whole idea of this book.
It's cool how they intertwined Southern history throughout the book too.
I do kind of wish I had read To Kill a Mockingbird before delving into this, seeing as there are a lot of references to that novel. I'd recommend maybe you should read To Kill a Mockingbird first, just because, like I said, it's referenced quite a lot throughout here.
As for the characters, I liked Lena a lot, I thought she was a really cool, different character. Ethan was cool too, although I do think he was a little too.. feminine, I guess, for my taste. His love for Lena was adorable though, honestly. Throughout this book I became a fan of Ridley, which I probably shouldn't like because she's a Dark Caster. I just thought she was a cool person, I suppose.
As for the ending, I didn't like it that much, which is why I rated this book 4/5 stars. It just keeps you wondering. At least Beautiful Darkness is out now so I'm not wondering for too long.
Definitely read this book, I don't think you'll be disappointed; I wasn't.