All the Stars in Heaven by Michele Paige Holmes

Reviewed by Heather Moore

Whitney Award Winning author Michele Paige Holmes' newest novel All the Stars in Heaven is a fantastic read. As a companion novel to Counting Stars, this new book tells the story of Jay as he turns his life around and goes to Harvard law school. There he meets a talented musician, Sarah, the trouble is that her father and her cousin will do anything to keep a man out of her life. Literally.

In this book, romance blends with a fast-paced suspense plot. I also loved the details surrounding the campus and life in this historic town.

You will love the characters--the perfect summer read!

Visit Michele's blog here.

It's a Mall World After All

IT'S A MALL WORLD AFTER ALL by Janette Rallison

Review by Emily, Head Mama of Deliciously Clean Reads

Emily's other blog: Whimsy Books

There's a good chance you read the title of this book and had similar thoughts to mine...sounds like cheesy chick lit. Well, maybe it kind of is, but it is written well, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, I read it in about a day.

I strongly recommend IT'S A MALL WORLD AFTER ALL if you like clean teen romances. Similar movie flicks would include A Cinderella Story, High School Musical...you know, the fun, innocent high-schoolish romances.

Charlotte, a tall-and-pretty klutz, works at the mall as a perfume spritzer for Bloomingdale's. From the entry of Bloomingdale's, she watches life at the mall, often spying on classmates. However, sometimes spying can get you into trouble. A funny series of events unfolds. I honestly laughed out loud, which I rarely do, while reading.

Besides being an active member of NHS (the National Honor Society), Charlotte loves to head up service projects, but being a klutz, something always goes wrong. During the course of the story, she finds a way to help disadvantaged kids for a Christmas project.

It is pretty obvious who Charlotte likes and how the story will end, but does that matter? Most chick flicks are predictable. That certainly doesn't stop me from loving them. If you don't like predictability, IT'S A MALL WORLD AFTER ALL may not be for you. However, if you love a quick-n-funny chick flick now and then, like I obviously do, read this one.

The Tea House on Mulberry Street

Muldoon's Tea Room is the backdrop for this debut novel by Sharon Owens. They are famous for their cherry cheescake (recipe included in the book) but the owners and their patrons are what bring this book alive. Penny Stanley inherited the tea room from her parents and her husband, Daniel is a chef. Penny hopes to revamp the place and start a family. Daniel hopes to save money and is trying to avoid any talk of babies. The book revolves around this couple and Muldoon's but there are so many other interesting characters in the book.

One of my favorite story lines revolves around Brenda Brown. She's a starving artist that is obsessed with Nicolas Cage and writes him letters often.

This would be a good book for discussion in a group. The book is pretty "safe". There is adultery (no graphic descriptions--very PG) but no cussing or violence.

The book has a sugary finish to match the tasty pastries from Muldoon's. It is a nice change of pace from a lot of contemporary fiction where the endings leave much to be desired and/or resolved.