This was another book club book - this one chosen by Meghan. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows and is set in 1946 in London, England and on the island of Guernsey which is just off the coast of England.
The book begins when the main character, Juliet Ashton, a writer recieves a letter from a stranger who just happens to be one of the founding members of the Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society. He asks of her a favour, to find other books by and author he has come to enjoy and this is how Juliet begins her involvement with the people of Guernsey.
The entire book is told through a series of letters. Characters writting to Juliet, Juliet responding, and at times characters writing to each other. Juliet learns how the society was started during the German occupation of Guernsey throughout WW2. She quickly begins to adore the members of the society and decides to visit Guernsey and write a book about their memories of the German occupation there.
When Juliet arrives in Guernsey, she is immediately greeted as a long lost friend by the members of the society with whom she has been corrosponding. She realises that she has not only found a story for a new book, but possibly a new home for a lost soul such as herself.
This book was fantastic! So many memorable characters who made me laugh and cry right along with them. So thankful for our book club because I may have not picked this book up had it not been for them. A great read and at times shocking (I didn't know some of the things discussed about the war).
I have been wanting to read this series for awhile and actually bought the first 2 books around Christmastime with some gift cards. Well I finally got the final two books of the series and had a chance to read it all. What is this series, well it is called The Fallen Angels series by Lauren Kate. I must say I really enjoyed these books. They fall into the teen book category and have some similarities to other series I have read in this genre, but definitely had a different take on things.
In the first book in the series, Fallen we meet Luce. She is a 17 year old girl from Georgia and has just been sentenced to go to a reform school after being involved with the dead of one of her former classmates. It is at the reform school, Sword and Cross that she meets Daniel. She can't figure it out, but she feels as if she knows him from somewhere and is immediately drawn to him. Luce falls for Daniel and discovers a mysterious hidden past that is about to drastically change her future.
The second book in this series, Torment finds Luce being shipped off to another boarding school, this one in California (unbeknown to her parents) called Shoreline. This school is special though; it houses students called Nephilim - part human, part angel. Luce has just found out that her relationship with Daniel (who she now knows is an angel) is cursed. For the past thousands of years, Luce and Daniel find eachother, fall in love, and then she dies all around the age of 17. This time though, things are different. Luce is still alive and Daniel is determined to keep her that way. Luce is frustrated with Daniel because he won't tell her about any of their past lives together or why they are cursed, so she becomes determined to find out on her own (with the help of a few friends).
The thrid book, Passion begins with Luce making a decision. She chooses to ignore Daniel's warnings and dives into an Announcer (a link to her past lives) to find out who she was. Throughout this book Luce gets to see her past selves falling in love with Daniel over and over and it sadly ending with her death each and every time. Even though the story seems the same each time she lives it, Luce learns more about her and Daniel's love and more about the curse that keeps them apart. While Luce is traveling through her past, Daniel is frantically trying to find her somewhere in time.
The final book in this series, Rapture sees Luce back in present day after being saved by Daniel. No the pair must race against time as Lucifer tries to re-write history. Luce and Daniel team up with old friends to try and find three objects that will lead them to where Lucifer is. All the while, Luce is learning more and more about who she was/is and it is up to her to figure out how to break the curse and stop Lucifer - will she succeed in time? Will Luce and Daniel end up together?
These books were very suspenceful and I found myself rooting for Luce and Daniel to figure it all out so that they could finally be together once and for all. Loved the ending - very fitting. Would recommend these books to anyone interested in a good love story that survives time.
I have read the first four books in the Mortal Instruments book series before, so when I got book 5 I decided to reread book 4, but not the first three (I felt I remembered enough from them to get along). So, book 4 City of Fallen Angels, by Cassandra Clare - I can't say enough about this series....soooo good!!!
Clary and Jace have returned to New York after the battle in Iridis and she is now training to become a Shadowhunter (they fight deamons and keep the peace between downworlders - vampires, werewolves, fairies, and warlocks). Her and Jace are offically dating - about time! All in all, everything seems pretty good, but then Jace starts pulling away from her and she can't figure out why.
Meanwhile, Simon has his own issues he needs to deal with - he's dating two girls who are eventually going to figure it out, he's now a Daylighter (vampire who can walk in the sun), and has the Mark of Cain (causes anything bad people want to do to him to turn back on them times seven).
Things start to get really weird at Clary's mom and Luke's wedding shower - Clary and Jace go missing and when Simon, Alec, and Isabelle go looking for them they get a lot more than they bargined for. Things are set in motion this night that will change all of their futures. They will all have to deal with the loss of a dear friend and gain another enemy.
Book 5 - City of Lost Souls. In this book Clary must deal with the aftermath of that night on the roof of the apartment building. Jace has disappeared and Sebastian might be back! Now she is being questioned by the Clave as to her involvement in the happenings that night, when all is wants to do is find Jace.
So much happens in this book, but if I say much more I will give it all away! Clary must make a decision that could save every one, including Jace or she could loose the one she loves most. Decisions are made, lines are drawn, relationships start and end, and the Shadowhunters world is changed forever with one night's events.
Can't wait for the sixth installment of this series, but I think I might have to wait awhile :(
Wow! It has been awhile since I last posted...have definitely been reading since, but have been slacking on the posting, oops. So, our last book club book was chosen by Helen and is called, "Not Wanted on the Voyage" by Timothy Findley. The book club discussion definitely helped me like this book more than I initially did after reading it.
The book is a Noah's Ark spin off where all of the characters from the Bible story are present, but vastly different from the original story. Noah is kind of a crazy man who believes that everything he sees is a sign from God telling him to do another horrible thing. His wife was my favourite character in the book - she was kind hearted and loved all of the animals abord the ark, especially her cat, Mottyl. She had to put up with Noah and his antics, as well as deal with him treating her like a second-class citizen on the ark - she and the lesser members of the family were forced to stay below deck, cook, clean, and take care of all of the animals.
We do learn a lot about each character in the family, their background, and really why they choose to behave the way they do on the ark. We also get to find out why there are no more unicorns and deamons in the world. I really liked that the author included these mythical creatures in the book and explained why we no longer have them (even though these descriptions were pretty gruesome).
I think this book is an interesting read on it's own, but is made so much better after being able to discuss it with others (book club). I enjoyed the characters and story - quite a unique way of telling the Noah's Ark and would recommend it as a book club pick, but maybe not an individual read.
The book begins when the main character, Juliet Ashton, a writer recieves a letter from a stranger who just happens to be one of the founding members of the Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society. He asks of her a favour, to find other books by and author he has come to enjoy and this is how Juliet begins her involvement with the people of Guernsey. 
