Vacation Reads

I was recently on my Honeymoon and spent two and a half glorious weeks traveling around Paris, Venice, and Florence.  Besides seeing epic works of art, drinking delicious wine, and basking in the sun, I also did a lot of reading!

 Here was my favourite place to read: (can you blame me for wanting to spend lots of time here?!)

Here is the lineup that I got through during my vacation:

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward
Not my favourtie in the series but I did like seeing a female vampire and a human male as the main characters since most of the series has been the other way around.  As per usual, lots of sexy time which equals a perfect plane read!

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
I had never heard of Connie Willis until I picked up one of her books on a whim at work...and discovered that she won both the Hugo and the Nebula for this book...WHAT?! How did I not know about her!  I had this on my Kobo for awhile and this trip seemed like the perfect time to read it.  WOW!  I loved this book.  While classified as Science Fiction (what with all the time traveling going on) it also is very much a historical novel (what with a historian from the mid 21st century being sent to the Medieval Ages).  It was moving, humourous, informative, and very believable.  This is the first novel Willis wrote about time travelers from Oxford and I will definetly be picking up the other three that she has written about this topic (note these are not sequels but books that take place in the same universe).

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
I had read The House at Riverton sometime ago and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to reading this novel of Mortons (especially since many people called this one her better book!).  What a brilliant novel!  Beautifully written, emotionally stirring, and wonderfully imagined, I was gripped from page one (ask my husband, I quite literally wouldn't leave the rooftop garden until I was done reading it the next day).  I love how Morton weaves mystery into her novels and keeps me guessing right up to the big reveal.  I was thinking about the story days after finishing which I find is always the sign of a good read.  I'm looking forward to reading her latest novel!

The Orchid Affair / The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig
I had been saving Willig's newest novel for this trip, as well as rereading the one before to do a quick catchup on the integral plot points.  The Orchid Affair was once again excellent and The Garden Intrigue didn't disappoint either.  I liked the pairing of Augustus and Emma for most of the story though I did start to waver near the end...the eventual 'hook-up' wasn't quite what I was hoping for but oh well!  I'm also really looking forward to wear Willig will take the Eloise / Colin plot line which gets better and better with each book!

Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
Lancaster's first memoir and the only one I hadn't read! It was interesting reading this one after having read all her other memoirs because it introduced 'rich, VP Jen' which is someone I had only had glimpses of.  I found this one much more moving, reading about her and husband Fletch's fall from the top after the economic crisis from the early 2000's and all the troubles they went through.  Lancaster biting wit and honest voice is as present here as in her other memoirs and I loved reading her story.  She is fast becoming my favourite non-fiction author.  Many rereads of all her wonderful memoirs are in my future.