Brains and Beauty

Read this review and others like it at my blog Brains and Beauty.

I'm not usually into nonfiction books or Africa, but my mom recommended this to me. And this book pleasantly surprised me.

It’s written by Neely Tucker who comes from my part of Mississippi and even mentions my hometown. So that gave me some incentive to get into it. At its heart this book is about him and his wife trying to adopt a baby from a orphanage in Zimbabwe during the AIDS crisis on the late 1990s.

I honestly had a little trouble getting into at first and thought it was little depressing. But, once I hit the halfway point I couldn’t put it down! There is so much going on with him reporting first hand during wars in Africa and how the government somewhat turns against them, and the struggle to save a little girl from possible death is riveting. I can’t believe how incredible this story is and it’s all true.

If you prefer friction or are looking to get out of your reading box then I recommend you try this out. And of course it’s a great read for those interested in Africa or adoption stories.

I hope you check this book out and let me know what you’re reading to get out of your book comfort zone.

See this review and others like at my blog Brains and Beauty

I loved it! I have to admit that it wasn’t what I was expecting and from reading the other reviews on it I think a lot of people feel the same way. But, I enjoyed the fact that it was different from anything else I had read.

I don’t want to say too much and give anything away, but basically a mysterious, beautiful stranger comes to town. And before anyone can learn much about her she’s killed by something in the forest. Only that’s not the end of her story, more people are killed and she may have something to do it.

Overall this book had a dark, Grimm feel throughout which I really enjoyed. it was also more gruesome than I was expecting. So if you can’t handle blood and gore this book is not for you. And it had an excellent twist that kept me guessing until the very end! You will finished this book with a feeling of closure. There’s no annoying cliffhanger, or question left hanging in the air. This is the first book I’ve read by McCormick Templeman but I will definitely be reading more by her in the future!

If you are looking for a book with good flow and is an easy, relaxed read pick this up and give it a go.

See this review and others like it at my blog Brains and Beauty

To be honest, I don’t know much about her since I haven’t watched much of her work besides SNL. But, I knew she was funny so I had very high expectations for this book, and thankfully it didn’t let me down!

This book was funny throughout, without being just a bunch of corny one liners. She managed to be sweet, down to earth, and honest the whole time. I have to say I have completely fallen for Amy since reading this book. I thought the use of pictures and giant quotes really added a nice extra treat. Even though this is few hundred pages, I finished it only two days! I couldn’t put it down! It contains a lot of advice, as well as lots of stories of her growing up and her early comedy days. I was surprised to find this had some bad reviews on goodreads. I say Yes Please to more Amy Poehler!

My only complaint is superficial and that this book weighs a TON!! Seriously, I hated carrying this around. I might as well have been lugging around a brick or two. To be fair, this is probably due to the high quality paper they decided to use, but still I could have handled a lower quality and lighter book.

Read this review and others like it at my blog Brains and Beauty.

See this review and others like it at my blog Brains and Beauty

Source: Goodreads

Love, love, loved this book! I found myself rooting for Sarah, the character, through out the book and honestly I really liked all the characters. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few pretty evil characters in this book, but they’re written so vividly you don’t mind them. Sarah is a smart girl from Boston who is getting her PhD in Beethoven. Although I really did enjoy her character, I will say she is bit too…horny. Yeah, didn’t think I would write those word in a book review. She always has sex on the brain to a point where is can be a little too much. Another odd fact is that she cant tell people’s character through her nose. Like she can smell if someone is nice, evil etc. I little odd but definitely original.

I’m a huge history buff, like seriously I’m such a nerd about it and if you are too then you will love this book. There are many different characters that you will get to meet that are experts in different aspects of history. For example, Suzi is an expert in weapons and they speak a little bit of that is historical aspects. I also like how these supporting characters are unique and different from what you expect. Like how Suzi is this small Asian chick who is into guns and is from Texas. I love how they have a chapter that’s an expert in each category and they delve into a little bit. And I live that each character is unique and not exactly what you would expect. Like Suzi who is a weapons expert but a short cute Asian from Texas.

The book is mostly set in Prague which I thought was really cool. I was very lucky to be able to visit Prague last year and it truly is a beautiful and mysterious city. Which made it the perfect setting for this story. Prague Castle plays a main part and so do other well know historical landmarks. So if you have visited this city, you will love it because it really transports you there and the author(s) really did amazing research on Prague. And if you haven’t visited or don’t know much about Prague there is a handy map of it in the front so you know where things are happening. which I thought was a nice touch.

Overall, this book has a steady storyline, but really picks up in the end. It’s full of so many funny things that I didn’t want to really talk about it and ruin it, but trust me this book is hilarious! It had me laughing at loud at so many parts. The only think I didn’t like was how perfect everything arranged itself in the end. Like seriously, It basically wrapped and tied with a bow how perfect everything turns out. But, I’m excited there is another book. It leaves you wanting more and wanting to pick the next book up asap.