Books and movies for Valentine's day

In Norway we don't really have a tradition for celebrating Valentine's Day even though it has been more focus on it the last few years. Personally I'm not really a fan of this day but I am big fan of  making lists and recommendations and although I don't always like to admit it I really enjoy a romantic movie and book once in a while. So here are my recommendations for you and I have mostly focused on the fun and cute romantic stories because that's what I prefer though there are some more dramatic ones on the list as well:

                             
                                  (Photo: Flickr : DonnaGrayson)
YA-books:
1. Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles: the second book about the Fuentes-brothers that I actually enjoyed more than the first one. The girl in this story was more likable to me than Brittany.
2. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally:  The female protagonist in this is a bit different than I'm used to. She's a football player, tough and get's treated as one of the guys on the team but what happens when she actually falls for one of the guys?
3. The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong: this paranormal trilogy has one of my favorite teen romances.
4. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson: a beautifully written and emotional story about a girl falling in love while she's grieving her sister. I have already written about this book several times because it was my favourite read last year.
5. A Match Made in High School by Kristen White: in this charming book a high school decides that every senior has to participate in a Marriage program where the students are paired up for a whole year and our main character Fiona is not happy at all with her new husband. A lot of fun dialogues and situations in this made it a very entertaining read.

                                      

A couple of adult books:
6. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding: I am a fan of Bridget. She is so clumsy and not at all behaving like she's expected to. She feels real and I think most girls can identify with her one way or another.
7. Sushi for beginners by Marian Keyes: one the leading ladies of chiclit has written a fun and cute book about three different women in Dublin in search for love, success and happiness.

                                      

Movies:
1. La Vita E Bella/Life is Beautiful: a very sad but beautiful and funny love story between both a man and woman, and between a father and his son. One of my favourite movies of all times.
2. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: this is one of my favourite chick flicks about a woman (Kate Hudson) trying to find the best tricks to make a guy break up with you for an article she's writing for a women's magazine.
3. Bridget Jones's Diary: I really liked this one both as a  movie as well as a book. It is funny and refreshing.
4. Ever After: a Cinderella Story: a movie based on the classic fairy tale but with a new take.
5. 10 things I hate about you: based on a Shakespeare play but set in a modern day high school. Prom is coming up and the younger sister Bianca only gets to go with a date if her older sister Kat does the same and she is known to have strong aversions to dating.
6. She's the man: it might sound a bit goofy about a girl pretending to be her brother so she can play on the soccer team but it's actually quite charming.

What are your  movie and book recommendations for Valentine's Day?

Book review: The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde

Book description:

Two weeks before Christmas, Diana Duprey, an outspoken abortion doctor, is found floating in her pool, a bruise the size of a golf ball visible through her dark curls. A national figure, Diana inspired passion and ignited tempers, never more so than on the day of her death.

Her husband, Frank, an attorney in the D.A.’s office for more than twenty years, had fought bitterly with her on the day of her murder. Yet to reveal the nature of their fight would cost him not only his career but something greater still—a relationship he will go to any lengths to protect. Diana’s daughter, Megan, a college freshman, had also quarreled with Diana that day, and her role in her mother’s murder will prove more significant than she ever could have anticipated. The Reverend Stephen O’Connell, founder of the town’s pro-life coalition, obviously had issues with Diana, but his anger extended beyond the political to the personal—namely, Dr. Duprey’s involvement with his own troubled teenager. Meanwhile, the detective on the case grapples to make sense of it all. His investigation implicates many in this town and reveals a series of gross miscalculations, each one challenging what we know, or think we know, about community, fidelity, justice, and love.

And so the book begins:

The problem was. Megan had just taken the second half of the ecstasy when her father called with the news.

The history in this book takes place in a small town in Colorado, USA. Like in any other town in this world many of the towns inhabitants has got their own dark little secrets. One of these dark secrets has lead to a fatal obsession. We meet 19 year old Megan and her father, Frank. Once upon a time they belonged to a family of four, now Megan and Frank are the only ones left of their little family. Megan once had a little brother named Ben, he died very young, and now her mother, Diana, is killed. Diana was running her own abortion clinic, a job that guranteed

My opinion:

It was kind of weird opening up the newspaper the day after I started reading The Abortionist's Daughter see an article about an abortionist being killed in Kansas, USA.

I'm going to be completely honest, I didn't have a clue to what this book was about when I bought it. The cover was the main reason for me picking it up, yes, yes, I know it is shallow of me. I was a bit surprised when started reading and found out that this was a suspense/mystery book.

The abortionist's daughter touches several hot topics, such as abortion, pornography and drugs. For me it was the use of the topic abortion that made this book to something more than just a suspense/mystery novel. The reader gets a little insight in the medical procedure around an abortion, I''m not working in the health care sector but the information seems believable to me.

It is heartbreaking to see how the different characters in this book analyzes their own their choices and who they perhaps somehow could have done something to prevent Diana from being murdered. Elisabeth Hyde makes this feel very real, I believe that this kind of soul searching comes naturally in these kind of situations.

I really enjoyed Melanie as a character, even though I couldn't relate much to her, except for the quarreling with her mum part(I love my mum, but of course we had some feuds when I was in my teens but nothing big). Still I know that there are girls out there who has experienced many of the same things or at least has similar experiences as Melanie; being persuaded to do stupid things while in love and trying out drugs.

Overall this book was okay, I passed it on to another Norwegian book blogger who I knew wanted to read it and after reading the book and throwing the dice she gave the book a fiver. I didn't enjoy the book as much as she did and I'm giving it 3,5 points out of 5.

If you have reviewed this book let me know and I'll post a link to your review below.
Want another opinion on this book? Check out these reviews below:


For more information about the author and her books visit:

• Think 360 Art(it was really difficult to find information about Elizabeth Hyde online - feel free to make suggestions if you have a better one!)