What I have been Reading

It has been a little while since I have done a post on what I have been reading, to be honest I actually haven't had a lot of time to read.  These three are a culmination of a few months of reading.

The Villa by Nora Roberts: This one started out really strong and interesting, a murder, family drama and romance all set against a beautiful California vineyard.  It got a little stale towards the middle and I had already figured out the end.  Characters were pretty good just needed a little more in the story to hold my interest.

The Broken Road by Richard Paul Evans: I got this one for Christmas and was really excited to start on the next Richard Paul Evans series.  He is one of my favorites!  Exploring the question, "What if you could start over?" this book follows celebrity Charles James in his haunted and unhappy life.  With fame and fortune discovered he is still unsatisfied with his life.  He has a reoccurring nightmare of walking down a pat engulfed by flames, he wonders if he has made all the wrong choices in his life.  By a crazy twist of fate he is granted a clean slate, a second chance at life.  The basis of the story is really good, this first book was really just an introduction to the character of Charles James, how he got to where he is and how he gets the second chance.  I enjoyed it and am interested to see what happens next in the series.   

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank: My least favorite was this one, not bad just an easy fluff read.  The story follows Leslie, a middle aged woman married and unhappy with her life.  Her husband is golf obsessed, her children don't appreciate her, and all the other husbands have divorced and remarried younger women.  She is surrounded by "Barbies".  The story follows her on her journey to find herself.  Spoiler Ahead- I was disappointed in the characters in general, shallow and boring.  Leslie ends up connecting with her high school sweetheart and sparks fly (while she is still married might I add, without any remorse).  It seemed like they all gave up and were all just spoiled and unhappy.  I found it hard to have sympathy for them and their situations.  The ending was unrealistic and honestly unsatisfying.  Not the Dorothea Benton Frank I have read before.

What have you been reading lately?