Harry Potter Should Have Died by Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen

 

It is rare that I don’t like a book and even rarer still that I return a book to the bookstore for refund or exchange. I did so with this book.

From reading the back of the book, I was expecting the book to be theological discussion on elements of the series of Harry Potter books. I was expecting a deep look into the mythos of the series and the elements of symbolism and magic.

Well, my expectations seemed to have been too high for this book. Each chapter is set up thusly: A Question, an argument for Yes and for No and the verdict of the authors.

Well, while some questions were valid (Did Harry Potter die in Deathly Hallows?) others, such as “Who would you rather make out with: a Demontor or Voldemort?” or “Would you rather shave Hagrid’s back or give Voldemort a foot massage?” left me shaking my head.

Instead of a really in depth look at the series, we are presented with a random series of questions with no order and answers with little to no substance. In fact, in reading the book, it felt as if I was in the middle of a flame war on a message board. Not a comfortable reading experience.

The authors previous book, Mugglenet.com’s What Will Happen in Harry Potter Seven, was only a NYT Best Seller because people were so desperate to find out what would happen at the end of the series.

I highly doubt the authors will achieve such a feat with this book. I was incredibly disappointed with Harry Potter Should Have Died. Proceeds from the sale of the book are going to charity, but I still wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Italian for Tourists by Jo Lindsell

 

I have always wanted to learn Italian.

There are several reasons for this; but most of all because the language sounds so incredibly beautiful. I would listen to foreign films, to operas, to Italian music and think to myself: I wish I could speak in such a beautiful language.

I would wonder, though, what I would do if I ever travelled to Italy. I’ve looked at every phrase book, every guide book and found no help within their pages. They would talk of grammar, punctuation, places to visit, sites of interest. But none of them ever taught me how to speak Italian.

Until now.

Upon flipping through Italian for Tourists by Jo Lindsell, the whole book looked rather simplistic. After reading through the book several times, I realized that this was part of the books beauty.

What Jo has done is to take a language and bring it back to it’s basics, back to its beauty. She has made the impossible possible with Italian for Tourists: she has helped me to learn another language.

I often struggle with learning new languages and new phrases, but Jo makes it incredibly easy. Italian for Tourists gives you every bit of language that you could possibly need if you were on holiday in Italy.

Divided into seventeen sections, all a tourist has to do is skim the table of contents and skip to the correct section. Sections include hotels, sight seeing, food and drink, greetings and more. Even better, each word and each phrase comes with a pronunciation guide, helping you speak like a true Italian in no time.

I never knew that learning another language could be so simple, so helpful and so much fun. If ever you are going to visit Italy, this is the only book you will need!

Stephen King Goes to the Movies by Stephen King

 

 

I am a huge fan of Stephen King.

I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to his books and I have been one of his Constant Readers for quite some time. I still remember the first Stephen King book I read: Skeleton Crew. I remember the monkey on the front cover of the book filled me with delicious fright. I opened the cover and have never been the same since.

After reading his other non-fiction offerings (Danse Macabre and On Writing: A Memoir on the Craft) I was super excited to hear about Stephen King Goes to the Movies. It promised to be a treat. The book description described it thusly:

Now available, the #1 bestselling author reflects on the filming of five of his most popular short stories.  Those movies are The Shawshank Redemption, 1408, Children of the Corn, The Mangler, and Hearts in Atlantis.

Includes an introduction, his personal commentary, and behind-the-scenes insights by Stephen.

On reading those words, my first thought was: HOLY CRAP! My second thought was: AWESOME!

I thought it would be really amazing to get a behind the scenes look, as it were, at the stories behind the movies. We would get the stories themselves plus personal commentary and behind the scenes insights? Oh, it was every Constant Readers dream!

Except, it was a dream that was never realized.

I should have flipped through the book when I was in the bookstore, but I was in to big of a hurry to get home and delve into the mind of Stephen King. Imagine my surprise when I got home and opened the book to find the five stories and not much else.

Stephen King Goes to the Movies consists of the five stories behind the films 1408, The Mangler, Hearts in Atlantis, The Shawshank Redemption and Children of the Corn. As for new content, Stephen King has written a brief (and I mean brief: one to two pages) introduction for each story. He’s also provided us with his top ten list of the favourite adaptations of his work.

At first, I was rather pissed off. I mean, the advertising made it sound as if the book was non-fiction, a real behind the scenes look at the stories behind the movies and behind the scenes insights behind the making of the movies.

And all we get is a book of five short stories and some short (very short) introductions?

I was not pleased to say the least. But I decided, after spending my hard earned money on the book, to read the stories anyway. I figured it would fill the gap between Just After Sunset (which came out in November of 2008 ) and Stephen Kings new novel Under the Dome (which won’t come out until the fall of 2009). So I decided to give the book a chance.

And, you know what? I’m glad I did.

It had been some time since I had read the stories contained within Stephen King Goes to the Movies. I remembered reading 1408 and Hearts in Atlantis, but The Mangler, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption and Children of the Corn might as well have been new to me. I’ve read them, but it’s been years and I didn’t remember them clearly at all.

And you know what? They were good.

I mean really good. It felt wonderful to be surrounded by stories that held so many memories for me. Stephen King’s stories kept me company during many a dark hour during my turbulent upbringing; thus it’s little wonder that he inspires me so much. 

The stories were so good, so scary, so moving. The most interesting thing about the stories contained in Stephen King Goes to the Movies, however, was that after a few pages into the story, I stopped picturing the movie. All I could see were the images that the story itself called to mind.

Though the new content in Stephen King Goes to the Movies is almost nil (really about ten pages worth of new material) that doesn’t matter. Before you put the book back on the bookshelf, give Stephen King Goes to the Movies a chance.

Read the stories and let Stephen King scare you once again.

From Zaftig to Aspie by DJ Kirkby

 

How many of us take the life we live for granted? How many of us never stop to consider where we came from, what made us who we are? How many people never stop to think of what defines us, what shapes us into the people we grow to be?

Growing up in Canada in the 1960’s, DJ Kirkby experienced a life that many of us would have taken for granted. Living in and around Canada, Kirkby lived with her hippie mother and followed her mother wherever her whims took her.

Living with hippies, Kirkby was exposed to a world that was all around us but only few seemed able to see it. She lived with people who “recreated the rules”, who lived their own lives and shaped their own existence.

And what an existence it is.

From a young age, Kirkby knew she was different. She had a different way of looking at the world that had nothing to do with her hippie lifestyle and upbringing. She knew inside of herself that she was different than everyone else around her.

But there were no words to describe her condition, no words to explain what she felt inside of her.

Those words, those powerful words that would put her entire life into perspective, would not come until she was forty years old when she was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.

From Zaftig to Aspie, Kirkby’s moving, incredible memoir of her life, is an incredible, emotional read. There is no way a mere review can recount the richness of Kirkby’s life, the emotion that crackles off the page or the experiences that shaped who she is today. There is no way I could sum up the life that Kirkby has lived in only a few words.

It is a moving, beautiful account of one woman’s fight to understand herself and come to grips with the world around her. It is part memoir, part life puzzle that, once put together, creates a stunning picture of a life in words.

From the first page, I was drawn into Kirkby’s story and just had to keep reading. I have never read something so honest, so moving and so incredibly captivating. More than a study of human nature, what Kirkby has given us is really a life map.

Using select memories to mark her progression from her younger years to the time she was diagnosed with Aspergers, Kirkby is really marking the path she has travelled with memories. She has given us a true gift of a life and has invited us to turn the page and look inside of her.

I could not read From Zaftig to Aspie fast enough. In fact, I’ve read it twice so far and am awed by it’s incredible beauty and it’s story of living life to the fullest and overcoming even the most difficult obstacles. More importantly, it is a portrait of a very misunderstood condition. More people need to read From Zaftig to Aspie so that more people can know about Aspergers Syndrome.

From Zaftig to Aspie is a moving, incredible story of one woman’s will to understand herself. It is an important book and everyone should read it so that they, too, can understand more about Aspergers Syndrome.

More importantly it is the best memoir I have read in years. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. And was awed by the power of Kirkby’s words.

Read From Zaftig to Aspie and be enchanted.

Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli

 

 

I am reading the most wonderfully, magnificent, incredible and enjoyable book I have read in ages. It is a breath of fresh air and I’m thrilled that I picked it up. I’m talking about Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli.

I remember the first time I read Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone.

I had ignored the buzz surrounding Harry Potter for a long time. I remember thinking: No book could possibly be that good. I would see people reading it on the buss, on lunch breaks, line ups. “Bah,” I would say. No book could be that good. And I ignored it still.

I’m not sure why I did now. I must have been annoying about it however because one day, my closest friend at the time handed me something. It was a gift certificate. “What’s this for?” I asked her.

“If you won’t read the damn book, let me buy it for you.” She said.

“Which book?”

“You know damn well which book. You use this gift certificate to buy Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone and nothing else. Then, if you don’t like it, you didn’t waste any money on it.” She glared at me, daring me to argue. “Alright?”

I remember staring at her, unbelieving, and taking the time to light a cigarette before responding. “The book is that good?”

She nodded. “The best.” She said. “Just read it and you’ll see.”

I did what she said. She and I had the same reading tastes and I figured if she said it was good, it probably was. A small part of me still doubted her. But I went to the bookstore at the mall downtown and picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. I hopped on a buss to go home and opened the book to the first page.

I remember being spellbound. I was held in place and all my focus was on the words on the pages in front of me. All that existed for me was Harry. I had found it. I had finally found home in the pages of a book.

I have the same feeling when I read Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli. Perhaps you can already guess at what it’s about.

Anelli, popular web mistress of the award winning The Leaky Cauldron (www.leakynews.com), a superb Harry Potter fan site, has penned a book of what the Harry Potter phenomenon was like from the inside out. She has written a stunning history of JK Rowling, the Harry Potter books and the Boy Who Lived. From the first page, I was pulled into what I knew was going to be a treat. I stopped walking and sat down in the middle of a mall on a hard metal chair, people milling about me, totally immersed in the words I was reading. Harry, A History pulled me in from the first words and didn’t let go.

The writing is lively and invites the reader to sit, to read, to enjoy. It’s lively and engaging and full of fact and tidbits of Harry’s beginnings and it’s first tentative steps and what it felt like for a fan, for any of us, to experience Harry Potter.

More than that though, it’s a beautiful portrait of one woman’s struggle to find herself, to find joy in books and finally, in the end, do something useful. It’s a brilliant, literary page turner about something that brings joy to so many.

I started it last week and I am fifty pages away from finishing the book a second time. Though there were a lot of things I should have done today, there was nothing that I wanted to do more than read Harry, A History.

You can learn more about the book by visiting www.harrahistory.com

If you have ever read Harry Potter, or experienced it’s life beyond the printed page, you will want to read Harry, A History. Trust me on this. I can’t afford to give out gift certificates to all of you; so you’re just going to have to take my word for it, okay?

Confessions of a Chatroom Freak by Mr. Biffo

I must confess that I am a late comer to the idea of chatrooms. When I first stumbled onto the Internet, the idea of chatting to people I didn’t know held little to no appeal for me. I didn’t understand the thrill that some people got from chatting in Internet chatrooms.

What I didn’t know is that most people go into chatrooms to have cybersex or meet up for sex; thus the excitement. It seems I was chatting in all the wrong places. I wasn’t surprised at the huge amount of sex chatrooms. After all, the Internet itself has three uses: Porn, Information and Porn. Everything else is just fodder.

I never had the guts to go into sex chatrooms though so I have never really been able to experience what those kind of chats are like. Thankfully, Mr. Biffo has all the guts I don’t have and more and has written one of the funniest books of the decade: Confessions of a Chatroom Freak.

Posing as LoopyLisa21f, Biffo entered singles and sex chatrooms and talked to men about the most hilarious, hysterical things, least of all sex. How wonderful is that? And thankfully, Mr. Biffo has preserved all these chats for us! Confessions of a Chatroom Freak contains transcripts of genuine conversations between LoopyLisa21f and many, many men.

That may sound like a very simple premise, but Mr. Biffo takes it to the next level. Not only does LoopyLisa21f talk about sex, she talks about all manner of things including farting, cats, flooding apartments, disciplining children, forehead models, car engines, snogging in cages and more!

If this sounds too good to be true, it isn’t! Confessions of a Chatroom Freak is utter glorious madness and I for one couldn’t be happier! It shows you what really goes on in Internet chatrooms if you haven’t been brave enough to do it yourself and reveals an underside of men that is usually hidden.

It’ll also make you laugh until your sides hurt and tears are running down your face. I have never laughed so hard, ever, while reading a book. I can’t describe how incredibly laugh out loud funny this book is, I don’t even have the words.

To give you an idea, here’s a brief exchange between LoopyLisa21f and one of her would be suitors:

Swanvester1975: are you really Loopy?

LoopyLisa21f: I don’t know about that, but I’m certainly quite itchy! My cat has fleas, you see.

Swanvester1975: ok not fun

LoopyLisa21f: I’ve scratched a hole in my t-shirt already, and I’m practically through to the bone on my ankles. That ins’t even a lie!

LoopyLosea21f: What’s good for lea-bites-other than rubbing your shines against a flea-ridden cat, that is? Ha. Ha. Ha.

Swanvester1975: vinegar

LoopyLisa21f: Urrrgh! I’m not drinking that!

LoopyLisa21f: I could mix it with some orange squash, I suppose.

Swanvester1975: are you mad!?

LoopyLisa21f: You’re the one who told me to drink vinegar. It isn’t my idea.

LoopyLisa21f: It might taste better if it has ice cubes in. Hang on.

LoopyLisa21f: I’m going to find out. One moment please.

LoopyLisa21f: …..

Swanvester1975: hello??

LoopyLisa21f: OK! Back now.

LoopyLisa21f: I have to say – That is the most DISGUSTING drink I’ve ever had.

LoopyLisa21f: I took two big mouthfuls, but most of it came out again – through my nose and bottom.

Swanvester1975: jesus

LoopyLisa21f: That is the most revolting thing I have EVER tastd. Worse even than the time Craig made me eat a bit of mud he’d picked.

LoopyLisa21f: I can really taste the vinegar through the squash and the ice. I thought it would be disguised more than that, but it isn’t at all.

Swanvester1975: u off ur trolly. Took your mind off the bites though

LoopyLisa21f: Yes but now I’m thinking about doing some vomiting.

LoopyLisa21f: Do you want some advice?

Swanvester1975: yes

LoopyLisa21f: Don’t ever dilute orange squash with vinegar and try to drink it. It’s horrible. You see – it will make you want to vomit.

Confessions of a Chatroom Freak is pure, unadulterated lunacy and bedlam and I loved every word. Mr. Biffo has written an excellent case study of the Internet, men and sex and has rolled it all into one hilarious book.

If you need a cure for the Winter Blues, there’s no better cure than Confessions of a Chatroom Freak. It’ll make you laugh, giggle and snort. But be warned: If laughing like a lunatic in public places is your thing, than read Confessions of a Chatroom Freak.

People will wonder why you’re laughing so hard, they’ll need to get their own copy! This is seriously great fun and an absolutely amazing book! Get your copy and start laughing today!

 

 

 

My Boyfriend is a Twat by Zoe McCarthy

I have dated a lot of men in my life. And most of them have been tw*ts. After each break up, I always promised myself that I would not date that kind of man again, that I would not fall under the spell of the Tw*t.

The only problem was that I didn’t know how to recognize one. I had no idea that Tw*ts come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, that there is no real way of preparing yourself, of arming yourself against a Tw*t.

That is, until now.

Zoe McCarthy, author of the award winning blog My Boyfriend is a Tw*t, has compiled a book of the same name which is subtitled: A Guide to Recognising, Dealing, and Living with an Utter Tw*t.

Finally! A book for all of us who have dated Tw*ts, loved Tw*ts, are living with Tw*ts! Something to help all the Tw*t lovers unite and discover their secrets of annoyance! I opened the book with glee, expecting a very funny, tongue in cheek book about Tw*tdom.

It includes chapters on The Tw*t (or how to recognize one), the Tw*t at Home, The Tw*t at Play, the Tw*t at Work so that you can recognize a Tw*t wherever you go. It even includes a quiz so that you can find out whether or not your current squeeze is a Tw*t or not; probably one of the most important quizzes you will ever take!

Never did I expect that, as well as being incredibly funny, the book would also be moving, insightful, reflective and deeply personal. Part guide, part memoir, My Boyfriend is a Tw*t is a very personal and revealing look at what living with a Tw*t is like and how Zoe handles herself.

I knew from reading her blog that the book would be funny, but I had no idea that the book would be so personal. As I read, I was awed by Zoe’s humour, her perseverance and the strength of her character and spirit.

The book isn’t just about living with Tw*ts. It’s about recognizing that, though the Tw*t may be stupid sometimes (or all the time) and does an incredibly bizarre thing, that’s okay. Because love is where you find it, or where it finds you.

What I love most about this book is that, even though Zoe is using her life as an example, she still has enough courage to laugh about everything. Through most of this book, I was laughing so hard that tears slid down my cheeks.

It’s a lot harder to write in a humorous way than most people think and I applaud Zoe for writing such a work. It’s one of the funniest, most heart felt, beautiful books I’ve read in a long time and I know I’ll be reading it again.

My Boyfriend is a Tw*t is really a study of human nature, of what makes Tw*ts tick. It’s an intimate look into one woman’s life and I applaud her courage for writing it down for us all to enjoy.

If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? Read it now, buy three copies! One for yourself and two for your friends who are dating Tw*ts! You’ll be doing them a favour, trust me!

 

 

Accidential Enlightenment by Stephen Banick

Normally, I hate travel books. 

 I know, I know. I can hear a lot of you saying: Now wait just a minute! What’s wrong with travel logs? Well, in my opinion, they’re boring, dull and quite often have as much life to them as a day old piece of toast.  

So I will admit that I was a bit weary of Accidental Enlightenment at first. A travel book AND a self help manual? How could such a thing be possible? I opened the cover to the first page and was prepared to be sceptical of anything and everything in the book.  To my chagrin, however, I was charmed and, oddly enough, enlightened.  

From the preface (where Banick makes his own comments about travel books) to the very last page, Accidental Enlightenment was a complete and utter joy.

Imagine, if you will, being discontent with your lot in life. You wonder where you’re going, what you’re meant to be doing. Are the answers to your questions to be found inside you, or out in the real world?  After being offered a high powered job at a software company, Banick decides to drive instead of fly to his destination. This choice starts him on a journey that will change his life.

Along the way, Banick picks up hitch hikers and learns, for the first time, to really talk to people honestly. But more importantly, he learns to listen.  

When he finally arrives at his job, he’s able to listen to his heart and he knows that his heart and soul aren’t in the job; that he no longer wanted the confining walls of an office building.

So than what is a man to do? Banick decides to continue the travels he started with that innocent road trip and, like so many before him, go exploring.  But what he explores is different from so many others.

While he travels across many different lands and places in Canada, the United States and countries all over the world, what Banick explores is the different cultures he encounters, the different people.  

And still he listens. While he listens, Banick learns and begins to discover things about himself he never thought possible. By listening and learning about others, he learns hidden truths about himself that shake his world and reform it into something wonderful…. 

Accidental Enlightenment is an amazing book from start to finish. My small summarization of the plot does not even come close to describing the wonders that Banick encounters in his fellow human beings. Humanity and the world around him are present in all of Banick’s words and I believe that this is what is missing from so many other travel books.  

While other authors give us an account of what they saw, Banick gives us an account of what he felt, what he sees and hears. We are with him on his many travels, breathing in the truths of others. What is so incredible about this book are the truths, the tid bits of wisdom and knowledge that you pick up while reading it. 

 I found myself quite often reading what I thought was a simple conversation only to have parts of what I read come back to me later once they had sunk in. The truths, the power of the human spirit, is right there; we just have to keep our eyes open while reading.  

Banick’s approach is fun, simple and light. It’s never preachy, never heavy handed and as we learn about Banick’s discoveries we can’t help but learn about ourselves. Accidental Enlightenment is an absolute joy. Banick should be applauded for sharing his journey’s with us.  For as the world changed him, he has changed me and my view of the world around me.

This is an incredible book and I know I won’t ever look at my surroundings in the same way again.  

Once a Brat by Marilyn Celeste Morris

Life is not easy for an Army Brat.

 

 

After losing her father, Marilyn Morris is shocked to learn that he won’t be buried in his military uniform. Have spent more years retired than in the US Military, he would be buried as a civilian. For her entire life, her father lived and breathed the US Military; and, consequently, so did she.

 

 

From 1938 up until she finished college in 1958, Morris lived the life of a military brat, whether she wanted to or not. Always on the move, never able to make close friendships, never staying in one place for a long time. Such was the life of a military brat and Morris had no choice but to live in it.

 

 

Her father had called them gypsies; able to move at a moments notice to parts unknown, able to adapt to any given situation; able to survive. That is what life is for a military brat: survival. Morris was taught lessons in life that others never learn and she knew that these events shaped her, molded her into what she is today.

 

 

After her father’s death, these lessons, these memories, started to come to her, to come out from behind the locked doors of her mind. And so Morris had no choice but to write them down, to put pen to paper and let the memories come out.

 

 

Having never been a military brat, the scope of this book is incredible. It shows just how much will humans have to survive in any given situation. Not so much a memoir but instead a patchwork quilt of memories, Morris’ Once A Brat is a testament to the power of the human heart.

 

 

I found as I was reading this incredible piece of work that I would be pulled into the story, pulled into the life that Morris had to live because of her father. Then I would sit back and have to remind myself: all of this happened. All of this is real.

 

 

The concept was frightening to me, shocking. That a family could stick together and indeed become stronger for living a military life was incredible. Morris was taught values and morals that most don’t learn until well into their adult years.

 

 

When Morris talks of living in Korea, of having to learn to adapt to a whole new culture, a whole new way of life, you can feel her anguish pouring out onto the page. But you can also feel her wonder, her sheer delight at discovery of all things different.

 

 

Morris shines brightest, of course, when she talks of life then and compares it to life now. It’s as if she’s talking right to you, right into your heart, and you can do nothing but read her words and absorb them. They are not merely words, but true pieces of wisdom, pieces of knowledge that speak to your heart and spark your soul into being.

 

 

I am not normally so drawn in by non-fiction. I find that most memoirs are dry as day old toast and boring. I’ve tried to read several memoirs and failed mostly because there is no story, there is no life. With Once a Brat, Morris doesn’t just tell me a story; she helps me live her life while I read it. I felt, saw, experienced everything she did as I read one gorgeous page after another.

 

 

Once a Brat is no mere book. It is a case study of human strength, of the willingness to survive and the ability to love beyond all reason. It is a testament to the fact that, though the present seems bleak, there is hope in the future. I can’t stress how wonderful this memoir his; how, in its simplicity, it accomplished what so many memoirs fail to do. It helped me feel.

 

 

And it helped me believe that anything is possible. If you haven’t read Once a Brat yet, you have no idea what you’re missing.

It Had To Be Us by Harry and Elizabeth Lawrence

 

What would you do for love?

After a marriage filled with hard times and harsh words, Harry and Elizabeth have been divorced for nearly twenty four years. One Christmas, they meet at their daughters, not knowing that they are both about to receive the best Christmas present of all: a lost love.

It has been nineteen years since they had seen each other and both Harry and Elizabeth are nervous at the prospect of meeting again. What will she think of me? Harry ponders. Does he still have feelings for me? Elizabeth muses. The two share an embrace that Christmas that starts a fire under the old feelings that are bubbling to the surface.

Another year goes by befor ethey see each other again and this time, the love they shared for each other is strong and neither can deny that it’s there. The walls they had put up to guard themselves against the feelings they were feeling were crumbling. Despite nervousness, the two agree to go to a movie on New Years Day and there, more of the old feelings come to light.

Later in the year, the two decide to go to Las Vagas together for the opening of the Debbie Reynolds museum. Little do they know that, in Las Vagas, their lives will change forever….

What can I say about IT HAD TO BE US except that it makes my heart sing? I have been a lover of romance novels for a long time but there is something in the realness of this true story that outshines all of those. IT HAD TO BE US is better than any novel by Nora Roberts because the love is real, it isn’t fiction. Harry and Elizabeth let their love for each other bloom again despite the years and hard feelings between them.

IT HAD TO BE US is the ultimate story of forgiveness, of letting yourself love again. I especially loved the way it was written with Elizabeth in first person and Harry writing in third person. The contrasting styles helped give the characters their own voices and their honest let you see right into them, let you love and breathe along with them. Thoug though this novellete is short (clocking in at a mere 56 pages) it packs quite the punch. I found myself thinking of past love and new love.

IT HAD TO BE US actually touched me, actually got under my skin and made me feel. It’s a rare accomplishment for an author to make their reader feel; Harry and Elizabeth accomplished this with aplomb. It also is one of the best love stories ever written. It’s clever, funny, charming and very heartfelt. I was sorry to see it end after only an hour or so. I wanted it to go on forever.

Do yourself and your heart a favour and read IT HAD TO BE US. For isn’t love one of the greatest things to read about?

Click here to read more about the book and to purchase a copy:
http://www.theromanceclub.com/authors/lawrence/