Musing Mondays

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about library company…

Who, if anyone usually accompanies you to the library? Is it somewhere you go alone? Or is it a regular outing with family or friends? Which do you prefer?

I go to the library alone. I actually prefer it that way. Going to the library (or book store) is something I do for myself. It's my time to relax and not feel pressured. When I’m book browsing, I like to take my time and spend as much time as I want at the library. If I’m with someone else, I usually feel rushed and quickly skim the shelves, find what I’m looking for and leave.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event to share what we read last week, what we are currently reading and what books we plan to read this week.

Books read last week:

• The Beach House by Georgia Bockoven
  
• Revelation by Kate Brian
• 44 Cranberry Point (audio book)
  

Audio book currently listening to:

• 50 Harbor Street by Debbie Macomber

Up Next:

Over the weekend, I realized I need to make adjustments to my summer reading plan. I'm really not one that plans what I will read next, however recently I've joined the Amazon Vine Program, signed up for blog tours, and started receiving ARCs, while trying to balance reading books checked out from the library and my personal books. In order to stay on top of things, I created a summer reading schedule. It was working well. . .until this weekend.

Needless to say, I have to spend time this week revising my plan to allow for more flexibility. This is all new for me (having a reading schedule) and I think I just need more time to find what works and what does not. So, as of now, I'm not sure what I will read next.

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot

Title: Being Nikki
Author: Meg Cabot
Series: Airhead #2
ISBN-10: 0-545-04056-6
Pages: 336
Year Published: 2009
Genre: YA Fiction (Series)
Date Finished: June 28

From the dust jacket:

Things aren’t pretty for Emerson Watts.

Em was sure there couldn’t be anything worse than being a brainiac in the body of a teenage supermodel.

But it turned out she was wrong.

It turns out she has a mother who’s gone mysteriously missing, a brother who’s shown up on her doorstep demanding answers, a former best friend who’s intent on destroying Stark Enterprises, and a British heartthrob who’s written a song about her that’s topping the charts.

How can Em balance all that with school and runway shows — especially when she’s got ex-boyfriends crawling out of the woodwork who want more than just a photo op, a sister who is headed to the high school cheerleading championships, and a company she represents that seems to be turning to the dark side. . .

Not to mention trying to convince the love of her life that models aren’t really airheads after all. . .especially one model in particular.

But then, nobody said it was going to be easy being Nikki.

First sentences: I’m cold. I’m freezing, actually.

Review:
Being Nikki is the follow-up novel to Airhead. In Airhead, the readers learned how Emerson “Em” Watts became Nikki Howard. In Being Nikki, we learn more about Nikki’s personal life.

The story centers around Em adjusting to Nikki’s high-profile lifestyle while balancing her school work, family and trying to be friends with Christopher. When a mysterious stranger shows up at her Manhattan loft unexpectedly, the story takes off and the mystery begins.

I have to admit, I thought Being Nikki was much better than Airhead. Airhead was too repetitive for me. In Being Nikki, Ms. Cabot did a quick recap and immediately jumped into the storyline.

At times, the plot was predictable, however Ms. Cabot did end the book with a great cliff hanger. I’m looking forward to the third book in this series, Runaway.

Recommended to readers: who love Ms. Cabot's young adult novels.

Ambition

Title: Ambition
Author: Kate Brian
Series: Private #7
ISBN-10: 1-4169-5882-7
Pages: 279
Year Published: 2008
Genre: YA Fiction (Series)
Date Finished: June 27

From the back cover:

The higher you climb, the farther you have to fall....

Reed Brennan knew being elected president of exclusive Billings Hall would change her life. What she didn't count on was being dumped by her boyfriend, Josh Hollis, or being held responsible for a fire that destroyed Easton Academy's oldest building.

And now the administration wants to shut Billings down. Forever.

As president, it's up to Reed to save Billings Hall. What better way to win over the head­master than to host a glam fund-raising event in New York City? Everyone needs a date, and the newly single Reed is the most eligible girl on campus. All of Easton's hottest boys are angling to take her out, and for once, Reed's biggest problem is which one to choose.

Reed has never felt so popular or powerful — until the police start asking questions about Cheyenne Martin's death. Excited party buzz quickly turns to whispered rumors and dark moods, and one thing becomes clear: There is someone who wants to see Billings, and Reed, go down. And they will do anything to make it happen.

First sentence: I sat in the front row of folding chairs in the Great Room of Mitchell Hall and stared at the gray, unfeeling faces that hovered over the long table before me.


Ambition is the seventh book in the Private series. Reed finds herself up against the head-master and the Easton alumnae after a fire destroys one of the buildings on campus. A fire that occurred while Reed and other students were sneaking off campus to attend the Legacy, an annual, exclusive event.

Reed comes up with the idea of a fund raiser in NYC and asks several of her Billings sisters to assist her with the planning. One of which is Noelle. As Reed coordinates meetings and appointments, it appears as though Noelle is trying to sabotage her.

Meanwhile, everyone on campus is shocked to learn that Cheyenne’s suicide may have been a homicide instead. Another murder investigation on campus.

Just as things are starting to look up for Reed, the secret she’s been hiding since the Legacy, is revealed. One night, one mistake can change Reed’s life at Easton forever.

Like the previous novels in this series, Ambition is a quick read. While reading, I couldn’t help but feel this novel is more of a “filler” to prepare the reader for Revelation, where Cheyenne’s murderer is revealed. There are a lot of clues in this book and hints about what’s to come. I’m looking forward to reading the next book soon.