Nothing Lasts Forever by Sidney Sheldon

Image selected from web.  I think that's the cover of the copy I read years ago.

Synopsis :

Three young doctors-their hopes, their dreams, their unexpected desires...

Dr. Paige Taylor: She swore it was euthanasia, but when Paige inherited a million dollars from a patient, the D.A. called it murder.

Dr. Kat Hunter: She vowed never to let another man too close again-until she accepted the challenge of a deadly bet.

Dr. Honey Taft: To make it in medicine, she knew she'd need something more than the brains God gave her.

Racing from the life-and-death decisions of a big major hospital to the tension-packed fireworks of a murder trial, Nothing Lasts Forever lays bare the ambitions and fears of healers and killers, lovers and betrayers. 


This is what I say :

I don't think this is the first time I am reading Nothing Lasts Forever.  I have a feeling I read it before as the story was quite familiar but I just couldn't remember it.  If I read it, it must be before I started this blog as it wasn't reviewed so I guess it's quite okay... to re-read it I mean.

It is still pretty much enjoyable to read this again (that is if I read it before) as story wise, it wasn't that spectacular but where novels by Sidney Sheldon are concerned, it's the way he wrote it that made them special.

This time round, I actually read an e-copy so there's no book cover.  I found the above image from the web and I remember reading a few titles that was published as such (most probably in the 90s) and that's probably when I read this particular title.  I might even owned a copy at one time but I certainly don't now so I might have given it away.

Like most Sidney Sheldon's heroine, the doctors featured are all pretty, capable, strong and vulnerable. It's pretty much a successful formula and certain delivers when you're looking for an entertaining read.

Anyway, it was great to read this again and this post better be a reminder so I don't forget about reading it.

Last Night At Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger

Synopsis : 

Heartbreak, headlines and Hermes – welcome to Brooke's new world…

Brooke and Julian live a happy life in New York – she's the breadwinner working two jobs and he's the struggling musician husband. Then Julian is discovered by a Sony exec and becomes an overnight success – and their life changes for ever.

Soon they are moving in exclusive circles, dining at the glitziest restaurants, attending the most outrageous parties in town and jetting off to the trendiest hotspots in LA.

But Julian's new-found fame means that Brooke must face the savage attentions of the ruthless paparazzi. And when a scandalous picture hits the front pages, Brooke's world is turned upside down. Can her marriage survive the events of that fateful night at Chateau Marmont? It's time for Brooke to decide if she's going to sink or swim…


This is what I say :

I wasn't expecting this with such title and such cover.  I'ts pretty misleading in my opinion. I mean I get the 'Last Night' part and I also quite get the Chateau Marmont part but putting these together to form the title...I don't get that.

But you know what, I love that pair of shoes on the cover (there's a few version of the cover and the above image was on the one I read) so I am not going to harp too much on the cover and title and just go on with the story.

It's a chic lite as expected and it explores the dynamics of a couple when one of them became a superstar.

While I do get that Brooke is an independent woman, I don't really get her at times too.  But I do feel for her being caught in a situation like a fish outside the water and thus she's just flapping around trying to get back into the water, into the life she once knew.

It was pretty entertaining at first but I got real frustrated with it halfway through and I just wanted it to end.  However, I quite like it towards the last chapter or so and it was an enjoyable read so at the end, was pretty happy with it 

A Place Called Here by Cecelia Ahern

Synopsis :

Ever wondered where lost things go?

Ever since the day her classmate vanished, Sandy Shortt has been haunted by what happens when something – or someone – disappears. Finding has become her goal.

Jack Ruttle is desperate to find his younger brother who vanished into thin air a year ago. He spots an ad for Sandy's missing persons agency and is certain that she will answer his prayers and find his brother.

But then Sandy disappears too, stumbling upon a place that is a world away from the only one she has ever known. Now all she wants, more than anything, is to find her way home.

This is what I say :

At one time of my reading life, I was pretty crazy about Cecelia's title.  It was one collection that I want to ensure it's complete in my shelf.  That craze has since passed but I still enjoy Cecelia's titles once in a while.  My all time favourite has to be Rosie Dunne aka Love, Rosie aka Where Rainbow Ends which I read about 2 or was it 3 times and this is followed pretty closely by If You Cold See Me Now.

There's a couple more 'flings' with Cecelia's other titles but so far, nothing memorable but A Place Called Here is pretty unique by itself.

Imagine a place where all things which are lost in this world go to...socks, homework, assignments, keys and even human being!  Once they're there, they can't leave.  How do they get to Here...it is not known...one minute you're here and the next minute you're there...I mean Here. :)

I am still marveling at the author's creativity and unique imagination in coming out with such one of its kind story line.  I know that if I want to read something whimsical and cute, I just have to pick up a title by Cecelia Ahern and that's exactly what I would get...uniquely whimsical and whimsically unique and that's how A Place Called Here is.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Synopsis :

When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt, only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers--with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another.

The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery in London. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including--perhaps--their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.


This is what I say :

I quite like The Time Traveler's Wife written by this author which I read around this time last year.  I remembering being real caught up the story and still loving it even now.  With that, I must say I have high expectation for Her Fearful Symmetry.

I bought this book from another reader and kept it for quite a while and only decided to read it during a recent holiday.

The story line started well.  I thought the novel has potential. Unfortunately, it didn't last.  Not that it wasn't good but just I didn't like how the story line took a turn for something rather morbid (in my opinion) and I just not willing and able to accept it.  I mean, how could she do that?  That's selfishness to the next level!!!  Just couldn't take it!!!

And then there's this side story of Martin and his wife Marjike, I really do not know how this fits into the storyline.  Other than Martin being a neighbor and an extremely OCD one for that matter, how does all this fit into what the author is trying to tell?

If there's a movie adaptation for this title, I think visually, it would be quite interesting, morbid and exciting at the same time.  For once, I think would prefer a movie adaptation rather than the book.