The Taking by Kimberly Derting

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Coming April 29, 2014

I was so lucky to get my hands on an advanced e-galley of this book.  I love Kimberly Derting's Body Finder series and this first book in her new series about alien abductions did not disappoint.  I don't want to say too much about the book and give anything away.  Just know I read this in two days.  I couldn't put it down, it was that good.  I can't wait to read the next one!


A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing.
 
When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas 'n' Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn't aged a day. 

Everything else about Kyra's old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. 

Confused and lost, Kyra isn't sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin's annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra's father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?(from http://www.kimberlyderting.com/taking.php)

Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Jill Mansell

Jill Mansell always writes funny happy romances. You get to know the characters in the book and become absorbed in their lives. Don't Want to Miss a Thing is full of laughs, romance and is just an all around makes you feel good book.

The book follows Dex who is living the high life in London. With money, a great job and a revolving door of women he has it all. When his sister unexpectingly passes away, he becomes the guardian to her 8 month old daughter Delphi. He quits his job and moves to the quaint village of Briarwood where he meets next door neighbor Molly. Molly is a comic strip artist and the two form a friendship that is always closely leading to something more.

I love the little gossipy town where the villagers always seem to know everything minutes after it happens. There are few surprising moments in the book that I never saw coming and I always have trying to decide what couple will end up together.  I love how Dex fumbles his way through raising Delphi. Most other men would have given up right away but he sticks to it and finally grows up.

If you are looking for a light easy romance to read make sure to place on hold on Jill's Mansell's Don't Want to Miss a Thing which is due out in November.