...nowadays so many conceited people go about society pretending to be good, that I think it shows rather a sweet and modest disposition to pretend to be bad. Besides, there is this to be said. If you pretend to be good, the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to be bad, it doesn't. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism.

So, when a raging fire burns,
We shift from side to side by turns;
And 'tis a poor relief we gain
To change the place, but keep the pain.
-Isaac Watts

#openingwords #noraroberts

Anybody who reads Beartown will also find themselves rooting for its characters, a hard feat to achieve since the book has over ten protagonists. Mr Backman has surpassed himself because he manages to get the reader to care not just for its characters, but the entire town as well.

A mediocre sequel with flashes of humour

A perfect contemporary romance with a toe-curlingly sexy hero and a badass heroine.

A messy take on a modern fairytale romance. I wouldn't pick it for a good contemporary romance but it's play as erotica I suppose.

...how crazy it is that life just speeds along, sunrise after sunrise, season after season. Whether you're totally miserable or insanely happy, the months keep coming, crashing like waves. There are no do-overs, no backsides and bad stuff happens. But then I thought, Wait. Good stuff happens too. And sometimes, even a kiss can slow time down.

I hoped I wasn't making too much of one stone-skipping lesson. The stones had all ended up at the bottom of the lake after all.
But a few had slipped. A few had defied gravity.

I still love you as much as ever! I have your picture in my wallet and your love in my heart and your genes in my blood.

It was so handy having Dear Kate just a click away! She was friendly, free and full of answers. And so many subjects were easier to type about than talk about! It felt good to be able to confide in her online about anything. It was better than in person could ever be. After all, I could never in a million years ask a question like that to someone I'd have to face in real life.

A fun opener for A Match Made in Texas series, incorporating socially conscious historical fiction with good, clean romance.

Would those be the feuding, opinionated people? Or the gun-toting people with short fuses?

"We have exactly thirty eight minutes till midnight strikes again. So what do you say about celebrating New Year's with me a second time?"
"A s-second time?"
"If one kiss will ward off loneliness for the year, who's to say what two would do? I think it only fair to warn you that next time I won't be aiming for your cheek."

Only Delhi is no place for a woman in the dark unless she has a man and a car or a car and a gun.

A memoir of sheer luck and no real advice.

A largely enjoyable read with a predictable ending. Definitely not Ms Moriarty's best.