Tropical Ecstasy

                Tropical Ecstasy is the true story of the author’s return to Brazil after a twenty-five year absence. The book is written in diary form which I really enjoyed because it helped me feel like I was right there on the trip with him. This is not really a story about the culture of Brazil so much as it is about Mr. Weeks’ free-spirited look at his past and present. He visits places he had been to twenty-five years before and writes about the changes over that time. At times I would have liked to have read more about the Brazilian culture and less about Mr. Weeks’ reminiscences but this is the author’s story, not a guide book to Brazil. I originally picked this book to read because of my interest in Brazil as the host of the World Cup but Mr. Weeks opened my eyes to the other wonders, some good and some bad, of this beautiful country. This is a very interesting book that shows a beautiful country through the eyes of someone who writes of the changes that inevitably happen over a quarter of a century. The formatting and editing worked well on my ereader. I wish there had been some pictures but the cover of the book shows a beautiful Brazilian beach to give the reader a taste of the country.

Kate's Escape from the Billable Hour

                Kate’s Escape from the Billable Hour is a fun chic-lit book that is perfect to put in your beach bag. Kate is a young lawyer trying to work her way to the top. To the detriment of her health and social life, she works a huge amount of billable hours in hopes of getting a large bonus. When that doesn’t work out, she decides, on a whim, to take a trip to Barcelona in hopes of finding an exchange student she fell in love with as a teenager. The story really takes off from there into a hilarious tale of mishaps and mix-ups that eventually result in a happy, yet predictable, ending. The character of Kate is wonderfully written, lots of fun and easy to laugh at because I can see so much of myself in her. The author does an excellent job of writing believable characters and a story that has the reader cheering on Kate as she tries to find love. The editing and formatting worked perfectly on my ereader and the cover was great, very appealing to my eye. This was definitely lots of fun to read.

Pants on the Ground

                Pants on the Ground is an excellent book that tells the story of Amy and Zack, a couple of young people who meet online only to eventually discover that each have hidden personalities. Amy starts as a naïve and trusting young girl with a bad home life who falls in love with her Prince Charming, Zack. She meets him online and decides to visit him and quickly falls under his spell. Zack is not Mr. Wonderful however. He is a narcissistic sex addict who juggles numerous women at once, Amy included. As events unfold, they end up staying together in a not-so-much love story and then the fun really starts. This book is not for anyone who doesn’t like explicit sex or violence in their books. If these things don’t bother you then this is well worth reading. The author uses excellent characters to explore the different facets of the two main characters’ personalities as they go through various changes that circumstances have brought on via poor life choices. The story is fast-paced and hard to put down. It certainly makes for a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of meeting people online. The editing and formatting for this book were fine on my ereader. I’m not sure I liked the cover or found it eye-catching but the story is excellent and happily I read that a second book that will continue the story is in the works.