New book!

Title: The Dressmaker
Author: Kate Alcott
Genre: Historical Fiction
Sub-genre: romance, history
Pages:  306
Published: 2012
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
ISBN: 0385535589
Reader's Annotation: Tess's life could be so much more. Meeting one of the world's most famous designers will change it forever. But will that change be for good or for bad?
Summary: Tess is a girl from the country. In order to escape a perverted son of an employer, she travels to the dock where the Titanic is about to set sail. There she meets Lucile Duff-Gordon, a world famous dressmaker. She convinces "Madame" to take her on as a maid in order to showcase her skills in dressmaking. As history shows, the Titanic would hit an iceberg and sink. Amidst the turmoil that was going on that night, Tess, Lucile, and her husband, all escape, long with many other first class passengers. Alcott weaves a tale of what happened that night and the aftermath to come as well as weaving a tale of romance between Tess and fellow first class passenger and Tess and a sailor.
My Evaluation: I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads and I'm now getting around to reading it! It was a good book. Alcott's writing is extremely easy to follow and she makes you want to know what happens to her characters.  It was a fairly quick read once I got into read it and into it. However, there were a couple things I wasn't so fond of. The first was taking so long to bring Jack Bremeton back. It just took too long in my opinion to reveal to the reader that he was alive and by that point I was ready for Tess and rooting for Tess to be with Jim. So I think it would have made a much more compelling story at least in terms of romance if Alcott had brought Jack back earlier and made Tess's decision even harder.
Rating:  4.7 out of 5

Fall of Giants

Title: Fall of Giants
Author: Ken Follett
Genre: Historical Fiction
Sub-genre: romance, history
Pages:  1000
Published: 2011
Publisher: NAL Trade
ISBN: 0451232577
Series: Century Trilogy, #1
Reader's Annotation: Several different stories intertwine with the 20th century's first major war
Summary: Follett weaves a long tale of several stories of different families from different cultures and classes through the tale of World War I. From a lower class coal mine workers to a Lord from Wales, to Russian workers, Follett allows the reader to gain a new prospective on a war that was suppose to end all wars.
My Evaluation: Such a long book! I'm really glad I finished it. Follett, while over writes some details like the exact brand of gun or grenade, weaves a good tale. You grow to love the characters and wonder what happens to them. This and the fact that within each chapter, the story jumps from family to family so sometimes you have rack your brain as to what happened to that character because sometimes Follett takes a long break from them. I did get use to it after a while but it was kind of annoying
Rating:  4.7 out of 5

New LC!

Title: The Fame Game
Author: Lauren Conrad
Genre: chick lit
Sub-genre: women's fiction, romance, teen
Pages:  313
Published: 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 0062073281
Series: The Fame Game, book 1
Reader's Annotation: How will Madison handle another series?
Summary: Madison and Gabby (from the L.A. Candy Series) are back for another series from Lauren Conrad (of The Hills fame). "Now Madison's ready for her turn in the spotlight and she'll stop at nothing to get it. Sure, she's the star of a new show, but with backstabbing friends and suspicious family members trying to bring her down, Madison has her work cut out for her. Plus, there's a new nice girl in "reality" town—aspiring actress Carmen Price, the daughter of Hollywood royalty—and she's a lot more experienced at playing the fame game... When the camera's start rolling, whose star will shine brighter?" from Goodreads.com
My Evaluation: Great easy summer read. I honestly really like LC's style of writing. You get attached to her characters and want what they want or hate them :) However, this book is 90% exactly like the first book in the L.A. Candy series... Which was frustrating. The only big differences is Carmen compared to Scarlet
Rating:  4.5 out of 5