Meg Cabot, Patricia Briggs

Size 12 Is Not Fat
Meg Cabot

Heather Wells, former pop princess has recently run into a few difficulties. Her mother has flown to South America with both her manager and money. Heather has dumped her cheating rock-star boyfriend, and added a few pounds. But Heather is an optimist, no matter what happens.

In a cute beginning to a new mystery series, Meg Cabot introduces a bouncy, blonde, and slightly more curvaceous heroine than the norm. Heather is determined to make her life work again, on her terms. She's become a dorm director to take advantage of the free class tuition for college employees. She wants to get the education she missed. Her ex-fiance's brother, the family pariah, offers her free room and board in exchange for clerical work. When female students start dying in supposed elevator surfing accidents Heather becomes suspicious. Elevator surfing is a boy thing. When another girl dies, Heather starts investigating on her own, and the killer comes after her.
Light, fluffy, and fun.

UUUU 4 Tubs

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Bubble Bath Book tip #3 - Watch out for the cat when you are immersed in the tub. Sometimes cats don't realize there is water under all that foam...Ouch!

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Mooncalled

Patricia Briggs

I read the description of this book online, and ordered it from the library. What a mistake! Urban Supernatural fiction is very popular right now. While it's one of my favorite sub-genre's, it is also on the verge of being over-done. However if the first book is an indication, this series (hopefully it will be a series) is going to be a favorites. Mercy is the owner and head mechanic - make that only mechanic - of an auto shop. The world she lives in is changing. The Fae have "come out" after centuries of hiding from humans. Now werewolves are on the edge of coming out as well. DNA testing has made keeping pre-natural secrets very difficult. Mercy has a secret of her own; she a shape-shifter - she can turn from woman to coyote whenever she wishes. Mercy just wants to be left alone, to fix cars and live her life in peace. She is happy with her quiet life, and if her neighbor Adam is the area's head werewolf, she can live with that.

However, her peace is destroyed when Adam is attacked, and his daughter kidnapped. Mercy takes the badly injured werewolf to the only safe place she knows - her foster family- who just happen to be under the jurisdiction of the "King" wolf of North America.

Well done, with interesting characters abounding, Mooncalled is going on my to-buy list, and I will be looking for the sequel - hopefully soon!

UUUUUU 6 Tubs

Haven Kimmel, Jennifer Crusie

She Got Up Off the Couch

Haven Kimmel

Haven Kimmel is an incandescent writer. When I picture the scenes in her books, I always visualize them filled with light. Her first book, A Girl Named Zippy, was about her young childhood. She Got Up Off the Couch is the sequel she never thought she would write. Taking place during the years leading up to her adolescence, as her life and family are changing dramatically. One of the most dramatic changes is the one made by Zippy's mother Delonda. For most of Zippy's life she's been ensconced on the couch with her bags of snacks and numerous dogs, but one day she gets up. She resolves to go back to school. After Delonda finds ways to deal with transportation, tuition, and clothing, she's off the couch for good. It turns out, Zippy's mom is brilliant. Her father is less than supportive, and even hostile to the change in his placid wife.

Among with the big changes in her family, Haven writes about the small things as well. A run-in with a mother cow. Her broken arm, and how it happened. When her family begins the finale stages of disintegration, her eye and voice remain clear, with wry humor, and pride in her mother's accomplishments, as well as love for her father. I will look forward to anything she writes, fiction or non-fiction, but I hope she continues her memoirs someday. I want to know what happens next.

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Bubble Bath Book Tip #2 - Bookholders designed for tubs don't work. They are likely to come unstuck right in the middle of the bath, and give your book a dunking.

Anyone But You

Jennifer Cruisie

This book was published previously. Even with the limitations of the series romance format, Jennifer Cruisie's storytelling will make you laugh out loud. If you're a fan of romantic comedy, I would recommend any book by her. Her characters are sympathetic, but definatly not perfect, her stories just weird enough to ring true. Anyone But You is known to her fans as "Fred's book." She explains in her forward, and it's a fact; the dog steals the show. Fred, the smelly, garbage stealing mutt Nina rescues from the pound is a winner. We may like the main characters; 40 year old Nina, just escaped from a boring life as a corporate wife. Hot, 30 year old downstairs neighbor Alex, the kind of guy that runs like a rabbit at the first sign a girl is getting serious. Alex's brother Max, even more of a ladies man, and Nina's "loser at love" best friend Charity add to the fun. One of the things I like about Jennifer Cruisie is her secondary characters are as interesting as her primaries, no cardboard cut-outs here. While "Anyone But You" is not her most complex book, it's certainly a fun read, and I was very happy to find it on my "Soon to be Released" list.

UUUUU 5 Tubs