[Review] Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman Review

Title of Book: Practical Magic

Author:  Alice Hoffman

Publisher:  Penguin Group

When the beautiful and precocious sisters Sally and Gillian Owens are orphaned at a young age, they are taken to a small Massachusetts town to be raised by their eccentric aunts, who happen to dwell in the darkest, eeriest house in town. As they become more aware of their aunts' mysterious and sometimes frightening powers -- and as their own powers begin to surface -- the sisters grow determined to escape their strange upbringing by blending into "normal" society.

But both find that they cannot elude their magic-filled past. And when trouble strikes -- in the form of a menacing backyard ghost -- the sisters must not only reunite three generations of Owens women but embrace their magic as a gift -- and their key to a future of love and passion. 

[Review] Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie Review

Title of Book:  Death on the Nile (Pembunuhan di Sungai Nil)

Author:  Agatha Christie

Publisher:  PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Gadis itu terbaring miring. Posisinya wajar dan tenang. Tapi di atas telinganya ada lubang kecil dengan bekas darah kering di sekelilingnya. Kemudian pandangan Poirot tertuju pada dinding putih di depannya dan ia menarik napas dalam-dalam. Dinding putih bersih itu dikotori huruf "J" berwarna merah kecokelat-cokelatan yang ditulis dengan gemetar. Poirot membungkuk di atas mayat gadis itu dan dengan hati-hati mengangkat tangan kanan si gadis. Salah satu jarinya bernoda merah kecokelatan....

[Review] A Bend In The Road - Nicholas Sparks

Title of Book:  A Bend in the Road

Author:  Nicholas Sparks

Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing

Miles Ryan's life seemed to end the day his wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. As deputy sheriff of New Bern, North Carolina, he not only grieves for her and worries about their young son Jonah but longs to bring the unknown driver to justice. Then Miles meets Sarah Andrews, Jonah's second-grade teacher. A young woman recovering from a difficult divorce, Sarah moved to New Bern hoping to start over. Tentatively, Sarah and Miles reach out to each other...soon they are falling in love. But what neither realizes is that they are also bound together by a shocking secret, one that will force them to reexamine everything they believe in--including their love.

In A Bend in the Road, Nicholas Sparks writes with a luminous intensity about life's bitter turns and incomparable sweetness. His affirming message carries a powerful lesson about the imperfections of being human, the mistakes we all make, and the joy that comes when we give ourselves to love.

[Review] The Rescue - Nicholas Sparks

Title of Book:  The Rescue

Author:  Nicholas Sparks

Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing

When confronted by raging fires or deadly accidents, volunteer fireman Taylor McAden feels compelled to take terrifying risks to save lives. But there is one leap of faith Taylor can't bring himself to make: he can't fall in love. For all his adult years, Taylor has sought out women who need to be rescued, women he leaves as soon as their crisis is over and the relationship starts to become truly intimate. When a raging storm hits his small Southern town, single mother Denise Holton’s car skids off the road. The young mom is with her four-year-old son Kyle, a boy with severe learning disabilities and for whom she has sacrificed everything. Taylor McAden finds her unconscious and bleeding, but does not find Kyle. When Denise wakes, the chilling truth becomes clear to both of them: Kyle is gone. During the search for Kyle, the connection between Taylor and Denise takes root. Taylor doesn't know that this rescue will be different from all the others, demanding far more than raw physical courage. It will lead him to the possibility of his own rescue from a life lived without love and will require him to open doors to his past that were slammed shut by pain. This rescue will dare him to live life to the fullest by daring to love.