Frenemies  is a book written by Megan Crane. If you are wondering what the title means, Frenemies is a portmanteau of friend and enemy and means an enemy disguised as a friend.

The book revolves around the life of Augusta or Gus as she is fondly called by her friends.  Gus is bawling her heart and eyes out at the knowledge that Nate, her boyfriend of more than 4 months was cheating on her with her roommate slash friend Helen. She had caught them in the act, smooching in the kitchen. After making a complete fool of herself in front of friends and mutuals by singing a Janis Joplin song to the treacherous couple, Gus tries to summon a bit of dignity. However it seems faith has deemed to make a mockery of her life and heart. At every turn, a scene is created, either Helen dragging Gus to a quiet room for an intervention, or introducing her to guys more suitable to her temperament.

Then there is Nate himself, the Mr. Kewl who tells Gus he is not the man she wants in reality. That Gus is too good for him. If ever there was a female version of Nate, this was it, he batted his good looks, flipping his hair, blinking his eyes, mesmerizing with his dashing smile and in short totally confusing the heck out of Gus.

Add to this totally disastrous emotional turmoil the fact that Gus had actually assaulted Nate's landlord slash roommate Henry. The act had left her embarrassed and at every turn she got she would try to run away from Henry. She didn't want to deal with the fact that she slept with the Devil incarnate, a man who went around sleeping with anything that moved, a man with a trust fund, with a 6-pack, who looked hot by doing just about nothing.

Gus however has two good solid friends. Amy Lee who is married to Oscar. She and her husband run a dental practice. The other friend is Georgia, a lawyer who travels all over the US with her boss Chris Stalling. Georgia has a disastrous personal life and an even Titanic of a ship love life. She is attracted to the most vile men, who use her and then leave her broken and shattered.

The book although is about friendship to the very core, it is also about self-discovery. Gus in the span of 6-7 months goes from behaving like a complete teenager, to a grown-up who embraces the big THREE 'O' with grace and as much dignity as possible. Of course she did sleep through her birthday and woke up a year older.

Read the book and I will guarantee you will enjoy it. It is pure diabolical fun... evil to the very core.

A Cat With No Clue: An Alice Nestleton Mystery by Lydia Adamson

The book starts with has-been actress Alice Nestleton visiting her friends Alex and Lila. Both of them are in their 80's, were once famous theatrical personalities, but now own a restaurant called Red Witch.
The restaurant was started in fact as a way for actors and other creative persons to come and share a meal, talk about their dreams, their failures etc. In short it was an actor's hub. 
Lila introduces Alice to her new additions to the family, two tabby kittens. After staying a while, Alice takes her leave, but on the spur of a moment comes up with a brilliant anniversary plan. All the guests were forbidden to bring any gifts, but the gift Alice had in mind would be perfect. 
The first meal the two had eaten together, the meal that brought the spark of Love in their life. Alice dashes off to her friend Nora's restaurant and orders the very unusual meal - mushrooms fried in butter and topped with sour cream, flank steak with onions and tapioca pudding. 
She gets a call from Lila thanking her profusely for the gesture and Alice goes to sleep happy. Things however turn tragic when exactly 12 hrs to the dot from the last call, she is informed that Lila is dead and Alex will die soon. 
Apparently the last meal, indeed became their last meal and Alice becomes the number one suspect in the murder investigation. Did Alice off her closest friends? Did Nora have a hand in it? Read the book to find out...


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The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

The Gift of Magi is a short story written by O. Henry. The story is truly a Christmas delight that shows how charitable a person can get when love is in the mix.
It starts with the introduction of Della and Jim Dillingham, a recently married couple. It is Christmas time and both of them wish to gift their spouse something memorable. Della wants to gift Jim a chain for his pocket watch that he cherishes, while Jim wants to present Della with a set of combs made from tortoiseshell and jewels for Della's long beautiful hair.
The climax of the story comes from the financial side. Money is scarce and the gifts are expensive. How will Della find the money to buy the chain and Will Jim buy the combs or end up buying something else for Della. Read the story to find out...


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The Agony Column by Earl Derr Biggers

The Agony Column that is published in the Daily Mail newspaper is the favorite thing to read for the hero Geoffrey West while he nibbles on strawberries for breakfast. The different messages, especially those by secret admirers makes him laugh.
As he glances up, he notices Marian, an American who makes his heart skip a beat. Even more wonderful is that she is also a true fan of the Agony Columns. Geoffrey must meet her, but as it was during those pre-WWII days, meeting a young lady needed someone of reference and he had none. 
Then he comes up with a brilliant plan of writing in the Agony Columns. She is bound to read his notice and if possible reply to him. Geoffrey, mulls over what he will write and finally pours out his heart eloquently. He waits and waits for her reply. Will she read the notice? Will she reply? Will Geoffrey win over the heart of his ladylove?


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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre is a classic romantic story written by Charlotte Bronte. It tells the tale of Jane who is orphaned at a young age and then becomes a dependent on her aunt and uncle. After her uncle dies, her aunt sends Jane to an orphanage. There she meets a fellow kindred spirit, but alas she too dies, an illness of the heart as most in the orphanage believe. 
Jane grows up in the harsh environment and becomes a learned individual. She seeks employment outside of the boundaries of the orphanage and thus become engaged as a governess to a Mr. Rochester. 
Little does Jane know that this move will become the end of her life, where she will find love, lose her love, gain fortune and become mistress of not only her money but also her own heart.


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