Thursday 24 April 2008
Sunday 13 April 2008
The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer
978-0099493730
Really very good book. A nice little murder, Pot loads of likely suspects. Very likeable hero and heroine with a pleasant romance thrown in.
Plot: Unpleasant mans fortunately early demise
Whimsical heroine all dewy eyes
Multiple suspects - motives no surprise
Pleasantly astute detective eventually sees through lies
Characters: Hero, Heroine, irascible victim - i do find it satisfying when nasty people are bumped off, multiple secondaries of varying degrees of annoya-bility (it's a word now)
What to love: The set up is good. The murderer reasonably unexpected and the structure excellent.
What to loathe: Sometimes you don't know whether to care more about the romance or the murder. On my dumber days ( of which there are many) I get a little bit frazzled by a split focus in a story. I think it is more a me thing than a story thing
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy - Really very good - and worth reading again even when you know who has done it.
If this book was a drink it would be: . A glass of iced milk. I love iced milk and often crave it so this is a good thing.
Really very good book. A nice little murder, Pot loads of likely suspects. Very likeable hero and heroine with a pleasant romance thrown in.
Plot: Unpleasant mans fortunately early demise
Whimsical heroine all dewy eyes
Multiple suspects - motives no surprise
Pleasantly astute detective eventually sees through lies
Characters: Hero, Heroine, irascible victim - i do find it satisfying when nasty people are bumped off, multiple secondaries of varying degrees of annoya-bility (it's a word now)
What to love: The set up is good. The murderer reasonably unexpected and the structure excellent.
What to loathe: Sometimes you don't know whether to care more about the romance or the murder. On my dumber days ( of which there are many) I get a little bit frazzled by a split focus in a story. I think it is more a me thing than a story thing
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy - Really very good - and worth reading again even when you know who has done it.
If this book was a drink it would be: . A glass of iced milk. I love iced milk and often crave it so this is a good thing.
Saturday 12 April 2008
The gifts of Christmas by Mary Balogh et al
I can barely face reviewing this collection of short stories, it is so bad. Perhaps the name Merline Lovelace on the cover should have stopped me picking this up at the library altogether - it is practically diabolical in itself.
A handful of gold by Mary Balogh
** out of *****
She can write much better than this. Virginal showgirl shows rake meaning of Christmas. Makes you want to take up paganism.
A drop of frankincense by Merline Lovelace
* out of *****
Arranged marriage consumated by sneaky feisty wife, then they go to fight the Spanish and meet Queen Elizabeth I. Reads like a parody.
A touch of myrrh by Suzanne Barclay
** out of *****
Some interesting detail about the spice trade, however once again the heroine shows the hero the meaning of Christmas and makes us all sick with her feisty goodness. She would not have lasted 10 minutes in reality and the author cannot make us believe otherwise.
genre: historical romance
read: 12/4/8
Naughty Neighbor [Neighbour] by Janet Evanovich
**** out of *****Fluff. This is part of series of re-issues of a short romances of a now more-famous author. Its lightweight with a lot of charm and demonstrates the quirky characters and snappy dialogue that she has written over and over again since. (perhaps too many times but we won't go into that). Short and modern. The cover doesn't really sum up the political intrigue central to the book though. And the title is a bit iffy too.
genre: romance
read: 12/4/8
The comeback kiss by Lani Diane Rich
*** out of *****
I should probably give this more stars, but the lead characters are such idiots they annoyed me the whole way through. It has a lot of similarities to Jennifer Crusie in terms of the writing style and elements of the plot, that I couldn't help comparing it to Faking It (minor criminal going straight) and Tell Me Lies (lost love returns). Both of which are better. Its promising and passed the time pleasantly but I couldn't love it, and with all the quirky small town atmostphere it is desperate for you to love it.
Genre: romance
Read: 12/4/8
Dates From Hell by Kim Harrison et al
This is a collection of short stories on the theme of bad dates with the supernatural. The blurb says "We've all [had] dreadful experiences that turned out to be uniquely memorable in the very worst way." Well, this book is another of those dreadful experiences. Its awful to varying degrees throughout.
Undead in the garden of good and evil by Kim Harrison.
* out of *****
Lame! Vampire mythology messed about purely for plot purposes, not to say anything interesting. Demonstrates the main problem with the supernatural romance-ish genre - the author really doesn't seem to understand either genre that well. To top it off, this is blatantly a filler between stories in a series, referring to characters and events outside the story to no purpose. Painful to read.
The Claire Switch Project by Lynsay Sands
** out of *****
Bearable. Especially after the last one. Its a bit sci-fi, but again science is pushed out the way whenever the author wants to have something happen in the plot. It is not possible to have any respect for the characters, they are such children. Pointless.
Chaotic by Kelley Armstrong *** out of *****
Ok, there was a bit of feeding in too much of an outside mythology for my liking but in this collection this story stands out like the light at the end of the tunnel. A half chaos demon that can find trouble runs into a werewolf and a reasonable plot ensues. The characters are interesting and likeable. Like a lot of supernatural romance this is heavily influenced by Buffy and written in first person. I wish people wouldn't do that! First person is terribly hard to do well. I would read this author again.
Dead Man Dating by Lori Handeland
** out of *****
Back to the lame vampiric demons. And a lame virgin sub-plot to boot. The demons are more believable than the virgin. Also, again with the first person. Dear Author, you are not as good as Mary Stewart so no more of the thoughts of the sub-Buffy idiot protagonist!
Genre: Supernatural/sci-fi romance
Read: 12/4/8
What The Lady Wants by Jennifer Crusie
***** out of *****
This was a re-read of the first Jennifer Crusie I really got. I tried Fast Women before this but couldn't get beyond the first couple of chapters. But this book moves much faster - its shorter and in a more popular style. Once you've got into Crusie's books there is no turning back. You'll still look back fondly at this one though.
There are some boringly stereotyped secondary characters in this, but the main protagonists are so appealling that its forgivable. As usual for a Crusie at the end I was still wondering quite what had happened. Which is a good excuse for a re-read.
If you like the mystery/mafia family plot of this, then try Agnes and the Hitman by the same author.
Genre: Romance with bit of mystery
Read: 12/4/8
Wednesday 2 April 2008
Big Money P G Wodehouse
ISBN: 1841591513
I love P G Wodehouse. I am an odd ball amongst Wodehouse fans in that I tend to avoid the Blandings and the Jeeves books and hover around the stand alone stories like a hyper glycemic fly round honey...
Plot:
Chumps: Clueless adorable guys and gals find true love despite themselves and each other
Humps: How rude - not those kind - this is Wodehouse you remember - it is merely that the course of true love does not run smooth. Especially if you are engaged to the wrong person
Mumps: Its OK they are imaginary mumps.. Read the book and you will know what Imean...
Characters:
The standard and wonderful Wodehouse guys and girls by turns dizzyingly ditzy and pulse stopingly pragmatic. Beautifully drawn one and all
What to love:
Twisty plot, gorgeous dialogue, terribly funny, happy ever after
What to loathe:
Not quite as good as my fave Wodehouses - but honestly that is a pretty high standard
Buy, Borrow or Bin:
Buy - Really very good - also the hardbacks out at the moment are truly beautiful.
If this book was a drink it would be:
Rose Tea - Light, fragrant, complex and reassuring whilst being strangely unexpected
On Amazon Site
P.G Wodehouse Society
I love P G Wodehouse. I am an odd ball amongst Wodehouse fans in that I tend to avoid the Blandings and the Jeeves books and hover around the stand alone stories like a hyper glycemic fly round honey...
Plot:
Chumps: Clueless adorable guys and gals find true love despite themselves and each other
Humps: How rude - not those kind - this is Wodehouse you remember - it is merely that the course of true love does not run smooth. Especially if you are engaged to the wrong person
Mumps: Its OK they are imaginary mumps.. Read the book and you will know what Imean...
Characters:
The standard and wonderful Wodehouse guys and girls by turns dizzyingly ditzy and pulse stopingly pragmatic. Beautifully drawn one and all
What to love:
Twisty plot, gorgeous dialogue, terribly funny, happy ever after
What to loathe:
Not quite as good as my fave Wodehouses - but honestly that is a pretty high standard
Buy, Borrow or Bin:
Buy - Really very good - also the hardbacks out at the moment are truly beautiful.
If this book was a drink it would be:
Rose Tea - Light, fragrant, complex and reassuring whilst being strangely unexpected
On Amazon Site
P.G Wodehouse Society
Sunday 30 March 2008
Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer
ISBN: 978-0755108855
This was surprisingly fab. I am a dedicated reader of Heyers Regency Romances (who isn't? - my hubby like Infamous Army and I love him the more for it!!! ) . Due to Regency love I put off reading her thrilers until reaching this advanced age - what a mistake to make!! This book is a mildly demented mix of Agatha Christie and Jane Austen - brilliant stuff...
Plot: Dope: There is a neat drugs sub plot
Rope: Well wire actually - the instrument of death
Hope: Wronged woman - righted
Characters: Brilliant Detective. Fab heroes and Heroines and wonderfully souless side characters who you are always hoping will be gruesomely bumped off.
What to love: Really rather lovely characters. Humourously drawn - by turns gentle and quite wicked. Heyers gift for the cruel caricature is used to its upmost.
What to loathe: Hideously casual homophobia - fairly typical off the time but quite jarring to read. Sort of jolts you out of the book and sympathy with the characters.
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy - Really very good - and worth reading again even when you know who has done it.
If this book was a drink it would be: Home made spicy hot chocolate - mostly lovely but sometimes you end up drinking the nasty dregs and it can spoil your love for the whole.
On the Georgette Heyer Site
This was surprisingly fab. I am a dedicated reader of Heyers Regency Romances (who isn't? - my hubby like Infamous Army and I love him the more for it!!! ) . Due to Regency love I put off reading her thrilers until reaching this advanced age - what a mistake to make!! This book is a mildly demented mix of Agatha Christie and Jane Austen - brilliant stuff...
Plot: Dope: There is a neat drugs sub plot
Rope: Well wire actually - the instrument of death
Hope: Wronged woman - righted
Characters: Brilliant Detective. Fab heroes and Heroines and wonderfully souless side characters who you are always hoping will be gruesomely bumped off.
What to love: Really rather lovely characters. Humourously drawn - by turns gentle and quite wicked. Heyers gift for the cruel caricature is used to its upmost.
What to loathe: Hideously casual homophobia - fairly typical off the time but quite jarring to read. Sort of jolts you out of the book and sympathy with the characters.
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy - Really very good - and worth reading again even when you know who has done it.
If this book was a drink it would be: Home made spicy hot chocolate - mostly lovely but sometimes you end up drinking the nasty dregs and it can spoil your love for the whole.
On the Georgette Heyer Site
Friday 28 March 2008
Faking It by Jennifer Crusie
ISBN: 978-0312932787
This is one of my favourite Jenny Crusie books. Which means it is one of my favourite ooks of all time. I have only have it two months and the cover is already completely ragged from rereadings in the bath. I love it - she makes me laugh and actually care about ALL the characters all the time.
Plot:
Fakery - (of paintings, fortunes, secondary personalities and careers)
Bakery - (Are men muffins [keepers] or donuts [moment on your lips lifetime on your hips [[in the BAD way]])
Make (out) ery - NOT to channel Paris Hilton or anything but this book is hot
Characters: Really good characterisation - no surprise from Crusie as she is a writer who delivers believable people acting true to themselves whilst going through one hell of a plot arc. (It always seems strangely feasible whilst you are reading in this case you believe in con men, split personalities, precociously brilliant teens, delinquent parents (Heroes dad is hilarious) and a completely incompetent femme fatale who (accidentally) kills her men for very little profit.
What to love: All the secondary characters. All the main characters. The intricacy of the plot. The humour. The sex. The happy ever after. The comparison of people to baked goods - I do that myself quite ofen. (In case you were wondering you are a perfect slice of apple cake just from reading this blog. Practically the top of the cake hierarchy...)
What to loathe: Hmmm.... Sometimes Louise/Eve felt she had been changed to fit into the plot - but then she is not exactly a stable character - so maybe she really is written how she is supposed to be written - I love her anyway - so I take all that back - it is all great!!!
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy - Multiple copies. Lend them to sad friends
If this book was a drink it would be: The perfect ginger beer of the book world. If you are wondering... in my lexicon that means it is spicy, cool and strangely sophisticated whilst totally wholesome - combined with a great sense of fun.
Here is a link to the author page about the book including the first chapter so you can make your own mind up: Faking It
And this is the book on Amazon so you can see what the book buying world thinks: Amazon
This is one of my favourite Jenny Crusie books. Which means it is one of my favourite ooks of all time. I have only have it two months and the cover is already completely ragged from rereadings in the bath. I love it - she makes me laugh and actually care about ALL the characters all the time.
Plot:
Fakery - (of paintings, fortunes, secondary personalities and careers)
Bakery - (Are men muffins [keepers] or donuts [moment on your lips lifetime on your hips [[in the BAD way]])
Make (out) ery - NOT to channel Paris Hilton or anything but this book is hot
Characters: Really good characterisation - no surprise from Crusie as she is a writer who delivers believable people acting true to themselves whilst going through one hell of a plot arc. (It always seems strangely feasible whilst you are reading in this case you believe in con men, split personalities, precociously brilliant teens, delinquent parents (Heroes dad is hilarious) and a completely incompetent femme fatale who (accidentally) kills her men for very little profit.
What to love: All the secondary characters. All the main characters. The intricacy of the plot. The humour. The sex. The happy ever after. The comparison of people to baked goods - I do that myself quite ofen. (In case you were wondering you are a perfect slice of apple cake just from reading this blog. Practically the top of the cake hierarchy...)
What to loathe: Hmmm.... Sometimes Louise/Eve felt she had been changed to fit into the plot - but then she is not exactly a stable character - so maybe she really is written how she is supposed to be written - I love her anyway - so I take all that back - it is all great!!!
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy - Multiple copies. Lend them to sad friends
If this book was a drink it would be: The perfect ginger beer of the book world. If you are wondering... in my lexicon that means it is spicy, cool and strangely sophisticated whilst totally wholesome - combined with a great sense of fun.
Here is a link to the author page about the book including the first chapter so you can make your own mind up: Faking It
And this is the book on Amazon so you can see what the book buying world thinks: Amazon
Wednesday 26 March 2008
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
This is another of my favourite books.
10 Great things about this book
1. The heroine loves baking and understands the profoundly mystical significance of cinnamon rolls as large as your head.
2. The heroine has learnt many useful and lifesaving things from her dedicated novel and trashy newsfeed reading habit (See - it is good for me!!)
3. Decent plot
4. Great ensemble cast
5. Convincing world building - You can see the world Sunshine lives in
6. Quiet heroes - Like Mr Darcy both Con and Mel benefit from saying little but acting with integrity
7. Great baddies human and non human
8. No annoying Rice-ian sex scenes despite the fact Vampires exist in the world
9. Great anthromorphism - I like the way McKinley creates characters for things as well as people. It keeps things lively
10. Happy Ever After
10 Great things about this book
1. The heroine loves baking and understands the profoundly mystical significance of cinnamon rolls as large as your head.
2. The heroine has learnt many useful and lifesaving things from her dedicated novel and trashy newsfeed reading habit (See - it is good for me!!)
3. Decent plot
4. Great ensemble cast
5. Convincing world building - You can see the world Sunshine lives in
6. Quiet heroes - Like Mr Darcy both Con and Mel benefit from saying little but acting with integrity
7. Great baddies human and non human
8. No annoying Rice-ian sex scenes despite the fact Vampires exist in the world
9. Great anthromorphism - I like the way McKinley creates characters for things as well as people. It keeps things lively
10. Happy Ever After
Tuesday 25 March 2008
How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the art of Comfort Cooking - Nigella Lawson
ISBN: 978-0701171087
Warning: Do not read if even the slightest bit hungry.
Those put off by the overly blousy sexy Nigella of recent tv series should not be.
This is why the women became famous in the first place. She really seems to write cook books for women. Real women who love the ida of cooking, who understand the sheer tactile joy that can be had from whipping up a batch of meltingly warm cupcakes for the menfolk.
I don't mean to be all unreconstructed here - but there is definitely a kind of power in home baking. Whether it is the sheer awe it inspires in all the chaps in my house or just walking around the house in a lovely warm cloud of vanillla, whatever it is ...that sense of warmth and mystery is found in this book.
Nigella gets it, she quantifies it and she has pulled together some lovely recipes so you can repeat it. Its a great book.
DON'T even look at it if you are contemplating a diet.
Nigella's site - the recipe section is fun - if only for the seriously random recipes and comments some people have posted
Warning: Do not read if even the slightest bit hungry.
Those put off by the overly blousy sexy Nigella of recent tv series should not be.
This is why the women became famous in the first place. She really seems to write cook books for women. Real women who love the ida of cooking, who understand the sheer tactile joy that can be had from whipping up a batch of meltingly warm cupcakes for the menfolk.
I don't mean to be all unreconstructed here - but there is definitely a kind of power in home baking. Whether it is the sheer awe it inspires in all the chaps in my house or just walking around the house in a lovely warm cloud of vanillla, whatever it is ...that sense of warmth and mystery is found in this book.
Nigella gets it, she quantifies it and she has pulled together some lovely recipes so you can repeat it. Its a great book.
DON'T even look at it if you are contemplating a diet.
Nigella's site - the recipe section is fun - if only for the seriously random recipes and comments some people have posted
The Making of a Marchioness Frances Hodgson Burnett
ISBN 1903155142
A more or less grown up read by the writer of The Secret Garden
This is a lovely book. In all the ways a books can be lovely. The only way it could be lovelier is if it was the worlds first nice smelling scratch and sniff book.
I read this book in its latest incarnation as a Persephone Book.
(If you don't know Persephone are a brilliant publishing house that specialise in reprinting literary gems that ladies will love to read. Each title is bound in lovely silver soft cover with a distinctive print on the inside.)
The story itself is a Worthy Cinderella tale that segues into a wonderfully melodramatic thriller. I love it because even though it is sort of a romance it is more a book abot women and the triumph of character over adversity. Also the best thing in it is the female friendships - which hardly ever get written about in a convincing manner in modern books.
This satisfies on pretty much all levels for me and has serious re-readability.
This satisfies on pretty much all levels for me and has serious re-readability.
Plot: Turn of the 19/20th C Cinderella with a basket of fish instead of a glass slipper. Also a slice of life after Happily Ever After ....
Characters: Caricatures - but it kind of works as they are a reflection of the strangely mannered world of the British upper and middle classes.
What to love: Emily Fox-Seton is a very lovable heroine and her triumph over adversity through sheer (strangely not nauseating) sweetness of nature is refreshing. The ascerbic Lady Maria brightens up things immeasurably.
What to loathe: The unthinkingly racist, classist and sexist nature of pretty much everything in it. This really is a book of it's time. Do not read it expecting it to be modern and fair in outlook. It is a product of Empire...
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy
If this book was a drink it would be: A ladylike cup of tea in bone china served with lavender biscuits.
Saturday 22 March 2008
The Secret Diaries of Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn
***** out of ***** then downgraded to ****
Enjoyable fluff. Julia Quinn's stuff is always funny and barely historical. Like Loretta Chase on a sugar rush.
Genre: Historical Romance
Read: 29/8/2007 and 14/11/2007
Enjoyable fluff. Julia Quinn's stuff is always funny and barely historical. Like Loretta Chase on a sugar rush.
Genre: Historical Romance
Read: 29/8/2007 and 14/11/2007
Cary Grant: A Class Apart by Graham McCann
***** out of *****
Very good. Readable, well researched, rakes up the salacious gossip (and sources) but is never salacious in itself. And of course Cary is an interesting subject.
Genre: Biog
Read: 6/12/2007
Very good. Readable, well researched, rakes up the salacious gossip (and sources) but is never salacious in itself. And of course Cary is an interesting subject.
Genre: Biog
Read: 6/12/2007
Hex and the Single Girl by Valerie Frankel
*** out of *****
Good premise wasted. The author has potential just for the idea though.
Genre: Modern Romance
Read: 20/8/2007
Good premise wasted. The author has potential just for the idea though.
Genre: Modern Romance
Read: 20/8/2007
The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Annette Blair
**** out of *****
Promisingly entertaining and original but falls apart. Plot disjointed, character motivation jumps about all over the place and there is too much sex. I would try another of her books, but if it is as disjointed then it won't be worth the bother.
Genre: Modern Romance
Read: 19/12/2007
Promisingly entertaining and original but falls apart. Plot disjointed, character motivation jumps about all over the place and there is too much sex. I would try another of her books, but if it is as disjointed then it won't be worth the bother.
Genre: Modern Romance
Read: 19/12/2007
The Act of Roger Murgatroyd by Gilbert Adair
*** out of *****
An Agatha Christie pastiche, more in love with being funny than being a good mystery. Everyone is a caricature so it is hard to care about them. Readable but not as good as a Christie and not really that funny either.
Genre: Mystery Pastiche
Read: 8/3/2008
An Agatha Christie pastiche, more in love with being funny than being a good mystery. Everyone is a caricature so it is hard to care about them. Readable but not as good as a Christie and not really that funny either.
Genre: Mystery Pastiche
Read: 8/3/2008
My 3 Husbands by Swan Adamson
* out of *****
SERIES WARNING: This was a series but it didn't say so in the blurb! Barely readable anyway.
Genre: Modern Romance
Read: 14/10/2007
SERIES WARNING: This was a series but it didn't say so in the blurb! Barely readable anyway.
Genre: Modern Romance
Read: 14/10/2007
Death in the Andamans by M.M. Kaye
*** out of *****
I had fond memories of M.M. Kaye's books from years back. Unfortunately not lived up to by this book.
Well-written mystery. Annoying ingenue. All her books seem to have annoying ingenues but I was probably too young to notice at the time. Everyone but the ingenue and her chums is EVIL.
Genre: Mystery Romance
Read: 22/03/2008
Thursday 13 March 2008
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
ISBN: 978-0441068807
I cannot remember when I first read this book and I have read it many times (often in the bath) so I am on my third copy of it....
Plot: Dreamy, bookish orphan girl, Harry, goes to live with her brother at a remote imperial fort in the desert. The book is set in an alternate early 20th/ late 19th century where magic exists but most peole don't know of it or believe in it. Harry is kidnapped, finds her feet amongst desert peole and through hard work and mystical powers saves everyone AND gets her prince charming by the end of the book.
Characters: Fantastic - The goodies are goodies, the baddies are inhumanly evil and they are all true to their motivations. I always wanted to be Harry.... it is not all black and white and there are some good meaty shades of grey in there to keep things interesting.
What to love: Everything - the action, the romance, the plot , the way magic works in this universe - it is all brilliant!!!
What to loathe: Nothing - It is pretty darned perfect
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy several copies
If this book was a drink it would be: The perfect cup of tea - satisfying mentally, physically and emotionally.
Robins Website
Amazon
OK now I have to go read it again....
I cannot remember when I first read this book and I have read it many times (often in the bath) so I am on my third copy of it....
Plot: Dreamy, bookish orphan girl, Harry, goes to live with her brother at a remote imperial fort in the desert. The book is set in an alternate early 20th/ late 19th century where magic exists but most peole don't know of it or believe in it. Harry is kidnapped, finds her feet amongst desert peole and through hard work and mystical powers saves everyone AND gets her prince charming by the end of the book.
Characters: Fantastic - The goodies are goodies, the baddies are inhumanly evil and they are all true to their motivations. I always wanted to be Harry.... it is not all black and white and there are some good meaty shades of grey in there to keep things interesting.
What to love: Everything - the action, the romance, the plot , the way magic works in this universe - it is all brilliant!!!
What to loathe: Nothing - It is pretty darned perfect
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy several copies
If this book was a drink it would be: The perfect cup of tea - satisfying mentally, physically and emotionally.
Robins Website
Amazon
OK now I have to go read it again....
Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie
ISBN 1551667436
This is not my favourite Jenny Crusie book. That leaves lots of room for manouvere as my favourite Jenny Crusie books are the perfect ginger beer of the book world. If you are wondering... in my lexicon that means they are spicy, cool and strangely sophisticated combined with a great sense of fun.
Plot: Incompatible thirty somethings overcome social and cutural barriers to realise a suit is more than just a suit and hippies are people too.
Characters: Really good characterisation - no surprise from Crusie as she is a writer who delivers believable people acting true to themselves whilst going through one hell of a plot arc. (It always seems strangely feasibly whilst you are reading).
What to love: All the secondary characters. A special mention goes out to Christine as I adored this character to bits and wish she had her own book
What to loathe: Sometimes I really wanted the lead couple NOT to get together - they were so much more annoying when in the same room. He became unbelievably controlling and she became mindlessly ranty; it was sometimes unpleasant to read. However it was true to the story and the characters.
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy
If this book was a drink it would be: A very lovely shop bought lemonade - not quite as good as homemade but you would be really glad you bought it - especially drinking it down at the beach in the sun.
Here is a link to the author page about the book including the first chapter so you can make your own mind up: Strange Bedpersons
And this is the book on Amazon so you can see what the book buying world thinks: Amazon
This is not my favourite Jenny Crusie book. That leaves lots of room for manouvere as my favourite Jenny Crusie books are the perfect ginger beer of the book world. If you are wondering... in my lexicon that means they are spicy, cool and strangely sophisticated combined with a great sense of fun.
Plot: Incompatible thirty somethings overcome social and cutural barriers to realise a suit is more than just a suit and hippies are people too.
Characters: Really good characterisation - no surprise from Crusie as she is a writer who delivers believable people acting true to themselves whilst going through one hell of a plot arc. (It always seems strangely feasibly whilst you are reading).
What to love: All the secondary characters. A special mention goes out to Christine as I adored this character to bits and wish she had her own book
What to loathe: Sometimes I really wanted the lead couple NOT to get together - they were so much more annoying when in the same room. He became unbelievably controlling and she became mindlessly ranty; it was sometimes unpleasant to read. However it was true to the story and the characters.
Buy, Borrow or Bin: Buy
If this book was a drink it would be: A very lovely shop bought lemonade - not quite as good as homemade but you would be really glad you bought it - especially drinking it down at the beach in the sun.
Here is a link to the author page about the book including the first chapter so you can make your own mind up: Strange Bedpersons
And this is the book on Amazon so you can see what the book buying world thinks: Amazon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)