Book one-hundred-and-forty-three: His Wicked Kiss

His Wicked Kiss (2006)
Gaelen Foley

Rating: 3/5

Oh no, I’ve finished the series. Now I’ll have to find something else to read… Not that I have 115 books sitting around waiting for me to read them…

I think there are three other books coming out (one might already be out) that are about other people in their extended family.

I really liked this series. As I said earlier, it actually got better as it went along, which is very unusual…


An English rose blooming in the untamed jungles of South America, Eden Farraday lives a life of independence - unheard of for a lady - with her doctor-turned-scientist father. But Eden misses England desperately. When the dangerous and darkly charming Lord Jack Knight sails into her life, she seizes her chance to return to civilization, stowing away aboard his London-bound ship. Roguish and charismatic, a self-made shipping tycoon with a shadowy past and a well-guarded heart, Jack is sailing on a vital secret mission. When the redheaded temptress is discovered aboard his vessel, he reacts with fury - and undeniable lust. Forced to protect her from his rough crew, the devilish Lord Jack demands a scandalous price in exchange for Eden’s safe passage across the sea. As his wicked kiss ignites an unforgettable blaze of passion between them, Jack and Eden confront a soul-searing love that cannot be denied.

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Finished: Monday, 20/8

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Book one-hundred-and-forty-two: She’ll Take It

She’ll Take It (2006)
Mary Carter

Rating: 0.25/5

I might have just been in a really bad mood, but I disliked the main character so much, I actually couldn’t bring myself to read it properly after about the first 75 pages. I tried skimming for a while, hoping that it would get better, but it didn’t.

Actually, the main character here was my least favourite type of character. I can’t stand the immature and irritating near-thirty-something, with no work ethic and a general lack of morals, who think the whole world should just fall at their feet and worship them. Which it generally does, of course.

I think it was somewhere around the time she started arguing with her temp agent, and where she started arguing with her new supervisor, while simultaneously obsessing about a boyfriend that anyone could see was an idiot – that the book lost me.

I just don’t understand why these characters form such a large part of popular fiction. It just irks me. These people are generally too annoying to live. There is no way I can see, that they could have possibly survived past high school. In fact, the majority of them behave like they are still in high school.

I, Melanie Zietgar, do solemnly swear I will never shoplift again. Ever!**
Exceptions: Break-ups, weight gain, job losses, Visa bills, surprise visits from my mother

You only get one chance in life. Right? So if you’ve got a talent, you should use it. Right again, right? But what if your only talent – and obsession – is for nicking pretty, expensive objects and dropping them into your handbag?

Melanie knows she’s got to stop, and she will. She’s just waiting for the right moment. But when Greg, who’s sexy, caring, sweet – and a loss prevention lawyer with an understandable aversion to the light-fingered in life – comes her way, her day of reckoning could be closer than expected.

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Finished: Sunday 19/8

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Book one-hundred-and-forty-one: One Night of Sin

One Night of Sin (2005)
Gaelen Foley

Rating: 3/5
[The 115: 19/115]

This is good, but “mistaken identity” came back AGAIN. But I still really like this, mostly because Alec more funny than tortured, and because the plot is very interesting. For some reason I find gambling more interesting than chasing spy’s, or going to war or tracking gang leaders.

Lord Alec Knight, the most daring and handsome rogue in all of London, is a smooth-talking aristocrat with an abundance of high-society lady admirers. With his irresistible wit, lucky hand at the gaming tables, and enticing charisma, he can have any woman he wants. But when the only girl he would have considered marrying ties the knot with someone else, Alec realizes he doesn't want to be with just any lady—he wants to find the love of his life.

The beautiful and boldly spirited Miss Becky Ward takes his life by storm after he rescues her from peril. Alec soon learns that Becky is on the run, having uncovered a menacing secret about her cousin, the murderous Prince Mikhail Kurkov. In the midst of danger, Alec and Becky find themselves deeply drawn to each other. After the two spend an all-consuming night of sin, Becky's knight in shining armor vows on his honor to protect her until the end. But before long, Alec is protecting her with more than honor - and it seems the once untamed rake of London just may have found what he has been searching for all along . . . true love.

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Finished: Saturday 18/8

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Book one-hundred-and-thirty-nine: Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen (2006)
Catherine Murdock

Rating: 3.5/5

Excellent; it has a very unique voice. You can actually hear the DJ telling you her story.

There seems to be a sequel (or at least one out in the U.S.), but I'm not sure if I want to read it. I kind of like where this ended... I don't know if I want to watch it fall apart.


D.J. Schwenk, while not really happy, never complains or questions her life on the family's small dairy farm in Wisconsin.



After her father injures himself, the 15-year-old girl must do the farm work almost single-handedly, including milking the cows. She never really noticed the similarities between her life and the lives of the cows.



D.J. is a jock, so on top of all her farm chores, she takes on training Brian, the quarterback on a rival school's football team. The summer they spend together changes everything as D.J. discovers that she has lots to say about her life and what she wants out of it.

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Finished: Thursday 16/8

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Book one-hundred-and-thirty-eight: Lady of Desire

Lady of Desire (2004)
Gaelen Foley

Rating: 3/5

I’m glad this series is actually getting better, rather than worse as so many do. I think Foley’s writing is improving, or maybe I’m just getting used to it?

I liked the plot here too…. Although their meeting is semi-“mistaken identity”…


Impetuous Lady Jacinda Knight is the daughter of a scandalous woman--and Society predicts she'll follow in her mother's footsteps. Then one night, in flight from an arranged and loveless marriage, Jacinda finds herself alone on a dangerous street face-to-face with Billy Blade, the notorious leader of a band of thieves. His stolen kisses awaken in her a longing for a man she can never possess. A handsome outlaw running from a secret past, Billy Blade has never met a woman like Jacinda-her fiery innocence and blossoming sensuality set his rebel's heart ablaze. Having turned his back on the privilege and power of his tyrannical father's house years before, he vows to return to reclaim his title, Earl of Rackford-to win the love of the ravishing beauty who has stolen his heart.

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Finished: Wednesday 15/8

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Book one-hundred-and-thirty-seven: Lord of Ice

Lord of Ice (2002)
Gaelen Foley

Rating: 2.5/5
[The 115: 18/115]

Also pretty good. Although, I think she could have spent less time on the stuff at the beginning, and more time on the stuff at the end. The last few chapters cover about six months of events I wouldn’t have minded reading more about.
I’m not sure why she did such a typical story, when she could have written about something a lot more interesting.

I do find it interesting as well, that this is the third book in this series in which the two romantic leads have a “mistaken identity” meeting. In The Duke, Robert thinks Bel is a willing courtesan, in Lord of Fire Lucien thinks Alice is a spy, and now in this Damien thinks Miranda is a wanton actress… I wonder if this is intentional or just lazy?

Damien Knight is proud, aloof, and tormented by memories of war.

Though living in seclusion, he is named guardian to a fellow officer's ward. Instead of the young homeless waif he was expecting, however, Miranda FitzHubert is a stunning, passionate beauty who invades his sanctuary and forces him back into society.

Struggling to maintain honor and self-control, Damien now faces an ever greater threat: desire.

A bold, free spirit, Miranda has witnessed the darkest depths of Damien's soul--and has seen his desperate need for love. But before she can thaw his unyielding heart, she must endure a terrifying nightmare of her own. . . .

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Finished: Tuesday 14/8

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Book one-hundred-and-thirty-six: Lord of Fire

Lord of Fire (2002)
Gaelen Foley

Rating: 2.5/5

Pretty good. Actually, its much better than the first: there is a lot less thinking/description going on. But I do think she gets a bit flowery at times… and some of her sentences here have about five commas… they just keep going and going.

Oh well. It was still entertaining.

After years of preparation, he has baited his trap well, luring the depraved members of Society into his devil's playground so he can earn their trust and uncover their secrets.

Yet no one in London suspects that Lord Lucien Knight is England's most cunning spy, an officer who has sacrificed his soul for his country. Now an unexpected intruder has invaded his fortress of sin, jeopardizing his carefully laid plans--and igniting his deepest desires.

Beautiful, innocent Alice Montague finds herself at the mercy of scandalous Lord Lucien. But as he begins his slow seduction to corrupt her virtue, Alice glimpses a man tormented by his own choices, a man who promises her nothing but his undeniable passion. . .

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Finished: Monday 13/8

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Book one-hundred-and-thirty-five: Privilege of the Sword

Privilege of the Sword (2007)
Ellen Kushner

Rating: 4/5
[The 115: 17/115]

I really liked this… but for the first 150 pages, I was just thinking (on constant loop) “where’s Richard? What the hell is Alec doing? Come on, where the hell is Richard???” Seriously, I was so on edge that I stayed up til 4 am just to find out where the hell he was. (Hmm, I probably should have just went to sleep in the first place, instead of starting to read this in the early hours of Sunday morning).

Anyway, its really good, and I loved the parallels between the stories of the two girls and I actually liked Alec by the end of it. I don’t even want to slap him anymore.

Alec, Duke Tremontaine, aka the Mad Duke of Riverside, has sent for his impoverished young niece, Katherine. She and her family hope he'll make a good marriage for her, but the Mad Duke has decided to train her as a sword fighter. She is furious, and besides a swordmaster to train her, her uncle also springs what becomes her fall into society, without warning or training, on her.

She learns the sword perforce out of self-defense and also, bit by bit, the city, the nobility, politics, and her uncle. When Katherine is trained and entered into society with her weapon, she wades hip-deep into plots against her uncle and becomes the champion of a lady in distress, too.

Plot and style hereare in the swashbuckling tradition of Dumas, but the characters are very real beneath their facades, people who bleed when they are cut, even when manners require that they make nothing of it.

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Finished: Sunday 12/8

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Book one-hundred-and-thirty-four: Swordspoint

Swordspoint (2003/1987)
Ellen Kushner

Rating: 3.75/5
[The 115: 16/115]

I found this quite hard to get into at the beginning: it was intriguing, but not much was happening, all these people where sitting around talking about people I didn’t know.

But then all of a sudden it got really good – I knew who everyone was, worked out what the hell was going on and what I didn’t know got ever more interesting… In the end it was very rewarding read.

In the highly stratified world of Kushner's nameless old city, the aristocrats living in fine mansions on the Hill settle their differences by sending to the thieves' den of Riverside for swordsmen who will fight to the death for a point of someone else's honor.

Young Lord Michael Godwin is so taken by these romantic figures that he studies the art himselfuntil challenged by the best of them. Master of the Sword, Richard St. Vier is picky in his contracts and precise in his killing but he nevertheless becomes embroiled in the nobility's political, social and sexual intrigues. When his lover Alec is kidnapped by Lord Horn, St. Vier must take drastic action.

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Finished: Saturday 11/8

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Book one-hundred-and-thirty-three: Eclipse

Eclipse (2007)
Stephenie Meyer

Rating: 2.5/5

So disappointing.

For a 628 page book, it read like a really long epilogue to New Moon. There was no new plot, nor did it move the series on. In fact it took a few steps back.

Oh, and in case anyone who hasn’t read it, stumbles across this: there are some slight spoliers below the cut.

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger.


In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf.


With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

As far as plot goes, yes, there is this whole thing with the serial killer/newly made vampires and Victoria still seeking her revenge. But that could have been cut to three scenes – because they seem to be the only scenes about that.

For the rest of the book, we have a whole lot of talking, and back stories. And the back stories didn’t really flow as part of the story. They were written as if the person were speaking to Bella, but they included stuff that you wouldn’t say in normal conversation. Like, instead of the character saying “and then they argued about what to do with me,” it would say:

“ ‘Oh yes,’ Nettie quickly agreed, leaning toward me again.
"‘Patience,’ the brunette cautioned her. ‘I want to keep this one.’
"Nettie frowned; she seemed annoyed.

I think she either needed to phase out of the scene and have it like a flashback, or put it in the characters voice (or may be we didn't need to be know all this back story at all?). Surely, not all of them are that literary.

The only two other plots points are: Edward turning her into a vampire and the conditions surrounding it and the whole Jacob thing.

First of all, I read enough conversations about the vampire-turning in the first two books. Either do it, or stop talking in circles about it. The only thing that happens is that Bella finally agrees to marry him. I did like that their conversations finally turned to talking about sex, but I still don’t like the whole tone of Edward always being in control of the physical side of their relationship. He decides what they can and can’t do – and he’s constantly changing the rules. I don’t like the inference that she is weak because of this. That’s its okay for him to be in control and for her to constantly feel that she is somehow less than him because she has normal impulses that he is better at suppressing.

Second, the whole Jacob thing. Oh. My. God. Why? Why?

Yes, I like him as a character roughly 35 per cent of the time, i.e. when he is being her friend. The rest of the time: go away. You bore me, as does your plot line.

I hate the whole love triangle thing. If I wanted to read about an annoying girl choosing between a werewolf and a vampire, I’d read Anita Blake.

So, now we come to Bella and why I am coming to hate her. I am tired of her thinking she is somehow unworthy of Edward. I am tried of her not learning from the past, I am tired of her stubbornness. I am tired of her.

She hasn’t grown up at all from the character who completely fell to pieces when Edward left (which I hate too – such dependence is unhealthy, even in fiction). I hate that she was inconsistent to the person she supposedly can’t live without. I hate that she is uncompromising. I hate that she won’t accept gifts. I hate that she is selfish.

Usually, I would say that having so many character flaws is a good thing. That it makes the character seem real. In this case, it is just starting to make the character seem annoying, with a tendency to cry.

I can only hope that this was a deliberate ploy on the part of the author and that someone is going to give her a good slap in the next book and tell her to grow up. And stop crying.

All in all, the writing is still good and I will read the next one. I just wish she hadn’t stalled her series though by giving me a whole book of people talking in circles.

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Finished: 9/8

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Book-one-hundred-and-thirty-two: Fly on the Wall

Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything (2006)
E. Lockhart

Rating: 4/5
[The 115: 15/115]

Original, well written and very very funny.

Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything, is about a girl called Gretchen Kaufman Yee who goes to a wacked-out art school in New York City. She's a collector of plastic Chinese food and odd figurines, a passionate comic-book artist, and a crazy Spider-man fanatic. She's also completely freaked out by the opposite sex -- in particular, the Art Rats, a group of guys in her drawing concentration. One day, she wishes she could be "a fly on the wall of the boys' locker room," just to find out what the heck guys really talk about.

And the next thing she knows... she is.

A fly.

On the wall of the locker room.

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Finished: Wednesday 8/8

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Book-one-hundred-and-thirty-one: The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (2006)
Barry Lyga

Rating: 4/5
[The 155: 14/115]

Oh so good. Great writing, great story, great ending. And usually I hate endings like that.

The brainy outcast known as Fanboy has never had it good, but lately his sophomore year is turning out to be its own special hell. The bullies have made him their favorite target, his best (and only) friend seems headed for the dark side (sports and popularity), and his pregnant mother and the step-fascist are eagerly awaiting the birth of the alien life form known as Fanboy’s new little brother or sister.

But Fanboy has a secret: a graphic novel he’s been working on without telling anyone about it, a graphic novel that he is convinced will lead to publication, fame, and — most important of all — a way out of the crappy little town he lives in and the bullies that make it all hell for him.
Just when he thinks he’s doomed to be alone, Fanboy meets Kyra, a.k.a. Goth Girl, an outrageous, cynical girl who shares Fanboy’s love of comics as well as his hatred for jocks and bullies. Fanboy can’t resist someone who actually seems to understand him, and soon he finds himself willing to heed her advice — to ignore or crush anyone who stands in his way.

But Kyra has secrets, too. And they could lead Fanboy to his dreams…or down a path into his own darkness.

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Finished: Wednesday 8/8

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Book-one-hundred-and-thirty: 31 Dream Street

31 Dream Street (2007)
Lisa Jewell

Rating: 4/5
[The 115: 13/115]

So good. It’s such a great story and for once I wasn’t annoyed by the head jumping. Using I get bored with one of the characters, but in this case they were all interesting. And I just love the way she writes.

I have only read one other book by her, but I think I will have to find more… once I’ve read the other 102, obviously. Or more likely not…

WHO LIVES IN A HOUSE LIKE THIS?

An Air Hostess. A Teenager. A Wild-Haired Recluse. A Rock Chick. An Old Man. A Human Chameleon.

Leah is fascinated by the strange mix of people living across the street from her at 31 Silversmith Road. She'd give anything to find out more about them, so when their reclusive landlord approaches her unexpectedly to ask for some advice, Leah is more than willing to help.

Toby is a failed poet and incurable romantic. For fifteen years he has lived happily in his rambling house filled with waifs and strays, until a quiet tragedy and an unwelcome letter force him to admit that it is time to move on. But how will he persuade his tenants to move on? His house is their refuge. Are they ready to face the real world?

Together, Leah and Toby must help the misfits at no. 31 to grow up and move out, but in doing so can they also make their own dreams come true?

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Finished: Sunday 5/8

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Book-one-hundred-and-twenty-nine: To Distraction

To Distraction (2006)
Stephanie Laurens

Rating: 1/5
[The 115: 12/115]

Really didn’t like this. It was so long, and nothing happened for whole pages at a time. Nothing except thinking. It was so boring.

And I really didn’t get the mystery part. I don’t know, I just didn’t understand why there was so much danger surrounding it.

I guess I just didn’t get into it.

The gentlemen of the Bastion Club have proved their courage while fighting England's enemies, but nothing has prepared them for dealing with that most formidable of challenges: the opposite sex.

Deverell, Viscount Paignton, is in desperate need of a wife. Unmoved by the matchmaking 'herd', he seeks help from his aunt, who directs him to a lady she vows is perfect for him. Dispatched to a country house party to look the lady over, he discovers her not swanning about among the guests but with her nose buried in a book in the library.

Phoebe Malleson is tempted to distraction by Deverell, but marrying him isn't part of her plan. Moved by an incident in her past, Phoebe has a secret cause to which she's committed. Unfortunately, telling Deverell to go away doesn't work, and he quickly learns of her secret. But someone powerful has her cause targeted for destruction - and her in their sights. Phoebe must accept Deverell's help... though the cost to them both might be dear - and deadly.

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Finished: Saturday 4/8

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Book-one-hundred-and-twenty-eight: Daisy’s Back in Town

Daisy’s Back in Town (2004)
Rachel Gibson

Rating: 2/5

The whole plot is based on the fact that fifteen years ago she picked on of her best friends over the other; I just kept wondering why she had to pick either…

Daisy Monroe’s back in town – and one person in Lovett, Texas can’t forget it.

He loves her.

Jackson Lamott Parrish thought he’d seen the back of her when she ran off with his best friend years ago. He vowed then he’d never let a woman get close to him again, and he’s been breaking hearts ever since.

He loves her not…

But Daisy has a secret, one she can only confess to Jackson. So why is he the one person staying well out of her way?

He loves her?

An absolute roller-coaster of a romance, this is an addictive novel from Rachel Gibson about what happens when you fall in love… with the boy next door.

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Finished: Thursday 2/8

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Book-one-hundred-and-twenty-seven: He Loves Lucy

He Loves Lucy (2005)
Susan Donovan

Rating: 2/5

This has a couple of really awkward, cringe worthy moments – with the writing as well as the some of the actual scenes. But I do like that it takes place over a year, rather than a few days.

Hmm, this is the second book in a row where the heroine is called Lucy...

Most women would KILL to have round the clock access to personal trainer/demi-god Theo Redmond.

But Lucy Cunningham’s starting to wish she’d never laid eyes on him!
When marketing exec Lucy pitched the idea of a reality TV show in which Theo took a ‘fitness-challenged’ woman, and turned her from flabby to fabulous, she wasn’t planning on being the star. But then, she reasons, she could stand to lose a few pounds, only not with the whole of Miami and gorgeous Theo watching. But again for every pound she loses she gains big bucks…

As Lucy sweats her way into a whole new life, things start to heat up between her and Theo. But what can a chocoholic and a gym bunny possibly have in common? Or could Lucy and Theo be about to discover that appearances can be deceptive – and true love lies somewhere between pizza and Pilates?

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Finished: Thursday 2/8

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Book-one-hundred-and-twenty-six: Sex, Lies and Online Dating

Sex, Lies and Online Dating (2006)
Rachel Gibson

Rating: 2/5

Opps. I fell off the no book buying wagon. That didn’t take long…

Anyway, this is alright, but not that much really happens. And the main character makes a couple of really stupid mistakes for someone who is supposed to be something of a expert on crime.

HE’S the undercover cop on the hunt for a female serial killer… who’s not expecting to lose his heart.

SHE’S the thriller writer researching her next book, who doesn’t realise she’s under surveillance… by Mr Right..

When Quinn McIntyre has to pose as an internet dater to woo the chief suspect in a murder case, the last thing on his mind is falling in love.

But Lucy Rothschild just doesn’t seem the killing kind – does she?

Before too long, and against all his better instincts, Quinn finds he could be getting in too deep.

An addictive novel about how the last person you should get involved with… could be the first person you fall for.

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Finished: Wednesday 1/8

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Book one-hundred-and-twenty-five: Beauty Like the Night

Beauty Like the Night (2000)
Liz Carlyle

Rating: 2.75/5
[The 115: 11 /115]

Good. Although a little weird, because I have already read a book written later, with some of the same characters. So I kind of already knew what was going to happen. But it was still interesting to read.

The daughter of London’s wickedest widow, Helene de Severs has learned to govern her own reckless emotions. Renowned within Europe’s emerging field of psychiatric medicine, Helene has a gift for healing children. When fate sends her back to the village she once left in disgrace, Helene is confident she can govern her own reckless emotions, too.

The Earl of Treyhern has dragged his family back from the brink of ruin. But a disastrous marriage has left him with a traumatized child, and his rebellious brother Bentley is just one step ahead of the bailiffs. When his father drops dead while debauching the governess, Treyhern’s famous self-control almost snaps. Desperately in need of a good governess, Treyhern hires the very best. And when Helene steps down from his carriage, his resolve is truly tested—by a rush of desire he’d long thought dead.

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Finished: Wednesday 1/8

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Book one-hundred-and-twenty-four: A Place Called Here

A Place Called Here (2006)
Cecelia Ahern

Rating: 1.5/5
[The 115: 10 /115]

Weird, depressing and a little slow.

The main character (or one of them) was really un-likable too. Actually, pretty much all you heard about this character, including from her own thoughts, was how un-likable she was. How broken and selfish and beyond help.

Why would you want to spend 300 plus pages with that is beyond me. It was just depressing.

It was an interesting concept, but I think it was a little too slow to be successful.

All that being said, it is well written. And I wouldn’t mind reading something else written by her, if it wasn’t so depressing. And it really does have a beautiful cover.

Since Sandy Shortt’s childhood classmate disappeared twenty years ago, Sandy has been obsessed with missing things. Finding becomes her goal- whether it’s the sock that vanished in the washing machine, the car keys she misplaced or the graver issue of finding the people who vanish from their lives. Sandy dedicates her life to finding these missing people, offering devastated families a flicker of hope.

Jack Ruttle is one of those desperate people. It’s been a year since his brother Donal vanished into thin air. Thinking Sandy Shortt could well be the answer to his prayers, he embarks on a quest to find her.

But when Sandy goes missing too, she stumbles upon the place - and people - she’s been looking for all her life. A world away from her loved ones and the home she ran from for so long, Sandy soon resorts to her old habit again, searching. Though this time, she is desperately trying to find her way home…

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Finished: Tuesday 31/7

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Book one-hundred-and-twenty-three: Staying at Daisy’s

Staying at Daisy’s (2007/2002)
Jill Mansell

Rating: 3/5
[The 115: 9/155]

Good, but having so many point-of-view characters and storylines made it a bit slow at times. The dialogue, as always, was very funny and made it worth the wait to find out what happens to each character.

Daisy MacLean runs the country house hotel owned by her flamboyant father, Hector. When she hears who's about to get married there, she isn't worried at all - her friend Tara absolutely promises there won't be any trouble between her and ex-boyfriend Dominic, whom she hasn't seen for years. But Dominic has other ideas...

Meanwhile, Hector's getting up to all sorts with...well, that's the village's best kept secret. And then Barney turns up, with a little something belonging to the husband Daisy's been doing her best to forget.

That's the thing about hotels, you never know who you're going to meet. Or whether they're going to stay...

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Finished: Monday 30/7

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Book one-hundred-and-twenty-two: Goodnight Nobody

Goodnight Nobody (2005)
Jennifer Weiner

Rating: 3/5
[The 115: 8/155]

At first I was really disappointment with this book because it has a bit of an unfinished ending. Then I decided that an unfinished ending was better than an ending I didn’t like.

I just thought it was a weird decision to write a book about a character who never really makes a decision, end with her not making a decision. It kind of feels like the main character hasn’t learnt anything.

For Kate Klein, a semi-accidental mother of three, suburbia's been full of unpleasant surprises. Her once-loving husband is hardly ever home. The supermommies on the playground routinely snub her. Her days are spent carpooling and enduring endless games of Candy Land, and at night, most of her orgasms are of the do-it-yourself variety.

When a fellow mother is murdered, Kate finds that the unsolved mystery is one of the most interesting things to happen in Upchurch since her neighbors broke ground for a guesthouse and cracked their septic tank. Even though Kate's husband and the police chief warn her that crime-fighting's a job best left to professionals, she can't let it go.

So Kate launches an unofficial investigation — from 8:45 to 11:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when her kids are in nursery school — with the help of her hilarious best friend, carpet heiress Janie Segal, and Evan McKenna, a former flame she thought she'd left behind in New York City.

As the search for the killer progresses, Kate is drawn deeper into the murdered woman's double life. She discovers the secrets and lies behind Upchurch's placid picket-fence facade — and the choices and compromises all modern women make as they navigate between independence and obligation, small towns and big cities, being a mother and having a life of one's own.

So, it was good, but a more decisive ending would have made it better. According to the author’s website, she intentionally resolved the mystery but not the main character’s life. She may revisit the characters in a future book.

That’s annoyingly ambiguous… much like the ending.

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Finished: Sunday 29/7

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Book one-hundred-and-twenty-one: Pleasure for Pleasure

Pleasure for Pleasure (2006)
Eloisa James

Rating: 3/5
[The 115: 7/115]

Yay! Mayne finally gets a book of his very own. That poor character has been dragged about and taken the blame to save everyone’s reputation for two series now. I’m glad he finally got his own say.

Overall, I liked this series better than the Dutchess Quartet. I think it has more cohesion and better pacing. I also liked the characters more and felt there was more variety in the plots of the four instalments. The similarities to Shakespeare throughout the series are also very interesting.

Pleasure for Pleasure's heroine, Josephine Essex, is quick of wit and lush with unfashionable curves. Nicknamed “The Scottish Sausage” within a week of her debut on the marriage market, her chances of matrimony look dim. So Josie does what no proper young lady should – she challenges fate. She allows the scandalous Earl of Mayne to take her under his tutelage, discards her corset and flirts outrageously…

Shakespeare 's play title, Measure for Measure, refers to a person receiving the punishment they deserve. In this novel, Josie gives precisely what she deserves: Pleasure for Pleasure.

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Finished: Saturday 28/7

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Book one-hundred-and-twenty: The Taming of the Duke

The Taming of the Duke (2006)
Eloisa James

Rating: 3/5
[The 115: 6/115]

Okay, I change my mind. I like Imogen now – or more correctly I like the person that she became.

Imogen, Lady Maitland, has decided to dance on the wild side. After all, she's in the delicious position of being able to take a lover. A discreet male who knows just when to leave in the morning.

But Lady Maitland is still under the watchful eye of her former guardian, the wildly untamed Rafe, the Duke of Holbrook. He believes she is still in need of a "watchdog." She laughs at the idea that someone so insufferably lazy and devoted to drink can demand that she behave with propriety.

It's Rafe's long-lost brother, a man who looks precisely like the duke but with none of his degenerate edge, who interests Imogen. To Imogen, he's the shadow duke...the man who really should hold the title.

But when Imogen agrees to accompany Gabe to a masquerade... whose masked eyes watch her with that intense look of desire? Who exactly is she dancing with? The duke or the shadow duke?

Rafe...or Gabe?

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Finished: Friday 27/7

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Book one-hundred-and-nineteen: Kiss Me Annabel

Kiss Me Annabel (2005)
Eloisa James

Rating: 3/5
[The 115: 5/115]

Very funny, although I’m really starting to hate Imogen. I find her very irritating and am not really looking forward to the next book, which seems to be about her.


What cruel twist of fate put Miss Annabel Essex in a carriage on her way to Scotland (the place she abhors) with a penniless earl (and she longs to be rich), and all the world thinking they're man and wife?

Sleeping in the same bed? Not to mention the game of words started by the earl – in which the prize is a kiss. And the forfeit…

Well. They are almost married, after all...

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Finished: Friday 27/7

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Book one-hundred-and-eighteen: Much Ado About You

Much Ado About You (2004)
Eloisa James

Rating: 2.5/5
[The 115: 4/115]

Too much series building, but still entertaining.

Teresa Essex has a unique lot in life. Actually…she’d rather prefer that lots were not mentioned. She knows far too much about playing the odds: her widowed father gambled away any spare penny owned by their family. Shillings that should have been spent on gowns and governesses for Tess and her three younger sisters were spent keeping her father’s horses in proper condition for the race track.

When their father dies, the sisters become the wards of the Duke of Holbrook who knows far more about brandy snifters than children. But Tess’s challenges have just begun. With nothing more than a horse each for a dowry, and a drunken duke as a chaperone, she and her sisters must achieve respectable marriages.

In the manner of romantic heroines from the time of Jane Austen, Tess must make a decision whether to marry for financial, prudent reasons, or to follow her heart. But unlike those tales in which heroines prudently make the correct decision, whatever that might be, here fate steps in and Tess must learn a hard lesson: not how to play at love, but how to play at that most serious of pursuits…

Marriage.

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Finished: Thursday 26/7

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