Book thirty-six: After Eight

After Eight* (2007)
Meg Cabot

Rating: 3.5/5

I had kind of given up on this series. The first three were really good, but it felt like there should have only been those three. In fact, I remember reading on Meg Cabot’s website years ago that there were only three planned in the series. All the storylines were finished off nicely.

Then, after the movie, suddenly there were more books to come in the series (I think I read that there will be ten or something). The forth was pointless. So was the fifth through seventh – I don’t really remember what happened in them.

I guess, it’s hard to write a series that is basically just a romance with some princess lessons, when the main characters already got together at the end of the third. All that was left for plots seemed to be angst, self-doubt, and breaking up, for no reason. There was no real conflict.

They were still well written (I’m not sure I’ve ever read anything that was badly written by her), but they weren’t anywhere near as good as her other series – which all seemed planned out and intended.

So, I was surprised that this book had CONFLICT, and that it was the good and reasonable kind. Not the sort that made me want to shake Mia and tell her to grow up. (Although, I guess ‘cause she was thirteen in the first, and is now sixteen, maybe she is starting to grow up.)

The conflict in After Eight (which is called something different in the U.S., I think Princess on the Brink**) surrounds Michael deciding that he is going to go off to Japan for a year or more to prove he is worthy of being Mia’s boyfriend (something some members of her family and the general readership of U.S. Weekly disagree with). He is going to work on some kind of robot that will help in heart surgery. However, he doesn’t realise that while he is off saving all these other hearts, he’s breaking Mia’s.

One of the things I like most about this series is that Michael always acts like a teenage boy: slightly (and seemingly unintentionally) insensitive to the feelings of others. I like the fact that he is so reasonable and logical, while Mia is so emotional and a little neurotic.

I really liked this, which surprises me because I wasn’t expecting to. I am actually looking forward to reading the next one – something that I haven’t felt since the second.

---

* Finished 28/4

** You see, us Australian and U.K. readers are terrible at remembering the order of series. A catchy tie-in title with the number in it really helps us out!

Actually, I have no idea why they have different names (apart from the fact they obviously have different publishers), but Meg Cabot’s Mediator series is also like this.

more...

Book thirty-five: The Marriage Bed

The Marriage Bed* (2005)
Laura Lee Guhrke

Rating: 2.25/5

This is a pretty good historical. The plot is a little more original than what I have read lately and it has some good dialogue.


Although they have been married for eight years, John Hammond and his wife Viola have not seen each other for over a year. Until John’s cousin and his son – his heirs – die and force him to have his own. With his wife who refuses to be in the same room as him.

It was interesting finding out what happened to create this situation. But I do think that John’s a bit of a bastard for a bit too much of the book. He doesn’t seem to understanding why she’s angry at him. This annoyed me. But I got over it enough to enjoy the book anyway.

It had good angst and they were both likeable in their own way, I suppose.

---

* Finished 25/4

more...

Book thirty-four: One Whole and Perfect Day

One Whole and Perfect Day* (2006)
Judith Clarke

Rating: 3.25/5

Yes, yes, I wasn’t supposed to buy anymore books until I’ve read the ones I have (Ha! Like that will ever happen). But really, who can turn down 20 percent off, plus a further 15 percent on top of that? Somebody stronger than me, that’s who.

I’m glad I bought this though (let’s just pretend I bough one book for now**), it was funny and very sweet. And Australian.

A whole and perfect day isn’t something that Lily’s had a lot of her. Her father ran back to America before she was born, her mother keeps bringing home patients from the aged care centre where she works, her grandmother has an imaginary friend, and her grandfather recently threatened her brother – who is a bit loony himself – with an axe before disowning him.

So, when her grandmother decides to throw her grandfather an eighth birthday party – and invite the whole family – it doesn’t seem like its going to go well either. But all of a sudden, Lily wants it too. She wants her whole and perfect day.

The story passes through all these points of view and a few more characters. It’s kind of like watching a movie. You get all these snippets from all these people’s lives.

Thankfully, most people are referred to in terms of Lily, the 16 year old “main” character so it’s not too confusing. I wouldn’t exactly call her the main character though – others have the same, if not more, “screen time,” but she is at the centre of the web of connections of all these people.

This book has some incredibly sad moments – like when her grandfather wakes up in the middle of the night and suddenly realises he can’t remember the colour of his mother’s eyes. But it is also really sweet at the same time.

There are only two things that annoyed me about this book.

First, it was never clear where people are geographically. We know that Lily’s grandparents live in the blue mountains, and the name of the suburb where her brother lives (somewhere in Sydney). But I just found this kind of distracting that I kept trying to figure out where everyone was and how far apart they lived. I didn’t want a map – just a little more clarification. (Eventually the suburbs are named, and you kind of work it out, but I spent way too long being distracted by trying to place everyone).

The other thing is the use of coincidence and dreams foreshadowing things that happen later. There are way too many to be believable. But I still kind of want to believe, so I guess it works.

---

* Finished 25/4

** Am I the only one who can’t just buy one book? It’s like I think they’ll get lonely if I don’t buy more than one. I’ve found three is best.

Although in this case I bought four.

Did I mention the discount?

more...

Book thirty-three: The Dead Girls’ Dance

The Dead Girls’ Dance* (2007)
Rachel Caine

Rating: 4.25/5

Finally! A book that was well written and had a good plot.

The Dead Girls’ Dance, the second in the Morganville Vampires series, picks up right where The Glass House (2006) left off. And I mean right after: glue these two together and you have one book.

Well, almost. I have a feeling you would have to glue the next in the series on the back of this one to get the full book. (I really want to read the next one. At least I only have to wait until August – it’s called Midnight Alley).

The second book continues the story of Claire, a 16 year old who got into college on earlier admission. After discovering Morganville’s secret – basically that vampires own and run the town, and if you’re not loyal to one of them, your fair game – she ended up living at the Glass house, with Micheal (who’s always disappearing), Eve (an over-the-top Goth), and Shane (unemployed bad boy). Their adventures continue…

The only thing I didn’t like about it was that the title and the back cover are kind of misleading. The back of the book almost gives some things away, although maybe I was the only one who spent the first three quarters thinking, “they have to be alright, because they’ve got to go to that dance, right? Right?”

This book is great. It’s well written with a fast moving plot and very likeable characters (and some quite un-likeable ones too). I like that the good/bad lines are becoming more and more blurred as the series continues. It’s very hard for them to know who to trust – although I have to say that I think sometimes, Claire a little too trusting. I think this is going to get her into trouble.

Did I mention I would like to read the next one now?

---

* Finished 20/4

more...

Book thirty-two: Hawksong

Hawksong* (2003)
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Rating: 1.75/5**

This book was frustrating for the complete opposite reason number thirty-one was: it had a good idea for a plot, but was let down by the writing.

Two distinct shape shifter species – the avain’s and the serpiente’s – have been at war for as long as anyone can remember. The future leaders of both species – Danica and Zane are determined to end the conflict no matter what the personal cost.

This book has an interesting premise. It has a kind of star-crossed lovers thing going on, only without the love. Danica and Zane decide that they must marry – or whatever the crazy equivalent words were in this book – against their families wishes to secure peace.

The writing style was overly formal, to the point were sentences seemed to be written backward. A couple of times I actually had to pause, read the sentence a few times, re-order it so I could make sense of it, then move on.

It also suffered from the fact that the hook – them getting married for their cause – did occur until almost three quarters of the way in. The fact is, we know they are going to get married (the back of the book pretty much told me so), so why make me struggle through all that just to get to what I wanted to read about.

Another thing that I found frustrating was the lack of explanation of the world. I mean, I don’t like to sit there and read a thousand words of explanation (or God forbid a glossary) before I can understand enough to start reading, but I did find this very confusing at times. I think this might be because there was an earlier series in the same world? I’m not sure.

Atwater-Rhodes published her first novel at fourteen and this one at nineteen. I do wonder how her writing has changed (and perhaps improved) since the first in the series and the most recent. But if this is an indication of the quality, I don’t think I could be bothered to find out.

---

* Finished 20/4

** When I was looking for a picture of the cover, I found a couple of reviews of people who really, really liked it. I mean, I knew before I read it there were people who liked it – I had bought it after I read someone’s recommendation somewhere – I just didn’t realise they liked it that much. One person even wrote something to the effect that this was the best book they’d ever read.

This always makes me wonder if I’ve been too harsh. Or was maybe too tired, or too cranky, or too something when I read it. But then again, this is just my opinion right? I shouldn’t doubt it, but I do admit it changes from day to day.

more...

Book thirty-one: Talk Nerdy to Me

Talk Nerdy to Me* (2006)
Vicki Lewis Thompson

Rating: 1.75/5

Frustrating.

This author is soooooo frustrating. She writes well, but the plots annoy me. It’s not even the characters – although, that said they were annoying at times – it’s the unbelievable-ness of it all.

Which is weird coming from someone who likes unbelievable things. But you have to make them a little bit believable.

Confused?

So am I.

Talk Nerdy to Me tells the story of Eve, a fashion-model-slash-secret-genius-inventor who is working on creating a – wait for it – hovercraft that can be run on environmentally sound fuel**. After an experiment gone wrong where she blows up an engine and almost herself, Charlie, a local engineer comes to the rescue.

Sparks of a different kind now fly.

Enter a cousin and his two helpful assistants, a crazy neighbour who thinks she was abducted by aliens, Charlie’s mother and aunt and their kooky bakery, Eve’s pretentious genius sister and you’ve got your story. And possibly too many characters.

I’m not sure what I didn’t like about this book. It’s well written. It has some funny dialogue and the characters are likeable enough, I suppose.

I think I just had trouble getting past the fact that I didn’t think her cutting edge invention was all that cutting edge. And I also didn’t understand the reason behind why it was so valuable. Oh, I didn’t mention but that’s kind of the plot: Eve and Charlie working together trying to finish the invention, so they can get it patented and protect Eve’s intellectual property while someone sabotages their efforts.

Ok, I still have one more book in this series (purchased in the three for $12 sale or whatever it was), so she has one more chance to get a good plot. Because I’m sure this author would find me not buying one of their books again to be a devastating blow. Uhuh.

---

* Finished 19/4

** It was at this stage I flicked to the front of the book to see when it was published… oh wait, 2006, not 1996. Hmm, interesting. Is the idea of vegetable oil for fuel a recent one? And hovercrafts? Huh? I’m confused, because I thought that was possible too. Or maybe I just watched too much Beyond 2000 as a child.

more...

Book thirty: Wild Seed

Wild Seed* (1980)
Octavia E. Butler

Rating: 4/5

This book was fascinating.

Doro and Anyanwu have one thing in common: they both live while those around them die. Doro survives by invading the bodies of others, Anyanwu by healing herself.

In his never ending search to breed a species with talents like his own, Doro convinces Anyanwu to leave her native Africa and travel with him to America. This begins their century’s long struggle to come to terms with each other. They clash time and again because of their very different morals, but are always drawn back together by their desire to not be alone.

I found this book incredibly compelling. Butler created an entirely convincing monster in Doro. I was scared of him, but I still wanted to read about him. I suppose to try and understand him.

I wouldn’t exactly say I liked either Doro or Anyanwu, but I did want them both to get what they wanted. I suppose this book is about survival, and I did want them both to survive.

I can’t even begin to think how anyone could have convinced of the plot. Bulter must have had a very, very, very good imagination.

This book did have weird pacing. It would focus on a certain few weeks, days or even hours, then skip past hundreds of years. I suppose this is because of its scope (and it is a fairly short book), but I did find that the ending was pretty rushed.

It’s still fascinating though.

---

* Finished 14/4

more...

Book twenty-nine: Blue Moon

Blue Moon (2004)
Lori Handeland

Rating: 2.25/5

In my continuing quest to read this series in entirely the wrong order, this is the first book. I have already read the sixth and forth (in that order). You know why I think I have been so confused? The listing at the front of the book looks like it is in reverse order. Then to make it even more confusing, some people list them as two separate series.

So, I’m going straight to the source and trusting that as she wrote them, she knows what order they are supposed to be read in.

It doesn’t really matter that much in terms of the plot of the book – in this instalment, Jessie, a local cop is sent to investigate a car accident. When she gets there she finds the driver is uninjured except for a wolf bite. Jessie decides to track the injured wolf into the woods, but finds nothing but a naked man.

But I guess I did already know a bit about the minor characters before they were introduced. Which perhaps explains some of my impatience with it at times.

It was an good mystery – and thankfully didn’t involve my least favourite character, the Voodoo princess of long exposition – and fast paced for the most part. Although I think Handeland has a habit of dragging out the disbelief too much. Usually the main character (who is clueless about the whole werewolf deal*) spends way too long wandering through trying to solve the mystery without knowing anything about it.

And maybe if I had read these books in the correct order, it wouldn’t have mattered so much, but I think that the evolution of the relationship between the two main characters and Jessie’s opinions on werewolves very closely mirrored Crescent Moon. And in both cases it took way too long.

---

* I don’t think the fact that this is about werewolves to a spoiler. I mean, just look at the cover. What did you think it’s about…bunnies? (That’s what I get for watching one too many repeats of Buffy, as Anya said “what do they need such good night vision for anyway?”)

more...

Book twenty-eight: The Nerd Who Loved Me

The Nerd Who Loved Me* (2004)
Vicki Lewis Thompson

Rating: 2.25/5

This book was entertaining, but was also slightly disappointing. While the writing style was fun and easy to read, I think the plot was a bit light.

When Harry agrees to look after Lainie’s near-genius son Dexter while she works her shift as a Vegas showgirl, he doesn’t realise that he will soon be on the run from Lainie’s ex-boyfriend – and Dexter’s father – Joe. In an attempt to keep Dexter safe Harry and Lainie decide to go check out some time share apartments (for the free accommodation) while Harry’s mother (a retired showgirl) looks after the kid.

Obviously, madcap hilarity ensues.

It seemed to drag a bit in the later half and it also seemed that each character had only one motivation for their actions. Sure, everyone had a different motivation of their very own – but they only seemed to act under that one motivation.

And repeat it over, and over, and over again to themselves.

Parts of the plot were unrealistic, but that’s not entirely unexpected in a contemporary romance. I think my lack of understanding of American family law might also have contributed to this initially and it’s never really explained (I guess it would be boring for U.S. readers if it was). Although I do think it’s interesting that one parent can’t move with a child to another state, without the written permission of the other parent. I wonder if this is all states, or just certain ones? Very weird.

Also, I do get annoyed with books that try and do the whole “we can’t be together for a very good reason” plot, but then don’t quite pull it off. I guess part of making this feasible would mean that both characters be aware that the other has feelings for them – without this ever actually being confirmed – but I think it is unrealistic that either character would be so sure that the other one was in love with them.

All that being said, it was entertaining and readable. The characters were only slightly annoying. This is part of a series, that isn’t really a series… I guess it is more of a collection by the author. I will try a few more of them – mostly because I already bought them in a three for $14 sale – but also because I think it was just the plot, and not the writing that let her down here, so I’d be interested to try something else she’d written.

---

* Finished Tuesday, April 10

more...

Book twenty-seven: Houston We Have a Problem

Houston We Have a Problem* (2004)
Erin McCarthy

Rating: 2.5/5
[Re-reading]

Funny, enjoyable and a little ridiculous: this book has great dialogue and likeable characters.


Plus, one of the characters is actually called Huston. Possibly only so they could have this title.

---

* Finished Sunday, April 8

more...

Book twenty-six: The Taste of Innocence

A Taste of Innocence* (2007)
Stephanie Laurens

Rating: 2/5

It was okay. Readable, but nothing great.

A Taste of Innocence focuses on the relationship of Charlie. Charlie has decided – as 95.69 percent of Lauren’s hero’s do, that it is ‘time to take a wife.’ His obvious – and to him, only – choice is Sarah, his neighbour who although he does not love, he has known since childhood. Sarah – who coincidently is in love with Charlie – decides that they need to get to know each other better and if they both agree will marry at the end of their four week courtship.

This is a Cynster novel, by way of Charlie being Alathea’s from A Secret Love, younger brother. In that novel, Alathea and Rupert (known as Gabriel) through a series of events wind up together – they have known each other since childhood. She’s always had a bit of thing for her. He’s always had a bit of thing for her. But they deny it. To themselves and others.

That pretty much describes the plot here also.

This is the problem with this book. I can pick up the plot points from the Lauren’s books I’ve read. And I haven’t really read that many.

Maybe I’ve just read the wrong ones? Because their relationship in the later half of the book is very similar to the one in Scandal’s Bride. They even both have a fire.

I think my main problem is that the original books were much better than this patchworked one. It was still readable, but it just wasn’t that great.

It also had the very Kinley MacGregor like plot of “he loves me, he just doesn’t realise it! I will go on being nice and spineless no matter what he does because one day he will realise it…sure, he won’t really make it up to me, but who cares, he loves me!”

I think I spent the whole send half of the book waiting for her to stand up to him. But no matter how much he hurts her feelings, she doesn’t really do anything about it. I don’t think turning him down twice and a yelling at him for two minutes count.

Once I realised she wasn’t going to stand up to him, I was just bored.

---

* Finished Sunday, April 8

more...

Book twenty-five: The Rouseabout

The Rouseabout* (2007)
Rachel Treasure

Rating: 2.75/5

It is really refreshing to read a book about someone from not only the same country, but also around the same age.

Kate Webster is your typical irresponsible early twenty-something. Her wreckless nature, however, doesn’t sit well with her role as a mother to her three year old daughter, Nell. After the latest clash, Kate is forced to accept a transfer back to her home town in Tasmania, and back to the mess she left behind.

Four years earlier had gone to the mainland for university and also to escape the consequences of a dare that saw her successfully scalp Nick McDonnell at a B&S, but also wind up pregnant in the process**.

She returns to the find the rift between her and her father that began with her mother’s death has widened and that while her brother and best friend are around and willing to help, they seem to have become strangely responsible.

On that note, I thought most of the younger characters end up acting very maturely for their ages. I know that the things the characters are doing – getting married, having children – is not that unusual in your early twenties. I don’t know, maybe I have been living in the city for too long.

I guess this is the reason why the shelves of the popular fiction lean more towards characters in their thirties – I suppose you are more able to believe that if a thirty-five year old decides to marry someone they are likely to stick at it. You can trust your happily ever after… although with divorce rates being what they are, probably not.

I will admit that I wanted to shake and/or slap Kate at times and some of the things she did made me cringe (such as drinking when she was pregnant). But I did like her by the end. I think that her irresponsibility at the beginning made her character more realistic as well as more interesting. While selfish characters usually annoy me no end, she wasn’t completely oblivious to the feelings of others and she did try.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this is the setting. I feel like I have stepped back to my childhood for a while, particularly with this one as the beginning was set in Orange, which is kind of near where I grew up… well, five hours away, but it’s closer than 99.9 percent of the books I read!

I also enjoyed being able to read a bit of Australian slang… although a couple of the descriptions which involved way too many comparisons to farming I could have done without.

---

* Finished Saturday, April 6

** You later learn that Kate didn’t think she would get pregnant from the encounter because Nick was so young (he was seventeen at the time). Leaving aside the fact that it was possibly illegal (as Kate was over eighteen), I find it hard to believe that anyone these days would believe that age is an impediment to getting pregnant. Particularly someone from the country.

more...

Book twenty-four: The Next Thing on My List

The Next Thing on My List* (2007)
Jill Smolinski

Rating: 2.5/5

My trip to the airport bookshop on Good Friday made me realise a couple of things.


First of all, book buying is slightly bewildering when done before 9 am. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever bought a book before noon before.

Second, I have a sneaking suspicion that I “accidentally on purpose” forgot to get the book I had planned on reading out of my suitcase before I checked in. I am on a slight-book buying ban (as in, I shouldn’t buy any more books til I read the ones I have, but if I see one that I want, I can still justify it to myself), so I think my subconscious outsmarted me.

Finally, and probably of most interestingly, there seems to be a trend in book blurbs that I had never noticed before. The blurb of 99.9 percent of the books I picked up** went something like this: “Name, age, description of life/situation (usually beginning with martial status)…”

For example, “Suzy Smith, 35, thought that when her marriage… etc. etc.”

Amusingly, they did this for EVERY character that was introduced… so it would be “Suzy Smith, 35, thought that when her marriage to Lincoln Lane, 58…”

It was like reading an article in NW. Hmm, actually maybe the people who write the back cover’s think their target market are the readers of NW and that this kind of continuity would comfort us.

The Next Thing on My List follows June Parker, 34, single… sorry, couldn’t resist. One night on her way home from her weight watchers meeting, June decides to do a good deed, and offer Marissa, 24, a ride home. Unfortunately for both of them, the trip ends in tragedy when Marissa is killed in a freak accident.

June can’t help feeling she is to blame and becomes deeply depressed.

Six months after Marissa’s death, June visits her grave and though she tries to avoid it, ends up talking to Marissa’s older brother. June admits to him that after the accident she found a list Marissa had made of twenty things she wanted to do before her 25th birthday. Out of guilt – and embarrassment – June promises to complete the list herself.

This serves as a good premise, as we follow June through completing such tasks as kissing a stranger, running a 5k, and more challenging, changing someone’s life. It kind of felt like an episode of My Name Is Earl, only there was no Randy and more Issues.

I thought this was well written and I found my self drawn into June’s story despite the early hour. However as much I liked the first part of the book, I found the last quarter really let the whole thing down.

Smolinski did a great job of setting the whole thing up, but I felt in the end both June and the author took the easy way out.

I’m not a huge fan of books where they set you up to have an expectation of what is going to happen, then go for the easier solution. I’m not saying that every book should have a perfectly clichéd ending, but it just felt like that Smolinski realised that she was going to have to work quite hard to pull off what she had set up, so she switched it to an easier resolution.

And in the end June got off easier as well. So in a way, I felt the more clichéd ending would have resulted in more character development and a more interesting life than what she ended up with.

The last two chapters were very abrupt in the change in direction and this made the ending feel rushed. However, this starts strong and is well written, so I’d be interested to read more by the author.

---

* Read Friday, April 6

** Though I was going for the brightly coloured ones, of course. It was much, much too early to consider anything else.

more...

Book twenty-three: Serendipity

Serendipity* (2007)
Melanie La’Brooy

Rating: 3.5/5

I sort-of liked her first book, liked her second, and really liked this. I guess this means I might sort-of love her next, and we can work our way up from there?

This book was filled with witty dialogue and lovable characters. The only thing that stopped it from being better was the sterotypicalness (not a word, but try and stay with me) of the two main male characters.

On the one hand you had Oscar: charming, whimsical, funny, loving, and seemingly carefree. The other, Pelham: snobbish, stuffy, annoying, censoring, and boring.

Obviously, the main point of the plot was for the main character, Hero, to choose between the two.

Ummm… this would have worked much better if the choice was harder. I don’t like when the author makes it easy for themselves by making the character’s choice so obvious. It’s annoying.

There were some back stories that explained why the characters made the decisions they did, and there was some attempts by La’Brooy to show that Pelham wasn’t that bad, it was just his relationship with Hero that bought out these bad characteristic. But I think that giving a character only bad characteristics through the eyes of the person who is supposedly in love, makes it seem highly unrealistic that they would stay with them.

Okay, sure, people stay with people they don’t love all the time in real life, I just think that when the plot of a book is about choosing between two people, you have to make that choice a little harder or the effort of reading about it seems wasted.

I know it is unlikely (and probably would have been dissatisfying) if La’Brooy had gone against the stereotype and had Hero make the unobvious choice at the end, but I would have liked it to have been a little harder for her to chose.

Also, Oscar seemed a bit too naive to live at times in the first half of the book, but he does toughen up towards the end.

Overall, the book is saved by the dialogue. It had me laughing out loud more than once, and come on, any book with a singing telegram dressed as a gorilla, has to be good, right?

This book is also very pretty on the inside. It has a really nice type setting or whatever that is called. It is very easy to read - espcially after the dark, smugy, teeny tiny print of some of the books I have read lately. Although the type of book that leaves ink on your fingers is usually half the price of a pretty one like this, so I guess its to be expected.

On a completely unrelated note, I am very annoyed that going back to work has reduced my book consumption from an average of two a day, to two a week. If only I didn’t need my pay to buy the books, I would do away with the job and concentrate on the reading.

---

* Finished on Tuesday, 3rd April.

more...

Book twenty-two: Delicious

Delicious* (2006)
Jami Alden

Rating: 1.25/5

Can I just say the title lies: this book isn’t all that delicious. It does have some okay angst moments towards the end.

I bought this book online, not really knowing too much about it. I think it was recommended on a blog somewhere. It did come with a highly embarrassing warning on the back “WARNING! This is a REALLY HOT book. (Sexually Explicit).” Of course my mother read this. Of course she then decided she would read the book. She said “it was alright. It was racy, but nothing too bad.” Thanks mum.

I had a lot of trouble getting into this book. I thought the beginning was too much thinking, not enough other stuff. I really could have done without having to read back story, motivations, thinking, musing etc. all in the first few chapters, with not much else happening.

I also think that if she was going to do the whole “they met once, then meet again, oh my!” plot, she should have give us their first meeting as a prologue. Because it was very annoying to feel like you weren’t getting the inside joke because you didn’t know what had went on… but then, I guess if she had done that, the near constant references would have been more tiring.

The characters were okay. Meanwhile, I think I’m obsessed at the moment with character likeability. It’s all I ever talk about.

I will admit that the only thing that kept me reading for the first six or so chapters was the warning on the back, and the fact that nothing in the first half of the book requires that warning. Heh.

The last quarter was where things actually got better, which is what earned it a higher rating in the end. There was a bit of angst and I was actually kind of concerned about the characters.

I only just remembered when I was doing the tags for this post, that there is actually this whole stalker thing going on.

---

* Finished Saturday, March 31st.

more...

Book twenty-one: Mouth to Mouth

Mouth to Mouth* (2005)
Erin McCarthy

Rating: 2.75/5

I think this is one of the best books I have read by her.

I really liked it – the characters were likable (I’m obsessed with that, aren’t I?), the dialogue was good, it was funny, and it was slightly original.

The main character being deaf added a really good dimension to what otherwise could have been a run of the mill romance. And I think McCarthy makes good use of the secondary characters here.

The mystery/crime element was also well done. It actually had a surprising twist at the end.

---

* Finished reading: Saturday, 24/3

more...

Book twenty: What the Lady Wants

What the Lady Wants* (1994)
Jennifer Crusie

Rating: 3.5/5

Ahh, Jennifer Crusie... need I say more?

This is an older book of Crusie’s – I think her third published – and its surprising how much her style had already developed. You can just tell by reading it that she wrote it. Stuff that would probably be boring when written by someone else is intriguing and witty.

This is one of her mystery/crime type books**. It’s much shorter than her later books – or maybe it just seemed that way because the book (and the font) were so tiny.

As usual, the characters were highly developed. They really do seem like people. Not only do they have their own likes and dislikes, they even have there own quirks. And as always for Crusie, their own dogs.

One of the things I like most about her books is how she develops the characters motivation without hitting you over the head with it.

I really like her books. I just wish she would write faster. But never mind, because there are a few of her books I haven’t read yet. They just aren’t published in Australia. But isn’t that what the Internet’s for?

---

* Finished reading Friday, 23/3

** I just realised I read three mystery/crime/romance books in a row. Why do I get stuck in these themes?

more...

Book nineteen: The Bermudez Triangle

The Bermudez Triangle* (2004)
Maureen Johnson

Rating: 3.5/5

Hmm. I am feeling conflicted about this book. I guess that is fitting giving how the characters feel.

It was funny, well written and original. I just didn’t like two of the three main characters very much. I don’t know. Part of it was that I could see the train wreck from the start and just spent most of the book cringing. It was like a car wreck that you don’t really want to see, but can’t manage to look away from.

Another part was that they were so selfish and inconsiderate. Don’t get me wrong, it is necessary to have characters like this in books – we have them in life, it would be unrealistic not to have them going on their merry ways in books. Its just I found it very hard to care about them.

I mean, I did care about what was happening, because I really liked two of the other characters (who, incidentally, are the ones whose feelings get stomped on by the other two). I just didn’t think there was enough character development for the other two. I didn’t really believe at the end, that they wouldn’t do the same thing over again.

I guess I just didn’t like some parts of the ending.

I want realism, but I also want the people I like to be happy. And I guess in a way they were, just not in the way they wanted to be originally. And I’m not saying that one of the relationships should have continued, I just thought the other was weird. Like, to make it different Johnston didn’t go for the requisite ending, but then by doing that, the character was committing the same thing they’d spent half the book bemoaning.

See? Conflicted.

It’s still worth reading.

It’s still worth reading. If only** for the fact that it deals with issues that I have never seen addressed in a YA book. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen in done so well in any book. Maybe I should stop complaining about the fact that the characters were self centred and feel a bit more compassionate myself for what they were going through. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to deal with that. I mean, I had trouble enough as it was.

---

* Finished Thursday, 22/3

** Well, not really “if only,” but more like another reason why it really is a good book. Despite my conflicts with it.

more...

Book eighteen: Wanting Something More

Wanting Something More* (2005)
Kathy Love

Rating: 2.5/5

And this makes three.

This was good as well.

Kathy Love is very good at writing likeable characters. I don’t know why – but annoying, whiny people are much too common in contemporary romance.

I actually think that of the three, this one was the most suspenseful. I guess because there was the whole mystery, who attacked him, element.

Hmm, you can tell I read these awhile ago, eh? I can’t think of anything else to ramble on about, except to say that I would read more by this author. Unfortunately, I think now I will have to wait for something else to be published.

---

* Read on Wednesday, 21/3.

more...

Book seventeen: Wanting What You Get

Wanting What You Get* (2004)
Kathy Love

Rating: 2.5/5

This one was better than the first.

I liked the main characters better and though that the internal dialogue wasn’t as repetitive.

Kathy Love does have a habit, though, of having things happen right at the end and with hardly any fan-fair. I just thought that the beginning of this – while not overly slow – could have been condensed and more focus placed on the resolution.

But I always think that.

---

* Read on Wednesday, 21/3.

more...

Book sixteen: Getting What You Want

Getting What You Want* (2004)
Kathy Love

Rating: 2.25/5

This book was okay.

Two things annoyed me about it. And if you count the fact that it was printed in little teeny-tiny font, there were actually three.

The first was the repetitiveness of the internal dialogue. The two main characters – who were obviously the romantic leads, given this was a contemporary** romance – had a lot of self doubt going on. So much self doubt in fact, that neither of them felt they were good enough for the other. They had some fairly convincing reasons as to why they felt this way – I just wish I didn’t have to read about them. Over and over again. Sure, it is a mistake to have character acting under motivations, or assumptions, that are not clearly explained to the author. But after the first two or three times, the reader’s got it. Keep saying it over and over again and I’ll start to think the author either thinks I’m stupid, or was just couldn’t think of anything else to say to make up the word count.

The other thing that annoyed me was that a lot of stuff seemed to happen – the required dramatic, oh-no will this keep them apart stuff – but was resolved it all much too quickly. It was like the first series of 24 in a way – almost like she thought this was the only book she would ever write, so she threw in all the drama she could think of. Which was okay, I mean, a dramatic book is better than a boring one. I just think that she didn’t capitalise on the suspense enough. Often time’s things would happen – something that could have started plot enough to finish off the book – but this was resolved in the next chapter, or often times the next paragraph.

It just led to me thinking, “Why did that happen? What was the point?” It was kind of like that scene in Emma where you have to read about Emma and Harriet getting ready and going and calling on her old governess (whose name escapes me right now… umm, Mrs something… damn having no Internet connection), only to get to the door and find out she’s not home. And I was left sitting thinking I’d read all that for nothing***.

Anyway, back to this: it also made me very sceptical of each new plot point, because I wasn’t sure how long they were going to stick around.

Although it did make the ending very hard to predict. I mean, obviously they were going to end up together, but I wasn’t sure which obstacle they would have to overcome.

This is the first in a trilogy about three sisters – I think it is called The Stepp Sisters, or something. I found myself actually more intrigued by the sisters than by the main character in this one, so I think I will read the others soon.

---

* Read on Tuesday, 20/3.

** I question the “contemporary”ness of this book though. This wasn’t really a bad thing. Just something I noticed.

It was the clothes, actually. It felt a bit early-nineties, rather than 2004. I’m not sure if she wrote it back then, or if it’s a Maine thing, or if its because I’m not in my thirties, but some things felt a bit dated. Although maybe people in their thirties do wear pearls. I’ve never noticed.

*** As a complete aside, this is probably why my novel by Austen is Persuasion. Every scene in that book is like a knife twisting in your chest. Not a word wasted.

Don’t get me wrong though, I would totally slap Captain Frederick given the chance.

more...

Book fifteen: The Key to the Golden Firebird

The Key to the Golden Firebird* (2004)
Maureen Johnson

Rating: 4/5

I loved this.

It was great: well written, funny, heartfelt and realistic.

I would give it the added recommendation that I read it one sitting – but that’s all I’ve been doing these last few days. Sitting around reading books. But I can predict that I would have read it this way anyways. Honest.

Johnson has a really terrific writing style and she is just as funny in print as she is in her blog. Which isn’t always the case. I read the books of a few authors for the first time after reading their blogs and was just disappointed. I guess it’s a case of my expectations being too high? I still read their blogs though, so I guess I do enjoy their writing still.

Usually when a book has more that on point-of-view, I get attached to one character more than the others, and that happened here. I liked reading about May the best, and she is sort of the central character, so I guess that makes sense.

I thought that Johnson handled the father’s death really well. The prologue really shows the difference between the carefree fun of the three sister’s playing a prank, then the shock of finding out that he had died.

Despite the huge issues being dealt with here – death of a parent, coming of age, oh-my-god does that boy like me? – I think that the story is very subtle. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but I really liked the fact that it was so interesting, without having to resort to being overly dramatic. This makes the whole story feel so realistic. I mean, the things that happened in the book, is stuff that happened to people I knew growing up, stuff that I experienced when people I loved died. The reactions are just exactly right.

[spoiler] I also liked the fact that Pete dated, and slept with, Nell. I know that sounds weird, after all he should have been pining after May the whole time like a good little hero, ha ha. Obviously, this was more realistic than that romance novel ideal. What teenage boy sits around pining when he could be sleeping with someone willing? Umm, none. [end of spoiler]

That’s really why I love YA – they are just so much more interesting and real than those in the adult market. It’s hard to go wrong with a YA title, which is really something you can’t say about the general popular fiction market.

Did I mention I loved this book?

---

* Read on Tuesday, 20/3.

more...

Book fourteen: The Pregnancy Test

The Pregnancy Test* (2005)
Erin McCarthy

Rating: 2.25/5

This was fairly funny and entertaining.

I was surprised to realise that McCarthy’s first book wasn’t published until 2004, which means she’s done well in terms of sales these past few years. Actually, I just read on her website that she sold her first book to Kensington Brava through a website contest (Lori Foster's) in 2002 and has since sold twenty-four books. Crap. She has done very, very well. I wonder how many of these were already written? Hopefully a few. It would be disappointing to see a decline in quality due to overproduction.

I like the way she writes. She’s funny and very easy to read. Although I’m sometimes disappointed that she doesn’t push the boundaries a bit more.

That said, I thought this book had an aright premise. It was slightly different and the characters were likable. Actually, it has some of the same characters as one of her more recent novels I’d read previously – You Don’t Know Jack – but I think this was better. Seemingly less formulaic than that effort.

Although, to be honest I could have done without the dead wife here. I think McCarthy may have taken the easy out with that. I suppose it is a realistic motivation for the character, but I think the way she developed this was lazy. [spoiler] Its like she couldn’t be bothered to work through him being okay with the death of his wife – you know, I’m ready to love again, dramatic sigh – so instead she made him come to the realisation that his wife wasn’t really all that great. But its okay, this view was supported by the other characters who knew her, including her parents (huh?), so it must be true! [end spoiler]

The other problem I had with this book is the same one I’ve had with 99 per cent of the romance novels I have read. I never really, truly believe that they are in love. Or that they will still be in this ‘love’ in a month’s time. I don’t know if I’m too pessimistic for it all, but I don’t think you can really fall in love with someone in a few days. Or even a week. Sorry.

But I guess I do manage to suspend my disbelief and just go with it, or I wouldn’t keep reading them. And I can’t blame this book for a problem with the whole genre.

I do wonder if someone did a study of the propensity for certain things in romance novels, what they would come up with. Are there certain traits that are always present in the hero? The heroine? The situation? And are these things what the readers want in real life, or are they what we expect in a novel? What’s the interaction between the two, which is effecting the other more?

Take a trait from this book – the brooding, misunderstood hero (he’s a nice guy, underneath it all, you just have to look past his pain. No, really). Is this a prevalent character type because this is what the public want to believe in real life? Do we want to think that underneath every overbearing asshole we encounter, is a nice sensitive guy? Or do we just want to read about it?

And how much of a disconnect is there between what we read and what is actually going on in the big bad world?

I’ve just realised that having three days off work, proves how much working damages my brain. I’m starting to think this could be a good thing – after all, I’ve just used the words “propensity,” “disconnect,” and “prevalent character type” in the same post. And I wasn’t even joking.

Pretentious much?

---

* Read on Monday, 19/3.

more...

Book thirteen: An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines* (2006)
John Green

Rating: 3/5

I really liked this book. It was equally funny and well written. What more could you ask for?

Green embodies the whole “oh crap, now what”ness of finishing high school very nicely in the protagonist, Colin, a child prodigy who has been dumped by his latest Katherine and now feels his life is over.

It somehow managed to be not too stereotypical coming of age, despite the format (somewhat traumatic event, road trip, uncanny destination, new set of people, finding oneself etc.). There was also not too much of a pause at the end for us to learn our lesson. I think it managed to have the whole underlying moral to the story, without swimming in sickly sweet sentiments.

It also avoided the overly-sombre ending. I’m not saying it’s all perfectly sorted, but I hate when books of the coming-of-age type go to the other extreme. I’m never sure if they are trying to be purposefully unconventional or just realistic. But really, sure, we know these people are only seventeen. We know that whatever it is they have just gone through isn’t going to be anywhere near the hardest thing they ever do (though here’s hoping), but why does that so often translate into a pessimistic ending?

Anyway, the relationship between the main character and his best friend is hilarious, and the way that they interacted seemed realistic. (Never having been a seventeen year old boy, I can’t say for sure). Obviously, there was enough swearing to keep me happy.

The trickiest thing about this book (and I can’t think of another way to describe it other than tricky) is how Green manages to weave Colin’s love of (or perhaps obsession with?) anagrams into the story. He’s perfectly captured a kind of stream of consciousness of Colin’s musing, were one idea turns into the next and somehow the whole thing works out as a narrative in the end. No idea how he managed that.

I’d be interested to read one of his other novels – he has at least one other published, I think it is called Looking for Alaska – to see how the voice differs there.

Wow, only two days off work and I’m sounding like an English lit undergrad. Great. At least I’m not analysing Brava Contemporary Romance’s tonight... let's save that for next time!

---

* I read this on Monday, 19/3.

more...

Book twelve: When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys

When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys* (2006)
Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, and HelenKay Dimon

Rating: 1/5

Meh.

That’s really all I have to say about this book.

This is one of those Brava Romance anthologies, I don’t know why I thought it would be good, I just thought that novella length would be all the concentration span I would have right now.

I tried to read the first story the night before I had my wisdom removed, but I just couldn’t get into it. I went back and finished reading it today, but I didn’t really grow on me at all. I’d never read anything by Lori Foster before, and I just have to say her characters were boring, or I don’t know, too stereotypical or something. And the age gap was gross. What 21 year old wants a 35 year old? I don’t care how mature and independent you tell me she is, its gross. And should probably be illegal.

The second story, by Erin McCarthy was actually okay. A little funny, not really much of a plot or anything, but it was only 80 pages or so. I actually read all of this one. Shocking.

The last story by HelenKay Dimon was confusing and annoying. Maybe I was just tired when I read it, but most of the time I couldn’t work out what was going on, or why the characters were saying or doing the things they were saying and doing. It just didn’t make sense. They were deeply annoying to me.

Okay, I admit it, I didn’t read all of it.

Bite me. (At least you can chew).

---

* Finished on Sunday, 18/3.

more...