Midnight Alley (2007)
Rachel Caine
Rating: 4/5
This series is kind of like a TV series. It has a plot arc per book which is concluded quite quickly, but the main arc isn’t really going anywhere fast.
In this instalment, Claire makes a couple of Really Dumb decisions. Like, horror movie blonde dumb. But I am willing to ignore that, because she also starts to grow up a lot and stands up for herself a lot more.
Everything’s changed for Claire Danvers, with a single signature. Oh, she’s still got her friends, but for how long? Can she tell them the truth about what she’s done to protect them? And now she’s working for a terrifyingly unpredictable vampire with the biggest secret in Morganville… and every trip down Midnight Alley to meet him could be her last…
Finished: Saturday 6/10
Monday, October 8, 2007
Book one-eighty-two: Midnight Alley
Book one-eighty-one: Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry (2007)
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Rating: 2/5
All right, because we get to learn more about Ash. And of course any scene with Simi in it is obviously worthwhile reading.
I thought that it was a bit brief though… the main plot seems a bit rushed. Like she’s just connecting the dots – you know that there is a good chance (like… 100 percent) that the main male and main female character will end up together in the end, but it just feels like Kenyon’s couldn’t be bothered to make you think “hmm, maybe they won’t this time?” and instead just relying on people expectation of what will happen, rather than creating any tension within the plot.
Also, she introduces a whole heap of new characters, not to mention a whole new Parthenon, which is interesting, but don’t ask me what any of their names are…
…the tale of an ex-god in search of revenge, a servant of Artemis out to stop him, deadly enemies at every turn and a plot that may very well end the world. Ever since the moment his godhood was taken by Artemis, Sin has done nothing but plot his revenge. But when he kidnaps a woman he believes to be the goddess, he quickly finds out that she is not Artemis, but her servant, Katra. And instead of capturing her, Katra captures him. She refuses to release him until he promises not to seek vengeance on her mistress. In spite of himself, Sin is intrigued by Katra, who is nothing like the deceitful Artemis. She's fierce and true, but also compassionate and loyal. However, Sin is not the only enemy Artemis has and it quickly becomes apparent that he must help Katra save her mistress... or life as we know it will cease to exist. What's an ex-god to do?
Finished: Tuesday 2/10
Book one-eighty: Where Dreams Begin
Where Dreams Begin (2000)
Lisa Kleypas
Rating: 1/5
The heroine was so annoying. There was no conflict apart from that created by her annoyingness.
Also, the end drags way on past the point where I cared.
Zachary Bronson has built an empire of wealth and power -- now he needs a wife to help secure his position in society...and warm his bed in private. But not just any woman will do for a man whom all of London knows is not a gentleman. Then he unexpectedly swept Lady Holly Taylor into his arms for an unasked for -- but very alluring -- kiss, and suddenly he knew he had found a woman whose fierce passions matched his own.
Lady Holly Taylor was beautiful, generous, and, as a widow, destined to spend her life playing by society's rules, even when they went against her bolder instincts. But Zachary's kiss had aroused her, and though the shocking offer he made didn't include marriage, she was compelled to risk everything and follow him to the place where dreams begin.
Finished: Sunday 30/9
Book one-seventy-nine: Strange Bedpersons
Strange Bedpersons (1994)
Jenny Crusie
Rating: 4/5
There’s never much I can say about a Jennifer Crusie book, except love love love.
And okay, maybe this wasn’t the best I’ve ever read from her, but it was still good.
Tess Newhart knows her ex-boyfriend Nick Jamieson isn't the right guy for her. He's caviar and champagne, she's take-out Chinese pot stickers. He's an uptight Republican lawyer, she was raised in a commune and thinks Cinderella is politically incorrect. He wants to get ahead in business, she just wants . . . him -- only not the social-climbing Nick, but the sweet, caring, unbuttoned-down Nick.
And Nick wants her, too, but there's no way Tess is about to play second fiddle to his obsession to make partner. Yet somehow she finds herself agreeing to play his fiancée for a weekend business trip that could make or break Nick's career. And while he's wrapped up in convincing Tess that he needs her in his respectable world, Tess is doing her best to keep her left-wing opinions to herself and her hands off Nick.
Finished: Saturday 29/9 more...
Book one-seventy-eight: It’s in His Kiss
It’s in His Kiss (2005)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3.5/5
Very good and very funny.
MEET OUR HERO…
Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to beggar the St. Clair estates and ruin his inheritance. Gareth’s sole bequest is an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past… and the key to his future. The problem is--it’s written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word.
MEET OUR HEROINE…
All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She’s fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there’s something about her--something charming and vexing--that grabs him and won’t quite let go…
MEET POOR MR. MOZART…
Or don’t. But rest assured, he’s spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual--an annually discordant--Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth’s every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary, even though her Italian is slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other… and that there is nothing as simple--or as complicated--as a single, perfect kiss.
Finished: Saturday 29/9
Book one-seventy-seven: When He Was Wicked
When He Was Wicked (2004)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3.5/5
I really liked this one. Party, because of all the angst, but mostly because it was still funny.
It’s also nice to see a widow who actually loved the first husband.
After years as London's most notorious rake, Michael Stirling took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell in love so fast and hard that it was a wonder he was able to remain standing.
Unfortunately, she was the one woman he could never have...
Finished: Friday 28/9
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Book one-seventy-six: An Ice Cold Grave
An Ice Cold Grave (2007)
Charlaine Harris
Rating: 2/5
I’m conflicted about whether or not I like this book.
I think I need to split the book into its two elements: the character’s personal lives and the mystery they were investigating.
The mystery part sucked. It was boring and there were too many characters and it annoyed me every time it took me away from the personal stuff. It was also obvious who was behind every thing. Just from the conversations Harper had with them.
Why is it that in Charlaine Harris books the villain is always someone they talk to… or know, or meet or whatever. Why is it never just some random person. Whatever.
The character’s personal lives part didn’t so much suck. And I’m glad that they finally, finally, dealt with the things they had been dancing around for two books.
So overall, because of the personal lives stuff, it was worth reading. But probably not if you hadn’t read the other two. It was also fairly short, at only 288 or so pages.
Hired to find a boy gene missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver head there-only to discover that the boy was only one of several who had disappeared over the previous five years. All of them teenagers. All unlikely runaways.
All calling for Harper.
Harper soon finds them-eight victims, buried in the half-frozen ground, all come to an unspeakable end. Afterwards, what she most wants to do is collect her fee and get out of town ahead of the media storm that's soon to descend. But when she's attacked and prevented from leaving, she reluctantly becomes a part of the investigation as she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of Doraville-knowledge that makes her the next person likely to rest in an ice-cold grave.
Finished: Friday 28/9
Book one-seventy-five: Wicked Deed’s on a Winter’s Night
Wicked Deed’s on a Winter’s Night (2007)
Kresley Cole
Rating: 4/5
I was looking around for a cheaper price for this other book I wanted to read - An Ice Cold Grave - when I stumbled across and ebook store that had this featured.
I didn’t even know it was out yet. I don’t think it is, actually. Or at least not the print version.
It was very good. I really enjoyed it.
I thought Mari was a great heroine. She was smart, independent and she didn’t complain. Shocking!
Also, Bowen is great.
It’s all great.
Hmm, now I feel like reading it again.
This is now officially my favourite paranormal romance series. Apologies to JR Ward, but that’s just the way it has to be I’m afraid.
The next one is out in May, Dark Needs at Night’s Edge. Its about Conrad one of the Wroth brothers. Oh, and it seems there is also a short story in Feburary of next year, in a collection call Not That Innocent about Daniela and Murdoch. Oh good, I’ve been wanted to read about them.
Thank goodness this series is back on a faster schedule. A year was too long to wait.
Her breathless kiss haunts him.
Bowen MacRieve of the Lykae clan was nearly destroyed when he lost the one woman meant for him. The ruthless warrior grew even colder, never taking another to his bed—until a smoldering encounter with his enemy, Mariketa the Awaited, reawakens his darkest desires. When sinister forces unite against her, the Highlander finds himself using all his strength and skill to keep her alive.
His slow, hot touch is irresistible.
Temporarily stripped of her powers, Mari is forced to take refuge with her sworn adversary. It’s rumored that no one can tempt Bowen’s hardened heart, but soon passion burns between them. Though a future together is impossible, she fears he has no intention of letting her go.
No deed is too wicked for her seduction.
If they defeat the evil that surrounds them, can Mari deny Bowen when he demands her body and soul—or will she risk everything for her fierce protector?
Finished: Thursday 27/9
Book one-seventy-four: To Sir Phillip, With Love
To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3/5
One of the funniest yet in this series. I love Eloise. She has to be the least annoying character with fairly annoying tendencies I have ever read about.
After a year of secret correspondence, Eloise Bridgerton traveled halfway across England to meet Sir Phillip Crane, the man she hoped would be her perfect match.
He wasn't.
But she can't help but wonder... could this imperfect man be perfect for her?
Finished: Wednesday 26/9
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Book one-seventy-three: Cross My Heart
Cross My Heart (2007)
Carly Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Starts out strongly, but then doesn’t really go anywhere. And there are a couple of plot lines which might have been interesting, but which aren’t explored.
And to make matters worse, half of the characters are left unresolved. I think there is another book. I hate that. But I will probably end up reading the next one. I am intrigued.
She's gone from riches to rags—and back again!
Ten years ago, Lilly Dumont was the ultimate poor little rich girl, complete with a huge inheritance...and an uncle determined to take it from her. With the help of her first love, she faked her own death and ran away to New York City, leaving behind everything, including her own name. Lilly Dumont was gone, but Lacey Kincaid was going to make it. Only neither one ever forgot Ty Benson.
Now Lacey's back to claim her inheritance. And her sizzling reunion with Ty has made her homecoming something to remember! Only not everybody's thrilled to see Lacey alive and well... And it's up to Ty to make sure his childhood sweetheart doesn't disappear again—for good!
Finished: Monday 24/9
Book one-seventy-two: Romancing Mr Bridgerton
Romancing Mr Bridgerton (2002)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3.5/5
This series just keeps getting better… and each book is actually different from the last, not the same plot played out with slightly different characters.
And I love how there is time in between them. So far I think the series has spanned almost a decade, and I am only up to book four. It is much more realistic than “oh, this all happened in the same year” type series.
That being said, I think the next few are going to occur around the same time, as there seems to be stuff going on with secondary characters here that isn’t really explained.
Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for... well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret... and fears she doesn't know him at all.
Finished: Sunday 23/9
Book one-seventy-one: Touch of Darkness
Touch of Darkness
Christina Dodd
Rating: 1.5/5
Once again, there is something missing here. No idea what. But it just doesn’t feel right or read right or… I don’t know, there is just something wrong with it at its centre. None of the books plot’s feel complete. Its kind of like coming in halfway through a story, then leaving before its done.
It was a vaguely frustrating experience. The whole way through I just couldn’t pin point what it was that was bothering me.
It does have a sort of interesting premise and I am intrigued by some of the secondary characters, but neither of the books so far in the series have felt complete.
A thousand years ago, a brutal warrior struck a terrifying bargain. In return for the ability to change at will into a cold-hearted predator, he promised his soul, and the souls of his descendants, to the devil.
Handsome, powerful Rurik Wilder battles darkness — the darkness without, and the darkness within. For he possesses the power to transform himself into a fierce bird of prey, and that gift has caused death and destruction.
At last he is offered the chance to redeem himself and break the evil pact which has held his family in thrall for centuries. Only one woman stands in his way — flamboyant Tasya Hunnicutt, a writer determined to wreak revenge on the assassins who murdered her family. Assassins, it’s been rumored, who have powers no human should ever possess...
Finished: Sunday 23/9
Book one-seventy: An Offer From a Gentleman
An Offer From a Gentleman (2001)
Julia Quinn
Rating: 3/5
This series continues to actually have interesting and different stories. I can hardly believe it.
I liked the fairy tale element in this one.
When Sophie Beckett decided to sneak into a masquerade ball, she never expected to find Prince Charming.
Benedict Bridgerton didn't believe in love at first sight... until he saw the masked mystery woman. But will she accept his offer before the clock strikes midnight?
Saturday 22/9
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Book one-sixty-nine: One Night with a Prince
One Night with a Prince (2005)
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 2/5
All right, but not as good as the others.
Lovely Christabel, the Marchioness of Haversham, is desperate to regain some letters that could destroy her—so desperate that she pretends to be the mistress of notorious gaming club owner Gavin Byrne, in order to accompany him to a scandalous house party hosted by the man who now has her letters. But when she agreed to let Byrne coach her on how a true mistress behaves, she never suspected how very… persuasive his wicked lessons would be.
Gavin is secretly determined to find the letters before Christabel, to use them for revenge against the noble sire who abandoned him to grow up in London’s worst slums. He’s also delighted at how very successful his “mistress lessons” are: it won’t be long before the luscious young widow is in his bed. But when the fiery Christabel catches Gavin in his own seductive net, he realizes that if the letters are found, he’ll face a difficult choice: to wreak the vengeance he’s planned all his life, or to protect the woman he may have foolishly fallen in love with.
Saturday 22/9 more...
Book one-sixty-eight: Garden Spells
Garden Spells (2007)
Sarah Addison Allen
Rating: 3/5
Flawed, yet compelling and quite magical.
It’s interesting. I can actually see some Suzan Elizabeth Phillips in the plot (the whole ex-boyfriend from high school and his wife and their dramas is straight out of Ain’t She Sweet, but with some magic thrown in for good measure). And some of the dialogue feels quite Jenny Cruise-ish… especially the things left unsaid (and un-thought) in conversation element.
But overall it is good and highly read-able. I look forward to reading something else by Allen. I think this was her first novel.
Such a nice cover, too.
Welcome to Bascom, North Carolina, where everyone has a story to tell about the Waverley women. The old house that’s been in the family for generations, the walled garden that mysteriously blooms year round, the rumors and innuendoes of dangerous loves and tragic passions. Eccentric, reclusive, or renegade, there’s not one that wasn’t somehow touched by magic.
As the town’s successful caterer, Claire has always clung closely to the Waverleys’ roots in their enchanted soil, tending the family garden from which she makes her much sought-after delicacies. She has everything she thinks she needs – until one day she finds a vine of ivy creeping into her garden and knows that everything is about to change.
Then her prodigal sister Sydney arrives with her five-year-old daughter and a dark secret she hopes to keep well hidden. And suddenly Claire’s carefully tended life is about to run gloriously out of control …
Finished: Sunday 16/9
Book one-sixty-seven: To Pleasure a Prince
To Pleasure a Prince (2005)
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 2.5/5
It was pretty weird reading this actually, because I’ve already read Only a Duke Will Do which is about the outcome of a lot of the things that go one here. So as usual I was kind of reading a series backward. Even though they aren’t in the same series.
Anyway, that confusion aside it was pretty funny.
Beautiful Lady Regina Tremaine has turned down so many suitors that she's called La Belle Dame Sans Merci. The truth: she won't marry because she carries a dark secret. She sees no good reason, however, why her brother shouldn't court the lovely Louisa North—even if Louisa's half-brother, the notorious "Dragon Viscount," objects.
Marcus North, Viscount Draker—bastard son of the Prince of Wales—is rumored to be a monster who holds women captive and has his way with them. He has been exiled from polite society for years. But when Lady Regina makes a plea on her brother's behalf, Marcus strikes a deal. Her brother can court Louisa so long as Marcus can court Regina. But can the beauty and the beast survive a proper courtship when the chemistry between them threatens to cause the scandal of the century?
Finished: Sunday 16/9
Book one-sixty-six: Because You’re Mine
Because You’re Mine (1997)
Lisa Kleypas
Rating: 2.5/5
Pretty good. It does drag on for quite awhile, but at least its not all about one week of their lives.
Because the Dream...
Young, high-spirited Lady Madeline Matthews is expected to wed an aging, lecherous lord. But she would rather shame herself in the eyes of society than sacrifice her freedom, and resolves to render herself unmarriageable by indulging in a torrid affair with Britain's most acclaimed actor and notorious womanizer, Logan Scott.
Because the Heart...
He is legend in the footlights and in the bedchamber. But when the curtain falls, Logan is an intensely private, guarded man still tormented by past betrayals that cut deep into his pride and his heart. Now a forward little minx who seems completely out of place in the bright, sophisticated world of the London stage is disrupting his orderly existence with her constant presence, her unspoiled beauty and vibrant charm. And what begins with an onstage kiss threatens to blossom into something more rapturous and real. But first Logan and Madeline both must drop the masks they hide behind...and reveal their true selves in the golden glorious light of love.
Because You're Mine
Finished: Saturday 15/9 more...
Book one-sixty-five: She’s No Princess
She’s No Princess (2006)
Laura Lee Guhrke
Rating: 1.75/5
Not that great.
A royal pain...
The illegitimate daughter of a prince and a notorious courtesan, Lucia has been confined to schools and convents for most of her life, but that hasn't stopped her from causing one scandal after another. Exasperated, her royal father decides his hellion of a daughter must be married immediately. And Sir Ian Moore, Britain's most proper diplomat, is the perfect man to choose her a groom.
Diplomacy, not matchmaking, is Ian's forte, and he vows to find a husband for Lucia as soon as possible so that he may return to important duties. Yet despite an abundance of eager, worthwhile candidates, none is a match for Lucia's spirit and fire. The more time Ian spends with the Italian beauty, the more reluctant he becomes to find her a groom. Could it be that Lucia's perfect husband is the man assigned to find her one?
Finished: Friday 14/9 more...
Book one-sixty-four: Annie May’s Black Book
Annie May’s Black Book (2007)
Debby Holt
Rating: 1.75/5
Pretty good premise, good writing, just annoyingly predictble things going on. I just find some of the things that happen frustrating. Especially the fact that she won’t listen to him. Why wouldn’t you?
Okay, so maybe you might decide its best not to talk to them… but stop talking to them all together. Don’t continue to have conversations in which they make annoying inferences to the past, and you ignore them.
It will only annoy me.
I guess the thing I found frustrating about this, was that the only thing keeping them apart was the fact that they didn’t sit down and have an honest, two minute conversation. There were no real obstacles, just a lack of communication.
October 15th, 1974: Miss Baker for telling me how to blow my nose and not believing when I still couldn't do it.
February 6th, 1977: David Llewellyn for saying my landscape painting looked like a pig's trough and then making honking noises every time he saw me.
April 12th, 1987: Peter Elton for ‘borrowing’ my cigarettes and never buying any of his own.
9th February, 1988: Ben Seymour for everything forever!
In her Black Book, Annie May has recorded the name and offence of everyone who has ever done her wrong. The greatest transgressor of them all was Ben Seymour: the man who jilted her at the altar seventeen years before.
Now he's moving into a house round the corner...
Finished: Thursday 13/9
Book one-sixty-three: For the First Time
For the First Time (2003)
Kathryn Smith
Rating: 2.75/5
Quite good.
Except I didn’t like how some of the stuff towards the end played out. I was surprised how easily she (well, they all) forgave Carny for it. I would have had him arrested. Seriously, he should have been.
I think this is the second in a series. I haven’t read the first, but you can’t really tell.
Devlin Ryland returned from Waterloo a celebrated war hero, but he would rather forget the war and all the things he did in the name of duty. Blythe Christian knows all too well the things men are capable of in war – like betraying their betrothed. While neither can deny the attraction between them, both must learn to trust again, Devlin with his secrets and Blythe with her heart. Only then will either of them know the healing power of love.
Finished: Thursday 13/9
Book one-sixty-two: The School for Heiresses
The School for Heiresses (2006)
Sabrina Jeffries, Liz Carlyle, Julia London & Renee Benard
Rating: 4/5
I usually don’t like short stories, but I did like this collection. Especially After Midnight, the Liz Carlyle story (I think the uncle and aunt from this are what her latest trilogy is about?).
From Sabrina Jeffries…
"Ten Reasons to Stay"
When Miss Eliza Crenshawe discovers her new guardian's plans to marry her off without so much as a Season, she flees – on a horse she unwittingly steals (oops!) from Colin Hunt, a newly minted earl who wants nothing more than for her to go home…or stay forever.
From Liz Carlyle…
"After Midnight"
Confusion over room assignments at her uncle's estate yields a passionate encounter between Martinique – the daughter of a French courtesan – and the notorious rake Lord St. Vrain. Soon, there is talk of a proper courtship…though there's nothing proper about either of them!
From Julia London…
"The Merchant's Gift"
A graduate of Mrs. Harris's school, Grace attends a refresher tea and receives a lesson. Sent to London to attract a match among the ton, she finds herself drawn to rugged Barrett Adlaine – an entirely inappropriate mate who will never meet with the father's approval.
From Renee Bernard…
"Mischief's Holiday"
Alyssa's father is counting on her to make a match that will allow her transition into titled society despite Alyssa's constant mishaps and chaotic ways. There's no way she's a match for Mr. Leland Yates, who is ruled by logic and reason – or is there?
Finished: Wednesday 13/9
Book one-sixty-one: Only with Your Love
Only with Your Love (1992)
Lisa Kleypas
Rating: 2/5
All right, but it did kind of drag on for a bit. And Giffin was quite mean. Very mean most of the time, actually.
The newlywed bride of a Creole aristocrat, Celia Vallerand prays for deliverance from the blood thirsty brigands who abducted her from a New Orleans-bound schooner.
Though she believes her beloved husband slain and despairs for her own life, the shy French beauty fears above all the dashing privateer who pays a king's ransom to claim her ... and boldly risks capture to possess her.
The most notorious pirate of the open seas, he is called "the Griffin" — a rugged and powerful renegade who arouses within Celia desires as dangerous as they are irresistible. But the magnificent adventurer is a man trapped in a perilous deception-and he guards a shocking secret that could deny him the love of the gossamer-haired enchantress who stirs his manly passions and enslaves his heart.
Finished: Tuesday 11/9
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Book one-hundred-and-sixty: In the Prince’s Bed
In the Prince’s Bed (2004)
Sabrina Jeffries
Rating: 3/5
She makes me giggle. Actually, even just the cover and the title of this book made me giggle.
Miss Katherine Merivale is desperate to make a respectable match—if only her childhood sweetheart would propose! Until he does, she can’t touch the fortune she’s inherited. So the last thing she needs is notorious rogue Alec Black putting her proposed marriage at risk with his distracting, smoldering gaze and moonlit kisses.
Alec, the Earl of Iversley—and one of three bastard sons of the Prince of Wales—is secretly searching for an heiress bride to pay his debts. Fiery Katherine seems the answer to his prayers, and her passionate response to his stolen kisses and practiced seduction soon assures him that she is his. But Alec knows Katherine is looking for a love-match, and he wonders …what will happen when she discovers his deception?
Finished: Saturday 7/9 more...
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-nine: Dreaming of You
Dreaming of You (1994)
Lisa Kleypas
Rating: 3/5
I always see blurbs by Lisa Kleypas on everything, so I t thought it was time I tried reading something of hers.
It was good. Very good. The “bad boy” was actually bad. And he continued to be bad. Throughout the whole story. Shocking stuff.
In the shelter of her country cottage, Sara Fielding puts pen to paper to create dreams. But curiosity has enticed the prim, well-bred gentlewoman out of her safe haven -- and into Derek Craven's dangerous world.
A handsome, tough and tenacious Cockney, he rose from poverty to become lord of London's most exclusive gambling house -- a struggle that has left Derek Craven fabulously wealthy, but hardened and suspicious. And now duty demands he allow Sara Fielding into his world -- with her impeccable manners and her infuriating innocence. But here, in a perilous shadow-realm of ever-shifting fortunes, even a proper "mouse" can be transformed into a breathtaking enchantress -- and a world-weary gambler can be shaken to his cynical core by the power of passion...and the promise of love.
Finished: Thursday 6/9
Book one-hundred-and-fifty-eight: Wicked Woman on Top
Wicked Woman on Top (2005)
Tina Donahue, Jen Nicholas and Jordan Summers
Rating: 0.75/5
This book cost me $2.95, so I feel no guilt whatsoever about the fact I read the first ten pages of the the first novella Tina Donahue’s Let the Games Begin and couldn’t bring myself to read anymore… I couldn’t even work out what was going on. It seemed like they knew each other, but also like they didn’t… and what was with the constant changes in setting… like they kept having conversations and saying “meet me here at this time,” then in the next scene they one of them would show up early… I just couldn’t work it out.
The second Jen Nicholas’s Not Another Fairytale was okay I guess, but why did it have that prologue? What was its purpose? It wasn’t interesting, it had very little to do with the story, and could have been much more easily communicated with the line “recently, she had been having trouble finding work as a freelance journalist.” Actually I think a line similar to that was in there somewhere.
The final story, Private Investigations by Jordan Summers, was the best of the lot – which is unusual, usually they start with the best and work their way down… or at least start with the most famous, which they may have done, I don’t know. I’ve never heard of any of them before.
Finished: Wednesday 5/9