Review: In The Woods (Dublin Murder Squad 01) by Tana French

Cover of In the Woods

Book info:
Form: pdf
Genre: crime mystery, contemporary fiction, psychological mystery
Target audience: adults

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of them, a boy called Adam Ryan, gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy who changed his name into Rob Ryan, is now police detective on the Dublin Murder Squad. He keeps his past a secret because it is the most convenient for his career. He still doesn't remember anything but soon he will have to face the demons of his past. When a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

What I liked:

I am happy to say I liked a lot. Firstly the narrative voice of Tana French is completely captivating - atmospheric, funny, intelligent without being patronizing. Secondly the author managed to omit many template mistakes. Imagine yourself a book without a love triangle. Imagine a book in which two main characters, a young man and a young woman at the beginning of their career, simply befriend each other, without any sexual context, and continue that friendship almost to the very end. Imagine that Rob Ryan, the narrator, can be deliciously honest about his own shortcomings, saying something like this:

"What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this - two things: I crave truth. And I lie."

There is also Cassie Maddox, who not only thinks and acts like an intelligent human being but also is a dropout psychology student so perfectly able to analyze herself and the others. If only those others listened to her and believed in her best intentions...

The friendship between her and Rob Ryan is at the heart of the story, interwoven with Rob's childhood trauma and the ongoing investigation concering a murder of a 12-year-old Katharine Devlin, an aspiring ballet dancer. I found that thread really refreshingly original. I was so pleased it wasn't the case of an insta-love or insta-lust but something far more mature and real, something beautiful and true. Of course the fact that their frienship is doomed from the beginning because Rob admits he destroys every relationship, sexual or otherwise, due to his childhood drama or maybe a flaw of his character, adds to it a dash of nostalgia. Let me quote him once again:

"And then, too, I had learned early to assume something dark and lethal hidden at the heart of anything I loved. When I couldn't find it, I responded, bewildered and wary, in the only way I knew how: by planting it there myself."

Well, I don't know about you but that quote I found simply heartrending. How not to like such a character?

Finally let me add that the attention to police procedural detail was exquisite. I was really surprised Ms. French hasn't worked as a cop herself.

What I didn't like:

This book won the Edgar Award for best debut novel but it doesn't mean it is perfect. Don’t read it for the mystery part. In fact I found the criminal puzzle the weakest as I was able to spot the main culprit without any problems somewhere in the middle of the investigation and I am not the brightest fictional crime solver around, even old, good Agatha Christie always managed to mess with my head (fortunately I loved every minute of it)

Also don't read it if you like everything nicely solved and explained in your books because plenty of questions will be left unanswered. If I were to choose an alternate title for this book (and yes, it is a bit spoilerish) could be: Complete Lack of Any Clear Explanation About What Really Happened In The Woods. It didn't bother me much; I admit that monsters living inside our heads are rarely exposed or explained and that's why they are more interesting and terrifying than any real creature you can meet. Those kids might have been taken by the Pooka or the slavers or the elves or Doctor Who - children disappear apparently for no reason all the time and some of the cases are never going to be solved. I am ok with that and if you share my outlook you'll be fine as well.

Also, as you might guess, do not expect any easy HEA anywhere. It is not a fairy tale.

Final verdict:

Go, read it!

Review: Sins and Needles (The Artists Trilogy 01) by Karina Halle

Synopsis

Some children get Lego blocks and Barbie dolls to play with, some get locks and skeleton keys. And scars. Ellie Watt has never known another life – just that of con scams and stealing. Her parents, a set of almost model white trash grifters, taught her how to break and enter and cheat before she was taught to read and write and then they left her to fend for herself. Small wonder she cannot trust anybody, always ready to pull a fast one. Small wonder she lives and breathes illegal tending to dangerous. Small wonder she never stays long in one place. Small wonder she takes drugs to calm her nerves. Will it ever end?

After another not quite successful scam, involving an aggressive Ukrainian looking for a virgin bride on the Internet, Ellie flees to her home town, Palm Valley. She is broke, desperate, tired and she hopes for a fresh start; she finds poverty, an uncle with financial troubles, unwilling to take her in, and an old high school friend she once betrayed – Camden McQueen. Camden, previously a goth freak now a surprisingly hunky man with a sternum ring and great musculature, is a local tattoo artist and a musician – successful and apparently rather well-heeled. Ellie finds out that he is also still quite taken with her and she can recognize a meal ticket opportunity when it presents itself. They catch up on the latest news, date, and have sex; then Ellie decides to rob him – if somebody is keeping a safe full of money at home and showing it to people with such a reputation as hers he is begging for it, right?

The robbery proves to be one of her bigger mistakes. Camden has always understood Ellie better than anybody and seen through her clearly. Now, as he catches her red-handed, the burgling attempt properly recorded, he holds her life and future in his hands. What will he make her do?

What I liked:

I admit it – I have a thing for flawed heroines and Ellie is the right mixture of bad-ass cool and disarming vulnerability - a great character with a distinct voice and a good story to tell. Despite her many, many flaws and problems you want to give her your support and a second chance after a while because let’s face it, she is not a completely heartless b***h, not really. The fact that the narration jumps in time forward and backward, showing the glimpses of Ellie’s childhood, elicits further  sympathy for the main lead and once you feel for her, everything jumps into place and is swinging.

The pace of narration was vigorous and dynamic enough to keep me interested, the narrative voice of Ellie – quite believable. Overall it was a very pleasant, light read but for the ending…

What I didn't like:

Let me start with a quote:

„Fuck, Ellie. I’ve never hated being so right in all my life. You’re a con artist. A liar. A thief. An unredeemable soul. You can’t be reformed. You can’t be saved. You’ll die trying to make the world pay for what it did to you. And you’ll die alone.” 

Those are the words of an angry, bitter Camden, tricked by lovely Ellie one time too often. Completely understandable from his POV. Still, before the book ends he forgives her completely. He says:

"I hate you, Ellie Watt," he whispered, lips coming closer to mine, "because I still love you after all these years.”

I found that change of heart a bit too swift but the series has just begun so I might change my mind as well. Or not. It is always a problem with dysfunctional relationship - you must be very careful not to cross certain lines. For example your flawed characters cannot be redeemed too quickly or they lose the 'reality' gloss. Which is very bad for any fictional character which wants to stay believable and interesting.

Connected to that train of thought (and being rather vague in order not to spoil anything): once upon a time Ellie's parents made a crucial mistake and she had to pay for it very dearly. Then Ellie makes the same crucial mistake and...she will have to pay for it very dearly. Is she really supposed to be an intelligent con artist, as presented at the beginning? Yes, I know, the series is in progress and all that jazz...I'll have to wait and see.

...and then I died at 28, ha ha.

Finally you should be warned that the book ends with one big cliffhanger. If you don’t like such tricks then wait a bit – the second part is bound to be released this year and you’ll be able to sate your curiosity.

Final verdict:

A nice beginning of a new series which might or might not continue in an interesting way. I just hope the second part won’t end with a cliffhanger and will explain some stupid decisions taken by Ellie in her past.

Rameau's Review Archive: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Rameau's ramblings: I went looking for the first negative review I wanted to post here and I could only think of one. There are many books I've read and hated but there are a very few reviews I'm almost proud of. This is one of them. 

Originally posted on Goodreads on August 26th 2012.


Synopsis:
Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.
  



Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire


This review can also be found on Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell-blog.

Sometimes you just have to...
———


I feel dead inside. That’s what reading this book has done to me. I. feel. dead. inside.


Background information:
Earlier this year, I stumbled upon an incident—I lie, there were several—that inspired me to create such shelves as not-for-me and authors-behaving-badly and add this book with all the other books accredited to Jamie McGuire on them. This explains the first comment on this review thread.

I was angry and I rated the book poorly. Then I got over it and removed the rating, and for a while, forgot this book existed.

Ah, those were the happy days.

Then came summer and Simon & Schuster announced their massive brain fart of acquiring this novel and reprinting it. They made the choice to enhance their marketing campaign by allowing free review copies distributed through NetGalley. This was my one chance to read the novel for free and rate it in exchange for this simple tag:

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

In this case, the Advanced Readers Copy means the superficially edited self-published version.


Actual review:
I hated it. Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t want to hate it. I don’t enjoy reading bad books for fun—I don’t like tormenting myself with bad literature—but neither do I start a book expecting to find something positive or other redeemable qualities. I don’t artificially skew my perception just so I can lie about what a good book this is.

It’s not.

Though McGuire seems incapable of using simple he said/she said dialogue tags, there were moments, bits of dialogue, and a set up most promising that in the hands of any other talented or even a competent author could have been solid gold. It could have been the the story of two flawed people falling in love and perhaps changing for the better even if not transforming utterly normal people instead of romanticised description of abuse and misogyny. There were things Travis said or did that in any other setting and context would have been touching, sweet, deliciously heart-rending—but this was Travis and those things were anything but.

“Coupled with the alcohol in my system, when he pulled my body against his, things came to mind that were anything but friendly.”

McGuire’s simplistic writing is readable, even likeable at times, but it’s also uneven. There are good bits and then there are horribly bad bits. There were times when I’d forget to stop and think what made sense and what didn’t, and I’d just plough through pages without even realising it. Then the only recollection I’d have was having felt something. If I wasn’t paying attention to what it made me feel, I would—could, possibly, perhaps—understand why some people would think this a good book.

But I didn’t just plough through the pages. I read them slowly, carefully taking notes and always thinking of what made sense and what didn’t—very little, as it turns out.

Can a story be character driven without characterisations?

Apart from Travis’ tattoos—those tattoos are mighty important since they define what he can study and what his future career is going to be—not a single character in this book is given a proper, layered, characterisation. Not all characters are given physical descriptions, even Shepley, who as Travis’ cousin-slash-roommate and America’s boyfriend is prominently portrayed secondary character, is never given a physical description. To this day I don’t have a clue as to what he looks like. I know Abby and America are both blonds, I know Travis is tattooed all over and has hazel eyes, I even have a vague impression of Parker, but other than that I do not know. It’s never revealed.

What I do know is that Shepley is the lapdog enabler. He exists to be America’s boyfriend and provide a link between Travis and Abby. He exists to among others to make excuses for Travis’ behaviour. He doesn’t have any other function in this story.

America-Alice is Abby’s best friend the Weathervane. Depending on the scene she’s either trying to keep Abby and Travis apart or trying to get them together. She’s always dreamt of her and Abby dating brothers or cousins, so they could become real family or something other. America exists to drive Abby around and to scold her either for resisting Travis or not resisting him enough.

Parker is the token third wheel, a secondary love interest option paper doll. He’s rich and a hardworking student, but ultimately he’s just another jerk and not a viable third corner of a triangle—and that honour he has to share with Jesse, the ex-boyfriend. Parker exists to flirt with Abby and to make Travis jealous when the mood strikes. He also exists to prompt a casual date rape scenario.

Finch is the token gay guy. He exists to provide Abby with alcohol and a shoulder to cry on whenever America is lip-locked with Shepley and too busy to notice.

Kara is the roommate who we never see. She exists to make a handful of accurate comments and remains the sole remotely likeable character in the book.

Abby giggles. She studies high school level biology in college and sucks at it. She apparently likes numbers but hardly ever talks about those classes. She has a dark, dark past that’s never talked about until it’s all that’s talked about. She likes to drink and plays a mean game of poker. All these details and I still don’t know what drives her. I don’t know what her inner passions are or how she thinks and the book is written from her perspective in the first person limited voice.

“This is hard for me, ya know. I feel like any second you’re going to figure out what a piece of shit I am and leave me. When you were dancing last night, I saw a dozen different guys watching you. You go to the bar, and I see you thank that guy for your drink. Then that douchebag on the dance floor grabs you.”

Travis prizefights for money. He’s a genius and he doesn’t need to study. Travis has a short temper, cocky attitude, a dead mother, four brothers and a father who taught him everything he knows about beating other people up. Travis has tattoos. Travis has a six pack—such a shame it’s not a twelve pack—and he’s never met a speed limit he couldn’t break. Drunk or sober.

“I wouldn’t have swung if I thought I could have hit you. You know that, right?”

Travis doesn’t hit Abby. He comes into the bathroom when she’s in the shower. He comes up with a bet to keep her in the house with her. He talks her into sleeping in the same bed as him, because he’s never brought a girl he’s fucked there. He forces her to change her clothes when she dresses up too sexy. He grabs her to keep her safe. He stalks her. He buys her a puppy to stop her from leaving. He scares her when she is in the car kissing another man. He trashes the house the morning after they have sex because she leaves and refuses to talk to him. He beats up several guys for simply touching her.

And she lets him.

”Travis’s behavior piqued their curiosity, and I subdued a smile at being the only girl they had seen him insist on sitting with.”

”It wasn’t Parker I was trying to impress. I wasn’t in a position to be insulted when Travis accused me of playing games, after all.”

Worse, she’s manipulating him right back. On one occasion Abby tells Travis to teach someone manners, and he beats the guy to a pulp. There aren’t any repercussions or a fallout. Several of these unprovoked attacks happen outside the illegal prizefighting circles with plenty of eyewitnesses around. Yet, Travis is never detained, arrested, or even confronted by his friends. They’re all making excuses for him.

Abby’s reactions to Travis’ behaviour make no sense. She’s either blaming herself or acting irrationally and manipulating the situation to her end. She’s playing with Travis just as much he’s playing with her as evidenced by the events of the night they first sleep together. She tells him he’s a virgin, he tells her he likes it rough, they have sex—one of the few times condoms were used—and in the morning, she leaves. He trashes the house. America the worst friend who ever lived, comes to get Abby to talk Travis down. Not to make sure that Abby is safe and sound and far away from the psycho as possible, but to fetch her to the house so she can talk to Travis and calm him. So she can understand him.

The abuse, the antifeminism, the misogyny, the casual slut shaming, rape threads, girl-on-girl hate, it’s all omnipresent. You can’t avoid it.

Character driven stories rely on one essential idea: That the main character learns something. That all the pain and heartache, all the adventures that they experience within the story enrich them as a human being and make them grow as a person. Not necessarily for the better, but simply more aware. On some level the characters do need to be conscious of their actions and choices they make in the end of the book in a way they weren’t at the start of it.

In this, Beautiful Disaster fails.

Travis does forsake all others but he isn’t any better taking into account Abby’s feelings in the end of the book than he is in the beginning of it. As for Abby, life is still a huge poker game she’ll bluff her way through like it was before she met Travis. Well, maybe not bluff, but she’s always had a talent of manipulating the cards in her favour.

Instead of bare boned characters who apparently learn nothing within the four hundred and twenty odd ebook pages, I could be talking about the overall plot of the book. Except, there isn’t one:

A girl goes to see a fight. A girl meets a boy. They skip time and become friends. They make a bet and end up living under the same roof. They dance around each other and a girl tries dating another guy. The boy gets jealous and they sleep together. The bet has ended and the girl leaves. Boy gets angry. Girl comes back. They fight and the girl tries to leave. The boy gets her a puppy to make her stay—

This isn’t a plot. This is a list of consecutive events describing a dysfunctional codependent relationship. Of course, we could call it a relationship drama, but we’d also have to redefine words relationship and drama. There’s no internal conflict. Nothing is addressed and nothing is learned. All obstacles are external ones and easily cast aside.

But this is a romance novel about two people finding love together, you say.

No. It’s not.

This is as mislabelled as a romance as it was mislabelled as a young adult novel. There is absolutely nothing romantic about this book. It’s the author’s ode to Edward Travis’ character. A controlling, abusive, stalker is in the centre of everything and the reader can’t escape him even when Abby is on a date with another man. The conversation always quickly returns to Travis and stays there.


By now the strikethroughs have become obvious; I’m bringing up the Twilight connection:

This book reads like a Twilight fanfiction or work heavily inspired by Twilight.

America behaves as bipolar as Alice, and Travis is set upon a pedestal and worshipped just like Edward was. Travis shares Edward’s penchant for speeding. Travis and Abby’s first date is in a restaurant where the waiter flirts with him and he starts questioning him over the food. The biology lessons and the absent parent figures. Abby likes to bite her lip almost as much as Kristen Steward in her portrayal of Bella Swan. Parker Hayes reads like a distorted Mike Newton. etc. etc.

There isn’t any proof that I’m aware of to show that this ever was posted and labelled as a Twilight fanfiction. I’m going to have to go with the “inspired” by Twilight theory and keep my opinions to myself…

It looks like I failed too.

Review: To The Hilt by Dick Francis

Book info: 

Form: pdf

Genre: crime mystery, contemporary fiction

Target audience: more or less everyone who likes the genre

Synopsis

“Some are born weird, some achieve it, others have weirdness thrust upon them.” 

Alexander Kinloch, despite being a nephew of a Scottish earl, prefers living alone in a very modest hut in the middle of the mountains. He doesn't appreciate civilisation, just peace and quiet which allow him to paint. Unfortunately all good things come to an end. One day four backpackers find a way to his stony  lair. These are not normal tourists, though - shouting viciously "where is it?" they attack Al, beat him black and blue, demolish his abode and depart, leaving poor man barely alive. Who sent them? What were they really looking for? How could they be found again and brought to justice?

This event drags Al back to the 'normal' world - to his mother, a posh lady living comfortably in London, his ailing step-father, an owner of a local brewery who's recovering from a heart attack, his wife, Emily, left by Al after barely six months of marriage, and the hustle and bustle of everyday's business.

Each of these people have some serious troubles which seem to be connected to Alexander's unpleasant beating. Millions of pounds are missing from his stepfather's business. The earl struggles to protect his family's famous heirlooms. A valuable racehorse is under threat and Emily is the only person who can help and save it. When his stepfather names Alexander to be his power of attorney during the convalescence (instead of his daughter), an all-out family feud begins to boil over. Then comes the first ugly death and the end of all Alexander's doubts whether he actually should get mixed into all of this. For the honour of the Kinlochs he will face the strangers again ... up to the hilt...

What I liked:

The main character is another of Dick Francis's painters who has to find a solution to a crime before the baddies get him and his folk. Once again the characteristic was done splendidly. Al is a solitary excentric with a great sense of humour but rather poor social skills whose intelligence make him even more solitary among 'normal', ordinary people. His stolid, sometimes unexpectedly funny narration is the best part of the book and the more you find about Al the more you want to know.

Of course there was a racing event in the background and an embezzlement involved - two features so characteristic for Francis novels. Here also one of baddies, Al's step-sister, Patsy, drew my attention. It was a delightful woman, full of vices, greedy and rather beautiful who thrived organizing things. I loved the way the author developed her character from a vicious, overly jealous witch, hovering constantly over her weak daddy like a harpy, into...well, if I told you I would have to spoil you. :) Let me just say that Patsy, contrary to other baddies, will surprise you at the end. Personally I love such twists.

I loved the references to the legends of King Arthur: the golden 'chalice' which plenty of people desire to find, the sword (or rather its hilt) which needs protection, the 'damsel in distress' who needs rescuing and those women who are more like Morgan le Fay - independent, agressive, dangerous and cunning. It was all very well done, perfectly mixed with contemporary reality, and the main character served like a kind of 'adapter' for all the sides involved and, of course, a perfect knight. :) A feature to notice: Al doesn't have to be freakishly strong/gifted at martial arts or excessivelly agressive to be a formidable opponent.

What I didn't like:

I admit the mystery was a bit predictable and the main hero, despite some beatings and broken ribs, still a tad too lucky (and indeed, Mr. Francis likes having his heroes beaten up rather often ;P how very sadistic of him)... The ending I found overly sweet: a perfect fairy tale HEA for almost every 'white hat' around. Especially a certain scene made me laugh: when an elderly and very educated lady called Zoe found her portrait and was so taken with it that she abandoned instantly her 'sacred' quest for a rare and precious, historical artifact...well, undeniably some portraits can make a great effect on people but every infatuation has its limits.

Final verdict:

An author you can get addicted to. I would compare Francis novels to very comfortable slippers you love wearing when, after encountering all those wrong books in unexpected places, you are dead tired and sad. They are comfort reads. I will revisit these stories for sure and I might dig for some new ones to read soon.

Review: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Book info:

Kindle format

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Target audience: adults only 

Synopsis:

When Barry Fairbrother dies suddenly of aneurism in his early forties, leaving his family and a lot of unfinished issues behind, the town of Pagford is  in shock. He was a well-known  councilor and a coach of the local female rowing team. He was also a man with a mission. Who will fill his shoes? Will his death benefit his allies or his enemies?

Surprisingly there are more than one or two token candidates. Pagford, seemingly an English sleepy town like many others, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, becomes a war zone and, like in every war, there will be casualties. Who will prevail? Is it important at all?

My impressions:

First of all let me state the obvious: hearing the name of J.K. Rowling you will immediately think ‘Harry Potter’ even if you haven’t read any of the books or haven’t seen the movies.  But HP series was finished some time ago and now Ms Rowling decided to branch out. I am far from criticizing her for that, let me just say it was a very bold move, rejecting a genre which made you famous, renowned and super-rich, trying something entirely new and different.  I grant it, she could afford that little experiment without breaking out into a financial sweat, a rare luxury among authors. My question is rather why it was done the way it was done when it could have been done almost any other way ?

My first surprise: the new book was still published under the name of J.K. Rowling. Let’s face it – whether the author likes it or not that name belongs firmly to Harry Potter. Using it to market a contemporary fiction novel for adults is like trying to sell e.g. BMW shoes or Manolo Blahnik computers.  Of course it has its short-term advantages:  plenty of people have bought the book out of sheer curiosity  (like me) or  loyalty so I suppose the publisher and the author will make nice, fat profit, no problem.  Still most of those casual readers will be confused and disenchanted at best,  getting not exactly what they have expected or used to expect. I suppose next time they won’t fall for the magic name alone.

The novel itself is a solid piece of writing, planned and executed decently well, but the topic isn’t either  fresh or  original, let alone ground-breaking.  I am not an especially well-read person in English literature and even I have read many similar position by Kate Atkinson or Sue Townsend; I can even add Agatha Christie to the bunch here, and  I must say their books were actually better – funnier, more edgy.  Do not expect in The Casual Vacancy  any magic, even of the metaphorical kind, or fireworks of humour and wisdom.  While reading it I didn’t feel that intense urge to find out what happened next, or to devour the book as soon as possible. It was a tepid story set in a banal, industrial-grey world;  after reading it I could shrug my shoulders and move on.  I related to  none of the characters, I didn’t hate anybody in particular, I am not curious what will happen to them in the near future. If I have to be honest I could live without meeting them at all.

I suppose I would be far more comfortable if the book was published under an alias.  Now it seems to me that Ms Rowling decided to minimize any risk and to capitalize shamelessly on her previous success, selling readers something which is supposedly connected to the HP series but in reality as far away from those books as it can only be. Only after the lecture of reviews or the book itself you see you have been conned.   Had this one been penned by a debut author, without all that glamour of a world-famous name,  it would have still been published but I am sure it would have also passed unnoticed and would have been forgotten soon.

By the way would it be such a bad idea to write something new (heck, even starting a new series) for adults but with fantasy elements included? Do only kids deserve a bit of fun? Taking into account how many mature readers have enjoyed the adventures of Harry and his friends, not to mention his enemies (yours truly among them) it seems like a completely rhetorical question, right?

Final verdict:

A decent novel about contemporary  Britain but nothing outstanding you must or should read or you miss out on an important book. Rowling has said pre-emptively: ‘ I'm a writer and I will write what I want to write.'  Ok, fine. I am a reader and I will read what I want to read. Not something like this one, though.

Review: Purge by Sofi Oksanen

Book info:
Form: e-book, pdf format
Genre: contemporary fiction
Target audience: adults


Synopsis:

You can call this book a tale of two sisters and indeed, it reminded me of all these folk songs about sibling rivalry. Ingel and Aliide, two Estonian peasant girls, had a very bad luck of falling for the same German boy. Ingel was very pretty, even beautiful, and whatever she did, she did it always better than other girls. Aliide was less pretty and less gifted, completely overshadowed by her perfect sister. The boy in question, Hans Pekk, chose Ingel. They married, were very happy and soon they had a little baby girl, Linda. Despite that fact Aliide never stopped loving Hans; her torment made her slowly ruin her own life and the life of her closest relatives, with a little help from the Russian communists who were simply great at wreaking havoc and ruining people’s lives whenever they went.

The novel starts when elderly and widowed Aliide, living alone in a half-deserted Estonian village, finds a strange girl near her house. The girl needs help very badly – she is hungry, filthy and it is obvious she’s been beaten regularly. In spite of her initial fear Aliide empathizes with the girl  too much to ignore her; she invites her inside, gives her a bath, some fresh clothes and food. The girl is called Zara and it seems she is running from the cruel Russian Mafia men. Gradually, as the story unfurls, you find out it was hardly by accident that Zara wandered to Aliide’s house; she sought out that woman because they are actually related. Still at first Zara tells a lot of lies, only later revealing a very disturbing and sad truth about herself and her situation. It makes Aliide reminisce about the difficult times under the Soviet rule – ironically nothing changed. Her own youth was full of horrible experiences as well, similar to those of young Zara,. Will these two women help each other? Will they understand each other’s decisions? Will they become family again?

My impressions:

I was very deeply moved by this book; as a result my review is much more personal and a bit different than usual. I felt connected to it on more than one level. 

Believe me or not but it was a book which kept me awake at night and gave me nightmares (a very rare occurrence). It was a book that reminded me of some simple truths, namely that life is a bitch and sometimes you simply cannot do anything about it. One stupid decision might ruin your future and sometimes no decision is needed at all because, no matter what you do, your life will be ruined anyway – it’s your fate, karma, politics, war, or other stupid circumstances completely beyond your control. It was a book that made me want to howl with rage and cry.

It was a book that portrayed love at its cruelest and most beautiful. It made me pet my dog for hours because animals, seen from some aspects, are far better than humans – they never judge you by appearances and, as long as you treat them well, they will pay you back with love and lasting attachment. It was a book which, like ancient tragedies, was able to trigger a haunting catharsis, a purge promised in the title. Have you read or seen “Atonement”? Compared to this one, “Atonement” seemed to me just like a child’s prattle, nothing more. Because sometimes you can’t atone for your sins, no matter what you do.

It was a book I couldn’t stop reading even though I had more pressing tasks at hand. I got sucked into it and, although I was very uncomfortable from time to time, I didn’t want to leave till the last word. 

Final verdict:

Heartrending. Incredibly sad and wise. Hauntingly beautiful. The plot and the characters are like an accident waiting to happen – you can’t divert your eyes even though nobody forces you to watch. Highly recommendable but not a comfortable read. Still easily the best book I’ve read this year. I don't know when I will be able to read another book.

Review: Rape Girl by Alina Klein

Book info:

Format: Kindle e-book

Genre: contemporary fiction

Target group: older YA, adult

Synopsis:

It is a story of a teenage girl called Valerie who got raped after a party in her own house by a guy she fancied; it is narrated by the victim herself and it spans a period of several months.

What I liked:

The book was well written but firstly and foremostly I appreciated the fact that all everything rang so true - the voice of Valerie, her reactions and the reactions of people around her. I know it because not so long ago I went through a similar situation in my family, which, unable to keep quiet, I described on myblog,. A short version: my cousin was raped after her prom ball by her date and his older brother who was a designated driver. She simply agreed to stop by their house after the ball and yes, most likely she drank one drink too many but she definitely didn’t want to have sex, let alone with them both at the same time. They chose to understand her otherwise; then they claimed she didn’t fight or try to defend herself (well, she was drunk, right?). It was basically her word against their word. My aunt and uncle decided not to press charges, accusing my cousin that she’d led them on somehow. It was disgusting and harmful.

 Date rapes or party rapes do happen all too often; well, in the case of Valerie we should actually call it a post-party rape but you know the premise: a boy and a girl are having a good time; the boy thinks the girl has nothing against sex so he continues his game although he heard her saying ‘no’. Then the victim goes to the police and all of a sudden it turns out she is the aggressor, not the victim. I am yet to meet a rapist who calls himself so – instead they blame the other part for ‘leading him on’. The excuses are surprisingly repetitive: girls/women don’t know what they really want, they often say ‘no’ meaning ‘yes’, if they don’t scream like a banshee or fight or bite and scratch your face raw it means they agree (and even if they do it the rapist might always claim it was nothing but a kind of foreplay, right?). It’s so easy to blame the victim because, after all, more often than not she does feel guilty, like Valerie in this novel. She shouldn’t have drunk so much. She shouldn’t have stayed that long in bed. She shouldn’t have worn this or that piece of clothing. She shouldn't have organized that party.

Valerie undergoes several stages of a post-traumatic shock: disbelief, self-disgust, aggression, depression and guilt. Then she returns to school and attends a support group therapy so we can know how her situation is perceived by other people: other rape victims, her older brother, her mum, her best friend, Mimmi, and even Adam, the rapist. Who, of course, claims there was no foul play, everything was nice and consensual, he just had the bad luck of having sex with one mean girl who now wants to draw attention to herself and to ruin his future prospects as a Mormon missionary. A classic, don’t you think?

I also appreciated the very realistic outcome of  the lawsuit, which ensued - a spoiler, highlight to read: (the prosecutors had to drop charges against Adam because his buddies testified that during the party Valerie was gagging for it; of course it wasn’t true) and the fact that Valerie found a way to get to terms with the whole situation.

What I didn’t like:

It was too short – rather a longer novella than a novel. I read it in approximately two hours. It ended too quickly.

Final verdict:

One of these books you would like to read before anything bad happens to you or to your relatives, no matter male of female. Boys: if a girl says no, no matter how she expresses it, please always assume she means it and back off. Girls: even somebody you know and like might be a potential rapist. 


ETA: thanks, Rameau, for tweeting me a link to this one!

Review: A Lot Like Love by Julie James

Form: pdf format

Genre: romance, contemporary fiction

Target audience: adults

Borrowed from a friend that shouldn't be named.

Why I read it:

I have sadistic friends. Some of them keep borrowing me copies of romantic fiction, especially when I am planning to go away for a day or two. I am a compulsive reader, I am an addict, I read everything, good, bad and ugly and they take advantage. Sometimes I shrug these offers off, sometimes I succumb to them. This one had good reviews on Goodreads so I thought: “why not? A freebie for a dull train trip…it might be actually fun…” Right.

Synopsis:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that that a single woman in a  possession of a good fortune (like several millions and a wine shop not to mention a fine prospect of inheriting more when the daddy kicks the bucket), must be in want of a husband. Or at least a steady boyfriend. Or two. Jordan Rhodes finds herself in such a position – she is incredibly beautiful, young, rich, educated, intelligent, independent, down-to-earth, not spoiled at all and so very conspicuously single you really have to wonder what’s wrong with that girl. Something must be wrong with her, right? Some skeletons in a closet full of Gucci shoes?  It’s not that she has no social life because she has to work 24/7 to feed her twelve illegitimate children and an alcoholic mother, paying off her mortgage all along, right?

Soon you find out. Beware, it is shocking, even heartrending. You see, her twin brother, Kyle, has created a kind of Twitter crisis when his ex-girlfriend  broke off  by posting a  video of herself giving another guy a blowjob. Yuck. Small wonder poor little Kyle hit the roof, hacked into the system and immobilized the whole site for 48 hours or so. Imagine that. No Twitter. How people communicated during that period? Texting? Sign language? Skype? Snail mail, perish the thought? Really, a terrorist attack, nothing less!

Anyway now Kyle, like every other criminally-inclined citizen, is serving his time. As you perhaps know (or maybe not) a prison is not exactly a health spa. Our poor millionaire is being on the brink of mental breakdown, not to mention the fact that his inmates pick on him constantly, (complete dumbasses all of them but they have to be that way so the story continues). When two FBI agents in their government issue dark suits and glasses appear in Jordan’s posh wine shop’s door, offering to release Kyle from prison if Jordan will take an undercover officer to a wine tasting party, she doesn’t feel she has a choice. Not really. You see, she is not only a great girl (see the section above) but she also loves her bro insanely. Aww…

Off she goes to a party organized by a certain Xander Eckhart, a restaurateur who is doing business with gangsters or mafia and secretly nourishes other plans concerning Jordan (guess what). Her partner for the night a.k.a male arm candy is, despite initial complications, a smolderingly handsome undercover agent extraordinaire, Nick McCall. Nick, his manly charms, intelligence and bedroom skills notwithstanding, hasn’t found what he is looking for (U2 anyone?)  in the prospective wife department so he also remains conspicuously single…Awww…two stars collide, angels are singing “All You Need Is Love”, St. Valentine is smiling benignly from one fluffy cloud and white doves are crapping on your car while kissing furiously…sorry, just a daydream.

I am pretty sure even a ten-year old girl playing with her Barbie would know what happened next. It’s always the same old scenario. Jordan and Nick fall for each other. They find they are simply compatible, there is no other word for that. They cannot get enough of…each other of course (pst, pst, yes, they go to bed!). Jordan saves her brother, Nick saves Jordan’s life, the sun is shining, the grapes are ripening in Napa Valley, summertime and the livin’ is easy, fish are jumping and cotton is high, oh your da is rich, your mum is good-looking…wait it’s from another story.

Eh.

What I liked:

Not much. It was a DNF to tell you the truth so perhaps I really appreciated the fact that I could stop reading this book at any given moment and I wasn’t compelled to start it again as if I was a completely normal, addiction-free person. Every cloud has a silver lining. ;)

What I didn’t like:

• The main heroine. She was simply obnoxiously perfect. No women are like her, neither in real life nor in good books. Once again a plastic Barbie doll comes to my mind. A study in pink…
• The main male lead. Nick was so incredibly boring in his special-operative routine that I gagged from time to time. Not to mention the fact that he, supposedly a great FBI agent, never hesitated to reveal his real identity to any of his casual sex partners which created quite a commotion at one point.
• His relationship with Jordan lacked psychological reality. One moment he is such a macho agent with a big black gun who won’t allow any chick take any decisions, billionairess or not,  the next moment he goes meekly on an expensive trip, completely funded by his girlfriend and, sipping a glass of expensive wine, he discusses his FEELINGS for heaven’s sake…when did FBI agents actually acquire feelings?
• The plot. It was so very predictable. I’ve watched and read the same story like I can’t say how many times –certainly enough to make me nauseated at the mere whiff of it.
• The Kyle-in-prison situation was simply artificial and false. Any millionaire would buy his way out of trouble but not Kyle. Why? Saving up for another Maserati? Or rather another Mac?
• The novel contained too much backstory (infodumps et all) to make the plot really fast-flowing and interesting to me even on a completely superficial level. From time to time the well-known landscape outside my window seemed to be far more compelling. A dog barking. A cat scratching its ear. A rat in a dustbin. An old car coughing loudly on the road. Children eating ice-cream. Fascinating stuff, especially when compared to this book!
• No good sense of humour to alleviate my boredom.

Final verdict:

I wouldn’t recommend this Julie James novel to anybody, not even a romance fan, but perhaps it is only me. Ok, I can criticize my own person as well. I know why Anachronist hates romances overall and this story in particular. She is jealous like hell. She will never be a wine-sipping heiress of a  fortune. She will never drive a sports car and date handsome FBI agents. She will never wear a purple dress showing her bare back up to the equally bare bottom cheeks (see the cover) to a party or, in fact, anywhere else. That’s why she hated this book. Not because it was crap. Quod erat demonstrandum. ;)

Review: The Lighthouse Keeper (Fyrvaktaren in the original version) by Camilla Läckberg

I had wanted to read something written by Camilla Läckberg for some time and finally I found one of her novels in the sales – as I needed some entertainment in hospital I decided this one would do ; p - it is always good to know that some people have it worse than you. To my utter surprise afterwards I found out there is no English translation available yet – even on Amazon.com all I could find was an audiobook in…Danish. Go figure. Still there are novels by Läckberg published in English and other languages as well so I decided to write a review anyway – you can get a taste of her style and then you might want to read her other books. Or not. 


Book info:
Form: paperback, 494 pages
Target audience: adults
Genre: crime mystery


Synopsis (from the site of the author )

 Police inspector Patrik Hedström has just returned to work after a lengthy sick leave. He has tried to have a good rest, while also looking after his wife Erica and their prematurely born twins. He barely has time to step inside the office before he is thrown into a new investigation. A man has been found murdered in his flat, shot through the back of his head. The victim is Mats Sverin, the local council’s financial director, a thoroughly friendly and well-liked person. Nobody has a bad word to say about him. Together with his colleagues, Patrik begins to map out Mats’s entire life, which contains more secrets than anyone could ever have suspected. 


Why was he in such a rush to leave Gothenburg to return to his home town of Fjällbacka? What part did he play in the project involving the old bath hotel being transformed into a spa? And is it pure coincidence that Mats’s childhood sweetheart Annie has also returned? They have not been in touch for several years, but now she and her son are living on the island of Gråskär outside of Fjällbacka – a place where her family has resided for generations. Even Gråskär has its share of secrets and is a place that has always been surrounded by sinister rumours. They say that the island is haunted by the dead and that they have something to tell the living…

 What I liked: 

 First of all Ms Läckberg mixes one storyline from the past with a few from the present. The storyline from the past takes place on a small, isolated island called Gråskär not far from Fjällbacka. According to the legend people who die on that tiny island with a lighthouse never really leave it. Plenty of characters will have to (or will want to) visit Gråskär during the narration – who will stay there forever?

 I liked the past storyline even better than the present ones – it had a great atmosphere of doom and gloom, with a dash of supernatural perfectly balanced with the harsh reality. The failed marriage of Emelie was such a great illustration of the famous saying: ‘be careful what you wish for…’ Its ending was something that left me a bit puzzled but, taking everything into account, perhaps it wasn’t such a strange outcome. I’m not sure how long I would suffer such a treatment Emelie got from her husband (24 hours? less?), small wonder she went…mad (?).

Of course you might argue that those were different times ( and you would be perfectly right - 19th century, no laughing matter when it comes to women's independence) but Lackberg shows in her book that even nowadays a lot of women feel they have to put up with abuse and violence no matter what. The criminal mystery happening in the present times was skillfully executed but I liked the most these everyday life details the author added to her narration here and there. They made the novel somehow more scary than any amount of gore or violence. One thing is sure: the author knows how to describe loneliness, despair and a sense of loss. Sometimes some tiny things like a cup of freshly brewed coffee who is left untouched because there was nobody to drink it sent real shivers down my spine. Overall the book ended in a really heartrending way.

 Finally I appreciated the occasional humorous remarks, especially when the author zinged her own partner (but in a very sympathetic way)! The translator provided enough info in the footnotes to make it understandable even for foreign readers – thank you very much, dear translator!

The cover is great. I love the colours.

 What I didn’t like: 

 Female characters; almost all of them (maybe apart from Viviane but she is not the main lead so we meet her just from time to time) were presented as victims who need rescuing, not survivors most women really are. It sounded a bit anachronistic. Also this book is not for people who want to improve their mood reading something cheerful and sweet. Like in real life a lot of bad things happen here sometimes without any reason – innocent people get murdered, different villains get away with their ugly deeds and children die prematurely in a car accident. If you are ok with such a bleak/realistic outlook, your inner Goth/pessimist will feel satisfied with this story. Just prepare some chocolate and one of these fluffy, cheesy, pinkish romances with improbable HEAs beforehand in case you feel overwhelmed by a bout of depression.

 Final verdict: 

A very nice, original crime mystery with some paranormal/psychological elements (but without vampires or werewolves) that enriches the whole whodunit aspect. If you feel you daily horror quota haven't been met lately do read this one.

I would like to thank rameau and Blodeuedd for their help in translating the title from Swedish.

Review: The Ethical Assasin by David Liss

Cover of The Ethical Assassin: A Novel

Book info:
Form: paperback
Genre: criminal mystery, thriller, contemporary fiction
Target audience: adults
Pages: 327
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Synopsis:

Can murder be justified, even called the most sensible course of action in some circumstances? Is the life or animals always worth less than the life of human beings? Should cruelty, corruption and greed of big corporations and individuals be condoned just because there’s no better option? What are prisons really for? Young Lemuel Altick will have to find answers to those questions while earning college money as a door-to-door salesman of worthless encyclopedias.

One day, while trying to sell his wares to the inhabitants of a dingy trailer somewhere in rural Florida, Lem witnesses a double assassination. The perpetrator, Melford Kean, seems to be far from an ordinary ruthless thug, though. Instead of shooting the hapless witness along with the others he suggests a deal: stay quiet, don’t contact the police, and everything will be fine. It is one of these propositions you simply can’t refuse but it is hardly an end of Lem’s problems.

He finds himself drawn against his will into the realm of the assassin, a post-Marxist intellectual with whom he forms a kind of a friendship. Who Melford really is? A charming vegan sociopath, an eco-activist, or a lonely vigilante for social justice?  To unravel the mystery and save himself, Lem must descend deep into a bizarre world he never knew existed, where a group of desperate–and genuinely deranged–schemers have hatched a plan that will very likely keep Lem from leaving town alive.

What I liked:

• The plot. I love when a mystery is skillfully done and this one was really refined and complex. It starts slowly - at first it seems nothing fits – we meet a bunch of unpleasant guys who do unpleasant things without even a shred of remorse. The more you read the clearer it gets, like a jigsaw puzzle which you try to assemble without looking at a model pic. I found it truly entertaining, intelligent and clever.
• The lead characters. Lem is our usual ingénue who grows up while solving a mystery and saving his life but he is not one of these ‘too stupid to live’ boys/girls who must be led by a hand and constantly watched over by an older mentor. It is true that Melford shoves him towards the right direction from time to time but overall the boy can think and take decisions on his own, mainly because he has been forced to do so from his childhood. By the way the title assassin is a joy to read. Does he belong to white or black hats? His actions will make you change your mind more than once but you will enjoy reading about him.
• The baddies. They are well-rounded, real-life criminals – those who are successful and skilled, evading the justice by exploring the holes in the system. I liked it very much how the author described mechanisms of different scams, the seamy underworld of an allegedly peaceful backwater town. It ringed true. Even the fact that they used such a foul language didn’t deter me – after all you can’t expect a hardened criminal to speak like the Queen of England or a news anchor.
• The pace of narration. After first several chapters you’ll find yourself glued to this book. It is highly readable, as all Liss’s novels I’ve read so far.
• Dark comedic undertones – I LOVE this kind of humour.
• The death of the major villain. Dear me, it was a bit of justice I wouldn’t have imagined, not in a hundred years – horrible, disgusting, bloody but so right.
• The cover - it fits the story.

What I didn’t like:

• Female characters. It seems Mr. Liss has a problem here. Compared to two leads, mentioned above (Lem and Melford) the ladies are simply pale and insignificant. Chitra, the fellow encyclopedia peddler from India, is almost like a carton cut-out girl or a prop for Lem – pretty eye candy whose main role is similing, swooning and whispering ‘my hero’. Desiree, the young charge of B.B., a secondary male character, is better but it features in too few scenes to be really a significant player; there is more background to her actions, but she is not strong enough to stand on her own feet. Pity – I would enjoy more of her and generally more gender ballance for sure.
• Sometimes the book sounded a bit too preachy but fortunately the author never overdid it.

Final verdict:

David Liss is mainly known as the author of Conspiracy of Paper series (if you can call it that) , three great historical fiction novels which I enjoyed very much. The Ethical Assassin shows that he can write contemporary fiction as well. I recommend this book to all those who like intricate mystery thrillers which focus not only on a simple ‘whodunnit’ but also on more serious issues like animal rights. It is perhaps not a work of pure genius but it will keep you intelligently entertained -  you won't regret the time spent with it. 

Review: A Slot Machine Ate My Midlife Crisis by Irene Woodbury

This book was provided by the author's publisher via my lady Blodeuedd's excellent blog in return for an honest review. I haven't been compensated for writing the said review in any way and the fact that the book came free of charge didn't influence me either.   

Book info:

Genre: contemporary fiction

Target audience: adults

Form: e-book, pdf format

Page count: 222

Synopsis:

Wendy Cantrell, 45, has just married her steady boyfriend of seven years, Roger, and became Mrs. Sinclair - a respectable wife of a popular architect. They both moved to Houston where he started to work over a big new development, Magnolia Crescent, leaving his wife alone in a house full of chameleons and cockroaches - an isolated newlywed in a strange city, freshly unemployed and feeling more like fish out of water with every passing day.

When Wendy’s friend, Paula, phoned her and suggested a long weekend in Las Vegas, Wendy went over the moon. Finally a bit of fun and shopping far from Roger’s new conservative friends and their nosy, conceited, gossiping wives. She went to Las Vegas and never returned. For many reasons. Wendy found Vegas  more laid-back than L.A., quirkier than Denver, looser than Houston. In Vegas, irreverence and outrageousness were the order of the day. She loved the wackiness and impulsive energy of that place. Her husband didn’t understand at all.

Roger went ballistic but Wendy decided it was her turn to be busy, especially that she got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work as a real clothing designer, not to mention her Ann-Margret act in the local casino. Was she just in the throes of some hideous midlife crisis, making a complete fool of herself because she‘d lost her job – and her identity – with it? What would become of her marriage and her career?

What I liked:

This novel was full of surprises. First of all its main heroine, Wendy, was far from a cliché I expected, judging this book from the cover. She was funny, she liked flirting, shopping and eating out but she tried to be faithful to her husband and she behaved in a far more dignified way than her younger friend, Paula.

It is a first-person narration so we get to know a lot about Wendy and her complicated marriage situation. Sometimes her reactions and musings are trite, sometimes poignant but always honest and believable. I do appreciate honesty a lot.

The way the plot was developed made the reading interesting as well. It wasn’t the ordinary “a married woman meets another guy and finds the love of her life but it’s already too late” kind. Practically till the very end we don’t know what Wendy’s decision will be. Such hesitancy about the future didn’t feel spurious although I did think once or twice how come a mature woman, knowing a man intimately for seven years, became so undecided all of a sudden. Well, the author tries to explain it in a logical way but you have to be patient.

Finally Las Vegas…well, here I share the feelings of Roger, who says:

“No other city in the world objectifies women as much and seems so proud of it. This whole town reeks of inauthenticity! Everything is fake. The buildings are façades or reproductions. Most of them are as disposable as movie sets in Hollywood. The breasts are silicone or saline. The entertainers are impersonators. Even the marriages are a sham. Vegas is an endless pit of illusions, cheap fakes, and trumped-up imitations, most of them stolen.”

In other words even if I were close to this city I wouldn’t feel like visiting it. However I did like the fact that the author presented both sides of it – the advantages and disadvantages. Let’s quote Wendy here:

“On these raging binge-fests of consumerism, I never thought about tomorrow, I didn‘t look back on yesterday, and I couldn‘t have cared less about today. Screw all that perspective and moderation stuff. I was suspended in a never-never-land of No Limit Shopping – guaranteed to take away the pain, make you forget about everything, and then some.”

 “At the end of these binge days in the Valley of the Malls, everything was hazy and blurred. I felt disconnected from reality, floating around in space at some cosmic super mall, where the only reality was shopping, shopping, shopping, eating, eating, eating. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else existed. It was a nirvana state, but agonizingly empty once the anesthesia wore off and I was back to square one the next day.”

  

What I didn’t like:

The title. I find it shallow and misleading. A slot machine eats just one kind of food – your money. Also the titles of particular chapters were a bit too long and silly. I would prefer there were no titles at all, just numbers, but it’s only me.

I  found some surprising mistakes inside. When a woman who, allegedly, worked a long time for an exclusive boutique chain speaks about Christian Laboutin instead of Louboutin, it makes my eyebrows arch. I am not a fashion fan but even I’ve heard of this designer brand name and its fabulously uncomfortable but beautiful and rather expensive shoes. Another example – fung shui instead of feng shui. Did the editor take a nap?

What’s more? Some expressions  like “lickety-split” were repeated a bit too often. After a while it started to annoy me. I am also not a big fan of the cover art. Once again - it is not a book about gamblers so what does that one-handed bandit do there?

Final verdict:

This book exceeded my expectations in a positive way. Despite some shallow parts and scenes straight from “Sex in the City” I enjoyed it. The ending...once again it took me by surprise. :)

One last quote, especially for my friend Tracy (she will know why):

“But then they parted ways after she canceled a sold-out concert at Wembley Arena in London at the last minute because she wanted to party in the Cotswolds with Mick Jagger.” 


LOL!!!