- Clare Naylor -
Heroine: Kate Disney, an animal portraitist living in the garden shed of her dad's best friend. Kate was ultimately the weak link of the story for me. She was irritatingly backbone free for most of the book, turning herself into a doormat repeatedly for a boyfriend who treated her like crap. Kate's lack of self esteem and self worth was just annoying to me - constantly putting herself down, and accepting crap treatment and treating others with disdain and like crap in the process
Hero: Louis, a conceptual artist who has been in love with Kate forever. We hardly got to know him at all, though he is clearly the smarter of the two as he cannot believe the crap Kate puts up with from Jake. He also never really asserts himself or really features in the story all that much, although the little bits we do see are very attractive as he demonstrates a quiet confidence that is pretty damn sexy.
Overall the supportive characters of Mimi, her long lost love Nick, and the gay friend Louis, are much more interesting. I will say Kate is at her best when she lets go of her snotty behaviours towards Mimi and acts as a real friend to her. Their relationship, thought the development of it is fairly superficial, is the most interesting one as Mimi forces Kate to see herself as worthy and Kate helps Mimi track down her true love.
A cute read, but totally frustrating and predictable too which ultimately killed it for me as the payoff is so perfunctory at the end.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
My Life in France
- Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme -
Totally entertaining - the narrative has such an enthusiastic, conversational style that made it seem like a story I was hearing being told to me instead of reading.
Julia Child's passion for life, the world around her and, of course, her love of food and cooking made me want to jump up and start cooking. It was an incredibly vividly told story and makes me want to go back to France immediately :)
Totally entertaining - the narrative has such an enthusiastic, conversational style that made it seem like a story I was hearing being told to me instead of reading.
Julia Child's passion for life, the world around her and, of course, her love of food and cooking made me want to jump up and start cooking. It was an incredibly vividly told story and makes me want to go back to France immediately :)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Seeing Red
- Jill Shalvis -
Yay! I didn't particularly like "Aussie Rules" so I was worried about starting this one, but it is much more in line with the "Wishful, CA" set books and "Double Play" in that the characters are full bodied and three dimensional, with realistic flaws and hang ups, and the setting and geography of the town where the story is set is so vividly and realistically created that I can see it in my head as though it was somewhere I had been before.
Yay! I didn't particularly like "Aussie Rules" so I was worried about starting this one, but it is much more in line with the "Wishful, CA" set books and "Double Play" in that the characters are full bodied and three dimensional, with realistic flaws and hang ups, and the setting and geography of the town where the story is set is so vividly and realistically created that I can see it in my head as though it was somewhere I had been before.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Anyone But You
- Jennifer Crusie -
Totally adorable (although I do call bullshit on any kind of basset hound mix being able to make it up and down a fire escape with those short little legs.)
Anyway.... the older woman, younger man thing doesn't usually work for me but here it just did as Alex and Nina were both trying to escape the various expectations/responsibilities that did not work for them and together were able to find a happy mix of what does work for them.
I did think the she raised assorted siblings who are never mentioned again so doesn't want kids/he hates family responsibilities/craziness so doesn't want kids either, thing was a bit heavy handed ( I prefer Cal & Min from "Bet Me" who are just okay with not wanting kids, full stop), and a little too convenient, but overall this book was adorable and I want to read the romance between Alex's brother and Nina's best friend, which I don't think exists anywhere except in my head.
Totally adorable (although I do call bullshit on any kind of basset hound mix being able to make it up and down a fire escape with those short little legs.)
Anyway.... the older woman, younger man thing doesn't usually work for me but here it just did as Alex and Nina were both trying to escape the various expectations/responsibilities that did not work for them and together were able to find a happy mix of what does work for them.
I did think the she raised assorted siblings who are never mentioned again so doesn't want kids/he hates family responsibilities/craziness so doesn't want kids either, thing was a bit heavy handed ( I prefer Cal & Min from "Bet Me" who are just okay with not wanting kids, full stop), and a little too convenient, but overall this book was adorable and I want to read the romance between Alex's brother and Nina's best friend, which I don't think exists anywhere except in my head.
Netherland
- Joseph O'Neill -
On the one hand, this book was strangely evocative - from the dislocation of being an expat in a strange land, to the comfortable joyousness of coming across something you loved from home like cricket, I could relate to these kinds of experiences and appreciate the dreamy quality that they have as you float between the reality of life where you are now and the familiarity of these things that remind you of home.
On the other hand, as Hans wanders the city in a emotional fog, displaced by 9/11 from his Tribeca apartment and living a solitary life in a hotel filled with transients and strangers after his wife takes their son back to London, the narrative had a very disconnected quality to it.
I think this was intentional as Hans tries to find his way out of the sad state of inertness that circumstances have left him trapped in, but it also meant that is was hard to get truly invested in the story, as Hans never really seemed to be.
He related the story of his time alone in New York and of his strange friendship with the doomed Chuck Ramiskoon as though it had all happened to someone else. It almost seems like, as he tells the story from back in his "real" life, back with his family, that it never really happened at all.
On the one hand, this book was strangely evocative - from the dislocation of being an expat in a strange land, to the comfortable joyousness of coming across something you loved from home like cricket, I could relate to these kinds of experiences and appreciate the dreamy quality that they have as you float between the reality of life where you are now and the familiarity of these things that remind you of home.
On the other hand, as Hans wanders the city in a emotional fog, displaced by 9/11 from his Tribeca apartment and living a solitary life in a hotel filled with transients and strangers after his wife takes their son back to London, the narrative had a very disconnected quality to it.
I think this was intentional as Hans tries to find his way out of the sad state of inertness that circumstances have left him trapped in, but it also meant that is was hard to get truly invested in the story, as Hans never really seemed to be.
He related the story of his time alone in New York and of his strange friendship with the doomed Chuck Ramiskoon as though it had all happened to someone else. It almost seems like, as he tells the story from back in his "real" life, back with his family, that it never really happened at all.
Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List
- David Leviathan & Rachel Cohn -
Eh, it was okay. Definitely cute, but the teenagers were a bit too teenagery in this one for me, and Naomi's use of symbols in place of words drove me a bit insane.
Also did not like the fact that Bruce the First just disappeared from the POV shifts once his part was done, as did Bruce the Second a bit. Almost would have been better if it was just Naomi and Ely had the POV, because it came across a little bit unbalanced as it was. Then again, neither Ely or Naomi were particularly nice people so that might have cut the sweetness to non existent.
Eh, it was okay. Definitely cute, but the teenagers were a bit too teenagery in this one for me, and Naomi's use of symbols in place of words drove me a bit insane.
Also did not like the fact that Bruce the First just disappeared from the POV shifts once his part was done, as did Bruce the Second a bit. Almost would have been better if it was just Naomi and Ely had the POV, because it came across a little bit unbalanced as it was. Then again, neither Ely or Naomi were particularly nice people so that might have cut the sweetness to non existent.
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