May Books

[mainemilyhoon.livejournal.com]

So, this was not one of those months where I read a book every three or four days. Just saying.

Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart
I always come back to Mary Stewart when I'm tired or stressed or when there are just Too Many Books in the world and I don't know what I want to read but I want it to be good. I chose Wildfire this time because I've been drooling over pictures of someone's trip to Skye on Instagram, and it did not disappoint. It's a little different than her other books - she said in an interview once that it was her attempt at more of a classic mystery instead of her usual romantic suspense - but it's not missing any of the gorgeous descriptive writing, nail-biting tension, or satisfying romance. Weeell...maybe this isn't my favorite of her romances. Maybe she tries a little too hard to work in a red herring in that department, and I could have used a little more hint as to who I was supposed to be rooting for. (Yes, I've read it before and already knew what was going to happen, but that's why it stood out to me this time that the romance plot is a little lacking.)

The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp by Eva Rice
A sort-of sequel to her The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, set a dozen or so years later and with a new heroine, who is only loosely connected to the main characters of the earlier book. I really wanted to like it; I love the way Eva Rice writes (though I do wish she'd get to the point with things a little faster), but this is an "it's not you, it's me" situation: I am just not interested in the 1960s. I don't like hippies. Or casual sex. Or casual drug use. I don't like the Rolling Stones. I don't find skinny long-haired musicians attractive. So I had a hard time understanding Tara's actions. That, added to the fact that the book is just about 300 pages too long, made this a dud for me.

How the Heather Looks by Joan Bodger
Charming. That is the best word I can think of for this book: a young family goes to England in the 50s and travel the countryside looking for the scenery that inspired their favorite children's books. There were some sections that might have meant more to me if I was familiar with the authors in question, but even when I had no idea what she was talking about I still enjoyed the adventure. What was funny, though, was that when eattheolives reviewed it she mentioned not reading the Epilogue if you wanted to end it happily. So I spent the whole time debating whether or not I'd read it when I got that far. What could be so bad, I wondered? Then I got to the end and realized my copy, which must be an earlier edition than hers, had no epilogue! So all of my worry had been for nothing.

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
This is a hard book to describe. It's not really about Kate and William, but it kind of is. But it's fiction. But if you're at all familiar with the story of how Kate Middleton came to marry Prince William, the twists and turns of the story will be mostly familiar. "Kate Middleton fan fiction" is how I've seen a few people sum it up, and I guess that works. Bah. Long-winded intro aside, I enjoyed this book and gobbled it up in about two days. It's not great, and if your tolerance for chick lit is low you probably wouldn't like it, but I'm a sucker for all things Kate so...yeah. Loved it. With a few caveats: There's a lot of drinking in this book. Everyone seems to spend at least half their time in varying stages of drunkenness. Which didn't bother me on moral grounds so much as it made me anxious about their health. How much can you drink before your liver just gives out?!? (It reminded me of Jerramy Fine's memoir where she talks about something similar. Apparently British upper class kids really like their liquor! Also, I wasn't a huge fan of the sudden drama at the end. It felt off somehow. I didn't love the plot thread that led to it, either - a bit squicky for me. (Don't you love vagueness? :-P) But overall very fun.

Captain Barney by Jan Westcott
An American naval officer imprisoned in England escapes, runs off to Amsterdam, gets captaincy of a ship, and sails it back to help in the war of 1812. Along the way he meets an annoying cliche of a romance novel heroine (she has a man's name! She can't talk to him without tossing her hair, stamping her foot, and jumping to a conclusion!) who bickers with him the whole way. He's a self-satisfied sleazeball. She's an emptyheaded nincompoop. I did not finish this book.

Velvet by Temple West
Caitlin has moved to a tiny little nowhere town in upstate New York following her mother's death. She just wants to keep her head down, finish high school, and get out of there. Then her life is threatened, and the mysterious, gorgeous, aloof guy at school appoints himself her bodyguard. Because he's a vampire (obviously). But they can't fall in love, because it's forbidden. To be convincing, though, they have to pretend to be a couple. And then Caitlin starts having nightmares that can only be kept at bay if Adrian sleeps with her in his arms every night. So...you know where this is going. It's Twilight, guys. Alternate-world Twilight. The author even admits it in the Q&A in the back. Which isn't to say it's not fun to read (it is), but I feel like it belongs on fanfiction.net, not on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. (Yes I am looking forward to the sequel, why do you ask?) *shifty*

Those Pricey Thakur Girls by Anuja Chauhan
Anuja Chauhan's books are just pure fun. She has ridiculous comic timing, and will find the most awkward, awesome ways to keep her characters from actually getting on the same page until the very end. That's not to say it can't be frustrating at times, because she is also great at creating chemistry between them so that you just want to reach in and grab them and make them kiss and make up, but it works. Though that being said, this isn't her best book. (So far I'd say The Zoya Factor is number one.) It's part romance novel, part family saga, and there are a lot of loose ends floating around that need to be tied up, but not too well, because there's a sequel coming. And so while Debjani and Dylan are trying to figure each other out, her sisters flit in and out with their own troubles and distract from the point of the story. I finished it feeling a bit unhappy with the ending - it's not done! - and I hope I can get my hands on a copy of the sequel soon (does Amazon India ship to the USA?).