Bookish Review: Imperfect Bliss

There have been many novels inspired by the works of Jane Austen and many modern-day "retellings," and perhaps no Austen novel is more often flattered by this treatment than Pride and Prejudice. Imperfect Bliss is another such novel, set in modern-day America and featuring a bi-racial family, the matriarch of which wants nothing more than to see her daughters marry well. This is an inventive re-telling: Bliss (parallel of Lizzie Bennett) is a divorced mother, a reality TV show is involved, and this American family is headed by an English father and Jamaican mother.This is an extremely light and fluffy read, but it is funny and a perfect beach read. It was a great take-along on my vacation. Austen fans who don't take riffs on her work as offensive, but rather enjoyable, should find this a fun, fast read.

Atria Books sent me a free galley copy of this book for review. Their generosity did not affect the content of the above review.

Bookish Review: A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches is the story of Diana, an American witch in England, who tries to ignore her powers and  live life as  a normal human. However, when she inadvertently summons a magical tome that has been lost for centuries she attracts the attention of witches, vampires, and daemons--and such a gathering of magical creatures starts to attract human attention as well. One vampire in particular starts paying special attention to Diana, but she soon realizes he's a friend, not  a foe, and all her beliefs about magic and supernatural creatures may be wrong. But  witches and vampires are not supposed to be friends--so this starts a whole new mess of trouble...

An enjoyable romp; good vacation read. First  in a trilogy.

Bookish review: Triangles

Triangles is by a best-selling YA author, but this book is for adults--mostly middle-aged women, to be precise. I'm surprised she didn't shoot more for the 20s-30s audience, to get some of the readers who started with her YA and grew up a bit, but there you go. The book is written in verse--an interesting format that I haven't read too often in books for adults. I'm not really the right demographic for this book, and it's all about broken and breaking marriages, which is not my favorite topic. Still, it is well-written, the format is interesting, and it is rather compelling. The problem is that most of the characters are not very likeable. (one of the main characters is a bored housewife who decides to cheat on her faithful husband in some odd and kinky ways, neglecting her children in the process. I pretty much wanted to punch her in the face, which one of the other protags does, too, so she justifies to herself sleeping with her cheating friend's husband--so then I wanted to punch her in the face, too.) So, like I said, I don't think I was really the audience for this book, but there definitely is an audience for it. So if you like femme-midlife-crisis stories, this is well-written and in an interesting format.

Thanks to Atria books for sending me an ARC of this title. Receiving a free copy did not affect my review.

Bookish Review: Falling for Hamlet

Falling for Hamlet retells Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from Ophelia's point of view, set in the present day. In this one, Ophelia is not crazy and doesn't kill herself, just pretends to. The book is sprinkled with lines from the play (and some from other Shakespeare plays), but the majority is re-written prose. Hamlet is a college student and Ophelia is a modern-day high schooler who lives in the building with the royal family. They're together, though their families do not approve. When Hamlet's father dies, things start to fall apart. The book was an enjoyable read, and the transition of the classic story to the present-day is pretty well done. It seems this could be used to pique teen's interest in the play.

Bookish Review: Second Glance

I think this may be my favorite Jodi Picoult novel yet (she's written a lot more than I've read, but I have read a few). Her books are usually somewhat hard to read and tackle difficult topics. This one focuses on a ghost story, which was an interesting departure. It also touches on suicide, eugenics, selective breeding, rare diseases, discrimination against American Indians, and love--so, you know, nothing too complicated or controversial! It's set in Vermont and weaves together stories from the 1930s through today, mainly focusing on the impact loved ones can have on us, what family means, and some paranormal activity. Quite an enjoyable read and not as bleak as some she's written. Oh, and the eugenics information she includes is based on real-life happenings in the 30s, which I had not heard about. Pretty interesting--and scary.

Bookish Review: One Day

One Day is a book that was made into a movie; I watched the movie first, I am sorry to say. I can't resist Anne Hathaway. At any rate, I have now read the book, too! First, I'll tell you that the movie actually sticks remarkably close to the plot of the book, which doesn't often happen, so well-done to the filmmakers. The story is about Emma and Dexter, two college acquaintances who hook up on the night of graduation and then become friends. The story is told by focusing on the same date every year and tracing their friendship, more-than-friendship, not-even-friendship saga. It is pretty well-written and enjoyable, but bittersweet, as might be expected. Both the book and the movie are recommended; read the book first. 

Bookish Review: Why We Broke Up

I picked up an ARC of this book at a conference. Let me say this: they put some money into this project. The book is quite heavy for its size, which means they used really nice paper. They've also got this awesome marketing campaign: http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/

The book is the story of a girl returning to her ex-boyfriend all of the mementos of the relationship, explaining to him why she saved each one and why they broke up. Towards the end, when you discover the main reasons they broke up, the book lost a bit of its satisfaction for me because the reversal seemed to come out of nowhere. Given that the entire story is told by the girl, however, and that she was completely blindsided by what happened, I suppose it makes sense for the reader to be blindsided as well--except that the whole story is her looking back, and you would think she'd point out a few more things that should have been red flags (she does point out some, but most are minor). Still, it was an interesting read, though I think I find the tumblr page more intriguing than the book itself.

Bookish Review: Sorcery and Cecilia

Sorcery and Cecilia, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot is a Regency romance with a touch of magical realism. It is also an epistolary novel (what is it with me and those lately?). The story is written in letters between two cousins, set in Regency England, except wizards are real and recognized and magic is not a fantasy. The cousins get swept up in a battle between wizards--luckily, one of them shows an aptitude for magic and with a little scheming, they manage to save the day and both find love--surprise!

Enjoyable romp--fans of the Pink Carnation series should enjoy.

Bookish Review: Save as Draft

Save as Draft is a novel of online dating, written in the epistolary style. It opens with a glossary of online shorthand, which I couldn't tell if was an attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor (in which case, it failed) or a serious reference for readers (in which case, seemingly unnecessary, because anyone who is not fairly web-savvy is probably not going to read this)--and, I object to the assertion that "oops" is onomatopoeia. But, I digress. My first thought was, "Cecilia Ahern, she is not."

I will say this--I though I had the book figured out in the first few pages, but it did not end as I expected, so points for that. The book is also clearly written from experience, and anyone who has ventured into online dating will recognize some of the vignettes included. The book is fairly well-written, but the lack of real resolution bothered me. I like my chick lit with a happy ending and all details tied up neatly with a bow--of course, the lack of happy ending makes the story more realistic, but really just made me cringe for the author (see "written from experience," above). Not a bad read, and it is quick.

Disclaimer: I received an advance electronic copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of review. Free access to the book did not affect my opinion. For more information on Simon & Schuster's eGalley program, please visit www.galleygrab.com.

Bookish Review: The Betrayal of the Blood Lily

Lauren Willig has again created a fun romp in her Pink Carnation series. The twist in this one is that our heroine is already married (she was forced into marriage at the end of the last book) and after relocating to India with her husband (yet another twist--it's not in England or in France!) she meets her true love. But she's already married! The horror! Will she come to love her husband? Will she run off with her new swain? Oh, the twists and turns!

I pretty much figured it out, but it was fun.

There is the usual spy snatching and fun interludes of Colin and Eloise to be had. If you've read the others in the series, you know what to expect. Fun and fluffy.

Bookish Review: The Daughters

The Daughters tells the story of Lizzie Summers and her friends Carina and Hudson. All three girls are daughters of the rich and/or famous, and they have rules about being such a daughter. The book is about what happens when they break some of their rules. Lizzie is the daughter of a supermodel, but she unfortunately got the looks of her journalist father. She is mortified every time she has to pose with her mother for a paparazzi photo until she falls into "ugly modeling" and gets labeled the new face of beauty. In the midst of all this, the girls are starting high school and Carina is fighting with her business mogul father while Hudson struggles under her pop-star mother's creative control over Hudson's first album. Throw in a very attractive boy from Lizzie's past, who wants to be a friend...or more than a friend...or not even a friend, and it's quite an interesting story!

The friendships and angst feel real. Tweens will love these girls and be very eager for the next installment after the cliffhanger ending.

Bookish Review:Summer Sisters

Summer Sisters is a novel for adults by Judy Blume. As a child, I loved Judy Blume, so this, with its more adult themes, gave me mixed feelings. It tells the stories of two girls who spend summers together on the East Coast. One, Caitlin, is rich and the other, Vix, is not, but their friendship provides opportunities Vix would not otherwise have. She gets to summer on the island, leaving her dysfunctional family behind in New Mexico; she gets to go to private school; she gets a scholarship to Harvard. Both girls envy each other, for different reasons, and they love each other, in their own dysfunctional way. Caitlin gets wilder and wilder as she grows up, eventually even marrying Vix's first love. Many people question why Vix remains friends with Caitlin, but how do you turn your back on the person who changed your life?

I can't say I enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed Judy Blume's books as a kid, but it was interesting to read something on this level from her.

Bookish Review: Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark is the 1st book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. These are the books on which the TV show True Blood is based. Sookie is a telepathic barmaid in a small town in N. Louisiana. Two years prior to this book, synthetic blood was developed and vampires brought themselves into the light (metaphorically) and are trying to "mainstream." When a vampire walks into Sookie's bar, she is immediately attracted to him and the silence of his mind (she can't read his thoughts).

Soon, women who have been with vampires start showing up dead, and Sookie must help solve the mystery when her brother becomes a prime suspect.

I have friends who are big fans of this series, and they are fun and fluffy, to an extent. but, Sookie is a little annoying (she cries a lot, and is an odd mix of well-read and semi-stupid, with a lot of naive mixed in). Also , she and Bill (vampire) fall in love immediately, and she has sex with him almost immediately, despite the fact that she is a virgin and one who was sexually assaulted in the past. These are not unusual romance conventions, but it is a little hard to take.

Overall, not bad, but nothing you should rush out to pick up, either. The 2nd in the series is a little better.

Bookish Review: The Temptation of the Night Jasmine

This is the 5th book in Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation Series, and it follows along in the same formula as the others. All of the books are told on two levels: on one, Eloise, modern-day grad student and researcher and on the other, her latest discovery in her research. Eloise is dating a very handsome Brit who is descended from the very spies she is researching for her dissertation. In this volume, Eloise uncovers the story of Charlotte, a friend of some of the other ladies she has studied, and her distant cousin Robert. They, of course, fall in love and discover a plot to kidnap the king in the meantime!

These books are fun and fluffy, quite a quick read, and always have a happy ending. Good fun.

Bookish Review: The Grimm Legacy

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman tells the story of Elizabeth Rew, who takes a job at the New York Circulating Material Repository. The Repository is like a library, but instead of lending books, it lends objects, including doublets, old spoons, and Marie Antoinette's wig. In addition to the ordinary objects, however, are objects from the Grimm fairy tales and other magical bric-a-brac. Elizabeth is excited to be trusted with the magical objects, but all is not well at the repository. Things keep disappearing, and the pages are being tracked by a large, black bird. When one of the pages disappears, Elizabeth and her friends decide to take matters into their own hands.

There is, of course, also a romantic storyline involved.

The book is a fun read, and should appeal to fairytale lovers.

Full Disclosure: I picked up a free ARC of this book at a conference. Pub Date: July 2010

Bookish Review: The Cardturner

Louis Sachar is probably best known as the author of Holes. In this book, he tells the story of Alton Richards, who is coerced into helping his blind great-uncle by his parents, who have hopes that the rich uncle will leave them lots of money in his will if Alton sucks up to him enough. Alton dreads the duty at first, but he comes to like and love his uncle and the game that he plays--bridge. Sachar manages to make bridge seem exciting and challenging while not making the rules too confusing. Alton, of course, also finds a bridge-loving girl. The book is pretty straightforward, but the end does have a supernatural element.

Fun, quick read--it may inspire a whole new generation of bridge lovers. I don't get the cover, though--it seems to have nothing to do with the plot.

Full disclosure: I picked up a free ARC of this book at a conference. Pub date: May 11, 2010

Bookish Review: Rules of Attraction

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles is a sequel to her novel, Perfect Chemistry (which I have not read). It reads like a Harlequin romance for teens. Carlos Fuentes is a first-generation American whose mother moved back to Mexico after he and his brother were involved in gang activity in Chicago. When he gets in even deeper trouble in Mexico, she sends him back to the US to live with his brother--who has cleaned up his act--in Colorado. Carlos has a major chip on his shoulder, and when he is framed in a school drug bust, he is forced to move in with his classmate Kiara and her family. Carlos thinks Kiara is so not his type, but he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her, and she feels the same. Carlos is involved in a dangerous situation, and it is up to Kiara's family to save him.

The attraction and soulmate business is laid on a bit thick, but I think teens will find it compelling. NB: Carlos & Kiara do have sex (thought it is not too graphically described), so know your audience before letting your kids read it.

Full Disclosure: I picked up a free ARC of this book at a conference. The book did pub this month, though.

Bookish Movie: Confessions of a Shopaholic

This movie was based on a so-so, fluffy novel by Sophie Kinsenella. The movie is rather vapid and feels a little long. Isla Fisher is cute and believable and the male lead is adorable, but the main character is not as loveable as she could be and the movie as a whole just feels slow & predictable. Easy to tell from the trailer exactly what you're going to get, which is not always a problem with a romantic comedy, but this one just falls a little flat. Not terrible, but not that good, either.

Bookish: An Echo in the Bone

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon is the latest book in the Outlander saga. I don't recommend picking this up if you have not already read the other books in the series. I think you would be hopelessly confused and not very invested in the characters. This book picks back up in the midst of the impending revolution. There is a lot of side plot this time with Lord John and Willie--not all of which makes that much sense if you haven't read all of the Lord John books, but it's ok. The book drags a bit in the middle, after Jamie and Claire first attempt to get to Scotland (unsuccessfully) and then they just slog around while you are screaming "Get ON WITH IT! You are supposed to be in SCOTLAND!"

But I digress...

There is also some fun interactions with Bree and Roger, though again, there is a dry spell in the middle.

Things REALLY pick up at the end, though, and Diana totally leaves us hanging at the end! Makes for a very exciting ending; unfortunately, we've got many years to wait for the resolution.