"The School for Good and Evil: A World Without Princes" by Soman Chainani Book Review

A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the epic sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel, The School for Good and Evil, Sophie and Agatha are home, living out their Ever After. But life isn’t quite the fairy tale they expected.

When Agatha secretly wishes she’d chosen a different happy ending, she reopens the gates to the School for Good and Evil. But the world she and Sophie once knew has changed.

Witches and princesses, warlocks and princes are no longer enemies. New bonds are forming; old bonds are being shattered. But underneath this uneasy arrangement, a war is brewing and a dangerous enemy rises. As Agatha and Sophie battle to restore peace, an unexpected threat could destroy everything, and everyone, they love—and this time, it comes from within.

Soman Chainani has created a spectacular world that Newbery Medal-winning author Ann M. Martin calls, “a fairy tale like no other, complete with romance, magic, and humor that will keep you turning pages until the end.”

Since this is the second book, there shouldn't be a need to tell you there will be spoilers for the first book. My review for the first book, "The School for Good and Evil" can be found here.

This was an excellent sequel! I find the second book/movie in a trilogy is usually the weakest point in the series because it's the second book: there isn't any of the excitement of the introduction to a new world, you usually aren't introduced to anyone that matters too much to the overall story line, and by the end things haven't been completely resolved and tied up in a nice bow. It's the book you read so you can kind of figure out what might happen in the third volume.

This book is a bit different.

In this one, we are introduced to a new world, or rather the one we saw in the first book has been changed. Basically, everyone becomes a sexist jerk and/or confused about their sexuality (I'm looking at you, Tedros.) The Evers and Nevers kind of swap places. For example, the Nevergirls cover themselves in makeup, while the Evergirls cut off their hair and stop bathing. I liked that the characters were trying to find their individuality while also following the course of a fairy tale. Just like middle school, which is the age group these books are aimed towards. It was funny to read how the girls are just like, "I'm eating whatever I want now" and they are learning how to defend themselves, so yah equality! And then the boys.... I knew that boys can get pretty close and develop similar emotional relationships just like girls do. But apparently they practice sword fighting shirtless, which makes no sense since they are so vain about their appearance, wouldn't they cover up so they would be less likely to get scars? (I'm looking at you, Tedros.) Also, some characters go to some lengths to change their gender mostly just to stay alive in this new world order. (I'm looking at you... Everyone?!)

There is one major edition to the characters, who messes up the status quo for the dumbest reason ever. She's known as Evelyn Sader, but of course, you'll remember her as that eaves-dropping bitch who has an annoying gap in her teeth and an affinity for butterflies...for their super sonic hearing ability? Not the first thing I associate with a butterfly, but to each their own.

As with the first book, there are some pretty hilarious moments, like when they gift the returning heroes (or should I say 'heroines') with a carpet made from actual prince hair. And also has the darker elements that define this series, again, the rug made from shorn prince hair. I don't mean to say that the princes were scalped when they made the rugs, though that is pretty disturbing.

I read in other reviews how some people were disappointed in Agatha. In the first book, she was witty, questioned authority, stood her ground, and was very intelligent. But in this book, that went right out the window. But I think that was from her not having a firm stance on things. Like in the first book she knew what she wanted: to go home safely in the company of her only friend. In this book, she doesn't know what she wants. Sophie or Tedros. It's a hard decision, to choose between a boyfriend/prince and a best friend. Who do you spend more time with? If you start living with the boyfriend, the decision makes itself. But it is very hard on the other person involved.

I felt so bad for Tedros. He needs whatever therapy they give out in fairy tale land. He suffers so much, especially in the latter half of the book. He's already separation anxiety with the people he just chooses to care about. Although who can blame him: mother left him and his dad when he was little, his father died a broken man, his princess ran off with her best friend who is also their nemesis, and everyone only likes him when he is at the top of his game sorta speak (he's rich, handsome, famous family). Otherwise, he faces horrible mistreatment for the very same reasons. Poor Tedros, he's got issues.

I still feel for Sophie. Even after this ending, I still understand why she does the things that she does. She pursues her goal of being Good again, even though in this world it's too late for her. She's like, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" in every decision she makes. I am very curious about her lineage as well. What is with her family? Was she always doomed from the moment she was born?

There are so many questions and I cannot wait for the next book to come out!

I just wanted to add, I especially loved the part where Tristan belly dances!

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5 out of 5 shorn heads.

My review for the third book is coming soon!

"Fearless" by Cornelia Funke Book Review

Fearless by Cornelia Funke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
"Jacob Reckless returns once again to the Mirrorworld--filled with profound characters, extraordinary creatures, and epic life-or-death treasure hunts that could only come from the mind of the master storyteller of our generation, Cornelia Funke.

"Jacob Reckless has only a few months left to live. He's tried everything to shake the Fairy curse that traded his life for his brother's--legends such as the All-Healing Apple, the Well of Eternal Youth, the blood of a northern Djinn. And yet hope after hope is extinguished. After months of fruitless searching, Jacob journeys through his father's mirror one final time to deliver the bad news to Fox.

"But there they hear of one last possibility--an item so legendary that not even Mirrorworlders believe it exists: a crossbow that can kill thousands, or heal one, when shot through the heart. But a Goyl treasure hunter is also searching for the prized crossbow. Jacob must find it first--and somehow convince Fox to do whatever it takes to save him."

I just finished this one and I cannot wait until the next book! According to this site there will be three more! They need to get the translation going pronto!

I read the first of the series, "Reckless", a long time ago and I remember kinda being meh about it, but I gave it four stars, so maybe I couldn't decide what I thought of it at the time? I will have to reread it now. At the end of the first book, I wasn't sure if there would be more, although leaving the main character facing almost certain death is quite a cliff hanger. (I should not have to put *spoiler* here; Jacob trying to save his own life is the main plot of this book. Also, 'almost certain' is the only oxymoron I ever use. I'm pretty sure that's the only one I use. Maybe...Ironic, since I hate it when people say 'whole entire', like 'My whole entire life has led to this.' It's like, wait, just using one of those words wasn't good enough for you?)

But anyway, I feel this book was so much better than the first. I'm glad there is more to read. I am a huge fan of Cornelia Funke and her "Inkheart" trilogy which I totally recommend if you're even considering giving this a look. It's fantastic!

I read in some reviews (not on Goodreads) that some people found the writing beautiful and elegant on some pages and clunky on others and it did feel that way at times, but I would attribute that to maybe some stuff being lost in the translation from the original German to English.

One thing that really bugs me has nothing to do with the author, unless Funke said to her American editors, "Can you make the hardcover editions not match? That would be great." They look nothing alike and the book collector in me is loosing her shit over that.

I'm not sure what the next book will be about, but I can't wait to see the Alderelves (that's an actual spoiler....or is it?) although it's open to interpretation whether they still exist or not. Maybe the Red Fairy will continue to be angry? That seems more like her problem now though.


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5 out of 5 northern Djinns.

"The Cuckoo's Calling" Book Review

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide.

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: his sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

I'm gonna be honest and say that I only got this book because it was written by Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling. I can understand why she put it out there under a pseudonym, but her agent was probably pulling his or her hair out.

I found this book much more enjoyable than "The Casual Vacancy", Rowling's other adult book. The main characters, Cormoran Strike and Robin, were very interesting and likable. Strike reminded me of the main character on the original C. S. I. (television show): he was smart, he doesn't let his feelings get the best of him, he finds things other people don't see, and he's funny. I read other British detectives recently, and over the years, that were disappointing knock-offs of Sherlock Holmes. I never once while reading this book compared him to Holmes, and the only reason I would is because they're damn good detectives and entertaining. Also, in my mind, he was played by a slightly fatter version of Russell Crowe (I know he's Australian, but he's also hot).

The middle did drag quite a bit though. It seemed as if all I did was read about his eating and sleeping habits while mourning the end of his relationship to a hot, crazy person. I would rather have focused on the murder. I admit that I snuck a look at other reviews, hoping that I could figure out the ending so that I knew there was a point. But the beginning and ending were great. It really picked up some speed at the end.

I noticed in some reviews complaints about the use of 'big words' and I can understand both sides of that argument. I came across the word 'despoliation' which I have never seen before in my life. After looking it up (verb: steal or violently remove valuable or attractive possessions from; plunder) I also used the thesaurus and found 'plundering, pillaging, looting, ransacking, ravishing, sacking; ravaging, devastation, ruination, vandalism' and all of those could have worked in that particular sentence, so that was showing off a bit. Now, looking at it from the other side, the writer's side, when you're writing you don't want to repeat words because that can get annoying for both author and reader, so you substitute other words. Sometimes this leads into using words people don't usually read. So it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Oh well, nothing wrong with learning a new word.

Overall, I enjoyed it but I'm not sure if I will read more of Mr. Strike.

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Four out of five Strikes.

"Polly's Secret" Book Review

Polly's Secret by Harriet A. Nash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Polly Jane Brooks is the youngest daughter of a landlord who owns a hotel in a little town. Polly dreams of bigger things in her life besides work. In particular, she doesn't like to miss the ball happening tonight, with her specially made silk dress and dance slippers sitting away in her room while she toils with her sister in the kitchen, making food for the guests. A sick and elderly traveler arrives at the hotel. Polly is ordered to bring him some gruel and it is there that she makes a solemn promise to keep the deeds to his house and property safe from greedy relatives until his son, William Train, should arrive back from India and claim them.

Since no one else has read this (I had to manually add the book), I feel obligated to provide an honest review. Here I go.

This is a growing-up tale about a young girl in a small town in Massachusetts. The ending is as happy as you would expect. The women get married and they all get rich, and the bad guys are shamed though not outright punished because that would be a bad trait to develop in a young woman.

It's cute and quaint in its way. It has a nice charm to it and it has all of the ideals from when it was written. It has aged considerably. The book does a good job of looking like it's neutral but it doesn't quite spare anyone. There is some anti-feminist and a few racist remarks that are subtle because this book strives to be a book written for young girls. I didn't mind that too much, but it did rankle my pc sensibilities a bit. There was one word that I didn't expect to see but wasn't surprised to see considering when it was written. To give a hint: It was published during the 1920's when the Ku Klux Klan was at its peak in membership and "Birth of a Nation" was a huge movie for its time. I'm sure you know what word I'm referring to now, but I will not state it here.

There's a scene where basically everyone pulls their daughters from the only school in town. Polly seems perturbed by this but is quickly quieted by the local old spinsters down the block. Although other women lament not being able to understand their husbands at times. And pretty much everyone gets married to the one they are "most suited" for even if it seems to be kind of against their will. But that's to be expected.

They didn't treat the older sister as well as the younger. She marries the richer husband, for most of the book anyway, but they keep saying how plain she is, how matronly, how dull, how dumb. Especially next to Polly, who is beautiful and smart and fun. But Deborah's work ethic is much better; all the more ironic that she gets a rich husband and doesn't have to do anything but have kids. She must be bored out of her mind.

The book's very into the idea of honest men doing honest work on the farm rather than becoming lawyers and doctors. The most intelligent person in the town is the schoolteacher and he's kind of nasty but makes a few good points. But he is chastised into retirement onto his farm and the only other teacher is a nonentity.

It was a cute, like I said. It has aged a bit, but its romanticism of the old way of life won't be lost on a few people. As far as I can tell, the author got the accent down right, but I'm not sure if all the poor people speak like that. The few illustrations it has are beautiful. Not sure if I should marker that word out or not. It does bother me that some young person will read it and wonder what the hell it is doing in this book.

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I give you 3.5 out of 5 yonder stars.

"Cruel Beauty" by Rosamund Hodge Book Review

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Graceling" meets "Beauty and the Beast" in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast", "Cruel Beauty" is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

There are so many things to say about this book. I don't know where to start. My head is a little light with the pleasure of having read this wonderful book. I loved it. It was everything to me for about a day and a half. It was beautiful and fun and majestic.

It's an odd retelling of the classic tale Beauty and the Beast. It also had the ancient legends of the Greek gods to borrow from and a little bit of the horrific story of Bluebeard. I loved that there were keys in this story and that they always seemed to cause a sexy moment.

This is definitely going to be a case of book-hangover for me. Damn you, Hodge! May your next book be as awesome and wonderful as this one! And for the gods sake, don't ask the Kindly Ones for help!!!

It's funny, I know about the Kindly Ones via Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" graphic novels, and they're just as horrible in there. I still have no idea why they have anything to do with the Greek gods. I guess I need to brush up on my ancient stories. I want a sparrow god. That's adorable. And it was so kind, too.

Oh my god, Ignifex/Shade! Ugh, I would like a man that is anything like either of those! Snarky, humorous, gorgeous, blue-eyed, red-eyed, can fly, bargains well - I would never get cheated by an old car salesman ever again! Also, the fact that he more or less fights demons makes him sound so incredibly sexy to me!

Nyx was pretty awesome. Strong but very bitter and that made her so much more real than most heroes. I would compare her to Katniss Everdeen, but less action and more sensual. This is not necessarily a book for very young, young adult readers.

I guess you could say that the ending is bittersweet, but I'm having trouble digesting all that it means. Maybe there's a sequel in the works? I'm not sure if that would ruin it for me or not. I definitely want more.

I have to link to the review that caused me to buy this wonderful book - it was written by Emily May, otherwise known as the Book Geek and you can find it here - A great review, I wish I could write half as well.

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5 out of 5 roses.

"Wolf Rider" by Avi Book Review

Wolf Rider by Avi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On an ordinary evening, just as he's about to leave for a party, 15-year-old Andy Zadinski receives a phone call from a stranger that changes his life. The caller, Zeke, confesses to the murder of a young woman named Nina Klemmer. Andy immediately calls the police, who shrug it off as a gag or a crank call. But Andy persists when he happens to meet Nina, who is just as Zeke described her. She takes his warnings as harassment, however, and everyone now thinks that Andy himself made up the call. His attempts to ferret out Zeke and protect Nina, while compromising his own safety, make for an exciting tale of the terror lurking beneath everyday surroundings and behind ordinary events.

I'm not sure what to think of this book. I know it was meant for a younger audience, so I feel I must give it some leeway.

I'm not convinced that most of what happened wasn't just coming out of Andy's own mind. (view spoiler)[ For one thing, the man who is apparently a vicious murderer, doesn't actually commit any murders. At least, not in this book. He just seems to want to live out horrible fantasies. Which isn't great, but totally better than killing people. There's no mention of past murder victims being found. Lucas could've just wanted to kill to hide from the embarrassment of being found out that he even has them. And I'm not entirely sure that he would've killed Andy. He did tie him up, but he wasn't exactly dressed for murder: he was running the risk of anyone seeing him in his usual clothes. And he had to have been a reasonably well-known personage around the town. Professors don't exactly make enough to have their initials put on their snazzy cufflinks with their salary.

And the ending didn't answer anything. Lucas was never found out and he died, but that part didn't bother me so much as the strained relationship between Andy and his father. Instead of thinking that his son might have been right the whole time with his finding of the fancy cufflink, he could easily assume that Andy might be a killer. For all he knows, he was stalking some woman (which is exactly what he did) and trying to put the blame on someone else. So now, with the finding of the cufflink, he could also think that his son succeeded in killing a beloved professor and making it look like a car crash. The sequel for this would probably have a lot of therapy and 'medicine' for Andy when he gets back from his Aunt's.  (hide spoiler)]

I don't know. It was certainly a fast read. But I'm so used to CSI and thorough investigations on TV, maybe this was a step too far down for me to enjoy.

I read another of Avi's books before, "Blue Heron" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...), way back in middle school and I loved it. I'm wondering if I would like it now. It's a completely different story from this one, so possibly.

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3 out of 5 stars.

"Murder On the Orient Express" Book Review

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Hercule Poirot Mystery

Snowbound in the Balkan hills, the passengers on the Orient Express awaken to the shocking news that one of their number had been viciously murdered in the night. With a business more grim than murder afoot, Poirot has not a moment to waste. For the killer is still at large on the train...

Holy fast read, Batman! This is my first Agatha Christie novel and the first time I ever read about Hercule Poirot. I feel like I should have gotten to her a lot quicker than I did.

When I found my current copy of this book, my friend was with me. She saw it and became very enthusiastic about it. I asked her and she told me how it ends! Which usually makes me not want to read the book. But I was actually more intrigued by it. How does the clever Belgian figure it all out? And will he compare to my beloved Holmes? Like apples to oranges as I soon found out.

There's not much else to say, except I enjoyed it thoroughly and plan to read more of Poirot and Christie at some later point. I also want to watch the movie; my book cover is covered in illustrations with fabulous actors and actresses: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, and the majestic Vanessa Redgrave! I bet that movie is spectacular! It must have been the easiest screenplay to write, ever! The whole book is witty dialogue - so, basically, a copy and paste job for Paul Dehn.

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4 out of 5 my dear Wat- uh, I mean, sil vois plais.

"The Complete Phantom of the Opera" Book Review

The Complete Phantom of the Opera by George Perry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"This is the lavishly illustrated, definitive account of 'The Phantom of the Opera', tracing the Phantom legend from its origins in historical fact through Gaston Leroux's heartrending classic novel and other artistic incarnations to the present day and Andrew Lloyd Webber's incredibly successful musical."

More of a 4.5 rating. This book offers a glimpse into the past of the Phantom. Mainly delving into the origins of the Paris Opera House and the mad genius of its architect Charles Garnier, the interesting life of the Phantom's maker, Gaston Leroux, and how the compelling story went from book to silver screen and to the theatre where it reins to this day.

I loved learning all of the little details about the most singular Opera House. Indeed, it doesn't hold the biggest auditorium and has limited seating, but it is the largest in the world. What a grand setting! How could Leroux go there and not create such a fantastic story. They shouldn't have replaced the ceiling covers though, the 'new' one looks out of place here.

I find Gaston Leroux a fascinating man in his own write. Not so much his career as a writer, since most start out as journalists. But more so for the little tidbits about him. Like the fact that he was born in an undertaker's business complete with his own dramatic quote about his birth: "There, where I sought a cradle, I found a coffin."

Some of the pictures were lovely. It was wonderful to see the makeup transformation up close and the sketches of the clothes and costumes and wigs. I would totally kill to have one of Maria Bjornson's models of the set. I could probably make one but damn they're beautiful!

It was also nice to find out more about the people who helped create the show behind the scenes. I was really surprised that so many people came from the opera, but I guess that should have been obvious. "Phantom of the ...oh, what was it?"

I really liked that the libretto was included. The differences between the stage version and recent movie version might confuse some other people, but I enjoyed reading it and looking for the differences. It was much easier to read this one than to stare at the one provided with the original cast recording. It's always fun to be able to read the correct lyrics or just to see what all of the characters have to say during the really big numbers. In the 2004 movie, some parts get drowned out.

Overall, a very enjoyable book and worthy of a phan's collection.

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4.5 out of 5 Angels of Music.

"Beauty" by Robin McKinley Book Review

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"A strange imprisonment....

"Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage.

"When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, 'Cannot a Beast be tamed?'

"Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: 'Beauty and the Beast.' "

This whole review is full of spoilers. I'm not blocking it out. Read at your own peril.

This is one of the many novels retelling the famous fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" - in fact, this is only one of two that this author has written - I heard the other one is mostly about roses. I enjoyed this book, it was a very fast-paced read. It kept pretty close to the original story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.

But there were a few things that bothered me. For one, when Beauty wants to leave in her father's stead, her family protests at first and then they just let her go. So in short: "NO! NO! NO! NO! Fine." I mean, they are sad, but I expected something a bit more dramatic and realistic to happen. I totally expected her to runaway in the middle of the night and then get rescued from starving and freezing to death by the castle's sudden appearance. At least in the original story it is said that her family is a bunch of vain jerks that don't care that she may be going to her death.

I can rely upon my imagination to add to the details that the author supplies. But this may in fact be the laziest description of a main character that I have ever read. Frankly, I'm confused as to what the Beast was supposed to look like in this version. There are a lot of mentions about gryphons and then there's a mention of a lion's mane, but that's it. Did he have hooves? Was his face a weird bird-like beak thing? In that case, did he have wings? If I had been Beauty and he had had wings, I would have married him in a heartbeat.... And then been promptly disappointed when he turned into a plain non-magical albeit handsome human being.

And the ending made little sense while being anti-climactic. There should have been some drama when she finally said "I love you" to the hideous creature that she was so scared of when she first saw him. Instead it was said and then a few sentences later, it's wedding time! There wasn't any painful transformation, no fireworks, or fairy lights. Nothing! At least they had a chaste kiss, I suppose.

And then, if the magic was gone, how in the hell did her family know to go to the castle then? There's no magical way to send the message, and they would have had a hard time believing that anyway. There was no mention of the Beast sending a human liveried servant to them to let them know of the happy tidings. How did they know to go and what persuaded them to undertake the journey?

And then the townsfolk.... I can imagine how that conversation went down: "Hey, Beauty is getting married to a king we forgot existed for at least two centuries." "Wasn't she with her aunt in the city?" "Oh, about that, it's a terrible lie and a long story. Anywho, let's just walk right into that enchanted forest that we have been making up terrifying stories about that have TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE!!!!" On a scale of one to never ever happening, it's definitely the latter.

Magician? Really? Wouldn't 'witch' have been a more appropriate name for that guy considering the time period of this story? And that was the dumbest reason to curse an entire family. I mean, I've heard of people murdering each other for stupid reasons, but I would never turn my enemy into a literal killing machine. That sounds like a plan that should've backfired instantly. But it was nice of the guy to let the Beast know that he just had to make someone fall in love with him to break the spell, because no one has ever fallen in love with an ugly King/rich guy before. The witch, as I'm calling him, could've just waited until the incestuous relationships in the royal family began to manifest into freakish deformities in the future generations instead of performing a curse that didn't even work right away.

By the way, when was this supposed to be happening? That library really threw me off. I can understand if they were in an alternate reality that they would have future books in it, like the world's most Tardis-like castle ever. But when the magic is gone at the end of the story, did all of those future books just disappear?

And then the Beast forgot his own name, which okay, if no one is saying your name to you for two hundred years you might forget it. But you'd think, being surrounded by all of those books, he would've gotten the idea to write down the most emo of all biographies ever. Even though no one would have read it, being inside a castle that everyone has forgotten existed that is also inside a horrifying enchanted forest that no one enters willingly, it probably wouldn't have an audience. But it would have kept him busy and he might have remembered his name, provided he started with a title page. " 'My Ugly Face by King -', eh, I'll fill that in later."

And then, Beauty. It's not really her fault she didn't know she was pretty. She started off an awkward teenager that has lost everything and happens to have sisters who could double as models if they felt like it. There aren't any mirrors in the castle the whole few months she is there. And when she visits home no one thinks to give the whiny bitch a mirror just to shut her up? In fact the only person who does make her look in a mirror is the Beast who has avoided mirrors out of habit for obvious reasons.

I swear I liked the book before I started this review, I guess I started thinking about it. But I would certainly hand this to a teenager or a tween since this would be right up their alley. Ms. McKinley was very faithful to the original story, perhaps too faithful. But it was an enjoyable read.

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3 out of 5 stars, for the Stockholm Syndrome. 

"The Patchwork Girl of Oz" Book Review

The Patchwork Girl Of Oz by L. Frank Baum

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Ojo and Unk Nunkie visit a magician, who uses the Powder of Life to bring a Patchwork Girl to life. But then a terrible accident turns Unk Nunkie into a statue! Ojo must go on a quest to gather the strange ingredients needed to restore his uncle. Joined by Scraps the Patchwork Girl, Bungle the glass cat, and a host of other creatures, Ojo sets off on his travels around Oz."

This is the second book involving Baum's Oz book series that I've read so far, so needless to say, I am reading the books out of order. Not that that matters overmuch, since the plots of each of the books tie up nicely at the end of each and aren't mentioned in the next. If anything needs to be known, it is quickly summarized and then they move on. I wish more authors would do this - it would save me a lot of headaches.

As for the characters, I liked Ojo from the start, even though he sorely needed a confidence booster. Apparently other characters needed to be made more humble. More on that later. The Woozy was kind of useless. The Patchwork Girl herself needed to grow on me, by the end of it I liked her the most and now I'm a Scarecrow/Patchwork shipper. (Does anyone get the feeling that the Tin Woodsman is gay? Oh, just me, nevermind.) One character wasn't explained though: What was with the Mysterious House with its disembodied voice and free bed-and-breakfast deal?

***SPOILER ALERT*** You have been warned (I didn't feel like blocking half of my review).

While I enjoyed this book, I can see how easy it was for Gregory Maguire to turn the rulers of Oz into despotic dictators. I mean, it's a fairyland but no one is allowed to use magic?! That's awful, I thought that was the point of living in a fairyland. And nearly all of Ozma's friends were produced by magical means, so I don't understand how she could hold such a grudge towards it, even with the awful witch who enslaved her and turned her into a boy.

(On that note: Why didn't she stay that way?! She could pee standing up - men will never know how much more free they are because of that slight advantage. I mean, think about it - they can go anywhere, they can make it fun by aiming at stuff, and they're done so quickly! Although they need to wash their hands more - don't think for a minute that no one noticed you guys don't wash your hands! Ewww!)

I'm glad they fixed the Crooked Magician's extreme Rheumatoid Arthritis, but they had to give him something after taking all of his magic away. And it wasn't like he was a bad man with it, or just crap at it, he was doing amazing stuff! Everyone liked his creations: the Patchwork Girl was some much needed sass next to Ojo's downtrodden behavior and the Glass Cat was pretty if not really useful and kind of annoying at times. He was dabbling with things like the Powder of Life! That has to be difficult to make, even for one who is used to practicing magic. Ozma could have used him is all I'm saying.

And then they took the Glass Cat's pink brains out so she would be more humble. How terrible! Instead of waiting for her to mature into a better person(cat?) or develop humility on her own, they took away a physical characteristic of hers to suit their own needs.

And since they went through the trouble of doing that, why didn't they 'fix' the poor Phonograph? His problem was easy, you just switch out his crappy record for a better one and everyone is happy. If I don't see him in the next book, then that means someone destroyed him for doing the one thing he was made to do and that was to try to entertain them, which is sad.

Also, I love how Ozma is slowly putting all of the people she needs to keep an eye on very close by. But since this is a children's book, I'll keep a few of my 'conspiracy theories' and 'observations' to myself.

And Glinda the Good is a bitch! She watched Ojo walk all over Oz to get all this stuff to fix his Uncle who he feared he wouldn't see alive again for at least six years, if ever, only to fail to get all of the items needed when she knew the whole time a simple way to fix his problem.... Oh, wait, that's how she rolls.

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Ozma of Oz says 5 out of 5 stars!

"A Fatal Likeness" Book Review

A Fatal Likeness by Lynn Shepherd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"A mystery that explores the dark lives and unexplained secrets of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and his wife Mary, author of Frankenstein.

"In the dying days of 1850 the young detective Charles Maddox takes on a new case. His client? The only surviving son of the long-dead poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and his wife Mary, author of Frankenstein.

"Charles soon finds himself being drawn into the bitter battle being waged over the poet’s literary legacy, but then he makes a chance discovery that raises new doubts about the death of Shelley’s first wife, Harriet, and he starts to question whether she did indeed kill herself, or whether what really happened was far more sinister than suicide.

"As he’s drawn deeper into the tangled web of the past, Charles discovers darker and more disturbing secrets, until he comes face to face with the terrible possibility that his own great-uncle is implicated in a conspiracy to conceal the truth that stretches back more than thirty years.

"The story of the Shelleys is one of love and death, of loss and betrayal. In this follow-up to the acclaimed Tom-All-Alone’s, Lynn Shepherd offers her own fictional version of that story, which suggests new and shocking answers to mysteries that still persist to this day, and have never yet been fully explained."

Before I get started, I will say that I found this book enjoyable and the writing well done. Otherwise, I wouldn't have finished it and this review would just be a list of exasperated complaints.

However, I do have some nit-picking to do.

I must say that I do not like when a narrative goes back and forth between time periods. Specifically, some time in the past and then the current state of affairs. Now, if that actually means a damn to the story, like it is a major part of the plot, then fine, do that, so long as it is sensible. What the author did here, and I don't know if she does it in all of her work, was irritating because it reminded me that she existed and it didn't move the story along. It seemed to always give information that wasn't necessary to be read and almost seemed like she was showing off her research skills in odd moments. I know there is a narrator and that guy knows everything because we're reading this story 200 years in the future, but having that show up slows the pacing of the story and must of it doesn't help me if the character doesn't know about it.

Also, the mentioning that we, the reader, probably know what happened to the main character because we may possibly have read the first book (I didn't), is annoying. Particularly when the narrator goes, "He did this (but YOU know that)". I know the author didn't want to repeat themselves, but there must have been a more elegant way of doing that.

I found the accents perfect, because I knew where they were from and could read them. I have read some characters with accents and had to have it translated like it was a different language (Dracula, anyone?).

I said it before in one of my updates, but I'll say it again: "I find it funny that the author of a British detective novel would mock the character of Sherlock Holmes - even though her detective wouldn't be able to hold a candle to him: he's both stupid (or at least among these particular clients - the only reason he is getting ahead is because some other detective has done the work for him by writing it down) and overemotionally involved in his cases." The movie about Holmes came out recently, you're British, you're writing about a detective that is logical and has scientific methods, and has a disdain for his appearance (unless it will help a case). Am I really supposed to think of someone other than Holmes? You brought this upon yourself, Ms. Shepherd!

It is interesting that she should choose such a famed and literary family to slander in this book. I'm sure there are Romantic fans out there getting their pitchforks and torches ready. I did love "Frankenstein" (the book); it is one of my all-time favorites. But even still, I only found it somewhat irksome that Mary Shelley's character is besmirched so much in this book. (view spoiler)[I always thought her to be a young woman in love with odd ideals not suited to her time, but not so much child-killing, murderous bitch. (hide spoiler)] She does mention after the epilogue that she made up most of it to make a more interesting story, but it is still plausible. After reading about Lord Byron, it wouldn't surprise me if any of them were just as bad. He was a monster, if not an outright sociopath.

It was a typical detective novel, you figured things out as you went. I was very satisfied with the ending - (view spoiler)[though what was up with that girl dying? You had to have a sad ending, didn't you? (hide spoiler)] Overall, a decent book. I enjoyed myself, but I'm not sure I would read more of Ms. Shepherd's work.

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I bequeath this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

"Sever" Book Review

Sever by Lauren DeStefano
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book isn't as long as it looks at first glance. There's a lot of space on the pages and the print is pretty big.

This was a disappointing read and I was ready to have my mind blown because I liked the first two, so much! I'm actually very upset about this.

This book could easily have been called "Rhine Severs Her Brainstem" and it would've been more factually accurate. Rhine doesn't think in this book. The strong woman who kept escaping the clutches of vile doctors and mad madams (while under the influence of drugs she was forced to take, by the way), who fought with all her heart to be free, doesn't THINK in this entire third book. In the first part of the book she eats, cleans, hides from Vaughn, and plays with wildflowers, all pretty much thoughtless activity. And in the second part, she's just stupid. She might be thinking, but she keeps any and all important information from the other people around her who need it, which makes her ability to think absolutely pointless.

There's many a time where the narration says she moves before she even realizes she has moved, which explains most of her stupid actions, which consists of:

• running towards an empty plot of land where a building would've stood if her brother hadn't blown it up. This wouldn't be so bad, except it results in her friends and herself being captured by a mob.
• not saying anything that could defuse a horrible outburst between Linden and Cecily. Her reason: "I'm not a sister-wife anymore. It's not my battle." Okay, be useless, you stupid, lazy bitch.
• When the evil doctor Vaughn shows up to collect her idiot brother and herself and explain his flimsy reasoning behind murder, entrapment, and enslavement of other people, her only reaction is, literally, "Okay."

What the hell, DeStefano? She's obviously upset (having needles shoved in your eyes will do that), but you didn't have to completely cut her balls off and make her an auxiliary character. She's supposed to be the one making the story move, not just have a story move around her.

I liked how Linden's character changed - "Oh my god, everyone has been telling me for ages how much of an asshole my father is. And now, I can't believe how right they are, or were, since most of those people are now dead as a result of my father's insanity." Unfortunately, it was pointless. If only every story could be satisfactorily completed with the death of a much-beloved character. But then every conclusion would probably look like this:

"As they looked to the horizon, they smiled and hugged each other for warmth

against the chill of a new day. They had the rest of their lives to be together.

"And then the world exploded."

The End.

Technically, that is a definite ending, no bullshit and no future bad sequels to worry about, but not one I want to read from every new author. (I'm looking at you, Suzanne Collins! Although I thought your surprise death made more sense than this one did.)

I will say this though: DeStefano is at her best when she's writing about despair over the loss of a loved one.

I was even okay with the cover on this. Seriously, am I the only one in this universe okay with the color green? Is it bad or something? Does it spit in everyone's morning coffee and steal their favorite chair in the lunch room while I'm not looking? It's just a background, you idiots! Not everything in the young adult section has to be red, black and white. "Oh no, it's a bright color! My eyes cannot handle it!"

I don't understand Rowan at all. At the beginning of the trilogy he doesn't trust anyone and always goes into protective mode around his sister. And then his sister 'dies'..... and he trusts the first person he meets. That is so completely random, I don't know what to say about it, except maybe he shouldn't have been in this book series to begin with if that is all that happens with him. Also, when she shows up, he's just like, "Hey! Join the party! Here's my evil doctor friend!" Dude, show some compassion or something; why were you written so badly? And then at the very end, he almost seems pliable: one insult towards his sister and he's on her side without having been told anything.

Believe it or not, I actually did find things that I liked about this last book and helped it earn the 1.5 stars it did get:

• Cecily wasn't just a hateful piece of regret wandering around. Her callousness had a use this time!
• Reed was cool.
• Vaughn dies; it wasn't as horrible a death as I would've liked to have seen (for that I suggest Stephen King - he brutally murders his bad guys and it is awesome.) and it wasn't a surprise, but it was nice to see happen.

To be honest, I am not sure if I will read any more of DeStefano's books. Most of the book was disappointing and the ending was just okay.

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I give this book 1.5 out of 5 stars.

"The Likeness" Book Review

The Likeness by Tana French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The eagerly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestselling psychological thriller 'In the Woods' 

"Six months after the events of 'In the Woods', Detective Cassie Maddox is still trying to recover. She's transferred out of the murder squad and started a relationship with Detective Sam O'Neill, but she's too badly shaken to make a commitment to him or to her career. Then Sam calls her to the scene of his new case: a young woman found stabbed to death in a small town outside Dublin. The dead girl's ID says her name is Lexie Madison (the identity Cassie used years ago as an undercover detective, and she looks exactly like Cassie.

"With no leads, no suspects, and no clue to Lexie's real identity, Cassie's old undercover boss, Frank Mackey, spots the opportunity of a lifetime. They can say that the stab wound wasn't fatal and send Cassie undercover in her place to find out information that the police never would and to tempt the killer out of hiding. At first Cassie thinks the idea is crazy, but she is seduced by the prospect of working on a murder investigation again and by the idea of assuming the victim's identity as a graduate student with a cozy group of friends.

"As she is drawn into Lexie's world, Cassie realizes that the girl's secrets run deeper than anyone imagined. Her friends are becoming suspicious, Sam has discovered a generations-old feud involving the old house the students live in, and Frank is starting to suspect that Cassie's growing emotional involvement could put the whole investigation at risk. Another gripping psychological thriller featuring the headstrong protagonist we've come to love, from an author who has proven that she can deliver."

I always seem to find a book series after starting with the second one in the series. This always screws up my perception of the series as a whole. That happened with Cornelia Funke's "Inkheart" trilogy: I read "Inkspell" and ended up half falling in love with Dustfinger. And then I read the first one and realized he's a dick and that I'm probably not supposed to like him. Whoops.

This is the first of Tana French's books that I've read, and I hope to read more. I had heard about her and how great her books are and now I know firsthand what everyone is talking about.

I really enjoyed this book. I was content with what I was reading, but I was looking for something that would make me a bit crazy. Something I could dive into, constantly think about (and almost get into car accidents because I was thinking about it so much). Something I could obsess over and, maybe, fall in love with a character or two. This book fit the bill.

At first I didn't like it because the characters were being so annoying; case in point, Cassie acting like she didn't want to go undercover with these nearly impossible circumstances, even though it was plainly obvious she was interested from the start. This story is so improbable (I hope). Apart from twins, I've never seen two people who looked so alike as to be misidentified. I've seen people who could've been brothers/sisters, but never completely identical.

There were a few times when it was going a bit slow for me, but then the writing was very good, so I kept at it. I devoured it. Now, I knew who had done it, or rather, who took the blame in the end, but I was mesmerized by the setting and the group's odd sexual, pseudo-familial relationship (I would totally live there). And I still needed to know how it would all come about in the end.

For the record, I fell in love with Rafe, even though/because of he was such a snotty, blond, British bitchy whore. I also fell in love with Daniel towards the end, a feeling born out of pity I think.

I definitely recommend it for those who don't want to read the usual crime scene investigative story. This isn't even like your usual undercover book either. It's very different and refreshing. I'm intrigued enough to want to read the first one, but I have my doubts as to whether I will like it as much as it's sequel.

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I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

"The Casual Vacancy" Book Review

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

"Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

"Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.

"And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

"The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults."

I'm just going to admit it: I got this just because J. K. Rowling wrote it and I loved the Harry Potter books. I'm also going to be completely honest and say I am not sure I would've picked this up otherwise.

Be that as it may....

I did read a few articles about this book beforehand and I remember Rowling stating that she thought it was a very British novel. But Pagford is a lot like any other small town that happens to be predominately white and full of itself whose inhabitants happen to speak with some British slang.

For some reason, the publishers never mentioned it was about a murder, just a death, but the way it sounded in the press made it seem like it was about a murder. But, no, Barry Fairbrother just dies. But for the first fifty pages or so, I did expect some evildoer to pull on his mustache and cackle with laughter about his having killed off the most interesting character I will never fully meet. Thanks, Rowling.

While the character development is very good, it does take up half of the book before the story really begins to move. And after that I couldn't get to the ending fast enough. Not because I disliked it, but because I was really interested in how these people were going to settle all of their problems. And also whether Rowling would let their problems be wrapped up all nice and tidy at the end. Maybe there wouldn't be an answer to all their problems. Because that's life, it just keeps going. And this book is very close to real life.

There were characters that I was supposed to hate: Simon and Obbo; there were characters I really disliked: Fats, Gavin, and Shirley; there were characters I either pitied or felt close to: Andrew, Gaia, Sukhvinder, Kay, Krystal, Terri, and Tessa. Ruth made me all sorts of frustrated (Goddamnit woman, just hit him first or at least hit him back, I know you have it in you!) I liked Howard and Miles, although I didn't like their view of things. I found it funny that Samantha thought the most romantic things about her shop closing ("It was strange how your brain could know what your heart refused to accept."), but detested her husband and his family.

It's a very good book, all 'round.

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"Alice in Wonderland and Other Stories" Book Review

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Other Stories by Lewis Carroll

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Everything that Lewis Carroll ever published in book form appears in this volume. In addition, at least ten of the shorter pieces have never appeared in print except in their original editions. Included are: "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" "Through the Looking-Glass" "Sylvie and Bruno" "Sylvie and Bruno Concluded" "The Hunting of the Snark" & all of the poetry, essays, phantasmagoria along with a substantial collection of the miscellaneous writings.

"'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Other Stories' is part of Barnes & Noble's series of quality leatherbound volumes. Each title in the series presents a classic work in an attractively designed edition bound in genuine bonded leather, with beautiful illustrations and breathtaking endpapers. These books make elegant additions to any home library."

It's a strange thing, these stories. "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There" are the more popular of Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson's, better known as Lewis Carroll, writings.

They're definitely written for children but I do not think children of this day and age would enjoy it as much. There's a lot of mention of poetry and song and verse that only a child from 18th century England would get. But it's very fun either way. Probably best to read the stories to the children and act it out. It's meant to be fun, not as a commentary or anything.

A lot of people don't understand this author's work and I think it can be best explained like this: say you're with a group of children and you've asked them to help you come up with a story. Just a silly story where anything can happen. So you come up with a character to follow which the children name. And then you come with a place where he or she can be going and they want the character to ride a tyrannosaurus rex into a river of melted chocolate and then the t-rex becomes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because she's hungry. And then she becomes the Queen of Ice Cream and Marshmallow Land! That's kind of what's going on with these stories. They're utter nonsense and fun and it wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that Mr. Dodgson wrote Alice word for word on a boring afternoon with the help of some children he knew.

The "Sylvie and Bruno" stories are a bit like the "Alice" stories, but the main difference is the narrator. I think he's either dying really slowly (he mentions he has a heart problem at the beginning of the story) or he has narcolepsy. Because he is constantly going to fairyland with Sylvie and Bruno or he's in the present with his mopey doctor friend who can't get the girl of his dreams. It's hard to follow at first but now it's just sort of weird. But I still found those stories interesting for all of their oddities.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get myself to read anymore. It just became too much. Maybe I will finish it another day.

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"Body of Lies" Book Review

Body of Lies by David Ignatius
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"A tale of counterterrorism from an author who "ranks with Graham Greene in his knowledge of espionage and the human heart" -Publishers Weekly.

"CIA soldier Roger Ferris has come out of Iraq with a shattered leg and an intense mission—to penetrate the network of a master terrorist known only as "Suleiman." Ferris's plan is inspired by a masterpiece of British intelligence during World War II: He prepares a body of lies, literally the corpse of an imaginary CIA officer who appears to have accomplished the impossible by recruiting an agent within the enemy's ranks.

"This scheme binds friend and foe in a web of extraordinary subtlety and complexity. When it begins to unravel, Ferris finds himself flying blind into a hurricane. His only hope is the urbane head of Jordan's intelligence service. But can Ferris trust him?"

I thought this was well-written. From what I read before I got this book, it made it sound as if it was going to be so terrible that I would be pulling my hair out in frustration. It wasn't that bad. The author certainly knows his way around the Middle East, specifically Jordan. It was very well researched about plots, terrorists and government officials that are off the books.

But I feel as if he could have made his characters a bit less typical. Roger Ferris was almost too goody two shoes for a CIA agent. Alice was downright annoying - I understand the political message but if you treat your readers like they're morons instead of just going with the story, you might upset some people who wanted to read a good CIA novel. Also, she should have been more realistic about Ferris's safety in the Middle East. And then why would those people listen to her anyway? She's a white woman and I don't care how well she's known, that part seemed utterly ridiculous. Gretchen was completely useless. Hani Saleem was the best character. He was very interesting and I would never want to play poker with him.

I must say that the only reason I got this book was because I saw the Ridley Scott movie and I was intrigued by it. I was hoping that the book would let me know more, but it actually didn't, so in that way it was disappointing. But the movie was very different from the book.

If I had to choose, I would pick the movie. It captured the excitement this book should have had for me. And also, the relationship was treated more realistically. Gretchen was completely taken out of the picture, which was perfect. Also, the men in it are fine examples of humanity - Russell Crowe (though a bit chubby, but more to love then), Leonardo DiCaprio, and Mark Strong who is incredibly sexy as Hani Pasha.

To see my movie review of "Body of Lies", click here.

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"Bloodline" Book Review

Bloodline by Sidney Sheldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It was a very exciting and a fast read! I've fast become a fan of Sidney Sheldon. All of these intricate plot points and you weren't sure who the killer was until the very end. I've read a lot of books and nobody has stumped me quite like Sheldon has done with this one.


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"The Complete Sherlock Holmes Vol. 1" Book Review

The Complete Sherlock Holmes 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:

• New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars
• Biographies of the authors
• Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
• Footnotes and endnotes
• Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
• Comments by other famous authors
• Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations
• Bibliographies for further reading
• Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate

"All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works."
Excellent stories and excellent characters! Why have I not read these before?! They should be a part of some high school or literature course somewhere. Americans really should take more British authors seriously. There are only so many plays of Shakespeare and so many novels of Jane Austen to choke over. I find the title kind of funny though: "The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volume 1". I would hate to see the size of the book that contained both volumes.


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Book Review: "Slide"

"Slide" by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr

I didn't actually finish the book. I have a rule of thumb: if I can't get past the 50th page of a book, generally, that means I didn't enjoy it. I got halfway through, which is better than most - I have been known to stop on the first page of a story simply because I got bored, so it was okay and I do know enough of the plot to talk about it.

This is the second in a series of books penned by these two particular authors. I didn't read the first one, called "Bust" for those of you interested. I simply picked up the book because I liked the cover. It's published by Hard Case Crime novels and I thought, "Oh, a detective story and it's short (221 pages), that's good enough for me".

So, if it was short and I had gotten halfway through why did I stop? It saddens me that I have to follow that guestion with the most lame of excuses: I just couldn't get into it and it wasn't my type of story. It wasn't that there was something wrong with it, or writing was bad or anything. It was fast-paced and about interesting, if unscrupulous, people.

Well, here's the plot up until I got disinterested: there's a man named Mac who has recently moved to an uninteresting and boring motel which is in complete contrast to where he had been living: New York city. The reason for his departure is he lost all of his money and I think somebody or somebodies were after him to kill him for not paying his due or to arrest him for being a very bad boy. But, luckily for him, he's made a friend of an adolescent youth who works at the motel and just happens to know a man who sells the best weed Mac has ever smoked. So now he sells weed to make some quick cash to get back on his feet.

The second character of this book is a beautiful, redheaded bombshell, named Angela, who happens to be a part of the reason for Mac's misery as she had been the one to sell him out. she's one of those people who would like to get through life sipping champagne on a yacht without having to work for it. While having the looks to pull this off, she seems to have an unfortunate streak of bad luck following her: she just can't find the right man. To get out of a bad situation she's moved back to her native Ireland where she doesn't quite belong anymore as her accent has changed considerably while living in America. After running out of money for a room, she takes to the streets looking for someone who will keep her for a while.

There she finds the third lead character of the story, a serial killer nicknamed Slide because of his excessive use of the phrase, "This time I'll let you slide" just before he kills someone. He's the oddest character in this book in that he's obvious;y dangerous and has no moral center ( he killed his sister because she made fun of his hair or something) but he is so lame and says very odd things which provides some more dark humor for the book. He's described as a poor man's version of Bono which is pretty apt as he wears the same shades and clothes that the lead singer of U2 would also wear. Though at first he only wanted Angela for a victim, he falls for her charms and even kills a desk clerk who was rude to her. This is followed by a scene in which they're having vigorous sex and he takes out the clerk's lips and rubs them on her without her ever realizing it. Then he says, "Loose lips sink ships" before throwing them away. Then he makes her an accomplice to help him kidnap one of the Rolling Stones.

And that's as far as I got.

This book has been compared to Quentin Tarantino movies, and I would say the same, but I think I prefer to watch Tarantino films than read something like them. It is an enticing read for those of you who like fast-paced action stories about despicable people.