A Reliable Wife

I am way behind in updating the blog. trying to remember this book is proving difficult, let's see what I can come up with...

I think I remember that this book tried to be more than it was. It was a bit pretentious, but it did have it's moments. We had a promising storyline about an arranged marriage that wasn't what it seemed, but by the end it had devolved into a ridiculous murder plot that lacked believability. If I remember correctly, there was also a bit about a lost love and a crazy-expensive Italian house in the middle of Wisconsin (or Minnesota?). Regardless, the back of the book sounded promising, but it delved into silly by the end. Not completely unenjoyable, but not a highlight of the year.

2.5 poisoned elderly men stumbling around waving shotguns out of 5.

A Darker Domain

Again, I am not going to say too much on this. Another Val McDermid, about the coal miner's strike and a high-profile kidnapping. It was par for the course and checked most of the mystery boxes, but I was entertained. Lots of bodies, some ridiculous situations, and some puppeteers.

2.5 ransom shootouts out of 5.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

I didn't realize when I picked this book up that I was about to read a book about the Zombie Apocalypse. Generally, this isn't really my thing. But I was game, and I gave it a try.

It started off really well, a story about a young woman growing up in a village fenced off to keep safe from the "unconsecrated" outside. She doesn't really fit in, and after the death of her parents she gets forced into the village's religious group, the Sisterhood. The first part, taking place in the isolated village, reminded me exactly of the M Night Shyamalan movie, down to the layout of the village and the creepy communy-religious culture. I actually checked to see if it was published prior to the movie, and used as a source. It wasn't.

Anyway, eventually she has to leave the village and go out to try to find society that isn't supposed to exist. It's a gruesome, stressful and mildly depressing story that falls apart as they venture further from the village. I found the protagonist to be selfish and a bit lacking in actual personality. The plot started surprisingly well - I was intrigued by the Sisterhood, their secrets and the inter-relationships within the village. It ended too soon and with quite a few loose ends, and it almost felt like a cop-out to get to the second act.

The section that takes place outside the village had some merit, but dragged and ended abruptly and without any sort of actual resolution. Sure, she sees the ocean, but at what expense? I finished the book feeling frustrated and cheated - what could have been a great story ended up being a let down, one that slowly unravelled and became overly simple.

I hadn't planned on saying that much about it, actually. I am still a bit pissed that such a good start ended so frustratingly and I have the urge to find Carrie Ryan and rant at her for a while. Anyway, 2.5 zombie babies out of 5.

Best Friends Forever

I think Jennifer Weiner is an underrated writer, having been cast into the chick lit pool, forever to be written off as fluff.


In reality, I find her writing to be genuinely funny, aware and poignant books about women struggling with their roles in life and how they can fit into the life they have been cast.


This book is her newest, and it is a definite departure from her previous work. The biggest thing I noticed was that it wasn't funny, or at least not in the same way that she normally is. Her main character wasn't caustic and sharp, but rather sweet and a bit sad.


That said, after I got used to it I didn't find a bad book. Elements of it were a bit off, such as the bank robbery scene (funny but out of place and a bit random), and the level of obsession of the cop. He was just a bit creepy, I would have kicked him to the curb. Overall though, it was a sweet book about shared history and learning to take risks, and it was worthwhile.


3.5 drunken pantless cops out of 5

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

Nothing too exciting here - a time travel/body switching piece of fluff where a single woman from regency Britain becomes a single woman in modern day LA.

Obviously it's pretty silly, but also confusing - it's the companion to a previous volume in which, you guessed it, that same LA girl switches with the regency lady. If I hadn't read the other book, I would have been completely out of it, but things as they were and me having read the prequel a while ago, I was only mildly bewildered.

Anyway, it was cheesy, predictable and a bit lame. the action always seemed to come about because someone conveniently appeared at the right time, or equally conveniently knew exactly where or who the heroine needed to do next. I read it while I was sick in bed and while it entertained me I felt a bit like I had wasted my time - I would have been better off watching the Lost in Austen DVDs instead.

2.5 very conveniently located broom closets out of 5.

Along for the Ride

I won't go into too much detail here, but I love Sarah Dessen's books - I think she writes some of the most honest and self-aware teen fiction out there. Her stories are always fairly similar (new relationship with outcasty boy helps young woman grow up, surrounding various personal issues), but they ring true and I enjoy them.

This one wasn't one of her best, I have to say. Especially following on the heels of Lock and Key, which was excellent. It was a fairly interesting story of an overachieving student who comes out from under the influence of her family and learns to be herself over the course of a summer (isn't it always?), but it didn't really give me too much new. That said, her characters were, as usual, real in their dimensions, and not dumbed down for kids.

Overall, fun but I wouldn't break into Chapters in a ravenous frothing mass or anything. 3 obsessive grad students trying to seduce their prof out of 5.

Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp

This book caught my attention for two reasons - one, the camp described in the book is similar in style to the camp I worked at for two summers a few years ago, and two, books discussing being fat, understanding fat, body image etc. are always interesting.

i found it to be less of a book about fat camp (although it features heavily) but more on the author's relationship with her body and the impact it had on her life.

A lot of what she writes about I could relate to easily, although I don't think I was ever as far down the road as she was. Hearing how her parents, her peers and ultimately she defined herself and her self esteem on her weight rang very true.

It's written in a very caustic and honestly self aware manner that had me laughing at loud in some parts, and mildly uncomfortable in others. Overall though, definitely worth the read, and a great way of seeing another perspective of how self-identity is formed and manipulated, and how difficult it can be to reverse the damage.

4 chub rubs out of 5.

The Devil's Company

This book is my second by David Liss so far this year, having read The Whiskey Rebels earlier on.

Having only read two of his books, I am going to be bold (that's right, I take crazy risks!) and say that this book was Classic David. This is a similar thing to Classic Cath.

Anyway, like Liss's previous book, he has a strong understanding of economics, which factors heavily into this book on the East India Company and it's shady dealings in the 1700's. It's a bit silly, with all it's spies and double agents, but enjoyable nonetheless. He writes his main characters as witty and impressively gifted men who always seem to be one step ahead of everyone else and super-stealth to boot. I want to find a real man like this, but something tells me it is a bit ridiculous.

Regardless, it's a fun read for the historically motivated set. 3 dapper dandies out of 5.