RATING: 9 OUT OF 10
With Dawn in California and Mallory out sick, the BSC is in big trouble. They have too many jobs and not enough sitters. Kristy's a wreck. When Jessi mentions that she has a friend at school who baby-sits, Kristy wants to try her out. Wendy seems like a good sitter. But is she good enough for the BSC? And is the Baby-sitters Club ready for a new member?
This was definitely one of the more fun BSC books involving Jessi. For some reason, her books just aren't always the most interesting, or discuss serious topics. Here, the BSC are struggling to fit in all their sitting jobs because Dawn has moved back to California, so they allow Jessi's friend, Wendy, to join the club. But Wendy doesn't like all the rules and is constantly turning up late. Fair enough, most eleven year olds wouldn't want to have to follow rules set by people only a few years older than them, but she also turns up late for a sitting job, which isn't good when a parent is relying on you. Eventually, Wendy decides that the club isn't for her but she and Jessi remain friends. The two sub-plots are that Margo has been caught shop-lifting (quite uncharacteristic, but interesting enough) and that the kids are making a video to send to Dawn. The video was really amusing and it was quite touching to see how much everyone missed Dawn. All in all, one of the better later-series BSC books. Sometimes the ghostwritten books can fall a bit flat, but that wasn't the case with this one. And there's also a bit lead up to the next book, in which Mallory has glandular fever, which is one of the books that I remember quite vividly. Also, what is with the bright yellow cover? I'm sure none of the other books have covers quite this garish.
* * *
READ: SEPTEMBER 7 - 9, 2011
RATING: 6 OUT OF 10
Crystal Clark arrives in Colorado's Yampa Valley amid the splendor of a high country June in 1892. After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt Kate's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal is determined to hold her own in this wild land--even if a certain handsome foreman doubts her abilities. Just when she thinks she's getting a handle on the constant male attention from the cowhands and the catty barbs from some of the local young women, tragedy strikes the ranch. Crystal will have to tap all of her resolve to save the ranch from a greedy neighboring landowner. Can she rise to the challenge? Or will she head back to Georgia defeated? Book one in the Heart of the West series, No Place for a Lady is full of adventure, romance, and the indomitable human spirit. Readers will fall in love with the Colorado setting and the spunky Southern belle who wants to claim it as her own.
This one didn't turn out to be quite as interesting as it sounded from the synopsis, but it was a fairly entertaining and enjoyable historical romance. A plot that's been done many times before, but with a few tweaks here and there - mainly the details about Crystal having to learn how to run the cattle ranch and pay off her aunt's debts. The majority of the issues that kept the two characters apart involved a lack of communication, a major pet peeve of mine when it comes to romance novels, so that drops the rating a bit for me. However, I did love the descriptions of Colorado. Although I got bored during the sections about the cattle drive, I drank in the wonderful scenery. While the descriptions of Colorado flowed wonderfully, I did find that the author "head-hopped" a lot, jumping from one person's thoughts to another without any scene changes or paragraph breaks to show the change of perspective. While the whole book was in third-person POV, this still gave it a choppy feel and was quite distracting.
I think this is a good debut attempt from Maggie Brendan, and while I didn't find her book particularly original and think that she could work on her writing technique a little, I would definitely read more from her in the future as I think she has potential and I was intrigued by the teaser for #2 in the series. I'd recommend this book for Christian historical romance fans looking for a book they can rely on to provide them with all the facets that make a pleasurable reading experience.
I think this is a good debut attempt from Maggie Brendan, and while I didn't find her book particularly original and think that she could work on her writing technique a little, I would definitely read more from her in the future as I think she has potential and I was intrigued by the teaser for #2 in the series. I'd recommend this book for Christian historical romance fans looking for a book they can rely on to provide them with all the facets that make a pleasurable reading experience.
* * *
READ: SEPTEMBER 9 - 11, 2011
RATING: 8 OUT OF 10
Had her brand-new husband been involved in something shady? Before Caroline Hampton could confront him, he was killed in a car crash...or so it was claimed. Unsettling incidents--escalating in dange--warned her he could be very much alive. And so Caroline fled for the safety of her sisters' Amish country inn. But someone who suspected her--handsome police chief Zachary Burkhalter--was waiting for Caroline. Waiting for her to slip up. And watching her every move. Daring her to trust him with all of the truth.
I think I actually preferred this one to the first book, Hide in Plain Sight, and I could definitely tell how Marta's writing had matured since the initial novel in this trilogy. While I did have an inkling of who was behind the mystery in this one, the conclusion wasn't quite as sudden as in the first book, where the "bad guy" had given a big monologue that explained everything. The climax of Buried Sins seemed a lot more realistic and things were revealed gradually over the final chapters. Marta's definitely good at creating suspense and this was not a book that I wanted to put down, especially late at night! I'll admit that, hey, Love Inspired Suspense books aren't always entirely original and could seem a bit repetitive if you read a lot of them at once, but Marta always puts a unique spin on her romantic suspense novels. I loved the details about Caroline's jewellery and her passion for art, as well as the minor mystery surrounding the unusual quilt they found. It was nice to catch up with the rest of the Unger family again in this book. While I skipped #2 in the series I didn't feel like I'd missed out on anything as these are all technically standalone books. A very enjoyable read that kept me on my toes as I tried to figure out the mystery. Not my favourite romantic suspense novel but I'll definitely be reading more from Marta in the future.
* * *
READ: SEPTEMBER 12, 2011
RATING: 7 OUT OF 10
Stacey is accused of stealing a diamond ring. Can her friends solve the mystery of the missing ring and salvage Stacey's reputation?
I only read a couple of the mysteries as a child as I generally preferred the main series of books. So this was a newbie for me, and I did quite enjoy it even if it wasn't as good as the mysteries incorporated into the main series. Some of the later mystery books involve the BSC solving actual Nancy Drew style mysteries, but this one is about Stacey being accused of stealing a ring belonging to a babysitting client that was actually hidden by one of their pets. Fairly anti-climatic but believable. Maybe not really enough of a mystery to be taken away from the main series? But enjoyable nonetheless.
* * *
READ: SEPTEMBER 13, 2011
RATING: 6 OUT OF 10
The Baby-Sitters all want to be the first winner of the Sitter-of-the-Month contest, even though they promise not to compete against each other. Now Dawn is getting threatening notes and sinister phone calls from someone known only as Mr. X. Is winning the contest worth keeping the threats a secret?
I'm afraid that some bits in this book were just too unbelievable to ignore! The girls all get scary, intimidating notes left for them when they're babysitting but refrain from telling their parents - or even each other! - because they're all competing for a Sitter of the Month contest. I know that Kristy can be pretty competitive, but I'd think that people like Mary Anne and the younger sitters would be too concerned for the children's welfare to put a silly contest ahead of the children's safety. The contest was clearly just put in the story to stop them talking to each other. In the end, this book turns out to be another non-mystery where a kid was mucking about with the sitters because he was annoyed that they got him in trouble with his parents. Seems a bit long-winded (surely he'd just throw eggs or water balloons at them rather than creating threatening notes?) and unbelievable that his parents wouldn't notice him sneaking all over town. But kudos with the continuity as Mel has been featured in other books. Will be interesting to see if he shows up again. Overall, a decent story but I got annoyed at the ridiculous of it.
* * *
READ: SEPTEMBER 14 - 17, 2011
RATING: 7 OUT OF 10
In the German community of Poetry, Texas, Belinda spies an opportunity. The tiny town is filled with loggers and railroad men in need of wives, so she sets herself up as a marriage broker. She writes little poems to be printed in newspapers all over the country and one by one, women begin to arrive in Poetry. There's only one problem: Belinda doesn't have a clue what she's doing and all the brides marry the wrong men! One client is particularly unhappy. Georg Kaufman, the local barber, has lost more than one prospective wife to Belinda's fumbled attempts. For some reason, she just can't seem to find Georg's “perfect match,” though it's not for lack of trying. Is there a poetic ending in store for Georg— and for Belinda herself?
I felt that this book had a bit of a slow start but picked up after the first few chapters when all of the brides began arriving. A nice twist on the typical mail-order bride story, and a lot of colourful characters filled the little town of Poetry! I liked the cute, poetry-related names that all of the shops had, and the poetry written by Belinda, Georg and Peter was quite fun. While I did thoroughly enjoy reading this book, it didn't really have that spark that made it stand out from other historical romances. It had some quirky characters and Belinda's job as a marriage broker wasn't one that I'd read about before, but all in all, Belinda and Georg's relationship was pretty standard for a romance novel. Perhaps not the most original historical romance I've read this year but definitely one of the more enjoyable. If you're looking for a novel that you can rely upon to provide you with all the elements of a good romance and a couple of quirks, then definitely check out this book. I'll definitely be looking out for more books from this line.
* * *
READ: SEPTEMBER 4 - 24, 2011
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10
THE MITFORD GIRLS tells the true story behind the gaiety and frivolity of the six Mitford daughters - and the facts are as sensational as any novel: Nancy, whose bright social existence masked an obsessional doomed love which soured her success; Pam, a countrywoman married to one of the best brains in Europe; Diana, an iconic beauty, who was already married when at 22 she fell in love with Oswald Moseley, the leader of the British fascists; Unity, who romantically in love with Hitler, became a member of his inner circle before shooting herself in the temple when WWII was declared; Jessica, the family rebel, who declared herself a communist in the schoolroom and the youngest sister, Debo, who became the Duchess of Devonshire.This is an extraordinary story of an extraordinary family, containing much new material, based on exclusive access to Mitford archives.
This was a fascinating book, and I'm now very excited about reading Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love for my Reading the 1940s course...and will probably checking out the other books by the Mitford girls from my university library. My only complaint would be that Pamela and Deborah felt a bit neglected, especially towards the end of the book. Maybe there just isn't much information about them, but it felt like they were pushed aside because they didn't lead such exciting lives. This was an incredibly fast read considering the 500+ pages, and although I put it down for a week or so as I was moving house, I jumped right back into it again this week. Very compelling writing, and the author managed to put across a very balanced view of the sisters, despite their varying commitments to Fascism and Communism, which could have forced some biographers to pick a side. Mary Lovell presented the girls with all of their flaws and positive attributes, without judging their political allegiances. I just wish we could have heard a bit more about Pam and Debo as I'm sure they also had interesting lives.
* * *
RATING: 6 OUT OF 10
Nestled between the ocean and the hills of Prince Edward Island is a road that leads to the house where a girl named Anne grew up, Green Gables, and to the wonderful place called Avonlea. In this second volume of heartwarming tales a Persian cat plays an astonishing part in a marriage proposal . . . a ghostly appearance in a garden leads a woman to the fulfillment of her youthful dreams . . . a young girl risks losing her mother to find the father she never knew . . . and a foolish lie threatens to make an unattached woman the town's laughingstock when an imaginary lover comes to town for real! Filled with warmth, humor, and mystery, these unforgettable stories re-create the enchanting world of Avonlea.
This is probably my least favourite of Montgomery's collections, although apparently these were stories rejected from Chronicles of Avonlea, which at least explains why some of them simply aren't up to her usual standards. Click here for an overview of my brief thoughts on each story after reading them, but to conclude I did thoroughly enjoy Aunt Cynthia's Persian Cat, The Materializing of Cecil, The Son of His Mother and The Education of Betty. Sadly, the others were rather lacking. Recommended if you're a serious LMM fan and enjoy short stories, but don't expect the same quality as in the first Chronicles.
* * *
READ: APRIL 11 - SEPTEMBER 26, 2011
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10
Today's young women seem to be outdoing the male chauvinist pigs of yesteryear, applauding the 'pornification' of other women, and themselves. This is a world where simulating sex for baying crowds of men on shows like Girls Gone Wild and going to lapdancing clubs - as patrons - is seen as a short cut to cool. Ariel Levy says the joke's on the women if they think this is progress. She tears apart the myth of this new brand of 'empowered woman' and refuses a culture-wide obligation for women to act and look like porn stars. This terrifically witty and wickedly intelligent book makes the case that the rise of raunch does not represent how far women have come - it proves only how far women have left to go.
How wonderful to find a book that so exactly echoed my thoughts on so-called modern "feminism". While I do wish that the book had been a little more statistical and less based on anecdotes, there were some stories in here that were fascinating, such as the author's experience with Girls Gone Wild. I like to leave this book in strategic places around my flat so that my fiance's friends pick it up and ask me what it's about. This is a book that any woman needs to read - whether you're appalled at how little respect today's young women have for themselves and their bodies, or whether you yourself think that modern feminism has brought about sexual equality; you never know, this book may change the way you think. I originally started out highlighting my favourite passages in this book but had to stop as I wanted to just read it all the way through. I'll probably read again, highlighter in hand. I wish there were more women who shared the thoughts of Ariel Levy, but sadly the evidence is all around us to suggest otherwise.
No comments:
Post a Comment