The Mystery of Mercy Close- Marian Keyes

Finally! The much anticipated (in my head anyway) fifth Walsh sister book. Helen's book wasn't quite as enjoyable as Claire, Rachel, Maggie (Margaret), or Anna’s before her, but I am pleased to discover that it doesn’t matter too much. Still a great book, worthy of placement alongside the other four.

Helen Walsh is having a tough time. After losing her apartment and any source of income, she moves back in with her parents and takes a job from her ex-boyfriend to track down a missing member of a reuniting boy band. No one knows where he has gone, and the reunion concert is looming. We follow Helen through her investigation into his disappearance, with the usual cast of crazy characters filing in as she goes. Similar to her sisters before her, there is twist of darkness to Helen and the events surrounding her, but this one was especially heavy, I think mostly because so many of the Walsh family members were MIA throughout the book. We saw appearances from Claire, Margaret, and Mammy Walsh, but with Anna and Helen herself being absent as comic relief, the sinking depression that Helen is battling with casts a significantly somber tone over the book.

Having said that, this was still a good showing from Marian Keyes, and I think that my anticipation for a new Walsh sister book was a bit unrealistic. This one didn't have quite the same amount of humor as her other books, but all in all it was well written and enjoyable, and I’ll definitely be reading it again. 4/5

Quick Hits from November, December, and January

Long time, no blog entries. Mostly, this is because I haven't read anything that I've really loved in the last few months. But that's not entirely true, because I have entries written for a few books that I've had an opinion on, and haven't posted anything because I feel like I can't go out of order, and just ignore the 15 or so books that I've read in between ones that I want to talk about.  Another problem is that I read a LOT of sequels, which I always have problems talking about, because I don't want to spoil anything. 

So in order to fix this, I've decided I'm going to just write down some quick thoughts for books I don't have anything huge to say about. Here goes. 

Read 9/25/12- 11th Hour by James Patterson- Exactly what you'd expect for the 11th book in the Women's Murder Club series. As usual I am disappointed with James Patterson and haven't really loved one of these books in awhile. I read them because I care about the characters, but he's even starting to ruin that. Please see reviews for 10, 9, 8... etc. 3/5

Read 10/28/12- Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand- Good, not great. Interesting but not engrossing. I was hoping for more from this book since I loved Unbroken so much. Read this one for book club in October and really only finished it out of obligation. 3/5

Read 11/4/12- Dances with Dragons by George RR Martin- I actually have a lot of opinions on this one, but feel uncomfortable voicing them, as they're spoilers. Still loving this series and anxiously await book #6! 4/5 (only because I still liked the first three more than this one)

Read 11/24/12- Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor- Really enjoyed this sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Crazy and an incredible fantasy book, but not as good as the first one. Will re-read for sure though!! 4/5

Listened to 11/26/12- The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore- Wanted this to be better because I really enjoyed the first two in the series. But still good. 3/5

Read 12/11/12- The Black Echo by Michael Connelly- Expected more out of this because I'm a big Connelly fan, but it was kind of boring and predictable. I hope they get better. I'll keep reading, but not if they're all like this one. I wonder if back when this was written the ending was more novel and all kinds of thrillers weren't writing "twists" like this one. 3/5

Read 12/16/12- Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich- What can I say? I like Evanovich's writing even if her books are simple, girly, and let's face it, kind of pointless. Liked this one though. Currently, I'm liking this series more than Stephanie Plum books. 3/5

Read 12/21/12- Where We Belong by Emily Giffin- LOVED this chick book. Very cute and very much meets the standard that Emily Giffin's past books have set. The problem is that I just don't have a lot to say about it. It's very similar to her other books. 5/5

Read 12/24/12- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens- I think I read this back in grade school but I didn't remember much about it. And tis the season right? Dickens is one of the few "classic" authors that I enjoy. May be returning to some of his other books in the future. Really liked A Christmas Carol. 4/5

Read 1/2/13- Graceling by Kristin Cashore- Very much enjoyed this book. Another YA Fantasy series that has been popular recently. Looking forward to reading the other books in the series. 4/5

Read 1/3/13- One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp- Different kind of book for me. Not a novel, but more of a book for reflection and finding happiness in every day life. Her writing is a bit flowery and overly detailed, but I liked this so much. 4/5

Listened to 1/3/13- Redshirts by John Scalzi- Really liked this book, it got me through my driving to and from home over Christmas break. Different and crazy, but once I bought into the completely unrealistic premise, it was interesting and I really enjoyed it.  4/5

Read 1/11/13- Defending Jacob by William Landay- Very well written, but upsetting book. Fairly dark and twisted, but engrossing nonetheless. Highly recommended if you like Grisham, lawyer books, or thrillers. 4/5

WHEW. 

The Next Best Thing- Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner! Where has this been in the last several years?? The Next Best Thing, her latest, is a return to form. I won’t go quite as far as to say I liked it as much as In Her Shoes or Good in Bed, but it was light, funny, entertaining, and sweet. And considering that I have been fairly disappointed with nearly everything she’s written since she ruined Good in Bed with its sequel, Certain Girls (which I hated), that is a major step up. 

The Next Best Thing tells the story of Ruth, a television writer and showrunner whose pilot based loosely on her own life is picked up for a new season and immediately taken out of her hands. The book chronicles the sacrifices made by her to get her show on the air, good and bad, and her relationships with the other writers, producers, actors, and so on. I was hooked by the beginning, around chapter three. Ruth’s grandma is the best, and I couldn’t believe how fast I loved the character. Unfortunately for Jennifer Weiner, my first thought after realizing that she was the best thing going for the book was how she could ruin it. 

But Weiner proved me wrong and wrote an endearing story of a disfigured girl trying to make it in the entertainment world, with her loving grandmother by her side. Very much enjoyed this one, and it’s up there with the other ones. 4, bordering on a 5.

Attachments- Rainbow Rowell

The opposite side of the trip, the drive back from the Outer Banks, was spent reading Attachments, a surprisingly cute and girly book that I ended up kind of loving. I had heard about Attachments several months ago, but didn’t get around to reading it until now. And now having read it, I’m not sure what took me so long.

Attachments is one of those cutesy books that allow you to view a story through emails, but with the added twist of occasional chapters of narrative that isn’t told through emails. It’s a clever twist. Beth and Jennifer know their emails are being monitored, and yet they still use them for personal reasons (email portions of the book). Lincoln’s job is to notify people using the email system improperly, but instead finds himself engrossed in Beth and Jennifer’s lives, and doesn’t reprimand them (narrative portion). 

I liked this book significantly more than I thought I would, it was a very pleasant surprise. Somewhere between a 4 and a 5 for me. Very enjoyable and adorable. 

I’ve Got Your Number- Sophie Kinsella

I went back and forth several times about whether or not I would have enjoyed this book more if I was reading it instead of listening to it. I think it certainly lost some humor due to footnotes and text messages being read to me instead of reading them myself.

Possibly the bigger problem is that I was irritated with the main character though. Because that is by far my main issue with any given Sophie Kinsella book… her main characters that we are supposed to sympathize with are inherently unlikable. As with the Shopaholic books, I was constantly wondering whether it was worth it to keep reading, because I was disgusted with the main character, Poppy Wyatt, who loses her engagement ring at the beginning of the book. Then has her phone stolen, then finds another phone in a trash can, which is how she meets Sam, the owner of the phone, whose life she immediately becomes entrenched in.

The entire engagement ring debacle was horrible. The weakest part of the book, by far. But once that was resolved, about halfway through, I found that the main character was less insufferable, the problems were more realistic, and when the book focuses more on Sam and his issues, it is far more entertaining.

All in all this is a 3. I think if the whole book would’ve been like the second half it would’ve been up there with Remember Me, but as it is, this is comparable to the Shopaholic books (although I have to admit, I think I like it a little better… let’s face it, I really don’t like Becky Bloomwood and half the time don’t know why I read those books). Worth the read in the end, but difficult to get through the first part.

Jeneration X- Jen Lancaster

Jeneration X, Jen Lancaster’s latest, is a return to form after her disaster of a novel.  Nothing groundbreaking here, and in fact, I think I’ve actually read some of these stories before (on her blog? In her columns?), but I’m mostly ok with that, because I’m just so happy to be back to where we were before If You Were Here.  Let’s pretend that didn’t happen, ok?

Look, if you’ve read one of Jen’s memoirs, you know what you’re getting into with this one. My favorite remains Bright Lights, Big Ass, but I’m starting to think that it’s just because that’s the first one I read. Jen is hilarious, sarcastic, and an outstanding writer, but all of her memoirs are very similar, just with different themes to the collections of stories. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely not saying that’s a bad thing, because I look forward to reading her books and have read all of them (except for Pretty in Plaid) more than once. And I’m thrilled that her desire to write novels didn’t keep her from writing memoirs. I’m just saying that there’s not much for me to review here.

4- I went between a 4 and a 5 on this one. It’s entirely possible I’m going to end up buying it. Jen is funny and entertaining, and I read this in about two days, so obviously I really liked it. 

Explosive Eighteen- Janet Evanovich

Once again, I’m not sure what there is to say about the 18th book in a series when you’ve read 17 before that. Anybody reading this knows what they’re getting into. I’m probably never going to stop reading these. They’re entertaining, and I enjoy all of the characters. That’s all there is to it.

The last time I read a Stephanie Plum novel I argued that Evanovich knows she has a winning formula and knows what to do with it. She knows what the fans like, the way to write ridiculous, klutzy Stephanie and her insane life, and she knows how to write Morelli and Ranger. This time it’s more of the same, although Stephanie had finally gotten herself into a truly preposterous case, and most of the stuff surrounding it made no sense at all. Somehow that doesn’t bother me though, because like I said, I know what I’m getting into. Still funny. Still hilarious characters and nutso skips.

3. I like all of these books, but I’m pretty sure I’m not going to reread any of them.

Thanks for the Memories- Cecelia Ahern

Another pretty typical chick book, Thanks for the Memories is a story of boy meets girl with a twist, which is what most of the books I’ve read from Ahern have been since I read and loved P.S. I Love You. I think I ruined Ahern’s chances of ever writing another book I was going to love by reading that one first.  All of the rest have been merely ok in comparison.  This one is no different. 

The story starts with a pretty disturbing accident and miscarriage for the main character, Joyce. After this event, the book flashes back to a month previous when Justin Hitchcock is donating blood. Spolier alert, Joyce ends up with Justin’s blood, and this leads to some pretty surreal experiences in her life. Suddenly she can speak languages fluently, knows an absurd amount about architecture and art, and other events occur that are obvious to the reader both through Ahern’s writing and common sense that they are shared experiences and hobbies from Justin.

This was a really cute book. But like I said, I think I’m ruined for Cecelia Ahern’s books unless she comes up with something past cute, a la P.S. I Love You. So another good, not great book.  One that I liked and found entertaining but won’t be reading again.  3. 

The Pact- Jennifer Sturman

The Pact is maybe the most easily defined chick lit book that I’ve read in a long time. Which is of course, totally ok by me! What was different about this one is that it also had a murder mystery aspect, which combines my two favorite guilty pleasure reads: chick lit and thrillers.

Rachel Benjamin is an investment banker in the Adirondacks for her best friend Emma’s wedding. The morning of the ceremony, she finds him floating in the pool, dead. From then on she picks up on information and evidence leading to the killer.

This was a cute, girly book. Exactly what you’d expect from a chick book, which is why I don't have much to say about it, and the added mystery aspect was a good bonus. I’m definitely not opposed to reading more in this series, but I didn’t love it enough to re-read. Another solid 3.

Then Came You- Jennifer Weiner

Then Came You is the story of four different women wrapped around the life of one child. A child that is not born for most of the book, but is present nonetheless. The women are: Jules, the egg donor, Annie, the surrogate mother, India, the aging mother, whose motives for wanting a child may be tied to her reputation as a gold digger, and Bettina, her stepdaughter. I think based on those descriptions alone, you should be able to figure out how things progress throughout the book.

Written in the same style as Maine, where each character narrates a chapter, Then Came You is an entertaining, if not enthralling book. I think I’ve come to expect as much from Jennifer Weiner. This is disappointing in many ways, not least of which is that the first book I read by her, Good in Bed, is one of my all time favorites. But I think since Certain Girls, the sequel to Good in Bed, was published (which I will freely admit that I hated, and which tarnished Weiner’s writing and judgment in my eyes) I have completely different expectations for her books.

This book was good, not great. Better than Certain Girls and Best Friends Forever, on par with Fly Away Home, and not as good as the pre-Certain Girls books (Good in Bed, Little Earthquakes, In Her Shoes, etc). Definitely a good beach read, and what you’d expect for the type of book that it is.

It’s somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me. Again, good, not great.

Knit Two- Kate Jacobs

This review has spoilers from the end of The Friday Night Knitting Club, so if you don’t want to know, stop reading now.

This one was my latest audiobook, and as it turns out, I missed Georgia Walker a lot more than I thought I would.

I probably should have read Knit Two after I read Friday Night Knitting Club. But I couldn’t bring myself to, I was too annoyed with what seemed to be an unnecessary pull at the heartstrings with Georgia’s death. I’m still not entirely sure that I like the way that Kate Jacobs does things, or maybe I’ve just had misconceptions all along about what kind of writer she is. Knit Two obviously returns to the characters of the first book and Walker and Daughter, Georgia’s knitting shop. We hear how everyone has been dealing with her death, and meet everyone several years after the fact, when Dakota, the daughter of Walker and Daughter, has just returned from her first year in college.

Long story short, everyone is struggling with problems in their lives, both personal and professional, all of which are dealt with throughout the book. And I wasn’t as invested as I should have been. Overall this book was fine, but it was missing the center that Georgia brought to the first one. I don’t think I’ll be reading the next sequel, which I believe is Christmas related.

2- as usual, this audiobook was fine. nothing fantastic or horrible about it. just entertaining enough to keep my interest.

If You Were Here- Jen Lancaster

I’ll add my voice to the rest of Jen Lancaster’s fans discussing this book… I really wanted to like it. And to be fair, I think because I had extremely low expectations and thought it was going to be horrifyingly bad, I liked it more than most (which doesn’t say much). I agree with everyone else who says this should have been another memoir rather than a foray into fiction, but I’ll also add that for the most part, this WAS another memoir.

Mia and Mac are buying a new house, and it’s been a hellish ordeal for everyone. I made it through the first half to three quarters of this book by convincing myself that it was just a typical Jen Lancaster memoir, blatantly ignoring all references to Amish zombies, and pretending that Fletch had changed his name. And it did work for awhile. Mia and Mac sound VERY much like Jen and her husband Fletch, which I would imagine is intentional. I didn’t hate it, found it amusing enough (though nowhere near on par with her other books), and easily blew through the first half. Shortly thereafter is where she lost me.

Honestly, I can definitely understand the point of Jen wanting to try fiction: she can take her everyday life and make it even more exaggerated and ridiculous to comic effect. The problem is, the comic effect was lacking. Mia is nowhere near as funny as Jen, and Mac was downright horrible. And at no point did I recognize the writing in the second half as anywhere near as entertaining as Jen’s. Not to mention that the Amish zombies were more prevalent. I can’t say I understood why she thought that would be funny. In fact, I would say that was her biggest misfire for me. Despite thinking that it was ridiculous for her to so blatantly talk about her own life (Mia’s dog is named Daisy, Jen’s is Maisy, Mia’s best friend is Tracy, Jen’s is Stacy), I hung in there. Even as Mia’s book, Buggies are the New Black (as opposed to Bitter is the New Black) caused a massive eyeroll, I did my best to stick with it, because I felt I owed Jen the benefit of the doubt for her first fiction attempt.

If she tries it again, I’m not sure I’ll be able to overlook it. I hope very much that she goes back to memoirs.

2- didn’t like it overall. Jen should stick to being funny about her own life.

Smokin Seventeen- Janet Evanovich

What is there to say about the seventeenth book in a series that hasn’t been said about the first sixteen? I know there are a lot of people that think the Stephanie Plum series has gone downhill in recent years, but I’m not one of them.

Smokin Seventeen, while obviously very similar to the sixteen books before it, keeps with Evanovich’s winning formula: entertaining characters, hilarious moments, and a mystery with a side of romance. In this book, as always, Stephanie chases down skips in unconventional ways for the bonds office where she has been working since One for the Money, including an old man who thinks he’s a vampire. Also as usual, Ranger and Morelli, her love interests, are along for the ride. And also also as usual, she finds herself in life threatening danger.

Not much of a plot summary I guess, but I’m sure if you have read one of these you know what you’re getting into. The reason the Stephanie Plum books are so good is because Evanovich’s writing is just flat out entertaining. Oh don’t get me wrong, the situations that Stephanie and friends get involved in are ludicrous. The people they pick up are batshit crazy. And that’s the best part of reading these books. If Stephanie were to lose her charm and trademark klutz persona then these books wouldn’t be anywhere near as good. Take out Lula or Grandma Mazur and those laughs go down as well. Granted, there’s not a whole lot of variation from book to book. Maybe that’s annoying to some people, but I for one have not yet tired of the ridiculous situations that Stephanie, Lula, and all of the other crazy characters get themselves into. There were several moments in the book that had me laughing out loud, and I think that if that is still happening after seventeen books, Evanovich knows what she’s doing.

3- by no means is this a blockbuster of a book, but it was definitely entertaining. Stephanie Plum always is.

Favorites- Chick Lit

Continuing on with some of my favorites in each genre, I thought I'd tackle chick lit next. Despite none of it really being pulitzer prize material, I think anyone can appreciate the value of these kinds of books. There's nothing like a good beach read when that's what you want and what you're expecting. In general, it's funny, has a heroine easily identified with, and always ends with everyone happy, or at least close. Following (in no particular order) are my favorites:

1. 

Good in Bed, by Jennifer Weiner- I think this might be the first book I ever read that could be classified as chick lit. Cannie is an overweight reporter who has just broken up with a boyfriend, when she sees a column in a women's magazine written by him. Mortifyingly, the main focus is on "the courage to love a larger woman," and details their relationship in excruciating detail. The book follows Cannie as she works to get over this embarrassment and on with her life, and all the hilarity along the way. After reading this book, Jennifer Weiner rapidly became one of my favorite authors. She has disappointed me a few times with her last few books, in particular the sequel to this one, however, Good in Bed will always be one of my favorites. I cannot stress enough how funny this book is.

2.
 

Something Borrowed, by Emily Giffin- The morals behind this book are questionable, however, that is the draw in all of Emily Giffin's writing. She takes situations and women that are inherantly unlikable: a spoiled and selfish single woman, a woman who is in a relationship with a married man, a married woman considering cheating on her husband, and in this case, a woman in love with her best friend's fiancee, and makes them seem likable and human, though flawed. I honestly don't know how she did it, but I didn't hate the main character in this book, Rachel, who at the very beginning of the novel sleeps with her best friend's fiancee. She made her relatable, even with the situation as dire and reprehensible as it is, and by the end you are somehow rooting for her. I still remember the first time I read this book, it was one that I finished late at night after putting it down to attempt to go to bed. But I HAD to know what happened, and that in itself says something significant for Emily Giffin's writing. And can we all agree to just not even address the movie? I think among everyone I've talked to about it, whether you've liked, hated, or loved it, we can all admit that it wasn't comparable to the book.

3.
 

Bright Lights, Big Ass: a Self Indulgent, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me? by Jen Lancaster- I was debating whether or not to do a favorites post about memoirs, and where this book would fall, as it's somewhere in between chick lit and a memoir, but in the end, I decided that this was the best place for it. Jen Lancaster is hilarious. Sarcastic, foul mouthed, and extroverted, this book covers Jen's life in the city: her neighbors, her favorite stores, her pets, her husband, etc. This book is essentially a collection of hilarious stories about life. And I loved every minute of it. I also feel like I can roll another few books into this general category, and those are Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, which amounts to the same kind of thing, and of course, Bossypants, which has already been covered.

4.
 

PS, I Love You, by Cecelia Ahern- Before Hilary Swank ruined the character of Holly, she was a sweet, sympathetic young widow working through her life after the death of her husband. Holly is suddenly alone when her husband Gerry dies of a brain tumor. Imagine her surprise when each month she receives a note and occasional gift from said departed husband. I've recommended this book before, to mixed reviews. It's sad, yes, but I think in the end the redeeming story and humorous incidents that occur both in past recollections of Gerry and as a result of the letters make it an entirely enjoyable read. I can distinctly remember being looked at like a crazy person when I was reading this in the dentist waiting room and laughing out loud.

5.
 

Rachel's Holiday, by Marian Keyes- Marian Keyes' books always have a little bit of a dark side to them. In this case, Rachel is a drug addict sent to rehab. The story of her time in rehab is intertwined with flashbacks of her life before and while on drugs, making for a captivating read. From Rachel's perspective, you're never sure how much of what she's saying is true, or what has actually transpired, and in general whether or not things have happened the way she says they do.  Marian Keyes' writing is believable enough to place you in the rehab center with her. The book isn't all bleak though, otherwise why would it be included in the chick lit section? Despite the dark subject matter, we get a redeeming ending (spoiler alert! in case you didn't already see that coming) and quite a few entertaining and funny moments. This is the second in Keyes' Walsh sisters series, and some of the best parts come from the interactions Rachel has with her family. Which is all the more reason to read the other ones!

Honorable mentions: Can You Keep a Secret, by Sophie Kinsella, Last Night at Chateau Marmont, by Lauren Weisberger, and, let's be honest, most of the other books by the authors mentioned above.