false 10 121 110 true 5923871 read 0 true 2470537 currently-reading 11 true 2470536 to-read 6 false 2470551 the-occasional-romance-never-hurt-a http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79409468 to: Midnight Never Come (The Onyx Court, Book 1) by Marie Brennan
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78177833 Angels of Destruction: A Novel (Hardcover) by Keith Donohue
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76099476 to: A Dirty Job (Hardcover) by Christopher Moore
I’ve put off really “reviewing” this book … mainly because I can’t come to a solid conclusion on how I feel about it.

I’ve definitely decided not to pick up anything else by this author.

But that’s not to say I abhorred the book. It was just … well … let’s just say if I wanted lame humor and sarcasm, I’d simply open up my own noggin and scoop it out from there.

That being said, it was a cute storyline. Basically, Joe Schmoe loser (aka, Charlie Asher) suddenly finds out he’s a reaper when his wife dies and leaves him with a newborn who has … special powers. Lily, his creepy-goth-psycho employee steals his guidebook to all things reaping (á la “Beetlejuice”), so he screws up and brings upon San Fran the wrath of the Morrígan (Irish mythos) and Orcus (Roman mythos).

The most interesting characters are Sophie, the daughter, and the 2 toaster-devouring hellhounds. Other characters include: fellow reaper Minty Fresh (giant black dude in a mint green suit); Audrey, the Buddhist soul stealer/mover who, herself, has no soul (go fig?); Ray, a pervy, paranoid ex-cop with a penchant for desperate Asian women online; Jane, Charlie’s Armani-suit-clad lesbian sister; and a whole hoard of piecemeal creatures in medieval garb (think squirrel heads and lizard bodies in ballgowns *ew*).

Not a bad book. But not anything I’d be inclined to repeat. Amusing. And fairly quick. Oddly enough, this bookclub pick was mine! I thought it’d be fun for Halloween, and the author came highly recommended by my SiL’s bookclub. But, it just didn’t grab me. There was never a moment of “can’t put this book down.” In fact, more often than not, I didn’t bother to pick it up. It took me a whole month to finish. I’m really glad I didn’t read “Lamb” …
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73517393 to: Her Fearful Symmetry (Hardcover) by Audrey Niffenegger
Sigh.

In truth, I am sad this book has ended. Picking it up, those first few pages … it was like reconnecting with a long-lost, much-beloved friend.

The story revolves around the twisted bonds of family and twin-ship, love, and grief. The author sends the reader careening between storylines of elder twins vs. younger twins. A generation apart, they reflect each other, opposing and reconnecting in ways that are beautiful and yet perverse.

I spent a lot of time with this book, savoring the chapters, so as to avoid an end. And, admittedly, perhaps for this reason, the ending did disappoint on a few levels. But the book, in itself, did not.

Niffenegger weaves a strong tale, as surreal as it is base. Many thanks to my friend Ann, who leant me her advance copy to sate my unimaginable impatience :)
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68160763 Kendra's review of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
by Winifred Watson

I'd be really interested in the extras. I actually saw the movie with a friend, before reading the book (something I try NEVER to do, but I honestly had no clue it'd been a book first). I liked the book better than movie (as is almost always the case) ... but I should definitely re-see it. Thanks for the info. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68814729 to: Coraline (Paperback) by Neil Gaiman
I think that if I were a child, this book would have scared the begeesus outta me!

As an adult, I found it a cute, quick read. A friend recommended I check it out. Took nanseconds to read, and I'm looking forward to the movie ... I think .. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68160763 to: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Paperback) by Winifred Watson
“[She:] sat in a taxi with a strange man and he had the effrontery to put his arm round her. … She had never been so wicked in her life and she had never been so happy.”

“Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” is another bookclub selection. In truth, I was going to skip it.

But I decided to pick it up, at the last minute. And I have to admit: Winifred Watson’s 1938 novel is so lively, it’s near impossible not to love it. It reminds me almost of a scandalous version of Jane Austen’s style.

“She has to call him in her mind creature, upstart, mountebank, to save herself falling in love with him. If he had only looked at her, kissed her, the way he had Miss LaFosse, she knew she would have been his slave.”

How’s that for drama?

Peppered with delightful turns of phrase such as, “Holy suffering mackerel!”, “They’d talk the hind leg off a donkey,” “I wouldn’t take even a bilious attack!”, “Smash ‘em to smithereens,” “a damned fool,” the language is so reminiscent of the time period, you can’t help but giggle. I had black & white movie sirens and rogues playing through my head for the various characters. And I quite enjoyed it, I must say.

I think if you relish Austen and the subtle, sultry sexuality of B&W film, you will appreciate this light, Cinderella tale of a washed up, middle-aged governess who appears on the doorstep of a 20-something theatre vixen, to be swept up in a dramatic day of innocent-sin and scandal. Like a chocolate mint wafer on a day of fasting, this book is something you almost want to not like … but will find yourself helpless in its clutches *L*

“She was set for deep waters, the multitudinous seas to incarnadine.”
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66733860 to: Blackbird House (Paperback) by Alice Hoffman
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66733842 to: Better Than Running at Night (Paperback) by Hillary Frank
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64343815 Fairy Tale (Hardcover) by Cyn Balog
bookshelves: to-read
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