Well, March has been a productive month for me, as far as reading goes! I read almost as many books this month as I did in the last 2 months combined. Wow! I have no life... But, chances are good that I'm going to meet or even exceed my goal of 52 books in the year 2012!
So to begin, I read what I consider to be an Indie type book called The Orphan Sister. It's the story of grown triplets (identical twins and their singleton triplet), told from the POV of _, the singleton. I find the dynamics of multiples fascinating. The identical twins can read each others' thoughts, finish sentences and hold entire conversations without opening their mouths. _ struggles with wanting to be more a part of that bond, and craving her independence from her sisters. In the end, the sisters all learn
Next I read the last 2 books of the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Totally gripping, with much more insight into the workings of the Capitol and Panem in general. Finnick is definitely the sort of character I would have a crush on. Catching Fire helped endear Gale to me (I was not a fan in the first book) and I can see why people would prefer him, but I'm Team Peeta all the way. However, we have to remember that this is not a love story. The love triangle is merely an added bonus to pique the interest of young girls (and, ok, grown women, too). There is plenty of action to entertain boys of all ages, but not so gorey to be distasteful. This is definitely my current favourite series. It took me weeks to get out of Panem in my mind, Suzanne Collins does such a thorough job of sucking her readers into Katniss' world. I also managed to see the film opening night (totally would have gone to the pre-showing Thursday, but I couldn't find anyone willing to stay up late to go with me). It was a good representation and I look forward to the rest of the movies, to see how they tie everything together and make up for the parts they left out...
Due to my mind being drenched in Panem, it took me a while to get into the Body Movers romantic-murder-mystery books. But once I did, I was hooked. It was a shock and disappointment to learn that there are, in fact, 6 books in the series, and I only have the first 3 (Body Movers, Body Movers: 2 Bodies for the Price of 1, and Body Movers: 3 Men and a Body). *sad face* Carlotta Wren is a great character. Reminiscent of Sophie Kinsella's Becky Bloomwood, but a bit more responsible and down to earth. Carlotta and her younger brother Wesley have been on their own for 10 years now, since their parents abandoned them during their father's trial after he was allegedly accused of investment fraud from the firm where he was a partner. The then 18-year old Carlotta lost everything; the mansion and privileged lifestyle she was accustomed to, her friends, her parents, and then her fiance, Peter Ashford (handsome and wealthy). All she had was Wesley (then 9 years old) and the townhouse her parents had bought in her name. She's done her best to raise Wesley, but it's tough! Wesley gets arrested by Detective Jack Terry in the first book for hacking into the court house's system. Detective Terry (big, strong, Southern) makes a great love interest for Carlotta, and also seems to always be at the right place at the right time to bail her out. Then Peter waltzes back into her life, making an interesting little love triangle. But then, as if the girl isn't lucky enough to have 2 guys interested in her, Wesley gets a job moving bodies for the morgue and his boss, Cooper "Coop" Craft (Mr. Mysterious) turns into another interested party! Carlotta manages to get herself into trouble as well, over and over throughout the books, tangled in various murders, but with 4 guys looking out for her, and her quirky best friend Hannah, life's not so bad!
After all that romance and frivolous murder, I was in the mood for something a bit more serious. I had recently purchased Shutter Island (have only seen parts of the movie), but I knew the story, more or less. I thought reading the book might clarify things. Hardly. I didn't enjoy the writing style, it read too much like a movie, which confused me a bit. The overall story was captivating and exercised the mind a bit, which is always good. But it's not a book I would be inclined to read again, or even to keep. If interested, drop me a line, I could probably give you a good price...
After that I went back to my frivolous, flirty books to read Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella. A great installment to the Shopaholic series. Becky is now married to Luke Brandon. In the beginning of the book, they are on their year-long honeymoon travelling around the world, have all sorts of wondering experiences, and buying all sorts of extravagant souvenirs, of course! Becky goes behind Luke's back to buy a bunch of really expensive items and then of course has to lie and sneak her way around telling him. They decide to head home early because Becky misses her family and friends and Luke has some business deals he wants to take care of, but they don't tell anyone they're coming, which ends up being a bit of a flop. Her parents aren't home when they get there, and when they do show up they act really weird. Then she goes to visit her best friend Suze, who has made a new best friend! Then Becky's parents tell her she actually has a half sister, and she is just so excited about the prospect and the idea of a replacement for Suze. But Becky's sister, Jess, is nothing like her. After a lot of misadventures, Becky and Jess finally accept each other for who they are, Suze and Becky make up, and Becky and Luke are pregnant!
And yesterday I finished, The Wedding Girl, by Madeleine Wickam (Sophie Kinsella). Main character Milly is wild at heart, but nobody knows just how wild she really is. When she was 18 she made some gay friends who asked her to marry one of them so he could stay in the country. It was too much of an adventure for Milly to miss, so she agreed. Ten years later, Milly is engaged to Simon Pinnacle, and days before the wedding, she meets her photographer, Alexander - the same young man who was witness to her first marriage and even has a picture of her to prove it. Alexander's presence, and teasing, gets Milly into a real panic and she decides that she needs to find Allan, the man she married, to know if he finalized their divorce, or if they're still married - all without telling anyone but her sister, Isobel, and godmother, Esme. She eventually finds Rupert (Allan's former lover), and Rupert eventually finds Allan. But not before someone tells the priest and everyone, including Simon, learns the truth, and they call the wedding off 2 days before. But is it off for good, or can true love conquer a few lies from the past?
This puts me at 18 books (currently in week 13), which means only 34 to go in 39 weeks! Wish me luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment