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mrs_ailurophile's reviews
583 reviews
A Ghost in Monte Carlo by Barbara Cartland
2.0
I'd give it one star if I hadn't seen the movie, but the movie was the reason I wanted to read the book in the first place.
Anyway. Not a fan. Of the book. And while I knew, given Barbara Cartland's audience and record and the plot of the movie and of "A Hazard of Hearts" film version, that her novels would cater to any inner MarySues out there (myself included) I really did not expect...this.
Cartland's novels are easy, quick reads with similar plots in different settings. Not bad if you need a break and a fast read, but definitely not something I find myself wishing to repeat anytime soon.
Perhaps I'm too harsh. I enjoy a mushy romance every now and then. But to be honest, the film was so much better.
Anyway. Not a fan. Of the book. And while I knew, given Barbara Cartland's audience and record and the plot of the movie and of "A Hazard of Hearts" film version, that her novels would cater to any inner MarySues out there (myself included) I really did not expect...this.
Cartland's novels are easy, quick reads with similar plots in different settings. Not bad if you need a break and a fast read, but definitely not something I find myself wishing to repeat anytime soon.
Perhaps I'm too harsh. I enjoy a mushy romance every now and then. But to be honest, the film was so much better.
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
3.0
I've been listening to the audio edition on and off. So far some parts are funny but I'm not as impressed as I thought I would be. A bit disappointed.
2.9 Stars
Entertaining but not what I expected. I love Amy Schumer but I think she should stick to the verbal word rather than the written word. I mean - yeah, she herself read the book and maybe that's why I found it rather different and slightly off putting from her usual stuff.
However, I will say I admire her resilience and the fact that she's willing to open up over a lot of her choices and what's happened to her when she was younger. And that she has no qualms about admitting what her faults are or her family's difficulties. That takes courage.
So verdict is 2.9 stars.
2.9 Stars
Entertaining but not what I expected. I love Amy Schumer but I think she should stick to the verbal word rather than the written word. I mean - yeah, she herself read the book and maybe that's why I found it rather different and slightly off putting from her usual stuff.
However, I will say I admire her resilience and the fact that she's willing to open up over a lot of her choices and what's happened to her when she was younger. And that she has no qualms about admitting what her faults are or her family's difficulties. That takes courage.
So verdict is 2.9 stars.
The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley
1.0
Firstly, I bought this book in the bargain section of the local bookstore a couple months ago. It was cheap and the back cover's description was quite intriguing. I was hoping it would provide a fantastic tale of secrets kept for generations only to be revealed by the discovery of a long forgotten will or at the deathbed of the family matriarch. Instead, I got nearly 500 pages of horrible, predictable cliches weaving in and out of a plot that is so disgustingly sugar sweet, I'm surprised I was able to finish it.
The plot starts with an old fairy tale from the East and then goes straight to the main protagonist, Julia. She had recently lost her husband and child in a horrifying accident and had fled to the comforts of home to cope with the loss. Upon meeting the heir and owner of the once stately Wharton Park, Julia begins to heal. Kit, the owner of her childhood home, discovers a diary in the cottage that once belonged to her grandparents', the estates' gardeners. Traveling to her grandmother Elsie, who reveals the story of Harry and Olivia, two aristocrats doing their duty in an ever changing world.
And so follows a plot of grief, loss, change, discovery, and love triangles, all sickeningly woven into a tale with a perfect happy ending.
What bothered me the most, at first, was the return of Julia's supposedly dead husband, Xavier. Once she's found the courage to face her inner demons and return to their home to settle her affairs, she settles into her last night of the home she had made. She had faced her past and all was right with the world. Then...BAM! In the doorway of her bedroom is Xavier, the husband she had lost. And once again she's set on a crash course of raw emotion. Between her new found love for Kit, and her very living husband, Julia decides to stay and make it work. Until she discovers Xavier is the reason her baby boy is dead.
And then you learn that her sister, Alicia, is adopted and her entire reaction upon learning...oh! It made me want to scream with frustration. As an adoptee myself, Riley's interpretation of being adopted offended me so much I had to stop reading for a couple days. If Alicia was adopted, then she was legally their daughter. Unless they did it through a back alley agency, Alicia had every right to inherit the estate as much as Julia.
The book ends with Julia's true grandmother calling Kit and telling him to profess his love for Julia, lest her lose her forever. Xavier is the true villain for doing all he did for his own selfish needs and Lidia rescues the estate from impending doom and bequeaths her entire fortune on Julia, who is in the midst of a multi-million dollar divorce with her errant husband.
The characters are too perfect, the plot so full of inconsistencies and cliches, its a wonder I could finish it. It's predictable up until the moment Xavier returns and after that it digs itself into a hole so deep, I would be well satisfied if it never dug itself out. This entire book was a waste of time and money, even if I did pay only $9.00 for it.
The plot starts with an old fairy tale from the East and then goes straight to the main protagonist, Julia. She had recently lost her husband and child in a horrifying accident and had fled to the comforts of home to cope with the loss. Upon meeting the heir and owner of the once stately Wharton Park, Julia begins to heal. Kit, the owner of her childhood home, discovers a diary in the cottage that once belonged to her grandparents', the estates' gardeners. Traveling to her grandmother Elsie, who reveals the story of Harry and Olivia, two aristocrats doing their duty in an ever changing world.
And so follows a plot of grief, loss, change, discovery, and love triangles, all sickeningly woven into a tale with a perfect happy ending.
What bothered me the most, at first, was the return of Julia's supposedly dead husband, Xavier. Once she's found the courage to face her inner demons and return to their home to settle her affairs, she settles into her last night of the home she had made. She had faced her past and all was right with the world. Then...BAM! In the doorway of her bedroom is Xavier, the husband she had lost. And once again she's set on a crash course of raw emotion. Between her new found love for Kit, and her very living husband, Julia decides to stay and make it work. Until she discovers Xavier is the reason her baby boy is dead.
And then you learn that her sister, Alicia, is adopted and her entire reaction upon learning...oh! It made me want to scream with frustration. As an adoptee myself, Riley's interpretation of being adopted offended me so much I had to stop reading for a couple days. If Alicia was adopted, then she was legally their daughter. Unless they did it through a back alley agency, Alicia had every right to inherit the estate as much as Julia.
The book ends with Julia's true grandmother calling Kit and telling him to profess his love for Julia, lest her lose her forever. Xavier is the true villain for doing all he did for his own selfish needs and Lidia rescues the estate from impending doom and bequeaths her entire fortune on Julia, who is in the midst of a multi-million dollar divorce with her errant husband.
The characters are too perfect, the plot so full of inconsistencies and cliches, its a wonder I could finish it. It's predictable up until the moment Xavier returns and after that it digs itself into a hole so deep, I would be well satisfied if it never dug itself out. This entire book was a waste of time and money, even if I did pay only $9.00 for it.
The Fool's Tale by Nicole Galland
2.0
2.5 Stars
Honestly, I couldn't even finish it and that's rare for me. The writing was mediocre, the plot was unoriginal, and the characters poorly developed. Mostly, it was the characters that really bothered me.
It reminded me of high school in one of those YA series or in those old 90's teen movies, just in 12th century Wales. "Noble" (that nickname bothered me for no reason other than it's obvious intent to relieve the use of Welsh names) was the popular jock with a hidden playful streak, Isabel his bitchy girlfriend, and Gwirion as his goofy best friend.
Granted, the author admitted that this is a highly fictionalized account of Wales in the medieval period, but even that isn't enough to redeem the book.
So 2.5 stars, a half star given for the author's acknowledgment of it being more fiction than historical. Although that doesn't explain the lack of creativity since it was similar to almost every teen series I've ever seen.
Honestly, I couldn't even finish it and that's rare for me. The writing was mediocre, the plot was unoriginal, and the characters poorly developed. Mostly, it was the characters that really bothered me.
It reminded me of high school in one of those YA series or in those old 90's teen movies, just in 12th century Wales. "Noble" (that nickname bothered me for no reason other than it's obvious intent to relieve the use of Welsh names) was the popular jock with a hidden playful streak, Isabel his bitchy girlfriend, and Gwirion as his goofy best friend.
Granted, the author admitted that this is a highly fictionalized account of Wales in the medieval period, but even that isn't enough to redeem the book.
So 2.5 stars, a half star given for the author's acknowledgment of it being more fiction than historical. Although that doesn't explain the lack of creativity since it was similar to almost every teen series I've ever seen.