Book Review: Dracula

 

 

 

Blurb on the Back:

“My very feelings change to repulsion and terror when I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over the dreadful abyss, face down, with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings”

And then a whole bunch of historical information about Bram Stoker and the books which influenced him…should have been insight into what I was getting myself into really; the font size on the back is only barely legible (it’s so small!) and I have 20/20 vision.

My thoughts:
So. Dracula hey.
What a book…What.A.Book.
Where do I begin with this book?
What can I say about this book?
What. Can. I. Say.

Dracula, for all those who don’t know, is/was a book written by Bram Stoker around 1897 or thereabouts. As the blurb says on the back, it wasn’t the first of it’s kind and there were books of a similar theme running rampant around that time, this book was just the bee’s knee’s of the genre.

Which makes me really concerned for what the other books were like because ugg.

I’m just going to come out and say it. I didn’t love Dracula. I didn’t like it. I don’t know why I didn’t give up about 3 months into reading it because I clearly wasn’t enjoying it. But no. I’m stubborn and insist on persevering.

I like the story generally speaking, I’m sick of all this glittery vampire trash that’s going around, I like the good old days when vampires were murderous villains of the night! For some parts of the book, which I often read late at night, I was genuinely checking behind doors and jumping at my own shadow but this eventually stopped because what was originally anticipation for a fabulous classic novel turned into sheer boredom and a strong desire for the book to hurry up and end.

Unfortunately it became one those books where I started skipping over paragraphs because I was so over whatever was going on in that moment. I was bored.

I persevered, I don’t know why, maybe because I highly value classic books (regardless of how boring they are) and I want to appreciate written literature from authors who are long passed dead. I don’t know. But I finally finished the book, I feel a slightly sense of accomplishment, but for the most part – it took me 8 months to force myself through that book and books should never take 8 months to read!

Book Review: Wild Romance

Blurb on the Back: In 1852, on a steamer from France to England, nineteen-year-old Theresa Longworth met William Charles Yelverton, a soldier destined to become the Viscount of Avonmore. Their flirtation soon blossomed into a clandestine, epistolary affair, and five years later they married secretly in Edinburgh. Then, that same summer, they married again in Dublin – or did they?

 

Seperated by circumstance soon after they were wed, Theresa and Charles would never live together as husband and wife. And when Yelverton married another woman, an abandoned Theresa found herself forced to prove the validity or her marriage. Multiple trials ensued, and the press and the public seized upon the scandal. Wild Romance is the inspiring tale of a woman who never gave up, and who help on to her ideals of independence, dignity and – despite everything – love.

 

My Thoughts: A while ago I complained that I didn’t read the blurbs on books thoroughly enough and that I should endeavour to do so just so I know what I’m getting into. I forgot about that deal. I had absolutely no idea that the book I was buying was based on real life events; it wasn’t until I googled the names of these people, after reading the preface, that I realised that these people were indeed real and these events really did take place.

 

I really got into this book. I really enjoyed learning about the events and learning about these people. However, I think part of my strength in being able to read this book in its entirely comes from having to read various ethnographies for University subjects. It is very dense in facts and information and it also doesn’t really direct you in terms of who you should side with or why. It’s one of those vague situations where you’re given the facts and you have to make up your own mind.

That being said, I changed my mind multiple times during the book. I felt like Theresa was a bit of a stalker and Charles would have been better off not writing to her and getting some form of a restraining order. There were other times where I thought Charles was playing games with Theresa and he knew it, but she was young, naïve and didn’t really have those role models to teach her any better.

And then there were times when I thought they were both idiots.

I think Theresa’s story is a sad one. I think she was horribly misguided and led on by this guy, but it was by her own doing. She tries to present herself as this smart individual, but I feel like it wasn’t without it’s shortcomings. I feel like if she hadn’t gotten caught up with Charles, she would have done quite well for herself and potentially made an impact in terms of Women’s rights but I also feel like she was one of those girls who was smart enough to achieve a lot, but just couldn’t really be bothered.

She tries to escape this public acknowledgement of her being the victim but she also seems to thrive off of it. I don’t know, but she came across as a walking contradiction really.

It’s a good story nevertheless. I liked learning about these issues and thinking about how different the times are compared to back in the 1800’s. But a lot of patience is needed to read this book, there isn’t much a climax and after the trials, the book becomes a bit dragged out. I can see why and I can understand why, but I guess that’s just life, that’s Theresa’s life anyway.

 

It’s a good book, it really is interesting and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I got into reading it.

Book Review: Derik’s Bane

Blurb on the Back:

Derik’s a werewolf with alpha issues – and a body to die for.

Sara is the personification of unspeakable evil – and smells like roses.

Now if they could just stop lusting after each other long enough to save the world.

It’s’ always good to have a psychic around – except when she tells you the world will soon end unless you do something about it. For werewolf Derik Gardner that means heading to sunny California and destroying the reincarnation of possibly the most powerful sorceress in history: Morgan Le Fay.

But the beautiful – and slightly ditzy – Dr. Sara Gunn has no idea that she is Morgan Le Fay. Her masses of wild red curls and crystal blue eyes make killing her an unpleasant prospect for Derik…and his half-hearted attempts don’t meet with much success. So if he can’t kill Sara, he’ll joing her, on a cross-country odyssey to change her fate, confront a medieval evil – and hopefully get lucky…

My Thoughts: So this book took me longer to read than I had planned. In all honesty, it could have been finished in a day and it practically was, except I got distracted and forgot all about it until last night. But I have finished it and it was pretty good.

I like the story line and I love the characters, I think they are all quirky and interesting in their own way. I like the main plot line and the idea of what has to happen, what needs to happen and what eventuates because I think it keeps you guessing for much of the story. I mean sure you can predict little things along the way, but the comedy keeps you entertained.

What I do know is, as much as I liked the book I didn’t love it like I loved the un-dead series. The un-dead series (by the same author) was similarly written (different plot and characters obviously) but I just got more enjoyment out of the whole series. Derik’s Bane is a part of a series but it’s more of a disjointed series – it’s about his pack and not specifically about him, where as the Un-dead series follows one characters adventures while she comes to terms with being a vampire.

However, it was a good read. It was good, it was fast, it was funny and sometimes a bit uncomfortable (I don’t like sex-scenes in books) but it was generally entertaining. These are the kind of books that you use to escape reality for an hour or so; you just get lost in this world of make-believe and fantasy which keeps you entertained.

 

Mary Janice Davidson is definitely one of my favourite authors and I always look forward to reading her books. I will endeavour to read the rest of the series and maybe by the time I’ve finished, my thoughts will have change in terms of which series is my favourite (Wyndham Werewolves or the Un-Dead)

Book Haul #1

It’s book haul time!

Yesterday I was in the city for a couple of hours, so I went and spent some time in one of my favourite book shops. Favourite because they are dirt cheap and they don’t necessarily have a lot of the “mainstream” books that all the other book stores have. I’d much prefer to read books that no-one has really seen or heard of over the books that are all over the place and everyone has read because the are all over the news.

I mean. sure I like to read the more popular books from time to time but a part of me feels that there are authors that don’t get the attention they deserve just because other books go viral for stupid reasons.

Anyway, yesterday I bought 5 new books and spent $25 in total (awesome right?) and I plan on reading and reviewing these books over the next few weeks (months?)

Derik’s Bane by Mary Janice Davidson
I am a huge Mary Janice Davidson fan. I think I’ve read 90% of her undead series which was hilarious and entertaining. I started reading her when all my friends were getting into the True Blood books. I picked up one of the first undead books and couldn’t stop. I was down at the library hiring whatever books I could find from the series because they were so addictive and easy to read. The undead series were relating to Vampires but with more comedic relief than anything; not to twilight-y or ‘dark’ so they are enjoyable. Derik’s Bane is about a Werewolf and from what I can tell follows the same sort of comedic-romance that the undead series had.


Wild Romance by Chloe Schama
After reading and reviewing some of the books I did last year, I kind of got a bit hooked on the timely drama type books. Events occuring in different era’s instead of the here and now. I like the idea of a Victorian era scandal and the blurb on the back sounded interesting. It’s a romance story with a lot of twists and turns which I think could be quite interesting.

The Overnight Sociality by Bridie Clark
This sounds weird, but I felt like this book was calling me to read it. A couple days ago I was thinking about this sort of story line and so when I saw this book, I was a bit taken back. I had to grab it and read it, so it’s now a part of my collection. It’s title is a dead give away to the main idea of the book. It’s a little bit like that movie She’s all that,  the guy who changes the girl and voila guy falls for girl. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but we’ll see how it goes!

 

 

Recipe for Scandal by Debby Holt
This book reminds me of that book I read last year, I think it was Encore Valentine and now that I’ve peered over my shoulder to look at the book, they look very similar as well. It’s story filled with family drama, love, romance, scandal the works which, like I said, is similar to Encore Valentine but I’m going to assume at this stage that they are fairly different. I love the cover, I think that’s what grabbed my attention; it’s flirty and decorative.


That Loving Feeling by Carole Matthews
I picked this book up at the last minute. I had actually picked up a different book but when I saw this one, I decided to put the other one back. Again, it’s a romance book; for some reason I’m drawn to this genre but it’s more to do with the eye-grabbing covers than anything else. I don’t think it’s so much of the genre that I like, it’s just when I see a cover I like, I have to have it. But this one is probably comparable to Happily Ever After? which I reviewed last year; it follows that whole idea of getting married but no necessarily being happy within that “happy ever after” scenario. Which for me, I feel like they aren’t exactly issues I can relate to, but they certainly make you more aware that the Disney idea of finding the prince and just magically being happy for the rest of eternity isn’t how it always pans out. This author has quite a few other books so I’ll definitely be seeing how this one goes.

I’ve also decided that once I get through these, I think the next books I go for will be the classics. I want to read Dracula and I saw that this book shop had a huge range of other classics like Mansfield Park, The Tale of Two Cities and things like that, so I think once I get through these books, I’ll definitely look toward getting some classic books. I think it helps now that I’ve finished my literature course, so instead of being MADE to read the classics, I actually WANT to read the classics. If that makes any sense at all!

Book Review: Birthmarked

Blurb on the Back: In the future, in a world destroyed by the harsh sun, there are those who live in luxury inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside, struggling to survive. Each month the people outside the wall must deliver a quota of babies to the enclave, to be raised by parents within and brainwashed to forget about the world outside.

 

It’s the way it’s always been, and the way Gaia thinks it should be…until her parents are arrested on suspicion of hiding a code; a code revealing the secrets of the “advanced” babies. Realising she is her parents’ only hope for survival, Gaia ventures inside the wall to rescue them. But she soon discovers that the Enclave is not as perfect as it appears; the gene pool has become too small and genetic irregularities are developing – something the brutal government wants to stop. At any cost. Can Gaia break the code and discover the truth, before it’s too late?

 

My Thoughts: I really need to start reading the blurbs before I buy books. This book was not at all what I was expecting; but in saying that, this book was a fantastic read. I literally didn’t want to stop reading it and I felt compelled to keep read as much as I could for as long as I could until I finished. Fortunately life intervened and I had to put the book down every so often, but generally the story line was so interesting that I didn’t want to stop reading.

 

I confess, I haven’t read The Hunger Games, but I saw the first movie and I feel like this book follows in that tradition. It’s futuristic world where things have gone wrong in history and now life is very different. When I started reading it, I don’t think it was made clear that it was set in the future, so it felt very ancient; a world that was back to basics and where people were living off the land. But when you keep reading, you realise that it is in the future, but things have changed. Obviously there are little things along the way that have survived throughout their history, but everything else has been destroyed.

 

I like the story because it isn’t a completely bizarre concept; the future is unknown, we don’t know what could happen in 5, 10, 20 years from now and a situation like the one in this book is entirely possible.

 

There were a few moments where they were explaining the science stuff (about DNA and Genetics) and I got impatient. I couldn’t help but think “Really?! You want to take time out to discuss this stuff?” but then I remember the lack of education and that sort of thing, so after I finished that part I realised it was important.

 

I really liked this story though. I really liked the futuristic perspective and looking back on one possibility of how the world could go wrong and screw everything up for humanity.

 

Unfortunately! The book is part of a trilogy, so now I really want to get my hands on the next two books! Like I said, it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting just from looking at the front cover, but it made it all the more better. If it ever had the potential to become a movie like The Hunger Games, I feel like Hollywood would screw it up. Without going into too much detail, Gaia has a very distinctive look about her and I feel they would get that wrong – but it all contributes to her, her strength and who she is.

 

I think this is probably one of the best books I’ve reviewed so far just because of how intense the story is and how caught up in it I go.

Book Review: Happily Ever After?

Blurb on the Back: What happens after the happily ever after…?

Eleanor Cooper is a smart, attractive blonde with a successful career and life clearly mapped out in front of her. That doesn’t stop her falling for the ultimate romantic cliché – a fairy tale wedding to her own Prince Charming, Tony.

 

But Ellie’s marriage and new husband prove a lot more complicated than she bargained for.

 

Can Ellie and Tony survive their troubles? Can she forgive if not forget? Or should Ellie leave her prince for the love that is waiting for her? That’s a choice only our heroine can make. And whats (sic) if it’s the wrong one?

 

Funny, moving, sad, sex – Ellie will become part of your life.

Bridget Jones has grown up.

And she is fabulous.

 

My Thoughts: I think the author of this book is a fairly talented writer. I love the way in which the book is written, I like the style and I would look forward to reading more of her books. However I have several issues I need to raise.

 

But let’s begin with the good stuff shall we? The manner in which this book is written makes it a casual read, something you can sit back with and enjoy without thinking too much. You could sit outside under a tree on a sunny day and just enjoy the book. For that reason it’s a good book. I do enjoy the story but I don’t agree with it.

 

I think the story makes excuses for people. It is basically a story filled with infidelity and this book sort of brushes it off as a regular occurrence that people should just sort of accept; and without giving too much away, it also seems to tie everything up neatly in the end which again to me screams the wrong message. I’m well aware that I shouldn’t be searching for a moral in every story but in this case, if there is a moral it is clouded with a negative undertone. It’s like saying “Hey, it’s ok to go outside of your marriage under these circumstances and don’t worry because in the end things may turn out perfectly” and in this book, all the problems get tied up into a neat little package.

 

I’m one of those morally grounded people who believes once you’re married, you’re married; if things start going wrong you do something to fix it and regardless of the problem, you don’t go bed-hoping. That’s my view and I’m sticking to it. So that’s why I clash with this book a little bit. It’s a little bit more cynical but accepting of that cynicism at the same time. “Ok your husbands a tool, well if you go do XYZ and claim that you feel ever so guilty about it, you should land up in a better position”.

 

I do get it, the whole point of the book is to suggest that the fairy tale doesn’t always end up in happily ever after, there are bumps and hiccups along the way. I get that. I understand that girls are far too in love with that Disney fairy tale ending that they close off their minds to the possibility to the idea that things can and will go wrong along the way. That point of the books is clear, but I don’t like the manner in which it is presented.

 

So I guess my only problem in that sense is that the moral side of me doesn’t agree. Which I shouldn’t hold against the book really.

 

But the other problem I have is with the actual editing of the book. I am one of those types of people who is really good and cross-words, find-a-words and sudoku; what is relevant about any of that? It basically means that I am fairly good at finding things that don’t belong or are incorrect. In most books I read, I always find one or two things that are wrong, spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, ‘s’ where they shouldn’t be (see blurb on the back) and so on. This book seems to have quite a few mistakes and it started to get a bit irritating. I would think, with all the money someone invests into writing a book and getting in published, they would at least attempt to edit it properly. I know things slip through the cracks sometimes, but after the 3rd mistake I started to get a bit rattled.

 

Overall though, it is an enjoyable read and if I put my moral compass away for a bit, it was a well written story (minus the mistakes) and I could kick back and relax with it. Hopefully  the author has a few more books up her sleeve because I could see myself reading more of her work.

Book Review: Secrets of the Tudor Court

Blurb on the Back: When young Mary Howard arrives at the grand court of King Henry VIII to attend his mistress, Anne Boleyn, she is overjoyed. Mary is certain Anne will one day become Queen. But Mary has witnessed the King’s fickle nature before and knows how quickly he can turn on those he claims to love…

Despite all of Mary’s efforts to please him, she soon becomes a victim of the Kin’s wrath. Not until she becomes betrothed to Harry Fitzroy, the Duke of Richmond and illegitimate son to the King, does Mary finds (sic) the love and approval she’s been seeking.

But when Mary believes she is finally free, the tides turn. She has uncovered an intricate web of secrets within the palace walls, secrets that she must guard with her life….

 

My thoughts: When it comes to Henry VIII and his 6 wives, I absolutely love listening and reading to what went on. I find the whole history so fascinating and intriguing. Naturally, the politics regarding what was going on is all very interesting, but I’m more intrigued about the women of the era and what they were doing/going through. I can’t help but be drawn to their stories. This book takes it to a whole other level for me because usually I read stories or watch movies that are very heavily based on the perspective of the King or alternatively one of his wives; this books takes the perspective of Mary Douglas who, although very much apart of the dealings, is still ‘outside’ enough to comment on what is going on and happening.

I don’t know my history accurately enough to comment on the accuracy of the book but the basic elements are there. I was reading along and I took note of all the things I know from just reading the history in general. Every time a milestone was written in the book, I would think to myself “oh this is when so and so comes along” or “well, I know what’s going to happen to her!” and I liked that. I liked the familiarity of the story.

I love the perspective; listening to Mary recount the events makes it all the more interesting. I feel sorry for her and what she went through and whether or not it is historically accurate becomes irrelevant. It’s a story based on what happened, it doesn’t claim to be a true historical biography; but nevertheless it places emphasis on the difficulties endured in the era especially for women.

For the most part, I think the book possesses a lot of girly-intrigue. Naturally the intrigue is very old fashioned and being set so long ago, it seems bizarre and difficult to relate with but it allows the reader to get lost in a different world where people were ruled by social and cultural expectations; where people had very strict beliefs and were expected to maintain themselves in a certain manner.

It was a matter of getting lost in history. I don’t mind if it was accurate or not, it’s just interesting getting lost in a world that could have potentially (and more than likely) existed.

 

This book is one of the 3 books I have selected to read for the month of October. I finished this book in roughly 3 days. I have 2 more books to go and then I have to select a 4th book for the final week of October!

Book Review: Encore Valentine

So it’s been a while since my last book review and that’s because it took me a while to get through this latest edition to my Junk-Food-Novel Collection. Remember, just because I call it a Junk-Food-Novel, doesn’t mean it’s bad in anyway,  it just means it’s an easy read when you don’t want to contemplate theorists like Freud or to analyse the text and it’s postmodern context.

Basically I’m the slowest reading literature student EVER. I remember I needed to read Jane Eyre for a first year subject, I was suppose to read it in 2 weeks and I have yet to read the entire book. I gave up 3 days in and watched the BBC TV mini-series thing. I was also suppose to read Ulysses by James Joyce and that’s going to take me at least a year to get through. Let’s hope War and Peace doesn’t find it’s way into my book collection because that thing will get dus-ty!

My latest read is Encore Valentine by Adriana Trigiani.

Blurb on the Back:
A once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity takes shoemaker Valentine Roncalli from the winding streets of New York’s Greenwich Village to the sun-kissed cobblestones of Buenos Aires. Here, she finds a long-buried secret hidden deep within a family scandal. Once discovered, the truth shakes the Roncallis, while Valentine is torn between a past love that nurtured her and a new one that promises to last a lifetime…

My Thoughts:
Well, I have discovered that my attention to detail really sucks. If I had bothered to really look at the front cover I probably wouldn’t have bought it because it says that Sarah Jessica Parker found it “Hilarious and Romantic”. Nothing against Sarah Jessica Parker, I’m just not into the “Sex and the City” type novels. I also would have realised that this book is actually a sequel, which really didn’t matter in the end, but I still have a thing for reading books in order (don’t ask me about Harry Potter, just because I read that in all sorts of funny orders).

Back to the book! I find the blurb on the back slightly misleading. I really liked the story, I really liked the family and Valentine was a really relatable character, even though she is in her late 30’s and I’m in my mid-20’s, there was just something about her that made me really understand her and her plight. The blurb talks about the family scandal and how it rocks the family, but I feel like the scandal was down played quite a bit and the family scandal that resulted was pretty much done and dusted before it began so I feel like the blurb emphasisedthe wrong aspect of the book. It also suggests that Valentine is stuck in this sordid love triangle, but it only really gets to that on the last page and if there is a third book, then it would make sense if that triangle really starts to become this big deal.

Like I said, I really liked the story but not for anything that is said during the blurb. I like the story because you get caught up in this mad-house Italian family and you follow Valentine through this year-long adventure, you learn about her history, you learn about her, you learn about her family, all while following her through this journey where she is learning her faults and dealing with them or facing situations that make her uncomfortable. It is a test of Valentine’s ability to adapt and change and that is what I really got out of the book.

As for the other characters, I didn’t really like Gianluca from the beginning and I still don’t like him. I prefer Bret and I really want that conflict with him to evolve in a third book. I also really like Gabriel, but his decorating style makes me want to cry ugly tears.

There are of course moments where Valentine is yacking on about the smell of flowers or the look on someone’s face, there were a few moments like this, for example, Gianluca might be at the door and she will spend two pages talking about how he’s asking to come into her hotel room and how he looks and smells and sounds. All the while, I’m reading and wondering what Gianluca is doing while Valentine just randomly stares into space for two pages. I’ve read far to much of the Snark Squad’s 50 Shades of Grey Summary, so now whenever an “inner goddess dances” or an inner voice takes over, I wonder what the hell the other character is doing.

Valentine: Rant, Rant, Rant. Nice Suit. Smells nice. Keeps asking to come in”
Gianluca: F*ck me, is this woman going to keep staring at me. Is she ok or is she having an aneurism?


At the end of the book, however, there is a fun little addition of recipes and so forth, which I find kind of awesome. It was a bit of a “SUPRISE” at the end of the book, so, kind of awesome. No idea if I will try any of them, but I like that the option is there.

In other news, I should start giving books a star rating or something. I’ll start eventually.

Book Review: Snobbery with Violence

The Blurb on the Back:

High Society…

After a brief and ill-advised alliance with the Suffragette movement, Lady Rose Summer’s debut season in London society turns out to be a complete disaster. Rose’s father suspects that her fiancé, Sir Geoffrey Blandon, is a first-class scoundrel and calls in Captain Harry Cathcart to investigate.

But when a malicious guest is found dead in suspicious circumstances, Rose becomes far more interested in discovering the truth than in landing more appropriate suitor. As Harry and Rose begin to unravel a web of lies and rumour, a clever murder sets out to make Rose’s dreadful season her last.

My Thoughts:

After finishing this book, I wondered if 3 years of Literature studies have completely tainted my opinion of “fun” novels. I finished reading and wondered why the ending was so perfect. Actually, it probably wasn’t; but let me start from the beginning.

This book is a fun read, it’s easy to get through and falls into my category of Junk Food Books. I don’t mean it’s junk, I just mean if you want something quick, easy and you don’t want to think too much, then this book fits the bill. There’s nothing wrong with that, I just don’t see it being studied in Universities ten years from now. I love junk food books simply because they are quick and easy, I don’t have to worry about what the author is trying to say, I don’t have to think about the era in which the book was read, I don’t need to worry about modernism, post modernism or the avante guard; I can just read it.

Rose is a conflicting character, on one hand I find her a strong protagonist and then there were times I thought she might as well have said “make someone else the hero in this book, I’m going to go sit in the corner and watch what happens.” She kept flipping between being the strong, motivated character to being the impossible teenager who didn’t really want to be there. She’s suppose to have gotten into some trouble because of the suffragette movement, but she doesn’t really strike me as a suffragette; she’s more a young woman with conflicted views about herself and her society, and simply uses the suffragette movement as a means of expressing her confusion.

I feel I started to dislike her as a character, she was more a hindrance than anything else but at the same time there was also something appealing about her, I just can’t determine what it is.

The ending was a little bit too neat for me, I felt myself being frustrated as well. Potentially there was room for a huge twist in the end, but it was somewhat predictable. I didn’t like how the end was handled, but I guess in the context of when it was situated and who was involved, it also sort of makes sense.

I’m not going to say I hate this book, because I don’t. I actually really enjoyed it. The union with Harry, his man servant and Rose with her maid intrigues me; they could potentially be a good group in further story lines. Like I mentioned earlier, Rose does strike me as interesting when she’s not busy being annoying and flipping between who she wants to be, who she thinks she is and who everyone else wants her to be. I like the general story line and it definitely reminds me of those murder mystery parties that people host, it’s a lot of fun following along trying to figure out “who dunnit”.

Book Review: Between The Lines

 

 

The Blurb on the Back:
What happens when happily ever after…isn’t?

Delilah hates school as much as she loves books. In face, there’s one book in particular she can’t get enough of. If anyone knew how many times she has read and re-read the sweet little fairy tale she found in the library, especially the popular kids, she’d be sent to social Siberia…forever.

To Delilah, though, this fairy tale is more than just words on the page. Sure, there’s a handsome (well, okay, hot) prince, and a castle, and an evil villain, but it feels as if there’s something deeper going on. And one day, Delilah finds out there is. Turns out, this Prince charming is real, and a certain fifteen-year-old loner has caught his eye. But they’re from two different worlds and how can it ever possibly work?

My Thoughts:

The first Jodi Picoult book I read was Nineteen Minutes and I have been a huge fan of her work ever since. Whenever I saw a book of hers that I hadn’t read, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I love that some of her stories don’t necessarily end the way that you might at first expect them to; there is usually a twist in the plot and something completely unexpected happens. During the winter break from University, I was luck enough to have a few quiet moments to myself where I got to pick up a book of my choice and just immerse myself into a world where I could just enjoy a book from beginning to end. When I heard about Between the Lines, a collaboration book written by Jodi Picoult and her Daughters Samantha van Leer, I knew I had to get this book and I needed to read it right away!

From the moment I knew it was a modern spin on fairy tales, I was sold. I’m one of those girls who loved, and will always love, the Disney fairy tales and their elegant princesses, their evil villains and their charming princes. I know there are other girls like me and regardless of how old or how young we are, we can’t help but get lost in the world of magic and romance. Between the Lines definitely has that modern take on the fairy tale genre and what I noticed about it was the modern day references that were mentioned, especially relating to pop culture, which adds to that modern day feel.

I believe, that although this book really tries to put a modern spin on fairy tales, it’s hard to relate or connect to the protagonist. I’m in my mid-20’s and so connecting with or understanding Delilah is a bit tricky. Oliver on the other hand came across as incredibly one dimensional and I don’t mean that as a joke, he just seemed to lack a lot and there wasn’t much substance to him; but perhaps that is understandable considering the part that he plays.

Overall, I think the book is fun and light hearted. It’s an easy read, it’s nothing too serious or dark and I think quite a lot of people would be able to enjoy it.