Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Gone With a Handsomer Man by Michael Lee West


Gone With a Handsomer Man, by Michael Lee West is a clever and witty mystery romance.  I found it to be a fun read.  I'm not good with mysteries though so I did peak ahead to see the culprit!

The story is about Teeny Templeton, an amateur baker who is engaged to a wealthy Lothario.  When she comes home to find him playing naked badminton with a couple of women, she gets angry and starts throwing peaches.  This is where the story spirals, with her having to move out, try to regain custody of her dog, and eventually solve a mystery.  She also meets a handsomer man from her past who helps her to get over Bing. 

The writing is very clever with some great lines that I shared with my mother on several occasions.  The story moves fairly quickly and the dialogue is snappy.  It might be a little too snappy and clever at times, but it all worked, especially set in the city of Charleston.  While the story resolved itself, there was a definite cliff-hanger so I can only assume there will be a sequel.  I hope. 

Sunday, March 13, 2011

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare



I’ve been hearing about the Mortal Instruments series for a long time but never really thought it would interest me.  It turns out that I did enjoy the first book in the series but I’m not really sure why.  The story was fairly predictable and yet I found myself wanting to know what happened next.  

Clary is a fifteen year old who begins seeing people that nobody else can see.  When her mother disappears she relies on Jace, a mysterious shadowhunter (demon slayer) to help her find her mother.  Clary learns some truths about who she is and the life she came from.   


The characters were great, I will say that.  They will keep me reading the series.  I confess to not being a fan of big mythology type books.  I felt that parts of the stories were very similar to other books and movies that I’ve enjoyed, specifically Star Wars.  In the end, I can recommend it for great characters and a well paced story.  It’s not the greatest book I’ve ever read but I still had fun reading it.