BOOK REVIEW (52): The Fisherman and his Wife

BOOK REVIEW:

The Fisherman and his Wife

I've been holding onto this review for a while. Not sure considering I finished reading this picture book in a few minutes...

Anyways before I begin the review, for those of you who are not aware of the folk tale of "The Fisherman and his Wife", or you haven't come across variants like Charles Perrault's fairy tale, "The Ridiculous Wishes", essentially this is a story about the flaw of hubris and seeking too much and being dissatisfied forever.

It's usually an abysmal tale; what you would call a cautionary story that isn't meant to necessarily give a HEA, say like "Cinderella" or "Snow White". The story of the fisherman and his greedy wife are just meant to teach you to be satisfied with what you got and not ask for anything too extravagant, or on the flip side teaching you to be satisfied with what you got.

So having read the back jacket I learned that the author and illustrator, Rachel Isadora, lived in Africa for a long time and that explained this inspired African themed retelling. It was beautifully put together.

I'm not sure what variants of this tale exists out there -- and this is sort of the bane of fairy tales and folk stories, as there are sometimes differences, big or small, that are available out there -- but I read only one variant, aside from Perrault's version which has the same theme only different story, cast, situation, etc. This variant is much shorter and it culminates into three wishes from the greedy wife, the last of which the magical prince-turned-fish does not grant.

Isadora's tale has the poor fisherman going back to the fish a total of six times, each time asking for a grander life scheme. The fifth time she asks to be a pope...

This was weird to me, because A) it's quite religious, and B) it's a children's book and if I were reading it to a child that would probably go over their head.

And the sixth and final time, the greedy wife asks to be God. Not a god, mind you, but God. Again, the monotheistic Christian vibe through me for a loop. Though I was still sorta relieved that she didn't get her wish!

Never read this fairy tale or are you interested in reading another variant?
Then hunt down Rachel Isadora's The Fisherman and his Wife.

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮

(4 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (51): Teenage Mermaid

BOOK REVIEW:

Teenage Mermaid

Okay this next book is an MG. Maybe upper MG because the characters are 15, but the style of writing, like the tones/airs of the characters made me think they were in junior high, so like ages 11-12 instead of they're being 15. You know, if any of that makes sense.

Still I’ve wanted to read Ellen Schreiber’s Teenage Mermaid for about a year now, mostly because I haven’t read a mermaid story yet. Yeah. I tend to avoid that paranormal creature because I think the author would have to get really creative to get around the whole ‘tail for half-a-body’ thing. Also I usually can’t get sex off the mind. How do mermaids have mermaid babies??

So we got mermaid Waterlilly or just ‘Lilly’ and her “Earthdude”, high school sophomore Spencer. Now like most mermaid meet cutes, I’m sure, they meet because they both have a love for the water. I mean, Lilly has no choice, but Spencer ditches school – yeah, I know, I know – to spend time on the beach. 

On one of these mornings he ends up drowning only to be saved by Lilly who happens to swim by (ironically she’s late for school too). It gets weird here, but stay with me: I guess what happens is that Lilly resuscitates him with a kiss while he’s still underwater.

I’m not a lifeguard or anything (and just between you and me, Internet, I failed my only CPR test back in high school), yet I’m sure this isn’t how you bring people back to the living world. Just sayin’.

So she saves him and he decides to take a souvenir, Lilly’s family necklace – the necklace that her mom keeps locked away and would totally ground her for if she stole it and lost it in the process, and to a human or an “Earthee” on top of that.

Basically Lilly is wading with sharks here if she doesn’t manage to find Spencer and the necklace before her mom finds out it’s missing.

Also as a heads-up now, although I should have mentioned this earlier, this story reads like a contemporary and much happier version of Hans Christen Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”. In order to get out on land and retrieve her family’s heirloom necklace, Lilly goes to the depths of the ocean to visit Madame Pearl, a “witch” sea creature.

I don’t know what Madame Pearl was. It didn’t describe her as a mermaid – unless I missed it, and there wasn’t much of a description for her other than her “porcelain flesh” being “puffed up like a blowfish” or something along those lines.

Lilly requests a transmutation potion from Madame Pearl who delivers and the next day Lilly finds herself washed up on the beach with human legs.

…AND you can put the rest together I’m sure. If not read the book. It’s written in 1^st person perspective from both Spencer and Lilly’s POVs. It read all right considering their voices didn’t sound identical. I find it takes decent writing to not make that mistake. (Although from a writer’s perspective I’d just avoid it).

If you happen to pick up Teenage Mermaid, expect that:

1)      a short and quick read.

2)    Lilly’s gonna be more annoying than Spencer

3)     That these two are frustrating with all this lovey-dovey crap

4)    The ending will make you want to punt the book

And as for that last point, if you don’t believe me just continue reading this little excerpt from the book and then re-think my point:

WARNING! SPOILER A-HOY!

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“I thought she was a mermaid!”

“She is!” [Lilly’s bff] shouted.

“But she’s drowning!”

Lilly’s sparkling blue eyes were shut, her glowing skin sallow, her spirit withering away.

“She’s drowning of a broken heart! Only you can save her,” [Lilly’s bff] cried.

“CPR? Help me take her back to shore.”

“No! With the kiss of love!” [Lilly’s bff] said hurriedly. “That’s what Madame Pearl said—the kiss of love.”

***

I should explain though.

The “kiss of love” is supposed to be a game changer for a mermaid and human couple. Lilly’s great-grandfather was supposed to have been human when he fell in love with her mermaid great-grandmother and gave her the necklace heirloom that Spencer took during their creative CPR.

Supposedly Madame Pearl tells Lilly that there’s a myth of the full moon and a kiss between a mermaid and human that can change the human into a mermaid and unite the two lovers in soul AND body/species.

Nowhere does it mention mermaids…drowning. Lulz at the irony. Seriously. What a cop out.

Kinda.

You see I’ve read Ellen Schreiber’s two series, Vampire Kisses and Full Moon, and after going through the total of those 12 books, I can say that she likes to end off very vaguely. Like they read as HEAs, but there’s this element of WTFery where other characters are pushed aside when they sure as heck would be affected by the decision of her teenage couple.

I mean, what the heck Spencer? What about hating that his mom abandoned him and his father and so suddenly? How does abandoning his father for a girl he met a few days ago make him NOT unlike his crappy mother?

So read with caution. Keep your mind open and finish it through before slamming the book.

I did like Chainsaw, Spencer’s wealthy, perverted and nerdy best friend and Spencer’s hair (he kept changing the colour in the story), and some of the funny dialogue. The author has a knack for humor, and I believe her bio mentions that she was a standup comedien(ne) at some point in her life.

Anyways, give Teenage Mermaid a chance. Who knows? Maybe this one’s a book for you…

As a side note, I wonder if that bland and straightforward title was a nod at the 80s film, Teen Wolf. Only the plot is very different.

My verdict:

✮✮

(2 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (50): Equilibrium

BOOK REVIEW:

Equilibrium

I don’t read too much women’s fiction, mostly because it’s got too much life in it and it’s dreary. Not that life is necessarily a downer -- just that this genre produces heavy, slow reads in terms of pacing.

But I wanted to read Lorrie Thomson’s Equilibrium since its 2013 release because it looked like an interesting book. What drew me in was the POV switch between mother and daughter. What kept me reading were the ups and downs each faced around their new relationships, and their navigation of life without their husband/father.

I didn’t always like Laura Klein or her teen daughter, Darcy. Laura could be annoying in her unspoken assessment of others and though genuinely I found it realistic, on the other hand I’m used to fiction – like category romance – where what you see is typically what you get in a character. For instance, I thought Laura disliked her bubbly friend, Elle…but she doesn’t. She just gave me an initial impression that she didn’t appreciate how the other woman-slash-neighbour popped in and made herself at home.

Darcy was also kinda an irritating character to follow, and perhaps more so as she’s a hormonal teenager who doesn’t know how to handle her father’s suicide. And no, that’s not a spoiler. It’s obvious AND readers find out from the start. No one pussyfoots around it. At least not entirely. Some characters are pretty blunt. *cough*Aidan*cough*

Both Klein women also have romantic subplots, because nothing says moving on like meeting a man and having that new-found “love connection” be threatened by the irrational idea of betraying an old (dead) love. NOTE: the novel begins at the almost one year anniversary of Jack Klein, Darcy’s father and Laura’s husband’s suicide.

I liked Troy. I kinda wish that he got a perspective just because I loved that he was this combo of “jock-nerd”. He was adorkable! But he was young too, I think 13-14 to Darcy’s 17, and I couldn’t imagine he would have much to say. Unlike Darcy he was a straightforward kid. Mostly he told it as it was, one of those blunt characters along with Elle, Laura’s gregarious friend.

Overall it’s a decent book once you got over the pacing, and the lengthy prose… I did love the ending. I’m a sucker for HFN (or HEAs), so I was happy considering the bleak start. So pick it up if you have the desire for women’s fiction.

My verdict:

✮✮✮.5

(3.5 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (49): Dark Chocolate Demise (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #7)

BOOK REVIEW:

Dark Chocolate Demise

Finally I caught up to Jenn McKinlay's Cupcake Bakery Mystery series. Book 7, and the latest release, Dark Chocolate Demise picks up a few weeks later (I believe) after the events of Book 6 (go read Review 47 for info on that story).

So Mel still has a rocky love life, and yet again murder finds her, only this time it hits closer home -- as in no one she loves is a suspect, but rather the intended victim. You see the murder victim looks so much like one of her friends, Mel realizes that the next time this killer strike she could lose a lot more than several nights of sleep.

You know what I love about this series, and Mel in particular, is that cozies with their amateur sleuths can lose me if the MC doesn't actually have a life outside the murder mystery itself. Thankfully Mel does have a life. She's actually usually concerned with her bakery, and there's steady pacing between the mystery and her business and personal life.

I seriously don't know what else I could say without spoiling the novel.

Angie and Tate are still Angie and Tate.

Angie's brothers remain grossly protective...and a little cute. Seriously. They really do care for their sister, it's weird.

As far as Mel's love life goes, I'm rooting for Detective Martinez but he's kinda lost out I think. I mean, it was probably a no-brainier, but a girl can dream of her fantasy choice in this not-really love triangle.

And on a similar note everyone working at Fairy Tale Cupcakes have significant others. That was a little weird I had to admit, but I'm also a sucker for romantic conflict and HEAs (or HFNs, which this is more of).

I guessed the bad guy pretty early on, just because cozies usually introduce the culprit. Although really any well-written mystery will introduce the culprit at some point, and usually I find it's either A) someone you least suspect, someone close to the MC or B) someone who made a super-brief appearance.

And because I'm really running out of non-spoilery things to say, I'm going to wrap this up but know that I loved the book! Now go read through Books 1-6 and then pick up Dark Chocolate Demise, you're in for a treat.

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮✮

(5 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (48): Abby and the Playboy Prince

BOOK REVIEW:

Abby and the Playboy Prince

Back to baby land with Raye Morgan's Abby and the Playboy Prince. Though to be honest there isn't a lot of page time for baby -- and the cover basically suggests that Abby and her player prince are pretty much more than the stars in this fairy tale union.

Now where to start?

Let's begin with the beginning, shall we? Once upon a dark and stormy night there was an abandoned castle and a girl who broke into said castle with her baby partner in crime, and a prince who has no clue that his castle is harboring a fugitive until she tumbles into his bed. Well, he did help her there...

Prince Mychale of the fictional lands of Montenevada just wants peace and quiet for the next few days. And Abby Donair's being there puts his plans on hold, especially when her baby cries. Although he's pretty intent on kicking her out, the good Prince changes his mind when Abby nurses him to health because he gets super sick at one point (dratted vertigo).

During the patient's recovery Abby and Mychale fall head over heels in lust...and err, later love. But of course it's not going to be as easy as that. For one, Abby is a wanted woman -- in all the wrong ways -- and Mychale is in the middle of negotiating a marriage with another woman.

What I loved about these two is the teasing banter. Clearly they both like each other and I couldn't get over the fact they were stuck in this beautifully described castle. Maybe I should start sneaking into castles, too?

The baby, Brianna, was so adorable. I'd love to say she was a prop, but she was a baby. As I'm sure you can all imagine she didn't have much lines. Still my heart was all pitter-patter whenever Mychale interacted with her. Something about alpha males and babies puts me in the best of moods. ^^

Awww. See what I mean?

The external conflict didn't take away from the important internal romantic-blocking problems between Abby and Mychale. It was just enough intrigue that added a layer of problems that made me flip the pages quicker to the epilogue.

So if you want a fairy tale love, "father-daughter" moments, and a HEA -- yeah, that wasn't a spoiler, we're talking romance here folks -- pick up Raye Morgan's Abby and the Playboy Prince and I guarantee you'll want to go back and read Book 1 of this trilogy, titled The Royals of Montenevada and Book 3 staring the king of Montenevada himself, Prince Mychale's eldest brother.

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮✮

(5 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (47): Sugar and Iced (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #6)

BOOK REVIEW:

Sugar and Iced

I haven’t read Jenn McKinlay’s Cupcake Bakery Mystery series in a while. I recently saw that the seventh book had released and I noticed I still hadn’t even read Book 6, Sugar and Iced.

So now that I’ve remedied that problem, here’s the review for said book. ^^

Mel, Angie and the rest of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes gang is back! And with more murder, mystery and romantic mayhem…

Once again Mel finds her business in a position where her cupcakes are needed, and the drive for shop and cupcake promotion eventually leads her to come across a body. Poor Mel is in the middle of a murder mystery and solving it becomes top priority when her friends are in the line of interrogation-fire.

I liked seeing Mel delve a little more into her problems. I think that it’s thus far been about her and Joe’s problems, and then Angie and Tate’s up and down relationship, her mother’s botched attempt at re-entering the dating world, etc. It hasn’t been about Mel at all, and the story is told from her perspective. Day-um. Girrrrrl needs a break! Unfortunately that doesn’t happen anytime soon.

You see three very powerful, very well-put together guys are all semi-competing for her heart: Joe, Manny and Steve.

As far as romances go, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see Mel and Detective Manny Martinez interact. Oh! And double-whammy! Steve Wolfmeier makes an appearance, too. Excuse me while I just… –wipes drool-

Okay, where was I? Mel and her problem with choosing the man for her – but it isn’t ever as simple as that. You see Mel is really indecisive. It’s hella annoying to read because I just wanted to burst into the pages and slap her silly, tell her to “get on with it already”! Though I suppose it’s always easier making decisions on the outside perspective. And poor Mel had to make quite a few leaps here and there, and she can be desperately shy.

The mystery was all right. The killer’s identity sort of surprised me, as in I didn’t know it was them, but I could see them doing it. Like the character was just real slimy (there! That’s not too spoiler-y, considering most of the suspects were slimy… I mean we are dealing with a beauty pageant here.)

So pick up Book 6. But make sure to read Books 1-5 because it is a series that builds on the relationships even if the murder mysteries from book-to-book are not connected.

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮.5

(4.5 stars)

BOOK REVIEW (46): The Sheikh's Guarded Heart

BOOK REVIEW:

The Sheikh's Guarded Heart

So this is my first “Sheikh” romance in a while. I make it a point to avoid these type of books with this brand of Middle Eastern hero, just ‘cause there’s a trope that often depicts them as being super Alpha, barbaric even!

I don’t have any deserve to waste my time on romance heroes I’m going to hate. But I went in reading this with a grain of salt. I told myself I’d DNF this if it got to be unbearable, but thankfully it didn’t.

Our hero is Sheikh Hanif al-Khatib and he ends up saving the heroine, Lucy Forrester in the beginning. Saves her and then invites her to recuperate at his oasis garden palace while her lost documents for her return to the home in the UK are put together for her by her embassy.

Of course close quarters begins to breed even more attraction and Lucy and Hanif (or Han, as she called him) learn about the hardships of the each other’s lives: Lucy was an abandoned child and she was raised by her austere, difficult grandmother who pushed religion on her. Hanif lost his wife and he isn’t about to win Father of the Year for raising his toddler daughter.

I liked Hanif because he wasn’t bat shit crazy. Usually these alpha Sheikh heroes are all in the Western heroines face, trying to control her and crap, and there’s cultural difference that don’t make the story deep but only aggravate an already cliché plot.

Hanif was all right. Yeah there are moments where he shows “wisdom” about something or another, but Lucy gets her say – and she gets it a lot. Lucy was okay as far as heroines go. She’s bland in personality even if Hanif bolsters her poor self-confidence in her image by repeatedly telling her she’s beautiful whenever his breath is taken away or something. I did feel bad for Lucy. She had a pretty hard life growing up and it’s aggravated by a recently bad stunt that leads her through the desert of Hanif’s country and literally into his arms.

It wasn’t bad. I actually enjoyed it more when Ameerah, Hanif’s little daughter came to the garden palace. She brightened things up a bit and it felt like the story was moving forward.

Hanif wasn’t a passionate guy even if he seemed pretty intent on getting with Lucy. I should warn that this book is a sweet romance. So no sex. Not even closed doors. They wait until marriage, presumably, and that doesn’t take place on paper.

Still as far as Sheikh romances go, I’d say this one is safe if you’re a reader like me that can’t tolerate that image of the barbaric Arab hero who beats his chest when the predominantly white, Western heroine doesn’t listen to his Eastern philosophies…blahblahbleck!

My verdict:

✮✮✮.5

(3.5 stars)