The Sweetheart Deal by Polly Dugan

I recently got to take a solo trip to my home town in California for the wedding of an old friend. The most exciting part about this trip was the solo part--no kids! No husband either, so that was a bummer, but it was nice to be able to just focus on myself and do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. Plus I did a bunch of stuff all weekend that my husband would have no desire to do, like visit all my old schools and drive past my old house and neighborhoods and visit old friends. He'd have been bored to tears. In any case, one thing I was most excited about was my flight. Being alone, I would be able to read in the airport and on the plane and actually be able to focus on my book. I wanted the perfect book for a mom's weekend away. I chose The Sweetheart Deal by Polly Dugan.

This is a partial description listed on Amazon: Leo has long joked that, in the event of his death, he wants his best friend Garrett, a lifelong bachelor, to marry his wife, Audrey. One drunken night, he goes so far as to make Garrett promise to do so. Then, twelve years later, Leo, a veteran firefighter, dies in a skiing accident.

This little blurb sums up the book fairly well. Sounds like there's tons of potential, right?? I figured this would be the perfect story of re-falling-in-love for me to read on my weekend alone. Unfortunately, the book happens exactly how you might think it would happen after reading the short book description. There was exactly zero surprise or sense of thrill because it was so, so predictable. In theory, the idea for this story is great. I was really excited to read this book, but ultimately it was a disappointment. It might be a good read if you are looking for something easy to read by the side of the pool on vacation, just don't expect a whole lot.

2.5 out of 5 stars

The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas

This was our book club choice for May and I mostly enjoyed it. It is very similar to These Is My Words but not as good, in my opinion. It didn't have enough likable characters, and there was an insane amount of horrific things that happened. Mattie is a girl who believes she will never marry, and then one day a very handsome young man she has had a crush on for years asks her to marry him. The catch is that he has bought land in the Colorado territory and the wagon trek across the plains can be perilous. The other catch is that he asks her because she is a strong, practically-minded woman and he thinks she can endure the hard life that will be required to live in indian country. Plus the woman he really wanted to marry turned him down. She accepts, they make it across the plains, and build a home miles away from any neighbors and the nearest town.

I liked Mattie, but it annoyed me how ignorant she was when things got bad with her husband. She put her blinders on and ignored all the signs. She had good neighbors and a decent support system of good men she could pick from, but instead keeps going back to her worthless, cheating, jerk of a husband. The husband made me mad; I think he had good intentions in the beginning, but he continually took advantage of his wife's goodness and forgiving nature. The fact that this was a fictional story kind of annoyed me too; because it is fiction, the author could have chosen for more joy to be present in the story. I know horrific things happened to the early western settlers, but I'm a little skeptical by the sheer amount of awfulness that happened to basically everyone in Mattie's life. And the author could also have manufactured a satisfying ending. The journal ends before there is any sense of resolution. There is an epilogue told by Mattie's great-granddaughter that suggests her husband turned things around and they lived a long and happy life together. I think the ending was a huge cop-out. The author had the opportunity for a great redeeming story, a chance to show the husband's journey and change of heart, but instead gives us that information in a couple paragraphs. So disappointing. I definitely like These Is My Words better; similar setting, way better characters and more fulfilling.

It was a good read; I was interested the whole time, wanting to know what happened next. Mattie's voice is easy to read and pretty entertaining. There was plenty of action (arguably too much, somewhat unrealistic) so I was never bored. But there were too many despicable main characters. There were 2-3 that I really loved, but things didn't work out the way I wanted them to with them in the end.

2.5 out of 5 stars

The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi

I just finished this short little book and it was an interesting read. My friend recommended I read "The Alchemist" because it was "amazing." So I go to the library and look it up and find it on the shelf and am surprised by how small it is. I figure any great book has got to be longer than 95 pages, but I check it out anyway. Only now when I looked up an image for this blog do I realize that I'm pretty sure she was recommending I read "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coelho. How was I to know the difference? Shoot, they have the same title and are even both written by Paolo's. What are the odds?

Regardless, this was an interesting little story. Quite short, so difficult to get a whole lot of character or story development, but worthwhile. It's about a man, an alchemist (go figure), who is searching for a way to fight back a dangerous plant, bramble, that is taking over his city. Bramble grows in response to magic, so whenever anyone performs any small or large bit of magic, it grows and takes over crops and homes. Oh, and it's poisonous and can easily kill you if it touches skin. So he creates a machine that can fight the bramble and takes it to the mayor and head magic guy, hoping to get a nice payout for saving the city. Problem is, the mayor and magic guy are evil and use his invention to hunt down anyone who uses magic and kills them. They lock him up for 2 years and make him create more cool inventions for them under the threat of killing his daughter and lady-friend.

I think this could be a really excellent story if it were developed more. The magic world our hero lives in is intriguing; I wish it had more background. The characters were good but I feel like I hardly got to know them. Also the ending felt rushed, I wish there was more detail.

Overall, interesting book but probably not "The Alchemist" everyone is raving about.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Angel (Maximum Ride) by James Patterson

Ok, to be perfectly honest, I'm a little tired of reviewing the Maximum Ride books. The plots are all practically the same; some combination of bad guys out to get the good guys and Max trying to save the world. "Angel" was no different. The story picks up where "Fang" (the previous book) left off--Fang has just left the flock and Max is dealing with her feelings of betrayal at being dumped. There's also this new guy, Dylan, who was created to be her perfect match, but it's hard for Max to give this guy a chance when she's pining for Fang. Amidst all the teenage angst, there is a group that is trying to take over the world. So Fang and Max try to set aside their differences and work together to stop the bad guys.

I've made comparisons of books I read to junk food before, and this one definitely fits the mold. It's a book that you only read because you've read the prequels, and once you're done, you're left not feeling very satisfied. Like eating a big bag of potato chips, you only keep eating out of habit, and upon finishing you feel kind of sick and wish you had spent your time in a more productive manner. Luckily, this book is short and a very quick read, so you don't waste too much time on it.

Overall, it was entertaining enough but not all that fulfilling. Pretty much what I expected.

2.5 out of 5 stars


Here's the link to my review of "Fang,"

http://sninny.blogspot.com/2010/08/fang-maximum-ride-novel-by-james.html

which I just read over and was surprised by how much I said I liked it. I do enjoy the Maximum Ride books, but "Angel" just wasn't as good as the others. And I really am getting a little tired of the same repeated plot in each book. And I'm getting annoyed at how short the chapters are; they're like 2-5 pages each! I heard that the series is ending soon and I think that'll be a good thing.

The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott

I read this book over the weekend as another "in-between" read to a couple other books I'm part-way through. While it was a nice diversion to the less exciting books I'm reading, it wasn't really that fabulous of a book. I really enjoyed the story; it's a sort of fairytale with magic and princes and princesses. Actually, now that I'm looking at the back cover, it's based off the Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Wild Swans," which I have never read or heard before. So while I thought the story was fun and interesting, even including a charming love interest, my biggest problem with the book was the writing style the author used. It was all written in a passive voice, making even the most exciting action parts of the book seem boring. There were also several parts where she gets put under a spell and it got really confusing and difficult to follow what was going on. Just in general the writing style didn't really work for me. I think it could have been a really great book because the story is solid and interesting, but the writing style really detracted from the overall quality. Still a fun read, and I don't regret reading it, but I don't recommend this one as quickly as I do many others.

2.5 out of 5 stars

The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull

I finished reading The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull (author of Fablehaven) yesterday and am not feeling jazzed to write about it like I usually am when I finish a book. I found The Candy Shop War to be a fun and easy read but overall it lacked that special something to keep me fully engaged in the entire story.

The story starts by introducing the reader to four 10-year-old kids: Nate, Trevor, Summer, and Pigeon. They go by a new candy shop in town and become acquainted with the owner, Mrs White, who begins to solicit their help in doing odd jobs in exchange for magic candy that gives you special powers while eating it. The kids love this new candy and agree to do some jobs for her, but eventually Mrs White asks them to do things that become increasingly more sketchy all in the name of trying to find a certain treasure. The kids realize that she's dangerous and get help from another candy man in town, who turns out is also magical and also after this treasure. The kids are caught in the middle of this race to find a treasure and are forced to be rather creative in how they get out of trouble. Things all work themselves out in the end.

I guess technically there wasn't anything wrong with the book, I just had a hard time sticking with it because I felt it was geared toward a very young age group. With the Fablehaven books, even though they were written for kids, as an adult they gripped my attention from the very beginning. The Candy Shop War was a little too simplistic and predictable, but still a fun and easy read. My 9-year-old nephew Tyson enjoyed the book, if that's any indication. Overall, a light and easy read with some clever conflict-resolution scenarios dispersed throughout the story. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone under the age of 14 but not necessarily to other adults.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke

I just finished reading the Inkheart trilogy. I had a hard time getting into Inkheart, the first book, but once I got past the first several chapters I was hooked. The story was fun and was pretty close to the movie I had seen of it. It's too bad that the movie changed the ending making it incompatible with the following two books, since the next two books in the series are totally AWESOME.

Book 2, Inkspell, was my favorite book in the series. I really enjoyed getting to know Inkworld and getting to know the characters Dustfinger, Farid, and Meggie better. I loved the whole Farid and Meggie relationship in this book.

Book 3, Inkdeath, was also very good, but I felt like it dragged on a little bit. I stopped liking Farid in this book because he became way too obsessed with Dustfinger and completely ignored Meggie. Not cool. The character of the Blue Jay was also one of my favorites and I thought tied the story together really well. I wish the ending had been a little more thorough; I want to know what happened with characters like Elinor, Darius, the Black Prince, and Violante. Throughout the three books I really grew to love the characters, so I'm a little sad that the book doesn't convince me that they all have happy endings.

Anyway, overall I really enjoyed the series. Inkspell was my fave, closely followed my Inkdeath. Inkheart was good too. I loved all the characters and their individual stories and I loved getting to know Inkworld. It almost makes me wish I lived in a world with fairies and little glass men. I think that the author, Cornelia Funke, is a wonderful storyteller and filled her books with beautiful descriptions of her world. So, I definitely recommend these fun, easy-read books!

ratings:
Inkheart: 2.5/5
Inkspell: 4/5
Inkdeath: 3.5/5