The Single Girl's To-Do List

Last week I read a book that sounded promising but turned out to be a damp squib which never seemed to end.

This week, I (with one eyebrow cocked disdainfully) picked up the dodgy sounding, loaded with smarmy self-help undertones The Single Girls To-Do List and.....ate a large slice of humble-pie as I breezed through this totally addictive, feel-good read.

It’s the story of make-up artist Rachel Lulu Summers. 28-year old Rachel has just been brutally ditched by her supposedly stable boyfriend of five years, Simon. While she can easily wallow in a pit of dire despair, her best friends Emelie and Matthew have a better (and slightly bizarre) plan.

Rachel has always been an obsessive list-maker. Her life revolves around them. So keeping this little obsession in mind, the high-on friendly and drunken fervour trio make *The Single Girls To-Do List*. Including some doable and mostly questionable tasks; the list is Rachel, Emilie and Matthew’s road trip on the highway of rip-roaring fun, bawdy humour and the thing that makes the world go nauseous : *LOVE*.

Seriously, this book was such a pleasant surprise. It was Four Weddings and a Funeral coupled with all those lovely, inappropriate , brimming with raucous laughter and drunken splurges Brit rom-coms that you wished would step out of the silver screen and just happen in real-life already!

The strength of these frivolous rom-coms lies in the support system that surrounds the heroine. I absolutely loved the gorgeous (and comfortable with it) Emelie and the great big splendidly gay Matthew. Call me optimistic, but I like it when a friend doesn’t disintegrate into a frenemy. Em and Matthew came across as supportive individuals who while burdened with bad decisions of their own, never once, not ever, ditched Rachel to her own devices.

You absolutely, most definitely need friends who, when you cut off your waist-length ponytail in a blind moment of panic and screech,

'I look like a boy. Oh God, I look like Justin Beiber.'

go, ever so supportively,

'He looks like a girl anyway' I loved that bit. I don’t know why. It just made me want to litter a bunch of mental smileys all over the page.

The love-interests are predictable and yet again, that’s a plus. The book is not a big suspenseful “who-WILL-she end up-with” drama. It’s a tale that’s been told a million times....a tale of a girl (clichéd as it is) who’s trying to find herself. And if along the way, you have a nice looking bloke thrown in to tie things up nicely, then, I , for one, have no complaints, whatsoever.

The language or the tone is not for those with delicate dispositions. It’s loud, littered with profanities and blotched up by many a drunken binge. And it works.

So pick up this book if you want a cute, quick, utterly girly, partly unladylike, marginally funny romantic read.

Saving Juliet

Saving Juliet is a book that is loaded with platitudes and wise homilies and never, not once...do you want to tell the author that she should mind her sanctimonious beeswax and get on with the plot already!

So kudos to Suzanne Selfors for getting it right yet again.

Seventeen year old Mimi Wallingford is last in the line of the legendary Wallingford actors. Thrust onto the stage from the age of three, Mimi’s life has been a whirl of grease paint, deadweight costumes, mouthy dialogues, unpalatable health food, pushy relatives and vindictive understudies. And now, when it’s time to play the role of the anguished Juliet from William Shakespeare’s celebrated tragic-romance, she just can’t take it anymore. Debilitating stage-fright, the hopeless wish to pursue a career as a doctor, constant pressure from a pushy mother and an unrequited attraction to the new Romeo (played by the flamboyant pop-sensation, Troy Summer) makes Mimi wish that she were anywhere but at the Wallingford theatre, Manhattan. Hell, even Verona would be a better bet.

But wishes spouted in despair have a sadistic habit of actually coming true; especially when you have an antique Shakespearean Charm handy. Suddenly Mimi is transported to the fictional land of Verona...the land of the feuding Montague and Capulet families...the land of Romeo and Juliet. Mimi is now smack-dab in the midst of a vile, hairline-plucked Lady Capulet; a codpiece thrusting Tybalt, a delectable, espresso-eyed Benvolio, a deeply depressed Romeo, a rebellious Juliet and the most shocking addition yet, a seriously pissed-off Troy Summer who’s convinced that he has been kidnapped by a group of kinky creeps.

Mimi can sense that the only way to return to present-day Manhattan would be to allow the Shakespearean saga to reach it’s inevitable end. But having actually met the spunky Juliet and the soft-hearted Romeo, Mimi can’t imagine leaving them to the suicidal ending written by our benevolent Bard. It’s time for Mimi to take the quill into her own hands.

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Reasons why this tale will find a place on my “Books-I-Love-Gollum-Style” shelf:

a) Cheeky cover. How can you NOT love the cover art? Bubblegum and Snazzy glares adorning a seemingly genteel olde worlde maiden. Me.Like.

b) Female Lead. A supposedly self-absorbed Society princess plonked head first into a land infested with giants rodents but not a single Starbucks. You would expect her to whinge, cringe and generally be an insufferable snob. But no, Mimi is an immensely grounded heroine. Whether she’s playing big-sister to Juliet or commiserating with Romeo or avoiding a red-faced Tybalt or falling for the slick charms of Benvolio or fighting her confusing feelings for Troy; she endears herself to the reader.

c) Characters. The author breathed realistic life and tongue-in-cheek humour into the characterisations.

I especially liked the way she described Juliet :“She wasn’t at all like Fernando’s Juliet – full-lipped and perfect. Nor was she like Hollywood’s Juliet – graceful and angelic. She looked real, the way a girl is supposed to look. A real girl, cute and full of energy, like she’d be more comfortable in soccer gear than in her long nightgown that dripped with lace and bows.”

Scarlet-haired Mercutio was a twee funny bloke. I snorted a bit over his two love songs:

‘Girl, come hither and We Shall Dither’

‘Girl, Come and Handle My Candle’

Ah, Mercutio....Mercutio....you slay me, man.

d) The author’s writing prowess : Everytime you experience a twinge of disappointment over glaring errors in the flow of the story, the author gives you a polite prod in the right direction and justifies her decisions.

e) Book to Movie : If ever a book should be made into an assured crowd-pulling Summer Blockbuster, it’s Saving Juliet. The book has it all: humour, parody, romance, intrigue, adventure and magic. I would go and watch it on the Big Screen. AND I would most definitely drag my cynical mates along too.

In conclusion, I (to be a tad juvenile) unashamedly *HEART* this cute book.

Coffeehouse Angel

Every once in a while, along comes a book that is (thankfully) deceptive. You read the blurb and do a mental rethink. The blurb sounds entertaining and yet, the book could go downhill, too soon, too fast. I ventured into Coffeehouse Angel with these misgivings. But, I’m pleased to report that I’m a happy customer.

And now it’s time to blather on for a bit and tell you why exactly I would recommend this book to all:

a) Engrossing Plotline: Katrina Svensen is an orphaned teenager who helps out in her grandmother’s Olde Worlde Scandinavian Coffeehouse. Soft of heart and clueless on life-goals, she basks in the shadows of her super-achieving best friends. And one day, when she sees a (supposedly) homeless young vagrant in the coffeehouse alley, she does a selfless good deed. She leaves him a cup of coffee, some day old pastries and a bag of chocolate covered coffee beans and hopes that the poor bloke gets a lucky break.

But here’s the nice bit. The vagrant isn’t a homeless destitute afterall. He’s an angel...an honest-to-goodness teenage messenger angel. In between missions and delivering messages, he wants to reward Katrina for her good deed by granting her the deepest desire of her heart. With three chocolate coffee beans left to work the magic, Katrina has three Godsend chances to make things right...for herself, her aspirations, her gran’s dwindling business and an uncertain future.

Will she botch it up or will she have a happy ending?

b) Believable Main Lead: I like a grounded teen heroine whose every waking thought isn’t plagued by her D.O.A. love-life. Katrina is just that. Sure she hasn’t met the boy of her dreams yet, but the mature lass has more pressing matters on hand. For a girl who has a cupboard full of failed activities, it’s empowering to see her whip herself into an entrepreneurial frenzy.

c) An ensemble cast with meaty roles : The strength of a good book lies in the little details. Besides Katrina, Coffeehouse Angel is littered with interesting characters. Notable mention: Katrina’s grandmother who is trying to keep the old traditions alive while fiercely competing with the slushie-pushing, espresso-churning charms of her biggest competitor. The beautiful, hardworking coffeehouse help, Irmgaard who has taken a vow of silence; a vow that hides a tragic secret. Katrina’s best friends: Vincent and Elizabeth. Extremely realistic portrayals as they come across as self-absorbed and supportive in equal measures.

d) Paranormal twist: Much as I love all things supernatural, I was a tad sceptical about yet another glowing boy (I haven’t stopped gritting my teeth over the insufferable Edward Cullen). But Malcolm, the golden haired messenger angel was a breath of (literally) fresh spring air. He’s not perfect, he’s weighed down by the need to get things right, he doesn’t spend the majority of the book mooning over a “forbidden love” and to round it up nicely, he’s a genuinely decent bloke.

In all, I was happy to lay my hands on a work of Ya-Lit that was readable, mature, riddled with interesting plot twists and redolent with the charm of a (yes, I’m going to say it) cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy, #6)

Guardian par excellence, Rose Hathaway has been accused of royal treason : murdering Moroi Queen Tatiana. Imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit, facing possible execution and gobsmacked by a cryptic note from the late Queen; Rose’s future is coloured with varying shades of bleak and despair.

But a daring prison break, a road trip with ex-boyfriend Dimitri Belikov and a path strewn with danger, deceit, unexpected allies, missing siblings and the ever-present spirit-induced darkness has Rose racing towards an action packed climax.

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The concluding instalment of the Vampire Academy series was a fat, easy read. It wasn’t earth-shatteringly amazing. At the same time, it wasn’t prop-your-eyelids-open-with-toothpicks boring. Last Sacrifice was a neat(a little too neat) tying up of the saga surrounding best friends Rose and Lissa.

I’m always game for a happy ending, but tend to get a little disgruntled when my favourite characters (read : Adrian Ivashkov) get a raw deal. And yes, I’m aware of the fact that there’s a spin-off to the series. But sometimes, as in life, all I want to say is that, “It’s just not fair”.

For a change, the Rose-Dimitri love saga paled. And no, I have no complaints. Instead the author concentrated on the bonds of friendship and unstinted (yet practical) support which was displayed in admirable degrees by Rose’s near, dear and demented ones.

A readable conclusion to a dramatic series.

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, #5)

Rose Hathaway’s Quest in Book #5 :

~Bring back the man that I love and killed in Book # 4 whose murder I botched up (conveniently) despite being one of the most bada** Strigoi killers in recent times~

Blood Promise ended with the tantalising cliffhanger of Strigoi Dimitri being still alive despite the killer stake being driven into him by Rose. Rose also (I would like to reiterate: very very conveniently) discovered that there was a way to restore a Strigoi back to his original state. What follows is a return to St.Vladmir’s less-than-hallowed grounds, a prison breakout, the maiming and murdering of innocents and some romantic angst.

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I had mixed feelings for this book. I loathed Rose’s portrayal in the first half. Rose is a novice Dhampir training to be a Guardian...a Guardian who places the protection of the Moroi above all things personal. And Rose always knew that keeping Lissa safe and sound was the main objective. While it led to a battle of wills within her, she never wilfully put Lissa in danger. So how come, now that there’s a chance to resurrect Dimitri, she not only involves Lissa in the bad plan but drags her out on a seriously dangerous mission, endangering the last surviving member of the Dragomir clan? It didn't ring true. That’s not what Rose mental makeup is made of. And the fact that innocent humans and Guardians meet a sticky end just because they were caught in the middle of the Rose-Dimitri angsty saga also stuck in my throat. Rose displayed a pang (a miniscule pang) for the innocent lives lost but continued on her quest to bring back her undead lover. Selfish much???

And then......the second half kind of redeems itself to some extent. I can’t say how because that would lead to flingin-flangin’ spoilers galore.

So yes, Spirit Bound was a little blimp in a successful series.