First of all, to anyone who looked at this photo and wondered (even for a second) if it was me then if I had a will you’d be the main beneficiary. No, darlings, I’ve not been lounging in Greece and even if I had I don’t look like that. But it was the most accurate portrayal of how August feels to me—between the frantic activity brought on by the end of summer and the scorching heat there really is nothing left to do but languish. And if someone could bring me a mojito, that would be lovely.
Grecian adventures aside, I do have August reading to report.
Read
Reviews to Follow:
The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis
The Golden Age by Joan London
Sleeping on Jupiter by Anuradha Roy
Mischling by Affinity Konar, release date September 6th
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, release date September 6th
In Age of Consent author Marti Leimbach explores the psychology behind child predators with Curtis, a twenty-eight-year-old pothead DJ who in 1978 manages to ensnare Bobbie, a fourteen-year-old girl, into a ‘relationship’. Bobbie’s time with Curtis involves drugs, crime and, of course, sex, but all is relayed with such dryness that it fails to create a sense of immediacy. It isn’t until the present day, when Bobbie comes back home to testify against Curtis for his assault on her, that a sense of the damage done is felt. Leimbach tries to heighten the tension with the fact that the prosecution’s biggest witness is her mother.
The pieces are there for taut drama, but it doesn’t go that way. Part of this is due to the fact that Curtis is portrayed as such a loutish, loser pig that it’s difficult to believe that even a 1978 thirteen-year-old would be drawn in by him. Which is not to blame the victim, but Leimbach did not make me understand why Bobbie would have had anything to do with this man in any way.
Age of Consent by Marti LeimbachPublished by Nan A. Talese
Publication date: July 26th 2016
The Regulars is soft core chick-lit porn trying to pretend it’s about social issues. Three friends in their early twenties come across a potion that changes them from being regular to being otherworldly-Photoshopped-bombshell gorgeous. Lessons are supposed to ensue, but at least one of the characters is still so internally hideous that my desire to have an anvil land on her head meant I couldn’t keep reading. Plus, 400 pages?! This felt insulting- a legitimate issue in today’s superficial society, but wrapped in lurid prose and a ludicrous plot.
The Regulars by Georgia ClarkPublication date: January 1st 1970
How was your summer? Did you have any time for reading?
I thought maybe you make a little detour while in Italy.
Did you like Mischling? I haven’t heard much but it’s on my September list. Looking forward to your other reviews too!
I am so conflicted about Mischling! It’s hard to say a novel about twins in Auschwitz is anything less than a 4 or 5 star, but I just didn’t feel that way about it. Not sure how to write a review.
Well, your photo disclaimer and mini review of The Regulars will probably be the best things I read today, so thanks for the giggles 😉
Thank, Shannon! I know I should show mroe restraint but that books made me mad! Made as a reader and mad as a woman. It was dreadful, plain and simple.
Ha – love your intro!! And – yikes – half star for Regulars! Never seen you give that low a rating before.
It’s hard to get me that riled, but this was bad, offensively so. Although, I’m sure there are people who would disagree.
At least I didn’t pretend the woman in the picture was me!
I’m looking forward to your reviews! I’m planning to read A Gentleman in Moscow (although I never read Rules of Civility).
Read both- his writing is so marvelous and he’s wildly creative. Great stories you can sink into.
Wasn’t A Gentleman in Moscow the BEST? I didn’t want it to end.
Best of the best of the best. Not sure how to even write a review except to say READ THIS BOOK NOW.
I’m looking forward to your reviews. I’am intrigued by The Golden Age