Thursday, July 31, 2014

July 2014 Books and Movies

Wedding Night
Sophie Kinsella

Another easy, breezy, fun read. I actually laughed out loud at some of the antics Fliss pulls while trying to keep her sister from consummating her flight of fancy marriage, with the exception of the peanut allergy. That was just mean. I thought this was slightly better than I've Got Your Number, because I liked the older sister character who seemed to have half a brain in her head. The younger one was ditzy and impulsive, much like Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic series whom I always find annoying. Only read if you are a die hard Kinsella fan.

I've Got Your Number
Sophie Kinsella

Ah, back in familiar territory. Slightly awkward, foot in mouth heroine, good (but predictable) plot, funny moments and a satisfactory conclusion. Chick lit at it's best. Poppy is a very likable character and you really do root for her in the end. Using a mobile phone as a character is a clever twist. I'll leave it there to not spoil the ending, but this is a good summer read. 


A Desirable Residence
Madeleine Wickham (aka Sophie Kinsella)

Yuck. Unlikable characters, unsatisfying ending and a wasted few hours of my life. Set in the fictional town of Silchester, which just sounds hilarious, it stumbles along, each two dimensional character worse than the next. Liz was the most egregious and it was frustrating that there was no confrontation between her and her husband about the affair. I only picked this book up because it had been republished with a printed cover reading:

SOPHIE KINSELLA 
writing as 
Madelene Wickham

Obviously, a clever move on the part of the publishing  house marketing department, to capitalize on a mediocre novel written in 1996, five years before the Shopaholic series took off under her pen name. There is even a foreword from the author issuing a slightly veiled warning that books written under the name Madeleine Wickham are not in the same style as books written under the name Sophie Kinsella. The bones of what made that series so readable are there, which is why I finished it, but it is crystal clear that she has grown leaps and bounds as a writer since her first few attempts. I was also surprised to learn that the author's sister is Gemma Townley, another British chick lit author I've reviewed. I wonder who was published first, and if the second one was piggybacking on the first sister's name. Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed Kinsella books. They're funny, fast-paced and generally page turners. I'll try another Wickham novel to see, but definitely give this one a miss.