Review: Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie, Jr.

Here is a post modern novel after my own heart.

In his latest novel Ron Currie, Jr sets out to tell the capital-T Truth about his life, career, and his tumultuous love affair with a woman no one could ever hold a candle to, Emma.

He has been in love with Emma since the moment he met her in eighth grade, after a short romance in their teens, Ron and Emma went their separate ways. Emma married another man while Ron tried desperately to escape Emma’s ghost by finding comfort in the arms of many other women.

Later in life their paths cross and they begin their romantic relationship again, even though Emma is married both of them say damn the consequences and proceed with a passionate affair that lasts a lengthy time.

Inevitably, Emma and her husband begin divorce proceedings and Emma more or less exiles Ron to a Caribbean island while she tries to ‘sort things out’ and find herself. In her absents, Ron begins writing a novel about Emma and eventually he ends up in a downward spiral. Between consuming large amounts of alcohol and young eager co-eds, Ron can’t shake his longing for Emma.

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Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1) by Stieg Larsson

Financial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist’s, life is falling apart. Not only is he being sued for libel and facing jail time and mounting financial losses, his boss (who happens to be his sometimes lover) is forced into accepting his resignation.

When he is at his lowest point, Blomkvist is approached with a curious offer of employment. Henrik Vanger is a wealthy, retired CEO of a major Swedish company, Vanger Cooperation.

Vanger wants Blomkvist  to use his trained journalists eye and find out what happened to his niece who mysteriously disappeared in the 1960’s. Blomkvist doesn’t really have a whole lot of options….he needs the money Vanger is offering but Vanger also possessed the golden ticket: Vanger can give Blomkvist the proof he needs to prove his innocents in the libel case.

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Review: The Cross and the Dragon by Kim Rendfeld

Under Charlemagne’s reign, Francia was no stranger to war. War was just part of every day life in 773, but so were romance and chivalry. Alda’s brother, Count Alfihar of Drachenhaus, is starting marriage negotiations for her to wed the wealthy and good looking, but cruel Count Ganelon of Dormagen.

Alda has no desire to marry Ganelon at all, she would rather wed another….Prince Hruodland, heir to the March of Brittany but alas he is of royal blood and far above the reach of a Countess. But yet Alda and her uncle can’t help but sense Hruodland is more than interested in Alda’s hand.

Ganelon is jealous of the friendship between Alda and Hroudland, not to mention the two families have has an ongoing blood feud for years….everytime Ganelon and Hruodland meet, they clash and usually over Alda.

War calls the men to ride to Lombardy to fight the Lombards leaving the women behind at Drachenhaus. Alda prays for the safe return of her brother and Hruodland…..NOT Ganelon, she only prays that it’s God’s will that he falls.

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Review: A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire #5) by George R. R. Martin

Not all men were meant to dance with dragons…but Daenerys Targaryen can!In the fifth book of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, we find ourselves across the Narrow Sea waiting to see if Daenerys Targaryen will ever make it back to Westeros and reclaim her birthright!

In A Feast for Crows, we met a lot of new characters along with a few familiar favorites. Since AFFC and ADWD were supposed to be one long book, I expected to see some overlap in the timeline and more of our fav characters in this book….and I was right, many of my fav characters were back!

I will try to make this review as spoiler free as possible, but it is difficult not to include references from the previous three books but I will do my best but consider yourself warned.

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Review: Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austen’s Masterpiece by Susannah Fullerton

Unless you have been living under a rock since your inception….odds are you have probably heard of the world’s most infamous romance novel….Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

It is a universally acknowledged truth that every literary major is in want of Mr Darcy. What is it about P&P that still captivated audiences 200 years after its publication? Susannah Fullerton explores what makes P&P so memorable for readers.

Is it the characters: the dashing Mr Darcy or the unconventional Elizabeth Bennet? Or is it something more mechanical, say the literary style and use of ‘free indirect speech’ (FID) that sparks your interest?

Perhaps you love P&P for an entirely different reason: you are a cover whore and are drawn to all the beautifully reprinted copies and their stunning cover art! Whatever your reason is, P&P is a literary icon that is here to stay!

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