The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

The problem with reading a book by an author using a pseudonym whose identity you already know is comparing the work you’re reading with their previous works. There were a lot of times while reading The Cuckoo’s Calling that I had to remind myself that this wasn’t going to be the next Harry Potter although they were written by the same author. I don’t usually read mysteries though and I kind of remembered why as I read this book.

The Cuckoo’s Calling is about a private detective named Cormoran Strike – a war vet, the son of a famous celebrity, and a guy who’s down on his luck – as he tries to solve the case of the potential murder of the famous model Lula Landry. The only problem is, this model died three months ago, but it wasn’t a murder, it was a suicide, or so the police and coroner concluded in their investigation. But Lula’s brother, John, doesn’t think so. He thinks she was murdered, and comes to Strike for help. Strike doesn’t want to take the case, because the police have already deemed it a suicide, but his private detective business is in financial trouble, and John is willing to pay more than double the usual fee. So against his better judgment he takes the case.

What follows is countless pages of interviews of Lula’s old friends, coworkers, and family members. This girl was very troubled. Her rise to fame threw her into the spotlight too quickly, and she was paranoid about who she could trust.

I don’t usually read mysteries because I don’t have the patience for them. I get more captivated by the story then I do the actual clues, and it usually isn’t until the killer is revealed that I start to realize the clues that were dropped along the way. The same goes for this book, I had suspected that the killer was someone else, and when it was revealed who it actually was, I was like “whoa, what?”

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. I liked this book. Galbraith/Rowling still has her usual flair for setting the scene so you feel like you’re actually there, and the dialogue was quick and snappy. Some sections of this book were a little dry though, and I wished there could have been more emphasis on the character of Robin (Strike’s secretary).

Bookshelf worthy? Support your local library!

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

In preparation for reading this book, I read all six novels by Jane Austen so that way I knew what these ladies were talking about during the book. Turns out? I didn’t really need to.

The Jane Austen Book Club is barely about the book club, it’s more about the members of the book club. A good 75% of the 288 pages (actually 260 since my digital copy included the readers guide) were mostly the member’s back-story and what caused them to be who they are. Shockingly, the movie was actually better than the book.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5 stars. It would have been nice to see the characters actually talk about the books that they were reading more. I mean, even the chapter where they are supposed to talk about Pride & Prejudice is basically just about the library benefit. They don’t discuss the book AT ALL.

Bookshelf worthy? No, save yourself and go read something else. Like, the six novels by Jane Austen.

Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

So in the Blue Bloods series, Melissa de la Cruz created a world where vampires were actually angels of heaven who had fallen. In Witches of East End, she creates a world with witches and their origin stories aren’t revealed to near the end of the book. When I read their origin stories I was kind of shocked because I didn’t really see it coming.

Anyway, so in the town of East End there lives this family of witches; there’s Joanna, the mother, who’s power deals with life, Ingrid, one of Joanna’s daughters, who’s power deals with healing, and Freya, who’s power deals with love. When the book begins, it’s Freya’s engagement party. She’s marrying this guy named Bran Gardiner who met her at a party where she accidentally showed him her boobs. Freya is frantic because she’s met Bran’s brother, Killian, and there’s an attraction there that she can’t find in herself to deny. In fact at her engagement party she and Killian do the deed in the bathroom and that’s just the start of their affair.

Although I really wanted their relationship to be a major plot line in this book, it really isn’t. The major plot line has to deal with the witches and the power that they wield. Apparently, thanks to the Salem Witch Trials, the girls can’t practice their magic or else they will face consequences from the Council. But after centuries of not practicing, the girls start to anyway. Freya makes love potions. Ingrid has mini practice from her job at the library, where she removes silver colored tumors from women who can’t conceive, creates knots to keep men faithful, and anything else that her patients bring to her. Joanna can bring people back from the dead if she decides that it wasn’t their time to go yet.

But something odd is going on in East End. It starts with the silver masses that Ingrid takes out of her friend Tabitha, which somehow start showing up in the ocean. Then a customer that was served one of Freya’s potions goes missing, and the mayor of the town kills himself. All these things are apparently connected, and some begin to point fingers at the witches.

I won’t give away what happens, but whoa! Like I said at the beginning, I didn’t see the witches’ origin stories coming! I shouldn’t have expected anything less from this author though.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. There were some parts that dragged and the ending felt a little rushed, but otherwise, I really liked these characters – especially Killian – and I loved the cameo appearance by Mimi Force. Talk about a good tie in.

Bookshelf worthy? If only I had the room…

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot

After reading this book the only question I really have is this: When did Luke – who I absolutely loved in book 1 – become such a dick? Seriously. What happened to that guy in France who special ordered Diet Coke for Lizzie because he knew she loved them?

Anyway, right. Luke is engaged to Lizzie, but instead of being ecstatic over the news like her friends should be, they are anything but. Chaz isn’t happy because he’s in love with Lizzie (not that you really know that until near the end of the book) and doesn’t believe that Luke is the right guy for her. Shari isn’t happy because she also doesn’t think Luke is the right guy for her. Why don’t they? Well, um. Hello, he did get her a sewing machine for Christmas and told her that he had no intention of marrying her before leaving for France. And then he shows up on New Years with a ring – a total 180 – and asks her to marry him? Seriously. How can Lizzie not see the problem with that?

Oh, and also the fact that Lizzie feels like she’s about to throw up/breaks out into hives every time she thinks about the wedding. You know, Lizzie, considering you graduated from the University of Michigan, you aren’t very smart. Most women would take that as a sign that Luke isn’t the guy for them.

Instead the reader has to suffer through almost 200 pages of Lizzie trying to figure out that Luke isn’t the guy for her. It isn’t until Gran’s funeral, where Luke doesn’t show up but Chaz does, that she realizes that Luke and her are over.

Anyway, my favorite character out of this book was Tiffany, because she was the voice of reason when it came to the whole Luke/Chaz/Lizzie thing. She understood what Lizzie couldn’t. It was so awesome.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Meg Cabot’s books are always amazing and such quick reads because they are so interesting you don’t want to stop reading.

Bookshelf worthy? If I only had the room…

Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot

 Lizzie Nichols is back! It’s been three months since the last book and Lizzie is in New York, hitting the pavement looking for a job and a place to live with her best friend Shari. The only problem is that even though she has a degree (kind of) from the University of Michigan and restoration experience, no bridal or clothing boutique is interesting in hiring her. But Luke, on the other hand, has asked her to move in with him.

Lizzie doesn’t know what to do. She wants to move in with Luke because she is imagining that she will one day marry him, but on the other hand, she doesn’t want to abandon her friend Shari, even though she could move in with her boyfriend Chaz. So she moves in with Luke, and finds herself a job at a bridal restoration boutique, the only problem is that the job doesn’t pay.

But Chaz – what a guy he is – tells her that his dad’s law firm is looking for a morning secretary and it pays $20 an hour! Considering the tasks that I read that she had to do for this secretary position, I wouldn’t mind having her job. I mean, honestly…

The usual drama ensues because of Lizzie’s big mouth, but gah. I’m sorry, I’m happy for Lizzie that her non-paying gig at the wedding restoration boutique played out well for her. I even liked the fact that Chaz and Shari broke up – they totally weren’t right for each other – but the thing that kills me is Lizzie’s assumption that Luke is going to marry her. I was also pissed with Luke’s reaction when she finally reveals that fact. “I’m not going after you.”

But he does anyway! And not only that but he proposes to her too! I know Lizzie says yes – the next book is Queen of Babble Gets Hitched – but honestly, after what he had just told her about his feelings about marriage; not to mention what Chaz – his best friend – said about Luke getting married, WHY would you say yes to that? He’s a tool! Yes, he’s a prince, but still…

Right now, I’m rooting for Chaz.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Great plot, story, and writing. Just annoying inner monologue from Lizzie. Some of it I get, the other half…not necessary.

Bookshelf worthy? Definitely.

The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot

It’s just another day at New York College for Heather Wells. A prince is living in Fischer Hall, her boss has the flu, a mother is trying to get her daughter a different, less slutty roommate, and the RA on the fourteenth floor is dead. Just another typical day for Heather.

In the fifth installment of the Heather Wells Mysteries, Heather is one month away from her wedding to Cooper Cartwright and also has to solve another murder in the residence hall where she’s been working. This time though a few things hamper her ‘investigation’; the State Department because of their VIR – Very Important Resident – the prince, the fact that her boss is pregnant, and her mother who has been MIA for the last twenty years shows up at her front door.

And you thought planning the wedding was going to be stressful.

I could go on about the amazing flow of the storyline – seriously, there wasn’t really a good point to stop reading so I could do things like eat or sleep – Heather’s great character and her network of friends, how much I hated Cooper’s sisters and her mother for just assuming that she had let things go – honestly? You stole from your daughter and you think she’s really going to let that go. Puh-leeze. – Or I could even go on about the awesome character of Cooper – what a dreamboat. But what fun would that be? As many times as I’ve written about Meg Cabot’s writing by now, you should know that I absolutely adored this book and it was a great conclusion to an amazing series.

I especially liked the little cameo appearance by the Queen of Babble series main character Lizzie Nichols. If I hadn’t been currently re-reading that series I might have missed it all together. Still, it was cool to see that Lizzie fulfilled her dream of owning a bridal boutique.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. As usual, I didn’t quite see who the murderer was until Heather figured it out herself. Great story.

Bookshelf worthy? Considering I already own the first one – but not the other four, go figure – I’d say yes. Man I really need to get more bookshelves.