The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler review

Title: The Bookstore

Author: Deborah Meyler

My Rating: 2/5

Part of a series? Not at the time of writing this. 

Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, Chick lit, New York.

Description/Blurb:

Impressionable and idealistic, Esme Garland is a young British woman who finds herself studying art history in New York. She loves her apartment and is passionate about the city and her boyfriend; her future couldn’t look brighter. Until she finds out that she’s pregnant.

Esme’s boyfriend, Mitchell van Leuven, is old-money rich, handsome, successful, and irretrievably damaged. When he dumps Esme—just before she tries to tell him about the baby—she resolves to manage alone. She will keep the child and her scholarship, while finding a part-time job to make ends meet. But that is easier said than done, especially on a student visa.

The Owl is a shabby, second-hand bookstore on the Upper West Side, an all-day, all-night haven for a colorful crew of characters: handsome and taciturn guitar player Luke; Chester, who hyperventilates at the mention of Lolita; George, the owner, who lives on protein shakes and idealism; and a motley company of the timeless, the tactless, and the homeless. The Owl becomes a nexus of good in a difficult world for Esme—but will it be enough to sustain her? Even when Mitchell, repentant and charming, comes back on the scene?

My review: 

Warning this review may be a bit harsh.

This book made me feel seriously guilty for reading books on my ipad, the second hand bookshop in this story is built up so well, you can imagine the atmosphere and how the small number of staff care for and interact with each other really pulls on the heartstrings when you think of all the business they must have lost through eBooks and websites like Amazon.

Reading this left me quite frustrated at times, I lost count of the number of times I wanted to shout at Esme (the main character) or slap some sense into her. She makes bad decision after bad decision in her relationships; she could have got rid of the boyfriend to save herself all the games. The relationship with Mitchell didn't really make much sense anyway. The author puts Esme across as this intelligent women who’s independent enough to cross the Atlantic to further her education and then decide she’s capable of raising a baby on her own, yet she becomes completely dependent on the love/approval of a man who to be quite frank is a complete arse (not to mention not particularly well developed as a character). I know this is a trait that is fairly common amongst chick-lit romances but at least the author could give us a consistent character.

Another slight niggle I had with the book were the frequent literary and art references, some of them quite obscure. I don’t usually mind the odd reference, they’re one of the reasons why I found jasper fforde’s ‘Thursday Next’ books so enjoyable, however there is a point where they get too much. They didn't really add too much to the plot other than to verify Esme’s knowledge of Art History so the reader is able to just over look them and move on but if you are the curious type and not a literature or art buff you may find yourself having a sneaky Google every now and then.

The author appears to make the occasional attempt at social commentary in the book through the bookstore owner’s habit of paying a couple of homeless people to do odd jobs such as clean the windows and then through Esme’s thoughts on these people and the life they live (don’t want to give out too many spoilers).

While I do have to say that this book wasn't 100% to my own personal taste, I have to give this book 2/5 instead of say 1/5 is because I do believe that some people, particularly fans of chick-lit, might enjoy it. I didn't find any structural problems such as odd spelling or grammar which would make the book difficult to read, all my nit-picking was with the characters and story itself so I can see somebody picking this book for a slower paced holiday read.

Unleashed by Emily Kimelman Review

Title: Unleashed

Author: Emily Kimelman

My Rating: 3.5/5

Part of a series? Yes, this is book one of the Sydney Rye series

Genre(s): Mystery, Dogs, Chick lit, Crime, Adult themes. 

Description/Blurb:

When the series begins Sydney Rye is named Joy Humbolt. She does not like people telling her what to do, so it comes as no surprise that she was just fired from her last job. When she buys Charlene Miller's dog-walking business on Manhattan's exclusive upper east side, it seems like the perfect fit: Quiet environment, minimal contact with people.

But then one of her clients turns up dead, and Charlene disappears. Rumors say Charlene was having an affair with the victim--and of course, everyone assumes Joy must know where she is. Joy begins to look into the crime, first out of curiosity then out of anger when there is another murder and threats start to come her way.

When police detective Mulberry is assigned to the case, Joy finds a kindred spirit--cynical and none-too-fond of the human race. As they dig deep into the secrets of Manhattan's elite, they not only get closer to the killer but also to a point of no return. One last murder sends Joy Humbolt hurtling over the edge. Her only chance of survival is to become Sydney Rye.

My review: 

It took me a while but I've finally worked myself up to reading Unleashed. I was a bit worried about something horrible happening to the dog leaving me a blubbering wreck but it wasn't too upsetting on the animal front, the human front was a different matter but that’s easier to handle.

I finished the book last night and it’s taken me a while to figure out how I feel about the book as a whole. I loved the character of Joy, she felt like the everyday person you'd meet on the street, her move from witness to investigator wasn't an instant one and while it wasn't a completely gradual transformation it was slow enough to appreciate the situation Joy was in and understand why she might be curious. After all, the investigating starts with gossip and who doesn't like to hear the latest gossip?

A couple of things didn't sit quite right with me though, the motive behind the murder and how the person spotted near the seen managed to get away without being seen seemed very much like the sort of thing you'd find in a children's book which made me do a little bit of a double take when the clues started to come together. I'm not saying that these parts weren't well written though, because they were and the momentum of the story does pull you along so you don't have any real time to wonder where Kimelman came up with the motive.

Overall I'd say that this book is quite a fun read, it's not overly long (I managed to finish it by using it as bedtime reading for a couple of nights) or complicated. There are just enough characters that Joy can have relationships with other people and progress the story but few enough characters that it doesn't take long for the reader to remember who is who. Also Joys rescue dog Blue is a little bonus to any dog owners, the way his actions are described are spot on and I think most dog owners can relate!

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes a mystery that isn't all darkness and gore or somebody who just fancies an interesting/quirky read.

Trust in Advertising by Victoria Michaels Review

Title: Trust in Advertising

Author: Victoria Michaels

My Rating: 2.5/5

Part of a series? No

Genre(s): Chick lit, Some humour, Adult, Romance.

Description/Blurb: 

Lexi White finds herself at a crossroads. After putting everything on hold to care for her ailing father, it’s finally time for her to start living her life again. An exciting new job holds the promise of a fresh start, until she comes face to face with someone from her past who has always stopped her dead in her tracks, and who evidently still has the power to make her forget her own name. This time around, Lexi’s a grown woman who refuses to back away from her dreams, even if it requires working with her old high school crush. Side by side. Every day. Will he end up being her downfall or exactly what she needs?

My review: 

 quite liked the premise of this book, the idea of meeting your old high school crush several years down the line and having to deal with the awkwardness. I can sympathise a bit with Lexi on that, I think I know way more about my crushes than they ever knew about me! It was also quite refreshing to read a romance book without a load of smut, sometimes it can be quite boring when half the book is some form of sex and fantasy. However I couldn't rate this book any more than three stars because there wasn't enough plot development for my liking. I found that the story developed painfully slowly for most of the book, then everything was rushed at the end after Lexi and Vincent decided that they loved each other enough to put the events of the book (trying not to be too spoilery here!) behind them and have a relationship.