Romance

Mad Love

mad-love Mad Love by Nick Spalding

Publication Date: December 6, 2016
Read Date: February 2, 2017

I wasn’t sure what kind of book I wanted to read, and something funny isn’t usually what I have available or think of even reaching for. This book has forever changed my mindset on that. Comedy is definitely a genre I’ll be checking out from right now, and if Nick Spalding is on that list, it’s even better.

Mad Love is about this dating website, Sociality, being so sure of its algorithms that they decide to choose the best matched couple and have them meet on their wedding day, paid for by Sociality. The honeymoon will aso be paid for, as well as being provided a nice apartment and $30,000 to play with. They have a lot of faith in their algorithms that this couple will prove to the world just how awesome their dating website is. Adam and Jessica are the couple and they both want this marriage for different reasons. It’s laugh after laugh of them trying to navigate getting to know each other with a camera always in their faces as well as when the camera is gone.

This book is so much fun! I read it on one sitting because I was laughing way too hard to just put it down and go to sleep. Who can think about sleep when you’re wondering what shenanigans this couple is going to get into next. There’s this priest at the wedding…and I don’t even want to give away what’s up with him because it’s too much fun to read and find out. There’s also this baking competition scene that had me dying. I had to read those pages to everyone I talked to the next day because I couldn’t stop laughing every time I thought about it.

This is, in essence, a romantic comedy that’s low on the romance. It’s more of a comedy with some romance sprinkled in. It’s perfect. I keep telling my boyfriend that it’s the exact kind of book that would be perfect for him to read- he’s dubious, but it’s because I’m in the process of turning him into a reader.

Check this book out! It’s such a fun read; I can’t wait to pick up Spaldings’ other books.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the copy of this book.

five-stars

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After by Steve Hockensmith

So it’s more like a 3.5 stars, because while still being fun, it was definitely not the strongest of the trilogy. But I still loved it! It starts out with Elizabeth being kind of depressed because as a married woman, she’s supposed to hang up her katana. This funk leads to Darcy being bitten and then her world is over. Except maybe it’s not. Lady Catherine still loved her nephew, despite her misgivings about Elizabeth, and she will do anything in her power to save him. So Elizabeth is forced to leave Darcy with her while she embarks on a mission to steal a supposed cure. This is where I really felt like there was much to be desired. Because Elizabeth has to go undercover and be away from Darcy, we get little to no interaction between the two, which is exactly why I wanted to read the sequel in the first place–I want more Elizabeth and Darcy!

Anne, Lady Catherine’s daughter, plays a much, much bigger role in this narrative, while Georgiana ends up taking a step back (which I found as a disappointment). Kitty gets a bigger role now that she’s no longer living in the shadow of Lydia, though we do get plenty of the ‘La!’s still, which is perfect. I enjoyed Kitty really figuring herself out as both a warrior and a woman.

Onto the spoilers…
We know that the man in the box is Master Hawksworth, but we never get to see the family’s reaction to finding out. I would have loved to see how Elizabeth would have reacted. With the two orphans that Elizabeth takes home from the “hospital,” would I be right to assume that Mr. Bennet would actually take them home instead? Because Mrs. Bennet was scaring off any suitors for Kitty and Mary because she didn’t want to be alone and she wanted to have warriors at home. That’s not fair to Kitty and Mary, though, who at the end of the novel, find their own love interests. It’s assumed they’re going to not want to live with the Bennets anymore, so it would make sense to have the orphans go home with them so Mrs. Bennet has two children that she can take care of as well as them taking care of her. I believe Mr. Bennet alluded to it, I just wish it hadn’t been so open-ended when it was definitely going to be the last book. Also, I was disappointed to see Georgiana not come back till the very end. There were a few times where I thought she would have shown back up after being tricked into leaving, but that never occurred.

While it was nice to see certain characters get their chance to shine, I really missed the interaction between Darcy and Elizabeth, which is really what I read it for. I’m glad to take away the knowledge of them continuing to be badass together, I just wish I could have seen more. Again, I got the audio book, Katherine Kellgren is the best.

four-stars

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

I decided to read this book, and its accompanying prequel and sequel after completely falling in love with the movie. It is important to point out, though, that the movie is quite different from this novel, and that’s totally OK! I think that one particular scene that would have been awesome in the movie is when Elizabeth is at Rosings and Lady Catherine wants her to duel against her best ninjas–Elizabeth, in defiance, duels them blindfolded. It was a very fun grotesque scene!

I listened to the audio book for this; Katherine Kellgren is incredible. I’m a total lover of Pride and Prejudice and this book was just loads of fun. Zombies, Ninjas, Brains, and Badassery. I feel like my only issue for characterization was that of Mr. Collins, who makes a drastic decision after learning something about Charlotte (I can avoid spoilers!). It felt pretty out of character, even if it was something that was done out of fun because people don’t really like him. That’s where the movie had me totally enraptured, I’m a huge fan of Matt Smith and he was hands down, one of my favorite characters.

I know that this review feels part book, part movie, but when you read a book because of the movie, you can’t help but notice the drastic differences. This was a fun read, nothing serious, and with the mash up of Jane Austen’s text and Seth Grahame-Smith’s text, it’s exactly what the title tells you it is: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

four-stars

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

All The Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

This story is one of the most powerful “romances” I have ever read. It was dark, disturbing, and completely beautiful. It spans roughly sixteen years of Wavy’s life, bringing us through the hardships she has had to endure. The only thing besides her little brother, who she takes care of, that makes this life of hers better is Kellen, who is about twelve/thirteen years older than her. This is where people might take issue. A love blossoms between them at a young age, but it’s a love with the best of intentions. When she’s about seven, he meets her after he accidentally crashes in the driveway. Soon after, he goes to the house again and sees the filth she’s living in because her druggy mom doesn’t do anything except for stay in her room. He starts taking care of Wavy right then and never stopped. That’s why when the relationship between them becomes more, it’s not something that feels wrong. This book even goes to recognize how people will feel about their relationship through varying perspectives. Everyone knows it’s taboo, but the love between them is so bright, and so very real, that you root for them to be able to stay together.

This novel is beautifully written and executed so well. The differing views lend a hand at unveiling Wavy’s personality and show how she’s perceived through others, which really displays incredible depth to the character. What’s important to take away from this novel is that even with a subject that’s this taboo, with the circumstances that Wavy has been around, it all makes sense. And it’s truly an ugly and wonderful thing.