Watered Down and Dull

Alphabet Weekend
By: Elizabeth Noble

My pile of birthday books still is not completed. Catcher in the Rye sits unfinished among my props for the show I ended weeks ago. But I hadn't picked up a book since I finished reading about those former Queens of England, and last Friday I realized why. I was in the mood for something light and easy, a romantic comedy of fiction. The next two books that I had are further historical fiction, not counting the handful of classics still waiting for me to give them a go. My brain needed a break, and my heartstrings needed a little bit of a tugging.

Well, with Alphabet Weekend, my brain certainly got a bit of a break. The characters were under developed, leaving me with an apathetic feeling toward our romantic lead. I spent the majority of the book wondering why I was supposed to root for these two, other than the fact that every other character said that they belonged together. Also, a personal pet peeve of mine, the other male in the potential triangle was so horrid, that there was no way any reader could expect them to end up together. Many of the secondary characters also blurred together, not quite having distinct personalities of their own. There were subplots, involving two other relationships. One, which was the parents of our heroine was pushed to the back burner, despite being potentially very interesting. The other, which featured our romantic interest's brother and his wife, did hold my interest, though it wasn't explored nearly as much as I would have liked.

And I wonder, is it the darkness of those two subplots that appeals to me? In one, the wife is diagnosed with depression and later the husband has severe health issues. In the other, the husband loses his job and shuts out his wife, who in turn is suffering from extreme attraction to a close friend's husband. Has this project taken away my not-so guilty pleasure of romantic comedy books?

I hope not, that would make me very sad. I have one more, purchased at the same time, by an author I quite enjoy.

In the meantime, if you're looking to read a fun, flighty romantic comedy (I believe the current term is beach reading) contact me for a thorough listing of books I've enjoyed over the years, before picking up this weak story.

What happened after Anne Boleyn?

The Boleyn Inheritance
By: Phillipa Gregory

After devouring The Other Boleyn Girl earlier this year, I made a mental note to try some of the author's other works. This one arrived on my doorstep for my birthday, and I must say that I'm glad this was the book I ended up with. Years have passed since Anne Boleyn was executed and this book follows the lives of three women whose lives were forever changed as a result. Anne of Cleves - the fourth Queen of England. Katherine Howard - the fifth Queen of England. Jane Boleyn - Anne Boleyn's former sister-in-law who offered damning evidence against the former queen.

Each woman tells their unique story, each one with a very distinct voice. I must say that one of the biggest issues that I faced with this book was that of the three characters, Anne was by far my favorite. After her, it was easily Katherine, who while annoying, had a certain little girl charm about her. Jane, however, I spent most of the book yelling at, hating her for my previous knowledge of the character, both in history as well as in Gregory's other works. Luckily, as I continued with my reading, I realized the author was initially highlighting Jane's delusional flaws, rather than retconning her character to gain the reader's sympathy.

Read The Other Boleyn Girl first, but when you're ready to learn more about what happened later and see how far the title of Queen of England fell, check out The Boleyn Inheritance.

And if you're in the mood for a drinking game, drink whenever you read the phrase "the Boleyn inheritance." You'll be tipsy before you even know it.

An amazing journey

Come Back: a mother and daughter's journey through hell and back
By: Claire Fontaine and Mia Fontaine

Once again, I find myself reading a true tale about the love that parents and children feel for one another. Once again, I find myself sucked in, closing the pages with tears in my eyes. This time though, there were so many ways in which I could identify, that at times it was hard to tell where the pages stopped and my own memories began.

Well no, it was easy on a logical level to tell the difference - I was not by any stretch of the imagination a teenage runaway who was sent away to an alternative boarding school. Really, it was reading the interactions between Claire and Mia, acting the way that only mothers and daughters act toward one another. Also, on a more personal level, Mia's boarding school included some self help lessons that were all too familiar to me.

In these pages, you read the two characters grow substantially, see Mia go from an angry, hurt teenager to a innocent and wondrous adult. Claire turns from a mother whose life is her daughter, to a strong woman who loves herself as she loves her child.

I went into the book expecting to read about a mother and daughter as they dealt with each other, and while I did, more importantly it was reading these two characters as they learn to deal with themselves.