The Perfect Girl

 

The Perfect Girl sounded interesting so I figured I would give it a try. I am not a fan of time skipping stories and normally I avoid them.

Zoe made a mistake, she drove drunk and killed three people. Having done her time she is once again out in the world and trying to get her life back in order. Determined to make her "second chance family" work Zoe and her mother have not told them anything about Zoe's dark past. It seems to be working until things come to light in a very public way. With dirty little secrets coming out for both sides of the family Zoe does not know who to trust or what to do when things go wrong.

The writing was not my favorite sure it was smooth and easy to understand. Despite that I did not like the characters they all came off as flat and boring to me. Parts were added that made no sense. I am not really sure why Zoe's solicitor was added to the mix except to make things more complicated. I did not care about him or his problems. Lots of unneeded moments were added that just annoyed me. I will not be seeking out other books by Gilly Macmillan. 

The Guest List

 

One night when I could not sleep I just browsed through the books the elibrary had available to check out and randomly choose The Guest List. 

A supposed dream wedding on a remote island. That is Jules dream and she is all about making it happen. Everything is going to be perfect until dirty little secrets start to come to light. Soon the dream day has turned into a nightmare as more and more dirty laundry is aired for all to see.

The writing was fine but I am not a fan of multiple points of view along with time jumping around. It made it impossibly hard to stay interested in the story. Mainly I kept reading to see who was killed at the end and who the killer was. For me the ending felt like it just stopped, no real closure on the murder itself. Mainly it was about all the lives that were messed up and how badly the wedding party was dealing with their personal issues. 

Peter and thee Shadow Thieves

 

Peter and the Shadow Thieves is the second book in the Peter and the Starcatchers series. 

I really struggled with Peter and the Shadow Thieves and I am not even sure why.

When Neverland has some curiously odd visitors Peter decides it is his duty to inform Molly that something is wrong. Leaving his friends behind Peter flies after the ship that is transporting the mysterious Lord Ombra. Molly is concerned when her father hires guards to watch the house then disappears claiming he has secret starcatcher things to tend to. 

The writing was still smooth despite being told from many point of view. I really liked the idea a mysterious monster like creature going after the starstuff with two children once again sworn to protect it. In the end I just forced myself to keep reading since I had nothing else to read. Unless I cannot get any thing else from the library I will not continue on with the series. 

The Playboy and the Widow

 

The Playboy and the Widow is one of Debbie Macomber earlier books. I have read some of her newer works but this is the first of her early stuff I have read.

Like the other books I have read by Mrs. Macomber lots of humor exists in the story. The writing is simple and the pace of the story flows well. It is a bit predictable but that is one thing nice about the story. Sometimes I just want a fun simple read and Mrs. Macomber always delivers that. 

I liked the kids and the growth they showed as they came to terms with their mother dating once again. In some way the two girls were more mature about Diana dating then Diana was. The part with Cliff was a bit unbelievable, suddenly a playboy sees a single mother and forgets all about the beautiful girls throwing themselves at him does not seem real. Other then that is it just a fun light read. 

Ten out of Ten

 

Ten out of Ten is the last book in the Princess Diaries series. 

The story starts out with an almost two year time skip which I was not a fan of at all. Why skip ahead in the story when so much detail was given to every day life in the previous books. In that amount of time Mia went from a geek to a total popular girl. While claiming it was her princess status that made her popular Mia also had a makeover. Thanks to Lana, former enemy now friend, Mia has learned how to dress for her body type, do her makeup, nails, and gotten help with her hair. In a secure relationship with JP her picture perfect boyfriend Mia has it all but something still feels wrong. Suddenly her world is turned up side down when her father warns her that Michael is back in town. Immediately feeling out of sorts Mia tries to navigate senior life as she figures out turning eighteen does not solve all her problems. 

Honestly if I had not gotten so much of the series out of the local free library I would not have read the whole series. I just did not enjoy the story. Mia did not really grow up in the first nine books then wham in the tenth book she learns all these lessons people had been trying to teach her for years. It did not make much sense or flow with the story well. 

Princess Mia

 

Princess Mia is the ninth book in The Princess Diaries series. Once again I was not overly thrilled with the story so I just powered through it one night to get it over with. 

Mia has everything going for her, a perfect boyfriend and finally being more accepted in school. That is until she remembers her and Michael have broken up. Heartbroken Mia does not know how to cope and this part I actually find realistic. One of the few things about Mia I have found believable. 

The writing continued to be journal style with Mia reporting facts. It is nice to see she starts to get in trouble over her journal as she should have all alone. It makes the story a little more believable. One more to go and then I am done with the series which will be a relief. I do not enjoy investing so much time in a series that runs hot and cold for me. 

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

 

The Death of Mrs. Westaway was in the local free library and since I had read other books by the author I figured I would give it a try. 

At her wits end Hal is trying to figure out what to do, she is not making enough money reading fortunes at the pier but the loan shark wont wait for a payment. Worrying about being behind on the rent, power bill, and wondering how she will eat Hal finds her salvation in a letter. The letter is a notice of death of her grandmother who seems to have left her some sort of inheritance. Knowing she is not the woman's granddaughter Hal decides it is worth the risk to go and try to get some money to at least pay off the loan shark and her growing electrical bill. Instead of some easy money Hal finds a nightmare of lies, dark secrets, and hidden twists as she navigates the dark halls of the manor. 

It is really hard to put into words how I feel about The Death of Mrs. Westaway. The ending left something to be desired with characters that felt odd and badly written. Yet despite this I kept reading to try to figure out the secrets but when the secrets were slowly revealed they all seemed lackluster and disappointing. I am not sure I will try another Ruth Ware story since the pacing reminded me a lot of how The Woman in Cabin 10 was and I do not enjoy the best part of the story being the last couple of chapters. I want the whole story to be interesting and entertaining.