This month was just not good- slow reading, losing non-essential organs....

I had every intention of reading lots of books this month.  Pool time would be every weekend.  It was going to be great.  Then I had an emergency appendectomy (really, is there any other kind than an emergency?!) and ended up so freaking tired for over two weeks that I could barely keep my eyes open to do much of anything, let alone read.  But now I'm back and the weekends can be spent poolside, book in hand.  I did manage 1634 pages worth of books.  So that's not too bad, huh?

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan (301 pages).  This was my second book club book.  I was a little iffy about it, as I kind of hated Atonement (same author).  A fact which may or may not have had a lot to do with the fact that I saw the movie first and absolutely detested it.  But I gave this book a go anyway.  It wasn't my favorite book ever.  But it was certainly better than Atonement.  Well, it was up until the ending.  McEwan's endings piss me off.  Serena Frome is a beautiful mathematics major from Cambridge during the 1970's.  She also happens to be a very avid reader - of mostly modern novels.  After an affair with a professor which ends dramatically, she manages to land a job with MI5.  You know, Britain's Secret Service.  At first, she is just an intake clerk.  But after becoming sort of involved with a coworker (fine, she had a crush, he led her on), she quickly rises through the ranks and eventually becomes an agent.  Her mission is code named Sweet Tooth.  It involves convincing an up and coming new author, Tom Haley, that she has important connections to the literary world.  And that he needs to espouse MI5's political views (without actually telling him that's what he's to do).  Or something like that- I'm still a little foggy on the details and no one at book club seemed to understand it any better than I did.  Anyways, Serena and Tom quickly fall for each other and begin a wonderful (or so it seems) love affair.  But can that love overcome the lies that surround them?  Stupid STUPID ending that totally pissed me off.  I mean seriously, McEwan, you are dead to me.

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (503 pages).  The next in the Beautiful Creatures series.  And more frustration in regards to the South Carolina aspect of the story.  Of course, there is no Gatlin, SC (which is fine).  But there's also no Gatlin County.  And  no University of Charleston (seriously, just use C of C!!)  I found myself not liking this book as much as I'd liked the first one.  It kind of seemed to drag at first.  Lena's depressed over the death of her uncle and is pulling away from Ethan.  Then, it picked up.  Lena's mother, the most powerful Dark Caster ever, is calling Lena's Seventeenth Moon early, so that Lena will Claim herself.  And Ethan and his motley crew of Mortals, Seers and once dead Casters must help her learn who she truly is.  Thank goodness the book picked up by the end.  Otherwise, I'm not sure I'd have wanted to read the next one.

Beautifuyl Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (518 pages).  Lena's Claiming (she learned she is both Dark and Light, the first of her kind) upset the natural Order of the World, both for Supernaturals and for Mortals.  Now, the race is on to determine how to fix the Order, all before someone's Eighteenth Moon (and this time, it's not Lena's).  But when the answer finally reveals itself to them, does the One have the strength to do what needs to be done?  This one reminded me a little more of why I liked the first one so much.  But still couldn't reclaim my utter enjoyment of that first book.  I'm kind of glad there's only one left in the series.  Now I'm just ready for it to arrive so I can be done with the whole thing!

The Woman Before Wallis by Andrew Rose (312 pages).  This one was history, pure and simple.  I completely turned my back on the fiction portion of my favorite genre.  But this book seemed to fascinating to pass up.  I had no idea Prince Andrew had been involved in scandal after scandal, long before abdicating the throne to marry Wallis Simpson.  In 1917, Prince Edward met Marguerite Meller, already an established Parisian courtesan.  After an 18 month affair, filled with lustful encounters and indiscreet letters, Prince Edward ended the affair.  Marguerite was incensed, but was willing to bide her time.  After all, she had blackmail worthy letters in her possession.  Fast forward to 1922 - Marguerite has met Ali Fahmy, a WEALTHY Egyptian playboy nearly 10 years her junior.  They quickly wed and spend the next year traveling and fighting all over Egypt and Europe.  Their fights become almost legendary.  Both keep pistols handy because neither trusts the other.  Eventually, they make their way to London, where Prince Edward is happily ensconced in his princely duties.  After a particularly horrendous fight in the hallway of their hotel, Marguerite pulls out her pistol and fatally shoots her husband three times IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD.  Next came the sensational trial- seriously, Jodie Arias had nothing on this action!  However, it was imperative that the Prince's past with this woman not come out.  And a deal, of sorts, was reached.  Fortunately, the jury unwittingly adhered to the deal and rendered a not guilty verdict.  I remembered why I don't like history- it's boring and can come across a little pretentious.  But the trial was fascinating.  And there were some great lines in the book.  In describing the judge in the trial, the author had this to say - "it seems that Swift's chubby features and ruddy complexion were due to a fondness for drink, a failing not exactly unknown in the legal profession."  Truth!  Anyway, if you like history, this one was great.  And if history bores you, this was still a pretty interesting story.