The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips

I picked up this book from the library after reading about it on Beth Fish Reads. It sounded intriguing, so I thought I'd give it a go.

From the book jacket:

'Claire Donovan always dreamed of visiting Venice, though not as a chaperone for a surly teenager. But she can't pass up this chance to complete her Ph. D. thesis on Alessandra Rossetti, a mysterious courtesan who wrote a secret letter to the Venetian Council warning of a Spanish plot to overthrow the Venetian Republic in 1618...'

The Rossetti Letter is almost like two books in one, the story of Claire's attempts to locate and interpret the documents that will allow her to finally complete her paper and move on with her life, and Alessandra's story of sensuality, political intrigue and violence.

Claire's story unfolds as a textbook formula romance novel. If you've read romances then you know what I mean...honourable heroine is lonely and desperately in need of love to bring her back to life after a trauma (death/divorce) has caused her to close herself off from the world...said heroine is transported to an exotic location where she faces challenges...heroine meets two men - one is attractive and lovely (and turns out to be all wrong for her), and the other rubs her the wrong way immediately, but turns out to be much nicer than he first appeared (Mr Darcy, anyone?)...need I go on...?

Unfortunately Claire's story also suffers from an initial premise that is just not believable. What newly remarried father (whose first wife is in a mental institution after shooting him), allows his 14 year old daughter to be chaperoned for a week in Venice by a woman he has never met before??? What 14 year old girl who finds herself in this circumstance learns to like and respect her chaperone in only a day or two???

Despite these faults, I did enjoy this book. Alessandra's story feels almost like it is written by a completely different author. Perhaps Christi Phillips is more comfortable writing in the historical context?

And I must admit that Phillips was successful in making Claire a sympathetic character. I do care what happens to Claire next! Perhaps at some time in the future I will read Phillips again and find out, but I'm not rushing out to do so.

Overall, an enjoyable read if you don't look too closely at it!

Yay for me!!!

Thankyou so much to J. Kaye for listing this blog on her latest 'new blog discoveries' post!

You can check it out here.

Hopefully it means I will have some new visitors stopping by to read what I write!

If you are just 'checking me out' (!), make sure you leave a comment to let me know. Then I can return the favour and stop by your blog to 'check you out' too!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - the movie

*** SPOILER ALERT*** This is not a review, as such, but the ravings of a completely mad Potter fan upon seeing the much-awaited new movie!

Did we enjoy it? Yes we did!

Best scenes that we enjoyed from the book and were dying to see on the screen:

1. Ron eats the love-potion-spiked chocolates sent to Harry by Romilda Vane.

OMG - can anyone do a better totally dopey love struck face than Rupert Grint!?! Physical comedy at its best!

2. Ron as Quidditch keeper - the tryouts and the match.

Again - fabulous physical comedy from Rupert Grint!

Most disappointing omitted scenes that we enjoyed from the book and were dying to see on screen:

1. Luna commentating at the Quidditch match.

Was dying to see the crowd reaction to Luna's unique take on the action!

2. Harry and Ginny's kiss in the Griffindor common room after Quidditch.

Cannot believe that this was down-graded to a stolen kiss in the room of requirement!!! Aaaaargh!

Overall, a fairly faithful rendition of the plot and feel of the book. Great special effects (as expected). A mix of comedy and action. I want to see it again.

Sometimes I wonder, when I see Harry Potter movies, if the director understands the significance of the things that he leaves out, in terms of the overall story arc? Harry Potter fans are often left wondering how these omissions are going to be dealt with in later movies. A lot of what Dumbledore tells Harry about the horcruxes is left out of this movie. How is Harry going to get this information that he needs in Deathly Hallows to succeed in his quest?

I was very disappointed in the movie's take on the Harry/Ginny relationship. In the book, once they finally got together, I got a sense of real connection between the two, and a sense of them being both emotionally and physically comfortable with one another. You get nothing of that in the movie, only one stolen kiss and one instance of Harry crying on Ginny's shoulder (when Dumbledore dies). The movie leaves you feeling that the romance is still in its very early stages, quite undefined and chaste. In contrast, in the book Harry and Ginny are unmistakably happy with each other, spend a lot of time together, talk, laugh and (yes!) snog!!! I'm disappointed with the movie's interpretation for a few reasons:

1. I'm a romantic! With all this death and destruction, give me some romance for heaven's sake!

2. It's not faithful to the book.

3. It won't make as much sense in the overall story. At the beginning of Deathly Hallows, Harry 'breaks up' with Ginny to protect her from Voldemort as he embarks on his quest. He loves her too much to allow Voldemort to get any idea that she is important to him. He knows that Voldemort would like nothing more than to hurt someone that Harry loves. I'm just not sure that this will pack the same punch in the movie as it did in the book given the movie's interpetation of their relationship.

OK, I'll stop rambling now! Any comments will be eagerly read!

Birthday Wishes and Harry Potter

Happy Birthday Chris!

It's my husband's birthday today, and we're celebrating by going to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince tonight.

Of course he's at work today, I hope they get him a cake!

I am still stuck at home without a car, but it's supposed to be ready to pick up this afternoon. Hooray! Club Dead by Charlaine Harris has been ready at the library for me to pick up for a day or two. A trip to the library will be among the first things I do when I've got my car back! I'll also pop in somewhere for a coffee (I am having serious withdrawal symtoms!).

Have a great day everyone...I'll let you know how the movie was tomorrow.

Perfect Winter Reading

I've been seeing a lot on blogs lately about perfect "beach books" that are fun, quick and easy reads just right for summer vacation.

But here in Australia, it's winter. What I'm looking for are perfect "winter reads" - you know the thing - something just right to curl up in bed with when the weather outside is dreary.

I must admit, there's not much curling up in bed going on here. My kids are home on school holidays at the moment, and one of them has the flu. To top it off, my car is being repaired after a minor accident, so I'm trapped in my house with children that are either sick, or bored, or both!

But on to the good news! Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris, second in the 'Southern Vampires' or 'Sookie Stackhouse' series, is a perfect winter read.

Sookie is a pretty waitress in a bar with the gift (curse?) of being able to read other people's thoughts and emotions. She also has a vampire boyfriend, a shapeshifter boss, and a job to do: she is the official 'telepathic detective' to the local vampire leader, responsible for helping to solve any vampire-related mysteries using her gift.

In Living Dead in Dallas, Sookie is 'lent out' (charming, I know, but that's vampires for you) to another nest of vampires living in Dallas, to help them solve the mystery of the disappearance of one of their members. And so begins the rollercoaster ride...

Living Dead in Dallas has a (human) murder mystery, an anti-vampire cult, a secret society of shapeshifters, a wild sex party and more! (What's not to love?) And though this series is sometimes billed as 'horror', Charlaine Harris writes with a tongue-in-cheek style that has the reader laughing rather than screaming.

In some ways, this series so far reminds me a little of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. Lovable, quirky characters, and a mystery that's wrapped up by the end of each book.

If I have a complaint about Living Dead in Dallas, it's this: Charlaine Harris gives us just a taste of new characters, or developments in the overall plot, without expanding on them. It seems obvious to me that she's just introducing them with the plan of expanding in future books of the series. I would have enjoyed a little more depth to the novel, which could have been achieved by exploring one of the new developments in more detail. (Perhaps more about Barry? - I liked him!)

Overall, I enjoyed Living Dead in Dallas very much, and I can't wait for a copy of Club Dead to be ready for me at my local library.

Happy reading everyone, I'm going to check out some of the other reviews for this book at Beth Fish Reads now!

That Sunday...

Sunday morning... went to work... that's sabrina. Spell correctly liao. Haha.

Then I was waiting at home...patiently for my...


Threadmill!!! Catch my next entry on Nutrition Park review! Thanks to Nutrition Park!!!!


Went to meet up with some guys from hall...for monster hunting!


Justin and Yongyang


Yixia and Chun Hern...I don't why Chun Hern gave a gay face.


The monster hunter gang!

Going out to work soon... bye!

Lost in Austen - the book

Welcome "Everything Austen" participants!

Lost in Austen by Emma Campbell Webster.

My first thought...disappointing. Sorry!

From the book:

" It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young Austen heroine must be in want of a husband, and you are no exception. Christened Elizabeth Bennet, you are tolerably beautiful and moderately accomplished, with a sharp wit and quick mind. You are the daughter of misguided but well-meaning parents and live with them and your four sisters- Jane, Mary, Kitty and Lydia- in the village of Longbourne, near the town of Meryton. You are of a happy disposition and have hitherto whiled away your years reading, walking and enjoying what limited society Meryton has to offer. A recent event, however, threatens to disturb your tranquility: a man of large fortune has let a nearby manor house. Inconsequential though this change of circumstance appears, it is the first in a long chain of events that will require you to face difficult decisions and impolite dance partners. Equipped with only your wit and natural good sense, your mission is to marry both prudently and for love, eluding undesirable suitors and avoiding family scandals which would almost certainly ruin any hope of a financially advantageous marriage for you or any of your sisters."

Sounds promising doesn't it? That's what I thought too...

Emma Campbell Webster writes with lashings of the irony and humour that Jane Austen fans love. Consider this scene where you are introduced to Mr Collins:

"He has been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Fight Honorable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh, whose bounty and beneficence has preferred him to the valuable rectory of the parish of Hunsford in Kent. He begs leave to apologize for being next in the entail of Longbourne estate and being the means of injuring Mr Bennet's amiable daughters, and assures your father of his readiness to make those daughters every possible amends.
You can only guess that he means by marrying one of you.

At least you'd be saved from homelessness. Collect 10 bonus Fortune points.

Your father confesses to you great hopes of finding him ridiculous and there is a mixture of servility and self-importance in his letter which promises well. Mr Collins is punctual to his time and is received with great politeness by the whole family. He is a tall, heavy-looking young man of five and twenty. His air is grave and stately, and his manners are extremely formal. During dinner Mr Collins launches into a panegyric on his patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her sickly daughter, Anne, towards whom he conceives himself peculiarly bound to pay little attentions which he admits to often rehearsing.

You'd rather be homeless than married to Mr Collins. Deduct 10 Fortune points."

Campbell uses the "choose your own adventure" concept to include "diversions" from the storyline of Pride and Prejudice, which introduce characters, and borrow plots from other Austen works. She supplies notes at the end of the book, which detail which novels she is borrowing from or referencing. She also provides plenty of opportunities to test your knowledge of the life and times of Austen's heroines, answering such sticky questions as How many couples face each other when dancing a reel?

Despite these promising signs, Lost in Austen simply couldn't sustain my interest beyond and hour or two. The "choose you own adventure" concept quickly loses its novelty, and it becomes frustrating to lose the flow of the narrative by taking a 'wrong turn'. No matter how wisely I tried to make my decisions, attempting to both follow the plot of P&P and avoid some of Elizabeth's mistakes in the original, I found myself utterly unable to successfully complete my mission. (Marry prudently and for love.) I was an utter failure in Elizabeth's role!

This book may provide a short, pleasant diversion for the Austen addict, but it's not a keeper.