Susan

• Rated 5 stars

“Still going strong. I love this series!”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 10, 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Another great book in the series. I can not get enough! Another great book in the series. I can not get enough!”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 10, 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 2 stars

“I actually really like Micah but I've read enough about his wonderful good looks - where's the meat (no pun intended.) I'm not giving up. I've come too far in this series.”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 10, 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“Better than the last book. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars. The plot and conflicts were great and the reading itself was pretty interesting. I'm glad I held on through the not-so-great books to get to this one. Maybe this will be a turning-point for the author. Can't wait for the next one.”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 10, 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Sensational second book in a fantastic series.”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 10, 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“In Collusion, novelist and poet Evan Zimroth recounts her days as an adolescent ballet student and her completely inappropriate relationship with her ballet master "F.", a famous Russian dancer.

At the age of 12, Evan submitted to the punishing regime of a latter-day Svengali who pushed her into a life of self-denial and physical torture. This demanding and temperamental Russian, a legendary dance master, also took a psychological hold over her, and a disturbing erotic bond was forged between tutor and pupil. Zimroth writes of the punishment meted out to her on a regular basis--"F" would lash her with a cane--and the rewards--slices of blood-stained cheese that he would feed into her mouth--that she would endure without ever losing her poise.

At an early, impressionable age, Evan became intoxicated by ballet, and completely addicted to "F." I was disturbed that she chose "F." over her family and was allowed to become obsessed with her teacher. I was also amazed at the behavior of "F." I found him cowardly and cruel, and it was extremely hard for me to relate to his hold on Evan.

A dancer's life can be as magical as it is painful. In ballet there is always someone who is better than you, someone who gets more attention, more praise, more respect. Dancers who fail to develop will not survive in the face of this disappointment. Evan was the star pupil in "F.'s" class, she was the one he gave all his attention to. She looked forward to physical punishment and saw them as proof of his love for her.

At the end of the book, Zimroth writes that "writing is not catharsis," that she did not pen her memoir to gain any insight or closure. She believes that she will always think of "F." with fondness. I was really shocked by that statement. It made the entire book seem pointless to me. I was aggravated by her lack of hindsight.

That being said, the writing was good and the subject fascinating to me, so I did enjoy it. I can't say that something is bad just because it angered me. If you intend to read this book however, prepare for a compelling but disturbing story. That is all I can say.”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 3, 2008. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“Got syphilis? Maybe a little touch of gonorrhea? No problem, you're a king!

Having an adulterous affair are you? Well, if you're the king it's o.k., but if you're just the lowly queen, it's grounds for divorce. Or maybe we'll just ship you off to a convent or an asylum.

Whats that you say? Oh, you're just insane - no biggie, you're still of noble birth.

Um, what do you mean you're a commoner!? Well that, we simply cannot abide!

After all, we must draw the line somewhere...

Therein lies the tone of this witty book. At times quite funny, but mostly just sad, this book is what you might call a "National Enquirer" style full-disclosure article about monarchies in Europe. While entertaining to me, I don't believe this book has mass appeal. You really need a strong stomach to finish the book and not throw it across the room.

Three centuries of madness, debauchery, drug addiction, sex and adultery among the kings, queens, lords, ladies, and nobles of Europe are discussed at length. The history between the covers of this book is truly horrific, especially when one considers that it is not a work of fiction! This is a record of inbreeding, serious insanity, mass philandering, spread of STD's, and even Nazi sympathising, the likes of which I hope to never see again!

Now I realize that I am only seeing these things through the narrow lens of my own cultural mores here, but come on! These people were truly sick. And while they were busy with their many psychoses, they were practically ruling the world! It's a wonder anyone survived, royal or otherwise.

Contained within this volume are three thrilling centuries filled to the brim with mass suffering, war, national upheaval and slaughter for the majority of people, while a very privileged minority wallowed in massive excess and madness, for no better reason than a documented history of inbreeding (to preserve the royal lineage, of course) and a fairly savvy sense of self-preservation (and the funds to ensure it). This book certainly presents us with a damning indictment of the divine right of anyone to rule anybody.

In the end however, I must report that Royal Babylon is history lite at it's best. It's gossipy and has a sort of cotton candy consistency. You should not pick it up if you don't have a sense of humor about its subject matter. I cannot recommend it for the serious student of history, but it definitely was an amusing and entertaining, quick summer read.”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 3, 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Ruth Padel is the great-grandaughter of Charles Darwin. Her book made me want to travel to India to see tigers in the wild - before they are gone for good.”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 3, 2008. ( reply | permalink )

0 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“This book was so funny, I could not put it down!”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 3, 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 1 stars

“A middle-aged woman is involved in a hit-and-run accident. Two teenage girls are abducted from a shopping mall, never to be heard from again. These are the two major events that propel Laura Lippman's What the Dead Know, a disturbing novel of buried secrets and life's tragic surprises.

After fleeing a car accident, a middle-aged woman with no ID is questioned by both the police and hospital administration. Refusing to reveal her identity (and proof of health insurance), she instead hints that she is the younger of two sisters, Heather and Sunny Bethany, who disappeared the day before Easter in 1975. This gets everyone's attention. She knows both too much and not enough about the case, leading Baltimore police on wild goose chases to Pennsylvania and Georgia, saying just enough to stay out of jail and keep them interested, albeit suspicious. The narrative threads unravel into the various accounts of that Saturday's events, the aftermath of the disappearance, the investigation, and Heather's own increasingly desperate attempts to evade further disclosure.

Personally, I did not enjoy reading this book. In fact, I found that it was quite a chore, trudging through the storyline. I found the characters to be completely without depth and self-absorbed, making it extremely difficult to get to know and like them. It was curiosity rather than empathy that made me even finish the book. I really wanted it to be good - the subject was interesting - but in the end, it didn't hold my attention. I can't really recommend it to anyone.”

Susan wrote this review Friday, October 3, 2008. ( reply | permalink )