Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George (ARC from publisher) didn’t work for me, but I’m sure it’ll please fans of George’s previous Princess of the Midnight Ball. It’s an interesting take on Cinderella, and I found the depiction of the godmother particularly intriguing. But I was never convinced of any of the romantic relationships and I had a couple of quibbles with it that made it hard for me to really get into the story. As Charlotte points out, this is partly due to the effects of the spell on the men. Combined with my questions about why Eleanora was forced to become a maid, well… The various story threads never gelled for me. I’m in the minority about this one, though.
I also finished two adult books, His at Night by Sherry Thomas (personal copy) and The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill (public library). His at Night is the first book by Thomas that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. However, I’m not sure I’m going to go back and read Private Arrangements or any other of her previous novels. Nothing against Thomas, because I don’t think there are any romance authors whose new books I automatically read or whose backlist I’ve completely read.
Mysteries, on the other hand, I need to read in order, in their entirety. I will automatically pick up the latest book in a favorite series without even knowing anything about it. The Merry Misogynist is the sixth book in Cotterill’s Dr. Siri Paiboun series. I’m a huge Cotterill fan and gotten a few of the (non-teen) patrons at the library hooked on his books, too. The Merry Misogynist, though, is my least favorite in the series so far. The series is set in 1970s Laos, after the Communists have taken over. Dr. Siri Paiboun is in his seventies and looking forward to retirement, but ends up the country’s coroner instead. The previous books are notable for their vibrant setting, sympathetic and lively cast of characters (except for the Communist government), culture and history are an integral part of the mysteries, and a kind of ruefully ironic humor. In this one, the mystery aspect was a lot more Western, which rather disappointed me. Still a good book, just not one that I enjoyed as much as the previous ones.
Reading Time: 6 hours 38 minutes
Blog/Twitter Time: 1 hour 17 minutes
Total Reading Time: 13 hours 20 minutes + 2 hours of social networking time. That’s more than 15 hours! Woohoo!
Yeah, the maid thing was strange in Princess of Glass. But for whatever reason, I just really liked Poppy enough so that that, and other plot weaknesses, didn’t keep me from enjoying the book.
I hope the reading is going well for you this afternoon!
Huh. I don’t think the maid thing bothered me at all. I just accepted it as part of the plot and went with it. Same with the enchantments. But, then, I guess I was just ready to actually like one of of her books, because I can totally see where you’re coming from… now.
Yes, it did go well! Thanks for the good thoughts.
I know what you mean about liking Poppy, but I think if I had found the Poppy/Christian relationship more convincing, I would have been willing to overlook most of the other weaknesses. In any case, to each his/her own, so I’m glad you liked the book.
Well, I suppose I could have been more forgiving of the maid thing, since this is a fairy tale, after all.
I know that sometimes, even when I see the faults of a book, I still like it regardless. I hope this is still the case with you and Princess of Glass.