I wanted a short, easy no-brainer. I got everything I wanted in this :
Author : Annette Blair
Date of Publication : December 2006
Publisher : Berkley Sensation (Mass Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0786296577
ISBN-13: 978-0786296576
No of pages : 389
The Story :
Vickie, a witch in denial, inherits a wardrobe and opens it to find a beautifully carved carousel unicorn inside. Desperate to pay her grandmother’s medical and funeral expenses, she advertises its sale on TV. Rory, a descendant of the once respectable Mackenzie clan now turned community pariah, sees the woman of his dreams (I mean, literally) holding the answer to restore the good name of his family.
Long ago, his ancestor, a famous carver, broke his engagement with a beautiful witch (Vickie’s grandmother) who people said, cast a curse upon the Scottish village. Regretful all of his life, Rory’s grandfather, before he died, sent his beloved witch his most splendid creation — a carousel unicorn, part of a merry-go-round that brought prosperity to the village; but one that would never run again until the curse is lifted.
So, Rory goes to find this unicorn, with a mission to take it, bring it back, rebuild the carousel, and restore the community’s prosperity and his good name. Only thing, he has to contend with the witch and choose between love and family honor.
The Review :
As I mentioned, I just wanted a short easy read, a no-brainer after “Exile“. Well, a real no-brainer is what I got! I know, I know…the synopsis sounds cheesy and serves me right for picking this out of a sale bin again just because the title was a parody of “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe“. I’m not above reading shallow, fun lit and I thought this was a cute, little romance with some magic thrown into it. NOT!
The characters were odd and totally without some self-respect, either. I don’t know what Blair was trying to accomplish. For instance, I think she wanted everything for her main character, Vickie. She wanted her sexy, yet dressed her in dowdy vintage clothes; a bold sex siren yet a frightened virgin (technically speaking since she deflowered herself years ago with dildos all named Brock—*shudder, shudder*–but has never been with a man); bohemian, cluttered, and fun but essentially good for nothing — can’t do business, cook, clean, balance books, etc. to save her life! So here comes the knight in shining armor, the ruggedly handsome Scot who can do everything! Cook, clean, balance books, organize, repair anything, and make her and others’ blood boil for want of this stud. Thankfully, he falls short of being perfect by his hermitic attitude.
With amateurish writing, a main character whose personality ridiculously morphs from one thing into another, and annoying minor characters in the mix, you just gotta be drunk to like this trash.
My Mark : Poor — Laughable; Don’t Bother
November 8, 2009 at 11:14 am
Lol at this: Poor — Laughable; Don’t Bother
Jo, I’m curious. I’m sure that midway into the book, you realize that the book isn’t too good. Do you still feel compelled to finish it? The same way that you’ve finished this one?
When I was young, I used to finish all the books that I’ve started regardless whether they’re trashy or not. Now, I found out that I just don’t have the patience anymore.
November 8, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Unfortunately, I do need to finish what I’ve started reading. Yes, a compulsion for that niggling hope that maybe the good part is somewhere toward the end. In this case it was a stupid need. LOL! Perhaps I always have to have closure.
Maybe with more of these, I’ll learn to toss a read while only midway into it. It’ll save me a good deal of time.
November 9, 2009 at 11:40 pm
I’m cringing just looking at the cover, Jo! A unicorn! Stars! A chandelier! A blonde girl in a mini! Hehehe.
November 10, 2009 at 9:56 am
Har de har har! Hey, I thought it was going to be cute. Humph!
Should have known: cheesy cover = cheesy book
November 11, 2009 at 2:08 am
Haha Peter’s comment is so male!
I saw this at Book Sale recently… I used to read a lot of chicklit but I hated the hit-and-miss factor to them so I’ve been more choosy in getting them.
I rarely like mixing genres when it comes to chicklit (I normally prefer a straightforward piece of fluff) but a good mix of magic and fluff is Shanna Swendson’s Enchanted, Inc. It’s about a “muggle” working in a magical industry and I found it imaginative and fun. Still don’t have the next books in the series though, but I’m looking forward to reading them.
November 11, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Hey, Blooey, Enchanted Inc. sounds good to me. Listing the series now on my Shelfari account.