Sex and The City by Candace Bushnell

Synopsis
In this chronicle of the mating habits of New York's cultural elite, Bushnell infiltrates celebrity affairs, sex clubs, and posh suburbs to introduce us to "bicycle boys," "modelizers," and "toxic bachelors" - powerful and successful men who bed single and married women as if it were a contest. Often funny and occasionally bleak, this is an inside account of the quintessential '90s romance and the never-ending search for the perfect marriage partner in high society.

What is it all about
It is about journalists entailing the sex and love lives of the city folks; mainly in New York and Manhattan and the focus is mostly on those 30-year olds who were single and in multiple relationships in their main mission to search for The One; whom they would settle for marriage and happy-ever-after.

I love this book for the different insights in the relationships of the rich and famous; and the distinction in the perspectives from both men and women about sex and relationships.

I would have preferred if there were more stories; or perhaps a sequel! =)

If I were the author, I would include more stories from the other side of those ‘conquests’; namely the models and actresses or young men whom the rich 30-40 year olds target upon.

My Conclusion/Verdict
Not too bad if you are into the movie/drama of the same title; I usually like to read the book first and I think I liked how the stories are compiled into short files with different insights from the person and the journalist herself.

This is a 7 out of 10

Me and Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter

Synopsis
After a string of disastrous dates, Emily Albright decides she's had it with modern-day love and would much rather curl up with Pride and Prejudice and spend her time with Mr. Darcy, the dashing, honorable, and passionate hero of Jane Austen's classic. So when her best friend suggests a wild week of margaritas and men in Mexico with the girls, Emily abruptly flees to England on a guided tour of Jane Austen country instead. Far from inspiring romance, the company aboard the bus consists of a gaggle of little old ladies and one single man, Spike Hargreaves, a foul-tempered journalist writing an article on why the fictional Mr. Darcy has earned the title of Man Most Women Would Love to Date.

The last thing Emily expects to find on her excursion is a broodingly handsome man striding across a field, his damp shirt clinging to his chest. But that's exactly what happens when she comes face-to-face with none other than Mr. Darcy himself. Suddenly, every woman's fantasy becomes one woman's reality. . .

What is it all about
Another light-hearted story about a girl in search for a perfect love story; and was trying to fend off the friendly offers from her best friend cum bookstore colleague who was truly concerned about her. In a bid to get away from the invitation to go for a wild vacation with her friend in Mexico, she signed up for a literature tour in a haste to visit her favorite author; Jane Austen’s home in a tour in the England countryside.
She found herself in the company of a bunch of senior folks; mostly women who were fans and secretly dream of the charming and much-loved character of Mr Darcy in Jane Austen’s book and she started wondering whether she made the right decision to ditch her young peers for a tour full of older people.
There was only another young person her age (or at least younger than the rest) but he made quite an impression and the duo got off on the wrong foot from the beginning.
Just when Emily was beginning to lose hope and enthusiasm in the tour, she found herself bumping into who else, but the legendary Mr Darcy himself. Thrilled and realizing that she was seeing him for real, she started hanging out with him secretly and it was like living a fantasy in the reality. Only thing is, she started to see more of Mr Darcy than just what appears in the book and also understands about love and hatred in life. This trip definitely turned out to be more educational and inspiring than what she had signed up for.

I love this book for the funny moments and enjoyable literary tour of Jane Austen (she’s also one of my favorite authors!). The part where Mr Darcy just appeared during the tour was truly enchanting and unforgettable and it was really hard to realize that you have come face-to-face with the fictional character himself. I think the author really made that part really good where Emily slowly realized that this Mr Darcy was for real. Also, I really loved the main protagonist; Emily Albright, who sounded a little like me in real life (I mean not that I had trouble with dates or social life, etc) where she really loved books! I laughed at the part where she started packing her books and trying to stuff her books into her bag and only left the clothes last. I remembered I used to do that when I was a kid; and Dad would always have to make me leave at least half of my books behind. That was such a great kick to my own memories =)

I would have preferred if nothing was changed from the book; I think I liked it the way it was and the flow was just right for the story.

If I were the author, I would change nothing, as mentioned, I liked everything in the book already =)

My Conclusion/Verdict
Great read; and inspiring, and it is true that what you see or believed in may not be necessarily as good as you get it. An inspiring read to teach us to cherish what we have and not fantasize about things we cannot have.

I give it a 8 out of 10

Who’s That Girl by Alexandra Potter

Synopsis

If only you knew then what you know now...

Imagine if you could go back ten years and meet your younger self -- would you recognise her?
And what advice would you give?

Wear sunscreen!

Back away from those PVC trousers?

DON'T give that idiot your phone number?

Lemon juice won't bleach your hair -- it just attracts wasps...

He's the one - don't let him go!

For Charlotte Merryweather, there's no need to imagine. She's about to find out for real. With surprising consequences... Alexandra Potter's deliciously funny and enchanting romantic comedy looks at life, love and what might happen if you could turn back time.
What is it all about?
The synopsis seems to have spelt it all out; and that was all in a nutshell to this book as we follow the bone-tickling antics of our protagonist as she meets her younger 20-year old self; an incident she initially thought was an object of her hallucination/stress or a result of a possible brain tumor.
When she realized that she was given a second chance to meet her younger self (who doesn’t seem to recognize her older self) for real, she tried to hand out advices to the younger one and found herself dealing with dilemmas and issues of her own at her age and realized that everything in the past moulded her into someone she is at the moment.

My Opinion
This book got me by the interesting and catchy prelude written at the back of the book and I knew I just had to get my hands on it and read it.

I love this book for the quirky and witty lines running through the mouths of the characters; mainly of the main protagonist; Charlotte Merryweather who was just a living example of a woman in the 21st century with a great sense of humor. I loved the wonderful and the wicked sense of humor in all her thoughts and words.
I think I found it ticklish to the bone and I remembered laughing so hard that it hurts when I was reading this on my bed and I just could not stop laughing. I don’t think it helped for my insomnia and God forbid that my housemate thought that I was out of my mind. Truly, those lines were just so entertaining that you no longer need the tv series or tv to impress you =)

I would have preferred if there were more scenes of the 20-year old Charlotte Merryweather and her antics; with the current 32-year old intercepting into her life without much avail.

If I were the author, I would just insert more parts about Charlotte Merryweather’s 20-year old self and the funny mistakes that could make the 32-year old gag and try to change.

My Conclusion/Verdict:
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book and this book made me start on a mission to track every single book by the same author and she has officially became my favorite author as well!

I give this book a 8 out of 10! =)
(Officially a book which has landed on my ‘Favorite books’ shelf)

Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

This is one book which, after the wickedly funny Devil Wears Prada by the same author, tells you about fashion and the mad mad world of PR (event planners)

From the start, the protagonist clicks with us normal people, who, just leads that boring life of a routine and clockwork job as a banker stuck at her desk from nine to five each day.
She had no boyfriend, no social life and pretty much, NO life, as her Uncle Will says.

It all changed when she finally mustered up her courage to say the big NO and quit her job at the bank and she took up the offer to join a PR company under the recommendation of her famous Uncle Will, whereby the owner of the PR company was his student.
Thus began Bette Robinson's life (our protagonist) as she struggles to fit into this ever-tumultous and challenging world full of glamour, fame and materialism, not to mention a wicked humor once in a while.

She had a rather unpleasant encounter with the bouncer at one of the most happening clubs in town; Bungalow 8, and that same night landed her in one of the hottest and juiciest columns as the latest girlfriend to British playboy, Philip Weston who had a rather noble royalty background and an equally notorious relationship fact sheet to make up for.

Her actions were constantly supervised by the anonymous writer, Ellie Insider and her faux relationship with Philip Weston has garnered her unwanted fame and transforming her from Plain Jane to an immediate superstar almost overnight.
This piece of news thrilled her publicity hungry boss, Kelly but shocked her loved ones who suddenly felt that they do not know her anymore.

To make things worse, there was not even such a relationship to begin with, as Bette had NO relationship nor sex with the playboy, who seemed to be only snuggling up to her for publicity sake.

She felt suffocated trying to explain herself and even hurt her best friend, Penelope which left their long term friendship to a test.

Everything seems to look perfect and yet bleak and so wrong at the same time, as Bette struggles to get herself out of this mess.
At the same time, she found herself truly falling for the bouncer, whom she then found out from him that he was her old schoolmate who had a long-time crush on her.

They struggled to keep their relationship alive while Bette tries to maintain her sanity.
In her efforts to maintain the best of both worlds, she had to take a risk which meant putting her own job and future on the rocks as she threatens to expose the truth to the whole world about her co-workers, and the person responsible for jeopardizing her life and career, in her bid to restore her former life.

It was a killer of a decision, that's for sure, and I am not going to spoil everything for those who have yet to read this book.

My verdict is very clear from the start, I absolutely love this book from the first chaper itself and this is one book which is just a stone's throw from Devil Wears Prada and I don't need to figure out why since they came from the same womb; I mean, the same pair of hands who penned them down.

I LOVED the story to every bits and found myself chuckling incessantly to myself at night, and I must say, this is not a book for bedtime as it will just keep you awake and wanting more rather than going to sleep. It is such a page-turner!

I hope to see more of such books from Lauren; and yeah, I agree, Birkins Bag is not just any bag, albeit the tag of twenty grand....it's a LIFESTYLE!

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

A chilling murder story with detailed medical linings to garnish the plate of story cooked up in this book. It will make you think twice of stepping into an OR for any reason.

Women are found brutally murdered all over Boston; and they are all spotted with a similar pattern; whereby they have been drugged, had neat surgical incisions across their abdomens which were done while they were alive/conscious and had a neat slice across their throats.
There is always a neatly folded pair of nightclothes smudged with blood in a chair nearby and all the women have been found to have their uterus removed.
Detective Jane Rizzoli is on the scene; she is the main protagonist in all Tess Gerritsen’s books. Portrayed as the bold and unnerving policewoman who stands tall and proud in the male-dominated field, she will not allow herself to be intimidated by her sneering male colleagues and strives to prove herself in the field and to protect her own turf.

Her gender positioned her in a vulnerable and defensive mode and this was the front she showed to Detective Thomas Moore who was assigned to the same case. However, his cool and calm stature impressed her and soon, she found herself impressed by more than his professionalism at work.
Their investigations on the murders led them to a previous series of killings done by a killer who was dead for two years; Andrew Capra who had conducted his murders in the same manner and also following a certain pattern after he committed his murder.
Their search on Capra’s records led them to the beautiful Dr Catherine Cordell; who was Capra’s last and only surviving victim who was the one who shot him to death.

Dr Cordell was initially uncooperative as she was unwilling to relive her painful past that she had tried so hard to put behind and Detective Moore; who was working hard to solve the case, decided to try harder to persuade her and this led them closer, much to the dismay of Detective Rizzoli who now realized that she thinks more of Moore than just a friend.

However, when things took a worse turn and they realized that the killer is hot on Dr Cordell’s turn, they are led to believe that the killer seemed to be finishing off Capra’s unfinished business from the start and that the other victims were just his starters to brag to Cordell that she remains the main target.
As Detective Moore worries more about Cordell’s safety, he was drawn closer than the supposed line and he was retracted from the case by his superior.

Rizzoli pursued the case further, and they were left with no choice but to conduct a hypnosis on Dr Cordell to relive her past memories through medical works. She revealed a possible 2nd person present at the crime scene which suggested that the current killer could be a partner of Andrew Capra.
The investigation team then turned their attention onto Andrew Capra’s background and found out more about his records and revealed one of his close friends/lab partner during medical school who was expelled due to a disturbing past.

Hot on the trail, Rizzoli almost threw her own life away when she was pursuing the killer and her own vulnerability led her into the trap the killer set for her, while she was trying to rescue Cordell from the killer’s hands.

The killer was finally captured but Rizzoli could not brush the trauma of near-killed experience on herself.
It was truly chilling as you follow the killer’s mind when he committed all the murders and yet, it was intriguing and exciting as the detectives slowly uncover the true identity of the killer.
Of course, it was definitely a great thing when the psychotic killer is arrested and a tie-breaker for all at the end.

Another recommended read from Tess Gerritsen; and one thing is for sure, you will never walk into an OR or a laboratory feeling the same ever again!~

Life Support by Tess Gerritsen

Tess is officially on the list of my top and favorite authors of all time; and she has impressed me from the first book I read of her; Body Double (which reminds me, I don't think I have written a review on it yet)

Life Support is yet again, another medical thriller by her and it is again, a skillful combination of her medical theories along with the interwoven plots of murder and intrigue.
It was a different twist of the usual plot; where this starts with a series of seemingly aged and healthy men dying of weird viral infection in the brain and this aroused the suspicion of ER resident Toby Harper who then tried to investigate the causes leading to their death.

She found a trail which led her heads on with one of the senior and prominent consultant surgeons which could even result in her career termination; however, she was not ready to give up and when she stumbled upon the similarities and the medical histories of all the patients who have passed on, she was in for a more exciting picture in front of her; which relates to a Creuzfedlt-Jakob disease in each of the patient in her investigation.
This led her to a shocking discovery of a medical conspiracy to create a breakthrough in science through a gruesome and inhumane process.

This book can leave you feeling chilled to the bone as you read of the medical process and also the value of fame and recognition to a human being.
I could not believe that there are beasts lying behind the faces of the doctors whom we trusted to put our lives in their hands and yet they were thinking of ways to get famous; at the cost of our health.

It was also sad that people are willing to take risks for the sake of staying young forever and this, is the main notion of the whole story, where the people are willing to pay; at any cost for a promising remedy to help them stay young and defy their age and creating a network of medical monsters who use this as an opportunity to create fame for themselves through their findings in science.

It was an amazing read and certainly an eye-opener; and the author has once again stirred the suspense and excitement, not forgetting the fear in me.
Tess Gerritsen has never failed to impress me; and have I mentioned that she is officially one of my favorite authors?

Judge Dee's Mysteries by Robert Van Gulik

I've gotten hold of a few of the books in this series from a second hand bookshop; and I was pleased with my loot as I really loved mysteries and Chinese Literature and this is a combination of both.

Judge Dee was a famous icon in the period of Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi's rule. In fact, he was one of the Empress's trusted advisor in court.
He was also famous for his wisdom and quick wits in solving crime cases; and this has established his name in the Chinese history.
So famous was he that there were several movies/TV series; and the most recent one being The Greatness of a Hero (check my movie blog)

All the stories below were translated from the Chinese texts by this Dutch author; Robert Van Gulik.
I do find some of the stories focusing too much on nudity (even the illustrations show that in the books)
It seems to be such a norm that women in those days were used to being seen nude by men; which I doubt, in a conservative society like China.

The Chinese Nail Murders

This is one of the most written/filmed story; and it seems that it was extracted from one of the old court cases; whereby there are two separate cases but using the same method of committing the crime. Both the murderers are women and do not know each other.
Even Judge Bao was seen judging this case in his chronology crime-solving series.
I wonder who is the actual mastermind who is responsible for this now?
This story truly depicts, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"

Judge Dee at work

This is a compilation of five mini-stories happening in towns across the country.
Fast-paced and short, it is not too difficult to figure the culprit.

The Lacquer Screen

I find this intriguing; where the murder case was kinda unique and the murderer, well, not totally unexpected although there were a few additional twists.

Necklace and Calabash

This one was rather interesting too; as it involves the royal court and the beloved princess of the King, who lost her precious necklace.

Phantom of the Temple

I would say this is the one that disappoints me (or was it too predictable for me after reading the previous 4 books?)
I must say this is not crime story at its peak.

Overall, I enjoyed Chinese-translated stories like these and especially mysteries! =)