100. The Blonde Samurai by Jina Bacarr...

Title: The Blonde Samurai
Author: Jina Bacarr
ISBN-13: 9780373605408
e-ARC: 347 pages
Publisher: Spice, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository

FTC Disclosure: My copy of The Blonde Samurai was provided by the publisher for this review. I am an affiliate at IndieBound, The Book Depository, and Amazon, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

drey's thoughts:
I picked The Blonde Samurai to review based on the cover--what lovely colors it has! Alas, that was the best part of the book, for me. The story is one of a woman's journey to Japan, where she meets up with the man--the samurai from the title--who will be her lover. I pick up books set in Asia to read more about the culture and its nuances on everything that we take for granted here in the west, and what I did manage to get through, didn't explore any of that at all.

The Blonde Samurai is told from the point of view of the main character, Katie O'Roarke, who becomes Lady Carlton before running away from her husband. Lady Carlton has written her memoir, and in the book addresses the reader as if she was actually having a conversation with them. She details her meeting with Lord Carlton, the inevitable marriage, and her discovery of his sexual proclivities. In 52 pages (all that I managed to read), only the prologue mentions the samurai, Shintaro.

There is a lot mentioned about sex in these 52 pages, which I guess I wouldn't have objected to except that it was all there to provide a background to the affair. I also found the conversational tone annoying, because it felt stilted (which I suppose is a byproduct of reading a "memoir" set in 19th century England).

I only made it through about 1/6 of the book, and I'm not planning to finish it. If you've read this, and liked it, please let me know via email or in the comments.

drey's rating: Meh (did not finish)

Challenges: 100+, Pub

3. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger...

FTC Disclosure: My copy of Her Fearful Symmetry was on loan from my local library. I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

About the book:

When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt; they only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers -- with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another.

The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling obsessive-compulsive disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive former lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including -- perhaps -- their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.

drey's thoughts:
I hate to say this. I really, really do. But, I couldn't get into the story, and I didn't finish the book. For me, this was a disappointing follow-up to The Time Traveler's Wife, which I loved.

The twins are interesting, and the inhabitants of Highgate too. But the story lost me when Elspeth and Valentina conspire to have Elspeth inhabit Valentina's body. Like, *shudder* ugh. I can understand why Elspeth would want to--she's a ghost haunting her own apartment, watching the twins living, and watching Robert. But why on earth does Valentina? And when the story of Elspeth and her twin, Edie, comes to light, I'm even more baffled as to why on earth Elspeth would do such a thing. And that's where I put the book down.

I did think that Martin and Marijke are wonderful characters--and how they still loved each other, even when apart.

Did you read this? What did you think?

drey's rating: Meh (did not finish)

Title: Her Fearful Symmetry
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
ISBN-13: 9781439165393
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2009
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library