Celebrate Smart Bitches Day with...

Salomé
and
jmc
and me.

I read Montana Sky, by Nora Roberts. I accidentally ordered it. I can't remember what I'd intended to order, but it wasn't this. Oh well. I read it anyway.

I didn't dislike it. It was ... just... I dunno. I don't understand why people want to read books like these, which I think this book is pretty representative of plain ole Popular Fiction and it's why the woman is on every bookstand in every airport, grocery store newspaper kiosk, and hotel nightstand. (Okay maybe not the nightstand, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.) Aside from this one being frequently noted by her fans as a favorite, it clearly has a very broad appeal and is largely enjoyed by the average reader. Therefore I find it safe to conclude that this is what many many many many readers love to read.

And it's not like I haven't read many books that taste like this one before - the same-tasting prose, the characters, the plots and sub-plots, the feel of it. It's not that it's bland, it's just... uhhh... I dunno. Brain good not so werk, sorry.

What it is, is that it's got the same feel as some movie you watch on late night TV because oh yeah hey I remember Julia Roberts is in this one and I'm really bored and don't feel like getting up from the couch, so okay at least the moutains are pretty. Like that, see. It's like a relatively forgettable movie in book form. It's entertaining, and it's not crap - it's just... um? Filler, maybe that's the word. It's like eating the bologna sammich you brought to work with you for lunch. Ya know - instead of going over to the Thai place and getting the panang curry noodles and a beer. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just... so... basic.

And I'd also like to know why we have to see things from the (unrevealed until the end) killer's POV all throughout the book? Granted, I'm not a fan of mystery and suspense and all, so it's quite probable that this is just a convention of the genre. But man did it ever make me roll my eyes. Way to kill the mystery. Yeesh.

Furthermore, the romance line between Interchangeable Hot Cowboy and Hollywood chick? I was ever so annoyed at how it ended. Look, the only substance to their relationship is really great sex, and they laugh a lot, and they... have a lot of really hot sex. That's pretty much it. I really didn't buy the whole "We are in love and will not be Together Forever and she gives up Rodeo Drive at the drop of a cowboy hat" thing at the end. Puh-leez.

However, I give full props and great thanks for the fantasticness of Louella, a little-seen character who totally stole the show. She's a hoot and a holler and a stitch, that woman. Made me giggle a lot, which is not so easy to do in the written form. Oh, also where the sisters were target-shooting - that was amusing too.

So there you are - my first Nora Roberts was pretty much what I expected it to be. Not bad, but not anything all that special. The end.

PS: My cat looks very much like this cat. Except I doubt she'd ever get all cuddly with any other animal like that.

PPS: This was the recipe I used to make the pumpkin cupcakes. It actually makes more like 24, not 18, and they're really damn tasty.