Darling Strumpet Book Review

The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
From the slums Nell Gwynn gets hers start at a brothel after leaving mam’s at a young age, then proceeds to become an orange seller, then an actress of the theatre before winning the heart of King Charles II.
Nell is a strong willed, pretty independent considering the time. She makes out on her own and tries to secure her future and when her love for theater becomes love for the King, she does what she will to stay in his keep. There was rivalry among his mistresses, assassination attempts, a villain in the shadows and grumbling parliament.
Some of my favorite scenes were the gossip that went on backstage at the theatre and Nell’s camaraderie with her fellow actors. There was love and tragedy and family allegiance.
I am a sucker for historical fiction and this was really good. I don’t know much of royalty or European history, so having books like this gets me interested While I do think in the beginning it had meandering moments never did I want to skip a word.


View all my reviews

Happy 30th Birthday to Me

Minnie Mouse cake I made. Pretty good for an amateur. I used made marshmallow fondant which is very good and easy.

I read this book:
Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was like an 80's movie. Which is a good thing or maybe it's a bad thing. I expected something a bit more contemporary and I just found this story to be mundane and unimaginative. Like a previous reviewer said, I was reminded of Beastly. I picked this solely based on the title because my birthday was approaching. Never had I expected to be reading a supernatural tale with a life lesson. It surprised me and with it feeling like it would have made a great 80's movies I enjoyed it, but it wasn't well developed.

View all my reviews
 I went to the movies and saw:

I don't even need to elaborate on how funny this was. In my opinion Pegg and Frost can do no wrong. And Paddy Considine "hubba hubba". 8 out of 10.

Got my free goody from Sephora and then went to Ulta to get my brows waxed.
Apparently the Benefit Brow Bar at all Ulta's is no longer giving away free birthday waxings. That sucks and I wish the phone number for the brow bar was posted on the website so I could have called and checked, which I was gonna do. That pissed on my mood because for the last few weeks I have let my brows grow wild in anticipation of a waxing and at the same time I had a toothache, plus this mom and her 2 daughters at the brow bar just rubbed me the wrong way.
Closed the evening with a dinner out at Truxtons with a hearty chicken burrito and key lime cheesecake.

Birthday boots will have to wait till next year.

Rumors By Stephanie Abrams Book Review

Rumors by Stephanie Abrams
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Are the rumors true or do they just cause more trouble than there worth? On Long Island NY, Jewish congregants gather weekly for temple and the “T”. A group of privileged individuals who are committed more to weekly juicing than the Shabbat. So the rumor mill swirls and people get hurt feelings. The book started off so great with this shady company and a man that deals in dead bodies. I thought I was being set up for a crime thriller, but that all wanes away. What we get left with is a philandering wife, an old bitty Jewish committee, the oppressed black family, the dimwit newlyweds, and a still mysterious company. Now there are other things also, but none of them really interesting and not worth mentioning. Everything in this was very vanilla and filled with milk. There was so many bland descriptions used to plump up the book and none of it was relevant.
As a reader I wanted more Frank and Maisy, Dugan, Sylvie, and that Herb guy. That is your foundation and what kept me going. Melanie, just throw her away. Sweet, do-gooder Melanie who just gets swept up into the “drama”. Who cares? This wasn’t awful and for someone who likes a soft read (not me), this will be your Gone Girl. This book was soft. So supple and plain, it was downright boring. The books needs sex, violence, deceit, scandal (real scandal), crime and a hero.

View all my reviews

2013 A-Z Author Challenge

A - Stephanie Abrams - Rumors
B - Gillian Bagwell - The Darling Strumpet
C - Diane Christner - Something New
D - Sarah Dessen - Just Listen
E - Stephanie Evanovich - Big Girl Panties
F - Christopher Fisher - A History of Stone and Steel
G - Joshua Guerrero - Elemental and the Bête Noire
H - Diana Hammond - Friday's Harbor
I - Larissa Ione - Pleasure Unbound
J - Kaylene Johnson - Canyons and Ice
K - Rachel Kushner - The Flamethrowers
L - Emily Liebert - You Knew Me When
M - Susan Elia MacNeal - His Majesty's Hope
N - Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
O - Regina O'Melveney - The Book of Madness and Cures
P - Nancy K. Peardon - Marlon Brando: A Memoir
Q - Matthew Quick - Forgive me Leonard Peacock
R - Cheryl Richards - Deadly Dosage
S - Rayme Scarioni - Dinner for God
T - Joseph A. Turkot - Darkin: A Journey East
U - John Updike - Rabbit, Run
V - Sally Vickers - The Cleaner of Chartres
W - Annalee Wendeberg - The Devils Grin
X - Dalai Lama XIV - The Art of Happiness
Y - Jane Yolen - Briar Rose
Z - Mark Zusak - The Book Thief