readclever's reviews
337 reviews

I wanted to like this book, but once again the 'tell, don't show' problem kept coming up. It felt less interesting to follow when the plotline itself was a good set up. Hollywood scandal, murder, illegal drugs and a pretty good climatic action scene should be an easy sell. I think part of the problem is McKevett's become used to the characters and assumes everyone else has to. But we haven't. We don't know the information written on sheets of papers, the bios. All the readers hear about are the same characteristics.

The scandal surrounding Jason's fidelity was very manufactured. To easy to guess as the series went on. As was the killer, which I'd suspected off and on again for about 150 pages. Execution felt too flat for the idea of the book. Steroids are a serious problem, Tammy's right about that, but it was almost a throwaway red herring. Not nearly enough to really validate the constant leads. Once again, Dr. Liu and Eileen merely serve as plot devices when both women could have easily demonstrated a little more in their fields.

Added to that, Dirk meeting his birth parents seemed rather shoehorned. These aren't the Reids with a billion books to back them up. The most important information was thrown in during the last 5 or 6 pages when the reader already finds Dora annoying if confident. Van and Dora could have learned more about each other, talking while shopping, showing why the older woman is the way she is. Instead it was left up to Richard, Dirk's father, to explain Dora's problems. For a book with strong women, sometimes it feels like the writer only wants to use them sparingly.

Too bad since I was actually looking forward to this book's plot.

This magic journey leads the reader somewhere between 10th Kingdom, Castle, and possibly James Bond meets a 1920s Austin Powers psychedelic trip. Clare's still worried about Mike's idea to move to DC while he's stuck there, Esther's got a heartache of her own, and a few fairy tale characters end up in hot water. Slightly less formulaic and a little more acid trip, Clare's investigation ends up at the hands of Mike's ex-wife, an underground playground most people will never see, and a few more entrapments of Madame's managerial days.

Growing up, girls are told to wish hard and a handsome prince will come. But will he really? How do you find out who to trust and how do you find a way inside that special circle? While there's a little bit of death and a lot of unhappiness, the most enjoyable experience was reading Clare's inner turmoil. Instead of being locked in her head, there's a parallel story or two that frames the position from multiple viewpoints.

Seeing Leila again was bittersweet since for once she did something right for the kids, but it probably won't last long. I do wish Coyle would frame her out besides being the harpy ex-wife. Give her some vulnerability every once in awhile. But she's a good foil to the Blended crew. Uptown versus offbeat. Anya and Red found a lot more construction in their need for a fairytale while Leila stayed rather stale.

Honestly, this is one of my favorites from the series. It's fun, there's a lot of unexpected twists and a few red herrings that actually work. The best part is how the Blend family sticks close and finds out answers. I wasn't happy to see Mr. DNA and I'm kind of tired of the Matt and Franco beef at this point since it's usually Matt's fault anyway. But those are minor quabbles.

I wanted to like this book. I'm a southern woman in the media field. The idea of a woman making it big in the city, making her own way, is very appealing. Except that's nothing what this book is about. It's all about Belle Lee's relationship with her grandfather, who pays for her rent, and keeps referencing some South that hasn't existed since 1843. Looking at Parkhurst's life, this book feels like a thinly-veiled attempt at a humblebrag. Read to page 39 and then quickly put the book the down. Couldn't finish.