Reading - November 2024

The Martian by Andy Weir (2013)

I found this at work and thought a gap of two years was enough to re-read it. Enjoyable all over again.

What to do With a Bad Boy by Marie Harte (2014)

I remain somewhat sceptical that men or women talk or behave like this is real life, but ultimately this is a fantasy ... I'm just not sure whose fantasy. I could have done with fewer "oh no it's all gone wrong" moments, as we all know there's a happy ending in sight - it says something when I start checking how many pages are left in order to know how quickly it's going to resolve itself. That said, it was still mostly enjoyable and seems to be written with affection for the characters and the genre.

A Sure Thing by Marie Harte (2016)

I really am reading other books, but they're all a lot longer - and physically heavier - than this lightweight thing. This is the kind of thing I save for before I fall asleep: easy-reading, straight-forward and, you know, nice. Except I probably won't bother with Marie Harte again. I'm sure the "New York Times bestselling author" (it says here) knows her market, and I'm sure domineering alpha males are a common fantasy but this one is basically a bit of arse and to my mind it's no use having a self-confident, heroine if she basically becomes a doormat when the hero smoulders at her. Add in a couple of uncomfortably borderline non-consensual sex scenes and an ending that feels like it occurred when the author hit her word count, and it added up to a book I wasn't sorry to reach the end of.