The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

I didn't like this book as much as I liked the others in the Thursday Next series. It seemed to be too quirky and too many puns. It also seemed to have too much about the "book world" and not enough action. I did like the tie-in to his new Jack Spratt series and how the change in spellings from British to American came about because there were not enough u's. It was a cute book, but I'm hoping the next one is better.

Restoration by Rose Tremain

Restoration is set in the 17th century during the reign of Charles II, but that is where the history ends. I expected this book to be about Charles II or to reflect more of the history. I was disappointed. The main character, Robert Merivel, is not a likable protagonist. I found him to be quite irritating. He is a womanizer and is self-centered. The king takes him into his court as the physician. During his stay, the dog Minette becomes ill. Instead of curing the dog, he decides to have sex. Then the king has him wed his mistress Celia. His one instruction is to not fall in love with her, so what does he do? You guessed it. After Merivel is kicked out of court, he goes to stay with his Quaker friend John Pearce. While he is there, he takes care of some mentally ill patients. Just when you think that he is turning around, he can't control himself and sleeps with Katherine, a mental patient, and gets her pregnant. After John dies, he and Katherine leave to go live with her mother. In the end, Merivel does change his ways, but not until the very end.

From Potters Field by Patricia Cornwell

another Kay Scarpetta mystery. I liked this one better than the last aCornwell book I just read. Not much to say about it; a fast-paced murder mystery. Some good fluff in between books.

Vanity Fairby William Makepeace Thackery

I started Vanity Fair once before and couldn't really get into it. However, the second time around was a lot different. I really enjoyed it. Of course there were some spots were it got really dry, but for the most part it was interesting. There was always some kind of twist and turn. The book was about Becky Sharpe's rise to fortune and then her fall and then rise again. It showed how some people can be so cruel and conniving. Amelia was born into wealth and all she wanted was to get married to George Osborne. Her family loses everything and the Osbornes's cast her aside. They won't have anything to do with her until the end of the book. George marries her anyway, but they dies leaving her with a young son. While this is going on, Becky is living it up and not spending any money. However, her husband leaves her and she becomes destitutes until the end when Amelia's brother leaves her money. The story ends will because Amelia marries Captain Dobbin who has loved her from the beginning and has lots of money.

Next by Michael Crichton

audiobook

Next is typical Michael Crichton. It explores the world of biotechnology and what happens when you start to mess with nature. It was better than the last book of his I read, but still not great. It seemed a little too far fetched, particularly the transgenic monkey that was passed off as a boy, but didn't quite work. I did like the transgenic parrot that did math. That was pretty cool.

High Five by Janet Evonavich

audio book

As always I enjoy the adventures of Stephanie Plum. I just can't understand why she changed readers. I really don't like Debi Mazur. Plus, her readings are always abridged. High Five was normal Stephanie Plum, getting in to trouble, romance with Morelli. Now, there's a new twist, Ranger. I will be interested in the next book to see who she picked.

All That Remains by Patricia Cornwall

This was a nice fluff book that I read in between two doorstops. It was fast paced and an easy read. It starred Dr. Kay Scarpetta and was about a killer that killed only couples.
It touches a little on her romance with Mark, and on again, off again relationship, and her friend Abby who is writing a book about the story and may be betraying her trust. I have another Cornwall book waiting for me after I finish Vanity Fair.

The God of Small Things by by Adunhrati Roy

audio book

At first I did not like this book, but by the end. it began to grow on me. It is about to Indian twins Rahel and Esta and the death of their English cousin Sophie Mol. However, the story didn't get to that part until over halfway through. It seemed to be a bunch of side stories about each character, but tied together int he end. It was an interesting book that gave a lot of information about the Indian caste system and how it worked. I did not like how the story jumped around from flashbacks to flashforwards.

The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye

I read The Far Pavilions for my historical fictions book group. I would rate it about 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, but found it kind of slow moving. It takes place in India in the 19th century. The book consists of three stories. The first part introduces Ashton Pelham-Martyn an English boy whose parents die and is raised by Sita, their Indian maid as Ashok, and Indian child. Ash and Sita live in Gulkote with the prince Lalji. Ash is his servant, his reward for saving his life. Here he meets Lali's half-sister Anjuli. I found this section of the book very interesting. It contained a lot of Indian culture of how people were treated with respect to royalty, the role of women, and how the royal family worked. One custom that was introduced was suttee, which although outlawed was still practiced in many small towns. Suttee is where a widow throws herself on her husnands pyre and burns herself along with him.

The next part of the book is where Ashok escapes from Gulkote and returns to England and joins the English military, The Guides. Here he meets and falls in love with Belinda. This is where the story slows down again.

Fast forward a few years and Ash is sent on a mission to escort a wedding party to Bhithor where a two women are to marry the Raj. He finds out that one is his beloved Anjuli and the other his her sister Shushila. Shushila is the head bride, Anjuli is just along for the ride. Here Ash and Juli confess their love for each other and he asks her to run away with him, but she says that she must stay with her sister. So, he goies back to his army work. Later, he finds out that the Raj is on his death bed and both sisters are expected to take part in suttee. So, Ash goes to rescue Juli. Needless to say, he is successful and they marry, which was a big deal because of him being English and her Indian, which complicates the Indian caste system.

Here is where I thought the book should end, but it continues on into the Ash's role in the Anglo-Afghan war. There is little mention of Juli and their relationship. In fact,at one point he says he was gong to do what he wanted regardless of her. Why bother going through all the trouble of rescuing her. I don't know if it was because I wanted to be through with the book, but I did not like this part. I have attached a link to the war which gives information about this part of the book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Game