The Summer Part One: 33-35

33: The Masque of the Black Tulip
Pages: 453
Finished: May 26

Entertaining but not quite as amusing as The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. I think that maybe I just didn't like the two main characters as much, or appreciate their interactions. I did like the little pieces of character development, like Miles' love of ginger biscuits, but past that, I really just wanted to finish this one and move on to the next.

34: The Deception of the Emerald Ring
Pages:
Finished: May 27

Much better than Black Tulip, I really enjoyed this one immensely. Her parents, the mistaken identity, the general feel of the book, all lead to a more enjoyable read.

35: The Seduction of the Crimson Rose
Pages: 385
Finished: June 11

So, this is the first of the Pink Carnation books that I talked about to someone who wasn’t reading them, and I realized that these are not books you can talk about without sounding like an idiot. For example, the conversation went

“Caitlin, what are you reading?”
“Well, it’s a book about spies in England.”
“You mean James Bond?”
“Well, not exactly…”
“…?” (The raised eyebrow is very difficult to put into dialogue)
“Well, see, Lord Vaughn might or might not be a spy, and Mary Alsworthy is supposed to help him, but right now she’s been kidnapped, and Lord Vaughn has to rescue her without drawing additional suspicion.”
“Uh…what?”

Aside from the awkwardness of discussing this book with others, I really liked this one a lot because I have always enjoyed the dark brooding characters with a dark past and secrets. I mean, Severus Snape is my hero, so Lord Vaughn is right up my alley. I knew there had to be more to him than just being a jerk.

Good Reading,
Caitlin