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Frankie Reads 2011


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I will now up-date my "book reviews".

 

Emma Donoghue:

Room

 

I don't want to write a review about this one because my words would fail me, it is way too superb. So instead, I'll just say that it's sad, it's beautiful, in style and story. I loved it and will keep re-reading it. Thanks to everyone on the BCF who's read it and written a review on it, I wouldn't have stumbled on this gem without you guys! :hug:

 

I also want to quote the three reviews on the back cover of the novel, because they say it much better than I ever could:

 

"Room is one of the most profoundly affecting books I've read in a long time. Jack moved me greatly. His voice, his story, his innocence, his love for Ma combine to create something very unusual and, I think, something very important" John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

 

"I loved Room. Such incredible imagination, and dazzling use of language. And with all this, an entirely credible, endearing little boy. It's unlike anything I've ever read before" Anita Shreve, author of A Change in Altitude and Testimony

 

"Room is that rarest of entities, an entirely original work of art. I mean it as the highest possible praise when I tell you that I can't compare it to any other book. Suffice to say that it's potent, darkly beautiful, and revelatory" Michael Cunningham , author of The Hours and Specimen Days (and A Home at the End of the World, which will be discussed in the reading circle in April)

 

I am glad I did download this. Reading a sample, I thought it would make me sad, and I did not download it, but have now read so may great reviews from bcf readers, who share my likes and dislikes, that I had to get it. Will be reading it after Home at the End of the World, which is also turning out to be a great read.

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...the majority of the panel didn't like it or at least the general concensus was that the child talked in a way that was far too advanced for his five years and was unconvincing. Jeanette Winterson was on there .. and I respect her opinion (though not as much as yours) but I think she was another who was anti .. in any case I know she was bewailing the fact that David Mitchell hadn't made the shortlist.

 

Well Winterson can kiss my ass, I tried reading her Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit once for the 1001 Books list and it was boring and I gave up on it. So in my opinion she can put a cork on it til she writes something interesting herself. :giggle:

 

I've heard that opinion about Jack being too well-spoken for his age and I now have to quote something I was PM'ing to Weave about:

 

Someone who'd read Room said that he didn't think the characters were credible, he said that Jack was too wise for his age or something like that. I just want to say that I disagree, Jack was very believable. His Mum was a college student and had done such a good job raising Jack in the oddest of circumstances that she must be a very intelligent person herself, and if she spend 5 years in the same room with only Jack as her company, she has all the time in the world to teach him stuff, and he has all the time in the world to make questions and learn.

 

They are all a bit po-faced and serious on there though and I think they forget that, on the whole, the general reading public just want to read a great story well told .. and don't necessarily want to wade through pages of complex twaddle that will make their heads hurt just because it's deemed innovative and ground breaking (I'm still thinking about Nick Hornby's tussle with Iain M. Banks's 'Excession' ... made me laugh so much thinking of his face when he read the opening chapter title .... 'CGU Grey Area signal sequence file #n428857/119' )

 

Well I suppose they're academics and therefor need to act accordingly. Someone should do another kind of book show, for the 'common people' who aren't so hoity toity. I love it that Hornby showed in his book that he's just like the rest of us, who can enjoy a good book and and analyse it without going over the top.

 

The 'Culture Show' did their own little 'Booker Prize 2010' by taking copies of all six books to a little town in Scotland called Comrie, asking the residents to read them all and then vote .. they chose 'Room' as their favourite .. but of course the real award went to 'The Finkler Question' .. but then I've heard it said by many a Booker judge that it's often the book that is everybody's second or third choice that wins.

 

Why do they bother giving copies for people to read if they won't go with their votes? :irked:

 

 

I thought I was safe from temptation as long as I didn't stray into 'food and cooking' .. now, even though I was innocently looking up book reviews, I've got the munchies snack.gif

Is a cookie attack, nowhere safe! :giggle2:

 

Popped in hoping to see your review of Le Bal ... no pressure or anything wink.gif , but can't wait to see what you thought of it.

 

Hehe! Well, it was a rather short read so I didn't get to go very deep in it, and therefore I don't have an awful lot to say about it, but I did enjoy it. And rubbish, I just came home from the library, and while I was there I was thinking to myself 'there was some author I wanted to look for, I've read a book by them and want to read more by that same author but who the heck was it?'. It didn't come to my mind until I came home and read your post :lol: Némirovsky, I've got to remember that next time.

 

I am glad I did download this. Reading a sample, I thought it would make me sad, and I did not download it, but have now read so may great reviews from bcf readers, who share my likes and dislikes, that I had to get it. Will be reading it after Home at the End of the World, which is also turning out to be a great read.

 

It will be a difficult read and even scary at times, but I swear it pays off. Don't want to say more so as not to spoil anything :)

 

Oooh, you've already started reading A Home at the End of the World?! How far are you, I'm really happy to see that you seem to be enjoying it so far! :smile2:

Edit. I just came home from the library and I found Josephine Kamm's The Story of Mrs. Pankhurst for free. I remember seeing this title on the forum today, someone had reviewed it and someone else was thinking they'd like to read it, so I grabbed it for myself. It seems like an interesting read, I might give it a go, and then if someone who reads this recognises themself as the person who wanted the book will come forward, I can pass the book along.

Edited by frankie
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Irène Némirovsky:

Le Bal (The Ball)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"The Ball, about a 14-year-old girl observing her parents' preparations for a huge party, is melodramatic and negligible." - Allen Barra, Salon

 

"Le Bal captures an insidiously unhealthy relationship between a socially ambitious mother and her 14-year-old daughter." - Emma Hagestadt, The Independent

 

Melodramatic? Perhaps. When I started reading Le Bal I have to admit that I initially thought that the events were taking place in the 19th century, at the latest. In that case the emotions in the story would be a lot more understandable, knowing what it's been like for women and girls. Therefore I was very much surprised at the mention of cars and I had to re-locate myself in time. In that sense, I understand Barra's choice of words.

 

Negligible? So and so. If you are that kind of a reader who expects all novels to be life-changing, you can give this one a pass. If you however enjoy shorter reads, governesses, a ball, and an absurd mother with a restrained and neglected daughter, give it a go. I found it highly enjoyable and will definitely look out for Némirovsky's other stories. The selfishness of the mother is insufferable and yet highly amusing, and the daughter's private outbursts are on one hand understandable and at the same time I could not help but think 'a normal teenager with a lot of hormones'. :rolleyes:

 

I'd give it a 4/5. Enjoyable!

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Le Bal sounds quite different to the two books of Némirovsky I've read, frankie, both of which we much more serious in tone. I'm even more curious about reading this one now, as I'll be interested to see how she writes a more light hearted story.

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Le Bal sounds quite different to the two books of Némirovsky I've read, frankie, both of which we much more serious in tone. I'm even more curious about reading this one now, as I'll be interested to see how she writes a more light hearted story.

 

I'm not sure if it was supposed to be lightly written, but I couldn't help but take it so. I found the characters to be quite absurd, although I'm sure they could exist in real life. I'd like to hear more about the books you've read by her :)

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Oooh, you've already started reading A Home at the End of the World?! How far are you, I'm really happy to see that you seem to be enjoying it so far! :smile2:

 

I am 53% through and I am really enjoying it so far :) It's a great book and I'm sure we will have an exciting discussion come April

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Thanks for the review of Room Frankie, I'd been debating over it. You've pushed me over to the affirmative side. :)

 

I've read several of Nemirovsky's books, first of all Suite Francaise, then David Golder, but Fire in the Blood was my favorite. I found her David Golder to be most bitter and unnecessarily mean. It's possible though, that I read too much into it. You'll have to judge that for yourself. All in all I have liked her books, but I really don't find anything "special" about them. I will look into The Ball now though.

Edited by pontalba
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Oh I'm with you on the fact that there's just no limit to how evil people can be. I guess I just always want to know "why? and what made this person be so bad and do all these things?" eventhough I know that there aren't always clear cut explanations.

 

Interesting theory, I've never heard of it before. If you later remember where you read it, feel free to come back and enlighten me more :) I've read loads of books about serial killers, rapists, child molesters etc. but I don't think I've ever read any general theory on it. I know there are a couple of people here on the forum who've studied criminal psychology etc, I think missy_bct (sp?) was one of them, and I have an idea who the other one was but I'll have to check first.

 

Edit: anisia aka Mona has read Understanding Criminal Behaviour and she's written about it in her reading blog, you could ask her. I took a further look at the thread and Ben's been doing some reading on the subject as well.

 

Do you have any recommendations on serial killer books? Most of the reading that I've done has been online, but I prefer actual books. The problem that I've found with just randomly picking up books at the library is that a lot of the time, even if they're in the "true crime" section, they're not that well researched/feel like a fiction story.

 

Also, that Cult Fiction list... wow :D

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I am 53% through and I am really enjoying it so far :) It's a great book and I'm sure we will have an exciting discussion come April

 

I'm really happy to hear that, also a bit relieved! :)

 

Thanks for the review of Room Frankie, I'd been debating over it. You've pushed me over to the affirmative side. :)

 

I've read several of Nemirovsky's books, first of all Suite Francaise, then David Golder, but Fire in the Blood was my favorite. I found her David Golder to be most bitter and unnecessarily mean. It's possible though, that I read too much into it. You'll have to judge that for yourself. All in all I have liked her books, but I really don't find anything "special" about them. I will look into The Ball now though.

 

Yay for having pushed someone over to the 'good side' :giggle2:

 

I'll definitely want to read more by Némirovsky. What I find interesting is that according to wikipedia, her portrayal of Jews was negative and she made some anti-semitic remarks in her writing, eventhough she was Jewish herself. This might have been out of the desire to hide her and her family's Judaism, but still I think it's very unexpected.

 

Do you have any recommendations on serial killer books? Most of the reading that I've done has been online, but I prefer actual books. The problem that I've found with just randomly picking up books at the library is that a lot of the time, even if they're in the "true crime" section, they're not that well researched/feel like a fiction story.

 

Also, that Cult Fiction list... wow :D

 

Vodkafan and I were talking about finding books that dealt with the 'why' aspect of serial killers/rapists etc, and he was after some recommendations, that's why I came to your thread, to try and get some titles. I only know true crime novels, I haven't really read anything non-fictional that covers the issue in a more general, theoretical way.

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:lol: It did make some kind of sense, yes, I'll make sure I read Join Me first. I'm sorely tempted to say yes to your offer, which was by the way very kind of you, but I don't want you to part with your book on my account, and I just checked play.com and I can get the book on a reasonable price, probably cheaper than what the sending would cost you. Thank you very much anyways! Now I'm a bit worried though, if you're wondering whether the humour will translate. I've read British novels and some humour I get, and at the same time I sometimes wonder if there's more to it than I'm getting. I'll just risk it and read it sometime :D

Sorry, Frankie - I've only just seen this.

 

Sorry if I've worried you about not getting the humour - I'm perfectly sure you will get it. :)

 

However, just in case, I think you should ignore what I said about reading Join Me first. Having read the first few pages of Yes Man again, putting myself in the position of someone who hasn't read any other of Wallace's books, it will make total sense. The film is the reason you said you wanted to read Yes Man in the first place, so it's silly for me to send you in the direction of a different book - that defeats things somewhat! :giggle2:

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Sorry if I've worried you about not getting the humour - I'm perfectly sure you will get it. :)

 

However, just in case, I think you should ignore what I said about reading Join Me first. Having read the first few pages of Yes Man again, putting myself in the position of someone who hasn't read any other of Wallace's books, it will make total sense. The film is the reason you said you wanted to read Yes Man in the first place, so it's silly for me to send you in the direction of a different book - that defeats things somewhat! :giggle2:

 

Yeah, but, no but, yeah but... *Vicky Pollard imitation* :D Yes, Yes Man is the book I was initially interested in, but you got me also interested in Join Me, so you weren't in the wrong to suggest I read JM first, because there are people there that will be mentioned in YM or people who'll be referred to and will appear in YM. Well, maybe I'll just go for the one that I I can find first :lol:

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Hehe, I'm glad to hear you received the book and that you like the bookmark. Do you mean you've never come across with a magnetic bookmark? I though it was quite a well known thing in the Uk, me having discovered it at the Heathrow airport :smile2:

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Vodkafan and I were talking about finding books that dealt with the 'why' aspect of serial killers/rapists etc, and he was after some recommendations, that's why I came to your thread, to try and get some titles. I only know true crime novels, I haven't really read anything non-fictional that covers the issue in a more general, theoretical way.

The only book in English I read that was theory based is the one in my thread. I read a couple Romanian books at Uni, but not many as we didn't cover much during our course. There was a book called Juvenile Delinquency or something like this, which was also theory based and I thought it was quite good. It was a short introduction, but I don't remember if it was a Romanian author that had it out, I'll try and find it ;)

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Hehe, I'm glad to hear you received the book and that you like the bookmark. Do you mean you've never come across with a magnetic bookmark? I though it was quite a well known thing in the Uk, me having discovered it at the Heathrow airport :smile2:

 

Nope I've not seen one before, I live in a tiny town, so I guess thats why . . . thats my excuse for being uncultured anyway :P:D

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The only book in English I read that was theory based is the one in my thread. I read a couple Romanian books at Uni, but not many as we didn't cover much during our course. There was a book called Juvenile Delinquency or something like this, which was also theory based and I thought it was quite good. It was a short introduction, but I don't remember if it was a Romanian author that had it out, I'll try and find it ;)

 

Maybe I should go and do a little investigating in the True Crime thread and interrogate people about the subject :giggle2: Thanks anisia, I appreciate it!

 

Nope I've not seen one before, I live in a tiny town, so I guess thats why . . . thats my excuse for being uncultured anyway :P:D

 

Good enough :D I've just come to think, through this forum, that UK is full of awesome bookshops with loads of amazing bookmarks to be purchased in them, our own bookshops seem a little dull now... :rolleyes:

 

On another note: my digibox isn't working anymore, again, so all the amazing movies I was supposed to record this weekend are going to be missed by me. I'm outraged. :irked:

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Maybe I should go and do a little investigating in the True Crime thread and interrogate people about the subject :giggle2: Thanks anisia, I appreciate it!

 

Oh, once you are done interrogating people, please come back and let me know what you have found :lol:

 

I did find the book I was talking about, but unless you all of a sudden know Romanian, it's not very helpful!

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I'm afraid Romanian hasn't become one of my expertise over night :( Thanks anyways, anisia :friends3:

 

I'm currently reading Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain and it seems like I'll have to write down some names of books I want to read, by people mentioned in the book. I'll gather the titles here in this post as a remainder:

 

Bebe Buell: Rebel Heart: An American Rock and Roll Journey

Patti Smith: Just Kids

Jayne County: Man Enough to Be a Woman

Cathay Che: Deborah Harry - Platinum Blonde

Mary Woronov: Swimming Underground - My Years in the Warhol Factory

John Rechy: City of Night (Jayne County reads)

Movies

Burning Down the House (about CBGB)

I Shot Andy Warhol (about Valerie Solanas)

Edited by frankie
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I'm afraid Romanian hasn't become one of my expertise over night :( Thanks anyways, anisia :friends3:

 

I'm currently reading Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain and it seems like I'll have to write down some names of books I want to read, by people mentioned in the book. I'll gather the titles here in this post as a remainder:

 

Bebe Buell: Rebel Heart: An American Rock and Roll Journey

Patti Smith: Just Kids

 

This sounds like an interesting book Frankie :) I've long wanted to read Patti's book but so far it hasn't turned up at the library. It received rave reviews when it was released.

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It's really interesting, and quite disgusting even at times :D The biggest problem I have with the book is that there are so many different names and personally I don't recognise half of them :blush: Still, a good read!

 

I googled the Patti Smith book and she got the National Book Award for it, so it should be good too.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Okay then, here's my book haul from yesterday. I spent a happy day in a charityshop, two library sales, one flea market and one secondhand bookshop. I'm currently in Lappeenranta, visiting BF and I usually do this trip everytime I'm here. And usually I take the bus to the center where the shops are, and back, which costs me money, but this time I walked there and back, saving my precious euros and getting a good 10-12 kilometers walk :smile2: The weather was fine, I tell you!

 

~Jack Kerouac: On the Road (1001, RG and my Cult Fiction list. Unfortunately this book is in Finnish which bugs me quite a lot but I thought I'd support the library with the euro, and maybe I'll read it and if I like it, I'll order an English copy later and can then pass this copy on)

~Chelsea Cain: Heartsick (this will be a re-read and will go on my permanent collection)

~Elie Wiesel: Twilight

~Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises (1001, RG)

~James Herbert: Haunted (Nollaig has been raving about this author so when I noticed this one I thought I'd give it a go)

~Nicky Marone: How to Father a Successful Daughter (will go to my ever-expanding psychology collection)

~Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious (RG. I was particularly happy about finding this one!)

~R. L. Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories (I've already read DJ&MH and loved it, this will go on my permanent collection. This copy also includes the story Olalla, which I am really thrilled about, Tristan gave it a great review on his reading blog)

~J. W. von Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther (1001, 501. This is the book I'm most pleased about, I've been wanting to find a copy for ages. The copy I found was surprisingly cheap and it's absolutely beautiful!!)

~Janet Fitch: White Oleander (RG)

~Scott Frost: The Autobiography of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper - My Life, My Tapes (I already have a copy of this but it's a hardback and in Finnish, this one I found is a paperback and in English, so will be a replacement copy)

~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (1001, 501. Along with Eggers and Goethe, I'm so pleased about finding this one, and in English as well!)

~Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds

~William Styron: Sophie's Choice (RG, 501)

~Henri Troyat: Dostojevski (also very happy to have found an interesting biography about this great author)

 

All the books ranged from 0,50e to 2,50e, averaging maybe 1,50e per book. I was really lucky to find so many books on my lists! :D

Edited by frankie
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Wow, good haul frankie :clapping: and well done you walking! Although, I imagine carrying that many books back got pretty heavy after a while :blush:

 

I saw Heartsick in a charity shop the other day and put it back because I thought it was a sequel. The blurb read like a sequel and I hate having books on my shelves that I can't actually read because I haven't read the previous books! I really need to look into Chelsea Cain, she's on my wishlist but I didn't have it with me :doh:

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Wow, good haul frankie and well done you walking! Although, I imagine carrying that many books back got pretty heavy after a while

 

Thanks Charm! :D It really wasn't that bad, I was with my backpack which means the weight distributes evenly and it's as comfortable as it can get. Also, I bought Heartsick and On the Road at the near-by shop when Valtteri was still with me, so he took those home for me when I continued my walk to the center (he was heading back home and to uni). I only had to carry the rest but they weren't that heavy. And besides, some people suffer for beauty, I suffer for books if I must :lol:

 

I saw Heartsick in a charity shop the other day and put it back because I thought it was a sequel. The blurb read like a sequel and I hate having books on my shelves that I can't actually read because I haven't read the previous books! I really need to look into Chelsea Cain, she's on my wishlist but I didn't have it with me

 

I don't blame you, the blurb does read like a sequal :empathy: And even I confuse the first two titles in the series (Heartsick and Sweetheart) eventhough I've read both of them, I can never remember which one came first. The third title is easy to remember because it has three words in it :giggle2:

 

Actually Charm, I hope you don't mind, but your confusion has provided me with loads of joy! Because I had to google which one really came first, I also found out that there's a new Gretchen Lowell book coming up this year!!!!! :exc: So: :thankyousigna2:

 

And I definitely recommend the series, it's one of my favorites. The order in which you should read them is as follows:

 

  • Heartsick (2007)
  • Sweetheart (2008)
  • Evil At Heart (2009)
  • Night Season (2011)

Maybe you could try and remember that Heartsick comes first because it's before Sweetheart in an alphabetical order?... :dunno:

Edited by frankie
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Thanks Charm! It really wasn't that bad, I was with my backpack which means the weight distributes evenly and it's as comfortable as it can get. Also, I bought Heartsick and On the Road at the near-by shop when Valtteri was still with me, so he took those home for me when I continued my walk to the center (he was heading back home and to uni). I only had to carry the rest but they weren't that heavy. And besides, some people suffer for beauty, I suffer for books if I must :lol:

 

 

 

I don't blame you, the blurb does read like a sequal :empathy: And even I confuse the first two titles in the series (Heartsick and Sweetheart) eventhough I've read both of them, I can never remember which one came first. The third title is easy to remember because it has three words in it

 

Actually Charm, I hope you don't mind, but your confusion has provided me with loads of joy! Because I had to google which one really came first, I also found out that there's a new Gretchen Lowell book coming up this year!!!!! :exc: So: :thankyousigna2:

 

And I definitely recommend the series, it's one of my favorites. The order in which you should read them is as follows:

 

  • Heartsick (2007)
  • Sweetheart (2008)
  • Evil At Heart (2009)
  • Night Season (2011)

Maybe you could try and remember that Heartsick comes first because it's before Sweetheart in an alphabetical order?...

 

:haha: Suffer for your books! I'll have to remember that one next time my OH is complaining about carrying all mine :lol: Aw, I'm so pleased my confusion has resulted in your pleasure hun, often my confusion causes nothing but trouble! 'Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most' :giggle:

 

I'll definitely use the alphabetical order trick next time I see these books ;)

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:haha: Suffer for your books! I'll have to remember that one next time my OH is complaining about carrying all mine :lol: Aw, I'm so pleased my confusion has resulted in your pleasure hun, often my confusion causes nothing but trouble! 'Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most' :giggle:

 

Ooh, you'd better be careful, your plan might backfire. He might say that they're YOUR books, so YOU should suffer! In case this happens, you could try and give him two options: either suffer and carry the books, or let you carry the books and listen to you moaning and suffer :giggle2:

 

I'll definitely use the alphabetical order trick next time I see these books ;)

 

I've just come up with a better memory trick: The alphabetical trick isn't very handy if you only find a copy of Heartsick and don't remember the other title. How can you then put them in an alphabetical order?! This is what I realised: The Heart is the key. In the first novel the heart is the first word in the title, in the second novel it's the second, and in the third it's the third. I'm sure you got the drift already, Charm is no dumb broad, but oblige me and let me draw a beautiful mindmap for you:

 

1st novel Heartsick

2nd novel Sweetheart

3rd novel Evil at Heart

 

I feel so superbly clever, and not at all humble :haha:

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