Keeping Company by Tami Hoag / Sarong Party Girls by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

Rating: WARTY!

"When a catastrophe of a blind date lands corporate lawyer Alaina Montgomery and free-spirited Dylan Harrison in jail, the two aren’t exactly off to a flying start, romance-wise. But when they decide to pose as a couple to stop their meddlesome friends, they find that they make a pretty good team." And how many times has this same cloned story been retreaded now? Barf. Hoag, Hoag, it's deranged! Where the leer and the can't elope roam....

AND

Sarong Party Girls by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

No wonder the Kirkus circus liked htis story: it's totally demeaning to women. It makes sense for them to do that in a story that is solely about how useless women are until and unless they have a man to make their lives worth anything. "27-year-old Jazzy and her friends are on the hunt for expat husbands in the dazzling city of Singapore - follow their search for love." Why? Why do I care? Especially since the novel has nothing whatsoever to do with actual love and seems much more interested in being a voyeur of kinky sex in a very restrictive society. Are these women so worthless, their lives so empty, that 'love' is the only thing that lends them any value? If that's the case, they're not worthy of a relationship to begin with, because they have absolutely nothing to contribute to one. Yawn.

Deeper Than the Dead and Choosers of the Slain by Who Cares, Really?

Rating: WARTY!

These two titles ought to be sold as a pair based purely on their titles.

Deeper Than the Dead by Tami Hoag claims to be a New York Times bestseller. If so, why is it being flogged at discount rates on a book flyer? Hmm! The description says, "Three children and a young teacher make a horrifying discovery in their seemingly idyllic town: a corpse with its mouth and eyes glued shut. FBI profiler Vince hunts for the truth — but more victims might be found." More victims might be found? Oh my god! We'd better put this case on hold until we're sure no more victims will be found!

Meanwhile, in Choosers of the Slain by James H Cobb, "When Argentina launches an invasion to seize territory in Antarctica, Commander Amanda Garrett and the USS Cunningham must sail into hostile waters to stop them." Why? This is essentially nothing more than a rip-off of the actual hostilities between Argentina and the British some beers ago. Yawn.