Friday Night Cocktails - Allison Rushby

Friday Night Cocktails is a novel about Gemma and Sarah, who have been friends forever. Along with their friendship, a list has survived over the years – a list they fondly call “the bastard list.” This list is made up of the names of guys that had earned the name in one way or another. One night after a few too many cocktails, they decide to put the list up on the internet. Gemma not only puts up the list, but gets the word out to the virtual world about it. Before they know it, people all over the world are viewing the list, adding their own names and stories.  

This novel was a good light-hearted read for those who don’t want something too heavy. It got rave reviews from other chick lit book review sites, so I thought it would be a sure thing to help me survive the long flights and stopovers on my way to America, which it did, but it was really hard to get excited about reading it, and at times I actually preferred to ‘people watch’ than continue with the next chapter. The reason it took me a while to get in to the plot, is that the book is based in Australia (usually a sure thing for me to pick up and love) but the writer just didn’t get the language right and I felt tried too hard to make the characters sound like American or British.

But once I got over her terrible use of non-Australian slang about halfway through the book, I was able to enjoy the storyline and actually found myself chuckling to a few funny parts.

Overall, it was ok, but one I would probably only recommend to those die hard chick lit fans.

The Last Madam: A Life In The New Orleans Underworld - Christine Wiltz

The Last Madam: A Life In The New Orleans Underworld offers an affecting portrayal of the woman who for 40 years ran the last successful high-class brothel in New Orleans - they actually called themselves "landladies" in New Orleans, though that didn't change the nature of their business: running houses of prostitution in the city's wide-open French Quarter. Beginning in 1920, when she was still in her teens, Norma Wallace managed a high-class bordello for an affluent and influential clientele, evading the police and asserting her sexual freedom "like a man" despite the nominal confines of several rickety marriages. Obsessive love for a man 39 years her junior and her first-ever jail term finally put Wallace out of the business in the mid-1960s, but her memories were still vivid and raunchy when she tape-recorded material for an autobiography in the two years before her suicide in 1974.

This book was a great read and had it all – love, murder, suspense, corruption and loads of humour with some vivid characters. You can tell that Norma was a strong, courageous woman with a quick wit as the book is filled with her anecdotes and escapades that keep you wanting to turn the page to find out what happens next.

The writer, Christine Wiltz, did a fantastic job of bringing Wallace’s tape recordings to life, but it took a few chapters to adjust to her writing style, which at times would leap to (or back to) other eras and you had to make sure you caught up, but once you adjusted to her original writing style, you couldn’t put it down.

Also, I’m not sure if it was because I was reading a kindle version, but some of the formatting didn’t quite translate across properly, but for the cheaper kindle price it is not something that would put me off buying another one.

One of the best and most interesting biographies I have read in a long time.