The Book of Joan by Melissa Rivers

"She always said that chivalry wasn't dead, it was just hiding in Argentina like the old nazis and it was her job to ferret it out."

Reading this while at the hairdressers, I have to confess to laughing out loud on numerous occasions, resulting in some strange looks from the other customers. Joan would have been proud of the way I began my evening all coiffed and made up - let's not talk about what I looked like after dinner and a marathon bar crawl - that's another story.

Little anecdotes are recounted in an engaging and familiar tone. As a reader, it feels like Melissa's tales are told with a good dose of side eye and winking. In any case, this entertaining raconteur could give her recently deceased comedienne mother a run for her money in the laughs stakes.

5 out of 5 hilarious anecdotes end in laughter.

Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd

"I am in the Pitte, but I have gone so deep that I can see the brightness of the Starres at Noon"

If you have read my blog, then you will know my obsession with ticking off must read books and this one appears on a number of lists. From the 1001 lists to David Bowie's Top 10, it has also taken out the  1985 Whitbread and Guardian Fiction Prize. I have had a pretty crazy work week and have been reading this in fits and starts in the wee hours before bed.

it oozes a dark tone, a dark nightmarish tone that lingers.

Perhaps my experience of this novel, seriously distracted by other events, detracted somewhat from fully appreciating its merits.

On reflection, I bumped up my score, due to the strange ickiness that seemed to remain with me after the last page. Not surprising given the human sacrifices, murders, creepy church locations and temporal disconnect. Should you feel like a voyage from ye olde english architectural dramas through to more modern detective fiction, then this may just fulfil your needs.

4 out of 5 dark places lie in the shadows.

Here We Go Again by Betty White

"It wasn't really a Greek tragedy. I only thought it was."

I don't think anyone could NOT  love Betty White - she is adorable. Betty's most recent book is a chatty view of her life in television. I admit to being acquainted with this grand dame only since her work on The Golden Girls, who knew what a stunner she has always been.

The photos demonstrate that mega watt smile has been beaming since 1939 on and off the tv screen.

From numerous iterations of The Betty White Show  to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls  and beyond, Betty has enjoyed a lengthy career with some delightfully memorable occurrences. That being said, I think this book failed to ignite the same kind of delight that the actress spills on screen.

This is pleasant, forgettable fare, a good airport read.

3 out of 5 twinkling eyes aplenty.

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler

“It was the purest fact of her life: she did not understand him, and she never would.”

There are some books that are so delicately realised that their impact isn’t felt straight away. This one certainly falls within that category. Reading it feels less like you have immersed yourself in a novel and more like you’ve lived through the turbulent times of a family whose expectations of life are never fully met.

The book opens with the departure of Pearl's husband which is handled in such a gut wrenching fashion that was both difficult to read and at the same time, unforgettable. The impact of his running off has ramifications for the rest of her life and that of her children - Jenny, Ezra and Cody. I could go on about the storyline, but I think this is a tale best experienced untainted.

I was almost going to give the book a lower score, but it stayed with me, in a weird combination of familiar and troubling. Every family has their problems, but this one has quite a few, and its intriguing to explore them together.

5 out of 5 family dinners can be difficult.

Down the Rabbit Hole, Curious Adventures of a Former Playmate by Holly Madison

“It took years for me to realize just how manipulated and used I had been”

The Girls Next Door  was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me and there is definitely something perversely interesting about the playboy universe. This latest offering from the playboy universe and insight into the workings of Ms Madison, brings a fresh perspective to the behind the scenes infighting and the sad reality of an ageing sex god.

You know you want to read it. I don't care whether it was written with help or ghost written or what have you, it is an easy, enjoyable read reflective of that sunny side up personality that Holly was want to flash on GND.

I think you have to take some of it with a pinch of salt. I get the feeling, like everyone, that we tend to reflect on our memories shaded by our own perspectives. That being said, Holly emerges triumphant and with personality that surpasses her large bolt-ons.

Here is a woman who took some unlikely opportunities that had their own severe draw backs - bad sex with a vampiric control freak comes to mind, to escape to an equally crap wanna be celebrity magician, and then finally find her own feet.

Madison's likability, much like Bridget and Kendra's shine through. If you're a fan of the semi-clad threesome, then you'll fly through this.

One note of caution, heck I can talk...., don't get on Holly's bad side. She expertly throws shade.

 4 out of 5 ex playboy bunny girlfriends are still as bouncy blonde as ever.

The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh

"And why wouldn't I be, seeing all that dough going on relations they've hated all their lives, while the pets who've loved them and stood by them, never asked no questions, never complained, rich or poor, sickness or health, get buried anyhow like they was just animals?"

Dennis Barlow, unemployed, English ex-pat poet, takes a job in a pet cemetery. He finds out how the other half die, when he is tasked with making arrangements for fellow Brit Sir Francis Hinley, who has recently killed himself. The over the top surrounds of Whispering Glades are the scene for his initial meeting with Ms Aimée Thanatogenos who transforms the faces of the "loved ones" for the "waiting ones", along with the embalming wunderkind, Mr JoyBoy.

Even in death, Hollywood reveals itself as a strange dream factory in this concise novella.

Waugh is one of those writers who delivers so much in such a tight format, that it certainly bears reading more than once.

The picturesque surrounds of the memorial park are designed in sections to reflect the lifestyles of the interred, yet act as hidden rendezvous locations for local lovers.

Aimée's consultations with Guru Brahmin, seeking life advice, are answered by "two gloomy men and a bright young secretary". Nothing is as it seems,  and thwarted love is about to go up in flames (never a good thing at a mortuary).

4 out of 5 - dead easy to read.

Prudence by Gail Carriger

"Rue retired to her room to stare up at the ceiling and, in order to not dwell on a certain flirtatious French engineer, tried to think about who might have a grudge against Indian vampires".

I have a confession to make. I’ve been dragging the chain dear readers. The fault is entirely mine and attributable to a rather delightful social life of late. I also did not wish this little steampunk sojourn to end. Escaping into the young-adult fiction, steampunk, alternate universe that the always entertaining Gail Carriger creates is, as always, a joy. Goodness that is a lot of commas – apologies – I’ll return to dashes.

If you too like dirigibles, vampires, werewolves and afternoon tea, well then dear reader Prudence is definitely the girl for you. An offshoot of the Parasol Protectorate series, this new Custard Protocol series has started much like a tasty cream puff that beckons you to take an extra bite. Ignore the scales and dig in.

The titular Prudence is in fact, Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama. Daughter of that parasol wielding, soul stealing minx that I have been missing since the series ended. Jumping back into that same world through a new, younger model is a treat, albeit a little less hot under the collar. Those of you familiar with the earlier series will be delightfully re-united with some key players. I imagine that anyone coming directly to this series without a quick venture to the earlier tomes, might be left a little in the dark. Alexia’s adventures are such a great read that you won’t be disappointed in any case.

Some might wonder at my delight in these adventures with their corsets and parasols, those people clearly have not yet taken a peek inside the covers yet. Certainly the loud covers make me a little self-conscious on public transport, but I’m reminded how much I enjoy their contents and continue on unabated.

Our latest heroine, is a delight and apt to sprout some unintentionally hilarious double-entendres. I think Ms Carriger might be winking as she writes. Also I am now counting down til November’s release of the final in the Finishing School Protectorate series.

5 out of 5 perfect cups of tea warm the heart