2.5 Stars
My first experience with Darcey Bell was not a good one (to put it lightly). But then I watched the film version and really (like really really) dug it so I definitely wanted to give her another go. About the only thing that can be said to sum up this sophomore experience for me is . . . .
Obviously this is no literary masterpiece, but I read it back before the temps were hot enough to immediately fuse your underwear to your butt on a Saturday morning out on the deck while imbibing copious amounts of coffee and found it to be sort of just the trainwreck I was looking for at that moment.
To sum it up briefly, this is the story about a family vacation that ends up with a potential kidnapping once the parties return home. It features picture-perfect couple Charlotte and Eli and their daughter Daisy along with Charlotte’s “rakish” (*cough drunken manbaby cough*) brother Rocco and his latest girl-of-the-moment Ruth, a Mexican Adventure where threats are made of possibly revealing long-held secrets and where at least one character might not be exactly what they appear to be. The story is presented via Charlotte, Ruth and occasionally Rocco's narratives with time hops all over the place so if that’s not your bag, this will annoy the crap out of you. Like I said above, this completely jumps the tracks into batshit crazy – but in a Lifetime Stabby Stabs sort of way where it’s truly just a page-turney sort of delicious disaster. Basically? Pure brain candy. Oh, and it has a horrible face cover that I hate . . . .