BUTTERFLY - Kathryn Harvey

The term "sweet revenge" could have been coined specifically for this novel, a Sidney Sheldon-esque tale of glamour and money and two very divergent personalities: the mysterious, ice-cold Los Angeles entrepreneur Beverly Garland, who owns one of the most fashionable and popular upscale men's clothing stores in Los Angeles (which has its own secrets) ... and Daniel Mackay, who came from poverty and desperation and his own passel of dirty secrets to become one of the nation's leading televangelists ... and soon-to-be presidential candidate.  Without giving too much away (and the wise reader won't even read blurbs about the book on Amazon, if you don't want potential spoilers revealed), Beverly's men's clothing shop has a lot more going on upstairs than it does downstairs, and the scandalous, sex-laced events of the novel all lead to a surprising, satisfying conclusion when Beverly and Daniel - who've met before - come face to face again.  Butterfly is the quintessential beach read, spawning two sequels and a legion of fans who would easily talk your ear off about the book (including me).  Addicting from beginning to end.  ****1/2

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP - John Irving

As is the case with most who've read it, I cannot say enough wonderful things about John Irving's joyous, hilarious, and ultimately moving novel about ahead-of-her-time feminist Jenny Fields, a nurse who becomes a famous writer, and her "bastard son" T. S. Garp, who becomes an almost-famous writer.  At turns comedic and tragic, rejuvenating and heartbreaking, odd and quirky yet feeling completely real in its own world, the story involves Jenny's rise to fame while raising her son to adulthood, Garp trying to find his own place in both the literary and real world while dealing with the fallout of his mother's fame and notoriety.  Irving is incredibly skilled here, even the passages of text that are of Garp's own short fiction speak in a completely different voice that not only tells Garp's story but also gives you insight into him as a character.  Set mostly in the 1960's and 1970's, the book deals with a lot of the sexual and political movements of those times, as reflected through the incredibly open-minded Jenny Fields and her son, but the novel is so humane in its depiction of life and all that it has to offer to those willing to embrace it, even those moments that shock never feel false or forced. The 1982 film version, starring the late Robin Williams in what was perhaps his most refined, best-ever performance, comes incredibly close to capturing the world contained within the novel ... but as usual, nothing compares to the book.  Particularly so in this case of Irving's fascinating, exuberant gem about living every day true to yourself ... and as if it were your last.  *****

WATERSHIP DOWN - Richard Adams

Easily up there with Orwell's Animal Farm or E.B. White's Charlotte's Web, Watership Down is a classic must-read that works on many levels, beyond the fact it's just a brilliantly-written, wholly involving story.  The tale of a warren of rabbits, led by the quiet but forward-thinking Hazel, forced to leave their home in the English countryside due to land developers, you wouldn't think a full-length novel about talking rabbits would be so moving, but Adams has created both a vibrant and rich history of their story (outlined beautifully in the novel), plus given each of the main characters such warmth and humanity, as they face multiple problems and dangers in their search for a new home, the reader will be hanging onto every page (and yes, it's one of those books that will leave you a bit sad in the end, maybe even teary-eyed, if for no other reason than because it's over).  Seen as a children's or YA book, Watership Down has been labeled as "too good for just kids" over and over - and indeed, the heart and soul that breathes within the pages of this powerful, touching, allegorical  novel are a good part of the reason why, more than forty years after it was first published, it remains revered by critics and readers alike as a classic of literature, children's or otherwise.  *****

CROOKED HOUSE - Agatha Christie

Known hands-down as the most popular mystery writer of all time, nearly forty years after her death Agatha Christie remains a bestselling author whose novels have still only been outsold by Shakespeare and the Bible.  Crooked House - one of Christie's own personal favorites, and indeed my favorite of her books - is a complex story about a very dysfunctional family, led by the patriarch Aristide Leonides, who is summarily poisoned in the midst of his ungrateful relatives, all of whom have motives ... and alibis!  Two intriguing things about this novel (other than its jaw-dropper of an ending) are the richer-than-usual characterizations Christie fills the pages with; never more so, in the close to eighty novels of hers that I've read over the years, have her people come off more real.  The other, simply put, is that this tale doesn't feature any of her usual detectives on-board to solve the case; no Poirot, no Miss Marple, or Tuppence and Tommy or Superintendent Battle, or even Ariadne Oliver.  And this, perhaps, is another reason the novel works so beautifully; there are no distractions from the story, nor from the intricate family and their secrets and associations with each other; they, as it should be, are your focus for this tale of murder.  But even with that, I still dare you to see that ending coming!  ****1/2

LOTS OF BOTS: ROBOTS RULE, BOOK TWO - C.J. Richards

Nothing wrong with reading "kid-lit" - books for young readers - as an adult, especially if said book brings back memories of the kind of adventure stories you loved as a kid.  And though I haven't yet read the first in the Robots Rule series, there is a lot to like about Lots of Bots as it picks up right after the events of the first novel.  George Gearing is a young genius set to fulfill his dream of being an apprentice at Tinker Tech, where he hopes to learn and change the face of robotics.  For in Terabyte Heights, George's hometown, we're in a world where robots act as companions, drive cars, cook meals - in short, make the lives of humans easier and safer.  The destruction of this idyllic lifestyle seems to have been narrowly avoided in book one by the sinister Dr. Micron, thanks to George and his friends (including Jackbot, his best friend and robot companion), though it's not giving too much away here to say that hints are dropped, early on, that Micron - who had previously escaped capture - may still be lurking around somewhere in book two, ready with an even bigger plot that may include revenge on George.  Lots of Bots is just plain fun; well-written by C.J. Richards and beautifully illustrated (the artwork reminded me of afternoons watching "Prince Planet" and "Speed Racer" as a kid) by Goro Fujita, with a likable hero in George, who slowly realizes that someone is out to destroy his apprenticeship - or maybe even him - but fights to solve that mystery, even while dealing with a bigger one left behind by his deceased parents.  A great read for, say, grades levels 4-7 ... but really a lighthearted, fun adventure for all ages. **** (Note: while the book is a stand-alone, it references enough of what happened in book one, The Junkyard Bot - spoiler-wise - that it would be best to read that one first.)

Note: I received a free ARC of this book via NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.