Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams

It's an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished.  The Earth follows shortly afterwards, to make way for a new hyperspace bypass, and his best friend has just announced that he's an alien.  At this moment, they're hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and an innocuous-looking book inscribed with the big, friendly words:

DON'T PANIC.

The weekend has only just begun...




Hitchhiker's Guide Series:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life, the Universe and Everything
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Mostly Harmless

Visit Douglas Adams' website for more information

Review:
When Arthur Dent wakes up on Thursday morning he has no idea of the kind of day that is in store for him.  It was bad enough when he discovered that his house had been scheduled for demolition but it only gets worse when shortly afterwards the Earth is vaporised to make way for a new hyperspace bypass.  Arthur discovers his best friend is an alien - which comes in quite handy when Ford is the one who gets Arthur off the planet just before it is destroyed - and soon finds himself hitchhiking his way across the galaxy.

I've been wanting to read the Hitchhiker's series for as long as I can remember so I really don't know why it's taken me this long to get around to it.  I'm glad I finally did though as it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I can't wait to get stuck into the rest of the series.  There is a reason that this series is still as popular today as it was when it was first released 30 years ago and I was amazed at how many things I recognised as I was reading, references that have become a part of modern culture even if you don't realise where they came from.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a thoroughly whimsical read that often had me laughing out loud with its off the wall comedy.  The humor of the story reminded me a lot of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series as Douglas Adams had the same ability to take things from everyday life and twist them to show just how ridiculous they really are.  I challenge you to read this book without snorting with laughter, I know I couldn't do it.

At only 180 pages this is a great quick read when you're looking for something fun and light hearted to read.  If you're like me and new to the series (I'm guessing that will mainly apply to the younger generation) you're going to be introduced to a whole host of fun characters (from Zaphod the 2 headed, 3 armed president of the universe to Marvin the paranoid android), learn about the smartest species on Earth and find out the answer to life, the universe and everything.  I'm going to bet that once you've read this one you'll be joining me on a journey through the rest of the series.

Before I finish this review I just have to add how much I love the DIY cover on this version of the book that includes this great page of stickers so you can decorate the cover yourself!

Source: Won from Pan Macmillan in a Twitter giveaway

Other reviews of this book:

If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: I Married A Dragon - Beverly Rae

Chrissy Taylor doesn’t believe in a lot of things. Her life, and her career as a supernatural myth-buster, are ruled by logic and skepticism. Love at first sight? Forget it—until she’s swept off her feet by Mr. Tall, Dark and Mysterious.

The next thing she knows, she’s done the most illogical thing imaginable: run off to Vegas for a quickie marriage. And Mr. TD&M’s insatiable hunger for her body is starting to feel suspiciously like an attempt to make her the one thing she fears most. Pregnant.

Even though Kaine sets Chrissy’s world on fire—literally—she can’t resist embarking on her toughest debunking mission yet. She must unearth the truth about her new husband before desire consumes the last of her reason.

Kaine Delcaluca is withholding the fact that he’s a dragon, but time is of the essence. He desperately needs an heir to save his dynasty. Plus, he has an even bigger problem. The Scepter of Fire, the only weapon powerful enough to kill a dragon, has gone missing. If he fails to find it—and knock up his new bride—within the next few days, his people are doomed…

Para-Mates Series:
I Married A Demon
I Married A Dragon

Visit Beverly Rae's website for more information & links to purchase this ebook.

Review:
Chrissy has made a career out of proving the supernatural doesn't exist, her business is explaining the unexplainable and she does a good job of it.  When she meets Kaine he sweeps her off her feet & they jump straight in with both feet with a quickie wedding in Las Vegas.  The honeymoon isn't over when Kaine is talking about making babies - something that Chrissy is terrified of.  The chemistry between them may be dynamite but there is something strange about Kaine, and something terrifying about the members of staff at his mansion.  Chrissy is sure she must be losing her mind - she can't really be seeing the things she's been seeing can she?

I really enjoyed the first book in this series (I Married A Demon) and I love dragons so I was really looking forward to reading I Married A Dragon.  Unfortunately this one just missed something for me.  Although it had the same humor of the first book and the sexual chemistry was good I just didn't feel strongly for either of the main characters.  I can understand the whole idea of love at first sight but I couldn't quite get my head around the fact that they married so quickly without even discussing the idea of children - especially considering Kaine wants to start trying for a baby immediately.  When they realised they had vastly different opinions there was no sensible discussion - they just avoided the subject.  I had no real understanding of why Chrissy was so against the idea of having children until very near the end of the book which left me constantly feeling like she was overreacting and behaving like a child herself - not an endearing character trait.

Kaine was hot but the way he kept calling her Chrissy-Doll drove me absolutely crazy, that is probably just a personal taste thing but it was getting on my nerves from not very far into the story & the name was used all the time.  I also didn't like the way Kaine would rather let Chrissy think she was going crazy than tell her the truth.  I didn't get the feeling that he cared for her at all until nearly the end of the book & I couldn't believe she kept looking at him through rose coloured glasses despite the fact he repeatedly told her "I never expected to love you".  Who wants to hear that from their new husband?  I think most people would be asking why he'd married them!  How Chrissy managed to ignore all of the supernatural occurrences I'll never know!

Having said that I still enjoyed the humor of the story and the passion between Chrissy & Kaine was red hot & enjoyable (despite a few dodgy euphemisms for sex that made me cringe a couple of times).  I was disappointed when comparing this to the first book in the series but I may try another book in the series if one is released (there were strong hints at a third book I Married A Vampire at the end of this one).  Hopefully any future releases will match up to the first book.

Source: Thanks to Veronica from Strictly Reviews for sending me this eBook for review.  This review will also be posted on Veronica's blog.

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.