ishimuralo25ab

4.5 stars The ninth book of this favored series is a bit different than all of its predecessors. After the craziness of Christmas in July provided by Maggie and Susan, it is now January and time for Holly and Laura to host the weekend of adventurous fun. Claudia and Kate know that they are in for something crazy when they pull up to “Evil Dick and Evil-er Chick’s house” and can’t miss the huge sign spelling out “HollyWould.” Yes my friends, the weekend is intended to be filled with things that Holly would do. Needless to say all the women ~ including Janice and Allision, Ginny and Kris, and Maggie and Susan who join Claudia and Kate ~ are a bit frightened. Clothed in orange jumpsuits emblazoned with “HollyWould” in place of a jail name, the women all follow the orders of Holly and Laura, or risk house arrest. There is a list of “laws” to obey, the most important of which are “Trust your hostesses.” and “Remember we love you.” The first activity involves a trip to Holly’s studio, and each couple will choose one to draw and one to pose. Pose as in become an object for their partner to draw. Without clothes. Five women, stripped of their bright orange jumpsuit, au natural for their partner to draw. Sounds like fun, and is most definitely something that Holly would do, but poor Kate finds that she just can’t do as Holly would do. Kate can’t bring herself to look at Claudia as an object, as the equivalent of a fruit bowl thanks to the machinations of her mind. She goes back and forth, struggling over this task that is hurting her to her very core, and even gets sent to house arrest over it. Through Kate’s painful struggle, we come to find out that there are other factors at work, and poor Kate isn’t functioning at her normal, albeit slightly crazy, levels. Spiders is an intriguing story, one that is another great addition to a phenomenal series, and which is very different from many of the stories that come before. Here we have a story that goes steadily in one direction, and then halfway through takes a dramatic 180 degree turn. Everything we thought we knew is thrown out the window thanks to new information that is brought to light. I have to admit that for the first half of the story, I was confused. Lost. Unsure. My beloved character of Kate just didn’t seem like ... Kate. After nine books I feel that I know her pretty darn well, and this just wasn’t the gal I’ve come to know and love! It all became clear as I soldiered on, but it did make for a bit of confusion as I was reading. I did have to read the book more than once in order to fully grasp the threads running throughout the story. Although this story could be read on its own, not having any prior exposure to these characters would make it even harder for people to follow the arch that I think Wraight has set up here. Looking back on the story, I think that Wraight’s intention is for readers to be confused, unsettled and unsure during the first half in order to really set up the situation that is revealed within the second half. As with all of the stories, this book is about the connection between each of the couples and the love that exists both as partners and as friends. This is a tight knit group that will do pretty much anything for one another, as evidenced by previous stories. Here, as always, the women are there to support Kate at all times, even when she doesn’t realize that she needs them. My favorite couples of Kate and Claudia as well as Laura and Holly truly shine here, and the beautiful friendship that these four women share is heartwarming and inspiring. This story includes the humor that I have come to love and expect from these wonderful characters, but it also included something I didn’t expect which was quite a few errors in the text. I noticed several missing words or extra words and general typos that I don’t recall being present in previous stories. It didn’t affect my feelings toward the story itself, but with the pauses I encountered when stumbling upon a mistake, my reading of the story was affected a bit. As always, I recommend that you start at the beginning to truly understand and enjoy this exceptional series. Filled with wonderfully developed characters that you will grow to love, you won’t be disappointed at all. Before Spiders the series includes the stories Scavengers, Ledge Walkers, Savages, Loose Sleuths, Sisters, Leakers Ignited, Scraps, and L-Word C-Word. All are phenomenal stories and once you start you won’t want to stop!

2022-10-02 13:03