Review: The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone

Title: The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss

Author: Max Wirestone

Series: N/A

Publisher: Redhook

Publication date: 10/20/2015

Format: Kindle | Netgalley | 320 pages

Genre: Humour | Mystery | Contemporary 

Goodreads

For fans of The Guild, New Girl, Scott Pilgrim, Big Bang Theory, Veronica Mars, or anyone who has ever geeked out about something.


The odds of Dahlia successfully navigating adulthood are 3,720 to 1. But never tell her the odds.

Meet Dahlia Moss, the reigning queen of unfortunate decision-making in the St. Louis area. Unemployed broke, and on her last bowl of ramen, she's not living her best life. But that's all about to change.

Before Dahlia can make her life any messier on her own she's offered a job. A job that she's woefully under-qualified for. A job that will lead her to a murder, an MMORPG, and possibly a fella (or two?).

Turns out unfortunate decisions abound, and she's just the girl to deal with them.

 

 

My thoughts:

Well this was different.

I found myself drawn to this read purely based off the summary alone. The protagonist sounded quirky and after reading a book that made me sob for longer than I would have liked, I needed something to make me gigle. Well giggle I did…abundantly.

I liked this read, if only for the ridiculousness that is peppered throughout. Dahlia Moss is unemployed, broke and somehow has managed to become a fake detective. Her first case? Solve the mystery of the missing 'Bejewelled Spear of Infinite Piercing'. If she happens to come across the murderer of the owner of said spear then that's another problem solved in the many that complicate Dahlia's life.

 

Dahlia was funny. Her inner monologue always had me smiling and her interactions with other characters were the most awkward encounters that were filled with strange personalities and eccentricities. 

 

I loved how the plot led to the most bizarre mystery solving I've come across so far. It was hilarious how Dahlia figured things out almost by accident and how the other characters just stood by and accepted the fact that she's not actually a detective. It was as if everyone understood that she needed to do her thing and consequently ignored her most of the time. Hardly anyone gave up any information and Dahlia seemed to trip over most of the clues. It was hilarious. 

 

I have to say though, the number of characters involved in this book got me really confused. Add that to the fact that most of the characters have two names - one for real life and the other for an online username, it was a little too much. 

 

That also led me to not liking a number of characters. Some, I just felt there was no need for and some I just didn't get. Dahlia only had the one friend, her flatmate, in the beginning and then all of a sudden there's around a dozen more characters constantly around her. I didn't think there was a need for it.

 

I would have also have liked a little more depth when it came to Dahlia's personal life. I wanted more of Nathan and for that relationship to develop further past the funny, flirty couple of encounters. 

 

All in all I enjoyed this one. I would recommend it for a light hearted read to get you smiling after a bad day.

 

My rating: 7/10

 

Max Wirestone:

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Review: Dyed and Gone by Beth Yarnall

Title: Dyed and Gone

Author: Beth Yarnall

Publisher: Entangled Select

Publication date: March 25th 2014

Format: ebook | 298 pages

Genre: Mystery | Adult

Goodreads

Hairstylist Azalea March is looking forward to a wild weekend in Las Vegas with her friends. Oh, sure, they’re supposed to be there on business, attending the biggest hair show on the west coast, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a little fun. But fun quickly turns to drama. On the first morning of the show, Dhane, the biggest celeb of the hair-styling world, is found dead. As it turns out Azalea’s friend Vivian not only knew Dhane, but the tale she weaves of how they met is faker than a showgirl’s uh…assets. When Vivian confesses to the murder and is arrested, Azalea knows there’s no way she could have done it and suspects Vivian may be trying to protect someone. But who?

Azalea now has to convince Alex, the sexy detective from her past, to help her prove Vivian’s innocence and comb through clues more twisted than a spiral perm. But the truth is stranger than anything found on the Las Vegas Strip, and proving Vivian’s innocence turns out to be more difficult than transforming a brunette into a blonde.

My thoughts:

Dyed and Gone follows Azalea March as she tries her best to solve the murder of well known celebrity, Dhane - well known in the hairdressing world at least. Azalea soon finds herself turning into trouble at every corner so enlists the help of Alex, the hunky detective that she just happens to be having a little bit of a spat with. 

I have to admit straight off, I didn't like this book. It was one that I didn't connect to at all - I couldn't relate to most of the characters and the plot didn't captivate me as much as I would have liked. However, I really liked Alex, the detective, and Juan, one of Azalea's best friends. I thought Alex was a cute character that played off the 'protective guy' feel really well seeing as he's already a member of the police force. Juan just made me laugh, end of. Especially towards the end of the book - he came out with some amazing one liners that made me giggle.

I don't really have much else to say about this one. It was just one of those reads I didn't get on with. I couldn't connect to most of the characters and I lost interest really quickly. Finishing it became more of a chore than anything which is not something any reader likes to happen. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in please don't let me put you off.

My rating: 3/10

Beth Yarnall:

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