Book Review - Black Licorice

There's nothing more disappointing that reaching into a bag of licorice only to find all that's left is that gross black stuff!  Here' this year's colossal disappointments:

Don't misunderstand and believe that I think anyone deserves to have their head chopped off in a guillotine; I don't. But if anyone ever did, based on this book's portrayal, I'd send Marie Antoinette. 130 pages in, I was still certain that at some point, her character would develop into someone I cared about, someone worth saving. 200 pages in I realized it was never going to happen. According to this novel, she was self-absorbed and unfaithful, not at all the heroin I'd hoped for. I am intrigued to read more about the French Revolution and more about Marie Antoinette to see if this book was just historically off, but based on this book, she was certainly not a character worth writing a book about.

The subtitle "A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon" grabbed me, and I put this book at the top of my "to read" pile. My excitement couldn't have been more misplaced. While the subject matter was marginally interesting, this potentially exciting story read like a history text book, plodding on and on in a suspense-less state. Finishing this book was almost painful, and I frequently took breaks to instead admire the desolate view of Idaho from I-15 because it was more interesting than the book. Sadly, the only truly enjoyable part was when, finally finished, I threw the book on the dashboard and triumphantly stated, "Done.