Jane May's new book HOOKED is a fun and imaginative tale
that was inspired by the Grimms' fairy tale, The Fisherman
and his Wife. May's previous book Doggy Style was
narrated
by a dog and we find her unusual but fun style repeated in
this book with a talking fish.
Clarence Woods, Woody to his friends, works at the Trade
Winds Yacht Club in Miami. He's the assistant dock master
and he caters to all the rich people at the club. Woody
isn't wealthy like the club members but he's happy with
his simple life. When he meets a Romanian waitress named
Madalina Dragoi at Trade Winds, he starts to wonder if he
really is that good of a catch. After all Madalina likes
Todd Hollingshead who is extremely wealthy.
While out on a boat with a wealthy club member, Woody
catches a huge 40 pound fish named Raymond Prince. The
fish begs Woody not to kill him and will grant him wishes
if he sets him free. Woody isn't into materialistic things
but Madalina is. So after a couple granted wishes, Woody's
new found wealth wins him the girl. Unfortunately nothing
is enough for Madalina. She finds out about the talking
fish who grants wishes, and demands more and more from
Woody.
What will happen to Woody and Madalina? Will their greed
catch up to them? Will Woody and Madalina fall in love and
get married or will her constant need for wealth come
between them? Who is this talking fish who grants
extravagant wishes? Will all these wishes backfire and
ruin the couples' lives?
HOOKED is a fun read that I read in two sittings. I
enjoyed the fairy tale like story but was a little
disappointed with the ending. I'm not familiar with the
Grimms' tale, so this might be the same kind of ending and
appropriate, but for me I would have liked it to end
differently. If you want something you can read and enjoy
in one day, then this is the book for you. I did enjoy
Jane May's previous book Doggy Style and I look
forward to
more books by her.
In Jane May's delightfully witty and original take on a
classic Grimms' fairytale, a sailor with a dream gets help
from a very fishy source.
The moment Clarence "Woody" Woods, assistant dock master at
Miami's exclusive Trade Winds Yacht Club, sets eyes on
waitress Madalina Dragoi, he falls head over heels in love.
As bad luck would have it, Madalina is smitten too-with Todd
Hollingshead, a wealthy, suave club regular.
Woody has no problem handling the sleek, multi-million
dollar sailing vessels that dock at Trade Winds, but when it
comes to winning a woman like Madalina, he could use a
little help. Who knew it would arrive in the form of the
enchanted fish he catches one afternoon? Before Woody can
write off the talking tuna as a sun-induced hallucination,
this unlikely benefactor is granting Woody's every wish,
allowing him to sweep Madalina off her feet and into the sunset.
At least that's how things were supposed to work out. Now,
as Woody is about to discover, fairy tales aren't what they
used to be-and fate has a way of writing its own version of
happily-ever-after.