Review: Trump's Christmas Carol - Lucien Young writing as Watt T Dickens

‘I have the best ghosts, everyone says so’

President Ebenezer Trump, a rich old fool whose heart is as small as his hands and whose words are as false as his hair, sits shut up alone in the White House on Christmas Eve. But he is confronted that night by the ghost of Richard Nixon, who warns him that he will be visited by three spirits, all intent on changing his imprudent and miserly ways.

He meets the jovial Ghost of Christmas Past, Bill Clinton, full of fun tales and memories; the spirit who everyone wishes was still the Ghost of Christmas Present, Barack Obama; and the terrifying Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who shows him how abolishing Obamacare will finish off Tiny Tim.

But will Trump heed their advice, and become a good person?

Visit the Trump's Christmas Carol page on Goodreads for more information.

Review:
I loved Lucien Young's Alice in Brexitland parody so of course I jumped at the chance of reviewing his second book, Trump's Christmas Carol. As you can tell from the title this is Young's take on Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol staring president Ebenezer Trump. Told in the same style as the original story (so very different to the previous book) we get to see the mean and miserly Trump confronted by the ghost of Christmas past Bill Clinton, the ghost we wish was Christmas present Barack Obama and a mysterious ghost of Christmas future.

As you'd expect with any story about Trump there is plenty of material to use that just begs to be laughed at - tiny hands, the Russian connection, that video, the constant tweets, the insecurity and ignorance plus so much more. There are appearances from people like Hilary, Farage and Melania to add to the fun. I don't think the humour quite hit the highs of Alice in Brexitland but I definitely laughed out loud several times while reading. I think I'd probably have found it even funnier if I wasn't still so horrified about the state of the world right now and if the future shown by the ghost of Christmas yet to come didn't feel quite so awfully believable.

The book has line drawn illustrations that were just as funny (and accurate) as the text and made a lovely addition to the story.

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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.

Hardback / Kindle:

Review: Alice in Brexitland - Lucien Young writing as Leavis Carroll

Lying on a riverbank on a lazy summer’s afternoon – 23rd June 2016, to be precise – Alice spots a flustered-looking white rabbit called Dave calling for a referendum. Following him down a rabbit-hole, she emerges into a strange new land, where up is down, black is white, experts are fools and fools are experts...

She meets such characters as the Corbynpillar, who sits on a toadstool smoking his hookah and being no help to anyone; Humpty Trumpty, perched on a wall he wants the Mexicans to pay for; the Cheshire Twat, who likes to disappear leaving only his grin, a pint, and the smell of scotch eggs remaining; and the terrifying Queen of Heartlessness, who’ll take off your head if you dare question her plan for Brexit. Will Alice ever be able to find anyone who speaks sense?

Visit the Alice in Brexitland page on Goodreads for more information.

Review:
Alice in Brexitland is a hilarious parody that tells the events surrounding the referendum in the form of Alice in Wonderland. Poor young Alice makes the horrible mistake of following David Camerabbit down the rabbit hole and quickly finds herself in a world that doesn't make sense anymore. The tale follows Alice's journey through Brexitland as she is introduced to characters like the Corbyn-pillar, the Cheshire Twat and Trumpty Dumpty. The characters are all instantly recognisable as both the fictional version from the original story as well as the real life politician they represent and they've been very cleverly written to show their biggest personality traits.

The book also includes wonderful illustrations that again follow the format of the originals but have been edited to fit the new characters created for this parody.

I coud have included quotes from practically every page but I've seen a lot of my favourites in other reviews already and I don't want to spoil the best jokes for anyone so I'm going to limit it to just this one:

How doth the politician lie
To burnish his career
And with his bogus slogans try
To bend the voter's ear!

He'll promise in each interview
That perfect joy awaits
And all the while he's screwing you
To help his wealthy mates

I know I'm not the only one who feels a bit like they fell down the rabbit hole in this last year so I laughed out loud the whole way through reading Lucien Young's take on events. This really does highlight some of the most shocking events from British and American politics over the last year and it probably hits a little close to the bone for some of us "remoaners" but if we can't laugh about the state of the world right now I'd probably have to cry and this was the perfect laughter inducer.

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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.

Hardback / Kindle:

Review: Fifty Shames of Earl Grey - Fanny Merkin (aka Andrew Shaffer)

Young, rich and handsome tycoon Earl Grey has a dirty secret. He brings Anna, a naive college student, past the waterbed, the strobe light inside his 'Room of Doom' and into his twisted world of, well, mostly naughty dialogue and light spanking. Anna is enthralled - after all he's rich, and has a habit of buying every company she has ever worked for in an attempt to get close to her. But on the flipside he's a moody bastard whose fifty shames constantly threatens to overwhelm her. Can Earl Grey and Anna ever have a normal life together? Or will his dark desires, love of BDSM (Bards, Dragons, Sorcery, Magick) and constant smirking drive her over the edge?

Fifty Shames Series:
Fifty Shames of Earl Grey
Fifty Shames in Space (Release date to be confirmed)

Visit the Fifty Shames website for more information.

Review:
I'm a huge fan of the Fifty Shades series but as much as I loved the books I also love to hate them - there are so many things about the series that irritate me that I laughed a lot while reading the books. So of course as soon as I heard about the parody Fifty Shames of Earl Grey by Fanny Merkin (aka Andrew Shaffer) I wanted to read it. The author has certainly put his own unique twist on the story that we are all now so familiar with and he does a great job of highlighting the things I found ridiculous about the original books. I love the way he has also managed to blend in some jokes about the Twilight series considering this is a parody of a story that started out as Twilight fan fiction.

I think anyone who loved the series will find themselves amused by Fifty Shames of Earl Grey, especially if you are open enough to accept the problems with the original books. Anyone who hated the books will probably adore this though as it will point out all of the things you didn't like about the book in the first place but in a much more humorous way. I don't recommend reading this unless you've read at least the first Fifty Shades book though as I don't think a lot of the jokes would make as much sense if you're not familiar with the characters and storyline.

I don't think I've ever come across an explanation for BDSM that made me laugh as much as this one did:
"I'm a Dungeon Master, Anna."
What? My inner guidette screeches to a halt on her hamster wheel. I have no clue what he's talking about. "What exactly does a Dungeon Master do?"
"I'm into BDSM," he says.
"Is that a workout thing, like Zumba?"
"No, Anna, it's not anything like Zumba. BDSM is a live-action role-playing game: Bards, Dragons, Sorcery and Magick. I play with women in my dungeon and things can get a little . . . hot."

I enjoyed Fifty Shames of Earl Grey and I did laugh out loud a couple of times while reading but I have to say there were a few points when I felt the book was trying just a little too hard to be funny. It was still a quick, amusing read though and one I'd recommend to anyone who wants to laugh at the phenomena that Fifty Shades of Grey has turned into.

Source: Initially received from publisher via NetGalley but I also received a print copy from J R Books in exchange for an honest review

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.

Paperback / Kindle: