yawn ( )

As I said above, I loved The Givenchy Code, the first book in the PSW series about an internet game that turned into a life or death treasure hunt. In fact I voted it my favorite Chick Lit for 2005. So naturally I was looking forward to the rest of the series. I never got around to reading book #2, The Monolo Matrix. But AAR gave book #3, The Prada Paradox a B+ with a Hot sensuality rating, so had to have it. Unfortunately, I didn't agree with the grade OR the sensuality rating.

The H/H are both actors and heroine, Devi, is trying to bounce back after a stalker attack 5 years ago which ended her career. The book follows the same pattern as The Givenchy Code with Devi and hero Blake gathering and solving clues. The beginning setup of the story was good and I liked the main characters but eventually I got bored with the story and just wanted it to end.

Another factor affecting my opinion was the lack of sex scenes. AAR gave it a Hot sensuality rating and that's what I expected. But there must have been some kind of typo or administrative error because this book could in no way be considered Hot. Kisses only, with one sex scene with the door firmly closed. You know what happens to me when I'm expecting Hot and it doesn't deliver, don't you? I get very cranky and it affects my grading. See this review for evidence of my crankiness. GRADE: C ( )

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book for what it was: an escapist romp. It's like Kenner tried to write a story about what would happen if online games like World of Warcraft or EverQuest came to real-life (without the fantasy, of course). It was gratifying to see this story come to an end after having read the first two novels. I understood them, but I didn't fully get it until the end. It's definitely important to read the first two novels first, otherwise it doesn't necessarily make sense. And it wasn't high literature; this was definitely chick lit (which I've read a lot of in the last few years, I'm ashamed to admit), but it was a good read. Beachworthy ( )