Review: Amanda: The Untold Story by C. E. Moore (1995)

I'm a massive fan of "Melrose Place", the over-the-top nighttime soap opera that defined the nineties. So when I found out that there was a book about my favourite character Amanda Woodward – played by Heather Locklear – I had to track it down.

As the title suggests, "Amanda: The Untold Story" (1995) – written by C. E. Moore – tells us about the character's life before the show started. Amanda has just started a job at her father's finance company and in order to avoid being treated differently for being the boss's daughter, she has taken an alias. She quickly starts crushing on her handsome co-worker Geoff. But is he really a good match for her? And how far is Amanda willing to go to get ahead in business?

"Melrose Place" was a spinoff to teen soap "Beverly Hills, 90210", and started out quite tame. But as Amanda appeared at the end of season one, the show started changing and its over-the-top drama and crazy storylines made it even better than the original series. Sadly, this book doesn't get as crazy as the series, and it felt a bit slow in the beginning. However, towards the end, more drama ensue.

I'm not a big fan of books that just retread the same story as an episode of a TV series, so the fact that this one is a prequel makes it a lot better. This is a young adult novel so it's an easy read. A bit too easy at times as I kept wishing the author would have added a few more descriptions of the different characters and locations.

"Amanda: The Untold Story" isn't amazing, but it's definitely entertaining if you're a fan of the show and want to know more about Amanda's past. I enjoyed my time with the book and I'm glad to have it in my collection.

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Review: Fountain Society by Wes Craven (1999)

I'm a huge fan of director Wes Craven's horror movies, especially "A Nightmare On Elm Street" (1984), "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977) and the "Scream" series. But I had no idea that he had written a novel until I saw it at a charity shop and just had to buy it.

"Fountain Society" (1999) follows several characters, but my favourite is Elizabeth, a model living in Switzerland, who investigates her lover's mysterious death. Thinking Hans might still be alive, she travels to the island of Vieques where she finds him, but something has drastically changed. Is he really the same man she fell in love with? And does him being alive have anything to do with the top secret military base on the island?

I'm generally not interested in books set in the military, I find that topic boring. However, Craven manages to intrigue me, especially the parts with Elizabeth who is a civilian. The other character come with a lot of scientific terms that I know nothing about, but I get why it was needed considering the plot.

All in all, "Fountain Society" is quite entertaining and thrilling. I'm so glad I found it. I really felt for Elizabeth and wanted to see what happened to her in the end. If you happen to come across this novel, give it a go. Just keep in mind that it's more science-fiction than the kind of horror Craven is best known for.

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Kiss Me Guido, 3rd Party, Sabrina Washington and Kate Gulbrandsen

Some of the latest additions in my record collection: The soundtrack to gay themed movie "Kiss Me Guido" (1997), which features exclusive tracks by artists such as Martha Wash and Nick Scotti.

Then we have "Alive" (1997) by 3rd Party, "OMG" (2010) by Sabrina Washington and the remastered reissue of "The Beauty And The Beat" (1987) by Kate Gulbrandsen.

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Monthly chart - March 2025

1. Victoria Silvstedt - Love It!
2. Kylie Minogue - Last Night I Dreamt I Fell In Love
3. Lady Gaga - Abracadabra
4. Andreas Lundstedt - Vicious
5. Erika Vikman - Elizabeth Taylor
6. Jennifer Aoun - Breaking My Heart
7. Angela Bofill - Penetration
8. Merry Clayton - Yes
9. Angela Bofill - Can't Slow Down
10. Aaron Carter - Another Summer Night
11. Jordan Hill - For The Love Of You (Dance Mix)
12. Angela Bofill - Love Me For Today
13. Mondo - Bop
14. Arwin - This Dream Of Mine
15. Chena - E.S.P.
16. Angela Bofill - Getting Into Love
17. Alesha Dixon - Breathe Slow (Cahill Radio Edit)
18. Jay Sean - Hit The Lights
19. Sean Kingston - Fire Burning
20. Jay Sean - Down (Chasing Pluto Remix)



This list shows which songs I've listened to the most this month, on my computer and my iPod. A regularly updated list of my all-time favourite songs can be found here.

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