Review of 'Shattered Rose' by Tammy L. Gray

My recent reviews have all been for vaguely chick flick-esque novels, and this one is another that fits into this category. I really wanted to take some time off of 'serious' reading, and read a few things that I could just kind of glide through with ease and comfort. Having said that, I've now started A Tale of Two Cities, so I'm back to getting the ol' cogs whirring.

Anyhow, if you have a Kindle, you can pick up Shattered Rose as a free ebook, and as free ebooks go it's really not all too bad. It's the first part of a trilogy, which I'm currently considering forging through after my current tome. However, unlike many free e-books you don't get half a story here, so that you basically have to go out and buy the second installment to actually understand the plot somewhat. Here we're given a full, stand-alone novel, with romance and some serious issues at stake.

TRIGGER WARNING - eating disorders

I'm so pleased that more and more authors are tackling serious mental illnesses, but I am honestly looking forward to a time at which there are warnings for triggers in a blurb, or at the start of a novel. Although it adds to the suspense I guess, there's nothing worse than suddenly coming across something that you didn't expect in a novel which can suddenly put your own mental health or recovery at risk. Avery, the protagonist of the novel, is under a great deal of pressure at college, and engages in a number of concerning behavioural patterns as a result of this. She tells no one at the college about her eating disorder, and grows more and more isolated as her recovery worsens. 

The novel tracks the toxic impression that people can have on someone struggling with an eating disorder. Avery begins to fall in love with her roommate's cousin, Jake, and the happiness that comes with their relationship means she becomes less and less reliant upon her eating disorder in terms of controlling her life. However, she also falls behind on college work. When Jake ultimately breaks her heart and she is alone once more, the stress of how behind she is piles on to her feelings of being unwanted: her eating disorder becomes worse than ever. I was a little disappointed to find that it improved once more when she finds a new man that her loves her; the author really seems to suggest that the 'cure' to an eating disorder is having a man to support you. I think this gives off a truly worrying impression to readers, especially young teenage girls (this is after all a young adult novel), as it indicates that being single makes you 'less worthy' of recovery, as Avery feels, when in fact this is not true.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph

Review of 'The Girl in Between' by Laekan Zea Kemp

Sometimes when it comes to picking out a favourite quotation from a book I find it really hard - some authors just don't write in a way which appeals to me lyrically. But, with The Girl in Between I really was torn between a handful of quotations because this book was written so well. This one spoke out to me largely because it impacts the way I read, as well as the way I think about people. I'm always looking for the 'bad' character or 'good' character and sometimes it's nice to have a reminder that, just like real people, characters aren't always that simple. 

I haven't read a book with a fantasy aspect to it in what feels like absolutely forever, so this was really quite refreshing. The main character, Bryn, has an incurable disease called Klein-Levin Syndrome (or KLS for short). This means that sometimes when she falls asleep she doesn't wake up for days, or occasionally even weeks. Normally people who suffer from KLS experience a dreamless sleep, but every time Bryn has an episode she wakes up in an almost new world. This world is filled with all of her memories, and the details are so intense in it that she can even see the words of books she read years ago and the weather on certain days that she spent with family or friends.

Bryn is fairly used to this dream world, but what she doesn't expect is to find a boy washed up on the shore there one day. She knows she hasn't met him before, so what is he doing in her memory bank world? The boy can't give her any answers either: he has no idea who he is, where he came from or what he's doing stuck there. Is he just a figment of Bryn's imagination, or is there something more serious going on here?

This was another free kindle read that had a MASSIVE cliffhanger at the end, and next time pay day rolls around, the second book in the series is going to be at the top of my to-buy list. 

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of 'Once Gone' by Blake Pierce

Title: Once Gone
Author: Blake Pierce
Publisher: Unknown
Available here for free on your kindle

We all know that I'm a bit of a crime fiction-aholic, and I love a gory tale full of twists and turns that begs me to find out 'whodunnit'. Now, I'm always more of a fan of modern crime thrillers, where forensics and the law play a much bigger part in the plot than (sorry Agatha Christie fans), for example, the Poirot series. 

Once Gone had me hooked from the very first page. We start with a prologue written from the point of view of a captive woman, terrified about the return of her torturous captor. This was incredibly well written, and I was able to picture clearly the frightened state she was in as well as her gloomy surroundings. From here the book honestly went from strength to strength. I was expecting a pretty poor quality novel, as often the books you can get for free on your kindle are a bunch of mass produced drivel (sorry not sorry), but here is a shining light bursting through all of the garbage. The end was totally cliffhangered and I almost screamed in frustration I wanted to find out what was going on so badly. All I can say is I NEED to get my hands on the next book in the series!

Plot

When girls start turning up dead in the outskirts of Virginia, the FBI are called out to catch the creep that's leaving them this way. These murders are WAY over the heads of the 'normal' county cops due to the strange ritualistic style of the murders. Each girl is posed, covered in vaseline and has her eyes stitched open. If that's not terrifying enough, the only agent that is capable of solving such a case is still struggling with her PTSD after being captured by another creep wanting to torture women. Riley has been struck off the force temporarily, with a requirement of her improving her mental health before returning back to work, but when her ex-partner Bill gets to the first crime scene he knows there's only one person who can solve the case. Will Riley be able to conquer her trauma and help stop this guy before another girl winds up dead, or will it all be too much for her?

Have you read Once Gone? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of 'Me Before You' by Jojo Moyes

2016 so far for me has been a year for actually attempting to keep up with popular new releases and getting to grips with bestsellers from the past few years. As the trailers for the film of You Before Me look absolutely stunning, and this book has been recommended to me time and time again, I HAD to give it a go. And let's just say I wasn't disappointed. I was told before I started that *spoiler alert* it is a bit of a tear jerker, but I never expected to be the sobbing mess that I was at the end of this book. Me Before You definitely takes you on an emotional journey, and teaches you some incredible lessons. If you want to read a book that will change your perspective on the world, this is one to go for.

Synopsis

When Lou loses her job at a local cafe - the only form of employment she's had in the last six years - she's at an utter loss as to what to do. Her parents rely on her for her income, as she still lives with them at the ripe age of 27: she needs to do something (anything) to support them. After a series of horrific placements at the hands of the job centre, Lou finally attends an interview for a carer position. Unsure why they want her as she has absolutely no previous experience, Lou is more than shocked to discover she has the job.

Lou is now the daily carer of Will Traynor, a quadriplegic who largely cannot control his body beneath his chest. Initially he behaves hatefully to her, seeing her as simply another attempt by his mother to control his life; a life that he already has such limited control over. Will was once a rich businessman, used to going on swanky holidays, having the hottest girl on his arm and not having to worry about the future. That is, until the accident. Now Will is in constant pain and can no longer do anything he once enjoyed. 

After overhearing Will's mum and sister talking, Lou realises she hasn't simply been hired as a carer, but as a babysitter and saviour. Will's unhappiness with his current condition has led to an agreement between him and his mother: he will try to find a light at the end of the tunnel within six months, but if he still can't he is going to go to Dignitas to be euthanised. Lou is horrified when she finds out and considers handing in her notice before realising that she might be the one chance he has to survive. She sets out to change his mind in the time they have left - but will it be enough?

Final thoughts and recommendation

I absolutely love this book. If you're a fan of rom-coms or a heavy duty chick flick, then this is definitely something you should give a go. It also does an incredible job at understanding the trauma of having a body that does not comply to your wishes. I believe that Will's character is incredibly well written and does justice to the tricky topic of being a quadriplegic. 

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of 'What Doesn't Kill You'* by Laura E James

Before I go any further with this review, I would like to state several trigger warnings. The book contains topics including rape, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and self harm. Although this makes the book sound incredibly depressive and dark, it is actually an incredibly uplifting and well written story. 

The author doesn't simply allude to serious instances of rape or self harm and make them appear standalone in their impact on the story or the character, but rather has a much more realistic approach, making the impact of them on the characters shown throughout the novel. Indeed, she handles these sensitive storylines with such care and dexterity that it is probably the most accurate portrayal of teenage self harm I have ever read in a novel. 

Aside from these themes, the book largely deals with love and loss, and how these two have infinite connections. I loved the fact that both of the main adult characters, Griff and Evie have baggage that they bring to the relationship. It is both realistic and endearing. Indeed, the tough family dynamic with an ill father, a grumpy teenage stepdaughter and young son is also incredibly well done.

Synopsis

Griff simply can't understand why Evie doesn't want him in her life anymore. They've built a life together, and a family together - what has happened? With no home to go to, and no one to lean on, Griff throws himself into his work as a coast guard. little does he know that Evie hasn't stopped loving him - she loves him more than ever and that's why she's distanced himself. As well as looking after her daughter from a previous relationship and her and Griff's young son, Evie has become the full time sole carer for Griff's decrepit father. This is something she loves doing, but there's one problem: he wants her help in euthanising himself. She knows that if Griff found out he could never forgive her, so distancing herself from him seems to cause the least pain. But does it really? And what will happen when someone else enters the scene to rock their marital boat even further?

Buy it here

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of 'In the Darkness: That's Where I'll Know You'

I'm a big fan of books that are, to put it lightly, filled with a bit of 'mindfuckery'. What's the point in reading something that won't make you question your existence, or the universe? Smitherd does this to the extreme in In the Darkness, with his creation of a myriad of universes and the mind-boggling ability to hop between them. 

I absolutely loved this book. I believe originally it was published in three separate parts, but since then it has been amalgamated into one long piece, which is what I've been reading. This book was thrilling, terrifying and had a good dose of romance thrown in, which is pretty much exactly the combination I've been loving in 2016.

Synopsis

When Charlie wakes up one morning in someone else's head, he is absolutely petrified and utterly clueless as to what is going on. As if this wasn't bad enough, where he is is completely dark, squishy and ... he's naked. But, he can see out of the eyes of the person's head he is in. This person? Minnie Cooper. Yep, you heard right - she's spent years convincing people that it is her real name, and yes, her parents did think they were funny giving her it.

Soon Charlie has to let Minnie know that he's residing in her head. After the initial shock wears off, he sets out to prove to her that he does exist as an entity outside her head. This leads the pair into a trail of confusion, as Charlie and Minnie meet another Charlie Wilkes who looks like him and talks like him, but isn't him. Realising that something far bigger than they originally thought is going on, Charlie and Minnie bond over their investigation into what exactly is happening to the pair of them.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis

This has been on my TBR pile for YEARS. It was recommended to be by a teacher when I was still back in school! I'm selling a load of my books at the moment, and don't want to sell any that I haven't read, so I finally picked this up a couple of weeks ago. 

I'm not going to lie, despite it being a so-called 'classic' I really wasn't all that sold. I felt a similar kind of disappointment in this as I did to The Catcher in the Rye. Nothing really happened in either novel, and I know that sometimes that is the point of the book, but I really don't think this was done very well. It was simply a slow-paced standard boy-meets-girl text with elements of humour that I didn't find especially funny.

SYNOPSIS

Jim hates his job. He wanted to teach history, but here he is stuck as a Medievalist professor, ugh, To add pain onto punishment, Jim's boss is a total pain in the arse and the only student that actually has an interest is neither female, nor hot. 

The story follows Jim's various attempts to get some pretty young ladies to join his course and to seduce a lady for himself. However, the Welches (his boss, his boss' wife and son) seem determined to ruin this for him.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph