Review: The Fault in Our Stars (19/04/20)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If anyone is unfamiliar with this book, where have you been for decade? I admit I had not read this book. But I did understand the basic story line. The story follows Hazel as she navigates later stages of terminal cancer. She goes about her days muddling through as best she can. Her mum who worries about her mental state encourages her to go to group therapy session once a week. It is there she meets Augustus. They form a friendship full of witty banter and love of reading.

No more summary as its basically all tears from there…

It’s hard to say what I liked about this book. All of it? None of it? How can I like a book that so completely broke my emotional well-being? But I did.

The characters were brilliant. They were funny, so funny. Which was needed in a book that was dealing with the issue of childhood cancer. It was written beautifully and having never read a book by John Green before. I did not know what I was missing. I am ready (almost) to take on any of his other books if they are even half as good as this.

There was nothing I didn’t like about this book honestly. Except all of it. But not really. I guess you only understand if you have read it.

A solid 4 stars. If you want to weep like a baby and are ready to be emotionally distraught. This is the book for you.


View all my reviews

Review: Married to the Rake (20/04/20)

Married to the Rake by Samantha Holt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So on a whim I downloaded this as an eBook to my kindle as part of my unlimited subscription.
As the name and picture imply this is a historical romance. Which follows a very typical enemies to lovers’ format. The main character Chole Larkin is a typical bookish type of heroine. She lives with her family in a typical regency estate happily gallivanting away her days with books and meeting her two close friends. Enter the ‘rake’. Mr Brook Waverly. The son of a neighbouring family, of which the Larkins are sworn enemies. The families share a boundary line which for generations the two families are argued over about 20ft of land, constantly moving the line back and forth.
Can you see where this story is heading?
Chloe and Brook team up to try and stop the constant argument about the line once and for all, so that their aging fathers can finally rest. Obviously, a budding romance begin from this otherwise it would be an extremely poor romance.

I liked the characters. Nothing was too cheesy, as these types of books can sometimes get. It was a quick easy, sweet kind of book. I genuinely want to know about the characters and the sub plot. Her friends were also interesting, and it seems the other 2 books in this series focus on their love lives.

I was a bit disappointed it wasn’t as ‘steamy’ as I would have liked. That was the only thing that for me, would have bumped up the rating. It kind of left me feeling a little bit short changed, but I think that is just my personal taste for these types of books. If you like your romance on the cleaner side, this would probably be right up your street.

Overall a nice, sweet, easy read. A solid 3 stars.

Will this book win awards, no sorry it won’t. But, did I enjoy it? Yes. Will I read the other two in the series? Yes, definitely!


View all my reviews

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoshi (11/04/20)

So I am going to level with you all before I begin the review. I went into this book basically knowing nothing. I pre ordered this book on a whim from Fairyloot when they announced the beautiful exclusive hardback edition they would be offering. I saw it. Thought the book looked stunning. Bought it....

Anyway my initial thoughts on the book and the writing in particularly were the writing was that it was a bit flowery for my liking. However, but the book as a whole was surprisingly easy to read. I wasn't a fan of Erin Morgenstern's writing in 'The Night Circus', and I was worried this would be like that. Thankfully it wasn't.

The writing was actually beautiful, it felt similar to how Laini Taylor would write (not concern over coping of stories by the way). And I loved all the books I have so far read by Laini Taylor. Soooo at this point I was happy to start sinking into the world and story. There is a nice simple introduction to the caste system within this world and the 3 girls who are living and working almost like sisters at a Tavern within the 'Ward'. Our main character is a young woman called Nirrim who is part of the 'Half Kith' caste. Along with Morah and Annin they have all been adopted/taken in by a woman we know only as Raven who is technically part of the 'Middling' caste. All lower castes have to follow laws and rules and work to basically please the upper casts the 'High Kith'

When the story properly begins there is a magical bird that basically can make everything better. Nirrim ends up capturing the bird, and from there everything kicks off and she ends in in prison have to pay a 'tithe' for breaking a law.

In prison she meets a flirtatious character going bby the name of Sid... I felt a romance coming. I felt like there was going to be more to this character than meets the eye. And I have no idea why but most romantic leads in books basically give sultry 'come to bed eyes' like Damon from the vampire diaries series, just with hair colour/eye colour replaced in my head. But the basic bone structure rarely changes. And this book is no exception...

Nirrim can see things others can't, she has learnt to hide this from others so as not to appear different and stand out. Sid has explained there is magic in the 'High Kith', Nirrim knows nothing of this because the 'Half Kith' have no access to history of their world. They remain behind the wall in the 'Ward' their whole life. I knew I loved this book when a scene resembled that of something out of a classic favourite of mine, Jane Eyre....

Sid's character development..... without going into spoiler territory I loved it. I was not expecting it, having gone into this book blind. I will instead leave this picture to sum up my feelings at the end of chapter 16....

If you know, then you know....

This books is amazingly written. I have taken my time reading it, like I haven't in a very long time. Normally I try and just get through a book as fast as possible. But I didn't want to with this one. I could see the pages slipping away and I wanted it to slow down. I found myself in a constant battle of wanted to find of the secrets of the 'Ward' and the 'High Kith' (which I had guess by this point) but always wanting to savor my time in this world with Nirrim and Sid. 

The end of chapter 39, for me seemed very important. I could feel the shift in Nirrim, the spark that will drive into the next book I think at this stage. And I think Sid felt it too.

It seems my guessing about the plot were 100% correct. I don't do spoilers so I won't disclose the guesses at all. But I was right and even though I was right and it seemed to me to be obvious I was not disappointed. I never tend to be disappointed if I guess a plot point early on. I enjoy seeing the journey the characters take to that realisation.

I loved this book, it is 100% on my favorites of the year. I will be anxiously awaiting the next book because that ending was crazy.

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller (03/04/20)

So following the success that was reading the Locke & Key graphic novels, I thought I would try some more graphic novels available on Kindle Unlimited. So I picked up Batman Year One by Frank Miller. I was recommended this years ago by an old friend. This friend  read a lot more graphic novels that I do, so I thought I would finally take him up on the recommendation.

I'm not quite sure what I expected from this but it wasn't quite what I ended up getting. I didn't realise going into this that is had in fact been written in the 80's. Had I known that I think my expetations would have been different.

This graphic novel basically follows the standard origin/start up of Batman. However it is without the development of his skills or emotional story centered on the loss of his parents. The whole thing to me felt very, without emotion. There also wasn't even really that much from Batman's point of view. It seemed to be more following Jim Gordon, who I generally like as a character. But not so much in this rendition.

Overall I felt a little let down and just kind of, like, meh...

It wasn't bad, the art work was solid. It just wasn't really what I wanted. Maybe I need to try a more current version and then make a judgement on superhero graphic novels.

That being said I couldn't honestly give this less than 3 stars.

The Captive Prince Series - C.S. Pacat (01/01/20)

This review will pretty much encompass all three books in this series; however it will contain no plot spoilers. It seems to be based in some kinds of ‘Roman’ based fantasy realm. The story itself is based surrounding a Prince called Damon and his journey to escape his enslavement to the Crown Prince of a rival nation, named Laurent. The books contain very strong themes and imagery throughout which may be a trigger for some people. This may not be a book for everyone. It is almost solely M/M for its ‘romantic’ scenes.

I overall found the book to be very enjoyable and quickly became invested in the characters. The book overall seems very character driven, which is why I think the pace was fast for the most part. I managed to read all three of these books in weekend (including a 30-page novella as I just had to have more). I particularly enjoyed the character development in the series. In the first book you become invested in Damon and how he just wants to get home. He is still grieving the loss of his father and the betrayal of those closest to him, which is how he has ended up as a pleasure slave. The second book looks at the changing dynamic between the two princes and the third pulls everything to a dramatic close. I love the conflicted emotions of the Princes. Damon goes from having an opinion of the Crown prince like this;

“A golden prince was easy to love if you did not have to watch him picking wings off flies”

 

Honestly, I did not see how a romantic relationship would form as the initial interactions between Damon and Laurent are awful. As you would expect an entitled prince to treat a pleasure slave. But some scenes are brutal and you wonder how they will see past them. But by the time you get to the second book, something has shifted. Some small glimpse of Laurent’s true character have been seen by Damon.

“Damon said, with helpless honesty, “ Laurent, I am your slave.””

And one of my favorite quotes is the following,

“A kingdom, or this.”

By the third book there is so much tension and angst between them I devoured the book in now time what so ever. I just needed to know how this would end for them both…

“I think if I gave you my heart, you would treat it tenderly.”

“Don’t, toy with me. I – have not the means to – defend myself against this.”

I would recommend this book if you want to read a vivid M/M book with strong character building. Overall I gave the first book a 3* rating and the 2^nd, 3^rd book and novella all received a solid 4* rating. There were some areas that I feel could have been looked into more deeply, however it did not detract from the overall story.

Throne of Glass (08/08/18)

This book in many ways is a standard love triangle young adult novel. If you found twilight, hunger games or house of night style books tedious. Then don’t bother here. If, however, you are like me, then open up this book for a whole new world of blooming brilliance.
Simple, if interesting concept of a young assassin roped into a be all competition to become the tyrannical kings personal Champion assassin.

I found all the main characters interesting and well rounded. I want to know more about them. Luckily there are more books in this series and I can already tell there are going to be some interesting developments with some characters. The main character Celaena, I liked, a small criticism being we maybe didn’t need telling how beautiful she was every other page. This did become less apparent as the book neared its end. Love interest wise, I surprisingly liked both possibilities. Both Chaol and Dorian were likeable and swoon worthy. Without giving away anything, I have surprised myself at which one I am routing for. I would be lying however if I didn’t admit this changes every now and again.

The character of Nehemia added some depth to Celaena that I feel helped both characters become more interesting and added some nice non love interest drama to the story. Nehemia seems fierce to me and I could see her being such a strong female force in this fantasy world.

There was plenty about this book that should have made it just a YA guilty pleasure. But I feel there are some foundations for this being a blindingly fabulous series and I am just so happy to have started it. I get very into these types of books, I love a good series, but I always worry starting one. Whether it will hold up against all the other books I have read before. And luckily for me this one did. I can already feel myself getting all fan-girly about it. I could also see this being a fabulously epic tv series.

The main criticisms about this book are that the beginning does seem very predictable and a bit slow on any action happening. This young girl is meant to be this fierce, sly and amazing assassin that needs guards at all time. Yet it takes time ¾ of the way through the book for her to have a real fight scene. Plenty of people would have lost interest before that point. Luckily, I didn’t. by the end I had a good feel for what the next books will become. I could feel the writing evolving as it went on. So if your giving this book ago and feel like it’s a bit, meh, please give it till the end to judge it. It may surprise you.

The Vorrh (05/08/18)

 

This was a story unlike many others I have read. It seemed to be based around a alternative world to this one. Nothing to out of the ordinary for the most part, except for the Vorrh. The endless forest that is believe to house the garden of Eden at its centre. The book had elements of greatness. A really unique point of view, but I felt sometimes just lacked something that would make me not want to put down. Instead I spent most of the book being carried along whilst think about what I may read afterwards.

The story was initially quite hard to follow. The jump in characters seemed clumsy and at times I was not sure who was who at all. Only a couple of characters really stood out. Ishmael was the character I most looked forward to returning to and I feel that’s where the real interesting story was based.

Other characters like Mutter, Sidras and Edward Muggeridge and even Tsungali, to some extent, began to bleed into each other and until one of them spoke to someone else or someone spoke to them I didn’t really know which character the story had turned to.

Most of the characters seemed credible if lacking a bit of depth. Other than Ishmael and Gertrude I didn’t really feel attached to any of the characters. I didn’t really care what happened to them. And for me that makes a book drag. I have had a bit of a reading slump, and whilst this isn’t the worst book I have ever read by far, I feel like I should have liked it more.

I didn’t really feel like any of the story was relatable, but I also don’t believe it was meant to.

I didn’t hate the book. But it is unlikely to be one I recommend or re read at any point. There are 2 more books that follow this one and honestly at this point I am unlikely to read those as this felt like much too much hard work. When you work full time and have a small child reading needs to be easy and gratifying. Which this book on the whole, was not.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter (14/01/15)

This is the first book in the Dexter series by Jeff Lindsey. It could roughly be classed in the genre of crime. However unlike other crime novels this is told from the murders perspective. It isn’t often I start a book and consider the fact that I am going to be on the killer side. I have watched most of the TV show which I thoroughly enjoyed, the book is different enough that you don’t feel like you have been through it before.

The book starts with Dexter and his ‘Dark Passenger’ the voice inside him that drives his need to kill. Dealing with a killer worse than him by far. We follow him and his strange thoughts through his day to day life. He repeatedly mentions that he is not human and does feel the way he should towards others. His closest relationship is with is foster sister Deborah who is following in her father’s footsteps and aims to move up from the normal police to the homicide team. Dexter is a blood spatter analyst and manages to keep his extra curricula activities hidden from all the police officers and detective around him. However Dexter starts to question himself and his grasp on sanity when it starts to look like he is involved with a string of vicious murders on hookers grips Miami.

This book was so easy and fun to read. At no point did anything Lindsey wrote feel like a chore to get through. I started to forget about the show and just go with his utter brilliance that shone through every single page. It is such a good book I can’t think of any other way to explain it. The book won’t make you think too deeply but it is fun and different and happily part of a larger series of books.

My lasting impression of this book is liking a character that should be likeable. Hoping he stays out of the clutches of the law which will always try and stop him. Also I can tell there is more to Dexter than meets the eye and I can’t wait to read the rest and delve into his sick and twisted mind again.