WWW Wednesday: 16th August 2017

August 16, 2017August 15, 2017 Ali@abookishlife13 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I just started reading The Accident by S.D. Monaghan yesterday and I’m already around a third of the way through and absolutely loving it. Despite supposedly having a NetGalley request ban in place I couldn’t really resist this one. It’s a thriller about a man who discovers his wife cheating on him and accidentally kills the other man (it’s in the blurb so not a spoiler). It’s one of those books where I really want to shout at the characters for doing silly things (as obv’s I know better how you go about covering up a murder).

Recently Finished

Yesterday: The thriller of the summer

I managed to get myself back on track with my reading this week and finished three of the books on my TBR. First up was Yesterday by Felicia Yap which I’d received from NetGalley. I was really excited about this story set in an alternate reality where the majority of the population can’t remember any further back than yesterday. I’ve always been fascinated by stories about memory and I liked the idea that this was building in a murder mystery. Unfortunately it didn’t quite work for me and I found it a bit of a struggle. I almost gave up on it a few times but managed to stick with it and it did pick up towards the end. You can read my full review here.

Maresi (The Red Abbey Chronicles, #1) The second book read was Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff. I have to confess I hadn’t heard of this book or even the author until I saw that she was coming to the Edinburgh Book Festival and doing a session with Alwyn Hamilton on strong female characters in YA. Needless to say I couldn’t resist buying this, the first book in her Red Abbey trilogy.

It’s a YA fantasy about a girl named Maresi who is a novice in the Red Abbey. The Red Abbey is a kind of sanctuary for girls and men are forbidden from setting foot on the Island where it’s based. When a new novice arrives however she is pursued by the men who abused her and the Sisters and novices have to stand together against them.

It’s a great story (albeit a little slow in the beginning), with a very strong feminist message but the real highlight for me was definitely the world building. Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant, #1)

The third and final book finished was Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. Landy is another author I’m hoping to see at the book festival so I wanted to read at least one of his books and given I feel like I’m heading for a slump this seemed perfect. It’s probably more middle grade (it’s about a 12 year old girl who teams up with a sorcerer/detective/skeleton) but it’s easy reading and really funny. I found myself giggling away as I was reading so I doubt this’ll be the last book in the series I read.

Reading Next

This coming weekend I’m going to a few events at the book festival (have I mentioned that 🙂 ) so there are a few final books I’m hoping to squeeze in if I get a chance, The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey and either The Fireman or NOS 4R2 by Joe Hill. I also managed to get my hands on ARCs of Charlotte Says by Alex Bell and Invictus by Ryan Graudin so may try to at least start one of them.

NOS4R2 The Boy on the Bridge Charlotte Says (Red Eye) Invictus

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Teaser Tuesday: 15th August 2017

August 15, 2017August 14, 2017 Ali@abookishlife14 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.

This week my teaser comes from Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. I’m hoping to go see Landy at the Edinburgh Book Festival this week so thought I really should read one of his books and this seemed like a great place to start. It’s probably aimed more at middle grade or young, young adults but I’ve been absolutely loving it.

My Teaser

“Think of it as an adventure,” he said brightly.

“Why should I do that?”

“Because if you don’t you’ll just become really really depressed. Trust me.

~ 36% Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Blurb

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant. Sure, he may lose his head now and again (in fact, he won his current skull in a poker match), but he is much more than he appears to be—which is good, considering that he is, basically, a skeleton. Skulduggery may be long dead, but he is also a mage who dodged the grave so that he could save the world from an ancient evil. But to defeat it, he’ll need the help of a new partner: a not so innocent twelve-year-old girl named Stephanie. That’s right, they’re the heroes.

Stephanie and Skulduggery are quickly caught up in a battle to stop evil forces from acquiring her recently deceased uncle’s most prized possession—the Sceptre of the Ancients. The Ancients were the good guys, an extinct race of uber-magicians from the early days of the earth, and the scepter is their most dangerous weapon, one capable of killing anyone and destroying anything. Back in the day, they used it to banish the bad guys, the evil Faceless Ones. Unfortunately, in the way of bad guys everywhere, the Faceless Ones are staging a comeback and no one besides our two heroes believes in the Faceless Ones, or even that the Sceptre is real.

So Stephanie and Skulduggery set off to find the Sceptre, fend off the minions of the bad guys, beat down vampires and the undead, prove the existence of the Ancients and the Faceless Ones, all while trading snappy, snippy banter worthy of the best screwball comedies.

Summer TBR Wipeout – Wrap Up Post

August 14, 2017 Ali@abookishlife8 Comments

Sooo around 6 weeks ago I signed up for Candid Cover’s 2nd Annual Summer TBR Wipeout and wow time has really flown. I can’t believe it’s all over but unfortunately it is and it’s time for my wrap up post.

In my introductory post I set myself the target of reading 21 books over the period knowing it was unlikely I’d manage them all but willing to give it a go. So how did I do?

Read

I would definitely class myself as a mood reader so sticking to a plan is almost impossible for me (getting my excuses in early). Other than a couple of slips however I did manage to stick pretty close to it and finished 14 of the 21.

Out of these 14 I don’t think there were really any bad reads (well maybe one) and I enjoyed just about everything. The definite highlights however were The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond, The Rome Affair by Karen Swan and We Were Liars by E Lockhart but special mentions should also go to The Monsters of Verity series by V.E. Schwab and Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy (and maybe a few others too)

Outwith the list I also finished another 4 books taking my grand total read to 18

I’m really, really happy I deviated as Big Sexy Love by Kirsty Greenwood turned out to be my absolute favourite read of the summer and I suspect will be one of my favourite reads of the year. The title makes it sound a bit Fifty Shades but I promise it’s not (there’s almost no sex). It’s more of a Sophie Kinsella or The Hating Game type romcom but a really emotional read. The MC’s BFF is dying (this is in the blurb so not spoilery).

Artemis by Andy Weir I just couldn’t resist as soon as I received the ARC (and it’s brilliant) and Ilona Andrews was a bit of escapism (my list was lacking some paranormal romance).

Still to Read

So with 14 of my 21 done I should still have another 7 left but I decided to knock a book off the list (it was a book club read I didn’t fancy) so have 6 still left on my TBR.

With the exception of The Scandal I think I’ve hit all of the release dates of my ARCs so there’s no mad panic on these (although I really want to read asap). I’m thinking I may do a Fall TBR Bingo 🙂

So that’s it, it’s officially over 😦 I want to say a big thank you to Candid Cover for hosting, I’ve absolutely loved it and sign me up for next year.

Happy reading everyone!

Review: Yesterday by Felicia Yap

August 12, 2017 Ali@abookishlife8 Comments

Yesterday by Felicia Yap

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Despite having very high hopes for this book I have to confess that I very nearly gave up on it on more than one occasion. I am happy that I continued on with it to the end but I must admit that I found it really hard going.

The premise of this story sounds so good, how do you solve a crime if you can’t remember anything other than the last 24 hours, but for me it was this central premise that just didn’t work. I absolutely love stories about amnesia and memory loss and some of my all time favourite reads feature this plot device. I’m fascinated by the question of how much of who you are is determined by your memories and experiences and how different you would be without them but I felt like this book never really touched on this.

The story is set in an alternate reality where everyone is split into two classes, Mono’s and Duo’s. Mono’s can remember only the day before while Duo’s can recall the last two days. As the famous saying goes “in the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king” and in this case it is the Duo’s with their additional day of memories who hold the positions of power while the Mono’s are considered second class citizens. Everyone however keeps track of the facts and major events of their lives in their iDiaries.

It is in this alternate reality that we are given a murder mystery. The body of a woman is found in the river and it is up to detective Hans, a mono masquerading as a duo, to solve the case before the day is out and his memories are lost.

The story is told from the points of view of Hans, the diary of the victim Sophie and mono/duo couple Mark and Claire who become involved in the investigation. These four points of view, some jumps back and forward in time combined with trying to understand this alternate reality is perhaps a bit much but you do eventually get into it.

In the beginning I did find the idea of this alternate reality fascinating but for me it quickly became frustrating and irritating. I think I found it difficult to accept that this world could be so similar to ours. There are the same companies (Apple), similar technological developments (the internet) and even the same type of society but everything just seems so cold and emotionless. The iDiaries are effectively used as a replacement for real memories and whenever anyone is asked a question about their past they simply refer to them (at one point I swore that if one more character said “let me just check that in my iDiary” I would scream). It seemed at times just a bit of a gimmick rather than a genuine attempt to create an alternate world (although I suppose it would probably be too much to try and create a completely different world and incorporate a murder mystery).

There is the interesting point over what constitutes a fact, which can be learned and remembered in this world, but I don’t think the author explored this enough and more could definitely be made of it. When is something really a fact and when is it just someone’s opinion? If you’re basing your “facts” on something someone wrote down is there not a danger they could be at best biased and at worst open to manipulation? If you could choose which facts you learn would you omit the ones you don’t like? I really would have loved more exploration of all of these questions.

The murder mystery element of the book is not particularly inspired either. There’s nothing much unique about it other than the detective having a limited time to complete his investigation. Even then a lot of the investigation seems to be reading the diary of the victim which reveals most of the events leading up to the murder and then just verifying whether they are true.

Detective Hans is probably the most likeable of the characters in the book and there are elements of his character and behaviour that felt a little bit Sherlock Holmes inspired, his determination to learn every fact, technique and other bit of knowledge he can for example. The other characters however, victim included, were not even remotely likeable something which I always struggle with and part of the reason I nearly gave up on this story on more than one occasion.

Husband Mark, is a cheat and a liar, a famous writer and wanna be politician. As a duo he sees himself as superior to everyone else. Wife Claire is a whiny, moany, emotional wreck who seriously needs to grow some back bone and victim Sophie comes across as nasty and vengeful. I genuinely couldn’t care less about any of them, never mind who the murderer was.

The split of the narrative between the characters is a little uneven and for some reason Mark and Claire seem to disappear for a big chunk in the middle of the book but actually this is when the story picked up for me. Sophie’s diary and Hans investigation were much more interesting and the book gathered a bit more pace. I found myself wondering whether the story would have been better if it had been wholly from Hans point of view.

When they did reappear however it turned out to be one of the most gripping and touching scenes of the novel before we reached the final twist which wasn’t a total surprise but made up for a lot of what came early on. I do wish the author had been a little briefer in the final exposition (I don’t want things explained to me in detail) but it did wrap everything up.

Overall, I’d probably rate it as an okay read rather than anything special but that may be down to my general dislike of unlikeable and unreliable narrators and complete inability to accept this parallel world. Certainly others have loved it so it may be worth a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC. I wish I could have given a more positive review.

WWW Wednesday: 9th August 2017

August 9, 2017August 8, 2017 Ali@abookishlife17 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I took a major detour from my reading plan last week (more below) but I’m back on track and currently reading Yesterday by Felicia Yap. This popped up on NetGalley and as soon as I heard it was about memory I couldn’t resist requesting. I’m not sure why but I find stories about amnesia and anything to do with memories absolutely fascinating.

At the moment I’m around 20% through and have to admit I’m not entirely convinced about the combination of murder mystery and alternate reality.

Recently Finished

Artemis

So it’s safe to say I went a little bit off track with my reading last week and decided to just read whatever I felt like (it was bound to happen eventually). I seem to have been reading a lot of thrillers and YA fantasy so I needed something completely different. It was also way too tempting having Artemis by Andy Weir sitting on my NetGalley shelf.

I haven’t read The Martian but it’s definitely one of my favourite films. I get the feeling that Artemis is another book that would work incredibly well as a film. The story is set in a city on the moon (Artemis) and follows smuggler Jazz as she attempts to pull off a major heist. It’s a very clever book with a main character who may not be wholly likeable (she’s rude, morally grey and alienates everyone) but is brilliant fun to read. It’s too early for a review but I’d definitely recommend.

Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1) After Artemis, which did require a bit of concentration (it’s kind of techie), I felt the need for a bit of romance and a story that would let me more or less just turn my brain off. I’ve been participating in a group challenge on GoodReads and a few of my teammates recommended Ilona Andrews so as I already had Burn for Me it seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately it was possibly too good an idea as I blasted my way through both it and the second book in the trilogy White Hot. I do have a tendency to get addicted to paranormal romances.

Reading Next

I’ve really got to get back on track with my NetGalley reads and I have a few more book signings coming up so next up will probably be The Scandal by Fredrik Backman or Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff. I’ve also been very tempted to finally pick up Now I Rise by Kiersten White. I bought it a few weeks ago but haven’t had a chance to read it yet and I really, really want to.

Maresi (The Red Abbey Chronicles, #1) The Scandal Now I Rise (The Conqueror's Saga, #2)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Teaser Tuesday: 8th August 2017

August 8, 2017August 6, 2017 Ali@abookishlife12 Comments

This week my teaser comes from Artemis by Andy Weir. I received this from NetGalley and just couldn’t resist reading more or less immediately. The story is pretty much about a heist in a city on the moon, and it’s sooo good. I haven’t read the Martian so can’t compare but it’s very clever, funny and has just the right amount of science and techie stuff.

My Teaser

It’s a simple idiot-proofing scheme that’s very effective. But no idiot-proofing can overcome a determined idiot.

~ 23% Artemis by Andy Weir

Blurb

The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thriller—a heist story set on the moon

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.

Review: The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond

August 7, 2017August 6, 2017 Ali@abookishlife14 Comments

The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Almost impossible to put down. From the very first page I was completely hooked and the gradual build in tension throughout meant that I was reaching for this book at every possible opportunity. It’s not without flaws but there is something about the narrator that is instantly likeable and the premise is so unique that these are very easy to overlook.

Definitely one I’d recommend for all psychological thriller fans.

WWW Wednesday: 2nd August 2017

August 2, 2017August 2, 2017 Ali@abookishlife22 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I started reading Artemis by Andy Weir at the weekend. I received an ARC of this from NetGalley and it’s not due for release for a couple of months but despite having a big list of other books I should be reading I just couldn’t resist.

I haven’t read The Martian (although I love the film) so I can’t compare but I’m really enjoying this story of a smuggler who lives in a city on the moon. It has a really good mix of science and humour and methinks there’s going to be a heist.

Recently Finished

We Were Liars

I’ve been making great progress with my reading this week and managed to finish three books. The first of these was We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I think I read this from cover to cover in more or less a day. It was just so addictive that once I started I couldn’t put it down. It felt very unique to me and was completely different from what I was expecting. I know a lot of people haven’t liked it but I think it’s just one of those Marmite books (you’ll love it or hate it). It is a book you’re best going in blind to so I’m not reviewing it but I did rate 4.5 stars.

The second book finished was psychological thriller Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker. I read and really enjoyed the authors previous book All Is Not Forgotten so couldn’t resist requesting this when it popped up on NetGalley. This time the story is about two sisters who go missing and then three years later one of them returns. It’s up to psychiatrist Dr Abby Winter to figure out why both girls disappeared and find the missing girl. Like the author’s previous book this is an intelligent thriller which feels like there is some real research behind it. I did think it lost a little bit of the tension in the middle but definitely an interesting read.

The third and final book finished this week was Wing Jones by Katherine Webber. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this as based on the reviews and blurb I wasn’t sure whether it was a contemporary or fantasy. I can confirm now that I’ve read it however that it is mostly contemporary with a little bit of fantasy. Mostly it’s a coming of age story which is really strong on family relationships and has some very diverse characters. Definitely one I’d recommend.

Reading Next

I posted an update on my progress with the Summer TBR Wipeout challenge hosted by Candid Cover on Monday which included my August TBR so my reads will almost definitely be coming from there.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below. I’m going to see E. Lockhart and Katherine Webber this evening straight from work so may be a little slow in replying or visiting blogs so apologies in advance. I will get there eventually.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Teaser Tuesday: 1st August 2017

August 1, 2017July 28, 2017 Ali@abookishlife11 Comments

This week my teaser comes from We Were Liars by E Lockhart. I read this last week and absolutely loved it so I had to share a teaser. It’s one of those books that’s best to go into blind so I won’t say much other than if you’re one of the few people who haven’t read it, go read it now.

My Teaser

Someone once wrote that a novel should deliver a series of small astonishments. I get the same thing spending an hour with you.

Also, here is a green toothbrush tied in a ribbon.

It expresses my feelings inadequately.

~ 15% We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Blurb

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Summer TBR Wipeout – Update 2

July 31, 2017 Ali@abookishlife14 Comments

Where on earth has the summer gone. It feels like no time at all since I posted my introductory post for Candid Cover’s Summer TBR Wipeout and there are now only a couple of weeks left until the challenge ends on 13th August.

Despite some initial reservations about actually having to plan (the horror) I’ve absolutely loved this challenge. I’m most definitely a mood reader but it’s been great to at least keep an eye on some of the due dates and also have a look to see what everyone else has been reading.

I’m not entirely convinced it has in any way reduced my TBR (I’ve added far more books than I’ve read) but I think I may keep up the planning so I’m going to combine this post with my August TBR.