My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m really struggling on how to rate this story. I do love Tess Gerritsen and I think her writing is fantastic but there was something about this story that just didn’t feel right. I picked it up around 10pm at night after a very long day in the office and kept reading till I finished around 1am so it can’t have been that bad but I was left with this kind of unsatisfactory feeling.

Synopsis

The story starts incredibly well. Violinist Julia Andsell is browsing antique shops in Italy when she comes across an old book of music with a hand written page within. Unable to resist she buys the book and returns to her husband and 3 year old daughter in Boston. After spending the day with her daughter Lily she decides to try playing the piece. When she does however Lily exhibits some disturbing behaviour that gives her cause for concern.

She speaks to a doctor who tells her not to worry but a little while later when practicing the piece again Lily attacks her. Julia is positive her child has changed and wants to hurt her but no one believes her. Is there something wrong with Lily, could the music be responsible for the change or is everything in Julia’s head as everyone else seems to think? She is positive the music is responsible so is determined to find out it’s history.

This leads her back to Italy and the story of composer and violinist Lorenzo who was a Jew in Venice during the second World War. It seems however that someone doesn’t want her to find out the truth.

Thoughts

Despite what the blurb on Amazon and GoodReads may say this is really two stories wrapped up in one. On one hand there is the story of Julia and her possibly demonic child and on the other the story of Lorenzo. The book is actually told from the dual perspective of each with alternating sections.

While I mostly enjoyed both stories I felt like the alternating sections didn’t quite work. Julia’s sections were more psychological thriller whereas Lorenzo’ s were about the horrors of the holocaust with a little bit of doomed love thrown in. Both would no doubt have worked on their own but didn’t mesh well with each other. The tension in Julia’s story was broken and I never really felt the emotion and horror of Lorenzo’s.

The writing is pretty good throughout (I devoured the whole thing in a few hours) but I thought the story and characters lacked the depth they needed to bring out the emotion of the themes. It did start well with a couple of very creepy scenes but after that I think it lost it’s way.

The ending in particular I thought really let it down as it felt like a bit of a cop out and was a little too easy.

Overall, a good enough read but a little bit confused in genre and lacking depth.

WWW Wednesday: 6th January 2016

January 6, 2016January 5, 2016 Ali@abookishlife16 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays 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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I’m a little bit between books at the moment as I’m suffering from a serious book hangover. To tide me over until I’m ready for a proper book I’m still working my way through My True Love Gave to Me, a series of short stories by YA authors.

I started it a few weeks ago but for some reason it seems to be taking me forever to read. Nothing against the book (a lot of the stories I’ve read have been great) I just struggle a bit with short stories. You’re just getting into a story when it comes to an end and you’re on to the next one. They do tend to be a good way to find new authors so no doubt it will result in an increased TBR pile 🙂

Recently Finished

My younger brother was getting married last week so between that, Christmas and New Year things have been a bit hectic. I kind of missed my WWW Wednesday post (I was too busy burning up the dance floor) but I did manage to squeeze in quite a bit of reading.

First up I read A Christmas Carol to get me in the holiday spirit. Twas my very first Dickens and found I enjoyed it. For some reason I’ve always been a little scared of his writing but found it quite accessible. Someone recommended Great Expectations to me so this has encouraged me to give it a read.

After A Christmas Carol I moved on to The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Haven’t quite gotten around to posting a review but I thought it was a great book. The narrative style is pretty unique and I think puts a lot of people off but I thought it was some of the best world building I’ve come across and I liked the characters (particularly Manchee).

Unfortunately my third book, The Perfect Match by Katie Fforde, was less of a success. Katie Fforde is one of my favourite authors but there were just too many things about the main character and plot which wound me up. You can see my full slightly ranty review here.

Things picked up a little with the next story I read, Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick. It’s a YA thriller and is an ok read. It’s quite easy going and has an interesting plot. I just didn’t think there was anything to make it stand out.

Last up and the book that’s left me with the most humongous book hangover is A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. This was a book of the month on GoodReads and I’d seen some great reviews so broke my new year’s resolution to buy it. I’m so glad I did. It’s a bit early to say this but I think it could be one of my favourite reads of the year.

Reading Next

Since breaking my no book buying resolution (on the 2nd January…oops) I’ve had a bit of a splurge so I have quite a few choices for my next reads. I think my plan though is to read Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen which I’m due to return to the library next week. I love Tess so looking forward to it although I’m expecting something a bit different from the Rizzoli and Isles series.

After Tess I’m moving on to another of my favourite authors, Jojo Moyes, with the book After You. I loved Me Before You and a lot of Jojo’s other stories so I have high hopes. I just really hope I’m not disappointed.

In the unlikely event I finish those books I’m planning to read the rest of Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking Series. The Knife of Never Letting Go finished on a bit of a cliffhanger so I can’t wait to find out what happens next in The Ask and the Answer.

I’m hoping this will be a good reading month. Have you read any of the books above? Do you have any recommendations?

Teaser Tuesday: 5th January 2015

January 5, 2016 Ali@abookishlife8 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. 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 A Daily Rhythm.

meme-TeaserTuesday-dkblue-boxed

This week I’m between books. I just finished A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab and am suffering from an almighty book hangover. It is such a good book I need a couple of days to recover from it before I start anything else or post a review. In the meantime here’s a teaser from it.

My Teaser

“My life is mine to spend,” she said. “And I will not spend it here, no matter how nice your city is, or how much safer it might be.”

~ page 327

If anyone hasn’t read it yet I would definitely recommend.

Happy reading everyone.

Book Review: Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick

January 4, 2016January 2, 2016 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is my second book by Becca Fitzpatrick so I had a rough idea what to expect as far as writing goes and was looking forward to reading this new story. Unfortunately, while I found it an enjoyable enough story and an easy read, it wasn’t anything particularly special.

Synopsis

17 year old girl, Stella, witnesses a crime and is forced to leave her home, family and her boyfriend to go into witness protection. She moves from a big city to a small town in Nebraska where she has to try to adjust to a new way of life. As her mother had money and a drug habit Stella is used to doing her own thing so it’s safe to say she rebels a bit at the start even though it’s for her own safety.

It’s not long though before she meets boy next door Chet and starts to realise life in Nebraska might not be too bad. However someone in town starts stirring up trouble and there is a chance the secrets from her past will catch up to her putting her life and the lives of those around her in danger.

Thoughts

Overall I had nothing against this book I just seem to be struggling to find reasons to love it.

The writing is pretty good and the story ticks along at a nice pace. I liked the idea of the whole witness protection thing and it definitely had the potential to be a real page turner. Added to that there is a bit of mystery around the events Stella claims to have witnessed which makes you wonder what really happened that night. There are a few twists and surprises in the story which do keep you guessing (and reading) but I felt like there could have been a little more tension. I was never really on the edge of my seat.

In terms of main character Stella, I’ve read a few reviews talking about how much they disliked her but I actually kind of admired her attitude. Yes, for a girl in hiding she does some remarkably stupid things which are guaranteed to get her noticed but I liked how she stood up for herself and others even when it led trouble her way. Like a lot of YA heroines she is a little bit boy crazy which kind of annoys me but it seems to be standard in these types of books. I also found it quite strange how quickly she developed feelings for someone other than her boyfriend (who she apparently couldn’t live without at the start).

Boy next door Chet is nice enough and I did enjoy the banter between the two of them but I felt it lacked that little bit of spark that would have made their attraction a bit more believable.

The remaining characters could also have done with a bit more depth as I felt they were a little stereotyped. There was the bullying high school jock with the massive ego, the underage pregnancy, younger teen going off the rails due to lack of parental role model etc. I’m not sure what else the author could have done but I think I’m getting a bit fed up of the same types of character in every YA book. Although I have to admit that I did like that there were a lot of strong women.

As far as the ending to the story, I have to say that I found it a little unsatisfying. It seemed like there was a lot of build up to not a lot of action. What action there was seemed to be over in a few pages with minimal fuss or emotion. It wasn’t bad it just wasn’t as good as I hoped and I would have liked a slightly different ending for Stella.

Overall therefore I would recommend it if you’re looking for an easy read with some action for a lazy afternoon but I don’t think it’s a stand out book.

Book Review: Wendy Darling by Colleen Oakes

January 2, 2016 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

Wendy Darling: Stars by Colleen Oakes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“All the world is made of faith and trust and pixie dust” – J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

That may have been the case for J.M. Barrie but in Colleen Oakes version of the classic Peter Pan story everything is a lot darker and more sinister. I loved it.

I’m a big fan of classic stories that are re told with a bit of a twist so when I saw this book with it’s stunning cover I couldn’t resist. I will admit I’ve never actually read the original J.M. Barrie story so I can’t do a direct comparison but I can say this version is definitely a lot different to the Disney film which I couldn’t resist watching at the weekend.

Synopsis

The general story is the same, Wendy and her brothers John and Michael are whisked away from their home by the charismatic boy who can fly, Peter Pan. They go to Neverland where they meet the other Lost Boys and Tink, go on adventures to steal treasure, fight pirates and generally forget all about their home and their parents. Wendy starts worry about losing her memories however and wants to take her brothers home but Peter is not a fan of that idea and tries to keep them.

Thoughts

Despite the similar plot this feels like a very different tale. The author manages to twist almost everything about the original story and make it that little bit darker and more sinister.

Wendy is the same prim and proper mother type to both her brothers and the other lost boys (something I found a bit annoying) but back home she’s having a secret relationship with the bookseller’s son which is turning serious. Eldest of her brothers John is a much nastier piece of work than the cartoon version and is downright rude and stand-offish with his family. Michael the youngest is an absolute joy to read about and I couldn’t help but love his enthusiasm and bounce.

The biggest differences however are with Peter and Tink. Peter is sinister and creepy right from his first appearance in the Darling’s bedroom. He seems to have some amazing charisma which persuades the Darlings to follow him despite their initial instincts and to convince the Lost Boys to take on pirates for little gain. He seems like some kind of cult leader in a way with almost everyone under his spell. You get the feeling almost immediately however that he is a little unstable and he definitely doesn’t like it when things don’t go his way.

The Tink in this tale is truly damaged. She comes across as almost psychotic at times but as this seems to be due to a very twisted relationship with Peter you can’t help but feel a little sorry for her. Particularly when it becomes clear that Peter has feelings for Wendy and will use Tink, who is in love with him, to win her over.

As well as the differences in the characters the world the author creates is also very unique. There is magic and magical creatures but these are much more dangerous than expected. There is a lot of violence in the story, mostly initiated by Peter, and there are some slightly gruesome deaths which make me think this would be more suited towards the older YA reader.

While I did enjoy the story however there were a few little things that niggled about the writing. My main critique being that I felt some of the descriptions went on a little bit too long and there were far too many similes. They worked well in terms of giving you a feel for the world but I thought they slowed the story down a little too much and I found my attention wandering.

I actually didn’t realise when I started reading that this was the first in a series (my fault as it does make it clear on the cover) so I was a little shocked at the suddenness of the ending and I have to admit frustrated to be left with a cliffhanger. I am however quite excited to find out what happens in the story next as we never really got to know the pirates side of the story and given the darkness in Peter I think it could be quite unexpected.

Definitely a book I’d recommend if you like a good retelling but be prepared for a sudden ending.

Book Review: The Perfect Match by Katie Fforde

January 2, 2016 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

The Perfect Match by Katie Fforde

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really hate having to give two stars to a Katie Fforde book but considering how much the whole thing annoyed me I couldn’t justify giving it any more. Sorry.

Before this book I probably would have rated Katie Fforde as one of my all time favourite authors. I don’t know whether her writing has changed or if my tastes have changed but this book just really didn’t work for me.

Synopsis

There isn’t really much of a story, a twenty something estate agent Bella goes to stay with her 60 year old Godmother Alice after leaving her previous home and job to get away from a man. She’s now settled, dating her boss and fairly happy finding houses for difficult clients but then the man she tried to get away from, Dominic, reappears in her life as the relative of a friend. You can pretty much guess what happens after that. There are sub plots about her boss (and boyfriends) dodgy dealings and her godmothers romance with a younger man but that’s about it.

Thoughts

The writing is pretty typical Katie Fforde style and is an easy enough read (although I was disappointed to find a few errors) but it’s starting to feel a little bit dated and old fashioned to me particularly compared to some of my more recent reads.

I think what really bothered me however was main character Bella, I just couldn’t understand her and she frustrated me so much that at one point I almost gave up on the whole book.

Firstly she left her home and her job and moved miles away because she had a thing for a married man and was heartbroken when his wife got pregnant. Nothing, other than a kiss under the mistletoe, had ever happened between them so I don’t understand what all the drama was about. I’ve had feelings for co workers (married and single) but have never felt the need to move home and quit my job to avoid them. Get over it, they’re married.

Secondly, after she was “forced” to leave her life and job due to a crush on a man she then immediately gets into a relationship with her new boss. Did she not learn to keep work and romance separate? As a result she puts up with a boyfriend she doesn’t love, who regularly insults her and treats her atrociously because she doesn’t want to lose her job and have to move again. I mean come on. Can someone be so silly and weak? Chuck him and if he sacks you sue him for all he’s worth (unfair dismissal, sexual harassment).

Finally she meddles in things that are either none of her business or should be reported to the police. I won’t go into details as it’s a bit of a spoiler but who in their right mind gets involved in someone else’s custody battle or confronts a criminal to ask them to stop breaking the law.

OK mad rant over, it’s safe to say Bella annoyed me. The romantic interest wasn’t much better. I can’t really think of much to say about him. He seemed nice enough but nothing particularly special or exciting. He’s not actually in the story that much and they don’t spend a lot of time together so not much in the way of conversation or spark. I’m not sure I believed the supposed attraction between them which I think was the point of the book but maybe I was missing something.

So to sum up I didn’t like the characters, there wasn’t much in the way of plot and I didn’t really feel the romance. Maybe I was just in the wrong frame of mind. Other Katie Fforde fans may still love it but this one just wasn’t for me.

Stand Out Reads of 2015

December 31, 2015December 31, 2015 Ali@abookishlife12 Comments

Over the last 12 months I’ve read 151 books (according to GoodReads) which was well ahead of my 100 book target for the year. Looking over all of the books and my ratings I thought I’d do a quick awards ceremony for the stand out books of the year, good and bad.

I’m sure not everyone will agree with my choices but these were definitely some of my favourites. (if you’re interested in reading any you can click on the links to go to the GoodReads page)Read More »

WWW Wednesday: 23rd December 2015

December 23, 2015 Ali@abookishlife10 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays 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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I thought that as Christmas is coming I should start to get in the spirit of things so I’m currently reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. While I’ve seen a few TV and film adaptations, this is my first reading of the original. It’s also my first Dicken’s book. I’m only around a quarter of the way through (the ghost of Marley has just appeared) but I’m really enjoying it. All of the characters feel so real and so well described.

Recently Finished

I’ve been reading a lot this week so have finished a few books. The first of which was The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. Quite enjoyed it but didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would. You can find my full review here.

After the Invisible Library I abandoned my original reading plan yet again and decided to read Knight and Play by Kitty French. I really like Kitty French, she is turning into my go to author when I’m looking for something fun and a little bit smutty. For what I was looking for it certainly disappoint although I have to admit I got a little bored with all of the erotic scenes (it was almost every page).

I also couldn’t resist reading Carry On by Rainbow Rowell over the weekend. I’d been planning on saving it for Christmas but after reading so many good reviews I couldn’t hold out any longer. I have to say all of the good reviews are totally justified. I loved it. I’m kind of hoping there will be a sequel.

Finally, I also read The Paper Swan by Laylah Attar. It was a book of the month in one of my GoodRead groups so wasn’t something I would necessarily have picked for myself but found it a really engaging read. Once I started I don’t think I put it down (other than when I was at work). I finished it pretty late last night so haven’t had a chance to write a review but should have one up soon.

Reading Next

I’m starting to think that I should stop saying what I’m planning to read next as I never seem to stick to it. However this time I am determined to read at least a couple of the books I had from last week, Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick and The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I’m far too excited about both of them to hold out any longer.

I also got overly excited this week when I got home to find that Pan MacMillan had sent me an advance copy of Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. I read the first few chapters a couple of weeks ago and have been desperate to read the rest. It’s also very pretty so there is no way I’ll be able to resist (I can’t find a picture but will photo for my review).

Overall it looks like I have some great books lined up for the Christmas period. Have you read any of them or have you been saving a book for the holidays?

Teaser Tuesday: 22nd December 2015

December 22, 2015 Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

I have a bit of a confession to make this week, I’ve never read a single book by Charles Dickens. Shocking I know but I’ve decided to rectify the situation by getting in the spirit of the season and reading A Christmas Carol. I’ve just started but couldn’t resist using it for this week’s teaser.

My Teaser

It was a strange figure – like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view, and being diminished to a child’s proportions. Its hair, which hung about its neck and down its back, was white as if with age; and yet the face had not a wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin.

~ page 31

Happy reading everyone.

Book Review: Dead Ringers by Christopher Golden

December 20, 2015December 19, 2015 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

Dead Ringers by Christopher Golden

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was really excited to get a copy of this book. I love a good scary story and based on all of the great reviews I had high hopes.

Unfortunately it was not at all what I was expecting so I found it a bit disappointing. It’s actually one of those books where I feel like I’ve been reading something different from everyone else. I don’t know, maybe I was just in the wrong frame of mind when I started it and that influenced my reading but I found the whole thing a bit of a struggle.

Synopsis

When Tess bumps into ex husband Nick on the street she gets angry when it seems he’s pretending not to know her. She phones to give him hell but when she finally speaks to him she realises the guy she bumped into wasn’t him but his double. Chatting to friend Lili she finds out that people have reported her friend has a double. Tess and Lili decide there’s something sinister about these doubles and start investigating.

Meanwhile Frank, an old colleague of Tess, Lili and Nick, is confronted in his home by an intruder who has his face. Fake Frank holds him hostage in the basement and starts to take over his life.

As Tess and Lili step up their investigation they discover a connection to events in their past and have to face their fears and their doppelgangers if they hope to survive.

Thoughts

I’ve been going through a bit of a horror phase at the moment and was drawn to this story by both the blurb and the fantastic reviews. It’s described as a haunted house story with a twist which I have to say I don’t think it is. I was expecting the majority of the story to be set in a house with the danger coming from the mirrors. I had this idea of the reflections not imitating but seeking to escape and replace the originals.

In fact there is very little of the story set within a house. I would probably describe it more as a type of invasion of the body snatchers than haunted house tale. The idea of doppelgangers seeking to replace their doubles, while not original, is an interesting one. It has the potential to be creepy and menacing however I felt like that didn’t come across.

For me there were just too many things that didn’t work. I didn’t feel any real tension or emotion and I never really connected with any of the characters. To be perfectly honest I wasn’t too fussed who lived or died.

Every single character had some issue or past trauma that was almost constantly referred to and over analysed. I’m all for diverse characters but there were just too many issues among a small number of people for it to be realistic and it just wasn’t that relevant to the story. I’m of the view that you shouldn’t have to keep telling the reader about a character’s issues or personality traits. It should be obvious from their actions and their dialogue

I also thought they kind of over reacted to some of the early incidents. OK it’s a bit funny to bump into someone who looks exactly like someone you know but I wouldn’t think it would be as terrifying as it’s made out to be. It’s possible my stress levels at the moment are leading to a lack of empathy but I just didn’t find a lot of the supposed terrifying incidents that scary.

The dialogue between characters seemed a little clunky to me at times and I think the story suffered from a lack of description of both people and places. Some of the action sequences in particular were a little confusing and unclear and I would have liked a little more scene setting to help me imagine where they were and what was happening. I don’t know, maybe I just missed it or wasn’t paying attention.

There are a lot of 5 star reviews so it obviously hit the right spot for others but sorry it wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.