Author: Ali@abookishlife

Book Review: The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood

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The Vintage Guide to Love and RomanceThe Vintage Guide to Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was laugh out loud funny but unfortunately I don’t think it’s one I’ll remember for long.

The story follows Jessica Beam, 28 years old, single and just wants to enjoy life with no responsibilities or commitments. She parties, gets drunk a lot and a one night stand is a regular occurrence.

“Did the new neighbour just call you a slapper?” she asks, observing his retreating form. “I prefer sexually cheerful”

If a conversation turns serious she flees the scene and she is totally unreliable.

When she ends up losing her home and her job in the same day the people she thought were friends don’t want to know. She has no one left to turn to but her long lost Grandmother. She’s hoping for a hand out that will let her go travelling (and partying) but Grandma has financial problems of her own.

To solve both of their problems they agree to collaborate on a book. Grandma it turns out is the famous (ish) author of the Good Woman Guides. A series which advises women how to be elegant, well mannered and find herself a good man. Jess agrees to live by the rules to see if she can get a confirmed bachelor and womanizer to fall in love with her. Various funny escapades ensue as Jess let’s her Grandma give her a makeover and follows her very old fashioned advice on how to catch a man.

I did really like this story. It’s well written, hilariously funny in places and I think the pacing is more or less spot on.

Jessica is a very likeable character. Given her total unreliability and crazy behaviour she’s not someone I’d want as a friend but it was quite refreshing to have a female protagonist who’s living life how she wants and not worrying what others think. At times she is a bit too trusting in her supposed best friend which was very frustrating and she has some unpleasant characteristics but over the course of the book she starts to soften.

The other characters in the novel are well written including her Grandma who is very strict and old fashioned but is easily upset and terrified of losing her home and memories. All she wants is to connect to her only remaining family. New housemate and Grandma’s PA Peach was however my favourite character. She’s quite shy, with no friends, but is just so enthusiastic about everything you can’t help but like her. When she teams up with Jess there is just no stopping her.

I think what led to the book falling a little flat for me however was the men. The target of the project is Advertising Exec Leo Frost. First impressions of him are not particularly great. He seems quite stuck up, serious and has a bad reputation with women. While a lot of this proves to be untrue I still didn’t really feel any attraction between him and Jess. It was the same with the doctor downstairs, who Jess ends up in a friend’s with benefits situation, I didn’t feel a spark between them.

Overall therefore, while I thought the story was enjoyable it didn’t really give me the emotions that would make the story stick with me. I have a feeling I will have forgotten it in a couple of weeks.

I would still recommend it if you’re looking for an easy read with a lot of laughs.

Favourite quote:

“I love you more than tea and kittens and apricot gin”

Book Review: The Blonde Eskimo by Kristen Hunt

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Blonde EskimoBlonde Eskimo by Kristen Hunt
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Maybe I’m too old for this one or maybe I’ve just read too many YA fantasy books recently but this book just didn’t really work for me.

It starts off quite well in a way quite similar to Twilight with main character Neiva packed off by her parents to Spirit Island, Alaska to stay with her Grandmother and finish her final year at school while her parents go travelling.

There are hints from the very beginning that there is something very mysterious about the Island. It’s remote and very insular and no one seems to have heard of it. Those who Neiva tells seem to instantly forget about it. This time however she is determined to get proof that something isn’t right. When she first arrives everything seems fairly normal however you quickly get the sense that everyone is keeping secrets from her.

It’s only on her 17th birthday that the secrets begin to come to light and strange things start happening. Neiva finds out that she has to take part in an ancient and traditional ritual which involves among other things receiving a totem of her spirit guide. She soon discovers however that she and her friends have powers and there is a whole other world around her. A world of spirits and demons and other legends, one of which seems to be determined to kill her. She also meets a mysterious stranger in a mask that she can’t help being drawn to.

There are some great ideas in this book. I loved the idea of the Eskimo legends being real (although I should say I know nothing about Eskimo legends so have no idea if any of them are truly legends). It does give it that slightly different twist on the usual young adult fantasy book.

The problem I had however was that I felt there was too much going on and I found it confusing. Spirits, guardians, demons, spirit guides, vampires, Triton, the Loch Ness monster and various other creatures get a mention at some point or another. I have to admit I gave up trying to follow it. There is a lot of information that’s thrown at you in big chunks and at times it breaks the flow of the story and doesn’t seem relevant. There could have been a bit more subtlety in working it into the text.

There are also some inconsistencies and continuity issues which were a little frustrating. For example one minute a raven was her favourite animal, the next she was terrified of them and then she loved them again. There was a moment she thought she recognised someone then dismissed it as her imagination. Five minutes later she was writing in her diary about how she was positive she’d seen them. Neiva also knew someone’s name even though after the last time they met she commented that she’d forgotten to ask for it. I had an ARC so hopefully these have been fixed.

I found it strange in this book as well how none of the adults seemed overly concerned about the fact someone was trying to kill Neiva. In most YA fantasy books the adults are blissfully ignorant of what’s going on however in this case they all know the legends and could help. Instead they quite happily sent her off camping in a remote location with her friends. She does receive training but that seemed to be mostly dance lessons and riding sea creatures which isn’t much practical use if someone is trying to drown you, eat your soul or send a possessed bear after you. The advice she kept receiving was to stick with her friends. Although her friends didn’t seem to be a huge amount of use in keeping her safe.

The characters were OK. I found Neiva a little annoying in some ways and felt like she was younger than the 17 she was supposed to be. Every boy she met was soooo good looking and she seemed to spend most of her time blushing or crying. I was not a fan of the diary. I did like how she pushed for answers though and that she cared so much about her friends and family. I also liked her friends Nate and Viv and the relationship between the two of them. Viv is fiery in more ways than one whereas Nate is funny and loyal. They fight constantly but I get the feeling it’s a bit of a love/hate thing.

The story does pick up towards the end and I did find that it started to draw me in so that I wanted to know how things would turn out. I don’t think though that I will be rushing to read the next in the series although maybe I just need a break from this genre.

Overall, while I didn’t love it I think a lot of people, particularly younger teens will. It reminded me a bit of the Iron King (which I also wasn’t keen on) so if you like that you would probably like this.

Thanks to NetGalley and SparkPress for the ARC

Book Review (take 2): Nivana by J.R. Stewart

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Nirvana (Nirvana Series #1)Nirvana by J.R. Stewart
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Before you think “haven’t I seen this review before” this is actually a new review of a revised version of Nirvana. I initially received an advance copy from NetGalley around a month or so ago and while I thought the idea was good it wasn’t quite working for me (and based on reviews a lot of other people too).

However the author has taken a lot of this feedback on board and the book has had a major re write. I was contacted by the publisher and asked if I would mind reading the new version to see what I thought. This is the first time I’ve re read a book that’s had a major re write and I have to say it was a strange experience. The story is almost unrecognizable from the previous version and while I think it is much improved I couldn’t help comparing to the previous version.

The essential story is the same. It’s set in 2080 following an event known as the Extinction where the bees disappeared resulting in the loss of crops, livestock and pretty much all life. Those that are left live in a society controlled by the major corporation Hexagon. They keep the populace subdued through both fear and control of virtual reality which, in such a destroyed world, is the only form of entertainment and escape.

Larissa Kenders is one of the operators of the virtual reality system and as her fiancee Andrew is one of the programmers she knows all to well that all is not as it seems. The system is used to monitor those who use it and the wrong thoughts or actions mean disappearing never to be seen again. With her background as a punk rocker and history of rebellion against authority this doesn’t sit well with her and she tries to help where she can.

Meanwhile Andrew seems worried about something and has made a major discovery in his work which he isn’t telling her about. Then one morning he disappears and his research and work disappears with him. Kenders is told he’s dead and treated by the authorities as a suspect in the disappearance of his work. However when Andrew begins to appear to her in virtual reality she begins to think he may be alive and trying to get a message to her. Is he really alive though or is she just seeing what she wants to believe? If he is alive she has to find a way to reach him but who if anyone can she trust?

I thought this was an interesting take on the young adult dystopian. I loved how it used the technology and virtual worlds to raise the question of what is reality and what is virtual and how do you tell the difference. It also raises the issue if something seems convincing does it matter if it isn’t actually real? I’m kind of fascinated as well by the idea of big corporations gaining so much power they can overthrow a government. I have to admit that I find it kind of scary how much companies seem to know about us and the amount of information that’s stored out there in the inter-web. It seems very plausible that this type of society could come about in the future.

In terms of the characters, I liked Kenders for the most part. She’s intelligent, caring and fights for what she believes in. She has a bit of a troubled past but seems to be fairly well balanced and strong despite this. Andrew I wasn’t too sure about. Possibly he was just a bit quiet and distant for me to connect to but I didn’t feel like I got much sense of him as a person. Most of the time it seemed as if he was focused on his work and ignored everything else around him. I think it’s for that reason that I wasn’t totally sold on their relationship. There didn’t seem to be any real spark between them. I felt that it made it difficult to get behind Kenders in her quest to find him which was probably the main point of the story.

The character I did like and was really rooting for was Kenders friend from childhood Serge, although I don’t think we got to see enough of him in this version. He was a bit of a conflicted character, in love with Kenders and willing to do almost anything for her but also with everything to lose if she gets to Andrew and the truth. I feel like more could have been made of him as a character but his part was cut a little short. I also liked ex band mate Lexie. She was pretty wild and willing to go to any lengths to achieve her goal. I’m hoping we get to see more of her in future stories.

Overall, I thought the pacing of the story was good and there’s a lot more action and dialogue in the revised version. I would have liked a bit more depth in places as I didn’t really get the feels but it was good to find a book with a bit more originality and realism than the usual YA dystopian. I’m not entirely sure I liked the ending but I am a little curious about what will happen next.

WWW Wednesday – 21st October

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It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Unfortunately I missed last week as I’d been ill and hadn’t had a chance to actually read anything but I’m so excited to be taking part again.

WWW WednesdayThe three W’s are:

  • 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 Reading23343303

At the moment I’m working my way through The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood. It’s a light and fluffy romance about a girl who doesn’t do love and romance but is convinced to follow the rules in a “get a man” guide book from the 1950’s. Finding it really funny which is proving difficult as far as reading on my commute goes. I’m back to using my hand to cover my mouth so I won’t actually laugh out loud.

Toil & Trouble: A Know Not Why Halloween (Mis)adventureRecently Finished

Over the last week or so I’ve been doing quite well and have finished a few books. After reading Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson last week I couldn’t resist the follow up novella Toil and Trouble. It’s set at Halloween so seemed an appropriate read for October. Unfortunately little bit disappointed in it as it switched from first to third person and nothing much happened.

After that I was looking for a bit more romance so read How to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks which I’d received as an ARC. OK read but nothing special. I then switched back to my usual genre of YA fantasy and read The Jewel by Amy Ewing. First in a series but not sure I’ll be rushing to read the sequel. It seemed quite formulaic and as if the author was dragging out what could have been one story into a series. I think it may actually have put me off YA fantasy altogether for a while.

Blonde EskimoReading Next

Next I need to start working my way through some of the ARC books I have sitting around and which are kind of overdue. I think first up will be Blonde Eskimo by Kirsten Hunt although I’m a little bit unsure about it. The reviews seem to be a bit mixed so I have a feeling it will be a love or hate type story.

I have however been distracted by Love, Death and Tea by Will Once which sounds like it could be an interesting read. It’s a story from the point of view of a zombie so should definitely fit my love of the weird and unusual stories. Also another one that should fit in with the Halloween theme.

Book Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

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The Jewel (The Lone City, #1)The Jewel by Amy Ewing
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Meh.

Think that pretty much sums up my feelings about this book. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. Just didn’t really care that much about it. Possibly I’ve just read too many YA dystopian books recently and need a break but it felt like this story had so much potential but just got stuck in the same formula as every other one.

The story follows Violet, a seventeen year old girl who was chosen at a young age to be a surrogate for the royalty. She has to say goodbye to her poor but honest and loving family and be auctioned off to the highest bidder. She is one of the highest ranked surrogates in her year due to her ability to manipulate energy so is snapped up by a Duchess from one of the four founding families.

However while on the surface it seems like a life of luxury there is a lot of manoeuvring and game playing among the royal families and Violet has to keep in favour if she is to survive. Then she meets Ash, companion to the Duchess’s niece, and she falls in love putting both their lives at risk.

This is quite an easy and quick read and the story flows well but I felt like not a huge amount happened. Books like this make me think the author is dragging out what could be one book to a series. There are a lot of similarities to other books such as the Hunger Games, the Selection and even a bit of Harry Potter so not much stands out as being particularly original.

Violet as a character was ok. A bit naive, a little rebellious and very caring but for the most part kind of boring. Ash the romantic interest wasn’t much better. He’s essentially hired to romance and flirt with the niece so should be handsome and charming but while we’re told repeatedly how good looking he is I couldn’t see the attraction.

The whole romance between Violet and Ash just wasn’t believable to me. They spend literally five minutes together and they are madly in love and willing to risk their lives? Sorry, but no, I don’t buy it. If there had been a bit more banter or even just a little conversation I might have accepted it but there is absolutely no spark.

Worryingly the one character I did like was the Duchess who is supposed to be the baddie of the piece. She is manipulative, scheming, violent and at times sad but she knows what she wants and she goes for it. For me she was definitely one of the most interesting characters. Everyone else felt a bit stereotypical and dull.

The story does pick up around the end but by then I wasn’t sure I cared what happened. I am slightly annoyed by the cliffhanger at the end as it seems another sign that the author is dragging the story out and trying to get readers to buy the next one.

I’m not sure I care enough and I’m sure it will be another drawn out story leading to a further cliffhanger and no real answers to all of the questions raised.

Book Review: The Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon by Linda Ballou

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The Cowgirl Jumped Over the MoonThe Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon by Linda Ballou
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

In honour of the 10 year anniversary of getting my horse I’m going with a bit of a horsey theme on the blog this month. To keep with the theme I thought I’d post some reviews of horse related books.

I have to admit that as a horse rider I usually stay well away from stories about riders as there is almost always some kind of accident where either horse or rider is hurt and it will either upset me or freak me out. I’m extremely superstitious about my riding and think that reading about someone else’s accident will somehow cause me to have one. I did however overcome my reservations to try this story by Linda Ballou and for the most part I’m really glad I did.

The story follows Gemcie, a young showjumper competing at the highest level, who is badly hurt when she falls from her horse during a competition. Forced to stop riding for a period as she works to recover, her main rival takes over her ride and moves in on her husband. Gemcie has to re assess her life, overcome her fear of falling and decide what she wants to be. To do this she sets out on a quest to find out what happened to her father who abandoned her as a baby. When she finds the trail he was last seen riding off on she decides to follow in his footsteps and takes a horse and provisions and rides into the mountains alone. As she travels she begins to understand the beauty of nature and finds a connection to her father.  This gives her the focus and the motivation to reclaim what’s rightfully hers.

For the most part I enjoyed the story and towards the end I couldn’t stop reading. I love stories of recovery and overcoming obstacles against the odds. I’m a big fan of films like Rocky and Seabiscuit as it’s great to see the underdog fighting their way to the top. Gemcie is definitely an underdog in this story. She’s come from practically nothing to become one of the top showjumpers which obviously took a lot of work and she’s completely dependant on her husband and his family to ensure she stays where she is. She is one accident or slip from losing everything which needless to say is exactly what happens.

I have to admit it took me a little while to warm up to Gemcie as a character. She’s quite a young girl who is obviously a top rider and unlike a lot of competitive riders does actually treat her horse with respect rather than as a means to an end. She’s obviously worked hard to get where she is considering her background. I think what frustrated her about me at the start was her reaction to her injury and also her relationship with her husband. I can understand her frustration at being injured and limited to what you can do but I can’t understand why when you have a back injury you wouldn’t listen to the doctor. As far as her husband went I couldn’t comprehend why she’d married him at such a young age and why she was ok with him not sticking by her side when she was injured. It wasn’t exactly a shock when things started going wrong between them. I also found it difficult to understand why someone would head off on horseback into the mountains on their own for months. It seemed to me a little selfish and self indulgent to make her family and friends worry so much.

However, once she does begin her journey my opinion of her started to change. She finds some determination and some courage which you couldn’t help but admire. By the time she returned home and decided to fight for what she wanted I was definitely rooting for her all the way.

The main thing I loved about this book however were the descriptions of riding as I could imagine myself there with Gemcie as she rode around a course of jumps. My heart was thumping when she fell and soaring when they took off up the mountain at a gallop. I’m not sure how it would work if you’re not a rider, there is a lot of knowledge assumed and some of the terminology I didn’t know, but it definitely kept me gripped.

The book hints at a sequel and I have to admit I’d be interested to read it.

Could this be book heaven?

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This weekend I visited Birmingham to attend the Horse of the Year show but while I was there I couldn’t resist visiting the Library (sad I know). I’ve been down to Birmingham a few times and have seen the Library from the outside but this was the first time I actually made it inside.

I absolutely love libraries and bookshops so there was no way I was passing up the chance to visit one of the largest libraries in the world. It’s 31,000 square metres, spread over 10 floors of differing size and use. It’s definitely the first library I’ve ever visited with multiple escalators and a glass elevator. Unfortunately the outside terraces and secret garden were closed to the public on the day I visited but they certainly looked impressive and there are incredible views across Birmingham from the 9th floor.

There are loads of comfy chairs spread all over where you can just relax with your choice of book for an afternoon. There are a lot of non fiction books which aren’t really my thing but just being surrounded by so many books is relaxing. It could possibly be a book lover’s heaven.

Inside
Outside