Author: Ali@abookishlife

Book Review: How to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks

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How to Lose a BachelorHow to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An OK read but nothing special.

This is my first book from this author and I chose it as I thought the story sounded like it would be quite funny. It’s not the most original of ideas, a girl enters a reality dating show to win money and ends up running into an ex, but it could have been exciting and enjoyable. While I didn’t dislike it, I get the feeling it’s one of those books that I will have forgotten in a week or so.

The story follows Rochelle Ransom who enters dating show Luring Love not because she want to find love but because the prize money would help her support her favourite charity. However it turns out the bachelor whose heart she will be competing against 9 other girls to win is the guy who broke her heart in college. If she quits she loses the money so she decides to stay and resorts to increasingly ridiculous behaviour to try to get voted off. However Grant Drake, her ex, is determined to keep her around for as long as possible. Is he trying to get revenge or does he want her back?

I think for me the issue with the story is that it was missing the emotion and the spark. It’s an easy enough read (I think I read it in about 3 hours)and the narrative flows quite well but I think it was maybe a bit shallow. There was no depth, no description and therefore no real connection with the characters.

There should have been some laughs in the story as Rochelle resorts to increasingly extreme behaviour to get voted off. However her actions didn’t really come across as funny to me. She just comes across as a little bit ridiculous and I’m not convinced that a professional lawyer would be willing to act that way on national television to get money even if it is for charity. To be perfectly honest I just didn’t find her believable as a lawyer at all. I think it would have made more sense for her to have a different occupation.

As for Grant Drake, the bachelor everyone wants to win, I’m not sure I could see the attraction. He seemed nice enough but a little bit bland and boring. I also felt like he tended to over react a bit to certain things. Considering the anti domestic violence message running through the book I thought it odd that it was considered ok for him to break someone else’s nose for a throwaway comment that people use all of the time.

Some of the other girls competing seemed like they could be quite interesting characters but we didn’t really get to see much of them. Again what we did get was pretty superficial and there was no depth.

The story and the ending were fairly predictable as you would expect from this type of story but overall I thought it was a nice easy read. It’s not a book I’ll be rushing to read again but if you’re looking for something light it might be worth a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

WWW Wednesday – 7 October 2015

Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. This is my second week taking part and am really enjoying it. It’s great to do a round up of the books I’ve been reading and to get some recommendations from other blogs.

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 Reading

A Girl's Guide To Kissing FrogsI seem to have managed to catch the cold at the weekend and am having a mad busy week at work so I have been bookless for the last couple of days. What I tend to do when I’m feeling sorry for myself or stressed is to pick up one of the books that lurks at the side of my bed. These include A Girls Guide to Kissing Frogs, I’ve Got Your Number, How Hard Can It Be and Jane Eyre. All girly, fairly romantic, in some cases funny and books I’ve read so many times I can just start reading at any point and be sucked in. Perfect.

Recently Finished

Know Not WhyI finished Wendy Darling by Colleen Oakes last week. Really good re telling of Peter Pan with quite a dark twist. Peter Pan was a creepy character and Neverland was not the happy cheery place from the Disney film. Even poor Tink was a bit of a pathetic creature. Unfortunately it finished on a cliffhanger so have to wait who knows how long for the next in the series. Definitely one I’d recommend though.

I also came across a great book review for know not why on mud and stars which convinced me I really needed to read it. Bought it on Saturday morning was finished by Saturday evening as I couldn’t put it down. One of the funniest stories I’ve read in while and definitely one to keep close at hand for when you’re in need of cheering up. I’ve been re reading bits on and off for the last couple of days. Hasn’t cured my cold but it’s still making me laugh.

Reading Next

Matched (Matched, #1)I went on a bit of a mad book buying spree on Friday, Amazon is a dangerous place when there’s a sale on and you’ve just been paid. Needless to say the TBR collection on my kindle has now increased by 5 books. I bought Matched, Legend, The Night Circus, I Am Number Four and The Black House. I should probably be reading one of the other books I’ve had lurking for a while but so tempted to try one of these instead. What’s slightly worrying though is that 4 of the 5 are the first in a series and I’m incapable of starting series without finishing it. Hmm decisions, decisions…

What do you think? What should I start next?

Book Review: Genie by Kitty French

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GenieGenie by Kitty French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved the Piano Man Project by Kitty French’s chic lit alter ego Kat French so was excited to try this story. I like a good steamy novel with great chemistry between the leads and this is definitely that.

Genie is a burlesque dancer and more or less assistant manager in her uncle’s theatre. Abel is the owner of a chain of gyms who thinks the theatre will be perfect for his next club. He can’t stand “strippers” but when he sees Genie’s routine he can’t take his eyes off her much to his disgust. When Genie finds out he’s trying to take over the club she makes it her mission to stop him. Needless to say sparks really fly between the two of them. There is a lot of game playing, a lot of arguing and a lot of passion.

Both are pretty likeable characters. Genie is passionate about her job, her home and her family. She’s intelligent, caring and funny. Some of the tricks she plays on Abel are pretty funny but she is not keen on conflict so when she pushes him too far she does apologize.

Abel was a bit more difficult to warm to at the start mostly due to his attitude towards Genie and women in general. He’s definitely an Alpha male and a little bit full of himself. However as the story progresses and Genie shakes him up he becomes quite a sweet guy. I think it’s safe to say his mum has a lot to answer for.

For the most part I thought the book was well written. The pace is about right and there is a lot of chemistry as well as some humour. I loved some of the secondary characters, particularly the other burlesque dancers. The scene when Abel was showing round some potential investors when the dancers were teaching a class was classic. My one relatively minor criticism is that some of the more erotic scenes didn’t quite make sense but that’s maybe just me.

Overall I think this is one of those books that’s perfect when you’re looking for something light, a little bit funny and a whole lot steamy. I will no doubt be reading more Kitty (and Kat) French.

Don’t stop me now

Quote Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

When I saw this weeks photo challenge on boundaries the perfect picture popped right into my head and I couldn’t resist posting. I hope those who read my blog for book reviews don’t mind but as George W Bush once said  “One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures” Personally I […]

WWW Wednesday – 30 September 2015

Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Yesterday I participated in my very first book tag so I’ve decided to keep trying new things and am taking on my very first meme. I’ve seen the WWW Wednesday meme popping up a lot and it looks fun so thought I’d give it a go. The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

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 Reading

Wendy Darling: Stars (Wendy Darling, #1)Yesterday I started Wendy Darling by Colleen Oakes. As you may have noticed I’m a big fan of fairytale re-tellings so when I spotted this new version of Peter Pan I couldn’t resist. I read Neverland by Anna Katmore back in April so this is my second Peter Pan book this year. This one however seems much more of a classic re-telling than Neverland which put a bit of a twist on the characters. Really enjoying it so far, finding it quite dark and sinister. Peter is kind of giving me the creeps but then I think there is something a bit odd about a boy who doesn’t want to grow up and seems to want to collect little boys.

If you look to the widgets on the right you will also see I’m currently reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I started this a few weeks ago got about half way through and came to a stop. Not sure I will ever actually manage to finish it. I’m obviously not that effective.

Recently Finished

GenieMy most recent read is Genie by Kitty French. Kitty French is the other pen name of Kat French who wrote one of my favourite books this year, The Piano Man Project.

This is a little more X rated than the Piano Man Project but I thought it was a great read. She’s a burlesque dancer and he’s the owner of a chain of gyms who wants to buy the theatre where she works and hates “strippers”. There are a lot of arguments and an undeniable attraction between the two of them. I’ll post a proper review soon but it’s definitely one I’d recommend if you like an erotic romance (and who doesn’t).

If nothing else don’t you just love the cover.

Reading Next

This is actually the hardest question for me as I usually don’t make up my mind till the very last possible moment. I currently have 103 books on my kindle TBR shelf so there are no shortage of options. It will no doubt depend on whether I feel like something light and funny or if I want something a bit darker.

I really, really want to read A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J Maas but feel I should take a break for a month or so to recover from the last two books in the throne of glass series. I think therefore the most likely candidates for next read are either 3:34am by Nick Pirog or What Could Possibly Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor. Both are continuations of a series I love and are likely to be slightly silly reads.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (The Chronicles of St Mary's, #6)3:34 a.m. (Henry Bins)

So that’s my first set of W’s what do you think? Are there any other books I should add to my ever growing TBR pile?

The Emoji Book Tag

Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

I’ve never actually tried a book tag before but was very excited to be tagged by Deanna at A Novel Glimpse for the Emoji Book Tag. Thank you Deanna I love your blog and am so happy to take up the challenge.

In this tag, you pair your five most used or recently used emojis to books. I may actually kill two birds with one story and use this as my List Five for this week. So here we go:

Samsung's Grinning Face

SMILEY FACE

A book that makes me smile seems like a really good place to start. There are quite a few books I’ve read recently that have made me smile but the one which had me smiling for days was The Piano Man Project by Kat French. It has some great funny dialogue between main characters Honey and Hal, rebellious pensioners fighting to save their care home and some romance and heat. A great read when you’re in need of a smile.

Synopsis from GoodReads25394456

A delightfully romantic, heartwarming read for everyone who’s ever looked for The One and found someone better.

You: kind, piano-playing sex god
Me: hopelessly romantic charity shop manager

Honeysuckle Jones has a problem, and her best friends Nell and Tash are on a mission to help her solve it. She needs a man – a caring, intelligent, funny man. But most importantly, a man who’s good with his hands…

Luckily Honey’s new neighbour – moody, antisocial ex-chef Hal – fails on almost every count. Even though the chemistry between them is electric, he’s obviously wrong for her in every way.

But when Honey discovers the devastating reason for his moods she decides to give him another chance. And discovers that the best songs aren’t always in tune…

SHOCKED FACE

The last book that had me taking a sharp intake of breath and my jaw hitting the floor was Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls. It’s a young adult book about a girl whose former best friend commits suicide during the school holidays but things may not be as straightforward as that. There are quite a few twists and turns in this story but there was one in particular around the halfway point that I really didn’t see coming.18244970

GoodReads Synopsis

Pitched as Gone Girl meets Thirteen Reasons Why

June barely has time to mourn the death of her best friend Delia, before Delia’s ex-boyfriend convinces her Delia was murdered, and June is swept into a tangle of lies, deceit, and conspiracy.

LAUGHING FACE

Sometimes it seems that life is just that little bit too serious so it’s great when you find a book that gives you a bit of a giggle. Probably not the best idea to read it on the train unless you’re willing to get some very odd looks or bite very hard on the inside of your cheek. Thankfully I chose to read Sentencing Sapphire by Mia Thompson when I was home alone. It’s the third in the series about a society heiress who hunts serial killers in her spare time. There are a lot of hilarious rich people stereotypes and some great dialogue as well as a great fast paced story.

GoodReads SynopsisSentencing Sapphire (Stalking Sapphire, #3)

A summer has passed since the catastrophe at the country club. Heiress and vigilante Sapphire Dubois has escaped to Paris, where she has shed her rich persona and lives as the infamous Serial Catcher. When the handsome Detective Aston Ridder tracks her down, Sapphire returns home to find Beverly Hills in chaos. A new vigilante has taken over Sapphire’s old job, and will stop at nothing to get her predecessor out of the way.

Meanwhile, a man with dark intentions and a deceiving smile has nestled his way into the rich community and is killing off heiresses. It doesn’t take long before Sapphire finds that this man, the next killer she has to catch, is none other than her estranged father. Already plagued by sickening memories, Sapphire is pushed to the limit when her father initiates a deranged game that threatens both her sanity and the lives of everyone around her.

While Aston struggles to keep the woman he loves from drowning in her father’s madness, Sapphire battles to outwit her merciless opponents before time runs out and more innocent blood is spilled.

EMBARRASSED FACE

Believe it or not my Mum’s kindle is hooked up to my Amazon account. This means any book I buy she has access to so for the most part I’m beyond being embarrassed by books. Once you’ve chatted to your almost 70 year old Mum about Fifty Shades of Grey (she didn’t like it) it doesn’t get much worse. What did embarrass me though was not the content of a book but the title. I read it while doing a team challenge on GoodReads and we needed the points so yep I admitted it. I read a book called “Prick”. I did actually really enjoy it but not the best title. I hope no one reading this is offended by bad language.

Goodreads Synopsis24422234

I can’t stop thinking about that prick.
Caulter Sterling is a prick.
A filthy-mouthed, womanizing, crude, spoiled, arrogant prick.
The tattooed, pierced, panty-melting-hot son of a celebrity.
I hate him.
He’s slept his way through practically every girl at Brighton Academy.
Except for me.
I’m the good girl. The responsible girl. The 4.0, class president, studied-so-much-she-never-lost-the-big-V girl.
And in celebration of graduation and adulthood, I just made the worst decision in the history of ever.
I lost my V-card to the devil himself.
It was just one night. So what if it was mind-blowing? Hit it and quit it.
Except I just found out that my father – the Senator, the Presidential hopeful – is marrying Caulter’s mother. Oh, and this summer? We’re hitting the campaign trail.
One big happy family.
I’m totally f**ked.

Samsung's Loudly Crying FaceCRYING FACE

The last book that had me crying my eyes out in the least dignified way possible was The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris. We’re talking huge, big, ugly sobs. I actually ran out of tissues and had to use toilet paper to dry my snot and tears. Think PS I Love You or One Day and you’ll know what I mean. I challenge anyone to read this and not have a bit of a bubble.

11521304

Synopsis from Amazon UK (for some reason Good Reads synopsis is in Croatian)

How do you hold on to a love that is slowly slipping away from you? Can you let go of the past when you know what is in the future? And how do you cope when you know that every kiss is a countdown to goodbye? This is the story of a love affair, of Ryan and Molly and how they fell in love and were torn apart. The first time Molly kissed Ryan, she knew they’d be together forever. Six years and thousands of kisses later she’s married to the man she loves. But today, when Ryan kisses her, Molly realises how many of them she wasted because the future holds something which neither of them could have ever predicted…

So that’s my five what’s yours? I tag the following fantastic blogs and anyone else who wants to take part.

  1. Jenaca at Jenacidebybibliophile
  2. Yen at Little Calico’s Journal
  3. Rachel at One Little Bookshelf
  4. Jordan at Iwillneverownenoughbooks
  5. Aentee at readatmidnight

Feel free to ignore if you’ve already been tagged.

Book Review: Nirvana by J.R. Stewart

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Nirvana (Nirvana Series #1)Nirvana by J.R. Stewart
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I’d never heard of this author or novel until I came across it on NetGalley and was drawn in by the cover and description. The cover is one of the best I’ve seen in a while and the story puts a very unique twist on the usual young adult dystopian. It’s a great idea but for me the execution lets it down.

The story is set in a Canada of the future with barren landscapes, little in the way of food or resources (unless you’re one of the select few) and the threat of imminent extinction (known as the Annihilation). Larissa Kenders is a soldier at the Barracks who has recently lost her husband Andrew in some very mysterious circumstances. Andrew was a genius scientist employed to try to prevent the Annihilation who went out on a mission and never returned. Despite numerous searches his body was never recovered and Kenders has her doubts about whether he is actually dead.

She dreams about him regularly and when she visits virtual reality (pretty much the only form of entertainment available) he keeps appearing, assuring her that he is always with her. After a couple of unexplainable events she begins to believe Andrew is alive and somehow trapped in virtual reality but could that really be possible or is she just refusing to admit the truth. There is a lot of pressure on her to sign a certificate confirming his death but do her superiors have an ulterior motive. She has a choice, sign the paper and move on or keep searching for him and possibly lose everything.

As I said, I thought this was an excellent idea for a story. The world created is similar in some ways to that in the Hunger Games and a number of other dystopian stories. The population are segregated by class and live separately. The poorest are essentially slaves producing food and other resources at “the Farm”. The military are based at “the Barracks” and, while they don’t have many resources, are relatively well off. The elite, those who have a special talent or money, live a life of luxury in “the Bubble”. The whole system is controlled by a large corporation who have the population living in fear of the Annihilation. The technology is far advanced from what we have now and almost everything from the air, to the view can be created and modified. This raises the huge and fascinating question of if anything you imagine can be created how do you know what’s real and what’s fake?

There are however two major flaws with this story. The first is the lack of dialogue. The narrative is told in the third person and jumps between characters but is mostly what people are thinking or remembering rather than saying. It feels at times like information is being flung at you. For me a good dystopian fantasy reveals the world and the characters slowly and naturally. This is too sudden, lacks depth and therefore doesn’t feel particularly natural or real.

The lack of dialogue also makes it difficult to get a feel for the characters. Kenders seems likeable enough. She is quite determined, intelligent and clearly grieving which leads to some rather questionable decisions. Her friend Serge could have been an interesting character as he’s pretty conflicted. He cares about her and wants the best for her but as he’s been in love with her for years helping her find her husband may not be his number one priority. What wastes it however is yet again that his feelings are completely spelled out and therefore too obvious.

The second issue I had was the description of the technology and virtual reality in particular. I don’t have a particularly great knowledge of technology. I can turn a computer on and use it but don’t ask me how it does what it does. I seriously can’t comprehend wi fi (and as far as I’m concerned it’s magic) so maybe it’s just me but I really couldn’t follow the virtual reality part. I always thought virtual reality was wearing a helmet or plugging into a computer and living in a kind of dream world while your body stays wherever it is. I’m thinking more or less of The Matrix. However, this doesn’t describe it like that. It seems more like the holo deck in Star Trek where you’re completely immersed in what’s happening around you. As the technology is a key element to the story not being able to follow it is a big problem.

I did have an advance reader copy so it’s possible some of these issues will be resolved however based on this I don’t think I will be rushing to read the next in the series. I’d still like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy. If you want to give it a try it will be released on the 10th November.

Book Review: The House on Cold Hill by Peter James

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The House on Cold HillThe House on Cold Hill by Peter James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an up to date version of the classic haunted house story. I used to be a big fan of Peter James many years ago but for some reason I stopped reading him despite hearing some great things about his recent work. It’s also been a while since I read any proper horror stories but I have to admit I love a good creepy ghost story so couldn’t resist this book.

Like all good haunted house tales it starts with a nice young family moving in to their new home. Ollie Harcourt is a website designer and Cara, his wife, is a solicitor. They have a daughter, Jade, who is twelve years old and two cats, Bombay and Sapphire (named after the gin).

They’ve made a bit of money from the sale of their previous home and Ollie’s business and mortgaged themselves to the hilt to buy Cold Hill House. It’s an impressive big property which is in need of a lot of work however, despite Cara’s doubts, Ollie is confident that this could be their dream home. It’s not long though until they realise they aren’t alone in the house. As increasingly unexplainable things start to happen they begin digging into the history of the house and discover it’s dark past. Having ploughed all of their money into it they can’t afford to leave but is it safe to stay?

I thought this was a great example of a haunted house story. It has all of the classic creepy things I love such as faces at the windows of empty rooms, shadows moving in the next room and the cats behaving oddly. The author also manages to make it very current by building in more modern elements such as threatening text messages, some strange goings on with email and pictures appearing and disappearing from mobile phones. What I also liked was that the author didn’t resort to blood and gore to make it scary. There is a little but generally it’s a lot more subtle and for me creepier as a result. Events start quite slowly and escalate to a very gripping ending which I thought worked really well. I did think it lost a little pace in the middle but it definitely made up for it at the conclusion.

Main characters Ollie and Cara are likeable enough. They are sensible, rational and just want to be happy in their new home and do the best they can for daughter Jade. They have quite a stable and realistic relationship (there are the odd petty niggles but nothing too serious). Ollie is the adventurous entrepreneur and Cara is more of a pessimistic worrier but they balance each other out. For some reason though I couldn’t quite connect with them. I’m not entirely sure why. It may just be that they spent so much time worrying and being terrified or their determination to stay in the house and refusal to accept that anything is wrong. I found it so frustrating but I suppose if they’d thought “nah it’s a bit spooky here” and moved out there would have been no book.

The other characters only really appear briefly but they were definitely interesting and well described, from the builders working in the house to Cara’s psychic ex rocker client. One part I found fascinating was some of the alternative theories and explanations put forward by Ollie’s regular tennis opponent Bruce Kaplan, a computing science professor. It was good to have some kind of rational explanation as to what was happening even if it may not be true. It at least had the potential to make the existence of ghosts a bit more plausible for those who don’t believe.

Overall I thought this was an excellent and well written story with a good few chills. Definitely one for fans of ghost stories.

Note: This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley. It will be released on 8th October.