Review: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

October 31, 2022October 30, 2022 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

Happy Halloween everyone!

This year seems to be really flying in. As it is Halloween I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share my review of one of my favourite reads from the last couple of weeks, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen. It’s You’ve Got Mail but with zombies, well kind of. There’s an enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine type romance at the centre with a truly unique world and some wonderful secondary characters.

What’s the story…

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness.

Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?

My thoughts

I really, really liked this book. I was very tempted to give it 5 stars based on the ending but I don’t think I can quite justify a perfect rating. It did come very close though as it has all the things I love in a fantasy romance.

I originally spied this on booktok and just loved the sound of it. It’s very much based on the movie You’ve Got Mail with a fantasy twist. Some of the scenes and plot lines could have been almost lifted directly from the film. I just love the whole enemies to lovers thing so it was right up my street. I loved that they hated each other and couldn’t have a single civil conversation but formed such a true connection through their letters.

I liked Mercy a lot but I think I loved Hart the most. He is the grump in this grumpy sunshine relationship but it’s largely surface grumpiness driven by grief, loneliness and fear. Underneath it all he’s a big marshmallow. I really wanted to give him a hug (even though he’d hate it).

Mercy was much more open, upbeat and positive but still a little bit lonely and isolated and carrying so much responsibility with no one to lean on or confide in. Basically they were perfect for each other but were completely clueless. I adored the letters they sent each other. I could very happily have read more of them but I guess then I would have missed out on the fun of the other relationships and secondary characters.

The other characters were for the most part equally lovable (there are a couple of villains in there) and I loved the relationships between them. Highlights for me were Mercy’s sister Lil who is not afraid to speak her mind and is pretty bad ass and the relationship between Hart and apprentice Duckers. The teasing is a lot of fun and it was great to see Hart lightening up and also opening up.

My only slight niggle and the reason I don’t think I can quite give 5 stars is the world building. I do think the world the author has created is wonderful. It’s clear a lot of thought has gone into it and it’s really original. The problem I had is that it was probably too original and there was just too much going on and not all of it was really explained or described.

There are a lot of place names, a whole religion and belief system and a lot of new words and language. Forms of transport, days of the week all seem to have these different words and there are certain things that I never really understood what they were and couldn’t picture.

The story is however strong enough that I could skim over these without it affecting my enjoyment too much. I do think it would have been better if kept a little simpler.

Overall though a very enjoyable read and one I’d definitely recommend

4.5 of 5 stars

Review – Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

October 30, 2022 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

Happy Sunday all,

I hope you’ve been having a great day. The weather here has not been great this weekend so while I did manage to get out for a nice long walk this morning I’ve had some time to catch up on my reading and write up some reviews (I am very, very behind on my reviews). Today I thought I’d share my review of the brilliant Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney, I noticed it was a kindle daily deal today and it’s set at Halloween so seemed appropriate. I read this a few months ago and absolutely loved it. I think I can safely say it’ll make my list of favourite books this year.

So what’s the story…

Daisy Darker’s family were as dark as dark can be, when one of them died all of them lied and pretended not to see . . .

Daisy Darker is arriving at her grandmother’s house for her eightieth birthday. It is Halloween, and Seaglass – the crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island – is at one with the granite rocks it sits on. The Darker family haven’t all been in the same place for over a decade, and when the tide comes in they’ll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again, because one of them is a killer . . .

My thoughts

Wow, wow, wow!!! I’m a big fan of Feeney’s writing so had high expectations of this book but this absolutely blew me away. It’s one of those books that’s going to be buzzing around my head for a while which is quite an achievement considering how common the storyline is.

Like an awful lot of other books that seem to be around at the moment (or possibly it’s just me reading these kinds of stories) this has an And Then There Were None feel to it. A group of people, a family this time, go to a remote location for a celebration but one by one they end up dead. Has someone else snuck in or is there a killer in their midst.

I absolutely love these kind of stories and Feeney really does it so well. It seems to be a pretty common theme at the moment but somehow the author makes it very much her own. Her writing is brilliant and I found myself constantly highlighting sentences or paragraphs that I absolutely loved or that rang true to me.

There’s a very limited cast of characters in this story, Nana whose birthday they are there to celebrate, her son and his ex wife Nancy, their 3 daughters, Rose, Lily and Daisy and Lily’s daughter Trixie. As you can probably guess from the title the whole story is told by Daisy, the youngest granddaughter and the only one who seems to actually like Nana.

Daisy is, in fact, one of the few characters in this story who is in any way likeable and even then I had my doubts about how reliable a narrator she was. Almost every character in this story is horrible in one way or another. Vain, selfish, manipulative, greedy or cold, this is not a happy or loving family by any stretch of the imagination.

Ostensibly they’re there to celebrate nana’s 80th birthday but as nana believes she may not live much longer they’re really there to find out what’s in her will and they are really not happy when they discover exactly what they’re getting. When the clock strikes midnight one of them is found dead, and then another an hour later. It seems clear there’s a murderer in their midst.

I absolutely loved the way the author made this book so unique. Nana wrote children’s books and rhymes so there are grisly little poems scattered throughout signalling each characters fate. I also loved the way we learn more of the family’s backstory, and how the relationships between them broke down, through both Daisy’s memories and also through the home movies someone is leaving for them with cryptic notes attached. It really brought each of the characters to life in all of their horrible glory.

If I had one criticism of this book it’s that I found my attention wandering a little around the halfway point. I think the characters were just so unlikeable it was difficult to be overly concerned about who would be next (or why someone was killing them). The story became a little repetitive, the remaining characters would reminisce about an event 20 years ago, then one would die, they’d watch a home movie, another would die and so on. It was difficult to see how the author could build the tension back up for the big finish.

However, when the big reveal came it blew everything out of the water. I had an inkling of who was behind it and I was partially right but also completely wrong. No spoilers but the ending of this story was brilliant and completely made up for the niggles I had along the way.

Overall, this was brilliant and unexpected and I feel like I want to read it all over again. Definitely one I’d recommend.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an advance copy. This has in no way influenced my review.

Review: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Posten

October 3, 2022 Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

Hi lovely people

As it’s spooky season it seems like the perfect time to post my review of The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston. I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of this via NetGalley and actually read it back in July of this year (safe to say I’m a little bit behind on posting reviews) however I feel like this is more of an autumn read anyway and I think is perfect for anyone looking for a ghost story that’s more romance than spook fest.

So what’s the story….

Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.

When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.

For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.

Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.

Romance is most certainly dead… but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.

A disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut from national bestselling author Ashley Poston.

My thoughts…

While I was extremely excited about this book, I have to confess that having now finished it I’m a little unsure what I think about it. I guess overall I did enjoy it, it has the quirky premise I love, some funny and emotional moments and is quite sweet. However, I found my attention occasionally wandering while I was reading, particularly at the start, and it was only really at the end I found myself fully engaged in the story.

It’s possibly a personal taste thing rather than an issue with the writing itself but I found it a little too heavy on the narrative and descriptions in the first part of the book. My brain does not like lots of descriptions (they go in, then straight back out and I remember nothing) so detail on character appearance and setting is lost on me and I have a tendency to lose focus. Skip the descriptions and give me lots of action and dialogue and I’m a happy reader.

Anyway, once I got past the bit at the beginning it becomes a much more enjoyable story. I’m sure I saw a synopsis or review saying it was like the movie Ghost but for me it was probably more a combination of The Sixth Sense and, one of my favourite films, Just Like Heaven. Main character Florence Day, is a ghostwriter for a famous romance author who has the ability to see ghosts. Having had a really bad break up, she believes love is dead which is not great when you’re on a deadline to write the big ending of a romance novel and your new hot editor refuses to give you an extension. When tragedy strikes and she has to return home to the town she fled 10 years ago she gets a bit of a surprise when the ghost who turns up on the doorstep of her family’s funeral parlour is that of her editor.

For the most part I did find Florence pretty likeable. Given her unique ability she is a little bit different and I do like a quirky and different character. I did at times feel like this quirkiness was played up a little too much in the story and certain aspects of her personality seemed a little contradictory which made it difficult to really understand her. Ghostly editor and love interest Benji was much easier to like. He has his own baggage but generally seems a lot more straightforward which was nice.

I really liked the relationship that developed between them. It’s a bit of a slow burn, probably necessarily so given he’s a ghost, which is definitely a plus and I thought they complemented each other perfectly. I will say however that I didn’t feel any real spark between them, and the spice is fairly minimal (although I guess that’s also ghost related).

The highlights of this story for me though were Florence’s other relationships and the way she develops over the course of the novel. I really enjoyed reading the sections with her family and the relationships between Florence and her siblings in particular. I also loved that Florence’s family ran the local funeral home and were very much at the heart of the community. I thought the way that affected their lives and view of death was incredibly well portrayed by the author. It definitely brings a different perspective to things.

This is an emotional read at times but there are quite a few funny moments too and it never gets too heavy. The overall feel of the book is hopeful and uplifting rather than a sob fest. Yes, I did shed a few tears here and there (although not at the parts you may expect) but I also laughed out loud.

Overall an enjoyable read that I’d recommend to anyone.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy. This has in no way influenced my review

Review: The Island by C.L. Taylor

January 10, 2021 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

The Island is Taylor’s second YA story and it’s an action packed and exciting read that I found pretty much impossible to put down. Mixing survival story and thriller it’s full of twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout. If you’re looking for a little bit of escapism (and something to make you feel better about staying safe at home), I highly recommend.

The Blurb

Welcome to The Island.
Where your worst fears are about to come true…
It was supposed to be the perfect holiday: a week-long trip for six teenage friends on a remote tropical island.
But when their guide dies of a stroke leaving them stranded, the trip of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare.
Because someone on the island knows each of the group’s worst fears. And one by one, they’re coming true.
Seven days in paradise. A deadly secret.
Who will make it off the island alive?

My Thoughts

Like just about every book of Taylor’s I’ve read so far I absolutely devoured this. Started reading on Friday evening and had it finished by Saturday morning, I did not want to put it down.

Taylor knows how to create a gripping read and this, her second foray into YA, is no exception. It’s a fairly classic premise, group of teens take a trip to an uninhabited island, bad things happen and there’s no help and no escape. But who is behind it? Is it one of the six or could someone else be on the island with them?

It’s an exciting read and I loved the way it kept you guessing. I’m pretty sure I suspected everyone at some point or another and had more than a few theories as to what was going on.

The story is told almost entirely from the point of view of two of the characters, Jessie and Danny, although there are a couple of chapters from other povs. I really liked getting different perspectives on events, I think it added to the mystery.

In terms of the characters, they make for an eclectic group. They’re not exactly friends, their parents are connected through an antenatal group, but they have a lot of history. They’ve holidayed together every year since they were born. But, how well do you ever really know anyone and a few of them have secrets and traumas.

Jessie and Danny are probably the most well developed characters and I loved how Jessie in particular grew and changed over the course of the story. I’m not sure I would necessarily say any of them were especially likeable but Jessie was probably the most relatable of the group. With the exception of Jessie I did feel like the girls of the group were a little under developed and I would have liked to see more of Honor and especially Meg. I didn’t really get much of a sense of them and therefore didn’t feel invested in them.

If I’m being a nitpick I think it was a bit light considering some of the issues covered (grief, self harm, toxic relationship) but I guess it’s a thriller so more depth would have slowed things down. I also felt like the balance was slightly off between the survival and the mystery/thriller elements. The setting of the Thai Island was brilliant and I feel like the author could have made a little more of it. There seemed no real danger to them from being stranded there for a week.

Taylors writing is as always great and it’s a fast paced, page turner of a book. I’m old enough to be one of the parents so I can’t really comment on how accurately it portrays a group of teenagers on holiday (I’ll leave that to an actual teenager) but it all felt pretty realistic to me.

Overall an addictive and exciting read that’s perfect to escape into for a few hours.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy. This has in no way influenced my review.

Review: He Will Be Mine by Kirsty Greenwood

November 20, 2020 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that I am a huge fan of Kirsty Greenwood. Her previous book Big Sexy Love was one of my top reads in 2017 and I’ve been actively trying to foist it on pretty much everyone I’ve ever met. I was therefore very excited/nervous when I heard there was a new book coming. Could it possibly live up to expectations?

Well yes it did. He Will Be Mine, is an absolutely hilarious story about following your heart, believing in the fantasy and going after what you want. It’s touching, it’s romantic and it’s a whole lot crazy. Basically it’s the perfect bit of escapism. I loved it.

THE BLURB

The brand new full-length standalone romantic comedy from the bestselling author of Big Sexy Love!

Nora Tucker is an admin assistant from a tiny English village.

Gary Montgomery is Hollywood’s hottest new star.

After seeing him on the silver screen, Nora believes that Gary is her soulmate, her one true love, the man she’s supposed to grow old and wrinkly with. She knows it sounds nuts, she knows it’s completely crazy. But sometimes love is crazy, right?

Only… how on earth is this Plain Jane introvert supposed to get to Los Angeles, infiltrate Gary’s inner circle AND convince him that they’re meant to be? Throwing herself into this mission might be a tall order but it means Nora can stop thinking about that one awful day, two years ago, when everything in her life fell apart…

With the help of a sunny Californian weather girl, a super hot but super grumpy script writer, and a very passionate Adam Levine tribute act, Nora is about to try the impossible and let fate decide her future…

Thoughts

As a long time fan of Kirsty Greenwood the wait for a new book by her has been almost unbearably long but He Will Be Mine was definitely worth waiting for. It’s laugh out loud funny, a whole lot crazy and pretty much the perfect bit of escapism for these difficult times. I read the whole thing more or less in one sitting as I just couldn’t put it down.

The premise of this book is pretty unusual, 20 something woman working as a virtual admin assistant in a small village in England decides a famous Hollywood actor is her soul mate and heads off to LA to convince him of that fact. It sounds completely unbelievable and a bit nuts, but somehow Greenwood makes it work. Yes there are some ridiculous scenes and possibly a few too many convenient coincidences but they’re so funny it’s easy to just go with it and enjoy the ride.

Main character Nora Tucker is surprisingly relatable for a crazy stalker and there’s something very likeable about her. Her somewhat hermit lifestyle, working from home, staying in reading romance novels and eating junk at the start of the story is probably very relatable to many of us living in lockdown right now and I could definitely see myself in her. There are tragic reasons why Nora lives the way she does and I really felt for her. I will admit to struggling a little with the “famous actor is my soulmate” thing but other than that she seems like a normal, nice and down to earth person. And while her trip to LA is for a slightly crazy reason I loved the way it opened her up, gave her new experiences and led to some self discovery.

Her adventures in LA are absolutely wonderful and often had me laughing out loud or cringing with embarrassment for her. I loved the way the city is portrayed in the story. I’ve never been but the author really brought it to life and made me want to book tickets to go immediately. I also loved the different characters Nora meets along the way. Some have bigger parts than others and some are on the quirky side but all of them are memorable. It was also fantastic to catch up with a couple of characters from one of Greenwood’s previous books and there’s a cameo from an actual famous Hollywood actor in there too that made me giggle.

I loved that as well as the chapters from Nora’s pov we also got to hear Gary’s side of the story. I loved the similarities between them, the near misses and how his chapters often mirrored hers. It kept me wondering if maybe, just maybe they were in fact meant to be and it wasn’t all in Nora’s imagination. It’s definitely a story that keeps you guessing and there are more than a few unexpected twists along the way.

As always Greenwood’s writing is wonderful, the story is pacy and full of humour and heart. If you can’t tell by now I absolutely adored it and am seriously considering reading it again. I just hope we don’t have to wait so long for her next book.

Review: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

November 15, 2020 Ali@abookishlife7 Comments

Anxious People has all of the things I love about a Fredrik Backman book. Wonderful writing, memorable characters and a lot of emotion and depth. However I have to confess to being a little disappointed by it. It may just have been poor timing on my part but there was something that didn’t quite work for me. I still enjoyed it but I didn’t love it.

The Blurb

A poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined

Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix up their own marriage. There’s a wealthy banker who has been too busy making money to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment’s only bathroom, and you’ve got the worst group of hostages in the world.

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

Humorous, compassionate, and wise, Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope—the things that save us, even in the most anxious of times.

My Thoughts

Unpopular opinion time, I didn’t love this book. I didn’t dislike it either but as a huge fan of Backman it was definitely disappointing.

It may have been a case of wrong book at the wrong time (it probably wasn’t the brightest idea to read a book titled “Anxious People” at the height of a global pandemic) but many of the things I usually love in Backman’s writing I seemed to find a little bit irritating. There’s a lot of foreshadowing and the narrator talking directly to the reader, telling us what the story is about and isn’t about, what’s important and what’s not. I have to admit to wanting them to just get on with the story but I was in a fairly impatient and irritated mood so that’s on me. I also struggled a little with the multiple points of view and jumps back and forward in time. I think I was expecting more of a straight story so it threw me off a bit when I got something completely different. I found it difficult to keep track of characters and how the various storylines linked together. I lost focus and found my concentration wandering.

Despite these niggles though there is a lot to like in the book. There’s a wonderful mix of different and quirky characters and I absolutely loved the way they developed over the course of the story. There’s a real depth to them and many of them are not what they first seem. It definitely highlights the theme that you can’t judge people based on appearances and you never really know what struggles other people are facing. I also loved the way the author played around with my own unconscious biases and expectations. I had more than one ah! moment when I realised I had made completely wrong assumptions based on my own preconceived notions.

Backman’s writing is as brilliant as always with lots of humour, great dialogue and some poignant and heartfelt moments (yes I cried). I wasn’t entirely sold on the switches from police interview to narrative as I found the change in style jarring but I did love the interview chapters. I felt like they brought the story to life. I probably would have preferred it if the story was told a little more simply and had more of a focus on one series of events rather than jumping around as it felt a little muddled to me.

Overall however it is still a good read and one I’d recommend to any Backman fans.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy. This has in no way influenced my review.

Review: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

October 12, 2020 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Title: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

Author: Abbi Waxman

Genre: Contemporary

Pages: 351

Source: Bought

My Rating: 3 stars

The Blurb

The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.

When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They’re all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She’ll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It’s a disaster! And as if that wasn’t enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn’t he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options.

1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It’s time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn’t convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It’s going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.

Thoughts

Unpopular opinion time, I didn’t love this book. I mean, I wanted to and based on the synopsis and all of the glowing reviews I was pretty positive going in that I would but it just didn’t work for me. It may just be a case of poor timing, I was in a grumpy mood, but I found myself becoming increasingly irritated by it and the more I read the more irritated I got.

In theory it should have been the perfect read for me, quirky characters, a bookshop setting, lots of literary and pop culture references, a cat and a little bit of romance. And there was definitely a lot to like but there was something about the writing style and the tone of the story which rubbed me up the wrong way from the very start. Yes the characters are quirky and eccentric but it feels like it’s trying too hard. I think it’s supposed to be funny but it wasn’t really my sense of humour so I found it a bit dull and by the end was left wondering what the point of it was.

I guess it’s supposed to be about Nina’s development from anxious introvert to someone who puts themselves out there with other people but to be honest I never really bought the anxious introvert thing so it didn’t seem like there was much development. If I’m being brutally honest I didn’t even like Nina that much. Anxious and introverted just seemed to mean rude, inconsiderate and judgemental (there’s some serious book snobbery). Someone who has a wide circle of friends, is out every night of the week and seems to like being at the centre of things doesn’t sound very introverted or shy to me and she had no problem standing up for herself or speaking her mind. I expected much more of a loner, not a social butterfly.

The story itself did have promise. Nina discovers she has a whole family she didn’t know about and meets them while simultaneously getting to know quiz team rival Tom who is inexplicably (she’s nothing but horrible to him) interested in her. If there had been a little more depth or emotion I think it could have been a really good story but the tone remains upbeat and quirky throughout which I think sort of spoiled things.

The switches in perspective from one paragraph to the next also confused me. The majority of the story is from Nina’s pov but every so often it’d switch to Tom or one of the other characters, usually in the middle of a chapter with no indication. It’d take me a few seconds to figure out what’d happened by which time we’d be back to Nina.

I’m also not sure I saw the point of cat Phil other than to go all out on the stereotype of bookish spinster with cat. And having Nina imagining what he was saying just seemed silly, like pretty much most of the things she imagined.

As for the romance, it felt a little tacked on and lacklustre. There wasn’t any real chemistry between them and she was so rude to Tom I honestly couldn’t see why he bothered.

There were a few nice moments, I liked a couple of the secondary characters and I do love a book with lots of literary references but I’m afraid on the whole it was a bit of a disappointment.

Review: Dark Waters by G.R. Halliday

July 11, 2020 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

Dark Waters, the second book in the DI Monica Kennedy series by G.R. Halliday, is possibly even better than it’s predecessor. It’s darker, more gruesome and very atmospheric. The Scottish Highland setting was yet again the highlight of the story for me, with the sense of remoteness and isolation making for a truly chilling and tension filled read.

While this is the second book in a series it could easily be read as a standalone. There are some references to the events in From the Shadows and you’ll have missed a little of the character background but this is very much it’s own story.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

THREE MISTAKES. TWO MURDERS. ONE MORE VICTIM TO GO . . .

Annabelle loves to drive. It helps her escape her world, her past. Speeding on a mountain road in the Scottish Highlands, she sees a little girl step out in front of her. She swerves to avoid her. The next thing Annabelle remembers is waking up in a dark, damp room. A voice from the corner of the room says ‘The Doctor will see you now’.

Scott is camping in the woodlands in the Scottish Highlands – but in the middle of the night, he hears something outside his tent. When he goes out to have a look, a little girl is standing among the trees, staring right at him. Scott is never seen again.

When a dismembered body is discovered, DI Monica Kennedy gets called to the scene immediately. After six months away from the Serious Crimes team, they need her back on board.

As Monica searches for the murderer, another body is found. Monica knows the signs . . . She’s on the hunt for a serial killer.

MY THOUGHTS

I knew when I read the first book, From the Shadows, that this series had real promise so as soon as this the sequel appeared on NetGalley I couldn’t resist requesting immediately and I was not disappointed. Halliday has kept all that made From the Shadows such a great read and come up with something even better.

The story picks up a few months after the events of the first book with DI Monica Kennedy and the rest of the team still trying to come to terms with everything that happened. When a dismembered body is found however Monica is called to the scene and finds herself back on the hunt for another serial killer. At the same time it seems there may be something or someone hunting unsuspecting tourists who wander into remote areas alone.

It’s an incredibly dark and creepy read with a few moments which could easily come from a horror film, think Deliverance or Wrong Turn. I do love a creepy tale but even I found myself checking all of the doors and windows in my house to make sure no one could get in. I wouldn’t describe it as a fast paced or action packed read but there’s a real tension to the story that makes it very difficult to put down.

Main character, Monica Kennedy makes for an intriguing main character. I wouldn’t necessarily describe her as likeable or relatable but there’s something about her determination to get to the truth and her love for her daughter you can’t help but admire. In this outing we also get a little more of her backstory, her relationship with her parents and her father in particular seems to be on her mind a lot. It feels like there’s some real character development and I found myself wanting to know more about her.

I also very much enjoyed the sections from the point of view of kidnap victim Annabelle. Her fear at her captivity and the mystery around where she is and what is going to happen to her makes for compelling reading. I did have my doubts around whether I liked her at the start, she seems quite superficial, but I found myself really admiring her and rooting for her. She has such determination to escape and to survive no matter what.

The real highlight of this story was for me however the setting. The beauty and the wildness of the Scottish Highlands are used to full effect by Halliday. There’s a sense of isolation and remoteness that adds to the dark and chilling atmosphere. I loved the use of the small and insular communities who live by their own laws and don’t welcome strangers. There’s no technology, no internet or social media and barely any phone signal. In some ways it sounds like the perfect escape from the modern world but if you’re alone and need help it’s terrifying.

Similar to my thoughts on the first book though I do feel like Dark Waters would benefit from a few lighter moments to balance out the darkness. I can understand why the author decided to keep the tone the same throughout, there’s not really a lot to laugh about in kidnapping and murder, but it’s just so unrelentingly dark. Even when Monica is spending time with her family or when she’s in the car with Crawford there’s no lightness and I think it really needed it.

I also would have liked a little more background on Crawford, Fisher and the new member of the investigative team. We do find out a little more on Fisher this time around but it’s not quite enough to make him feel like a fully rounded character. I felt like we got to know more around victim Annabelle.

Despite these minor niggles though I thought this was a great read and one I’d recommend to anyone looking for a dark and atmospheric murder mystery.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. This has in no way influenced my review.

Review: The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

May 17, 2020 Ali@abookishlife14 Comments

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez turned out to be the feel good read I really needed. Laugh out loud funny, a little sad but completely adorable I sat down and read the whole thing in one go, smiling the whole time.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can’t seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a “take me home” look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker’s owner reaches out. He’s a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.

Well, Sloan’s not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can’t deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There’s no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?

MY THOUGHTS

This was very possibly a case of right book at the right time but I don’t care. I loved it and read the whole thing in one Saturday morning with the biggest smile on my face.

I had no idea when I started it that it was a sequel to The Friend Zone but while the author does recommend you read them in order the fact that I hadn’t made absolutely no difference to my enjoyment of this story. Would I have gotten more depth from knowing more of the characters’ backstory? Maybe, but it works perfectly well as a standalone.

From the very start when main character Sloan rescues dog Tucker this story is just ridiculously adorable. I loved each and every character and I adored the relationships between them. Sloan and Jason are so cute together. I loved the banter between them, especially before they meet in person. There’s a lot of teasing and flirting and sooo much chemistry. They seem to have an instant connection but unlike a lot of insta loves this one feels believable and real.

I liked Sloan a lot as a character, she’s kind, funny and tough, but Jason is swoon-worthy book boyfriend material. You could maybe argue that he’s a little too perfect or too good to be true (he’s sensitive, patient, generous, charming, funny and gorgeous) but I was more than happy to just go with it.

There was a lot to like in the secondary characters as well. I really want Kristen and Josh as my best friends, they were absolutely hilarious and sound like they’d be a lot of fun but I loved how they were always there for Sloan. They tease her, embarrass and push her but it’s clear they would do anything to protect her and want her to be happy. The highlight of the story for me though was dog Tucker. He was a real character, stealing more or less every scene he was in.

The writing is wonderful, witty, fun and packed full of emotion. It made me stupidly happy reading it and I found myself smiling a lot. There are a few sad moments, Sloan is grieving and the new relationship is not all smooth sailing, but while I did shed a couple of tears it is an upbeat and positive story.

I also loved the song titles at the start of each chapter and yes I did listen to the play list as I was reading. Music seems to have become a much bigger part of my life during lockdown, it’s picked me up, calmed me, kept me motivated and helped me let off steam so listening to the tracks while reading really added to the whole experience (and I’ve fallen in love with a few of the tracks).

As you have probably guessed I loved pretty much everything about this story and I highly recommend to anyone looking for a bit of light relief.

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy. This has in no way influenced my review.

Review: Family for Beginners by Sarah Morgan

May 11, 2020May 11, 2020 Ali@abookishlife12 Comments

If you’re looking for some gentle escapism this summer I don’t think you can go too far wrong with Sarah Morgan’s Family For Beginners. With a story about love, blended families and grief it’s a bit of an emotional read but has the usual warmth I’ve come to expect. It may not be my favourite book from the author but I do think a lot of people will love it.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

New York florist Flora Donovan is living the dream, but her bubbly optimism hides a secret. She’s lonely. Orphaned as a child, she’s never felt like she’s belonged anywhere…until she meets Jack Parker. He’s the first man to ever really see her, and it’s life changing.

Teenager Izzy Parker is holding it together by her fingertips. Since her mother passed away a year ago, looking after her dad and little sister is the only thing that makes Izzy feel safe. Discovering her father has a new girlfriend is her worst nightmare – she is not in the market for a replacement mom. Then, her father invites Flora on their summer vacation….

Flora’s heart aches for Izzy, but she badly wants her relationship with Jack to work. As the summer unfolds, Flora must push her own boundaries to discover parts of herself she never knew existed – and to find the family she’s always wanted.

MY THOUGHTS

I’m a big fan of Sarah Morgan’s writing and always enjoy her books but I’m afraid this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It has the same wonderful and warm writing I’ve come to expect from the author, well rounded characters and a real sense of place but I just didn’t get on with the story or main character Flora. It may simply be a case of the wrong book at the wrong time but I didn’t fly through this in the way I usually do with Morgan’s books.

Over her last few books, the author has been gradually moving away from the romance and into much more relationship and family type stories and Family for Beginners takes us further along that route. There’s very little in the way of romance in this story with the focus on florist Flora who so desperately wants to find a place where she belongs, a family who will accept her. After her mother died when she was young, Flora was raised by a cold and distant aunt who made it perfectly clear she wasn’t wanted and was an inconvenience. When she meets Jack Parker, recently widowed and father to two girls, she thinks she’s found somewhere she could belong.

Unfortunately Jack’s eldest daughter Izzy is not so keen on Flora coming into their lives and trying to fix everything. She’s barely keeping it together as it is so is determined to see the back of Flora. When Jack invites Flora to come with the family on a trip to the Lake District, Izzy is not happy and neither is Claire, the family friend they will be staying with. Secrets come to light and Flora discovers more about Jack (and herself) but will there be a happily ever after?

There is a lot to like in this story, I loved the lake district setting, I loved how well rounded and real the characters felt, the relationships between them and the way they developed over the course of the story. Morgan’s writing is as always wonderful and there’s a lot of emotion in those pages. I suspect if you love reading stories about families and family relationships you’ll really enjoy this book.

Unfortunately however I found myself becoming frustrated and annoyed with it and I’m afraid it was mostly down to Flora. She is exactly the kind of character I hate reading and I just found it so difficult to relate to her. I could understand the why behind how she is and I could empathize with her but I just found her endless positivity and optimism annoying. She’s a people pleaser who tries to fix everything which is pretty much the antithesis of me. She does develop over the story but I spent a lot of my time reading this book wanting to shake her and tell her to stop trying so damn hard all of the time.

It probably didn’t help that I couldn’t see the attraction in Jack as there wasn’t a lot of time spent in developing the relationship between them. Their first dates happen off the page and they’re never really alone together. As a result there’s no spark or chemistry between them making it hard to see why Flora was so desperate for the relationship to work. Flora seems to feel sorry for him and seems more attracted to the idea of rescuing him and finding a ready made family. As for Jack, he never feels fully present in the story and I had no real sense of who he is. He’s closed off, distant and completely oblivious to the feelings of those around him. Flora keeps saying how much he sees her but I didn’t feel like he showed it in the story. Maybe though it’s just because we never get his pov.

Izzy, whose pov we do get was actually the most likeable of the characters to me. She’s an absolute mess of emotions, anger, guilt, sadness, but she felt believable and relateable. She’s grieving her mother, dealing with a lot of changes in her life and hiding a huge secret. I really felt for her throughout the story, even when she was being kind of horrible.

I did think the author did a brilliant job throughout the story of portraying the different ways people deal with loss and how the loss of her mother still affects Flora many years later. This does make it a little bit darker than some of Morgan’s other books but there are moments of light in there too to balance it out nicely. I may have shed one or two tears but I did find myself smiling in places too and I very much enjoyed the conclusion.

Overall I think a lot of people will love this story but there were a few too many things that I found annoying or frustrating for it to be a favourite.