WWW Wednesday: 2nd March 2016

March 2, 2016March 1, 2016 Ali@abookishlife19 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

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

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

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

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

At the moment I’m still working my way through Golden Son by Pierce Brown which is the second book in the Red Rising trilogy. I have to admit I was finding it a bit of a struggle to start with but I reached around the 40% mark and since then I haven’t been able to put it down. It’s starting to feel a lot like Game of Thrones with different factions fighting for power, looking for alliances and stabbing each other in the back. It’s pretty brutal at times but I love that in a book 🙂

Recently Finished

Due to my difficulties in getting into Golden Son I haven’t really read as much as I usually do this week. I don’t know if this is just a me thing but I was doing pretty much anything to avoid reading it because I couldn’t quite connect but didn’t want to actually give up. I almost never give up on a book.

I did however take a bit of a break from it at the weekend to read a couple of ARC’s I received from NetGalley. The first was Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan which I think has been on my reading next list for at least the last month. It’s the first in a new series set in New York (the title is a bit of a hint). I do really like Sarah Morgan. They are completely predictable however there is always plenty of chemistry between the leads and they are an easy and enjoyable way to spend a lazy afternoon.

The second ARC wasn’t actually a whole book but a sneak peek at the upcoming Richelle Mead book The Glittering Court. I’ve never actually read any Richelle Mead books before (despite desperately wanting to get my hands on Vampire Academy) so was interested to see what her style was like and have to say I was quite impressed. The story is similar in some ways to The Selection but the main character is a lot less annoying. As is typical of sneak peek’s it finished on a bit of a cliffhanger so I’ve been forced to add it to my Amazon wishlist and wait till it’s released in April.

Reading Next

So this week I will be continuing in my attempt to not read A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab despite some of my fellow bloggers raving over how good it is (you know who you are). I will hold out until it’s time for the group read (well, maybe)

I think there’s actually a fair chance that I will move on to the final part of the Red Rising trilogy, Morning Star, seeing as I have a nice shiny and signed hardback. It’s not the easiest series to pick up and set down (too many characters to keep track of) so it would be sensible to keep going. I’ve also started a new team challenge on GoodReads so will be looking for a few quick reads to get some points on the board. I’m thinking K.M Shea’s new series, the latest books in Nick Pirog’s 3am series and The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa.

Who knows though, I have a week off work and they’re forecasting snow so there is a strong possibility I’ll read something completely different.

Have you read any of the books above? Do you have any recommendations?

Book Review: Northwoods by Bill Schweigart

March 1, 2016February 29, 2016 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

Northwoods by Bill Schweigart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first came across Bill Schweigart a few months ago when I spotted the Beast of Barcroft on NetGalley and couldn’t resist. That was the book that restored my love of horror and that love continues in Northwoods, the second in the series. Bill Schweigart really knows how to write an exciting and surprising narrative and this book takes horror to a whole new level.

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Some borders should never be crossed. From the author of The Beast of Barcroft comes a waking nightmare of a horror novel that’s sure to thrill readers of Stephen King and Bentley Little.

Ex–Delta Force Davis Holland, now an agent for the Customs and Border Protection, has seen it all. But nothing in his experience has prepared him for what he and the local sheriff find one freezing night in the Minnesota woods.

Investigating reports of an illegal border crossing, the two men stumble across a blood-drenched scene of mass murder, barely escaping with their lives . . . and a single clue to the mayhem: a small wooden chest placed at the heart of the massacre. Something deadly has entered Holland’s territory, crossing the border from nightmare into reality.

When news of the atrocity reaches wealthy cryptozoologist Richard Severance, he sends a three-person team north to investigate. Not long ago, the members of that team—Ben McKelvie, Lindsay Clark, and Alex Standingcloud—were nearly killed by a vengeful shapeshifter. Now they are walking wounded, haunted by gruesome memories that make normal life impossible. But there is nothing normal about the horror that awaits in the Northwoods.

Thoughts

One of the things I love most about Bill Schweigart is that for me he is a bit of an unknown quantity. Having read only one of his books I don’t have a feel yet for how far he’ll go or what he will do. No character is safe and pretty much anything can and will happen.

Northwoods starts in a similar way to the previous book in the series The Beast of Barcroft with the introduction of a new character, Davis Holland, and something mysterious lurking in the woods.

However while the Best of Barcroft was more of a creature feature with a lot of mystery over what if anything is in the woods it’s clear from the start that this time it’s something from myth and legend. No real creature could be responsible for the level of carnage, so it’s more of a case of working out what creature is responsible and how to stop it.

There are a lot of local legends in the area and tales of missing persons going back years. A lot of these legends and stories are set out in this story and that makes for some fascinating reading. I have no idea if any of these stories are based on real legends but I imagine that they are.

While new character Davis Holland brings a different dimension to the team with his military experience I have to admit I still really love returning characters Ben and Lindsay. Ben is the everyman character with no special skills or knowledge who is thrown into exceptional circumstances. He’s probably more lucky a lot of the time than skilled and seems to have a natural talent for saying the wrong thing which brings a lot of humour to the story.

He also has the most incredible crush on Lindsay which considering he’s the wrong sex to be her type makes for an interesting dynamic between the two. Lindsay is definitely the more knowledgeable and practical of the two so has the upper hand as far as the relationship goes. They flirt a bit, argue a lot, he’s overprotective and she get’s frustrated with him but they do depend on each other. Their relationship changes and develops over the course of this book and it comes under threat a few times which was kind of worrying as they are definitely one of my favourite partnerships.

This story is a lot bigger and a lot more gruesome and violent than the Beast of Barcroft. The author has definitely stepped it up in terms of carnage and while I prefer slightly subtler horror story rather than a lot of blood and gore there are still some very creepy moments. What makes it even better is the unpredictability. No character is safe in this series and anyone could be lost at the most unexpected moment. There was one moment in particular which came out of nowhere and left me completely stunned. One of those “oh my god, he can’t do that can he?” type moments.

For the most part the pacing is spot on and while there are a couple of bits which are a little slow, the author does a fantastic job of building up the tension to a truly immense conclusion.

It’s not a perfect book but I would definitely rate Bill Schweigart as one of my favourite horror authors at the moment. I’m looking forward to more in the series to see where it goes next.

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

Teaser Tuesday: 1st March 2016

March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 Ali@abookishlife9 Comments

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

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This week my teaser comes from Golden Son by Pierce Brown. It’s the second in the Red Rising Trilogy, the first of which I read a few months ago. I was lucky enough to see Pierce Brown in Edinburgh last week and he described it jokingly as “Braveheart in Space” but personally I’m finding it more like Game of Thrones in Space 🙂 There are a lot of different factions seeking power and willing to do anything to get it with main character Darrow caught in the middle. I wasn’t sure at the start but I’m finding it totally addictive now.

My Teaser

I cannot sleep. The bodies of those I’ve left behind float in the darkness with me. I wake a dozen times, flashes of bombs, slashing of swords ripping into my dreams. I earned these sleepless night. I know that, and that’s what makes them all the harder.

~ Page 213

Happy reading everyone.

Book Review: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

February 29, 2016 Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So this was my second attempt at a Colleen Hoover book and I have to say I’m still not convinced. I know a lot of people really love her books but I’m just not sure they are for me.

I read Hopeless a month or so ago and while I loved the first half I felt like it went a bit wrong for me around the middle and didn’t really come back. This book left me with similar feelings. I loved the start (with the odd exception) but again lost it around the halfway point.

Synopsis

The story follows Tate, a nurse and student who goes to stay with her brother Corbin until she finds her own place. On moving in day however she finds a man passed out drunk outside the door to the apartment. She soon finds out this is neighbour, pilot and friend of her brother Miles Archer. Miles is clearly trouble and troubled but Tate almost instantly feels an attraction for him.

Miles warns her to stay away from him, that he’s not looking for a relationship but they both agree to a casual affair. The only problem with this is that Tate wants more, she’s falling in love with him, but Miles will do anything to avoid love.

Thoughts

The story is told from the point of view of Tate in the present day and Miles from a point six years previously and the chapters more or less alternate between the two. Tate’s chapters cover her feelings and their relationship (or lack thereof) and Miles’ chapters are flashbacks to the events that led to him being the way he is. As I didn’t particularly like Tate I have to admit that I much preferred the Miles background plot although I was a little frustrated at how long it was dragged out for. I just really wanted to know what had happened but I suppose if it wasn’t dragged out there wouldn’t have been much of a book.

The Miles from 6 years ago was just the sweetest, most lovely guy in the world. I loved how he knew from the second of meeting a girl that they would end up together. I also loved how he was determined to stick by her no matter what. It was such a contrast to the present day where he was completely shut down and almost absent a lot of the time.

While I felt sorry for Miles, I found Tate annoying a lot of the time. She claims to be an independent, determined woman but ends up in this psychologically damaging relationship with a clearly troubled guy. I know he was attractive but there is no way it was worth all of the angst, worry and tears. She spent pretty much the whole book going on about how much she loved him, how she couldn’t deal with how he treated her, walking away from him and then going back to him. The whole thing was completely frustrating and never ending. It went on for far too long for my liking.

It is a well written book and I can understand why so many people are fans of Colleen Hoover. She does have this incredible ability to suck you into someone’s mind and emotions. I have to say there aren’t a lot of fun or upbeat moments in this book but there were a few occasions where I was in tears.

Unfortunately though I think I’ve just lost my tolerance for angsty, never ending drama type relationships and this probably wasn’t helped by the fact that I didn’t feel like there was much spark between Miles and Tate. The highlight of their relationship for me was when he was passed out drunk and she didn’t know how to deal with him. As soon as he sobered up it all went downhill. I felt like at times the relationship bordered on abusive which I don’t think is ever really acceptable no matter how troubled someone is. The ending when it comes is fairly predictable but too fast considering how long the rest of the story was dragged out.

I’m sure however a lot of this is just me and overall, while I didn’t particularly like it, I probably would recommend to readers who like stories about relationships and trying to get over a past trauma. Personally I think I’ll leave it a while before I attempt another Colleen Hoover book.

WWW Wednesday: 24th February 2016

February 24, 2016February 23, 2016 Ali@abookishlife22 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

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

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

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

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I found out at the weekend that Pierce Brown is coming to Edinburgh this week as part of his book tour so I couldn’t resist requesting tickets. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to get there but in the off chance I can I’m trying to read a bit more of his Mars trilogy to get up to speed. I read Red Rising a few months ago and, while I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it so took a bit of a break before reading on. I have now started Golden Son and while I’ve only managed to read a couple of chapters so far I’m definitely enjoying it.

Recently Finished

I had a bit of a reading fest over the weekend and managed to finish three books this week. First up was What Would Lizzy Bennet Do? by Katie Oliver. As you can probably guess from the title there are a few links to Pride and Prejudice (as well as some other Jane Austen) but it isn’t really the same story. Initially I was a little disappointed it wasn’t a straight re telling but once I got over that I ended up enjoying it.

The second book I read was How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran. It’s possible the most foul mouthed and explicit book I’ve read but I have to say I laughed my way through the whole thing and loved it. It was the perfect book to shake me out of a downer.

The final book of the week was Chasing Daisy by Paige Toon. I have to admit I chose to read this as I was looking for a book with a pink cover as part of a challenge (I know, not the most legit reason for choosing a book but never mind). It turned out to be a great read and once I started reading I couldn’t stop.

Reading Next

This week I will mostly be trying to avoid reading A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab which I received yesterday. It’s the sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic which I read at the start of the year and loved. It is however a book of the month on GoodReads so I’m trying to hang off so I can read along with the group. It’s very unlikely I’ll hold out.

In the event that I don’t cave I think I’m going to try reading either Flawed by Cecelia Aherne or Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan. Both are ARC’s I received from NetGalley and favourite authors of mine so I’m looking forward to both.

Have you read any of the books above? Do you have any recommendations?

Book Review: Chasing Daisy by Paige Toon

February 23, 2016February 22, 2016 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

Chasing Daisy by Paige Toon

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I was sooo tempted to give this book 5 stars for character Luis alone but I really can’t even though I’m fairly certain he is my future book husband. Yep I’m going all fangirl with this review. I think I’m in love.

If you can’t stand gushing, let me just say this is a sweet, funny and romantic book that I literally couldn’t put down from the moment I started it. If you don’t mind gushing, read on.

Synopsis

Anyway, the story (I should probably talk about that shouldn’t I). Chasing Daisy follows Daisy Rogers a 26 year old “bun tart” (aka catering assistant/waitress/dogsbody) for a Formula 1 team. She’s sworn off men following a bad break up from a celebrity and is trying to get away from her ex by travelling the world to different Grand Prix events as part of the teams catering staff. Her resolve to stay single wavers however when she meets the two new drivers on the team Will and Luis.

Luis, the Brazilian, is definitely a player, out partying all night and constantly surrounded with women. He has an incredible ability to drive Daisy crazy and she can’t stand him. Will on the other hand is very sweet, dedicated and determined to win. He’s the perfect man. The only problem, he has a long term girlfriend. Daisy tries to fight her feelings but starts to get attached. Is a relationship possible or will getting involved lead to a crash and someone getting hurt?

Thoughts

Safe to say I really, really loved this book. I’ve read a few of Paige Toon’s books before and have found them a little hit or miss. One I loved, another not so much. This one definitely tips her towards favourite author territory. It’s sweet, funny, sad and totally addictive. Kind of like Days of Thunder with a love triangle thrown in.

Setting the story within a Formula 1 team is chick lit genius. There are exotic locations, hot drivers, celebrities, drama and all of the excitement and anxiousness of the races. The story itself is slightly predictable. You can guess almost from the outset what the ending is going to be but I have to say it’s a very enjoyable journey (particularly if Luis is driving).

Daisy is a likeable enough character. I won’t go into her background too much as it’s all kept quite secret and would therefore give away spoilers but she’s quite fiery and determined which are characteristics I like. I do love how she can curse and swear at someone in Italian one minute and go completely tongue tied when speaking to someone she’s attracted to the next. I did feel like she occasionally over reacted to things (possibly her Italian blood) and that her ethics were a little dubious at times but I was still cheering her on most of the time.

I have to admit I wasn’t overly impressed with Will and couldn’t see the attraction myself. As soon as Daisy found out he had a serious girlfriend she should have had nothing to do with him and to me it seemed really wrong that at times he seemed to encourage her. He was quite sweet, attractive and dedicated to his career but I found him a little on the boring side particularly compared to Luis.

Luis, Luis, Luis. I think I’m in love with Luis. He’s definitely the bad boy of the racing world. Doesn’t follow his diet plan, stays out late with the mechanics drinking, has a gaggle of women hanging off him most of the time and loves stirring up trouble. His relationship with Daisy is explosive and fireworks most definitely fly whenever they meet. She can’t stand him and he takes great pleasure in winding her up, embarrassing her and generally just being a bit of a nuisance. Underneath it all though he seems like quite a sweet, funny and caring guy.

I can honestly say all of my favourite parts of this book featured Luis in one way or another. Daisy and him learning swear words in different languages, him embarrassing her in front of some important people, him standing up for her at an event, him trying to psyche out Will before a race. Fantastic scenes all.

I was very close to a 5 star review just for these but there were a couple of bits that stopped me. Firstly, there is quite a strong adultery is ok type vibe going on which I wasn’t too keen on. Also I felt like there were a few storylines that weren’t quite resolved and that left me feeling a little bit unsatisfied.

Overall though I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a cute, romantic and easy read. I sat down and read the full book in a morning 🙂

Teaser Tuesday: 23rd February 2016

February 23, 2016February 22, 2016 Ali@abookishlife12 Comments

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

meme-TeaserTuesday-dkblue-boxed

I’m being a little bit of a cheat this week and rather than choosing from my current read I’ve decided to pick a couple of sentences from How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran, which I finished at the weekend. The writing is just so funny, explicit and unique I felt like I had to share something from it. There are a lot of great sentences to choose from although I was a little limited by trying to avoid anything too explicit or sweary 🙂 Anyway, here’s this week’s teaser.

My Teaser

Because my biggest secret of all – the one I would rather die than tell, the one I wouldn’t even put in my diary – is that I really, truly, in my heart, want to be beautiful. I want to be beautiful so much – because it will keep me safe, and keep me lucky, and it’s too exhausting not to be.

~ Page 56

Happy reading everyone.

Book Review: Black Widow by Chris Brookmyre

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

Black Widow by Chris Brookmyre

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve been a big fan of Chris Brookmyre for many years so I was pretty excited to get my hands on his new book Black Widow, the latest in the Jack Parlabane series. While I was a little bit worried at the start I have to say it didn’t disappoint. It’s a very well written, thriller with a lot of twists and turns that keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat until the very end. It’s definitely put me in the mood for more of his books.

Synopsis (from GoodReads)

There is no perfect marriage. There is no perfect murder.

Diana Jager is clever, strong and successful, a skilled surgeon and fierce campaigner via her blog about sexism. Yet it takes only hours for her life to crumble when her personal details are released on the internet as revenge for her writing.

Then she meets Peter. He’s kind, generous, and knows nothing about her past: the second chance she’s been waiting for.

Within six months, they are married. Within six more, Peter is dead in a road accident, a nightmare end to their fairytale romance.

But Peter’s sister Lucy doesn’t believe in fairytales, and tasks maverick reporter Jack Parlabane with discovering the dark truth behind the woman the media is calling Black Widow…

Thoughts

While I am a big Chris Brookmyre fan I have to admit that in the past I’ve leaned more towards the stand alone books or the Angelique Xavier series rather than the Jack Parlabane series. (I found they sometimes wandered a bit too far into political and social commentary for my tastes). As a result I’ve only really read one or two of the Jack Parlabane books and was definitely not up to speed on the series or characters. I found though, that despite this, it was very easy to get into. You’re quickly brought up to speed but in quite a subtle and natural way that mean this book could definitely work as a standalone.

The story starts at the trial of Dr Diana Jager, a surgeon accused of murdering her husband and is told through a series of flashbacks from the point of view of three different characters, Diana (the accused), Ali (the police officer who initially responded to the call) and Jack (a disgraced ex reporter approached by the sister of the victim to find the truth).

At the beginning I have to admit I found the switching narration and jumps through time a little confusing. It would take me a page or two to figure out whose story I was in and where I was in the timeline but I did get used to it and after a few chapters the voices become so recognisable you can identify them almost immediately. Some characters were more intriguing than others as you would expect but I did like all three in their own way.

The biggest draw for me though was Dr Diana Jager and the story of her relationship with Peter. She’s not exactly an objective bystander (being the defendant) but it was fascinating hearing her side of the story. She makes Peter out to be a con man, abuser and not the man she married but the whole time I was questioning her story. She’s a character you can relate to in many ways, an intelligent, ambitious woman trying to stand up for herself in a very male orientated career. I felt sorry for her a lot of the time. However you’re never sure if she’s really a victim in this or just a very clever and manipulative psychopath. I do love a complex character and she is definitely one of those.

Police officer Ali is another woman trying to get by in a male dominated career (a bit of a theme is this book) but is probably a softer and more obviously likeable character. She covered a lot of the police procedural stuff which was interesting but she also added a more human aspect to the police. She’s dealing with a personal crisis while trying to remain professional in front of new partner Rodriguez.

Jack was possibly my least favourite of the narrators. He’s just world weary and a bit of a misery but it was fascinating watching his methodical investigation to get to the unexpected truth.

There are quite a few twists and turns in this book and it definitely keeps you guessing. Was it an accident, suicide or murder? Is Diana a murderer or victim? What was really going on in the relationship? Was Peter the charming man he seemed or did he have an ulterior motive?

I will say, this is not an action packed thriller and it can be a little slow in places. It’s more a study of characters and relationships and is a lot more psychological. Personally I love that but I know others are looking for fast paced action so may be disappointed.

I have to admit it’s put me in the mood for a bit more crime fiction and a lot more Chris Brookmyre. I’m tempted to dig out some of the previous books in the series and give them another try.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this whether you’ve read any Brookmyre before or not.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for a review.

Book Review: What Would Lizzy Bennet Do? by Katie Oliver

February 20, 2016 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

What Would Lizzy Bennet Do? by Katie Oliver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Confession time, when I first started reading this book I hated it. Well maybe not quite hated but I did worry that it wasn’t for me. I was expecting a straight re telling of Pride and Prejudice (one of my favourite stories) and as a result was initially disappointed to find that What Would Lizzy Bennet Do? is not that. However, as I kept reading I realised that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

There are a lot of similarities and a lot of references to Pride and Prejudice but there are a lot of differences as well. As soon as I accepted this wasn’t the story I knew I found it was actually a really good story in it’s own right.

Synopsis

Lizzy Bennet has lost her job in the city and is back at home staying with her two sisters (Emma and Charlotte) and her father while she tries to get back on her feet. She’s very excited to learn that the son of next door neighbours the Darcy’s is coming home for a visit as she has been in love with him for years and is hoping he’s realised he feels the same about her. Unfortunately she’s in for a bit of a disappointment as when Lizzy runs into Hugh Darcy it turns out he’s back to introduce his family to his new fiancée Holly James. Lizzy sets out to prove to Hugh what he’s missing and how much better she would be for him than Holly.

Meanwhile, Holly is meeting Hugh’s family for the first time and starts to realise she may not know him as well as she thought she did. His mother, Lady Darcy is less than welcoming and her ex, actor Ciaron, is back on the scene playing Wickham in a production of Pride and Prejudice filming at the family home. It all makes for a lot of tangled relationships, secrets coming to light and a lot of questions. Can Lizzy convince Hugh to ditch Holly and marry her? Does Holly really love Hugh and can she win his mother over? Why is Ciaron so interested in Lizzy’s youngest sister Charlotte and how much like Wickham is he really?

Thoughts

I have to admit to being a huge fan of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. I’ve read the book a few times, read a few different re tellings, watched the dramas on TV and am currently watching the film with Keira Knightly as I type. It’s probably one of my favourite stories (although as an aside, part of me is suspicious of the fact Elizabeth only really changes her mind about Darcy when she sees his house)

I think therefore I was expecting this to be more of a straight re telling in a way similar to Bridget Jones or Pride, Prejudice and Jasmine Field. Initially when I found out it wasn’t I have to admit to being a little disappointed. The characters do have the same names and similar personalities but it is quite a different story. It is however a good story so as soon as I accepted the differences I found that I actually really enjoyed it.

I think part of my initial issues were that I didn’t particularly like either Lizzy or Hugh. Lizzy comes across kind of nasty and immature and Hugh is pretty boring and stuffy. Lizzy hasn’t seen Hugh in years but for some reason thinks when she bumps into him he’s going to declare his undying love and ask her to marry him. When that doesn’t happen she’s unreasonably upset and does all she can to make Holly look bad and steal Hugh away (not particularly nice in my view). Hugh isn’t a particularly attractive hero either. He’s quite distant with Holly, keeps secrets and seems to take everyone else’s side but hers. Definitely not who I’d want to marry.

I have to admit that my sympathy was mostly with Holly which initially seemed wrong as I figured she was the “other woman” of the piece. She is however very likeable and I found myself rooting for her and hoping she’d prove all of the doubters wrong. I was also a pretty big fan of Harry, Hugh’s younger brother. He was funny, charming and quick to defend all of the ladies in his life. For me, both Holly and Harry were the attractions in this book rather than Hugh and Lizzy.

The writing is pretty good throughout. The dialogue is pretty formal, polite and almost period (think Downton Abbey) which was unexpected but it does work and, once I got used to it, I kind of liked it. The plot ticks along at a good pace and there are a few twists, turns and big reveals which keep you reading. As there are so many differences from P&P you can’t be too sure what the final outcome will be.

There were a couple of things that niggled a little at me (the horse riding bits mainly) and one or two things are a little unbelievable but I still enjoyed it a lot. It is the first in a trilogy so I am kind of tempted to keep reading to see what happens with the Bennets. A lot of the characters, Emma and Mr Knightley from the next in the series, do feature briefly in this one so I’m interested to see how their stories play out.

Overall I’d say What Would Lizzie Bennet Do? is worth a read but don’t expect the same story or characters as the original.

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

Book Review: Lick by Kylie Scott

February 19, 2016 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

Lick by Kylie Scott

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I suspect my expectations were a little bit too high when I started this book. It has an interesting hook, a lot of high ratings and promises a steamy read. Unfortunately I don’t think it made enough of the hook and I didn’t feel much of a spark between the two leads which I think is vital in this kind of book. I’m not saying I didn’t like it as I did, I just found it a little bit disappointing.

Synopsis (GoodReads)

Waking up in Vegas was never meant to be like this.

Evelyn Thomas’s plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure as hell never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.

One thing is for certain, being married to rock and roll’s favourite son is sure to be a wild ride.

Thoughts

I absolutely loved the start of this book. It’s a great hook. You wake up in Vegas after a wild night out and realise that not only is there a very attractive guy with you but it turns out you’re married. Evelyn’s reaction to hearing the news is priceless, she remembers absolutely nothing from the night before so it’s safe to say it’s a bit of a shock.

David’s reaction is also pretty unique and not at all what I expected. He’s less than happy that Evelyn doesn’t recognise him and doesn’t remember anything from their night together. A night that seems to have meant a lot more to him than it did to her.

Their relationship is pretty fiery at the start and these were the parts I loved the most. He’s angry and rude and while she’s feeling pretty bad she’s no walk over either. I really liked them when they were arguing. I thought Evelyn was a great character and I loved how she stood up for herself and what she wanted but was still a little bit insecure and naïve.

David I was less sure of. He has a bit of a temper and obviously had some issues as a result of events from his past (I hate the whole trouble past trope). I did think some of his behaviour was a bit out of order and he could be a little bit hypocritical.

There was definitely an attraction between the two of them but while there were a few sparks at the start I kind of felt like they fizzled out a little as the story went on and they spent more time together. The issues and arguments between them started to get repetitive and even the steamy scenes of which there were many lost their heat.

There were a couple of other parts that niggled, the main one being her so called BFF, who to me didn’t seem like much of a friend (I certainly wouldn’t want her as one of mine), but overall I did enjoy the story. Despite losing it’s way around the half way point it is pretty well written and keeps you reading to find out how it will all end.

I have to admit to being a little curious about the next in the series which follows the band’s drummer Mal. He seemed like a much more interesting character. I will no doubt cave and get it at some point. I just hope it’s not as disappointing as Lick.