The Killing Game by J.S. Carol
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
High octane thriller that I just couldn’t stop reading.
Well written and explosive, the pace never lets up and the author manages to keep the tension tight throughout. There’s not a lot of depth to it but if you’re looking for an exciting read with a dash of celebrity thrown in you can’t go too far wrong with this.Read More »
What Remains of Me by A L Gaylin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
“The world’s a stage, Little Miss, but very few of us get to write our own roles.”
I hadn’t read anything by this author before but when I spotted it on NetGalley and read the blurb it sounded just the kind of book I was looking for. A psychological thriller about the darker and seedier side of Hollywood, it’s incredibly well written but I’m afraid to say that for me it fell a little bit flat.
I loved the language of the book, the twists and turns in the story but it felt a little bit too slow and too drawn out. The characterization is excellent and the descriptions make every person and every place feel very real. However for whatever reason I couldn’t quite connect with the story. I did have a lot of distractions going on in my life at the time of reading so that may have been part of the problem but it just didn’t hook me in and at points it felt like a struggle.Read More »
Miracle On 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It’s Christmas!!!
OK it’s not yet (please don’t hate me) but having read Sarah Morgan’s latest Christmas themed book, Miracle on 5th Avenue it’s definitely put me in the festive spirit.
It’s a light and funny, opposites attract romance that left me with a huge smile on my face and an overwhelming desire to book a flight to New York. The main characters are very likeable and the chemistry between them is electric. Ms Morgan definitely knows how to write the perfect holiday read.Read More »
All She Ever Wished For by Claudia Carroll
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Probably wrongly, I feel a little bit misled by this book. Based on the cover, the title and the release date of October I kind of thought that this was going to be a Christmas romance and unfortunately it’s not. I no doubt should have paid a bit more attention to the blurb but I just got too excited about a Claudia Carroll Christmas story. I absolutely loved Meet Me In Manhattan and would probably rate it as one of my all time favourite Christmas romances.
Alas in this case it was not to be. That’s not to say this is not a great story, because it is. It’s the story of two women, Kate and Tess who are at very different points in their lives. Kate’s marriage to billionaire Damien King is over and Tess is planning her wedding to art historian Bernard. Their lives intersect one day on the Ha’penny bridge, when Tess comes across Kate in tears, and then a couple of years later when Tess is called for jury duty and ends up embroiled in a legal dispute between Kate and Damien over a painting.
The chapters alternate between Tess and Kate for the most part (Bernard gets a couple of chapters) with Tess’s chapters set in the present and telling the story of her wedding plans, the court case and her relationship with Bernard, his family and hers. Kate’s chapters are mostly flashbacks, telling the story of her relationship with Damien from their first meeting to the events that resulted in them in court battling over custody of a painting.
I have to admit that initially I found the story a little on the slow side and this wasn’t helped by the fact that I didn’t really take to either Tess or Kate. Both came across as quite weak characters, with Tess particularly frustrating me with her blindness to the fact that she and Bernard were a complete mismatch.
Where the story really picks up however is when the court case begins. I really enjoyed Tess’s attempts to get out of jury duty and loved some of the conversations between the jurors who are primarily composed of pensioners.
I don’t think I ever took to Kate unfortunately and this is probably the main reason why I rated it as I did. The flashbacks were interesting but as a lot of them were in the form of newspaper articles it was kind of difficult to get that connection. She felt a bit absent to me and honestly I don’t think I cared what the outcome of the case would be.
Bernard and his family were also a little annoying to me. They were just that bit too stereotyped as socially awkward, eccentric, intellectuals. I think I spent most of the story waiting for Tess to come to her senses and call the wedding off which I suppose in a way did keep me reading.
As a Claudia Carroll book it is well written and there is some fantastic dialogue but it just seemed to be missing that little spark for me.
Overall, therefore I’d say good rather than great.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A gorgeous story of chance meetings and unexpected friendships . . . because sometimes what you’ve always wished for isn’t necessarily what life has in store . . .
Marriage. It’s a dream come true. Isn’t it?
One wet winter night, two women meet on a bridge. One is Tess Taylor, a personal trainer on the way to meet her boyfriend for date night. The other is Kate King, a celebrity married to a handsome billionaire who just happens to make her cry. In the cold dark evening, there is nothing to link them together but the bridge they shiver on. Little do they know they’ll both hold the key to each other’s future marriage…
All She Ever Wished For tells the story of what happens when your dream is about to come true. And what happens when that dream turns into a bit of a nightmare…
Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace by Jessica Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The first rule of Feminist Fight Club is that you must talk about Feminist Fight Club. The second rule, you MUST talk about Feminist Fight Club. So I’m going to talk about Feminist Fight Club. To use the books own words to describe it:
It is an action, an attitude, a state of mind, a collective call to arms.
I have to admit that I very rarely read non fiction and more often than not when I do I struggle to make it to the end. There was something about this book though that really appealed when I spotted it on NetGalley. I suppose I’m just fascinated by different thoughts on equality in the workplace and it’s something I am very passionate about. I would never describe myself as a feminist (I don’t like the term for some reason) but I do believe that no one should be discriminated against because of sex, race, religion, orientation or any other factor. To be perfectly honest I don’t think any of those factors should even be a consideration (possibly why I don’t like the feminist term). What matters is can you do the job, the rest is irrelevant.
As the book points out however, sexism in today’s workplace is a much more subtle thing than it previously was. It’s much more difficult to spot and more importantly to combat. This book is fantastic in helping you to identify the obvious and less obvious forms of sexist behaviour in the office and provides lots of helpful fight moves that can be used to combat them while keeping your professionalism. It also outlines the ways that women often sabotage themselves in the office and provides tactics for avoiding the traps.
These were probably the parts of the book that I found the most interesting and they definitely got me thinking about the office where I work and also my behaviour. It weirdly turns out that I already do a lot of the things they suggest. For example, I never volunteer to make teas and coffees or take notes in a meeting by claiming that I’m terrible at it 🙂
I suppose what’s more important about it is that it sparked some discussion among my team in the office (there are five men and me, the sole female). What these discussions indicated was that I was probably the exception to a lot of the statements in the book. I’m by far the chattiest, I’m a womanterruptor (oops), I’m pretty quick to speak out and I don’t really do any mummy-ing. I should also point out that I am the holder of the controls for the air con so the office is always at a temperature to suit me 🙂
I think however that I’m pretty lucky in where I work. There’s a really high proportion of women, a lot of whom are in senior roles and we pride ourselves on being inclusive and encouraging everyone to speak up. This book would make more difference to others who are in a less tolerant environment. Where I think I got most value from the book therefore was in looking at my own behaviour. I have definitely been thinking more about the language I use, although to be honest I often use qualifiers and caveated language on purpose.
If I had any criticisms of this book it’s that I felt it was a little on the long side and became a little repetitive. I was beginning to struggle in places and while it is very humorous and has some fantastic real life examples there were bits which just weren’t that relevant to me. Although it does suggest that you don’t need to read straight through but rather jump to the sections that interest you.
It’s also loaded full of Americanisms which I don’t overly mind but I would imagine others might. In addition I don’t particularly agree with the suggestion made that you should seek to promote women in the workplace. I’m all for supporting them, making sure their voice is heard and they aren’t being discriminated against but I don’t agree with the suggestion that you should seek to load the office with as many women as possible by selective recruitment i.e. if you’re in position where you hire staff you should actively seek to hire a woman rather than a man. I’m afraid I’m back to the best person for the job argument but that may be because I’m fortunate in where I work.
Overall therefore a good read and definitely one I’d recommend as it sparked some interesting discussions and gave me a much better understanding of myself.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Part manual, part manifesto, a humorous yet incisive guide to navigating subtle sexism at work—a pocketbook Lean In for theBuzzfeed generation that provides real-life career advice and humorous reinforcement for a new generation of professional women.
It was a fight club—but without the fighting and without the men. Every month, the women would huddle in a friend’s apartment to share sexist job frustrations and trade tips for how best to tackle them. Once upon a time, you might have called them a consciousness-raising group. But the problems of today’s working world are more subtle, less pronounced, harder to identify—and, if Ellen Pao is any indication, harder to prove—than those of their foremothers. These women weren’t just there to vent. They needed battle tactics. And so the fight club was born.
Hard-hitting and entertaining, Feminist Fight Club blends personal stories with research, statistics, infographics, and no-bullsh*t expert advice. Bennett offers a new vocabulary for the sexist workplace archetypes women encounter everyday—such as the Manterrupter who talks over female colleagues in meetings or the Himitator who appropriates their ideas—and provides practical hacks for navigating other gender landmines in today’s working world. With original illustrations, Feminist Mad Libs, a Negotiation Cheat Sheet, as well as fascinating historical research and a kit for “How to Start Your Own Club,”Feminist Fight Club tackles both the external (sexist) and internal (self-sabotaging) behaviors that plague today’s women—as well as the system that perpetuates them
The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGeeMy rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I picked this book in large part due to that cover and despite the message in this story being that you can’t judge on appearances it did work for me as the story was every bit as stunning and perfect as that cover.
It’s a fast paced and exciting story with one heck of a hook that keeps you guessing until the very end. There’s a great mix of characters and a few different plot lines which all converge to an edge of the seat finale.
A fantastic start to an enthralling new series.
Welcome to Manhattan, 2118.
A thousand-storey tower stretching into the sky. A glittering vision of the future, where anything is possible – if you want it enough.
A hundred years in the future, New York’s elite of the super-tower lie, backstab and betray each other to find their place at the top of the world. Everyone wants something… and everyone has something to lose.
As the privileged inhabitants of the upper floors recklessly navigate the successes and pitfalls of the luxury life, forbidden desires are indulged and carefree lives teeter on the brink of catastrophe. Whilst lower-floor workers are tempted by a world – and unexpected romance – dangling just out of reach. And on the thousandth floor is Avery Fuller, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all – yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.
So when a young woman falls from the top of the supertower, her death is the culmination of a scandal that has ensnared the top-floor elite and bottom-floor. But who plummeted from the roof? And what dark secrets led to her fall?
Friends will be betrayed and enemies forged as promises are broken. When you’re this high up, there’s nowhere to go but down…
This is a book that starts with a bang, or to be more accurate a fall from a great height, as a girl plummets from the top of a thousand-storey building. It certainly makes for a dramatic beginning and had me instantly hooked. Who was it and why? These questions plagued me throughout the story as it jumps back to a short period before, and the events leading up to it, leaving you guessing throughout just which character takes that fateful tumble and why.
As a hook it’s definitely effective but it wouldn’t work as well as it does if not for the fast moving plot and diverse mix of characters. The story is told in the third person from the point of view of five characters, Avery, Leda, Rylin, Eris and Watt, who despite being very different all have their own issues and problems. I have to admit with this number of main characters and alternating chapters between them I did initially find it a little bit confusing but honestly I have problems with remembering peoples names in real life so it’s most definitely a me issue rather than a book one.
A substantial element of the story is the social hierarchy which is illustrated incredibly well through the use of the tower. Only the richest and most successful can afford the hugest most luxurious homes at the top of the tower with the lower floors occupied by the poorer citizens. This is a society where everyone seems to be out for themselves and will do almost anything to work their way up to the higher floors and those on the top floors will do anything to protect their position.
This type of society doesn’t necessarily make for the nicest or most relateable characters and this is true for pretty much all of the main characters. If you get at all annoyed by rich and beautiful people complaining about their problems this might not be the book for you but I love this type of story. Everyone seems to have a secret, is working their own agenda or is even just trying to survive and maintain their position and reputation. There’s blackmail and betrayal but there are also some nuggets of real friendship, romance and working out what’s really important.
If I have any criticism of this story it would be the frequent mentions of futuristic technology. I know it’s science fiction and therefore kind of necessary to have some tech but in my opinion the constant references were overkill. After the first few mentions of the super contact lenses that doubled as smart phones I kind of thought “yep I get it, move on please”. I am not however a particular fan of science fiction, for pretty much that reason, so again this is a me issue rather than a story issue. I’ve heard a few sci fi lovers say how much they loved the tech.
Overall therefore, I’d say it’s a great story that really draws you into the world the author has created and I can’t wait for the next installment.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. The Thousandth Floor is out now.
The Deviants by C.J. SkuseThere are a lot of YA contemporary thrillers around at the moment but this is definitely a stand out read. It’s a story about a group of friends and the tragedy and secrets that have driven them apart.
It’s a very twisty tale with a lot of surprises and one huge surprise that caught me completely off guard. The writing is fantastic and the characters so well crafted that you come to really care about them and I was completely invested. There are some slightly creepy moments, a couple of laughs and one part which totally broke my heart.
Definitely one of my favourite books of the year.
The Ex Factor by Eva Woods
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
A fun and light hearted read about four friends who decide to date each other’s exes. I’m a big fan of this type of book and loved that the author managed to find a unique idea.
It’s not perfect but it’s an enjoyable read, with likeable characters and a few surprises to keep it interesting.Read More »
Resistance is Futile by Jenny ColganMy rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Funny, brilliant, weird, sad, quirky and cute.
Resistance is Futile is definitely Jenny Colgan at her best and I loved this book from almost the very first page to that incredible ending.
This is science fiction with a big dollop of romance thrown in. It’s one for nerdy girls everywhere who like math and science and are looking for a quirky and adorable story with lots of laughs.
Connie thinks she’s never met anyone quite like Luke Beith before.
She has no idea how right she is.
As a high-ranking mathematician in a male-dominated field – with bright red hair – Connie’s used to being considered a little unusual.
But she’s nowhere near as peculiar as Luke, who is recruited to work alongside her on a top-secret code breaking project.
Just what is this bizarre sequence they’re studying? It isn’t a solution to the global energy crisis. It isn’t a new wavelength to sell microwave ovens. The numbers are trying to tell them something . . . and it seems only Luke knows what.
The truth is out there. Will Connie dare to find it?
In this whirlwind adventure, Sunday Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan boldly goes where no author has gone before . . .
It’s described on the back of the book as “a charmingly quirky tale of love, friendship . . . and the possible obliteration of mankind” and I think that actually sums it up quite nicely.
I have to admit it was the title’s reference to Star Trek: TNG together with that description that initially drew me to this book when I spotted it in the library. I’ve always been a big fan of Jenny Colgan but this promised something a bit different from her recent food themed chick lit. I was always a pretty big Star Trek fan and love shows like the Big Bang Theory and Doctor Who and this has elements of all of those mixed in.
It’s pretty much impossible to say a lot about the plot without giving much away (hence the synopsis from GoodReads) but it’s mostly about a group of mathematicians brought together to try to solve some mysterious code (that’s probably nothing…honest) and the relationships between them. I absolutely loved the math and science theme that runs throughout this book and there are a lot of jokes about mathematicians, physicists and other scientists that had me laughing out loud (I’d recommend you don’t read this book in public).
The characters are probably the highlight of this book and Jenny has a fantastic ability to create unique ones that you really won’t forget. Luke was by far my favourite and I felt like I could almost see and hear him he was so real. His behaviour and statements definitely fall into the distinctly odd category (when he first appears he’s pushing a piano across a field) but there is something very endearing about him. I wanted to hug him or adopt him and could definitely understand why he fascinated Connie so much.
Main character Connie is also pretty great. It’s so good to see a brilliantly intelligent woman in a male dominated career like mathematics and there just aren’t enough books like this. She seems to be the most sensible and normal of the bunch despite being something of an anomaly. For the most part she’s the voice of reason in a group of the socially inept but she’s still totally out of her depth when it comes to Luke.
At their very first meeting he can’t look anywhere but at her bright red hair. He even takes to calling her Hair. He seems fascinated by her and she feels the same about him. She’s kind of used to mathematicians being a bit odd but he’s on another level.
The other characters are also great, from American Arthur who believes “the man” is out to get him, to Ranjit who gets far too excited and Evelyn the only other female mathematician who’s kind of like the mother to the group.
The story goes at a pretty good pace and there’s lots of action and excitement mixed in with mathematical theories. I do have a bit of a math brain but have to admit most of the maths and science stuff was beyond me so had no idea what they were talking about but it sounded convincing (and there isn’t too much of it). There was the odd bit I found myself skimming over (mostly told from the pov of another character) but other than that I thought the whole thing was a great read.
Definitely one I’d recommend if you like your chick lit a tiny big weird and quirky. I’ve actually just realised Jenny has written a Doctor Who book so I’m off to try to track that down.
Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
“Maybe I really was crazy. I’d followed the word of a boy I didn’t know to look for a Tree in the woods to save the life of my boyfriend who had disappeared through a mirror”
Hmm…. where to start with this review.
I wanted to like this book so much but unfortunately it was a little bit of a letdown. I’m a huge big fan of any kind of re telling so I was very excited when I spotted this on NetGalley. I did begin to have some doubts about it when I noticed there were so many negative reviews but I was ever hopeful they were wrong.
The story is a re telling of the Snow Queen, which I have to admit is not a story I know particularly well, and begins with main character Snow in a mental ward where’s she’s been for most of her life after trying to walk through a mirror as a child. She has some anger management issues, which they try to control by giving her a cocktail of drugs she’s named after the seven dwarfs (sleepy, dopey, grumpy, happy etc). She also has a major attachment to one of the other patients, Bale, who she’s been forbidden from seeing after they kissed and he deliberately hurt her.
Frustrated, one night she manages to sneak out of her room to see him but when she gets there something very strange happens, a set of arms appear through a mirror in his room and pull him through. Unable to follow through the mirror she has to find another way to get to the land beyond to try to save the boy she loves.
When she gets there she finds that she is the lost Princess of the realm with a powerful destiny but all she really wants is to rescue her friend. She’s offered help by witches, monsters, robbers and others but who can she trust and who is after something from her.
I think there are the bones of a really good story in this book but frustratingly for a number of reasons it just didn’t quite work. It actually started quite well and I had high hopes that the other reviews would be wrong. The scenes in the mental hospital are probably the best in the book and did draw me in but unfortunately as soon as she made her escape the story somehow lost its way.
For me the main problem, I’m sorry to say, was the writing. The whole thing feels a little too rushed and a bit disjointed. It seems to jump from one scene to the next at breakneck speed and, while I like a lot of action and dialogue in a book, it felt like it needed to stop and take a breath. There wasn’t enough description and world building and definitely not enough character development, criticisms I very rarely make as I’m not a fan of lengthy and flowery descriptions.
Everything seemed to come too easily or be revealed too quickly. There was no struggle and therefore I didn’t feel any of the emotion. Characters immediately revealed their deepest, darkest secrets to each other, magic was instantly available and battles seemed to happen every few pages. There was so much going on and being revealed it was difficult to keep up.
Snow was ok as far as characters go. I did quite like her at the start but eventually found her to be so changeable and flighty that it became a little frustrating. She’s a little selfish and far too ready to give up and be rescued to make a convincing heroine.
The current dragged me down, and I could feel the pressure of the air I was holding in my nose and behind my eyes. I needed to get to the surface. I needed air. I felt myself give up.
The other frustrating thing about this book is the romance. I’m afraid I didn’t buy into the Snow and Bale relationship. Bale is abducted pretty much at the start so we mostly learn about their relationship through flashbacks but I just didn’t feel it and consequently couldn’t understand why she was willing to go to any lengths to rescue him.
This was further confused by the introduction of two further love interests. Yep there’s a love quadrangle. I’d expected this from the other reviews and wasn’t particularly against the idea but again it doesn’t quite work. I think it’s the fact that every single male she meets just so happens to be her age and seems to be in love with her and she’s attracted to them. I know being locked in a mental ward she hasn’t gotten out much but I’m still not convinced you would fall in love with every boy you met and get all confused about your feelings.
Despite these negatives it’s not a bad book. There are some good writing moments and at the start I did find myself highlighting the odd passage here or there that I liked. Some of the other characters are interesting and it would be good to see more of them. With some editing and a slower pace I do think this could be a really good story (it feels like it’s in there somewhere) but it’s not quite working yet. It may be different for younger readers (unfortunately I’m no longer a young adult) who’re looking for a story with plenty of action, romance and some magic so please don’t be put off by my review.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.
A Bookish Life 