My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a book I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for. I thought The Thousandth Floor was fantastic but with that cliffhanger at the end I really needed this, the second book, as soon as possible and it really doesn’t disappoint.

All of the things I loved about the first book are there but now that a lot of the world building is out of the way the focus is much more on the characters and story. There’s yet another fantastic hook at the start to keep you reading and more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing. The highlight for me though was definitely the development of the characters and their relationships. Now the wait is on for book three.

I should add a warning here that as this is the second book in the series there are spoilers from here on in for book one so if you haven’t read it go do that or have a read at my review.

The Blurb

All that glitters is not gold.

New York City, 2118. Manhattan is home to a thousand-story supertower, a breathtaking marvel that touches the sky. But amid high-tech luxury and futuristic glamour, five teenagers are keeping dangerous secrets…

Leda is haunted by memories of what happened on the worst night of her life. She’ll do anything to make sure the truth stays hidden—even if it means trusting her enemy.

Watt just wants to put everything behind him…until Leda forces him to start hacking again. Will he do what it takes to be free of her for good?

When Rylin wins a scholarship to an upper-floor school, her life transforms overnight. But being there also means seeing the boy whose heart she broke, and who broke hers in return.

Avery is tormented by her love for the one person in the world she can never have. She’s desperate to be with him…no matter the cost.

And then there’s Calliope, the mysterious, bohemian beauty who arrives in New York determined to cause a stir. And she knows exactly where to begin.

But unbeknownst to them all, someone is watching their every move, someone with revenge in mind. After all, in a world of such dazzling heights, just one wrong step can mean a devastating fall.

My Review

Yet again this book kicks off with a killer hook, there’s a body in the water. Did they drown or just happen to end up there? Was it an accident, was it deliberate or was it murder? Most important of all, who is it? With a beginning like that it’s very difficult to walk away from this story and, even though the author did exactly the same in the first book, I found myself unable to put it down until I got answers.

Unfortunately it’s a long and frustrating wait as the story jumps back in time to a few months earlier picking up shortly after the shocking events at the end of the previous book which have left everyone (me included) reeling.

The narrative follows a similar style to book one with the chapters rotating through the points of view of each of the main characters all of whom are dealing with things in their own unique way. Some are grieving, others wracked with guilt and some are out for revenge or trying to cover everything up. It’s like one of those TV drama’s about the rich and famous (think Revenge or Gossip Girl) but set 100 years from now.

I thought I would struggle to get back into this series and the world but it actually came pretty easily. It all felt very familiar. All of the same characters are there and it felt like coming back to people I knew, or at least thought I did as the author does a wonderful job of developing them. I found my opinions of them shifting and changing throughout the story.

Similarly, the relationships between them that began in the first book continue to evolve and change and I found my view of them starting to shift a little bit too. There was also a new and surprising relationship which I have to say I fully support but there was one in particular I really wanted to work and so far that hasn’t happened, oh well, maybe in book three.

As well as the familiar the author also adds a couple of new characters to shake things up a bit, the main one being Calliope Brown. I have to admit though that while I can understand why she was added she wasn’t my favorite and her whole storyline kind of bugged me. The mother and daughter con artists thing seems to have been lifted directly from the movie Heartbreakers (one of my fave films btw). There’s one scene in particular in the hotel lobby that seemed to have been almost lifted word for word. I probably would have been ok with a con artist type story but it just didn’t have any originality.

The story itself, is wonderfully addictive just like in the Thousandth Floor. The pacing is absolutely spot on and the mysterious death in the beginning really draws you in. The author keeps you guessing and throws in so many twists and red herrings that you don’t have a hope in hell of figuring it out until the very end. It’s frustrating but absolutely brilliant. I found myself on the edge of my seat on more than one occasion only to be screaming in frustration the next when I realized I wasn’t finding out what happened yet.

The futuristic setting and sci fi elements do add an interesting aspect to the story but as most of the world building took place in the first book there is definitely a lot more focus on the characters and story this time around. Similar to my biggest gripe with The Thousandth Floor though, I do still think the author goes a little bit too far in terms of the tech and gadgets. Just because it’s set in the future doesn’t mean everything has to be super high tech and gimmicky. When they started with edible lights in the icing of a cake I was ready to throw my kindle at the wall. No one messes with cake. I kind of feel, just let icing be icing or a blanket be a blanket. Not everything has to be different. Anyway, as you can probably tell the cake made me very angry but, I’m over it.

Overall, despite my cake related issues, this is definitely a book and a series that I’d recommend. It’s a completely addictive read with more than a few twists and surprises.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all view are my own.

WWW Wednesday: 18th October 2017

October 18, 2017October 17, 2017 Ali@abookishlife22 Comments

The WWW Wednesday 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?

Currently Reading

Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6) I actually have two books on the go this week which is a big improvement compared to last week when I was in a serious slump and not reading anything new. The first of these is Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas. I bought this a few weeks ago but had been putting it off as I was disappointed by the last book in the Throne of Glass series.

It’s very early days (I’m about 120 pages in) but so far so good. This book follows Chaol and Nesryn so a lot of new characters and places which I’m just starting to get my head round. I am loving how much simpler the story is in this. The last couple of books in the series had a lot going on and were starting to feel a bit too big in scale for my tastes. This has a lot more focus, one main storyline, one setting so suits me a lot better.

The second book I’m reading is Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling. I was pretty much just scouting around on Overdrive looking for something to read and came across this. I’ve been a fan of The Mindy Project for a while so have been curious about Kaling’s books. This is more a collection of essays on various different topics than one story which does make it pretty easy to dip in and out of. It’s also quite funny and light so it’s perfect when I have a little bit of time.

Recently Finished

Due to last weeks slump and the fact I seem to have started a huge big book in Tower of Dawn, I only managed to finish one book this week but it was definitely a good one. I’d received The Scandal by Fredrik Backman from NetGalley months ago but kept putting it off because it was different from my usual reads. Turns out that was a big mistake as this book is brilliant.

It wasn’t the easiest to get into in the beginning as there’s no real main character but rather switches between multiple perspectives from page to page but it really is an incredible story of a community where nothing matters more than Ice Hockey. You can read my full review here.

Reading Next

I’ve decided to try and slow my reading a bit as I still don’t feel like I’m totally out of the slump so if I manage to finish my current reads I’ll be doing well. I did receive My Side of the Diamond by Sally Gardner from Readers First at the weekend so if I do manage to finish ToD I think it’ll be next.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Teaser Tuesday: 17th October 2017

October 17, 2017October 15, 2017 Ali@abookishlife9 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. 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 The Purple Booker.

This week my teaser comes from The Scandal (aka Beartown) by Fredrik Backman. I was originally planning to continue my horror themed teasers but I read this at the weekend and loved it so much I had to share something from it. The writing is just incredible and I honestly think I’ve highlighted pretty much the whole book. Definitely one I’d recommend.

My Teaser

Her little Benjamin, the fighter with whom it’s far too easy for the girls of Beartown to fall in love. The boy with the most handsome face, the saddest eyes and the wildest heart they’ve ever seen.

~ 10% The Scandal by Fredrik Backman

Blurb

‘Late one evening towards the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else’s forehead and pulled the trigger. This is the story of how we got there.’

Beartown is a small town in a large Swedish forest.

For most of the year it is under a thick blanket of snow, experiencing the kind of cold and dark that brings people closer together – or pulls them apart.

Its isolation means that Beartown has been slowly shrinking with each passing year. But now the town is on the verge of an astonishing revival. Everyone can feel the excitement. Change is in the air and a bright new future is just around the corner.

Until the day it is all put in jeopardy by a single, brutal act. It divides the town into those who think it should be hushed up and forgotten, and those who’ll risk the future to see justice done. At last, it falls to one young man to find the courage to speak the truth that it seems no one else wants to hear.

No one can stand by or stay silent. You’re on one side or another.

Which side will you find yourself on?

The Scandal by Fredrik Backman

October 16, 2017 Ali@abookishlife11 Comments

The Scandal by Fredrik Backman

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Wow… This book was not at all what I was expecting, I actually put off reading it because I didn’t think it’d be my thing but…. wow.

Brilliant, powerful, atmospheric, frustrating, emotional, hopeful, beautiful and cold. The writing in this book is incredible, I think I ended up highlighting most of the book.

The Blurb

‘Late one evening towards the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else’s forehead and pulled the trigger. This is the story of how we got there.’

Beartown is a small town in a large Swedish forest.

For most of the year it is under a thick blanket of snow, experiencing the kind of cold and dark that brings people closer together – or pulls them apart.

Its isolation means that Beartown has been slowly shrinking with each passing year. But now the town is on the verge of an astonishing revival. Everyone can feel the excitement. Change is in the air and a bright new future is just around the corner.

Until the day it is all put in jeopardy by a single, brutal act. It divides the town into those who think it should be hushed up and forgotten, and those who’ll risk the future to see justice done. At last, it falls to one young man to find the courage to speak the truth that it seems no one else wants to hear.

No one can stand by or stay silent. You’re on one side or another.

Which side will you find yourself on?

My Review

I have to admit I kind of wish they’d kept the title of this book as Beartown rather than The Scandal for the UK market as this story is about so much more than one event, it’s the story of a town, of a community. Yes there is a scandal (although I personally think that’s the wrong word to describe what happens) but really it’s about the environment that allowed such a thing to happen and the reaction of the residents and neighbours when it does.

It’s about a community that’s slowly being destroyed and has one final hope, one last chance, one thing they can be proud of and how they’ll go to any lengths to protect it. It’s about belief, faith, determination, hope and bravery but also about divisions in class and status, despair, grudges and inequality. It’s also about ice hockey, which may be only a game, but for the residents of Beartown hockey is everything. It both unites them and divides them. It’s their one final hope to save a town in the middle of nowhere which is slowly disappearing.

It’s only a game. It only resolves tiny, insignificant things. Such as who gets validation. Who gets listened to. It allocates power and draws boundaries and turns some people into stars and others into spectators. That’s all.

I have to confess I know very little about hockey but for this story you could just as easily substitute in any sport as it’s more about the relationship between the sport and the town, although I suspect hockey was picked because it’s such a hard and violent sport (much like Beartown). Everyone has their hopes pinned on the junior team winning but they all have very different reasons for it. Some see it as a business opportunity, some a chance to escape and move up in the world and some just see it as proof that their town can still win at something.

It’s a very insular community. Small, isolated and fiercely proud of who they are. They have their own hierarchy, rules and beliefs all based around hockey. The more you can do for the team, the more power you have and the more you can get away with. The town is pretty much run by the best players and the sponsors but it’s unwise to ignore the hardcore working class fans either who feel the team belongs to them. Incomers, who don’t know the rules or have the same beliefs aren’t welcome. It’s very old fashioned, with only men allowed to play or even like hockey and the women expected to stay at home and support them. Everything is cold and hard and at times the whole story feels very claustrophobic, particularly when you see how everyone can turn on whoever falls out of line.

There aren’t really any main characters in this story but rather it’s told from multiple perspectives all of the time, jumping from one person to the next every page or two or sometimes every few paragraphs. These multiple view points and swift changes between them make it feel very episodic. I will admit I found it a little confusing in the beginning but it is brilliantly done and really gives you a feel for every aspect of the story. You’re very much in each and every moment and with every character and every single thing that happens feels completely real.

As you would expect there are some characters that are more likeable than others but as with all great stories I found my feelings towards them changing throughout as they developed and we found out more about them. A character I felt sorry for in the beginning turned out to be not very nice and one who didn’t really register, I kind of fell in love with by the end.

The story is slow, particularly in the beginning, but it’s captivating. The writing is beautiful and I found myself taking my time just to enjoy it. The author has such a wonderful way of capturing thoughts and beliefs. I always highlight sentences I like or that speak to me in some way as I read but had to stop myself from just highlighting everything it’s soo good.

I will say that I did find it frustrating in places, there are so many hints of what’s to come it began to drive me crazy, but it was literally impossible to put down. I read the majority of it in a day and this was while I was in the midst of a reading slump. I do think there was a little bit of the emotion missing, it didn’t stay in one place long enough, but it is a truly brilliant book.

I do feel like I have to add that there are a few events which may be triggers (I won’t put details here but happy to discuss in comments) but they are all handled with real sensitivity by the author.

Overall, this is definitely a book I’d recommend even if like me you’ve been put off by the idea of a book about hockey.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. As always all thoughts are my own.

ARC Review: The Treatment by C.L. Taylor

October 12, 2017October 11, 2017 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

The Treatment by C.L. Taylor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fast paced and gripping read that’s extremely difficult to put down. I loved the premise of a reform school with a special treatment program that transforms wayward and rebellious teens into model citizens. I kind of wish the author had gone a step further into invasion of the bodysnatcher territory but I found this very enjoyable and engaging.

Despite hearing a lot of great things about Taylor’s adult thrillers this, her first venture into YA, was actually the first book by her I’ve read. I had been meaning to pick up her other stories but it was the usual case of too many books too little time. When I spotted this one on NetGalley however I just couldn’t resist. A book about a reform school that’s brainwashing troublesome teens, count me in. It’s just such a fascinating premise and I love all things about brains, memory and behaviour.

The story follows 16 year old Drew Taylor whose younger brother Mason is sent to the residential reform academy by his mum and stepfather after he’s expelled from school for the third time. Initially she’s a little relieved her brother isn’t causing trouble and she can get some peace and quiet but then one day she’s followed home from school by someone claiming to work at the school. Dr Cobey has a note for Drew from her brother which says that all is not as it seems, the treatment is changing people and he’s scared.

When no one listens to her concerns, Drew is forced to take matters into her own hands and investigate. What she finds leads her to believe her only option is to infiltrate the school to get her brother out, but can she reach him before it’s too late.

It’s a really fast paced and enjoyable read and I found myself flying through the pages, so much so in fact, that I finished the whole book in a few hours. The author definitely knows how to tell a gripping story and despite it being a little predictable in places it held my attention through a couple of long and noisy train journeys.

I loved the idea of this slightly sinister reform school which takes wild and uncontrollable teens and somehow transforms them into perfectly turned out, mindless drones who want to serve society and look down on their former friends. There is something inherently creepy about someone who loses their personality and is completely single minded and almost fanatical, with no sense of humor or mind of their own. It kind of reminded me a bit of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and in a way I do wish the author had taken it further down this path and made it that little bit more creepy and sinister but I suppose it’s supposed to be a thriller rather than out and out sci fi / horror.

In terms of the characters I have to admit that I wasn’t entirely convinced by Drew. She begins the story as this shy and quiet goody two shoes who doesn’t have any friends in real life and is bullied at school then all of a sudden seems to transform into a completely different person when she finds out her brother could be in trouble. I suppose it is possible but it didn’t quite ring true to me which is a shame because I thought the other characters were incredibly well crafted. The staff at the school were particularly well done, superficially nice but with something harder lurking underneath.

There were a few other things that niggled at me a bit as well. I felt like certain aspects were resolved a little too easily, passed over too quickly or just too coincidental to be entirely convincing. I do understand why the author does it but personally I prefer things to be a little less clear cut with a few more twists and turns.

Despite these niggles however I would still recommend you read this book. It’s rare to find a really good YA thriller and this is definitely a good YA thriller. If I hadn’t been travelling to events I probably would have devoured the whole thing in one go.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.

The Treatment is released on 19th October.

WWW Wednesday: 11th October 2017

October 11, 2017October 10, 2017 Ali@abookishlife12 Comments

The WWW Wednesday 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?

Currently Reading

Ummm…. I’m not really reading any one specific book at the moment. After reading a lot last week I felt like I needed a day off and one day turned into two, then three. I may be in a slump. I’m doing what I usually do when this happens, re reading bits of old favorites and watching movies, until I feel ready to start something new.

Recently Finished

The Rules of Magic

I was on holiday from work last week and the weather wasn’t great (plus my kitty cat wasn’t well) so spent quite a bit of time in the house reading which was sooo good. It’s been far too long since I’ve just spent whole days with a book. As a result I managed to finish 4 books. The first of these was The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman which I’d received from NetGalley. This is a prequel to Practical Magic and tells the story of the Aunts, Franny and Jet and their younger brother Vincent.

It’s probably more family saga rather than a book about magic and witchcraft and it’s a bit of a slow burner. I really struggled with the first half and was pretty close to DNFing but decided to stick with and I’m glad I did as it really picks up after around the 55% mark and turned into a very emotional read. You can read my full review here.

Undercover Princess (The Rosewood Chronicles, #1)

As Rules of Magic left me feeling pretty depressed I decided Undercover Princess by Connie Glynn would be a nice, light read to cheer me up. I knew very little about the book or the author going in. I requested it based purely on the mention of a character obsessed with fairytales, a boarding school setting and some identity switching. Unfortunately I probably should have investigated further as this wasn’t great. It’s supposed to be YA but reads younger than that. The premise is good and I think it does have potential (and it’s really easy reading) but there’s something that’s just not working at the moment. It’s not published till November so will wait to post a full review.

On Friday I received bookmail (yay!!!) as the copy of 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You I’d won in a Readers First giveaway winged it’s way through my door. I’d read the first few chapters of this and just couldn’t resist starting it immediately. It’s probably not a book everyone will enjoy (there are a shockingly high number of people who DNFed it on Goodreads) but honestly I loved it. It’s got a very odd format which is almost like a script for about 70-80% of the story. Literally pure dialogue (or IMs or text messages) with no descriptions, actions or thoughts. Dialogue is usually my favorite part of any story so this just worked for me and it’s so funny. I still teeheehee just thinking about it. You can read my full review here.

The Lifeguard (Point Horror, #3) The fourth and final book read over the weekend was The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick. This is part of the Point Horror series and was one of my favorite books when I was younger. I’d actually completely forgotten about it until I was doing a Top Ten Tuesday a few weeks ago about childhood favorites. When I then spotted it on Kindle Unlimited I couldn’t resist. I’m not sure I would still say it’s a favorite but considering it’s almost 30 years old it’s held up pretty well and it was fun to revisit a book I read a lot.

Reading Next

Probably depends what I’m in the mood for but I have many, many choices including the following:

The Boy on the Bridge The Break Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons, #1) They Both Die at the End Copycat

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

8 Books with Seriously Scary Covers

October 10, 2017October 9, 2017 Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

The theme for this weeks Top Ten Tuesday over at The Broke and the Bookish is ten books with fall/autumn covers but having had a futile search through my books and feeling all Halloweeny I’ve decided to do spooky covers instead. Whether they’re just a little bit creepy, kinda gross or down right terrifying, these are the covers that either draw you in or send you running for the hills.

Read on if you dare.

1 The Ghost Files by Apryl Baker

The Ghost Files (The Ghost Files, #1) The Ghost Files 2 (The Ghost Files, #2) The Ghost Files 3 (The Ghost Files, #3)

I think every cover in this series has been creepier than the last, I mean look at them. I know a few people who out and out refuse to even attempt this series about a girl who sees dead people purely because of the covers but they are totally missing out. Yes, it’s kinda creepy with ghosts popping up all over the place but it’s pretty good. I’ve just discovered book 4 is out so I’ve already downloaded.

2 Love You To Death by Caroline Mitchell

Love You To Death (Detective Ruby Preston, #1)

This is a serial killer thriller rather than a horror but definitely wins an award for one of the creepiest, most horrible covers I’ve come across. The story is a bit less scary than the cover but still pretty disturbing.

3 The Beast of Barcroft by Bill Schweigart

The Beast of Barcroft

This series has been one of my recent favorite horror reads. You have to love a good monster in the woods story and this is a good (or really evil) monster in the woods story.

4 The Rats by James Herbert

The Rats

As the owner of a cat who is an expert hunter and someone who spends a lot of the time in barns and stables, I am for the most part ok with mice but rats…. Sorry, I know some people keep them as pets but no, no, no. I read this book a long time ago and despite being horrified for most of it really enjoyed it. I’ve been very tempted to do a re read but those beady little eyes are putting me off.

5 The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone

The Hatching Skitter (The Hatching #2)

Bleugh!!! I hate spiders, I don’t mind the odd little tiny one but when there’s as many as there are on these covers (or in my shed) expect much running and screaming. I haven’t read either of these books because of the covers which suggest there might be more than the odd spider in the story.

6 Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)

Another book I haven’t read but based on that cover I really, really want to. Creepy mist, creepy house, creepy sky, lots of blood, looks good to me.

7 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Graham-Smith

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, #1)

The word that springs to mind with this one is yuck. Again haven’t read but I’ve seen the film. I didn’t really like it and that actually put me off picking up the book despite liking the sound of it. Maybe at some point.

8 I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

I Am Legend and Other Stories

I think this cover pretty much speaks for itself. This has been on my TBR forever and I really should read it soon. I loved the film although I only managed to watch it once because it’s just too sad.

So that’s my top eight (or should that be eleven) books with seriously scary covers. I’m pretty sure I’m missing a few good ones. Have you read any of these or want to read any? Do you know a book with an even creepier cover? I’m always on the hunt for a good creepy story so any recommendations gratefully received.

Feel free to leave comments below and links to your own top ten’s.

Teaser Tuesday: 10th October 2017

October 10, 2017October 7, 2017 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

This week I’m continuing my horror themed teasers with one from The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick. This was first published in 1988 as part of the Point Horror series and was one of my favorite books when I was younger. I couldn’t resist a re read at the weekend when I came across it on Kindle Unlimited. Brought back some great memories.

My Teaser

He covered his face with his hands and felt the cold sweat pouring off him. He always felt like this – sick and sad and empty – when it was time for the game to be over. When it was time to do what he had to do.

~ 73% The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick

Blurb

A summer of sun, sand and murder.

Kelsey’s summer should have been paradise: An invitation to rich and famous Beverly Island, complete with sun-drenched beaches and three gorgeous lifeguards on duty. But Kelsey’s summer is the opposite of paradise. It starts with the note under her pillow from a girl who’s missing. Then there’s the crazy man in the lighthouse who won’t leave Kelsey alone.

And there have been a number of suspicious drownings…. At least she has the lifeguards around to protect her….

Poor Kelsey. Someone forgot to tell her that lifeguards don’t always like to save lives.

ARC Review: 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant

October 8, 2017 Ali@abookishlife7 Comments

The Blurb

Two random strangers. Thirty-six questions to make them fall in love.

Hildy and Paul each have their own reasons for taking part in the psychology study (in Paul’s case it is the $40, in Hildy’s the reasons are significantly more complex). The study poses the simple question: Can love be engineered between two random strangers?

Hildy and Paul must ask each other 36 questions, ranging from “What is your most terrible memory?” to “When did you last sing to yourself?” By the time Hildy and Paul have made it to the end of the questionnaire, they’ve laughed and cried and lied and thrown things and run away and come back again. They’ve also each discovered the painful secret the other was trying so hard to hide. But have they fallen in love?

My Review

Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

As soon as Hildy and Paul started asking each other the 36 questions as part of a psychology study I was 100% hooked. The style of the book is probably not for everyone given that probably 70-80% is pure dialogue (or instant messaging) but it really just worked for me.

Good dialogue is probably what I enjoy most in a book so I don’t mind if there are no descriptions, no musings on innermost thoughts or even much in the way of action. I get so much more out of a couple of people having a chat and in this book it’s done absolutely brilliantly.

I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much, the banter between the two of them was just so funny but very believable. There are a few darker moments but even they are almost instantly flipped to light.

Hildy and Paul are perhaps a little cliched but honestly, in what romance are there not cliches and I feel like the fact they turned out to be different to what they initially appeared was kind of the point.

There were only really a couple of things that niggled me about this book. Firstly, their ages. I didn’t realize this was YA and spent forever trying to figure out how old they were (it turns out Hildy is 18). There were bits that just seemed a bit silly for those ages, Hildy complaining she’s never going to find love for example (she’s 18). Personally I think it may have worked better if they were a little older (college rather than school).

I also wasn’t so keen on the chapters which were in regular prose. I kind of found myself skimming through them to get to the next question and honestly Hildy needs some new friends as Xiu and Max were horrible.

Overall though this was a brilliant read and one I’d definitely recommend. Sweet, hilariously funny and completely addictive. Loved it. And, if you’re curious about what I mean by weird format, here’s a couple of sneaky peeks (yes, there are drawings too).

I won a copy of this book in a Readers First Giveaway. This has in no way influenced my review.

Where to Find It

36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You is available from the 19th October

ARC Review: The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

October 5, 2017 Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

A prequel to Practical Magic, this is a book I was eagerly anticipating but took a bit of time to warm up to. The writing is wonderful, as you would expect from Hoffman, but with a slow pace, detailed descriptions and the focus very much on the characters and their relationships rather than spells and potions it took a while to fully engage me.

Franny and Jet’s story is fascinating and truly heartbreaking at times and I’m glad to have read it.

The Blurb

Find your magic

For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man.

Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.

From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.

The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.

Review

I have to confess I’m really struggling with how to rate and review this. I finished it quite late in the evening yesterday and hoped that after a good night’s sleep I’d know how I felt about it but unfortunately my feelings are still all over the place.

I think it’s pretty safe to say when I first started reading it I struggled. Practical Magic is one of my favorite films (I haven’t read the book – sorry) so I think I was expecting something very similar in style and tone. When I was faced with a slow and drawn out story that felt more like a family saga I have to admit I was disappointed. Hoffman’s writing is brilliant and very vivid and she really makes siblings Frances, Jet and Vincent come to life but it’s done in such a slow and meandering way that it really couldn’t hold my attention.

The focus of the story is very much on the family and the relationships between them. There is however a lot of magic in this book, particularly in the beginning as the siblings set out to discover who they are and what they can do. Forbidden by their parents to dabble, they learn first from a hidden magical text and some experimentation and then from their Aunt Isabelle all of the rules, potions and spells they could ever need to know.

Like a lot of the story though there is no big bang or excitement when it comes to magic. It’s all very gently introduced with a focus on the theory rather than the practical. As information on what each and every herb could be used for or what ingredients are required for specific potions was presented I must admit I found my attention wandering. I began finding excuses to put the book down and go do something else and on a few occasions I was pretty close to just giving up on the whole thing.

This wasn’t really helped by my inability to really connect with any of the characters or the relationships between them. With Hoffman’s wonderful writing ability they are drawn beautifully and you get a real sense of even the most minor characters but there was something about them that left me a little cold. They are all well rounded, with both strengths and flaws but I just couldn’t relate to them. Given the nature of the story, it should have been packed with emotion but I just couldn’t feel it.

I think it was around the midpoint, when Franny, Jet and Vincent are on their own, that I finally began to feel and it was at that point I became engrossed in the story. Whereas previously I’d been struggling to pick it up I began to find it difficult to put down. I’m still not sure I really liked any one particular character, a lot of the time I wanted to shake them, but somehow, very stealthily they managed to sneak in and I found myself truly caring about them and hoping things would work out for them.

This is a story about family, love and accepting who you are more than a story of witchcraft and magic. The pace is slow and the writing full of vivid imagery and detail. There isn’t much in the way of fun or light and to be honest the whole thing left me feeling pretty depressed, I cried a lot, but overall I am glad I stuck with it and read to the very end.

It’s probably not a book I would recommend everyone reads, I think it’s more suited to the type of reader who likes a slow paced story about family and relationships rather than one looking for magic and excitement, but I did enjoy it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. This has in no way influenced my review.