Tag: reading

Book Review: Resistance is Futile by Jenny Colgan

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Resistance is FutileResistance is Futile by Jenny Colgan

My 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.

Synopsis (from GoodReads)

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 . . .

Thoughts

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.

 

ARC Review: Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

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Stealing Snow (Stealing Snow, #1)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.

Synopsis

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.

Thoughts

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.

WWW Wednesday: 17th August 2016

Ali@abookishlife22 Comments

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.

WWW Wednesday

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?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Currently Reading

Stealing Snow (Stealing Snow, #1)Unusually for me I currently have three books on the go at the moment. I tend to just focus on one book and one audio for when I’m driving but due to some indecisiveness at the weekend I somehow started two books at the same time.

The first of these books is Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige which I received from NetGalley. It’s another retelling (I know I have an addiction), this one based on the Snow Queen. I was very excited to get this but it does seem to have a lot of negative reviews. I’m only around 15% through so it’s very early days but so far I am definitely enjoying the writing. We’ll see what happens when I reach the love quadrangle.

ThResistance Is Futilee second book I’m reading is Resistance is Futile by Jenny Colgan. I started it at weekend as it sounded like quite a quirky, funny read and something a bit different from Jenny. For some reason though I’m struggling to get into it. I’m sure if I persevere I will love it but I’ve already wandered to another book which is not good. Hopefully I’ll wander back at some point 🙂

I’m also still listening to The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost. It’s the first in a paranormal/romance/urban fantasy series and this time instead of vampires and ghouls it’s angels and demons. Not quite enjoying as much as the Night Huntress series as the main character is kinda bugging me but it is good.

Recently FinishedUnhinged (Splintered, #2)

The first book finished this week was Unhinged by A.G. Howard. It’s the second book in the Splintered series which is based on Alice in Wonderland. I think this was possibly suffering from “middle book in a trilogy syndrome”. It seemed to take a while to get going and then took off towards the end to reach that big cliffhanger which means I’m probably going to have to read the third and final book to find out how it all ends….grrr!!

After that I was looking for something quick and light sThe Libby Garrett Intervention (Science Squad, #2)o decided to read some Kelly Oram. Kelly Oram is the author of one of my all time favourite happy books, Cinder and Ella (if you haven’t read it you should). After a bit of a search on Amazon I picked up The Libby Garrett Intervention, which is the second in the Science Squad series. It was quite a cute (but slightly more adult than I was expecting) story about Libby who’s in a toxic relationship which she refuses to give up until her friends stage an intervention. This is one of those books which has a positive (ish) message for young girls but somehow manages to be quite funny rather than preachy.

I enjoyed it so much I couldn’t resist re reading the previous book in the series The Avery Shaw Experiment. It’s quite similar and is about Avery, Libby’s best friend, who uses the seven stages of grief to try to get over a broken heart. It’s also a pretty good read and one I’d recommend if you’re looking for something light and fun.One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress #6)

Final book finished this week was One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost which is book 6 in the Night Huntress series. This time Cat and Bones were doing a bit of ghost busting which made for something a little bit lighter than their usual end of the world, doomsday type stuff.

Reading Next

Yep, A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby is still on my reading next list. I think that makes it five or six weeks it’s been there now. I’m saying nothing… Other than that I’m not too sure what other books I will be reading. I have a book bingo challenge starting which I think will have me choosing books based on what picture is on the cover rather than the story.

I do have The Island by Victoria Hislop which is my next real life book club read. Have to admit I’m not overly excited by it as it’s not the type of book I usually go for. I’m just biding my time until it’s my turn to choose a book then it’ll be all zombie apocalypse or YA dystopian 🙂

I’m also thinking about trying a bit of Neil Gaiman with The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I think it’s well overdue that I read one of his books and I’ve had this on my kindle for a while. Just not sure if it’s the best one to start on.

A Long Way DownThe IslandThe Ocean at the End of the Lane

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Teaser Tuesday: 16th August 2016

Ali@abookishlife14 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.

TeaserThis week my teaser comes from Resistance is Futile by Jenny Colgan which I started reading at the weekend but have to admit I haven’t gotten very far with. I’m generally a big fan of all things Jenny but struggling a little to get into this one. I think it may be all of the math 🙂


Resistance Is Futile by [Colgan, Jenny T.]My Teaser

‘You have…’ The strange man made a gesturing movement to the side of her head. He seemed to be groping for the word, and Connie wondered where he was from. The amount of people who felt the need to point out that she had bright red hair never ceased to surprise her. ‘…hair,’ he settled on finally. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off it.

~ Page 11 Resistance if Futile by Jenny Colgan

 

Synopsis (from Amazon UK)

Connie’s smart. She’s funny. But when it comes to love, she’s only human.

As a brilliant mathematician with bright red hair – Connie’s used to being considered a little unusual. But when she’s recruited for a top-secret code-breaking project, nothing can prepare her for working with someone quite as peculiar as Luke.

Happy reading everyone.

What’s in the box?

Ali@abookishlife10 Comments

So yep, I kept seeing all of these lovely book subscription boxes popping up all over the place and it was just too tempting so I ordered my very first box from Fairy Loot.

Fairy Loot are UK based and offer a fantasy focused monthly subscription (or single purchase) box containing  a Young Adult book and some hand selected bookish goodies. As I have a serious lack of bookish goodies and an obsession with YA fantasy it seemed like a pretty good fit.

I ordered the August box a couple of months ago so needless to say I was very excited to find out it was arriving today. After some stress over no one being home to accept the delivery and the delivery driver leaving it out in my back garden in the rain I finally got my hands on a slightly damp and dirty box.

So what did I get…..Read More »

WWW Wednesday: 10th August 2016

Ali@abookishlife26 Comments

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.

WWW Wednesday

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?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Currently Reading

Unhinged (Splintered, #2)I was looking for a book with either a title or author starting with U at the weekend (always a good way to choose books) so decided to pick up Unhinged by A.G. Howard. It’s the second book in the Splintered series which is based on Alice in Wonderland. I’m around halfway through at the moment and while it was a little bit slow at the start it’s starting to pick up the pace now.

I also have an audio on the go at the moment, The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost. It’s the first in a paranormal/romance/urban fantasy series and this time instead of vampires and ghouls it’s angels and demons. Really enjoying but not getting as much time as I’d like to listen to it as I haven’t been doing much driving.

Lying in WaitRecently Finished

First book finished was Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent. I requested this from NetGalley after hearing a lot of good things about it and I’m so glad I did as I think it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year and definitely the best thriller. It starts off with respectable couple Andrew and Lydia murdering someone and covering it up so it’s less of a who dunnit and more a why did they do it and will they get away with it. It’s one of those stories that you just can’t put down so I’d definitely recommend. You can see my full review here

The Ex FactorAfter Lying in Wait I was in need of something a little bit lighter so picked up The Ex Factor by Eva Woods which was another NetGalley request. It’s a story about four thirty something best friends who find themselves single at the same time. Rather than internet dating one of them suggests they set each other up with their ex boyfriends on the basis that they’ve already been vetted and just because they weren’t right for one of them doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be perfect for another. Unsurprisingly things get complicated and a little awkward.

I thought the start was a bit shaky but it turned into a pretty good read. What I really liked was that you were never 100% sure how it would all turn out. I’ll be posting a full review closer to the release date in September.

Reading Next

This week I am absolutely positively determined that I’m maybe going to make a start on A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. It seems to have been on my reading next list forever but I do really need to pick it up soon.

After a recent trip to the library I’m also thinking about making a start on Resistance is Futile by Jenny Colgan. I do love Jenny Colgan but must admit to picking up this one based on the cover and the title. It doesn’t hurt that it’s described on the back as “a charmingly quirky tale of love, friendship…and the possible obliteration of mankind”. Sounds good to me. 

I was also very excited to receive The Trespasser by Tana French from NetGalley during the week. She’s another favourite author so I doubt I’ll be able to resist reading this latest offering for long 🙂

A Long Way DownResistance is FutileThe Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad, #6)

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Teaser Tuesday: 9th August 2016

Ali@abookishlife21 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.

TeaserThis week my teaser comes from The Ex Factor by Eva Woods which I received as an ARC from NetGalley.  I’m being a little bit of a cheat as I’ve picked the couple of sentences I want to share rather than picking at random. Sorry but as it referenced another literally work and made me laugh I couldn’t resist.

Warning, there are some spoilers for Tess of the D’Urbevilles if you don’t know the story.

The Ex FactorMy Teaser

Tess of the D’Urbevilles, right – she had a pretty good thing going with that dairy. Why didn’t she set up her own business selling organic yoghurts? But no, instead she gets ditched by slut-shaming Angel and then heads on back to rapey old Alec.

~ Location 1012 The Ex Factor by Eva Woods

 

Synopsis (from GoodReads)

Is it possible to freecycle love?

Modern dating is hard, especially when all you meet are liars, oddballs, men who wear Superman pants and men who live with their mums.

So why not date someone who already comes pre-approved? Just because your friend’s ex wasn’t right for her doesn’t mean that he won’t be right for you. That’s Marnie’s new plan for herself and her three best friends, perennially single Helen, recently divorced Rosa and cynical lawyer Ani.

Through bad dates and good, the four friends begin to realise that there are advantages to dating pre-screened men…but there can be some serious pitfalls to falling for your friend’s ex.

Happy reading everyone.

Book Review: Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

Lying in WaitLying in Wait by Liz Nugent

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the best books I’ve read this year.

“My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it”

From that very first line I was hooked. It’s one of those books that will keep you reading late into the night and at every other opportunity (including sneakily under the desk at work).

Main character Lydia is deliciously horrid, unlikeable in almost every way, but it makes for compulsive reading as you keep turning the pages waiting to see what she’ll say or do next.Read More »

WWW Wednesday: 3rd August 2016

Ali@abookishlife20 Comments

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.

WWW Wednesday

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?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Lying in WaitCurrently Reading

Tuesday seems to have turned into my start a new book day as I’ve just started my latest read Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent. It’s a psychological thriller that I received from NetGalley and I’ve heard some really good things about it. It is still early days but I’m enjoying it a lot. There are definitely some interesting characters that, while I’m not sure I like them or agree with their attitudes, make for some fascinating reading.

Recently Finished

First book finished over the last week wasThe Paris Secret The Paris Secret by Karen Swan, which I received from NetGalley. I do love Karen Swan and this book was no exception. I think the highlight was probably the locations of Paris and Antibes which the author wrote so well I almost felt like I was there. I had a couple of little niggles about the romance and the male MC but would still recommend to anyone looking for a great holiday read. You can see my full review here

I then made the mistake of having a bit of a look around on Overdrive and found the The Moth in the Mirror by A.GThe Moth in the Mirror (Splintered, #1.5). Howard which is a novella in the Splintered series. It’s a sort of Alice in Wonderland retelling and the novella follows on from the first book in the series. It was an ok enough read, I’m just not always that keen on novellas and short stories as unsurprisingly I don’t feel like there’s enough depth to them. This one definitely didn’t add much to the series.

After that I decided to carry on with Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series which is becoming a bit of an addiction for me. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I finish them all. This time I was actually reading First Drop of Crimson which is a spin off from the main series and features a couple of the secondary characters. I did enjoy it but I kind of missed the main series.

More Than ThisFinal book read was More Than This by Patrick Ness. I’d got this from the library a few weeks ago and was sitting at the weekend flicking through books, read the first few paragraphs and got completely hooked. It starts with the main character dying, in a pretty brutal way, and then waking up which is definitely a great hook. It’s yet another absolutely fantastic book from Mr Ness and one I’d definitely recommend if you haven’t read it yet. It keeps you guessing until the very end and has some incredible world building and great characters. Personally I loved Tomasz. Hopefully I’ll post a review soon (once I’ve figured out what it all meant).

Reading Next

As I’ve finally made a little bit of progress (or abandoned the books that I’m never going to get to) on my reading next list I have some new books to add this week. I’m still planning to read A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby as I need it for a challenge I’m doing (and want to read) but I picked up a couple of new books from NetGalley that I doubt I’ll be able to resist for long. These are Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige and The Ex Factor by Eva Woods. I’m pretty excited about both as I’m in the mood for something light.

A Long Way DownStealing Snow (Stealing Snow, #1)The Ex Factor

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Teaser Tuesday: 2nd August 2016

Ali@abookishlife17 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.

TeaserThis week I’m reading More than This by Patrick Ness. I’m a huge, big fan of Patrick Ness and I don’t think I’ve come across a bad book yet. This is no exception. I’m around halfway through and I’m absolutely loving it so far. It’s not a happy cheery read but there’s something totally addictive about it. Anyway, here’s this weeks teaser.

 

More Than ThisMy Teaser

An impossible amount of time passes, a day, a year, maybe even and eternity, there is no way he can know. Finally, in the distance, the light begins to slowly, almost imperceptively change. A greyness emerges, then a lighter greyness, and he starts to come back to himself.

~ Page 14, More Than This by Patrick Ness

 

Synopsis (from GoodReads)

A boy drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. He dies.

Then he wakes, naked and bruised and thirsty, but alive.

How can this be? And what is this strange deserted place?

As he struggles to understand what is happening, the boy dares to hope. Might this not be the end? Might there be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife?

Happy reading everyone.