WWW Wednesday: 17th February 2016

February 17, 2016February 16, 2016 Ali@abookishlife14 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

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

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

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

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I recently started reading What Would Lizzy Bennet? Do by Katie Oliver which I received as an ARC from NetGalley. It’s still early days but so far it’s been ok. I am liking how the author manages to work in elements and references to Austen’s books but it’s maybe a little bit light on descriptions. Initial impressions of the Mr Darcy character are not that great but I suppose that’s consistent with the original Darcy 🙂

Recently Finished

I finished a couple of books this week. First up was the book I’d just started last week, Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. This was my second attempt at a Colleen Hoover after being a bit underwhelmed by Hopeless a month or so ago. I have to admit I’m still not convinced her books are really for me. It was an easy enough read but I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable and I thought it just missed a bit of spark.

The second book I started and finished was Black Widow by Chris Brookmyre. This was another book I’d received from NetGalley and had been lurking on my “Reading Next” list for the last few weeks. So glad to finally get the chance to read it as I found it very enjoyable. A little slow to get going but by the half way point I was totally hooked. It’s quite twisty and keeps you guessing pretty much to the very end. Definitely one I’d recommend even if you haven’t read any of the others in the Jack Parlabane series.

Reading Next

I’m still determined that I’m going to make some more progress on the pile of ARC’s I have sitting so after my current read I’m probably going to move on to either Flawed by Cecelia Aherne or Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan. Both are favourite authors of mine so I’m looking forward to both. I also had a trip to the library this week (always dangerous) and picked up The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, A Monster Calls and How to Build a Girl. I’m due a bit of time off work after all of the extra hours I’ve been working so hopefully can make a start on at least one of them too. Just need to decide which.

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

Teaser Tuesday: 16th February 2016

February 16, 2016February 15, 2016 Ali@abookishlife13 Comments

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

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For this week’s teaser I’ve decided to pick a couple of sentences from my current read, Black Widow by Chris Brookmyre. It’s about a surgeon and former blogger who may or may not have killer her husband of 6 months. Seems an appropriate choice for a post Valentines teaser 🙂 It’s definitely a cautionary tale for bloggers everywhere.

My Teaser

It’s terrifying to consider what can hang upon the smallest of quirks of happenstance: how much might be different but for the most minor confluences. I have no way of knowing for sure – we can’t run the events a second time to compare – but there is a strong case for saying that I would not have ended up where I am now but for a paper jam in a printer.

~ 49%

You’ve really got to watch out for IT equipment it causes all kinds of problems.

Happy reading everyone.

I Knew You Were Trouble

February 14, 2016February 14, 2016 Ali@abookishlife9 Comments

It’s been a while since I did a list so in honour of Valentines Day I thought I’d do a romance related one today. However being the bitter and twisted singleton that I am, I’m not going for any of that slushy nonsense. Instead I’m going for a list of some of the worst book boyfriends. These are the guys who you know are trouble and will break your heart.

It was a bit of a struggle narrowing it down so I’ve chosen a mix of classics, recent reads and popular stories. Be warned though if you haven’t read them (or seen the movie) there may be spoilers. [Note: the links will take you to Goodreads]

1. Jace Wayland (The Mortal Instruments)

OK so he’s kind of hot (or at least Jamie Campbell Bower definitely is) but as a boyfriend he’s an absolute nightmare and definitely to be avoided at all costs. He has possibly the biggest ego in the world (he could never love anyone as much as he loves himself), he’s reckless, has a dangerous job and it’s safe to say his father is a power hungry psychopath. For Clary there is also the issue that he is potentially her brother so that leads to a whole world of angst that in my opinion is best avoided.

2. Todd Hewitt (Chaos Walking Trilogy)

Chaos walking is a pretty accurate description when it comes to Todd. He seems to be a magnet for trouble as it follows him everywhere he goes. From the very start he has the local religious zealot after him. That soon becomes a town and eventually a whole army is chasing him. It’s kind of sweet how he and Viola look out for each other but saving him seems to be a full time (and very dangerous) job. There is also the added complication that he doesn’t actually know what a girl is at the start and treats them like an alien species.

3. Edward Cullen (Twilight Saga)

Bella may be “irrevocably in love with him” but she is clearly a bit of an idiot with no sense of self preservation. Firstly he’s a vampire who is a couple of hundred years older than she is. This means that not only is he older than her great, great grandfather (eww) he’s also technically dead and therefore a re animated corpse. He has killed a number of people in the past (serial killer) and kind of wants to kill Bella. He regularly breaks into her house at night to watch her sleep (creepy) and doesn’t mix with any of her friends.

4. Christian Grey (Fifty Shades)

I probably should have lumped him in with Edward as let’s face it they are pretty much the same character but Christian does at least have the benefit of being young and alive. He is however also a controlling, stalker who thinks nothing of running a detailed investigation into everyone he gets involved with. He has violent tendencies and is extremely secretive.

I honestly don’t know how Anastasia puts up with it 🙂

5. Edward Rochester (Jane Eyre)

Just to prove it’s not just modern men that are the issue I thought I should include one from a classic. I know that Jane isn’t exactly a catch for that time period but I’m fairly certain she could have done better. From the start he treats her atrociously. Pays her attention and makes her feel attractive before rudely dismissing her. He flirts with other women to make her jealous and impersonates a fortune teller to try to trick her.

When they do finally get together it turns out he already has a wife who he keeps locked in the attic, looked after by an incompetent alcoholic. His relationship with Jane isn’t the first time he’s been unfaithful to his wife. He’s already travelled the world hooking up with women all over the place. Apparently he’s not even that good looking (although I was a big fan of Michael Fassbender in the role).

6. Miles Archer (Ugly Love)

I don’t think I’ve ever really come across a character more able to mess with your head. In flashbacks he seems like a really sweet guy but in the present, not so much. Tate first meets him when he is passed out drunk in a hallway outside her flat. That should have been the first sign to run for the hills but no apparently he’s quite good looking so all is forgiven. They get involved but due to a past trauma he doesn’t want a proper relationship, he just wants to hook up occasionally. He never smiles, refuses to talk about his past or the future, gets jealous of any other guy, disappears for work for days at a time and generally just leaves you feeling used and abused.

7. Kaz (Six of Crows)

Yet another seriously messed up character with issues relating to a past trauma. He is clearly in love with Inej but refuses to admit it to himself or her. He’s a crook and a schemer, who treats her like a bit of a skivvy. To top it all off he has a fear of being touched and seems to be a bit OCD about it. Not the best basis for a happy relationship.

8. Will Traynor (Me Before You)

Lets face it any relationship with Will was doomed from the very start. He’s rude, miserable and generally a bit of a snob who tries to push everyone away. In fairness he’s dealing with a lot having recently been in an accident that left him a paraplegic but you’d have to be nuts to get involved with him.

It could only ever end in tears and sure enough it does.

So that’s my list. I kind of feel like I’ve been a little unfair picking on the guys. There are plenty of terrible book girlfriends too (Queen Levana from Fairest & America Singer from the Selection I’m looking at you) but that may be a topic for another list.

What do you think? Are these the worst ever book boyfriends or do you think there is anyone who should be on the list but isn’t?

WWW Wednesday: 10th February 2016

February 10, 2016February 8, 2016 Ali@abookishlife10 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

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

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

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

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I’ve just started Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. It’s a book of the month in one of my reading groups so thought I’d better give it a try (I actually nominated so I feel like I really should). This will be my second Colleen Hoover book. I previously read Hopeless and had kind of mixed feelings about it but I’m hoping this will be a bit better (although I have seen some not great reviews).

Recently Finished

Managed to get a flat tyre on Friday night so was trapped indoors for most of Saturday while my hero went off to find me a new one (I don’t have a spare only a repair kit). Between that and some very horrible weather I managed to get quite a bit of reading done this week and finished three books.

First up was Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom which is about a 16 year old girl Parker Grant who’s blind, dealing with the loss of her dad and the return of an ex boyfriend. Not my usual type of read but I did enjoy it for the most part. I loved Parker but thought some of the supporting characters were a bit weak. I would have liked to have had a bit more background or details. You can read my full review here.

After that I felt like something a lot more adult so ditched my planned reading (sorry ARCs) and went for Lick by Kylie Scott. It was quite a quick, enjoyable read and pretty much what I expected. I did think for a romance it missed a bit of spark and I was more interested in one of the supporting characters than the male lead but it passed a lazy Saturday.

Finally, I finished Fairest by Marrisa Meyer yesterday. It’s book 3.5 in the Lunar chronicles and is a bridging book between Cress and Winter. I’ve read and enjoyed all of the others in the series so knew what to expect and it didn’t let me down. It’s quite a short book at only 220 pages but it was a good 220 pages. Hopefully I’ll get a review up soon.

Reading Next

It’s getting quite embarrassing now that I still haven’t read any of the books I’ve listed over the last couple of weeks as “reading next” but I’m determined that this week I will make a start on Black Widow by Chris Brookmyre. I haven’t read any of his books in a while so looking forward to it. Will also be good to read something other than YA and romance.

In addition to Black Widow I also have another couple of ARC’s I’d like to read (although I make no guarantee that I will actually start them this week). I was very excited today to receive Flawed by Cecelia Aherne. I’m a big fan of her books so I can’t wait to see what she’ll do in her first YA book. Finally, I also have Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan, another of my favourite authors.

Hopefully this week I will actually manage to read some of these books but we’ll see 🙂

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

Teaser Tuesday: 9th February 2016

February 9, 2016February 8, 2016 Ali@abookishlife14 Comments

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I’m currently reading Fairest by Marissa Meyer. It’s book 3.5 in the Lunar Chronicles and tells the story of Queen Levana who, for those unfamiliar with the series, is based on the evil queen from Snow White and has a bit of a thing about mirrors. I have to admit to having a little bit of sympathy for her as she doesn’t have an easy time of it but not sure it really justifies her actions. Anyway, here’s this weeks teaser.

My Teaser

The yearning grew quietly at first, taking the place in her belly where a child should have been. It thrived somewhere so deep inside her she hadn’t even known it existed until one day she looked up at the planet hanging, mocking her, just out of reach, and she almost fell to her knees with the strength of her want.

~ page 181

Happy reading everyone.

Book Review: Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom

February 8, 2016 Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a book with quite a bit of hype around it but the reviews seem mixed. There are a lot of “best book ever” type ratings and some “hated it” reviews too. I’m not really in either camp. I liked it, didn’t love it but didn’t hate it either.

It does have a lot of plus points which make it worth reading, a strong female character who deals incredibly well with a disability, a realistic romance and a strong friendship between a group of girls from different social standings. However while I absolutely loved main character Parker I thought it fell a little short in terms of the secondary characters. For a debut novel though it’s pretty good.

Synopsis (from GoodReads)

The Rules:

Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.

Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you’re just getting in my way or bothering me.

Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter.

Parker Grant doesn’t need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That’s why she created the Rules: Don’t treat her any differently just because she’s blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart.

When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there’s only one way to react—shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that’s right, her eyes don’t work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn’t cried since her dad’s death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened—both with Scott, and her dad—the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken.

Combining a fiercely engaging voice with true heart, debut author Erid Lindstrom’s Not If I See You First illuminates those blind spots that we all have in life, whether visually impaired or not.

My Thoughts

It’s actually not the type of book I usually read. I do read a lot of YA but I’m not keen on stories about dealing with disability, illness etc. I feel like they are either trying too hard to be worthy, trying to fit in with a fad or jump on the band wagon of other similar stories (TFIOS).

What drew me to this story and what I liked about it is that while the main protagonist is blind that’s not really what the story is about. Parker Grant is not a woe is me type character. She’s not looking for anyone else’s sympathy and heaven help you if you break one of her rules. She’s a tough cookie and someone I’d probably be terrified of in real life. She speaks her mind, doesn’t care what anyone thinks (or at least acts convincingly like she doesn’t) and can be pretty fearless.

There is a lot of detail about what it’s like to be blind and the methods of coping with everyday life which I found fascinating but it’s really a story about growing up, working out what’s important and friendship.

There is a little bit of romance thrown in but it’s kind of secondary to the plot. If you’re looking instant love and happily ever afters this probably isn’t the book for you. If you’re looking for a story about close friends supporting each other no matter what it probably is.

Similarly Parker definitely isn’t for everyone. Personally I liked her a lot but I can understand why a lot of people don’t. She does change over the course of the story and becomes a bit softer and more likeable but to me it always seems more believable to have someone who isn’t perfect, who makes mistakes and learns from them.

There were a few bits that niggled me and I felt like it was a little bit light on some of the supporting characters as it’s pretty much all within Parkers head but I suppose it does in a way reflect how she sees the world.

It is an enjoyable read, I did laugh a few times and shed a few tears, but I didn’t love as much as others have. I suspect it might be geared towards much younger readers though.

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

WWW Wednesday : 3rd February 2016

February 3, 2016February 2, 2016 Ali@abookishlife12 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

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

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

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

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I’ve just started Fairest by Marissa Meyer. It’s a short’ish book set in the world of the Lunar Chronicles series. I’ve read all of the other books in the series, including the novella prequel, and have loved pretty much every one. They’re all based on fairy tales but set in the future and I love how the author works in the parts of the original story. Fairest gives the back story of the evil queen Levana so looking forward to finding out what made her so bad.

I’ve also started reading Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom. I requested this from NetGalley based on the blurb and reviews. It’s another YA book but this time about a girl who is blind and so far pretty feisty. It’s not the type of book I usually go for but so far so good (although I’m only about 10% in).

Recently Finished

Managed to finish two books this week, You and Me Always by Jill Mansell and Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness.

I’ve always been a big fan of Jill Mansell books so was quite excited to receive You and Me, Always. It’s sweet and romantic, with quite a few funny moments. I’d recommend if you’re a fan of Jill or if you’re looking for a quick light read but I have to admit it’s not the most memorable of stories and a lot of it has been done before. You can see my full review here.

I only really finished Monsters of Men yesterday. It was the final book in the Chaos Walking trilogy so I’m a little bit sad that it’s all over. I’ve enjoyed Patrick Ness’s writing a lot. He has the most incredible imagination and he makes the most bizarre things (talking animals) completely believable and realistic. I don’t think I’ve ever come across such fantastic world building. I’m probably going to need a bit of time before posting a proper review.

Reading Next

Unfortunately my list for reading next is pretty much the same as last week’s as it took me a bit longer than expected to finish the books I was reading. This hasn’t really been helped by me wandering off and reading Fairest 🙂 As soon as I finish my current books I plan on reading one or more of the ARC’s (which aren’t really ARC’s anymore it’s taken me so long to read them) The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman, Black Widow by Chris Brookmyre or What Would Lizzy Bennet Do? by Katie Oliver.

I also have Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, which I got from the library and am kind of curious about. I’m a big Sophie Kinsella fan so am interested to read her take on YA. From what I’ve seen so far the reviews are a little mixed.

Again there’s a fair chance I won’t read any of these but something completely different. I’m a bit of a mood reader so find it difficult to plan.

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

Teaser Tuesday: 2nd February 2016

February 2, 2016February 1, 2016 Ali@abookishlife18 Comments

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I’m almost at the end of Monsters of Men, the final part of the Chaos Walking Trilogy, by Patrick Ness so I thought I’d sneak in another teaser from it. The writing takes a little bit of getting used to but it’s definitely worth it. Such a great series. I will be sad when it’s over.

My Teaser

I can tell he forgives me.

He forgives me for all of it, tells me I don’t even need to be forgiven, tells me I did the best I could, that I made mistakes but that’s what makes me human and that it’s not the mistakes I made but how I responded to ’em and I can feel it from him, feel it from his Noise, telling me how I can stop now, how everything’s gonna be all right-

~ page 449

Happy reading everyone.

Book Review: After You by Jojo Moyes

February 1, 2016 Ali@abookishlife8 Comments

After You by Jojo Moyes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I loved a man who had opened up a world to me but hadn’t loved me enough to stay in it”

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes is probably one of my all time favourite reads so I have to admit that I approached After You with a bit of trepidation. There was no way it could possibly be as good and from what I’d heard hadn’t been planned by the author but was written due to all the requests from fans to find out what happens next.

After You probably isn’t as good (I don’t think it ever could be) but I think it is, for the most part, a great sequel. Jojo Moyes writing is fantastic as always and the story is interesting but the real draw is the character of Lou Clark and how her character develops. This is a story of loss, grief and moving on (or trying to) so it’s an emotional read but it’s definitely worth it.

Synopsis (GoodReads)

“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

Thoughts

I have to admit I’ve found this book almost impossible to review as, for some reason, I just can’t find the words to describe it or how it made me feel. Essentially it’s about the fall out from the events of the previous book. Lou is trying to meet her promise to Will to live her life, Will’s family are coping with their grief in their own ways and life is just generally going on for those left behind.

Coping with grief and moving on seems to be the main point of this story and I have to say the author handles it very well. As you can probably guess it’s not a happy book, I think I cried my way through pretty much all of it, but it was a story that made me think and feel a lot of things I haven’t in a while. I could really empathise with Lou, particularly at the start where she seems lost, lonely and guilty. I have to admit that in the breaks between reading I found my mind wandering back to it which I always think is a good thing.

What I also thought worked really well was how, as well as bringing back the characters from the previous book, the author introduces a whole lot of new characters from Lou’s new job and her support group. The support group in particular show the different types of loss and grief and shows the different ways people find of dealing with it. Surprisingly Lou’s sessions at the support group were some of the funniest parts of the story. I loved how they would wander off from what they were supposed to be discussing (I would never do something like that 🙂 ).

Despite grief being a big part of this story it’s not all doom and gloom. There are some really funny moments mostly involving her job and the support group and, without giving too much away, there is a bit of optimism when Lou is pushed to get out and about and even a little bit of romance.

Like most of Jojo Moyes books it’s quite slow, but in a good way. I was originally going to say that not much happens but when I think back a lot did actually happen. It just flows so naturally and realistically that you don’t notice how exceptional some of the events are.

It’s not a perfect book and there were a few things that niggled at me a little, one of which was the switch to a different narrator at one point, but I did enjoy it. Jojo definitely has a talent for creating characters that are very realistic and completely believable. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and no one is perfect and for that reason you can’t help but be drawn in to their journey.

Overall, despite my initial trepidation, I’m very glad to have read this book and I’d definitely recommend it.

Book Review: You and Me, Always by Jill Mansell

January 30, 2016January 30, 2016 Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

You And Me, Always by Jill Mansell

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I’ve been reading Jill Mansell books for years and think I’ve managed to get my hands on almost all at some point. She’s one of my go to authors when I’m looking for a sweet and funny contemporary romance and You and Me, Always is definitely that.

It’s well written, has fairly likeable characters and I will admit there were a couple of moments which were laugh out loud (or frantically cover your mouth so as not to laugh out loud cos you’re on the train) funny. Unfortunately though I think I picked the wrong time to read it as it just felt a bit too “lite” for me. It’s one of those books which is enjoyable at the time but doesn’t really leave a lasting impression.

Synopsis (from GoodReads)

On the morning of Lily’s twenty-fifth birthday, it’s time to open the very last letter written to her by her beloved mother, who died when she was eight.

Learning more about the first and only real love of her mum’s life is a revelation. On the same day, Lily also meets Eddie Tessler, a man fleeing fame who just might have the ability to change her world in unimaginable ways. But her childhood friend Dan has his own reasons for not wanting Lily to get too carried away by Eddie’s attentions.

Before long, secrets begin to emerge and Lily’s friends and family become involved. In the beautiful Cotswold village of Stanton Langley, nothing will ever be the same again…

Thoughts

I was very excited to get a copy of this book as Jill Mansell has always been one of my favourite authors but unfortunately, while I enjoyed it, I felt like it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Like all of Jill’s books this is very well written, with some great descriptions and dialogue. There is quite a lot packed in as far as plot goes and the story moves along quite quickly. It is a little bit predictable and you know more or less from the start how it will end but it’s an enjoyable enough journey getting there. I did feel like there was maybe a little bit too much going on at times and it might have been better to keep things a little simpler but that could be just me.

My main criticism however was that there were a few bits that seemed a bit clichéd and I’ve seen a lot of the scenes done many times before in books and films. There is the possible romance with a famous person, disastrous internet dating and a few others that I won’t mention due to spoilers. Maybe I’ve just been reading too many romance books but I felt a bit “been there, done that” and as a result there wasn’t much that was particularly memorable or unique.

There is a good mix of characters which I’m sure everyone will be able to relate to or will recognise in one way or another. Main character Lily is particularly likeable. She’s young, full of energy and confidence and despite losing her mum at a young age she’s very positive and doesn’t take life too seriously. I loved her encounters with film star Eddie Tessler and her relationship with childhood friend Dan. The banter and teasing were most definitely the highlights of the book for me.

Unfortunately these were slightly offset by the book having one of my pet peeves. The 30+ year old single woman who is unlucky in love but absolutely desperate to meet someone and have a baby. I’m determined not to go off in a rant over this but let’s just say it’s something that winds me up.

Despite the occasional laugh out loud moment and my personal rage at a certain character I did feel it was a little bit light as far as emotion went. I didn’t feel a spark in any of the romances or much of anything else that I think I was supposed to. I think this may have been due to the book I’d just finished, After You by Jojo Moyes, which was packed with emotion so I’m probably being a little bit harsh but that was my experience. I’m fairly certain other fans of Jill will enjoy it more.

Overall I liked it, I just didn’t love it and I’m not sure I’ll remember it for long.

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