Monday, May 30, 2016

Book Review - My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry

Not Sponsored or Paid | Book Received as an ARC from the Publisher. Review Policy here

Hi!

A few weeks ago, I was offered a copy of this debut psychological thriller by author Jane Corry. I didn't get much information, just that the author had spent some time working in a maximum security prison and had been inspired to write this story afterwards. I accepted, and read it yesterday.


Genre | Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Published | Paperback August 2016, Available on Kindle now
Page Count | 528 Pages

PLOT

Tuesday 20 October 2015. 
The artist Ed Macdonald has been found stabbed to death in his home. It is thought that...

So begins our story. In order to find out more about the victim, we go back in time fifteen years, to when Ed and Lily were married. Lily is a newly qualified solicitor, specialising in criminal law. She agrees to take on a particularly difficult case, and it almost immediately begins to consume her. Ed, meanwhile, is a struggling artist. His paintings aren't as successful as he'd like - until he finds a muse in the form of ten-year-old neighbour Carla Cavoletti. Carla lives with her mother, a fiesty Italian woman who is struggling to keep herself and Carla afloat. Carla just wants to be like all the other children at school - whatever it takes, she will do.

I don't want to go much further into the plot - I will tell you that the story is told by Lily and Carla in alternating chapters. It spans over fifteen years, and is as much a portrait of a marriage as it is a thriller. It's also a study in human behaviour - what motivates us, what drives us to succeed, how far we will go to get what we want, and the lengths we will go to in order to protect the ones we love.

THOUGHTS

It's hard to discuss without giving much away - I can't particularly say I liked any character, but I (maybe surprisingly) enjoyed the character of Joe Thomas - I found him menacing, intelligent, and liked seeing how his mind worked. Both Lily and Carla are very calculating, determined characters - but they're driven by different things. One by ambition, one by guilt.

The book reeled me in with the first hundred pages - I was determined to finish it in one day. Even though I had received a physical proof copy, I actually bought the book on Kindle as well so I could continue reading in bed.

I think this is a good choice for a holiday book this year. For me, the latter 20% fell down a little compared to the rest of the book - I just thought Lily began to unravel - but overall I'd recommend it, it's an accomplished debut. There are enough twists and turns to keep even the most seasoned reader interested.

RATING





Monday, May 23, 2016

Libraries Ireland - How to Borrow eBooks and Audiobooks

Not Sponsored or Paid | Nothing to Disclose

Hi!

As a child, Friday evening was the best time of the week. After school, I'd go down town in Mohill and head into the library. I'd be allowed pick 6 (or sometimes more) books and devour them over the weekend.

I'm still a library fiend - but sometimes I don't get the time to read physical books as much anymore so it takes me much longer to read, leaving me a bit daunted by the prospect of having to return them within a few weeks. I find it faster and easier to use the Kindle - especially as I can use it at night without disturbing anyone else.

A few months ago I discovered that not only do my library offer a huge range of eBooks to borrow online, but that I can also place requests, automatically renew books, borrow Audiobooks, and access a huge range of magazines.


For the purposes of this post, I'm not going to go through every County in Ireland - just Google your County and find out where your local library is - but I'll use my local one as an example to show you what's available. For free. Yep - membership of all public libraries in Ireland is now free. 

Longford County Library



This is the Umbrella for  6 libraries in Longford - Longford Town, Edgeworthstown, Drumlish, Ballymahon, Granard, Lanesborough. You can go in and join any of these libraries for free, then you'll be issued with a library card. Ask for a PIN to be set up on your account so you can access the Longford County Library site online, then you're all set. If you're already a member, just ask for your PIN to be activated. Should you need to, you can reset your PIN here.

eBooks and Audiobooks

Longford County Library uses the BorrowBox app, which is available on iOS and Android. You can install this for free on your Apple or Android device. I ran into a problem trying to get it on my Kindle Fire - but there's a step-by-step guide right here. Once you have the app, you can log in to the online library and start borrowing. Log on to your County Library website and find the eBook section. The online libraries are all on Bolinda Digital - the Longford one is at http://library.bolindadigital.com/longford. You're allowed a maximum number of Audiobooks and eBooks at a time (this varies - e.g. Longford allows you to borrow 5 of each, Galway 4 of each). You can borrow instantly and access your content through the app, or you can reserve books that are currently on loan (these count towards your total). You will not be able to borrow anything without a library card and PIN. There are adult, young adult, reference, childrens, cookery - the same selection as you'd get in a physical library. When you click borrow, you'll be given a return date (I think about 3 weeks). Once the date is coming near, you'll get an email to remind you that your time is almost up, then you can either return or renew by clicking the "return" button beside your book or "renew" provided no other member has reserved it.


You can check at the Libraries Ireland homepage here to see if your County library currently offers eBook or Audiobook services. By County library I mean the entire library network in your county - e.g. joining the library in Raheny would give you access to the entire Dublin City online catalogue, joining the library in Granard gives me access to the entire Longford County online catalogue. 

Magazines

Also available are magazines via Zinio. You can join here - Zinio. You'll need your library card number. Zinio is currently available to members of Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork City, Cork County, Donegal, Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown, Fingal, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick City and County, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, South Dublin, Tipperary, Waterford City & County, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow libraries.

With Zinio, you can download a free app (iPad, iPhone, Kindle HD/HDX, Android) to read magazines offline, or you can read online. Just scroll to the bottom of the page on the site (here) and you'll see the links to download.


There's an enormous range of current and back issues available - everything from All About Soap magazine to Top Gear, Cosmopolitan, Weight Watchers US, Cross Stitcher, Teen Vogue. You can tick a box to receive an email when the next issue is available.


Newspapers

Newspapers are provided online by Proquest. You can find a link to your County here. When you click the link, you'll get this screen:


Enter your library card number to access the site. There's a huge archive of newspapers, magazines and trade journals from all over the world, available to read instantly (1,109 at last look). You can browse through publications or search for something specific.

When you click on a title, you can choose what year, then what month, week, etc you want to look at. The articles will then be shown and you can click through them - e.g. this is an article from the May 20th issue of the North Shore Times (Sydney) about Wi-Fi - you can see that it says "7 of 55" - meaning there are 55 articles to view from that issue. This could be a lovely way to keep up with local news from home if you don't have access to newspapers from where you grew up.


Hopefully this was easy to understand - I would love if more people joined the library and encouraged their children to join too. Books have been a comfort to me throughout every stage of my life, no matter what was going on at the time - so even if you're not a reader it would be such a great thing to introduce your children (or younger relatives) to!





Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Books I Read in April

Not Sponsored or Paid, ARCs clearly defined.

Hi!

Please excuse my recent absence - a combination of incredibly poor wifi, lack of inspiration, several handcrafted presents to make and a possibly insane decision to rewatch both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed from the beginning have all meant that blogging time has been non-existent lately. But much like Arnie and Eminem, I'm back (back again), and I'll be sticking around.

I've been reading at night in bed, mostly, but a weekend-long book binge at the start of the month meant that I got to add another 16 to my yearly total.

YA = Young Adult, A= Adult.

Library Books
As is always the case with the library, I got excited, overborrowed, and several of them were returned before I got round to them - but here are the ones I finished:


Dare Me by Megan Abbot (YA)
Addy and her cheerleading squad are getting on just fine until the arrival of a new coach. Colette French immediately throws the girls into a strenuous routine, proving that cheering is more than shaking your pom-poms - the girls are exhausted. They're pushed to improve their physical appearance and stamina, but there are dark secrets here - ones that could destroy lives if revealed.

This is no Bring it On. This is hardcore, bitchy, girls stabbing each other in the back, secrets, lies, obsession - I think I gave it 2/5, it just didn't suck me in.

The Snowman (Harry Hole #7) by Jo Nesbo (A)
This is the first Jo Nesbo book I've picked up. It's also my first ever foray into the much loved genre of Scandinavian crime. A mother has disappeared, and there's a sinister snowman found at the scene. As Detective Harry Hole is put on the case, it happens again and again - and always when the first snow falls. It's up to Harry and his colleagues to find out who the Snowman is and stop him before he kills again.

This was well written, I had no issues with the story or plot, but it felt much, much longer than the 383 pages Goodreads says it is. I liked Harry Hole as a character and will read more.

Triptych (Will Trent #1) by Karin Slaughter (A)
I decided to go back to the start of the Will Trent series and read them all in order. In this first book of the series, Atlanta police detective Michael Ormewood is put on the case of a prostitute who has been violently murdered. Special Agent Will Trent from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is called in to lend a hand. Meanwhile, we get an arc about a man who spent time in prison for the murder of a young girl. His recent release makes him prime suspect #1.

When this starts to click, my god is it good. Karin Slaughter is a master of her craft, she just knows how to suck people in and grab them by the gut. Really well written, and thoroughly enjoyable - not perfect, but a solid 4/5.

Review Copies



The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick (YA) Published 2 June (Kindle) 9 June (Paperback)
I requested this on Netgalley. This is about teenager Timothy Mason, a High School dropout and recovering alcoholic. His friend Jason Garrett lets Tim stay in the family garage when Tim's father gives him a limit of a few months to turn his life around before he is cut off. Tim has history with Jason's sister Alice, who has issues of her own. When an old flame of Tim's turns up unannounced, it means complications for everyone.

This really dragged for me, I didn't find Alice or Tim particularly likeable and I wasn't rooting for them. I didn't like how dismissive Tim was of his "ex", nor did I like how judgemental he was about others. I just didn't enjoy it - but I'm in the minority going by Goodreads reviews so if you like Contemporary YA, give it a go.

Audiobooks
Would you believe that at almost 33 years old I had never listened to an audiobook before? I took the plunge this month and found it a fantastic way of getting another book in over a few days while cooking or cleaning.




Spectacles by Sue Perkins (A)
If you're of a certain vintage you'll remember Sue from Naked Lunch, but she's obviously better known for her role on The Great British Bake Off. This is her autobiography, and the audiobook was read by Sue. She tells her story in a warm, friendly way - she's naturally very funny and makes even the most mundane experiences sound hilarious. Parts of it are also very touching. If you like her at all I'd highly recommend this and I'd recommend you listen to it as opposed to read it.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed (A)
Ye gads. This was supposed to be a story about a woman who had a couple of really bad experiences (a loss, a marriage breakdown) and found herself again while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone. Instead, it's a choppy, far-fetched tale of a woman doing a bit of hiking, a lot of bragging, and a lot of shagging. At one point I went off into another room to get something and my husband came in asking me why I was listening to porn in front of the kids. Seriously. The narrator grated on me and the book was just......it irritated me and I didn't like it, I also didn't think Cheryl "found herself" at all.

Short Stories


Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell (YA)
A short story written by Rowell for World Book Day. Elena is Star Wars obsessed - so much so that she's never even seen the prequels (it's okay I promise it makes sense). She joins a line outside the cinema for the showing of the newest movie, hoping for lots of instagram-worthy crowd shots, but instead is met by just two people - one of whom will teach her about acceptance and being true to yourself. This was alright, it was a quick read, a nice palate cleanser in between people chopping each other up.

Sweet Home by Carys Bray (A)
A collection of 17 short stories all based on the themes of parenting and/or family. This was a real surprise for me - gloriously odd and quirky in places, desperately sad and upsetting in others. This veers into very dark territory more than once, so it's not for the faint hearted, but it's well worth a read. Stand-outs include the fantasy "The Ice Baby", in which a man carves a baby from ice for his wife, "The Countdown", about a man worrying about his first child, and "Love: Terms and Conditions" about a woman who vows to not repeat the mistakes made by her parents. Highly recommended.

The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett (A)
TV/film writer/actor Alan Benentt tells the tale of the old lady who lived in his garden for 15 years in a series of ratty old vans during the 1970s/1980s. This is the short story of how they tolerated each other and of the delicious eccentricities of Miss Shephard. It's not some saccharin sweet tale - but it's witty and funny and an interesting look at one of those real characters we don't come across too often anymore.


Young Adult

I read a couple of other YA books in April, most had been sitting on my kindle for a very long time - I find it a great genre to get me out of a reading slump.


Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (YA)
Eleanor and Park are very different - she marches to the beat of her own drum, but her flaming red hair and "interesting" style hide a lot of insecurities. He has a happy home life, but does he really know who he is? This is set in the 80s against a backdrop of the best music, over one school year. I didn't love it - it was okay for me, I found Eleanor's home life very upsetting to read about - but I know that others adore the book and the couple. It's being made into a film, one I'd definitely watch.

Every Day by David Levithan (YA)
Every day, A wakes up in a different body. Sometimes a boy, sometimes a girl, always a different person and never more than 24 hours. A can't  (or shouldn't) change or meddle, they are just a visitor - until A meets Rhiannon and feels an instant connection. Suddenly, everything A does is about Rhiannon - and if someone were to find out what's going on, A would be in serious danger.

Despite the insta love I enjoyed this, I liked that A was neither male or female, it was a great idea, and I'm a fan of body-switching things anyway. I didn't like that the angle of the Reverend wasn't fully explored, there seemed to be a story there that just dropped off. Overall a good read, there are prequels and sort-of sequels but I wouldn't bother with them. This was solid as a standalone.

Monster by C.J Skuse (YA)
Bathory is an exclusive Boarding School for girls. Not unlike Hogwarts, there are 4 houses in this big school full of secrets. Out in the middle of nowhere, Natasha (Nash) finds her battle to be Head Girl the least of her worries when her beloved brother Sebastian is reported missing. Add to that a mythical beast that may not be so mythical, some creepy rumours of murders, and a snowstorm that means some of the girls are stranded at Bathory, and you have an atmospheric teenage whodunnit with an element of dark humour that was really enjoyable in a kinda "Point Horror v2.0" way. I seriously laughed my arse off at the last name of the teacher, Slash fans will get it instantly. Great fun, recommended.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn (YA)
David and Rachel are no strangers to working with each other - this is one in a number of books they've co-written ( see also: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, Naomi and Ely's No-Kiss List). Nick is playing with his band when his ex Tris walks in with another boy. To avoid looking like a loser in front of Tris, Nick turns to the nearest girl and asks her to be his girlfriend for the next five minutes. The girl turns out to be super cool Manic Pixie Dream Girl Norah. What ensues is a night of debauchery in Manhattan, with Nick and Norah learning about each other. I have written "boring as f*ck" in my notes for this one, and I can't remember much about it, except a feeling of utter boredom and annoyance at the use of slang.

Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here by Anna Breslaw (YA)
Scarlett is a proud member of the Lycanthrope High fandom - it's her favourite TV show and she is fully immersed in online forums devoted to it. When it is cancelled, Scarlett begins to write fan fiction but draws (a little too heavily) on those she knows in reality - her crush Gideon, his evil girlfriend Ashley, and her friend Avery. If anyone were to read Scarlett's online ramblings they'd find out exactly what she thought of those people but that's not likely to happen...........right? Scarlett's elderly neighbour Ruth is a brilliant character too, and it's nice to see the dynamic between the two generations.

This was witty (you can tell the author is well acquainted with the Whedonverse), warm, funny, and Scarlett was a really great main character. A fantastic debut and I'd happily recommend this to anyone looking for a new YA book to read.

Other Fiction



In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward (A)
Rachel Jones and Sophie Jenkins were 8 years old when they were kidnapped. Rachel got away - Sophie didn't. Roll on to the present day when Rachel is now a family historian, still living in her home village of Bampton. Sophie's mother unexpectedly takes her own life - leading the local police to re-examine the original case. This was okay - it had a bit of a Happy Valley vibe but there were unnecessary elements (the nervous Groom) and we didn't need to be told repeatedly that Rachel, as a size 14, was heavy/thick/overweight/large etc. I could see this being a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, it's the type of book I'd recommend for a bit of midweek reading but it won't be one that will stay with you - I'd put it on the same shelf as The Bones of You by Debbie Howells or Beside Myself by Ann Morgan so if you enjoyed either of those, give this a go.

Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks (as Unknown) (A or YA)
This is a classic - the story of a teenager named Alice who goes to a party, takes drugs, and begins a downward spiral resulting in the destruction of her life. Originally marketed as a diary, a true story, this was later revealed to be the fictional work of Mormon Youth Counsellor Beatrice Sparks, who also fabricated other supposedly true stories. This is really boring to read - everything is great! great! great! and it's obviously not written by a teenager. This is it in two lines:

"Wheel of morality, turn turn turn, tell us the lesson that we should learn"
Don't ever try drugs, you will die.

I can imagine it was shocking at the time and it's worth a read even just to say you've read it - but it's beyond boring.

That's it! Hopefully you'll find something interesting to read, favourites this month were Sweet Home, Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here and Spectacles.

At this point I'd also like to give a shout out to a new Irish book blog started by Sara from Where is My Mind Gone? - it's called Not Another Book Blogger and you can find the blog here, the facebook here, and the instagram here. It's always a great thing to see more book blogs, especially Irish based ones - the online book community is huge and in general one of the nicer communities to be a part of.


As always, I'm a glutton for punishment and my TBR pile won't be big enough until it needs its own entry on the Register of Electors, so hit me with your recommendations in the comments.