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.

Books I Read in March

Not Sponsored or paid, ARCs from Netgalley featured. 

Hi!

The beginning of March was slow for me, reading wise, but I found my mojo again towards the middle of the month and got through 12 books. As always, full reviews are posted on Goodreads and you can find those by going to my Books 2016 page and clicking on any book cover.

The Rick O'Shea Book Club

[Facebook, click here to join]

There was one pick this month:

Acts of the Assassins by Richard Beard
A famous cult leader has gone missing in the middle East - several people saw him die, but his body cannot be found - leading people to presume he's still alive. One by one, his followers are being killed off in gruesome ways in an attempt to lure him out. Oh, and the leader is Jesus Christ.
Interesting, great idea, but not my thing, didn't enjoy it.

Review Copies

Anyone can join Netgalley and request books to review. 

The Good Mother by A.L. Bird - Published April 4th

Susan wakes up and has no idea where she is - she has been abducted, and soon realises that her Captor, a man she finds oddly familiar, has also abducted her teenage daughter Cara and is keeping her in the room next door. But what does he want with Susan and Cara? Can they work together to get out? Promising but a huge let down for me, it tried too hard to shock and the last few chapters were messy.

My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal - Expected Publication June 6th

Leon is almost nine years old. He has the most perfect baby brother in the whole world, Jake. He looks after Jake because their Mum isn't able to, but when the boys are sent to live with a nice lady with fuzzy red hair, Maureen, a new family want to take Jake. They don't want Leon because he isn't white. Leon is determined to get his brother back - sometimes taking his anger and frustration out on those around him - and meanwhile meets some people who make him remember that everything isn't so bad. 

I had to put this book down halfway through because I was sobbing - full on snotty sobbing. It was so, so emotional. At one point, the words 'baby dinners' made me weep. I highly recommend it - it's set in England in the late 70s/early 80s, against a backdrop of the Royal Wedding, racial tension and social issues. A fantastic debut. 

Library

I have a separate post coming about libraries and the services offered, but for now - here are the books I borrowed from the library in March.

Fallen by Lia Mills
Set in Dublin during Easter week 1916, this is the fictional account of how the Rising and the events leading up to and after it affect one Dublin girl and her twin brother. I enjoyed the book, it gave me a good idea of how the Rising must have been for ordinary everyday citizens.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
Now a film starring Saoirse Ronan (pronounced seer-sha), this is the story of Eilis Lacey (pronounced eye-lish), a young girl from Enniscorthy in Wexford and her emigration to America in the 1950s. It follows her through her first job, her first love in America, and a tough decision. I enjoyed the setting, but I didn't like Eilis as a main character, I found her dull and overall the book bored me, unfortunately.

Bright Young Things by Scarlett Thomas
Six young graduates answer an ad in a newspaper looking for "Bright Young Things" for a secret project. They go for an audition then wake up on an island, with no idea of how they got there or what's going on. While the plot is alright, the best part of this 1999 novel for me were the multiple pop culture references. The author describes it as a "time capsule" and I loved it, references to things that were popular at the time had me grinning ("She's a Joey, but she wishes she were a Jen" - YESSSS!!).

Young Adult

I'm a big fan of Young Adult (YA) novels, I don't think you're ever too old to stop reading them. I read two this month.

The Storm (The Rain #2) by Virginia Bergin
In The Rain, teenager Ruby Morris was caught up in a pretty big crisis, torrential rain that makes people destroy themselves. I loved it because Ruby was gloriously normal and worried about mundane things that we don't usually seen teen heroines worry about. In this sequel, it's still raining on and off, and Ruby is searching for some people. I didn't like this as much - I felt like it was a bit muddled and tried to go a few different directions instead of just picking one and sticking with it. I also didn't like the direction Ruby's character went in. But I'd recommend the first book!

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Willowdean Dumplin' Dickson is a teenager who works part time at a fast food place with a very hot boy named Bo. Her mother is in charge of the annual Beauty Pageant, and is disappointed that Willowdean is overweight. Willowdean decides to call her mother's bluff and enter the Pageant, bringing a group of misfit friends with her. This was sold as a body positive empowering book - sadly I didn't feel that. I felt that Willowdean was incredibly insecure, selfish, and mean about others. It's a shame, because there aren't many YA books with overweight characters where it's not an issue - but throw in an unlikely love triangle and it wasn't enough to hold my interest. I finished it, but only just.

Non-Fiction

Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming
When Scottish actor Alan Cumming got the chance to participate in Geneology show Who Do You Think You Are?, he thought it would be a great opportunity to solve a family mystery on his mother's side. Instead, his strained relationship with his father became the focus as some previously uknown information was shared. Part memoir, part mystery, this read like a novel and is definitely one of the better memoirs I've read. Highly recommeded. I'm also blaming Alan for my renewed interest in finding out about past generations of my family!

Fiction

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Bee's mother, Bernadette, has gone missing days before they were due to go on a family trip to Antarctica. Through the medium of email and letters, Bee tries to piece together her mothers life to try and find out what happened. This is darkly comic in parts, I loved the parts with the snobbish school mothers. However, about 2/3 of the way through I lost interest and didn't really buy the conclusion.

The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Anne Noble
Clara and her sister Marin were brought to Aunt Verity as babies - Clara by a stork, Marin inside a conch shell. As the girls grow, it becomes apparent that Marin is slowly becoming a mermaid and needs to be returned to the sea. Aunt Verity is bound to her mountain home by a curse, so it's up to Clara and her childhood friend O'Neill to get Marin to safety. Predictably, things don't go as smoothly as that - there's a very fantasy carnival kind of atmosphere to this. It was just okay for me, parts of it felt like a lesson in morality.

The Green Road by Anne Enright
A mother in rural Co. Clare has requested that her four children join her at the family home for one last Christmas before she sells the house. They all have their own issues and stories, and we get to know them before the Christmas meeting. I loved this, really enjoyable and I'll definitely read Anne's other works.

So that's it - quite a 'meh' reading month, but three fantastic reads (Alan Cumming, Anne Enright and Kit de Waal). Have you read anything interesting lately? I'm always on the lookout for suggestions, but I can feel myself getting into a kind of YA mood so if you've read any interesting Young Adult novels lately, please let me know.

Books I Read in February

Not sponsored or paid, no ARCs featured

Hi!

Wow, this post is late - usually I try to get the book posts up earlier in the month, so apologies. In February, I mostly read this:

I read and re-read it until I was seeing road signs in my sleep, so I didn't really have time for a lot of other books. It paid off - I passed the theory test - but it meant that my book total for the year came to a bit of a standstill.

I managed to fit in four other books in February, two fiction and two non-fiction.

Me and My Mate Jeffrey by Niall Breslin
Niall Breslin, better known as Bressie, is an Irish musician and TV judge on Ireland's version of singing show 'The Voice'. In this book, he is very open about his battles with depression and anxiety. I liked this book because it helped me understand more about those who do have anxiety - he also has some great advice without being preachy, and points out where he went wrong and admits that some of his decisions weren't the right ones. I think it's great for young men to have a book like this so that they can realise that it's not just women who battle their demons - but I wouldn't give it to anyone under 15 due to some of the content related to self-harm.

Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller
When Peggy Hillcoat is 8 years old, her survivalist father takes her on a trip to the woods with every intention of them staying there for good. He tells Peggy that the rest of the world has been destroyed, and that they are the only two people left in the world. The book jumps between the time Peggy spends in the woods and the present day, where she's back with her mother - but what happened out there? The overwhelming feeling I had reading this was one of sadness, it's a sad book. It's essentially a look at a man's unravelling, and it's uncomfortable in parts, but it was a different type of read and one that has stayed with me. This was one of Richard & Judy's picks for Spring.

Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
Leah Remini is an actress. This is the story of how she and her family were introduced to the world of Scientology by her mother's then boyfriend. She spills the beans on some inner goings-on at the church - including some not-too-flattering tales about Tom Cruise and his supporters. It's an interesting read, mainly because Leah doesn't hold back at all - about the church or about herself and the mistakes she has made.

Viral by Helen Fitzgerald
I'm a big fan of Helen Fitzgerald's writing style, her characters are usually razor sharp and full of life. In this latest offering, Su Oliphant Brotheridge and her sister Leah go on holiday with a group of friends to Magaluf after their A-Levels. Something happens out there that turns Su into a viral phenomenon - and she's afraid to come home. Her mother, a Family Court Judge, is determined to punish those responsible and get Su back where she belongs. This is not for you if you don't like foul language - even the opening line packs a wallop. I wasn't mad about the book, being honest, the mother seemed completely unhinged to me. There was also a family incident that I felt unrealistic and just thrown in there for handiness - but overall I'd recommend Helen Fitzgerald if you like something gritty and darkly comic.

So that's it - I'm totally counting that theory test book towards my yearly reads because it was a book and I read it.

Hopefully I'll be able to add a few more to the pile throughout the last few days of March!

Books I Read in January

Not Sponsored/No Samples/No ARCs

Hi!

The first monthly round up of the year is here!! I love writing these posts so I hope you enjoy this one. All book covers will be added to the brand new shiny BOOKS 2016 page, so you can click on any cover to go to my more detailed review over on Goodreads.

This month, I read one (very) short story and 16 books.

The Rick O'Shea Book Club

This month, Rick kicked 2016 off with four choices. I read all four (I'm determined to step outside my comfort zone this year and try to read all book club picks)

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
A story about WWII from two sides. We follow blind French woman Marie-Laure from her childhood in France right up to the present day, and learn of her incredible story of survival. We also see German orphan Warner Pfennig, from his early days at an orphanage to his deployment to fight for Germany in the war. Both stories are intertwined, chapters are short, and this was an amazing read.

The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber
Peter, a Preacher, leaves his wife Bea behind to travel to a distant planet and teach the local inhabitants about religion from the Bible (The Book of Strange New Things). Meanwhile, things on Earth aren't going well, there's increasing disaster and Bea sends word that something very bad might be happening. This was such a weird book, I didn't like Peter but I couldn't put it down.

The Bees by Laline Paull
Flora is a sanitation bee, the lowest class. She looks different to the other bees, that in itself is a crime. She is put to work on the nursery ward after a chance meeting, and eventually her luck gets her an audience with the Queen and permission to forage. I just couldn't get used to the fact that I was reading about bees - aside from that, Flora's good fortune was all dependent on chance encounters and lucky escapes rather than actual intelligence or talent, which annoyed me. The male bees were disgusting, as was their really odd fate... A very strange book.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
I bought this book last year when it was one of Richard & Judy's book club picks. I'm delighted that Rick chose it because it finally gave me the push to start it - and it was a great read. I found the first quarter a bit slow, but after that it really picked up. It's about an 18 year old girl, Nella Oortman, in Amsterdam in the late 1600s. She is married off to a wealthy merchant, Johannes Brandt. He presents her with a cabinet-style dolls house, a perfect replica of the one they live in. She employs a miniaturist to make furniture for the house, but as she begins to receive items that she hasn't requested, items nobody outside the house could know about, she begins to wonder whether or not the miniaturist is a prophet or engineering events.

The Richard and Judy Book Club

The Spring Books have been chosen, you can see them all on my BOOKS 2016 page. Of the 8, I managed to read 3.

The Bones of You by Debbie Howells
Rosie is 18, and she has been murdered. We hear from Rosie from beyond the grave as she looks back on her life and slowly reveals what happened. In the meantime, we follow Kate McKay, a woman who knew Rosie from allowing her to help with her horses. Kate is convinced that Rosie's parents know more than they're letting on, and that her sister Delphine, knows something. A twisty tale with horrible characters, this was a mediocre read for me.

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
I saw Reese Witherspoon mention this on her instagram a few months ago and it was sitting on my Kindle ever since - whyyyy!!!! This is a brilliant book, it's about a hen party that takes place in a strange glass house in the woods. Leonora Shaw is invited, but she has no idea why - she hasn't seen the hen, Claire, in years. She agrees to go with another friend, but there's something very sinister going on, and one of the guests is in grave danger. I didn't love the ending but I really liked the setting and story otherwise.

The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett
A book about what would happen if one decision in our lives was different, or one small event never happened. An interesting premise but one that doesn't work on Kindle - I had to keep notes on each version (there are three) and some events were so similar that it became confusing, there were parties or meetings that took place in two versions and I found it hard to follow. I also wasn't bothered about any of the characters, I didn't like Jim and I thought Eva was settling. I know others enjoyed this much more than me, I just think it would work better in book form because having to refer to a notebook really interrupted how the story flowed for me.

Young Adult Series

I first heard about the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout on Aoife's YouTube channel (here). She mentioned the first book, so I downloaded it and was hooked.

Obsidian
Katy moves with her mother to a sleepy little town in West Virginia. She discovers that she lives next door to a big ride, but he's moody and grumpy and seems to hate Katy for no reason. Oh, and his name is Daemon. Oh, and he's an alien. This was standard YA fare - half the characters had green eyes and there was a lot of will-they-won't-they drama but it had just enough about the aliens to keep me reading.

Onyx
The Department of Defence are now stepping up security after an incident in the first book. Something happened Katy during that event, and now she's not the same old Katy anymore. In this book, we get the Jacob Black of the series - Blake, a spanner in the works and a Hybrid (not a car, an alien/human). The gang discover a secret and are determined to find out if it's true.

Opal
Starting to get sick of this now, this book was mostly filler - nothing really happens. The event they planned at the end of book 2 still hasn't happened. On to book 4, then!

Origin
So something bad has happened, but Daemon is going to save the day. Unfortunately, I could no longer give a shite, because the lack of respect for human life in this book is shocking. People are killed left right and centre but it's no biggie, because - bad guys. Even if they're bad human guys. We get Daemon's POV here too but it's pretty much like a male version of Katy. WHY HAVE I WASTED FOUR BOOKS ON THIS SERIES OMG

No, I didn't read the fifth. No, I won't be reading it. Yes, I wikipedia'd it.

Fiction

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
I read this after a heavy read, just for something light and fluffy. Gia Montgomery needs a fill-in boyfriend after her real one dumps her just before her friends finally meet him. I use the term 'friends' loosely, because they're bitches, but she meets Hayden in a car park and he agrees to pose as Bradley, her ex. I found this really immature, full of mind games, but Gia did grow up over the course of the book and it passed a few hours.

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes
The best thriller I've read in a long time. (I know that Kate over at Bibliophile Book Club recommended it). Each chapter goes back and forth between 2003 and 2007. In 2003, Cathy Bailey met Lee Brightman, Mr. Perfect. As he becomes increasingly sinister, we know something's going to happen but Cathy doesn't, and it's incredibly tense and hard to read in parts. In 2007, Cathy is controlled by OCD and PTSD. She cannot leave her home without performing certain rituals, and she's paranoid that Lee will come after her when he's released from prison. As she begins to get her life back on track with the help of her neighbour, something happens. Highly recommended.

Non-Fiction 

I want to read more non-fiction this year, so I got through 2 in January.

The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank
I hadn't read this since school, and I'd forgotten a lot of it. In this definitive edition, previously unpublished chapters are included. I'm not sure if that was a good idea - it felt alien to read about some of the subjects Anne talked about, particularly those of a sexual nature (it got quite graphic, description wise). It's quite a boring book, to be fair - it's popular because of that, because it's such a normal snapshot of a normal girl caught up in something horrific. There isn't that much of an insight into the war, so I'd look elsewhere if you want that. As a historical piece of work, it's an essential read. I found it quite sad the way they kept planning for the future and kept hoping, I felt a sense of guilt that they were making plans and I knew what was coming. Uncomfortable.

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
Randall Munroe is apparently the creator of XKCD, I don't know what that is. This is full of interesting questions that Randall has received via his website over the years - it was wittier and warmer to read than some similar books I've read, he has a great sense of humour. This is just brilliant if you're into science or geekery - some of my favourite questions were "What would happen if you made a periodic table out of cube-shaped bricks, where each brick was made of the corresponding element?" and "If everyone on the planet stayed away from each other for a few weeks, wouldn't the common cold be wiped out?" A fun read.

Short Story

Ponies by Kij Johnson
This is like if Louise O'Neill rewrote My Little Pony and then got Tina Fey to turn it into a film. It's Only Ever Yours meets Mean Girls meets.....well, a pack of mean little brats driven by consumerism and one little girl desperate to fit in. This still pops into my mind and it's literally two minutes long - you can read it for yourself here.

So that's it! January got off to a flying start, hopefully I can keep the momentum up and clear a lot off my TBR piles this year without adding too many more.

Are you reading anything at the minute? Would you recommend it?

Books I Read in December

Hi!

This is a bit late due to sickness, but better late than never! I read 18 books in December.


I have a brand new shiny book page for 2016, you can find it on the sidebar under the "books" header. I'll update monthly, and I'll include clickable covers so you can find reviews of anything. All the December books will be going on the Books 2015 page, so if you want in-depth reviews on anything just have a look there and it'll take you to my full book review on Goodreads.

On with the show!

The Rick O'Shea Book Club

I managed both choices this month, I had bought the Donal Ryan one for myself for Christmas so I read that towards the end of December.

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
A short book about the disintegration of a marriage, told from the point of view of "the wife", who remains unnamed. I didn't like this at all, I thought it was disjointed and pretentious, like finding someone's diary but half of it is in code only they'd understand. It has many, many fans - I'm just not one of them.

A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan
One of my favourite authors, this latest offering from Donal Ryan is a collection of short stories. Each story is a little insight into someone's life, be it the traveller girl who has never dealt with prejudice until a moment in a scrapyard; the care assistant that appears to live a mundane life; the man who is responsible for the death of a teenage girl; the group of men who take it upon themselves to punish a rapist - every story is different and every one a masterpiece in its own right. One of my favourites of 2015.

Short Stories

Both of these were under 100 pages, the Lucy Diamond came in around 90 and the Gillian Flynn was under 70.

Christmas Gifts at the Beach Café by Lucy Diamond
I hadn't read the other Beach Café book so I wasn't familiar with the characters, Evie and Ed. They are spending Christmas apart - Ed is going to his recently widowed mother, while Evie's sister and her family are coming to Evie's house. This tried to pack an awful lot into a small book, so I never really got a feel for any of the characters, but I'd say people familiar with the other book would like this.

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
I like Gillian Flynn's writing style, so I was delighted to see this on offer for £0.99 on Kindle. It's about a foul-mouthed ex-prostitute who is forced to make a career change when she suffers an injury. She begins to claim that she can read Auras, and succeeds in making a living until one client proves to be more difficult. If she can pull the job off, she could be rich. If she doesn't, she could be dead. This was genuinely very creepy around the middle part, I did get a little freaked. The ending wasn't ideal but it was a good read.

Nostalgia 

These were both picked to fulfil prompts for my reading challenge (a book published the year I was born, a book my Mum loves). Breige very kindly sent me some Sweet Valley High books last year and I hadn't gotten round to reading them yet, so it was great to revisit! If you were a fellow SVH fan back in the day, keep an eye on Red Lemonade - she's reading the books in order and does fantastic hilarious reviews.

Sweet Valley High: Double Love "by" Francine Pascal
Ghost writers were used for the whole series, with outlines provided by Francine. The books were all typical fare - blonde twins who should win awards for being gorgeous, one a busybody, the other a bitch. In this one, Jessica screws Elizabeth over on multiple occasions, big bro Steven almost shames the family by dating an undesirable, and Dad may be having an affair because his divorced work colleague is divorced and therefore could only be interested in Ned sexually, not because she's actually interested in working.

The Secret Island by Enid Blyton
The copy I had as a child belonged to my mother, by the time it got to me it had been read so often that it had a cover made from a Cornflakes box. Three siblings are unhappy with how their mean Aunt and Uncle treat them, so they take off with their neighbour Jack to a secret island and build a home for themselves. It's obvioulsy very dated but still a great little read.

Christmas Themed Books

I think I had my fill of Christmas themed books in November, but there were two more in December.

Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Jumper by Debbie Johnson
A woman knocks a man down, he turns out to be a dreamboat, and she ends up taking care of him over Christmas. An absolute cheesefest but thoroughly enjoyable of a cold December day beside a fire! Perfect after reading something heavy.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
I've seen many adaptations on TV but I don't think I've ever read the original before. We all know the story - mean old Ebeneezer Scrooge is visited by three ghosts who teach him not to be so miserable. Enjoyable and surprisingly easy to read considering how old it is.

Young Adult

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Amy's father recently died, and she blames herself. Her mother is selling the family home, and needs Amy to drive their car to the new home. Amy refuses to drive, so her mother enlists Roger, the son of a family friend, to drive with Amy. A boy and a girl alone in a car, hmmmm...wonder what's going to happen here then? Parts are predictable but I really enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would (mainly because my sister thought it was shite) - but I liked the road trip element and I liked the metaphorical journey Amy went on.

Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne
Evie is 16 and slowly coming off her medication for OCD. She keeps a recovery diary and attends therapy, but all Evie wants is "normal". As she begins to unravel it's uncomfortable, and it's hard to read in places, but it's a very honest very believable portrayal of mental illness. It also addresses the way people misuse terms like OCD and "I almost had a panic attack", which is important. Recommended for teenagers.

Thriller/Crime

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood
I was overjoyed when my Netgalley request was granted for this book, I would have bought it anyway because I'm a huge Alex Marwood fan. This, her third novel, focuses on two weekends. The first, in 2004 when 3 year old identical twin Coco Jackson goes missing on the wekeend of her father Sean's 50th birthday celebrations. The second weekend is set in the present day, when Sean's daughter Mila is attending his funeral. Full of secrets, twists, and very uncomfortable to read at times, but recommended.

Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton
Set in 1994 in The Falklands. Children keep disappearing, but nobody seems to know anything. Catrin Quinn is a marine scientist, dealing with the breakdown of her marriage and the loss of her children in a terrible accident a few years before. She blames her former best friend, Rachel, for the accident. Told from the perspective of Catrin, Rachel, and Catrin's kind-of-boyfriend Callum, this is a book full of revenge and twists, but Callum's chapters let it down and the ending destroyed it for me. Not an enjoyable read, very uncomfortable and full of dread. Incredibly confusing last paragraph.

Other Fiction

The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham
Set in Australia in the 1950s. A young woman, Tilly Dunnage, returns to her hometown after being told to leave years before. She is back to care for her ill mother. The townspeople despise Tilly due to her part in the death of a young boy, but when they see her fashion creations, they decide that she could be useful. Described as a story of "revenge, love, and creativity", this took a while to get going but it was an okay read.

Solace by Belinda McKeon
Set between Longford and Dublin, Solace is a story about love and survival. A young man meets the love of his life at college, but as they begin their future together tragedy strikes. A nice portrayal of rural vs urban Ireland and lovely to read familiar place names. Highly recommended.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
I've seen the film a few times but wanted to read the book, it also fitted in with one of the reading challenge prompts. A love story that spans several years, Noah and Allie are smitten with each other but their affair is brief. Years later, they become reacquainted and their story is then told to an old lady in a care home by an old man. I swore I wouldn't cry but yep, bawled like a baby. More at the thought of having alzheimers', to be fair, but if you've seen the film, it didn't deviate much from the book apart from the ending.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Don't ask me how I've reached 32 without reading this, but anyway - another challenge prompt, but I wanted to read this book in 2015 anyway. The story of Atticus Finch, lawyer called upon to defend a black man after he's accused of raping a young white woman, is told through the eyes of his young daughter Scout. It's a lazy, southern, late summer read that reminded me a lot of the way Stephen King writes those coming-of-age smalltown parts in his books. A great book, a great read, but I won't be touching her second book with a barge pole. Atticus Finch in this book is perfect, I don't want to read how he could have been.

Out of My Comfort Zone

Finally, I had to read a graphic novel and play for my reading challenge.

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoet
A beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a group of tiny creatures who live inside a young girl. But this isn't Inside Out - it's gory, macabre, and creepy. The creatures have to move out and find another home after the girl is killed, so the story turns into a Lord of the Flies type thing where survival is priority. Genuinely the weirdest thing I've ever read.

Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley
A short play about a Priest suspected of inappropriate conduct with a student. Is he guilty or not? Very thought provoking.

That's it - that's the last book roundup of 2015, see you in February to see how 2016 is starting off!

The Great Big Book Round Up of 2015

Not Sponsored/No Samples. 14 out of 150 books were Advance Copies requested on Netgalley.

Hi!

I hope this isn't too long, but I wanted to fit everything in one big post - except my "Books I Read in December" post, that'll come in January because it's still December, and, well....I'm still reading. So that's on the way! So far I'm on my 151st book of the year.


I've broken this down into sections, and I'll try my best not to waffle! I'm not going into individual reviews here, if you go to my Books 2015 page you'll see a clickable book cover for every book I've read in 2015, that will take you to my Goodreads review for that book.

The Rick O'Shea Book Club

This is a Facebook based book club, you can request to join here. It's a lovely group for book lovers, there's no snobbery or fighting, everyone respects the reading choices of others. Started by 2fm DJ Rick O'Shea, the book club is now going into its 18th month, with 32 books chosen so far. Of the 25 chosen in 2015, I read 18 (I had already read Only Ever Yours and attempted The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August in 2014). I finished all 18 except The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks. I have most or all of the other choices bought, so I'm looking forward to reading them in 2016.

Out of all the Book Club choices, I think Burial Rites by Hannah Kent was definitely my favourite. It was atmospheric, it was sad, it was beautiful, and it stayed with me. Surprisingly, The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick pops into my head every so often too, and it's something I would never have read of my own accord. 

The Richard and Judy Book Club

This was less successful for me - out of 24 books, I bought almost all of them but only read 6. It souns much more impressive if I say I read a quarter of all the books chosen, doesn't it? Here are the ones I read:

I Let You Go was by far the best thriller I read in 2015. It was just fantastic, I haven't gasped out loud at a book in a very long time but this one made me do so several times. Fantastic. 

The Popsugar Reading Challenge

I did it!! I completed the challenge on December 28th by reading a Graphic Novel. Here are the books I read for it. The prompts for the Popsugar Reading Challenge 2016 have been released, you can find the list here.

A BOOK WITH MORE THAN 500 PAGES: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
A CLASSIC ROMANCE: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (yes it is a classic. IT IS.)
A BOOK THAT BECAME A MOVIE: Horns by Joe Hill
A BOOK PUBLISHED THIS YEAR: I Was Here by Gayle Forman
A BOOK WITH A NUMBER IN THE TITLE: The Number 8 by Joel Arcanjo
A BOOK WRITTEN BY SOMEONE UNDER 30: Popular by Maya Von Wagonen
A BOOK WITH NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS: 172 Hours on the Moon by Johann Harstad
A FUNNY BOOK: Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris
A BOOK BY A FEMALE AUTHOR: Spill, Simmer, Falter, Wither by Sara Baume
A MYSTERY OR THRILLER: The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood

A BOOK WITH A ONE-WORD TITLE: Room by Emma Donoghue
A BOOK OF SHORT STORIES: Ghost Stories by M.R. James
A BOOK SET IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
A NON-FICTION BOOK: Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes
A POPULAR AUTHOR'S FIRST BOOK: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling
A BOOK FROM AN AUTHOR YOU LOVE BUT HAVEN'T READ YET: Revival by Stephen King
A BOOK A FRIEND RECOMMENDED: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
A PULITZER-PRIZE WINNING BOOK: Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
A BOOK BASED ON A TRUE STORY: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
A BOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR TBR LIST: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

A BOOK YOUR MUM LOVES: The Secret Island by Enid Blyton
A BOOK THAT SCARED YOU: The Book of You by Claire Kendal
A BOOK MORE THAN 100 YEARS OLD: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A BOOK BASED ENTIRELY ON ITS COVER: The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson
A BOOK YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO READ AT SCHOOL BUT DIDN'T: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A MEMOIR: My Life and Other Unfinished Business by Dolly Parton
A BOOK YOU CAN FINISH IN A DAY: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
A BOOK WITH ANTONYMS IN THE TITLE: Together Apart by Natalie Martin
A BOOK SET SOMEWHERE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO VISIT: One Wish in Manhattan by Mandy Baggot
A BOOK THAT CAME OUT THE YEAR YOU WERE BORN: Sweet Valley High #01: Double Love by Francine Pascal

A BOOK WITH BAD REVIEWS: Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine
A BOOK FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD: Under the Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon McKenna
A TRILOGY: Wool, Shift and Dust by Hugh Howey
A BOOK WITH A LOVE TRIANGLE: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
A BOOK SET IN THE FUTURE: Date With a Rockstar by Sarah Gagnon
A BOOK SET IN HIGH SCHOOL: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
A BOOK WITH A COLOUR IN THE TITLE: Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton
A BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY: A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride
A BOOK WITH MAGIC: Half Bad by Sally Green
A GRAPHIC NOVEL: Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoet

A BOOK BY AN AUTHOR YOU'VE NEVER READ BEFORE: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver
A BOOK YOU OWN BUT HAVE NEVER READ: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A BOOK THAT TAKES PLACE IN YOUR HOMETOWN: Solace by Belinda McKeon
A BOOK ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE: The Guest Cat by Takeshi Hiraide
A BOOK SET DURING CHRISTMAS: Bella's Christmas Bake-Off by Sue Watson
A BOOK WRITTEN BY AN AUTHOR WITH YOUR INITIALS: The Lake by Sheena Lambert
A BANNED BOOK: Dubliners by James Joyce
A PLAY: Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley
A BOOK BASED ON OR TURNED INTO A TV SHOW: The Wayward Pines Trilogy by Blake Crouch
A BOOK YOU STARTED BUT NEVER FINISHED: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (started years ago, finally finished in October)

My Favourite Reads of 2015

These are my ten favourite reads of the year - some have been published for a very, very long time but I've only read them for the first time this year. In no particular order:

My Least Favourite Reads of 2015

For one reason or another, these books left me either angry at the time I had wasted or annoyed at falling for hype. Again, in no particular order:

"I Wish I Had All That Free Time"

This really riles me up something shocking and I've lost time of the amount of times I've heard it this year. I DON'T have an abnormal amount of "free" time. I see people talking about binge-watching series all the time and they never, ever get asked "but where do you find the time to watch 12 episodes in three days?" I read so much because I have been an avid reader since I was four or five years old and I love books. Reading time isn't "free time", it's not like I read because I have nothing else to do, I build it in to my day the way other people make time for the gym. Granted, it's not doing anything to help the size of my arse, but it's time well spent all the same.

I have the same 24 hours a day as anyone else, I have a house to look after, and three kids, and a husband, and a blog, and social media, and other hobbies, and cooking, and walking, and cross stitch, and makeup and Netflix - I read so much because it's something I need to do. I'd go mad if I didn't read every day. I'm up early, I read when the kids are playing, I read quickly, I read in the morning, I read at night, I don't watch very much TV, I record stuff I want to watch and then either binge it or delete it. I don't follow soaps. I love Netflix, but again it's very much a binge situation - I don't watch TV every day. I can do a book a day or every 2 days - always have done, hopefully always will do.

So please, PLEASE don't ask where I find the time, or tell me you wish you had all that time - I would find it alien to watch 2 hours of telly of an evening, others would find it alien to read for 2 hours. It's the same 2 hours! I'm a huge believer in doing what makes you happy, and just because you may have other responsibilities doesn't mean you should lose a part of yourself. Books are a part of me, so even if I had ten kids and four houses and eleven blogs, I'd still make time to read. 

So what does a year in reading look like? Glorious!!

2016 Goals

I'd love if everyone reading this would try and read 5 books in 2016. There are so many amazing Irish authors out there waiting to be discovered - this year I found Belinda McKeon, Sara Baume, Lisa McInerney, and was reacquainted with Donal Ryan and Louise O'Neill. I want to finish the Harry Potter series in 2016, and I'd love to try for 150 books again - if it doesn't happen, so be it. I want to use the library more, because I've spent too much on Amazon. I want to make books a bigger part of the blog, maybe a twice-monthly thing instead of a monthly thing, or a spotlight post every weekend about a book I'm enjoying or a book I recommend. I want to clear my Netgalley shelf and stop requesting stuff until I've all my current ARCs read, and I want to read more book blogs.


See you in January for the "Books I Read in December" roundup!

Books I Read in November

Not Sponsored, ARCs included

Hi!

This happens every November - my book count goes way down because I get so caught up in Christmas prep. In November, I read 7 - but a few of them were short stories or novellas. The Rick O'Shea Book Club books for the month were One by Sarah Crossan and A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, I downloaded A Little Life but I didn't get to it. I had already read One, you can find my Goodreads review here.

Review Copies

I still have a couple of books left on my Netgalley shelves that I'd like to clear by January at the latest, but I got through three in November.

The Mince Pie Mix-Up by Jennifer Joyce
A Christmas themed body-swap story in which a wife and husband get to live each other's lives for two weeks to see just how easy the other one really has it. A short book, under 200 pages, forgettable but nice for an afternoon.

Bella's Christmas Bake-Off by Sue Watson
Amy and Bella used to be childhood friends, but they fell out of touch. Bella now has her own Nigella-style cookery show, but when Amy discovers that Bella has been plagiarising Amy's mothers recipes for a new book, she vows to confront her and wins a competition to spend Christmas with her. Took a while to get going but a nice festive read.

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood
Three year old identical twin Coco Jackson went missing during the weekend of her property mogul father's 50th Birthday celebrations. The book goes back and forth between that weekend and the weekend of Sean Jackson's funeral, and slowly reveals the truth about what happened to Coco. If you haven't read any of Alex's books, please do yourself a favour and get at least one - she's a fantastic crime/thriller writer.

Other Christmas Themed Books

I read three other Christmas themed books in November.

What Happens at Christmas by T.A. Williams
Holly Brice finds herself in a sleepy Dartmoor village a few weeks before Christmas to sort out her estranged father's estate when he dies. Holly wants to find out more about him, but ends up making some new friends too. An easy read, not perfect, but enjoyable enough. More of a journey of discovery than a Christmassy fiction.

The Christmas Bake-Off by Abby Clements
I had read a few of Abby's books before, and I found this short story for free on Amazon. It's a very quick read about a bake-off in a local village hall, including celeb judges and sabotage.

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop by Jenny Colgan
This was my first Jenny Colgan read and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I assumed it would be a relaxing, easy read but it had an enormous number of characters and several different arcs from an old man reliving his past to an accident to family coming for Christmas - I just found it hard to concentrate on and it didn't have a great flow. At nearly 400 pages it felt like a chore at times.

Other Fiction

After You by Jojo Moyes
I really love  Jojo Moyes and I was delighted to hear that she was writing a sequel to a book I love very much, Me Before You. In this book, we revisit Louisa and discover that she's not getting on very well after losing Will. I found this to be a very sensitive, honest portrayal of grief and was probably crying about ten pages in. It does contain one of my most hated story arcs of all time (I don't want to ruin it but it's about her 'visitor' - ugh), but when I was able to get past that I enjoyed it.

That's it! December isn't looking great for reading either, but I'll soldier on and I'll update challenge info at the end of the year! I'm currently at a total of 138 books for 2015, will I make it to 150? Who knows....