Sunday 31 July 2016

"The Stepmother" Book Review



My Rating ★★☆☆☆ 2.5 Stars 


Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Stepmother is the first book I've read by the author - Claire Seeber. The premise was highly intriguing, reviews posted have been in the 4-5 star range and so I went against my better judgement and read this book with high expectations.

Jeanie, newly married to her prince charming Matthew King, feels like she has been given the opportunity to live a fairy-tale life. From his previous marriage, Matthew has two 15-year old teenagers who are fraternal twins while Jeanie has a son. Although it can be hard when families are joined through marriage, Jeanie is determined to make it work even when Matthew's daughter openly resents her and is often times hostile toward her. Matthew's ex-wife - Kaye King - is still very much in the picture which isn't making things easier and to make it worse, someone is trying to shatter Jeanie's new fairy-tale life by letting out a secret that may very well destroy her reputation and marriage.

In a house where the walls whisper, dead animals appear, blood pools on the floor and a grey lady in the mirror terrifies her, Jeanie corresponds with her sister Marlena and tries her hardest to save her marriage while maintaining her sanity.

The set up was so perfect, all it needed was the substance to carry it through yet that's what the story lacked. I couldn't take it seriously because of how "thin" this story was, there was no depth to it. From Matthew and Jeanie's quick marriage to their mounting, unresolved, trivial marital/family problems, it was utterly unbelievable and purely superficial.

The beginning of the book seemed tolerable until I got to the many mysteries which were dealt with so annoyingly. I understand that this is a thriller, it is bound to have its fair share of mysteries embedded in there which will later be explained, but it was written in such a way that all I kept thinking was "spit it out!". Give me something to hold on to, to whet my appetite so I can be gripped. Unfortunately all the twists, and there were many, turned out to be pretty anticlimactic in the end.

Many things were left unexplained, such as Matthew's behaviour/demeanor, Scarlett's reason for treating Jeanie the way she did, Jeanie's ex-boyfriend etc.

I think this would be so much better if each person's story went more in-depth, I'd have felt the full impact of the twists and revelations.





Wednesday 20 July 2016

NetGalley Approvals/Declines



I recently started getting more approvals at NetGalley and thought I'd keep up the streak when I requested a book I'd been dying to read for the past few months - And The Trees Crept In. Imagine my disappointment when I was denied because of my location. I was truly bummed yesterday when I got that email, BUT it has also curbed my requesting tendencies. For Now. 

I'd been requesting like crazy lately and jeopardizing my approval feedback ratio, but this denied request came in handy. I won't be sending any requests out for a while, and by a while I mean until my shelf is cleared. So here it is, currently on my NG shelf I've got only 5 titles remaining.

Approvals


Publication Date: 15 July 2016

BLURB: The perfect wife. A fairytale family. Don’t believe your eyes…

Jeanie and Matthew are a happily married couple who both have teenage children from previous relationships.No one said it would be easy to raise a blended family under one roof but Jeanie and Matthew are strong. They will make it work.

And whilst Jeanie’s step-daughter Scarlett rejects her, Jeanie will just have to try harder to win her over.But Jeanie has a past. A terrible secret she thought she’d buried a long time ago. And now, it’s coming to the surface, threatening to destroy her new marriage.


Someone is playing a terrifying game on Jeanie and she must put a stop to it once and for all.After all, a fairytale needs a happy ending … doesn’t it?A compelling, dark and twisty psychological thriller that will grip fans of Behind Closed DoorsBetween You and Me and The Teacher. 




Publication Date: 13 August 2016

 BLURB: Eleanor Flood is going to clean up her act, only change into yoga clothes for yoga, which today she will actually attend, and be a better version of herself. But then, as it always does, life happens.


Eleanor's husband is missing, and their son, Timby, is wearing eye shadow to school and getting into fashion battles on the playground. (It's true that it's Eleanor's fault: She did put makeup in his Christmas stocking.) Just when it seems like things can't get weirder or more in the way of Eleanor's personal transformation, a graphic memoir called The Flood Sisters surfaces, and the dramatic story it tells reveals long-buried secrets and a sister to whom Eleanor never speaks.
With all the artistic madness, genius plotting, and bold social observation that made Where’d You Go, Bernadette a hit, Today Will Be Different is a hilarious and heart filled day-in-the-life romp filtered through Maria Semple's brilliant eye.


 Publication Date: 25 August 2016
BLURB: Joanna has spent ten years married to a monster.
Everyone thinks she has the perfect life, but behind closed doors she lives in constant fear of her husband.
Escape seems impossible - and then a stranger offers her a chance to flee.
On the run with her young daughter, Joanna finds herself in the mysterious town of Morro. With no memory of how she got there. And no idea of what the town truly is.
Joanna faces a rare and terrible choice - stay safe, or return to face the fight of her life, to save herself and her little girl.



 Publication Date: 8 August 2016

BLURB: A nun commits suicide in front of thousands in Spain. In Australia, Siobhan Russo recognises that nun as her mother, Denise Russo, who disappeared six years ago. 

In search of answers, Siobhan travels to the isolated convent where her mother once lived. Here she discovers Denise’s final confession, a book that details a heinous betrayal that left her crippled and mute, and Denise’s subsequent deal with the Devil to take revenge. In the desperate bargain Denise made with the Prince of Darkness, she wagered Siobhan’s soul. 

As Siobhan discovers the fate of her soul, she learns that hidden within the pages of her mother’s confession is part of The Devil’s Prayer, an ancient text with the power to unleash apocalyptic horrors. 

And now her mother’s enemies know Siobhan has it. 

Can Siobhan escape an order of extremist monks determined to get the Prayer back? Can she save the world from its own destruction? 




 Publication Date: 25 August 2016

BLURB: Another year and I still don't like old people. Me? I am 83 years old.' Hendrik Groen may be old, but he is far from dead and isn't planning to be buried any time soon. Granted, his daily strolls are getting shorter because his legs are no longer willing and he had to visit his doctor more than he'd like. Technically speaking he is ... elderly. But surely there is more to life at his age than weak tea and potted geraniums? Hendrik sets out to write an exposé: a year in the life of his care home in Amsterdam, revealing all its ups and downs - not least his new endeavour the anarchic Old-But-Not Dead Club. And when Eefje moves in - the woman Hendrik has always longed for - he polishes his shoes (and his teeth), grooms what's left of his hair and attempts to make something of the life he has left, with hilarious, tender and devastating consequences.


Reading by publication date makes the most sense so i'll start with The Stepmother; I hear its an awesome read with a bit of a mind fuck. 


Denied Requests


 Publication Date: 06 September 2016

BLURB: When Silla and Nori arrive at their aunt's home, it's immediately clear that the "blood manor" is cursed. The creaking of the house and the stillness of the woods surrounding them would be enough of a sign, but there are secrets too--the questions that Silla can't ignore: Who is the beautiful boy that's appeared from the woods? Who is the man that her little sister sees, but no one else? And why does it seem that, ever since they arrived, the trees have been creeping closer?



 Publication Date: 26 July 2016

BLURB: First the birds disappeared.
Then the insects took over. 
Then the madness began . . .

They call it Wanderer's Folly--a disease of delusions, of daydreams and nightmares. A plague threatening to wipe out the human race. 

After two years of creeping decay, David Arlen woke up one morning thinking that the worst was over. By midnight, he's bleeding and terrified, his wife is dead, and he's on the run in a stolen car with his eight-year-old daughter, who may be the key to a cure. 

Ellie is a special girl. Deep. Insightful. And she knows David is lying to her. Lying about her mother. Lying about what they're running from. And lying about what he sees when he takes his eyes off the road . . 


I'm still so pissed/disappointed I didn't get approved for these titles. I'll get The Night Parade when it comes out though, not sure about And The Trees Crept In... I wanted it so bad that now I just don't know anymore. We shall see. 


Happy Reading Everyone! 
And follow me on Goodreads

"Rose Petal Graves" Book Review


My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5 Stars

Purchase Link: Amazon
Publication Date: 15 May 2016




Thanks to Net Galley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.


There's a hot guy in this one!




Despite my 3.5 star rating, Rose Petal Graves was a fun, quick read; however, it did feel a bit rushed as opposed to getting straight into the action of the story.

Catori (Cat) returns to her hometown of Rowan  after her mother suddenly dies. Founded by the Gottwa Indian over two centuries ago, the small, quiet town of Rowan is filled with an ancient magic and a century's-old war of good vs evil.
An examiner is sent to determine the cause of death but in his place, a hot, 24 year old (in human years) faerie named Cruz shows up, creating sparks in Cat's otherwise boring life.

She is convinced that her mom did not die of natural causes and expects Cruz to reach the same conclusion.
From Cruz, and a strange package, Cat learns of an ancient tribe buried in her backyard but she is torn between the two sides - which is evil and which is good?

Oh Cat, you poor, love sick kitten. I'd want Cruz too I guess, he's hot. But that's about it we know about Cruz. Sure, we do find out he is a Faerie, within the first few pages, and we see how helpful he can be, but that's just not enough.
I'm not a fan of Insta-love. And this thing between them was simply insta-love, a relationship too rushed.
I love and appreciate a relationship more when the characters take their time to get to know each other and when we get justification for why they fall in love.

The writing was simple, clear, no preamble and long drawn out scenes. So I loved that about it. The plot was interesting enough to keep my full attention till the very last page.

I liked the mystery regarding which side was truly evil and which was good. Sometimes I'd think the faeries are the evil ones, other times I thought they were the good guys. So clever tactic there to keep me guessing.

Overall it was a fun read, not very memorable but entertaining to pass the time.






                                         

Sunday 17 July 2016

"The Summer That Melted Everything" Book Review




My Rating ★★★★★ 5 Stars


Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I strongly recommend.

Let it be known by all who read this review and by all wondering if they should read this book that I tried to write a review which would do justice to this masterpiece.

The Summer That Melted Everything was just that- a dark, emotionally-charged masterpiece, as beautifully written as it was beautifully heart-breaking. 

It is the summer of 1984 and an invitation by Autopsy Bliss, posted in the local newspaper, has been extended to the devil. 

Dear Mr. Devil, Sir Satan, Lord Lucifer, and all other crosses you bear,
I cordially invite you to Breathed, Ohio. Land of hills and hay bales, of sinners and forgivers.
May you come in peace.
With great faith,
Autopsy Bliss”.

The one who answers this invitation is a thirteen year old boy, dressed in dirty, threadbare overalls, accompanied by a raging heat; he is far from the menacing devil that one would expect. Fielding Bliss, the son of Autopsy Bliss, takes him home to his family and introduces him as The Devil. The sheriff believes him to be a runaway from a nearby town and begins his investigation to prove that this is simply a missing person’s case; but when strange things start happening in the small town of Breathed, Ohio, the community believes that the devil, disguised as a thirteen year old boy, truly walks among them. 
Fear, rage and the unbearable heat consume the town’s people and slowly melt away their common sense so much so that Sal is the blame of every mishap that summer and becomes a target.

The writing is of lyrical prose, exquisitely poetic, reminding me of the works of Alice Hoffman with a touch of magic realism in the metaphors used. This is one of those books that almost every line is a memorable quote; it is thought-provoking and is to be savoured because it has such deep meaning. I had to control my highlighting lest I end up highlighting the entire book.

Gone was the perfect temperature. The breeze. All replaced by an almost violent heat that turned your bones into volcanoes, your blood into the lava that yelled their eruptions.”

“You can tell a lot about a man by what he does with a snake… A snake that could harm you, you don’t have much choice to kill. You wouldn’t be able to leave a cobra in your sock drawer. But a snake that is no threat will greatly define the man who decides to kill it anyways.”

The characters were so strong in their personalities. Each had their unique, necessary stories which would push the plot forward. The Bliss family had an intense, unconditional love for each other that I have not seen in any other book - the love between a husband and wife, especially the one between the two brothers – Grant and Fielding – left me wanting to experience more of their shared loved.
I felt an instant connection to each of the members of the Bliss family, including Sal.

And I smiled, as in love with my older brother as any young boy would be”

I felt anger when the characters I cared about felt anger; I felt their joy, hope, love. And I cried when they cried, I even cried when there were no sad parts; I simply cried because the writing was just too beautiful to not appreciate, and the only way to truly show appreciation was to shed a tear.
Everyone spoke so philosophical, and while it bothered me for a while that they all spoke the same, my appreciation for the writing style and love for the overall plot and characters overshadowed it. 

I've never liked TFIOS, I still don't, but I hate it a little less because this book reminded me of one quote, "That’s the thing about pain, it demands to be felt". 

That's what I kept thinking throughout this book - this pain in the book demands to be felt. Hell, the book demands to be felt. I don't know if anyone can read this and not feel that consuming pain and heartache. 

I didn't want the book to end. I had 1 minute left and I let that minute drag out. I took a water break, bathroom break and then I came back. I almost didn't read the last 2 pages, because if I didn't read it, somehow that meant it didn’t have an ending.  

I certainly didn't want it to have an end because how am I supposed to move on from it? How am I supposed to pick up another book without seeing all its flaws because it isn’t nearly as well-written and memorable as this one?




This book will surely be remembered for the rest of this year and I will recommend it to all my reading friends like my life depended on it. I can’t wait to read it again.

Thursday 14 July 2016

"The Last One" Book Review


   My Rating   ★★★★☆ 4.5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher Penguin UK – Michael Joseph – and Net Galley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.     

  
I promise you - this is a hauntingly superb read once you understand how the book is written/presented.

Let’s start with this cover – a grimy face peering out of the shadows, scoping the area, or at least that’s how I see it. There’s only one thing I love more than oxygen and that’s reading post-apocalyptic books which test the mental, emotional and physical limits of the characters. By simply looking at this cover I somehow knew I was in for some survivalist action.
Zoo, a moniker of the protagonist, is at the point in her life where she is about to have a life changing event. She wants one last adventure before she settles into motherhood; her chosen adventure – take part in a TV reality show which promises to test the endurance of twelve contestants. Challenges are given. The physically, emotionally and mentally strong will persevere while the weak get left behind (quit) but when strange things start happening, Zoo simply thinks the creators are making things harder for the contestants. She continually reminds herself throughout the journey that this is a game, none of it is real and that there’s a finish line. But is the game she’s playing still a game? Or is it her new reality within a game gone wrong?

Remember my previous statement?-The one about the presentation of the book? Well the thing is it might be a bit difficult to follow when you’ve just started reading but keep at it and it becomes tolerable; you’ll be rewarded (with a great plot). The point of view and time alternates between two narrators with each chapter; comments from a thread related to the TV show are thrown in there at the end of a few chapters. Chapter one begins with a general narrator, this unspecified gender gives a sort of play by play commentary of In The Dark challenges, behind the scenes, confessions of characters, camera angles, things that will happen in a few minutes from the now etc.; it basically follows the happenings of every character in the book. I was able to envision this as a real TV show, like I was watching it on a screen.
The second chapter has the narrator was Zoo, a couple of weeks ahead of the first narrator. It follows her present, life after team challenges – on the Solo Challenge. The timelines eventually meet near the end of the book, but don’t worry; you get the full story – past, present and the life of other characters in another part of the world.
So one chapter is general narration, the other is Zoo, the next is back to general narration and the other will be Zoo etc. 

I really got into the book at the 25% mark and I didn’t want it to end. Zoo is so determined that she is oblivious to what’s going on around her. I think it was this cluelessness which brought her this far in her journey. If she only knew how much reality had changed since she left she’d have broken down, been disheartened, maybe she would have died. My heart broke for her so many times; I just wanted her to know the truth. She found meaning and hidden clues in places that were not manipulated by the creators; she followed rules till the near end that were useless.
When she finally realized the truth it was even more heart breaking. I think I teared up a bit. I felt immense pain for her after the realization.
Of all the characters, she was a survivor – not knowing game from reality yet she still made it out alive.

I recommend this 100%.         

Sunday 10 July 2016

"Twisted" Book Review


My Rating ★★★★★ 5 Stars

And that is what I call a psychological thriller, a mind fuck of epic proportions and I loved every second of it!

Twisted was utterly gripping and entertaining. I was unequivocally hooked from the very first line. 

Andrew Kaufman created a solid story centered around a troubled character (as a result of both his past and present) which claimed my full belief in his present life and struggles.

I felt like I had a 3-D experience of the agonizing torment of a man whose world crumbles, a thing he tried so hard to avoid yet to which he inevitably succumbed. This simply means the writing style and overall story had me completely engrossed.

This is one of those books which is a must-read. 

I want to give this 5-stars, it deserves it but I'm giving it 4.5. I wanted more explanations in the ending; I wanted to know what was real and what wasn't. I wanted.. no needed. I needed the author to make everything clear regarding the two worlds. 
He did give an explanation but I just felt it wasn't enough for me. 

Read this book!

Friday 8 July 2016

"Pieces (Patchwork #1)" Book Review


My Rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5 Stars


e-ARC request approved by publisher and received via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Pieces follows the story of Rebekah Von Stein, a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, and a "prisoner" in her own home because of her mortality. Her father, leader of the Patchwork and head of all the factions in the Works, vows to keep her locked away in their mansion until he can cure her of this flaw.

Rebekah is portrayed as a "badass" throughout the book yet 90% of the times I saw her as no more than a petulant toddler stuck in the body of a sexually-driven nineteen year old (the latter only becoming fitting toward the end of the book).

The book starts off slow and at times the writing style was a bit unclear. I didn't particularly like the writing style - continuous tense was used throughout the book at the beginning of sentences. Not my cup of tea. Many times there were drawn out scenes which could have been kept to 2-3 pages max. 

It wasn't a great read but it was entertaining. I was hooked from mid-way till the end. The only thing which saved this book in my opinion was the romance which pretty much was the prominent theme 50% onward.
It was a good romance story, not so much of the other genre that it's supposed to be.

UPDATE*** Apologies. This genre is pure paranormal romance. So I guess it delivered. This has put things into perspective now and I think it deserves at least 3.5 stars rather than 3. The romance was great come to think of it!

Sunday 3 July 2016

"Last Seen Leaving" Book Review



My Rating ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Book received from Publisher via Net Galley.

You know something's wrong when civilians do a better job at solving mysteries than the police, and it's even worse when its a teenager solving that mystery.


Last Seen Leaving was such a pleasant surprise.

At one point (to me) it felt a bit similar to Papertowns, a pretentious book I detest and wasted a few precious hours reading; but that's only because I wasn't sure of the direction the book would take, and I was HOPING it didn't follow suit.

This held my interest and I found myself speed reading through scenes, needing to find out what happens next.

Some characters were likeable, others tolerable, one was necessary for the progress of the plot while one was trivial.

All in all a fast-paced read that I totally recommend