August Reading Wrap Up

Compared to July I was a little bit disappointed by August's reading but towards the last week it definitely picked up a bit.  I loved every book that I read except for one.  This was the first month in a very long time that I DNF'd a book but I will get to that later.

The first book that I read in August was "My Cousin Rachel" by Daphne DuMaurier.  It really kickstarted my month of reading well because I ended up totally hooked.  I listened to this one on Audible but it is one I definitely want to go back to read it in book format.  This is my first ever DuMaurier read and it certainly will be far from my last.  The characters were so rich in personality that I felt like I got to know them personally.   This is very much a character driven novel - not very much happens by way of plot until the denouement.  I felt like the characters were so well developed that there really wasn't a necessity for lots of plot points.  The character of Rachel was by far one of the most intriguing, mysterious and well written characters that I have ever read. All throughout the novel I really could not grasp my feelings towards Rachel - I went from hating her to feeling intense sympathy for her as a character. This was honestly the most certain 5 star read I had read to this point in the year.

Having finished my first ever DuMaurier novel I was really concerned that whatever I read next would end up being a disappointment.  Whenever I read a really good book I worry that whatever comes next doesn't really get a fair chance because I know whatever is next will disappoint me in comparison.  This month was totally not the case because my next read was "The Essex Serpent" by Sarah Perry - I feel like I came late to the party with this one but I am super glad I saved it for this occasion.   I won't ramble on too much because I have already put up a full review already but this was amazing.






"A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue" by Mackenzi Lee was my next read this month.  I really enjoyed this one because of the witty writing style.  It took serious plot points and injected them with humour whilst still dealing with the issues at hand.  The unintentionally hilarious "Monty" has to be one of the funniest characters I have come across.  The way that Mackenzi Lee has made him so funny when he doesn't mean to be or even realise that he is being funny is so clever.  There were points in this Audiobook that I was laughing out loud which is pretty rare in a book for me.  I liked that it was set years ago but deals with issues that are still so relevant today.  The prejudice Monty faces as a bisexual man was relevant then and is still relevant now.  I think this is a novel that really deserves the hype that it has gotten.  The plot is developed at an appropriate pace which meant that the characters could be thoroughly developed as the events unfolded throughout.   

The next book I was super skeptical of - I just didn't really fancy it and I had heard a lot of mixed reviews so I approached with caution along with a good few hours of reading time.  "His Bloody Project" by Graeme Macrae Burnet is a novel based on the life of a young, Scottish murderer.  Roderick Macrae was convicted of a brutal killing spree in 1869 after admitting the whole thing.  The narrative styles within the story are intriguing in their variety: witness statements, character statements, the story as told by Roddy Macrae and finally a journalistic type view of the court case as it unravelled.  I really enjoyed the story although I believe it has been more embellished than what is made out in the introductory notes.  The characters are interesting and the setting is beautiful - it is easy to become immersed in the history of the Highlands of Scotland and the way the characters lived.  I really felt like the author created a connection to that particular setting.

"See What I Have Done" by Sarah Schmidt was another re-imagining of an historical murder scene - I know cheery reading this month was! - this time of the Borden murders in Massachusetts.  The story is told from the perspectives of Lizzie Borden - the victims' youngest daughter, her sister, Emma, the house maid and the mysterious Benjamin.  When Lizzie finds her father brutally murdered by an axe a murder enquiry begins.  The different view points of the story all point to different views of who the murderer could be.  I was kept guessing right until the very end as to who it really was.  Schmidt's beautiful use of language is intriguing and stunning - every description seems poetic.  I didn't know who to sympathise with, who to pity and who to dislike - my opinion constantly changed.  The craftsmanship demonstrated within the words was absolutely outstanding.  A clear 5 star read for me and I must say a very nice step on my reading journey this month. 

I was extremely fortunate to be able to go to a small gathering with the author Patrick Ness in August.  There he spoke about his newest book, "Release".  Having heard all that Ness had to say about the novel I was very keen to start reading it as soon as I got home from meeting him.  The story intertwines the tales of Adam Thorn - who is having quite frankly a terrible day - and a young girl murdered by her boyfriend.  If I am honest I appreciated what he was trying to do with the dual narrative but I really didn't like the dead girl parts - they stretched outwith my limits of imagination.  Adam's story was one that I'm sure a lot of young people could relate to.  The exploration of relationships and love in the novel is one that is important for all of us to consider.  Adam does not have a lot of love at home since he is faced with the religious prejudice of his father, a minister, who knows deep down that Adam is gay but refuses to accept it.  Adam's real family are his friends and boyfriend.  I definitely think we all need a friend like Angela in our lives - I fell in love with her character and her way of dealing with anything she faced.  The story is packed full of action despite the fact it only takes place over one day.  This would have been a 5 star read had it not been for the dead girl with the magical faun. 

My final read in August was "Nutshell" by Ian McEwan.  This was a short read but it had such an impact on me.  This was my first Ian McEwan read and I must admit I am desperate to read more of his novels.  This was a fantastic, contemporary take on the story of Hamlet which is written in beautiful prose from the perspective of an unborn baby who has been resident in Trudy's womb for 8 months.  He overhears her and his uncle (who is also her lover) plotting the death of his father (his uncle's brother).  The narration is beautifully elegant throughout.  The baby's stream of consciousness is laugh out loud hilarious in parts and heartbreaking at others.  The incredible intelligence of the baby stems from his understanding of the world as heard through the podcasts and news articles his mother listens to regularly.  He learns of the terrible attrocities of the world he is about to be born into. An intriguingly stunning read which was, without doubt, a 5 star read.

So 7 books in August - a little less than July - which I am overall very pleased with.  I definitely need to up my game in September and have planned for this accordingly.  I DNF (did not finish) Stephanie Garber's "Caraval" because, quite frankly, it was boring.  I couldn't get into it and found myself drifting off whenever I started to read it.  I learned the important lesson that sometimes you just have to say no to a book - even if you have started it already. 

My next post will be my September TBR - I have tried to vary the reading to something a little bit cheerier next month but I do love a dark, murderous thriller read so no promises there!!

Meg x

July Wrap Up Part 2

I really wish every month was as productive a reading month as July was.  It took me by surprise when I counted up the books I had read. 

I have to say that my Bi-Annual Bibliothon and my Booktube-a-thon did not go to plan!  I only managed 3 books while I was on holiday.  I am a bit disappointed about that but I was on a busy holiday with lots of trips and activities so did not get to reading as much as I would have liked!

Carrying on from part one of my wrap up the next book I read was "Lying About Last Summer" by Sue Wallman.  This was another 2 star read for me unfortunately.  It was all very predictable and felt it played into the stereotypical teenage character portrayal way too much.  The characters felt like so many other teenage characters and totally lacked any real depth or perception.  The story line sounded fantastic to me but I just feel that lots of the issues raised were dealt with a bit too clumsily.  The mental health awareness opportunity was completely missed in my opinion.  This had so much potential to really portray the struggles of depression, anxiety and substance abuse but really skirted around them.  I felt disappointed that such serious issues were dealt with so lightly and used as plot devices just for dramatic effect.  I think there's a real danger that this can glamourise mental health problems and substance abuse when the book is aimed at young people.  I also felt the abusive nature of one of the characters was not dealt with in a harsh enough way to raise awareness of emotional abuse and manipulation - all of these are important issues which need as much awareness raised as possible.  A real wasted opportunity.

"Sharp Shooter" by Marianne Delacourt was a 3 star read for me. It was a light read which was relatively quick.  The main character was quite funny at the start and I really liked her but as the plot developed she started taking herself very seriously and seemed to lose her perspective a bit.  The plot was up and down.  It was easy to follow but lacked depth in places to be honest. I won't probably read the rest of the series because this was a bit of a non-event for me.  I really don't have a lot more to say about this one so I am leaving it there.

Another 3 star read for me was "The Flame in the Mist" by Renee Ahdieh which I read as the first book in my readathon challenge. It was kind of sold to me as a "Mulan" retelling which it turned out not to be.  I was stuck between star ratings for this one because I did really like it but at the same time just felt like there was a lot of storylines started but then abandoned in favour of different strands which seemed unnecessary.  The main character was actually my least favourite character in the whole novel - she was uninteresting, childish and a bit of a brat really.  This story from the perspective of any of the other characters would have been much more effective.   There was a lot of really strong male characters but the female lead just needed a bit more oomph behind her.  She was so influenced by her emotions that she lacked any real direction.  The romantic storyline was unbearable.  It just seemed very forced and sudden - it really made me properly cringe at the thought of it.  I am not sure if this will be a series but, again, I won't be reading the rest of the series.

I think I was in a generous mood when I rated this one to be fair but "When Dimple Met Rishi" got 5 stars from me.  I loved the character of Dimple and felt like I really related to her sarcasm as well as her character as a whole.  The novel dealt with the pressure of following tradition and parental pressures on young people in a way that was accessible and could be connected not just to Indian families but any families really.  I liked the easy-going romance throughout the novel and the realistic portrayal of the complexities young people face in every day life. This was very much a fitting summer read which went well with my holiday mood.

The final (10th!) book that I managed to read this month was "History Is All You Left Me" by Adam Silvera which I gave 4 stars but really think it actually deserves nearer 4.5.  Firstly I thought it dealt with the LGBTQIA+ aspect in a way that was completely appropriate - it didn't make a big deal of the characters' sexuality or identity but instead focused on the main basis of the story - love and grief. I really liked the honesty of the characters and the very realistic way that they dealt with their emotions and reacted in ways that seemed very natural to the situations that they were in.  Griffin was the lead character and I really appreciated the way that his "quirks" were portrayed and accepted as part of who he is. The relationships within the novel were realistic apart from one part - I won't spoil it!!

I really loved getting through as much reading as I did in July but have no illusions that I will get anywhere near as much read in August - already I'm off to a bit of a flop! We will see what happens.

Meg x

July Wrap Up Part 1

This was an unusually productive month of reading for me so I have decided to post two wrap ups to save a huge long post!  I have already posted an individual review of "The Handmaid's Tale" both on here and over on my Goodreads page (megmoore18) so I won't bother with another one.

"The Red Parts" by Maggie Nelson is the first book that I read this month.  I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads and found it particularly interesting as it was new type of non-fiction for me to read. I have to say the book is very different to what I thought it was going to be.  My main thought was that it would describe the murder of Nelson's aunt in detail and investigate in more depth the truth even behind her family's reaction.  Instead it followed her journey to the courtroom years after the murder to witness the conviction of a man accused of the murder.  Nelson has a lovely style of writing in that she invites you in to her deepest thoughts and emotions but the actual narrative was just so different to what I expected that it took me a while to get into the story.   The story lacked fluidity in places and jumped around a lot.  It also became clear that perhaps Nelson reacted and viewed the events in a removed sense since she had not been born when her aunt was murdered.  It lacked an emotional connection to her aunt throughout which gave the narrative a very strange feeling considering the subject matter.

"Lorali" by Laura Dockrill was my next venture and I have to admit it was a lot better than I had expected it to be.  I gave it 3 stars but it had a lot of potential.  This was a relatively short read which made it an easy going novel to get through but it was very well written.  The author's skill was evident through the description included throughout.  I think I got on so well with this novel because I liked the dual narrative style as well as the narrators themselves.  This book was so hyped on Booktube that I felt obliged to read it but I was worried that I would hate it because I felt it may stretch too far beyond the realms of my imagination.  My main concern was that the mermaids and pirates would be all too childish.  I was wrong - I LOVED the pirates and the whole world that the mermaids lived in.  The history of how a mermaid was created was very impressive.  It was a well developed part of the plot.  The characters were just flawed enough to build realistic perceptions of them and to bond the characters to the readers.  This will by no means end up a modern classic but should be valued for what it is - a light-hearted summer read with a twist of fantasy.

The third of my July reads was "Into the Water" by Paula Hawkins which I really disliked.  This was one of two books I awarded just 2 stars this month. The main reason was that the story was very jumbled up due to the vast number of narrators involved.  Each chapter jumped from pillar to post so much so that I could barely keep up with who was who and what had happened to them.  There were very few characters who were realistic enough to be relatable.  I strongly disliked the narrators.  I also found the relationships very unnatural throughout.  None of it seemed very realistic at all.  The only reason I finished this was because I hate not finishing something I have started to read and because it was the book club book of the month.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was a 5 star read - "The Hate You Give" by Angie Thomas.  This deserves all the praise it can get.  This realistic portrayal of the neighbourhoods of American suburbs took the reader on a journey towards awareness of the treatment of black people by the authorities.  This is so relevant to our world today because there needs to be more awareness of the true experiences of black communities across the world.  The characters within this novel are so easy to connect with because they are so real.  The way the communicate, how they feel and what they think are so true to human nature that you forget that they are not real people.  With all of this being said I must admit that I shed tears, I worried about the characters, I laughed in places and generally became quickly and deeply emotionally invested in the story and the characters. This should be more widely read across the world to open people's eyes to the true experiences of the black community.


Part two of the haul will look at the next 5 reads I got round to in July.  Also an August TBR list coming soon!

Meg x

June Reads

My aim for the year was to read a minimum of two books each month.  A reasonable target that I have plodded along with until June when I have manged to exceed my expectations and read a whopping FOUR books.  In comparison to my younger, pre-work, years this is nothing but a definite improvement on the the last few years nonetheless.

The first book I read this month was "Needful Things" by Stephen King.

At first I found this book incredibly strange.  This was largely due to the fact that I have been using the Whispersync feature on my Kindle to connect with Audible versions of my ebooks and the Audible version had weird music on it. That almost put me off reading it I have to say!  One thing it did do was encourage me to use Kindle a lot more than the audio version of this book. Aside from that I ended up rating this 5/5 stars on Goodreads.

The consistent characters (Leland Gaunt and Alan Pangborn) were enough to give the plot stability in a novel where there was a lot of characters and lots of sub-plots all feeding into the actual story.  At first I found the jumping between characters and use of a third person narrative a little bit tricky but all too soon I was engrossed in the world manipulated by Gaunt.

In terms of the fear factor this was MUCH creepier than "It" and probably on par with "The Shining" for me.  Leland Gaunt's character really, truly got under my skin.  There were sections of character description so vivid that I felt like Gaunt could walk off the pages and appear in front of me. This is one that I will probably go back to read again in the future because I feel like there were chunks of the story that were revisited at the end that I had not given a lot of thought or consideration to but that would help the story make more sense towards the end. This book truly left me with the chills from start to finish.

My next June read was the first of two book club reads. That is "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard which was a 4/5 star rating for me but I think would probably be nearer a 3 in hindsight.

This was a fantasy novel which, to be honest, is not a genre I have been engaging with much in the past few years. The world is based around a dystopian society in which the population is split into two categories: silver bloods and red bloods.  The red bloods are treated as inferior and are forced into the more menial jobs in society.  The silver bloods are all equipped with special talents/powers which is what makes them superior.

The book was a really quick read for me but it was one that I had mixed feelings about. The characters were very difficult to connect with initially and a lot of what the main character (Mare) does seems insincere and does not make sense.  The plot is up and down and sometimes lacks a real sense of direction because it is doing so much in a short space of time.  For me the plot twists are too transparent throughout and I felt let down by the fact that these twists were fairly obvious and, as a result, I could easily predict the ending.  I HATE that in a book I must say.

The main redeeming quality of this book was the fact that the author had built such an amazing setting for her story to develop through.  I felt the setting was the one thing that really pulled this story up.

My second book club read of the month was "After the Crash" by Michel Bussi. This book could not have less than a 5/5 star review from me. I absolutely loved it.

This was a novel steeped in mystery.  It follows the search to find the identity of a baby who survived a terrible plane crash which killed everyone else on the plane.  As it happens, there were two babies of similar ages who were on the plane which casts doubt on which the survivor could be.

The characters created by Bussi were so advanced and realistic made me feel like they were real people living somewhere in France.  Very quickly this book had me totally engaged in the mystery and making excuses to take every spare moment to read further on.  The characters all had realistic flaws which made them more relatable.  I think the fact that the romantic aspect of this novel was so far removed from the main plot meant that it was not all cheesy and soppy but it was one I was rooting for to succeed.

At no point in the novel did I figure out the ending which bodes well for me.  I did struggle with the personality of the private investigator who was retelling the events of the life of the girl as she grew up.  There was some really weird sexual references that he made that were very sporadic but also SO creepy. This novel was nothing short of fantastically written.  I will be very surprised if this does not end up on my top 10 reads of the year.

Finally for June I read "11/22/63" by Stephen King.  This left me with real mixed feelings aswell and I only gave it 3/5 stars.

So what did this book do well? As with any Stephen King books, the main thing that stands out is his character development.  Jake Epping is a great protagonist and I really enjoy being in his head for the journey through time that he goes on.  His moral journey is as important as the physical trips that he takes.   The events of the story throw his moral judgement into question and as I read through it I was rooting for him to succeed but also a little bit hoping that he would be selfish and follow his heart.

This King novel dipped into several other storylines from his books including "It" and "Needful Things" mainly through the settings it used in bits and pieces.  There was a lot of cross-overs which, actually, I really liked.

The main flaws I found with this novel was that, in contrast to "Needful Things", it was just not very creepy. I think I expected a lot from this because I love historical fiction and this was something a little different because of the time travel element.  I think that King was far too indulgent with his character which meant that the plot was very slow moving and took a while to get to.  There was a lot of this story that could have been taken out and the story would have been just as good and the meaning would not be lost without these parts.

I think for now I am putting Stephen King to one side until I have gotten through some other authors.

My next post (hopefully this weekend) will be my June book haul. Pre-warning: it could be a LONG post - I went a bit daft!

Meg x