Tag: fiction

book reviews

Book review: Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella

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Title: Love Your Life
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Dates read: 18/01/22 – 27/01/22
Rating 4/5

Publisher: Black Swan
Number of pages: 416 pages
Fiction or non-fiction: fiction
Subject or genre: chick-lit

Book blurb: I love you . . . but what if I can’t love your life?

Ava is sick of online dating. She’s always trusted her own instincts over an algorithm, anyway, and she wants a break from it all. So when she signs up to a semi-silent, anonymous writing retreat in glorious Italy, love is the last thing on her mind.

Until she meets a handsome stranger. . . All she knows is that he’s funny, he’s kind and – she soon learns – he’s great in bed. He’s equally smitten, and after a whirlwind, intoxicating affair, they pledge their love without even knowing each other’s real names.

But when they return home, reality hits. They’re both driven mad by each other’s weird quirks and annoying habits, from his eccentric, naked-sauna-loving family to her terribly behaved, shirt-shredding dog. As disaster follows disaster, it seems that while they love each other, they just can’t love each other’s lives. Can they overcome their differences to find one life, together?

How I discovered or acquired this book: My library has a chosen picks shelf just as you walk in and the cover caught my eye. It was bright blue and cheerful and I absolutely love chick-lit so it was a no brainer

My thoughts I haven’t read anything by Sophie Kinsella other than the Shopaholic books so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I bloody loved it, I ended up staying up way too late on a work night to finish it and sobbed my heart out over the ending – happy tears and amazingly heart-warming. I loved the crazy cast of characters, saw a LOT of both myself and my betrothed in Ava so I definitely connected with her as a character. The ending felt a little rushed – like a TV show has been cancelled and they try and wrap everything, all those little threads up really really quickly? It felt a little like that but it really worked for the book. 4/5, highest rating of the year

book reviews

Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

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Title: The Fault In Our Stars
Author: John Green
Dates read: 10/01/22 – 17/02/22
Rating 2/5

Publisher: Puffin
Number of pages: 316
Fiction or non-fiction: fiction
Subject or genre: young adult, romance, contemporary

Book blurb: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

How I discovered or acquired this book: It’s been on my TBR for idk about 8 years or so. I’ve only recently started using the Libby app and this was available through Telford library so I figured it was time to read it and see what all the fuss was about

My thoughts So, obviously I’m not the target age range for this book, but I’ve read a handful of YA novels in recent years (albeit mostly dystopia) and I do love a good tear-jerker. I cry at everything – including TV adverts for RSPCA. I had tissues ready for this book. I didn’t need them. Not a single tear was shed, which considering there’s a major character death (wait, do I need spoilers for a decade old book?) It wasn’t terribly written, it wasn’t amazingly written. It felt kind of flat and emotionless considering the themes and I didn’t feel like I connected with the characters – I just didn’t care about anything that happened to them. I was quite disappointed because I’d been looking forward to reading this for a few years because I’d heard so much awesomeness about it.

book reviews

Book Review: The Autobiography of Mr. Spock by Una McCormack

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Title: The Autobiography of Mr. Spock
Author: Una McCormack
Dates read: 10/01/22 – 16/01/22
Rating 1/5

Publisher: Titan Books
Number of pages: 288
Fiction or non-fiction: fiction
Subject or genre: tv tie: star trek, science-fiction

Book blurb:Fictional autobiography of the iconic Star Trek character, told in his own words and telling the story of his life, including his difficult childhood, his adventures on the Enterprise, and his death and resurrection on the Genesis Planet.

“The Autobiography of Mr. Spock” tells the story of one of Starfleet’s finest officers, and one the Federations most celebrated citizens. Half human and half Vulcan, the book, written in Spock’s own words, follows his difficult childhood on the planet Vulcan; his controversial enrollment at Starfleet Academy; his adventures with Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise; his diplomatic triumphs with the Klingons and Romulans; and his death and amazing resurrection on the Genesis Planet. We meet the friends he’s made, the women he loved, and experience the triumphs and tragedies of a life and career that spanned a century. Despite his alien blood, his struggle to find his place in the universe is one we can all relate to.

How I discovered or acquired this book: It was on the ‘new books’ table in Honiton Library. It just jumped up and yelled at me, and what was I supposed to do, ignore a book about Mr Spock? I mean, really!

My thoughts I wish I’d left it on the new books table. I did not think it was possible to make a book about Mr Spock’s life dull, boring, uninteresting and flat. That’s what this book was. I almost DNFed it about 3 times but stubborn-ness had kicked in and… maybe it was going to get better. Reader, it did not get better. Every now and again there would be a couple of lines that sounded perfectly like Spock and made me smile, but the whole thing was just meh.