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| B081QYCWHT
| 3.82
| 1,021
| unknown
| Nov 19, 2019
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really liked it
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I really enjoyed this. I saw it on the romance books subreddit when someone asked for recommendations where the hero messes up, knows it and has to gr
I really enjoyed this. I saw it on the romance books subreddit when someone asked for recommendations where the hero messes up, knows it and has to grovel for forgiveness a lot. That’s definitely one of my romance preferences so I immediately had to read this and…yeah, whoever recommended this nailed the brief. James Bradford, Duke of Rushford is incensed when his younger sister is compromised by a man who refuses to take responsibility, thereby ruining her unless James can hush it up. James is unable to see reason and he wants revenge – and the perfect way to achieve that is to do to his enemy what his enemy did to him, and ruin the man in question’s sister. Jillian finds herself the surprising recipient of attention from the Duke of Rushford and even though after a heartbreak she has no intention of ever marrying, she finds herself eventually softening towards him. She has no idea that he knows her brother, or what her brother has been accused of and she has no idea that she’s a pawn in a game. Slowly she comes to fall for him – and it’s the greatest happiness she has known until she realises that it’s all been a lie. James already knew he was in too deep and didn’t know how to get out of it and he did try – but wasn’t able to before Jillian found out. And James always knew that if she did, she wouldn’t forgive him and he’d lose her but the reality of that is even worse than he imagined. James is a broken man when Jillian learns of his deception and what he has done and even though it is no longer a lie – he truly does fall in love with her and is shattered – it started out as one. A cruel game to ruin her as revenge, uncaring of her as a person. He only saw her as a means to an end, a way to hurt her brother for the slight he perceives her brother has wreaked upon him, ruining his sister’s honour and reputation. It would be a bitter pill for anyone to swallow, especially as James is aware of the heartbreak in Jillian’s past, what she has suffered because of that – being the subject of cruel whispers and gossip. She has confided in him and to realise that he had planned to hurt her is devastating to her. James has a lot of grovelling to do, a lot of convincing Jillian that despite what he did, the way he was when they met, they could still actually make a go of this. There’s a lot of really excellent supporting characters in this book – James’ best friend Nicholas Winter, Jillian’s best friend and her husband and even Jillian’s brother. They all play a role when James’ deception is uncovered and none of them really hold back when it comes to making him feel it for what he’s done. As the reader, you (like James’ friend Nick) can see everything coming from a mile away – even James can see things coming after a while but once the events are set in motion (by him) he’s powerless to stop them, even though by then he kind of wants to. He knows that Jillian will be so devastated by this and James does suffer terribly when everything is revealed. And so he should. But the thing I did like about this is that he respects Jillian’s wishes when she tells him to stay away. He does other things to let her know that he’s still trying but I’ve read plenty of books where, when the female character discovers a betrayal and tells the male character to leave her alone, but he simply keeps bothering her anyway, pleading his case. James doesn’t do that and instead he tries other methods to let Jillian know he’s sorry and that he will do anything to make up for what he has put her through. I liked this a lot – my only quibble is that it was probably a bit long and takes a while to get to Jillian discovering everything. I think I’d have liked it if it had allowed the aftermath to go on a bit longer. But that’s a small thing really and I discovered once I’d finished this that there are books about both Nicholas Winter and Jillian’s brother and I definitely intend to read both of them. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 29, 2022
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Jan 31, 2022
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Jan 31, 2022
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 152938091X
| 9781529380910
| 152938091X
| 4.06
| 395,172
| Sep 28, 2021
| Sep 28, 2021
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really liked it
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I haven’t read the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber although I’ve always meant to. I actually have a request on the first book at the moment through
I haven’t read the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber although I’ve always meant to. I actually have a request on the first book at the moment through my library but I’m waiting for someone to return it. I read about this somewhere and thought it sounded fun so I requested this too and this one came in before the other. It’s set in the same world as Caraval and has some of the same characters so probably it’s much better to have read the other trilogy before this. I know that Scarlett and Tella (very minor characters so far in this) are key characters in Caraval and given the hints about Jacks and Tella I’m going to assume Jacks was in that trilogy too and I probably should’ve already known who he was and what happened before I picked this up. But if you’re like me and haven’t, I’m not sure it’s too negative as you do get a bit of an explanation late in the book. Evangeline is a young woman in love who suffers heartbreak and believing her love Luc to be cursed, she bargains with the Prince of Hearts, one of the Fates, to help stop the wedding. But Jacks, the Prince of Hearts doesn’t exactly do what Evangeline expects when she asks for his help (apparently, the Fates never do which is something you’d think Evangeline would know, but…young love I guess? *shrug*). In return for his help, Evangeline owes Jacks three kisses (not with him, his kisses are deadly) and he will decide who and when and where. Evangeline’s attempt to stop the wedding doesn’t turn out as she’d hoped but instead it gives her some notoriety, enough that the Empress (Scarlett) sends her to the North for some sort of…event where the Prince will choose a bride. Evangeline’s mother is from the North and so she leaps at the chance to see the place of her mother’s vivid stories. I thought this was fun but it wasn’t without some issues. Evangeline is….a Special Snowflake of course, because she has Pink Hair and there’s a prophecy and of course Jacks needs her for something Mysterious. The thing with Evangeline is that she’s almost dimwittedly naive. I didn’t actually think a person could be this wilfully blind, but here we are. Over and over again Evangeline is shown by people who they are and she is just “oh I’m sure there’s an explanation” or “maybe I just misread that”. No girl you didn’t! Get a clue! The setting is loads of fun, I did adore the North but there are things that start promisingly and then fizzle out or get dropped for other things that start promisingly. Jacks, what are you about? I don’t know whether or not I should bother liking you. He’s supposed to be suffering from the tragedy of a great broken heart which makes him cruel which ok, normally I can get behind that, I love a tortured man. But I love a tortured man when he’s not being a petty little man baby and Jacks is, a lot of the time, a petty little man baby. I feel there are times when Garber almost nails some chemistry between Jacks and Evangeline (the time LaLa dresses Evangeline is the best example here) but then there’s a dumb moment that is more “siblings bickering” than “potential love interest”. The fact that they can’t kiss (or can they…..*foreshadowing*) does add an interesting element because I get the feeling that otherwise a character like Jacks would rely a lot on such manoeuvres and him not being able to adds a layer. This is the first in a series and it’s like a First In A Fantasy Series Rule that Thou Shalt Get No Answers, Only More Questions and this book sticks to that like white on rice. There are very few meaty reveals here that just do not raise more questions about secrets and prophecies and Aelin Galathynius type secret identities that are sure to be dripped out over the next few books. And that’s frustrating because it’s a long wait until the next book and there are actually things in here that I enjoyed and would like to know more about. I felt like the last 10-15% of the book, Evangeline got a lot more fun and she seemed to have some of that naivety stripped away from her and it made her more interesting. I hope she retains some of her romantic idealism but she needed to learn the lesson on trusting people (seems like Jacks’ legacy might be teaching her that one). Even though this is 400p, it didn’t feel it. It was fast paced, quite readable and the setting/world was something I really enjoyed. I don’t like Jacks so far (well I’m undecided on Jacks so far, he’s going to have to redeem himself, Fate or not) but there was enough in here that I did like that made me want to read the next one in this series and continue with my desire to read the Caraval books. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 25, 2022
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Jan 25, 2022
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Jan 25, 2022
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Paperback
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| 1761066072
| 9781761066078
| 1761066072
| 4.24
| 297
| unknown
| Feb 01, 2022
|
really liked it
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This is the third book featuring Detective Pierce Ryder set in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales and it’s become one of my favourite suspe
This is the third book featuring Detective Pierce Ryder set in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales and it’s become one of my favourite suspense/crime series to read. They can be read stand-alone but there are some things that extend through all of the books so it’s probably a much better experience to read them all (and they’re all wonderful so you should do that!). The book opens with a light aircraft lining up to land at night, on a remote runway and it all goes horribly wrong. Called in to investigate alongside the ATSB is Detective Mitch Flowers, who starts the investigation while Ryder is still wrapping up some things elsewhere. Mitch has been Ryder’s partner in all of the books and he takes a more prominent role here although he’s also got a little something going on that no one seems to know about. As well as reconnecting the reader with Ryder and Flowers, we also get to see Nerida Sterling, who has been chosen to go undercover to try and bust a drug ring and solve a murder. She’s working as a waitress trying to gather information and after the victim in the plane crash is identified, Nerida’s position becomes even more valuable as she’s in prime place to potentially gather information on that too, for Ryder and Flowers. But it’s a hard job being undercover, keeping your story straight, not letting anything from your real life seep over into the life you are living for your cover and it’s taking its toll on Sterling. She is feeling the pinch of days where it feels like she’s not doing anything and she’s ready to step up her role a bit. Ryder and Flowers check in with her constantly but when she draws some attention from the wrong person, it adds another element of danger to her position. We’re in the middle of a heatwave here in Victoria – as I write this is about day 6 of an 8-day stretch of 33-34*C days and I’m over it. It was fun to escape into winter in the Snowy Mountains region of NSW and feel the cold a little as Flowers in particular, straps on his snowshoes and explores some of the area. I’ve only been to the Snowy Mountains once as a kid and have very little experience with snow but it makes for a great setting and not one that you generally associate with Australian crime. A lot of authors pick the desert and some of the warmer areas up north so this is refreshing in multiple ways! I really enjoyed the direction this book went in, the mystery of the plane crash deepened the more Ryder and Flowers looked into the family of the victim and exposed a feud revolving around a stately home. The more they uncover, the more they seem to find in terms of motives and strange happenings that might be the reason behind the crash. I like that we got to experience more of Flowers taking the lead in this book – Ryder is approaching the time that he and Vanessa will be making a change and so he’s been preparing Flowers I think, for a step up in responsibility and his role. Flowers has his own things going on though, that he still hasn’t told Ryder about. Flowers is also having quite a lot of complex feelings about Sterling, especially with her being undercover and with him investigating in the same area he does get a chance to see her, although he’s of course supposed to ignore her. Sterling is pretty good at undercover, she can do the job and talk to people but the loneliness takes her by surprise. It’s a very isolated life – she’s not there to really make friends other than as a way to get information and she has to make sure she doesn’t make mistakes that might give her away. She has to be careful when meeting up with Ryder who seems to be her point of contact – they meet in public as if by chance and only briefly. And Flowers calls her late every night when she’s safely at her accommodation away from anyone who might overhear. I haven’t thought a lot about being undercover before but I think Dead Horse Gap did an excellent job of what it might be like for a young officer on their first stint in a remote location. This was another tightly plotted, enjoyable instalment in a series that gives you interesting characters and very intriguing mysteries to solve. It was good to see Eva and Jack again briefly as well as Vanessa and there’s enough left open here for more books featuring this crew and I can’t wait. ***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 22, 2022
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Jan 22, 2022
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Jan 22, 2022
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1442408936
| 9781442408937
| 1442408936
| 4.31
| 627,464
| Feb 21, 2012
| Apr 01, 2014
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really liked it
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I received the second book in this series for review. It’s to be published next month, quite a big gap between books and even though I’ve been aware o
I received the second book in this series for review. It’s to be published next month, quite a big gap between books and even though I’ve been aware of this book for a long time (probably since it was published), I’d never gotten around to reading it. And I didn’t want to read the second one without having read this one, so I requested it from my local library and it came in with perfect timing. Ari is 15 and it’s 1987 and the summer holidays. He’s a bit of a loner, not a lot of friends, which worries his mother, who is a teacher. Ari was born over a decade after his three siblings, after his father came back from the Vietnam War and as everyone who knew him before will say, his father is different now. He has wounds no one can see and fights battles no one else can take part in. Ari really doesn’t know how to connect with his father and he doesn’t know how to ask about his older brother, who is in prison. Ari meets Dante at the local pool – Dante can swim and he takes it upon him to quite seriously teach Ari and the two become quite inseparable over the summer. Ari is fascinated by the differences in his own father and in Dante’s. Both of them are from Mexican families and that identify forms a large part of the book and their interactions with each other and also their families. Ari is in quite a dark place – he’s quick to anger and quick with his fists too. He knows most people won’t bother him because he’s proved in the past he can handle himself. Dante is quieter, he’s not had some of the things in his life that Ari has had. He is a thinker, enjoys reading and poetry and often suggests things to Ari for him to read. The two have this really interesting dynamic which is torn apart when Dante’s family leave after the summer for his professor father to work for a year in Chicago. Dante is questioning a lot of things about himself and one of those things is his sexuality, which he confides in to Ari, mostly from the safety of letters after the family move to Chicago. Dante is definitely the more open one, he writes more letters whereas Ari has things of his own to work through and sometimes, the things Dante tells him (and sometimes, his actions after the family return) make Ari realise he might have some questioning to do of his own. I really enjoyed everything about this. I felt like Ari was portrayed so well, I understood a lot of his anger and frustration and his desire to know about his family, to understand and how he felt at being dismissed. But I’m also the mother of a teenage boy and so when his parents finally explained why they hadn’t spoken about his brother, I understood that too. His mother’s pain and heartache over it is beautifully portrayed and Ari and his mother just have this really interesting relationship and it’s great. I also liked that his parents could admit that perhaps it hadn’t been the right thing to not talk about his stuff with Ari – it’s important for kids to hear that their parents can be wrong, that they can make mistakes as well and acknowledge them. The highlight is the evolving relationship between Ari and Dante. The friendship that begins with two boys that don’t really seem to have any other people to hang around with in summer, who can bond over one boy teaching the other to swim. I loved the way Dante’s family embraced Ari as well (for lots of reasons) and the way in which Ari muddles through things. They’re definitely not as clear to him as they are to Dante and most other people can see it for Ari well before he can. The reason he does what he does for Ari, the multiple times he risks it all. And the last one? I understand it’s wrong and that two wrongs don’t make a right but when Ari dealt his form of justice, I couldn’t help but feel quite satisfied about it. Not sure what that says about me! I loved meeting Ari and Dante and going on their journey with them and I’m very keen to read the second book next month and find out what is next for them. The writing in this is lovely and I think it captures the time and setting well. Well deserving of the multitude of awards it has won. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 18, 2022
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Jan 18, 2022
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Jan 18, 2022
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Paperback
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| 0593329821
| 9780593329825
| 0593329821
| 3.80
| 347,014
| Jul 06, 2021
| Jul 06, 2021
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it was ok
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I have heard a lot of really amazing things about this book, I’ve had it recommended to me a couple times and it’s even one of Reese Witherspoon’s boo
I have heard a lot of really amazing things about this book, I’ve had it recommended to me a couple times and it’s even one of Reese Witherspoon’s book club picks. I nabbed it from the local library because I was keen to see what all the fuss was about. Firstly: trigger warnings for everything. There’s not a lot that’s not in here to be honest, but especially quite graphic descriptions of child sexual abuse so if you find that hard to read (and I think most people do, especially as it’s presented here) then you should definitely approach this with knowledge that you’ll be repeatedly subjected to it. This is a story of how abuse and trauma is repeated over generations and how perhaps, people make choices that are bad for them because that is what they have seen other people doing. They copy that behaviour or perhaps even subliminally, think they deserve the wrong choice because of this thing or that thing that has happened. But if I were to sum this book up it’s multiple generations of women being subjected to awful things, making terrible romantic choices and for the most part, also being quite terrible parents. For the most part, the book takes place over about 24 hours but with multiple flashbacks interspersed to show the reader how all the choices and whatever of her mother and grandmother have led main character Elle to where she is now. And that’s having sex with her childhood friend and apparently the ‘one that got away’ up against a wall of the family’s country lake home where Elle has spent every summer of her life. Elle’s husband and mother as well as Jonas’ wife are mere metres away, talking inside. The flashbacks flesh out Elle’s life – the impact of her parent’s divorce and the multiple relationships each had after that, a myriad of bad stepparents and in some cases, awful stepsiblings. Her relationship with her sister Anna, a few years older and her mother, a complex woman who quite honestly, seems like she should never have actually had children and even into her seventies is a bitter and acerbic person who constantly criticises. She was incredibly tedious in the present day but that paled into comparison for how her children were treated by her in their younger years, especially decisions she made or decisions she supported that were about her maintaining a relationship with a man over her daughter’s physical safety and emotional wellbeing. I can deal with not liking many of the characters if the story intrigues me or if I think there’s reasoning behind their actions. But I hated everyone in this – Elle for the way she treats her husband and her inability to pull the trigger, her knowledge of what will come if she does this thing and also, her passiveness. I know Elle had her incredibly traumatising moments and one of them is something you can see coming for the longest time and the powerless feeling the inevitability of it gave me was immense but everything Elle is in the present day just made me loathe her. Her husband Peter is this weird juxtaposition of all round good guy and yet he’s also incredibly annoying with his stupid remarks, his weird banter with her mother, his lack of parenting their teenage son who, without being pulled up on this behaviour, could turn it into something inherently dangerous. Wallace is awful, a product of her own awful upbringing probably but she willingly contributed to the cycle and picked others over her daughters time and time and time again. Elle and Anna’s father was the same, a weak and spineless man who shunned them every time he got a new wife. A lot of this hinges on this…..apparently incredible bond that Elle and Jonas have, this friendship that stems all the way back to their childhood. It takes a long time for Jonas to be introduced and to be honest, even though I know they have this big secret that binds them in a way that no one else could probably grasp, I never thought that the book did enough to show that this was a love that had endured for decades, through both of them being married to other people. They spent most of their time together as children and seem to have experienced almost nothing together as adults with adult feelings and understandings. It never struck me as this incredible love story of these two people who tragically couldn’t be together. They could have – years ago. Except Elle kept making different decisions and now she’s married with three children and having sex with Jonas within hearing distance of everyone else. Why now? Why this particular summer? And the way in which it plays out is not a way that makes you think that Jonas cares deeply for her. It’s almost like an act of possession, like he enjoys it partially because everyone is so close. Like he just wants to finally win. It made me uncomfortable, as did the scene on the beach that once again, Jonas orchestrates. There are no consequences for actions here (with one very glaring exception but it honestly felt like that was orchestrated merely to bind Jonas and Elle together, no other reason) and some (a lot?) of people in this book commit very heinous crimes that they should receive lengthy prison terms for. And you can argue that many people get away with such things and they do. But I wanted more from this book – more awareness, more depth, more showing me why I should give a damn about these people. This was a disappointing read. And I hated the ending. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 13, 2022
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Jan 13, 2022
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Jan 13, 2022
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| B088NRG888
| 4.04
| 68,984
| Feb 04, 2021
| Feb 04, 2021
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really liked it
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This book was just exquisite to read. I have seen a few people talk about it in various places and I’ve almost bought it twice before. I finally ended This book was just exquisite to read. I have seen a few people talk about it in various places and I’ve almost bought it twice before. I finally ended being unable to resist any longer (and it was pretty cheap, $5 on Kindle) and I finished it in a couple of hours. There’s a very small page count to this but it packs an absolute punch. Honestly I highlighted so much of this book – the writing is stunning and insightful and brutal at times. Open Water won the 2021 Costa Prize for a first novel and I can absolutely see why. The two main characters are never named and the book is delivered in the second person, which isn’t something I come across too often. It centres around two young Black people who meet at a pub in London. The main narrator is male and he asks his friend to introduce him to a girl – there’s an instant connection between them but their meeting is somewhat complicated. The woman asks him to help her with a project as the man is a photographer and she has need of someone with that skill and they develop a close friendship that is beautifully layered (but still complicated). The female character is at university in Dublin still and is only in London during semester breaks but whenever she returns, they catch up often and more and more layers get added to the friendship, which remains that way for the longest time as she in particular, doesn’t want to jeopardise this thing that they’ve built by adding the complexity of romance. What if it were to go wrong? She says she’d lose her best friend. It adds this frustrated longing to the dynamic but without feeling overdone. In and around this developing friendship are the realities of life being young and Black in London. The man, who knows to flip his hoodie down if he sees a police officer, who is stopped anyway some days, who sees violence and inequality everywhere and is exhausted and at times, completely overwhelmed by it. Both of them went to private schools and experienced being very much the minority and it’s a shared experience. Both are also artists – he a photographer, she a dancer and that also seems like an escape for both of them as well. There’s also a lot about masculinity – what that means, how it is expected to act in a certain way, to not act in other ways. Our male characters an avid reader and the book often mentions the piles of books in his room, the book he is reading, or his favourite author (Zadie Smith). I highlighted so much of this book that some of the pages are more highlighted than not. There’s just a lot of really beautiful and powerful phrases in this book and it’s the sort of book that I think you can finish and just immediately flip back to the front and begin re-reading. There’s so much that I think I would get out of reading this a second time, once I know everything that happens. The ways in which the friendship unfolds, the chemistry between the two characters, the complications, the violence that is experienced and how that plays out as well as the male character’s relationship with his Ghanaian parents and also his brother. It just has so much packed into it but it doesn’t feel overcrowded. It just feels like the author used only exactly the words needed to convey what he wanted to say and showcase this story. I read a review that says it’s almost like poetry and it’s hard not to agree with that. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 13, 2022
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Jan 13, 2022
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Jan 12, 2022
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1867223562
| 9781867223566
| 1867223562
| 4.05
| 249
| unknown
| Jan 22, 2022
|
really liked it
|
I always think it’s important to start the reading year off on a good note and for the last 2 years, my first book has been Penelope Janu’s new releas
I always think it’s important to start the reading year off on a good note and for the last 2 years, my first book has been Penelope Janu’s new release. She’s one of my favourite romance authors and although I could’ve read this book in the last days of 2021, I chose to keep it to begin 2022 with and it was definitely the right decision. Phoebe lives in a tiny country town – it’s a quiet sort of life. She works with children, paediatric occupational therapy where she helps those with issues like sensory processing difficulties and motor skill delay develop coping mechanisms and techniques that will benefit them in every day life. She has a dog named Wickham, a Welsh pony named Mintie and an off-track thoroughbred named Camelot. Phoebe has 2 sisters, one of which is in the Navy and the other is in the Northern Territory on a research project. Her father, an academic, is in the early stages of dementia and some of the practicality of his care falls to Phoebe, despite the way he treats her. Her isolated life is disrupted when she rescues a man in a storm and later learns he’s there to investigate her father’s involvement in a horse-racing gambling syndicate that may have been used to launder money. Phoebe doesn’t know much about it but she’s willing to do anything to protect the person that probably does – and that puts her at odds with Sinn, who just wants to finish this job. But Phoebe is making that very difficult for him, in more than one way. If you’ve read any of the author’s books before, they can all be read stand alone but are sort of connected in that a lot of the characters are related in some way and inhabit the same world, crossing over in work and recreation at times. In this book Sinn is the cousin of Per and Tor and both of them rate a couple of mentions in this story which will give you a bit of an idea of how they’re doing and I always love Easter eggs like that! It satisfies my desire to always know what comes next. Sinn and Phoebe have great chemistry complicated by Phoebe’s potential involvement in the racing syndicate and also, the wall she’s sort of built around herself. She has good reason to have done so, her childhood was traumatic in multiple ways and she’s had to protect herself and present a calm front in order to also protect her sisters, to keep them all together. Phoebe bears deep scars from an event in her childhood that she’s never really gotten over and it still dominates a lot of her day to day thought processes and controls her actions. This trauma is written really well and it’s not something I’ve experienced before, reading from the perspective of a character who has this fear but I could really feel and experience it the way Phoebe did and it was incredibly easy to understand why it still had such an impact on her. Sinn had a really interesting background that I would’ve liked to be explored a bit more – a lot of the focus is on what he’s doing now and how it relates to Phoebe and how it acts as a barrier at times as well as a catalyst for bringing them together often. But he has some complications as to why he’s doing what he’s doing now and not what he originally trained for. I did really like all the time Sinn got to regale Phoebe with his knowledge of climate and weather patterns, about precipitation and things like that. I find that really interesting especially as the patterns are changing and there are plenty of people who don’t seem to want to acknowledge that. I also really loved the inclusion of Phoebe’s sessions with her various children – especially when she uses the animals to assist in their sessions and therapy. One of my children had OT for fine motor skill issues and it was great to get a little bit of an insight into this work and how Phoebe used various techniques to provide the children with coping mechanisms when they required it or to convince reluctant children to do their exercises by applying it to things they cared about. I feel like we learn a lot about both characters through their work, Phoebe especially. The way she devotes herself to her clients, and the way she takes in strays. The lamb was super cute (I don’t like sheep but I do like lambs, is that weird? I don’t know) and Nate with the lamb was adorable. Oh yeah, Nate’s back! If you liked him in On The Right Track, you’ll love him in this too. He’s still all for dropping truth bombs much to Sinn’s frustration (who probably runs off to commiserate with Tor after every time Nate speaks to Phoebe). I’m pretty sure hopeful we will see books featuring Phoebe’s sisters Patience and Prim in the future and Sinn mentions having a brother and of course there’s still Nate hanging around and I’m basically like bring on ALL the relatives and colleagues so that I can have many more books. There’s always such excellent push-pull chemistry which is my absolute favourite thing. It makes me want to take a deep dive into re-reading all the previous books while I wait for the next because now it’s a whole year. Such a good start to my reading year. ***A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 2022
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Jan 2022
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Jan 01, 2022
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0008479305
| 9780008479305
| 0008479305
| 4.10
| 97,092
| Jan 11, 2022
| Jan 19, 2022
|
really liked it
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I heard so much about this prior to its being published – both the covers I’ve seen, the US version and the UK version, are stunning. And I know nothi
I heard so much about this prior to its being published – both the covers I’ve seen, the US version and the UK version, are stunning. And I know nothing at all about Chinese mythology so this definitely seemed like something that would be quite different in many ways, to lots of other YA fantasy that I’ve read before. It’s also pretty popular – I had to wait a long time on my library’s waiting list for this one and I knew once it came in, I’d have to read it immediately as I wouldn’t be able to renew it. Our protagonist is Xingyin, the literal daughter of the Moon Goddess. She’s grown up in almost complete isolation on the moon, with her mother and a helper of some description who is a friend of her mother’s. However when visitors come, her mother hides her away and then makes plans for the helper to take Xingyin far away, to her own lands, where she will be, for some reason, safe. Her mother does not really explain why she isn’t safe anymore, it’s all very rushed but the escape does not go to plan and Xingyin ends up alone in the lands of the Celestial Kingdom where she wins a competition to be the study companion of the Crown Prince. There Xingyin learns – academically and physically, training to fight and handle herself in all manner of ways. Her ultimate goal is to win some reward the Celestial King offers, which grants the recipient a favour of their choice, which she will use to free her mother from her moon prison. Along the way she learns many mysterious things and becomes involved in a love triangle. I’m not a love triangle person, it’s actually one of my least favourite tropes and I didn’t realise there was going to be one until the story was well underway. The reasons I don’t like them are numerous but mostly it’s because a) I can’t stand the indecisiveness, like just pick someone already and b) because the person I usually end up liking the most is almost never the person the main character ends up with. And by the end of this book, it seemed pretty obvious that I’d picked the wrong one yet again in some ways, considering it turns out he’s kind of evil (or maybe just misunderstood? lol. I’m kind of hoping there’s a path for him that’s better in the 2nd book?). I didn’t like the other choice for Xingyin at all, from the time he first appeared on the page. I’m always wary of these types, who are ‘so different’ to everyone else around them, despite only really being exposed to, well, everyone else around them their entire lives. I enjoyed this but I also thought it was a bit too long – it takes a long time before we really get into the meat of the story, there’s quite a lot about Xingyin learning alongside the Crown Prince and then joining the army and undertaking random missions and I get that she needs to learn her skills but there are parts of the story that definitely felt like that they dragged for me. I don’t think many books really need to be 500p and this book also both skipped forward in time many months but dragged as well as we are treated to Xingyin doing the same things over and over again. Parts of it where it could’ve been drawn out, to build tension, are glossed over and yet some mundane activities are described in great detail. I enjoyed this enough to want to read the sequel – I thought the end was pretty interesting and I want to see where the author goes next with the story. I found a lot of the basis of the story and the background mythology and the inclusion of things like dragons, etc and the magic system really interesting so I do want to know how it all ends. I just don’t really enjoy the love triangle development and the way in which the pacing feels uneven at times. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 27, 2022
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Jun 28, 2022
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Dec 27, 2021
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Paperback
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| 1728250927
| 9781728250922
| 1728250927
| 3.56
| 38,692
| Aug 02, 2022
| Aug 02, 2022
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liked it
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I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material. It’s actually been by far my most favourite of Alexis Hall’s novels. I love opposites attract and Luc’s general b
I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material. It’s actually been by far my most favourite of Alexis Hall’s novels. I love opposites attract and Luc’s general brand of chaotic shitshow and Oliver’s kind of uptight manner are like my kryptonite. I was looking forward to more from them. For the most part, I really enjoyed this. It was funny, with all the things that made me laugh from the first book and the added sweetness of Luc and Oliver being in a proper relationship which is going well. Then they get engaged and everything kind of….goes downhill there as the stress of the wedding and what it means begins to take its toll. For me, the late conflict was poor – in its introduction, its timing and its resolution. It almost made me feel like reading the book was kind of a waste of time, it undid almost everything and look they were probably better off for it in the end I guess, as they didn’t need the development. But…it seemed like a long, arduous and ultimately pointless way to get there. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 09, 2022
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Sep 09, 2022
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Dec 27, 2021
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Paperback
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| 0241995345
| 9780241995341
| 0241995345
| 4.13
| 1,217,064
| May 03, 2022
| May 12, 2022
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it was amazing
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I don’t know how Emily Henry does it. It’s like she writes books that are specifically catered to me, with all the things that I enjoy. I’ve read 3 of
I don’t know how Emily Henry does it. It’s like she writes books that are specifically catered to me, with all the things that I enjoy. I’ve read 3 of her books now, Beach Read, You And Me On Vacation and now this one. I have loved them all but this one might actually be my favourite! It was soooo close to being absolute perfection for me. There was one thing that kind of didn’t work for me but firstly, I just want to gush a bit about Nora and Charlie and how much I loved their interactions! Every single thing about it from their very first meeting after Nora has just been dumped and they clearly do not hit it off, to what happens two years later when they run into each other in a tiny town in rural America. It is incredible – witty and clever and segues into being full of chemistry and sexual tension and this building attraction that becomes more and I just loved every single time the two of them were on the same page together. Whether it was just emails or texts or in person they had me so invested in the two of them and I loved their passion for their jobs. Nora is a literary agent, used to babying her charges through the creative process and Charlie is an editor, and not an entirely…..gentle one at that. He’s more your slash and burn, give it to them straight kind of guy and when he wants to edit Nora’s most successful client’s new book, Nora can’t help but be a bit terrified because she knows her client won’t cope with Charlie’s manner. She insists that she be involved, be the middle man to temper Charlie’s bluntness into the kind of editing comments that will get the best from her author. They’re both in this tiny town for different reasons but it works out perfectly for them to edit this book together. Nora is there because of her sister Libby, who is pregnant with her third child and desperately needing a break before she has another tiny human completely dependent on her. Nora and Libby are very close – their father left many years ago and their mother died when Nora was about 20 and Libby still a teen. Nora assumed responsibility for Libby then and she hasn’t stopped doing it ever since, even though Libby is a grown woman who is married with children. And this was the part of the book that I struggled with a bit. The relationship between them was so unhealthily codependent – and look, they had been through a lot together. They had grieved together, Nora had singlehandedly gotten them both through the most difficult part of their lives. But the way that Nora’s whole life continues to revolve around Libby: searching for a new apartment for them when Libby announces her pregnancy, dropping everything to do whatever Libby wanted even when it made her uncomfortable, when she thought there might be problems in Libby’s marriage and began mentally thinking about ruining her brother-in-law’s life even when she liked him and had no actual idea what was happening….honestly. It got a bit exhausting. And thankfully, the way that it was resolved, meant that the book redeemed that section for me, because both characters (more so Libby, who spelled it out) realised that what Nora had been doing was wrong and not sustainable. She had to let Libby live her life, make her choices, cut the cord a bit. She couldn’t keep swooping in so that Libby never so much as experienced a stray sad thought. All of that is part of being human and a grown up. Life sucks sometimes. The challenge is how you deal with it and move on. And by constantly swooping in and “fixing” Libby’s life before anything could happen, Nora was really creating the most unhealthy of sibling relationships even though it was born out of a really loving thing. But it came across as very suffocating and I’m not even Libby! Nora’s inner monologue is constantly worrying about her sister and for real, she finally realised she needed some help about it – and that maybe she should’ve gotten it a lot earlier. This was just so…..satisfying. Love Nora and Charlie, I loved the quirky town most of it takes place in and I love how the book contains so many tropes within tropes, it’s almost like an homage to every romance novel. With Nora and Charlie both working within the literary world (as do a lot of Emily Henry’s characters) it just gives them so much to play with and play off of with each other – the earlier conversations about Bigfoot erotica are so hilarious. Why are interactions like this my idea of ideal literary foreplay? I don’t know either. But inject it into my veins. I love this. I know I’m going to reread it. And probably often. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 03, 2022
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May 04, 2022
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Dec 20, 2021
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0593200152
| 9780593200155
| B092V3TDBC
| 3.62
| 45,485
| Jan 11, 2022
| Jan 11, 2022
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really liked it
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I have had this one on my radar for a little while now. I can’t remember where I first heard about it, maybe one of those Goodreads seasonal lists tha
I have had this one on my radar for a little while now. I can’t remember where I first heard about it, maybe one of those Goodreads seasonal lists that they do or an up and coming new releases highlight. It seemed like a lot of fun and I was very excited to read it. Ari Abrams is a meteorologist who has always been fascinated by the weather. And now she has her dream job, working under Torrance Hale, who was practically an idol for Ari growing up. But one thing is ruining the work vibe and that is Torrance and her ex-husband, who works at the same place, constantly at each other’s throats. Bickering, leaving passive aggressive notes, throwing each other’s prized possessions, the two of them regularly indulge in screaming matches and it’s got Ari and sports reporter Russell on edge. After a spectacular scene at a work Christmas party, Ari and Russell decide they’ll matchmake their two bosses. After all that hatred has to have a flip side, right? There was a lot about this I liked. I thought Ari and Russell were both great characters, very likeable. Ari works on a morning show and Russell is mostly covering college sports but looking to move into professional sports. He’s quite different from a lot of male romance hero characters – he’s a single dad with a daughter that was born when he was quite young, he describes himself as “fat” and is quite self conscious about it and has been single/not dating for some time. In a landscape of sexy, ripped serial daters, he was refreshing and sweet. He’s obviously a big guy, he formerly played ice hockey as a goalie and goalies are almost always big, solid dudes. You need to cover as much of the space as possible (bonus points: Russell takes Ari to an NHL game in this book and she’s a notorious “lol, sportsball” person and it was obvious that the author at least knew ice hockey or took her time to research it properly. I appreciated that. I’ve read books before where the characters have gone to a game and there has been glaring errors. I hate that). The way they evolve from scheming to matchmake their bosses to falling into catching feels is really organic and I loved that too. They worked really well together and although both had some jitters about different things, it felt realistic. And okay. Until the end. I’m really not sure how much to say here because firstly, Ari is a character that has diagnosed depression and I do not. I do not understand what it is like to live with that and even people who do, their journeys and experiences are probably all different anyway. And she has some real issues in her family background that have shaped the way she thinks and how she views relationships and herself. How she thinks other people will see her when they find out about her depression. But the end conflict felt so very…..ridiculously self-sabotaging based on the most minor of things. And look, I think it was supposed to be Ari self-sabotaging, hitting the exit button before Russell could, before she’d have to face him not being able to cope with her. But the way she sees him and doesn’t listen to what he’s saying and the way she kind of just…reacts, just felt so sudden. And not even about anything big. And how is it that after so many years and presumably, loads of therapy no one has helped her frame an event from her childhood into a more realistic view until now? And it’s like the lightbulb moment she needed when really, any therapist should’ve sorted this out years ago. So yes, I liked lots about this – Ari and Russell scheming were great, Russell was great, his daughter was great. Torrance and Seth even went from kind of unbearable in the first part to quite fun and likeable as well. And the sex scenes were pretty good – not everything has to be PIV all the time and some male insecurity as well. It’s just the conflict at the end didn’t work for me. Felt flat and forced and conflict in romance can be hard sometimes. You either gel with it or you don’t and unfortunately I didn’t with this. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 14, 2022
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Mar 15, 2022
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Dec 14, 2021
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ebook
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| 1250821827
| 9781250821829
| 1250821827
| 3.54
| 7,594
| Jul 12, 2022
| Jul 12, 2022
|
liked it
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I was quite excited about this, it was one of the titles I included in my most anticipated for first half of the year but honestly? It was just okay f
I was quite excited about this, it was one of the titles I included in my most anticipated for first half of the year but honestly? It was just okay for me. There were things about it I truly liked. The representation is excellent -Aja is a fat, Black woman with diagnosed anxiety disorder and Walker, the male character also has anxiety and PTSD. When they meet whilst Aja is having a panic attack in the local small supermarket, Walker understands exactly what is happening and stays/talks to her gently until she has recovered enough to leave. Although embarrassed, Aja doesn’t expect to see him again – until Walker turns up at bingo and is the beloved grandson of one of the ladies Aja has befriended. He’s going to be there every week whilst he helps his grandmother recover from a fall where she broke both her arms. The attraction is pretty much immediate but Walker grew up in this small town and hates it. Due to the actions of his parents, particularly his father, he was often the topic of local gossip and unkind remarks and he left as soon as he could and hasn’t returned. And if wasn’t for his grandmother injuring herself, he never would. He won’t be back here permanently and he doesn’t do long distance. Aja can’t live in a city due to her mental health, she needs somewhere quiet and sparsely populated. She works from home and picked this place precisely for its rural features. Nothing can come of this so it’s best not to get involved….except the feelings won’t go away so they make a bingo-based sex pact. I thought that sounded fun and honestly, I thought they might play bingo/attempt to get bingo by doing different (sex) things but the reality isn’t as interesting. They just agree to have sex if either of them win bingo. I don’t think Aja has won bingo in all the time she’s been going to it soooo……the odds aren’t great. It doesn’t matter though because they sort of just end up doing what they want anyway. My two big ‘not for me’ things with this book were: (1) the spicy scenes. Normally I’m a big fan of the spicy scenes but honestly it turns out I’m less of a fan if they take place somewhere like a carpark where half the town’s elderly population are twenty feet away playing bingo and could wander by or somewhere neither of the characters have any business being and technically, it’s someone else’s house. Gross. Whilst the writing was good for the scenes, I just hated where they took place and I feel like potentially involving others in your private activities isn’t it. Like no one interrupts them but the second place in particular, literally the whole town including all the children, are just outside at the annual fair thing. Not really sexy. (2) Also the way Walker was pressured about his father. His father was an addict who ended up leaving Walker with his grandmother after he was arrested and he spent time in jail, etc. I felt like there was a huge amount of pressure on Walker to see him and hear him out, despite him being pretty much the reason Walker has PTSD. He basically has a panic attack at the mere thought of it and his grandmother gave his father Walker’s number without telling him, which meant his father called him unannounced. Look, I get that forgiveness is great but in this instance, I honestly feel like Walker was the one who was wronged in so many ways and it should’ve been only on his terms. No one else’s. If he wanted to hear his father’s apologies and explanations now that he had been clean for however long, it should’ve been his choice to reach out. Not to have it sprung on him and it honestly felt to me, like it was forced upon him and it made me incredibly uncomfortable reading that portion of it. It all ended up sunshine and rainbows but for me, that was such a weird choice. Some good and some elements that I feel were just things that I didn’t gel with in the story. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 24, 2022
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Aug 25, 2022
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Dec 06, 2021
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1761065203
| 9781761065200
| 1761065203
| 4.10
| 2,366
| Nov 04, 2021
| Nov 02, 2021
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it was amazing
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This was incredible. I always say how my historical knowledge is pretty bad – I didn’t do a lot of history at school and what we did do was woefully fo This was incredible. I always say how my historical knowledge is pretty bad – I didn’t do a lot of history at school and what we did do was woefully focused on Australian history post 1788. There’s so much more out there and until I picked up this book, I didn’t even really know that there had been an English civil war, which took place between 1642 and 1651 and encompassed three wars. It was a war between the Royalists, who supported the King’s Godly decree of absolute power with a Church that still answered to the King and the Parliamentarians, who were mostly Puritans who were against this absolute rule and favoured a constitutional monarchy arrangement. Jayne Swift is the daughter of a wealthy Dorset landowner and trained physician, although due to being female she cannot actually refer to herself as such. She has earned a reputation through hard work and the ability to help those unwell with straightforward medical techniques, rather than methods that rely on more religious backgrounds. During an attempt to reach her cousin in order to treat her cousin’s young son she is caught up in a mob watching the execution of a Catholic priest. Stepping into a doorway in order to escape the crowd, she finds that it’s the home of Lady Alice Strickland, who has heard of Jayne after Jayne treated her brother. She introduces Jayne to her footman William, saying he will accompany her to her cousin Ruth’s home. William Harrier is not at all what he seems and each time Jayne crosses his path from then on, he appears to be something different. She has her suspicions about this but keeps them quiet. Jayne’s father is for the King but Jayne herself remains neutral, determined to treat any who might require it regardless of their allegiance. It’s an admirable trait albeit one that often leads people to regard her warily as they do not believe that one could be entirely neutral in such matters. As a physician, Jayne tires of the fighting and pointless death. When caught in Lyme during a seige from Prince Maurice, the King’s cousin, she implements strict hospital routines and her methods are able to save the lives of many as the war rages around them. She favours salt water and lots of it, clean bandages and a spotless working environment with no possibility of vermin or plague to enter the camp. She’s constantly writing to her tutor, discussing cases and patients, methods and treatments, always learning. Jayne is such an incredibly interesting character, definitely far ahead of her time. She’s almost thirty with no interest in marrying and is often seen travelling unaccompanied to visit her various patients. It can be a dangerous occupation but for the most part, Jayne is unperturbed. Her priorities are always the people that need her. The amount of research that must’ve been undertaken for this book would be incredible and I honestly felt like the time period came across so vividly. Despite having no background knowledge of this war going in and not googling it or reading any further until I finished the book, I never felt like I didn’t know what was going on and could easily discern who the key players were and what the different sides were about. What I did like was that often the conflict meant that people’s perceptions shifted and changed and that sometimes, families had different members supporting different sides. The human emotions were quite often a focus during this war, not just the battles themselves. Actually given that we are mostly with Jayne, the battles are almost never the focus but there are enough violent descriptions (particularly during the beginning of the book, with the execution scene) that give the reader a showcase of how mob mentality can come into play and how people lose their ability to reason in times of conflict like this. Everything becomes about them being ‘right’ and the other being ‘wrong’ and rarely ever are things that simple. I also loved the interactions between Jayne and William, who evolved so much as a character throughout the story. Their growing affection for each other is only ever very subtle and the romance plays an incredibly understated role in the story. In fact to use the term romance would almost be inaccurate. But this plays out in the most enjoyable of ways – Jayne and William cross paths often and it really gives them time to know each other and learn about each other. Jayne had refused her father’s every attempt to get her to marry because it would be a rare man whom she could both care for and who would support her in her continued role as a physician. I loved this – I’m more familiar with Minette Walters as a crime author but I’ve been told she has other historical fiction so I’m definitely adding those to my TBR. ***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 21, 2021
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Nov 22, 2021
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Nov 22, 2021
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0316428477
| 9780316428477
| 0316428477
| 4.11
| 181,712
| Oct 05, 2021
| Oct 05, 2021
|
really liked it
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I really enjoyed the first book in this series and requested this one from my library as soon as I’d finished it. I had to wait about a week for it to
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and requested this one from my library as soon as I’d finished it. I had to wait about a week for it to come in but it was the first one I picked up to read after I collected my holds because I really wanted to see what was going to happen next, now that Emilia had agreed to marry the Prince of Hell. She has ulterior motives for doing so, so that she can find out who murdered her sister and get revenge for it. She’s not going to be a benevolent Queen. She’s accompanied by Wrath, the demon she summoned with a spell she didn’t understand and must survive the influences of the other Princes/Lands that populate the Seven Circles. She is taken to House Wrath, to her surprise, not House Pride, the House she signed her allegiance to. There she must wait until apparently, Pride sends for her. While she’s there, she decides to take advantage of Wrath’s quite extensive library and do some research about the First Witch, the Curse and well, whatever else she can find. Especially when someone, she doesn’t know who, keeps leaving her skulls enchanted with the voice of her dead twin. And then there’s Wrath himself. A complex demon, the one she summoned and accidentally bound herself to before agreeing to marry the Prince of Hell. There’s no denying that there’s chemistry between them and sometimes, Emilia catches a flash of something else before Wrath hides it. But she can’t very well allow herself to feel anything for Wrath….when she’s supposed to marrying his brother, can she? Even weirder are the feelings of glimpses she gets, memories, that are not hers. Whose are they, and why do they keep happening? Emilia needs some answers, all the while dodging the other brothers and their various influences as well as assassination attempts and who knows what else. At the end of the last book, I made a prediction about just what Emilia had done when she agreed to marry the Prince of Hell. For a little while during this book, I thought I must’ve been wrong, as Emilia waits for Pride to send for her. Then I found out that I wasn’t wrong and she’d definitely done what I thought she’d done and I’m absolutely here for it. I don’t think it’s an unpredictable twist but I definitely enjoyed the way the author left the reader guessing for a large portion of this book about Emilia’s fate and how that’s going to play out. I think Emilia is a much more interesting character in this book than she was in the first one. Tied to her family and her hometown and her sister, she came across as lacking a little, like she might have always been overshadowed by Vittoria. On her own here, in a new place (a dangerous one, too) she kind of comes into her own a bit more. She starts to ask more questions, sneak around a little looking for the answers. She makes a friend, discovers some things and learns more about the necklaces she and her sister were given. She’s also forced to acknowledge that her beloved grandmother definitely kept things from her and her sister, about their powers, about their history and about those necklaces. And then there’s two big reveals for Emilia that shake everything she thought she knew. I actually thought this was the last book before I read it but….of course it’s not. The next book is the final book. And I think after what Emilia discovered in this book, the vengeful Queen is going to be even more so. I really want to see her in that role and I can’t wait to read it. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 19, 2021
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Nov 19, 2021
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Nov 19, 2021
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 1760852082
| 9781760852085
| 1760852082
| 3.91
| 781
| Sep 28, 2021
| Sep 29, 2021
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really liked it
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This is the second Tania Blanchard novel I have read and I have enjoyed both of them enormously. She is definitely becoming one of my favourite histor
This is the second Tania Blanchard novel I have read and I have enjoyed both of them enormously. She is definitely becoming one of my favourite historical fiction authors and I appreciated this somewhat unique perspective of World War II. Giulia is a young girl living in Calabria, right at the “toe” of Italy. Her family has a small farm that provides for their livelihood but Italy is going through a time of upheaval with division between the north and south and the ambitions of Mussolini, who wants to create an empire, increase Italy’s territory and provide more land to farmers. There’s also the brewing situation in Europe with the rise of Hitler and Mussolini’s treaty with him, which seems almost certain to drag them into more wars. Giulia is sixteen and has already shown that she has some gift as a healer, like her maternal grandmother. Her father though, is very against this and wants her married off and settled, against Giulia’s will. He’s very much a “I am your father and my word is law and you will obey” type of figure, which causes a lot of problems between him and Giulia. She wants to learn her craft and be apprenticed with her grandmother – she’s not interested in marriage and babies and keeping a home. It’s arranged that she will go to a monastery and study with a healer there but her father will think she is having some instruction on manners and behaving herself. I’m old enough to be Giulia’s mother but reading this sent me right back to being this indignant teenager and wanting to defy my parent’s every command. Of course they didn’t want to marry me off to some random guy their age, unlike Giulia’s father but it was the same vibes. I felt for Giulia because she had so much that she wanted to achieve and her ambition was stifled so often by her father. And he’s very much a product of his time and location, the authoritarian Italian father whose job it is to see his daughters are taken care of but he was so focused on this one thing, because unfortunately in this time, girls had no protection without being married. They get to sixteen or so and they leave their father’s homes and go straight to their husband’s homes and start producing babies. Looking back now, it’s a bleak life, especially in times of hardship when feeding big families becomes difficult. Her father believes a lot of what her grandmother does is “witchcraft” and he’s not really willing to listen to reason. I haven’t read a lot set in Italy during WWII – most of what I end up reading is very much focused on German/French/British settings and I was surprised tor read just how much damage retreating German troops did in parts of Italy after Italy “flipped”sides and declared war on Germany. Italy was a country that had overstretched itself before the beginning of this war, with conflicts in Africa from pacifying Liberia and invading Abyssinia/Ethiopia and also sending troops to assist in the Spanish Civil War. I think Italy hoped that Britain would be convinced to sue for peace early on, preventing a long and drawn out battle but the way events went didn’t go that way and the country suffered heavy losses, particularly in the invasion attempt of Russia. In the book, both Giulia’s brother (and his friends) as well as their father are conscripted to join WWII forces, even though her father is in his 40s. A younger brother also seeks to avoid conscription towards the end of the book, by hiding in the surrounding mountains, along with others of a similar mindset who also wish to rout out the Germans. There’s a lot that gets included in this – it’s really a coming of age story of Giulia as she gains confidence in herself and her abilities as a healer and although I’m not at all religious, I enjoyed her various times at the monastery and the friends she made there. I loved her spirit and her standing up for herself against a future she didn’t want at a time when she was very much powerless in controlling her own destiny. She somehow persisted and made it work. Her and her siblings also had really good bonds as well and that was nice to see. They supported each other. And there is a love story in this as well, which is very sweet. I still have one book by Tania Blanchard on my TBR pile and another book by her unread and I really have to try and prioritise them! The two I have read are so much my type of thing, I’m sure I’ll love the ones that are unread also. I highly recommend this. ***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 13, 2021
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Nov 13, 2021
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Nov 13, 2021
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0063045664
| 9780063045668
| 3.94
| 612,919
| Jul 13, 2021
| Jul 13, 2021
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really liked it
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I’d heard good things about this and I was very keen to have a ‘feel-good’ read, a new romance to be invested in. I also adore an opposites attract an
I’d heard good things about this and I was very keen to have a ‘feel-good’ read, a new romance to be invested in. I also adore an opposites attract and an LA party girl famous on the ‘gram and a grumpy Pacific Northwest fisherman seemed like that would fit the bill nicely. And it did. There were elements of this I really liked. Piper is shallow and silly in many ways but I actually still found her quite endearing. There are times I cannot believe no human is ever that dumb (she didn’t know what a typhoon is, like what? Didn’t you go to school?) but I found her and her sister’s sojourn to Washington, banished by their rich-as-heck stepfather who is fed up with Piper’s embarrassing ways, quite a fun journey. Piper and Hannah have the best sibling relationship, anytime they were on the page together was absolute gold. Hannah definitely has hidden depths and I think her book might be fun. I also enjoyed the interactions between Piper and Brendan early on. He’s a widower, fishing captain who definitely feels like Piper is a fish out of water here. Which she is. He’s also super attracted to her and doesn’t really like that at first, and I liked reading about that. They also do become friends first, after a rocky start but the hookup and particularly, the feelings from sexual attraction to love, are a bit fast for me personally. For a book that was really quite lengthy, the undying love and “baby’s” etc felt like they arrived very quickly. I would’ve liked a bit more time for the chemistry to be drawn out before they actually do anything. Piper is confident, which is cool but she also uses that as a distance move as well, in her attempts at first, to keep this thing between her and Brendan just sex. She plans to go back to LA as soon as her stepfather allows, so she’s willing to have sex with him but she doesn’t want anything else. This is a 28yo woman whose longest relationship was three weeks. I don’t think I buy that. I have a friend who read this and she mentioned that she felt the sex scenes were not exactly in keeping of the tone of the rest of the book and having read it, I understand completely what she means. The sex scenes are honestly, not bad – they’re hot but there’s a lot of (quite average) dirty talk and the….feel of them….doesn’t necessarily fit the overall charm that the rest of the book had. It’s like going 0-100 really fast and not knowing how you got there and then when that’s over, just going back to being 0 again. It felt a bit jarring sometimes, like the scenes felt straight out of an erotica but the rest of the book was wholesome AF. Also, the final act conflict is weak. There’s no getting around it. Both of them act ridiculously and it’s actually the one time where I felt Hannah acted stupidly as well. Piper lost her Piper-sparkle? What even is that? It’s a bunch of really minor misunderstandings that both of them blow out of proportion and it was also the one time where I felt like Brendan was completely irrational. Like for the most part, a few too many “baby” croonings aside, he’s the voice of reason, who acts like a normal person when Piper is living in La-La Land. But even though he acknowledges the seriousness of Piper giving up an entirely different life and moving to where he is permanently, the minute she hasn’t set every single thing about this into motion even though she’s only been there a few weeks, he flips out and acts like a spoiled little boy. It was honestly annoying and Piper’s response to it and then both of their responses to perceived slights after that, were not great. It felt lazy and half-hearted like oh this is a romance so we have to have a conflict, there’s been no time for anything of note to really come up, so here is this misunderstanding becoming the biggest deal in the most ridiculous manner. Although there’s plenty of things brought up in this book that are not resolved, most notably Piper’s relationship with her mother and stepfather which, to be honest, feels problematic at best. All in all, I enjoyed this but it’s not like it’s a new absolute favourite. I felt there were times when the story felt confused about what it was and although I thought the set up writing and characterisation was good, it wasn’t great in the latter parts and that definitely impacted on my enjoyment. However I did like Hannah and Fox so I am interested in reading the next book. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 11, 2021
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Nov 12, 2021
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Nov 11, 2021
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ebook
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| 152935045X
| 9781529350456
| 152935045X
| 3.88
| 303,125
| Oct 27, 2020
| Oct 27, 2020
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really liked it
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Not going to lie, cover love got me good with this one! I’ve seen it around quite a bit and always thought the cover looked amazing and then the secon
Not going to lie, cover love got me good with this one! I’ve seen it around quite a bit and always thought the cover looked amazing and then the second book was released and it looks so good as well! My library finally reopened and people were able to start returning all the books they’d had for the past three months and so some of my holds finally started coming in and this was one of them. I was in the mood for a book like this – I’ve read a few things based on Greek mythology, a few heavier type books lately and I thought that this might be a bit of a palate cleanser, a good fantasy romance. It’s not quite that. But I did enjoy this – actually more than I thought I would. Emilia is a witch, living on the island of Sicily. To be honest I’m not sure of the time period – I thought upon picking it up that it would be a contemporary but it’s definitely not. The dresses still have corsets. She and twin sister Vittoria work in their parents restaurant until Emilia finds Vittoria brutally murdered. There’s evidence to suggest that Vittoria might have got herself into some dark arts and Emilia is so incensed by her twin’s murder that she’s willing to do anything to find out what happened to her, even summon a demon. Which she does. With a spell she knows nothing about that definitely contains hidden little Easter eggs in it. She summons Wrath, one of the seven Princes of Hell and binds him to her to help her figure out who killed her sister. Wrath is enigmatic and often speaks in riddles – Emilia has to learn exactly how to ask the questions she wants answered. She has to be even more careful with some of Wrath’s ‘brothers’ who have also entered this mortal realm. Emilia soon learns that she and her sister have something many want, something that has great power. I thought this was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the setting, I liked the restaurant and Emilia’s constant talk of food. Some of her powers seem to manifest in a knowledge of putting ingredients together, of things to try and test out. Her sister had a gift that allowed her to blend scents into perfumes. Despite the two of them being witches, they don’t know a lot about it and there’s definitely huge important facts that have been left out of their education. I can understand this while the twins were children, because too much knowledge would be overwhelming, especially when it’s some prophecy thing but as they grew older, they really should have been told more. Their grandmother seemed very determined to keep them in the dark and honestly, maybe nothing could’ve prevented Vittoria’s death but it might not have harmed her, to have some more information. Especially with what she started playing around in. There’s not much romance in this (hardly any, actually) but there’s…..groundwork? I actually really liked the dynamic between Wrath and Emilia – his frustration at being summoned/trapped, his realisation of what she’d done, the….etiquette? he was bound by, I thought it was all a lot of fun. The other Princes are interesting too, but in different ways and Emilia really doesn’t seem to have much in the way of a self-preservation gene. Girl just barrels on in demanding answers and taking on massive snakes and sneaking around at night time while there’s someone/something out there ripping out the hearts of witches. Not sure how much is bravery and how much is innocent stupidity, really! I want more though – more Emilia and Wrath, more answers, more…..everything. I’ve had a glance at some reviews for the second book and it seems things escalate, especially the spice level, so I’m here for that. It feels like a while since I’ve become really invested in a fantasy series and I’m really wanting that right now. This has mixed reviews and maybe I just read it at the right time but I really liked it. I read it really quickly – in one setting in just a couple of hours and immediately wished I had the second book to go straight onto. I’m glad I waited to read this until the second one was out – the ending, although not entirely unpredictable, was still exciting and I want to know what comes next. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 08, 2021
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Nov 08, 2021
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Nov 08, 2021
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Paperback
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| 1489277803
| 9781489277800
| 1489277803
| 4.48
| 416
| Oct 27, 2021
| Oct 27, 2021
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it was amazing
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I really enjoyed this story, for lots of reasons. Firstly, it’s a dual timeline, and I always really like reading those. The present day story is 2019 I really enjoyed this story, for lots of reasons. Firstly, it’s a dual timeline, and I always really like reading those. The present day story is 2019 with Bethany Kristensen, born into a family who have spent generations aboard boats both fishing and now, commercial charters that are both for fishing and also for tourist or holiday purposes. Bethany and her brothers have bought the business from their father upon his retirement but her brothers are mostly silent partners. Bethany is the skipper and main front for the business, doing all the day to day work and managing the bookings and staff. Lately business hasn’t been as robust as she’d like – there’s another business that really resents her and has been attempting to undercut and undermine her at every opportunity. When Bethany meets scientist Peter who needs a boat to conduct scientific research out on the reef, it’s an opportunity. In 1934, Bethany’s great-grandmother Stella leaves her family home to take up an employment opportunity. A mishap leads to her meeting Danish-born Jens Kristensen and provides a whole new life for her, until a tragedy. In 2019, Bethany and Peter discover information that could lead to them finally solving a mystery in her family that happened almost a century ago….if they survive the sabotage attempts on Bethany’s business. One of the things that I really related to in this book was Bethany’s relationship with her grandfather, who passes away at the beginning of the novel. Bethany is devastated – she spent a lot of time with her grandfather both as a child and also an adult and he taught her a lot and there was just a lot she really connected with him about. She’s very passionate about her career and carrying this business on for a new generation and it really shines through, as does their bond. Bethany’s grief is so well portrayed and it brought to mind all the feelings I experienced when I lost my own grandfather, who I was incredibly close to as well. Bethany has a lot of complex feelings about the choices her parents are making now that her grandfather has gone and she needs to come to term with those. I also really loved the descriptions of Bethany’s job, which sounded amazing – the boat, the crew, the sort of trips she did. I hate seafood, so the ones where they end up with tonnes of fish caught and gutted immediately on board weren’t my sort of thing but the sort of trip scientist Peter wanted to do? I loved that and really enjoyed reading about his work and the sort of research he and his team were doing. I’ve never been to this part of Australia and I’d really like to and this seems like such a wonderful way to be able to explore it. I don’t think I’d be the only person googling charter prices upon reading this book! The historical portion of the novel was really appealing as well – I thought Stella as a character was fun to read about. Brave and feisty, a bit ahead of her time wanting to get out and leave her family and small town behind, maybe have some adventures. She wants to work and even meeting and marrying Jens doesn’t sway her from that, especially as Jens is often away on the boat and he’s perfectly happy for her to do whatever makes her happy. Reading about Stella and Jens is somewhat bittersweet but I thought their romance was lovely and their story threw up a few surprises in the modern day story as well and a little bit of history repeating, in a way. Bethany and Peter forge a friendship that grows nicely throughout the course of the novel. Peter is a bit standoffish and quite formal (for reasons explained well, I think) but with Bethany he becomes more outgoing and expressive. He’s also very supportive of her when it appears that there are sabotage attempts going on aboard her craft and also provides some interesting information about a trinket he notices on board Bethany’s boat and where it might’ve come from, which leads them along a fascinating path delving into the world of Jens and Stella back in the late 1930s. There’s so much in this book – mystery, romance, conservation and climate issues, sabotage, Bethany’s struggle to be seen as equal by the men in her field, and so much more, all wrapped up in an incredibly engaging story. Annie Seaton is definitely an autobuy/read for me now. ***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 06, 2021
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Nov 06, 2021
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Nov 06, 2021
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Paperback
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| 1472273877
| 9781472273871
| 1472273877
| 3.80
| 126,087
| Mar 30, 2021
| Mar 30, 2021
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really liked it
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Bought this book solely because of the cover. It’s stunning. I also really liked The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller and thought I’d like to read s Bought this book solely because of the cover. It’s stunning. I also really liked The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller and thought I’d like to read some more books that were quite similar. I don’t know much about Ancient Greek mythology – just the basics really. Zeus, Hera, Hercules, stuff like that. So while I know the story of the Minotaur, I didn’t know much about Ariadne but I’m not really sure that’s a bad thing. I had no preconceived ideas about what might happen in this story, and so therefore, everything that did happen, was unexpected. Ariadne is a Crete Princess, daughter of a feared ruler. In order to punish Minos, her father, it is her mother who suffers and bears a monstrous offspring which is half human, half bull. Despite the fact that her brother is hideous, Ariadne loves him and cares for him as a baby, until he grows too big and dangerous. Now he roams a labyrinth beneath the palace and as part of a deal Minos made with a rebellious Athens, they must send a slew of their young men and women every year, who are placed into the labyrinth as food to the Minotaur. Desperate to escape the fate her father has chosen for her, marriage to a much older and loathsome man, it’s no surprise that Ariadne is drawn to the handsome Theseus, Prince of Athens and volunteer to be one of the sacrifices. But Theseus plans to defeat the Minotaur, something that has never been accomplished before. Sweet talked by Theseus, Ariadne gives him the information he needs and escapes with him, believing she’ll be his wife. Instead, Ariadne finds herself abandoned on an island to die, a victim in Theseus’s plot. Ariadne recognises very early on that is women who pay for the sins of men. She sees her mother suffer, humiliated not for anything that she personally has done, but in retaliation for something her father did. Her mother becomes a shell of a human, broken by the experience. Ariadne expresses her reluctance to be married off to her father’s choice and is ignored. Her wishes aren’t relevant – she’s a Princess of Crete and her value to her father is what he can get in return for promising his young, pretty daughter to the highest bidder. It’s not a surprise really, when she’s taken in by the charming, handsome and young Theseus who seems so valiant and honourable. And when she’s betrayed by him, she realises that again, she’s paid for the sins of her father. He’ll spare her no mercy, she knows that, even if she can escape her island, which doesn’t seem likely. As well as Ariadne’s point of view, this book also contains the point of view of Ariadne’s younger sister Phaedra, who is another victim in political manoeuvring. Her fate wasn’t known to me either (I did a lot of googling after I finished this book). I felt like Phaedra’s story highlights something quite interesting – she’s married off in the same way as Princesses are, in a political deal that is supposed to ensure peace. Her feelings are complex, give she knows the person she’s being married off to betrayed her and probably her sister too (although the extent to which he did this isn’t known to her until later). When she has children in this marriage, for some women that would be solace. Not so for Phaedra, who doesn’t relate to her children or really, the role of motherhood. Phaedra’s story is a sad one, as portrayed in this book, her search for love and inability to see that she’s looked in very much the wrong place. And how it ends… Although Ariadne has awareness of the way women suffer, to be honest, it doesn’t really change the circumstances for her. She is still a pawn in the games of men, and in this version, it still decides her fate. In some ways, Ariadne’s one decision for herself, still means that she ends up with very little agency. If you know the myth then you know her marriage and the fact that it’s a prolific one with many offspring and whilst it at first seems quite happy, Ariadne ends up very worried about the direction her husband has taken and ultimately, that direction sweeps her along with it. All her awareness doesn’t end up helping her, nor does the fate of Phaedra. I’m not sure this is as overtly feminist a telling as the promotion for it seems to suggest. I still really enjoyed it, probably because I had very little knowledge about this prior to reading it. Scholars or those who are well versed with it might not feel the same way, but this will always be the way with retellings I think. I thought the writing was good and the story kept me engaged, but I found the ending disappointing. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 2021
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Nov 2021
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Oct 31, 2021
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Paperback
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| 1867220237
| 9781867220237
| 1867220237
| 4.36
| 887
| unknown
| Oct 27, 2021
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really liked it
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Rachael Johns returns to the popular Bunyip Bay series with her latest release, this time focusing on the local publican and holder of the town’s secr
Rachael Johns returns to the popular Bunyip Bay series with her latest release, this time focusing on the local publican and holder of the town’s secrets, Liam Castle. Liam has been in Bunyip Bay for around a decade, but is originally from the United States and settled in the area after doing some travelling. He’s poured a lot of time and money into doing up the pub and making it a comfortable and enjoyable space that attracts a large part of the town. The food is good, sometimes there is entertainment and it provides a space for those who might not otherwise have much social interaction. Henri Forward is born and bred Bunyip Bay but these days she spends a large portion of the year travelling the country and the world flying small planes – crop dusting, mustering, bushfire fighting, Henri has done it all. Back in Bunyip Bay after a bit of an incident, Henri finds her smart mouth getting the better of her when she retorts to the local town busybody that she and Liam are in a relationship. Henri’s mother has been trying to marry her off to a local boy for years and this might get her off Henri’s back long enough for her to enjoy her holiday without being ambushed with dates and info about “boys she used to go to school with who are now single”. And for some reason, Liam agrees to “fake date” her for the duration of her time in Bunyip Bay but of course…..fake dating is complicated, especially when you start to feel some real feelings! Oh this was loads of fun! Fake dating is one of my favourite romance tropes and I’ve read two in a row after finishing The Love Hypothesis and then picking up this book. I always enjoy seeing how authors set up a fake dating situation and I think this one worked really well. It suited Henri’s character that she would respond the way she did when warned away from Liam – act first, deal with repercussions later! What I also liked was that Henri owned it straight away – she went to Liam to tell him what she’d done and why and Liam, who doesn’t really seem to be bothered by much, is more bemused than angry. The two of them have really only just met but there’s already a bit of an attraction between them but for a while, they really are only just pretending, which gives them time to get to know each other and actually build a friendship first. They end up confiding a lot in each other, with Liam confessing the reason he left the US for Australia and Henri telling Liam just why she’s back in Bunyip Bay for a longer period of time than anyone expected. Although it’s not really necessary to have read the previous books set in Bunyip Bay before reading this one, as each book is about a new couple. And if you have then you’ll enjoy the cameos here. I think we get a glimpse of pretty much every couple from the previous books and through their interactions with Henri and/or Liam, we get plenty of life updates and a good look at where each couple is now and that is something I always enjoy seeing but it also doesn’t take up more of the narrative than it should. This is Liam and Henri’s story and the other characters only appear at events in the town where it’s logical that everyone would be there. Liam and Henri had really good chemistry – I really enjoyed the scenes where Henri teaches him to surf and also the day trip they take in the plane. I’ve never been to Western Australia so I’m not really familiar with the general area this book is set in but that plane trip sounded amazing. I also thought that Rachael Johns did a good job with the trauma Liam had experienced and its lasting impacts in regard to not being “fixed”. I also really, really liked the ending that the book gave us because so many times you read of characters being adamant about not wanting something only to end up with it at the end of the book and for them to realise it was “something they just really wanted all along”. That would 100% not have fit Henri’s character and lifestyle and the book gave her the ending she (they) deserved. Really enjoyable. ***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 21, 2021
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Oct 21, 2021
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Oct 21, 2021
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Paperback
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my rating |
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| 3.82
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really liked it
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Jan 31, 2022
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Jan 31, 2022
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| 4.06
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really liked it
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Jan 25, 2022
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Jan 25, 2022
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| 4.24
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really liked it
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Jan 22, 2022
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Jan 22, 2022
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| 4.31
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really liked it
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Jan 18, 2022
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Jan 18, 2022
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| 3.80
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it was ok
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Jan 13, 2022
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Jan 13, 2022
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| 4.04
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really liked it
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Jan 13, 2022
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Jan 12, 2022
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| 4.05
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really liked it
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Jan 2022
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Jan 01, 2022
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|||||
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| 4.10
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really liked it
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Jun 28, 2022
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Dec 27, 2021
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|||||
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| 3.56
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liked it
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Sep 09, 2022
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Dec 27, 2021
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|||||
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| 4.13
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it was amazing
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May 04, 2022
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Dec 20, 2021
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| 3.62
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really liked it
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Mar 15, 2022
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Dec 14, 2021
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|||||
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| 3.54
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liked it
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Aug 25, 2022
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Dec 06, 2021
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| 4.10
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it was amazing
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Nov 22, 2021
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Nov 22, 2021
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| 4.11
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really liked it
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Nov 19, 2021
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Nov 19, 2021
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| 3.91
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really liked it
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Nov 13, 2021
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Nov 13, 2021
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|||||
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| 3.94
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really liked it
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Nov 12, 2021
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Nov 11, 2021
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|||||
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| 3.88
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really liked it
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Nov 08, 2021
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Nov 08, 2021
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|||||
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| 4.48
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it was amazing
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Nov 06, 2021
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Nov 06, 2021
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|||||
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| 3.80
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really liked it
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Nov 2021
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Oct 31, 2021
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|||||
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| 4.36
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really liked it
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Oct 21, 2021
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Oct 21, 2021
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