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4/10/2018 0 Comments

Review: How to Stop Time

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
 
Genre: Contemporary Literature/Literary Fiction  
Page Length: 336 Pages
Publication Date: 6 July 2017
Publisher: Canongate Books
 
Stars:  5 out of 5

 
Link: AMAZON (UK)

ABOUT HOW TO STOP TIME
 
Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life.
 
Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try to tame the past that is fast catching up with him. The only thing Tom must not do is fall in love.
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My Review:

This book has been out since July 2017, and it passed me by. And all of a sudden it was everywhere and a classic and I had a deep feeling of missing out. The story cuts to different times and locations around the world, there is a magical feeling of travelling through time with Tom, seeing what he has seen. The isolation of not being able to grow close to someone is strongly felt. Together with the realisation that is near-eternal life can feel like a curse rather than a gift. The writing is beautiful and the story is sublime.  
 
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
 
Having finished the book, I have discovered that Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to play Tom – I'm so glad that a film and all the Cumberpeople* will bring more audiences to this deserving book.
 
*Cumberbitches: Cumberbatch expressed objections to this term, referring to the female fans who've adopted the moniker as "Cumberwomen" or "Cumbergirls" instead. He explained: "It's not even politeness. I won't allow [these fans] to be my bitches. I think it sets feminism back so many notches. You are… Cumberpeople."


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3/8/2018 0 Comments

Review: The Plus One

The Plus One by Sophia Money-Coutts
 
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romantic Comedy
Page Length: 384 Pages
Publication Date: 9 August 2018
Publisher: HQ
 
Stars:  4 out of 5
 

Link: AMAZON (UK)
 
ABOUT THE PLUS ONE
 
The Plus One [n] informal a person who accompanies an invited person to a wedding or a reminder of being single, alone and absolutely plus none
 
Polly’s not looking for ‘the one’, just the plus one…
 
Polly Spencer is fine. She’s single, turning thirty and only managed to have sex twice last year (both times with a Swedish banker called Fred), but seriously, she’s fine. Even if she’s still stuck at Posh! magazine writing about royal babies and the chances of finding a plus one to her best friend’s summer wedding are looking worryingly slim.
 
But it’s a New Year, a new leaf and all that. Polly’s determined that over the next 365 days she’ll remember to shave her legs, drink less wine and generally get her s**t together. Her latest piece is on the infamous Jasper, Marquess of Milton, undoubtedly neither a plus one nor ‘the one’. She’s heard the stories, there’s no way she’ll succumb to his charms…
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My Review:

I started to read this at the beginning of a 200km journey from Kampala to Hoima squished between two locals on a matatu taxibus. Unfortunately early on a sentence caught the eye of my new travel neighbour: 'Can men just Uber at – I looked at my phone – 2.54a.m. after a blow job, having not returned the favour and think it's acceptable?'  Although I couldn't be sure my fellow passenger had read the sentence, it was enough to make my cheeks blush and read something less risqué for the rest of the journey.
 
This is the third book I've read this summer concerning weddings, and in particular the impromptu engagements of best friends, so there was a presumptive here-we-go-again… but I was very pleasantly surprised.
 
Jasper "Jaz" Marquess of Milton, is a cad, but when he turns on the charm and gives more than just a hint of vulnerability one can't help falling for the charismatic rogue. What possibly could go wrong? Everything it seems!
 
The will-they won't-they romance merry-go-round was kept grounded by the news that Polly's mother has breast cancer. Polly tries to juggle a new love life, her mother's health, her maid of honour duties, and her insufferable place of work.
 
The writing was fresh and the story was absorbing. The dialogue was contemporary and the descriptive narrative was engaging –when Polly goes to interview Jasper in the country, I felt like a fly-on-the-wall at the family dinner. The modern dating was realistic as were the sex scenes to the point of awkward and yet not a truism in sight.
 
I happily say I Do to The Plus One.
 
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
 
Thank you so much the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary electronic copy in return for an honest review.

 
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27/7/2018 0 Comments

Review: Make or Break

Make or Break by Catherine Bennetto
 
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romantic Comedy
Page Length: 496 Pages
Publication Date: 12 July 2018 (Paperback)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
 
Stars:  4 out of 5
 
Link: AMAZON (UK)


 
ABOUT MAKE OR BREAK
 
Jess, a 29-year-old Londoner with a Kate Beckett fringe and a tendency for dramatics, gets taken on a surprise trip by her long-term boyfriend, Pete, to attend her best friend’s last-minute wedding in South Africa. Jess imagines sun, sand, wine and safaris. And returning to London with an ethically mined diamond on her left hand...
 
But this holiday isn’t set to be quite the fairy tale Jess has planned... Suddenly she finds her world tilting on its axis, and things are only set to get worse when Jess returns home…

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My Review:

The story opens with Jess promising to help her sister look after her two young children whilst Jess' mother and their grandmother looks for respite at a health retreat. Next, Jess is whisked away to South Africa for a friend's wedding. It's not quite the seven year itch for Jess and Pete (it's only six years for starters), but the cracks are there and it's telling in how realistic the dialogue is; awkward, barbed, and full of compromise.
 
When Jess spots her father, she phones him, and there is that awkward moment where he lies where he is. Jess' relationship woes intertwined with extensive family side-tangents keep you occupied and entertained. I was Team Jess the entire time (and I couldn't wait for Pete to fall from a great height. Spoiler: he was at no point in any danger, such a shame!).

It feels that as Jess' story is coming to an end - there is still another third of the book to go. When Jess returns to London, her life is even more complicated.

A lovely woven tale of love (new, old, and familial).
 
A life affirming romantic comedy – it leaves you thinking life is too short to not swim, even if that happens to be with sharks, rather than dolphins.
 
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
 
Having been to South Africa I was envious that my own travels didn't make it to Cape Town – Catherine describes the it as a wonderful and beautiful destination.

Thank you so much the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary electronic copy in return for an honest review.
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18/7/2018 0 Comments

Review: The Break

The Break by Marian Keyes
 
Genre: Romance/ Women's Fiction  
Page Length: 570 Pages
Publication Date: 7 September 2017
Publisher: Penguin
 
Stars:  5 out of 5
 
Link: AMAZON (UK)
 
ABOUT THE BREAK
 
'Myself and Hugh . . . We're taking a break.'
 
'A city-with-fancy-food sort of break?'
 
If only.
Amy's husband Hugh says he isn't leaving her.
He still loves her, he's just taking a break - from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together.
Six months in South-East Asia. And nothing she says can stop him.
But when does a break become a break up?
For a lot can happen in six months. And it's enough to send Amy and her family of gossips, misfits and troublemakers teetering over the edge.
When Hugh returns if he returns, will he be the same man she married?
Will Amy be the same woman?
Because if Hugh is on a break from their marriage, then isn't she?
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My Review:

I have been Marian Keyes since the beginning. I had to look up when her first book Watermelon had been published (1995) to work out how long our relationship was – over 20 years. The women in her books were making the same mistakes and me and my peers, and now twenty years later, the characters are older and wiser, but then so am I.
 
I had The Break for a few months before starting.  And this is one of my strange habits with books from authors I love. I don't want to binge the book, for it to be gone too quickly. I want to savour and enjoy every sentence.
 
The Break is told in two timelines; the present day and starting from twenty years previously, until the timelines meet. The story of a marriage that has perhaps gone stale isn't new, but the actions to prevent settling for just that feels novel and fresh.
 
As always there is more than meets the eye to any Marian Keyes' novel, and in this case there is an side plot involving the complexities of abortion in Ireland that really resonated with me, especially in light of the recent referendum to repeal the 8th amendment.
 
The book made me cry, it made me angry, and it made me laugh. What more could I ask for?
 
Next time I won't wait so long to read a new Marian Keyes' book!
 
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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16/6/2018 0 Comments

Review: How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne

How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne
 
Genre: Literary Fiction/Romance
Page Length: 368 Pages
Publication Date: 31 May 2018
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Source: ARC via NetGalley
 
Stars:  5 out of 5
 
LINKS: AMAZON (UK)
 
ABOUT HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW:
 
'Turning thirty is like playing musical chairs. The music stops, and everyone just marries whoever they happen to be sitting on.'
 
Who the f*ck is Tori Bailey?
 
There's no doubt that Tori is winning the game of life. She's inspired millions of women to stick two fingers up at convention with her bestselling memoir, and she has the perfect relationship to boot.
 
But Tori Bailey has been living a lie.
 
Everyone around her is getting married and having babies, but her long-term boyfriend won't even talk about getting engaged. And when her best friend Dee - her plus one, the only person who understands the madness - falls in love, suddenly Tori's in terrifying danger of being left behind.
 
When the world tells you to be one thing and turning thirty brings with it a loud ticking clock, it takes courage to walk your own path.
 
It's time for Tori to practise what she's preached, but the question is: is she brave enough?
 
The debut adult novel by bestselling author Holly Bourne is a blisteringly funny, honest and moving exploration of love, friendship and navigating the emotional rollercoaster of your thirties.
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My Review:

This book is being raved about; it is THE book to read this year. When I received a copy I was thrilled and after just a few chapters it was easy to see why.
 
It did those first chapters to get into the Tori's story, mainly because it was too honest and raw, the uncomfortable neurosis of self-image on and off social media is detrimental and Tori's inner-thoughts showed the hate/hate association and obsession with getting 'likes' on Facebook et al.
 
Had I been in a bad relationship when reading this book, I would have packed by bags, and not looked back. It's that powerful.
 
It's an empowering and inspiring piece of literature and even though it's fiction and not a self-help book, I will buy a copy for any friend having a tough time in a relationship.
 
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
 
Thank you so much the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary electronic copy in return for an honest review. 
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