Book Review: How Far We Fall by Jane Shemilt

Book Review: How Far We Fall by Jane Shemilt

Saturday, 30 June 2018

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At the moment, for me, books are a little bit like buses: I read nothing for a long period of time and then smash through a pile in an incredibly short space of time. I’m not sure what it is about this time of year, but I find that I always find myself much more motivated to read now than I do in the earlier months of the year. Must be the weather! A few months ago I received a very exciting book in the post and I’ve been eager to get it read and reviewed since then: time hasn’t allowed for me to zoom through it in the way I would have liked, but I had some spare time last week and managed to read it in a single afternoon. 

How Far We Fall by Jane Shemilt is attracting from the word go – armed with a gorgeous cover and an intriguing tag line The perfect marriage. The perfect murder? I had an inlking from the word go that this book would be one that I would really enjoy reading. It’s safe to say that I wasn’t disappointed and the story caught me from the offset. 

Beth is a surgical nurse, full of grief after the loss of her daughter. She meets Albie, an ambitious neurosurgeon, at a party hosted by her former lover, Ted. Their relationship ends after Ted’s daughter goes missing and Beth births a still-born baby shortly after. Her feelings towards Ted are, quite naturally, toxic as she blames him for their child’s death. Ted also happens to be Albie’s superior, which puts her, naturally, in a bit of an awkward situation. In an unconnected turn of events, Ted offers Albie a promotion and the opportunity to lead on a trial for a possible cure to a rare children’s brain cancer. Slowly but surely the tables start to turn and Albie finds that Ted has taken credit for the hard-work that he has put in over the years. Couple this with Beth’s immense hatred towards Ted and it’s fair to say that no good can come from this situation and the two work together to come up with a final solution. 

Jane’s characterisation is incredible. I found myself really connected to the characters – all of them, in differing ways- and her medical experience is evident throughout the story. The story was thrilling and I found myself imagining all sorts of crazy conclusions to explain bits and pieces about what happened. In the end, I didn’t need to imagine- every question that I had was answered fuss free and wrapped up beautifully at the end of the story. I’ve never read anything by Jane Schemilt before so I’ll definitely be going and picking up some of her other books next time I do a cheeky book haul. The story centres itself around manipulation, jealous and a web of lies – the story did start off quite slowly but it was quick to pick up the pace. Once you got used to the writing style it was a very enjoyable and well written piece of fiction. I’ll definitely be recommending this book to people who ask -  and probably to people that don’t, as well! 

4/5. 

Goodreads: My February/March reading list

Goodreads: My February/March reading list

Sunday, 25 February 2018

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Reading is the one thing that allows me the opportunity to breathe. It doesn’t matter how stressed I am, it doesn’t matter how many other things I have on my mind, reading is the only thing I can do without thinking, without feeling distracted and without it being a drain on my happiness.

As is the case every month, I have handpicked a few of the books from my TBR pile to read over the coming weeks. This month’s collection of books is a mix of psychological thrillers, young adult texts and contemporary fiction – a little bit of everything to spice things up! This to be read list is quite book tour heavy, with books involved that haven’t quite hit their publication date yet!

A book that I’ve just finished, and was part of the tour for this last week, was the psychological thriller Force of Nature by Jane Harper. As was the case with The Dry, Jane’s debut novel that I read this time last year, I found myself instantly hooked on the plot line and couldn’t put the book down.

At the end of February, I’ve also been invited to be a part of the Macmillan books Only Child tour, a book written by debut author Rhiannon Navin. I’m very excited to get stuck into this book as it sounds like exactly the kind of book that I’m going to love. From the perspective of Zach Taylor, a young boy, the story deals with the aftermath of a school shooting and the pain that inevitably follows. I don’t know much more about the book other than this, and I don’t want to look too closely into it before I’ve read it for fear of spoiling it. I’m really excited to read it as I’ve heard that it pulls incredibly hard at the heartstrings.

A few years ago, I read The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan and absolutely loved it. When Jenny at Penguin Random House got in touch to invite me to join the tour for her newest book, The Stranger, published March 22^nd, I jumped at the opportunity once again! Set in 1940 in Cornwall, a woman disappears into the mysterious ocean and is never seen again. The inhabitants of the small town in Cornwall where this all goes down have to then consider what happened to the woman and whether they ought to have been more trusting about who they allowed to live amongst them.

Ann Kidd Taylor is a name that was vaguely familiar to me and her newest book The Shark Club is definitely something that jumps out at me as being exactly my cup of tea. I’ve actually already read a good chunk of this and I’m really enjoying the language style so far. I love the characters Taylor has introduced, particularly Maeve’s hunky sounding colleague, Nick. The book will be published on 22^nd February and available to buy in all the usual places.

The final book I’m planning on reading over the next four weeks is Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. I received this book before Christmas as a gift and haven’t had the chance to read it as of yet. I wanted to finish off the month with something a little less ‘intense’ than the other books on my list and I’ve always enjoyed reading John Green’s books. I’ve never actually read one of his books in English, having read The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherine’s in French, whilst I was living out in France. I’m not sure whether the difference in language will change my opinion on Green’s writing, but I’m sure I’ll find it easier to get through than reading it in a second language!

I’m really excited to read these books this month! What are you reading at the moment? Have you read any books that you think I MUST read? Let me know!

Goodreads: My top 10 books of 2017

Goodreads: My top 10 books of 2017

Saturday, 23 December 2017

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I honestly cannot believe that we are at this point of the year already! Wrapping up my books of the year is always my favourite thing to do, and this year has been a bit of a cracker for books. Having started my new job in September, the amount of books read this year started to trail off towards the end of the year but I still managed (as of the 23^rd December) to read 47 books this year. Narrowing the list town to a ‘best of’ was tricky, but I’m really happy with the ones I’ve chosen for my Top 10! These books are by no means ranked from best to worst, just a collection of books that I would recommend to anyone looking for a decent read. 

One of the first books I read this year was a translation from the German, The Trap (Die Falle) by Malanie Raabe. It was a book that had been recommended to me by a work colleague and I felt very lucky to have read it. The story follows a German author who witnessed the escape of her sister’s murderer, seeing the perpetrator’s face as a result. When she sees the man presenting on the news, she finds herself eager to arrange an interview with him to finally avenge her sister’s death. 

The Reader on the 6.27 follows a Frenchman, Guylain Vignolles, who catches the same train to work every day. Every day, he reads aloud to his fellow commuters. When he finds a pendrive, full to the brim with romantic musings, he makes it his task to find their writer.  A joyful, happy story full of beautiful language. 

Arguably my favourite read of 2017, and definitely the one that evoked the most emotion-wise, was When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. Written autobiographically in the last days of his life, the story follows Paul, a surgeon, as he suffers from lung cancer. There are no words to describe the book other than devastating and if you do anything in 2018, I would recommend getting a copy of this book. 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has been a popular choice for a lot of people and I really enjoyed reading the book. It is particularly relevant nowadays, with all the trouble worldwide involving police brutality and maltreatment towards people of colour. It was a poignant read and one that I’d happily read over and over. Angie Thomas’ debut has impressed beyond words, to the extent that filming has already commenced for the film adaptation. 

If you know me at all, you’ll know that I love a good old fashioned contemporary romance as much (possibly more) than the next person and Miss You by Kate Eberlen satisfied all of my sop cravings. It reminded me a little of One Day, following two characters around as they ‘missed’ one another, over and over, until one day, they don’t. It’s beautifully romantic and was quite rightly included on the Richard and Judy booklist for Summer 2017. A must read. Another beautiful contemporary that I read in 2017 was The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. 

When I was sunning it up in Barcelona, the only book on my reading list was How to Stop Time by Matt Haig and it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t include it on this list. There’s something about Matt’s writing style that pulls me in from the word go and How to Stop Time did exactly the same that. It follows a man who has lived through centuries worth of adventures and experiences, aging at a minute scale. The story is heart warming and exciting and one for readers of all genres. 

A bit of a strange inclusion on the list is Nina LaCour’s We Are Okay. Not my usual type of book, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was probably one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. It’s a really easy read and perfect for the YA lover. 

Another book I read whilst traveling was the much acclaimed We Have Always Lived in The Castle by Shirley Jackson. I think this book is a bit like marmite- either you love it or you hate it- and I definitely loved it. It was creepy and mysterious and kept me guessing right until the very end. A fantastic read that really ought to get more recognition.

One of my more recent (and loved) reads is of course, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. The mystery kept me guessing right until the very end and I was really disappointed in myself for not having read it before! 

Which books have you read this year? What do I need to be adding to my TBR pile for 2018? Let me know!  

Book Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Book Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Sunday, 5 November 2017

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Last year, I wrote a post about why I read (and love) YA fiction. Since then, the amount of YA fiction that I’ve read has decreased significantly. Not because I’ve grown out of the genre, or because I’ve not bought any YA fiction books, but because I’ve just been so absorbed in other genres that I just haven’t had the time to keep on reading them. This month, that changed and I read a YA fiction book that I’ve been meaning to read for a few years now: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon.

This was a book that I had my doubts about but I had heard lots of good things about it so I thought I’d give it a go and see how I liked it myself. Obviously, with the movie adaptation being released this year, I wanted to read it quickly so I could see the film as soon as possible. The story follows Madeline, a girl who has suffered from an auto-immune illness which stops her from being able to leave her house for the entirety of her life. At 18, this obviously causes problems and limits her social interactions and her personal happiness. When a family move in next door, Madeline finds herself intrigued by the family’s young son, Olly. After exchanging email addresses in a novel, clichéd way – paper pressed against the window- the two begin conversing and slowly become friends. Eventually, with a lot of pressure directed at Madeline’s nurse to allow them permission to meet, Madeline and Olly are allowed an hour to spend time together, to get to know one another. Inevitably, they fall in love and things get significantly more difficult for Madeline in her isolated environment. Feeling stuck, she decides to run away from home and breaks the careful bubble that her mother has placed her in. Olly in tow, Madeline travels to Hawaii to explore the world and experience everything that she has been denied access to her entire life.

In all, I enjoyed the book but it didn’t come without complications. I felt like the story was a little bit predictable but in spite of that I sped through it pretty quickly. It’s not a very long story and the writing is quite fast paced- a lot happens in 300 pages but it’s easy to follow and keep up with the pace. I loved the reference to Flowers for Algernon, my favourite book of all time and the layout of the book kept it pretty interesting. It was one of those books that I was happy to have had the opportunity to read, but at the same time it didn’t do anything that made me feel. I didn’t find myself falling in love with the characters – in fact, I found Maddy to be quite a selfish character with no concern for anyone but herself and her own feelings. I felt very sorry for Maddy’s mother and understood her viewpoint very well.

A decent read, but nothing to blow you out of the water with.

2.5/5.

Book Review: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Book Review: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Saturday, 30 September 2017

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Whenever there’s a particular hype about a book, I’m usually quite reluctant to buy it straight away. I normally get there in the end but I’m a bit of a reading snob sometimes and hype does nothing but sway me away from something. However, I’m incredibly glad I went against my usual stubbornness and bought myself a copy of the newly-acclaimed YA fiction contribution They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.

Set in an alternative reality where people are notified of their impending death, we are introduced to two young men, Mateo and Rufus, who have recently been notified that the present day is their End Day. They enlist the help of a social networking application, Last Friend, and meet to share their last day together, making the most of their last 24 hours on Earth. The premise of the application is to meet up and live out your last day wholly and make it one to remember. Mateo and Rufus intend on doing just that and set out together as Deckers (the name given to those set to die that day) to make memories and explore whole new emotions.

What would you do if you had one last day to live? After the initial shock of discovering that they’re going to die, Mateo and Rufus set out to accomplish everything they hope they would have by the ends of their lives. They are not aware of the way in which they will day- adding to the tale in the sense that every action they undertake could consequently result in their death. Avoiding taking lifts and using stairs, refusing to ride on the back of bicycles some of the ways in which they attempted to prolong their already premature deaths. The characters are ones that I found intriguing and got attached to quite quickly: Rufus, an extroverted young man who had already been through so much after witnessing his parent’s deaths, contrasted with the quiet and introverted character behind Mateo.

I’ve never read anything by Adam Silvera before but I am tempted to pick up a few of his other novels now. I loved his style of writing and the flick between perspectives: the third person accounts of other characters involvement in the tale added somewhat to the progression of the story and I was interested to find out how all the stories would intertwine and come together.

The feedback on the book promised me tears and more tears, and while I didn’t find myself reaching for the Kleenex this time, the book was incredibly beautiful and was the perfect book to get me out of the reading slump I’d found myself in.

4/5.