Book Review: This Is Where It Ends - Marieke Nijkamp*

Book Review: This Is Where It Ends - Marieke Nijkamp*

Wednesday, 6 April 2016

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I got sent my review copy of “This Is Where It Ends” months and months ago, and in my overwhelmed state completely forgot that I’d put it aside to review. I came across the book again whilst watching a book-tuber video on Youtube and the name sounded awfully familiar to me. I had a little flick through my ARCs and found that actually, yes, I had been sent a copy for review. I decided to get started on it straight away as I’d heard SO many good things about the book, from both fellow bloggers and my friends. I was really excited to be finally getting around to reading it but to be quite honest with you, my excitement was short-lived. This book just really wasn’t for me. 

Its premise is fantastic. Different character perspectives in the minutes which follow a school shooting is a genius idea, especially considering the horrendously high amount of school shootings which happen on a yearly basis. I even quite liked the vast majority of the characters and how they contributed to the story. I wasn’t so keen on the “villain” and his motives for what he did seemed a little bit unrealistic, but i guess that’s appropriate considering the fact it’s a school shooting- the people who commit these crimes in real life have sociopathic tendencies with no real reason to do what they do, so perhaps this villains lack of reason adds even more to the terror. 

You get the gripping urgency of the text wide and clear and there’s absolutely no doubting that I got through it incredibly quickly. I’m not really sure why it was exactly, but something just fell seriously short. I felt as though, somehow, the book was trying a little bit too hard to cover every corner and appeal to every type of person, with immigrant characters, multiple lesbians, hispanics, even a character with lupus got a mention, and I think this effort to be so multicultural distracted from the main point of the book. The vast amount of point of views also confused me for the first half of the book and I had to keep flicking back to work out who was who. Maybe I should be more forgiving of this one, but it just seemed a little “too much” for one novel. 

I will give Marieke Nijkamp one significant plus point: she knows how to write a scene filled with panic and she does so incredibly well. The book WAS heartbreaking and quick paced, but that had to be the case for a book set over such a small timescale, and with such a devastating topic. I found the last scene in particular ridiculously poignant and thought-provoking, and that scene alone saved the book from being a complete flop in my eyes. 

Over the course of the book you learn about each characters backstory, which leading back to my previous point about getting confused about the characters, added to my confusion a little at first but eventually allowed me to easily distinguish between characters. I did enjoy the ways in which the characters all worked together to come to a solution, particularly as far as the scenes with Claire were concerned: she took charge of her group of track friends and ensured that they were kept safe from harm. I did find the relationship between Claire and Chris forming off the basis of a school shooting a little bit inappropriate, but I guess if you’re in a situation where you think you’re going to lose your life, a spontaneous declaration of love isn’t all that far fetched. The relationship between Sylvia and Autumn was nicely done, and both characters show sides of themselves which really changed my opinion of them as the book developed. I won’t say anything more as I’m sure some people will want to read this book, and they’ll enjoy it a lot more than I did, without spoilers. The book did leave me thinking about what I would do if I was thrown into a similar situation and to be honest with you, I’m still not sure now, writing this review a week or so down the line. It is without a doubt a tremendously difficult situation to manoeuvre. 

I do feel slightly guilty for not loving it in the same way that all of my friends did, but I guess that comes with the territory of being a book blogger. I’ve been reading so many different YA books at the moment that it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to find one which wows me on every level. Thanks very much to net galley for the ARC copy in exchange for this review. 

3/5 

Book Review: The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft*

Book Review: The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft*

Friday, 1 April 2016

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I have a lot of commitments outside of reading and reviewing books, just as everyone does, and it’s very rare that I have the time to sit down and read a book in one sitting. Usually laundry calls, or the kitchen needs cleaning, or I have university work to complete to a deadline. I’m going to take this opportunity to admit here that this book was read in the space of around 4 hours, and I devoured it like there was no tomorrow. 

I don’t think I need to remind my regular readers that I love psychological thrillers more than pretty much any other genre of book. They only have to LOOK slightly creepy and I’m practically grabbing that book from the shelf. I was lucky enough to be sent an ARC of this book by Bookouture, although it has already been published at the time of posting this review. 

The book introduces Simone, a journalist and her husband Matt, a general practitioner. We are told the story of how, 18 years previous to the timing of the novel, their daughter had been kidnapped from her pram in the park  whilst out with her Grandmother and had been lost without a trace. One day, without a word of warning, she is approached by a young girl who goes by the name of Grace Rhodes and her world is changed forever. Over the course of the next few hundred pages there are twists and turns which leave you questioning every one-at one point I convinced myself of the guilt of a particular character, simply because he seemed too nice to be genuine. A day after the revelations have come to the surface and Grace has suddenly vanished- is she guilty of playing a hoax on them or has she said too much and put her own life in danger? Simone puts her own life into peril trying to discover whether or not this young girl is telling the truth, and if she is, where she’s vanished to and who is responsible for taking her in the first place.

I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first- there were a lot of things which happened in the plot where I scoffed and thought that things were coming together way too easily for the protagonist and her partner. I even recall saying out loud “like that’d happen in real life” on multiple occasions. But then, the last 20 pages happened and my life changed. Okay, not exactly. But it honestly felt like it had. The twist was possibly one of the biggest that I’ve read in my vast readings of psychological fiction and I did not see it coming in the slightest, which is a massive success as far as I’m concerned. I really loved the characters, particularly the relationship between Simone and her colleague at the news centre, Abbott: I thought their friendship was lovely and it touched me that he was so willing to help her with something which could potentially ruin his own career. 

I have tried to be as vague as possible in this review, as I’d definitely say that this is a book which needs to be read to be fully appreciated. I fully recommend that you grab yourself a copy of the book from Amazon as soon as you possibly can, as you will not be disappointed. I’m looking forward to reading more of the books that Kathryn Croft has to offer and I suspect that her name will become a more familiar one in future years. 

4.5/5

Goodreads: ARC April

Goodreads: ARC April

Thursday, 31 March 2016

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I decided that this month, in keeping in line regarding my book ban, that I would introduce “ARC April” and read absolutely nothing but things that have been sent to me by publishers. Luckily for me, I have 6 ARCs waiting patiently for me on my to-read pile so I have plenty to get my teeth stuck into. 

The first of the ARCs I’ve received recently is The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft, published by Bookouture. This one has already been published, I’m just really slow at getting to books, but I won’t let a good book go to waste so I’ll be reading and reviewing it as normal. It’s a psychological thriller (my favourite kind of book!) and sounds like it’s going to be right up my street. I’m really looking forward to reading this book and seeing what Kathryn Croft, an author I’ve never read before, has to offer. 

I also received The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood, a YA fiction contribution from Pan Macmillan and Macmillan Children’s Books. Again, this isn’t an author I’ve read before but the cover jumped out at me when putting my NetGalley requests through and I couldn’t resist requesting to read and review this one. I absolutely love YA fiction and have recently really got back into reading the genre more seriously so it’ll be really interesting to read an author that I know nothing about and see how it measures up to the Young Adult authors that I already love so much. The Square Root of Summer will be published on May 5th. 

I received a copy of The Primrose Path by Rebecca Griffiths from the lovely team at Little, Brown Book Group UK, and is another psychological thriller. There’s a chance I might have already read this by the time it gets to this post being published, as its publication date is March 24th and I’d prefer to have reviewed it as close to this date as possible, but I thought I’d include it in this list anyway just in case I don’t get the time. I think of the four books I have here, this is the one which jumps out to me the most as being one that I’m really excited to read- it sounds creepy and exciting and creepy and exciting is EXACTLY what I love about a good old psychological thriller. The cover art is absolutely gorgeous and really adds to the appeal of the book, while the creepy quote on the cover makes is blatantly obvious that this book is going to be no picnic in the park. Very excited.

I was also fortunate enough to be approached by the lovely Cara at Harlequin books. She sent me 2 books to read and review and I’m absolutely thrilled by these two as well. The first of the two is The Good Mother by A.L. Bird, yet another psychological thriller for me to grip my teeth into! I also received The Chic Boutique on Baker Street by Rachel Dove which is something different to the type of books that I usually read, but one that interested me quite a lot when I looked through the possible request choices. Both of these books are to be published in April, on the 4th and the 21st respectively. 

My final ARC for ARC April is The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson, provided by Bloomsbury UK. It’s written by the woman who wrote Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand which I haven’t personally read but I’ve heard amazing things about. That was what drew me to the novel and the reason why I chose to request a review copy so naturally I’m thrilled to be allowed the opportunity to give it a read. The book is set in 1914, so this book also falls into the War Fiction Challenge which I’ve been doing for the last few years (which I will blog about very soon- watch this space). Again, the cover is absolutely beautiful and I absolutely LOVE the little poppies scattered around. This one’s also going to be published on March 24th, so it’ll be an early April review from me. 

What are you reading at the moment? Which ARCs should I request for next month? Let me know in the comments!