Books
This is where I review books!
Tell Me Something - Adele ParksDie-hard romantic Elizabeth has always wanted two things in life - an Italian husband and lots of rosy-checked babies. When she meets fabuously sexy Roberto, she glides down the aisle and dreamily pictures holding their first little bundle of joy.
But instead they end up running Roberto’s family business, where Elizabeth finds there’s more to living in Italy than enjoy ice cream in the sun-drenched piazzas. She doesn’t need to be fluent in the language to understand that her scheming mother-in-law and Robeto’s beautiful, significant ex are hellbent on destroying her marriage. And when Elizabeth finds herself craving the company of a gorgeous American stranger, she knows her filthy, flirty thoughts about him are totally inappropriate. But there’s no denying he sets her temperature rising…Could it be that Italy is turning Elizabeth’s love of romance into a desire for something far more scandalous and passionate?
First things first, I blooming loved this book. I started reading it last Saturday (I had a 2 day break between reading this and Making Up Your Mind…) and for the past two nights I’ve been up till gone midnight reading it. It’s been a real hard to put down book which I have really enjoyed.
Before I started reading the book I knew that it was going to be a Chic Lit, Adele Parks is known for her Chic Lit writing. However, this is the first book of hers that I have read and I will most definitely be reading others.
There’s not really much to say to review the book. I don’t know why…it had some great little twists and I loved the ending <3 Especially that there is an Epilogue. I think that if there wasn’t, I wouldn’t have liked the ending so much.
The book is told from Elizabeth’s POV. She starts off however by telling us about her childhood and her first ever visit to Italy. We then find out about her love for everything Italian, and how she meets Roberto. The chapters in the book are quite short which I like, some only a couple pages long. I like that in books as I can usually finish a chapter before having to urgently doing something or other.
The only couple of things which I don’t like about the book, is that I feel as though the blurb sort of lies. It says about Roberto’s mother and his ex are hellbent in destroying their marriage, and I totally get this on part of Elizabeth’s mother-in-law. But to be honest, there is only a couple of chapters where Roberto’s ex actually speaks…and nothing to do with destroying the marriage.
Okay so in the end, it is mainly to do with her.But still…that’s my only fault.
:D
Totally adored this book and recommend it lots and lots :D
Making Up Your Mind - Jill Mansell Lottie can’t quite believe what’s happened.When you’re a teenager in love with a widly unsuitable boy, you expect your parents to object. But Lottie’s thirty now, a fully fledged grown-up, and she never imagined her children doing the same when she met Tyler Klein. He isn’t widly unsuitable either, he’s a catch. But as far as Nat and Ruby are conserned, he’s the devil incarnate.Wha’ts a girl to do? Is she only allowed to associate with men who meet with their approval? And doesn’t she already have enough to worry about, what with errant ex-husband Mario up to his old tricks, beloved boss Freddie determined to catch up with old friends before life catches up with him, and best friend Cressida brazenly propositioning strangers in shops?
Everyone else needs sorting out. Well, that’s fine - it’s what Lottie’s best at. Until the day she discovers that an attack of the hiccups can have the power - just possibly - to change your life…Wow. First things first, I did read the blurb before reading the book but I must have somehow forgot about it as after writing this, everything makes sense. The book itself is actually pretty amazing to be honest, it’s a great book and I love everything about it. When typing the blurb out, I actually started giggling when the hiccup part came up, remembering that part of the book.
I love the fact about this book isn’t told from anyones POV. It could have easily been told from different POV’s like many Jodi Picoult books but it wasn’t, it was writen in 3rd person which I liked as you found out more about the characters. Even though the book is based upon the life of Lottie Coyle, there are also mini plots which are about the other characters and Lottie one way or another is involved in these mini stories.
The book shocked me quite a few times actually. When finding out more about Freddie’s past, I felt almost as shocked to find out what had happened as Lottie herself is said to have felt. (Does that even make any sense!?) Also the whole Seb plot. OMIGOD I actually screamed. I already knew that I didn’t want him to end up in the picture, but I really wasn’t expecting him to be like he was in the end. It was a complete shocker.
I love the fact that the kids are a major part to the book. The kids are funny, they make the book amusing and they add a real essenceto the book.
From the beginning of the book you are thrown straight into the ‘action’ and find out more about the main characters with in pages.
The ending of this book I loved. For once, I loved it :’) I haven’t read a book in a long long time where I can actually admit I love the ending. Apart from Marshmallows for Breakfast which I reviewed a while ago…but the ending to that book has nothing compared to the ending to this book <3 I love love loved it :D
I might actually go as far as saying Jill Mansell might be a new favourite author of mine.But I can’t say much, this is the first book of hers which I have actually read :’)
But it was GREAT and I HIGHLY recommend it :D
Swimming Pool Sunday - Madeleine Wickham
On a shimmeringly hot Sunday in May, the Delaneys opened their pool to all the village for charity. Louise was there, so were her daughters Amelia and Katie - and so, glaring at her resentfully, was her estranged husband Barnaby. This was supposed to be his day with the girls. But Louise ignored his angry glowers - it wasn’t her fault they’d wanted to come swimming with her, was it? While the children splashed and shrieked in the cool, blue waters, she lay blissfully back in the sun and dreamed of Cassian, the charismatic new lawyer in her life. The day seemed perfect.
But suddenly the perfect day was shattered, as tragedy struck. And the consequences of a terrible accident develop into a dram of recriminations, jealousy and legal power-play, in which Louise found herself pulled in three directions at once. Friendships crumbled, the village was split, and the needs of a child become secondary to a dangerous contest in which the grown-ups were engaged.
I have literally been reading this book on and off since my last book review, and I have only just realized that the front cover is meant to look like a swimming pool with the reflection of the diving board :’)
Anyway, I will start off by saying that Madeleine Wickham has written my favourite books ever, the Confessions Of A Shopaholic series but under the name Sophie Kinsella, so I was expecting this book to be really great. I was actually rather disappointed with it if I am honest.
This was Madeleine’s first ever published book so I wasn’t expecting anything as good as the COAS series, but I still thought it would be better than it was.
After reading the blurb before I started reading the book, I had already guessed what happened in the book. And to the most of it, I was right.
Things I like about this book: The storyline on the whole is great. The little twists add a great atmosphere to the novel. The court case (I can’t really say why I like it…otherwise it will ruin it incase after reading this you still want to read the book…dayum!)
Things I don’t like about this book: The fact that I figured out most of what was going to happen within reading the blurb and the first couple chapters. The whole Alexis and Daisy storyline, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REST OF THE BOOK!?!?! I DON’T GET IT!!!! The fact that after the accident, Amelia isn’t mentioned for like 5 chapters. The whole ending of the book.
So yeah :/ I don’t really know how to review this book as I didn’t really like it. At parts I did find it hard to put down, it did pull me into the story at times, but at other times I didn’t really care less. It might have also been to do with the fact I’ve been doing a lot the past few weeks and so haven’t had time to read so much and so have been reading a chapter like every few days, so haven’t got pulled into it as much.
I’m not going to say ‘STAY CLEAR OF THIS BOOK, IT IS AWFUL’ because that’s not the truth. I have read worse books in my life but this just wasn’t as good as I had wanted it to be.
Sorry Madeleine :/
Marshmallows for Breakfast - Dorothy Koomson
How do you explain those unexpected moments of love?
When Kendra Tamale returns to England from Australia she rents a room from Kyle, a separated father of two, and begins a new job. She’s looking forwards to a fresh start and a simple life.
Kyle’s six-year-old twins, Summer and Jaxon, have other ideas and quickly adopt Kendra as their new mother - mainly because she lets them eat marshmallows for breakfast. Kendra eventually becomes a part of their lives, even though she’s hiding a painful secret that makes her keep everyone - especially children - at arm’s length.
Then Kendra bumps into the man who shares her awful secret, and everything falls apart: she can’t sleep, she can’t eat, she’s suspended from work, and the kids are taken away by their mother. The only way to fix things is to confess to the terrible mistake she made all those years ago. But that’s something she swore never to do…
The first thing I am going to say about this book is that it was nothing like I had expected it to be. I had expected the obvious chick lit with the obvious ending but it wasn’t. It was more ‘girly’ than the recent books which I have read, I wanted that, but it didn’t have the amazing love story like most chick lits do, of which I’m glad as they are near enough all exactly the same. The only thing I was actually expecting to happen in this book, never happened.
The book starts off with a prologue which I thought was the reason to why she left Australia. But then I read on, and she reveals why she did leave Oz, which has nothing to do with the prologue. This actually confused the hell out of me and it wasn’t until the 3rd to last chapter where I figured out the prologue…
I actually really enjoyed this book. Okay so it took me a few days to get into it, but I’ve spent the past two days reading it (mainly as the weather has been AWFUL and I’ve had nothing else to do…) but if I didn’t enjoy it then I wouldn’t have read it. The problem is I haven’t actually got much to say about it unlike the Jodi Picoult books. I can’t compare this book to other books by Dorothy Koomson as I haven’t read any others by her. But I will be in the future as I did enjoy this book.
The book is told mainly from the POV of Kendra but it also includes flashbacks from both her life, and from Kyle’s and also his ‘wife’ Ashlyn’s. One thing which I don’t actually understand about the book is that even though it is chaptered, it has almost like different sections. Like after 5 or so chapters, there is a new ‘section’ which has a new ‘title’ almost, which is a different type of breakfast food (or something obscure which you might eat for breakfast in most instances) but I don’t truly get it.
I just had a quick look at the reviews of this book on Amazon and Play.com and they don’t seem that good. I don’t get it though, I really enjoyed it. Okay so it did take a few chapters to get into it, and okay so the ending did ‘fizzle out’ as someone said, but I did LOVE the ending and the choice which she chose. Another person said that they guessed the main part of the story before being told about it in the book, I had too…but I don’t think that was, is, overall the main part to the novel. It is (you’ll see if you read it) the actual main part as that’s why Kendra is like how she is…buuuut I think the main part is more to do with the kids and the ending of the book…yeah this is a bit of a lame book review but it’s half 9 at night, I’m tired and ill, and I’m finding it hard to review this book :’)
The way the book is written, the way the children are portrayed, does make you fall in love with them. I think this is the thing which made me carry on reading from the beginning, I wanted to know what happened to the children. Chick lits don’t usually concentrate on the children and such, that’s why I wouldn’t class this as a full blown chick lit.
Oh I didn’t get ‘excited’ by this book, there were no twists and major surprises which did put a bit of a downer on it though…apart from the ending was a little surprise seeing as I didn’t think that was how it would end.
I’m going to wrap this up now, a great book but it might take a while to get into. I can’t compare to other books by Dorothy Koomson as I haven’t read them, but I would give it a try.
The Pact - Jodi Picoult The Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other for eighteen years. They have shared everything from family picnics to chicken pox - so it’s no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily’s friendship blossoms into something more.
When the midnight calls come in from the hospital, no one is prepared: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head, inflicted by Chris as part of an apparent suicide pact. He tells the police the next bullet was meant for himself. A local detective has her doubts And the Hartes and Golds must face every parent’s worst nightmare and question: do we ever really know our children at all?
I don’t usually read two books by the same author in a row (unless it is a series) but I started another book after reading House Rules and decided that I wanted a quick read before going back to school so chose a different Jodi Picoult book. Overall it was a great book, however there were a few things which I didn’t like about it, compared to House Rules. But it also has similarities to House Rules (and also Handle With Care and My Sisters Keeper, both books by Jodi Picoult which I have read in the past).
Similarities include the fact that there is a court case in the book. This ANNOYED the hell out of me as all four of the Jodi Picoult books which I have now read have all contained court cases, can’t she think of anything else? Also I didn’t like the ending to the book, I thought, just like I did with House Rules, that the ending was too quick and sudden. However a difference was that unlike the other three, the main character of this book isn’t ill unlike the other three, he is completely normal really.
The book starts off with the two sets of parents out having a meal and then separating off to do there own things. Then there are the hospital calls which tell them about there children. I liked how this happened within the first chapter, taking us straight into the action. However I got a bit confused with all the names within the first few pages. The Golds consist of Michael and Melanie, and there now dead daughter Emily. The Hartes consist of Gus (Augusta) and James and their two children, Chris and Kate. It took me a while to remember that Michael and Melanie were together, and Gus and James were, and not mix and match the lot. However, I soon got the hang of it and was into the book within a few chapters.
I started this book on Saturday and finished it today. I however think that I rushed this book, as I do not understand why a few of the things which occurred…happened. For example, Emily want’s to commit suicide and I do not fully understand why she is unhappy with her life. I understand the deal with her feelings for Chris, so if that is the only reason to Emily’s actions then okay…but I’m sure there would have been something else, and why couldn’t she have spoken to Chris?
The book is told in 3 parts altogether, however there are different ‘chapters’. This book, unlike the other three which I have read, isn’t told in POV’s which I liked the change. It is told ‘Now’ with what is happening at that moment in the book, the death of Emily and the stuff which Chris faces. And also ‘Then’ which is more about the kids growing up together and the events leading up to the death of Emily. The 3 sections to the book are labelled ‘The Boy Next Door’, ‘The Girl Next Door’ and ‘The Truth’. The Boy Next Door, when it goes to the ‘Then’ sections, is more about Chris and how he felt growing up around Emily. The Girl Next Door is the opposite, and you see more about Emily and she gives her feelings about Chris and her reasons (which I don’t fully understand) for not wanting to be alive anymore. I like this format as it gives us an insight into their lives in a different and unusual way.
For example, the main point to which is shown through this layout is when the kids are about 10 and Chris dares Emily to go into the mens toilets in McDonald’s and she does, but we don’t find out what actually happened until we get into the ‘The Girl Next Door’ section of the novel. I didn’t fully get the importance to that part of the book as nothing came of it in the end (apart from the fact that she doesn’t want to/like to do stuff with Chris) and I wished that Emily had left messages or something to Chris explaining her feelings and what had happened beforehand which made her want to die, so that Chris could have a rest of mind.
The ending of the book was a disappointment if I am honest, too quick and it didn’t make any sense as that’s no way what would have really happened. I won’t go into detail as I’ll give away the end of book but let’s just leave it at: great book apart from the ending. I would recommend you read it, but don’t get your hopes up about the end. Not the most amazing book in the world…
House Rules - Jodi PicoultWhen Emma Hunt’s son is diagnosed with Asperger’s, she knows she will do anything to help him.
She expects other people not to understand.She expects the stares and whisperes.She even expects trouble with the police.
But she doesn’t expect Jacob to be charged with murder.
And when all the hallmarks of your son’s condition - his tics, his inappropriate actions, his inability to look you in the eye - can be read as guilt; when you cannot put your hand on your heart and swear he is innocent…
How can you help your child then?
I was very excited to read this book. After reading Little Face which took a while to get into, I wanted to read something which I could get into quicker and having read two books by Jodi Picoult in the past, I was used to her writing and I enjoyed her books.
I finished this book in three days, but I didn’t rush it. I just had a lot of spare time and enjoyed it that much that I put it down and seconds later I had it back in my hand again, reading the next chapter. That’s another thing I like about the book, it’s written from different peoples points of view throughout the book so we have thoughts and feelings from all the main characters. We see the book’s events through the eyes of Emma, the mother, Jacob, the son with Aspergers, Theo, his younger brother, Rich, the police detective and also Oliver, the lawyer. I like this as if it was told from just one person’s POV, we wouldn’t know about half the stuff which goes on, seeing as yes the book is about Jacob, but alot of what happens is around him is told from Emma’s POV.
I have officially labeled this book as one of my all time favourites, I had done that when I was on around page 450 (the book has 603 pages in it) due to the way it is written and some of the events which happen. I feel like I know someone in real life who suffers from Asperger’s and I feel as if I would be able to understand someone who did have Asperger’s, just by reading this book.
I don’t want to write too much about the book, as I think I’ll give too much away. Most of what happens in the book is important, everything from the murder scene which Jacob has set up within the first couple lines of the first page. It all has importance to the book. I do however want to point out that I solved what actually happened in the book before we got told what had happened :D I HAD REASONS FOR WHY I THOUGHT WHAT I THOUGHT AND I WAS RIGHT :’) I was so proud that I had figured it all out before I got told :’)
I however did get a little lost at one part, which I can’t say too much about as it’ll ruin the book, but basically theres a house which Theo breaks into…and I imagined it. And then there’s the house which Jacob’s social skills teacher is house sitting for…I imagine a totally different house…and then a few chapters later you find out that they are infact the same house…this confused me for ages :’)
Oh and I don’t like the fact that this book, just like the other two books I’ve read by Jodi Picoult, contained a court case. Can’t she write about anything else!?!?! Thankfully, unlike the other two, this book ends happily.
Altogether a great book which will suck you in and make you feel as if you are there, sitting with The Hunt’s on Blue Food Friday
Little Face - Sophie Hannah
She’s only been gone two hours.
Her husband was supposed to be looking after their two-week-old daughter. But when Alice Fancourt walks into the nusery, her terrifying ordeal begins, for Alice insists the baby in the cot is a stranger she’s never seen befrore.
With an increasingly hostile and menacing David swearing she must either be mad or lying, how can Alice make the police believe her before it’s too late?
When I started reading this book, I was unsure. I knew straight away that it was nothing like anything I’d read before, and nothing like what I’m used to reading which is Chick Lits. I’m not going to lie, I’m used to reading books within a week or two at the most, and this book did take me two months too read. It took a while to get into the book and so I wasn’t making it a huge priority to finish it (and plus I’ve been revising for exams and stuff) but recently I’ve had trouble putting it down. I think it was from about Chapter 21 onwards which I enjoyed it the most.
The book starts off from the point of view of Alice Fancourt. You find out a bit of background to her, and the fact that she had a troubled birth to her daughter (however you don’t find out much about this). Alice hasn’t left the house she lives in since the birth but she ventures out. However, when she returns home she finds the front door open, her husband fast asleep in the bedroom and her daughter missing. Well, Alice is adamant that the baby in the cot is not her daughter, Florence. This is where the first chapter ends and we move onto the second chapter which is set a week ahead and is written in 3rd person, but is mainly about Detective Simon Waterhouse. We find out in this chapter that Alice and the baby have gone missing. The book is set out in this layout, a chapter from the point of view of Alice, a chapter about Simon a week later, trying to find Alice. It took a little while to get used to this chaptered format but after a while I got used to it. The book uncovers a hidden mystery to Alice’s new family, David Fancourt and his mother Vivienne Fancourt, of who Alice and David live with. In the third chapter David insists that the baby of which Alice claims isn’t their daughter, is their daughter Florence. I found myself switching between who I thought was telling the truth throughout the book. We also found out pretty soon into the book about Laura Cryer, David’s ex wife who was murdered ourside the house of Vivienne Fancourt. This happened years before, and a man was jailed for the murder but when Alice goes missing, Simon brings up the case again and he comes up with a new theory to the murder of Laura Cryer.
The book had many surprises which shocked and surprised me, some which I liked, some which I didn’t. I love the twist to do with Laura’s death, and how little hints are given out throughout the book, and then Simon places all the pieces together and I was sat here going ‘how didn’t I realise this then!?!?!’.
A great book with a fantastic twist to events. I’m looking forward to reading other books by Sophie Hannah in the future, but hopefully will get into them more quickly than I did to this book.
