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bookbeforeuleap's Reviews (863)
This is the story of Sophie, criminal barrister and night lawyer newspaper.
I really enjoyed following Sophie along with her work and social life, it was written well and I wanted to turn the page to find out more.
It was a fascinating read for anyone who loves an in-depth look at the British legal system. It was detailed and informative and taught me a lot about the failings of a justice system that we rely on and is something I will look deeper into. I studied law and I think that added to my enjoyed of this book as it looked more heavily at the system than some of the more mainstream books that tend to romanticise the field.
I also enjoyed the added element that Sophie was originally from Russia as it added to the narrative and taught me more about cultural differences I was unaware of.
I would love to see another book in this series. Thank you to @reddoorbooks for my #gifted copy in exchange for review
Jess is trying to do it all whilst promoting her picture perfect life to the world via her blog and Instagram, only it's all fake. Everything that built her following, like workouts and healthy eating, have fallen at the wayside and Dave, whose abs gain her more likes than anything else she posts, has left her. Yet determined not to let anyone see what’s happening she continues to post perfect life pictures and tweets and builds up a web of lies, each leading to disastrously funny consequences.
This is an easy, light-hearted, modern read that had me laughing out loud. I like the use of different medias such as tweets, emails and newspaper articles and thought that the use of social media through out was written really well. As someone who blogs and uses Instagram/twitter I found a lot of it very relatable.
My only qualm with the book is that she didn't seem to care about her daughter at all, the author wrote that she cared but it wasn't believable as she barely spoke to her through out the whole book!
Thanks to @alexxlayt at @orionbooks for my #gifted copy in exchange for review.
This is an easy, light-hearted, modern read that had me laughing out loud. I like the use of different medias such as tweets, emails and newspaper articles and thought that the use of social media through out was written really well. As someone who blogs and uses Instagram/twitter I found a lot of it very relatable.
My only qualm with the book is that she didn't seem to care about her daughter at all, the author wrote that she cared but it wasn't believable as she barely spoke to her through out the whole book!
Thanks to @alexxlayt at @orionbooks for my #gifted copy in exchange for review.
The plot concept for this book is very simple, strangers trapped in a café by a gun man, each with their own secrets, but that is the only simple thing about this book.
The way the author works each of their stories into the narrative is brilliant and I could not put this book down. We learn about the gunman, his past and what has brought him to this whilst also learning about each of the hostages as they communicate with each other for comfort and to get through the upsetting event. We also get the perspective of the hostage negotiator which I though was very clever and worked very well. The characters are complex and pull on your heart strings.
This was the first book by Charity Norman that I have read but I certainly will be looking for more by her in the future.
If you enjoyed three hours then I definitely think you will enjoy this book, it is not the same and it didn’t have the same urgency at the end that three hours did but it had a quicker pace at the start and was a fantastic read.
The way the author works each of their stories into the narrative is brilliant and I could not put this book down. We learn about the gunman, his past and what has brought him to this whilst also learning about each of the hostages as they communicate with each other for comfort and to get through the upsetting event. We also get the perspective of the hostage negotiator which I though was very clever and worked very well. The characters are complex and pull on your heart strings.
This was the first book by Charity Norman that I have read but I certainly will be looking for more by her in the future.
If you enjoyed three hours then I definitely think you will enjoy this book, it is not the same and it didn’t have the same urgency at the end that three hours did but it had a quicker pace at the start and was a fantastic read.
This was the story of January, a romance writer who has lost her father and found out a terrible secret leaving her unable to write the love stories that used to come to her so easily. She moves to her fathers second house to empty it ready to sell it and with the hope of getting some writing done. She does not expect to be living next door to her old college rival, the guy who constantly criticised her work and never kept a girl for longer than a few weeks.
Although on the surface this is a fun romance it touches on so much more, it looks at grief, self acceptance, miscommunication and of course love! I really enjoyed how the story unfolded, the characters were well written, believable and I completely got lost in the story. I can see it being made into a movie!
This book was the perfect summer read, it had everything I didn't know I needed in a beach read and I will definitely be picking up a copy of the authors next book.
Although on the surface this is a fun romance it touches on so much more, it looks at grief, self acceptance, miscommunication and of course love! I really enjoyed how the story unfolded, the characters were well written, believable and I completely got lost in the story. I can see it being made into a movie!
This book was the perfect summer read, it had everything I didn't know I needed in a beach read and I will definitely be picking up a copy of the authors next book.
I really loved this book. There were so many quotes and references that I knew, it made me feel so safe and happy!
Yes it was a typical easy to read romance where the heroine has flaws to overcome, an obstacle that is fixed with money and a predictable ending but sometimes that is exactly what you need, especially when the world is so rubbish!!!
Abbi, please please do book where we see Nina running the store?!
Yes it was a typical easy to read romance where the heroine has flaws to overcome, an obstacle that is fixed with money and a predictable ending but sometimes that is exactly what you need, especially when the world is so rubbish!!!
Abbi, please please do book where we see Nina running the store?!
I absolutely love a cosy mystery and having read and enjoyed the Blackmoore Sisters series by this author I was excited to dive into this murder mystery set in the 1920's.
Julia and Nora made a great team and have to work to solve the mystery in just a few days whilst keeping their investigation under wraps. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of 1920's fashion throughout as it really gave a feel for the time.
This was a quick and fun read and a definite win for anyone who enjoys a cosy mystery and a bit of light historical fiction and any Agatha Christie fans out there!
I was not disappointment and am looking forward to the next instalment in this series!
Thank you to @bookouture and @netgalley for my #gifted ebook in exchange for review.
Julia and Nora made a great team and have to work to solve the mystery in just a few days whilst keeping their investigation under wraps. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of 1920's fashion throughout as it really gave a feel for the time.
This was a quick and fun read and a definite win for anyone who enjoys a cosy mystery and a bit of light historical fiction and any Agatha Christie fans out there!
I was not disappointment and am looking forward to the next instalment in this series!
Thank you to @bookouture and @netgalley for my #gifted ebook in exchange for review.
I loved this book so so much.
This book touches on so many topics and has so much emotion that I picked it up and didn’t put it down again until I had finished.
The book is about Michael and his life and all the conflicts he sees from, gender inequality to racism, bigotry and homophobia. He spends his life feeling like he doesn’t quiet fit anywhere.
This book opened my eyes to so many things including how decisions as a parent, even made with good intentions can cause a child to feel left out of their heritage and how, for a black person, there is levels of black so when he goes to join the African Caribbean Society they tell him he is not black he is mixed, is it any wonder he feels like he doesn’t belong? I can’t even imagine someone saying I wasn’t white enough for a group which just shows how privileged I have been in my life.
The author isn’t afraid to have his character admit to having his own preconceived notions about things and the poem ‘Some men have vaginas’ really hit home for me.
The speech that Michael makes as the Black Flamingo at the end of this book absolutely phenomenal and you should get this book just for that!!
I definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone and will be keeping on my shelves for my sons to read when they grow up.
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I loved this book!!!
The story starts off at the end, so you know that the couple have broken up. Their story is then told in reverse, each chapter revealing a little more of their history as individuals, as a couple and whilst showing pivotal moments in the relationship.
I think fans of Sally Rooney are going to go nuts for this book, the story has the same raw and emotional feel to it. Throughout the pages a range of topics are discussed such as mental health, guilt, sexuality, family and may other topics and it was fascinating to see how something so simple on the surface, like a break up, goes so much deeper. It felt real and relatable.
I have read a few books now with a reverse timeline and this is, by far, the most successful. I love that the author admits that the characters short fall when writing stories is endings which makes the reversed timeline even more ingenious.
I can’t wait to see what this author does next.
The story starts off at the end, so you know that the couple have broken up. Their story is then told in reverse, each chapter revealing a little more of their history as individuals, as a couple and whilst showing pivotal moments in the relationship.
I think fans of Sally Rooney are going to go nuts for this book, the story has the same raw and emotional feel to it. Throughout the pages a range of topics are discussed such as mental health, guilt, sexuality, family and may other topics and it was fascinating to see how something so simple on the surface, like a break up, goes so much deeper. It felt real and relatable.
I have read a few books now with a reverse timeline and this is, by far, the most successful. I love that the author admits that the characters short fall when writing stories is endings which makes the reversed timeline even more ingenious.
I can’t wait to see what this author does next.
Reading this I could just see myself at 23, looking at everyone else’s perfect lives and wondering what I was doing wrong whilst simultaneously pouring wine down my throat and making poor life choices. I liked the authors direct writing style, it felt current and very much how I speak with my friends. The dry whit and the humorous situations the character got herself into made me laugh and on more than one occasion I send a picture of a line of text to a friend, example;
‘Ah, wine. You sneaky little bastard.’
Who doesn’t relate to that! The language was unfiltered and the book felt refreshingly new.
For the most part this was an enjoyable read but I do have to point out that there was a sentence about autism that was a more than a little uncomfortable to read and would more than likely be offensive for others but I have contacted the publisher and they have said that they will work to get it changed and hopefully the author will acknowledge what they wrote was unacceptable.
‘Ah, wine. You sneaky little bastard.’
Who doesn’t relate to that! The language was unfiltered and the book felt refreshingly new.
For the most part this was an enjoyable read but I do have to point out that there was a sentence about autism that was a more than a little uncomfortable to read and would more than likely be offensive for others but I have contacted the publisher and they have said that they will work to get it changed and hopefully the author will acknowledge what they wrote was unacceptable.
This is the story of Daisy who slips on an icy pavement and dies, unfortunately a terrible error was made, it was not her time to die! The story then follows Daisy, her friends, family and unusually Death too as they deal with the aftermath of her passing.
This book was described as fun, fresh – a brilliant love story with a twist. I started to read it and thought I knew exactly where it was going but I was completely wrong.
It was just fabulous and nothing at all like I thought it was going to be. I am not a huge fan of stories where I can see exactly where it was going and everything works out all fluffy and lovely in the end and I made the mistake of thinking this was going to be like that. It is not. It is cleverly written and extremely touching in parts.
The characters are superbly well written and I believed and was invested in every one of them, especially the character of Death (or Scout as he likes to be known) who has fears and faults and makes mistakes just like everyone else . I was so intrigued to find out what was going to happen that I just could not put it down.
It is such an original book and it doesn’t flower over how the death of a love one effects the people left behind but also gives us the unusual perspective of the person who died. This may make it sound dark and sad but it really isn’t. It is a story of how love doesn’t die after death and of the power and strength of human nature and I cannot recommend it enough if you want to read something original and entertaining.
This is Tamsin Keily’s debut and I cannot wait to read what she writes next...