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mybestfriendsarefictional
4.5 Stars
Loved this reread, spotted quite a few clues to events that happen later on too which was cool.
Loved this reread, spotted quite a few clues to events that happen later on too which was cool.
★★★★☆/★★★★★
Book Review: Half A World Away by Mike Gayle
Strangers living worlds apart.
Strangers with nothing in common.
But it wasn't always that way...
Kerry Hayes is a single mum, living on a tough south London estate. She provides for her son by cleaning houses she could never hope to afford. Taken into care as a child, Kerry cannot ever forget her past.
Noah Martineau is a successful barrister with a beautiful wife, daughter and home in fashionable Primrose Hill. Adopted as a child, Noah always looks forward, never back.
When Kerry reaches out to the sibling she lost on the day they were torn apart as children, she sets in motion a chain of events that will have life-changing consequences for them both.
Review: I really liked the writing style with the alternating point of views. Kerry's 'voice' was great, her character jumped out of the page at me, she came across as almost larger than life with a heart of gold. Noah's chapters showed an educated man who cared very much about his family.
Half a World Away is well written, engaging, funny and heartbreaking in equal measures. I wanted to pull Kerry and Noah out of the book and give them a huge hug at several points in the story. I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for more by Mike Gayle, his writing is definitely for me.
As always, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, for granting me early access to this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Book Review: Half A World Away by Mike Gayle
Strangers living worlds apart.
Strangers with nothing in common.
But it wasn't always that way...
Kerry Hayes is a single mum, living on a tough south London estate. She provides for her son by cleaning houses she could never hope to afford. Taken into care as a child, Kerry cannot ever forget her past.
Noah Martineau is a successful barrister with a beautiful wife, daughter and home in fashionable Primrose Hill. Adopted as a child, Noah always looks forward, never back.
When Kerry reaches out to the sibling she lost on the day they were torn apart as children, she sets in motion a chain of events that will have life-changing consequences for them both.
Review: I really liked the writing style with the alternating point of views. Kerry's 'voice' was great, her character jumped out of the page at me, she came across as almost larger than life with a heart of gold. Noah's chapters showed an educated man who cared very much about his family.
Half a World Away is well written, engaging, funny and heartbreaking in equal measures. I wanted to pull Kerry and Noah out of the book and give them a huge hug at several points in the story. I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for more by Mike Gayle, his writing is definitely for me.
As always, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, for granting me early access to this novel in exchange for an honest review.
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I received an ARC of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What if you almost missed the love of your life?
Nadia gets the 7.30 train every morning without fail. Well, except if she oversleeps or wakes up at her friend Emma’s after too much wine.
Daniel really does get the 7.30 train every morning, which is easy because he hasn’t been able to sleep properly since his dad died.
One morning, Nadia’s eye catches sight of a post in the daily paper:
To the cute girl with the coffee stains on her dress. I’m the guy who’s always standing near the doors… Drink sometime?
So begins a not-quite-romance of near-misses, true love, and the power of the written word.
Okay, so - I've been on a fantasy binge for so long I'd forgotten how good reading a contemporary can make me feel. This is the third in as many weeks that I've devoured, hardly able to put them down, thinking about them after I'm done type reads. Our Stop is absolutely fantastic. It's cute. It's sweet. It's funny. It's real. And I loved it. It's well written, the story flows consistently and I loved reading both Nadia and Daniel's point of views.
Nadia is flawed, she's a real woman navigating London, working full time and trying to find that connection. Daniel is lovely, like if I wasn't married and he weren't fictional, I'd have hoped to be the cute girl with the coffee stains that he was reaching out to. All of the near misses really built up the tension and I felt that the book had a very satisfying conclusion.
The addition of several side characters worked well, really bringing the story alive for me. I read it in two sittings, as I could hardly put it down. It's the perfect summer rom-com that will have you grinning from ear to ear if you're anything like me; and I'd definitely recommend it if you enjoyed The Flat Share.
What if you almost missed the love of your life?
Nadia gets the 7.30 train every morning without fail. Well, except if she oversleeps or wakes up at her friend Emma’s after too much wine.
Daniel really does get the 7.30 train every morning, which is easy because he hasn’t been able to sleep properly since his dad died.
One morning, Nadia’s eye catches sight of a post in the daily paper:
To the cute girl with the coffee stains on her dress. I’m the guy who’s always standing near the doors… Drink sometime?
So begins a not-quite-romance of near-misses, true love, and the power of the written word.
Okay, so - I've been on a fantasy binge for so long I'd forgotten how good reading a contemporary can make me feel. This is the third in as many weeks that I've devoured, hardly able to put them down, thinking about them after I'm done type reads. Our Stop is absolutely fantastic. It's cute. It's sweet. It's funny. It's real. And I loved it. It's well written, the story flows consistently and I loved reading both Nadia and Daniel's point of views.
Nadia is flawed, she's a real woman navigating London, working full time and trying to find that connection. Daniel is lovely, like if I wasn't married and he weren't fictional, I'd have hoped to be the cute girl with the coffee stains that he was reaching out to. All of the near misses really built up the tension and I felt that the book had a very satisfying conclusion.
The addition of several side characters worked well, really bringing the story alive for me. I read it in two sittings, as I could hardly put it down. It's the perfect summer rom-com that will have you grinning from ear to ear if you're anything like me; and I'd definitely recommend it if you enjoyed The Flat Share.
I think Brigid could write a menu and I'd read it. I lover her writing, it really resonates for me, and Call It What You Want was no different.
The two points of view is something that works really well for contemporary especially and I love how well Brigid writes them. The characters have their own distinct voices and it's always nice to read the other side of the story.
Maegan is paying for a stupid mistake she made last year; and Rob is still paying for a not so little mistake his father made. Two different people, two very different mistakes and one maths project made for a very good read. I thought that the story was very well written, I really liked both characters, though I did want to smack Rob upside his head a couple of times for his stupidity.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The two points of view is something that works really well for contemporary especially and I love how well Brigid writes them. The characters have their own distinct voices and it's always nice to read the other side of the story.
Maegan is paying for a stupid mistake she made last year; and Rob is still paying for a not so little mistake his father made. Two different people, two very different mistakes and one maths project made for a very good read. I thought that the story was very well written, I really liked both characters, though I did want to smack Rob upside his head a couple of times for his stupidity.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Augusta Hope has never felt like she fits in.
At six, she’s memorising the dictionary. At seven, she’s correcting her teachers. At eight, she spins the globe and picks her favourite country on the sound of its name: Burundi.
And now that she's an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia.
When an unspeakable tragedy upends everything in Augusta's life, she's propelled headfirst into the unknown. She's determined to find where she belongs – but what if her true home, and heart, are half a world away?
REVIEW:- I had to take some time before I rated and reviewed The Other Half of Augusta Hope, and I'm still not 100% sure how I feel. In some ways I appear to have enjoyed it, reading the book in two sittings, but in others I'm still waiting for the story to sink in.
Written via two povs which doesn't make much sense until you're a fair bit into the book, it's written as if the characters are talking to you. The story is mainly set in the pasts of the two characters. Augusta's pov in particular could be confusing but it did mature as I suppose the character did, her thoughts running away with her. Parfait's chapters were haunting and sad and hopeful and vibrant.
I'd definitely recommend The Other Half of Augusta Hope, it's a beautiful story, and whilst so sad at times, there is hope too.
At six, she’s memorising the dictionary. At seven, she’s correcting her teachers. At eight, she spins the globe and picks her favourite country on the sound of its name: Burundi.
And now that she's an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia.
When an unspeakable tragedy upends everything in Augusta's life, she's propelled headfirst into the unknown. She's determined to find where she belongs – but what if her true home, and heart, are half a world away?
REVIEW:- I had to take some time before I rated and reviewed The Other Half of Augusta Hope, and I'm still not 100% sure how I feel. In some ways I appear to have enjoyed it, reading the book in two sittings, but in others I'm still waiting for the story to sink in.
Written via two povs which doesn't make much sense until you're a fair bit into the book, it's written as if the characters are talking to you. The story is mainly set in the pasts of the two characters. Augusta's pov in particular could be confusing but it did mature as I suppose the character did, her thoughts running away with her. Parfait's chapters were haunting and sad and hopeful and vibrant.
I'd definitely recommend The Other Half of Augusta Hope, it's a beautiful story, and whilst so sad at times, there is hope too.