I can't believe I ignored you for so long, Illuminae.
I first heard about Illuminae years ago, when I was active on Bookstagram and this book was all the rage. However, on reading the synopsis, I just wasn't convinced it would be my kind of thing. So I put it off until further notice.
In some ways, I'm almost glad I did, because now all three books of the series have been written and I can storm my way through the trilogy the way my totally addicted mind would like to.
Honestly, this book was very very addictive. So completely different from anything else I've ever read. But so so addictive. I'd have been sat on my bed having read for 20 minutes before I'd even realise I'd picked the book up yet again. And then I wouldn't be able to stop. As in, I've got a 200-and-something day streak on Duolingo right now and last night I so badly wanted to finish this book i didn't even care about my Duolingo until the whole story was finished. As the clock crept closer and closer to midnight I was not even bothered because all that mattered was how this book would end.
So basically, it's sci-fi. For young adults. In outer space. And it's ridiculously tense. I would tell you more than that, but honestly, I think it's better when you are expecting less.
I really did enjoy the way that some pages had the writing scrawled across them, or arranged in a completely different style because it fit. It's kind of weird when you're reading in a lunchroom and you have to literally spin your book around a few times because the words are arranged into a spiral and everyone else in the room is wondering if you understand how a book works.
What a delightful discovery. I knew everyone said that Illuminae was good, I just didn't expect it to be THIS good.
Also appreciated the way all the curse words had been censored. Brought the sense of stress to the story, without the same obscene language as most other books. Swearing in books is a real turn-off for me, so I liked the original way this one dealt with that.
So basically, I loved it. It's not the best writing I've ever read, but what this storytelling lacks in skill it makes up for with complete ingenuity.

I read this book because it was recommended to me by another librarian while I was working. I flicked to the first page and began reading and sure enough, this book caught my attention. It looked like it would be funny.
PJ makes a funny and almost relatable main character. Although there were times when I was so frustrated with his many many incapabilities. But I stuck with the story, reading only a few pages each night. The story was enough to keep my interest, but not enough for me to be seriously invested.
Then one fateful Tuesday night, that changed.
I went into the book expecting to read only a few pages and finish, when suddenly, the novel started to come together. Finally, the background information the author had been withholding all this time came out and the story suddenly got a little more interesting. A lot more interesting in fact. I stayed up well into the night just to be able to finish this story.
I'm a fan. Not obsessed or eager to read more, but I was definitely a fan of this story.

I read this a little while ago and I still don't quite know what made it so enjoyable.
I picked this book up completely on impulse, having never read anything by Sally Rooney before and not having heard of this story Normal People. There was something about the cover which just really interested me.
Immediately I found the first pages somewhat addictive. Nothing I could put a finger on, but I was really interested to see what would happen in the story. Maybe it was the lack of quotation marks.
Quite early on in the story there were a few scenes I had to skip over, because I don't want to be reading things like that. Luckily they weren't long scenes or anything, and it was quite easy to avoid them.
What is the story about? Well, just that, Normal People. Honestly I don't know exactly what made it so intensely readable. Maybe it was the immediate connection I felt with both Connell and Marianne, and the fact that I was rooting so hard for them both.
This book dealt with some really deep subjects, about social class and how in reality it is so unimportant, and how much our actions can affect another person.
I've got to admit, I wasn't a particular fan of the way the ending was written, all the talk about Marianne being reclaimed or whatever. That could have been written better. But I guess it kind of made sense under the circumstances.
I don't know whether I'll read another of Sally Rooney's books. I don't even know what else she has written. Maybe one is enough.

This book wasn't badly written, but it still didn't make it into the 4-star category for me.
I picked this book up from a display at the library. The title and cover caught my attention (they're cute!) and then once I had read the back, I was sold. A story that covered another part of the world I'd never read about before (Iraq) and also revolved around food-- what more could I ask for?
I'd never heard of this novel or its author before. Soffer's writing style was different and easy to read.
My problem with this story lay with the characters.
Lorca was cute and I enjoyed her POV, but I would have liked to have seen more character development in her. And I felt that the book was almost more concentrated on Victoria's half of the story - for example, we actually get some flashback chapters from her husband with his parts in the story, but we get no such enlightenment on Lorca's mother.
So although the blurb seems to suggest that the story will be shared evenly (and it almost is) the story is more about Victoria. And this is my issue exactly, because I just could not relate to or even like Victoria. She was the most selfish main character I've ever read about. Ever.
This book was filled with Victoria's possessive jealousy and Lorca's unending sadness and low self-esteem. So put those two stories together and basically you end up with a novel that leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth. I wasn't very keen to get back to reading this book after putting it down for a while.
And the real shame about this story was that after enduring the many (MANY) sadness's of these characters, the ending was rushed. I was hoping for up-building character development and women supporting women to be able to get through life together. Soffer nearly got there, but not quite.
All the way through the story, every chapter had been filled to the brim with unnecessary information and extra emotions and loooong thought processes filled with negativity. Suddenly, we reach the climax. The grand finale. And it is a couple of pages long. The End. Nothing more to be said. They simply all lived happily ever after (although, in reality, there was still a TONNE of unresolved issues).
This book did teach me a lot about Iraq though. I appreciate that. And I definitely enjoyed the general foodie-ness of the story. That was nice too.
This book isn't all bad. But it's only getting 3 stars from me.

African Agatha Christie anyone?

Thoroughly enjoyed this lovely novel. It was quirky, even funny in places, and informative too. I currently know a lot more about Botswana than I did this time last month.
Mma Ramotswe starts up the first Ladies' Detective agency in all of Botswana - that's it, no fuss, no ulterior motive, simply felt like doing it. And she's pretty darned good at being a detective.
What I really do love is that the book mostly focuses on women, and what they are able to do completely unreliant of men.
Apparently they have made a movie of this book - I really would enjoy watching that. It's a really good story, which leaves you feeling good too.

Absolutely stressful.

I started this book having read the blurb and nothing else. I had no idea what to expect other than some kind of plot twist. The first third of the book felt eerie - the plot twist was coming and I had no clue as to what it might be.
When the plot twist hit, I was amazed and happy with what it turned out to be - and maybe it's just me but it was such a unique story line that I would never have guessed what was coming in a million years. But maybe that's just me - you may well see it all coming. I, for one, definitely did not.

The narrative voice for this novel is unusual, but in a good way. Sometimes I found myself rereading a sentence 2 or 3 times, before I could work out what she was on about. And although everything written was interesting, I found myself frequently bored with how long it took the author to get to the point. So the narrative has its fair share of good and bad points.

The storyline was unlike any other I've read. So very interesting in that way. I learnt a lot. They were things I didn't want to know, but I should know.

Overall: a good story, interesting plot and twist, certainly educational but at times a little wearing to the mind.

[14.01.19]
I absolutely love stories like this one.
It is a story about friendship, about women who support women, about a part of the world that I knew little of, about the effect we can have on the people around us.
And it's told from multiple viewpoints. Who is the main character of this story? It's hard to tell, there are so many. I like this narrative because it reminds you that this world is full of so many different types of people, but that doesn't mean we can't get along.
I would call this a cute contemporary but it's not quite - because although the story is bubbly and uplifting and seemingly lighthearted, really this novel deals with very deep subjects, and a lot of the time it completely surprised me by how fearlessly it approached topics that are often categorised as taboo.
It's not every day you find a story like this one. Sure, it could have been better written- but it's well worth the read anyway. The author said it herself- she is "a storyteller first, and a writer second." The writing itself is not clever or profound or particularly skilled, but it is sufficient. It is enough. The real gem in this novel is the subject matter, alongside the setting. There's not enough literature about these parts of the world. It's refreshing to see an author bringing attention to a part of the world I have never experienced, and doing it in a way that is relatable and educational but not condescending toward the culture.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I picked up this book purely because the author, Sun Mi Hwang, is Korean and I have never read any Korean literature before, so I was curious. Plus, I love birds, so that the fact that the story completely revolves around birds helped.
Doesn't quite earn 5 stars from me because it was a bit dull to read. The story was interesting enough, each chapter was quite short which made it even more reader-friendly, yet I struggled to find the motivation to pick this book up.
This is the story of Sprout, the most determined hen who ever lived. It's about dreaming, and the endurance that is required to reach our dreams. It's about prejudices, and the small-mindedness of the majority of this world. It's a story of perspective, how something can seem so certain and definite from one point of view but once you take a look from another angle, everything changes. This book kept making me think of the quote: "They did not know it was impossible, so they did it." I think, if Sprout was to have an epitaph, that quote would be it.
It was a beautiful story, and I can already tell that Sprout is going to be one of those characters who stays with me.

That book took me longer than I expected it would.
Don't get me wrong - it's a big book and I'm not the fastest of readers, but I enjoyed my last Jojo Moyes novel so much I kind of expected to fly through this one. (Maybe that's why - I started out with too many expectations).
Moyes is a fantastic British novelist. There is something in the way that she writes that makes her narration utterly British - which, for me, makes the story incredibly relatable and easily understandable. Immersing myself in this book felt akin to having a cup of tea or maybe discussing the weather. Her writing style is comforting and very familiar.
However, I felt disappointed at the plot of this novel. I'm not entirely sure why - I can't quite put my finger on what aspect it was that felt like... it had the potential to be a lot better. But the point is, for me, there was something missing from this story.
A few times in this book I caught myself feeling slightly bored, wishing I could just fastforward a bit until it became interesting again. But these moments weren't too often.
To review: If you are looking for a comfortable, easy read with some unlikely romance involving relatable characters, look no further. I suppose you could call this a British Road Trip novel.
If you're looking for a book which is deep and meaningful and unpredictable and wise, this one isn't for you, sorry!

This story is painful, yet beautiful. Simplistic, yet so meaningful.
I have managed to stay blissfully unspoiled as to the storyline of this classic. I knew about Atticus, I knew he was a lawyer, and that was all I knew. So to start with, I was pretty confused when the narrator of the story turns out to be his daughter.
But as the story progressed, it all began to make sense. This kind of story is best told through the unbiased honesty of a child.
I knew bits and bobs about the treatment of black people in America, but to see so clearly in this novel has really opened my eyes. Scout shows us exactly how people lived back then, and it is shocking.
Somehow, Lee manages to keep the innocent point of view of a child as she navigates through very deep subjects.
I now know why this classic receives unending praise from people all around the world. And I'm eager to read the sequel, too.