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wordsofclover
2.5 stars
I received this book from Abrams&Chronicle in exchange for an honest review.
In the city of Eldra, everything is decided through prophecies told hundreds of years in the past. But as things become more corrupters, four teenagers are the last of the Rebellion to try and make things better. Cassa, Newt, Evander and Alys decide to infiltrate the Citadel and take down the council’s leading monster.
I really liked the premise of this book, and was excited to see where it went. It had great heist vibes, and for people who love heist stories with characters that have histories ravelled together, this could be a great read.
Unfortunately, I just wasn’t a big fan of how the story started and from there, I felt like I was struggling to keep up. I feel like there could have been a better way to tell the story of how the characters got in the prison cells in the first place, and in a way that the reader wouldn’t struggle to fit all the loose ties together.
I did enjoy the diversity in the characters - Alys is asexual, Newt is gay and Evander is bisexual and I don’t believe any of them were just white either - when I was reading them, I imagined them as wonderfully diverse group in both race, gender and sexuality.
I think the book was maybe a tad too long too. I found myself getting bored near the end, and I had one of the worst experiences happen that you want with a book which is putting it down, and not caring about picking it back up. Yikes.
I think this book has a lot of great qualities for other readers, it just didn’t work for me.
I received this book from Abrams&Chronicle in exchange for an honest review.
In the city of Eldra, everything is decided through prophecies told hundreds of years in the past. But as things become more corrupters, four teenagers are the last of the Rebellion to try and make things better. Cassa, Newt, Evander and Alys decide to infiltrate the Citadel and take down the council’s leading monster.
I really liked the premise of this book, and was excited to see where it went. It had great heist vibes, and for people who love heist stories with characters that have histories ravelled together, this could be a great read.
Unfortunately, I just wasn’t a big fan of how the story started and from there, I felt like I was struggling to keep up. I feel like there could have been a better way to tell the story of how the characters got in the prison cells in the first place, and in a way that the reader wouldn’t struggle to fit all the loose ties together.
I did enjoy the diversity in the characters - Alys is asexual, Newt is gay and Evander is bisexual and I don’t believe any of them were just white either - when I was reading them, I imagined them as wonderfully diverse group in both race, gender and sexuality.
I think the book was maybe a tad too long too. I found myself getting bored near the end, and I had one of the worst experiences happen that you want with a book which is putting it down, and not caring about picking it back up. Yikes.
I think this book has a lot of great qualities for other readers, it just didn’t work for me.
3.5 stars
CW: Racism, xenophobia, sexual assault, declining mental health
Evening Primrose is an interesting short novel set in South Africa, and follows a young medical student as she trains to be a doctor but is finding it hard to live with the amount of xenophobic behaviour she witnesses everyday.
This book had some of the best period/menstruation rep I’ve ever read, and Masechaba’s relationships with her own female genitalia/organs, and how she felt towards her body was a strong message throughout this book. I actually at one point there was almost too much period talk (to the point where it stopped serving purpose and may have just been for shock factor, I don’t know).
There were parts of this book that ere hard to read, and i really felt for Masechaba as she tried to overcome some of her peers’ behaviour and feelings, especially her best friend. Masechaba’s mental health also takes a rapid decline halfway through this novel and it’s hard to read as she’s really struggling, and not really getting the help she needs.
I liked that the book ended on a somewhat happy/hopeful note in comparison to the feelings of the rest of the book which felt a little bit unhopeful.
CW: Racism, xenophobia, sexual assault, declining mental health
Evening Primrose is an interesting short novel set in South Africa, and follows a young medical student as she trains to be a doctor but is finding it hard to live with the amount of xenophobic behaviour she witnesses everyday.
This book had some of the best period/menstruation rep I’ve ever read, and Masechaba’s relationships with her own female genitalia/organs, and how she felt towards her body was a strong message throughout this book. I actually at one point there was almost too much period talk (to the point where it stopped serving purpose and may have just been for shock factor, I don’t know).
There were parts of this book that ere hard to read, and i really felt for Masechaba as she tried to overcome some of her peers’ behaviour and feelings, especially her best friend. Masechaba’s mental health also takes a rapid decline halfway through this novel and it’s hard to read as she’s really struggling, and not really getting the help she needs.
I liked that the book ended on a somewhat happy/hopeful note in comparison to the feelings of the rest of the book which felt a little bit unhopeful.
3.5 stars
I received this book via NetGalley from publishers/author in exchange for an honest review.
Twinkle Mehra knows exactly what she wants to be when she leaves school - a world class female filmmaker and she's getting her start by directing a gender-swapped Dracula for a school festival. Twinkle's story is told through a series of letters she writes to her favourite female filmmakers (instead of a diary or journal) and we follow her as she tries to stop being the invisible girl in school, deals with a crush, and starts to possibly fall in love with someone she never expected.
This was a sweet contemporary book that is perfect for some summer days and speedy reading. Twinkle is very infectious, and fun and it's easy to get on board with her enthusiasm for film, and all things movies.
I enjoyed this story even though there were parts that were quite cliched (the kiss in the cabin in the woods in the rain). Sandhya Menon has a great way of bringing in some of the old romantic movie cliches into her books and making them work in fresh ways. Sometimes you can't help but be swept up in the simple chemistry of two characters and Twinkle and Sahil definitely had that. I also really like that Sandhya's books don't drag out kisses and romantic feeling outbursts until the very end of the book. Twinkle and Sahil kissed about 40% though and then they built up their relationship for the rest of the book, with some bumps along the way of course, but I really like that as I think it's realistic and healthy. I found Dimple and Rishi's relationship the same.
Twinkle's friendship and popularity woes is probably something that a lot of teenage readers may identify with,and I definitely felt really sorry for her at times, and infuriated by other characters. I did want to shake Twinkle sometimes and prove to her she was better with Skid, Aaron and Sahil then with Maddie and Hannah. Maddie was a very annoying friend at times, and while you can almost understand her actions, a lot of what she did was wrong and mean and I don't think she really gave Twinkle a proper apology at the end.
Twinkle did act a bit badly at times too but she was also so naive at times in this book, almost a little bit too naive to be believable. It was so obvious from the start who her email admirer was, and come on - in what world would it have ever been Neil? I also found it a bit unbelievable that she would be 16/17 years old and not have a cell phone. She had some secondhand cameras but no cell phone?
It's also made fairly obvious at times in the book that her mother is suffering from depression following the death of Twinkle's grandmother, and Twinkle does not deal with this well at all - in fact, she deals with it very selfishly in blaming her mother for not wanting to spend time with her. It was odd to m that Twinkle wouldn't be more worried about her mother, especially when she would go off by herself for hours and no-one would know where she was. I don't think this was addressed as well as it could have been in the book (and personally, I don't think a trip to India is going to magically fiix her mom's feelings, and low thoughts).
I really did enjoy this though. It was what I wanted in a contemporary and I will continue to read anything Sandhya Menon writes because I've loved both her books so far.
I received this book via NetGalley from publishers/author in exchange for an honest review.
Twinkle Mehra knows exactly what she wants to be when she leaves school - a world class female filmmaker and she's getting her start by directing a gender-swapped Dracula for a school festival. Twinkle's story is told through a series of letters she writes to her favourite female filmmakers (instead of a diary or journal) and we follow her as she tries to stop being the invisible girl in school, deals with a crush, and starts to possibly fall in love with someone she never expected.
This was a sweet contemporary book that is perfect for some summer days and speedy reading. Twinkle is very infectious, and fun and it's easy to get on board with her enthusiasm for film, and all things movies.
I enjoyed this story even though there were parts that were quite cliched (the kiss in the cabin in the woods in the rain). Sandhya Menon has a great way of bringing in some of the old romantic movie cliches into her books and making them work in fresh ways. Sometimes you can't help but be swept up in the simple chemistry of two characters and Twinkle and Sahil definitely had that. I also really like that Sandhya's books don't drag out kisses and romantic feeling outbursts until the very end of the book. Twinkle and Sahil kissed about 40% though and then they built up their relationship for the rest of the book, with some bumps along the way of course, but I really like that as I think it's realistic and healthy. I found Dimple and Rishi's relationship the same.
Twinkle's friendship and popularity woes is probably something that a lot of teenage readers may identify with,and I definitely felt really sorry for her at times, and infuriated by other characters. I did want to shake Twinkle sometimes and prove to her she was better with Skid, Aaron and Sahil then with Maddie and Hannah. Maddie was a very annoying friend at times, and while you can almost understand her actions, a lot of what she did was wrong and mean and I don't think she really gave Twinkle a proper apology at the end.
Twinkle did act a bit badly at times too but she was also so naive at times in this book, almost a little bit too naive to be believable. It was so obvious from the start who her email admirer was, and come on - in what world would it have ever been Neil? I also found it a bit unbelievable that she would be 16/17 years old and not have a cell phone. She had some secondhand cameras but no cell phone?
It's also made fairly obvious at times in the book that her mother is suffering from depression following the death of Twinkle's grandmother, and Twinkle does not deal with this well at all - in fact, she deals with it very selfishly in blaming her mother for not wanting to spend time with her. It was odd to m that Twinkle wouldn't be more worried about her mother, especially when she would go off by herself for hours and no-one would know where she was. I don't think this was addressed as well as it could have been in the book (and personally, I don't think a trip to India is going to magically fiix her mom's feelings, and low thoughts).
I really did enjoy this though. It was what I wanted in a contemporary and I will continue to read anything Sandhya Menon writes because I've loved both her books so far.
I received a free copy of this book from Black&White Publishing exchange for an honest review.
Kiko is about to graduate from high school and has her heart set on an art college that can send her far away from her troublesome family, and emotionally abusive mother. When she doesn’t get in, Kiko is distraught but the return of an old childhood friend ends up helping her in more ways than one.
This was a beautifully told story that was hard to read sometimes because of what the character of Kiko had to struggle through but was also amazing to read because as a reader, we got to see how she grew from strength to strength in each chapter and really came into her own.
I loved that each chapter ended with a description of a drawing Kiko had completed, and how the simple descriptions were able to sum up all her emotions and feelings of that particular chapter. It was a really nice touch that I really enjoyed.
The book does deal with some touchy subjects that may be hard for people to read about: sexual abuse, emotional abuse, suicide, anxiety.
i really, really liked the relationship between Jaime and Kiko. Their chemistry was very real, and while it wasn’t sparking hot for me, it was more on the warm, and bubbly side like hot chocolate or something. I was just urging them to kiss for chapters before anything exciting happened between them but it was so natural, i loved it. I also love that this book shied away from the ‘love interest heals all’ trope and Kiko realised she needed to work on things on her own before allowing Jaime back into her life, and she couldn’t use him as a crutch. It was such a healthy thing to see, and I really appreciated it.
Kiko struggles a lot in this book with self-love and self-acceptance, mostly because of the way her mother (who is a narcissistic of the highest degree) has belittled her her entire life. I loved that Kiko eventually discovered that uniqueness is beauty and everyone is beautiful in their own way, and beauty doesn’t mean white, blonde and blue eyes. While I’m not biracial, and can’t speak for the own voices rep in this book, I truly believe that some of Kiko’s struggles about being mixed race may hit close to home for many readers, and I just hope that they also feel the same self-love that Kiko achieves.
I think I would have liked to known more about Kiko’s relationship with her siblings in the epilogue. Things were okay with them but I would have liked to have known if they were any better as sibling relationships are so important too.
Overall, a really lovely book despite it touching on tough subjects. It was all done in a really great way, that made the book really enjoyable to read and a fun read despite being very real at the same time.
Kiko is about to graduate from high school and has her heart set on an art college that can send her far away from her troublesome family, and emotionally abusive mother. When she doesn’t get in, Kiko is distraught but the return of an old childhood friend ends up helping her in more ways than one.
This was a beautifully told story that was hard to read sometimes because of what the character of Kiko had to struggle through but was also amazing to read because as a reader, we got to see how she grew from strength to strength in each chapter and really came into her own.
I loved that each chapter ended with a description of a drawing Kiko had completed, and how the simple descriptions were able to sum up all her emotions and feelings of that particular chapter. It was a really nice touch that I really enjoyed.
The book does deal with some touchy subjects that may be hard for people to read about: sexual abuse, emotional abuse, suicide, anxiety.
i really, really liked the relationship between Jaime and Kiko. Their chemistry was very real, and while it wasn’t sparking hot for me, it was more on the warm, and bubbly side like hot chocolate or something. I was just urging them to kiss for chapters before anything exciting happened between them but it was so natural, i loved it. I also love that this book shied away from the ‘love interest heals all’ trope and Kiko realised she needed to work on things on her own before allowing Jaime back into her life, and she couldn’t use him as a crutch. It was such a healthy thing to see, and I really appreciated it.
Kiko struggles a lot in this book with self-love and self-acceptance, mostly because of the way her mother (who is a narcissistic of the highest degree) has belittled her her entire life. I loved that Kiko eventually discovered that uniqueness is beauty and everyone is beautiful in their own way, and beauty doesn’t mean white, blonde and blue eyes. While I’m not biracial, and can’t speak for the own voices rep in this book, I truly believe that some of Kiko’s struggles about being mixed race may hit close to home for many readers, and I just hope that they also feel the same self-love that Kiko achieves.
I think I would have liked to known more about Kiko’s relationship with her siblings in the epilogue. Things were okay with them but I would have liked to have known if they were any better as sibling relationships are so important too.
Overall, a really lovely book despite it touching on tough subjects. It was all done in a really great way, that made the book really enjoyable to read and a fun read despite being very real at the same time.
I received this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
DNF - 25%
Hold follows the story of Belinda who is a housegirl in Ghana before she is employed to travel to London and become the companion of the wayward Amma, and the friendship between the two girls.
I was hoping to enjoy this book as the cover is absolutely stunning, and I generally love books that original start off, or have strong ties to African countries as I normally find the setting and culture so beautiful and interesting to explore via literature. However the writing style with Hold just didn't capture me or suit my reading tastes at all.
There is a strange use of English used conversationally between the people in this book from Ghana, and I couldn't understand if this was, culturally, the way Ghanaian people would speak English or if the author was trying to do something. It was hard to read though, as it felt like it had originally been written in another language and then put through Google translate to transform into English. It wasn't nice to read and I felt it interrupted the flow of the story sometimes and made it stilted and awkward.
I know from other reviews that the second half of this book is better than the first but I just couldn't quite get there.
DNF - 25%
Hold follows the story of Belinda who is a housegirl in Ghana before she is employed to travel to London and become the companion of the wayward Amma, and the friendship between the two girls.
I was hoping to enjoy this book as the cover is absolutely stunning, and I generally love books that original start off, or have strong ties to African countries as I normally find the setting and culture so beautiful and interesting to explore via literature. However the writing style with Hold just didn't capture me or suit my reading tastes at all.
There is a strange use of English used conversationally between the people in this book from Ghana, and I couldn't understand if this was, culturally, the way Ghanaian people would speak English or if the author was trying to do something. It was hard to read though, as it felt like it had originally been written in another language and then put through Google translate to transform into English. It wasn't nice to read and I felt it interrupted the flow of the story sometimes and made it stilted and awkward.
I know from other reviews that the second half of this book is better than the first but I just couldn't quite get there.
I received this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sally Bright Baynard is a high flying divorce lawyer with a lot on her plate when her ex husband, who presides over local court, calls her in to help with a case - and become the lawyer for a dog stuck between two warring parents. Now on top of looking after her ailing mother, Sally must look after Sherman and determine which owner he is better off living with - and not fall in love with him in the process.
This was a really lovely, easy to read book that I flew through and was one of those type of books that felt a bit like a balm to the soul and just a whole load of nice! Which I really appreciated it.
This is a great book for anyone who loves a nice contemporary story that flows really well, has some really lively characters - both main characters and side characters like Gina and Dolores - as well as perfect for anyone who loves dogs because Sherman is just the cutest thing ever and even made me think about a mini schnauzer in my future!
The side plot in this book is sad as Sally's mother is living with Alzheimer's and it is slowly getting worse, and Sally needs to think about looking at care homes for her. The descriptions of Sally's mom and the little things that seem so simple but are hard for her now was really sad to read about and it could be upsetting for people who have experienced loved ones suffering from the same disease.
I do think parts of this book were a bit too fast for my liking and I do think it's because it's a shorter book (about 250 pages on Kindle) and the author wanted to have everything in there. Sally's relationship with the vet seemed to go from zero to 100 in literally a few minutes. I was really disappointed that Sally didn't adopt Carmen the beagle (Poor Carmen!) at the end as I really expected her to do that.
Sally Bright Baynard is a high flying divorce lawyer with a lot on her plate when her ex husband, who presides over local court, calls her in to help with a case - and become the lawyer for a dog stuck between two warring parents. Now on top of looking after her ailing mother, Sally must look after Sherman and determine which owner he is better off living with - and not fall in love with him in the process.
This was a really lovely, easy to read book that I flew through and was one of those type of books that felt a bit like a balm to the soul and just a whole load of nice! Which I really appreciated it.
This is a great book for anyone who loves a nice contemporary story that flows really well, has some really lively characters - both main characters and side characters like Gina and Dolores - as well as perfect for anyone who loves dogs because Sherman is just the cutest thing ever and even made me think about a mini schnauzer in my future!
The side plot in this book is sad as Sally's mother is living with Alzheimer's and it is slowly getting worse, and Sally needs to think about looking at care homes for her. The descriptions of Sally's mom and the little things that seem so simple but are hard for her now was really sad to read about and it could be upsetting for people who have experienced loved ones suffering from the same disease.
I do think parts of this book were a bit too fast for my liking and I do think it's because it's a shorter book (about 250 pages on Kindle) and the author wanted to have everything in there. Sally's relationship with the vet seemed to go from zero to 100 in literally a few minutes. I was really disappointed that Sally didn't adopt Carmen the beagle (Poor Carmen!) at the end as I really expected her to do that.