Book Review: Hero Born by Andy Livingstone

Read: January 17 - 19   Verdict: 4 Stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

Hero Born tells the story of Brann, an ordinary boy who is captured by slave traders and ends up being a rower on a pirate-turned-slaving ship. Under the care of stern but kind Captain, Brann soon ends up discovering that he has skills that better suit the battle field than his father's mill. Brann ends up in lands farther than he could have ever imagined and caught up in battles he could only ever dream of fighting. 

This was a really good start to a fantasy series. From the start I was really intrigued and couldn't wait to see what happened.. Brann's time on the ship is very detailed and it's obvious a lot of investigation went in to getting it exactly right. I really enjoyed both the storyline on the ship and on land but I think I preferred how Brann's storyline progressed when they travelled to Lord Raggnar and Lord Sigur, There was nice world-building but not all at once. Brann was pretty good at describing what he was seeing in all its splendor due to his curiosity but I also liked that the reader got an idea of how the kingdom worked through the Captain explaining it to Brann. 

Brann was an extremely likable character and it's easy to see how he ended up making so many friends. His friendship with Gerens, Konall and Konall's page (whose name is escaping me right now) was lovely and seemed to help replace the friendship Brann had with his brother. The Captain was very intriguing, he wasn't quite a hero being the captain of a slave ship (even if he was 'forced' into it by his circumstances) but he wasn't an anti-hero either. He certainly had a very interesting background and I'm looking forward to seeing him take Brann under his wing properly in the second book and maybe teach him a bit of fighting. Konall was also an exciting character to read about. He definitely became one of my favourites which is funny as I didn't like him at all when Brann first met him. His character development was great and his affection towards Brann was pretty heart-warming. And then Gerens and Grakk, both slaves but both become fierce friends and defenders of Brann. Both characters were great additions to Brann's friend group (and the original additions).

I did find the overall pace of the book slightly slow at times, in particular when Brann and Konall teamed up for their rescue mission. The build-up to them getting to the village was very long, as was their coming back and it began to bore me and I just wanted a bit more action in those parts. I was also disappointed at the lack of female characters in the book. It would have been great to have actually seen a woman fighting when there had been talk of them being able to do so.

Overall, a great fantasy book and I can't wait for the next one!

Book Review: The Vintage Cinema Club by Jane Linfoot

Read: January 15-17    Verdict: 2 Stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

God, I'm glad this one is over.

The Vintage Cinema Club follows three women, Izzy, Luce and Dida who all run a vintage shop at the site of an old cinema. The building is owned by Dida's husband, a man who enjoys cheating on his wife more than staying at home with his kids, and he puts the building up for sale without telling any of the women. Now the women have to find out how to save the shop while dealing with some problems on their own.

The summary of this book is very misleading. I thought I was going into a story that would be split more or less evenly between all the women but it was about 80% just Izzy and Xander. Now, that would be okay if it wasn't that for the most part Izzy was utterly intolerable. At only 17% through, I wanted to DNF this book simply because of the amount of times Izzy had already spoken about her broken home life. While I didn't mind finding out about Izzy's life growing up, it was mentioned SO MANY TIMES I wanted to scream every time she did. It was extremely irritating. Izzy was also extremely judgemental, especially when it came to Xander. This guy literally was doing everything to make life easier for her and then she blew up at him because his dad was rich...even though she was well aware he made his own money with his own career in property and film.

And then there was Luce and Dida...but their storylines seemed to have been completely forgotten about because of Izzy's. Izzy's story took up about 80% of the book and then it seemed like the author forgot she also had to write about the other two and scrambled up something really quickly. While Luce's story was extremely bland and predictable, Dida's left me with a bad taste in my mouth. She was completely okay with her husband sleeping around with god knows who (and coming back to her bed) but then when the shop sale went through, she decided to go on a date with someone to get her own back? I felt like the relationship should have been given much more time than what it was given.

Overall, I can't recommend this book as I just really didn't enjoy anything about it.

Book Review: Somewhere Only We Know by Erin Lawless

Read: January 14   Verdict: 5 Stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

Alex works a pretty boring desk job in the immigration office, pretty much going through the same motions every day until he comes across a visa application for a Russian girl called Nadia. Something about Nadia and her friend's character references sticks out and Alex remembers her. Like a twist of fate, Alex bumps into Nadia a week later and the two become unlikely friends - taking trips around London to brighten up Alex's life while also making sure Nadia sees everything she needs to see before her inevitable deportation.

I really loved this book. From the get go it was super cute and all the characters were very relatable and likeable. Alex had a cute shyness that reminded me of Lincoln from Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, as well as the slight likeness in getting to know Nadia through correspondence read in work. Nadia was very bubbly and hard not to like. She was kind and hard-working and didn't mope about feeling sorry for herself. I don't know much about immigration rules and about the visa process but I thought the novel was good in showing how frustrating it was to be waiting around for something that could change the rest of your life. The journey to her appeal was a pretty bleak one and Nadia had a wonderful support system - friends that were more or less her family. It's hard to imagine what something like that must be like for someone going it alone.

While this book was definitely full of the not-so-surprising twists and turns you'd expect in a rom-com book, it was just such a pleasure to read. I completely fell in love with all the characters, and the friend group had such a lovely dynamic that even included Alex and Rory (thankfully not Lili). I definitely recommend anyone to pick this up for a light-hearted yet touching read, plus it really gives you those London feels and made me want to back to the beautiful city straight away!

Book Review: The Sin-Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

Read: January 10-12   Verdict: 3 Stars


Twylla is only 17 years old and she can't touch anyone or else they drop down dead. Believed to be the Goddesses' Daughter Embodied, Twylla is able to drink poison and not die but this makes her touch deadly and she is used as an assassin for traitors. Twylla loves a lonely life but suddenly things start to change. Her betrothed, the Prince, arrives back from his travels and into her life again and her new guard Lief suddenly has her questioning everything she's ever been told.

This book was good and I did enjoy it but to be honest, I think I was more excited over the beautiful cover of the book rather than the content itself. I enjoyed the world building and the history we received about the stories about the gods and their daughters but for the most part, Twylla basically did nothing. She sat around and moaned about her life, and then she talked to Lief for a bit and then moaned for a bit longer. It got a bit boring after a while. I also found that Twylla mentioned her sister wayyy too often. I mean she has brothers and doesn't seem to care about them a jot. She mentioned them twice, and not in a particularly emotional way but as a reader, I felt like i was totally getting the little sister cliche pushed into my face (The Hunger Games has been there, done that) and i got tired of it. I did really enjoy hearing about The Sin-Eater. I thought it was such a unique custom and anytime she talked about it, I was riveted. 

I didn't particularly enjoy the relationship between Twylla and Lief. It was very forced and obvious but I wonder if i would have enjoyed it more if Lief didn't remind me, personality-wise, so much of Po from Graceling which this novel itself resembled (the only difference being that Katsa can fight and be fairly independent - I didn't feel like that with Twylla). It just went too quick for me, and i would have enjoyed them getting more time to actually get to know each other. I also found the lack of female friendships in this book a bit sad and annoying. I understood that Twylla can't really be near anyone and no-one can be near her but I would have liked if she had sparked a friendship with the maid or someone or even have had some kind of trope matronly figure to watch over her. I also found it strange how she was being groomed to be Queen yet they never taught her to read.

Overall, I found this book just a bit too dull for my liking. I don't think I'll be buying the next book, but I'll get it from the library if I see it. It seems to be following two different characters as well so I'm hoping the story will be a bit more exciting and action-packed than this one.

Book Review: Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

Read: January 5-7  Verdict:5 Stars

Holy effing shit, this was good.

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

Hidden Bodies publication date: February 23
You followed Joe as he fell in love with Beck and became rather...obsessed with her. Caroline Kepnes' first book with Joe was chilling and creepy and downright fascinating. Hidden Bodies continues Joe's story and we go different places with him, in both location and sanity.

It's literally hard for me right now to write down my thoughts on this book as my head is spinning from it. It took me so many places and I was really on the edge of my seat for most of the latter half of the book. Joe seems to take on new life in this book and he wasn't so one-minded in this one as he was in You. I felt like he became a little bit more dimensional for me, and he stopped being someone just obsessed about someone loving him back but someone with other dreams and aspirations. It seemed we experienced with Joe, the moment he stopped and realised he could really be someone in life, and I really felt the excitement and nervousness along with him. Like in You, I really wanted things to go right for Joe and felt really happy when they did, and angry and sad when they didn't. Joe is not a good person and he does terrible things yet, for some weird reason, this book makes me forget about common sense and I just really love Joe.

I found the other characters in this book fascinating, in particular Love and her family. I really liked Love and couldn't figure out if she was an open book or much more complex than she was making out. I found Beck very unlikeable in You and I often wondered why Joe liked her so much and she was a bit of a mess. Love was a little bit more put together and while she definitely was a bit off-the-wall, I dunno, she just fit Joe so much more. I found Forty pretty fun to read as well plus everything to do with The Pantry and all the celebrity name-dropping. I really hope Reese Witherspoon and Amy Adams read this book and are like, "wait, what?"

One of the problems with You was how convenient everything wrapped up for Joe. I always felt he got off a little too easily so it was great to see him worrying now and again about certain things that happened in the first book. There were definitely times in this book that I felt Joe get too messy and I didn't think he was covering his tracks and I was so worried. It was almost like he had done it so many times, it just became a solution to all his problems rather than facing it like a normal person.

BUT HOW CAN IT END LIKE THAT? I feel like I'm dangling on a precipice and I just need Caroline Kepnes to hold out the promise of another book for a safety net. I need more, more, more! I definitely don't want this to be the last of Joe Goldberg.

Book Review: A Dog's Purpose by W.Bruce Cameron

Read: January 3-4 Verdict: 5 Stars


This book is phenomenal and an absolute must-read for anyone who has a dog and has ever wondered what they're thinking (ie: anyone who has a dog).

Bailey was first born as Toby, a stray puppy, but after a short and tragic life he became Bailey who found his boy Ethan. Bailey knows deep in his heart that this is the life he was suppose to have, living as a beloved family dog and cuddling up to Ethan every night to protect him. But when Bailey is born again, he's confused. What exactly is his purpose and will he ever fulfill it?

This book is full of both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. Bailey's love for each of his owners - as Toby, Bailey, Ellie and Buddy - is so beautiful and as I was reading the book, I could see the love described by Bailey being reflected back at me through the melting chocolate eyes of my own dogs and it definitely made me a little bit emotional. The trials that Bailey had to go through in all of his lives are the type of things that would make any animal lover angry and is why animal activism needs to continue - the unreasonable forced surrender of Senora's dogs, Toby being unfairly euthanised, being locked in a HOT car, being Bear and having an owner that didn't understand dogs or their needs - unfairly punishing him for things out of his control - and being abandoned simply because the owner was too selfish and mean-spirited to care for a dog and find them a loving home. These things really made my blood boil because they happen all over the world every single day and I think the way Cameron used these real issues to make the story and bring them to light was really well done.

This book is definitely a roller coaster of emotion. I laughed (Bailey's view on cats and horses is hilarious), I smiled, I was angry and sad. This is literally dog perfection in a book! Pawfect!

Book Review: Love You To Death by Meg Cabot

Read: December 29 - January 2  Verdict: 4.5 Stars

I first read this series when I was between 14-16 years old I believe and I really loved it so when I found out a new novel was coming in February 2016 with a grow-up Suze, I knew I had to reread the series.

I really loved going into this with a fresh pair of eyes and the knowledge I had the whole series to my disposal on my Kindle and wouldn't have to wait for the next one to show up on the library shelf (this was before the days of reserving books online, it was a 'you see it, you take it' kind of thing cause you didn't know when you'd see it again). I had forgotten a lot of the series except for the basics - 16-year-old moves to California, she can see ghosts, hot ghost in bedroom, whole load of trouble.


Suze is a great character, She's independent, spunky and confident but also has a degree of warmth and caring. She doesn't let bullies or snobs get away with anything and likes to share her opinions. One of the best things I loved about the book was Suze's family dynamic. I forgot how great it was. Despite the fact she hardly knew her stepbrothers, I always felt they settled down with one another really well and with a lovely level of caring, from David/Doc's fawning over Suze to Jake/Sleepy's role of big brother caring for little sister. There was very little angst between them other than some normal sibling squabbles and her relationship with her stepdad Andy was also lovely. The family life was healthy and great to read.

I'm knocking off a half a star to the book basically because at times I felt uncomfortable with the attitude towards suicide. Suze's first ghost in the book, besides Jesse, killed herself after her boyfriend broke up with her and she became a malevolent spirit, intent on harm.I literally winced at how unfeeling Suze was at times and I'm not sure if the casual way she says "blow your head off" would go down as well in a book written today when society in general has a much better attitude towards mental health and suicide. There was basically nothing done to discover other reasons why Heather felt the need to shoot herself other than her relationship status and it definitely left the impression that she was just a stupid, shallow girl. There was also the use of the words "fag" and "fag hag" at one point which, again, I didn't enjoy at all. Though in fairness, Dopey did get a slap and grounded for saying it.

Overall, I loved revisiting this book and I can't wait to read the rest. I've already fallen in love with Jesse. I hate the new covers though. I much prefer the old ones.