Book Review - Think Again

 Book Title: Think Again

Author: Jacqueline Wilson

Series: Girls (Book 4)

Publisher: Transworld Digital

Release Date: 12th September 2024

Synopsis

⭐ Whatever happened to beloved Girls series characters Ellie, Magda and Nadine? ⭐They're all grown up now - but if they think life's done surprising them, they'd better think again...Being an adult isn’t quite what Ellie Allard dreamed it would be when she was fourteen years old. Though she’s got her beautiful daughter Lottie, life-long best friends in Magda and Nadine and her trusty cat Stella, her love life is non-existent and she feels like she’s been living on auto-pilot, just grateful to be able to afford the rent on her pokey little flat. But this year on her birthday, the universe seems to decide it’s time to for all that to change – whether Ellie wants it to or not. As she navigates new, exciting and often choppy waters, she’s about to discover that life will never stop surprising you – if only you let it.Bringing the same warmth and humour to an adult novel as she does to her work for children, Jacqueline Wilson finally answers the questions readers have been asking her for years in this uplifting, life-affirming book about friendship, family and finding fulfilment in unexpected places.

 

My Review:

 It’s been about 20 years since I read the ‘girls’ books but I know I enjoyed them a a teen so was excited by this. Ellie is now turning 40 and life hasn’t turned out exactly as planned.
This book still reads fairly juvenile- it’s very easy to read, kind of just fluff but somehow still gripping. I read it in about 3 hours total. 
There are quite a lot of mentions of sex- almost like Wilson is trying to prove that this is a novel for adults. 
It was interesting enough and I’m glad I read it, would give it 3.5 stars

 

My Rating:

 

 

Book Review - Games Untold

Book Title: Games Untold

 

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: The Inheritance Games - Short Story Collection

Publisher: Little Brown Books

Release Date: 12th November 2024

Synopsis:

There is nothing frivolous about the way a Hawthorne man loves.

An amnesiac playboy and the woman with every reason to hate him. A daredevil, his favorite heiress, and three nights in Prague. An unlikely pairing between a cowboy and a goth. Four brothers with an inescapable bond, strengthened by the family they chose, in a house of wonders that promises to always deliver one more secret.

Discover their stories of love and loss, power, puzzles, and life-and-death secrets in this mind-blowingly romantic collection that proves that when you love the way Hawthornes love, there is no going back.

This collection includes:
That Night in Prague (novella)
The Same Backward as Forward (novella)
The Cowboy and the Goth
Five Times Xander Tackled Someone (and One Time He Didn't)
One Hawthorne Night*
What Happens in the Treehouse*
$3CR3T $@NT@
Pain at the Right Gun

 

My Review:

Returning to this world was like catching up with old friends. This truly is one of the best series I have read in years and I cannot get enough. I worried that I would struggle to remember people and places as it's been a few months since I read the series, but I fell straight back into it and loved every moment. My only issue with short stories is that I always want more, but this is a charming addition to the overall series. 

I also liked that each story was from a different point in the series and focused on a wide range of characters, not just Avery. I mainly loved the story about her sister - the 'Cowboy and the Goth' - that one was really cute. 

My Rating:

Book Reviews: A Court of... Series

 

Title: A Court of... Series - Books 2-5

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Publisher: Bloomsbury

My Reviews: 

Mist & Fury: 

I devoured book 1 and we eagerly to get into book 2. This one is 624 pages so a lot bigger, there are some parts that dragged a little and I slowed down a bit with it, but I was so into the world and characters that I never would have stopped. The last 100 pages are just explosive and I am now desperate to dive into book 3.
I am quickly falling in love with this series and am so excited to see what will happen to Feyre, Rhys and the team next.

Wings & Ruin: 

I'm still really enjoying these books and there were parts of this book that I would give 5 stars too, but there was also a lot of additional information that slowed the book down, and at 700 pages it was really hefty. I am usually a quick reader but this took me almost 2 weeks, there were genuinely some days i didn't have time to read around work etc, but others that I just couldn't get going. Then I would make up for it and read 200 pages at once. It's not even the length - i've read longer before - but this one just felt long in places. I don't know...

Anyway, the Cauldron and Hybern are gaining power, Feyre and her sisters are trying to work out how to stop both before they end up in an all out war that will threaten humanity as well as fae.
I still adore Feyre and Rhys' relationship, they are so good together and they just totally complete and compliment each other.
It was good to see other characters back - Lucien and Tamlin etc. I found Elaine's whining to be rather annoying but enjoyed her character growth by the end.
I loved this more than I didn't and am really tempted to go 4 stars...

Looking forward to the next installment which is a swift 233 pages!

Frost & Starlight:

Book 4 in the series and the shortest so far. It was actually quite refreshing to have a short book between the hefty volumes. This fleshes out some characters and shows some necessary growth and developments without going into too much detail.
I love to see how Elaine is developing in her own right and I really feel for Nesta - she is clearly still grieving but can't seem to take help. I can feel Feyre's frustration of wanting to do more but not knowing how.
I look forward to reading the final book to see how it all plays out.

Silver Flames: 

Although this book is a bit of a brick in size, it was actually quite a quick read. I really enjoyed having Nesta and Cassion as our main characters instead of Feyre and Rhys. It was really nice to see how Nesta grew and changed and started to let others in. A mix of adventure, romance and mystery this book will hook you in and keep you gripped until the end.
I thought this was the last book in the series, but it ended with a lot of things not tied up and still a threat of future war, it will be good to have another book but annoyed that I will have to wait for it.

My Rating Overall

Book Review - A Court of Thorns and Roses

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book 1) 

Publisher: ‎ Bloomsbury

Release Date: 5 May 2015

ISBN-13: ‎ 

9781635575569

 

My Review

I've heard a lot about this series both positive and negative, but a colleague at work lent me her box set of the whole series, with a positive recommendation so I thought - why not!?
A lot of people I have spoken to have said that book 1 is quite slow, but I found myself hooked from early on and I read it all in a day once I'd got started. I really enjoyed the world that was created and I came to like the characters. I like the idea of the masks and the 'blight' on the land that was taking magic and causing chaos. Tamlin is a great lead character, but I actually found myself wanting to know more about Lucien. Feyre is a flawed, yet strong female lead and I actually really liked her, she wasn't too cliche or whiny and I look forward to seeing where this journey takes her next.
The book was giving me serious 'beauty and the beast' vibes but in a charming way, and with enough differences and twists to keep me interested.
I will definitely be devouring book 2 tomorrow.

My Rating

Book Review - Onyx Storm

 

Title: Onyx Storm

Author: Rebecca Yarros

Series: The Empyrean (Book 3) 

Publisher: ‎ Red Tower Books

Release Date: 21 Jan 2025

ISBN-13: ‎ 9781649374189

My Review

I really enjoyed the first two books and was really excited to read this one, luckily a friend at work read it in the first two days it was out and then let me borrow it - she's a legend for sure!
It took me a few minutes to get back into the story, I'd read 15+ other books in the meantime so my head wasn't totally in the world, but I soon found myself back up to speed and remembering who everyone was - or at least the important people.

This book continues to develop both the characters and the world, and it all feels so familiar yet exciting and thrilling at the same time. Violet is trying to find a cure for Xaden as well as searching for the seventh breed of dragon. It seems like an impossible task and with their share of fights and ambushes along the way it keeps you turning the page.

Spoiler **

I was really sad about Andarna's story and felt the loss of her along with Violet when she left, but was all the happier when she came back at the end. I still love Tairn and it was nice to see the group dynamics grow.

I will definitely be re-reading these when the next part eventually comes out, I just hope Yarros doesn't make us wait too long, but rumour says it could be a couple of years :(

 

My Rating