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

 

Book Review - Murder Most Unladylike

 

Title: Murder Most Unladylike

Author: Robin Stevens

Series: Murder Most Unladylike (Book 1) 

Publisher: ‎ Puffin 

Release Date: 18 Feb. 2016 

ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0141369761

Synopsis

1934. When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up a secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find a truly exciting mystery to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia's missing tie. Which they don't.)
But then Hazel discovers the body of the Science Mistress, Miss Bell - but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls have to solve a murder, and prove a murder has happened in the first place before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally),
But will they succeed?
And can their friendship stand the test? 

 

My Review

I have seen these books around a lot over the last few years and I always looked at them and thought they would be the sort of thing that I would enjoy but I had never got round to reading them. Then in the last couple of weeks of term, my class had a library lesson and the librarian read an extract from one of the books and I was engrossed. I asked if I could borrow the first book and she gave me a copy straight away. My mum then also told me she was planning on reading them, so we are making our way through the series together and then talking about them.

This is the first book in the series, it is set in 1934 in a girls boarding school, Hazel Wong is our narrator, a young girl from Hong Kong who has come over to America for her full education, learning to fit in and be a part of English society seems oddly challenging to her, but she observes all around and does her best. I like Hazel, I think she is funny and silly and has a good sense of humour. She makes friends with Daisy Wells who is the quintessential English girl - blonde hair, blue eyes, popular and daring. Together they form a Detective society, although nothing of any excitement really happens. Until Hazel finds Miss Bell, their science teacher, dead on the gymnasium floor - suddenly they have a real murder on their hands, and they need to solve it before the whole school finds out, or worse, someone else is next!

I really enjoyed the book, the Agatha Christie references are quite obvious, but there is a real charm about the books, you can't help but like the characters, and the story is fast paced enough to keep you hooked. I had to know who was behind it, and I feared for Hazel and Daisy at times, hoping they would triumph. I had suspicions as to who it was and was pleased that I was proven correct, but I wasn't able to fully solve everything and there were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing.

I will definitely be reading more of the series and would recommend these to anyone who loves a good mystery, they are gripping, charming and delightful.

 

My Rating

      

Book Review - All Dogs Great and Small

 Title: All Dogs Great and Small

Author: Graeme Hall 

Publisher: ‎ Ebury Press 

Release Date: 18 Feb. 2021 

ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1529107449

Synopsis
Have you ever wished you could get the dog in your life to behave better?
Enter Graeme Hall: The Dogfather.
Having worked with more than 5,000 dogs, of all shapes and sizes, Graeme has seen pretty much every behavioural issue going. And - whether it's house-destruction, fear and anxiety, or aggression - he's helped to fix it.
From the Great Dane scared of a chihuahua and the Labrador that barked whenever his owners tried to eat, to the schoolboy error that landed him in hospital, in All Dogs Great and Small, Graeme shares some of his hard-won, often hilarious, success stories (as well as the odd disaster). Backed up by scientific research, he also reveals his simple, practical and effective golden rules for dog training, which will enable you to understand your dog, help you drive better behaviours and give you the tools to bring much-needed harmony to your home.

My Review

This isn't my normal type of read, but I enjoy watching 'Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly) on TV and my dad bought this book and offered me the chance to read it. I don't have a dog myself but often go over and walk my parents dog so I thought, 'why not?' and gave this a go.

It tells stories from Graeme's career and some of the encounters he has had with dogs and their owners, but also offers some advice and wisdom on how to get the best behaviour and response from your dog. It's easy to read and flows really well, it reads like Graeme is talking to you, which I really liked. 

There is a certain sarcastic humour to parts of it, and of course things that should be common sense, but I really enjoyed reading his take on training and situations and would definitely apply some of them to my own dog when I get one in the future.

A very interesting book with some helpful tips and tricks and some heartwarming stories too. A must for any fans of the show, or any dog owners.

 

My Rating

    

Book Review - Melt

 

Title: Melt

Author: Ele Fountain 

Publisher: ‎ Pushkin Children's Books 

Release Date: 29 April 2021

ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1782692881

 

Synopsis

Yutu lives in a remote, Arctic village with his elderly grandmother. Their traditional way of life is threatened by the changing snow and ice, which melts faster every year.
Bea is trying to adapt to yet another new school. Worse still, her father’s new job takes up any spare time, and his behaviour becomes odd and secretive. On a trip she hopes will fix things, their fates take a drastic turn and Bea's life becomes entwined with Yutu's in a way she could never have imagined.
Together, they are locked in a desperate race for survival.

My Review

I started my summer holidays off with this book, we will be using this book during the first week of term with our new year 7's (11-12year olds), so I needed to read this so that I can help plan some lessons based on it.

I was worried that the book would be really preachy and overly factual but I was very pleased to find that it was actually a really nice story based around 2 different yet likeable characters and their struggles with fitting in and finding purpose. There is some mention and focus on the fact that the ice is melting and therefore people's way of life is changing, but it was presented as more of a challenge that our characters faced within their lives and those around them, and I never felt like I was being moaned at or coerced into donating to something. It was handled subtly but still with meaning.

The story starts with alternating narrative, the chapters alternate between Yutu and Bea. Yutu lives in a small, remote village in the arctic, his parents died when he was a child and he has been brought up by his grandma. She is very over-protective and never seems to want Yutu to do anything. He goes to school, he studies and he helps round the house. But Yutu has dreams, if he studies hard enough he may be able to get into a college and leave his tiny town. But his determination to prove himself often gets him into trouble.

Bea has moved to another new school, her father's job means they move around a lot, and this is at least the tenth or twelfth move. Immediately she feels like she doesn't fit in, she somehow upsets the popular girls and suddenly life is miserable. On top of that, her father starts to act strange and she feels like she is being pushed away by everyone. Then her father invites her on a flight for a job, but when they get ambushed, Bea has to run and try to find help, that's when she meets Yutu.

After that all the chapters are narrated by Bea, i did miss Yutu's voice a bit, but it definitely made it easier to follow, having to focus on just one point of view.

I found the book very easy to read and follow, I liked the main characters and I felt myself getting invested in their story, I wanted to know what would happen and if they would survive. The book is not very long and I had finished in just over 2 hours. It was creative, moving and different and I certainly enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.  

 

My Rating

  

Book Review - The Girl Who Speaks Bear

 

Title: The Girl Who Speaks Bear

Author: Sophie Anderson 

Publisher: ‎ Usborne Publishing Ltd 

Release Date: 5 Sept. 2019 

ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1474940672

 Synopsis

Found abandoned in a bear cave as a baby, 12-year-old Yanka has always felt out of place in her small village. When she wakes up to find that her legs have become bear legs, she sets off into the forest to discover who she is, on a journey that takes her from icy rivers to smouldering mountains, with an ever-growing group of misfits alongside her... Interwoven with traditional stories of bears, princesses and dragons, Yanka's journey is a gorgeously lyrical adventure from the best-selling author of The House With Chicken Legs. 

 

My Review

This is the last of the Carnegie shortlist books that I have been reading. From the blurb, I thought is sounded a bit weird but very intriguing and i think the cover is beautiful so I was quite looking forward to reading it. 

Yanka was found as a baby outside a bears cave, she was taken back the village by the person she now calls mother, but Yanka has always felt out of place, much bigger and stronger than all of the other children and with a yearning for the forest, she isn't sure where she belongs in life. Then one morning, she wakes up to discover that her legs have turned from human to bear! Desperate not to let anyone see, she runs away and takes off into the woods - desperate to find out what is happening to her and guided by old folk stories and legends.

That was my favourite part of the book - between chapters there would be a traditional story printed that was linked to this story, so you got a variety of other tales too that all connected and made the world seem more alive and realistic. I actually preferred the legends to the main story.

I found Yanka to be quite a strong and brave young lady considering what she was going through but at times she could also be very annoying and naive. But I did find myself hoping that she would find her happiness.

The story was quite odd, and I wasn't entirely sure of the relevance of all of it, it is quite convoluted in getting to the ending and i skim read some parts as i got a bit bored, but overall I really enjoyed the story and would definitely like to know more about the background of her father and ancestors and their links to the bears.

Overall, I enjoyed it and wouldn't be upset if it won.   

My Rating

    

Book Review - Clap When You Land

 

Title: Clap When You Land

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo 

Publisher: ‎ Hot Key Books 

Release Date: 5 May 2020 

ISBN-13‏: ‎ 978-1471409127

 Synopsis

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people...
In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance - and Papi's secrets - the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they've lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
Papi's death uncovers all the painful truths he kept hidden, and the love he divided across an ocean. And now, Camino and Yahaira are both left to grapple with what this new sister means to them, and what it will now take to keep their dreams alive.  

 My Review

This was another of the Carnegie nominated books, it is also another one written in verse - which seems to be a bit of a trend at the moment. The book is also told in a duel narrative - splitting between Camino in the Dominican Republic and Yahaira in New York. They both share the same father, but neither knows of the others existence. He splits his time between life in New York and the summers in the DR, Camino knows he has a family and his main life is in NY, but Yahaira assumes that he goes away for business each year.

Then at the start of summer, his plane crashes, there are no survivors and suddenly both girls have to come to terms with the loss, and when they discover that he had more secrets than they could have ever imagined, they also have to come to terms with having a whole new family. But can they get along, when they are so different?

The story was better than I expected, but very slow to get started. I found it quite difficult to tell the difference between the two narratives at first - both girl seemed quite similar, but as the story progresses they do start to develop their own characteristics and personalities and the story got more exciting.

I liked the concept of the story, the idea of the two worlds colliding and the two very different lifestyles having to find the common ground. And it was executed fairly well, but I honestly think I would have got more out of it if it had been written in prose, I craved more details, I wanted to know more about the girls and their backgrounds and the places they lived. Verse novels tend to skim the surface, and whilst some do give details in a clever way, this one just felt like there was something missing.

It wasn't a bad read, and I'm glad i've read it, but I wasn't blown away by it.

My Rating