Book Review- The End of the Day

Title- The End of the Day
Author- Claire North
Published-  April 6th 2017
Genre- Contemporary, literary fiction
Length- 416 pages
Rating- 1.5/5
Synopsis (Goodreads)- Charlie has a new job. He gets to travel, and he meets interesting people, some of whom are actually pleased to see him. It’s good to have a friendly face, you see. At the end. But the end of all things is coming. Charlie’s boss and his three associates are riding out, and it’s Charlie’s job to go before. Sometimes he is sent as a courtesy, sometimes as a warning. He never knows which.

Review- I received an ARC of this from the publisher so thank you to them.

I have read The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and really enjoyed it so was excited to read this. I have been hugely disappointed. Reading this was a waste of my life. It was a huge struggle to get through and I nearly DNF-ed it so many times. In fact I wrote an entire post about DNF-ing books, and it was inspired by this book.

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March Reading Wrap-Up

So, there is still another day of March but I am not going to finish my current book in that time so I thought I would do my wrap-up today.

I feel like it hasn’t been the best month for reading. Some of the books were pretty good, but none were amazing. I feel like most of the books have dragged a lot and I haven’t enjoyed reading as much this month. I still managed six books but that’s not as much as previous months.

I have been very good about writing reviews this month however, and have already reviewed all of the books!

Book Review- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Title- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Author- Maya Angelou
Published-  1969
Genre- Biography
Length- 317 pages
Rating- 4/5
Synopsis (Goodreads)- Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

Review- This is one of seven books that make up Maya Angelou’s biography, but it is not a typical biography. If you weren’t told that it was a biography you could believe that it was a work of fiction given the writing style. 

Book Review- Redemption Road

Title- Redemption Road
Author- John Hart
Published-  2016
Genre- Crime, mystery
Length- 433 pages
Rating- 3/5
Synopsis (Amazon)- Elizabeth Black is a hero. She is a cop who single-handedly rescued a young girl from a locked cellar and shot two brutal kidnappers dead. But she’s also a cop with a history, a woman with a secret. And she’s not the only one.

Adrian Wall is finally free after thirteen years of torture and abuse. In the very first room he walks into, a boy with a gun is waiting to avenge the death of his mother. But that is the least of Adrian’s problems.
He was safer in prison.
And deep in the forest, on the altar of an abandoned church, a body cools in pale linen. It is not the first to be found.

This is a town on the brink.

This is Redemption Road.

Brimming with tension, secrets, and betrayal, brilliantly evoking an America of small towns and remote landscapes, of the abandoned, the derelict and the desperate, this is a novel so chillingly suspenseful and a story so full of twists and turns that you simply cannot stop reading. It marks a new high point in the writing of this bestselling master of the literary thriller.

Review- I received an ARC of this book from the publisher so thank you to them.

This book is a little difficult for me to review as the genre  is one that I have realised I am not that keen on. That however, has no bearing on how good or bad the book actually is.

Book Review- Penance

Title- Penance
Author- Kanae Minato
Published- April 6th 2017
Genre- Crime, mystery, thriller
Length- 240 pages
Rating- 3.5/5
Synopsis (Amazon)- When a group of young girls are approached by a stranger, they cannot know that the encounter will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Hours later, Emily is dead. The surviving girls alone can identify the killer. But not one of them remembers his face…

Driven mad by grief, the victim’s mother demands the girls find the murderer or else atone for their crimes. If they do neither, she will have her revenge. She will make them pay…

Review- I received an ARC of this from the publisher so thank you to them.

The story is told by five people, the four young girls who were with Emily the day she died, who are now adults, and Emily’s mother. The way the accounts of these five people are written is very unnatural and feels forced. Each one of them is talking to someone in one way or another, in writing, in a speech etc. Much of what they say in these accounts people  just wouldn’t say in some of the situations they are in, it would be better if the accounts were told in some other format.

Are TBR Lists Good or Bad?

So, I don’t have a TBR list as such, I have a bunch of books on my shelf and Kindle that I want to read at some point, as well as a very long Amazon wish list, but I don’t plan my reading ahead of time. I am a mood reader, so a TBR list just wouldn’t work for me. The only thing I do stick to is reading my subscription service book right after I finish whatever book I am reading when it arrives.

I do however really enjoy watching TBR videos on BookTube, and I love it when people use an actual TBR jar, basically because I think they look cute. While watching these videos however it has become apparent that a lot of people find having a TBR list really stressful. So why do they do it?

Book Review- Unspeakable

Title- Unspeakable
Author- Dilys Rose
Published- March 9th 2017
Genre- Historical fiction/literary fiction
Length- 288 pages
Rating- 2.75/5

Synopsis (Amazon)- Based on a true case, a young man pays the ultimate price for saying what he thinks in this masterful historical novel by a writer at the height of her powers. Edinburgh in the late 17th century is the centre of religious authoritarianism, intolerance and fear. The flames of the city’s famous Enlightenment are yet to burn. Based on the true story of Thomas Aikenhead, this is the fictional account of a 20 year-old student who was the last person in Britain to be tried and executed for blasphemy.

Review- I was sent an ARC of this book from the publisher for review, so thank you to them.

This is a difficult book to rate and for such a short book it took me a long time to get through, I very nearly gave up on it multiple times. The story is ok, nothing spectacular, but ok. The language is the main issue.

February Reading Wrap-Up

So, February has been another good reading month for me. The last week was a little slower than the rest of the month but I am still pretty pleased with myself. I have finished 9 books so far this month but should finish my current one this evening.

I have read a good mix of genres this month, YA, thrillers, crime, contemporary and non-fiction!

I have also read a variety of formats this month. Until about six months ago I read almost exclusively on my Kindle but this month I have read ebooks, hardcovers and paperbacks. I have managed to persuade my fiancé to take me on two trips to the bookstore in the last few months and am building up a nice stack of books on my desk as a result!

Book Review- The Forgetting Time

Title- The Forgetting Time
Author- Sharon Guskin
Published- 2016
Genre- Contemporary, mystery
Length- 368 pages
Rating- 4/5

Synopsis (Goodreads)-  Noah is four and wants to go home. The only trouble is he’s already there.

Janie’s son is her world, and it breaks her heart that he has nightmares.
That he’s terrified of water.
That he sometimes pushes her away and screams that he wants his real mother.
That it’s getting worse and worse and no one seems to be able to help.

In desperation, she turns to someone who might have an answer – but it may not be one she’s ready to hear. It may also mean losing the one thing she loves more than anything.
Noah.

A novel that spans life, death and everything in between, The Forgetting Time tells an unforgettable story – about Noah, about love, and, above all, about the things we hold onto when we have nothing else.

Review- Overall I really enjoyed this book. I stayed up really late to read it which shows, at least to me, how good it is.

The characters are well developed and likeable, the writing is good, the story is amazing.

Book Review – Tiny Pretty Things

Title- Tiny Pretty Things
Author- Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton
Published- 2015
Genre- YA
Length- 448 pages
Rating- 3.75/5

Synopsis (Goodreads)- Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette’s desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever. When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.

Review- This book is clearly aimed at teenage girls, but I still quite liked it. It is full of bitchiness and everyone is incredibly overdramatic about even minor things, it’s entertaining.