Hello all!! August was AWESOME frankly and I’m sad it’s over! But here’s to an equally great September! Before I say goodbye to the summer, let’s just look at some of the highlights of the last month! Starting with…
Hiking the Seven Sisters 😊
Finally going to the Word on the Water bookshop
Seeing the Inspiring Walt Disney exhibition at the Wallace Collection
Best of all, I went to see my friend in Edinburgh!! We had a great weekend and she gave me a grand tour of Scotland: going up to Stirling, the Highlands (with a wee bit of a Harry Potter tour), rambling round Edinburgh and catching a few shows on the Fringe! I was so grateful she got us tickets for Foil Arms and Hog (love their stuff on Youtube and it was great to catch them live!)
Also managed to see the Jersey Boys in the West End amongst all of that!! Anyway, I didn’t manage to watch much TV with all that running around, but I did see one movie…
Emma– for some reason, I really thought I wouldn’t like this adaptation, but I was pleasantly surprised. While there were some very (very very) strange decisions in places, I have to admit this worked so well tonally. Played off as a comedy, I found myself genuinely chuckling throughout. The casting was fantastic; the chemistry between the leads excellent. I particularly liked how the pair came across as squabbling children. The characters of Emma, Mr Woodhouse and Mr Eliot were captured particularly well. I even found the romance between Harriet and Mr Martin compelling. And of course, as you may have heard from other sources, the costumes were top tier. I also really LOVED the soundtrack. It did get a little over the top and the nosebleed was a particularly annoying way to ruin a romance scene. Yet, little touches, like when Emma goes to Mr Martin, made this one of my favourite Austen adaptations. Although, let’s be honest, an Emma adaptation is hard not to love 😉
Okay- onto the reading! I went on a bit of a thriller bender this month (unintentionally) so that’s what’s going to hog these reviews (but of course keep an eye out for the contemporary in there, cos it’s a good one 😉)
The Woman in my Home– I feel like this is definitely fodder for people who liked the Tinder Swindler, but yeesh, way too much of this hinges on everyone being stupid. I feel like it’s worse that the people who know that the (spoiler alert) dude who seems to good to be true is in fact a conman just confront him. Because what is the point in that?! It meant that there was no real surprises, since, shockingly, the conman doesn’t take too kindly to being blackmailed. But all works out well in the end (it’s just one of those thrillers where we’re owed a happy ending apparently). Honestly, I’m struggling to say anything positive about this stunningly average book.
Rating: 2/5 bananas
The It Girl– here’s a book that’s far from average however. With a dual timeline spanning from the protagonist’s days in Oxford University to working in a bookshop in Edinburgh, the setting had the perfect atmospheric vibes for a dark academia thriller. I was enraptured by this cold-case story, trying to figure out who killed her friend all those years ago. And, like many of her books, the characters were an interesting study. I will admit that the suspect was a little obvious- however the how and the why were particularly clever. Definitely a book that proves why Ware is the It Girl in the thriller world.
Rating: 4½/5 bananas
Reading Allowed– when I saw a book fall onto my desk about what it’s really like to work in a library I *had to* pick it up. I mean, dudes, that’s my jam. And I really did like that this shares the realistic stories. It was pretty cathartic knowing that, up and down the country, we’re experiencing much of the same things. Still, I couldn’t quite say I loved this book, since sadly the writing was pretty bland. I wish that I could recommend this more, because library stories are much funnier than this makes them out to be. But I guess you had to be there 😉
Rating: 3/5 bananas
The Hive– social media and murder collide in this thriller, as Charlotte Goodwin lets the public decide the fate of her ex-boyfriend: should he live or die? An absolutely gripping new thriller, with a fantastically performed audiobook. Focusing on the themes of sisterhood, the characters are what shone in this story. Because more than commenting on the foibles of social media, this book asks the question what would (or wouldn’t) we do for the people we love? I did see some of the twists coming, yet the last twist caught me out. And above all, I loved that it was more than just a thriller.
Rating: 4½/5 bananas
Act Your Age, Eve brown– of all the Brown sisters, Eve is literally the most fun. She’s flighty, unreliable and way too impulsive. Which makes for a great romantic heroine! And with her spontaneous and brilliant energy, her (mis)adventure turns out to be a thoroughly enjoyable romp. With a pinch of hate-to-love and a dash of charm, this was a super cute finale to the Brown romance trilogy and I was here for it!
Rating: 4/5 bananas
One Last Secret– on the plus side, this absolutely delivers on revealing one last secret (and then another and then another). BUT unfortunately a lot of this book read like torture porn and was really hard to listen to (evidently I went with the audiobook version). The subject matter, from prostitution to (highlight for spoiler) child death, was a little on the dark side for me and I can’t say I enjoyed it. If you have a stronger stomach than me, you may get more out of this. Because I can definitely say the twists are worth the ride.
Rating: 3½/5 bananas
The Disappearing Act– we all know the world of Hollywood is all smoke and mirrors- which is what makes this story of a missing actress so compelling. Yet the one issue I kept returning to with this book was why on earth did was the main character embroiled in this mess?!? Because this is one where you really have to suspend your disbelief for the mystery to work. Not many of us would traipse around a foreign city hunting for a stranger, after all. I also think the author forgot the golden rule of storytelling: we actually need to care about the people these things are happening to. I did enjoy the twist- yet struggled to get over the original premise. It would have made so much more sense if they’d had a real connection to begin with (and not a five minute awkward one pre-audition). Still, there was a very good twist. And, even if the messaging that success isn’t worth your soul was a little on the nose, it did deliver it rather well. Personally, however, I was most disappointed with the convenient finale that left it on too much of a hopeful note. Really I felt the ending could’ve done with a darker edge. But a round of applause for effort.
Rating: 3/5 bananas
That’s all for now! Some of those were pretty average, but there were some good ‘uns in there! Have you read any of them? What did you think of these? Let me know in the comments! And I hope you all had a good month! ❤
Ok a part of me is saying don’t pick Isla and the Happily Ever After… which means, of course I had to pick it. It’s like the best kind of ice cream and I never get bored of it.
Well that’s Carry On– cos it’s the best thing since sliced bread.
The end of The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials trilogy) is the first thing that comes to mind.
Oh gosh- I wanted to pick Carry On for this too! How about Emma instead? I love the relationship between Mr Knightley and Emma!
Ok how about a curve ball- it’s not my favourite book by any stretch of the imagination, but I did find Snow Like Ashes very exciting. I couldn’t put it down and I finished it in one night
The Secret Countess– cos it just warms me up from the inside out.
A Gathering of Shadows of course!!! I know I’ve mentioned this so many times already, but I couldn’t be more excited to read the next instalment in V E Schwab’s trilogy.
the orang-utan librarian 