Review: The FlatShare by Beth O'Leary

My rating: ⭐⭐

I loved the first fifty or so pages of this book. The premise was something exciting and different and I was really looking forward to reading the rest of this book.

Unfortunately, I didn’t end up enjoying it as much as I thought I would after the first fifty pages. I think it was partly because of me; my mental health experienced a large dip whilst reading this book and as a result I would leave it for days at a time, or longer. So, maybe with less fragmented reading I would enjoy this book more, but I’m still not entirely sure.

The way time moved in this book I found to be disconcerting. Days and weeks would pass on single pages as a result of the notes Tiffy and Leon were sending, whilst other times less than an hour would pass over five or six chapters. I think it was a natural consequence of having the two perspectives, but I felt really taken out of a moment when the perspective would shift and as a result, I didn’t really believe in the ‘chemistry’ between Tiffy and Leon. I tend to enjoy third person narration more and this is a book where I think I would have preferred it, especially so scenes would lack the jarring breaks.

Maybe I’ll give this book another go in future but I can’t be sure I’ll really want to.

Review: Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

This book was a bit of a disappointment. It struggled between being a romance and a political thriller with a foot not far enough into each realm to make it worth it. The building up of the romance from hate to them getting together felt too rushed and then quickly became a play by play of ‘Henry and Alex did this, Henry and Alex did that’. Adding to that the fact that I’m not invested enough in American politics to fully comprehend the campaign and the role of each of the ‘White House Trio’ in that, it made what should have been a fun and interesting read into less of that.

Having said all that, this book was not awful. There were some funny moments and I believed in the love between Alex and Henry. The email chains later in the book also highlighted the struggles of long-distance relationships that I feel are very applicable in the current situation.

Unfortunately though, I feel that this book will quickly fall into a pile with others that I have forgotten the plot of and for which I don’t care about the characters in.

[Goodreads parallel]

Review: This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is one of those books that I went into with slight worries because of all the amazing reviews I had read previously, but I need not have had them. This book made me laugh, it made me cry (if you want to know exactly when it was the end of section 9 and start of section 10) and it made me value the NHS even more. To hear how long these problems have been going on with no solution is heart-breaking and I know I’ll now be looking for more ways to help as well as making sure I treat every junior doctor, though I have to admit I don’t remember interacting with any since my early teens and I hope I was kind then, with more respect. It’s the least they deserve.

Review: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

I tried to read this book months ago, got 60 pages in and then didn’t pick it up for months. I think you have to be in the right headspace to read this book; you have to be prepared to read something very dense because even though in the version I read there were 396 pages, the text was small and the pages were large. On my second attempt, I think I got past those first 60 pages because by that point I had watched the 2019 film adaptation and therefore knew what was coming. Without that knowledge, apart from what had been spoiled years before in a Friends episode, I think it would have taken me even longer to read this book or I might not have even been able to finish it.

Having said that, and comparisons will be made to that film adaptation because I have little else to go off, I cared much more for Beth upon reading the book and may have been tempted to shed a tear. I enjoyed the playfulness of the friendship between Laurie and Jo and found the descriptions in the book really pleasing to read because in most other classics that I have read most of the text is speech and to me the story has less effect because of that. Contrary to a lot of opinions I have heard, I really liked the relationship between Amy and Laurie. As sad as it was that he and Jo weren’t together, I could also completely understand it; if their relationship had been allowed to continue there would have been a severe disbalance in romantic love between the pair and therefore Amy and Laurie were presented in the later chapters as a much better match.

Aside from the density, there were other downsides to the book. I didn’t like Meg as a character, especially after she got married. Obviously, times were different but her role entirely being encompassed by children and housekeeping while her husband went to other places for entertainment made me equal parts angry, that he shouldn’t have more of a role, and bored, because it seemed nothing of real substance. Also, the end of the book seemed to race through events far too quickly. In comparison to the earlier chapters which had taken their time, before you knew it, Amy and Laurie were married, then Jo and Mr Bhaer were and then suddenly they were running a school for boys. If the rest of the book had matched that pace it would have been fine but because the rest of the book took its time, it felt like a rushed job.

Review: Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a book and what a duology. This sequel had me on the edge of my seat as much as the first and had just as many exciting and unexpected twists and turns. At first, I read this book quite slowly because I didn’t want my time in this world to end, but I raced through the last 150 or so pages as each development meant this book was simply unputdownable. There were parts that made me smile, parts that made me want to cry (especially chapter 49) and parts that left my mouth hanging open in shock. I couldn’t recommend this duology highly enough and am just sad that I didn’t read this book sooner.

[Goodreads parallel]

Review: Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

This book succeeded in being intriguing and it was definitely a story that I wanted to follow through to the end. To say that it was 800 pages, it didn’t feel that long, but I do remember getting to page 200 and thinking that I was going to be in for a long ride. Deciding how I feel about this book has been difficult, in part I think due to its length because over so many pages, a lot happened. But, overall, there were aspects of this book that I didn’t like and certainly dampened my enjoyment of the story.

Firstly, and because it plays such a key role within the story, I didn’t like the relationship between Hunt and Bryce. I felt like them eventually getting together was too obvious even though they started off their relationship as ‘enemies’. As their relationship developed, it didn’t make me feel anything more for them, both as individuals and as a pair. Maybe it’s because, in typical Sarah J. Maas style, I assume they won’t remain together in the next book and that expectation has made me wary of wanting them to be together.

Secondly, whilst I enjoyed the final fight for Crescent City and found the fight scenes enjoyable to read, I didn’t like how Bryce’s firstlight fixed the city, repairing buildings and healing the injured. Whilst I’m glad the dead stayed dead, it felt like too much of a happy ending after this book trying to be more gritty and real by having main characters killed off and accepting the darker sides of life. Personally, I would have enjoyed it more if Hunt had died, especially as he was literally described as having been almost blown apart. Maybe that’s because I don’t like the relationship between Hunt and Bryce that much, but still.

As well as that, I thought Hunt’s betrayal and the whole storyline with the synth deal on the ship was poorly done. Throughout the book we had Hunt’s perspective and from that, I didn’t get the indication that he would want to start another rebellion, especially after how the last one had gone. It seemed to appear out of nowhere and be for the sore purpose of separating Hunt from Bryce for the final showdown.

So, why didn’t I give this book a lower rating? Because the story still kept me engaged throughout the bits that I didn’t like, because I wanted to have an answer to some of the mysteries and because of Ruhn. To me, he was one of the best characters in the book and I was hoping to see a lot more from him than we actually did. In the initial stages of the investigation, we got some chapters from his perspective and I thought that would be a continuing theme, but then they seemed to drop off until the end of the book. Still, I held out hope that we would hear more from him because even though he was treated badly by Bryce, I cared about him and what would happen to him.

[Goodreads parallel]

Books and Music

I’m someone who can’t read in silence. There needs to be some other noise, preferably music, but if that isn’t possible then the sounds of other people or rain outside is a must. Something about having to force my mind to focus on the book instead of the music helps me to read, though if the plot is particularly complex then the low-fi beats are what I choose.

Sometimes though, I end up listening to one song on repeat while reading and whenever I read that book or hear that song, I think of the other.

This has happened memorably with three books and songs.

The first was The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. Reading this series as a teen, I was deep in my Panic! at the Disco phase and so the whole time I read this series I was listening to ‘The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage’ from their first album. Does this relate to the series in any way? Not really, though I suppose connections can be made by the story that the song tells and it saying to not trust those in power which the series explored to some extent. Still, whenever I hear that song, I think of the Iron Fey series.

The second was The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, and while I was reading those three books I was listening to ‘Bloom’ by The Paper Kites. To me, the song is quite magical, and it put me right into the historical, Russian-esque setting. Despite all the action in those books, listening to that song and having it as my reminder of them makes my memory of the series take on a calm and relaxing nature. I’m sure if I reread them, I would be taken aback by how unlike that they are.

And finally, and most recently, while I was reading Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell, I was listening to Harry Styles’ Fine Line album, which soon switched to just my favourite song from that album, ‘Golden’. Now all I can think of when I listen to that song is Simon, Baz and Penelope taking their road trip across America. I think of all the songs that I’ve made a connection to books with, this one holds the strongest connection in terms of fitting the themes of the book. To me, it symbolises how Simon and Baz think of each other, how they’re scared of being with each other and how much they really like each other. I think without this connection to the song, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book half as much and it makes me more invested in their relationship than I was before.