Book Review: The Floating Admiral ★★★★★

The Floating Admiral is a murder mystery novel written by the Detection Club, a group of golden age authors who in their time were leading crime fiction authors. The collaboration featured Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and G.K. Chesterton among others. The novel is formed of twelve chapters, a prologue and a conclusion, each written by a different member of the club, each chapter had to make sense but the author did not know where the previous authors were leading the story. The authors had to submit a sealed solution of how they envisioned the murder happening, but it was left to Anthony Berkeley to bring all of the loose ends together into a neat bow, an amazing feat. In short I believe that this is a literary masterpiece.

When a body washes up in the sleepy town of Wynmouth stabbed in the chest Inspector Rudge knows that something fishy is going on. The body is in the vicars rowing boat, and he is clearly withholding information, the victims own identity is called into doubt and a key member of the family has disappeared. A real challenge for the inspector and the reader!

I was so surprised by this novel, I had huge reservations about it because I was convinced it wouldn't read smoothly, that I would note the changes between authors and that the story wouldn't gel together. I should have known not to doubt the Detection Club! All the writers involved are not only wonderful in their own right but also together. I am so glad they wrote this novel.

The story was complicated, that I will not deny, but it was marvellous, I rarely noticed the change in writing styles and actually found that it made the read more interesting and readable. The solution was clever, and masterfully composed, I did not suspect the murderer at all and was in fact convinced it was a different character, a true sign of a good mystery. The absolute gem in this book though is the range of closed solutions submitted by the authors which are included at the end. Each one produces an Ah-Hah! moment, especially that of Agatha Christie (and I'm not just saying that because she is my favourite).

If you are interested in  murder mystery novels and haven't read this, I highly recommend you get your hands on a copy, it may have been forgotten for eighty years but it is an absolute gem of a read and you won't be disappointed.

★★★★★

The Floating Admiral is £6.69 from The Book Depository or £5.35 from Kobo for the digital edition

Book review: What I Did ★★

What I Did by Christopher Wakling is the story of six year old Billy, who is having a grumpy day the same as his dad is having a grumpy day, while at the park he sees an opportunity for adventure and runs away from his father while he is on the phone and nearly gets run over. His father smacks him in his anger and his relief that Billy is unhurt, unfortunately for Billy and his dad a passer-by observes this event, reports his father for child abuse and the lives of the family are changed forever.

This is such a hard book to review as I had very mixed feelings while reading it, the concept was so interesting but reading it was like watching a car crash, I had very strong repulsive feelings while reading and I completely felt like I didn't want to keep reading. Being me, I have to finish anything I start, I know its stupid but I feel compelled to. It was definitely a weird feeling.

The novel is entirely told through Billy's perspective, and I really struggled with that. Having read Room and enjoyed it I didn't expect to find myself so frustrated by the child in this story, I found myself getting incredibly annoyed and angry with Billy myself basically because his childlike logic was so flawed, to the point where I felt like throwing the book across the room. That logic was basically that Billy's Dad had told him that the incident was over, in the past, and so Billy refused to tell the social workers what actually happened, but still told them enough for them to believe that he was being abused. Now I know I was a talkative child, so maybe a bit different, but even at six if I realised that things were serious and some scary grownups were asking me to talk I would have opened my mouth and talked for England.

Further frustrating is that the adults in the story didn't check all the facts, there is a moment where Billy is talking about his favourite David Attenborough documentary and the social worker thinks he is talking about being abused. I got so angry about that point in the story because a decent social worker would have profiled the child enough to realise that he was obsessed with David Attenborough documentaries and looked into wider possibilities for Billy's words. As someone who has studied child psychology (admittedly only at A Level) I know you have to think a little further outside the box when it comes to what kids say.

The ending of the novel actually turned out to be nowhere near as devastating as I had been imagining which was a huge let down for me, after persevering I wanted a strong conclusion, but the story was neither happy nor sad at the end, simply meh. The moral to the story lacked resonance because it was being taught to a six year old, if the voice of the novel had perhaps been Billy as an adult reminiscing on the impact his silence had on the situation, it may have felt more important, but as it was, the conclusion left me feeling quite empty of feeling.

Overall this book simply left me annoyed, which is disappointing because I wanted to love this book. I think if you are able to cope with being frustrated to the point of nausea while reading a book you could probably read this, but for me it was an incredibly difficult read!

★★

Book Review: The Secret Life of Bletchley Park ★★★★★

Did you watch The Bletchley Circle when it was on TV? I did, I was absolutely fascinated (and currently have season two, which aired last month, saved on my telly box to watch in one sitting.)

I had never, before the making of that television show, heard of Bletchley Park. I knew there had been code breaking as I knew that somewhere was a group of Brits that sussed out the Enigma Machine, but I didn't know that some of the code breakers had been women, and how bloody good they were at their jobs. Now to some, this may not be unusual as nothing at all was revealed about Bletchley until the 1970's anyway, but I am a librarian, and Bletchley Park was basically the beginnings of GCHQ, which is where librarians who want to be James Bond go to work, so for me not to know about this I felt like I had been living with a huge gap in my knowledge.

What happens when I find I have a gap in my knowledge? I go a little crazy trying to find out a whole lot of stuff about it, and that lead me to this wonderful book by Sinclair McKay. The Secret Life of Bletchley Park is most definitely a non-fiction work, describing what life was like while there, how the code breakers were recruited from the nations top universities, and how difficult life has been afterwards for the people who worked there, unable to share any of the information they gathered or even mention that Bletchley existed.

I am not going to sweeten this book up, it is a hard read, when I took this on I was not an experienced non-fiction reader and I really struggled to get into this as it simply didn't hold my attention at first. I remember sitting in my armchair exasperated thinking why do I need to know so much about each of these individual people's lives?!

This book is oh so worth persevering though, you need to know about those people because they are the ones who finally accepted they could speak up about Bletchley, and they passed on their knowledge before they passed away. As a Librarian (who, if you aren't aware, is essentially the preserver of knowledge for future generations) I struggle to not feel angry that so many of the people who worked at Bletchley still do not feel they should talk about it, and are letting a huge hole in our history stay covered up, I felt a deep pride for those people who have told their stories and allowed others to learn about their experiences so it did not take long for me to become engrossed.

Sinclair McKay took on a difficult subject, and though dry at times somehow he has managed to make it incredibly interesting, and I don't think that a better job could have been achieved. I could not wait to keep reading about the stages of the development of the Bombe machines, how close they were to cracking Enigma several times before the Germans got wise and upped their security. The tension of the time period is very accurately transcribed into the book, and by the end I was determined to go and visit Bletchley, something which is absolutely on my to-do list for this summer.

This has sparked a new interest for me, and the next book I fancy reading to do with Bletchley is Enigma by Robert Harris, a fictional take on code breaking, and I imagine that if you are not quite up to tackling the non-fiction Harris might be a good place to start for fictional renditions.

If you do fancy a challenge though I absolutely recommend you give this book a try.

★★★★★

Valentine's Book Review: Wedding Night ★★★★

Seeing as it is almost Valentine's Day I thought a romantic book would be in order, and when you want a girly romance to whom else do you turn than to Sophie Kinsella?

The queen of writing witty stories about modern women, her novels always make you chuckle and have a good dose of romance to them. I thought her latest book, the hilarious Wedding Night, would be a good one to pick up if you are in need of a light fluffy valentines read, but don't worry if you're single, this is just as funny a read if you aren't loved up yourself.

Lottie is unmarried and impatient, so when her current boyfriend Richard fails to propose when she thought he would she throws caution to the wind and ends their relationship. Left single and miserable, when her old flame Ben reminds her of their pact to marry each other if they were both still single at thirty Lottie jumps at the chance to avoid all the hassle and go straight for the ceremony. When Lottie's older sister Fliss hears of her plans she knows they are disastrous and tries to step in and ruin Lottie and Ben's wedding night, and subsequently their honeymoon, it proves to be no easy task, it is however full of laughs!

Obviously, this is Sophie Kinsella, it isn't going to tax the brain or make you feel like your life is full of meaning by the end of it, but when all you want to read is something fun and flirty this is the ideal story. The characters are daft, the plot line is crazy stupid, but that is absolutely what makes this story so enjoyable to read. I love Sophie's writing as she adds in such witty one liners which I identify with completely, her writing is often how my brain thinks ("putting the sausage in the cupcake" anyone? I snorted my tea when I read that one!) which I think is part of what makes them such easy reading.

We all have funny moments like Fliss and Lottie, and reading from both of their perspectives adds to the humour. I have a little sister and I often identified with Fliss's frustrations, and I am sure Tonia would identify with Lottie's annoyance at her overbearing big sister. The male characters are equally as enjoyable to read, I absolutely loved Lorcan and his interactions with Fliss's son, he comes across as haughty but is such a softy deep down and is only after his friend's best interests, something we all want in a man. Richard though a bit stiff at first quickly becomes a heart melter, and you end up rooting for him and Lottie despite his lack of proposal.

Wedding Night is a standalone novel, and although I loved both the characters and how funny it was I am glad that this isn't going to be stretched out into a series, the idea for the novel is so perfectly encapsulated in this individual volume that to try and adapt the situation to a wider range of plots would stretch it too far.

So why not treat yourself to a valentine's gift of a girly romantic read?

★★★★

Book Review: The Alchemist ★★

From what I can find, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a book with a cult following. A lot of people have read it, a good chunk love it and a few hate it, and some even call it a modern classic. I am afraid that though I wouldn't like to use the H word regarding a book, I didn't love this book, and I really wanted to.

The Alchemist tell the tale of a young shepherd who decides there is more to life than remaining in his humble home. He sells his flock of sheep and embarks on an adventure to make more of himself. He travels far and meets a wide variety of different people, each with a life message to impart.

It is relatively short at just over 200 pages so in theory shouldn't take long to read but it took me eight days to plough through this. I don't think that I have ever felt so inclined to put a book down and leave it unfinished as I did half way through this, possibly only by Death Comes to Pemberley. I just did not feel inclined to keep reading the story, it is full of spiritual preaching and I loathe preaching that is trying to pass as fiction. I absolutely had to sit and force myself to finish it (which took an hour and a half, not bad) but even by the end I couldn't find much that I enjoyed to redeem it.

The story is in essence a nice tale of accomplishing your dreams and following them despite hardship. This is a great fable, and one which is lovely to conclude a story with, but the message runs throughout the whole book very strongly. The secondary characters are always teaching the Boy a lesson, and there are omens which he must take heed of or suffer the consequences. Don't get me wrong I am an eternal optimist and you will never find me giving up my ambitions no matter what life throws at me, and I believe if you keep trying you will always get there in the end, but I don't think that the reader needed to have this told to them in such an obvious way. I can understand why so many people may enjoy it, as it may provide them with the boost they need to see the better side of life, but for me this felt very forced.

I enjoyed the character of The Boy, though again, due to Coelho's method of telling the reader his message we lack insight into the main character, he was ultimately a vessel for the message and I wish he had been fleshed out so that we could enjoy him as a character as well.

Ultimately I feel like The Alchemist is a moral story, and if you are in the mood for being reminded of your life's potential you may enjoy it, but if like me you already believe in your own ability to succeed I would give this a miss.

★★

Book Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks ★★★★★

Please excuse the awful photography with this one, definitely not up to my usual standard!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a bit of a harrowing tale, it is a non fiction investigation into the dark side of cancer research. The author sets out to investigate into the medical genetics source HeLa, a set of cancer cells which while extracted from an unidentified patient in the 1950's have continued to multiply under their own steam ever since, providing an endless source of cells for biomedical research and from which nearly all cancer research has stemmed. The cells were a mystery, as who this set of genes originated from was kept a closely guarded secret, and in the book Skloot sets about to find out who this person who has made such a difference to medical history was and to give them a voice.

I can honestly say that before reading this book I rarely, if ever, read any non-fiction. I don't know why but I just couldn't find an interest in it. Henrietta Lacks changed all that. I was intrigued by this story after the discovery of a cancer gene in our family. My family has an unfortunately long history with the big C from a patient and a research perspective, so I knew that there existed the fabled HeLa cells, I did not know however that there was a great back story to where they had come from. When I picked up the book and realised its subject matter I got stuck in and couldn't put it down.

The story of Henrietta is fascinating and heartbreaking, it grips the reader from start to finish as you are so conflicted. Henrietta was not even asked permission to have those cells of hers taken and preserved, her family had had no recognition for their contribution to medical history, these are things that nowadays we would be outraged to have happen to us but they were the norm for that time. And yet it is because of this that it is so hard to feel angry at this treatment because of the developments that have stemmed from these medical practices.

The science in the book is far from intimidating, making the complicated parts simpler to understand for a layman and not going into too much detail where it isn't necessary. I would definitely not let the scientific subject matter put you off picking this up. At its core the story is much more to do with Henrietta herself and the effect her illness has had on her family.

I think that with Cancer being such a prominent concern in our world, it helps to be a little more clued up on the origins of treatment. Science is moving so quickly in this field to the point now where a huge number of patients undergo targeted gene therapy rather than traditional chemotherapy, and that would not have been possible without HeLa and the insight into the genetics of cancer that she has given us.

★★★★★

Book Review: The Library Book ★★★★★

This book first came into stock at my library a few months ago. It was large print, which completely put me off, but I had been a follower of the campaign to put it together on twitter, I was a fan of many of the contributors, and I felt it was a great cause.

I read the large print edition, it made my eyes go funny but it was worth it. To read how we wouldn't have such creative minds as Stephen Fry and Zadie Smith and Susan Hill as they are today if it weren't for their access to the public library warmed my heart.

I promptly went to the shop and bought the standard sized copy, much cuter being pocket sized, and it is one of my most treasured books. It epitomises why I went into Librarianship myself, libraries are not just about books or computers, but about information, in whichever form it comes to you. It is about accurate and reliable information, and teaching you as a user how to find information you can trust. Information is absolutely the key to becoming the most that you can be as an individual and our nation should celebrate how easy it is for us to access it.

There isn't much more I can say about this book, it is a wonderful quick read of short anecdotes from some of the most prominent authors of our time, but I would like to share one of my many favourite snippets, this from Karin Slaughter about why she thinks we should encourage reading in children, I see the differences between children who are encouraged not only to read, but to enjoy reading, and those who are not every day at work, and this is surprisingly accurate:
 
"Children are selfish. Reading about other people creates a sense of balance in a child's life. It gives them the knowledge that there is a world outside themselves."

All royalties for the book go to The Reading Agency, which helps to support library events up and down the country, encouraging reading for all ages and abilities.

The Library Book is only £5.16 at the Book Depository, and it could help one more person find the information they have been looking for.

Let The Games Begin ★★★★

Let The Games Begin by Niccolo Ammaniti is a story about a party, a novelist, a singer, a satanic sect and a psychopathic property tycoon. Throw in a lot of alcohol, some elephants, and some fugitives from history and you get Let The Games Begin, where modern life combined with endless amounts of money causes chaos.

When I first received this book I have to admit I was a bit dubious about it. I had read very little about it as the majority of reviews were in Italian, and I had never heard of the author. The novel seemed to be the most intriguing book on the list of titles to review, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt and I am glad I did. The synopsis tells you very little, and I think that this is both a positive and a negative. You go into the novel with little preconceptions, but you also spend a good deal of your time reading it wondering what on earth it is actually about.

When I first started reading it immediately struck me that the writing was similar to Neil Gaiman, one of my favourite authors, in that it is full of wonder, you read unable to imagine how this story popped into the authors head as it is so full of creativity. This novel isn't one of fantasy though, but one of an extreme reality the likes of which would dumbfound a person if they were to be thrown into the middle of it, but it is a circus which celebrities and people in the public eye probably feel like they are often in the middle of.

The novel is funny, that I cannot deny, but it is certainly not laugh out loud funny, it makes you smirk at the idiocy of the characters. It is a satire of modern life, and you can obviously draw similarities with celebrity culture, excess and materialism, and so you chuckle as you imagine that real life celebrities are actually that self centered or dim witted, or on the rare occasion, that self sacrificial.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and I think my reading of it was only hindered by a couple of things, mainly that there was so much else going on in my life that I didn't get to just sit and read it. This is a novel which requires you to sit and pay attention because events unfold that wouldn't have even occurred to you as being possible. The second being that this is an Italian translation, and although it is a very good translation there are the odd words that stall the reader. I found it very difficult to get over the word Roman for instance, as I kept imagining centurions on Vespa's, and the odd few words are still in italian which I find makes it a little hard to grasp if you haven't knowledge of Rome or Italy and its trends in popularity.

Having read this I do think I would consider picking up one of Ammaniti's other works, though I think there is potential for the reader to be disappointed if the tone is different in them. This is definitely the sort of book that not everyone would love, or even have the time for, but if you like to chuckle along with an utterly outrageous story then you might find yourself enjoying Let The Games Begin.

Let the Games Begin is available from The Book Depository for £9.46

This book was sent for review by The Book Depository

Book Review: Maisie Dobbs ★★★

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear features the titular character, lady detective and early psychologist, Maisie as she tackles crime in the late nineteen twenties. The mystery surrounds 'The Retreat' a country estate where veterans of World War One have been disappearing to, signing over their fortunes and then promptly withdrawing from society never to be heard from again. Prompted by an old family friends plans to withdraw to 'The Retreat', Maisie takes on the case and investigates with shocking consequences.

The novel is quite inspiring. It's main character is a woman who has risen from service as a maid to being spotted for her intelligence and assisted through university. She is a pioneering study of psychology while under private tuition and it is this psychological angle which makes these mysteries a little bit different. This isn't simply a detective story, this is a detective the likes of Poirot, using her brain to judge character more than using any physical clues. The novel also takes us through various times throughout the course of the story. Maisie's youth in service, her time at Cambridge University and her time as a nurse during World War One. 'The Retreat' is not the only mystery to keep the reader gripped, as Maisie's love life is kept hidden, suggesting a deep tragedy.

I found this novel hard to get into at first, and it is this which has brought down the star rating, but by the time I had finished I was excited to read the next. There are a wide range of characters befitting the range in history, and each and every one, though quite stereotypical, is charming and has something more to them than it may first appear. The plot is complicated, that I will not deny. It jumps through time a lot and it can sometimes be a little difficult to remember exactly which year we were supposed to be in, but the flash backs though clumsy are necessary not only for this book, but for the arc of the whole series. These are mysteries within mysteries, featuring a primary crime that requires solving and then an ongoing curiosity for Maisie's own life.

If you like your detective stories classic, but with a little more intelligence than Wimsey, these are definitely worth a read.

★★★

Merry Christmas and Book Review! ★★★★★

Hello all!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are all having a great day and have been enjoying the festivities. I am greatly looking forward to Downton on the telly this evening, accompanied by the mountain of puddings we have in the fridge and this champagne cocktail from The Londoner that we are going to give a go.

I thought I would still post a book review today as I have fallen behind in the midst of the holiday run up (it is a busy time as I am sure you will all understand) and I have been wanting to review this particular book for a while, so if you fancy a bit of classic Christmas to have a read of over the next few days, give this one a go.



The timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens tells of his journey from Christmas humbug to generous friend and colleague, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future help a miserable old man open up his heart to the joys of christmas and learn the error of his ways and how to share with those around him.

I find it hard to review classics, because lets be honest, I don't want to be the one who just doesn't "get" certain classic authors, but if I am honest I really don't enjoy many of them. One particular author whom I have always struggled with is one Mister Dickens, studying Great Expectations completely put me off him as an author and although I often try to get into his novels I find I really cannot read them. One day I will accomplish them, maybe when I have less books to read that I consider to be more interesting.

For now though the only Dickens that I can easily read and regularly do is A Christmas Carol. I generally read this story once a year around the holidays in order to take some time to relax, it is so well known to me (and I imagine to most of yourselves, be it through muppet renditions or a more traditional version) that I find I do not have to focus particularly hard on what is going on. There is a distinct lack of Dickensian waffle (as I like to call it) and the story is so heartfelt and warming that by the end I feel all warm and fuzzy.

My particular edition (which I have had a few years now) comes in at just under 130 pages including illustrations, and I can often read this in one sitting during an evening winding down. It is perfect for after the presents and dinner but before Downton comes on, or for a boxing day when you still feel a bit too full but aren't ready to get out of the house to work any of it off yet.

If you fancy being reminded about what is really important at Christmas time, after the shine of new gifts has worn off, I highly recommend giving this a read. And then if you are so inclined, watching the Muppets version straight afterwards.

 ★★★★★

P.S. I always think a book that you are planning to read a few times should be a nice copy, so here, here, here, here and here are a few of my favourite copies for if you can't get your hands on the Acorn Press edition.

Book Review: The Five People You Meet in Heaven ★★★★

Eddie can see his death coming, an elderly maintenance worker at an amusement park, Eddie leaps to save the life of a little girl after a broken down roller coaster loses its grip on one of its carts. Mitch Albom describes how Eddie goes to heaven, where he discovers that before reaching your own perfect heaven you must first travel through five other heavens, where the inhabitants will show you the poignant moments of your life and the effect you have had, the lessons you should have learnt.

I was excited to read The Five People You Meet in Heaven because the concept just seems so interesting to me. I had never read any of Albom's other books despite hearing so many wonderful things about them, but I love books that question preconceptions about life after death and come up with different ways that it could work so I went with the reviews and grabbed it from the shelf.

This book is an incredibly quick read both because it isn't particularly long and also because it is so compelling a topic, the wonder surrounding the idea that five people would be waiting to tell you your own story when you die is so thought provoking. I read this in July, so I was bound to be more interested in this book than usual having recently lost my Dad very suddenly, but I think it is such an interesting concept that anyone who can think a little outside the box will have their interest piqued by it. While reading I wondered who my five people may be when I reach my own end, and whose life I may help to explain for them.

The story really is quite sad to read because Eddie believes that so little of his life had any meaning, he had so little confidence in his own impact on the world and in reading it becomes clear that he touched many lives even if only a small way. It warms the heart to think that we may all have inadvertently made someone else's life that much more important.

An emotional and thought provoking read, this is definitely worth picking up if you want your brain to start ticking while you read.

★★★★

Book review: The Night Rainbow ★★★

The Night Rainbow by Claire King is the story of Pea, a five year old girl who knows far too much about the hardships of life for such a young age. As she and four year old little sister Margot explore the French countryside surrounding their mother's home Pea inadvertently tells us about her knowledge of babies who don't come back from the hospital, her Papa who died and how difficult it is for her Maman to be pregnant again. Pea looks after herself and Margot without anyone stepping in or caring until she comes across Claude, a local man who takes the time to care for Pea and help provide for her.

I struggled a little with this book, not because it was badly written or because it lacked anything, but because it has an awful synopsis. Maybe it is just my penchant for reading crime thriller novels, but upon reading the original synopsis (which you can find here if you want to have a look) I was very wary of the character Claude, so imagine my surprise when there turned out to be no need to be as wary as I had been. As a result I spent most of the book waiting for some big bad event to occur that simply did not, I anticipated more grief for the already heavily grief ridden Maman, it completely altered the way I perceived this novel. It became less about a little girls depiction of her strength and more the less than idyllic life before it got worse. For me this was definitely a case of bad publishing.

If I were to read this again, or to read it without reading the original synopsis, I really do think I would enjoy it immensely, the perspective is that of a five year old, and I believe King has written this very well. It is very difficult to emulate an age that we are not, but Pea doesn't know too much or too little, and as is often the case with her age group she is incredibly observant.

Pea's view of the world is often lighthearted and upbeat despite her struggles to keep herself and Margot clean and healthy. Her descriptions of the location are marvellous, often making me wish I could still appreciate a tree or a meadow in the same way. Occasionally I found Pea difficult to read purely because as an adult we do not have the same patience for the small things in the same way that a small child does, and so I occasionally wished that more focus had been placed on snippets that were glossed over, and vice versa.

The story lacks a bit of drive, it is more of a float along read where you are taking in the scenery rather than one that drives you to keep turning the pages, but it is enjoyable to read despite its frustrations. The characters are charming and the world idyllic, and you are left feeling like your heart is softened in some way. I recommend this book, but please take no notice of the synopsis and simply enjoy the story as it comes to you.

★★★

Book Review: Kiss Me First ★★★

Leila is a bit of a loner, no not a bit, a lot of a loner. She has spent her teens looking after her sick mother, and upon her mother's death at the hands of a cruel disease she withdraws into herself, occupying a small flat and only finding social interaction on internet gaming and forum sites. She comes across Red Pill, a website where intelligent people enter into philosophical debate and she quickly becomes popular, Red Pill becomes her everything so imagine her pride at being asked to undertake a special task that only she can do by the website's founder Adrian. The task isn't a what, but a who, "Tess", Leila is asked to learn to be Tess online, and to take over all of her social media conversations so that Tess's family and friends will be none the wiser when Tess chooses to "check out" of her life. As Leila begins to take control of Tess's imaginary life she slips further and further away from any semblance of her own, and her ability to separate the two is challenged when Leila begins to fall for a character from Tess's past.

Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach is a book that surprised me. When I was asked to review it after reading the synopsis I expected a bit of a thriller, and instead found myself reading a character story that had me questioning our social media driven lives. The thing that surprised me most was how much I pitied Leila, I expected to feel slightly horrified by her actions, I went into this story fully expecting to have issues with all the characters and the plot and just generally wishing it had been more than it was, but found myself intrigued by the potential for this story to become reality. It is slightly worrying to think that someone may not realise that you are no longer alive purely because of your online interactions, but it is entirely plausible.

Now I am not saying I have no issues with the characters, because I do (as always). I really didn't like Leila, she was incredibly judgemental for a person who has little life experience. She is one of those infuriating characters that you love to loathe, her attitude is such that for the first couple of chapters I believed that Leila was a teen, only to discover she was in her early twenties. I spent a good portion of the book wanting to shout at her and tell her to get over herself and into the real world, but also feeling quite sorry for her lack of life experience. This was even more infuriating when Connor, an old flame of Tess's, arrives on the digital scene and Leila starts to abandon Tess's character and inject some of her own into the conversation.

I love the contrast between Leila and Tess and the problems that the differences caused. During the character assessment phase of the story I spent a lot of my reading time thinking that the plan would never work because they were so different, I really wasn't sure that Leila could truly act so out of character when required, but I think her lack of real character herself may have contributed to her ability to do so. I found Leila to be incredibly stunted and her closeted range of life experience is what I mean by lack of character, she was almost like a watercolour, washed out, as opposed to Tess's brightly hued oil painting.

The plot was intriguing, we were told about the preparation stages before 'check out day', and then Leila taking control of Tess's life which all seemed very controlled, but around two thirds of the way through the novel we really start to see some action as things begin to go wrong. The first two thirds felt a bit long I have to admit, but they lull you into a false sense of security that is quite effective as you think that the plan may actually continue to be successful. One of my only real niggles with the plot was that the author glossed over things that Leila couldn't attribute real life experiences to, it really bugged me throughout, this isn't really an issue but I felt they could have been developed a bit more than Leila simply looking things up on Google. We all know you can't find everything on there and that sources are often far from accurate, it would have been nice to see this have a negative outcome at some point.

I enjoyed the resolution to the story, at one point I was wondering if the author was going to simply have the plan work perfectly, but as expected it does have to come to a close. I enjoyed that it doesn't do so in the manner we, or Leila, expects it to though. To have the character almost choose her own demise is quite satisfying to read, though I found Connor as a device quite frustrating as it seemed to peter out to nothing.

The story is told in two interweaving parts, we have Leila in the present day telling us about how she has come to be in a commune in Spain, and then the actual telling of the past where we discover about project "Tess". I have to admit that this is what kept me reading the whole way through, I wanted to know why Leila was at the commune for the majority of the story, and then I wanted to find out what she would discover there. I am not sure that the ending really satisfied my hunger for this information as I would have preferred the story to be tied up neatly, but a mystery was better suited for the plot, and the suggestion about Facebook really made me smile as I hadn't seen it coming.

This book has been very difficult to rate and review, I feel a bit mean giving this only three stars but to give it more would suggest that it was better than it was. The novel really is the sort of book that some people will love and others really not be able to get on with, if you are of an open mind I think you may find it interesting, if not enjoyable, but those grossly opposed to the idea of assisting someone to commit suicide may fail to appreciate the delicate aspects of the story. There is definitely potential in this debut author and I look forward for reading more of her work!

★★★

Kiss Me First is available from The Book Depository

Book Review: Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe ★★★

Baking is in Issy Randall's blood, since she was a little girl her grandpa has taught her the ways of being a master baker. In Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan we discover how after redundancy from her mundane city job strikes, Issy decides to take a risk and set up her own bakery as The Cupcake Cafe. But running a fledgeling business is no easy task, and it takes all of Issy and her friends determination to keep it going.

Issy's story is the story that makes you wish you could have her opportunity, that a set of bad circumstances like losing your job could result in the perfect job owning a cupcake cafe. It really is the stuff of dreams and something many of us will never experience, either through lack of skill, determination, or desire. It is the stuff that is perfect for a chick lit-ty book because it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside and you can vicariously experience someone else's achievement without taking the risk yourself.

I personally have a bit of an extra love for this book purely for that vicarious living reason. I am a cupcake baker, I love to bake them in all different flavours and often get called upon by friends and family for special occasions, but there is no way on earth I could do it for a living. I know that I personally would lose the passion for the baking once I absolutely had to do it in order to live, so to read about someone who takes the plunge and makes it work, even if it is fictional, was so satisfying for me.

It was both this feeling, and Issy's funny mishaps, that kept me reading through the seemingly slow beginning of the book until the actual formation of the bakery occurs. It was once the boring job had been left behind (and we met the cute banker, books always pick up once you meet the love interest!) that this book began to come into its own, we met creative characters which each added a delightful personality to the story, and the setting instantly became more magical.

Although it took me a while to get into this book, I ended up really enjoying it. The characters were loveable and the plot fluffy and fun. The recipes throughout added a cute touch and I was really tempted to try some of them out purely because the characters were enjoying them so much.

I will definitely continue with this series of Colgan's recipe-romances, they remind me a bit of a Sophie Kinsella story, light, sweet and fluffy just like a good cupcake.

Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe is currently £5.59 at The Book Depository

★★★

Book Review: Dare Me ★★★★

I was initially drawn to this book after seeing it mentioned on the ChapterStackss YouTube channel, she mentioned it as being recommended by Gillian Flynn, and although I have yet to get around to reading one of her books (so many books, no where near enough time!) I have a pretty good feeling that I will enjoy them as they fall into the psychological thriller category. Megan Abbott's Dare Me falls into the same category but with a twist, it is an adult crime novel that revolves around the lives of a group of cheerleaders. That alone had me hooked!

Dare Me is voiced by Addy, the second cheerleader in the squad, the best friend of the Queen Bee Beth, when Beth says jump, Addy tells the girls to hop to it and joins in too. They rule their school. When a new young and personable coach comes along in the form of Colette French and spoils the Queen's fun, Addy gets caught in the crossfire. As teenage obsession goes to new lengths and a crime is committed, the inner workings of a teenage girls mind reveals that being a minor in no way means that you shouldn't be a suspect.

I think it was ultimately the reveal about how cheerleaders are still gritty, and quite nasty teenagers underneath all the perky ponytails and wide grins that drew me in, I was hoping to see a novel which isn't all about teen angst but instead touching upon adult topics, and that was exactly what Dare Me is. It was almost like Mean Girls crossed with Law and Order (On Wednesdays we wear pink, dun dun) The importance for sometimes trivial things to teenagers was beautifully demonstrated throughout the novel, the interplay between a petty squabble and then a seemingly quite dark and venomous revenge plot was refreshing in its contrast.  The girls were at one point squabbling over a bracelet when there had been a very suspicious and serious death only hours before. It had the mind and the emotions reeling as a reader.

For me this story also demonstrated how dangerous a teenager can be, and how society does not immediately jump to the conclusion that they could be anything more than an innocent bystander unless they have been shown to have personal issues. With the raft of school massacres that have occurred in the states over the years, you would think that teenagers would come under suspicion in the same way that an adult would if they were found to be linked to a crime, but in Dare Me, Abbott highlighted the reality that authorities can sometimes find it difficult to see past the pep to the turmoil within. What I found truly refreshing about this though was that the other teenagers could see the potential danger, and were truly afraid of it. Having been a teenager not so long ago myself, I can honestly say that I too would worry about some teens and their good intentions, and I could identify with the turmoil of Addy's situation.

Dare Me is a great read if you are looking for something to lead you from the typical teen drama into an adult crime novel, or if you are into being slightly freaked out by the possibilities when it comes to your psychological thrillers, either way, Dare Me will make you consider teenagers a little differently!

★★★★

Dare Me is currently £5.59 from the Book Depository

Book Review: Before I Go To Sleep ★★★★ 1/2

In S.J. Watson's debut novel Before I Go To Sleep we are told Christine's story, she has severe anterograde amnesia and wakes up every day not remembering any of her life for the past fifteen to twenty years. She wakes to find that she is 47, and married, she spends her days pottering around the house and following her husband's instructions. The day that we meet her she discovers that she has been secretly seeing a doctor and keeping a journal of her daily life, and as she begins to read back through her journal she slowly begins to piece her life back together by the power of written memory. As she puts the puzzle of her memory back together again she notices that not everything adds up, and that her husband has been keeping things from her in order to protect her fragile state of mind, but Christine begins to doubt his good intentions.

This book was an old book of the month at work, and I had passed it by and simply read the blurb and put it back on the shelf many a time before finally deciding that I would bring it home to read. I knew I would enjoy it, because I love a good brain rattler, a psychological thriller that really gets you thinking. You know that feeling you get after watching The Truman Show? I like books that can do that to you.

The book is so interesting, the idea of memory and how it can be so fragile is something that to this day I wish I had continued to study while I was in education. Throughout the whole story we just cannot trust anything that any of the characters have said or done because Christine cannot actually remember it happening. It makes you wonder what you would do yourself without your memory, and it really gave me chills to read as I imagined myself in Christine's position. The plot is very gripping, I didn't want to put this book down at all. I was constantly trying to figure out what was going to happen, I knew something wasn't right and you could guess what that is, but ultimately you really cannot be sure purely because the character herself hasn't a clue either.

I think Watson has achieved something with this book, he has managed to write someone who is in effect re-learning who they are, and I think the journal method was both a wonderful medium and a clever plot device in order to tell this story, it allowed Watson to make the reader feel incredibly close to Christine's character because we were reading the diary along with her, but it also allowed him to get away with leaving parts of the story out that you wouldn't be able to with a third person narrative, and which ultimately made the story such a page turner. This book has earned so many accolades for good reason.

By the end I really did guess what was going to happen, but it isn't guessing that is important with this thriller, it is not truly knowing wether you are right or not that keeps you reading. Absolutely wonderful and I cannot wait to see what Watson produces next!

★★★★ 1/2

Book Review: The Cuckoo's Calling ★★★★

I think I, like most other Harry Potter fans, when I found out that J.K. Rowling had released a book under a pseudonym had a couple of heart palpitations and immediately tried to get my hands on a copy. I wasn't near any shops at the time and the eBook companies hadn't jumped on it yet so instead I reserved it through the library, I got to the list before most others so it didn't take long for my copy to come in and within a few days I was immersed in the world of Cormoran Strike.

The Cuckoo's Calling is a detective story based around the murder of supermodel Lula Landry, her brother refuses to accept the police verdict that her death was a suicide and hires an old family acquaintance Cormoran Strike, a down and out private investigator, to dig a little deeper. Strike is reluctant at first, but with increasing debts and no clients he decides to take a look into the case a bit more, and discovers things were not all sunshine and roses in the limelight for Lula.

Unlike most other Harry Potter fans who have now grown up, I didn't jump on The Casual Vacancy when it came out, it is still sitting on my shelf unread. There were such mixed reviews about it, I decided to give that one some time before I got stuck in. When I found out that not only had Rowling written another book, but that it was a crime novel however, well, I couldn't wait for this one.

I picked up The Cuckoo's Calling and near enough didn't put it down. It was a great mystery, featured a great detective with a lot of character and the potential for more as the series progresses. He was compelling, we didn't know everything about him, he was hard to read into and that is exactly as a great detective should be. They feature the great mind that can solve the mystery, they should be somewhat elusive. The characters all intrigued me, they were, as always with Rowling, a bit of a study of human nature. they all had faults yet you could identify with them. Robin in particular I enjoyed for her reluctant assistance and her compassion for Strike's situation even without fully understanding. She created a lot of humour also and I loved how inventive she was when dealing with situations.

I didn't solve the mystery, it was a clever one, and I was far too busy enjoying the read. The story flowed from point to point without straining to jump forward as some mysteries do, and the conclusion was lead into gently, without all of a sudden appearing without any suggestion. Definitely a well plotted solving of a crime.

I was surprised to laugh while reading this book, after hearing how serious the Casual Vacancy was I had prepared myself for this being completely different to reading Rowling's Potter works, but actually I found myself getting the same warm feeling of happiness while reading this. It is by no means the same of course, I wouldn't want it to be, but I am surprised that no-one pegged this book as Rowling's work before the lawyer let slip.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and look forward to the next, I feel I should only give it four stars purely because I don't want to peak too soon, as the next could be even better!

★★★★

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling is £12.74 from The Book Depository

Book Review: How I Live Now ★★★

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this one, I picked it up off the library shelf on a complete whim after seeing that the copy we had was a world night book.

It turns out that How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff  is a young adult dystopian novel with a bit of a difference. Instead of being set after the catastrophe has occurred, the novel starts just before and continues during the fictional third world war. It tells the lives of Daisy, an American sent to live in England with her aunt by her father after she causes family trouble, and her English cousins who all live together in the idyllic English countryside. Daisy is originally very put out by being sent away and doesn't mix well, but then begins to form friendships with her cousins, and develops a romantic relationship with her eldest cousin Edmond. Suddenly Daisy and her cousins are left to fend for themselves when the war strikes and leaves their only adult stranded in Norway, meaning they have to come face to face with the horrors of war and learn to deal with all the physical and emotional trauma that war brings.

I haven't read of another dystopian novel which actually goes through the event that changes the world of the novel, they all seem to occur after the event when the characters don't really know of life any other way and slowly discover that life hadn't always been so awful. I liked that the story allowed the teenagers to grow by forcing them to experience the war as it happened, they had to deal with situations they previously wouldn't have even contemplated happening, such as potential starvation and trekking across the countryside to survive. In a dystopian novel this is pretty much the norm, but for these kids it isn't, they aren't faced with going into the arena every year like Katniss, for the first portion of the book there is no real fear. Along with the idyllic countryside, childhood innocence hasn't been spoiled by destruction and this made their new reality all the more shocking for them to experience.

While reading you very much felt like you were listening to a teenagers thoughts, the writing lacked all speech formatting which added to the reading experience as it made you think a bit more about who was actually involved in the conversation, and what was internal speech.
The teenage thought process was a little annoying to read as an adult, as it so often is, and I did find it hard to like Daisy as a character, she wasn't completely intolerable though just very self-centered, a typical teenager. My favourite character by far was Daisy's younger cousin Piper who she ends up spending quite a lot of time with, she read as balanced and the most put together despite being younger. I hope that this was intentionally written in to provide a contrast between the two girls and the effects that individual emotions can have upon someone in a crisis.

The main theme of the book is teenage love driving you to survive, and while I can understand that as a mode for storytelling, I can't say that I felt Daisy and Edmond were well suited. I was a bit weirded out by them being cousins, and felt that that particular tie was in no way necessary as any young man would have been a fine character to provide the focus for the teenage love angst. I do like the moral though, and it is true that for teenagers their relationships are the be all and end all. It becomes especially poignant for the ending of the story too, focussing on the idea that you never truly forget your first love.

The book has recently been released as a film you can see the trailer right here. I have to admit I am not exactly excited for this film, Saoirse Ronan isn't how I imagined Daisy at all, and I suspect they may have made her less the self-centered teen and more of a heroine for the film.

I enjoyed this book, but I was a bit disappointed by it. After discovering the plot I was excited for something a little different, and wished it hadn't been so angsty, I should have known better really!
I would still recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the genre, and even if you have read a few and are becoming a little tired of them, this one is just different enough that you might just enjoy it. An extra perk is that it is also not very long, or a series so there is less commitment!

★★★

Book Review: Ketchup Clouds ★★★★

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher tells the story of Zoe, a fifteen year old girl from England who has an awful secret that she cannot share with anyone around her. She is weighed down by the guilt about the terrible thing she has done, and then she discovers the perfect person to talk to, and inmate on death row in Texas. As Zoe writes to Mr Harris, telling him all about the past year of her life, she begins to grapple with her feelings about her situation, and learns a few things about life along the way.

I really like this book, I had picked it up on a whim purely because of the title, I thought it was such an interesting one and wondered how it came about. I won't spoil the explanation for it, in case you haven't guessed already, but it is quite beautiful, and I shall be using it myself in future. 

This is a teen novel, the main character is fifteen, but I don't think that this book is limited to that age at all as it has a message that can be understood by many. That message is about guilt and forgiveness, in particular forgiveness of yourself when you believe you have done wrong. Zoe battles with this throughout the book right up until it's conclusion. We read her teenage woes with a trepidation, knowing as a reader that there is something sad coming towards us, and that surely her behaviour must be the cause, but although it feels like watching a crash, you cannot help but keep reading because Zoe is just an innocent girl, and you know there must be a resolution.

The writing is simple yet elegant, the humour both suited to teenage sarcasm and wit, and the complex sense of humour of an adult. Reading it I was hard pressed not to smile at how (for want of a less derogatory word) cute everything was, even though if it had been written with adult characters it would have felt seedy and shocking.

The range of characters were interesting, we did not need many, and weren't introduced to a wide range, just enough to show multiples sides of human nature, their coping mechanisms and problems, their joy and means of expression.

I think this is a great book for if you want to read something which is both fairly simple in plot, but complex in the depth of emotion shown by the characters. 

I shall definitely be looking into Pitchers other work.

★★★★

Book Review: Tom Cruise, you are not Jack Reacher! ★★★★

Sticking with the theme of writing reviews about books I have read recently, I finished the first Jack Reacher book last week. I have been told for years that I would love this series so I was reluctant to start it in case all of a sudden it was all I wanted to read, as there are now 18 books and I need to be reading other things really. I bit the bullet though and picked up Killing Floor.

Killing Floor by Lee Child begins by introducing us to a man in a diner in a Margrave, Georgia, a town that has not seen a major crime in over 30 years. Margrave has just however been the site of a homicide, and our mystery man is unfortunately being arrested for murder, he does not accept his rights, he does not give his name, he is not guilty. Why is this man being framed and who really is to blame? As Jack Reacher begins to open up to the local chief detective they begin to work together to solve the mystery, and as secrets spill from the pot they start to uncover an ingenious plot that has corrupted a whole town.

I knew pretty much from the first chapter that I was going to love this book. The opening chapters have that mystery to them that has you completely gripped. Even though Reacher seems a bit dodgy you still find yourself endeared to his edgy manner because you are both clueless to what is going on, Reacher finds himself in an awkward spot and you are stuck there right along with him. He is really very charismatic.

If you have seen the film, which by the way is not based on Killing Floor so you can read it without worrying about knowing what happens, then you will know that Tom Cruise plays this charismatic gritty character quite well. Tom has got the stony faced stare down, it's like Blue Steel but more intimidating. But Cruise really doesn't have Reacher's other great features, he looks nothing like him (six foot five, ha!) and he doesn't seem to exude the same level of confidence that comes from knowledge and skill, not just cockiness. Basically, if you have seen the film, you will probably like the book more.

I wasn't fussed about the romance in the story, mainly because you know that it isn't going to end well. I sort of see Reacher as a bit of a James Bond figure, but a bit grubbier. He is always going to get the girl, but never keep her around. The characters seemed a great match but when one is still living in her home town and the other is a bit of a stray wandering from place to place you just know he isn't going to stick around. I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about that though because it really is just a subplot that helps the story along.

The pace of the story was fast, but not so fast that you felt tired after reading. The circumstances presented you with an event every few chapters that slowly helped you put together what was going on and I liked this, it kept me wanting to read, but it did not necessarily have the characters covering a lot of ground or jetting all over the world which kept the pace even. I didn't want to put the book down but when I needed to I didn't feel like it would be hard to remember where I was and pick back up again.

I haven't felt so much like I wanted to go get the second book straight away since I started reading the Sookie Stackhouse books, that urge to go to the nearest bookshop and snatch it off the shelf and start reading straight away doesn't happen often with me. I did however hold off from buying book two for a week (mainly because it was out of stock, and ordering online just wouldn't be the same) and I have put it on the shelf and will not read it just yet. Maybe I can treat Child's books as a treat after reading a certain amount of other books, or just keep it for when I need a certain pace of book. I am definitely looking forward to picking it up.

Im going to give this four stars, but only because I don't want to give it five and then one of the others in the series blow me away, so who knows maybe I will have to amend this score at some point!

★★★★