Review: Let's Get Lost

Title: Let's Get Lost

Author: Adi Alsaid

Published by: Harlequin (UK) Limited on 1st August 2014

Genre: Contemporary

Format: eARC
Source: Publisher

Check it out on Goodreads

*I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via Netgalleyfor review consideration, this in no way affects my opinion of the book.*

Goodreads Synopsis: Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost. 

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most. 

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love. 

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

My Thoughts: This book didn't really do it for me, I had to make myself finish it.  Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible and is in fact a very interesting concept, I just couldn't connect with the characters. I think part of the problem with my connecting to the characters is that we don't get to spend much time with four of them and the while the fifth is there throughout the whole book, you still don't get to know her very well.

The book is pretty much made up of five short stories with one character connecting them all, Leila. She is on a roadtrip to see the Northern Lights and has encounters with four people who she helps out in one way or another and they have little adventures together. We get to know Leila a little bit at a time and through the perspective of the other characters as the novel progresses. I had hoped that we would get to know more about her in her own section. We do, just not enough. As for the secondary cahracters, neither of them are terrible, but I think that if we had more time with them, they would have been more fleshed out and relatable.

Overall, this book was a quick and positive read, but I feel it could have done with about a 100 more pages so we could get to know the characters better.

Review: Virgin

Title: Virgin

Author: Radhika Sanghani

Published by: Berkley Trade on 4th August 2014

Genre: Contemporary

Format: eARC
Source: Publisher

Check it out on Goodreads

*I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via Netgalley for review consideration, this in no way affects my opinion of the book.*

Goodreads Synopsis: Okay, I admit it…I didn’t do it.

Yet.

This is normal, right?  I mean, just because everyone I know has talked like they’ve already done it doesn’t mean that they’re telling the truth…right?

It’s not like I’m asking for that much. I don’t need the perfect guy. I don’t need candlelight or roses. Honestly, I don’t even need a real bed.

The guys I know complain that girls are always looking for Mr. Right—do I have to wear a sign that says I’m only looking for Mr. Right Now?

Sooooo…anyone out there want sex? Anyone? Hello? Just for fun?

I am not going to die a virgin. One way or another I am going to make this happen.

Hey, what have I got to lose? Besides the obvious.

My Thoughts: Even though it is the 21st century, some people still seem to think that what you do or do not do with your genitals defines your self-worth. This book is proof of that. The narrator Ellie is in desperate need to lose her virginity, because if she doesn't she will die a spinster surrounded by cats. Although, there is nothing wrong with being a spinster or with being surrounded by cats. Just as there is nothing wrong with having zero sexual experience or having lots and lots of it.

Ellie and her friends act more like high school students than final year undergrads. Even though Ellie is 21, she knows less about sex than I did at 13. A lot of the thoughts she has about losing her virginity, such as just losing it with some random guy so she won't be inexperienced for mr right, are the same thoughts I had when I was a teen. So, for an educated young woman to be thinking in this way is just off.

She complains that no one has told her that she should shave her pubes (of course no one has to shave anything if they don't want to) or that you should use a condom for fellatio. Sorry for the TMI, but I have been pruning my lady garden since my teens and I have known that oral sex is not safe sex for just as long, so where exactly has Ellie been living to not know these things. She is a university student, she should be able to research anything like a pro, so why is she so damn clueless? It is quite infuriating.

All that being said, it not an authors job to moralise or to teach but to entertain and this book certainly is entertaining. It is funny, and candid in the way it talks about the female body and the real worries that young (and not so young) woman have about their bodies. I just can't wholeheartedly recommend it, there is too much emphasis on being a virgin equals bad, and there is a lot wrong information being presented, and there is STDs being taken lightly. Oh. and GAY MEN ARE NOT ACCESSORIES.

Review: A Man Called Ove

Title: A Man Called Ove

Author: Frederick Backman

Published by: Atria Books on July 15th 2014

Genre: Contemporary

Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Buy it from Amazon or Book Depository

Check it out on Goodreads

*I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via Netgalley for review consideration, this in no way affects my opinion of the book.*

Goodreads Synopsis: In this bestselling and delightfully quirky debut novel from Sweden, a grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon; the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell. But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents association to their very foundations.

A feel-good story in the spirit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Fredrik Backman's novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful and charming exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others.

My Thoughts: This book was such a joy to read and is populated with a wonderful and diverse cast of characters that made me laugh and cry in equal measure.

Ove is a grumpy old man who thinks that everyone is a complete twit and I spent the first few chapters of the book annoyed by his judgmental closemindedness but as the story progressed and I got to see what made him the way he is, I fell in love with him and you will too.

Since Ove's wife died, life has not been the same for Ove and not worth living, so he has decided that it is time to be reunited with his her. Luckily (or not) for poor old Ove, each time he tries to leave this world, he is interuppeted by his neighbours, who need his help with one thing or another. The relationships that develop between Ove and his neighbours are so wonderful, touching and funny, I couldn't stop smiling whenever I thought about them. Love and friendship bloom between the most unlikeliest of people and that is what makes this story so heartwarming and feel-good.

I loved every character in this book from 'the pregnant one' to 'the cat annoyance', and even though these characters were wonderful, I felt that they were a touch unrealistic at times, such as the cat acting a little too human. But I think that these unrealist touches add to the charm factor and likeabilty of the characters.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good heartwarming story and to those who just may need their faith in the good of humankind restored.

Review: Appaloosa Summer

Title: Appaloosa Summer

Series: Island Trilogy #1

Author: Tudor Robins

Published by: Tudor Robins on June 15th 2014

Genre: Contemporary

Format: Kindle
Source: Netgalley

Buy it from Amazon 

Check it out on Goodreads

*I received a copy of this book free from the author via Netgalley for review consideration, this in no way affects my opinion of the book.*

Goodreads Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Meg Traherne has never known loss. Until the beautiful, talented horse she trained herself, drops dead underneath her in the show ring.

Jared Strickland has been living with loss ever since his father died in a tragic farming accident.

Meg escapes from her grief by changing everything about her life; moving away from home to spend her summer living on an island in the St. Lawrence River, scrubbing toilets and waiting on guests at a B&B.

Once there, she meets Jared; doing his best to keep anything else in his life from changing.

When Jared offers Meg a scruffy appaloosa mare out of a friend’s back field, it’s the beginning of a journey that will change both of them by the end of the summer.

My Thoughts: It's been a while since I have read a horsey book, so when I saw this, I had to read it and now I want to pull on my old boots, zip up my chaps and go find a horse to ride.

This book had me crying from the start and as a horse lover myself, I felt Meg's loss and understood that losing such an intergral part of you changes how you look at your life. I liked that she didn't throw a pity party for herself but moved on while still feeling the loss of her companion. I really liked Meg and I felt that she was a realistic and relatable character who I would love to go out on a ride with.

Another character I really liked is Jared, a hot cowboy - not the bronco riding type but the tractor driving type. I liked that he allowed Meg her grief for her horse even while he is grieving for his dad, when he tells Meg that "grief isn't a competitive sport", was the moment I knew he was a keeper. I liked how he was written to be really affected by the loss of his father, one way this was shown was through his anxiety.

The romance between Meg and Jared was sweet and developed nice and slowly. The romance wasn't the main focus of the story or their relationship, the focus was on how they, as friends, help each other to come to terms with their loss and to move on.

You can tell that it is written by an actual equestrian, it's hard to find horse stories that stick to reality. There were only a couple scenes that made me shake my head a little bit, but they weren't deal breakers or completely unrealistic, just a bit rare.

Aside from the death of her horse at the start and the strained relationship with her mother, everything went smoothly for Meg. I kept expecting something to happen to create conflict, maybe even an atagonist to appear, that would shake the story up a bit, but that didn't happen. Again, this was no deal breaker because I throughly enjoyed the story and sometimes it is nice to read one where everything works out and you like all the characters.

The story put me right on this beautiful island with these wonderful people and I didn't want to leave and as I was getting to the end I was thinking 'no I don't want to leave' and 'I hope it has a sequel'. When I finished I noticed that yes, it is the first in a trilogy, Yay! I will most certainly be picking up the next one.

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell
Published September 10th 2013 by St. Martin's Griffin

Goodreads Synopsis: A coming-of-age tale of fanfiction, family, and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan.... But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she's really good at it. She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.

Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words...and she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

My Review: It is going to be very hard for me to not to fangirl ;-) all through this review because I absolutely loved it. I have it on my Kindle but believe me, I will be buying a physical copy so I can re-read it in all its tactile glory.

Fangirl tells the story of Cath as she starts university and all the troubles that that entails for the incredibly shy introvert that Cath is. Making this big scary step even scarier is the fact that her twin sister Wren wants to go her own way in university – to not room with Cath and develop her own circle of friends separate from Cath. Cath’s only escape from the real world is her love of Simon Snow (think Harry Potter) and the fanfiction she writes about his world. On top of this, she has to deal with a gruff never there roommate and her always there boyfriend, a cute classmate who is only interested in her for one thing but it’s not what you think and a writing professor who wants her to expand her writing outside of fanfiction. Plus, a dad who is not coping so well now he’s on his own and absent mother who wants back in her life. Phew!

I loved Cath from the get-go, she is a girl after my own fangirl heart, we may obsess over different things – I don’t write or read fanfiction but I understand why people do – but both our obsessions make the real world a bit more bearable. She is so realistically drawn (as are all the characters) that as a fellow introvert, it is easy to connect with her. I adored Levi (the roommate’s always there boyfriend) and I want one for myself, he is just simply, well, adorable. It took a little while for me to warm up to Cath’s twin Wren and her roommate Reagan, but once I did, I loved them too.

I really liked how important relationships were in this book - parent/child, siblings, friends and lovers. Her relationship with her dad is so cute; I wish the relationship with my dad was like that. As much as Cath could happily shut herself off from the real world and only having contact with her dad and sister, she learns that she needs other people – real life people.

The character growth for Cath was realistic – she didn’t suddenly become an extrovert but she did slowly come out of her shell, although not all the way, which again is realistic. Speaking of slow developing, the romance was also on slow boil and was super sweet.

I also really liked that every chapter ended with either an excerpt from a Simon Snow novel or from Cath’s own fanfiction. It was like a story within a story, a story that I wish was real because I really like Baz – Simon Snow’s nemesis, roommate and maybe lover.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves contemporaries, coming of age stories, romances and books with socially awkward characters. If you read and loved Eleanor and Park by Rowell, you will love this too.

Thank you Rainbow Rowell, for your wonderful books and your real and relatable characters.

FIVE STARS