The Wren Hunt - Mary Watson

What is it about: Every winter, Wren Silke is chased through the forest in a warped version of a childhood game. The boys who haunt her are judges, powerful and frightening pursuers, who know nothing of her true identity. If they knew she was an augur, their sworn enemy, the game would turn deadly. But Wren is on the hunt, too. Sent undercover as an intern to the Harkness Foundation - enemy headquarters - her family's survival rests on finding a secret meant to stay hidden. As the enmity between two ancient magics reaches breaking point, Wren is torn between old loyalties and new lies. And trapped in the most dangerous game of her life.

My Thoughts: I am very conflicted about this book. I've read it for the monthly book club I'm subscribed to and on paper, this is the kind of book I would have actually picked myself. But the reality was very different. I found it very difficult to get into. The author was describing rituals and using names like if I knew all about them already. It was like reading a whole new language, could not understand what was going on for about 280 pages. And when I finally started to get the gist of it, the book ended. Leaving me wanting to know more.

The story is based on Irish mythology and I don't know anything about it, so that didn't help.
I do love mythology but I mostly know about Greek's and Roman's, so this actually made me want to know more about the Irish one as well.

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

What is it about: Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has.
In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls.
On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. At other times he brings tributes of food and waterlilies to the Dead. But mostly, he is alone.
Messages begin to appear, scratched out in chalk on the pavements. There is someone new in the House. But who are they and what do they want? Are they a friend or do they bring destruction and madness as the Other claims?
Lost texts must be found; secrets must be uncovered. The world that Piranesi thought he knew is becoming strange and dangerous.
The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

My Thoughts: Oh how much I loved this book!
I've buddy-read this which made it even more of a magical experience.
We were both lost for the first 20 pages, and were trying to figure out what the heck was going on. But once inside the story, I could not put it down. I was scribbling down notes whilst reading as kept having random thoughts and I hoped to give myself some answers before the book gave them to me. Boy I was wrong every single time. 

Piranesi is such a wonderful character and I just felt so sad for him. 
I was scared that it would be one of these books with an open ending, but I was glad to see it came to a conclusion - although I would have liked to see a different ending, more tragic.
But if you haven't read it yet, please do. It will take you through a strange but wonderful journey

In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced - Justine Bothwick

What is it about: Set against the lush backdrop of early 20th-century India, In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced – the debut novel from Justine Bothwick – is the moving story of one woman’s journey back to herself.

Agra, 1938: Eighteen-year-old Florence Hunt has grown up riding horses past the Taj Mahal and chasing peacocks through her backyard under the critical gaze of her father. Increasingly enamoured with his work on the booming railway, Florence yearns to know more, but finds herself brushed away, encouraged only to perform the more ladylike hobbies of singing and entertaining guests. So when a dazzling young engineer walks into her life, she finds herself not only gripped by secret lessons in physics but swept entirely off her feet.

Portsmouth, 1953: Fifteen years later, Florence finds herself pregnant and alone in post-war England – a far cry from her sun-drenched existence in India. Struggling to cope with the bleakness of everyday life in a male-dominated world, Florence is desperate to find the woman she used to be. But when someone from her past reaches out, Florence might just have a chance to start over.

Soaring from the shimmering heights of the big top to the depths of heartbreak, can Florence find the happiness, independence, and passion she once had in order to start living again?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book!
Florence is such an amazing character. You can see that she tries to fit in the norms of a young woman living during the Second World War but she is definitely conflicted and wants to get out of those standards. Loved the journey of self-discovery she went through and how it ended.
The writing was flowing and it was easy to read - only part I struggled with is when the author was going into too many details about trains and engines - which was one of Florence's passions, new for a woman in those years.

Whilst reading this, I was also reading 'Mythos' by Stephen Fry and noticed that the peacock is one of the symbols of Hera, goddess of marriage. Florence always sees and talks about peacocks when talking of/with Jay and I like to think there is a connection there (maybe it's just in my head, but I like to think there's Greek mythology everywhere).

I honestly really liked the background also. It was interesting to see India and the process it went through for independence from England, and how it was seen by both Brits and Indians - even though this is not the main topic of the book, I would have liked to see even more of it.

Love the cover of it as well, I hope there will be a version with sprayed edges! - Publication date, 24th June.

Thanks to NetGalley and Agora Books for the opportunity of reading this advance copy.

Never Say Never - Justine Manzano

What is it about: Brynn is done with love. 
After she walks in on her mom doing the horizontal mambo with a man that’s decidedly not her dad, Brynn Stark swears to NEVER fall in love. One of her friends--Val-- reveals her true identity--Aphrodite, goddess of love, and promises to show Brynn why she shouldn’t lose faith.
But when Brynn realizes she’s beginning to fall for Adam, Aphrodite's boyfriend, Brynn’s forced to decide if she’ll choose her goddess-given fate, or risk it all for the wrong-but-right guy.
One thing’s for sure.
Love sucks.
And it's all about to blow up in their faces.

My Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about this one.
Let's start with the positives.
I would have loved to read this book when I was a teenager. It has mythology, it has a hurt teenager who doesn't believe in love, it's a fantasy and it's easy to read. I most definitely found some elements of myself - mostly my younger self - in the main character, Brynn.
"True love is a relationship unicorn. You either find it, or you spend your entire life searching for it", this has been my view of love my entire life.
And... All this talk about mythology, made me want to read Stephen Fry's 'Mythos' again - which I think I will! Now, for the parts I didn't like.
At times is a bit too dramatic. I know Greek mythology is supposed to be dramatic, but I found it overly so. Like the arrival of Val's real father - I won't spoil it -... was not keen on that part.
Quite a few times, Nina's asthma took over the story, I think there was way too much of it. Overall, I enjoyed it. I wouldn't read it again, it is one of those books I would read on holiday but nothing more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sword and Silk Books for providing me with an e-ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

Foretold - Violet Lumani

What is it about: Cassandra sees death and devastation all around her. In vivid detail.
It’s the price of living with her OCD and extreme anxiety. In every situation, Cass imagines the worst possible fate for everyone in her life. Her dad in a pool of blood after a break-in. Her beloved older neighbour, homeless. A splinter in her finger turned to gangrene.

But this time, it’s not her imagination. The boy next door, Colin, is destined to die. Cass has foretold a real death before; she knows this is a true vision.
Desperate to save Colin's life, Cass immerses herself in a secret organization of soothsayers that promises to teach her how to change the future she foresees. But as she descends into their hidden world of divinatory magic and predictive technology, she discovers there's always a price to pay for unravelling fate's strands. And cheating death will cost her everything.

My Thoughts: First things first, the cover is just beautiful - look at it!! I got attracted by it and made me read the synopsis - which then drew me to read the book.

I gave this 4* just because there were only a couple of things I struggled with. It has a bit of a messy plot at the beginning, it was slow to start with but I wanted to see where it was going and towards 60% of the book, it became better and better. So now I am looking forward to reading the second one, specially after the ending! OMG that ending. I did not see it coming at all, had to re-read that part a couple of times to make sure I read it correctly the first time.

Said so, I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The trilogy has great potential and it looks like in this first book, we only discovered a small part of what can be a wonderful new world. 
Some elements were based on mythology - which is always a plus for me; some parts made me chuckle and others made me gasp. 
I liked how the characters were built, except for Noah, which I am still struggling with and hope to have some sort of closure in the next book. 

Thank so much to NetGalley and Uproar Books for the ARC of this book.
Foretold is the first book of 'The Scryers' trilogy by Violet Lumani and will be published on 20/07/21 - will definitely get the physical copy of this.

Exciting Times - Naoise Dolan

What is it about: When you leave Ireland to spend your parent's money, it's called a gap year. When Ava leaves Ireland to make her own money, she's not sure what to call it, but it involves:

• A badly paid job in Hong Kong, teaching grammar to rich children

• Julian, who likes to spend money on Ava and lets her move into his guest room

• Edith, who Ava meets while Julian is out of town and actually listens to her when she talks

• Money, love, cynicism, unspoken feelings and unlikely connections

Exciting times ensue.

My Thoughts: I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't. It'll be such an unpopular opinion, but it dragged for me. I couldn't get into it. All the characters were unlikable.
Ava is moving to a new country and all she does is spending her time with a man she barely knows who just controls her because he can. Even Ava herself refers to Julian as "her owner" at some point. How sad.
She leaves home for a new adventure, for something exciting, like the title would suggest, but she ends up in this relationship that's not even a relationship.

Then she meets Edith and once again, she is constantly seeking her approval. She has a crush on her and she doesn't know how to deal with it, she starts questioning her sexuality. Probably the Edith's chapters are the most likeable part of this book. Ava becomes a little more human and relatable. Although I still don't like her, she's another person with Edith.

When Julian comes back from London, the old Ava appears again and now she has to choose between Julian and Edith. Needless to say she made a mess out of it.
All of them were such annoying characters.
The writing was flowing at least.
But I'm really sorry to say, this book did not bring me joy.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton

What is it about: At a party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed - again.
She's been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. The only way to break this cycle is to identify Evelyn's killer. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is desperate to stop him ever escaping Blackheath...

My Thoughts: Wow! I have no other words but wow! This is definitely not the book I thought it was going to be. It is better.
I was expecting just this guy waking up every morning in a different guest and reliving the same day over and over watching Evelyn's death and trying to catch the murderer.
Boy I was wrong! This was much more. The party is set the same day as Evelyn's brother's death many years earlier, with the same set of guests. 
Is this a hunt to catch Evelyn's killer or find the truth about Thomas' death?
The story is such a labyrinth of different point of views and mind-games that you definitely do not see the ending coming. It was such a shock! My reaction when reading the last line was "WTF did just happen?!"

I definitely recommend this to everyone who enjoys a bit of adrenaline and  mystery.

The 24-Hour Cafe - Libby Page

First book finished in April 😊
Once again, it left me a bit torn.
I did enjoy it, and I enjoyed the concept behind it, but I thought it would be slightly different.
The story is set in Stella's cafe, which is open 24-hours, where the early workers and the night owls go.
Hannah and Mona work at the cafe, they are best friends and have a much bigger dream than working at a cafe.
The book tells the story of some of the clients at the cafe, mostly new clients, as well as Hannah's and Mona's.
I have to admit, I much preferred the stories of all the other people but not Hannah's and Mona's, I felt they were a bit dull and predictable.
I wish there was more of other people's stories.
What I liked, though is that there was a proper ending to the book, so you get to see what happens to everyone at the end. Writing was very fluid and easy to read.
Overall not a bad book, but not in my top 10 either. I have not read The Lido yet, and I have read it was good, so I might still give it a go.

Transcendent Kingdom - Yaa Gyasi

Firstly, I have to admit I bought this book just for the cover. I hadn't read the synopsis. I bought it because it looked pretty and I kept seeing it everywhere.
My thoughts on this book are torn. I enjoyed it but I struggled finishing it. Even though it was only 250 pages - usually a breeze for me! - I had to force myself to read it.
The topics written here are not easy, it's not one of those books you can read just before bed time with all your lights switched off but one. You have to pay attention, to focus, to have all your lights on.
I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't for the cover.
It talks about spirituality, drug addiction, depression and dealing with loss. Some heavy stuff.
I didn't enjoy the type of writing to be honest. It keeps passing from one thing to the other without warning and it is a bit unnerving.
I'm glad I read it, though because I finally read something different.

The Authenticity Project - Clare Pooley

Title: The Authenticity Project

Author: Clare Pooley

Pages: 352

First Published: 2020

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Such an uplifting novel that forces 6 strangers to face their own truth. And in doing so, it forces you to do that also. There were parts of the book that were obvious, and other that you didn't see coming.
I only gave 4⭐ simply because there was so much hype around it and I was expecting something even bigger and better. I suppose that's the risk in reading popular books.
Said so, I loved it and I would highly recommend it to everyone.

The Switch - Beth O'Leary

Title: The Switch

Author: Beth O'Leary

Pages: 328

First Published: 2020

What is it about: After a horrible year of working and working, Leena has a breakdown just in the middle of a very important presentation. Her boss gives her 2 months of sabbatical to get better and tells her to go away, take it as an opportunity to put her life back together after her sister's premature death. Leena decides then to leave London behind and go up to Yorkshire to visit her grandma. 

Eileen Cotton, almost 80-years-old, who has been left by her husband, is starting a new project. She wants to find someone to date, but there are no eligible men up in her little village in Yorkshire. 

Once Leena arrives, it is clear to the pair of them that they both need a change in their lives. Eileen has been busy taking care of Leena's mom and everyone else in the village, but herself. Leena is stressed from everything. So they decide to switch lives. Eileen is going to spend the next two months in London, chasing her dream from when she was a young girl, before life got in the way. Leena is going to take a much needed break from everything and everyone up in Yorkshire.

My thoughts: I loved this book from the start! It was predictable, but it was just such an amazing, light read; it was comforting. Eileen was such a character! I laughed basically during all of her chapters. She is such a strong female character and everyone should learn from her.
Leena was more the typical protagonist of every romance novel, she struggles with her life, goes away for a few months and magically understands what she is really supposed to do. 

There are so many books around like that and don't get me wrong, I do love reading them every now and then, it brings some sort of comfort to my life, especially these days; but Eileen's story was much more interesting for me to read.

What I loved about both characters, though, is how they were there for other people. No matter who they were, they were there to help them. Female power to the rescue!

I read 'The Flatshare' as well by Beth O'Leary, but 'The Switch' was much better in my opinion.

The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

"We spend so much time wishing our lives were different,
comparing ourselves to other people and to other versions of ourselves,
when really most lives contain degrees of good and degrees of bad"

Title: The Midnight Library

Author: Matt Haig

Pages: 288

First Published: 2020

What is it about: Nora feels alone in the world. She doesn't speak to her brother anymore, well, he doesn't speak to her; her "best friend" has moved to Australia and the relationship is just not the same; she gets fired; her cat dies and she doesn't have a fiancée anymore after she decided not to marry him. 

So she decides to kill herself. No one is going to miss her, right? 

But death doesn't come easily. Before she can move on to an afterlife, she stops into a limbo - The Midnight Library. Mrs Elm, her former librarian at school, is there waiting for her; she will help Nora going through lots of different books, which will lead to different lives of 'what if...'. What if she married the guy? What if she carried on with swimming? What if she was still talking to her brother?

My thoughts: I loved this book. I cried, of course. I knew it was going to end the way it did, but the journey to get there was truly emotional. 

It is such a well written, uplifting novel, perfect for everyone. We all need to remember what's truly important in life. 

We spend so much time on social media, looking at other people's lives, imaging "what if I was her/him", "what if I had all their money/success". And this is unhealthy. We all have different lives, we all are on different journeys and everyone's is as special as the other. 

Even if we don't realise it or think about it every day, our life has an impact on someone else's.

The Salt Path - Raynor Winn

Title: The Salt Path

Author: Raynor Winn

Pages: 270

First Published: 2018

What is it about: Ray and Moth have lost everything; their home and their source of income. To top it up, Moth has been diagnosed with a terminal illness; they really have nothing else to lose. So they have to face a choice, either wait for the council to give them a roof or embark in a potentially life-changing journey walking the South West Coast Path in England. Their choice is of course for the latter, 630 miles of walking through Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall, taking with them only the bare essentials.

Ray takes the reader through every moment, every challenge, every thought they went through, making you feel on the journey with them.

My Thoughts:

Being separate from people for large
chunks of time had reduced our tolerance level

Well, if this does not reflect everyone's thought at this stage of our lives, I don't know what does.

On a serious note, this book was published in 2018, so in a time when COVID did not even exist, a time where everyone's lives were much better. However, reading this, sometimes I felt like the journey they went through at the time is, in a way, what we are going through right now. 

Ray and Moth find themselves alone, with just each other as company, helping each other to go through those rough moments that inevitably occur in life.

Their situation was even worse as had to live on £48 a week, camping in the wilderness, with the possibility for Moth to deteriorate even more.

What got me about their story, is that they didn't give up. They faced many challenges, they had moments, days without water, without food to sustain their bodies. But they carried on. Not just the walk, but their lives.

And I think this message is important now more than ever. We are now facing a third lockdown in England and lots of people are struggling with this, myself included.

Not being able to see your loved ones, to do what you normally do, to live!

But the important thing is not to give up. 

I would honestly suggest this book to everyone who is experiencing a bit of anxiety in these times, not only it will help to escape your room for a little bit, but it will inspire you, it will give you courage that there is light at the end of the tunnel, we only need to keep strong a little bit more.

Ciao Ciao ♥

V.

The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman

Title: The Thursday Murder Club

Author: Richard Osman

Pages: 377

First Published: 2020

What is it about: In a retirement village in Kent, four pensioners love solving murders. They have founded a "Thursday Murder Club" so they can meet and discuss old cases. How do they get hold of them? Don't ask. Their routine is about to change when someone gets killed near them. Someone who has something to do with their peaceful retirement village. They have to solve the murder. With or without the help of the police. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim use all the resources at their disposal in order to find the killer, uncovering many more secrets on the way.

My Thoughts: This was most certainly the best book I could have chosen to start 2021. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I cannot wait for the second one to come out. The writing was clear and concise, went straight to the point, with the first murder only a few pages in. All characters have such a witty sense of humour that made me chuckle all the way through. 

Chapters are short but full of content, which I loved as it gave me time to pause for a second to get my facts straight. I hate when chapters go on and on for pages as I tend to get lost and forget where the chapter actually started in the first place.

Like any modern woman, I am any number of things,
as and when the need arises.
We have to be chameleons, don't we?

This was the first book in a very long time, in which I could not predict the ending. I had my suspicions along the way, some were right in part, some were completely wrong, but I most certainly did not expect to end the way it did.

All of the characters have a background story, so no one was just put there by chance, they all had a purpose in the storyline, something that is not always expected in a book. 

I only knew Richard Osman from telly - even though I don't think I actually ever watched an entire episode of his program, but I do really like him as a writer and cannot wait to read his next book.

Ciao Ciao ♥

V.