Book Reviews Archives - Page 82 of 115

Book Review: The Next Together by Lauren James

Mar 17, 2016

The Next Together by Lauren James

Pages: 356
Publish date: September 3rd 2015
Publisher: Walker
ISBN: 1406358053
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated.

Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace?

Maybe the next together will be different…

The Next Together:

I don’t know what I was expecting when I started reading The Next Together by Lauren James. I had been hearing brilliant things about, and that cover is sensational. I read the synopsis and I knew that it wasn’t my typical read, but I ended up really enjoying it.

The Next Together follows protagonist Matthew and Katherine through their many lives. Yes, you did read wrong, I said many live. They are reincarnated in a way, brought together and then tragedy strikes.

The premise of The Next Together was totally intriguing. A couple being brought together again and again and then being torn apart. The Next Together has everything; history, science, romance and mystery – there is something for everyone.

The Next Together is predominately sent in 4 different times. There is some of their other lives brought up throughout the story. It was different for me, jumping through all these different times. These characters are essentially the same, but they live in different times so therefor have different characteristics and values.

However, after a while you get used to all the characters and their voices and it all fits.

Firstly, we have the main characters. They are set in the ‘now.’ Well, in 2039 their names are Kate and Matt and they both attended the University of Nottingham in England. They just meet when the novel starts and they lab partners.

Then we have 2019, Matthew and Katherine. These two were simply adorable. I don’t know what more I can say about them. Their story is told through notes, letters, emails etc that they have left for each other. The banter between these two is off the scales and there is not dialogue. We find out more about 2019, Matthew and Katherine through their 2039 versions.

1745, Carlisle, England. Katherine is from the upper class and has come to live with her aunt and uncle, Matthew is a coachman. There is quite a lot of teasing between these two. And as you can imagine heartbreaking. Katherine from a higher class and Matthew a Scottish man, in the lower class – oh and they are in the middle of an uprising.

Nevertheless, there is Katy and Matthew in 1854. These two travel the world and for half of it Katy is dressed as male and goes by Kit. This is the slow burning type of romance and oh did it break my heart.

I loved that The Next Together wasn’t just a novel, but included notes, newspaper articles, blog posts. It made it really interesting and gave the book this feel that worked well.

I was turning page after page, because I wanted to know what was going to happen next, how were things going to pan out.

I do wish there was a little more characterisations, especially in 2039’s Katherine and Matthew. I felt they needed more of a character arc.

The ending, let just say I have mixed feelings about the ending. At one point it was quite messing and it all quite fast, that I didn’t know what was going on. All their stories were ending and I felt that we didn’t resolve anything. But, then again, it somehow worked in a way, and it has been left open ended for more.

Overall, I enjoyed The Next Together. It was intriguing, and different. I loved the characters, but I do wish some did have more to them. Also the ending fell a little flat for me, but I can see how it works. However, The Next Together by Lauren James is a beautifully written time travel, historical fiction, contemporary novel that looks at how love can travel through centuries, be beautiful and amazing, but it can also be tragic.

Book Review: How Not To Disappear by Clare Furniss

Mar 11, 2016

How Not To Disappear by Clare Furniss

Pages: 400
Publish date: 26 January 2016
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1471120309
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Hattie’s summer isn’t going as planned. Her two best friends have abandoned her: Reuben has run off to Europe to “find himself” and Kat’s in Edinburgh with her new girlfriend. Meanwhile Hattie is stuck babysitting her twin siblings and dealing with endless drama around her mum’s wedding.

Oh, and she’s also just discovered that she’s pregnant with Reuben’s baby…

Then Gloria, Hattie’s great-aunt who no one previously knew even existed comes crashing into her life. Gloria’s fiercely independent, rather too fond of a gin sling and is in the early stages of dementia.

Together the two of them set out on a road trip of self-discovery – Gloria to finally confront the secrets of her past before they are wiped from her memory forever and Hattie to face the hard choices that will determine her future.

How not to Disappear:

I received a review copy of How Not To Disappear by Clare Furniss from Simon and Schuster, this has in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings about the book.

How Not To Disappear had a slow start. When I heard about How Not To Disappear I was excited to read. It sounded intriguing and I knew that I had to read it, so when I began to I was disappointed, however after I got about 50 pages in, it started to get interesting.

How Not To Disappear is told from two different point of views; Hattie and her great-aunt Gloria as they both discover who they are.

Hattie’s summer isn’t going the way that she planned it; her two best friends have left. She is babysitting her younger siblings and there is drama with her mums wedding. So when she gets a call about a relative that she never knew existed, she is taken back by the news. However, she is quite intrigued, and when her great-aunt wants to go on a road trip – she jumps on it.

I wasn’t a big fan of Hattie at the start, I felt that she sounded too childlike and it was annoying. As the novel went on, it did get better and I felt for her so much. Hattie has to deal with so much and I just wanted to take a burden on her shoulders. We find out pretty early that Hattie is pregnant with her best friends Reuben. Hattie rather dismisses her pregnancy and that did get on my nerves quite a bit, because I wanted the baby to be safe.

Gloria is a character, she is independent, love to drinks lots of gin and is sadly in the early stages of dementia. I adored when we were in Gloria’s p.o.v. Her story is heartbreaking and as How Not To Disappear went on we find out what truly happened to her and why she has been distant from her family. Gloria’s story is told through flashbacks and through the present day.

I loved the banter between Hattie and Gloria, it was fun and sweet at the same time. It was beautiful seeing their relationship grow, and it was nice to see a good family relationship that isn’t between protagonist and parent or siblings.

I wasn’t a massive fan of the writing style.It was like a fairy tale, I was being told things that happened rather than shown and after a while, I just wanted more. I also felt at times information was dumped on us and it just took me out of the story.

I also didn’t like Reuben at all. His attitude towards everything, was such a put off that I wanted him out of the picture. Nevertheless, I did like Kat Hattie’s other best friend. She is someone that I would love to be my friend.

I really enjoyed the ending it was quite beautiful. We get to see both Gloria’s ending to her story that we wanted to know. And we get to see Hattie find herself and we see her find a new understanding of the world

Nevertheless, I did have some things that I didn’t like, I truly did enjoyed reading How Not To Disappear.

How Not To Disappear is an emotional, gripping read that both, warms your heart and rips it out. It’s about family and motherhood through generations and what it is like to love.

Book Review: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Mar 9, 2016

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare (The Dark Artifices #1)

Pages: 720
Publish date: 8 March 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1442468351
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Lady Midnight:

This review of Lady Midnight will contain spoilers from Cassandra Clare’s pervious series The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments.

I love Cassandra Clare’s books, I do and after I have been waiting for Lady Midnight for over a year, I was pretty excited and had quite high expectations, let me tell you that they have been met.

Lady Midnight was amazing. It is probably Clare’s best work to date and that is saying something.

There was something about Lady Midnight that was different from her other books, I think it had to do something about the writing. It seemed different, I relished it.

Lady Midnight follows Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn five years after City of Heavenly Fire. They have both grown a great deal since we last saw them. Emma is now a young woman who wants to know who murdered her parents and Julian, who is not a father rather than a brother to his siblings and who is always there for Emma. However, they are about to go on one heck of a ride that is going to bring them closer than they have ever thought.

I adored being in Los Angeles. It was different from New York and London, but there was a beach involved and I loved being near it, the atmosphere was kind of laid back.

We know most of the characters before Lady Midnight, they have changed in 5 years. Julian is looking after his siblings like he is the father. I felt for Julian so much. He not only had to grow up fast, but had the deal with the burden of killing his father and then taking his spot in the family.

The Blackthorn kids just put a smile on my face; they love each other so much and would anything for each other. I treasured seeing a close family bond that only grew stronger as the book went on.

Emma and Julian – they are going to kill me more than they already have. Their friendship just warms by heart. They are always there for each other, nevertheless they are tested throughout the book. They will do anything for each other – literally.

Lady Midnight also introduces us to some new characters firstly Cristina Rosales, man I enjoyed her. She is like Simon to Clary, Jace to Alec. They haven’t known each other long, however, they are like best friends and it was nice to see a female friendship that works.

Then we have Kieran; now I am not sure how I feel about him. Stuff goes down towards the end of the novel that changed my opinion of him, but I am hoping that in the new novel or the one following something does change.

I love that we get to see characters from both The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments since I love them too much to let them go. It was enjoyable seeing something familiar.

Mark, Mark, Mark. I loved Mark. He broke my heart it was. It has gone through so much and being back with the ones that love him.

The one thing that I love about Clare’s writing is that she can create so many different points of view, but then they all sound so different. It’s done wonderfully in Lady Midnight and I cannot wait to read more about these characters.

Furthermore, what I also love about Lady Midnight is that we find out things that we didn’t know before about the world – it gives us an insight on laws, people, and events that are new to us.

That ending though – I don’t know how I am going to hold off to book 2, because seriously, it was so good and I need to know what is going to happen next. Nonetheless, my heart has been ripped out of my chest.

Cassandra Clare brings the magic of the shadow world into a new light, in a gripping first novel of a series, Lady Midnight is dark, fun and full of ups and down, it is going to rip your heart apart.