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laural27's reviews
706 reviews
The Rain by Virginia Bergin
3.0
Apocalyptic, dystopian type fiction is high up on my list of MUST READ right now and I constantly need to have some kind of apocalyptic novel on the go – it has become an addiction!
When I read the blurb of this book I was desperate to read it and when the lovely Jessica sent me a copy I was SO quick to dive into it.
The Rain follows our protagonist called Ruby as she experiences the end of the world as she knows it. One minute she’s at a friend’s house snogging Casper – the hottest boy around, and then suddenly they’re all being rushed inside and being told to keep out of the rain. It soon transpires that the rain is poisonous, that bacteria are in the rain that can kill humans with just one drop. Ruby hitches a ride and manages to make it home to her mother, stepdad and half-brother but as the radio and TV begin to show, life is about to get a whole lot tougher.
Tap water is infected too and with no drinking water and nowhere to shower or go to the toilet, people are starting to give up hope. When neighbours start dying in the middle of the road and in Ruby’s front garden she decides she wants to get away but does she have the skill and insight to get to where she wants to go without dying?
There is more to the plot than I have just detailed but I don’t want to give anything away so I am going to stick to that basic outline for now!
I loved this book but at the same time I hated it.
I thought the concept was FANTASTIC. The idea of water being infected and not being able to go out in the rain or drink any kind of tap water made for a really compelling plot; I was constantly wondering where Ruby would find water but that is kind of where the excitement ended…
Ruby was not a very likable protagonist at all. This dramatic world catastrophe was a way for her to develop as a character and realise what is important in life but instead of growing and developing, she remained really immature and found that dyeing her hair and getting upset about her mobile phone was more important than most other things. Sure, some people cope with things in different ways but I can’t imagine someone investing so much time in putting on make-up or dyeing their hair when the world is falling apart around them. She also took a long time to become a team player and that frustrated me a little too – this is the most important time to work as a team and become selfless yet Ruby didn’t see that! I think it was pure luck that she managed to survive for as long as she did!
Secondly – the ending. I’m always a fan of a circular narrative but this one went just too far in that direction. She ended up right where she started which made the whole plot feel like a waste of time – what’s the point on taking a character on a journey when physically she doesn’t get anywhere and mentally she doesn’t learn anything or take anything from the experience?
Lastly, there were just too many plot holes in my opinion regarding the water. Firstly, animals seemed to be immune to these bacteria with absolutely no explanation which just frankly confused me. How could they be happily chomping on human limbs and still be alive?! Plus, I would have at least expected there to be bacteria left in the grass and on pavements if there has been a rain storm yet there didn’t seem to be any mention of damp grass or puddles or a blazing hot sun to dry it all up.
I guess the main issue I had with this plot was perhaps a lack of continuity and explanation in terms of the outbreak of this bacteria and the lack of connection I had with the main character.
The writing itself was really great and the style of writing meant I was eager to read on and there was a lovely amount of tension but I just didn’t love this like I wanted to love it.
The main ingredient for a successful apocalyptic/dystopian YA novel is a likeable protagonist and if you don’t have one of those then the reader has no one to fight for and sadly will lose interest and be indifferent to the fate of said character. And, unfortunately, in The Rain, a likeable protagonist is missing. All she needs is a little bit more self-awareness, a greater sense of responsibility and a bigger heart. Nothing is more off-putting than a selfish, vain, and self-obsessed character.
Having said that, there were still aspects of this book that I enjoyed and I would be interested to see what other people felt about it. Give it a read and let me know what you think!
When I read the blurb of this book I was desperate to read it and when the lovely Jessica sent me a copy I was SO quick to dive into it.
The Rain follows our protagonist called Ruby as she experiences the end of the world as she knows it. One minute she’s at a friend’s house snogging Casper – the hottest boy around, and then suddenly they’re all being rushed inside and being told to keep out of the rain. It soon transpires that the rain is poisonous, that bacteria are in the rain that can kill humans with just one drop. Ruby hitches a ride and manages to make it home to her mother, stepdad and half-brother but as the radio and TV begin to show, life is about to get a whole lot tougher.
Tap water is infected too and with no drinking water and nowhere to shower or go to the toilet, people are starting to give up hope. When neighbours start dying in the middle of the road and in Ruby’s front garden she decides she wants to get away but does she have the skill and insight to get to where she wants to go without dying?
There is more to the plot than I have just detailed but I don’t want to give anything away so I am going to stick to that basic outline for now!
I loved this book but at the same time I hated it.
I thought the concept was FANTASTIC. The idea of water being infected and not being able to go out in the rain or drink any kind of tap water made for a really compelling plot; I was constantly wondering where Ruby would find water but that is kind of where the excitement ended…
Ruby was not a very likable protagonist at all. This dramatic world catastrophe was a way for her to develop as a character and realise what is important in life but instead of growing and developing, she remained really immature and found that dyeing her hair and getting upset about her mobile phone was more important than most other things. Sure, some people cope with things in different ways but I can’t imagine someone investing so much time in putting on make-up or dyeing their hair when the world is falling apart around them. She also took a long time to become a team player and that frustrated me a little too – this is the most important time to work as a team and become selfless yet Ruby didn’t see that! I think it was pure luck that she managed to survive for as long as she did!
Secondly – the ending. I’m always a fan of a circular narrative but this one went just too far in that direction. She ended up right where she started which made the whole plot feel like a waste of time – what’s the point on taking a character on a journey when physically she doesn’t get anywhere and mentally she doesn’t learn anything or take anything from the experience?
Lastly, there were just too many plot holes in my opinion regarding the water. Firstly, animals seemed to be immune to these bacteria with absolutely no explanation which just frankly confused me. How could they be happily chomping on human limbs and still be alive?! Plus, I would have at least expected there to be bacteria left in the grass and on pavements if there has been a rain storm yet there didn’t seem to be any mention of damp grass or puddles or a blazing hot sun to dry it all up.
I guess the main issue I had with this plot was perhaps a lack of continuity and explanation in terms of the outbreak of this bacteria and the lack of connection I had with the main character.
The writing itself was really great and the style of writing meant I was eager to read on and there was a lovely amount of tension but I just didn’t love this like I wanted to love it.
The main ingredient for a successful apocalyptic/dystopian YA novel is a likeable protagonist and if you don’t have one of those then the reader has no one to fight for and sadly will lose interest and be indifferent to the fate of said character. And, unfortunately, in The Rain, a likeable protagonist is missing. All she needs is a little bit more self-awareness, a greater sense of responsibility and a bigger heart. Nothing is more off-putting than a selfish, vain, and self-obsessed character.
Having said that, there were still aspects of this book that I enjoyed and I would be interested to see what other people felt about it. Give it a read and let me know what you think!
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
5.0
Top three highlights:
- A FLYING CAR
- big ass spiders
- Dumbledore being a fucking legend.
- A FLYING CAR
- big ass spiders
- Dumbledore being a fucking legend.
Being Benedict Cumberbatch by Joanna Benecke
5.0
I am a self-confessed CumberBitch or BennyBabe or anything that remotely describes my love for Benedict Cumberbatch - the bumbling, modest, British man who has captured the hearts of millions and proved that actually, famous men can be pretty damn grounded.
When the amazing people at Plexus books asked me if I’d like to review I literally jumped at the chance. I bounced out of my chair and did the dance reserved for only the best review books. It looks something like this:
After the initial excitement had waned somewhat, I waited (impatiently) for the book to arrive. When it did I did a tad more dancing and then (very carefully) ripped open the package to find myself staring into the eyes of the one and only BennyBatch. Oooo yes, those gorgeous not-quite-sure-what-colour-they-are eyes. I thought ok, I’ll just read the introduction, put it down and then carry on with my day but that didn’t really happen…
I read the first chapter and was HOOKED.
If I’m going to be totally honest, I thought the book would be quite dull. I was preparing myself for a rather boring and predictable layout just repeating all of the facts we already know about BBatch. But no, OH NO. This book was SO much more than that in every single way possible.
Yes, there were some damn fine pictures but I was actually so engrossed in the narrator’s voice that sometimes I even managed to stop looking at pictures of him for long stretches…
The author has got the most compelling and witty voice that had me laughing constantly and at points I even had to put the book down and compose myself because I was laughing too much. The author clearly knows what she’s talking about – she must have had the AWFUL job of having to find out all about him and scroll through endless pictures to find the perfect ones…
But, in all seriousness, this is one of the best ‘celeb’ books I’ve ever read. It’s insightful, well written, cleverly laid out and actually gives you relevant and interesting information about the man in question. It was so fascinating to read about Benny’s life as he grew up and the path that lead to stardom. I must say when it came to talking about Sherlock I was sweating a bit and I had palpitations because all I could think about was Sherlock naked…yes, I must remember that a lot of other things happened in that episode…
The pictures were beautifully clear (trust me, I looked at them for long enough), the content was interesting, witty and incredibly fascinating and I read this book in one sitting. I can’t give much more praise than that - a book that can capture my attention for so long without me putting it down to do anything else is a bloody good book in my eyes!
When the amazing people at Plexus books asked me if I’d like to review I literally jumped at the chance. I bounced out of my chair and did the dance reserved for only the best review books. It looks something like this:
After the initial excitement had waned somewhat, I waited (impatiently) for the book to arrive. When it did I did a tad more dancing and then (very carefully) ripped open the package to find myself staring into the eyes of the one and only BennyBatch. Oooo yes, those gorgeous not-quite-sure-what-colour-they-are eyes. I thought ok, I’ll just read the introduction, put it down and then carry on with my day but that didn’t really happen…
I read the first chapter and was HOOKED.
If I’m going to be totally honest, I thought the book would be quite dull. I was preparing myself for a rather boring and predictable layout just repeating all of the facts we already know about BBatch. But no, OH NO. This book was SO much more than that in every single way possible.
Yes, there were some damn fine pictures but I was actually so engrossed in the narrator’s voice that sometimes I even managed to stop looking at pictures of him for long stretches…
The author has got the most compelling and witty voice that had me laughing constantly and at points I even had to put the book down and compose myself because I was laughing too much. The author clearly knows what she’s talking about – she must have had the AWFUL job of having to find out all about him and scroll through endless pictures to find the perfect ones…
But, in all seriousness, this is one of the best ‘celeb’ books I’ve ever read. It’s insightful, well written, cleverly laid out and actually gives you relevant and interesting information about the man in question. It was so fascinating to read about Benny’s life as he grew up and the path that lead to stardom. I must say when it came to talking about Sherlock I was sweating a bit and I had palpitations because all I could think about was Sherlock naked…yes, I must remember that a lot of other things happened in that episode…
The pictures were beautifully clear (trust me, I looked at them for long enough), the content was interesting, witty and incredibly fascinating and I read this book in one sitting. I can’t give much more praise than that - a book that can capture my attention for so long without me putting it down to do anything else is a bloody good book in my eyes!
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
5.0
Top three highlights:
- BUCKBEAK <3
- Hermione kicking some proper ass. She's my queen.
- I SOLEMNLY SWEAR I AM UP TO NO GOOD.
- BUCKBEAK <3
- Hermione kicking some proper ass. She's my queen.
- I SOLEMNLY SWEAR I AM UP TO NO GOOD.
The Judas Scar by Amanda Jennings
4.0
This book has been sitting on my TBR pile for longer than I care to remember and so I decided that it needed to be read. I’d heard a lot from fellow bloggers about The Judas Scar so was intrigued to see what would happen…
The Judas Scar has an incredibly interesting premise and follows the life of Harmony – a woman who, after reaching the age of forty and remaining childless, wants to try for another child with her husband, Will. Will isn’t so keen on the idea, in fact, he refuses to get Harmony pregnant, insisting that he never wanted children and had made that clear to Harmony from the start of their marriage.
At a party the couple are attending, Harmony gets lost in the crowd and ends up bumping into someone who could quite possibly be the perfect stranger. However, Harmony rejects the stranger’s advances and goes home with her husband. It’s only when attending a lunch party at a friend’s house that the perfect stranger walks back into her world and throws her life into chaos. Why does Will recognise this stranger? Why does Will look so terrified and, most importantly, where do Harmony’s loyalties lie? With the husband who refuses to give her the one thing she most desperately craves or with Luke, a stranger who she’s only just met but feels inexplicably drawn to?
If you like mystery filled plots with tangible tension between characters then this book is absolutely for you! I was hooked from the very first page and I found it incredibly hard to put down. The pace was spot on and the plot revealed itself at exactly the right points meaning you couldn’t put it down! You got to the end of a chapter and just HAD to read on to find out what would happen next.
I had a very strange relationship with these characters though – I ended up feeing the largest amount of sympathy for Will and silently cheering him on. I found it really hard to relate to Harmony at times and some of her behaviour totally irked me which gave me a really interesting insight into the plot, one which I wouldn’t have had if I had been on Harmony’s side the whole time. Maybe this was deliberately done by the author, maybe not, but I have to say I enjoyed feeling in the minority with my loyalty to Will.
The whole plot centred around one pivotal moment in Luke and Will’s life and the way every single event afterward could be linked back to that one moment was incredibly clever but also portrayed in a totally realistic and sensitive way. The Judas Scar does touch on numerous sensitive topics – miscarriage and bullying to name a few.
The one thing that let this plot down a little for me was the predictability of the climax – I could see where it was all leading to and I don’t know if that’s because it was obvious in the way the text was written or more because I’ve read stories along similar threads in the past. However, this was not a ridiculously bad thing; it just meant I wasn’t as shocked as I possibly could have been.
Overall, this is a fantastically written book that will have you racing through the pages to find out what happens next. Stuffed to the brim with intrigue, issues of morality and difficult decisions, The Judas Scar is a must read book this summer.
The Judas Scar has an incredibly interesting premise and follows the life of Harmony – a woman who, after reaching the age of forty and remaining childless, wants to try for another child with her husband, Will. Will isn’t so keen on the idea, in fact, he refuses to get Harmony pregnant, insisting that he never wanted children and had made that clear to Harmony from the start of their marriage.
At a party the couple are attending, Harmony gets lost in the crowd and ends up bumping into someone who could quite possibly be the perfect stranger. However, Harmony rejects the stranger’s advances and goes home with her husband. It’s only when attending a lunch party at a friend’s house that the perfect stranger walks back into her world and throws her life into chaos. Why does Will recognise this stranger? Why does Will look so terrified and, most importantly, where do Harmony’s loyalties lie? With the husband who refuses to give her the one thing she most desperately craves or with Luke, a stranger who she’s only just met but feels inexplicably drawn to?
If you like mystery filled plots with tangible tension between characters then this book is absolutely for you! I was hooked from the very first page and I found it incredibly hard to put down. The pace was spot on and the plot revealed itself at exactly the right points meaning you couldn’t put it down! You got to the end of a chapter and just HAD to read on to find out what would happen next.
I had a very strange relationship with these characters though – I ended up feeing the largest amount of sympathy for Will and silently cheering him on. I found it really hard to relate to Harmony at times and some of her behaviour totally irked me which gave me a really interesting insight into the plot, one which I wouldn’t have had if I had been on Harmony’s side the whole time. Maybe this was deliberately done by the author, maybe not, but I have to say I enjoyed feeling in the minority with my loyalty to Will.
The whole plot centred around one pivotal moment in Luke and Will’s life and the way every single event afterward could be linked back to that one moment was incredibly clever but also portrayed in a totally realistic and sensitive way. The Judas Scar does touch on numerous sensitive topics – miscarriage and bullying to name a few.
The one thing that let this plot down a little for me was the predictability of the climax – I could see where it was all leading to and I don’t know if that’s because it was obvious in the way the text was written or more because I’ve read stories along similar threads in the past. However, this was not a ridiculously bad thing; it just meant I wasn’t as shocked as I possibly could have been.
Overall, this is a fantastically written book that will have you racing through the pages to find out what happens next. Stuffed to the brim with intrigue, issues of morality and difficult decisions, The Judas Scar is a must read book this summer.
Closing In by Sue Fortin
4.0
I think I could possibly be Rosamund Lupton’s biggest fan and I became resigned to never reading any new novels from her and never finding anything as good but then I spied Closing In which was described as PERFECT for fans of Lupton and so I jumped at the opportunity to read this book!
Closing In is a fantastically written novel about Ellen Newman, a woman who, after running away to start a new life, takes a job as a nanny for a new family but soon finds her past and what she’s running away from isn’t willing to let her go.
With the responsibility of looking after a child, maintaining a strictly professional relationship with her boss and avoiding her past catching up with her, can Ellen really make a brand new start and look forward to the future?
This book had me totally gripped right from the off. I became so quickly invested in the characters and their world and was desperate to find out what lie beneath the surface of their seemingly ordinary lives. The plot was incredibly clever and I could not have predicted where it ended up. I felt that the ‘big reveal’ as such, could have been a little longer so we could be totally aware of each of the characters motivations but it was still a great twist and shocking revelation.
The characters in Closing In are so well crafted and they are all so multi-layered that you just don’t know which one to trust. Throughout the whole novel I kept trying to second guess the author and work out which character I should listen to but I just couldn’t work out who to believe! I would have loved a tiny bit more of a struggle between Ellen and her boss Donovan - I think there could have been a lot of tension and more scenes between them where he doesn’t know whether to believe her or not.
The tension and intrigue throughout this novel was totally on point the whole way through, I was flying through the pages trying to rush to the conclusion so everything would come together. I love an author who can keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time and Sue has got that skill down to a fine art. Whilst the writing was compelling and gripping, it was also beautifully descriptive so I was able to picture exactly where we were and exactly what was going on in each moment which made what happened even more powerful.
I really recommend this book – it’s a nice length which means you can easily get through it in one sitting or one evening (you won’t be able to put it down!)
A fantastically paced novel exploring how letting go of the past may never be as easy as you think…
Closing In is a fantastically written novel about Ellen Newman, a woman who, after running away to start a new life, takes a job as a nanny for a new family but soon finds her past and what she’s running away from isn’t willing to let her go.
With the responsibility of looking after a child, maintaining a strictly professional relationship with her boss and avoiding her past catching up with her, can Ellen really make a brand new start and look forward to the future?
This book had me totally gripped right from the off. I became so quickly invested in the characters and their world and was desperate to find out what lie beneath the surface of their seemingly ordinary lives. The plot was incredibly clever and I could not have predicted where it ended up. I felt that the ‘big reveal’ as such, could have been a little longer so we could be totally aware of each of the characters motivations but it was still a great twist and shocking revelation.
The characters in Closing In are so well crafted and they are all so multi-layered that you just don’t know which one to trust. Throughout the whole novel I kept trying to second guess the author and work out which character I should listen to but I just couldn’t work out who to believe! I would have loved a tiny bit more of a struggle between Ellen and her boss Donovan - I think there could have been a lot of tension and more scenes between them where he doesn’t know whether to believe her or not.
The tension and intrigue throughout this novel was totally on point the whole way through, I was flying through the pages trying to rush to the conclusion so everything would come together. I love an author who can keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time and Sue has got that skill down to a fine art. Whilst the writing was compelling and gripping, it was also beautifully descriptive so I was able to picture exactly where we were and exactly what was going on in each moment which made what happened even more powerful.
I really recommend this book – it’s a nice length which means you can easily get through it in one sitting or one evening (you won’t be able to put it down!)
A fantastically paced novel exploring how letting go of the past may never be as easy as you think…