Book Reviews

[Not Plain Jane]

I love The Virgin Suicides too! I've taught it a couple of times, and it even teaches well.

 

[Belowen]

A Tap On The Window by Linwood Barclay (3/10) – The first book I read this year was a bit of a flop. I had high hopes for this, the plot sounded promising and I was in the mood for a good thriller, but this book just didn’t deliver. The story seemed to drag on for a long time without anything interesting happening, I found it hard to follow the characters, and I didn’t care enough about the main character to get involved in his back story.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (8/10) – With this book, Jeffrey Eugenides has officially cemented his place on my list of all-time favourite authors. This book was not my favourite of his, (fyi my personal ranking of Mr Eugenides books is as follows: 1. Middlesex, 2. The Virgin Suicides, & 3. this one), but still, I loved it. The characters in this book were so vivid that I felt like they were jumping off the page at me.



Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (8/10) – I loved this book. This is my favourite book by Gillian Flynn so far, I just couldn’t seem to put it down. I It was a real page turner, and I raced through it because I was desperate to find out what happened at the end. A great mystery/thriller and a very easy read.


How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2/10) – Ugh, this book. Firstly, I may have read Flowers In The Attic at least 25 times when I was a teenager, but that doesn’t mean I’m down with pointless incest popping up in books. Especially when there is no character or relationship development whatsoever. You’re just supposed to roll with it? No. Also, I really did not like the way this book was written. I’m not a big fan of stream of consciousness writing, and I found it hard to pull anything from the story. Thankfully this book was super short and I zipped through it in two days.

 

[melfreya]

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (8/10) – I loved this book. This is my favourite book by Gillian Flynn so far, I just couldn’t seem to put it down. I It was a real page turner, and I raced through it because I was desperate to find out what happened at the end. A great mystery/thriller and a very easy read.

My thought exactly! My favorite of Gillian Flynn too. Can't wait for the movie, although I pictured Amy Adams more than Charlize for Libby. I'm sure Charlize will do an amazing job plus she has more star power. I have to admit she even convinced me from the first preview photos!

 

[Belowen]

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary-Anne Shaffer & Annie Barrows 8/10 – I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I’d anticipated, and I’ve been recommending it to anyone who asks me for reading recommendations. It was charming, sweet, and the characters were all vivid and delightful. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the fact that it’s written in correspondence form, which meant the story jumped back and forth between characters. I’m not sure if it’s because I read it in kindle format and the pages weren’t formatted properly, but I found it quite difficult to keep up with who was writing to who.

Beauty by Lauren Conrad (5/10) – I probably shouldn’t have purchased both this and Lauren’s book ‘Style’, because both contain a lot of the same information. I love Lauren, but if you already own Style, don’t bother picking this up too. Unless of course you’re in the market for a very pretty little coffee table book.


Intensity by Dean Koontz (9/10) – This book was way better than I expected it to be. It was one of the most thrilling books I’ve ever read, and I had a really hard time putting it down every time I needed to stop and do something else. The female protagonist is one STRONG *** character. No foolin’. If you’re in the mood for a book that will get your heart racing, pick this up ASAP.


Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (6/10) – I picked up this book because I was about to embark own my own road trip, and I felt like reading something to get me in the mood. This was a really sweet little read and although I didn’t actually read any of it on my trip as planned, I did love reading it afterwards and remembering cute little things about my own trip.

 

[HeatherAnne]

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (8/10) – I loved this book. This is my favourite book by Gillian Flynn so far, I just couldn’t seem to put it down. I It was a real page turner, and I raced through it because I was desperate to find out what happened at the end. A great mystery/thriller and a very easy read.

My thought exactly! My favorite of Gillian Flynn too. Can't wait for the movie, although I pictured Amy Adams more than Charlize for Libby. I'm sure Charlize will do an amazing job plus she has more star power. I have to admit she even convinced me from the first preview photos!

Third that!! It's definitely my favorite of hers, in fact I think it far trumps Gone Girl or Sharp Objects. She did an awesome job of setting up an eery Southern atmosphere with this one. Her other books didn't creep me out or have much effect on me.

I can't wait to see how the film turns out.

 

[Belowen]

How To Tell if Your Cat Is Plotting To Kill You by The Oatmeal (6/10) – To be honest, I read this because I noticed that I was falling behind in my 50 Book Challenge, and I knew this would be a fast and easy read. This turned out to be a cute little book, and cat owners will no doubt laugh at a few of the jokes. I certainly did.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (4/10) – I think my expectations were too high for this book. I’d heard so many great things about it, but unfortunately I didn’t like it at all. I think the concept of the story as a whole had a lot of potential, and I probably would have enjoyed the book if the main character didn’t suffer from a chronic case of INSTA-LOVE. I am automatically turned off of a book if the characters fall in love straight away, and nothing makes me feel older than reading about two teenagers repeatedly declaring their love for one another. Yawn.


172 Hours On The Moon by Johan Harstad (5/10) – I also had high expectations of this book (that happens a lot, I blame booktube), and again my expectations were not met. I know you naturally have to suspend some elements of realistic expectation when reading a book, but found it really hard to get past my disbelief that NASA would send anyone other than American citizens into space on their dollar. But no, they send three teenagers: one Norwegian, one Japanese, and one French. Seems a bit odd to me but OK. Beyond that, I didn’t find it scary at all, and the teenagers being so blasé about going into space annoyed me. Another sign I’m getting old? Probably.


The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh (4/10) – I grabbed this book off of Audible because the cover looked summery and inviting. I didn’t realize at the time that what I was purchasing was a work of erotic fiction. Heh. Which is fine, really, but things escalated quickly while I was listening to the book on the train (not knowing what the book was going to be about), and I became immediately paranoid that people could hear what I was listening to. Not a comfortable reading experience. The storyline was pretty horrible, and none of the characters were likeable.

 

[kokobombon]

re Dark Places, I didn´t fully like it. Probably for exactly the reasons that makes it a rather complex book, I thought it was too dense and had too many povs (I ended up fast forwarding the mother´s most of the time). What I did like and made me uncomfortable was the way she captures what I think it´s the "redneck" and "poor person" mentality.
In terms of prose, I think it´s better than Sharp Objects (I haven´t read Gone Girl yet).

Anyway, I have tons of work right now so I´m looking forward to read a light yet interesting story but nothing that prevents you from putting the book down... anyone has a recommendation?

 

[melfreya]

''Where'd you go Bernadette'' by Maria Semple is a very fun and captivating read. It has a non traditional narrative (flashbacks, emails and other documents) that you'll either love or hate though!

 

[Belowen]

John Dies At The End by David Wong (4/10) – You know that feeling when it seems like you’ve been reading a kindle book for YEARS and you look at the percentage read at the bottom of the page and it’s only 2%? No? Well that’s how I felt for the most part while reading this book. This was a real struggle for me to get through, for some reason. The story was interesting enough, but it was overly wordy and just not my style of book.

Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews (8/10) – This book holds a nostalgic place in my heart, and I’ve loved it (and re-read it quite a few times) ever since I was a teenager. Most people probably find this book creepy and disgusting, which is exactly why I love it. I’ve read the entire Dollanganger series, and I have the urge to do a full re-read of the books this year.



Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling (8/10) – I love Mindy Kaling. I find her hilarious, and The Mindy Project is one of my favourite shows. I put off picking this book up for quite a while because I’d read mixed reviews, but I’m glad that I finally got around to it because I loved it. If you’re a fan of Mindy I highly recommend checking this out, as there are many laugh-out-loud moments to be had.


Vitro by Jessica Khoury (4/10) – This was one of my holiday reads (I wanted island-themed books that seemed easy to read), and it was OK but nothing special. I think I really need to stop reaching for young adult books, even when their storyline captures my attention. I know all books are for all ages but I just find teenage protagonists so darn annoying.

 

[lucy92]

Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews (8/10) – This book holds a nostalgic place in my heart, and I’ve loved it (and re-read it quite a few times) ever since I was a teenager. Most people probably find this book creepy and disgusting, which is exactly why I love it. I’ve read the entire Dollanganger series, and I have the urge to do a full re-read of the books this year.

what about the casteel series? i love that series just as much.

 

[Belowen]

what about the casteel series? i love that series just as much.

I've only read the first book in that series, but I loved it! That's Heaven, yeah? How about My Sweet Audrina? I had such trashy book taste in my teenage years.

 

[lucy92]

I've only read the first book in that series, but I loved it! That's Heaven, yeah? How about My Sweet Audrina? I had such trashy book taste in my teenage years.

i've read all those books like 6 times each. the original vc andrews books were pretty well written IMO. nothing to be ashamed about. its where the ghostwriters came in that the writing turned embarassing.

you are going to love dark angel, the sequel to heaven.

 

[Belowen]

On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves (3/10) – I can’t remember what inspired me to purchase this, I think I might have been browsing Goodreads for island themed books before my holiday last month and this looked interesting. It was a typical ‘beach’ read – fluffy and easy to get through. It’s not really something that I’d recommend to other people to read. Unless you’re drawn in based on the premise of two people getting stuck on a desert island (Yes, I am a sucker for that). #wilson #neverforget


A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (9/10) – This book had been sitting on my bookshelf for over a year, and I’m so glad I finally decided to pick it up. I knew that this was a firm favourite of many of my friends, so I had high expectations that thankfully weren’t let down. This is one of those books with a firm start-middle-finish, and although it is reasonably long, it was never a chore to read. I love books that have strong character development, and this book had wonderfully vivid characters throughout.


Cell by Stephen King (7/10) – I’ve read this before, but when I heard that it was being made into a film I decided to download the audiobook and have a listen. I spent the whole time imagining the actors cast in the film playing the characters in the book, and I am so happy that John Cusak is set to play Clay. He is perfect for the role. Samuel L Jackson as Tom is a bit questionable though. If you’re not already aware, ‘Cell’ is the story of the aftermath of a mysterious signal broadcast over the global cell phone network that turns the majority humans into mindless vicious animals. It will make an awesome movie.


The Three by Sarah Lotz (5/10) – I had such high hopes for this book. You probably know my taste by now, and this is definitely it: “Lost meets The Passage in this incredible new thriller, for all fans of The Shining Girls and Stephen King. They’re here …The boy. The boy watch the boy watch the dead people oh Lordy there’s so many …They’re coming for me now. We’re all going soon. All of us. Pastor Len warn them that the boy he’s not to—- The last words of Pamela May Donald (1961 – 2012) Black Thursday. The day that will never be forgotten. The day that four passenger planes crash, at almost exactly the same moment, at four different points around the globe. There are only four survivors. Three are children, who emerge from the wreckage seemingly unhurt. But they are not unchanged. And the fourth is Pamela May Donald, who lives just long enough to record a voice message on her phone. A message that will change the world. The message is a warning.” I enjoyed this book for the most part, and raced through it in a couple of days. The ending, however, left me slightly baffled. I’d love for someone else to read it, just so we can discuss the ending!

 

[BerlinRocks]

Has any of you read the Cronenberg's book: Consumed ?

 

[Alstroe]

Has any of you read the Cronenberg's book: Consumed ?

As in, David Cronenberg? I must read that!

 

[Alexa1994]

Alchemist!! best of all

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I couldn't get through it, had to give it to the Little Free Library The tone (faux fable-y), plus the fact that it moved soooo slowly because it's like he makes every point 10 different ways ... it was torture, I just couldn't do it. I hated The Little Prince as a child ... not sure how I'd feel about it now, but maybe it's the same feeling decades apart.

 

[Benn98]

Inside Vogue by Alexandra Shulman. Finished it in less than a day. Naturally a must read for TFSers. Alexandra is a great writer, and I really mean great. Her pacing is good, anecdotes balanced, there's a sense of humour which comes through and she's a tremendous wordsmith. But I can't say she's a likeable person (for me), this memoir paints her as incredibly dull, annoyingly self-depreciating at times, and sheltered. In a warped sense, this book is the literature accompaniment to BBC's 2-part documentary about Vogue. If ever you needed to understand the aesthetic of her Vogue, the reasoning behind her casting, this is your entry point. I found the parts about her private life far more entertaining than her insight into Vogue. What did interest me was how aware she was of so much criticism charged at her. And so many of our views, meaning us forum members, were proven correct throughout the book. The magazine's dull fashion, lack of diversity, problematic relationship with brands. All that is laid bare and the crux of it stems from her limited view and how she managed the magazine. So she's aeare of her perceived shortcomings, yet there's not much in the way of introspection which I find odd considering she's a writer. In a perfect world she'd have been better off at a title like The Gentlewoman!

 

[Benn98]

Inside Vogue by Alexandra Shulman. Finished it in less than a day. Naturally a must read for TFSers. Alexandra is a great writer, and I really mean great. Her pacing is good, anecdotes balanced, there's a sense of humour which comes through and she's a tremendous wordsmith. But I can't say she's a likeable person (for me), this memoir paints her as incredibly dull, annoyingly self-depreciating at times, and sheltered. In a warped sense, this book is the literature accompaniment to BBC's 2-part documentary about Vogue. If ever you needed to understand the aesthetic of her Vogue, the reasoning behind her casting, this is your entry point. I found the parts about her private life far more entertaining than her insight into Vogue. What did interest me was how aware she was of so much criticism charged at her. And so many of our views, meaning us forum members, were proven correct throughout the book. The magazine's dull fashion, lack of diversity, problematic relationship with brands. All that is laid bare and the crux of it stems from her limited view and how she managed the magazine. So she's aeare of her perceived shortcomings, yet there's not much in the way of introspection which I find odd considering she's a writer. In a perfect world she'd have been better off at a title like The Gentlewoman!