books

fiction, lifestyle, Uncategorized, Wrap Up

A Little Bit of Everything

Posted on November 23, 2022 by FeedMeFiction

Hello!

It’s been a little while and my brain keeps nudging me to post, then I think of what to say and it goes round and round until it isn’t relevant anymore, that’s just my brain!

I recently joined together with a few others to encourage blogging and general posting so hopefully I’ll get a little more motivated.

So here are some updates from the last few months …

September

In September, we went on holiday where I devoured several books while lazing in the sun – it was perfect and exactly what I needed as a holiday.

I finally read my first Taylor Jenkins Reed book Carrie Soto is Back which I really enjoyed! I was impressed with the ease I fell into the storytelling and I wasn’t overwhelmed by the amount of tennis talk – it was a lovely treat and I’m excited to read more of TJR’s work. I also really enjoyed A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi although it broke my heart a little bit.

Following this, I read some real disappointments! Glint, Good Girl Complex, Twice Shy. I DNF’d How to Kill your Family (skim read) and Beneath the Burning Wave.

My standout read for September though was Wolfsong by TJ Klune, I am now in mourning as, due to the books getting a trad publishing deal, I cannot get ahold of the other books in the series for like SO LONG. I am so sad 😦

October

Sadly, October carried on my reading skit of very ‘meh’ books and although I wanted to consume all my spooky reads, I actually ended up reading some Christmas books instead as I was on some book tours!

I began October with Mindwalker by Kate Dylan and I also read Lost in Time by AG Riddle. Both were intriguing science fiction books and I enjoyed them but didn’t love them. I also finally delved into Anne of Green Gables which I just felt I couldn’t love as much as everyone else does – sorry!

For book club we read Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus, another I only found okay! I took comfort in knowing what to expect from McManus – I’ve read four of her books now and none have blown me away but they’re enjoyable enough.

Standout for me in October was The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston – my first book by this author – I really enjoyed it considering I picked it up on a whim, it gave me nostalgic vibes from all the cheesy 00s supernatural TV I’ve consumed over the years 🙂

Lastly, the festive books! I read Picture Perfect by Jeevani Charika and The Christmas Cupid by Jennifer Joyce – I enjoyed both and would recommend them, you can find reviews for them on my instagram!

Lifestyle

In September, I picked my Japanese language up again thanks to Duolingo. I studied Japanese briefly at college and university but dropped out ha. I’m enjoying my learning this time and definitely want to stick to it although the app drives me mad and gets a little obsessive. I also started learning to tap dance! It is so much fun and I’m loving it – I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner, I’ve wanted to learn for years as my mum used to dance 🙂

It’s been a weird couple of months for me. I applied for a different job at work (didn’t get it), I turned 34 and we took our first steps towards fertility treatment – not something I ever thought I would be saying but I guess that’s how it is for everyone who finds themselves in this situation. I can’t put a lot of my feelings about it into words without feeling guilty and that’s something I’m working through personally – I think writing about it will help so I’m going to try. It will always be at the end of my blog posts so if you find it triggering (which I very much totally get!) you can hopefully avoid it – do what is right for you (another lesson I’m learning for myself). On the other hand, if you have questions or are comfortable being of some support – let me know. You can always reach out on my instagram, I think having that support outside of my usual networks would be really helpful for me.

Now we are nearly at the end of NOVEMBER I’m starting to prepare for Christmas, getting my craft on and making plans… we always get a bit busier at work towards the end of the year before having a nice quiet few days – I’m working through the holidays except for the bank holidays unfortunately but it’s a good time to get everything ready for 2023!

I’ll try not to leave it too long next time!

book review, fiction

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Posted on July 6, 2022July 3, 2022 by FeedMeFiction

I found this post in my drafts and it seems a shame not to post it now considering it’s a book I really didn’t like! (I think I was quite generous!)

I was really looking forward to this book, it sounded amazing – nine strangers go on a health retreat but all is not what it seems – my perfect read!

However that is not what this book is. All the way through I kept thinking ‘maybe something will happen now and everything will kick start’, this didn’t happen, I was so disappointed! I finished the book wishing I hadn’t wasted my time.

Characters – the chapters are centred around the different people individually for the most part so you have the chance to get a feel for each character however I personally didn’t think I connected with any of them very deeply – I just wasn’t given enough from each one. I wanted to get inside their heads and really get to grips with their hidden pasts (promised from the blurb) but each character was just touched upon and then left abandoned. Perhaps there were just too many of them to delve into – each one was flawed and vulnerable (reflecting very human neuroses – very refreshing and relatable), it’s just a shame we aren’t given the chance to pay them the attention they deserve and get ourselves some mental healing too.

Narrative – The book is written well but simply; this is not a wordy text you need to take your time over however it feels like the narrative never really gets going in a sense and because of this the conclusion felt rushed to me. The majority of the book is taken up by how these strangers distrust each other and how their experience in the retreat will make them ‘new people’ but it is written too lightly for such heavy subject matters (mental health & wellbeing) which I believe has led to my disengagement with the text. I found myself confused as to if I was reading a happy book of self-discovery or a mystery thriller.

I have given the book two stars, it did keep me reading to the end after all but I’m glad I borrowed this from the library and didn’t actually pay for it. I’ve only read one other Liane Moriarty novel – Big Little Lies and I loved it, it whet my appetite with its intrigue and by the end of the novel I was stuffed. I’ve also heard great things about her other novels so I think I will read her back catalogue before I read any more of her new stuff, hopefully this one was just a blip!

Goodreads Rating – 2 / 5

book review, fantasy, fiction, young adult

Daughter of Darkness by Katharine & Elizabeth Corr

Posted on July 3, 2022 by FeedMeFiction

Publishing Due 4th August 2022 by Hot Key Books (UK)

Synopsis

Enter the Underworld in an epic new fantasy, where the Gods of ancient Greece rule everything but fate.

Deina is trapped. As one of the Soul Severers serving the god Hades on earth, her future is tied to the task of shepherding the dying on from the mortal world – unless she can earn or steal enough to buy her way out.

Then the tyrant ruler Orpheus offers both fortune and freedom to whoever can retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld. Deina jumps at the chance. But to win, she must enter an uneasy alliance with a group of fellow Severers she neither likes nor trusts.

So begins their perilous journey into the realm of Hades. . . The prize of freedom is before her – but what will it take to reach it?

Pages: 1 2

book review, book tour, fantasy, fiction, gifted

Book Tour – Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Posted on November 3, 2021 by FeedMeFiction

Published 28th October by PanMacmillan (UK)

Thank you to PanMacmillan and Black Crow PR for letting me post as part of the book tour and for the advanced copy to read and review.

Synopsis

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop’s owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn’t ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo’s help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Pages: 1 2

book review, book tour, fiction, romance, thriller

Double Whammy Book Tours

Posted on August 19, 2021 by FeedMeFiction

Hi everyone! I have neglected this page the last couple of months due to general busy-ness and real life issues mixed with major reading slumps. It’s given me some headspace to sort out what I want to do moving forwards though so I’m not mad. I needed the time and I took it.

So coming back with a bang today I’m bring you two fabulous books I’m on the tours for – both from HQ Stories (thank you!) and both RELEASED TODAY so you can go grab them now!

I’ll start with the lighter of the two books (and my current read) which is just a small highlight as I haven’t finished it yet but I’m really enjoying – it’s Did You Miss Me? By Sophia Money-Coutts and is a romance ‘one that got away’ trope novel.

Did You Miss Me? By Sophia Money-Coutts

Synopsis

You never forget the one that got away, do you?

Nell Mason is extremely happy with her life – or at least, that’s what she tells herself. She’s lucky to have a high-powered job as a lawyer, even if it does come with an eccentric set of billionaire divorce clients. And she’s absolutely fine living with her sweet, if slightly dull, boyfriend Gus in their London flat where they have very sensible sex once (OK, sometimes twice) a week. She’s definitely not stuck in a rut.

But when Nell bumps into childhood friend and first love Arthur Drummond who broke her heart fifteen years ago, she’s more than a little shaken. The seemingly perfect life she’s worked so hard for starts to feel, well, less perfect. Maybe Nell’s been kidding herself all these years. Can she ever get over her first love?

Thoughts So Far

I’m enjoying this thoughtful cute read, it’s comforting and the characters I think are relatable and not too over the top or far fetched. This is my second read from this author (the review for What Happens Now was posted here back when I first set up this page) and it has made me put her in my must-read lists. While the romance tropes are all used to death I think she brings her own spin to them which is nice and we all need a cute romance read every so often, right?

Pages: 1 2

Author Q&A, book review, book tour, fiction

Book Tour and Q&A – The Asylum by Karen Coles

Posted on April 11, 2021 by FeedMeFiction

Synopsis

1906: Being a woman is dangerous, being different is deadly.

Maud Lovell has been at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She is not sure how she came to be there and knows nothing beyond its four walls. She is hysterical, distressed, untrustworthy. Badly unstable and prone to violence. Or so she has been told.

When a new doctor arrives, keen to experiment with the revolutionary practice of medical hypnosis, Maud’s lack of history makes her the perfect case study. But as Doctor Dimmond delves deeper into the past, it becomes clear that confinement and high doses are there to keep her silent.

When Maud finally remembers what has been done to her, and by whom, her mind turns to her past and to revenge.

Pages: 1 2 3

book review, fantasy

Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin

Posted on September 10, 2020 by FeedMeFiction

Published September 2020 by HarperCollins

Firstly – I was gifted an e-copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a review!

Pages: 1 2 3

book review, fiction

The Curse of the King by Winnie Lyon

Posted on September 1, 2020 by FeedMeFiction

Published September 1st 2020 by Parliament House Press

Synopsis

Laura Wilson is the heir to an ancient curse.

As a young witch descending from the very powerful trio of witches that had cursed Macbeth, the pressure she faces daily is non-stop. When Laura is forced to participate in her school’s rendition of the classic play, she gives herself a single task: breaking the curse once and for all.

This task proves itself to be more difficult than she ever could have imagined when a miscast spell leads to the summoning of her dead ancestor, Cecily Wilson, one of the very witches that cursed Macbeth.

As Laura attempts to send her resurrected relative back beyond the veil, she is faced with one of the harsh realities of high school—having a crush on her best friend, Holly. However, things only get more complicated as Holly pines after Peter, a lonely, quick-witted vampire.

While she grows closer to Cecily, Laura sees first-hand the true horrors of being a witch in Elizabethan England as demonic forces arise in her little town of Shipley Hollow.

Can Laura break the curse and save her family name before the curtains rise on opening night?

Pages: 1 2

book review, book tour, fiction, gifted

Book Tour! The Strange Book of Jacob Boyce by Tom Gillespie

Posted on July 22, 2020July 22, 2020 by FeedMeFiction

Published July 21st by Vine Leaves Press

Today is my stop on the tour for The Strange Book of Jacob Boyce by Tom Gillespie!

Thanks Love Books Tours for inviting me along and sending a review copy of the book!

Synopsis

A spiralling obsession. A missing wife. A terrifying secret. Will he find her before it’s too late?

When Dr Jacob Boyce’s wife goes missing, the police put it down to a simple marital dispute. Jacob, however, fears something darker. Following her trail to Spain, he becomes convinced that Ella’s disappearance is tied to a mysterious painting whose hidden geometric and numerical riddles he’s been obsessively trying to solve for months. Obscure, hallucinogenic clues, and bizarre, larger-than-life characters, guide an increasingly unhinged Jacob through a nightmarish Spanish landscape to an art forger’s studio in Madrid, where he comes face-to-face with a centuries-old horror, and the terrifying, mind-bending, truth about his wife.

Review

Wow, okay. This is going to be a really short review because it’s hard to talk about without ruining some detail of the story.

There are some aspects of The Strange Book of Jacob Boyce that I loved – it was mysterious, it bent genres and is probably the most creative book, in terms of content, that I’ve read this year. It is ambitious and it doesn’t hold back and that is amazing. By the end of the book I felt it covered a lot of ground in regards to dealing with grief and loss – hard topics to contain in the narrative!

However I did find that there were some things I didn’t enjoy which, while small, really affected my overall enjoyment of the story. I didn’t like Jacob, as a character I couldn’t get into his head and that really made me lose connection since we spent the entire novel following him – maybe this is intentional? He is strange after all. I also didn’t enjoy that amount of spanish in the novel – I have nothing against the language but to be honest, I don’t understand it so anything written in spanish was words I just skimmed over and it became another thing which kicked me out of connection with the narrative.

As you can see, these might be insignificant details to some people and I would always urge anyone to read something even if I took some negatives away. Parts of this novel I felt were very Da Vinci Code (I’m not ashamed to say I enjoyed that book) and you can really feel the amount of research and work that went into the writing; Gillespie has a lot of talent in his writing style and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for his books in future.

The Strange Book of Jacob Boyce is available to buy now on kindle and in paperback.

All in all this book was definitely mind bending and I would urge fans of Blake Crouch and Stephen King to read it!

Goodreads Rating 3 / 5

book review, fiction, gifted

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Posted on July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 by FeedMeFiction

Published in the UK by Dialogue Books – June 2020

Synopsis

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ story lines intersect?
Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

Review

I want to start by saying that this book was a complete surprise to me. I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of the book by Tandem Collective so that I could join in on one of their summer readalongs and it was so much more than I expected it to be. The group I was in a chat with was fantastic and we had pretty similar views and outcomes from the novel.

Brit Bennett has such a wonderful voice and she uses it powerfully in The Vanishing Half – I went into this novel after reading the above synopsis, thinking it was a tale of losing a sister, a twin, a part of your soul but I took away so much more than that.

Brit tells the story of the twins through their parents and their children and how the events they all lived through affected them – the twins leave their hometown and separate as young women, pursuing different lives and lifestyles. Stella, “crosses over” and chooses to live as white, married to a white man, in a middle class neighbourhood and Desiree chooses to marry a black man, who she leaves and ends up back home, taking her daughter with her to the town she tried so hard to leave.

Between the intertwining narratives, Brit tackles how racism and flaws in society affect its inhabitants and she does this inclusively, representing black people, white people, men, women, transgender and different sexualities. I think my favourite characters in the novel were Reese and Jude, the steps they make towards equality is so wonderfully written and they were such diverse and deep characters I couldn’t help but wish for more of their story as I read the book!

Ultimately, this novel for me was about identity and how a person can shape their identity to what they want and need it to be, through conscious and subconscious actions; how their relationships mould their identity and ultimately, it is about losing a part of yourself to (find yourself) become that identity.

I can’t recommend this book enough, while the first few chapters were slow and introductory, it did not take long for me to get sucked in and need to finish! I will be looking out for more of Bennett’s books! You can buy The Vanishing Half now on Amazon for Kindle or in Hardback.

Goodreads Rating 4.5 (5) / 5