disappointing

Book Review – Burn by Patrick Ness

books, reviews

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

How long to do you struggle with a book before deciding to give up on it? When I was younger, I used to percevier with books I didn’t enjoy just so I could feel like I’d achieved something. Although, that was back during the days when it would take me around a month to finish a single book. Now, my time is so precious that I can’t waste my time on books I don’t like. Although, there are times when I go back into that mindset. I get so far and just think “I might as well get all the way through.” This was one of those times. It took me around a week to get this finished and it wasn’t even that long a book. It’s one that I’ve had on my TBR for a while and one that I was quite excited about. So, what went wrong?

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Book Review – The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer

books, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

My final read of last month was something that I’d been intrigued by since watching the Netflix adaptation. However, I wasn’t exactly desperate to read it. The major reason that I actually decided to read it was because I need an E to complete my reading challenge. Officially, it’s not even an E title but I’m giving myself a pass on this one. Obviously, I’m a big fan of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, so I was a little worried about reading this. I’d been burnt by Anthony Horowitz’s The House of Silk before. It just didn’t pass the vibe check and didn’t get the character right. At least Nancy Springer isn’t writing an actual Holmes mystery.

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Book Review – Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I’ve had this book for a while now and never even attempted to pick it up. It’s the first book by Jasper Fforde that I’ve tried to read but I know of him. By which I mean I’ve heard of his Thursday Next series but never bothered to read them. They just sounded a bit too whimsical for my liking. In reality, I’d probably enjoy them but I just haven’t had the inclination. This sounded too good to ignore and I always prefer a standalone to a series. It sort of sounded like Snowpiercer and was released during the time when I was still fully obsessed with that film. So, I bought it and, last month, I finally decided to read it. Mostly because I’m pretty short of E book titles.

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Book Review – Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The second book that I read on my holiday was another of my September pre-orders and one of the most anticipated novels of this year. I’ve only ever read Normal People but I really loved it. It was an absolute 5 star read, so I was looking forward to seeing what she came up with next. I always intended to read Conversations With Friends before I read Sally Rooney’s third book but just never got round to it. Still, I thought this sounded really interesting and I think Rooney is one of the most interesting and exciting writers around. Although, I’ve read a few Millennial writers, so it was always possible that my opinion of her had changed slightly.

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Book Review – Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

books, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Holiday is over and it’s back down to Earth with a bump. Not only am I straight back to work but I’ve got some blogging to catch up on. I’m going to try and review as many books as possible this week, which sounds good in theory. However, it’s been a while since I’ve read some of them. Well, it’s been over a week with this one. Thankfully, we discussed it at book club on Wednesday. That should give me a bit of a chance to remember what I think about it.

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TBT Review – Hancock (2008)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 3 out of 5.

When I first head about this film I thought it sounded shit. That’s mostly because a friend of mine described it to me and he didn’t do a very good job. It didn’t help that I just associated Will Smith with bad films thanks to the likes of Hitch. So, I didn’t want to watch it. Cut to a few years later and another friend telling me to watch it. This time, I trusted his opinion and gave it a shot. I didn’t hate it but I can’t pretend that it’s a film I’ve thought a lot about since. Until it appeared on my Netflix home screen the other day. Then I got the sudden urge to watch it again. As it’s been a while since my last TBT, I decided it was worth going back to it. Maybe it would make more of an impression this time?

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Book Review – The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

books, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Like many others, I first became interested in this book when it was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2018. It sounded like an interesting story and I’m always intrigued by feminist dystopian fiction. I never actually bought it though because, as is always the case, I had far too much to read first. I then got a copy in a book subscription box that I used to get. It wasn’t a great subscription all round but this was definitely a highlight. The book has spent the last year or so on my shelf waiting to be read. Why did I decide to read it now? I wanted the excuse to experiment with water in some photos. I’ve had worse reasons for picking up a book but this isn’t exactly my finest hour. I was still interested but I’d also heard mixed things about Sophie Mackintosh’s debut novel. I guess that I had to find out for myself.

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Tuesday Review – Cruella (2021)

films, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

I’m yet to be convinced by Disney’s plan to remake all of its animated film as live-action. At best, they can be described as fine. At worst, they’re pointless. The best by far is The Jungle Book because it was only slightly concerned with the original film. I guess Maleficent worked pretty well but I wonder how much that had to do with Angelina Jolie rather than the actual film. So, I wasn’t exactly hyped when it was announced that Cruella DeVil, first seen in 1961’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians, was getting an origin story. Or that she was going to be played by Emma Stone. Don’t get me wrong, I love Emma Stone but she’s no Glenn Close. The 1996 remake did many things wrong but casting Close as the villain was a genius stroke. I didn’t see how Stone would be able to compete and that was before I heard her dodgy accent.

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Book Review – Yellow by Janni Visman

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

In order to complete my Spell the Month Challenge for February, I knew that I’d have to find a book title that started with Y. After reading Yes Please last month, I wasn’t sure that I’d have anything already on my shelves. So. I ended up buying something to fit the bill. Unfortunately there aren’t an awful lot of inspiring books beginning with Y. Or at least not that I was able to get in time. I’ve for a bit of time before I’ll need my next one, so I’ll have to do some proper research. For this month, my Y pick was I book I randomly found on Amazon. It sounded interesting enough and, most importantly, was quick. Meaning that, even if it ended up being terrible, I wouldn’t have to push on through a really long novel.

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Book Review – When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I have a problem with Bookstagram. My problem being that I can’t stop myself from buying the books that I see people raving about. This was one of those books. Last year this book seemed to be everywhere and I hadn’t heard anyone say anything negative about it. Of course, I was slightly skeptical. I mean book that starts off by comparing itself to Get Out and Rear Window has some pretty high expectations of itself. It’s safe to say that I have been pretty dubious about contemporary thrillers. I find the majority to be superficial and not very thrilling. Of course, the added theme of racism and gentrification of this narrative had got me interested, so I decided to go against my natural instincts. Could it possibly change the genre completely? Especially when it sounded pretty similar to the plot of Vampires vs the Bronx.

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