Reading in Heels April box with usual review card and ‘spoilers’ sheet.
As mentioned in my previous blog post ‘House of Beauty‘ I subscribe to Reading in Heels a book box which includes a contemporary literary fiction book, and 3-4 treats each month, including beauty items and edible delights. So what was in this months box?!
Beautifully wrapped as always and it should be noted it now comes in a box which will fit through your letterbox, which is great if you miss the postman as much as me!
The Book
So the book this month sounds really interesting and has a super cute cover. The author is Israeli so I’m intrigued to where the novel will be set.
‘Nofar is just an average teenage girl – so average, she’s almost invisible. Serving customers ice cream all summer long, she is desperate for some kind of escape. One afternoon, a terrible lie slips from her tongue. And suddenly everyone wants to talk to her: the press, her schoolmates, and the boy upstairs – the only one who knows the truth.
Then Nofar meets Raymonde, an elderly woman whose best friend just died. Raymonde keeps her friend alive the only way she knows how – by inhabiting her stories. But soon, Raymonde’s lies take on a life of their own.
A heart-stopping novel about deception and it’s consequences, Liar brilliantly explores how far a lie can travel – and how much we are willing to believe.’
The treats
So the treats this month are an absolutely gorgeous smelling Easter Spice dark chocolate by Coco Chocolatier (yum!), Organic St Clement’s Lemon loose tea by Joe’s Tea Co (meant to be drank as ice tea), a Diamond eye mask by Vitamasques (made with real diamond and caffeine extracts!) and some small marble patterned sticky notes (who doesn’t love stationery?!).
As usual I’m quite pleased with this month’s box. Another book I wouldn’t have picked myself but I’m looking forward to reading it. Stayed tuned for my review of Liar.
So with an ever growing TBR shelf and me wanting to read them all I was struggling to pick my next read. There are certain books I read immediately – my Reading in Heels subscription box book and my read along books, this is so I can discuss them with others on the book groups but other than that I really can never pick what to read next!
Then I had a brainwave – why not do a lucky dip jar. That would take the stress out of deciding what to read next. I want to read them all, otherwise they wouldn’t be on my TBR shelf, so the order doesn’t really matter. This way will also mean I read a good mix of genres rather than getting caught up in just one. Simple!
Lucky Dip
So as you will have seen from my previous blog post ‘TBR – April 2019‘ I introduced my book cart. The top shelf reserved for my most anticipated books to read, so I wrote each of these books onto a piece of patterned paper, folded it up and placed it in my jar. If the book was part of a Trilogy or series I only wrote the first book to read down, once that book is picked the next title in the series can go in the jar.
Simple solution to my indecisive problem!
Finally I added two ‘free pick’ pieces of paper, just in case I am really desperate to read a specific book, then it can jump the queue!
Im excited to try out this new system to see how it suits me. Just finishing up Red Queen by Victoria Averyard first, really enjoying this book so far, great female lead character.
‘Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother- who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town – and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost…’
The Review:
Little fires everywhere is a beautifully written, character focused, contemporary fiction. It is set in idyllic suburbia and is focused around the, seemingly perfect, Richardson family and their relationship with their new tenants Mia, a single mum and artist and Pearl, a shy, gifted teenager. We get to know each member of the family, as they get closer to Mia and Pearl and as their lives become more closely entwined the relationships become more complex. We also find out how each person feels about the abandoned baby, whom one of the wealthy couples in the neighbourhood plan to adopt. Soon the family is divided and tensions rise.
The thing that stood out for me reading this book was how well developed each character was, I felt I really knew each of them. The storyteller changed from one character to another and I never questioned from whose point of view I was reading as it was so obvious. I liked and wanted to know more about each character, all had interesting back stories and were each having their own personal struggle throughout the book.
I loved that as we got to know the characters the storyline naturally developed and all the characters and their pasts intertwined perfectly. It just felt so neat, like a complete circle.
You knew how it would end, because thats how the book started, but I did find myself hoping for a different ending for Mia and Pearl. Overall, an excellent read, and highly recommended.
I’ve looked at what else Celeste Ng has written and came across Everything I Never Told You which is a thriller focused around a girl named Lydia. She does die, but how can I resist when we share a name and she was going to be a doctor! So that’s now firmly on my TBR list.
So it’s the first of the month again and the ritual begins again. First, I pick my free eBook on Amazon First Reads – this month I picked One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence. A science fiction novel with a very interesting blurb. Then its onto sorting out my book cart. Top shelf reserved for this months TBR (To Be Read) books, middle shelf for books on my TBR that if I get to is a bonus and bottom shelf are my finished books ready for swaps. Swap groups on facebook have saved me a fortune and also kept the boyfriend happy as we’re not completely surrounded by books in the house.
TBR – April 2019
So these are my TBR April books, in no particular order. These books are usually ones that have been recommended on BookTube or ones I have gotten in swaps which sounded interesting. The genres I really love are YA, fantasy and science fiction, but I do love to have other genres so I can mix it up in the month. I also don’t like to read loads of really long books, I like to have some shorter ones in my picks for the month to keep up my motivation to read if one book I read isn’t very good.
Most looking forward to this month:
The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
‘At a party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed – again.
She’s been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. The only way to break this cycle is to identify Evenlyn’s killer. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is desperate to stop him ever escaping Blackheath…’
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
‘THIS IS A WORLD DIVIDED BY BLOOD – RED OR SILVER.
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
But Mare possesses a deadly talent of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Fearful of her potential, the Silvers hide Mare in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess. Knowing that one false move will mean her death, Mare must use her new position to bring down the regime – from the inside.
Now Mare has entered a game of betrayal and lies.
This is Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart…’
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us. Now we rise.
Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoning forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden.
Zélie is one such person. Now she has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy.’
My Current Book
I started The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan yesterday so it is my first book of April. I’m only a few chapters in but can already tell this is going to be a lovely ‘feel good’ book, which is a nice way to start the month.
But what to read next?! Any of my TBR April books on your to read list?
So I like to read everywhere, whenever I get a spare minute AND I prefer a paperback to reading an eBook on my Kindle, so my poor books were getting battered and bruised. Then I came across a wonderful seller on Etsy MelvisMakes who makes BookBuddys. A BookBuddy is a padded fabric sleeve to protect your books when you’re carrying them around in your bag. They are available in 4 different sizes and also for your Kindle!
Matching Bookmark
And when I saw that I could have a matching bookmark, I couldn’t resist! The choice of fabrics is massive, but I’ve always loved woodlands and animals so this fabric choice was perfect for me.
My current read: Little Fires Everywhere.
And how well do they go with my current read? I am probably a little late to the party as I’m just reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng now, but it has been on my TBR list forever! Watch this space for my review as I’m nearly finished reading and let me tell you, its been a fab read so far!
*Disclaimer – I bought this BookBuddy and bookmark and am in no way affiliated with this seller*
My very first ARC! When you start reading and looking at online book blogs, watching booktube or following other book lovers on social media you quickly hear about the elusive ARCs (or Advanced Reader Copies) of soon to be released titles. It seems too good to be true, advanced copies of books for giving an honest review, yes please! Of course, its not that easy. A publisher wants to give their advanced copies to influencers, people who can help them sell more books. Its made slightly easier now that eBooks are popular as it doesn’t cost the publisher as much as posting out paperback ARCs. I joined NetGallery and started requesting books which sounded interesting to me. I was approved for a copy of Opposite of Always by Justin Reynolds.
‘When Jack and Kate meet at a party, he knows he’s falling – hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack.
But then Kate dies. And their story should end there.
Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind.Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do to save the people he loves.’
The review:
Due to the very nature of the plot it was quite repetitive, particularly the first half of the book. Each scenario did change enough to keep my interest. It got more interesting when Jack started to think outside the box, like how to earn lots of money fast or when he decided to not start dating Kate but actually pursue his other crush. There was good character building and you grew attached to them all. It also had a reasonably satisfying ending, nothing amazing and no grand solution, but how you wanted it to end.
The only let down for me was the quality of the writing, quite basic and mainly conversational. The book is definitely aimed at the younger audience. I am a big fan of YA, but this writing was quite simplistic writing.
Overall, an enjoyable read. Would make a good movie. Not going to rush to read anymore from this author.
This book is being released on 4th April 2019, so not long to wait.
*Got an ARC of this book from NetGallery in return for an honest review*
As there are no book clubs in my local area (for people with my taste in books anyway) I have joined a read along group on Facebook. Each month we vote on the book we will read together. We then get a reading schedule, usually the book is split into four parts. We read and discuss as we go along. This months book is The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski, this is the first book of The Winner’s Trilogy. This book was first published in 2014 and is a YA fantasy (my favourite!).
The Blurb:
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. Kestrel has other ideas.
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in Arin, a young slave up for auction. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him – and for a sensational price that sets the society gossips talking. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for him is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Part 1. Chapters 1-11:
So no time is wasted getting to know the characters or world building, straight to the slave market and buying Arin as promised. When she takes Arin home this is were we start to see more of Kestrel and learn more about how her people came into power. Also her troubled relationship with her widowed father, who is desperate for her to follow in his footsteps and join the military. There are also lots of hints that there is more to Arin than meets the eye and that he is planning something and then it is confirmed when he secretly meets up with Cheat, the slave auctioneer.
Part 2. Chapters 12-21:
Well things just got more exciting. Kestrel’s and Arin’s worlds collide with a glimpse into Arin’s former life which led to Kestrel having to fight a duel with the kingdoms most skilled male fighter, because Arin tried to steal something that once belonged to him. Kestrel had no chance of winning, but she is portrayed as very clever and a strategist so I knew she would have something up her sleeve and she did. Great twist and lovely touch when her father turned up to the duel.
Part 3. Chapters 22-30:
Just as I was starting to worry that not a lot was happening, as Kestrel was on bed rest after her duel, everything happened. With Kestrel’s father away fighting barbarians Arin and his people take the opportunity to revolt and take back their homes. For Kestrel a complete shock and major betrayal. Kestrel is now separated from her friends, though many are dead and is taken as Arin’s ‘prisoner’ in his former home. The focus is then on Arin’s rise to leader of the revolt as well as him trying to keep his romance with Kestrel alive, though she is determined not to show her feelings towards him. Quick moving and kept me wanting to know what would happen next.
Part 4. Chapters 31 to end:
So the escape. Kestrel remains true to her Valorian roots and escapes (only because Arin allows it) to tell her father of the revolt so that he can bring the army back to put a stop to the siege. Almost too late Kestrel realises this would mean the end for her love. So she makes a deal with the emperor, agreeing to marry his son if he agrees to give Herran back to the Herrani people and charge them taxes instead of enslaving them again. Arin agrees to the offer, as they were close to defeat, but he is worried that Kestrel doesn’t understand the full implications of her actions.
Overall the book felt a little dated, but I think this is because the book is quite old and some themes which are pretty standard for YA fantasy now were actually new ideas back when this was written. I enjoyed this quick read. I enjoyed the developing relationship between Arin and Kestrel, despite her reluctance to let herself just love him. I will read the other books in the trilogy to see where this story and this couple go.
I received this book as part of my monthly subscription to ‘Reading in Heels’ a wonderful subscription box which includes a contemporary literary fiction book, and 3-4 treats each month, including beauty items and edible delights. The House of Beauty was part of March 2019’s subscription box and came with a DE-STRESS balm from Scentered, a Cordelia chocolate bar (salted caramel flavour) from Sweet Theatre, a packet of wildflower seeds and four pretty postcards with feminist quotes on. I will do a full unboxing post for April’s box.
‘House of Beauty is a high-end salon in Bogota and Karen is one of its best beauticians. One rainy afternoon a teenage girl turns up for a treatment, dressed in her school uniform and smelling of alcohol. The very next day, the girl is found dead. Karen was the last person to see the girl alive, so the mother is desperate to find out what Karen knows. Most important of all: who was her daughter going to meet that night?’
The Review
Well first of all this book was not at all what I expected from the blurb. From the blurb I expected Karen to be the main (possibly only) narrator of the story, but there were many and I’m not really sure who the book was supposed to be about. It also passed from one narrator to another quickly, all were women and no character was particularly well developed so I spent a lot of the time unsure from whose point of view I was reading. This confusion definitely took away the enjoyment for me.
I don’t think this book was the crime thriller it promised to be. Yes there was a murder, but the focus of the book was the lives of the women telling the story, with corruption and gender inequality in Colombia as the backdrop.
Claire, a frustrated and aging psychoanalyst, is the main storyteller who introduces us to the other women characters. To Karen, the beautician at the House of Beauty, who moved to Bogota in order to save up money so her son could join her for a better life. To Lucia, the ex-wife and ghostwriter to a prominent Colombian business man and fraudster. To Sabrina, the teenager who was murdered and to Consuelo, Sabrina’s grieving mother who is determined to find out who murdered her daughter.
It was not a pleasant read. The men were arrogant and abusive, they used the women as they wished. They took credit for their talents, they threatened, they raped, they robbed and eventually they largely got away with it all. A very depressing book to read. Overall, well written, though confusing at times. I finished the book quickly, but mainly so I could start something more enjoyable.
She Reads 