DNFing Juliette Willoughby

It feels like I am always talking about quitting reads/audiobooks lately. Mainly because I had a huge DNF (Did Not Finish) blitz over the summer. And it looks like I haven't stopped going "F*** this!" just yet.

This time, it's The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd. In theory, this is right up my street. A murder mystery, set in the art world and university, but told in three different timelines (one of which is the artist of a mysterious missing painting). And yet, at 44% and me audiobooking this over the course of several weeks, I decided to cut my losses.

Why, I hear you ask? Because of two reasons.

Audiobook Review - The Long Call

• Title And Author: The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
• Publisher: MacMillian
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook & eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and Audiobook borrowed from local library via BorrowBox
• Length: 384 Pages or 10 Hours 23 Minutes

This wasn’t meant to be my first review on the Pewter Wolf in 2020. I had planned to keep this back for a possible Audiobook Month later in the year, celebrating audiobooks. I still have plans for that, but I was listening to this over the Christmas/New Year period and I changed my mind. I thought this would make a nice start to 2020, trying to show off my plans for the year. 

The Long Call is the first book in Ann Cleeves new series, Two Rivers. We know Ann Cleeves for writing the Shetland series (starting with Raven Black - which I do own, I think) and the Vera Stanhope series (starting with The Crow Trap). Both series adapted to television (Vera on ITV and Shetland on BBC) and The Long Call has already been bought for TV adaptation. So, a new series is both exciting and scary for Cleeves fans. 

In North Devon, where the river Taw meets the river Torridge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn is standing outside a church. It’s his father’s funeral, but he can’t attend. His family are members of a strict evangelical community, the Barum Brethren, and, when he was younger, he turned his back on the faith, his family disowned him and when he met and married a man… well, you can guess the rest...

But it’s on this day that Matthew is thrown into his first major case. A body has been found on the beach, very close to Matthew’s house. A man who was stabbed with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck. 

Slowly, Matthew and his team are pulled into the case, with connections not only to the family and  religious friends who turned their backs on Matthew but to the Woodyard Centre, a safe place for disabled and mentally impaired people and a community centre that provides counselling serves, classes, charity services. The centre is managed by Matthew’s husband, Jonathan, and Matthew can’t help but wonder if he’s far too close to the investigation to solve it.

Book Review - 100 Hugs

Even since I first saw this on Twitter, I knew - KNEW - I had to buy it and read it. It's a small book with a simple idea from the current Children's Laureate: a book filled with illustrations of hugs. 100 hugs in total, hence the title. Nothing else. Just hugs, ranging from people, animals, fairy tales, magic, real, heartfelt and one or two slightly sinister hugs (it's the eyes, people! And you know the illustrations I mean if you've read this).

This isn't going to much of a review. More of a gush. I found this simply enchanting and utterly heartwarming.

There's not much else I can say about it. But this book - perfect for small hands - proves one of the many reasons he is a well-loved and respected illustrator.

If not, check these out. Aren't they wonderful?

eBook Review - What I Know For Sure

This is a bit of a weird review to write. Normally, I would read a book/ebook/audiobook and, within 48 hours, I would have the review written and scheduled within the coming few weeks. But with this, it's been a busy few days that I have been a bit behind on writing blog posts. So, bear with me...

In this collection of articles Oprah wrote for O: The Oprah Magazine (Oprah has a magazine!?), Oprah writes articles, trying to answer one question: what does she know for sure?

Now, I have mixed feelings about this. I like Oprah. I respect her. And some of the articles she wrote I find really insightful. A few of them I read and I went "That makes sense."

However, there were times, for me, this felt a little preachy and a little heavy-handed. There was a few things I got a little annoyed over religion - she never referenced it outright, but whenever Oprah mentioned "the Creator", I felt uncomfortable. I didn't like the idea of religion being touched upon in a self-held style book. Also, there was one section when I started reading, but I had to skip as I found it a struggle and, if I didn't, I wondered if I would have finished this or not...

If you are a fan of Oprah, you will love this. If you are a fan of her articles within O Magazine, you will enjoy this as this is a collection of her best essays. But some of you might find it a bit heavy-handed on certain themes and ideas.

Sorry for the shortness of the review. This is why, for me, making notes and writing these reviews quickly are so important. I can schedule them whenever but I need to write them quickly. Because of this shortness, please have this gif.

ALN - Bridget Jones's Diary (Audiobook)

Confession to make time: I asked to review this back in September and the lovely people at Midas PR and Audible happily said yes. I asked if I could listen to this to celebrate the move release of Bridget Jones's Baby, but when I thought of my "Adult Literature Month", I knew I had to push this back and talk about it here.

This is Bridget Jones's diary. We see inside her head as she tackles modern day London, being a modern woman, her parents, relationships, career and everything else.

I have seen the movie (and from what I remembered, I enjoyed it) and I have audiobook Pride and Prejudice at the beginning of this year (Bridget could be seen as a modern-day reimagining of P&P) so going into this was interesting as I knew vaguely where the plot would go but wasn't sure where...

It is my honest belief (and I know this because I have tried to read a sampler of this and the sequel, Edge of Reason) that I couldn't and wouldn't have read this book and audiobooking it was a great help. I couldn't get my head round the writing style (I am not the biggest fan of books told in diary entries), but while it did take a while for me to warm to this style in audiobook form, once I got it, I got it. I think this is because of the reader, Imogen Church. She made Bridget seem more real to me and, even at times when I was frustrated with Bridget (will get there, hang on), Imogen made her likeable.

I liked the story. I liked how Bridget tried to figure out her life. I could relate to one or two things in it. And Bridget's entries made me smile. I didn't laugh at them, but I thought "I had something similar, but this is so heightened!"

However, while I liked the story (fun, fluffy read), Bridget frustrated me to no end. She would write or say one thing then completely contradict herself a entry or two later. It annoyed me endlessly! For example, there was one point she talked about her weight and how she will never count calories again and enjoy life because after so many years of trying to get to the perfect size, she applies ill. And yet, she still carried on counting her calories. She talks about her being single is wonderful and great, only to whine about being single a few hours later. There were occasions I would question Bridget's stance on her feminism as she would say one thing, only to do something which contract it. And, at times, she comes across completely unlikable (the reader, Imogen Church, does a lot to save this character for me).

She's flawed and, while this is refreshing (how many times have we read characters that seem too perfect or have one tiny flaw?), there are other times I couldn't help but get angry at her.

While I liked this audiobook, I'm not sure if I want to continue with series (unless I get audiobook for Edge of Reason and have the same reader). But not sure if I would read it. This sits in the middle of the fence for me as some of you will enjoy and love Bridget, others not so much.

GoodRead - Carry On

Out of all of Rainbow Rowell's books, Carry On was the one I really wanted to read. The others caught my attention but Carry On catch it and held it. It's the one of the few reasons why I read Fangirl (review for that is here)- not only to see if it lives up to all the hype, but because I wanted to read this.

Simon Snow is the Chosen One. Here to save the World of Magicks. Only, he's probably the worst Chosen One ever. And all he wanted to do is enjoy his last year at Watford School of Magicks. Expect his girlfriend has broken up with him, his best friend is starting to get under his feet and his mentor wants to hide him, safe from the Insidious Humdrum. He can't even enjoy the fact that his don-partner and nemesis is missing because he can't help worrying about the slimy git.

So what is he going to do when ghost of his nemesis's mother wakes him up one night, desperate to pass her son a message...?

Where to begin?

If you have read Fangirl, you are kinda aware of Simon Snow because this is the Harry Potter-like series that Cath writes fan fiction for. And this is Rainbow Rowell's attempt of Simon Snow fan fiction. That's right, folks. Rainbow Rowell wrote fan fiction for a fantasy series that a main character in one of her other books reads and write about. Confusing? It's like Inception but with books!

This was a fun read. I had fun reading it, which surprised me a lot. I liked Fangirl (and I do have plans to reread Fangirl next year sometime) but I think I prefer Carry On more. I think it's because this felt like Harry Potter, and I LOVE Potter.

This book felt as if creators of Harry Potter and Grey's Anatomy/Scandal,  JK Rowling and Shonda Rhimes, sat down in a room together, merged story ideas together and then invited Rainbow to write the story. The three blended so well together.

It was fun. There's no other word for this book. It was fun. I really enjoyed the story and I really liked how the magic worked in this world (no latin! Instead, we had words and phrases - which is great as it shows the beauty of language). I liked the relationships (friendship and love - I think I started madly tweeting when there was kissing...) and how the story, while having a Harry Potter feel to it, stood on its own two feet.

But - yes, there is a but - this book is fan fiction. And readers might see a little too easily the possible Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy fanfic hidden underneath the words. While I have not read fan fiction (I wish I discovered fanfic in my teens. I would be all over it!), I did at one or two points go "Is this Rainbow's way of getting Harry and Draco together?" before dismissing it very quickly.

Another tiny problem I had was the mystery. I love a good mystery, but there was a few things I kinda guessed (and was frighteningly correct on). That's not a bad thing - but I just wished there was a twist, a moment where I would go "I didn't see that coming!".

While reading this, I was addicted to this book and I had such fun with this. I can imagine rereading this again in the near future. With a mug of hot chocolate and a copy of Fangirl nearby... and maybe a Harry Potter on standby, just in case...

GoodRead - Sapphire Blue

My first review I wrote/posted on my blog this year was Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier (my review for that is here). And I enjoyed it. It was fun, fast and addictive read, and I did make plans to read the second and third  in the trilogy, Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green. And, several months later, I finally went, after wanting to "try and save money", I manage to get the paperback edition of Sapphire Blue a little cheaper and more indie bookshop than via Amazon and Book Depository.

Picking up immediately after the events with Ruby Red, Gwen is trying to get to grips over what happenings. The time-travelling gene her cousin, Charlotte, should have gone to Gwen so she is unprepared. She is the Ruby, the last member to complete the Circle. But with everyone trying to keep her in the dark, Gwen has to figure it out for herself.

But with the weirdness of time-travelling, there's Gideon, the diamond of the Circle. Gideon who is cold one moment but warm the next. Who kissed her at the very end of Ruby Red. But this is he like this? Gwen wants to find out...

Very much like Ruby Red, this was fun and addictive read. It felt so easy to slip back into the book after several months. And with a new characters of Gideon's younger brother, Raphael, and Xemerius (a demon ghost in the form of a stone gargoyle - I know that sounds weird, but he is such a cool character. I love him and Gwen's best friend, Lesley!), it made the read have more humour than Ruby Red (and Ruby Red have quite a bit of humour, thanks to Gwen).

And this book doesn't try to make time-travelling simple. This is complex time travelling where things happen but not in the right order, and while this is very confusing (more on this in a sec), it felt refreshing to read a time-travel book that goes "You think time travel is easy, fun and makes sense? You think it's like Doctor Who? Ha!"

Saying that, though, this does make you go "Wait, what?" as this happens quite a lot. And as this series happens in a very short period of time (Ruby Red took past over a course of a week and this is the same with Sapphire Blue, if I did my maths right), you literally have to either go with it and accept what's happening or you have to stop every now and then to think it over and keep track.

And Gideon and the Court - I dislike and distrust the Court (am throwing that out there now) and Gideon... Ok, I have problems with Gideon in Ruby Red and while I warmed up to him a bit more, I still found it hard to accept that, within such a short amount of time, that Gideon and Gwen would have strong feelings for each other but, at the very start of the series, Gideon had feelings for Gwen's cousin, Charlotte. And yes, dramatic events happen within these books, but still... I find it hard to accept when I am not reading the books that Gideon can switch his feelings on and off like that...

But I need to know what happens next. I need to read the last book in the trilogy, Emerald Green. But I don't know whether to get the hardback edition now or wait till October for the paperback. Decisions, decisions...

My only word of caution is that if you do want to read this series, read this series back to back. A lot of things happen and if you take longs backs between books, you might get lost and a tad confused.

GoodRead - Ruby Red

WELCOME TO MY FIRST REVIEW OF 2014 (even though I am writing this two days before Christmas so, technically, it's not my first review of 2014 just yet)!

But let's stay the year with a good read, shall we? So here is the first book in a trilogy, Ruby Redby Kerstin Gier.

In an alternative London, people can time travel. Well, only 12 people can and this is because of a rare gene. Everyone in Gwen's family is positive that Gwen's cousin, Charlotte, has the gene and has been trained her whole life to become a time traveller. Learning all about history, how to fence, how to survive. But when it's Gwen that is thrown through time, not Charlotte, Gwen's life is turned upside down and enters a world of time travel and secret societies. But secrets are everywhere. Why did her Mum tell her to "trust no one"? What is the Guardians's real purpose to complete the Circle? What really happened the mysterious Lucy and Paul?

Now, this book is huge in it home country of Germany. They turned this into a movie (I'll put the English-dubbed version at the bottom of the post) and they are, to my knowledge, making the sequel, Sapphire Blue. And the book is appearing on a lot of US book vloggers channels recently (hence how I became aware of this - thank you Christine from Xtinemay [here's her spoiler-filled video on this very book! Click at your peril!]).

I really enjoyed this. It was fun, addictive and it never felt dull. I kept turning the pages with this and it reminded me a lot of the lighter Doctor Who episodes. And as someone who would like to read more time-travelling books (I blame Doctor Who and the Hourglass series by Myra McEntrice) and this is a translation, this ticked all the boxes. And we have a female time traveller - that is something that is rarely seen in books that tackle his subject!

There are one or two things that bothered me. This is the first book in the trilogy so, of course, everything has to be set up and we only get the sense that what we are seeing is just the time of the iceberg. So, if you want the complete story, it would probably be for the best to have the sequels, Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green on standby. I have a tiny issue with Gideon, the male lead/love interest as it felt like he was into Charlotte but events happen (and this book takes over a very short time frame - barely 5 days, if I remember right) which made me go "Ok. What is wrong with you?" and there was only two times that a word was used and it felt jarring to read (not sure if it was because of the translation or because I was so into the book, reading the word made my brain go "Gwen would NEVER say that!").

But I need to know what happens next. I need to buy the rest of the series (yes, am going to get both Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green) sometime in 2014. But I am in a book buying ban at the moment so... has to play the waiting game for now...