This was one of those shorts stories with a very open-to-interpretation endings. Or at least, because I kind of want to envision a bit of a happy ending, I chose to take it that way. However, realistically, it feels like the final words of this story were just the final words of the person in general. It definitely had me thinking and hurting through every moment of this tale.
I loved that this is a slightly unconventional tale in that it was letters between two young, teenage boys. Both of whom are incarcerated and both of whom are facing some pretty overwhelming challenges. The letters might have been received in a less than conventional manner, one which hints at magic. But, honestly, I never really questioned the why of this. I just spent the whole time I was reading having all of the feelings.
The two boys from this help to highlight the contrasts between Palestinians and African Americans – the differences and the similarities. It talks about some pretty hefty issues such as hunger strikes and racism. But also has a whole lot of hope, in the way that only the young can generally feel.
This was one of those novels I bought because it was on sale, and it was suggested in one of the many author emails that I receive. Other than the fact that I liked the blurb and the cover, I really didn’t know what to expect from this. Which, of course mean that I was pleasantly surprised and happy to find out that I really enjoyed this.
The idea that this is a romance centred on an adventurer who goes out on boats, but can’t swim is kind of interesting. At first, I kind of questioned that whole creation of a character’s flaws and wondered at it. And then I started to find out more about the backstory. Suddenly, the whole afraid of the water, but on a ship thing made sense. And it kind of broke my heart – also just made me freak out because the way that Harry’s mum died is pretty much one of my worst nightmares…
Although Harry’s backstory is really sad, one of the things that really got my goat in this story was how she is constantly overlooked by others. Not just by Per, but people who actually work with her and know her family. I mean, the sad backstory part was a great aspect of this story. But, the part that I found really hard to deal with (because from experience, it is reality), when Harry is constantly ignored and overlooked because of her gender and lack of degree. Yet, she’s this amazing woman who has some serious strength to overcome her challenges.
I did want there to be a moment of realisation at the end of this for those who have completely overlooked Harry and taken the word of Per (a man with a degree) over her, even with years of experience. Alas, that doesn’t happen. Even slightly. At first, I was frustrated that there was no moment of understanding, but then I recognised that this, again, is more like reality. I mean, people don’t recognise their own biases generally – it takes something pretty drastic. And although it annoyed me (and eventually Per in this book), I loved that it was actually kind of more realistic. Again, it also showed Harry’s strength in that she recognises all of this nonsense, but just decides to do what is best, even with challenges.
Per is kind of a knob to begin with. I mean, he literally decides he can dictate the life of a woman he has just met. And, he doesn’t really change his heavy handed ways throughout this story. Again, there is no moment of understanding and changing of ways. Although, as he gets to know Harry, he does obviously start to respect her. And there is a little bit of improvement in his mannerisms, but just to our heroine, because, again, people don’t actually change. Yet, for all of his knobbishness, I actually really liked Per. Even from the beginning when he was behaving pretty crappily. Definitely a book that I look forward to reading again. And now I get to find more about Janu’s writing!
Title: Hands On Author: Jaci Burton Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Contemporary romance Pace: Slow Format: eBook, Novella Year: 2005
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I did enjoy the storyline and wanted to actually get through this novella. On the other, I found some of the writing a little bit clunky and more of a challenge to get through. I’ll still read more of Jaci Burton, but this definitely wasn’t one of my favourites.
I really enjoyed the idea of a sex specialist who is somewhat awkward. I loved the disconnect between real life experience and academic intelligence. Alright, it hit a few too many clichés, but Lara was still a fun character to get to know.
I didn’t like Mark as much as Lara. He was kind of a dick and user. And yes, he was redeemed by love. But in the end, he gave up pretty much nothing to get what he wanted. The stereotypical sexy journalist that I just didn’t get excited by.
Whilst this was a fun story, it hit a lot of clichés and was a bit tedious at points. Whilst I enjoyed the hour it took to read this, it’s definitely not one that I would read again.
I bought this thinking that it was a memoir about a woman who worked as a doctor in Australia. Turns out it’s actually a fictional work. But it still had the tone that j was looking for. After all, it is incredibly obvious that Henry is a doctor and that the story line pulls from her own experiences. I should also mention that although I seriously enjoyed this book, it is NOT a happy story. You finish it feeling kind of content, but it’s not a roses and rainbows kind of finish…
I remember considering medicine when I finished up with high school, but ultimately decided that I didn’t have the patience with people required to do so. Reading this just made me all that much more certain that I made the right call there. Kitty (the lead character of this) sounds the entire story burnt out, exhausted and overwhelmed. She definitely enjoys her career to a degree, but that level of exhaustion and stress? Definitely not a career path I would ever be happy in.
The aspect of this story that strikes me the most is dealing with sex, and assault. There are some pretty hefty trigger warnings in this. And Henry quite bluntly talks about a broken system in which junior staff are constantly abused in a number of fashions. And the incredibly serious consequences that can be felt because of such abuse. It will break your heart, but it’s also worth really thinking about the price that some people pay for their profession. And why this should never be the case.
Although there is a lot of very serious messages in this novel, there is also a lot of humour. The day-to-day existence of these junior doctors may be difficult, but they manage to temper that with some kind of bizarre shenanigans. Plus, the tightness and love found in their relationships reminds you that even in the most adverse situations, things can turn out for the best. And sometimes all you need to stop from going under is a good friend by your side.
Title: Fake It Till You Make It Author: Leigh Donnelly Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Contemporary romance, Food Pace: Medium Format: eBook, Novel Year: 2023
I loved this WAY more than I expected. Admittedly, I didn’t have huge expectations going into it, but still. This was far, far more enjoyable than I was anticipating. Probably in part because both the leads in this romance were involved in the food industry. And, as a lover of all things food, I’m preprogrammed to enjoy any story with such a theme.
I’m such a lover of relationships that start with a fake ruse and forced proximity. I love that the beginning of this was even more awkward – asking a man you just met to pose as your fiancé. And pretty much yelling in his face every time she felt awkward… although you kind of know exactly how it will all work out; the pure awkwardness was brilliant and enjoyably cheesy.
Both the leads in this novel have incredibly narcissistic exes. Both act out in different ways. And the male ex is not just narcissistic, but abusive. It made for a great challenge to the romance – not so much in getting over the damage of the past (which there is some of). But in getting over their constant manipulations and insanity in the presence. The narcissism is actually kind of scary in moments.
In fact, the narcissistic exes take such centre stage throughout this story as conflict that I was expecting a bit more of them in the epilogue. I kind of liked that although they are so central to the conflict, they’re effectively forgotten about in the ending. The best punishment ever for these horrible individuals.
Title: Extra Whip Author: Jamie K. Schmidt Rating Out of 5: 2 (Managed to read it… just) Format: eBook, Novel Year: 2017
I liked the idea and premise of this story. But I just couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t because of bad writing; it wasn’t even necessarily the storyline. I think, for me, the lead male was an irredeemable jack hole. And even after getting almost a third of the way through this, I still didn’t like him or want to know any more about him.
Even after reading a third of this, I just couldn’t care about the characters. So, I stopped reading. And now, I shall stop writing.
This is one of those books that I downloaded because it’s on Kobo Plus, and someone in a Facebook group suggested it. Thus, I had absolutely no idea what to expect, and started reading this with absolutely no expectations. And you know what? I kind of loved it. It was funny, quirky and a little off kilter. Plus, it’s adjacently related to a series by Cates that I’m looking forward to diving into… much like the very many, many, many books that are sitting in my TBR.
As someone who has never had to date (I met my SO young and we never actually dated), I have a bit of a fascination with the whole idea and practice of dating. Which meant that, reading about this monster hunter who is just trying to go on a few dates was particularly intriguing. I liked imagining anything and everything that could go wrong (because that was kind of the theme her if I’m being honest). Alright, everything that went wrong here was actually of a paranormal nature, but I can see how some of this would translate to real life situations and difficulties of dating.
From fairly on in the story, it was pretty obvious that Griffin was going to be the male love interest / perfect match up. And the fact that he feels it to, and accidentally sends her on disaster after disaster? Kind of hilarious. Yet, even with being able to predict just who the ultimate love interest is going to be, it was fun reading about how the couple ultimately got there. Plus, there’s a whole heap of interaction with the boss, and the mother… both of whom are also brilliant.
Even though this is a standalone novel, Dating for Monster Hunters does open up a whole new urban fantasy world to explore. I like that it’s got a Van Helsing / monster hunter spin. And that there are all sorts of monsters just introduced within this story – ones that you’ve heard of, some that you haven’t.
This was not a good short story to read when being pregnant and about to give birth. Mostly because it’s dystopian and about the end of life as we know it. And there’s death, and children. And honestly, just writing this review makes me incredibly sad. But that also shows you just how good this story is.
One of the aspects if this that really hit is that, according to this story, the end of days isn’t far away. Rather, it is only in 8 years. And it’s terrifying because I really don’t think it’s that far-fetched of an idea. The way and the how might be vague, but that very vagueness just makes it all that much more terrifying.
I did love this short story, even though it made me cry. I love that it’s about two girls, existing 100 years apart. One telling the story of her life, the other discovering it. And, although it’s not necessarily a happy story, it does highlight the hope and beauty of humanity. Whilst also reminding us of the dangers of our greed and pride.
Title: Caitlin and the Mirror Witch Author: Mari Ann Caudill Rating Out of 5: 2.5 (Readable, but not worth reading again) My Bookshelves:Fantasy, Medieval fantasy Pace: Slow, Format: eBook, Novella Year: 2021
This was a pretty easy read. One that I enjoyed, but wouldn’t necessarily dive into again. Enjoyable, but not loveable is what I’d classify this as. Mostly because it was kind of predictable, and didn’t have anything that made me fall madly in love with it. It wasn’t deplorable, and it was well written though.
The very premise of this story, that a bad witch in a mirror tricks a girl into a spell, and she needs true love’s kiss to break it… I don’t know, I read a lot, so this felt entirely over done. Most of the time when I read a story with this kind of premise, there’s a bit of character growth. Or some kind of twist. Or a great world built around a fairly common fairy tale story line. I’m not sure if it was my mood when reading this, or the length of the story, but there was none of this.
All in all, this was a nice happily ever after story and a quick read. One that I wouldn’t suggest people don’t read, but I definitely have far more engaging stories on my shelves.
I absolutely loved this short story. it was absolutely freaking brilliant, and totally unexpected. Every time I thought that the story line would go in one direction, it flipped and went in another. Not always the polar opposite to what I expected, but definitely not in a trajectory that I had anticipated. And I think that it did this about three or four times in not very many pages.
The unpredictableness of this tale is one of the things that I loved. Another aspect was that this was set in a non-binary culture. Instead of there just being two genders (and yes, I recognise that there are many more, but others don’t, and that’s not the rabbit hole to go down today), this story was set in a world that had four genders. Or at least, there were four that I picked up on. It felt a little like there could be a whole lot more flexibility than just those four to be honest.
It might have taken me a little while to get used to the different terms of an and az as gender terms. Actually, the first few times I thought that it was a typo. Which just goes to show how damn ingrained him and her are in our society, and how much work I have to remove my own binary understandings. But, having different terms like in this story is a great way to expand on that idea. A very inclusive and wonderful way to introduce to a new generation that genders and identity are a lot more flexible than some would have you believe.
Gender discussions aside (and I am one who will talk about this all day long), the main story line is about two questions… ‘what is a human?’ and ‘where is the line?’. I love that you start off thinking one group of people and their ideas are the monsters… but by the end of it, you’re really not sure. And even writing this review and seriously thinking about it… I don’t know whether the main character ended up on the side of good, or the side of monsters.
Earth and Skye 