Title: Let It Snow Author: Beth Moran Rating Out of 5: 1.5 (Couldn’t get past the first chapter) Format: eBook, Novel Year: 2022
I had to put this in the DNF pile. I mean, there was nothing super wrong with it. I just could not have cared less about the lead character. And, if after reading the first 3 chapters, I’m still not excited to pick up a book, I tend to put it in the DNF pile.
I think the main thing I found difficult about the lead was that she was obviously supposed to be a little quirky. But, instead of feeling genuine, she felt a little too forceful in her quirkiness… I love quirky female leads. But only when it feels genuine, not as though it’s just matching a cliche.
I wouldn’t tell people to not read this book. But I won’t be interested in finishing it either.
This was such a cute and festive little Christmas novella. There was a touch of danger and suspense to it that helped get the heart pumping. But overall, it was just a nice, predictable, and enjoyable read. Set at Christmas, when all the wishes can come true.
I did like that the lead female character in this romance was named Noelle. I mean, it’s a little cliche, but also very enjoyable. That and, it really fits with the whole sunshine falls for the grinch trope that is going on. Noelle is also just a really great character, and I love how all she wants to do is spread the cheer around.
Brady is kind of an idiot in a lot of ways… mostly the fact that he keeps making decisions for Noelle based on his own assumptions. But I also love that he is fiercely protective of her. And that the other trope he fits is the brother’s best friend… and that Brady’s best friend is blatantly playing matchmaker here…
This is a wonderfully cute Christmas romance novella. The suspense of the stalker raises the stakes. But overall, it is just an incredibly sweet little story.
Title: Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating Author: Christina Lauren Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Contemporary romance Pace: Medium Format: eBook, Novel Year: 2018
Hazel is most definitely my favourite kind of calamity walking. She’s funny and cute, but, she also is uncoordinated and tends to put her foot in her mouth. Frequently. With great gusto. But, the bit that I love most about this is that l, although Hazel is off kilter and not exactly mainstream on her actions, she doesn’t change a thing about herself. Throughout this whole story, there isn’t one instance in which she tries to change herself.
Josh as a counterpoint to Hazel is kind of a quiet, vanilla sort of lead. He isn’t the normal male lead that I enjoy, bit too quiet and straight laced for my tastes. But, I enjoyed him a lot regardless. He was sweet and easygoing. Plus, his calmness was the best balance for Hazel’s insanity. That, and the fact that his easygoing nature meant he loved Hazel for exactly who she is. There is not one moment, from friends to lovers, when Josh doesn’t accept Hazel and revel in her uniqueness.
I have to admit, that the start of this story, and the way that Josh and Hazel’s first meet is one of the best meetings I’ve read in a romcom in a long time. I mean, she walks up to him, says she wants to have sex… then throws up on his shoes. If that’s not memorable, then what is? I literally laughed out loud at this, and it made me sink right into these words without wanting to put the book down.
Friends to lovers is one of my favourite romance tropes. The fact that, as friends, they go on a bunch of double dates together just cemented their wonderful friendship. I like that each of these didn’t really end well, so although there were flashes of jealousy, it was more about Josh and Hazel’s getting to know one another better and better. Plus, the humour in each and everyone of these fiascos… made me love this story all that much more.
Title: Hunger, An Introduction Author: Peter Straub In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Ghosts, Horror Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Tachyon Year: 2013
Hunger, An Introduction was not quite as creepy as many other stories in the Hauntings collection. Which I’m kind of glad about. Because some of them were seriously intense and kind of uncomfortable to read.
This short story jumped around a lot. It talked a lot about the hunger of death. And how hauntings occur. I’d probably have to read this again to get a better grasp on how it is all related. Particularly to the child at the end.
I don’t normally feel that deaths are necessarily warranted. But Ethel and Frank’s stories were seriously twisted. Their journeys to death row something that made me cringe. And their fate as hauntings kind of felt warranted.
Title: Hula Ville Author: James P. Blaylock In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Ghosts, Horror Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Tachyon Year: 2013
This was a bit of an eerie feeling short story, one featuring angels and mummies. And just all of the discomfort that facing the unknown entails. It also had a bit of that feel that if I read it multiple times, I’d find symbols throughout that I missed the first time around. It was all about the mystery of the unknown without providing any answers whatsoever at the conclusion of the tale. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it hard to recount / write a review on…
There were so many layers of meaning throughout this that I just know I didn’t quite grasp. Or at least, that’s how this story made me feel. As though I was almost reaching the reality being revealed, but not quite getting there. Although, this is in a collection called Hauntings so that very elusiveness makes it sit really well within that theme…
Everything about this story, particularly Hula Ville is just not quite what it seems. There is the constant threat of something terrifying happening from the tone of the story. And, even when things didn’t quite end as tragically as anticipated… I was still left feeling disquieted from this story.
There are a lot of books on my shelves that have some kind of age gap. But, the age gap in this story is definitely a whole lot bigger. Probably because it’s between a college girl and a vampire. So that kind of makes sense. I’ve read a lot of fantasy books that feature this kind of age gap. But, for some reason, in this short story, that just felt slightly… wrong.
I think part of the reason that the age gap and relationship in this story felt wrong was that it felt kind of like the girl was being used. She definitely had feelings for the older vampire, but he didn’t seem to have them for her. It was an interesting story, but I definitely felt bad for the young girl. She even seemed to be aware of the fact that she was just being used to pass the time / decades…
There is so much history that must be seen by an immortal. I too would want to ask a thousand questions. So being constantly told “I forget” would drive me absolutely bonkers. I mean, seriously? So much knowledge, and no chance of having ANY of it shared? Even reading this drove me a little bit nuts…
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.
Earth and Skye 