Tag Archives: Contemporary

Last Thorsday Night by Holly Lisle

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of time travel romance book cover

Title: Last Thorsday Night
Author: Holly Lisle
In: The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance (Trisha Telep)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Romance, Time travel
Dates read: 29th November 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: They changed me.

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Synopsis

She’s part of a writers group. And she really enjoys their company. But one night, a strange man decides to join and takes a little bit too much interest in her. It turns out that he’s a time traveller and what he has to tell her about the future may tear her world apart.

Thoughts

I should be part of a writers group. But I should probably also write my own work a lot more than I do. There is something about doing a PhD that completely removes your ability to get much of anything else done. Reading and writing reviews is the extent of it at the moment. But, I digress… in this short story, I loved the idea of a writers group being the primary setting of the story.

One of my biggest fears in not only my personal writing, but also my academic writing is putting in all of the work for someone else to take advantage of it. There is just something a little too relatable to this storyline and the idea of her work being stolen that made me feel the heeby jeebies from the very beginning. The fact that this was done through a brutal murder was just terrifying and skeevy.

I loved that ultimately, there is a choice between guaranteed fame, and an unknown, but highly potential future. Eventually, there is a choice between the love of millions and the love of one. A superficial love, or one that knows her to her core. Such a great story.

 <- Iron and Hemlock ReviewThe Gloaming Hour Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Burned Promises by Willow Winters

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover burned promises willow winters

Title: Burned Promises
Author: Willow Winters
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance, Easy reading
Dates read: 18th November 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Willow Winters Publishing
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: Like it’s what I was meant to do.

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Synopsis

From USA Today bestselling author Willow Winters comes an emotionally gripping, standalone, second chance romance.

He made a promise.
And then he broke it.
That’s what happens with your first love.

I didn’t expect for Derek to fall back into my life and for me to fall back into his bed. Time changes a lot of things, but it doesn’t change everything.

It doesn’t change the way he makes my heart kip or the way my lungs stop when he stares deep into my eyes.

It didn’t change his bad boy ways either and I should be smart enough to tell him no this time around.

I should be, I know what it’s like to be burned by him. But it’s so hard to walk away when his touch begs me to stay and the pain in his eyes cuts me deeper than anything else in this world.

Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this story – but I was a bit thrown out by the little prologue. It really didn’t fit into the story – and the broken promise from the blurb… not entirely sure where that whole idea came from either. If you ignore those two teases, this is actually a really fun, cute and easy read. It’s romantic, fun and has definitely made me want to buy a few more books by Willow Winters since it was just such a pleasant experience.

I seriously recognise the feeling of falling for someone you’re not entirely sure is good for you. Or that you’re convinced is going to somehow break your heart. I’m sure most people have had that moment. Luckily, like Emma it turned out that the man I fell for was actually falling for me to – it just took him a little longer to show me. And although I started out thinking that Emma’s love really wasn’t going to work well for her and end in some kind of weird compromise, it turned out just as brilliantly as my own off-kilter love story.

I’ve read a lot of romances over the past two years (I never really got into them until recently), but I’ve never actually read one which features a drug lord. Hired killers, shapeshifters and some kind of messed up men, sure… but never a drug lord. With a cancer mother. It was certainly a new one for me. And I think that it worked beautifully. Certainly enjoyed it.

This book was just beautiful. Not only was it about second chances and finding love, but it was also about love and family. A novel that will definitely hold a happy little place in my heart.

 <- Broken ReviewCuffed Kiss Review ->

Image source: Goodreads

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover china rich girlfriend kevin kwan

Title: China Rich Girlfriend
Author: Kevin Kwan
Series: Crazy Rich Asians #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Asia, Book to Film, Chic lit, Contemporary
Dates read: 31st October – 14th November 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Anchor Books
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: NICK: WTF!

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Synopsis

It’s the eve of Rachel Chu’s wedding, and she should be over the moon. She has a flawless oval-cut diamond, a wedding dress she loves, and a fiance willing to thwart his meddling relatives and give up one of the biggest fortunes in Asia in order to marry her. Still, Rachel mourns the fact that her birth father, a man she never knew, wont’ be there to walk her down the aisle.

Then a chance accident reveals his identity. Suddenly, Rachel is drawn into a dizzying world of Shanghai splendor, a world where people attend church in a penthouse, where exotic cars race down the boulevard, and where people aren’t just crazy rich… they’re China rich.

Thoughts

This is yet another fabulous hit. At least with me. And when I say fabulous, I mean flamboyantly fabulous because seriously… talk about lives of the rich and famous!!!

I spent most of my time reading this book giggling, laughing my head off, and sending random snapchats to my friends in particularly glorious moments. There is just something that is deliciously witty and disparaging about Kwan’s writing that I haven’t found in the longest of times. It has been the perfect fit for my mood lately, and a great summer read with the gloriously warm weather coming in. Easy, fun and so completely unbelievable that you actually believe that these people exist…

China Rich Girlfriend reveals yet another facet to the lives of the rich and famous among Asian and Chinese societies. And, again, Rachel is thrust in the middle of peoples’ issues and hang ups. Almost having her life destroyed in the process. It’s incredibly drama filled, but at least this time, Rachel doesn’t so much act as a naïve lamb going to the slaughter. She’s actually able to stand up for herself and approach the whole situation with her eyes open, no happy little, dream come true delusions this time. Thank goodness. I loved this more cynical version.

This story mostly follows Rachel and her discovery of her new family. As such, Nick tends to take a bit of a step back as a main story character. He’s always there, but not in the limelight as in Crazy Rich Asians. The other two relationships that are followed, and incredibly intriguing are that of Kitty and Bernard. I never thought I’d want to know what happened to them so badly, but it turns out that I had to have their story in my life too!

The third couple that was followed was Astrid and Michael. He was a douche nugget in the movie, he’s a douche nugget in the first book. And by the time you get to the end of the second book, you will seriously be hoping that he is not going to be around in the third… serious douche nugget. But, it makes for great reading, and gives you hope that Astrid may be able to find her own happily ever after, just with a few more bumps in the road…

<- Crazy Rich AsiansRich People Problems ->

Image source: Amazon

An Anatomically Inspired Tale by Betsy van Die

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of jack the ripper stories book cover

Title: An Anatomically Inspired Tale
Author: Betsy van Die
In: The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Stories (Maxim Jakubowski)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Crime
Dates read: 31st October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: Which brings me to why I brought you here.

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Synopsis

She’s collecting memorabilia. He’s a descendant of one of the cops on the Ripper case. What they uncover together is unbelievable and deserves to be put in a museum.

Thoughts

It took me a little while to click as to why and how this was a Jack the Ripper tale. The only clue I had was the fact that it was in a Jack the Ripper collection. But, as the story unfolded and the macabre collection was added to, it became a little more understandable. And then I kind of loved it.

Rather than being a conspiracy, murder or historical retelling of Jack the Ripper, this was a far more contemporary and approachable story. It has also been, by far, one of the least gruesome and gross stories in this collection thus far. After all, it was about uncovering the past through artefacts, not trying to relive it or recreate it like so many other Ripper stories…

I really liked that this featured one of the detective’s grandsons, and not the Ripper’s descendants. It made the understanding of the obsession that must have driven these men and the grasping of what they faced a little more approachable and a lot more intriguing. Because, after all, one of those men might have uncovered the truth and left clues for the future generations… we may never know.

 <- My Name is Jack… ReviewThe Ballad of Kate Eddowes Review ->
Image source: Amazon

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover crazy rich asians

Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
Series: Crazy Rich Asians #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Asia, Book to Film, Chic lit, Contemporary
Dates read: 28th – 30th October 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Anchor Books
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: Her parents supported the idea of Astrid having a “cooling-off period” away, but try as she might to maintain a low profile, Astrid effortlessly enchanted le tout Paris with her smouldering beauty.

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Synopsis

When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.

On Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.

Thoughts

I CANNOT believe how amazing this book was!!! Totally floored. Totally in love and completely gobsmacked by the awesomeness of this. I am totally obsessed with the movie, so I was kind of expecting to like that better (it rarely happens, but sometimes if I love the movie, the book falls flat). But that was not the case. This book neither ruined the movies for me, or made me never want to read the books again. I now have a double obsession, both for different reasons.

Like the movie, this book is funny, pithy and quite brilliant. Yet, there is a lot more darkness amongst the pages than in the movie. Far more manipulation and horrible activities performed by the elite that are suddenly thrust into Rachel’s life. And a more insidious approach to her relationship than the movie has. This isn’t so rainbows and puppies at the end of the story. But, in being so, it is also way more realistic and, in many ways, relatable (because who hasn’t had issues with in-laws?)

It’s incredibly obvious that Kwan has come from this society. There is a sense of intimate knowledge and understanding of how this community lives that would only be available to an insider. One that was a great piece of cultural information. Even if the anthropologist in me will never have access to such a cultural group, and, after reading this, really doesn’t want to. One of my favourite aspects of this is the fact that there are footnotes explaining all of the language, preferences and activities of the Singapore elite. It gives an extra layer of information and cultural understanding that I previously wasn’t expecting. They’re also funny and a little bit disparaging. Kind of like having the movie version Oliver’s voice as a running commentary throughout.

This book is intense, unique and completely impossible to put down. It’s not one that I will forget any time soon. It is also one that will make you want to pick up China Rich Girlfriend immediately afterwards. At least, that’s what I did. Because seriously man, I wanted to see what happened next!!!

<- More Kevin KwanChina Rich Girlfriend ->

Image source: Amazon

Unaccustomed Earth Collection by Jhumpa Lahiri

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for unaccustomed earth book cover

Title: Unaccustomed Earth Collection
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Family, Race, Short story collections
Dates read: 20th June – 29th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Collection
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: Boudi, let Usha stay.

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Synopsis

Beginning in America, and spilling back over memories and generations to India, Unaccustomed Earth explores the heart of family life and the immigrant experience. Eight luminous stories – longer and richer than any Jhumpa Lahiri has yet written – take us from America to Europe, India and Thailand as they follow new lives forged in the wake of loss.

Thoughts

This is an absolutely, freaking amazing collection of short stories. It was totally unexpected and a beautiful introduction into the world of Jhumpa Lahiri’s writing. I am completely obsessed now, and eagerly awaiting for The Namesake to arrive at my door. After all, if her short stories are this amazing, a full length novel is just going to be ten thousand times better!

I grew up in a pretty sheltered community – very few people are not of European descent (predominately English and German). It’s a pretty monocultural region of Southern Australia. So reading about the Bengali culture, immigrants and the cultural experience of having your feet in two worlds was an eye-opening experience for me. In the best, most engaging way possible. Especially since, although this was a social and cultural group that I have no experience with, universal issues of family and belonging were still dealt with. Realities which many families have to deal with, but all cope with in different ways.

This story left me thinking. Hard. The themes and issues discussed are serious and intense. The battles fought and the lives lived something that I found completely relatable, and impossible to imagine all at the same time. It was an amazing journey that I will probably repeat again and again and again. After all, I read to expand my mind, and this collection did that in the best way possible.

 <- The Namesake ReviewUnaccustomed Earth Review ->
Image source: Bloomsbury

Going Ashore by Jhumpa Lahiri

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for unaccustomed earth book cover

Title: Going Ashore
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Race, Romance
Dates read: 29th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: Then he remembered that he had not given her his e-mail address.

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Synopsis

After years and adulthood have built their lives, Hema and Kaushik finally meet again. But will they get their happily ever after? Or will life, once again, tear them apart?

Thoughts

Wow this was a tragic ending to a fantastic collection. Not just a brilliant collection, but it also ties out the stories started in Once in a Lifetime and Year’s End. I wanted a happily ever after. A riding off into the sunset ending, because, let’s face it, I’m kind of a child… and always want a happily ever after. But I didn’t get that. And at first I was incredibly annoyed. But then after a little while… I accepted it, and realised that this was actually kind of brilliant. Albeit seriously sad and depressing.

Although I read a lot of stories which make me want to tear up, there are incredibly few which actually do bring a tear to my eye… but this was certainly not the case. I did actually weep a little. Just enough to realise that this was incredibly potent and not the kind of story I’m ever going to forget. And it’s not one that I ever do want to forget. It reminded me that sometimes you have to live every day like your last. Say the things that you need to say… because if you don’t, it could just be too late.

I really enjoyed how Going Ashore, Once in a Lifetime and Year’s End all intersected. They could be read completely separately, but worked better as a whole. Each tale had it’s own messages and storyline. But they also have one overall, heart wrenching tale that will pull at your heart strings and have you sitting at the end, staring into the abyss. Or at least, that’s what I did for a good five minutes after I finished this short story.

 <- Year’s End ReviewThe Clothing of Books Review ->
Image source: Bloomsbury

Year’s End by Jhumpa Lahiri

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for unaccustomed earth book cover

Title: Year’s End
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Family, Race
Dates read: 26th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: For the last two years of my mother’s life, when she was always in and out of the hospital, we had gone nowhere, taken no trips for pleasure apart from those occasional walks along the beach.

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Synopsis

Kaushik is faced with a father that’s moving on and a new year. In the mean time he’s remembering a past that they shared. A past filled with regrets, sorrow and a handful of fond memories.

Thoughts

This story connects into Once in a Lifetime. It is about the boy that Hema admires from afar, and the reasons behind his weird behaviour. Actually, the whole behaviour of his family to hers. And the aftermath of his mother’s illness. It’s a haunting tale about trying to move on, but not quite being able to do it.

This tale of moving on to a new future and finding a new place in a changing world is always difficult. When your past is haunted by loss that is never discussed, and a separation from family and culture it just makes it all that more difficult. It’s hard enough to move on to a new future when things are sitting well in life. It’s far more difficult when there’s a broken family that can’t quite be repaired.

I don’t come from a broken family (thankfully), so it’s difficult to understand what that feels like. Yet, Lahiri’s words are still haunting enough that I feel like I could begin to understand. The loss, grief, confusion and guilt leap from the pages and strike you immediately in the heart. Just like good, contemporary writing should.

 <- Once in a Lifetime ReviewGoing Ashore Review ->
Image source: Bloomsbury

Once in a Lifetime by Jhumpa Lahiri

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for unaccustomed earth book cover

Title: Once in a Lifetime
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Family, Race
Dates read: 19th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: I was still very much a child, while you, just three years older, had already eluded your parents’ grasp.

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Synopsis

She can remember the first time she saw him. And the last. It wasn’t long, but it was a once in a lifetime experience. One she will never forget.

Thoughts

I thought that this was going to be a bit of a love story. From the title to the first statements of I remember when I first saw you… there was something incredibly romantic about this tale. It didn’t quite turn out that way. But there was still that beautiful, bittersweet nostalgia within the story. One that left me feeling happy and complete when I finally finished this tale.

I’ve mentioned it before after reading Jhumpa Lahiri’s stories, but I have very little experience with other cultures. In particular, I have almost no experience with Indian immigrants. But I do have experience with having a sick parent, and the difference in the story that is told here and my own was really interesting. It made moments that are so relatable also completely alien. It lent to that feeling of bittersweet memories being relived with a nice dash of love.

I think everyone has that person in their past that made some kind of difference. That you remember with fondness, but didn’t necessarily have much of a relationship with. For me, as with this narrator, it was an older boy that just fascinated me for years. There are crystal clear moments of memories that helped to shape who I am, but they also are happily in the past. I like that this story took that feeling and made it something so pure. It isn’t something that needs to be carried into the future, but it is wonderfully remembered in the past.

 <- Nobody’s Business ReviewYear’s End Review ->
Image source: Bloomsbury

Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex by Larry Niven

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for alien sex book cover

Title: Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex
Author: Larry Niven
In: Alien Sex (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Humour, Superheroes
Dates read: 15th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: ROC
Year: 1990
5th sentence, 74th page: It would be unreasonable to assume otherwise for a kryptonian.

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Synopsis

Could the Man of Steel reproduce? How is he supposed to ensure the success of the next generation? This tale might just have all of the answers…

Thoughts

This might be one of the funniest stories I’ve read in a while… I was laughing out loud so much that my dogs got scared and ran away. There was just a great, sarcastic, satirical take on the Superman stories… one that I really hadn’t thought about. But now, I just can’t stop thinking about it…

Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex is a great tale that makes you wonder how Superman, or indeed, any superhero could reproduce. After all, their superpowers are going to affect their offspring and the way they have sex. Superman maybe more so than some others (although, can you imagine The Thing? On second thoughts, maybe don’t… get that insane image out of your brain…). There are so many questions that need to be answered after reading this… so many. And I’m also not sure that I want them answered, because this is just kinda… well, weird.

There are so many ways in which this short story could just be disgustingly ick. After all, we’re talking about reproduction of a prominent public figure. Yet, the way that Niven tells the story, the language he uses and the unique format… it was completely brilliant. It is only as I’m writing this review that I remember that there’s a bit of an ick factor there… mostly I just seriously enjoyed the tale and the questions that it raised.

 <- The Jamesburg Incubus ReviewThe First Time Review ->
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