Review of Sorry It's A Girl by A. A. Khan

 

Lahore, 2018. In a city which is teaming with gossip and rumors, where the spoken word is as sharp as a the whip. Five individual women led extraordinary lives.

Born into wealth and opulence, Maya and Arzoo are the best of friends, achieving everything that is expected of them. From achieving top grades to entrance to the exclusive Ivy League schools. This allows them to glide through Lahore's glittering scenes with effortless and being entitled to the opulent life. Meanwhile the charming Laila is married to a business tycoon and is living in the life of luxury which others can only dream of. But is life rarely this perfect....

In this world where image is absolutely everything and traditions will always prevail, these women will struggle to negotiate through friendships, family and society's expectation. Beneath all of the designer clothes lie the hidden scars and secrets which none of them can tell. And through all of this love with bloom and triumph.

I was pulled into this story from page one and transported to a location that i knew nothing about and witness the issues which face women there. I love how this explored all five of the women and managed to entwin their stories together and show how everyone is link to another. I loved the overall writing style however i did find some of the descriptive aspects of the story very lengthy which meant that I found that my attention started to waive from the story. I think due to this what i was thinking when i went into the book was lost and was left a bit underwhelmed by the end especially as i had some high hopes for it.

Review of The One (Selection #3) by Keira Kass

 

The time has finally come to crown the winner and the new royal princess.

When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America had no idea that she would have any chance of winning the hand of the handsome and dashing Prince Maxon. As the end of the competition comes closer she realizes how much she has fallen for the Prince and how the threats from outside the palace walls grow even more vicious. America find out how much she wants to win and how much she stands to lose if she does not fight for the outcome that she wants. 

I actually preferred this one to the Elite, This had the angst love triangle aspects which was what I wanted from The One. At times i was so frustrated with America and her to and froing between the prince and the guard that i wished i could call her and give her a verbal shake. I did enjoy the overall build up to her finally telling Maxon that she loved him and that she finally stopped playing games with his heart. Even he was due to give up and pick someone else to be his bride. The first 50 pages did what the previous book did in 325 pages and thank goodness, thank god she made her decision and stuck to it in this book.

Review of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

 

This is an atmospheric, gritty and compelling novel involving star-crossed lovers set in the circus world in 1932.

When Jacob Jankowski, who has recently been orphaned and is suddenly adrift, jumped onto a passing train little did he know that he had entered the world of freaks, drifters and misfits. The circus that he has stumbled into is a second-rate circus which is struggling to survive during the Great Depression, who is reduced to making one night stands in town after endless town. Jacob was a veterinary student who had almost earned his degree, being put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is while doing this job he meets Marlena, the young and beautiful star of the equestrian act, who is married to August the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also has the fortune to meet Rosie, an elephant who seems to be un trainable until he finds a way to reach her and change the animal make-up. 

This beautifully written, the novel is illuminated in the interesting way in which this has been written making use of the wonderful sense of time and place. It is the story of a love which sparks between two people who overcome the incredible odds which is hard to find in a world were love is a luxury that few can afford.

This novel is told by the same person at two different times in his life, at the age of 23 and at the age of 93. This is something that when done well is something that i love and Sara Gruen has managed this effortlessly. This story was at most points very homely however this was interjected with explicit content which should have a trigger warning as this may be things which the reader may find hard to digest. If you are affected by abuse, against both humans and animals then maybe this is not the book for you. I however was able to over look these distressing scenes as I was enjoying the rest of the novel and the method of story telling.  I love the way that the author has effortlessly flipped between the two timelines and how these were blurred together so that the reader can truly feel as if the 93 year old is telling his story and not just having someone tell you his life story on his behalf. This novel buys into the environment of the circus and she uses small little tricks to seamlessly change the direction of the narrative to hold the readers attention.

To get your copy, click the following link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Water-Elephants

Review of The Elite (Selection Book #2) by Keira Kass

 

The Selection began with thirty-five girls, however the competition has been narrowed down to the six Elite. The competition has suddenly become more fierce than ever and the girls are starting to become more and more cut-throat with their tactics. And all though this America is still struggling to decide where her heart lives - does it lie with Maxon the dashing price or Aspen the guard who has been assigned to look after. she has a tough decision to make, does she go with Maxon who can make her fairy tale come true or does she go with the one thing which helped her during her childhood.

As the competition moves on the other girls know exactly what they want and all America wants is some more time to be able to make this decision. Time that she does not have the luxury of having.

This was the ideal sequel to the first book, it up the anti and developed the main characters from the first book. It also allowed you to find out more about the royal family and the dynamics which have led to all of the traditional which have been put in place. I find that this was the book which focused on the love triangle between the contestant, the prince and the guard and this is one of the troupes that i love and it had me from the beginning.

To get you hands on the sequel to The Selection, please click the following link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elite-Selection-#2

Review of The Selection (Book #1) by Keira Kass

 

For thirty- five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. It is the opportunity to escape the constricts of the class that they have been born into and the life which has been written for them since the day since they were born. This is their chance to be swept up into the world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels and to live in the palace and compete to win the heart of the Prince Maxon and become the next royal princess.

However for America Singer, being selected is the nightmare that she has been dreading. he will have to turn her back on her secret love with Aspen, who has been born into a caste below her and their love would be frowned upon. She has to face the fact that she will have to leave her home to enter a fierce competition for the crown and prize that she has no interest in winning. Living in the palace feels like a jail cell to her and she is living in a place which is under constant threat of being attacked by the violent rebel forces from both the north and south.

However, things start to change when America meets the dashing Prince Maxon and gradually she starts to question all of the plans which she had made for herself. She soon realizes that the life that she has always dreamed of for herself may not compare to the future that she started to imagine for herself.

This is the novel which is the result of the marriage between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor and have a family. I found this book a different type of book than I normally read, however I found myself engaged in the story from page one. This was one of the few books which I have read in one sitting and this was due to it having a pace which constantly had you guessing what was going to happen next. I can not wait to read the next books in the series to see what life has in store for America and Maxon. I found this utterly surprising as this is not the genre that I would normally pick up but found myself pleasantly surprised and fell in love with the whole cast of characters. I found that this was exactly the book I was looking for when Burial Rites left me with a book hangover. I would highly recommend this to everyone who is wanting to find an engaging story to use as a palette cleanser after a differcult read.

For your copy, click the following link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Selection

Review of Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

 

This is the brilliant literary debut which has been inspired by a true story - the story of the final days of a young women accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

This novel is set in Iceland's stark and beautiful landscape, Hannah Kent brings to life the vivid story of Agnes who has been charged with the brutal murder of her former master and is sent to an isolated farm to await her execution. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family try at first to avoid Agnes. Only the priest Agnes has chosen, Toti has the access to the women who have chosen him to be her spiritual guardian seeks to try to understand the women and her story. As Agnes's execution date looms and edges closer, the farmers ' wife and the families ' daughters learn that there is another side to the sensational story and the gossip which they have heard.

This story is reverting and rich with the lyricism which is associated with Iceland, Burial Rites evokes the dramatic existence in the location and time that most of us can only imagine. It also tries to answer the burning questions of how can a woman hope to endure her life when it all depends on the stories which have been told by others.

OMG, I could not put this down, I have always loved historical fictions which is embedded in true stories of the past. This was a heart-rendering story which shows how gossip and story telling can twist a person's history until it has been distorted so far from the truth that you hardly know what the truth is any more. Let me say that this is not a FUN story to read and it left me in a book hangover which didn't leave me in a state where i could face another book for a couple of days until i had digested the book and all the feelings that it had left me with. I found the first 40% of the book hard to get into and once i had got past this point i had to read the rest of it in one sitting and i think this was due to (partly) to the immersive writing style and the building nature of the story. It was not hard to give this book a high 4 stars and this was something that i normally wouldn't read as i am a fantasy lover, however saying that i was glad that i took the jump and immersed myself into the story. I have not found a debut novel from an author which i have loved as much as this one. I would 100% recommend this to lovers of historical fiction based of true life stories.

To get your copy of this stunning novel, please click the following link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burial-Rites

Review of Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

 

Our heros are back ... kind of. From the bestselling co-authors of the Illuminae Files comes the second book in this epic series about a squad of misfits, losers, and discipline cases who just might be the galaxies best hope for survival.

Lets start with the bad news: an ancient evil - you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal and it is about to be unleased. Now onto the goods news - Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They have just got to take care of a few small distractions first. Oh like a clan of gremps who'd like to rearrange their favorite faces. And also the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be and will stop at nothing to get their hands of Auri.

Then of course, Kal's long lost sister, who's not exactly happy to see her baby brother and she has the Syldrathi army at her back. Basically with half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted. when they learn that Hadfield has been found, it's time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship all but vanished and it left Auri as it's sole survivor. Now the black box might be what saves them however time is short and if Auri can't learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all of their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV. This installment of the sory has shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gift, inappropriate tight bodysuits and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion's most unforgettable heroes.

This one had me guessing from page one and the twist in the tales made me sit up and question everything which i had read in the previous installment. It is amazing how a plot twist can turn the whole story up side down and makes me question if there is going to be another installment in this epic sci-fi fantasy. I can not wait to see what the author come up with next and will always recommend this to other readers.

For your copy, please click the following link:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aurora-Burning