Banner

Banner

Friday 25 July 2014

The Search Angel (Tish Cohen)

The Search Angel is an adult fiction story about perseverence and independence. The novel follows the life of Eleanor Sweet as she approaches the end of the adoption process to bring home baby girl Sylvie. As the process comes to completion, Eleanor is suddenly faced with a mountain of obstacles and the realization of loneliness. Eleanor hires a “search angel” to help her delve into her past to discover more about her own biological mother.
The Book Cover
The story is not one that I would normally pick off a shelf, and is more in fact something that I would find my sister reading; however, something about the cover and the synopsis left me feeling intrigued. As you can tell by what I’ve reviewed, I find a genre that I enjoy and I just read those books; I don’t branch out. But with this book - and the last one - I decided that it was time for me to try to branch out a bit.

The main character Eleanor Sweet is a strong, independent female character and, as mentioned before, that’s something I love to see in books; however, this novel applies a certain twist on that role when a new tenant moves in next door: Noel. His character is written to perfection and I actually feel sad that he doesn’t have more of a dominant role.
Alternative Book Cover
Overall I would rate The Search Angel 4.8/5 because it was so close to perfect! There were a few moments I found myself skimming, but they were only short moments.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

If you would like updates for when a new review is posted, check out the Tumblr page!

Friday 18 July 2014

This House Is Haunted (John Boyne)

This review is being written because my friend Laura wrote a review on her blog about this book (You can read that here). She said she absolutely loved it and, to be honest, I was quite intrigued by the book cover. So, upon reading her blog post, I searched for the book in the library database, and voila! They had a copy available to read, so here are my thoughts!

This House Is Haunted is an adult fiction (the first adult one to be reviewed here - all previous were teen) that follows the troubles of Eliza Caine as she takes on a new job in a new place. The story written takes place in 1867 in the city of London initially, before transitioning to the Norfolk countryside. Eliza Caine must learn to survive through troubling times whilst putting the lives of two young orphaned children before her own. Again, as always, I never like to expose too much of the plot line in fear that I might give away something important; however, I will say that the main plot follows that of a ghost story.
The Book Cover
The main character Eliza Caine is one whom I strive to be. I feel that I often put myself first - much like the character H. Bennet - far too often and therefore tend to forget that there are others who I should care for in addition. I apologize ... that was a very complicated way of putting that! Eliza is a strong woman in the story who doesn't let herself be pushed around by anyone, one who sets her mind to a task and doesn't quit until she has succeeded. That's something I like to see in female characters!
Alternative Book Cover
Though I did thoroughly enjoy watching the ghost story unfold before my eyes, I have to say that the book did take me a long time to feel engrossed in it. It took perhaps nine chapters before I felt myself fall into the story completely. The first few chapters were majorly skimmed on my part as I felt the story lacked something; the plot missed a sense of purpose and the writing style was far too descriptive for my liking. It felt as though the author was simply trying to lengthen his novel.

With all of that said, I would rate This House Is Haunted a mere 2.7/5 because of what I stated in the previous paragraph. A slow start to a plot, along with an over descriptive style, is something I can not ignore to be a negative; however, once started, the story was rather enjoyable.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

Friday 11 July 2014

Please Don't Take My Baby (Cathy Glass)

If you've read last week's book review, then you will know that I recently went on vacation to England to visit family. When I flew over, I had brought along the book Bitterblue - which is around 500 pages - and thought that it would be enough for the 2 week trip. However, as said in that review, I finished the book rather quickly and was left twiddling my thumbs in anticipation of another story once home. But thanks to my grandmother, I did end up reading another novel whilst staying at her house; so that brings me to this review!

Please Don't Take My Baby is a non-fictional story with the feel of a fictional novel. The author is someone who writes her personal experiences down under the pen name Cathy Glass. "Cathy" writes novels based on her own encounters from when she used to foster care young children; of course, all the names in her work have been changed to protect the families and children involved.
The Book Cover
This specific story follows the life of a seventeen year old girl name Jade who checks herself into the foster care system after being thrown out of her own home upon admitting that she is pregnant. The novel describes Cathy's struggle to help the teenager grow up enough to keep care of her unborn baby, as well as after the baby is born.

I don't normally read stories such as this - I find them a bit "fluffy" and non-captivating -  however, this specific story of Jade left me intrigued with how things would turn out. The writing itself is very simple and therefore only took me two days to read, but the story was actually fascinating.
A Selection of Cathy Glass' Novels
I would rate Please Don't Take My Baby 2.9/5 because it was a very easy read and a little predictable. In addition, there were times in the writing where the author would reference another of her stories, which often left me confused and a little taken aback because I would be drawn out of the moment and story. Overall though, it was a decent story.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

Friday 4 July 2014

Bitterblue (Kristin Cashore)

I'd like to start of firstly by apologizing for the few weeks where I did not post any reviews! I just got back from a vacation where I traveled to England for two and a half weeks. But I'm back and ready to go, so without further ado, let's get reviewing!

As I just mentioned, I recently went to England and of course (for me) a book is a necessary item to bring along for the ride (or flight in this case). A seven to eight hour flight is a very long time, especially if you can't sleep during it. For this journey I brought along the book Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, which is the sequel to Graceling that I last reviewed.
The Book Cover
Bitterblue closely follows the style of writing that Graceling possessed and very much so remains a fantasy novel. The plot follows the growth of Bitterblue as she learns how to run her kingdom after the distress of the previous novel. The book itself is split into five parts either due to an amount of time passing or because of a new revelation in the plot. I can't mention too much as I liked the component of the unexpected when I read it, and therefore want the same for you!
Alternative Cover
I read this book far too quickly and was left without something to read for the second half of my vacation; I think that proves just how good it was!

I would rate Bitterblue 5/5 because I ABSOLUTELY loved it! Definitely take the time to read this and it's prequel. Also, if you get the chance, try reading Fire (the companion novel) and tell me how it is!

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!