I read all fifteen of the Penguin Little Black Classics that I've had on my shelf for a year or more, in June. Some were fantastic, like The Dolphins, The Whales and The Gudgeons by Aesop, some were awful, like On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts by Thomas De Quincey.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman was a book I picked up on a whim in the supermarket one day. I had no idea what to really expect from it; I wasn't even sure I'd like it. But it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made; as I loved every minute of this book, and was so sad to turn the final page. A five-star read.
Rating: *****
I read, and loved, the Flowers in the Attic series by Virginia Andrews, so when I spotted a few of her other books in my local charity shop I decided to grab them. Wild Flowers, then, was so-so. It was a BIG book - 608 pages in all, I think. And it was very, very slow. There was no real action, and I found I was bored for large chunks of it. But it paved the way for a better, much better, read...
Rating: ***
And Into The Garden was that better read. The considerably smaller sequel to Wild Flowers was packed full of action and I devoured it in less than two days! A fantastic read, and it was so worth struggling through Wild Flowers to enjoy this one (which, I felt, wouldn't have read the same without reading the prequel!)
Rating: ****
What a load of shit was my first thought when it came to Into The Darkness. I stopped reading, then skipped ahead to the ending and then decided it was worth carrying on with. At first glance, it seemed like a rehash of Twilight. I know, right? It read pretentious, and the narration was poor. But, as I got deeper into the novel, and more and more secrets came to light, I realised that this was actually not that bad. I still didn't enjoy it that much, but it wasn't as detestable as I first thought.
Rating: ***
I had a few vouchers to use up, so I treated myself to two hardback books from Waterstones. One was See What I Have Done, by Sarah Schmidt, a fictional novel focusing on the Lizzie Borden case. A really fascinating retelling of a case I've a lot of interest in. I just wish the author could have gone into more detail about where she got her facts from, as there were some interesting ideas floated in this novel about the murder of Lizzie's parents that I've never heard before!
Rating: ****
Little Deaths, by Emma Flint, was a bit of a let-down. It had a really promising, if slightly unoriginal, premise, and I was so excited to read it. But something let it down. What exactly? I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I disliked the constant switching between the reporter and the mother. I felt that it was a little dragged on; dragged out. And it ended too abruptly, in my opinion. Overall, a disappointing read.
Rating: ***
The Trophy Child was another disappointing read. What was even more disappointing was this; I was so excited for this book! I've read, and loved, a few of Paula Daly's books in the past; the most memorable being, Just What Kind Of Mother Are You. But The Trophy Child was like nothing I have ever read by Daly before. It was weak, nonsensical, with poorly developed characters. I'll be writing a full review soon, but suffice it to say, I was very disappointed when I'd finished this book.
Rating: **
After reading 20+ books last month, I'm pretty optimistic about working my through this big pile in July! Here's what I'm hoping to read in July.
The Trophy Child by Paula Daly (finished before July)
The Girl Before by JP Delaney
The Dry by Jane Harper
One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus
Honeymoon by Tina Seksis
Obsession by Amanda Robson
All The Rage by Courtney Summers
Nod by Adrian Barnes
What are you currently reading?
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