Moonrise by Sarah Crossan is about a teenager called Joe. Joe
hasn’t seen his brother for ten years because his brother is on Death Row or a
crime he claims he is innocent of. His execution date has been set.
What I liked: I love
Sarah Crossan’s writing style. I’ve said that before. It’s prose poetry (I
think?) and I’m not going to sound at all knowledgeable about that kind of thing
because I am not, all I know is that it works for me. It’s lyrical and pretty
and I like it. The story is moving and the issues are important and the way
Crossan writes means that whilst the story seems simple, it actually gets you
right in the chest.
What I didn’t like:
Instalove. That again. Le sigh. Also Joe bugged me a little and I had lots of
questions about the family dynamic that weren’t answered because I always have
all the questions. It was a little predictable too, the family background especially.
Moonrise is out in September.
The Forever Ship by
Francesca Haig is the final book in The
Fire Sermon trilogy and I have been beyond excited about it.
What I liked: I think pretty much everything. It was a
satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that utterly gripped me; I loved that it
tied everything up in a way that whilst I might not have chosen, I understood.
This whole series is so good people – read it.
What I didn’t like: I would like there to be more please. I
don’t like that it’s over. Also, THAT ENDING. I mean, I understood it, I did,
and it makes a hell of a lot of sense from a narrative sense but no. There are
things I wanted that are not that and I hope you appreciate how hard I try to
be spoiler free.
The Forever Ship is out now!
When Dimple Met Rishi and
you’ve heard all about this book, right? I don’t have to tell you all about it?
Unless you have been living under a rock (in which case come out from under
there it’s dusty) then this book will be on your radar in one way or another,
I’m sure. Just in case though:
What I liked: It’s cute. Dimple and Rishi are cute and in
some ways are total opposites but yet have this common thread of their culture
and I like that. I also like how they both approach that in different ways. I
like the take on arranged marriage which all too often is portrayed in this
super negative light without much depth; Dimple and Rishi’s story added some
background and it painted the whole thing as so much more than this big awful
horror where all free will is taken away. It kind of had that Bridget Jones
feel – it was that kind of fun and easy and sometimes predictable sort of story
that you come away from just feeling pleased you read it. & it’s
wonderfully diverse and different. It’s not perfect and it is by no means the
best book I ever read, not even close but,
the world needs more books like this.
What I didn’t like: there’s a side story with Rishi’s
brother and Dimple’s friend and I would have either liked much more of that or
for it not to be there at all. Insta love, a little bit – on Rishi’s part at
least AND WE ALL KNOW MY FEELINGS ABOUT THAT. Too much kissing and not enough
story. I needed more story because without
the story there are too many holes in
the story. I wanted more story because I was super interested and super
invested in the whole idea of it all – I wanted more development to both Dimple
and Rishi and their backgrounds; I wanted more of the whole insomnia con thing
because if you’re going to go to the effort of making your characters so
passionate about something, let me see them be passionate. Mostly, I wanted to
see it go from A-Z via the other 24 letters but it felt more like that 1 2 miss
a few 99 100 rhyme.
When Dimple Met Rishi is available now.
True Love at the
Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling is the kind of book I wouldn’t
usually go for actually, but you know what? I’m glad I did read it because
sometimes this kind of book is just exactly what you need and this was one such
time.
What I liked: It’s set in a bookshop, which, HELLO. I think
Verity might be me, actually because I related to her on many levels. There’s a
cat. And a lot of Pride and Prejudice. & I do like a good meetcute. It was
a mostly fun, and very easy read. It was perfect for hot hot days when I wanted
to be entertained but didn’t want to hurt my brain. & I want to eat cake in
that shop, damnit.
What I didn’t like: Johnny. & I know that’s probably bad
considering he’s the male romantic lead but I couldn’t help it. I thought he
was a bit of a dick. Also I knew from page one how the story was going to end
which is probably why I don’t usually go for books like this; I like my
fictions to break free from the formula.
True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop is out in August
