Quickfire Reviews is a thing I do very sporadically when there are books to talk about that I should have reviewed but haven’t.
Let's have a chat about books I've been reading, lately.
What’s it About? Two women, primarily: Beth, and Ruby, whose stories told in alternating chapters make up a social commentary of parenthood, love, feminism and social media.
What I liked I liked it more than I liked The Cows, for starters which I was super disappointed in. It had a lot of valid things to say and it made those points for the most part, pretty well. I was interested in Beth and Ruby - Ruby a little more so I think, her story having a tenderness to it that surprised me. I loved how one of the stories was told via a character's instagram posts, that was clever and worked well, really cleverly demonstrating the whole issue of instagram versus reality. Overall, I liked it, this is a pretty good - and fast - read.
What I liked Less I felt like the male characters needed more depth - I'm all for books about feminism featuring strong female characters, but they lose something for me if the men are two dimensional. So frustrating. Also, I don't know what the deal is with O'Porter and the sex stuff - I'm not a prude; I read about sex, I have sex, I'm pretty sex positive, I think, but, like in The Cows I felt like O'Porter is trying to shock and that just bugs me; she's a good writer, she doesn't need to try this hard for a reaction. There's also one scene that really reminded me of a scene from The Cows and the repetition made me roll my eyes. Also also, the blurb doesn't match the book. So annoying.
What’s it About? Sort of a cross between The Night Circus and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland,...this is the first in a trilogy. Scarlett has never left the island where she lives with her sister and their violent father and she thinks she'll never get to play Caraval, the once a year show where the audience are part of the game, but then she gets an invite, from Legend, the master of Caraval himself and finds herself embroiled in more than she could ever imagine, the lines between the game and reality becoming more blurred with every hour.
What I liked I am so here for this series though. Here are my boxes Stephanie Gerber, would you like to tick them? It's so original and so clever and so twisty and turny and full of so many things that you're not sure whether to believe. It's so vivid and magical and the worldbuilding is delightful. This is a debut novel too, I can't even believe it and am just so excited for book two because if this is what she can do when she's only just begun...*grabby hands* - I just, there are so many things I liked about this book. I am sold.
What I liked Less I didn't buy into the romantic element of the story so much? Although buy the end I was a little more 'oh they're kind of cute?' which made me cross with myself and also there was the whole kidnapping, like, Scarlett was kidnapped to be taken to Caraval and then has to take her clothes off and swim to the shore with her kidnapper and he's the one she ends up in love with him and that's not really cool, is it? Also, if I'm being brutally honest, sometimes it was a bit much - this is such a busy plot guys and so much is happening and then unhappening and it made my head spin. AM I COMING OR AM I GOING STEPHANIE? Not that I cared too much, I was just busy enjoying the ride.
What’s it About? Oh God. It's about this Hollywood Icon, Evelyn Hugo, who decides, quite randomly, to give this unknown small-time reporter , Monique, the chance to write her memoir - no holds barred.
What I liked If I said I think Taylor Jenkins Reid might be the find of 2019 for me, that would be a true thing. I loved Daisy Jone and the Six earlier this year and now I love this. I love the way Jenkins Reid writes, how her stories unfold, I love the relationship between Evelyn and Monique, I love Evelyn's rag to riches story and the Hollywood glitz and glam, I loved the twist at the end. I love how unexpected it was, the whole thing from start to finish. This is such a fun, easy read. So so good.
What I liked Less I did kind of see the twist coming if I'm honest, and oh whatever, let's just talk about how highly I value 5 stars that I didn't give one to this - purely I think, because Daisy Jones just had the edge...
What’s it About? In small town Virignia a group of people get to know each other because they're all taking part in treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. Then the chamber explodes, people die, and everybody needs answers.
What I liked Oh, but this book. I love a famiy saga, I love a small town story and I love a thriller. This book is all of that. Little Fires Everywhere in a courtroom, kind of? But also more than that. There's a guy with fertility issues putting a strain on his marriage, a Korean family struggling to make a life in America, their teenage daughter floundering and all of them struggling to communicate, two women with autistic children, friends through circumstance more than anything else, another lady with a disabled child who just wants to do the right thing, and all of their stories weave and intersect and it's so good and then there's the explosion and the court case and all the secrets and lies and truths. It's such a gripping read, but unlike most thrillers it's less crime-solving and more character driven. It's lush, unreliable narration at its best - eah character was there when the chamber exploded and each has their own version of their events and I just...I really loved this book okay?
What I liked Less I utterly loved this book, people. Loved it.
What’s it About? A not-quite-dead Aunt, and some gold jewellery. What is going on in this book, I ask you.
What I liked This is such a short, fast, fun read. Set in India pre-independence and following several generations of women in a family, I was just fascinated, by the culture that I know little about, by the story which was weird and wonderful, by the fact that sometimes I had no idea what was happening and yet couldn't stop reading, by the way it all tied back together in the end. I loved this because it's so different to what I usually read and because it was a window into a whole other world. Fabulous. I have no idea what it was about. I love that.
What I liked Less I was a little bit confused sometimes, I won't lie. And I wished it was longer.
