Laura

I've been struggling with reading this past month or so, every time I seem to pick up a book my mind would wander and I'd lose momentum. This wonderful book captured my attention from the very outset.

The story is built around two different young women, Kate who has run away to a new job in an equestrian centre and Annie, somewhat of a free spirit who works as a masseuse in London. Both women have a secret that we are made aware of early in the book but not told specifically what they are.

The stories of both women are told in alternate chapters and as they both find themselves drawn to mysterious men and changes in their circumstances. Kate is attracted to her new boss Mark, an elite rider and married man whilst Annie is swept of her feet by entrepreneur Stephen.

The writing in this book was so very engaging. the weaving of both stories is so elegant that it leads it's readers down a path that we as readers fall into a sense of curiosity as to what is going to unfold and a false belief that we might be able to guess and then suddenly comes a twist do unexpected it changes the book so suddenly and skilfully I actually had to go back and re-read a page or so before I fully understood the full magnitude of the twist.

This book was precisely what I needed to salvage me from my reading slump (I'd thought an Outlander novel would do it but I had to stop half way). It was brilliant written. Well worth reading. I haven't read anything from this author before but I certainly will be again.

There has been such a lot of hype surrounding this books release that in anticipation of it I ensured I had finished my previous read so that on release day I could dive straight in.

The book begins when Robert Landon is called to Washington DC to deliver a key notes speech for his old mentor Peter Solomon, but when he gets there he finds his old friend has been kidnapped and possibly killed by a phsychotic madman who wants Langdon to dechiper an ancient mystery that is hidden in the city......sorry is this sounding familiar. Yes it probably is and that's because in no way is The Lost Symbol anything new, it is very very firmly written in the same formulaic manner as both Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

It is almost as though off the back of the massive money spinning success of those two books his publishers have got in touch and said can you do 500 pages in this amount of time for $XX million, be sure to include the ususal old favourites such as intelligent damsel in distress, Robert Landon trying to unravel strange old mystery, phsychotic madman on the loose threatening and chasing said Professor Langdon, old friend with mysterious past linked to ancient organisation, police detective who seems to be helping/hindering the investigation for unknown reasons. When I write it down in as simple a way as that it becomes evident that Brown is fast running out of creative ideas.

I am sure that a big budget blockbuster of this movie starring Mr Hanks will be along in around 18 months or so, it will probably translate well onto the big screen. It will no doubt sell billions of copies worldwide by the time it's paperback release takes place. I find it dissapointing however that this now ranks as the fastest selling book of all time - this is a diservice to the outstanding work that JK Rowling produced in Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows which was a truly awe inspiring novel. In no way is this book evidently produced for the quick sell mass market a patch on Rowlings last Potter book which previously held that accolade.

I have been doing really well with my good reads challenge this year, having read 49 of the 52 books I hoped to achieve over the course of 2017 and so I decided to invest some time and read one of those really big books that I've been putting off for a while and one that I've always thought of as somewhat of a challenge, Game of Thrones, the first of George R. R. Martins' A Song of Ice And Fire series.

I have been a viewer of the HBO show for the past few years and so I wasn't coming to the story fresh, I had a full and open awareness of exactly the story I'd be reading and so I was waiting for all the big plot points throughout and there were no surprises in store. The only surprise I found was that whilst I'd expected quite a wordy and highly overwritten book I found instead one that was much more accessible than I'd expected and written in a style that would lend itself to a variety of readers and not just those who enjoy high fantasy tales alone.

I had anticipated that I might struggle to find the characters I'd loved within the pages, lost among long and complex descriptions of their houses allegiances and lots of background that the show had chosen to discard and instead I found that this book had some serious pace. The chapters were long but really very engaging and the action moved along at a pace that surprised me. Each chapter is written from a different character's perspective and so we hear the voices of the characters we love in turn from Eddard, Tyrion, Jon, Daenerys and Arya along with others we hold such affection for. Often when authors attempt to write from multiple points of view we sometimes lose the essence of the characters but Martin does a wonderful job and each holds their own voice and individuality and make it an exciting and gripping book to read.

There is no secret that Game of Thrones has become one of the most read books of all time since the release of HBO's groundbreaking series and often we will find that huge fans of the show, such as myself, will never choose to delve into the written version preferring instead to follow the action on screen but it would seem that millions of fans have found joy in the written versions too and it is with that in mind that I decided to explore the books. I sought to find more than I had in the screen version, to expand my understanding of the world and background of the Seven Kingdoms and the families therein. It didn't let me down, I loved every second of reading this book. It is a hefty book at nearly 800 pages and yet it didn't once feel like a chore to get through. I flew through it, when I wasn't reading it I wanted to be, not because I needed to know what happened next but just for the sheer joy of the character's narration and the world Martin has built that I longed to be back in.

It seemed strange to be back at the start of the story again, many of the characters within have been on so many journeys since then that you almost forget where they started out. You have differing opinions about so many of them now and some have been long departed due to gruesome ends and it's been nice to go back and relive their stories again. I for one had forgotten how much I adored Lord Eddard Stark, what a magnificent character he is and how important a part he played in starting the Game of Thrones. All the clues for what will follow are there, especially regards the huge plot reveal that was made at the end of Season 7 of the show regards Jon Snow. It makes you view him somewhat with more respect and sympathy when you understand the secret he held of his sisters.

I am quite sorry to have finished this book, thrilled to know I have so many more to go in the series and keen now to go back and review the first season of the show again. It's been a wonderful read and this may very well be one of my favourite reads this year.

I have been doing really well knocking out lots of series I've been planning on reading this year and having now completed all of the Cassandra Clare novels I was looking for an intriguing new series to pick up as we move into the second half of 2017 and I had heard such wonderful things about Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle that it didn't take me long to delve into The Raven Boys.

This book was one I wasn't quite sure how I would get on with, sometimes as I'm an older adult reader of Young Adult fiction I sometimes do find some novels just don't quite grasp me due to the writing style and content but I have to be honest that The Raven Boys was a book I flew through in a few days and did enjoy very much. It's difficult not to be intrigued when the very first thing we learn in the narrative is that one of our lead characters Blue has been told that if and when she kisses her true love he will die.

This revelation leads us to a major discovery about this book which is that the paranormal and psychic worlds will play a large part in this series as Blue has been raised in a house full of psychic women and is indeed about to take part in the St Marks' Day ritual at her local ruined church where she and her mother go annually to see the spirits of those who will die within the next 12 months. Blue herself is unable to see the undead, instead she is an amplifier for the powers of those who can, however on the night of St Marks' she sees the spirit of a young boy named Gansey, a pupil of the local private school Aglionby. Her aunt informs her that if she is able to see him this means one of either two things, either he is her true love or she killed him.

With this revelation under her belt it is then somewhat worrying when Gansey stumbles into her life seeking a psychic reading from her mother in order to help him find the local ley lines which will lead him to the body of a dead Welsh king who Gansey hopes to raise from the dead with the help of his friends Adam, Ronan and Noah, the members of the books title The Raven Boys.

This book is full of twists and turns, all of them based in the supernatural and the mystery surrounding the ley line in their town of Henrietta and it's a gripping journey that you slip through without really realising how quickly the chapters are flying by. It is also helped by the sheer range of characters within and their different personalities. I loved Gansey who is seen as others as being the ultimate privelleged rich boy with his whole future ahead of him but instead he is the father figure to his friends, their rock and the one who has everyone's backs. In return they give him unquestioning loyalty and support him in his strange search for a dead Welsh king of whom they otherwise would not have known.

I also loved the character of Adam, the obligatory scholarship kid who has struggled his whole life to attend the school which will give him the opportunity to escape his lot in a small town life and run from his abusive father who beats him badly. I found it nice that despite the author moving immediately to bring Blue and Gansey together she allows a relationship to develop between Blue and Adam which leaves us wondering just how if Blue's true love is Gansey this will leave Adam feeling as the series moves on.

For me though one of the most intriguing characters was Ronan, the bad boy of the group, the one who is struggling to remain in school due to non attendance and bad grades who is at odds with his family. It is clear Ronan has just lost his father and is struggling to come to terms with this and it is clear that we have not fully uncovered the secrets in his story and there is going to be lots more to explore as the series progresses through the remaining 3 novels. I especially loved that Ronan, whilst often sullen and withdrawn is the one who ultimately stands up for Adam and helps him escape the abuse he is suffering at home.

All in all this novel really was hugely enjoyable, the ending did leave me with lots of questions about why characters made the decisions they did. The last sentence left me thinking if I'd just totally missed a page as it literally leaves you hanging on a sentence which is going to take lots of explaining but I'm sure is linked to the title of the second book in the series. I am definitely excited to dive into book 2, The Dream Thieves and would give this one a 4 out of 5 stars.

Young adult fiction is one of my guilty pleasures, although I now beyond the age group where I could ever be considered a young adult I find this genre is currently burgeoning with brilliant authors with some strong stories to tell and I enjoy reading them, they are an escape from the adult world back to a more innocent time when you didn't have to worry about what bills to pay and what everyone is having for dinner that evening. A time when anything was possible and you have your whole future in front of you.

Jennifer Niven has become very highly regarded in this genre after her last novel “All The Bright Things” received rave critical reviews, I haven't read that book yet however and I decided to start with Holding Up The Universe. I was lucky enough to listen to this book via audiobook as well as reading parts and whilst I do not regularly listen to audiobooks as I sometimes find they interfere with my enjoyment of the story, this adaptation was exceptional and it is highly recommended if this method of enjoying the book appeals to you more.

This is a great story of Libby Strout and Jack Masselin, two teens who are preparing to return to school after the summer break. For Libby however it is a huge undertaking, she was one “America's Fattest Teen” unable to leave her home and having had to be cut out of her bedroom by emergency services very publicly a few years before. She has spent the last years losing weight and addressing the demons which caused her to eat excessively after the death of her mother. Not having attended school for many years she is now ready to return and face the world and her peers, she is fierce and happy and with a dream to be a dancer she makes one of the most endearing heroines I've read for some time. Vulnerable and yet feisty and strong it is almost impossible not to fall in love with Libby.

Jack doesn't face a world without difficulties either, popular and enigmatic he is the centre of the popular kids at school but Jack is hiding a strange and unusual secret, he suffers from prosopagnosia, a condition which means that he is unable to recognise faces. Even the faces of the people he holds dearest he is unable to recall, he has to learn people by other identifying features such as their hair or size or sticky out ears in the case of his younger brother. Nobody is aware of Jack's secret and he tries disguising it each day, leading to awkward situations such as when he kisses his girlfriends cousin thinking it's his girlfriend and suddenly everyone is outraged at him.

Jack and Libby's worlds are about to collide, at the outset of the book we are told Jack is going to do a bad thing but we aren't aware what that thing is going to be. It is, however, going to be the catalyst that throws them both together and once they meet it begins a chain of events that will change both of their lives forever.

I literally loved this story, Jack and Libby are both incredible characters. Jack is cocky on the outside but struggling to hide his illness on the inside and so he uses his bravado to get him through. Inside he is a good guy, he tries to run with the crowd but his conscience jars him and we know he a decent human being. Libby is outwardly strong and feisty but inside she's still struggling with people bullying her for her size and shamed by the fact everyone knows about her having to be cut from her home years before. It's a story about how difficult high school can be to manoeuvre, the judgements teens make on each other and how cruel their jibes can be. How even the simplest of things can make you stand out from the crowd and how if your crimes are as heinous as Libby's and you dare to be physically different to the extreme people will go to any lengths to let you know you aren't wanted.

I read this book at the same time as watching the TV series 13 Reasons Why and whilst this book doesn't by any stretch cover bullying to the same extent the themes resonated through both and left me feeling that for all that we have become more aware of the impact bullying can have there still seems to be no end to the ability for people to be cruel in their judgement of others in the ability to make themselves feel more secure. As is said in 13 Reasons Why, of course the popular kids are cruel that's how they got popular in the first place.

I loved spending time with Jack and Libby, they are beacons of hope in a world where people allow themselves to become boxed in by the standards of others. They lift each other up and make us want to root for them and that is a very special thing.