(No apologies for the fact that this is the same image as on my Instagram account @bookographic and for the shameless self promo!)

Genre: Dystopian, Literary fiction, Adult

Publication Date: (First published) 12th February 2015

Format: Paperback copy sent to me for review by Sceptre Books via Bookbridgr

The Chimes is set in a reimagined London, in a world where people cannot form new memories, and the written word has been forbidden and destroyed.

In the absence of both memory and writing is music.

In a world where the past is a mystery, each new day feels the same as the last, and before is blasphony, all appears lost. But Simon Wythern, a young man who arrives in London seeking the truth about what really happened to his parents, discovers he has a gift that could change all of this forever.

(from goodreads.com)

Having been on the Man Booker Prize longlist this book was going to be good. I feel as though I had extremely high expectations due to this and also because adult dystopian novels are some of my favourites (Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are two of my all-time favourite books). Let me just say that this wasn’t a bad book, and I definitely feel as though this is a case of ‘it’s not you it’s me’.

Personally, I found it difficult to get into, mainly because of the writing style. As the story really got going (about a third of the way through) the writing seemed to settle down and it became much more enjoyable and I became much more invested in the story. In the beginning though I found the writing to be very choppy and I find this style quite difficult to read, though it could simply be down to my mindset whilst I was early on in the book.

I did really love the characters though, and as the book progressed I felt much more interested in what was happening to them. Simon and Lucien were so well developed through the novel that it made it much more interesting, and I think that it was the development of Lucien from a mysterious unknown to a fully developed and complex character that really grabbed me. The moments and interaction between the two were wonderful, right from the very beginning, as they are both unique and different characters.

One thing that I feel should be mentioned is that had I not had such a good knowledge of music (better than I thought – but I have played the piano since I was seven) this book would have been extremely confusing. For example, instead of using adverbs such as “quickly” and “slowly”, “presto” and “lento” were used. All simple enough to google, but I find having to search for words whilst I’m reading several times can be tedious, hence why I was relieved about my musical understanding. However, the use of these words definitely aided the development of the world and they enabled me to understand more of the society that they lived in.

I had a clear image of London in my mind whilst I was reading, and Smaill did a fabulous job at creating an atmospheric and unique setting. On the other hand, I struggled to picture the Citadel, though there were aspects to the place that I could picture, so maybe I just wasn’t making links; it was late at night and I really was into the story and wanted to finish…

So I did enjoy this book, but the start definitely put it down for me. Once it really got going after about half way I kept wanting to pick it up and read more, and I was left thinking about it all once it had finished. The ending was slightly too abrupt for my liking, but I liked it overall, especially the sudden twist that it took right at the end. Would I recommend this, despite my rating? Yes. Yes because the writing style wasn’t for me and I can completely see how someone else may fall in love with it. The world is creative and unique, which is always a positive, and the story is complex and fascinating, so it’s well worth a read.

Rating: 3.75 / 5

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publication Date: January 28th 2016 by Tinder Press

Format: Hardcover copy sent to me for review by Tinder Press via Bookbridgr (Thank you so much!)

Jiangxi Province, China, 1941

Atop the fabled mountain of Lushan, celebrated for its temples, capricious mists and plunging ravines, perches a boarding school for the children of British missionaries. As her parents pursue their calling to bring the gospel to China’s most remote provinces, ten-year-old Henrietta S. Robertson discovers that she has been singled out for a divine calling of her own.

Etta is quick to share the news with her dorm mates, and soon even Big Bum Eileen is enlisted in the Prophetess Club, which busies itself looking for signs of the Lord’s intent. (Hark.) As rumours of war grow more insistent, so the girls’ quest takes on a new urgency – and in such a mystical landscape, the prophetesses find that lines between make believe and reality, good and bad, become dangerously blurred. So Etta’s pilgrimage begins.

(From goodreads.com)

If you follow my twitter, you may have seen the tweets about this book as I was reading it. Only now, about two weeks after finishing it, do I feel that I can put my feelings towards this book into coherent sentences. It was spectacular. Both addictive and engrossing, every page made me want to read more.

I love books that are set in different cultures or periods of history that I know very little about. I don’t think I’ve read a book set in China and I know very little about it, and I only have a vague idea of what happened in the war. Now I have some understanding of what went on, and although it wasn’t too political and took a child’s perspective, I learned a lot. I could picture the environment and the settings as though I was standing there myself.

All of the characters were fantastically created; each had something unique that made them all different in my mind so I instantly could tell them apart. Etta, though annoying at times, was a great character too. Despite the fact that she is sometimes frustrating and irritating, it didn’t appear to be for the sake of making her annoying or adding drama, I could genuinely see where her thoughts and actions stemmed from and how not seeing her parents for a long time had affected her. It was the attention to detail that really worked within this novel as it made the characters far more complex and interesting but at the same time it wasn’t overdone and thus wasn’t a tedious read.

The character development was extremely well done and Etta really changes and matures throughout the novel. I really could see her grow and develop noticeably and by the end she had altered dramatically and I personally feel that it’s rare nowadays to see such thorough development of a character.

I loved the narrative style – I have always been a fan of narrators that are children as there is an innocence to their voice that makes it more endearing. The small parts from ‘Muriel’s Diary’ added another perspective where it was necessary, mainly to give an overview of the situation where Etta’s voice didn’t suffice, but it didn’t impose on the storyline and it really helped prevent confusion!

In terms of plot, this book wasn’t lacking. So much happened and kept it interesting. I also found that nothing was rushed but nothing was dragged out, it paused where pauses were necessary and picked up pace when it fitted. I have no clue whether or not it’s accurate to what would have happened, but judging by the detail in this book I’m willing to bet that it is. I feel like I know so much more about what happened in China now during the second world war, as I knew absolutely nothing before!

I do just want to add that the cover suits this book perfectly; I wasn’t sure about it at first (I didn’t really understand it if I’m honest) but as I was reading it occurred to me just how well the cover encapsulates this novel.

I’m not even going to bother saying who I’d recommend this book to, I’m just going to say read it. It was so, so good and although it’s not a YA I feel that it would be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys that genre, even if they’re apprehensive about branching into adult fiction. Obviously every adult who is interested in a well written, fascinating novel with wonderful character development and history and culture woven in will enjoy this. It really was incredible and definitely one I will reread again and again.

Rating: 5 / 5 stars.

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary.

Publication Date: November 5th 2015 by Bloomsbury Childrens

Format: eARC from Bloomsbury Children’s via Netgalley

A small boy hiding in a cupboard witnesses something no child should ever see. He tries not to look but he still hears it. And when he comes out, there’s no mistaking. His mum and dad have been killed. And though he’s only small, he swears that he’ll get revenge one day. 

Years later, Trey enters a strange camp that is meant to save troubled teenagers. It’s packed with crazies, god-botherers, devoted felons and broken kids. Trey’s been in and out of trouble ever since the day the bad thing happened, but he’s he not here for saving: this is where he’ll find the man who did it. Revenge and healing, salvation and hell are a boiling, dangerous mix, and Trey finds himself drawn to a girl, a dream and the offer of friendship in the dark.

(from goodreads.com)

I can’t quite decide how I feel about this book, as there were parts that I really liked and parts I didn’t. One thing I must mention though, is that I was reading an ARC of this book and it really did read like it hadn’t been edited. So any mention of it reading like it hadn’t been edited could literally be because it hadn’t been edited and therefore corrections hadn’t been made (the incorrect “your” was used at one point which really irritated me, and this is why I feel that it definitely hadn’t been edited).

One thing that kept nagging at me as I read this book was that there were references made in this that made it sound slightly dystopian. I don’t know, this could just be me, but reading a book where the world is becoming more violent and the balance of power is shifting etc definitely shouts dystopian to me. I wouldn’t definitely class this as a dystopian though, as it does read very much like a contemporary and very little is learned about the outside world as the story is set in a camp.

If I’m honest, I didn’t like the writing style and I took a long break from this book before going back to it (although the masses of homework I had did not help things) as I was finding it hard going. The writing is choppy and short, and I struggled with the characters and what they were saying too. So many words in their dialogue were shortened or slang, and it made it difficult to read. I’m all for the use of accents and slang, but I think that there is a point when it makes it difficult to read if you’re not from the area that uses such words. (Or just don’t understand the words that they use – even if they’re not specific to an area).

The character development was really very good however, especially in the case of Trey. He started off as a very simple character and throughout the book more and more was revealed about him and he changed and grew as a character, learning lessons throughout. I really enjoyed this change in Trey as it was slowly developed throughout the story and didn’t just suddenly happen, which was good.

On the other hand, I found it difficult to like many of the characters. Lamby, who I was supposed to like, I found annoying (although I didn’t hate him) and the characters that I was meant to dislike really got on my nerves. I did like Kay however, as she seemed the most level headed in the story and her character was needed to stop it seeming melodramatic and over the top in places.

The plot of this story was good and fast paced, with a lot happening. In the earlier parts of the book, these events are all minor, until everything changes around halfway through, when it picks up pace. It’s quite violent, and almost disgusting at points (both in that it’s (kind of) gory (it has a couple of vivid descriptions) and some of the characters were just vile) but these disgusting parts aren’t common.

I did enjoy this book in a way though, and I’d probably recommend it, because a lot of people will enjoy the writing style and thus enjoy the book, as the writing style was the main thing that I disliked about it. It was a good story and it wasn’t very long and I also did like the main characters. The character development was extremely strong in this book and probably my favourite aspect of the story was the change in attitudes Trey goes through and how he changes throughout.

Rating: 3 / 5 stars.

Genre: Thriller, Adult, Mystery

Publication Date: January 14th 2016 by Bloomsbury Publishing

Format: eARC from Bloomsbury Publishing via Netgalley.

Helen and Ellie are identical twins – like two peas in a pod, everyone says. 

The girls know this isn’t true, though: Helen is the leader and Ellie the follower.

Until they decide to swap places: just for fun, and just for one day.

But Ellie refuses to swap back…

And so begins a nightmare from which Helen cannot wake up. Her toys, her clothes, her friends, her glowing record at school, the favour of her mother and the future she had dreamed of are all gone to a sister who blossoms in the approval that used to belong to Helen. And as the years pass, she loses not only her memory of that day but also herself – until eventually only ‘Smudge’ is left.

Twenty-five years later, Smudge receives a call from out of the blue. It threatens to pull her back into her sister’s dangerous orbit, but if this is her only chance to face the past, how can she resist?

(from goodreads.com)

I’m going to start by saying that I nearly did not finish this book at 15%. Characters play such an important role in whether I like a book or not, and I hated all of the characters at the early stages in the book. I mean, the mother was just awful and the way the twins treated each other was absolutely vile. The mother was the worst, the way she treated the one daughter like a princess and spoilt her rotten and the other one like she was an irritation. They’re twins. It doesn’t matter who is who, they should be treated equally. This hatred of the characters nearly made me leave it. It’s only because I was so kindly given this for review that I actually made myself finish it. It’s sad, because it looked so interesting in the summary on Netgalley.

Having said that, it did grow on me. The book alternates between the past and the present tense (I’ll talk about this in a minute) and while I couldn’t care less about the childhood chapters / parts, I quite liked the ones that talked about Smudge and I began to feel something like sympathy towards her *gasps*. I found the present tense of the story much more interesting (and the later past-tense parts) as they were not so much about interaction with the other characters, rather they looked into Smudge’s life and isolation.

The writing style wasn’t for me either, though before I explain why, I can see why people may enjoy it. I just found it too jumpy and manic, and it frequently distracted me from the story itself because I couldn’t get on with it. I also had a problem with the way that the ‘past tense’ parts changed from first to second person around halfway through for no apparent reason. The only thing I have to say about this is why?

I would not call this a thriller, it didn’t have the normal intensity that so often makes thrillers difficult for me to read (I don’t deal well with scary / tense moments). At the same time, I have no idea what I’d actually classify this as, but me mentioning this is more of a heads-up if you’re expecting something extremely fast-paced, with action and mystery. Having the alternating past/present pretty much ensures there is no mystery (though I’m not complaining because I’m not sure I could have read it if it worked through chronologically). A lot have said this is a psychological thriller, and yes, it does play with the mind a lot, so I guess that’s the best option.

I was expecting to end up so confused throughout this book, seeing as two twins had swapped names. My initial thoughts before I started reading were along the lines of ‘how is this not going to be confusing?’. But I wasn’t confused once. Morgan really did this well. By focusing on the one twin, it made it a lot easier to follow and I applaud her for this, because there was a lot of potential for this to go wrong.

Despite what I’ve said, I wouldn’t ‘not’ recommend this book. I’m not going to sit here and tell you all to go out and buy it immediately because that wouldn’t be fair. But if you are interested in the storyline and you want a book with a different writing style, then this book is for you. I’ve read some reviews that have rated this book higher purely because they loved the writing, so it definitely depends on what makes you enjoy and want to read on with a story. For me, it’s definitely the characters, but these did improve later on in the book, and I was much more invested in later chapters than in the beginning, so don’t be put off if you do pick it up but don’t like it to start with.

Rating: 2 / 5.

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Publication Date: (UK) January 14th 2016 by Orchard Books

Format: eARC from Orchard Books via Netgalley

Lucille has bigger problems than falling for her best friend’s unavailable brother. Her mom has gone, leaving her to look after her sister, Wren. With bills mounting up and appearances to keep, Lucille is raging against her life but holding it together – just.

A stunning debut to devour in one sitting, Laure captures completely the agony and ecstasy of first love.

(from goodreads.com)

The storyline was gripping and I couldn’t put it down. Definitely a one-sitting read, and I read it in an afternoon / evening because I loved it. I did have a few problems, but honestly, this book was so great (and not just because of the literary references).

Problem? It was a bit overdramatic at times, and I don’t mean the way that the character acts, as that can be a character trait. Some of the events were over the top and I felt like perhaps they could have been dealt with / described in a slightly more realistic way. Although I did love the sequence of events and definitely didn’t see some things coming.

Lucille was a great character, although she did get on my nerves at times with her moaning. However she wasn’t a passive character who let others do things for her, she was determined, got up and did what she had to do, and I love reading about strong characters who can look after themselves (and their little sister) despite their struggles.

I nearly cried towards the end – tears were definitely in my eyes – because Lucille has such a rotten time of it but I adored how Laure showed the compassionate side to humanity too. It pulled at my heartstrings and was so lovely. With so much heartache and negativity that Lucille has faced, it was wonderful to see how others could help her – something that features strongly throughout the book because of her fantastic best friend, but especially later on in the story.

It was slow off the mark, I found, but as the book progressed the story got more interesting and more events happened which obviously grabbed my interest, seeing as I finished it so quickly. The final line though, I was not expecting. But at least the thing that always seems to happen in YA didn’t happen (sort of spoiler: death). That just made it so much better because although so much is left unsaid at the end of this book (sequel?) I liked that it avoided taking the easy route. *Cheers*

Wren, she was so adorable and her feisty attitude had me giggling as she is only a little kid. The way that Laure presented the relationship between the sisters was beautiful and though I have no siblings myself, I could understand and feel Lucille’s emotions and determination to care for Wren.

I really liked this book and it deals with loss and grief and overcoming difficulties very well, in my opinion. I can see it becoming extremely popular. I did like Laure’s writing style, although I found she could be overdramatic at times, but it wasn’t too much that it was annoying, and it was only really noticeable at one point whilst I was reading. Other points were only after I looked back and gave it some thought.

So yes, a worthy read with great characters and a cute romance. (The romance I don’t feel was the main aspect of this book, hence why I haven’t really mentioned it – but it was cute). I feel like this would be a good summer read, or just a great, short book if you don’t want to get into a massive heavy book with school or work etc.

Rating: 4 / 5 stars.

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary.

Publication Date: January 5th 2016 by St. Martin’s Griffin

Format: eARC from St. Martin’s Griffin via Netgalley

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself.

Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.

When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process.

(from goodreads.com) 

This is a fantastically written book with a unique and powerful storyline and although I didn’t like the main character that much (I still haven’t made my mind up whether I like her or not) I loved this book.

I’ll start with Mercedes, it seems right, seeing as I can’t make my mind up about her. At some points during the story I really felt sympathy for her, and I quite liked her character. Yet at other points she came across as a complete bitch who thinks she’s better than everyone else. Hence, I couldn’t make my mind up about her. I feel as though I liked her more than I disliked her though.

I loved the storyline to this book, it was so unique and original and I couldn’t stop reading. It was fast-paced, which I wasn’t expecting it to be for some reason, but it kept me hooked. Also, so much more happened than what I was anticipating from the synopsis and honestly I didn’t see what happened about halfway through coming at all. It was a complete surprise.

Another thing, I adored the side characters. Faye, Zach and Angela were all so unique and lovely and I’d happily have a group of friends like them. They were all so different from one another and they worked. Flynn didn’t try to make them a certain way to fit with what’s expected of YA, she made the characters into unique (fictional) beings and I greatly appreciated this. (As I said in a previous post, there will be a post coming up soon about standard characters in YA). All of the characters were so normal too, they were real, and I think good side characters are a sign of a good writer. (I say this because I normally don’t enjoy books where I don’t really like the main character, and I enjoyed this one immensely).

The change in Mercedes was really interesting as the novel progressed. She starts off, in my opinion, as arrogant (though arguably this is a facade), but her personality changes as events unfold and by the end she had morphed into a decent human being. This change wasn’t spontaneous or unrealistic, it made sense in the context of the story and it was clear how the events could and did change her. Everything just worked, and had obviously been well planned.

If you want a cute and unique romance then I would definitely recommend this book. I liked that it wasn’t solely focused on the romantic side and that it focused on the psychological impacts certain events can have, but not in a way that makes it tedious. This was definitely a lot more fun, even when everything seemed to be going wrong. I love contemporaries, and this one is no different and yet it is, because it’s unlike any other contemporary I’ve read, as I haven’t seen another plot like it.

It was fresh, new and made me laugh. I detracted a star because I couldn’t make my mind up about Mercedes; she really was a bitch at times. But overall I was very impressed with this book and I loved the writing. If Laurie Elizabeth Flynn writes anything else, I’ll be picking it up straight away.

Rating: 4 / 5 stars.