Book Review - Life of Pi

Life of Pi by Yann Martell

Released September 2001

Ebook 464 pages

Publisher Canongate Books

Rating 5 out of 5

Source Purchased

Summary…

One boy, one boat, one tiger ...After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years.

My thoughts…

I want to start this review by being completely honest… I saw Life of Pi the film advertised at the cinema a few months ago and didn’t really give it a second thought. I then bought a tablet computer and downloaded the Amazon Kindle app, when looking for something to read I stumbled across the ebook version for 20p and thought I would see what all the fuss was about.

Life of Pi is the story of a 16 year-old boy call Pi who becomes shipwrecked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with only a lifeboat and a Bengal Tiger called Richard Parker for company. The book was released more than 10 years ago and never has the saying ‘better late than never’ been more fitting.

Like most books, this has its good and bad points. What I loved about this book was the roller-coaster of emotions that it took me on – there is great joy and equally great sadness, you become fearful for Pi’s survival and belief that he will live, you laugh out loud on one page, but are bought to tears on the next. The writer, Yann Martel, manages to bring out every emotion possible throughout the book and by the end it leaves you emotionally drained and my head was spinning, but in a good way!

The story seemed a simple tale of a castaway waiting to be rescued, albeit not in a traditional sense. But the ending had the most unexpected twist, I was literally left both open-mouthed and scratching my head! Throughout the story I began to believe the unbelievable, thought the impossible was possible and that pure determination in ones beliefs would see Pi though anything that life could throw at him. While that is true to certain extended, Pi provides an alternative story to the authorities and I am left trying to decide which story I truly believe, or whether I want to believe any at all. To fully understand what I mean by this you’ll need to read the book for yourself, as I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you.

As for the bad points… there isn’t anything that I particularly disliked. I felt that the story did drag on a little in places, but I understand that this was intentional in order for the reader to really get a feel for the length of time that Pi was lost at sea. I also didn’t particularly enjoy the lengthy parts about religion at the beginning of the book, but again I understand that this was needed for the purpose of the story and my dislike is personal as I am not a religious person.

In summary, Life of Pi is a story that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is a story that at times is difficult to read, but the bond between Richard Parker and Pi is heart-warming and the story will leave a lasting impression on you. In my reviews I usually like to compare to another book, but in all honestly I don’t think there are any other books that could ever come close to this. A truly inspirational story that I will never forget.

Book Review - Winter Warmers

Winter Warmers by Carole Matthews

Released 26th November

Kindle 192 pages

Publisher Hachette Digital

Rating 4/5

Source Kindle Books

Summary…

Three short stories…

All I Want for Christmas is You
Christmas is around the corner but Maria just can't get into the spirit - will she ever find Mr Right? But when a secret admirer starts leaving her poems and notes, it looks as though her luck is about to change . . .

Cold Turkey
Tara is in love with a man she can't have. She expected to spend Christmas with him but when the big day arrives, she finds herself alone. Sad and upset, Tara just wants to ignore the festive season - and then a chance encounter changes everything.

About Gardening
I love my husband Sam but our relationship isn't what it used to be. Can I find a way to bring us back together?

My thoughts…

I have recently purchased a Samsung Tab and one of the first apps that I downloaded was Kindle. Having borrowed a family members to read Kismetology I feel in the love with the ease of using a tablet to carry around and read whenever and where I wanted, so as an early Christmas present to myself I got a Samsung Tab. Once it was up and running I logged into Amazon and soon starting looking at the extensive list of free books that they had to offer, with it being Christmas this was the perfect choice for my first download.

Winter Warmers is a gift from Carole Matthews with three festive short stories – All I Want for Christmas is You, Cold Turkey and About Gardening. I had never heard of Carole Matthews before reading Winter Warmers but within a few pages I instantly feel in love with her witty writing style and have already started looking at other books that I can buy for this wonderful author.

All I Want for Christmas is You, is a typical fairy-tale, chick lit story of a single girl named Maria with a crush on a gorgeous man, the man asks out her best friend, all the while a secret admirer is showing Maria with little festive gifts each day.

Cold Turkey is a story about Tara, a mistress, her married lover has promised that he will visit her this Christmas, but when she is left alone yet again ad trip to feed the ducks leads to an unlikely meeting. A warm and happy story full of magical moments.

About Gardening is a story about a married couple who’s spark had disappeared until one Christmas they  both realise that they must work together to get it back. This story is one that I think many married couples can relate to and is a story that is playing out around the world. Another beautiful and heart-warming story sowing promise in a deflated relationship.

Overall I loved each of the stories and am so excited to read more from Carole Matthews, she now has one more fan to add to, what I am sure, is a growing list. This is a great read to get you in the festive spirit. It is still available to download for free from Kindle Books see my reading list on the right and follow the links.

Book Review - Kismetology

Kismetology by Jaimie Admans

Released 14th September 2012

Kindle edition 

Self-Published

Rating 4/5

Source Sent a copy by Jaimie.

Summary…

Finding the perfect man isn't easy. Especially when it's for your mother... 

Mothers. Can't live with them, can't live without them, can't live three doors down the road without them interfering in every aspect of your life.

Mackenzie Atkinson's mother has meddled in her love life once too often and something has to be done. Mackenzie decides to turn the tables and find love for her lonely mother.  

Her lonely and very fussy mother. 

Surely finding an older gentleman looking for love won't be that hard, right?
Wrong. 
If you've ever thought that boys grow up, here's the problem: They don't. Ever.
And Mackenzie is about to learn that the hard way.

Faced with a useless boyfriend, dressed up dogs, men who wear welly boots on dates, men who shouldn't be allowed out in public, and men who make reptiles seem like attractive company - will she ever find the perfect man for her neurotic mother?

My thoughts…

Since I began blogging Jaimie has been a constant support and friend to me, so what she emailed to ask if I could review her book I was thrilled. Knowing Jaimie already, I knew she has very similar taste in books to me; therefore I knew I was getting a book that would suit me.

Kismetology has a lovely cover, and I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I saw this on a shelf I would definitely pick it up. The book fits neatly into the ‘Chick Lit’ genre and would appeal to anyone who is a fan of these types of stories. The title Kismetology didn’t mean anything to me at the beginning, I spent the first few days telling people I was reading kiss-me-tology! After reading the book I now know that it is to do with Kismet, the Arabic word for fate or destiny. Knowing this, the title suits this book to perfection.

As a reader you are taken on a journey from the view point of a 20-something who is fed up with her mother, Eleanor, interfering in her life and her house, much to the annoyance of her boyfriend Dan. Mackenzie Atkinson therefore takes it upon herself to find love for her mother so that she can get her life back. Her approach – to date the men, make sure they are suitable and then set them up on a date.

Mackenzie’s journey takes you from her being a happy nail technician who just wants her mother to watch Coronation Street at her own house, to her realising that there is more to life and that the love she thought she had for Dan isn’t what she thought it was.

Jaimie has a wonderful way or writing- she is witty, imaginative and manages to create characters that you didn’t think ever existed but at the same time making you believe that these strange men are out there somewhere.  Knowing how much Jaimie likes her “research” I could just imagine her sitting in a town hall somewhere speed dating 50-year-old men to provide material for her book.

If I was to criticise one little thing with this book, and I hope Jaimie doesn’t take offense to this because I really did enjoy the book, I would just say that in a few places I felt the story was a little repetitive. When Mackenzie was arguing with Dan, I felt that the argument went round and round with the same statements repeat – I suppose how a real argument is! Other than that I think that Kismetology is a brilliant debut novel from an author that I am very excited to see what else has in for us.

If you are a Chick Lit fan then I would definitely recommend this fantastic, easy read to you.

Short Story Review - Stephen C Spencer

I have never really given much thought to short stories, I just dismissed them as stories for people who don't have time to read proper books... Then I became a book reviewer and came across Ellie Darkins on Twitter, she posted a link to a short story that she had written and posted on her blog... from the very beginning I was hooked, everything happened to quickly and then it was over leaving my wanting more.

So I decided to explore more short stories and put a hit out on Twitter. This is where the lovely Stephen Spencer comes in.. He very kindly sent me two of his short stories to read Role Reversal and Window of Opportunity. So here is what I thought...

Window of Opportunity

Released 6th March 2012

PDF 12

Publisher Self Published

Rating 2/5

Source Sent by Stephen

My thoughts…

Window of Opportunity was the first short story that I read by Stephen, it is about Paul Mallory, a journalist who is trying to track down a Russian criminal that tried to kill him.

The story does exactly what it needs to do as a short story and that is to move at a fast pace. For me a thriller works really well as a short story as you get to move the story along so quickly, engaging the reader to read on and want more at the end of it, as well as getting to the point quickly as opposed to dragging it out.

With this being said, as much as I liked the pace in which this story moved, I felt it left out a lot of detail. This is the first book that I have read by Stephen and from the Paul Mallory series, so maybe that is why I didn’t really connect with the book because there are so many before this that would have helped me understand the characters more.

I am not saying that this is a terrible book, but I would recommend maybe readying the Paul Mallory series in order, which is what I should have done!

Role Reversal

Released 9th September 2012

PDF 11

Publisher Self Published

Rating 4/5

Source Sent by Stephen

My thoughts…

Role Reversal was the second short story that I ready by Stephen, from the cover I saw that this was also part of the Paul Mallory series so I wasn't holding out much hope for it. However I am pleased to say that this was completely different to my first experience.

The story revolves around two women who live together and work for the same man as Paul Mallory, they have been invited to mark the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic by going on a cruise of the Titanic route. Both Marie and Fliss are looking forward to the trip, but then Fliss starts to get nightmares. Not remembering what the nightmares are Marie orders her to a hypnotherapy session to get to the bottom of it, with her hunch that it is something to do the Titanic.

As someone who is extremely interested in the Titanic, I love reading, watching documentaries, films and stories about it, and Role Reversal fits in perfectly with one of my interests. For me, this story could be expanded into a novel – exploring the history on both Marie and Fliss’s families and exploring the history of the Titanic.

This isn't really a thriller, like the first, but I still found myself reading at a record speed to get to the end and find out what the outcome would be. If you are looking for something quick to read, then I would definitely recommend this.

Book Review - First, I Love You

First, I Love You by Genevieve Dewey

Released 27th September 2012

Paperback 300 pages

Publisher Smashbox

Rating 5/5

Source Sent a copy by Genevieve.

Summary…

'First, I Love You' is the first novel in the Downey Trilogy exploring the powerful bonds of family, friendship, and love. After having spent most of his life avoiding his father, Omaha Detective Tommy Gates takes an opportunity to work his first big Federal case in Chicago, the same city where his father, retired mobster Mickey Downey now lives. While battling the increasing meddling of his sister Kiki Downey and his co-workers, Tommy struggles with taking the risk of letting his father into his heart when his world-view is everything Tommy stands against. Just as he is beginning to navigate these issues of family, loyalty and trust, his personal and professional lives collide in a way that could threaten them all.

My thoughts…

The title suggests a love story to me, First, I Love You reminded me so much of Cecelia Ahern’s PS I Love You. However, reading about Genevieve’s passion for organised crime, I figured I was in for a very different kind of story in the first instalment of the Downey trilogy.

The book doesn't quite follow the rules of any specific genre – while the main theme is organised crime intertwined is a story of hatred, love and regret, which pleased me greatly. Some may say that you cannot have a story about warring Mafia families, crime and murder with stories of love thrown in, but I think in this instance it really worked.

The story is told from the viewpoint of six main characters: Tommy, Mickey, Mark, Kiki, James and Ginny. Each chapter is told from the view of a different character with each one following on from where the previous have left off. Each character is introduced at a steady pace allowing you to get to know one before another is added into the mix, instead of just throwing them all in at the beginning. For me all of this worked perfectly, as each character plays a highly important role within the story and by constantly changing the narrative, the story is allowed to move at a much faster pace.

The story is completely believable. You have Mickey, a famous gangster who has an affair which results in the birth of his first son, Tommy. Mary loves Mickey dearly but wants the complete family so she does what she believes is the only way to do this and turns to the FBI. Mickey wants nothing more than to be a part of Tommy’s life, but he must do everything possible to keep his two loves safe and that is to let them go. 20 years later and a “retired” Mickey also have Kiki and Joey to keep safe now while Tommy is a Detective working to bring down one of his father’s associates. With so much history, it is no surprise that things don’t go quite to plan.

I am a huge fan of chick lits and crime thrillers and this book brought my two loves together. On one hand you have two new loves beginning, you have an old one rekindled and you have the love between a father and a son – you then have the nitty gritty child sex ring, gangland murder and Mafia feuds.

One thing that Mary says really stuck with my throughout the whole book, “why did no one never know the answer to these things until after the milk had been spilt?” The book poses so many questions, with some being answered and the others leaving you on the biggest cliff-hanger dying to find out how it will all end.

If you are a fan of Harlan Coben that I would definitely recommend First, I Love You. Such a fantastic debut novel from Genevieve Dewey, I cannot wait to see what else she has in store for us.

You can buy the book from Amazon now. 

Book Review - Sign of the Times

Sign of the Times by Susan Buchanan

Released 16th March 2012

Paperback 373 pages

Publisher Self Published

Rating 3/5

Source Sent a copy by Susan.

Summary...

Twelve people. Twelve star signs. 

Sagittarius - Holly, a travel writer, visits Tuscany to research her next book. Seeking help when her car breaks down, she gets more than assistance when Dario, a vineyard owner, puts temptation in her path. Disappearing without explanation, he proves elusive. Bruised, Holly tries to put it behind her until a chance encounter brings her feelings to the surface again.

Capricorn – Holly’s fiancé, Tom misses her while she is in Italy and turns to an internet chat room for solace. His construction business is under threat, but could foul play be at work?

Gemini - Holly’s sister, Lucy, a serial man-eater finally meets her match, which puts her long-term relationship and career in jeopardy. Cheating she discovers, can have devastating consequences.

Libra - Holly’s uncle Jack, an eminent prosecutor, juggles a difficult teenage son with his high profile career and finds himself lacking. When his son’s school work starts slipping, he decides he needs to take control, but it’s not long before the balls all come tumbling down and Jack finds his family on the wrong side of the law.

One event binds them all…

My thoughts...

I hadn't heard of Susan Buchanan until she contacted me via Twitter asking if she could send me a copy of her book – of course I accepted! I didn't know a whole lot about the book or Susan’s history, so I just got myself stuck into the book with no expectations.

This is a hard review for me to write, I Susan a great deal for her hard work and determination – however I always promised myself that I would review all books honestly and for me this book really didn’t work.

At first, I loved the idea of this story – being told by 12 different people, with different star signs, different personalities and different outlooks on life. It was a new idea, and rather adventurous, but a really interesting idea.

However, in reality I found that there were far too many characters for the story – along with the 12 main characters; you have their family and friends which added far too many complications to it. The first chapter focused on Holly and then it was Tom, followed by Maggie, Jennifer and Ben and then you had Oscar, then Lucy and Carl, then Maria, then Antonia and Jack and finally Czeslawa.

Each of the characters fit together somehow – a bit like in Love Actually. Holly and Tom are engaged, Lucy is Holly’s sister and lives with Carl. Jennifer is friends with Holly, as well as Maggie and is girlfriend to Ben. Antonia is another friend of Holly’s and is married to Jack who is going into business with Oscar. Maria is Holly’s book launched and wedding planner and Czeslawa works for her.

Along with all of these you have various wife’s, ex-wife’s, children, brothers, sisters, husbands, mothers, fathers, neighbours, employees, friends, colleagues, a mistress, hotel owners and her children, and so many others.

Each chapter focuses on one particular character and looks at what is going on in their life at a particular moment. I really liked reading the story from each characters viewpoint and you really got to see this when Maggie and Jennifer went away from the weekend and Jennifer met Ben. You got to see how Jennifer felt for Ben and him for her, plus the outsiders perspective.

Aside from the volume of characters, another aspect of the book that really confused me was the timeline – each new character started at a different point in time and you never really knew where you were with the story. I found the narrative particular confusing when Antoina’s chapter ended with a police officer arriving at her door to discuss her son and with Jack working on a case about an illegal immigrant. Then Jack’s chapter started several months/weeks earlier with him working on a completely different case with Felix booking their family holiday. His did eventually reach the dinner party and I did find out why the police officer was there, but in getting to that it took a lot to figure out exactly where in time you were.

As for the ending, for me there were a lot of loose ends and those that had been tied up were done in a rush. Lucy’s chapter ended with her seemingly in a car accident, in the final chapter the aftermath of this was explained but I felt it was skimmed over. The same with Anotina, Jack and Felix’s situation, the fallout from the police visit was cover over a few sentences. I would have likes to have followed the characters through each of their situations as opposed to briefly touching on it. Yes, it would have made the book longer, but it would have made the story more complete.

I know I sound very negative in this review and I really don’t want to, because aside for the points above, this really is a lovely story. With a view finishing touches or even a second book, the story could be rounded off with all characters getting the ending that they deserve. I think Susan was very adventurous with this story, and maybe she didn't pull it off but, credit where it is due, she did a very good job in trying. As her debut novel, I am looking forward to seeing her develop with her forthcoming projects.

If you are a fan of the film Love Actually, this will definitely appeal to you.

eBooks vs (actual) Books

I recently found out that my parents plan to buy me a Kindle for Christmas. They know that I love reading and am slowly running out of space to store my huge collection of books so thought that this would solve the problem. At first I thought it was a brilliant idea - I wouldn't have to sit at funny angles and squint so I can read in the evenings. But, the more I think about it, the more I am going off the idea. I am currently reading an eBook that an author has sent me and have been using an iPad to read it, and as good as it is I miss the feel of paper! Sales for Kindles and other eBooks are huge, and I really feel like I am missing something! I do understand that the 'invention' of eBooks has allow so many more authors to get their material out their as it doesn't cost anything to publish your novel on Amazon. A friend of mine has spent the last year taking his book to various different publishers and didn't get anything back from them, so he has taken it upon himself to publish it himself through Amazon, and so far it is doing very well. So I thought I'd do a little poll so that I could see what you lovely people think, maybe you can change my mind :-) Leave your votes in the comment box below... Looking forward to seeing what you all think!