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| Disclaimer: This blog post feature items that been gifted to me, and these will be marked with an asterisk (*) Thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for the copies. |
We Are Family by Nicola Gill (*)
Rated: 2/5 🌟
This is a story of two sisters in the aftermath of their mother’s death, but it is not your typical tale of grief and suffering. Jess is the overachiever whilst Laura seems to have always lived in her shadow. The pair are polar opposites and continuously bicker (sounds like me and my sister). I liked the flashback elements that provided context to the siblings' personalities and the relationship they share with one another. It was also interesting to see how grief affects them both with refreshing honesty from Laura’s point of view. I found myself relating to her more of the two as a fellow journalist but I found neither particularly likeable until the end, and also I found the “twist” and the issues in the story were predictable and resolved far too quickly for my liking.
It is an enjoyable story, especially as you witness Laura’s growth from allowing herself to be walked over to setting healthy boundaries and limits. Despite this, I wasn’t overly invested in the characters and felt as if specific characters were overly sold as “you’re meant to dislike them” rather than subtly implying it or allowing you to form your own judgement.
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Rated: 5/5 🌟
Two college students - Frances and Bobbi - form an unlikely bond with a married couple - Melissa and Nick, and Conversations with Friends details this unexpected connection that ventures from casual acquaintances to an unexpected intimacy where their lives all begin to overlap. There is a vulnerability and a rawness to the way the unprecedented relationship is handled and I found myself unable to put the book down.
The writing isn't excessively embellished, there's no real bells and whistles - this book is not revolutionary - there’s no big major plot points or notes of excitement, or drama and suspense-filled but still I was eagerly reading and devouring each moment. Just like with Normal People, Rooney writes in a way that’s captivating and addictive. I can’t say I particularly warmed to the characters of Frances, Bobbi, Melissa or Nick but I was invested in them and wanted to find out how everything would play out, I was eager and invested, which I think is better than being fond of them.
I loved that the conversations and the people were a little screwed up and a little unconventional and that no one is perfect or the ideal, it was a just a few fucked up people making bad choices and it was a complex, and an excellent read. I truly believe Sally Rooney is a force to be reckoned with because her work is unlike anything else I've consumed before but wholly addictive, mesmerising and succinct.
The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne
Rated: 3/5 🌟
The story revolves around Angus and Sarah, who had the perfect marriage and a perfect family with blonde identical twin daughters, Lydia and Kirstie. The story starts with the family being no-longer perfect, as Lydia died after falling off a balcony in a tragic accident. However, Kirstie begins to make Sarah and Angus doubt things especially when she says things like 'why do you keep saying we’re dead when we’re not we’re not we’re not' and 'Why do you keep calling me Kirstie, Mummy? Kirstie is dead. It was Kirstie that died. I’m Lydia’.
Flitting between Gus and Sarah’s perspective was intriguing and allowed you to unravel the story bit by bit and contemplate a he-said-she-said scenario which I love in Gone Girl. A tension fraught tale of mistaken twin identity and a family ripped apart by the grief of one twin dying had all the key parts of an excellent story but I did find the ending a tad predictable. It was difficult to immerse yourself fully into the story and it wasn't as haunting or as creepy as others had it made it out to be.
I read this book following the hype I’d seen about it and so desperately wanted to love it. It was an enjoyable read and one I got through in a few days but I would’ve loved there to be a bigger twist for the ending.
The Love Square by Laura Jane Williams (*)
Rated: 5/5 🌟
After the success of her 2019 summer rom-com ‘Our Stop’, Laura Jane Williams is back again with “The Love Square”. Her previous book, which I devoured last summer, gave me unlikely expectations of meeting the love of my life on the tube (still sad it hasn’t happened yet) and I was so glad that this book follows in its footsteps - smart, sincere and special. Though it does give me hope that I could be like Penny who was single for five years and then within the space of six months has three romantic relations to choose from.
Penny Bridge is unlucky in love, and like us all has had a series of dates and flings that never really end in the all-encompassing full true love forever and ever experience. The story begins with her saying goodbye to Francesco, a hot Italian chef, and then works backwards in the timeline to fill in the blanks before moving forward to introduce the other men in her love square - that’s right, a square - don’t you know that love triangles are so last season? So you have Francisco - hot Italian chef - as bachelor number one, Thomas who is the tour manager for Lizzo with a strict “no monogamy” rule as bachelor number two and Priyesh, wine merchant and sexual deviant as number three. The tag line doesn’t lie, four involved in love is complicated. All the men have different qualities - self-respect, curiosity, humour, emotional depth - so you can see why Penny struggles to choose between them.
Don’t be put off by a rom-com label though as this has a lot more depth and poignancy than you might anticipate. There’s real honesty and tenderness and authenticity to the relationships we see between everyone. As Laura sums up in her acknowledgement, this is a story about love, but it’s also a story about humanness. Humorous, romantic and with moments of sadness, a perfect light-hearted summer read. The subject of infertility and being a cancer survivor is handled delicately and with tact, and the side effects experienced and the options available to women in Penny’s position are discussed and treated with the respect they deserve.
I loved that it was inclusive - with long term LGBTQ+ relationships and a non-binary character - and also those friendships were explored in addition to romantic relations. There’s a real sense of inclusivity in the characters that make up the ensemble without feeling forced or at any time “token”. I adored the humorous aspects - one line talked about getting a fringe cut after romantic devastation because that’s a hard relate for me after my breakup last summer.
To summarise, on the surface, this is a story about love and connections. At its core, it’s a story of forming a healthy relationship with yourself before others. It’s about owning your power to construct your own life whether that’s thriving in business, stepping up for your family, and making decisions that will make you happy.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Rated: 5/5 🌟
This still remains one of my favourite books and for good reason. Set in Missouri, Gone Girl centres around the fifth wedding anniversary of Nick and Amy, and their yearly tradition of an anniversary treasure hunt. The clues are laid, the locations set but Amy goes missing.
The story is told in a dual narrative, one of the features I love the most actually, wherein the investigation and Amy’s diary entries are interwoven to give you a he-said-she-said cat and mouse dynamic. You begin to doubt Nick’s versions of events as they’re so different to Amy’s, and are also given insight into Nick's psyche including bizarre descriptions of the slope of Amy's head shape. The story instantly has you viewing Nick as an unreliable narrator and from there, your scepticism of him continues to grow as Flynn cleverly constructs his character as the husband acting weird when his wife disappears.
Fiercely doting parents, a surprise uncovering from the past plus those all-important treasure hunt clues lead you down a path of intrigue and despite knowing the twist as I’ve read it several times, I still am partially shocked every time it happens. Look out for the 'Cool Girl' speech, which is still so bloody fantastic relevant - I really love how it is delivered in its film counterpart too. Yes I know it's hyped but it's for good reason.
