orchid-kisses

Hi everyone! Welcome to March, the year seems to go by.... can you believe it's been in a year since we went into our first lockdown?

Following on from last month, my summary of February reads will be much the same - 5 books you can read currently, and 5 you can read in due course, so without further ado here's 5 books I loved in February

Following on from my previous post, in this one I'll round up 5 lovely advanced reader copies that I read in January that you can keep your eyes out for later this year!

Hello hello! This one is a little later from me than usual as it's been a little busy on the ol'working and reviewing front but without further ado, I thought I'd review some of the books I read in January. Throughout the month I managed to review whopping TWENTY-TWO books.... yup I'm in disbelief too!

In January I also finally bit the bullet and started Bookstagram so I've been posting and sharing mini-reviews and book thoughts, you can find my page here and see my January round-up here

I thought since I read so many, I'd split this months post into two, sharing five reviews of books that are out now in this post, and then a second post (which I'll link here when it's live) which features five exciting review copies for books out later this year!

So without further ado, here are my reviews of some out now that you can sink your teeth into;

Hello! 

Today I'm back with the final instalment of Book Chats for 2020. I initially set my Goodreads target for the year at 50 books which I thought was a great starting figure. I didn't factor in a global pandemic and working from home so I exceeded my expectations by reading 102 books last year, a feat I'm incredibly proud of.  For 2021, I've set that same 50 book target to get me going, and we'll see how this year goes!

If you do enjoy these reviews, I've just set up a Bookstagram where I'm posting mini-reviews (longer ones will still feature here and on Goodreads) and things on my to-read list. Without further ado, here's my December reads

The Betrayals can be summed up as captivating and magical. The novel centres around an abstract concept of the grand jeu - an ancient game and mysterious concept encompassing elements like music, performance, religion, language and history. I loved that its meaning is never explicitly told to you, so this ambiguity allows you as the reader to imagine, interpret and be metaphorical in your approach to what it actually is.

We flit from the perspective of The Rat, Magister Ludi (Claire, the only female professor in what is a male-dominated field), present-day Léo Martin (a disgraced politician sent to Montverre as a form of exile) and finally Léo's diary from when he was a student there. There is an excellent balance and unfolding of the plot from these alternative perspectives, and the language itself is so beautifully descriptive and enchanting you almost feel like you're there. Whilst set at Montverre, an exclusive academy and male-only educational institute, the predominant focus is not the students but rather the teachers that work there. The intricacies of characters' relationships are woven together in ways you might not see coming (view spoiler). The novel really challenges the ideas of trust, ego, love, patience and character depth and it allows a great exploration of the human psyche that ruminates in my mind long after the final pages.

There is a fantastical and atmospheric approach, with the history of the characters being elusive until the latter stages of the book. There's a darker look at purity laws, autocratic rule and gender roles which add a sense of imminent danger to secondary characters like the students in Claire's classes. There is also a deep look into the theme of mental health with threads on grief, bullying and suicide amongst others, and they were handled crucially and delicately in ways that made my heart ache.

Ultimately this is a book of mystery, with a sub-arc looking at elitism and the suffering of a society that isn't wealthy, Catholics or men. The fantastical elements really reminded me of Carry On and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in that it's introducing a newer concept, but if you enjoy both of those series you'll be enchanted by this one. 

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge sucker for a Sophie Kinsella story, especially a Becky Brandon née Bloomwood story. After receiving this book last Christmas from my lovely Grandma, I wanted to wait for the beginning of the festive season to read it and boy let me tell you, it was WORTH THE WAIT! Just like sinking into a hot bath when you're cold, or reaching out to a friend you've not spoken to in ages yet it's just the same as ever, there's a sense of familiarity and warmth and comfort that comes with a Shopaholic book for me. Even though I haven't read the other instalments of the Shopaholic series this year, I picked up this one with no issue and was sucked back into Becky's story and life quite easily.

The ninth instalment of the Shopaholic series was warm, entertaining and light-hearted fun. In typical Becky Bloomwood style, there are unbelievable antics to amuse you especially as she attempts to host Christmas for her family and friends. From thirty pounds of salmon to a llama bauble, an escapee hamster, a pet-shop lock-in and a coveted Christmas present for her husband Luke, there is never a dull moment in Becky's life. I really didn't realise how much I needed Becky's attitude towards shopping and excess to be used within a festive setting, after all why buy one Christmas tree when you can have five? When she's tasked with hosting family Christmas, it throws her into a bit of a frenzy but she's determined to make the best of the situation and makes lots of lists and tries to appeal to everyone's requests, but with her husband Luke's help she realises 'the things that the Grinch can steal isn't what makes Christmas'.

The ending was a tad predictable but enjoyable nonetheless, and the rest of the novel was a rollercoaster of hilarious and heartfelt moments that not even a sabotaging 'multiplayer sex' and hot-tub loving businesswoman could ruin. This is as brilliant as ever and is an absolute delight to read in the run-up to Christmas.

In 2021, I never thought I'd be posting a theatre review after numerous cancellations, closed venues and the struggling art industry, but alas a rat has saved the day!

Though I'm not a TikTok user, it was hard not to hear about the hundreds of videos being made asking for Disney Pixar's Ratatouille to become a musical. As both a Disney lover and a HUGE musical theatre fan, I spent evenings trawling Twitter and TikTok desktop for content and relished in the talent and videos made by people across the globe. There was everything from dance numbers in the kitchen, to split-screen duets, an incredible cover image and set-design ideas. 

For New Year's Day, these Tik-Tok videos helped shape the Ratatouille musical - an hour-long spectacle, narrated by Remy - Tituss Burgess in a fantastic grey turtleneck - and some great Zoom style backgrounds. Featuring 10 musical numbers and a cast including Broadway stars, the production aimed to raise money for The Actors Fund, a US actors charity, to offer beneficial support during a time when the art and theatre scene has been brought to a standstill by the pandemic. 

Anyone who's familiar with the 2007 movie will not be disappointed. Many elements remain the same including the sleeping old lady, a host of rat extras and Gusteau's famous 'anyone can cook' motto. There's even sizzling chemistry between Linguini and Colette, hilarious arm-yanking moments when Remy teaches Linguini to cook, and a look into the relationship between Remy, his dad and brother Emile. 

There's some fantastic choreography cloned across the screen to replicate a stage ensemble (thank you Tiktok filter), some great homemade costumes, and a chilling sequence from reviewer Anton Ego brought to life by André De Shields. Colette is given a seductive yet powerful demeanour by Ashley Park, who'd recently been in Netflix's Emily In Paris  and Andrew Barth Feldman (recently in Dear Evan Hansen) makes a fantastic awkward yet charming Linguini. Through creative editing and inventive framing, it's easy to imagine the characters interacting with one another as if they were occupying one stage together.  There are even kickline dance numbers for crying out loud, and if this doesn't get nominated for an award I'll SUE. 

The most surreal moment for me came at the beginning of the show when I heard 'Remy, the ratatouille, the rat of all my dreams' being played by a full orchestra. The short snappy tune was coined by Emily Jacobsen back in August, before Daniel Mertzlufft created a full orchestra version, which then spanned thousands of other Tiktok users to come up with ideas for the show. I'd listened to the Tiktok mini version of this song across months and laughed at the incredulity of the words and the fact that even though it didn't quite make sense, it was still catchy.

I couldn't post this review without raving about Emile's -played by Adam Lambert -number “Rat’s Way of Life”, written by 17-year-old Tiktok user Blake Rouse, who also writes a great Tango-style duet between Colette and Linguini. Lambert - decked in eyeliner, naturally - brings a real showy punch and rockstar glam punch to a song about rats. I can't believe I just said that either.... 

Whilst it does not yet have the finesse of a full-scale production, the narration from Remy that leads one song to another, is a creative touch.  In a year that has meant physical isolation and digital communication as the norm, there certainly aren't too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to connecting and creating something as teeth-achingly sincere and silly as this.  

For more information, view the Ratatouille playbill. At the time of posting this, the musical is still available on Todaytix here but alternatively there are versions appearing on Youtube. 

This month I read less (again) because due to the lockdown across England, I spent a lot of my free time hanging out one-on-one outdoors with my pals or putting up some festive decor in my room to fill the month with a little more joy! In spite of this, I still read some enjoyable books this month so without further ado, here's my November reads!

A too-good-to-be-true handsome, successful, charitable, charming and intelligent man called Ryan, charms Abbey - the daughter of Ed and Claire. He is everything parents would want for their daughter, and Abbey is clearly besotted with her doting thoughtful boyfriend. She introduces him to her parents, and lo and behold, the pair are getting married. However, Ed - an over-protective father - thinks there's something suspicious about this catch of a man (anything that appears too-good-to-be-true usually is) and decides to investigate and find out if Ryan is who he says he is.

The story was far from predictable, with constant intrigue and mystery built well with the contrasting perspective chapters. I really appreciated how both Ed and Ryan were both somewhat presented as unreliable narrators and were capable of withholding information from Abbey and us as the reader, I just hadn't considered to what extent. The obsession Ed has with protecting his daughter builds slowly during the first half of the book, and the looming wedding date really amps up the stakes to make this feel charged and to up the stakes and build tension and pressure. I particularly like how Ed's unease around Ryan is so strong that it turns into an unhealthy obsession in only a few pages and that we are able to follow the clues laid before the characters for the ultimate climax and discovery of the truth.

Much like T.M Logan's other book The Holiday this thriller perfectly captures a family dynamic with an underlying sinister element, and the group dynamic helps keep you guessing on what will happen next. I often found myself reading just one more chapter as I was desperate to find out what happens next during the latter half of the book, though I did initially find it a struggle to get into the story (though this might be due to the whole pandemic thing too.....). The initial chapters with Ed, whilst great, are a little long-winded and the contents could have been shortened, or a discovery escalated to make it pack the same punch as the latter two-thirds of the story.

It was a relatively realistic scenario, a father who doesn’t approve of his daughter’s choice of partner isn’t that hard to imagine really, but the effects of the circumstances and scenarios the characters find themselves is incredibly well executed. It's easy to imagine what you would do in the scenario and whether it would escalate to the same levels as in this story. I really admire the author's insight into the human psyche and his exploration of how far we'd go to protect the ones we love.

In a Desperate Housewives style community, at a neighbours' Halloween party, Erica is found dead at the bottom of the treehouse. Police investigated but it was deemed an accidental death or was it? A year later, a community group post says her death wasn't accidental and that her friends are under investigation, and their role in her death will be revealed in weekly podcasts. The exclusive gated community made me feel a tad disconnected from the group but it lends itself well to a six-person suspect pool dubbed “The Severn Oaks Six”. It's basically a modern-day whodunnit.

The story follows Jess, a young girl about to embark on her new life at university, and who has a whole host of personal and academic ambitions, including escaping her hometown of Norfolk. At university, she bands together with Georgie, Nick and Alec and idolises Professor Clay, who's received literary praise for her book (also called The Truants). There is an interesting exploration into the professor's blurring of the classroom boundary into personal relations, and not only does she become Jess' mentor and friend but the lives of the two are intermingled more than they anticipate. The accompanying cast of characters all have unusual 'quirks' as you can anticipate from a coming-of-age novel, and much like John Green's pieces they seem to be picked at random. My favourite in this one was that Alec, the South-African journalist student, drives a hearse (you quite frankly couldn't make this up).

In The Truants there is a great build-up of mystery and allusiveness around the group of students and Lorna Clay (their professor) but following this, it all feels a little flat. The plot lacked the suspense and drama I was expecting and instead felt a little underwhelming. There are many laboured attempts at moral ambiguity or providing depth which don't come to fruition, and the campus setting makes everything feel a little lacklustre. The mystery and intrigue you associate with the characters at the beginning is actually just a lack of characterisation and they are just shallow and not developed enough.

What redeems this story is those initial few chapters which are fascinating and gripping, but also the discussion of Agatha Christie and her texts throughout. The themes of Christie's novels and personal life are an engaging technique used by the author and is really a saving grace. Considering the comments on the blurb and the marketing I had seen for this story, I was a little disappointed in it as a whole, and the ending felt unresolved.