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amybibliophile's reviews
273 reviews
Last Train to Istanbul by Ayşe Kulin
4.0
I’ve really enjoyed this book, it’s unlike anything I usually read as any kind of war-time stories usually aren’t my cup of tea. However I found myself captivated with Selva and Sabiha’s lives.
Having lived in Turkey myself for 3 years, it was easier for me to understand the Turkish phrases and the way they do things.
Would definitely recommend a read and glad I found this on my kindle!
Having lived in Turkey myself for 3 years, it was easier for me to understand the Turkish phrases and the way they do things.
Would definitely recommend a read and glad I found this on my kindle!
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
3.0
It only took me 3 days to finish this book and although it was a quick read for me, there was certain parts that were annoying and for that reason it struggled to keep my attention.
There was a lot of focus on Audrey Rose being a female in a male dominated world, and kept repeating itself on what she should be doing to follow in her Aunts footsteps to act in a proper ladylike way. I understand in that day and age it was very important to fit in with society and their ideals, but felt there was too big an emphasis on this.
What I did enjoy about the book was Thomas Cresswell! In fact the story has me thinking right up until the last 1/4 that he was going to be the Ripper. I’m glad he was not as I loved the budding relationship between Audrey and himself.
The author also did great research to keep the story as close to the truth as possible, keeping dates/names the same. Another favourite part of mine was the photographs of places and letter from the ‘real-life’ Ripper as thought that was a real interesting touch!
Overall I’m glad I read it and will still go on to read the next, I think I just got a little bored for the first half, hence the 3 stars.
There was a lot of focus on Audrey Rose being a female in a male dominated world, and kept repeating itself on what she should be doing to follow in her Aunts footsteps to act in a proper ladylike way. I understand in that day and age it was very important to fit in with society and their ideals, but felt there was too big an emphasis on this.
What I did enjoy about the book was Thomas Cresswell! In fact the story has me thinking right up until the last 1/4 that he was going to be the Ripper. I’m glad he was not as I loved the budding relationship between Audrey and himself.
The author also did great research to keep the story as close to the truth as possible, keeping dates/names the same. Another favourite part of mine was the photographs of places and letter from the ‘real-life’ Ripper as thought that was a real interesting touch!
Overall I’m glad I read it and will still go on to read the next, I think I just got a little bored for the first half, hence the 3 stars.
The Lonely Hearts Bar by Konni Granma
3.0
I was send this as a PDF for review.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this story!
I decided to rate it 3 stars for these reasons:
Connie is the main character and I thought for a young student she really had her head screwed on and made good decisions. But I’d have loved to know more about her appearance and personality.
Connie is on her way to Los Angeles to start a film directing course and along the way her car breaks down so she finds herself staying at a very uncomfortable bar over night where she meets a good-looking but emotionally broken guy called David. David is an alcoholic that’s had a hard past life finding himself in care, on the streets and then in the bar where he meets Connie.
The overall story was really enjoyable, the chemistry between David, Lee and Connie was always full of humour and friendship. But my favourite character of all was Mr BB, Connie’s course tutor. His character made me laugh and then towards the end cry... He’s such a lovely, heart-warming character, plagued a little by his choices in the past.
The novel has a few problems, that I feel needs to be addressed:
The grammar is quite bad. Conversations change between people without and warning, making it hard to know who Connie is speaking to.
The story sometimes goes off in a different direction than the previous paragraph, meaning I had to re-read a couple of times to see if I’d missed something.
If the grammar and paragraphing was better then I’d definitely say this would be a 4 Star book!
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this story!
I decided to rate it 3 stars for these reasons:
Connie is the main character and I thought for a young student she really had her head screwed on and made good decisions. But I’d have loved to know more about her appearance and personality.
Connie is on her way to Los Angeles to start a film directing course and along the way her car breaks down so she finds herself staying at a very uncomfortable bar over night where she meets a good-looking but emotionally broken guy called David. David is an alcoholic that’s had a hard past life finding himself in care, on the streets and then in the bar where he meets Connie.
The overall story was really enjoyable, the chemistry between David, Lee and Connie was always full of humour and friendship. But my favourite character of all was Mr BB, Connie’s course tutor. His character made me laugh and then towards the end cry... He’s such a lovely, heart-warming character, plagued a little by his choices in the past.
The novel has a few problems, that I feel needs to be addressed:
The grammar is quite bad. Conversations change between people without and warning, making it hard to know who Connie is speaking to.
The story sometimes goes off in a different direction than the previous paragraph, meaning I had to re-read a couple of times to see if I’d missed something.
If the grammar and paragraphing was better then I’d definitely say this would be a 4 Star book!
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
5.0
Okay this book may be the sweetest thing I’ve ever read.
I just love that books that make you exclaim out loud when your reading them, and this one had me doing that the whole way through. Yeah... those are the best sort of books.
Once again, I’m like the last person on the planet to read this book so I’m not going to go into the plot too much as you all probably already know.
I loved the way in which the book was written to include Blue’s and Jacque’s emails every other chapter of the book, and I loved the flirting and the way every last email from each character left you squealing to know what the reply was. I loved the anonymity kept by Blue, as I’m sure we were all there racing through those pages to gain some kind of inclination to his identity. (I also nearly put the book down when I thought there may be a possibility it could be Martin).
Simon has such a good group of friends and family around him for support, this made the ‘Coming Out’ a lot easier of a transition for him and I was so happy when everybody was soo supportive.
I won’t lie that I even tested up abit once I found out who Blue was. They are just more than perfect for each other, and the only negative thing I have to say about the book is that it had an end!
Simon & ‘Blue’ - you cuties!!!!
I just love that books that make you exclaim out loud when your reading them, and this one had me doing that the whole way through. Yeah... those are the best sort of books.
Once again, I’m like the last person on the planet to read this book so I’m not going to go into the plot too much as you all probably already know.
I loved the way in which the book was written to include Blue’s and Jacque’s emails every other chapter of the book, and I loved the flirting and the way every last email from each character left you squealing to know what the reply was. I loved the anonymity kept by Blue, as I’m sure we were all there racing through those pages to gain some kind of inclination to his identity. (I also nearly put the book down when I thought there may be a possibility it could be Martin).
Simon has such a good group of friends and family around him for support, this made the ‘Coming Out’ a lot easier of a transition for him and I was so happy when everybody was soo supportive.
I won’t lie that I even tested up abit once I found out who Blue was. They are just more than perfect for each other, and the only negative thing I have to say about the book is that it had an end!
Simon & ‘Blue’ - you cuties!!!!