Review: The Greatest Gift

The Greatest Gift by Rachael Johns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So chick-lit is really not my genre of choice, but this heartwarming novel blew me away!

The novel is a detailed journey, so begins with the romance between Claire and Jasper while alternating between Harper's first inclination to donate eggs in the present. It's a clever opening that creates immediate investment in the main characters and even though you know what's coming, it's enjoyable to read.

Claire and Jasper are an adorable couple, and I became rather attached to them and their heartbreaking journey. Harper was a strong independent woman who probably mentioned that fact one too many times but was well-balanced by her blossoming maternal instinct. Samuel was a jerk, but then he was nice, but then he was a jerk ... honestly, the guy gave me whiplash with his mood swings.

I can't go into too much detail without spoilers so let me just say this is so much bigger than the ethics of 'test tube' babies. This story really tugged at my cold, crime-fiction-loving heart and kept me hooked the entire time. I was genuinely surprised by how much this book messed with my emotions!

A captivating, thoughtful story of an incredibly real journey. Highly recommend.

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Review: All the Birds, Singing

All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The down side to reading literary fiction is that I almost always finish the book wondering what the heck the ending is supposed to mean. It's like there's an unwritten rule that, in order for a book to be considered literary fiction, it must have as confusing an ending as possible. It must contain no trace of a conclusion, and must be fraught with symbolism that only the cleverest of readers will understand, after a lengthy consideration.

So basically, the ending sucked.

Otherwise, I kind of enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting.

It's a bit of a bland setting - lone woman and her dog on an isolated sheep farm - but the alternating chapters that tell her past backwards make things plenty interesting. Took me a little to get used to the format but once I had I found I rather enjoyed it. It's a slow unravelling of a subtle mystery, contrasted with the unspooling of the present mystery. Clever.

The language is obviously what made this book a prize-winner, as it creates a very real, tangible story. I'm not one for flowery descriptions but this never felt like overkill. It was balanced with just enough story progression to keep the pace steady.

Now, about that ending.

(view spoiler)[Honestly, I have no clue what happened. I mean, obviously the mystery of her scars is solved - she was a sh*t of a kid, and was punished for it - but I'm not sure what the point of it was? Am I supposed to be mad that I've felt sympathy for this woman the whole way through just to discover that she's a proper psycho?
Also, what's the go with whatever was eating the sheep? I HATE that it wasn't resolved. Her and Lloyd holding hands, YIPPEE, she made a friend, good on her, but what about the monster thing? I DON'T UNDERSTAND. Even as a symbol, I have no clue what it means. What was the point? (hide spoiler)]

So in conclusion, a brilliantly written book, nice and short, lyrical, and descriptive, but still with a little mystery to keep you turning pages eagerly. So much symbolism though, so have fun wrapping your head around it because I can honestly say it was too much for my tiny brain.

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Review: The Woman in the Window

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly this is so ridiculously similar to The Girl on the Train but that doesn't stop it from being one heck of a story.

Anna is confined to her house by agoraphobia, so spends her days drinking, overdosing on meds and spying on her neighbours. Then one night she witnesses something in the new neighbours' house and things will never be the same ...

The 'something' Anna witnesses doesn't happen until a good 150-odd pages in, so it seems slow to take off, but once you get there the book becomes hard to put down. A lot of it is predictable if you're familiar with the thriller genre, but it's still a lot of fun to read. Told by Anna, there's plenty of second guessing - how much is real and how much is a side effect of her drug and alcohol abuse? Can we trust her word?

It does get a little frustrating at times with seemingly incompetent cops unwilling to do their jobs thoroughly - I personally believe even crazy ladies deserve the benefit of the doubt - but so much of this book is driven by 'what if?' that it adds to the story.

Some interesting characters but, again, nothing particularly new. There's the unreliable protagonist, the (good-looking) handyman tenant, the good cop and bad cop, the crazy neighbour whom only the unreliable protagonist realises is crazy, the innocent kid caught in the middle ... although I was a bit confused by the way Ethan was written. He was portrayed as a child - ten, twelve - early teens at most - but we're supposed to believe he's seventeen. I had a hard time buying it.

The pace really picks up in the second half of the novel, and it'll have you wishing you paid more attention to begin with. It's addictive, even if you suspect the outcome, because with an unreliable protagonist, all bets are off. I had a hard time putting it down for that last 200 pages.

The writing is sparse, and you're left to fill in a lot of the blanks yourself. I found the style confusing at times but by the second half of the novel I was too far into the story to care. It's a clever style, in that it uses story progression to describe scenes, but at times there wasn't enough information to properly build the picture, which could be quite frustrating.

Overall, a racing thriller that will likely race right up the charts upon its release early next year. Despite its familiarity, this is a well-written thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final pages.

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Review: The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read 10/17:

Well folks, I now mourn the loss of Roland's journey to The Dark Tower for the third time.

This series in no way diminishes over time or with multiple reads. Everything is so real and vibrant, and there's so much detail that you're bound to remember different things through each read. I'd forgotten so much of this one that there was still a lot of anticipation for things to come. Almost the entire first half of the book had been relegated, in my mind, to the previous book. (view spoiler)[(Thus, I thought my bereavement was drawn out across two books - I can't decide if I'm glad or not that it was only one). (hide spoiler)]

We begin immediately where Song of Susannah left off, and jump straight into action. There is so much diversity in storytelling throughout this mammoth book that it's almost a whole series on its own. We jump around all over the place and, knowing this is the final chapter, suddenly all bets are off. It adds a whole new thrill.

Okay. Here we go. (view spoiler)[ Losing Callahan was sad but I was okay with it - he hadn't been around all that long anyway and he wasn't getting any younger! But damn, losing Eddie that way ... you know how sometimes books make you feel strong emotions where you get all choked up in the throat, your face goes warm, your lip quivers a little as you press them together in a tight line and your eyes start to sting? NOT EVEN CLOSE. I generally do not cry but even knowing what was coming, I once again BAWLED LIKE A BABY for Eddie. Gushing torrents of tears. And Jake, my fave, so soon after! My heart was ripped out and shredded and tossed onto a garbage heap, and then Garbage Man comes along and the scraps of heart get squeezed until there's nothing left. And then of course Oy goes and sits by his grave all devastated and I'M DONE. I had to give myself time to recover. AGAIN.

I knew Susannah was the next to go, but I'd forgotten how. Now I can see why - her departure was such an anti-climax in comparison! But hey, Sai King would hate to let you think a piece of your heart escaped intact so let's just SKEWER OY LIKE A SHISH-KA-BOB.

I felt so much pain reading the deaths of these characters. You really come to love them after 6 books (or 7, in Jake's case) so the loss is quite physical. I don't even cry in movies but this series works its way into my cold heart every damn time. I love and hate it at the same time for that. (hide spoiler)]

That being said, the period of travel towards the end, (view spoiler)[after Roland and Susannah are reunited (hide spoiler)] does get a little dull at times. I mean, some seriously freaky sh*t goes down thanks to Mordred (view spoiler)[the Evil Spider-Child of All Nightmares (hide spoiler)]but then it's back to more trekking and details about snow and stuff. Ehhhhhh just get to the damn tower already please!

Honestly this is just such a complex story and woven with so many different threads - to me it is easily King's best work. This is quite simply a tour de force and easily one of the best series I've ever read in my life.

Now about that ending.

(view spoiler)[It's another love/hate thing for me. Because I hate the idea that Roland is doomed to repeat his whole sordid adventure over and over for all eternity (not to mention re-live the loss of his friends) but I also found it to just be ... fitting. I remember being angry the first time I read it - the whole, 'WTF?!' rage breaking out, but it's just because I really felt for the guy. But I also like the idea of redemption, and that maybe this time around things will be different. If King wrote this entire series again with a just few variations I would probably still read it. The journey to the Dark Tower is ongoing. (hide spoiler)]

Such an incredible highlight of my lifetime of reading, and King at his most impressive. A worthy conclusion to one of the most epic series ever written.

***
Original (delayed) review:

This was an epic conclusion to possibly the best series I've ever read. I loved every second. King so cleverly weaves everything together, and it certainly makes me want to read his entire collection of work before re-reading, so that I can pick up every single reference. The characters and their adventures had me on the edge of my seat, and this final chapter is a worthy conclusion. Even at its mammoth size I was hooked the entire time. Brilliant. And that ending! (view spoiler)[God I felt so much for Roland! It was such a fitting ending but god it broke my heart!! (hide spoiler)]

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Review: The Hunger Type Diet: Discover what drives your hunger, rebalance your hormones - and lose weight for good

The Hunger Type Diet: Discover what drives your hunger, rebalance your hormones - and lose weight for good by Lowri Turner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I appreciate that this book goes beyond telling you how to lose weight and examines the psychology of hunger a little bit more. It explains different types of hunger and allows you to stop and think about what it is that's driving your eating habits. It gives you the science of what foods are best to combat what feelings, and the why of this.

There's some great, simple recipes in the back (okay, confession - I can't cook to save my life but I think if I could cook, some of these meals would be delicious) and a meal plan to go with each 'type of hunger' result. It explains why you should eat the way it's telling you to eat.

For people that want to lose weight, one of the most damaging notions is the one that says people are overweight due to lack of willpower. This breaks it down and explains that hunger/bingeing is a physical response to a chemical imbalance which manifests in a variety of ways. If I had to side with a dieting book, it would be this one.

That being said, I'm fortunate enough to have broken the cycle of chronic dieting, so this has become almost redundant to me. The science is solid but I know more about the science of deprivation and psychological starvation to know that dieting is not the answer to losing weight.

I think (and this is me on my soap box, as opposed to contributing to my review of this book) the problem with our society is that we feel we need books like this. We need to appreciate that we are of no less value if our bodies to not conform to the ideals of others.

I'd recommend people use this to understand the science of hunger a little better, and as inspiration for meals and meal planning, but don't live your life bouncing from diet to diet. Find your own normal by listening to what your body wants.

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Review: The Haunted Hotel

The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ehhhhhhhhh not sure about this one!

Very slow on the suspense and intrigue and creepiness, but I was definitely suckered in by the foreshadowing. Absolutely fascinating characters, and I quite enjoyed the way the Countess was introduced, as it garnered instant sympathy for her and her troubled spirit.

Agnes was pretty bland, considering how much hinged on her, but it was balanced by the enigmatic Henry through his devotion to her.

The characters were all introduced in different contexts which really enhanced that idea that nothing was as it seemed. I liked that I questioned everyone's motives, and each different tale. It was cleverly written, that's for sure.

I guess what I didn't like was that it all felt like a bit of an anti-climax to me. It's called 'The Haunted Hotel' but the hotel doesn't even exist until well over halfway through the story. The opening chapter was superb, but the rest was really dragged out. There just wasn't any horror, and aside from (view spoiler)[the missing courier (hide spoiler)] there wasn't a great deal of mystery, either.

That ending though, wow! that really hooked me. (view spoiler)[I feel like maybe that terrible, decaying head might haunt my dreams a little tonight (hide spoiler)]

Overall, a decent expression of atmosphere and an okay tale of intrigue. If you're looking for horror or major chills, though, I'd probably look elsewhere.

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Review: Remind Me How This Ends

Remind Me How This Ends by Gabrielle Tozer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Man this was just such an adorable piece of fluff! It also got a surprisingly enormous amount of bonus points for being set in Australia because it was just so damn relatable without overdoing it on the Aussie stereotypes.

I loved how honest it was, and how it made a point of everything being pretty bland, with just the two lights of Milo and Layla in all the murkiness. How many 18-year-olds have been in Milo's position? That feeling of pressure to make something of yourself but not even knowing what you want or who you're supposed to be? That resonated with me so much, because I was exactly the same. It took an interstate move for me to finally start finding out who I was, and even then it's still a work in progress. I love that this novel explores that without drilling it home, and I love that the relationship between Milo and Layla really draws you in so you stop thinking about all those outside issues for a bit. It was very real to me, but it also created this fantastic, fun relationship that was just enjoyable to experience. Layla was so kooky and unique and I really liked that they seemed like opposites that fit together perfectly, with their own similarities providing the glue. The side characters of Sal and Kurt were easily forfeited for the (re-?)blossoming friendship between our two protagonists.

(view spoiler)[Even the watered down ending felt right to me, though it wasn't what I was hoping for. It was nice that they at least got a taste for each other (ha ha) but it felt right that they went separate ways to focus on their own needs. I really, really appreciated that. To me, it felt that much more real. Tell you what, though: if there were to be a sequel where the two were reunited, I'd be all over it. (hide spoiler)]

Really enjoyed how uncomplicated this one was, and just the simplicity of a friendship in a tiny Australian town. I loved the effortless Aussie slang, and how at times I could forget the setting as I got swept away by the story, which is a real highlight for me when I read Aussie fiction because it's so rare.

Highly recommend this one for lovers of fluff and easy YA reads, especially if you are Australian, or grew up in Australia. I wonder how this'll fly with a non-Aussie audience, though?

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