‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ by Liane Moriarty – Book Review

One luxury retreat in the middle of nowhere. Ten days in which no one can leave. Nine strangers seeking perfection. And each discovering the perfect lie…

The front cover of this book really gave me love island vibes, but it definitely not like love island at all. Each chapter is from a different character’s perspective. When I first started reading the book I got quite confused cos the chapters didn’t link to each other but that was only because you was getting to know the context and background of each character. Once you get more into the book it all links together and then flows from chapter to chapter even with the character changes.

As you’re told from the title the story is about nine strangers: Ben, Jessica, Francis, Tony, Carmel, Lars, Zoe, Heather and Napoleon. There are also 3 other main characters called: Masha, Deliah and Yao. The story is focused on the nine ‘strangers’ who sign up for a wellness retreat to improve a certain aspect of their lifestyle.

With each chapter you begin to learn more about each character, seeing their individual personalities bloom and blossom as the story progresses. Each character/group of characters are facing different issues such as; marriage problems, a family bereavement, career being stuck in a rut and a divorcee wanting to lose weight. But being at this retreat unites them all.

The book is gripping and you get hooked on all the drama that unfolds, I didn’t think I would enjoy it at first but was pleasantly surprised a few chapters later I wasn’t able to put the book down!

I would safely rate it a 5/5, as the ending was even brilliant which I don’t often say about books I’ve read.

So if you’re into books, definitely give this a go! You won’t be disappointed.

‘The Horse Dancer’ by Jojo Moyes Review

It’s been a while since I’ve written a book review and to be honest it’s taken me a while to finish this book, for many reasons. Overall, I have enjoyed the book but at times I got bored and a little distracted which made me lose interest.

The Horse Dancer

The story is based on two stories at first that gradually become one, one being about a 14 year old girl living in London with her grandad who loves horses and spends all her free time training and riding her horse Boo. The other story is focused on Natasha a soon to be divorced lawyer who’s life gets turned upside down.

What I liked most about this book was the storyline, it had an interesting plot which some interesting turns of events. It’s hard to describe the genre of book as it has a mixture of different themes throughout the book such as:

• Romance
• family
• sadness/grief
• animals

It doesn’t focus solely on one theme so is quite interesting. I also liked the fact it was about horses as I like horses and gained quite a bit of knowledge on them from reading the book such as a form of horse performance called dressage. I also enjoyed the fact it was quite an emotionally gripping story and as I got more and more into it the less I wanted to put it down, however it did take me longer than usual to get hooked onto the story line

However, the change of view of each paragraph did become a bit confusing and the change of tense also added to that as the paragraphs didn’t quite flow together smoothly; which I find easier to read. Some chapters also felt unnecessary and not essential for the story line which made parts a little boring.

Overall, I would rate the book a 3.5 out of 5, and probably won’t re-read it.

Q: What book are you reading at the moment?

Love,

Jess

THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR – by Shari Lapena

This book was sitting on my book shelf for just over a year before I decided to read it. I initially bought it because I had seen such good reviews on it on social media and in magazines, however when choosing my next book, I always put off reading it, as it wasn’t the normal type or genre of book I would normally go for. After finishing ‘Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine’ I thoughthey why not switch things up a little bit and read something different. I’m SO glad that I did because I loved this book!

I would say that it fits under a crime/thriller category, and prior to this I had been watching various documentaries on Netflix under the same genre (e.g. Ted Bundy’s tapes and Dirty John) I am also currently watching the Madeline McCann documentary so thought that if I enjoyed a crime/thriller series I might like a book of that genre too!

So, before I get started on my review let me tell you a rough outline of the story. It’s based on a couple who leave their baby alone whilst attending a dinner party next door, they check on their baby regularly however, when they get home…the baby’s gone! The story tells you the twist and turns in the investigation.

I read this at the same time as watching the Madeline McCann documentary so the similarities were uncanny and scary!

The blurb

You never know what’s happening on the other side of the wall.

Your neighbour told you she didn’t want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn’t stand her crying.

Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You’ll have the baby monitor and you’ll take it in turns to go back every half-hour.

Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realised. She’s gone.

You’ve never had to call the police before. But now they’re in your home, and who knows what they’ll find there…

My rating

5/5.

My review

The book was amazing! I was instantly hooked after the first chapter, it just kept making me want to read on and read on to find out what’ll happen next. Books like this are my favourite, as I never want to put them down. I also found this book to be so unpredictable and the twists in the story plot were insane! I definitely recommend this book.

Have you read this book? If yes, did you enjoy it?

Love always,

Jess

Still me – Book Review

So I’m back with yet another book review, and surprise surprise its from the Me Before You series!

My first thought when reading the last sentence was “NOOOOOOO it can’t finish there!” but well… it did. The book just leaves you wanting more and I still can’t grasp the fact that I will no longer be reading all about Louisa Clarks’ life anymore. The way Jojo Moyes wrote the book makes you feel like you’re there and you know Louisa in real life; so much so that I have to remind myself that Louisa is a made up person and not someone real (We can all wish right?).

What is ‘Still Me’ about?

“Lou Clark knows too many things… she knows how many miles lies between her new home in New York and her new boyfriend Sam in London. She knows her employer is a good man and she knows his wife is keeping a secret from him. What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to meet someone who’s going to turn her whole life upside down. Because Josh will remind her so much of a man she used to know that it’ll hurt. Lou won’t know what to do next, but she knows whatever she chooses is going to change everything.”

That was the blurb and in all honestly I don’t think it gives the book justice at all!

What would you rate “Still Me”?

5/5, 10/10, 50/10, 100/100…. you get the idea.

What are your thoughts on “Still Me”?

As you can probably guess I LOVED the book, even more so than the previous two. I found myself looking forward to my lunch breaks just because I knew I could read the book. I’m quite sad thinking that I won’t be reading it tomorrow lunchtime…

The storyline is amazing, I cannot fault it. The way Jojo Moyes describes the plot is extraordinary, I have a clear imagine of all the scenes, all the outfits and just well..everything! Theres not too much I can say without getting carried away or spoiling it; so take my word for it, this book is a MUST buy. If you want to fall in love, feel happiness, heartbreak and sadness, romance and excitement and every other possible emotion under the sun, then this is for you!

Whilst you’re reading this, I’m sitting here with every bone in my body crossed hoping that ‘After you’ and ‘Still Me’ get adapted into movies ASAP so I can binge watch them.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this review and if you’ve read the books I hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as I have. And well if you haven’t read the books what on earth are you waiting for?

Love always,

Jess

Me Before You – Book review

This is such a popular book/movie that I’m sure you already know what it is about but hey, it was so good that I couldn’t NOT write a review. Unfortunately I did the whole process the wrong way around and had watched the movie before reading the book; which didn’t turn out to be so bad…obviously there were slight changes to the storyline from the book; as books tend to always be more detailed but having already watched the films I had a good image on who the characters where which helped to aid my imagination when reading the books. I got to put my hands up to Jojo Moyes as she is an amazing author and portrayed the characters and the storyline so beautifully.

What is the book about?

“Lou Clark knows a lot of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick’ (Sorry to interrupt, but he’s played by the same actor who is Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter. Anyway carrying on…) ” What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane. Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now, and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that. What will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.”

That was the blerb however I’ll give you more of an insight about it without giving too much away.. Will is a quadriplegic following his accident and is struggling to readapt to his new style of life. He was once an adventurous outgoing, very physical being who is now confined to a wheelchair; his live was changed by Lou Clark completely. I don’t want  to say any more in fear of spoiling it for anyone who’s not read it (but definitely needs too).

What would you rate ‘Me Before You’?

5/5 definitely!

What are your thoughts on ‘Me Before You’?

Well if you hadn’t guessed already I love the book and highly recommend anyone to read it. It was the first book I read after a long break from reading and oh boy did I get hooked in fast! I felt like this book gave so much, it was funny, romantic, sad but also  educational. As I felt Wills’ condition gave the whole book a whole new layer/dimension, it gave it a deeper meaning and shows the reality of those kind of situations. I fell in love with the characters and felt like it was real life and they were all real which could possibly why I got so emotionally hooked.

That is it, I’m still pretty new to reviewing books but I’m hoping to do more in the near future.

If you’ve read this book please let me know how you found it in the comments below!

Q: What is your favourite book?

love always,

Jess x