Book Review: "Just Another Little Lie" by Eve Ainsworth

Kindle:
Paperback:
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know how I start 'em all off, right?  This book isn't any different:  Every book I read starts off with the full 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  I'm not shy about removing a star if I feel it necessary, but I always give my reasons for removing each star within the review.

The first couple of chapters have been great and I'm already feeling sorry for poor Vee.  She's gotta be the adult instead of her mum, poor girl!

Poor Vee and Freddie... what an awful life for them to both live!  I hope that Mum gets help and that it's a happy ever after book!

Oh dear... the same thing has happened with this book as has happened to most books I read - the author has used a brand name potentially without permission, so the first star is coming off at 53%.

Oooh!  That's worrying!  I hope Mum'll be OK!

So far so good with the new mum, but is it too little, too late?

Oh no!  It *was* too late and now Vee and Freddie are in the poo!

What a heart-wrenchingly beautiful ending. A definite must-read.

Book Review: "In Defense of Animalhood" by Riya Aarini

Kindle:
Hardcover:
Paperback:
⭐ out of 5

If you've already read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know that I start 'em all off by saying that each book starts off with the full 5 stars and that I'm always hopeful that they will all still be firmly in place by the time I finish reading.  You'll also know that I'm not shy about knocking off a star if I feel it's necessary, particular for copyright or trademark infringement but that I always give a reason for knocking each star off.

Let's get going:

Ooh! I love the zebra image on the first page!  It makes a refreshing change not to be met with a page full of text, so top marks so far!

There's the first star gone after the use of a brand name... I hope that I can replace it if there's that magic sentence at the end of the book saying that it's been used with permission, but of all the books I've read, that's only happened once, so I'm not holding my breath unfortunately.

Two totally unnecessary swears takes the book down to 3 stars.

I haven't got a clue what age this author is writing for... it's written as too immature for adults but the swearing and words are too advanced for children!  Each of the animals have the same voice and personality too... this really hasn't been thought out well at all, so I'm knocking off another star at 46%.  I'm mightily relieved that it's only 76 pages long but I'm wondering if the final star will stay in place for the last 54%?

Oh boy, now it's glorifying making elephants drunk so the final star is coming off and I'm officially giving up.  This book had so much potential but the author just didn't think it through enough.
 

Book Review: "Because of You" by Eve Ainsworth

Kindle:
Paperback:
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know that they all start off with me saying that the book starts off with the full 5 stars and that I'm always hopeful that they will all still be firmly in place when I close the back cover.  You will also know that I give my reasons for knocking off each star and that I don't just knock stars off without reason.  Most 5 star books become 4 star books because of use of trademarked brand names or copyrighted material which is a real sore point for me so the star comes off for that reason.  I've rapidly returned the star for one book at the end of last year when the author (or was it the publisher/agent?) put in a single sentence on the last page saying that they had used the brand name fictitiously and with permission... it's only happened once, but that single sentence was all that was necessary for me to return the book to the full whack of stars.

Let's get on with the reading and reviewing shall we?

Ooh!  Tension in the first chapter!  This has the potential, if it carries on like this, to be a really good, 5 star, book!

I'm up to chapter 5 now and this book has had me hooked from the first page.  There has been an internet brand name used once so the first star is wobbly, but hanging in there right now.  This is definitely an easy must-read so far!

Oh dear, a swear word has just escaped the editing process so the first star is rapidly coming off so what should be a 5 star book is now, unfortunately, 4 stars.

This is still a good book, but the author seems to have lost her intensity now... the first few chapters were great but after a while they have become much less intense and interesting... not quite boring, but nowhere near as interesting either.

I've felt like Poppy many times in my life, but fortunately there weren't any mobile phones with the ability to video my utter humiliation back then.

Yup, chapter 10 was me throughout childhood, but it looks like maybe things are gonna turn a corner now... I hope!

Wow.  I've just finished reading and I'm fighting back prickly tears.  What an unexpectedly perfect ending.

Book Review: "The Disconnect" by Keren David

Kindle:

Paperback:
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent books, you'll already know that all the books I read and review start off with the full five stars and that I'm always hopeful that they will all be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I always give reasons for knocking off any stars instead of just saying "This isn't a good book.  1 star".  This is my first review of 2023 and reading has always been my escape and coping method so I'm gonna be doing a lot of reading and reviewing for very personal reasons to help me to cope with some devasting news I was given 4 days before Christmas Day 2022 so I'm starting off with a 4.5 star book that seems to have been popular with previous readers... will it be my first 5 star book of 2023?  I seriously hope so!

Let's get started shall we?

It's only 89 pages long, so it's a rapid read... will it be long enough to escape into the fictional world created by the author?

Has the author used a well-known clothing brand without permission?  I seriously hope not, but the first star is already wobbly after only a single page unfortunately.

Another two brand names on the first page of the second chapter so the first star is coming off unfortunately.  I've reinstated a star in the past when the author has said at the back of the book that the brand name was used with permission so I'm really hoping I'll be able to do that with this book too, but we shall have to wait and see I guess.

The first two chapters have been really good.  I like how it's written in first instead of third person as a change from the norm... it'll be interesting to see if the main character can complete the challenge and win!

The main character's memory is almost as bad as mine lol

I've read 3 chapters and I'm enjoying it so far... if it hadn't been for those brand names, this would still have definitely been a five star book so far.

I'm up to chapter 7 now and I'm well into this book... other than the use of big brand names (which I've already knocked a star off for, so I'm letting their use slide now) it's exactly the sort of book I've needed and I'll miss the main character at the end of the book.

Another two chapters read and still nothing to complain about lol  I'm just under half way through and I'm seriously enjoying it!

Right at the end of chapter 11 is a will-they-or-won't-they bit... no spoilers of course, but it'll be interesting to see how the author handles it!

What a great end to a fantastic book... there's nothing about having permission to use all those brand names so it's staying at a thoroughly well-deserved 4 stars.

Happy New Year!

Just a quick blog post to wish you all a happy New Year and to say that I'm not gonna take part in JanNo this year 'cos I had a significant loss just before Christmas so I'm right in the middle of helping to sort out a funeral and this persons belongings.  Things will hopefully be back on track for NaNo, but I need to help sort out things so there is no way I'd even be able to write 10k this month, let alone 50k.

I'm gonna spend the month finishing off my WIP so I will be writing, just not taking part in the challenge is all.

I hope that you all enjoy your writing this year and that you achieve everything you want and need.