BOOK REVIEW: Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London

 Paperback | Kindle

“My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden . . . and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying.”

I had heard so much about this book (and the series in general), I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. Thankfully, The Book People had it on offer a few months back so I took advantage and grabbed the first 3 in the series. I honestly don't know why I went so long refusing to read book series, they're amazing!

When it comes to describing this, I'd simply say it's very much Harry Potter meets Sherlock Holmes. It's a great read for anybody who likes mystery and magic. I'd say given some of the details in the book, it's probably best suited to readers in their mid-late teens and above. Then again, I watched The Exorcist at 12years old and survived so if you can handle it, read it.

It follows Peter Grant and various other police officers as they work hard to solve a very weird case that involves murder and magic. That in itself was enough to make me want to read the book but there's so much more to it than that. There's no real hidden depths although there's a slight love story in the mix. Only slight though - and more of a lust story really.

The writing style is simple which, for some, is a negative thing but I love it. It makes it so easy to follow and much more gripping. The characters are great - there's a mixture of those that can do magic and those that can't, not to mention ghosts. They feature pretty heavily in this story.

In all honesty, the only little niggle I had with the book was that nobody ever seemed to question the fact people could do magic. If I was a police officer and I found out that a colleague could do it, I'd be freaked out (after I came round from fainting, obviously).

I would definitely suggest reading this book, particularly if you like Harry Potter or Sherlock. Or even if you just like to get lost in a good mystery book but don't want to have to think too hard when you're reading it.

Have you read 'Rivers of London'? If so, what did you think? 

BOOK REVIEW: Jill Mansell - The Unpredictable Consequences of Love

"In the idyllic seaside town of St Carys, Sophie is putting the past firmly behind her.

When Josh arrives in St Carys to run the family hotel, he can't understand why Sophie has zero interest in letting any man into her life. He also can't understand how he's been duped into employing Sophie's impulsive friend Tula, whose crush on him is decidedly unrequited.

St Carys has more than its fair share of characters, including the charming but utterly feckless surfer Riley Bryant, who has a massive crush on Tula. Riley's aunt is superstar author Marguerite Marshall. And Marguerite has designs on Josh's grandfather...who in turn still adores his glamorous ex-wife, Dot...

Just how many secrets can one seaside town keep?"

I am yet to read a Jill Mansell book that I didn’t like or I struggled to get into… I honestly think that everything she writes turns to gold. This book is one of many fine examples of how fantastic a writer Jill Mansell truly is – it’s funny, captivating, touching, gripping, and just generally wonderful. I'd been wanting to read it for ages so I was so excited when it was available on BookBridgr (if you're not signed up to the site, definitely check it out - it's fab!)

It follows the lives of a few select characters in St Carys, a wonderfully gorgeous seaside town where, in all honesty, I would want to move to and spend the rest of my days there because it sounds heavenly. The lives of these characters intertwine which makes it feel more ‘together’ as a story because you’re not simply reading about a whole host of random characters – I dunno, it made it feel more jointed for me.

The characters range from Riley who’s a bit of a ladies man who doesn’t want to work, just play, to Sophie whose refusal to let a man become part of her life is something that bemuses those who know her but not her darkest secret. All of the characters are well developed and help, in their own way, to bring the story together. They’re very three dimensional and have real depth to them, some more than others such as Sophie, Riley, and Marguerite. It makes for a very gripping read, I must say.

Without giving too much away, Sophie is a woman who is very focussed on her work and seems to have no time for men in her life. However, it later becomes clear that that’s something she’s deliberately orchestrated due to previous events in her life. Josh takes a shine to her and wants to bring her out of her shell and what unfolds from then on out is a wonder to read. Their friendship/relationship has funny moments, sad moments, and complete ‘COME ON, YOU TWO! SORT IT OUT!’ moments. My personal favourite would be the latter but they’re all really good, I swear.

There’s more to it than a standard love story; there’s surrounding drama and lots of twists and turns. You won’t be able to stop turning the pages and, more to the point, you won’t want to. You want to watch this people grow and come together. You’ll be surprised by how things turn out, that’s for sure.

Paperback: http://fave.co/1mgeXeK

Kindle: http://fave.co/1mgf1uX

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

About Jill: Jill Mansell lives with her partner and children in Bristol, and writes full time.

Actually that's not true; she watches TV, eats fruit gums, admires the rugby players training in the sports field behind her house, and spends hours on the internet Tweeting and marvelling at how many other writers have blogs. Only when she's completely run out of displacement activities does she actually write. 

Follow Jill on Twitter at @JillMansell.

BOOK REVIEW: Karen Thompson Walker - Age of Miracles

“'It is never what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different - unimagined, unprepared for, unknown…' One morning, Julia and her parents wake up in their suburban home in California to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth is noticeably slowing. The enormity of this is almost beyond comprehension. And yet, even if the world is, in fact, coming to an end, as some assert, day-to-day life must go on. Julia, facing the loneliness and despair of an awkward adolescence, witnesses the impact of this phenomenon on the world, on the community, on her family and on herself.” 

I first heard of this book when the lovely Giovanna Fletcher (@mrsgifletcher) mentioned it – at least I think it was her who mentioned it. I honestly have no idea why it took me so long to get my grubby mitts on it but let me tell you, I’m glad I did and it was worth the wait.

The writing style draws you in instantly, to the point where I genuinely forgot I wasn’t living in the book world. It tells the story of Julia’s struggle to grow up and come of age in a world where nothing is certain anymore. Days start getting longer, first by minutes, then hours, then days. It sounds fun at first – more sun (for those who like sun), more of an excuse to go to bed later (for those like me who are tired but keep putting it off). It’s all fun until people start getting hurt and things start going terribly wrong.

As well as looking at how Julia deals with the massive worldly change occurring, it also looks at the development of her first relationship, I suppose, or definite crush at the least. Something that, as teens, we all go through so it’s easy to relate to her feelings and thoughts. The fact that it coincides with something we (I hope) will never go through is, perhaps, what draws you into the story.

The characters are great – from the annoying children at the bus stop to the adults, they’re all written in incredibly well. For me, the worst part of a book is if I feel that some of the characters are there simply as filler which, I’ll be honest, there was one or two in this book but the rest of them made up for that. I loved watching the children in the book develop into young adults, something that happened a little faster thank to the whole ‘days getting longer’ thing, sadly.

The way the characters interact with people, particularly Julia and Seth (if I remember correctly, sorry, I’m writing this without the book at hand and finished this a little while ago!), is great. Their initial awkwardness that turns into becoming inseparable is so true to life, at least for me, that it’s a joy to read – it’s always nice reading things you can relate to, right?

The storyline is easy to follow and the structure definitely helps with this. You’re not left wondering what’s happening and when, it was a joy to read and, like I say, definitely worth the wait. The ending leaves it open for a follow up but, at the same time, it rounds off the story quite nicely which is a great way for the book to end.

Paperback | Kindle

BOOK REVIEW: John Green - The Fault in our Stars

“Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.”

I read ‘Looking for Alaska’ by John Green after I saw a quote from it all over Tumblr. I fell in love with John Green’s writing style immediately and it quickly became one of my favourite books. I’d been meaning to read more of his stuff for a while but didn’t – probably because I have the biggest ‘to-read’ pile you could imagine, but also because I’m quite cheap when it comes to buying book.

Along with my already declared love for John Green’s writing style, I knew a lot of people were raving about this book and saying it had brought them to tears so I was fairly certain that, even if it didn’t make me cry, I was going to like it. I was wrong. I love it.

The story follows the relationship the builds between Augustus and Hazel after they meet at a support group for children who have, or have had, cancer. The relationship that blossoms is incredibly special and perfectly written, as is the friendships between Isaac, Hazel, and Augustus. It’s touching beyond belief.

It’s nice to see a book that touches on cancer in teens without leaving the reader depressed – there’s always an uplifting, positive emotion sweeping through, regardless of what tragedies might happen.

It’s a tragic love story but there’s much more depth to it than your typical ‘boy meets girl, they fall in love, they fall apart’ story. There’s real hurt in the words, there’s humour that makes you chuckle inside (and outside, if you're not careful), there’s anger at the harsh reality of life but, there’s also the sense that life is there to be lived, not dwelled on.

The ending made me sob like a baby; not because it was hopelessly sad but because it was a beautiful truth.

This video of Troye Sivan's song, written after reading this book, also makes me sob like an absolute mess. Especially this video (there's two online).

What’s your favourite tragic love story?

*This is a repost from my old blog thislittlemell.blogspot.com*