Becoming – Michelle Obama

Becoming is the insightful, honest story of Michelle Obama’s life before, during and a little after her time as the First Lady of the USA.

I listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend as Michelle narrated it herself, so you get the true context, emotion and feeling of her words. She’s a wonderful storyteller who speaks with eloquence and grace. What comes through is that Michelle is a person who not only understands, but sees people without judgement and has a passion to help those who need it most. She highlights causes without preaching and manages to talk about her achievements without boasting – which I think could be because she’s never forgotten her own humble upbringing.

I don’t read or listen to many autobiographies but I’d heard so much about this one I had to give it a go. I was surprised by just how good it was!

Genre: Autobiography

Rating: 5/5⭐️

Swing Time – Zadie Smith

Swing Time promised a fascinating story.

‘Two brown girls dream of being dancers – but only one, Tracy has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music and what constitutes a tribe or makes a person truly free.’

In reality, I think the book tried to do too much. Smith is obviously intelligent, and a keen observational commentator who is skilled in her craft, but there were so many key themes touched upon in the book that it never really felt like any were truly explored. The premise above, for instance, covered a relatively small part of the book, yet that storyline in itself could have been developed further.

Instead, the book spanned such a large time frame, focusing on certain events that failed to hold my interest. There was quite a bit of ‘telling’ vs ‘showing’ and sometimes the characters felt like vehicles devised to deliver pop culture references, pass judgement or opinion or make political references. These never felt to come from the character’s hearts, more the author.

Put simply, this book had all the ingredients to be amazing; culture, diversity and a promising storyline but for me, the storyline got lost and the characters didn’t pull me in.

Genre: Literary fiction

Rating: 3/5 ⭐️

The Dilemma – B. A. Paris

The Dilemma is a change of direction for B. A. Paris, who’s usual thrillers always have me on the edge of my seat. This is a simple story. Happy couple Livia and Adam each know a secret they they can’t bring themselves to tell each other for they know the secret will break the other. Adam isn’t sure exactly what’s happened so wants to give his wife one last night of happiness at her 40th birthday party. Livia just doesn’t know how to tell Adam her secret for fear of how he’ll take the news. A true dilemma!

Whilst the novel sinks nowhere near the dark depths that Paris’s usual novels venture, it still manages to pull you in and have you racing through the pages. I always enjoy the way B. A. Paris draws you in and grabs you from page one and doesn’t let you go and I think even though this isn’t a dark thriller – it still has the same feel.

Genre: Family / domestic thriller

Rating: 4/5⭐️

The Power – Naomi Alderman

The Power explores a world where the common patriarchy is overthrown within a decade when women evolve and develop an electrifying superpower. Thus we have a matriarchal culture.

Initially, ‘the power’ brings protection to women in volatile situations but as more and more women develop it, the collective women seek dominance and control.

The concept is intriguing and raises many questions about society, dominance and power and Alderman proves a clever, well-researched and knowledgeable author.

I didn’t necessarily ‘enjoy’ the book. Parts were uncomfortable to read and whilst the early and late chapters are fairly gripping, the middle was a bit of a slog with lots of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’ I also thought the ending was a little rushed. The emails back and forth at the start and end of the book added an interesting dimension but because the MS was presented almost as historical ‘fact’ it did sometimes read a little like an essay.

All in all this book is well written and interesting and it’s the sort of book that will be an instant classic. It would be great to study or discuss in a book club setting but for me it wasn’t a story to talk about rather than to get lost in.

Genre: science fiction / dystopian fiction

Rating: 3.5

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The Flat Share – Beth O’Leary

4.5*

I’ve been dying to read The Flat Share since seeing so many glowing reviews on social media last year. The book grabbed my straight away; I love quirky Tiffy and Leon is a dream. There was plenty of humour and I loved reading the notes Leon and Tiffy left for each other.

The Flat Share is an uplifting romcom with a great storyline and interesting subplots giving it a bit more depth than you often find in the genre. I can’t wait to read Beth O’Leary’s next book.

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Wonder – R.J Palacio

Wonder is a heartwarming book telling the story of August Pullman who was born with a facial difference. In his early life, Auggie was home schooled, but he’s bright and funny and has so much to offer the wider world and socialising is important. With his medical needs under control, it’s time for him to go to mainstream school.

There are certain challenges presented, the children and staff haven’t seen anyone who looks like Auggie before. Whilst Auggie experiences heart wrenching cruelty, it soon becomes clear that most children are incredibly kind and accepting and they enable Auggie’s inner beauty to shine through. All of these children represent what is truly good in the world!

Each child character gets to tell their own story of what it’s like to have Auggie in their lives and in some cases, the cruelty they too have been exposed to because of their association. It was interesting to have these different perspectives.

Overall, it’s a touching read with plenty of light humour as well as heartstring-tugging moments. Because it’s a children’s book, for me, it sometimes felt like there were certain boundaries adhered to, that I think in real life would have been pushed further with different consequences but this was just a small thing. It’s a lovely book and I think children reading it could learn a lot about who they are and how they should react to others. There’s a reoccurring theme of thoughtfulness that will resonate with a younger audience.

I recommend it.

Genre: Children’s fiction

Rating: 4/5⭐️

The Amityville Horror – Jay Anson

3.5*

The Amityville Horror is a classic horror presented as a true story, based on the so called real experiences of the Lutz family. At the time of release, the story was huge and it’s easy to see why the book was so popular as the events described, if real, would have been terrifying.

Fast forward 40+ years though and what we have is a horror story that hasn’t aged well. We pretty much know it was a hoax and 112 Ocean Avenue is just a normal residence with no previous or further reports of unusual phenomena. Much of the ghostly happenings are eye-roll-invoking (green slime – really?) at best and the over-dramatisation is a little cheesy.

Overall, it’s an entertaining read if you read as fiction and keep in mind the age of the book.

Genre: Horror

Rating: 3.5🌟

The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley

The Hunting Party tells the story of a group of friends who’ve come together in a remote part of Scotland for a few nights to celebrate NYE. Told from multiple perspectives with a time-lapse, the story of a missing party member unravels.

I found there was plenty to keep me interested: lots of secrets, the unique setting and the fact the missing person’s identity is kept a secret for the most part. However, the characters on the whole were unlikable, selfish with few redeeming features between them. Normally I do love to hate characters like this but in this case I found it hard to care who had gone missing or why. I think perhaps, for me, there was a little too much backstory at times pulling me out of the tension.

Overall, it’s a decent read that’s been well thrashes out but perhaps lacking a little in pace compared to similar books.

Trigger warning (the clue is in the title): Graphic scene depicting the killing of a deer.

Genre: Thriller

Rating: 3.5*

One Day in December – Josie Silver

This has been on my TBR since last Christmas and I’m so glad I finally got to reading it.

It’s a beautiful romance which begins with a glance through a bus window one December’s day. Life is more complicated than love at first sight though, and the story spans the decade after this man came into protagonist Laurie’s life.

Laurie and her best friend Sarah are well-drawn and likeable and their dialogue is great and I also liked the love interests in the story.

One Day in December has one of the most epic kissing scenes. There’s a great build up, it’s passionate and it’s wrong on so many levels – it was great!

My only criticism was that instead of the tension ramping up towards the end, I felt like it fizzled out at around the 80% mark (until the last few pages – the actual ending is wonderful) to the point where I didn’t quite feel there would still be love there.

Overall, it’s a very well written, heartwarming romance with a festive air about it. I’d definitely recommend it!

Genre: Romance (contemporary)

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Verity – Colleen Hoover

I’d heard so much about this book. Every book forum online seemed to be talking about it and I’ve had it in my Kindle a while – I don’t know why I didn’t read it sooner.
The story has a sinister feel to it from the start when author Lowen witnessed a horrific accident. The creepy tension builds as she takes on the role as ghost writer for a famous author who was injured in a car accident.

I’m not going to give anything away, but this book genuinely chilled me. Parts of it were so uncomfortable, I felt sick to my core towards the end my heart was racing and I was jumpy. For a book to trigger these kind of emotions in me is a credit to the author who sets such a creepy tone in such a believable, subtle way. It’s a quick read that you won’t be able to put down!

Genre: psychological thriller / dark romance
Rating: 5⭐️