March 2017: Favourite Books

As usual, I've ploughed through a lot of books this month. Most of them are from the same Ann Cleeve crime series, which I am loving. I've also been reading a lot of new releases from NetGalley and, while some have only been OK, there are a couple that have really gripped me.

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti

Book Review

"Like those craters, Hawley's scars were signs of previous damage, that had impacted his life long before she was born. And like the moon, Hawley was always circling between Loo and the rest of the universe."

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley will be released on 6th April. It is written by Hannah Tinti and published by Tinder Press.

Wow, I loved this book. It's a little bit Tarantino and a little bit coming of age story. I know I'm not the first person to reference Tarantino when talking about The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley but the violence, beauty and characters really reminded me of his films. Yet, dare I say it, a little better written?

Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

Book Review

"The missing girl's name was Rebecca Shaw. When last seen she'd been wearing a white hooded top."

Reservoir 13 will be released on 6th April. It is written by Jon McGregor and published by 4th Estate.

This was such an unexpected but interesting little book. That sounds really patronising but I don't mean it to. With a missing girl story line I thought the plot line of Reservoir 13 would focus on the police investigation, but instead author Jon McGregor looks at how this event effects the community of the village she went missing in. It's not really like anything I've read before. It's about ordinary people and everyday life, yet it celebrates the beauty of the mundane.

Larchfield by Polly Clark

Book Review

"He can write about a hero, but he cannot be one."

Larchfield will be released on 23rd March. It is written by Polly Clark and published by Quercus.

Larchfield is one of those books that is well written, has fleshed-out characters and covers interesting themes, but it's also one I just could not get into. I should like it, I know, it ticks all the boxes but I really struggled to finish it. Maybe I'm just not intellectual enough. I only know a couple of W. H. Auden's poems and not much else about him. Whatever it was I just didn't connect with this book.

To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey

Book Review

"There is the feeling here that civilization is still just a speck, and it makes me feel small in a good way."

To the Bright Edge of the World is written by Eowyn Ivey and published by Tinder Press.

This book is bloody amazing. I don't normally give out 5 star reviews, or reveal my star rating at the beginning of the review, but To the Bright Edge of The World is definitely a 5 star worthy book. I already mentioned it in my February Favourite Books post, and now I've finally got round to giving it a proper review.

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Book Review

"People think that good and bad are opposites but they're wrong, they're just a mirror image of one another in broken glass."

Sometimes I Lie will be released on 23rd March. It is written by Alice Feeney and published by Harper Collins.

I wanted to read Sometimes I Lie both because of the blurb, which has drawn everyone in, and because it has had rave reviews. Sometimes these majorly hyped thrillers fall flat, but I did enjoy this one and it felt fresh and a bit different to the usual Gone Girl wannabes.

The Sultan, The Vampyr and the Soothsayer

Book Review

"He would have the eyes and ears of the wolf, and the strength of the wolf, but he would also have its hunger."

The Sultan, the Vampyr and the Soothsayer is written by Lucille Turner and published by Hengist Press.

Usually these days any book with vampire (or vampyr) in the title has me running for the hills, as it's usually some nausea-inducing teen love story, but when Lucille Turner approached me to review her book I was intrigued as it is based on the life of Vlad Dracula, aka the real life inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. I'm also fascinated by the era and have a soft spot for beautiful Romania as I spent a month there doing a journalism internship (as you do).

The Sultan, The Vampyr and the Soothsayer is a fascinating book which is bound to appeal to historical fiction fans and provides an insight into an enigmatic figure. At times the book is a little over ambitious and gets swamped in facts and characters, but overall it's a good read and I now want to learn a lot more about the era and the Dracula legend.

Born Bad by Marnie Riches

Book Review

"It had been madness then. It was still madness now."

Born Bad will be released this Thursday (9th March 2017). It is written by Marnie Riches and published by Avon.

I was intrigued by the sound of this Manchester gangland book, I like a bit of gangster fiction. But, while there is a good story in there somewhere, it's hard to make it out from the rather untidy story telling. That sounds a bit odd, but it's the best way I can think of to describe it, Born Bad has so many story-lines and characters, but they're all a bit sloppily executed.

February 2017 Link Love

Source

I think this month's Link Love post reflects my financial situation in February; completely broke. Even the Writing links join in, with a post on keeping your day job even when published. There's also an article on a woman who saved £22,000 a year by buying nothing but the essentials.
Don't worry though, I'm still obsessed with books, and I've found some great reviews and reading lists around the web this month. Books count as essentials, right?