All Of This Is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor Review

3*/5*

I received this book in my Book Box Club subscription box. It was my first box to come from this company and, although I was impressed with the other goodies that came in the box, I was not really a fan of All Of This Is True. The theme for this box was ‘Bad Girls’ which intrigued me, and as the box was half price I thought I would give it a go.

All Of This Is True is a novel centered around 3 best friends, a mysterious boy, and an up and coming writer. The 3 friends are obsessed with a book by Fatima Ro and become good friends with her after attending a book signing near their town. It becomes clear very early on that Fatima has published a second book, based on secrets the girls and the mysterious boy, Jonah, had told her.

The book is interestingly laid out, with some chapters written as dialogue from an interview, some as emails published in a newspaper and the rest are excerpts from the novel Fatima published about the group. I was unsure of how well the story would flow with the change in writing every few pages however I found that the story flowed very nicely and was actually a very easy read.

My main issue was I didn’t like ANY of the characters. Marni came across as delusional, Penny a coward, Soleil naive, and Fatima a narcissist. They were all quite bland and one dimensional which left it really difficult to empathise with any of them.

The so-called ‘plot-twists’ you could see coming from within the first 50 pages, which was frustrating. Yet despite the amateurish writing style, terrible character development and so on, I couldn’t put the book down – and I have no idea why.

Overall, I was disappointed as part of me was expecting something more intense and instead, everything just felt mediocre.

6 Books I Own But Haven’t Read Yet

I think I have mentioned recently on this blog that I have, only in the last few months, got back into reading. That doesn’t mean I stopped buying books though! So I thought I would compile a list of books that I have had for over a year (one for 9+ years!), enough so I can add one a month to my TBR. Here we go…

1. My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

I have had this maybe 11 months (not quite a year I know) and I honestly bought this because the cover looked INCREDIBLE and it is described as a hybrid of the movies Beaches and The Exorcist which sounds amazing. I believe it is a YA Horror that was published in 2016.

Goodreads description – A heartwarming story of friendship and demonic possession. The year is 1988. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act…different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby. Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries–and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil? Like an unholy hybrid of Beaches and The Exorcist, My Best Friend’s Exorcism blends teen angst, adolescent drama, unspeakable horrors, and a mix of ’80s pop songs into a pulse-pounding supernatural thriller.

2. I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk

In complete contrast to the book above is this funny romantic debut novel. I read another of Kelk’s books, What A Girl Wants, and I really enjoyed it so I was hoping this would be a similar lighthearted read, but i just never got around to it.

Goodreads description – Get ready to meet Angela Clark as she flees the world’s worst wedding for a new life…
It’s official. Angela Clarke is in love – with the most fabulous city in the world.
Fleeing her cheating boyfriend and clutching little more than a crumpled bridesmaid dress, a pair of Louboutins and her passport, Angela jumps on a plane, destination – NYC.
Holed up in a cute hotel room, Angela gets a New York makeover from her NBF Jenny and a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps. Before she knows it, Angela is dating two sexy guys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her new blog (Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out). But it’s one thing telling readers about your romantic dilemmas, it’s another figuring them out for yourself …
Angela has fallen head over heels for the big apple, but does she heart New York more than home?

3. Not That Kind Of Girl – Lena Dunham

I used to be obsessed with Dunham’s TV show Girls. I bought this book because I enjoyed her sense of humour on the show and thought I would enjoy reading this. I remember it being controversial when it came out but I want to judge for myself. She is an outspoken feminist which I respect and hope she wrote about in this book.

Goodreads description – “There is nothing gutsier to me than a person announcing that their story is one that deserves to be told,” writes Lena Dunham, and it certainly takes guts to share the stories that make up her first book, Not That Kind of Girl. These are stories about getting your butt touched by your boss, about friendship and dieting (kind of) and having two existential crises before the age of 20. Stories about travel, both successful and less so, and about having the kind of sex where you feel like keeping your sneakers on in case you have to run away during the act. Stories about proving yourself to a room of 50-year-old men in Hollywood and showing up to “an outlandishly high-fashion event with the crustiest red nose you ever saw.” Fearless, smart, and as heartbreakingly honest as ever, Not That Kind of Girl establishes Lena Dunham as more than a hugely talented director, actress and producer-it announces her as a fresh and vibrant new literary voice. 

4. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I was going through all of the books on my kindle and I don’t even remember buying this one! I’ve heard very mixed reviews from people about this series so I am interested to know what you thought if you have read this. I do love getting into a series when there are already a few sequels (i’m very impatient lol) so will give this a go soon.

Goodreads description – Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …

5. Only Ever Yours – Louise O’Neill

I went into Waterstones 3 years ago to buy a book that I hoped would kick start my love for reading again. I got a chapter into this I think, put it down and just never picked it up again. I absolutely loved the premise so I’m really excited about getting around to reading this…finally.

Goodreads description – In a world in which baby girls are no longer born naturally, women are bred in schools, trained in the arts of pleasing men until they are ready for the outside world. At graduation, the most highly rated girls become “companions”, permitted to live with their husbands and breed sons until they are no longer useful.
For the girls left behind, the future – as a concubine or a teacher – is grim.
Best friends Freida and Isabel are sure they’ll be chosen as companions – they are among the most highly rated girls in their year.
But as the intensity of final year takes hold, Isabel does the unthinkable and starts to put on weight. ..
And then, into this sealed female environment, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride.
Freida must fight for her future – even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ever known. . .

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I have loved every television and movie adaptation I have seen of Jane Eyre but I have never read the book, I am a terrible human being I know. I have owned this book for maybe 9 years and not read it!!!! Time to change that.

Goodreads description – Charlotte Brontë tells the story of orphaned Jane Eyre, who grows up in the home of her heartless aunt, enduring loneliness and cruelty. This troubled childhood strengthens Jane’s natural independence and spirit – which prove necessary when she finds employment as a governess to the young ward of Byronic, brooding Mr Rochester. As her feelings for Rochester develop, Jane gradually uncovers Thornfield Hall’s terrible secret, forcing her to make a choice. Should she stay with Rochester and live with the consequences, or follow her convictions – even if it means leaving the man she loves? A novel of intense power and intrigue, Jane Eyre dazzled readers with its passionate depiction of a woman’s search for equality and freedom. 

There we have it 6 books, 6 months left and a lot of reading to do. These 6 will be mixed into my TBR lists from July onward – but which one should I start with first?

Anya x

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Book Review

3.5*/5*

Firstly, I want to say that before I read this book I did watch the Netflix series when it came out. I usually read the book first but for some reason, I did it backward this time.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher follows Clay as he listens to 13 tapes left by Hannah, a friend who recently committed suicide. Each tape follows the story of one person in Hannah’s life who she felt like had a part to play in her wanting to end her life.

I’m going to be honest here, I enjoyed the Netflix series more than the books. I know this might be a controversial opinion, but I just felt like there was more emotion in the show. I cried at nearly every episode but not once for the book. Maybe that’s because I knew what was coming, or maybe I just didn’t feel the same connection to the characters. Or maybe it was the amazing soundtrack to the show that sold it to me.

In the book I found Hannah to be whiny and irritating a lot of the time. I, unfortunately, relate to a lot of Hannah’s experiences and I reacted differently. Maybe that’s the issue I had with it, I saw so much of myself in Hannah that I just expected her to do the same as me.

‘’Step-by-step. That’s how we’ll get through this. One foot in front of the other.’’

I love that this book has brought to light a lot of taboo subjects; suicide, rape, stalking etc and, whilst a lot of people have complained this book and show will exacerbate the issues raised, I feel like it has shone a spotlight on what society tends to shy away from.

Despite the lower rating, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to a friend, I think it brings issues forward that have been in the dark too long.

What did you think about Thirteen Reasons Why?

Love to Hate You By Jo Watson

3.5⋆/5⋆

Love to Hate You is a Contemporary Romance novel that, whilst it did make me giggle in places, left me feeling slightly unfulfilled.

Sera goes out dancing one night and ends up having a steamy romp in the back seat of a hot guys car, an act that she herself finds uncharacteristic. She wakes up the next morning thinking she would never see him again, that is until she arrives at work and discovers the new boss, Ben, is her gorgeous one-night stand. Instead of ignoring her and forgetting it ever happened like Sera hopes, Ben turns out to be very persistent.

There were some scenes that got me hot under the collar but there were others that left me feeling uninspired. Whilst the relationship between Sera and Ben often felt quite cute, sometimes I found their relationship to be destructive and in turn, found a lot of the story unbelievable.

I had high hopes for Sera’s character but found her inability to open up very frustrating and Ben, although devilishly handsome, was creepy. The saving graces for this book were JJ and Bruce, Sera’s sort of surrogate fathers. JJ especially made me laugh and he felt the most real of the characters.

If you are looking for a quick holiday romance read then this book would be perfect, however, if you are looking for something with more substance I would choose something else.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

‘He is not elegant enough for a sonnet,
too well-thought out for a free-write,
taking too much space in my thoughts
to ever be a haiku.’

This is how Xiomara in The Poet X describes her first love and to me, it perfectly reflects how I feel about this book. There is nothing I didn’t instantly fall in love with.

5*/5*!!

Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X tells the story of Xio, a girl who is torn between living up to her devout mother’s expectations and the overwhelming need to be her own woman.

The words are so beautiful that you cannot help but feel each emotion along with Xio. I fell in love with her first love as she did, I felt my heart rip apart with hers and I felt my heart fill with love. The Poet X is a hurricane of emotion that will leave you wanting more at the end of every page.

Xiomara is the girl I always wished I could be and when you finish this book you can’t help but feel a small part of her stay with you. If you are hesitant because you’ve never really been a fan of poetry, then this book will change how you feel words. If you are already a fan of poetry, then I can only envy you as you get to eat up these words for the first time.

Thank you, Elizabeth Acevedo, for Xiomara and her words, and for giving me a story that will always have a place in my heart.