Friday 27 September 2019

2019 Reading Challenge | Books 46-50 Round-Up


The end is near! I've recently finished my 50th book so I only have 30 to fit in before the end of the year. I'm really hoping that I can do it!

I wrote in my last round up that I had a ton of Netgalley reads to get through and such is the case this time round too, all ebooks, so no pretty book photos again!

What Happens Now? by Sophia Money-Coutts - 4/5

Blurb:
"After eight years together, Lil Bailey thought she'd already found 'the one' - that is, until he dumped her for a blonde twenty-something colleague. So she does what any self-respecting singleton would do: swipes right, puts on her best bra and finds herself on a first date with a handsome mountaineer called Max. What's the worst that can happen?

Well, it's pretty bad actually. First Max ghosts her and then, after weeing on a stick (but mostly her hands), a few weeks later, Lil discovers she's pregnant. She's single, thirty-one and living in a thimble-sized flat in London, it's hardly the happily-ever-after she was looking for.

Lil's ready to do the baby thing on her own - it can't be that hard, right? But she should probably tell Max, if she can track him down. Surely he's not that Max, the highly eligible, headline-grabbing son of Lord and Lady Rushbrooke, currently trekking up a mountain in South Asia? Oh, maybe he wasn't ignoring Lil after all..."
 
Review:
This is the classic tale of girl meets boy, girl gets pregnant, now what?

Lil has just broken up with her boyfriend of eight years and finally puts herself out there again six months later. She meets Max and has a great time with him until it all goes pear-shaped. 

Although I felt like it was quite cliché in some places, it was a nice, easy read and it did make me want to keep reading to see what would happen next (why I ended up finishing it in less than 24 hours!)

I loved all of the characters and it was just enjoyable to read.

Who Killed Ruby? by Camilla Way - 4/5

Blurb:
"You never know what's going on behind closed doors...

If you passed it on the street, you'd see an ordinary London townhouse. You might wonder about the people who live there, assume they're just like you.

But inside is a family trapped in a nightmare. In the kitchen, a man lies dead on the blood-soaked floor. Soon the police will come, and they'll want answers.

Perhaps they'll believe the family's version of events - that this man is a murderer who deserved to die.

But would that be the truth?"
 
Review:
I love a psychological thriller that keeps you on your toes.

When Vivenne was eight, her sister Ruby was murdered (whilst heavily pregnant) by her then-boyfriend Jack. Only Vivenne was at home with Ruby at the time and her evidence helped put Jack in prison.

32 years later, Vivenne now lives with her 13 year old daughter Cleo. She starts receiving things to with her sister/sister's death in the post and at the same time, her daughter is chatting with a teenage boy online but nothing is as it seems.

The pace of this book is brilliant. It's so fast and you end up being suspicious of everyone. There were some instances where I had to suspend belief but the plot is great. 

The Scandal by Nicola Marsh - 4/5

Blurb:
"My life is like one of those cheap snow globes my twins collected when they were younger. Shiny and pretty on the outside, blurred beyond recognition when shaken.

Ever since her twin girls left home, Marisa has felt there’s something missing from her life. Her sprawling mansion is no longer filled with laughter and chaos, and she’s desperate to feel needed... and to be distracted from the secret she’s been hiding from her husband for all these years.

Coffee with her best friends might be the only thing holding Marisa together. But Claire and Elly have their own secrets. Like why Claire hasn’t been to work in weeks, or why Elly won’t tell anyone who’s buying her flowers.

When Jodi, a pregnant young girl, turns up at Marisa’s doorstep, Marisa is quick to come to her aid. She sees herself in Jodi and she knows how devoting yourself to looking after others can take up all your time in the most marvellous way.

But Jodi’s arrival quickly pushes everyone’s lies to the surface. The father of her unborn child is someone the women know very well, and Marisa starts to wonder if her obsession with helping Jodi might come at a devastating price…"

 
Review:
This is a great twisty psych thriller.

It's told from the narratives of Marisa, Elly and Claire - three friends from the Hamptons - and Jodi, a 25 year old PA who is expecting a baby after a one night stand.

Jodi travels to the Hamptons to confront the baby's father, hoping to receive a payout. It is so well written with, as the title would suggest, a few scandals thrown in. You end to suspecting everyone but it keeps your interest and leaves you wanting more.

Betray Her by Caroline England - 2/5

Blurb:
"Best friends forever.

That's the pact you made.

You'd do anything for her.

And you have.

She's always had it all.

If you could take it for yourself . . . would you?"

Review:
This was a tough one for me to get through. It follows Jo and her friend Kate who have had a complicated relationship since they met at eight years old. Now, they are in their 40s and we have lots of flashbacks to their time at school.

I can't get too into the plot without giving anything away but honestly, I found it a bit boring and a little too slow for me. The ending was really good and I just wish we had a little more of that excitement throughout the rest of the book.

The Day We Meet Again by Miranda Dickinson - 3/5

Blurb:
"Phoebe and Sam meet by chance at St Pancras station. Heading in opposite directions, both seeking their own adventures, meeting the love of their lives wasn't part of the plan. So they make a promise: to meet again in the same place in twelve months' time if they still want to be together.

But is life ever as simple as that?"


Review:
This is a book that I could imagine as a Netflix romcom that I'd put on for background noise but secretly love.

Sam and Phoebe meet by chance at St Pancras station when their trains are delayed. Sam is going to the Isle of Mull in search of his father and Phoebe is spending a year between France and Italy. They get to know each other well in a few hours and agree to meet back at St Pancras in a years' time, once they've done what they set out to do.

With most romance books, I need to suspend belief and just go with the cheesiness. I love the characters of Phoebe and Sam and the individual stories of their adventures during that year, and although they are well written, it seems so long. When the year is up, everything seems so rushed and the plot of the last 30% of the story did irk me a bit.



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