4 stars

Review: Landline

17:25

Landline
By Rainbow Rowell

 Source: Personal purchase, paperback
Genres: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.

Maybe that was always besides the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

My review:

Rainbow Rowell is one of my favourite authors, so I knew I was going to absolutely adore this book. The cover is so cute and the concept seems right up my street, so I was saving this for when I really needed it. Though reading this during school, I enjoyed it so much! There were ups and downs (some points I thought I was about to properly cry!), but I finished this smiling and feeling so happy. I’d definitely recommend to everybody!
The characters were all so likeable. I think this really made the book for me because of how invested I was in everything. I cared about Georgie and Neal’s relationship (which is unusual for me - normally I’m not a huge fan of books completely centered around romance), so wanted to read on to find out what was going to happen.
I adored every single side character too. There was no real ‘baddie’ in the book, so everyone was written to be likeable; obviously, I loved everyone. I was laughing so much at the banter between Georgie and Seth - their friendship was perfect and just so real. My favourite side character was (probably) Heather because she had so much depth. She was in so many great scenes, and I loved reading about her so much. I would definitely want to read a novella based on this.
In contemporaries, I usually find that there isn’t much going on, and sometimes complain of a lack of plot. This completely wasn’t the case with Landline - my emotions were being ripped to shreds so often, and in every chapter there was another heart-wrenching scene. Things were happening all the time so I never felt bored, and it was the perfect length (if even a bit short) for me to be gripped for the whole book.

The ending was perfect. Even though some people might find it a little predictable, I didn’t think this at all. I’ve read all of Rowell’s other books, so I knew how different her endings can be from each other. I really didn’t know what was going to happen, but things ended up the way I wanted them to. I was really satisfied with what happened, and I think the ending gave us full closure. I miss the characters, but everything was resolved perfectly.

This is one I’d really recommend; if you’ve read Rainbow’s other books, I think you will love this one too, but if you’ve never read a Rainbow Rowell book before (what have you been doing with your life?!), I know you’ll adore this. I’d recommend to fans of easy romance and feel good contemporaries, but also, I think this would make a great book to read at Christmas time. I read this in the autumn, so it was quite seasonal, but it’s set in the days around Christmas, so it might be a nice one to save. Though, I know I would have loved it all year round!

 Rating:

4 stars

Review: Ready Player One

16:49

Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline

 Source: Library, paperback,
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

It's the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We're out of oil. We've wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who dies with no heir, has promised that control of the OASIS - and his massive fortune - will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that the riddles are based in the culture of the late twentieth century. And then Wade stumbles onto the key to the first puzzle.

Suddenly, he finds himself pitted against thousands of competitors in a desperate race to claim the ultimate prize, a chase that soon takes on terrifying real-world dimensions - and that will leave both Wade and his world profoundly changed.

My review:

There was so much hype around this book, so I was expecting it to be amazing. I really love dystopian and science fiction, it was perfect for me. I did expect the world building to be a little slow, so it didn’t come as a surprise, but I didn’t find it boring at all. There’s so much hype around this book so I knew I just had to read it.
The concept was really cool. Although the idea about the human race failing to technology was not the most original, the spin that this book put on it made it so much more original. It was very predictable, but I didn’t mind because I wanted to find out how the characters got to that ending.


The book was filled with geeky ‘80s references that I didn’t get all the time, so they mostly blew over my head. I think this means that although most people class this book as Young Adult, I’d definitely recommend for all ages, especially adults. It wasn’t crucial to the plot, but I know that if I was older I would have gotten more out of the book, because I know they would have been right up my street.


Although the book was slow in some parts, there was lots of action. Every time I was about to get a little bored, a fast-paced fight scene appeared and I was instantly hooked again. The writing style was very addictive so it was relentlessly readable.

The way that the book is set in the future, yet gives a message about today’s society was truly haunting. I know this book won’t be for everyone, but I definitely really enjoyed it. Also, I believe it’s being made into a film, and I think it will work really well, so I’m really looking forward to that!

 Rating:

4 stars

Review: Vicious

10:00

Vicious
By V.E. Schwab

 Source: Library, paperback
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the arch nemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

 My review:
After reading V.E. Schwab’s other book, A Darker Shade of Magic, I knew I was going to enjoy this one. It had a really original concept that I instantly became intrigued by, even though I’m not a huge fan of comics or superhero films. It was fast paced and really addictive, so I constantly wanted to read on.

I found the relationship between Victor and Eli so interesting to read about. The way they had turned from best friends, to rivals, to arch enemies, made the book so much more unique. They both changed a lot through the story, and to experience that, along with the constant action and nerdy science-fiction explanations and ideas, made this book so much more original.

I also really enjoyed the themes woven through the book. The jealousy and rivalry between Victor and Eli made this book stand out, because of the way this is something that is explored so little. I also really enjoyed the way the line between being a hero and being a villain is shown, and the way that the book questions the difference between heroes and villains.

The plot was also really enjoyable. It was original and unpredictable, so I was constantly gripped. It ha so many twists and turns, but they were perfectly paced and explained so I was never confused. The flash-backs never became boring either, as it was obvious they were going to become important later in the story.

Although this book was a little slow to start with, as soon as I got into it, I enjoyed it so much. Everything explored was really original, meaning the book was never predictable. I’m now super excited for the sequel to be released (as I think the author announced she was writing one) - I found the ending to round off the book well, but there is definitely area for a sequel. I know I’ll definitely be reading it!

 Rating:

4 stars

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

20:51

Attachments
By Rainbow Rowell

Source: Personal purchase, paperback
Genres: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 By day, two young women spend their hours emailing each other, discussing every aspect of their lives. By night, Lincoln, a lonely IT guy, spends his hours reading every exchange. Soon Lincoln is drawn into their lives, and finds himself falling for one of them. Lincoln decides it's time to muster the courage to follow his heart.

 My Review:

 This book was very good. I thought that the characters were very believable, and that made me really care about them. I was involved in the story, and it made me want to read more.

 The only problem I had with the book was that it dragged. There were points in the middle where I really couldn't care less, and where things hadn't happened for a long time. Although, it was nice to see how the characters developed and how they changed their life (especially Lincoln), but - to be honest - I felt that the majority of the book was just setting the scene. Also, the book didn't really give closure: the whole book we were building up to this one point, and then there was only about 10 pages of it. Though, I did still enjoy the bits where nothing happened, but I would have preferred if the pacing was faster. 

 I have mixed opinions on this book. On the one hand, I really did enjoy it and wanted to read it again, but on the other hand, it was a bit of a pointless read. Though, to contradict that, it did teach me some lessons, like you can really love somebody for just their personality and to love someone for how they are when they are at their most relaxed. Also, it taught me that you can be fully loved, and not just to settle for love.

 Overall, it was a good book, and I enjoyed it, but it dragged a bit, and definitely could be a lot shorter. It was super cute, and the banter between Jennifer and Beth had me laughing out loud! I would recommend if you're looking for a laugh.

 Rating: