Romance – Page 19 – My Good Reads

‘The Loose Ends List’ – Carrie Firestone

There’s no getting away from the fact that we’re all going to die some day. However it happens, we leave behind something of ourselves. This is a book that acknowledges the fact that, sometimes, we want to be able to control our last moments-whether it’s to preserve our dignity, or to minimise the suffering of loved ones.

When the novel opens, Maddie is preparing to go off to college. She is called to a family dinner where her beloved grandma announces she has pancreatic cancer and has booked for the family to spend the summer on a cruise. Only this cruise is all about those on board being allowed to choose their moment to die.

This could have been quite morose given the subject matter, but Firestone works hard to create vibrant characters whose joy of life allows them to focus on what positives remain.

While grandma could be seen as very manipulative, it definitely seems that she is engineering situations for those around her to find the strength to come to accept her leaving. The image of Maddie and Enzo surrounded by phosphorescence when they are kayaking will stay with me for some time, and I don’t think I’ll be able to look at a snow globe without thinking of this novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me access to this before publication.

‘How Hard Can Love Be?’ – Holly Bourne

Another hard-hitting novel by Holly Bourne that comes disguised as fluffy fun.

This time around we focus on Amber, starting as she heads off to America to see her mother for the first time in two years. Amber is excited at the prospect of working at a summer camp and spending time with her mother, but she also worries that her mother is not interested in her.

The voice is distinctive. From the moment we see Amber boarding the plane with a hangover to the very dramatic journey she makes out of camp, this is crammed full of conundrums, advice and humour.

Personally I would have liked more Lottie and Evie, but there’s plenty here to keep readers interested.

‘When We Collided’ – Emery Lord

If it weren’t for my involvement with the YA Buddy Readers’ Corner group on GoodReads, I might not have stumbled across this book.

The love story of Jonah and Vivi on one hand, but it was so much more than that.

Jonah and his older siblings have virtually taken over the care of their younger siblings as their mother is experiencing depression after the sudden death of her husband. Understandably, this is a challenging situation. It allowed the writer to explore a range of relationships, but it seemed to weaken the story for me ever so slightly. I completely understand that grief will impact in many different ways, but I didn’t get enough to explain how the Daniels family have allowed this situation to develop.

Anyway, when Jonah and Vivi meet it really is a collision. They are both fragile and needy in their own ways, but they find each other at the time they’re needed.

There were so many lovely moments described in this book. While I thought Jonah and Vivi were really cute together, I couldn’t help but feel the story could have been more powerful without the romantic bond between them.

I enjoyed the split narrative, and felt the portrayal of how Vivi lives with bipolar disorder was searingly honest. A funny but unflinching story exploring how people can hurt but also save each other.

‘The Modern Faerie Tales Trilogy’ – Holly Black

As a fan of Holly Black I was keen to read these, though reviews are definitely mixed.

Tithe, the first book in the series, was not off to a good start if I’m being truthful. Kaye didn’t seem to be very well-drawn at first, and I can’t believe that nobody seemed to find it weird that this girl spent her early years claiming to see fairies. Of course, when, at sixteen, she discovers she is actually a pixie things start to make a little more sense – but not much! The whole thing felt quite disjointed for me as a reader, and I don’t think I really got my head around who played what role/how the world was set up.

‘Valiant’, the second book in the series, is the one that most reviews seem to be quite negative about. I’m not sure what it says about me that this novel was, in my view, a more appealing read. Though it was a little off-putting initially to have a new cast of characters, I found Val and her friends much better developed. The way in which they band together to try and puzzle out the plotting taking place in the faerie world was engaging. There was a clear sense of things being drawn together for the final part of the trilogy.

In ‘Ironside’ it is time for Roibin’s coronation, and Kaye risks telling him how she feels. When she is sent on a seemingly impossible quest to find a faerie who will lie, Kaye tells her mother the truth about who she is. I loved Corny and Luis in this, and this was a fitting end to the trilogy. Some parts were really creepy, but this was a definite hint of the great writing to come.

‘Six of Crows’ – Leigh Bardugo

It’s been a while since I read the Grisha trilogy, but it was a series I thoroughly enjoyed and I was looking forward to this.

Although we return to the land of the Grisha, we are introduced to a new cast of characters. One of our main protagonists is Kaz Brekker, a young criminal who is determined to carry out a seemingly impossible heist.

As I was reading, it did take a while to get accustomed once more to the world/names, but this was a book that was full of action. The slow build-up to the attack on the Ice Court could have been a little less detailed, but once things got going they got going quickly.

I liked the fact that a lot of the novel focused on the relationships between some of the key characters. Watching their relationships shift and develop was entertaining, and there is definite potential for further visits to these characters to get some answers to the questions we are left with at the end of the novel.

‘Forbidden’ – Tabitha Suzuma

Published in 2011, Suzuma’s novel ‘Forbidden’ is definitely not one that you want to go into without knowing a little of the subject matter. As with many of Suzuma’s stories, love and family are at the heart of it…in this case, they form an uncomfortable alliance.

‘Forbidden’ takes a controversial subject, the incestuous relationship between seventeen year-old Lachan and his younger sister, Maya, and urges us to explore our feelings and responses to this taboo. Suzuma writes about the topic sensitively, and alternating the viewpoints of our two main characters means that we can clearly see just how each of them responds to their feelings and what they think they should do about them.

As with other stories by Suzuma, dysfunctional family relationships are a recurring theme. In this story, we are surrounded by them! Lachan and Maya are, essentially, teenage parents to their younger siblings as they cover for their alcoholic mother when she abandons them. Their closeness seems to make sense as they have, for years, depended on each other. When they finally make the decision to cross that line of social acceptability, we are asked to question whether what they are doing is really that wrong.

The angst felt by both characters stops this feeling like a doomed love story cliché. Unfortunately, Maya was a character that I often found irritating. Sometimes she seemed very naive, yet she also seems to be the one pushing for more and I felt that her reactions at key moments were not wholly credible. I also found it hard to accept that this situation would ever have gone on as long as it did without some adult intervention.

The ending, when it inevitably all goes wrong, was hard to take. By the time we get to the, quite frankly, stunning final moments, we are caught up entirely in the relationship between all the siblings. What we got was not what I expected and I’m not sure I can say I enjoyed this book, but it certainly got me thinking.

‘You Know Me Well’ – David Levithan and Nina LeCour

First things first, books that I have read by David Levithan have transported me to a different place. The characters are intriguing, and I cannot wait to find out their fate. To this book I didn’t quite have the same response.

On the night Mark and Kate finally talk, in a bar in the city as they celebrate Pride, they are both running away from something. They talk, and just click. Nothing romantic here, but these two help each other to get through their last week of high school as they’re trying to come to terms with how things are changing.

There were some lovely moments in here, but there also seemed to be some moments that I felt overly complicated the essence of the novel. At times it felt a little like a fairy story and the events seem very unlikely. However, the friendship between Kate and Mark is endearing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘Carry On’ – Rainbow Rowell

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On – The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.

When I read ‘Fangirl’ I found the intrusion of the Simon Snow characters irritating at times, but I loved the characters and was curious to see what ‘Carry On’ would be like. The fact that Rowell has published this would suggest that the characters also got under her skin, and she was curious to see what their story would be like.

I felt the start was a little slow in setting up what became a really engaging story. It was great fun to see these wonderful characters a little more developed. I felt the way Rowell described their relationships was engaging. Top of the list for pure entertainment though has to be the Baz and Simon relationship – brilliant.

Rowell’s story bears very obvious similarities initially with Harry Potter, and there seem to be more than one or two nods to other culturally well-known relationships/stories. However, that doesn’t stop the novel being engaging and entertaining in its own right. The actual plot concerning the Mage and Simon’s role in all this was a brave move. For me, it highlighted the idea of Simon being a pawn in someone else’s game all the way through (or am I reading too much into this?)

‘The Shadow Queen’ – C.J. Redwine

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic…

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and, despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

Yes, this is a reworking of Snow White and it is as odd as it sounds. There’s some great action and the magical elements will really captivate readers. I found it a quick and fairly exciting read, but it wasn’t quite what I hoped. I think the moment Kol was identified as part-dragon and I realised Irina would use him to try and defeat Lorelai was the moment when I lost a little interest. It all seemed rather inevitable, and I feel it could have been much darker.

‘Confess’ – Colleen Hoover

I’ve not read anything by Colleen Hoover before, and the moment I saw this categorised as ‘romance’ I was twitchy. It is not my go-to genre, and I admit to being reluctant to read this. However, the information given about the plot was enough to convince me to try it, and I’m so glad I did.

The Prologue, where we learn about Auburn’s relationship with Adam, was something of a punch to the gut. It was intense, and I can only imagine that such an ending to the first serious relationship you have would impact enormously on your daily life in the future. To then focus on Auburn five years on, trying to keep herself going, meant I couldn’t help but root for her.

The first meeting between Owen and Auburn was – call me cynical – a bit much. It reminded me why I do not normally read romance novels, but I have to say that I liked the relationship that developed quite naturally between them.

Throughout, I was intrigued by the hints dropped about Owen’s link to Auburn. I had all manner of theories – none of which were remotely accurate.

As we get to know more about Auburn’s life, and those characters mixed up in it, I was desperate for things to work out. Seeing Owen persevere even when it seemed pointless was heart-warming.

I can’t say too much about the ending as it’s probably best to discover it as you read, but I was hooked from just over halfway and couldn’t wait to see what happened. The final confession made me teary, but this was a great experience.