follow me on goodreads for more recommendations and reviews!
HOW HARD CAN LOVE BE? (SPINSTER #2) // HOLLY BOURNE
★★★★☆
Quickly becoming if not already a YA favourite with many. After reading Am I Normal Yet? and loving it, it was only right to give this one a read and I started it almost immediately after the first. After reading about Evie's story in the first installment, it was now Amber's turn. It continues to cover feminism taking it another step as well as surrounding first love and relationship with parents. Bourne has taken another step in exploring problems teens of today face. I also loved the change of scenery that came with the book as Amber sets off the America to work at her mum's summer camp. While slightly cliche, the book made me happy and laugh and that's all I ask for in a book like this. I can't wait to get stuck into Lottie's story in the third book next!
NERVE // JEANNE RYAN
★★☆☆☆
This is probably the worst book I've read so far this year. After seeing how fab the trailer for the film adaption looked, in true book lover style, I felt it was my obligation to read the original first. After seeing a few reviews I didn't high expectations and after I'm glad I didn't as I think I'd be even more disappointed than I was. While I loved the storyline idea that centres a lot around the Capitalist beliefs of today and consumerism is a high stakes game of truth or dare, I found, at times the book to be dull. I did enjoy reading the dares and found them quite exciting at times but overall the story was lacking. From the start I was bored; the whole build up of a girl working on a play I felt was unnecessary. I know it was there for character development but I didn't think anything developed from that anyway. I didn't feel any feelings towards the main character; a girl who's known who's reserved who, once money is flashed in her face, suddenly become some wild child. Slight spoiler alert; she has a dead brother. This has quickly become a character trope I hate- I feel it can be a quick way of character development to describe how a character is the way they are and I'm not a fan. As well, I felt there were plot holes and the back stories didn't really run right. Also the ending; it just kind of happened then stopped.
As for the film adaptation, I really enjoyed it. While my favourite dare wasn't included in the film, I think they managed to adapt it well to the screen and the soundtrack I loved. Definitely, don't judge the film by the book with this one.
READY PLAYER ONE // ERNEST CLINE
★★★★☆
From a personal worst to a recent favourite. This book came along at just the right time. It had been a while since I delved into the dystopian/sci-fi worlds and oh how I missed them! Following Wade Watts, it shows the quest to inherit a gaming billionaires fortune through a virtual reality programme the world now escape to and live through due to the disaster the real world has become. There were so many 80's references I was in heaven. While some of the gaming references did go straight over my head, Cline managed to explain the games well to those not so familiar. What I also loved that he did was create this new virtual world so well in my imagine. Explaining back stories and setting so well and intriguing which many writers can't do with me as I'm quite likely to get bored with long descriptive passages but not with this one. The world was so endearing as well as the quest to find this easter egg. At first, I thought it might be too long of a book but I was wrong; it was the perfect length. I also loved the topics weaved within the book from gender stereotypes to global warming, political disputes, terrorism. It was set in years not far from now and it's scary to question "Is this the way things are heading?".It would be a full rating if it wasn't that in parts I found it to lack in action when it came to the middle so it is more of a 4.5 rating. But don't let that take away from being a fantastic book that any gaming lover and 80s enthusiasts like myself would love. This has definitely opened me up to reading more from Ernest Cline in the future as well as opening me up to the missed genre.
What have you read recently? Any recommendations for me to read?
Hope you're doing great,
Sarah x
Post a Comment