Book Review: Nicholas Sparks - The Wish (published in 2021)

 

I've never read a novel by NICHOLAS SPARKS, but I'm incredibly familiar with his heartbreaking stories. I've seen every single movie that has come out. THE NOTEBOOK, SAFE HAVEN and THE CHOICE are ones I rewatch regularly. 

When the opportunity presented itself to pick up an early copy of his latest books, I decided to go for it. I'm happy I did, because I loved my time with THE WISH. 

The story is about Maggie, a 16-year-old who finds herself pregnant after a night with a stranger. She is shipped off to Ocracoke on the East Coast of the US, as far away from her parents and friends in Seattle. There she stays with her aunt Linda, and she meets Bryce. A young man with wild ambitions who offers to tutor her. 

We cut back and forth between Maggie now, where she receives devastating medical news and Maggie then. 

A lot of the fun of this novel was in getting to know the characters. Everyone, including the Bryce's pupper, became alive on the page. I couldn't wait to find out how the story would conclude. I had many guesses, and many of them were correct. That didn't mean I was fully invested & inthralled in the expert storytelling on the pages of this book. 

I laughed when Maggie laughed, I cried when she cried. 

I secretly can't wait to see who will be cast for the movie, but for now I'm really happy I checked the book out first. 

Many thanks to the publisher Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy!

Book Review: Lexie Elliott - How to Kill Your Best Friend (published in 2021)

 

This novel has a lot of the elements I love in my thrillers. It has a strong cast of characters who are wel fleshed out. It has a concise plot and clear mystery elements which trip you up as you go. 

It was a bit more predictable than I wanted it to be though. I never guess the outcome of a novel, because it doesn't even occur to me to ever guess what will happen. In this case I guess it around the 25% mark and I was correct. That's a bit of a pity, but that's not were the thrill is alway so it doesn't matter to much. 

The story is about a group of best friends who reunite for their best friend's funeral at a luxury resort where she lived with her husband. The whole group are swimmers and the two girls left Georgie and Bron miss their swimming buddy. 

The way she has passed is very strange and they can't help but investigate a little bit while they're on the island. 

I like how the story unfolds and how we get to meet all the characters. I have a really good picture of what Georgie, Bron, Adam, Duncan, Jem and even Lissa (who has passed) are like. I feel like I know them. 

The ending felt a bit muddled and too slow, but the last scenes blew my mind. I will 100% read LEXIE ELLIOTT's other novels, because if she serves more of this - I'm there for it!

Many thanks to the publisher Atlantic Books and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy!

Book Review: A.S. King - Switch (published in 2021)

I was surprised by how easily I understood what was written and in general how easy it was to be swept away by the writing in this book. I'm not normally one to like "experimental" writing like this. I prefer an author who writes like a real person does, rather than a poetic interpretation. 

That having been said, A.S. KING does a great job in making her writing incredibly accessible. The narrative flows like poetry on the pages, but it remains understandable. 

Tru Beck is a teenager in a world where time has stopped. This happened a few days after her mother left her father and her father lost her job. She's been trying to deal with this new reality for over nine months, and everyone around her has slowly settled in to the fact that there is no such thing as time anymore. 

There's a switch in her house but she doesn't know what it does, because her father has constructed boxes around it to protect the switch. Not only that, the layout of her house shifts around at the whims of her father as well. 

There's quite a lot going on in this short novel. A lot of topics are addressed, but the message always remains clear. The parallel that teenagers kind of have to deal with a similar situation today (in COVID times) makes the overall meaning of this book even stronger. 

I would certainly recommend this novel even if you're not a fan of magical realism or poetical writing, I think you might still enjoy it.

Many thanks to the publisher Text Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy! 

4 stars