The Clasp by Sloane Crosley These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik

Mini Reviews: The Silkworm, Pepper Jones, The A-Z of You and Me

Monday, May 11, 2015

Time for some reviews, don't you think?

WHAT'S THE DEAL? The second book in the Cormoran Strike series. Cormoran is hired by the wife of an author who frequently goes walkabout. However, this time the wife is convinced something is amiss. Cormoran soon finds himself at the same conclusion after discovering the missing author's latest work, which is a big two finger salute to all of his frenemies in the publishing world. Cormoran and Robin team up again to solve the mystery. 

ANY GOOD? I've been meaning to read this since it was published. Finally, it came down to a reasonable price on iBooks, so I purchased it and dove right in. I loved it as much as the first one - if not more. J.K Rowling just has a gift for creating eccentric and memorable characters and The Silkworm is full of them. I have to say, I didn't guess the culprit until very close to the reveal. It was very well played. I also love that London is very much a character in the novel too. I could picture the city whilst reading it (probably because I was on the train into the city...). It's not the nicest of cities during wintertime and this was captured perfectly. Why didn't they make these into BBC shows instead of The Casual Vacancy? I think there'd be more of an audience for these. Anyway, I can't wait for the next one. 

ADD TO BASKET? If you like a good detective story and enjoyed the first Cormoran Strike novel. 



WHAT'S THE DEAL? Both books follow Pepper Jones, a high school cross country star, as she navigates high school politics and her increasingly difficult to ignore feelings for her best friend. 

ANY GOOD? Who's that girl? What's her name? Is she cool? Is she lame? Oh you're talkin' 'bout whats-her-name? PEPPER ANN...

No, in all seriousness, I really enjoyed these books. Good 'old-fashioned' contemporary YA. There wasn't too much drama or angst - just great friends, a cute romance, and a cool main character. I liked that Pepper was so invested in her cross-country and there was quite a lot of sports action scenes, which is definitely my cup of tea. I also liked that everything was steeped in friendship and enjoying school. Oh and of course Grandma Bunny! 

ADD TO BASKET? If you like books by Miranda Kenneally and Jennifer Echols. 




WHAT'S THE DEAL? Ivo ruminates on the days of his youth and his one true love.

ANY GOOD? This book was quite beautiful. It wasn't what I expected at all - I thought it was going to be a hipster, 500 Days of Summer kind of thing but it really wasn't. I don't really want to give anything away but I will say it'll get into your heart and you might get a little teary. 

ADD TO BASKET? Yes. That's all.