BOOK CLUB | May

At the beginning of May, I fell into a huge depression hole and turned to reading for comfort. As I was spending all of my time laying on the sofa, not sleeping and avoiding university work, I had a lot of time to read. So, I zoomed through two amazing books. 

 

As the month progressed, I started to feel better and found that I had a pile the size of the largest mountain of work to do, so reading and writing had to take a back seat, unfortunately. With the rate that I was going at the start of the month, with me reading a book in two to three days, I thought I would have loads to share with you for this book club. However, I do have four books that I can't wait to talk about. 

 

Thrill Seeking: The Book Club

 

In a review I wrote a few weeks ago, I talked about how much I loved this book. And it seems very fitting for the title of this post. 

The Book Club had me hooked from the very first page. All the characters were excellently written, especially Alice, the antagonist, who completely freaked me out. They were all very complex and had hidden depths to them, it's rare you find so many three-dimensional characters in one novel, so hats off to the author, C.J. Cooper. 

As I said in my review, the use of the small village setting worked perfectly as it created a sense of claustrophobia, as if there was no escape. Alice wanted Lucy, the protagonist, to feel that way and she succeeded. She even succeeded in making me feel that way.

The use of the Book Club was to expose everyone in Lucy's friendship group's secrets and lies. Alice joyfully watched everything unravel, as she destroyed everything Lucy had worked hard to build. This was all done for revenge over something that, debatably, wasn't even Lucy's fault. But you can decide that if and when you read the novel yourself. 

If you want to read more about The Book Club then you can read my review on it here. Otherwise, I absolutely loved this novel.

5/5 stars.

A Warming Read: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda 

 

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertall catapulted me right out of a reading slump. I finished this book off in two days. I've missed being able to do that with books, this one was like a miracle to me. 

 

When I first watched the film, Love, Simon, I knew I had to read the book and boy, was I not disappointed. What can I say other than this book was lovely to read, it was easy, it flowed. I couldn't put it down or stop thinking about it, I was even thinking about it in the shower. That's how hooked I was on this book. 

 

Nearly all of the characters were loveable, apart from Martin. I really didn't like Martin. There was no way I could after he blackmailed Simon, that was just plain evil. 

 

Before I knew it, I had read over a hundred pages in one sitting. Everything seemed resolved when there were still over 30 pages left, which worried me a little. What else could possibly go wrong? Will Simon get his happy ending? Luckily, things ended beautifully and happily. It left me with a good feeling.

 

5/5 stars.

 

An Inspiring Read: The Midnight Library

 

Another one I decided to write a full review for, I was incredibly impressed with The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It was heart-warming, saddening and made you think about life. And with such an interesting concept as the Midnight Library being some form of purgatory where you can live various lives that could have been yours if you had made different choices, this was impossible to put down. 

Experiencing the different lives of Nora was extremely fun and interesting. It made me think about my own life and my own choices: what if I never decided to move to Bristol? What if I didn't take that masters in marketing? How would things be different for me? Well, Nora got to explore exactly how things would have been different for her, had she made certain choices.

 

I was extremely moved by this novel and I believe that everyone should read it. This book will have you believe that there truly is a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark things may seem. One can turn on their own light, only you're in control of your actions. Haig has written a touching novel about finding the small joys in life, about how you can be the change you want to see. 

 

A book that belongs on everyone's bookshelf, I of course know what rating I'm giving this one.

 

5/5 stars.   

 

A London Love Story: Meet me in London 

 

Whilst the other three books pulled my out of my reading slump, this one unfortunately put me back in it. Although, I can't fully blame the book because I have had a lot of university deadlines. However, it just took me so long to read. The chapters were too long and some of it was too clichéd for me, such as the helicopter ride. But I'm not about to give my first bad review because, other than what I mentioned, I did honestly enjoy the book. 

Meet me in London focuses on the touching love story of fashion designer, teacher and barmaid, Victoria, and rich and powerful, Oliver of family company, Russell and Co. When Oliver offers Victoria to showcase her designs at his department store, they make a deal. Victoria will pretend to be his fiancé for a short duration of time. However, when time runs out, will they be able to walk away from the deal?

 

Victoria and Oliver are both loveable characters with interesting and heartbreaking backstories. I believe Victoria has a wonderful group of friends who support her unconditionally and who have been through a lot together. Whilst this novel was clichéd at time, it did work, and it warmed my heart to see things work out for the best in the end. 

Overall, I did enjoy this novel, even if it took me a while to read. 

4/5 stars. 

That brings us to an end of May's Book Club. I'm glad I've been able to share with you four books, even if I thought it was going to be more. Hopefully, I can get back out of my reading slump once again and share even more books with you. 

Until the next time,

Char.