Showing posts with label writer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writer. Show all posts

Monday, 1 June 2020

Book Review | Lesley Kara's Who Did You Tell? | prettylittlewriter

This week I'm giving you my opinion on the second novel by Lesley Kara, an author based here in the UK.
I read her first novel, The Rumour, a year or so ago, and I think I managed to finish it in a couple of days. It was the only book I'd actually completed since I finished University, and I knew it was brilliant as I just couldn't put it down. I'd stay up late till the early hours of the morning, forcing myself to stay awake to get to the end and discover the truth. There was also a brilliant twist right at the very end which I really wasn't expecting!

So when I found out she'd released a 2nd book, I had to have it. 

It’s been 192 days, seven hours and fifteen minutes since her last drink. Now Astrid is trying to turn her life around.

Having reluctantly moved back in with her mother, in a quiet seaside town away from the temptations and painful memories of her life before, Astrid is focusing on her recovery. She's going to meetings. Confessing her misdeeds. Making amends to those she's wronged.

But someone knows exactly what Astrid is running from. And they won't stop until she learns that some mistakes can't be corrected.

Some mistakes, you have to pay for... 
This novel began with the suspicion that Astrid had a stalker, and I assumed it was an ex of Astrid's.
Intrigued, as I carried on reading, the reasons behind Astrid's alcohol addiction became apparent, and there was definitely more going on than what you were first lead to believe.

I was very passionate about Astrid and her relationship with the character of Josh, a love interest. I always enjoy a love story, so I was invested in them and so badly wanted their relationship to work. Not only because I like a bit of romance, but I also felt for Astrid, she had been through an awful lot and I wanted her to have something positive in her life.

Lesley really had managed to make me feel for these characters, and that is what I loved the most about the novel. I could really empathize with Astrid, and even her mother at times, as someone with an addiction can be difficult to cope with.

The ending was not what I expected at all, and in all honestly, I should know this by now as there are so many authors out there who manage to lead you down one path and the truth is in the other direction. I was very impressed. 

In conclusion, Lesley Kara knows how to keep you in suspense, and create a character that you are drawn to, needing to know how things end for them.

I would 100% recommend to others, as well as The Rumour. 

3.5/5 stars


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Thursday, 28 May 2020

Woodland Girl; A Poem | prettylittlewriter

Recently, I've been going through my old stories, lyrics and poetry I have saved on my laptop from over the past few years. Most of which are from my teenage years. 


I came across this poem that I wrote back in 2010 when I was sixteen. I'd never been one for poetry, as I often found poems weren't long enough for the kind of stories I wanted to tell.

I thought I'd share it with you however, as I actually quite like this one, and I would love my readers feedback! So please, have a read and leave any comments you have!

A girl stood lonely in the wood,
tears streaming from her eyes.
She didn't know she'd cause a flood,
and destroy many lives.

She thought she’d make it,
but she’d thought wrong,
so she found a place to sit,
to sing the saddest song.

Night came thick and fast,
so she got to her feet,
whilst thinking of the past,
and the people she was unfortunate to meet.

'God, please help me,
save me from this pain,
I’d like a place where I can see,
and figure out my aim.'

She staggered home through the night,
where she found her Mother on the porch,
she put her arms around her tight,
and thought happy thoughts.



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Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Book Review | The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell | prettylittlewriter

For those of you that are subscribed to my blog, hello again! 
I'm finally diving back into the blog scene after 2 years of being absent. I've been fairly busy (but also not very busy in some ways), and as it stands, the world is currently going through a Covid-19 pandemic. 
For me that means I'm shielding (I take immuno-suppression drugs which means I'm at high-risk), which gives me a hell of a lot of alone time with my thoughts.
I am able to work from home, which is great as I think I'd go crazy if I had nothing to do during the week!

In the UK we've been quite lucky as the weather has been beautiful and scorching throughout most of this pandemic, which in turn, also makes it worse when you aren't allowed to leave the house!

Anyway, enough about me and what's currently going on in the world, I'm sure you're all just as sick and tired as I am with this Covid-19 situation!

I have decided to start reviewing books over here on my blog (as well as anything else I think you may find mildly interesting) and I'm starting with the very first book I read this year, The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell.


I picked this book up at the beginning of the year in a mini book spree at The Works (UK-based book/stationary shop). 

I hadn't really read a book from start to finish since I was at University, which is near on 4 years ago now! I decided to start with this one as I was so intrigued by the blurb;

'Meet the Bird family. They live in a honey-colored house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, with rambling, unkempt gardens stretching beyond. Pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together every night. Their father is a sweet gangly man named Colin, who still looks like a teenager with floppy hair and owlish, round-framed glasses. Their mother is a beautiful hippy named Lorelei, who exists entirely in the moment. And she makes every moment sparkle in her children's lives.

Then one Easter weekend, tragedy comes to call. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass as the children become adults, find new relationships, and develop their own separate lives. Soon it seems as though they've never been a family at all. But then something happens that calls them back to the house they grew up in -- and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.'

I was desperate to find out what this devastating secret was to split the family apart so much. 
As I began reading, it became apparent to me that the Mother, Lorelei, was an extreme hoarder, and this was going to be a big part of the story.

I must admit, it took me a long while to work my way through this book. Not because it was badly written or it was a bad story, I simply struggled with relating to any of the characters, and I got very frustrated with Lorelei's character and how she neglected her children and focused on the hoarding to deal with the secret in the family. 

I found Lisa's writing very easy and descriptive. I love reading very detailed stories, it really helps me picture a scene and get involved in the story a lot more.

The terrible secret really was tragic. And Lisa showed each character's grief in different and unique ways, creating a very authentic picture of how much humans differ in handling their emotions.

I was also very happy with the ending; it came full circle and allowed for a happy ending of sorts for each of the characters. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and I am looking forward to reading more of Lisa Jewell's novels. 

I would give it a 7/10.

I hope you like this little book review! I will upload a new review once a week of the books I have already read, and will always update when I finish another.
Thanks for reading!
 



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