Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern

It’s not because it was very very bad that I’m only giving it two stars. The story was actually pretty interesting and original but my main issue with this book was the lead male character. What. A. Jackass…

I HATED him!! Why would you write a character like this Cecelia? Why?

Aherns main target market is women right? So why she wrote the male lead character as a total dickhead I’ll never understand. He was selfish, he was vain, he treated most of the women in his life terribly including his daughter and he was so bloody whiney. Aren’t we all supposed to fall in love with the male character too? Can you fall in hate? Because that’s what I did. Fell head over heels in hate with Justin, I did.

There were too many flaws and annoyances in this book to justify giving it more than two stars. I found it hard to relate to Joyce also. She had just lost a baby but decides pretty much immediately that her marriage is over now that there is no baby to keep them together. Why would you bring a child into a relationship where the parents are not happy together? Band aid babies don’t work and they’re extremely selfish on the adults part. Then within about a week or two she falls head over heels in love with a man she’s barely said two words to. The fact that Justin was so unlikeable made me want to scream at her “DONT BOTHER LOVE HES A TOTAL WASTE OF SPACE”. Also by the way, the author could have researched the physical aspects of a miscarriage, especially one at that late stage. Flying to London a few days after is probably not what most women would want to do in that situation.

I will say that Joyce’s father was by far my favourite part of the whole book. He was written exceptionally well which made the disaster that is Justin’s character stand out even more. I loved all his typical old Irish man comments and he made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. The way Joyce treated him made me want to punch her in the face and I’m not a violent person.

Doris and Al were also pretty funny in their own way but Frankie and Kate irritated me. Frankie more so than Kate. Her attitude towards Kate for deciding to be a stay-at-home mum was atrocious. I, personally, have all the respect and admiration in the world for stay-at-home mums because I couldn’t do it and wish I could. The weekends are hard enough in my eyes!

Not Aherns best work for sure.

 

A Storm of Swords (Part Two Blood and Gold) by George RR Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire #3)

Woah….

Martin sure doesn’t hold back when it comes to killing off some major characters. I knew that Joffrey met his end in this instalment thanks to the horrible combination of being behind the TV series and social media. Facebook was flooded with joy at the death of the boy king. Can’t say I cried with grief either. Let’s face it, Joff was a horrible, horrible character. But let’s all also admit that we all loved to hate him right? I’ll miss hating him I think.

However I didn’t know that a number of other major characters also meet their sticky ends in this book. I was shocked when Robb and Catelyn were killed and I must say it was nice to be shocked by a book. It’s been way too long since I’ve been reading a book and didn’t see a supposed ‘twist’ coming a mile away. I actually sat up and went ‘WHAT???’ out loud when I read that chapter. To the point where my fiancé came into the room to see if I was ok. I was ok, but barely. Robb was my new Ned! Who am I left with now? It’s kind of left me in a bit of a pickle to be honest.

And then Ygritte too?? Okay we didn’t get to know and love Ygritte as much as other killed off characters but I still enjoyed her and I liked that she brought out a different side to Jon. Lady Lysa was a definitely a character I was in no way sad to see go. Unlike King Joffrey I didn’t love to hate Lysa I just plain hated her. And she irritated me. And her snivelling, snot nosed, spoiled brat of a kid annoyed the crap out of me too. I won’t miss her but it sure was a long way down that she had to wave goodbye…

Other than all the shocking deaths (and rebirths) it was a hell of a read. I literally couldn’t put it down. Usually I find there are chapters from some characters that I enjoy more than others but in this instalment I can honestly say that I was looking forward to every chapter equally. From Dany to Jon I couldn’t wait to hear from each character.

A final word for Tyrion. Oh sweet Tyrion… Will he ever find happiness in some form or other? Or will he be destined to be tainted by his Lannister name. I was hoping that eventually Sansa would see his softer side and even grow to love or care for him but that looks unlikely now. I’m looking forward to seeing where he ends up because how will he possibly be able to hide? He’s a dwarf missing a nose how many of those do you know?

I’m already thinking of where and when I can invest in A Feast for Crows.

 

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #13)

I’ve had my ups and downs with this series. I loved it in the beginning and thought I’d never find anything better. However it got a bit convoluted and repetitive. It took me awhile to remember who was who at the start of this book but once I settled into it I started to enjoy reading about Sookie and the gang once again.

I liked meeting all the old reliable characters such as Amelia and Tara and Sam but the lack of Eric was irritating. I was very disappointed with how Eric and Sookies relationship ended. It seems that he was really never in love with her at all and was mostly just using her for his own benefits. Depressing, since we spent the last seven or eight books falling in love with him.

I’m not sure about the ending to be honest. I don’t really know what I wanted but this fell a bit short of my expectations for sure. It was too neat and tidy. Do we really expect Sookie to be happy living a “normal” life with Sam. No drama, no murders, no vampires, no nothing? Hmm… I’m not so sure. Sure it was nice to see her get a happy ending but I just felt a bit deflated closing the book.

Also what is with the authors need for useless filler information? I don’t need to know every time Sookie checks her email or goes for a shower or changes her outfit. It irritated me after a while and made me think the author was bulking up the book as best she could as it was really quite short especially considering it was the last in the series. Most finale books are the biggest of the lot and even though I read this on my kobo so don’t know the exact size I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the shortest of the series.

This is a series that needed to end and I’m glad Charlaine did it now and didn’t wait any longer because it has been on the brink of disaster for awhile now and I would have hated to see more of her fans turn against her. So long Sookie I may revisit you at some point in my life when my reading time isn’t so restricted.

 

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

** Spoilers in this review**

So I’ve read three of Picoults books now and this rated probably second before Nineteen Minutes and after My Sisters Keeper. It wasn’t as gripping as Nineteen Minutes but it also wasn’t the painful sob fest that My Sisters Keeper was.

Basically Salem Falls centers around Jack, a teacher, who is wrongly accused of having a sexual affair with a student and minor. He gets convicted and spends eight months in prison. Upon finishing his sentence he randomly stops in Salem Falls and finds a job at the local diner. He starts to settle in and even finds a love interest in the diner owner Addie. Unfortunately it all goes belly-up when he has to register as a sex offender and locals start to find out about his sordid past.

To cut a long story short, he’s once again accused of sexual assault on a teenage girl. He once again pleads his innocence but the reader remains in doubt as to whether he is truly telling the truth.

The problem I have with Jack is this. He’s a bit of an idiot isn’t he? A man previously wrongly convicted of sexual assault should surely run a mile from a group of semi naked teenage girls alone in the middle of the woods at night. Not Jack. He sits down and joins them for a cup of tea and a dance around the bonfire. And yes, I know he was drunk but come on?? Drunk or not I think he should have been able to grasp the ridiculousness of the whole situation.

As for Gillian…

What. A. Nutjob.

The last line in the book is supposed to be this huge dramatic twist but I could see it coming from about a third of the way in. Gillian was so messed up it was clear there was something going on in her life that made her the way she was. Doesn’t excuse lying about someone rapeing you though does it? Women who lie about sexual assaults are the scum of the earth in my opinion as every time a woman does this a real rape victims chance of being believed lessens just a little bit.

The thing is though that Gillian is a rape victim it’s just that Jack is not the rapist. It’s her dear old dad. Why she feels the need to accuse someone else is beyond me.

I liked Roy he was cute!

Not totally bad but not totally good either.