I started The Handmaid's Tale read the first chapter then put it down! I then started White Lies and Wishes and done the same, while I really liked both books I just couldn't get into them
So I started Lauren Graham book Talking As Fast As I Can and it hit the spot and got me out of what could of been a long book slump!!
Talking As Fast As I Can~Lauren Graham
At the start of the month I found myself a little burned out from reading so many books in February and was beginning to slide into a book slump. I reached for a book on my TBR that I knew who pick me up and shake off that feeling!
I adore Gilmore Girls, and from December my cousin and I have been binge watching the six series and finally the new series on Netflix.
Like a lot of modern biographies she doesn't get super personal and the focus is mostly on her struggling early life as an actor. Her personality shines through and I loved hearing about her stories, of fashion, early jobs, romances and finally the stories on set at Stars Hollow.
As I was reading this rumours have started that the writers/creators and Netflix are in talks for another series....fingers crossed we might see some more of Stars Hollow!!
White Lies & Wishes~Cathy Bramley
I picked this book up twice this month but after reading Talking...I really got into this book.
I have read a couple of Bramley's books and enjoy her writing style and her characters
This book wasn't my favourite but I did enjoy it. One of the things that draw me to Cathy Bramley are her covers they are always attractive and eye grabbing.
This book tells the story of three women who met a funeral and strike up a friendship .
Three women all with there own different lives and problems, the problem for me was that I didn't find any of the three main characters very likable. If they where such good friends and so comfortable with each other then why where they lying to each other?
It's basically a book about friendship through the good and bad
I did enjoy it but not as much as the other book I read about friendship this month!
The Handmaid's Tale~Margaret Atwood
This was another book that I just couldn't get into at the start of the month, yet when I finally got started with it I couldn't put it down!
Offred is a Handmaid in Republic of Gilead in dystopian future women are second class citizens
Women are no longer allowed to read, they are given jobs such as cooks, cleaners, to be wives and handmaid's which is another word for prostitute/baby maker! In a word where births are in decline Handmaid's are given to powerful men in this new regime regardless if they already have wives or not. The Handmaid must tread a fine line in keeping The Commanders happy and keeping the household peaceful including the Commanders wife. Handmaid's are only valuable to this new world if there reproductive system works and they get pregnant and more importantly give birth to a child. Offred and the other Handmaid's are haunted with memories of the time and there lives before all the madness of this new world.
I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't I like it and found it very intriguing. Yet I needed the whole picture I needed to know why this happened, the timescale and why women where targeted?
There was too many unanswered questions for me to fully commit to the plot. Offred was a character that I didn't really connect with, the author doesn't really give her much of a softer side. I didn't feel heartbreak or sympathy for her situation. While I did feel disgust at the women population was being put through I didn't really feel anything for what was meant to be our heroine.
I did enjoy the premise of this book and the new regime fantasied me but it's characters where not strong enough in what is ultimately a character driven book.
The Double Life Of Mistress Kit Kavanagh~Marina Fiorato
I read this just in time for St Patrick's day! This one was another mixed back for me! I really liked the true story of Kit Kavanagh who when her young husband joins in the English war effort in Italy she follows him into the army dressed as a man! I found the first half of how Kit disguises herself as a man, the journey to Italy, and the first half of her training in the army really enjoyable. The pace for me lulled after a while in the army, it became a bit repetitive for me. The book for me is split into two parts for her time in the army and then as a spy. I found the spy plot refreshing and would of liked to see a little more of that to be honest. It was at this part of the book, that I began to think this would back a good TV show on the style of Outlander, and I actually begin casting actors for each character in my mind!
I loved the historical note at the end of the book confirming that most of the action was in fact true. Kit and Ross where actually real people!
It made me want to read some more Irish historical fiction!
A Time For Friends~Patricia Scanlan
Patricia Scanlan for me is a go to author when I want a good but easy read
This basically a story of three friends and there up and downs through the years
Once again I really enjoyed it, over 500 pages but I read it in three days
It's a story where not much happens it's very character based and easy to read
Sleeper's Castle~Barbara Erskine
This was my first Barbara Erskine book and although I didn't love it, it will not be my last.
I loved the premise of this book I don't read much books set in Wales, this book had a bit of everything in it, historical fiction, tense modern day thriller and magic!
When Miranda moves to Sleeper's Castle after the death of her partner she begins to have strange dreams, soon she is also having them while awake! She begins to have a strange and very really connection with Catrin the women who lived there hundreds of years ago. When war was coming closer and closer to Sleeper's Castle. Miranda's dreams soon cause he trouble in her day to day life can she ever wake from this living nightmare?
I did enjoy this book but felt like I was very distance from the characters, for a book so long I never really connected with the plot or characters. My favourite character was Catrin but I kept waiting for her storyline to really start. While I didn't love this book I will definitely be going back to read more of Barbara Erskine in the future.
What Paul Has Been Reading This Month~
The Man In The High Castle~Philip K Dick
The Man in the High Castle is book from Bladerunner’s Philip K Dick, based in the 60’s; it focuses on the hypothetical “What if the axis powers won the war?” As with all other books I have read, this has made it to the small screen. The story focuses on three main intertwining plots, the antiques trade that sells “decadent American memorabilia” located in Japanese occupied San Francisco, The Nazi undercover agent liaising with the Japanese on a plot that could have massive political implications for the planet and a fitness instructor living in the demilitarised zone in the Rockies.
This book interested me as it showed a difference in culture between the world we live in and the world of the story. This fantasy world could argue that it is technologically far advanced as the Nazis have achieved milestones far beyond what we have achieved now such as landing on mars, draining the Mediterranean for farmland and achieving a flight time of 45 minutes from Sweden to Los Angeles. However culturally, this world is stuck in the 50’s. The reason for the title is a book referenced by all characters hypothesising “What is the axis lost the war”, which follows our timeline up to the 50’s at which point Britain become the aggressors.
I enjoyed this book for the most part but was a little let down by the end, if a book ever deserved a sequel this was one because it left more questions than answers.
I would recommend the TV show currently running because this elaborates and expands on the story
What Oisìn Has Been Reading This Month~
A Dublin Fairytale~Nicola Colton
This book Oisìn has been loving it's a cute Irish spin on Little Red Riding Hood
As Fiona has to go to her Granny's and on the way she pasts different Dublin landmarks!
So that's what our family have been reading how about you?
