Here we are! Can you believe this is actually happening? I haven't posted a wrap-up in sooo looong but I've read so many great books in March, I really wanted to share.
I may have not read as much as other people, but five books is quite a success for me and I did find a few contenders for top books of the year.
Not too shabby, uh?
THE GREAT
The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood
Now, what more can I say of this book other than absolutely gorgeous? It was the March/April book club pick (so you still have time to read it in case you haven't!) and I think, no, I'm sure it's my favourite one we've read so far. It takes place in Cambridge, so you already have those University vibes going on, and it follows Oscar, a care assistant as he falls in love with Iris Bellwether and enters this world of privilege and murder where Eden, Iris' brother, is the leader. This book screams dark academia! and it's probably the most fitting book in this genre, after The Secret History.
I would highly recommend it, especially if you have read Donna Tartt's masterpiece but also if you haven't read it because you're scared of the number of pages and the negative reviews. The Bellwether Revivals has the same vibes that TSH gives but without being boring and so bloody long. Also, I fucking sobbed at the end so there you have it, a perfectly accomplished novel.
(a full discussion of this book will happen on the 29th of April)
THE GOOD
Diary of a Film* by Niven Govinden
Wow. This book was better than I expected it to be. I had a few issues with Govinden's writing before so I wasn't sure if I was gonna like this or not but boy, it was so good!
We follow an auteur as he stays in a little Italian town with his actors for the premiere of their new film. There, he meets a woman who takes him on a night tour of the city and starts unravelling her story made of love and loss and the constant reminder that life goes on, even when someone you once loved isn't in it anymore.
It's a journey into storytelling and art and Italian food as well as a deep dive into human emotions which can be so confusing and sudden and terrifying but also light and tender. It's a story about love in its many forms and I'll be recommending this book to everyone for a very long time.
The Twisted Ones* by T.Kingfisher
This book was such a pleasant surprise, I couldn't believe it took me so long to pick it up from my un-read shelf! It's a creepy one, which is probably why I waited this long, but it's also the kind of creepy that people usually enjoy, because it has those folkloristic elements that make the read so interesting, you want to keep going to see where it leads.
The story follows Mouse as she's tasked by her father to empty her late grandmother's house from all the junk she left behind. It's not easy, because what her dad didn't tell her is that her grandmother was a hoarder so the house is basically the grave for anything useless: dead or alive.
Whilst going through her grandma's stuff, she finds a journal belonging to Cotgrave, grandma's husband, who died years before. The diary is made of his constant rumbles about the twisted ones, things that don't make sense to Mouse until she hears things in the dark and starts seeing things that shouldn't be real.
This book freaked the crap outta me. It was so twisted (ha!) and chilling but the tone was also light and funny thanks to Mouse's hilarious internal dialogues. Also, Bongo the dog is so precious and you know me and my obsession with dogs. So go ahead and read it for Bongo's sake (but with the lights on, for yours).
THE MEH
One Night, New York* by Lara Thompson
Let me explain. I had high hopes for this book and I thought I knew where things were going but man I was wrong. It takes place in New York in the thirties, so you can feel that vibrancy of Greenwich Village full of artists and glitzy parties but you can also see the other side of it, the bad side, the darker one.
When Frances decides it's not safe for her anymore to stay at home with her parents, she travels across the country to move with her brother who is waiting for her in New York City. She's imagining her new life and the woman she could become, especially after meeting Jacks and Dicky who shows her that there's more than the four walls her brother keeps her in.
But then she becomes suspicious of her brother and the secret stash of money he hides under the floorboards and with the help of her new friends and lovely Agnes, she uncovers the truth about her brother's job. But it's when things go irremediably south that things start making sense and the need of revenge is stronger than any morals.
Now, don't get me wrong, I loved this book from around halfway through it to the very end, it's the first half I had problems with. I feel like the author focused more on delivering beautifully written sentences instead of giving the reader some juicy stuff. I was so bored because nothing really happened up until one specific moment where everything starts unfolding, revealing the darkest, most cruel secrets I wasn't expecting. You can read all about my thoughts on it on the full review (coming soon)
THE NO, THANK YOU, NEXT
Insatiable* by Daisy Buchanan
I feel like this book has been on everyone's nightstand (and for a good reason, may I add) and people keep talking about it like it's the new Nora Ephron or E.L.James. Okay, probably more like the latter, to be fair.
It follows Violet as she is a struggling Millennial with a job she loves but doesn't pay her enough, a problem with buying expensive dresses she clearly can't afford and an obsession with sex. Like, I get you sis. I feel like being broke and on the verge of yet another mental breakdown with your hand down your vagina is a protocol in our twenties. It means you're getting there, but not quite.
When she meets Lottie, beautiful, classy, awfully rich and everything Violet aspires to be, she is seduced by her (and her lifestyle, and her husband) and her job proposition which ends up only being code for threesome, adultery and orgy.
Violet is the most annoying character I've ever read about and honestly, if it wasn't for the very detailed, almost pornographic scenes, I would have dnf'ed it immediately. But you can keep reading about my rants on this book in my full review.
*These books have been kindly provided by Publishers but all opinions are my own.