Throwback Thursday

Every Thursday I’m going to focus on a book that I’ve read and enjoyed, but for whatever reason I haven’t written a review for it. I would say I only review a third or so of what I read, so I’m glad I’ve finally organised a place to rave about the books I missed and maybe twist someone’s arm into finding their next favourite book.

The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker by Lauren James

Favourites of 2020

Well it’s a week or so later than I originally planned, but finally it’s here. My wrap up of 2020. Life wise all has been well here, where I live we have managed to avoid, for now, Covid affecting our lives too much. The kids had a couple of weeks off school and a lot of business was closed for a while. I was off work for six months, but a lot of other people were affected way more than us. My daughter and I have started volunteering at a wildlife hospital, my son has taken up a new sport and I’m looking forward to trying new things in 2021 (Well maybe saying that I’m looking forward to new things is a bit strong lol). I also fell in love with reading middle grade books and they kept me reading while I was teetering on the verge of a massive slump.

Please Don’t Hug Me by Kay Kerr

Your eyes don’t deceive you, it’s actually happening, I’m reviewing a contemporary read. And what a delightful read it was.

• Australian author 

• Female author

• Own voices

• Autistic female main character

Please Don’t Hug Me ticks all the boxes. That title is simply the best. The story was told in letter format. The characters are all incredibly relatable and just trying to do their best. The family was flawed but truly wonderful. It was heart warming, engaging and an absolute delight. 

Synopsis – A funny-serious own-voices story about what happens when you stop trying to be the person other people expect you to be and give yourself a go.

Erin is looking forward to Schoolies, at least she thinks she is. But things are not going to plan. Life is getting messy, and for Erin, who is autistic, that’s a big problem. She’s lost her job at Surf Zone after an incident that clearly was not her fault. Her driving test went badly even though she followed the instructions perfectly. Her boyfriend is not turning out to be the romantic type. And she’s missing her brother, Rudy, who left almost a year ago.

But now that she’s writing letters to him, some things are beginning to make just a tiny bit of sense.

Erin is the most wonderful main character. She is absolutely adorable and is doing her absolute best to be who everyone wants her to be. But it’s not easy and as she is growing up, she realises things aren’t going to work out the way she had planned. 

I can empathise with Erin and her family so much. The way they are written is brilliant. The style brings us right into Erin’s head, we see everything the way she does and I think it’s fantastic. She is a delight with a kind heart. This was a really beautiful coming of age story. The growth throughout was realistic and had me cheering for Erin and her family. Her little brother was such a sweet, innocent character. Also fantastic female friendships for the win!!

Please Don’t Hug Me is such an easy read. The format makes it fly by. I read it a couple of hours as I couldn’t put it down. If you are after a contemporary absolutely brimming with heart, this is the book for you. It will leave you with a massive smile on your face, even after it rips your heart out. 

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Goodreads  –  Amazon  –  Released: 28th April 2020

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WWW Wednesday

Today I have a super simple post to let the world know what I’m reading. Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, you answer 3 questions and hey presto, you are all done.

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Story Magic by Laurel Gale

In a world where females are banned from telling stories and stories are never told for entertainment, we have the Listeners. If they are told a story and they like it they can help you with magic. 12 year old Kaya knows that she isn’t to tell stories or something bad will happen, but after feeling the tingle on her neck telling her a Listener is nearby, she takes a breath and shares a story. The Listener repays her story with a little bit of magic. But when her brother is taken to a nearby city to be interrogated, she knows deep down that this is her fault and that she must do everything she can to save him.

WWW Wednesday

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, you answer 3 questions and hey presto, you are all done. Don’t forget to head over to her page and link up and see what everyone else is up to.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Along The Razor’s Edge by Rob J. Hayes

When Rob Hayes puts the word out that he is looking for bloggers to review his new book, my automatic response is flailing, a giant yes please and hoping I can get my greedy hands on it. As you can tell I was successful, I have since read it and it was bloody brilliant.

“At just fifteen years old, I had fought in the greatest war mankind has ever known. I had been one of the Orran’s most powerful Sourcerers, celebrated by our allies and feared by our enemies. I had helped bring prosperity to my emperor’s lands, destruction to his foes. And now I was a prisoner, my power gone with my Sources. There was only one place the Terrelans would send a prisoner as valuable as I – the Pit.”

The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley

AMBITIOUS, CREATIVE, FANTASTICAL, DIVERSE, EPIC.

Once again Hurley has shown us that she is an absolute force. I can only imagine how daunting this project was purely because of how epic in scope it is. I think the word dense could be used to describe this book (I don’t mean that in a bad way), there is so much worldbuilding, there are so many characters, there are so many cultures and histories and we get to dive into it all. She doesn’t hold us back. She gives us as readers everything she has and she smashed it out of the park. This is the longest book by Hurley I have read and as with her other stories she doesn’t waste words. Every word on the page has a purpose. I fucking love that.