#55 The Cows

The Cows by Dawn O'Porter

The Cows follows the story of 3 middle aged women: Tara, Stella and Cam.

Tara is a 42 year old single mother to six year old Annie. Her life is turned upside down when after a date she masturbates on a late night tube when she thinks shes alone in the carriage. She is filmed in the throws of ecstasy and the footage is posted online and goes viral overnight. When the video has been viewed by 9 million people she is branded 'wank woman' and her life has instantly been altered forever.

Stella is a 29 year old with not much going for her. Both her mum and identical twin sister died of cancer at a young age and she feels like her destiny to go out the same way is written in the stars. She inherited her London flat from her mum and lives there with her boyfriend Phil. She works as a PA to a photographer who is in the middle of writing his first book. Her job is her life and she doesnt have many real friends due to living in her twin sisters shadow for the majority of her life.

Cam is a lifestyle 'say it like it is' blogger who found fame through her website howitis.com which is a global sensation. Women tune in to read her no nonsense attitude to life. Cam is in her early thirties with no desire to conform to getting married or having children. She writes blog posts about her choice to be childless and is hailed both a drama queen attention seeker by some and a goddess feminist by others. She is a constant disappointment to her mother and has 3 sisters who are all married with children. She also has slight agoraphobic tendencies and enjoys sleeping with much younger men.

There are so many unexpected twists to this story and the writing really is superb. I think the main theme is how much the internet can destroy your life. I am a massive fan girl of the internet, i use it for everything but this book was so thought provoking that it made me delve into the not so nice side that the internet has to offer how overnight it can strip you of your job, make the people closest to you very uncomfortable and also how it can open up a forum in which people can discuss what a terrible parent you are.

I adored this so much that i read it in one sitting which is fascinating considering i have a 16 month old toddler. I had no idea what it was about going in and that really worked for me as i wasnt expecting too much but 1 chapter in i was hooked. I am very keen to read more of Dawn O'Porters work as the writing was so intricate and her style made the story flow really well. I loved the feminist themes woven in and how all three women didnt conform to societal norms.

The ending shocked me as it was so sudden yet also very satisfying at the same time. Solid 4 stars from me.

#54 Strange the Dreamer

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Where to begin... well this book near damn killed me, those last 30 pages or so made me sob! Ive wanted to read this for so long as ive seen it everywhere and everyone and their aunt has read it already. Ive been massively into YA fantasy lately so it seemed like the perfect time to pick it up, boy was i not prepared! Going into this i knew nothing, not one thing about it so experiencing it first hand was amazing

So Strange the Dreamer follows the story of Lazlo Strange an orphan boy who was very sickly from birth, he was raised by monks, when he is 12 he goes to a library and never leaves and when he became of age he became a junior librarian himself. Lazlo never knew love and basically raised himself. He grew up with stories and fairy tales of the lost city of Weep and made it his lifes mission to discover this fantastical land.

When Lazlo is given an opportunity to go with a group to save the city of Weep when the Godslayer visits the library in order to recruit the scholars to help him with his mission to save Weep. As Lazlo is not a scholar he thinks there is no hope for him to be chosen to go but as he has studied the language of Weep for seven years he pleads to the Godslayer to take him along as a storyteller. This is the first time outsiders have been invited into the city of Weep.

The main thing i loved was the the world building, jesus it was second to none! The devastation of Weep and the lose of the children was amazingly descriptive and so well written.  The pacing and flow of the story was also really well done.

I loved Lazlo as a character as hes portrayed as an unattractive, rough character with a crooked nose i just loved him so much, he is so kind hearted and his love for books is so endearing. The romance is so so beautiful and honestly nearly killed me. Lazlo is such a pure character who has earned a spot in my top fictional characters of all time. There isnt really any villain characters, there are a few 'bad' characters but each have reasons and back stories for the way they are. Im so ready for the sequel and upon googling it ive seen its being released this year, Laini Taylor you goddess! Thank you for not making me wait over a year for the sequel. I really want to pick up Daughter of Smoke and Bone books now.

Some things i didnt like (theres always something) the whole Sparrow/Ruby/Feral love triangle thingy! So uninteresting and unnecessary... was so distracting from the main part of the story. The ending was a world wind honestly it all happened so fast and there wasn't much build up! Dont get me wrong it devastated me but think it could have been slowed down ever so slightly plus i love a good build up and that was missing.

I really enjoyed this story, i didnt love it like most people did and didnt agree with some of the plot twists but this was still a 4.5 start read for me.


I dont love the UK paperback cover but the American hardback cover is so beautiful! I want it! This book is 530 pages which i managed to destroy in 3 days with a full 8 hour shift in between those days.