#60 An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

This book is about April May, a 23 year old design graduate who accidentally stumbles across a metal statue in the middle of a New Year street at 3am. April calls her best friend Andy who has been failing at becoming a viral sensation. They make a gimmicky video in which April pretends to interview the statue that she names Carl. Overnight the video goes viral and they wake to discover that there is a Carl in every major city worldwide.

At first when i read the premise i thought 'hmmm great idea but how will that span over 300 pages', but there were so many twists to this tale. This book massively took me by surprise. It was SO Hank Green, i even in parts read some of it in his voice. At first i was afraid to pick this book up as ive been so invested in John Greens books for years and if i didnt like Hanks then id be letting not only myself but my favourite vlogbrothers down. Im so glad that this wasnt the case. This read as so realistic, you can tell Hank is writing it as he knows what its like to be internet famous and for your videos to go viral. He probably knows a thing or two about trolls and people hating you for no reason also so it really added another dimension to this already fantastic story.

I have noticed a correlation to my some of my favourite books specifically sci-fi type books and that is that they need to have a few pop culture references to it, if a book mentions something geeky that i like it automatically has me on side and unsurprisingly Hank really delivered in this area. A few things that were mentioned in this book that made me fan girl it even more:

• NaNoWriMo
• Reddit
• Pokemon
• A female president! (off topic but still!)
• Pokemon
• Pop Tarts
• Queen

I thought John Green was the king of writing a relatable, realistic quirky geek girl but April May was just perfect! Way to go Hank! 

The dream sequence reminded me a little of Black Mirror Bandersnatch, it has similar vibes to a chhose your own adventure story which was really cool, I loved the idea that everyone was having the dream and were trying to figure out the sequences. it was so clever and well done. 

I loved the idea that the Carls were alien life forms that were on a mission to get humans to work together to figure it all out. It left me with so many questions though which i really hope he touches on in the next book! Is this book a metaphor for how the world responds to things we dont understand? Is this Hanks interpretation of humanity? One of my favourite quotes from the book is 'This is what humanity is, solidarity in the face of fear', I think he was verbalising (through April May) that we shouldnt be so quick to assume that something is evil just because we cannot understand it. It is a very strong and beautiful message.   

5 stars from me and i can already see this book making my top books i read in 2019 list and its still only January! Oh and dont worry Hank, i forgive you for getting a Carly Rae Jepsen song stuck in my head for days! Can we discuss that ending cliffhanger? I need the next book now! So far we have no title or release date *cries*

#59 Beartown

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

So i heard a LOT about this book towards the end of 2018, everyone that read it on my GR seemed to give it 5 stars. All i knew was that it was about a rape that happens in a small hockey town and how everyone in the town deals with it.

I was very pumped to start this and 150 pages in and NOTHING had happened except a bunch of teens played hockey, which at this point i should mention i know literally nothing about. There is a lot of characters introduced and some have more back story than others but it was quite tricky to remember who was who and how they were relevant, in the end i had to do a bit of a 'family tree' type drawing as i was so confused.


So the main players (excuse the pun) in this story are:

• Kevin- 17 year old star player on the junior hockey team, probably the best hockey player that Beartown has ever seen. He is an only child, has grown up in an affluent home but his parents really dont know how to be parents
• Peter & Kira- Peter is the GM of the hockey team and is so very invested in getting Beartown back on the hockey map. Kira his wife is a lawyer, they have 2 children together Maya and Leo.
• Maya- 15 year old who nearly died as a little girl, she is close with her parents and her best friend Ana
• Amat- also 15 years old, he is on the younger hockey team but is put on the junior team before the semi-final as he is the fastest player on the younger team. His mother is a cleaner at the ice rink and raised him alone. He is also in love with Maya.
• Benji- Kevins best friend. His father committed suicide in the forest of Beartown when he was younger. He is an aggressive player on the junior team. He is very close to his 3 sisters and mum. Also has a drug problem.

The story kicks off around the 184 page mark which is ridiculous that it took that amount of pages for something to happen but wow did it pack a punch. It made for very difficult reading. One thing i will say is that Backman has handled this topic very very well and a massive kudos to his translator Neil Smith as this was written in Swedish originally i believe and was translated impeccably.

This was really difficult to read as a mother of a daughter. I was so conflicted as i understood a lot of view points, some wrong and some right. The characters were written so perfectly, they were so real and you could imagine Beartown existing. A stand out character for me was Amat, hes impoverished but he loves hockey. He has to choose between doing whats right and hockey and for the majority of the second half of the book i really didnt know what he would choose.

Benji is also an amazingly complex character that i fell in love with, he was so rough around the edges but possibly the only character in this whole book that did the right thing from the very beginning regardless of what it cost him.

I honestly could gush about this book all day, it was just so well done. The ending is beautifully wrapped up, i was actually very shocked to find that it had a sequel (which ive already downloaded) but i can only hope that it follows a few of the characters 10 years later but we will see.

My first 5 star read of 2019!

#58 Muse of Nightmares

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor 

(Strange the Dreamer #2)

'I would have chosen you, it they had let me choose'

This review will be hard to write as im trying to keep it as spoiler free as possible.

Ok so i was nervous going into this, i loved the first book and knowing that this was a duology and this book was the ending worried me, i thought if i didnt like it then it would ruin the first book. I needn't of bothered worrying though as it was pretty epic. I listened to this on audio book and it surprisingly really added to the story.

This story picks up right where Strange the Dreamer leaves off with the introduction of 2 newbies, Kora and Nova which at first i wasnt sure about this but their story became so important to the overall story. We also get our fill of Lazlo and Sarai as well as the majority of our other beloved characters from the first book.

There was so much character growth particularly in Minya, i was shook! Taylor took this character to another world that i really didnt expect. Never did i think i would actually sympathise with her.

I love how the story is split into parts, it flows so well this way and there are so many beautiful quotes throughout. The writing is SO stunningly beautiful, the world building is second to none and crafted so amazingly and every character is so intriguing. I just loved it, i could gush about it all day.

There were so many heartbreaking moments that it really tugged at the heartstrings. I dont think i will be over this book for a long time, i hope this is not the end!

This is definitely a contender for my favourite book of 2018.

#57 The Leaving

The Leaving by Tara Altebrando

The Leaving is the story of how six children are taken on their first day of kindergarten and eleven years later and five of them return with no recollection of where they have been for all those years. The story is told in three perspectives, Lucas and Scarlett who are two of the five children to return and also Avery who is the big sister of Max who is the sixth child that didn't return. The multiple perspectives works really well for this type of story as you get drips and drabs of each characters back story and what they remember from the eleven years. 

Each of the six children begin to remember bits and pieces as theirs memories begin to come back and the story of what really happens slowly unravels. This was a fascinating read and such a page turner! i read it in two sittings as i needed to know what happened especially what happened to Max and why he didn't return with the others and really struggled to put it down. 

This wasn't a 5 star read for me as there was a few things i didn't like. Mainly Avery as a character, i found her highly annoying. Also the notes she was receiving that she believed where from Max? Not sure why that didn't unravel or wasn't touched upon more. 

I love mystery YA books that are not thrillers and this is the only one ive read in that genre that ive enjoyed! I thought the writing style was interesting especially in Scarletts chapters where the words are often reflective of how Scarlett is feeling and they are scattered on the pages to show or mind set or they will spiral to show her panic or if shes confused. 

I enjoyed Lucas' perspective as he tries to understand his thoughts and memories and tries to figure out if he is violent or has committed any violent acts. His chapters are very thought provoking and heartfelt, it reads like a confused boy that doesn't know how to begin life again now that hes home after eleven years. 

This book has some of thee worst parents in YA and im a big fan of family themes in YA books but honestly there wasn't a single redeeming adult character in this whole book! Not sure how realistic that is? Also the romance in this book was completely unnecessary and really didn't add anything to the story!  

The ending wasn't disappointing to me but i felt like there could have been SO much more and it really wasn't what i expected but i was glad that after all the build up that it wasn't a total let down. 

I've seen a LOT of negative reviews for this on GR and booktube, im not sure why as it wasn't a bad story and im glad it was kept as a stand alone story as we dont have enough stand alones in YA. 

#56 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

SPOILER ALERT!

This really isn't my type of book, id heard and seen the hype and did my very best to ignore it as i assumed this was a fluffy romance. A couple friends of mine on GR read it and rated it quite highly so i thought screw it, im going to check it out! Never have i been more surprised, i loved this story!

The plot follows Evelyn Hugo who is your 'Marilyn Monroe' type icon, Shes a vintage movie star when women were first up and coming in Hollywood. At the time of her fist successful film the media portrayed her as scandalous and they document every poor decision she ever made with a focus on her many marriages.

As you can probably tell from the title of the book Evelyn has been married seven times, when all of her husbands are dead and Evelyn in her late 80's decides to tell her story in the form of a biography, she enlists the help of Monique who is an up and coming writer at a magazine company. Monique is shocked to be chosen by Evelyn but goes along for the ride hoping it will advance her career.

The two begin meeting at Evelyn's Manhattan apartment to discuss the ins and outs of each marriage. Monique warms to Evelyn and her no nonsense attitude to life. The story also followed Moniques life as a struggling writer who is going through a divorce. You really grow to love both Monique and Evelyn as the story progresses. The twists and turns are amazing, i didn't see any of them coming!

Each husband is split into their own section in the book which makes it so much easier to understand. The way the story is intricately woven together is masterfully done. Some marriages were short whereas some were much longer. I thoroughly enjoyed the newspaper cut outs that were included as they showed the outside worlds view on Evelyns life whilst she went through the actual truth at the same time.

Evelyn married her best friend Harry Cameron to cover up the fact that they were both in gay relationships. Evelyn was in seeing her co-star and fellow actress Celia St James whilst Harry was in a relationship with Celia's husband John. This was her longest marriage lasting over 15 years and resulting in the couple having a daughter Connor. The four lived together and did everything together until Celia leaves and divorces John. When John prematurely dies of a heart attack Harry is left a broken man and turns to alcohol to numb his pain. A few years pass with Harry drinking more and more, he eventually dies whilst drink driving. Evelyn then marries Celias brother in another fake marriage to hide her lesbian relationship and they all move to Spain. Celia is very ill at this point and has limited years left to live. When Celia eventually passes away Evelyn then is left alone with Celias brother and the 2 remain married until he dies as well. Connor is then diagnosed with breast cancer which also kills her. Its all very real and very raw.

When everyone has died that Evelyn has ever loved she then plans to tell the truth after so many years of constant lies and cover ups.

This book made me laugh but it also made me ugly cry, the last 50 pages very nearly killed me. Evelyn lost her daughter to breast cancer and is auctioning off her old Hollywood dresses to raise money for breast cancer research. This was particularly hard for me to read as i have a daughter myself and can never ever imagine the pain of losing her so i found myself fully sobbing when Evelyn described her loss. The LGBT representation in this book was fantastic and so subtle, it was in no way in your face which i think happens in a lot of YA but i guess thats the difference between YA and adult fiction.

#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.