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cocoreadsx · 8 years ago

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Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Book Review

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Publisher: Razorbill

Genre: Young Adult / Fiction

Published: October 18th 2007

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Library loan

Synopsis:-

You can’t stop the future. You can’t rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.

REVIEW:-

Lets start off with… I expected a lot more from this book due to all the attention it had been receiving.

Maybe I am too harsh but I feel that Hannah’s reasons for committing suicide were too shallow although this does not take away from the fact that things do affect people in different ways. As teenagers, snide comments made by others towards us can often linger and sometimes may even be carried into adulthood and cause us to be insecure and resentful. I felt that Hannah’s reasons for committing suicide were more of a reflection on Hannah’s insecurities, perhaps a mental health condition that made her blame everyone else for her shortcomings. In my opinion, Hannah’s way of dealing with things were selfish and insensitive.

I was not a fan of Hannah’s character at all, I found her to be self-centered and I think she was portrayed to not have an ounce of compassion in her. She seemed very bitter and found something bad in almost everything.

Many readers who have attempted to take their own lives have regarded this book as a mockery towards suicide. Asher was unable to completely grasp the intellection of suicide thus maybe losing quite a few fans despite having quite a unique storyline.

What I did enjoy was the concept of dedicating tapes to each person who contributed to her decision in committing suicide and then the respective person would have to send them on to the next person on the tape after them. Also the narration between both the main characters was also something I really enjoyed as both perspectives were shared.

If there is one thing to take away from this book, it is to ensure that we should all be more careful as to what we say to others and to be kinder as we never know what is truly going on in another persons life. We must be more aware of how we affect people and try to ensure that at least our interaction with them is a positive and kind one.

Thank you for reading,

Coco.

If you are an author or a publisher and you would like me to review your book, please click HERE.

#bookreview #13reasonswhy

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cocoreadsx · 8 years ago

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Gilding the Lily by Justine John Book Extract

Title: Gilding the Lily Author: Justine John Genre: Mystery

About the Book

A gripping mystery of jealousy, murder and lies. An invitation to her estranged, wealthy father’s surprise 75th birthday party in New York sees Amelia and her husband, Jack, set off across the pond to meet a whole new world of family politics. Amelia, now a successful businesswoman, feels guilty about never liking her father’s women, so does her upmost to give his new socialite partner, Evelyn, the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just all get along? But there’s something very dark, determined and dangerous about her… When Amelia’s father, Roger, becomes ill, Jack grows suspicious that there is more to it. Amelia understands why, but no one else will believe them. They travel back to America to piece together the puzzle, but when Roger goes missing, the couple are driven to their wits' end. It takes a DEA officer and a secret assassin to bring them answers, but the ruthless truth is something no one expected…

Purchase from Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gilding-Lily-Justine-John-ebook/dp/B01N535MZY/

Book Excerpt

We arrived at Babushka's on time, as the spring light was fading. On the sidewalk, we gawked at the neon italics above the glass door, and the dozens of tacky fairy lights that hung in the window, in front of a closed, red velvet curtain. A burly doorman, wearing a black bomber jacket and no tie, beckoned us earnestly behind the red rope barrier.

"I busted better-looking joints than this back when I was on drug squad," said Jack, bluntly. I giggled as I pulled out the invite.

"Evelyn DeGrawe's party please." My smile was not returned.

"Downstairs, to the left, table 46," the doorman said, as he looked me up and down. I was wearing an elegant, dark-blue dress that finished above the ankle. I'd been delighted that I'd found it on sale at John Lewis, and it matched Jack's suit so well, but now I wondered if it was too tight around my bum, or too low-cut, or worse – both.

We entered a massive, wood-floored dance hall with a huge, darkened stage at the back. Tables and chairs surrounded the main floor in a ring, going up in levels all around, like a circus, and set so that each table had a good view of the stage. The music was quiet and there was an air of expectant excitement, as other guests filed in and looked for their seats, murmuring enthusiastically.

Everyone, except for Dad and Evelyn, was already there. We saw straightaway that the table was too small – it was set for 12 but only meant for 10. We already knew two of the couples: Ali and Raymond Schilling and David and Elizabeth Reynolds, and their welcome was warm, and inspired with “ohh mi Gaawds” and “how ARE yews”. Then we shook hands with two other couples and sat down between them, squeezing in and trying hard not to knock the table's cargo of various beverages.

"Hi, I'm Laura," said the younger lady loudly, over the music, her blonde hair trailing neatly over her shoulders, and her teeth a little too white. "Evelyn is my step-grandmother."

Author Bio

About Justine John

After over thirty years of working in the corporate sector in London Justine John left the rat

race for the stunning countryside of the Surrey Hills where she lives with her husband, horses and two dalmatians.

Website - http://www.justinejohn.co.uk/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/JustineCJohn

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/justinejohnauthor/

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15985439.Justine_John

If you are an author or a publisher and you would like me to review your book or host any book tours on COCO READS, please click HERE.

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cocoreadsx · 8 years ago

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Esper Files by Egan Brass Book Review

Title: Esper Files (Book 1)

Author: Egan Brass

Publisher: Inkitt

Genre: Steampunk / Sci-fi

Release Date: Dec 15th 2015

Pages: 217

Format: Paperback

Source: Sent by Publisher

Available at: Amazon

Book 2 - Esper Files: Sky Cult is due to be released on January 25th 2017.

Synopsis:-

Set in London during the latter part of the 19th century. An experiment goes wrong at The Oxford Academy of Science, giving certain people extraordinary powers which turns them into 'Espers'. An institute is set up to teach Espers how to control these power, and stop corrupt Espers from abusing theirs. Nathan and James, two agents from the Institute team up with Freya, a young Esper whose brother (gifted with the strange ability to manipulate emotions) is abducted by a ruthless Baron. The group has to fight against a dark threat to protect the fragile peace of Victorian London... And the rest of the world.

REVIEW:-

Esper Files is the first book in the series where supernatural events occur aimed for all ages to enjoy.

I really did not expect to enjoy Esper Files as much as I did. I read it in one sitting, it is a real page turner. At only 217 pages, the book is jam-packed with lively events and unique characters with special powers that emanate from their emotions. Egan Brass did an excellent job with selecting and creating his characters as I honestly liked each one of them. Although the book claims it is set in Victorian London, I only wish that more description on scenery had been added as I love anything that is set in my hometown city of London.

Esper Files definitely had a healthy balance between steampunk and sci-fi, so fans of these genres would thoroughly enjoy this book. I normally tend to stay away from goodie vs baddie stories but the book genuinely captivated me and made me see past the cliche.

I am very excited to read the next book in the series that comes out on January 25th 2017.

About the Author: -

Egan Brass (aka Ryan Attard) is the author of the Esper Files, the Legacy series, and the Pandora Chronicles.

Hailing from a faraway island, it wasn’t long until Ryan began creating his own imaginary friends and writing down their adventures.

As Egan Brass, he writes the Esper Files — a tale of super-powered individuals set in a steampunk universe.

He also dons a cape and a mask, and spends his free time learning Victorian insults in order to both confuse and enthrall his foes.

He’s also one to write his bios in the third person.

Check out more about Ryan Attard

Thank you for reading, Coco. :- If you are an author or a publisher and you would like me to review your book, please click HERE.

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cocoreadsx · 9 years ago

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Revenants - The Odyssey Home by Scott Kauffman

Title: Revenants - The Odyssey Home Author: Scott Kauffman Genre: Historical War Fiction, Contemporary Release Date: Dec 15th 2015 Pages: 306 Format: Paperback Source: Sent by Author Available at: Amazon

Synopsis: -

ONLY BETSY CAN GET HIM HOME IN TIME; ONLY HE CAN BRING HER BACK BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

A grief-stricken candy-striper serving in a VA hospital following her brother's death in Viet Nam struggles to return home an anonymous veteran of the Great War against the skullduggery of a congressman who not only controls the hospital as part of his small-town fiefdom but knows the name of her veteran. A name if revealed would end his political ambitions and his fifty-year marriage. In its retelling of Odysseus' journey, Revenants casts a flickering candle upon the charon toll exacted not only from the families of those who fail to return home but of those who do.

REVIEW: -

The story is mainly based on a young girl whose brother dies in the war as a soldier and shows how her life is transformed due to her loss.

For any readers who may need a trigger warning, this story speaks about patients who have suffered horrific injuries, patients with mental illness and also touches on suicide.

I believe that many other readers have also found the beginning of the story to be a little slow but both the Vietnam and the Great War stories were beautifully told and give the reader an insight into the horrific events that occurred. This book touches on real life issues such as grief, love, loss, hope and perseverance. It really makes you think about how much soldiers suffered throughout the war and also those who survived. War is life altering and this book clearly depicts what life is really like for those who fought in it and their family members of those dead and alive.

Kauffman made a great effort at writing a believable story that demonstrates the reality of war and the devastating effects it has on its brave soldiers and their loved ones.

About the Author: -

My writing career began in Mrs. Baer's eighth-grade English class when, whoops, I failed to read the book due to a conflict of priorities. Mrs. Baer required the report to be written in-class so an exercise of imagination was necessary. Snagged a B on the report, which was better than the C received on my last report when I actually read the book, The Old Man and the Sea. Go figure. Thus began my life-long apprenticeship as a teller of tales and, some would suggest, as a lawyer as well, but they would be cynics, a race who Oscar Wilde once warned us knew the price of everything and the value of nothing.

My novel Revenants, the Odyssey Home, is by Moonshine Cove Publishing, and I am the author of the previously released In Deepest Consequences. I am a recipient of the 2011 Mighty River Short Story Contest and the 2010 Hackney Literary Award. My short fiction has appeared in Big Muddy, Adelaide Magazine, and Lascaux Review.

I am now at work on two novel manuscripts and a collection of short stories. I am an attorney in Irvine, California, where my practice focuses upon white-collar crime and tax litigation with my clients providing me endless story fodder. I graduated summa cum laude from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and in the upper ten percent of my class from the Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, where I was a member of the Environmental Law Review and received the American Jurisprudence Award in Conflict of Laws.

Thank you for reading,

Coco.

If you are an author or a publisher and you would like me to review your book, please click HERE.

#review #bookreview

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cocoreadsx · 9 years ago

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FIFTEEN WORDS BY MONIKA J. THOMAS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.

Hello readers,

I hope you enjoy this exclusive interview with Fifteen Words author Monika Jephcott Thomas.

ABOUT THE BOOK

> If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be?

Netta

> and what would you do during that day?

I would play with her, encourage her not to be too upset about her Dad and help her to help him.

> How did you come up with the idea for the book?

I was doing some research into my family history, as most of us do at some stage of our lives and, also as most of us do whose parents grew up during the world wars, I felt their stories were the stuff of novels. Unlike many who will be reading this however, my parents were both German. They met during the Second World War and were eventually separated by it, as Max and Erika are in the novel – my father having to go off and serve as a doctor in the German army, not because he wanted to (he was not a supporter of the Nazi party), but because he was conscripted, like so many young men across the globe in the early ’40s.

The novel is heavily inspired by the real-life trials and tribulations of my parents’ early married lives – simply because they are so inherently dramatic – whilst allowing me to depict the complexity of growing up in Nazi Germany among the potent forces of religion and fascism competing for young souls. It is also an exploration of the strength of human relationships, which the war tested greatly, in an age when letter writing was one of the few long distance forms of communication available to most; when the fighting separated husbands and wives, children and parents for extensive periods of time and over vast distances.

In the book, Max is a POW in a Russian labour camp on the edge of the Arctic for four long and painful years. I was shocked to find out, during my research for this novel, that German POWs in those Soviet labour camps were only allowed to send letters home if they contained a maximum of fifteen words. So, in the novel, Max struggles over how to express everything he wants to tell Erika with such limitations. He enlists the help of his more artistic friends to help him. But finally in despair he writes something damning. It becomes one of the themes of the book: how we can say so much in so few words to beautiful or destructive effect.

The book was written reasonably quickly, in just a few months, but that was mainly because I was steeped in all the stories from the research I had already done into my family history, which had unearthed all manner of letters, documents, photos and tape recordings. The real work was deciding which stories to follow in the novel. Apart from the themes I wanted to explore, the stories I eventually focused on were also the most gripping, page-turning aspects of the history. So the book has its fair share of explosions, air raids, prison breakouts, emergency medical procedures on the battlefield, not to mention a pregnant woman hanging on to the outside of a speeding train!

Fifteen Words is however, primarily a love story. Anyone who likes World War 2 fiction will find it not only interesting but, I think, refreshing. This book is unusual in that there are not many books written in English about the German experience of WW2. Many early readers of the manuscript found it an eye-opener, informing them about the war in a way they never thought of before, without it being a text which tries to rewrite history. In no way does it attempt to say the Nazis weren’t to blame for the atrocities of the war, but it merely points out that not all Germans were Nazis. As with any war, which we see all too often today, there are many civilian casualties, from all strata of society. In this very human story I hope I have been able to reaffirm how all of us, from whatever nation, for all our differences, still suffer and rejoice in remarkably similar ways.

> What is an interesting fun fact about your book?

The interest in the book is the romance that developed and how it survived. Fun is not the focus although enjoyment of the novel is of course.

> Did you have to do any research to write this book?

One of the main difficulties of researching for historical fiction is just that – the research! Or more specifically getting bogged down in the research. Research is important of course and reality is so often stranger than fiction, which is why history provides such good fodder for novelists, but at the end of the day we are writing historical fiction. As a reader, if you want to read a history book, I would suggest you don’t pick up a novel. As a writer, I would suggest, that as soon as something you research sparks your imagination, get writing and stop researching. I often have blank spaces in the pages I write; spaces where a fact or detail needs to be added, but it is not so vital to keep me from actually writing the drama my characters are going through. Later on, after the writing is done, I can go back and fill in the blanks. The internet, being just a click away, is a very tempting and useful tool, but it can lead you down labyrinths that are a massive distraction sometimes. It’s better not to go there until after or before your actual writing time.

There is another difficulty with researching history and that is the history books themselves. As we all know, history can be a very subjective thing, open to interpretation and manipulation by historians, depending on their political and cultural bias. Every few decades, top secret documents are released to the public under the Freedom of Information Act, the 30 year rule, etc and we find ourselves a little closer to the truth; a little more aware of how history is not as black and white as we might have thought.

That’s why I think some of the greatest tools for research are photographs. During the research for my novel Fifteen Words, set in Germany during the last days of the Second World War and the few years after it, I would pore for hours over photos found in archives, on the internet and in my families own collections. Luckily, the age of photography was still reasonably young in the early-mid twentieth century, so the photos I saw could not have been doctored; and as such they are often the most honest and objective interpretation of the past we can find. Photos are so full of stuff to inspire your imagination; full of details that can populate your descriptions. Use them!

Private letters are similarly useful, as they can help you imagine the voices of your characters, the vocabulary they might use, the turns of phrase they might employ. Private letters often can tell us what kind of issues occupied the minds of people during the eras you are writing about. For example, nearly all of the letters in my novel Fifteen Words are near transcriptions of genuine ones I found in archives. I would match a letter to the appropriate character, or sometimes a letter I stumbled across inspired a whole new turn of events in the book.

So while the details are important, getting inside the characters is so much more important. And the best research you can do for this is to look inside yourself because, although there may be many decades or even centuries which separate you and your characters, human beings are, and always have been, very similar, beneath all the wonderful and incredible cultural and physical differences we possess. That is why if, as a writer, you can set down emotions that you have felt in a clear and honest way, readers from any part of the globe and from any epoch in the future should be able to relate to and be moved by them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My personal story below, my professional one see under ‘Author’ on www.monika-jephcott-thomas.com

I was born 4 days after the end of WW 2 under quite dramatic circumstances.

My mother had joined her father in law, who had been evacuated to the town of Bernried in Bavaria from the Ruhr district . After the war had finished the Americans decided to throw the family out of their home and so my mother was sitting in the street 3 days before I was born. She went to have me in Bernried Castel which had been confiscated from their owners during the war and was used as an orthopaedic clinic. It was run by nuns and nobody knew how deliver a baby or wanted to. As she was a doctor she had brought her own instruments necessary to deliver me and in the end read out to an orthopaedic surgeon from the training manual how to get me safely into this world.

So I arrived without my mother knowing where her husband, father or mother were. Over the next year she got to know that her husband was in Russian imprisonment and returned only when I was 4, her father was in Siberian imprisonment and returned only in 1956 when I was 11, and her mother was in Polish imprisonment from which her father in law rescued her in 1947.

My mother returned with her father in laws family to the Ruhr district where I grew up and had a very happy child hood be it that my father was missing. My mother started her surgery when I was 3 and I have many memories accompanying her sitting in the front of her bike in a basket when she visited her patients.

When I was 4 my father returned from POW and for some time things were not quite so easy while he was trying to integrate into an established environment. My siblings were born and I continued with a secure background to develop into a teenager. When I was 21 I married my child hood sweetheart who had visited us regularly from the UK from when I was 15 and moved with him to the UK . There I was a Modern language teacher for 30 yrs in Secondary State and Private schools. It was a difficult transition culturally. The school system worked very differently from Germany and seemed much more restricted in its curriculum. I experienced many prejudices from parents against me as a German, and although that might be understandable it was hard to deal with.

I also discovered very early on in my teaching that many of the pupils were not achieving their potential because of emotional, behavioural, social or mental health problems. After trying from within the school system to do something about this and not succeeding as the climate 30 yrs ago was not conducive to emotional support of pupils but targeting achievements of grades, it led me to my current profession.

My 3 children are now grown up and I have 4 delightful grand children . I remarried nearly 20 yrs ago and Jeff has developed with me our profession in Play and Creative Arts therapies .

> Why do you write?

This particular book was written because the real life events it is based on were so inherently dramatic within the context of the complexities of growing up in Nazi Germany that I wanted others to experience this.

It is also an exploration of the strength of human relationships, which the war tested greatly, in an age when letter writing was one of the few long distance forms of communication available to most; when the fighting separated husbands and wives, children and parents for extensive periods of time and over vast distances. This is particularly relevant for many families today and I hope the readers will gain hope and resilience from my book.

> What is the biggest surprise that you experienced after becoming a writer?

How the agent and publishing world works.

> What book / books have influenced you the most?

My love of books started in Secondary school where we were introduced to the German classics. I enjoyed mainly the poetry of Goethe, Eichendorff and Rilke.

When I got into 6th form we were introduced to non German literature and my favourites were Dickens, Shakespeare, Bronte sisters , Sartre

My book was mainly influenced by my family history and I found Jodi Picoult’s ‘Story Teller’ very interesting. It gave me some insight into questions in my mind as to ’how could ‘Hitler’ happen in Germany. In her book Jodi describes how the ‘monster inside you’ can emerge through circumstances

Unfortunately I have not got much time nowadays to do reading for leisure. My reading time is taken up with professional books which I do not read again and again but use as reference material. What I read often again are my favourite poets like those mentioned above and English poets like Donne and the English Romantics

> Anything you would like to say to your readers?

I hope you really enjoy the book and I would be grateful for your feedback

Fifteen Words Blurb

Two young doctors form a profound and loving bond in Nazi Germany; a bond that will stretch them to the very limits of human endurance. Catholic Max - whose religious and moral beliefs are in conflict, has been conscripted to join the war effort as a medic, despite his hatred of Hitler’s regime. His beloved Erika, a privileged young woman, is herself a product of the Hitler Youth. In spite of their stark differences, Max and Erika defy convention and marry.

But when Max is stationed at the fortress city of Breslau, their worst nightmares are realised; his hospital is bombed, he is captured by the Soviet Army and taken to a POW camp in Siberia. Max experiences untold horrors, his one comfort the letters he is allowed to send home: messages that can only contain Fifteen Words. Back in Germany, Erika is struggling to survive and protect their young daughter, finding comfort in the arms of a local carpenter. Worlds apart and with only sparse words for comfort, will they ever find their way back to one another, and will Germany ever find peace?

Fifteen Words is a vivid and intimate portrayal of human love and perseverance, one which illuminates the German experience of the war, which has often been overshadowed by history.

Purchase on Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fifteen-Words-Monika-Jephcott-Thomas-ebook/dp/B01MCWG3IJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1477564925&sr=1-1&keywords=fifteen+words

Monika Jephcott Thomas grew up in Dortmund Mengede, north-west Germany. She moved to the UK in 1966, enjoying a thirty year career in education before retraining as a therapist. Along with her partner Jeff she established the Academy of Play & Child Psychotherapy in order to support the twenty per cent of children who have emotional, behavioural, social and mental health problems by using play and the creative Arts. A founder member of Play Therapy UK, Jephcott Thomas was elected President of Play Therapy International in 2002.

Thank you for reading,

Coco.

If you are an author or a publisher and you would like me to review your book, please click HERE.

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cocoreadsx · 9 years ago

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Melody’s Key by Dallas Coryell Book Review

Title: Melody’s Key

Author: Dallas Coryell

Genre: Romance, Contemporary

Release Date: June 24th 2016

Pages: 305

Format: eBook

Source: Sent by Author

Available at: Amazon

Synopsis: -

“His eyes settled on her…piercing green embers of flame that revealed the ferocity of his pain and passion, yet still shrouded him under veils of ever deepening mystery that made every ounce of her ache to unravel him.”

Tegan Lockwood’s dreams were dead, sacrificed on the noble altar of duty before they ever had a chance to live. Her entire existence was disappearing into the abyss of apathy as she labored her days away keeping her family’s struggling business alive. There would be no emotion, no color, no beauty in her life. That is, until a mysterious visitor begins to draw her out of the darkness of her past towards something that will challenge the boundaries of her world, and unlock the most deeply held secrets of her heart.

REVIEW :-

I honestly was very impressed with this book and I have now added it to my list of favourite reads of the year. Even after finishing the book, I still kept thinking about it after, this is always a sign that I genuinely enjoyed the story.

The story was set in England’s countryside which I absolutely loved, making it even easier for me to imagine each scene much more vividly. I am a sucker for love letters in stories and this book definitely gives you a fair dose of those.

I loved reading about Tegan’s family and the way they work together in the family business. Tegan’s relationship with her parents is so realistic and really shows the family dynamic between all the siblings. I especially loved how close Tegan is with her sister and all the hilarious pranks they play on each other. I would have liked to have read a little more about Tegan’s brothers as not much is said about them.

I found Tegan and Simon’s (her gay best friend) friendship to be extremely special. Although I found the ending to the story to be so intriguing, unfortunately it ends in a cliffhanger and we don't get to hear much about what troubled him.

The secrets that both the main characters possess are very relatable. The storyline is definitely very sweet and does make your heart flutter at times. There are many twists and turns throughout the story which make the story much more gripping for the reader.

Also, please do not be put off by the cover. I would really suggest that the author should create a whole new front cover as this could help reach an even wider audience because he has already nailed it with a wonderful story. Readers can listen to the songs on YouTube that are featured in the book, this is very impressive and shows that the author thought about the small details and also how to engage further with the reader.

Be prepared for the usual dose of cliches but what is a romance story without some cheese? This book is a definitely a fun and light page turner. A lovely romance based on fame, secrets and true love.

About the Author:

Dallas Coryell is a musician and author residing deep in the untamed wilds of Michigan, USA, where he desperately attempts to assign meaning to his world through bouts of maniacal creative catharsis and pitifully doomed hopeless romantic fantasies.

Thank you for reading,

Coco.

If you are an author or a publisher and you would like me to review your book, please click HERE.

#review #bookreview

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cocoreadsx · 9 years ago

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Spring Delusions by Zahra Ammar Book Review

Title: Spring Delusions

Author: Zahra Ammar

Genre: Poetry, Women, Contemporary

Release Date: 20 September 2016

Pages: 53

Format: eBook

Source: Sent by Author

Available at: Amazon

Synopsis -

Words are our only tools to express the physicality of the chaos in our minds. It is tedious and painstaking process to create something, anything. Emotions are not words, hence, to put them as such, requires quite a bit of searching, meandering and stumbling. I believe my affair with these alphabets will never be satiated. Yet, I have tried to sing some broken tunes, sketched some bleakness and shared fragments of my inner hope.

REVIEW :-

There is something for everyone in this book. I can honestly say I resonated with many poems in this book, all the beautiful words spoke out to me in different ways but still captured exactly what I was feeling or what I have felt.

The book is made up of seventeen soul-stirring poems each with a beguiling illustration to accompany it. I only wish the poems had titles so I could name my favourites.

Zahra’s preface gives a small insight into her writing process and love / hate relationship with poetry which made me appreciate the poetry even more. The handwritten version of the poems at the end was a lovely personal touch. Handwriting is so unique to ourselves, so seeing Zahra’s poems in her handwriting made it all even more special.

Zahra’s writing is so beautiful and captivating. I can honestly say more that more than half of the poems captured my heart. I am extremely excited to read more from this amazing author.

About the Author -

Zahra Ammar holds an MA in English with a penchant for economics, food and creativity. An author and a poet, she is also a teacher and a learner, a procrastinator and a creative mess.

She has been passionately teaching High School English and Economics for the past eight years, and reads voraciously whenever awake. She is also into calligraphy and doodles and spends her time exploring and questioning the rare and the mundane.

A Keats at heart, a Whitman in expression, a Dickenson in style and enamored by Rumi, she follows no one but her own voice.

Thank you for reading,

Coco.

If you are an author or a publisher and you would like me to review your book, please click HERE.

#bookreview #review

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cocoreadsx · 9 years ago

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(BOOK TOUR) On The Run by Izai Amorim

Title: On The Run

Author: Izai Amorim

Genre: Literary Fiction

About The Book

New York City, early 1990s: a young, rich, and well-educated Central American man on the run from the police and Colombian drug dealers. He is accused of crimes he didn’t commit. Ready to do what it takes to survive, Pablo ironically embraces the very drug trade that threatened his life in the first place. Who is he?

What is he really capable of? The question of identity is at the heart of On The Run. More than a contemporary story of survival, it’s a journey of self-discovery.

Pablo’s voice is funny, sometimes mean and merciless. He moves with nightmarish ease from recounting his adventures to recollecting his early life. Not always politically correct, On The Run gives you an insightful, twisted, humorous, and often disturbing view of conflicting worlds and beliefs: North and Latin America; black, brown, and white; rich and poor; rational and esoteric—and shows how they mix, match, and clash.

Author Bio

“Make me think, make me laugh, make my day!”

That’s why Izai Amorim reads and writes books. He has great interest in the interplay of media, information, and politics in a globalized world and the quest for identity and borders in a worldwide cultural melting pot.

Izai was born and raised in Brazil but spent most of his adult life abroad, briefly in the USA, mostly in

Germany. He was trained as an architect and worked many years in this profession. But his real passion is story telling. At some point in his life he decided to mix storytelling with architecture, changed professions, and became a branding consultant, something that he loves and has been doing to this day.

His first novel, The Games (2013), is a humorous but dark, even mean, political thriller. This mother of all conspiracies shows how information is processed to create and spread the stories needed to establish power structures not accountable to anyone.

Links

Authors personal site: http://www.izaiamorim.com/

Book site: http://www.izaiamorim.com/ontherun.html

BOOK EXCERPT

Some people say that when you’re about to die, you see your whole life flashing before your eyes, like you’re watching a movie. Others say that you see angels. Some talk about out-of-body experiences. These different theories have one common characteristic: it’s supposed to be a cosmic experience.

It’s all bullshit. I didn’t see any movie. I didn’t see any angels. No out-of-body experience. As the bullets were flying around me, all I could see and hear was Mom screaming at me, “Shame on you, Pablo! To die wearing dirty underwear! How could you do this to me?” There was definitely nothing cosmic about that.

I had picked a seat opposite to the entrance, with my back to the glass wall. That way I could observe the whole restaurant. I had been doing that since my nightmare started two days before: never sitting with my back to the door, always keeping an eye on everything happening around me, looking out for cops or killers.

The moment I saw the guy coming through the door, I knew that he was trouble. Big trouble. His eyes looked weird. As he walked in, I scanned him from head to feet. I saw the bulge under his sweatshirt, and instantly knew that it was a gun. Bells started ringing in my head. The Colombians found you, boy. You’re dead. You can run but you can’t hide. But then I noticed something strange: he was a redneck. Blond and blue eyed.

Not the Latino killer I was expecting. Could he be an undercover cop? No, he didn’t look like a cop. Unless he was a cop on drugs.

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cocoreadsx · 9 years ago

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The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder Book Review

Title: The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Author: Thornton Wilder

Publisher: Penguin Books

Genre: American Fiction / Novel / Period Fiction

Release Date: 1927

Pages: 138

Format: Physical Book

Source: Purchased

Literary Awards: Pulitzer Prize for Novel 1928

Synopsis -

"On Friday noon, July the twentieth, 1714, the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travelers into the gulf below." With this celebrated sentence Thornton Wilder begins The Bridge of San Luis Rey, one of the towering achievements in American fiction and a novel read throughout the world.

By chance, a monk witnesses the tragedy. Brother Juniper then embarks on a quest to prove that it was divine intervention rather than chance that led to the deaths of those who perished in the tragedy. His search leads to his own death -- and to the author's timeless investigation into the nature of love and the meaning of the human condition.

REVIEW:-

While scouring through an old bookstore I was immediately drawn to the Spanish title of the book. I did not know what to expect as I had never heard of the book before but much to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This beautifully written novel combines faith, fate and the essence of love. This short but heartwarming and at the same time heart wrenching book explores the life of five individuals who are faced with the same form of death.

The underlining question throughout the story is whether this was all God’s pre-written plan or was this only a random act of nature?

I found it intriguing to see that in 1927, authors were challenging faith and questioning the idea of God as much as they do today in this semi secular society.

Each chapter is dedicated to a character and throughout each of these chapters, Wilder takes us through each of their personal life experiences prior to their tragic death. Each character has a different story to tell but Wilder makes it clear that in the end only love is what matters. I felt personal despair when reading the letters written by a character to her daughter. The longing for love and approval from her daughter is enough to make any reader’s heart soften.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey is definitely a must read for those who would like to read something light but also unforgettable.

My Favourite Quotes:

"Some say that we shall never know, and that to the gods we are like the flies that the boys kill on a summer day, and some say, on the contrary, that the very sparrows do not lose a feather that has not been brushed away by the finger of God."

"There is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."

Thank you for reading,

Coco.

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cocoreadsx · 9 years ago

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The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Book Review

Title: The Angel’s Game

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Publisher: Phoenix

Genre: Mystery

Release Date: 8 October 2009

Pages: 441

Format: Physical

Source: Purchased

Synopsis -

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man - David Martin - makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love.

Then David receives the offer of a lifetime: he is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home...

REVIEW:-

I shall begin by saying how extraordinary this book is. This book took me everywhere with it and I took it everywhere with me. What a pleasure to read such a beautifully written book, I cannot praise it enough.

The dark descriptive scenes of gothic Barcelona sent shivers down my spine, the countless nail biting moments of suspense and all the satisfying confusion that binds this book together makes it one of my few favourite reads of this year.

Although I loved this book, the light humour that the story begins with disappears halfway through the story. Many readers may enjoy the full story and the beautiful ending and others will become a little disappointed as they continue to read on.

The main character is a stubborn introvert who at times you loathe and other times you love. Be prepared for endless mysterious twists and turns mixed with a hint of romance to make the heart flutter.

Start with this book with an open mind and let it wander.

I am very excited to read The Shadow of the Wind and The Prisoner of Heaven and see how they compare. I hope they can answer some of my lingering questions.

About the author.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the author of six novels, including the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game, the first two books in a series of novels set in literary universe of The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. His work has been published in more than forty different languages, and honored with numerous international awards. He divides his time between Barcelona, Spain, and Los Angeles, California.

Thank you for reading.

With love,

Coco.

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cocoreadsx · 9 years ago

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Haze by Brandon J. Barnard Book Review

Title: Haze

Author: Brandon J. Barnard

Publisher: Nihilism productions

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Release Date: 21 March 2016

Pages: 154

Format: eBook

Source: Sent by Author

Synopsis -

Haze is the story of Jack Decker, an art school dropout who has to face his repressed memories in a post-apocalyptic London. It was just another workday when he saw that girl wanting to stuff her face with doughnuts from across the room. Who knew that this event would start it all.

Book contains sexual content.

REVIEW:-

Being a Londoner myself, I loved how the story was set in my own hometown in a post apocalyptic era. I only wish there had been more scenes describing what London is actually like in 2071.

I really enjoyed the element of digital diving but I would have liked to find out more about the side effects that comes with using it. Also, the idea of having to wear oxygen masks because of how polluted the air has become is absolutely amazing.

I have to say I enjoyed the last 60 pages of the book more than the first half. It took me quite a while to get into the story, I found myself rushing through and not because I was enjoying the story so much but because I wanted to see where it was all leading to. If this book had been longer, I don't believe I would have finished it. At only 164 pages, I decided I would read till the end as its only a short novel. In my opinion, the pacing was off throughout the first 10 chapters or so. At times I felt as if the author wrote extra chapters only to lengthen the story.

I understand that the author wanted to centre the story around the main characters but I really would have enjoyed reading more on how the world became the way it did.

Be prepared for many twists and turns and a very abrupt ending.

Overall, I wouldn’t say I loved this book but I did thoroughly enjoy many of the elements within.

I would consider reading more from this author in the future as I think with time and more experience, he could potentially create a new wonderful niche in literature and also some amazing stories.

My Favourite Quotes:

“With the starry night overhead you realize how small we are, and it makes all your worries and concerns feel less important. Looking up with no barrier, your vision being carried for billions and billions of miles it puts things into perspective. You realize just how insignificant you are.”

“It’s because it’s not only you that feels small, but so does the weight of the world around you.” He shifted his shoulders and continued, “When you are so insignificant your choices don’t really matter, the waves you create are like a grain of sand landing in the ocean. Which means you can make whatever choices you want. There is no pressure to confine to rules set by society, why would you? We are nothing more than a speck on the universe that hasn’t affected anything outside of our little microcosm. Without feeling insignificant we can’t feel free.”

About the author.

Brandon is a South African writer who lives in the United Kingdom. He was born on the 9th of January and started Nihilism Productions on the 3rd of April 2015.

He is a big fan of anime/manga, sweet tea/coffee, tinkering on the piano, collecting stuff, writing, reading and painting. Brandon dislikes onions, and sleeps around 4 to 5 hours per night.

His whole life revolves around graphs for efficiency sake. This means that he has all future events planned out, and is unlikely to ever forget a date or project.

Thank you for reading,

Coco.

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