Sunday 28 January 2018

Review: Sunflowers in February by Phyllida Shrimpton


When Lily wakes up one day and realises she has been hit by a car and died, she must figure out how to contact the people she knows in order to tell them that she hasn't moved on. She figures that the best way to do this is through her twin brother, Ben. But when Ben and Lily do finally get in contact, not everything goes as smoothly as it was meant to.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I loved the storyline, and the question of life after death, but I found Lily to be incredibly annoying, and completely selfish. I loved the premise of this, and the story was really gripping; the cover is beautiful, and definitely appeals to me as a reader. I feel like I would have found Lily less annoying if I had read this when I was younger. Maybe I just don't have the patience for 15 year old girls anymore. Nevertheless, this book was a really good read, and I'd highly recommend it.

Friday 19 January 2018

Review: Sourdough by Robin Sloan


I don't really know what I was expecting when I started reading this book, but it definitely wasn't this. That being said, I enjoyed this. It was different, in a good way. I kinda wanna start baking sourdough bread now.

Lois Clary is working in a technology company, making good money but not really enjoying herself. When her favourite takeaway closes down, the people who own it leave her a sourdough bread starter, so that she can continue making the food for herself. She ends up coming into contact with a group of mysterious people who aim to 'fuse food and technology', and she begins on a new path in life, with mixed results.

This book was completely different from anything that I've ever read before, but I really liked it. It was interesting, and I loved the sourdough bread element. A story that is basically just about sourdough bread shouldn't work, but this one does. My mum loved it too. Highly recommend.