Review: The Woman Who Wanted More by Vicky Zimmerman

Kate is 40 years old, her perfect relationship has fallen apart and she's had to move back in with her rude, judgemental mother. Her job is on the line, and to take her mind off things, she begins volunteering at a retirement home. There, she meets Cecily, who is 97 and is not afraid to speak her mind. Stubborn Cecily lends Kate a recipe book that might just change her life - just as it changed hers so many years ago...

I'm very undecided about this book. Granted, I don't believe I'm the target audience, and that definitely has an effect, but there are other reasons, too. It was very slow to start off with - Kate spends the first third or so whining about how awful everything is, and when she finally listens to Cecily, she realises that a lot of it is self-inflicted. The last third of the book was much better - the story was more interesting and Kate came on a real journey. I also like that everything didn't just go back to the way it was - Kate really learned some important life lessons and Cecily got to share her wisdom and life lessons with her.

I think I would have loved this if I was older, but I'm not, so I didn't.

Review: Your Deepest Fear by David Jackson

After returning home from a trip, Sara Prior listens to the messages on her answering machine, and hears the exact moment that her husband is brutally murdered, after leaving her a confusing final message. Determined to find out what happened, Sara starts putting the clues together, but it soon becomes clear that some things are just better left alone...

This was not for me. It sounded really good, but it didn't live up to my expectations and didn't really draw me in at all. I think part of the reason for this is because this is the fourth book in a series - something that I didn't realise until I was reading the acknowledgements at the end. The fact that this is part of a series is not mentioned anywhere on the cover.

All that being said, this was well-written. It was action-packed from the beginning and full of twists and turns. The tension kept building until the secret was revealed at the end, but again, this didn't really have the massive impact that it should have. I finished it just for the sake of finishing it, to be honest.

Review: Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Isabelle is an ugly stepsister, and everyone knows it. Her and her sister, Octavia, were awful to Ella, and now that she is married to the King of France, the ugly stepsisters are alone. But Isabelle wants to be pretty. More than anything, she wants to be beautiful, and so she makes a deal with a fairy queen and sets out to find the lost pieces of her heart. But with some meddling from Fate and Chance, it may be harder than she thinks...

When I first read the blurb of this book, I was really excited about it. I love a retelling of a fairytale, and this was a really interesting premise - focusing on the ugly stepsisters instead of Cinderella. The storyline was really good, and I enjoyed the ending -  even ugly stepsisters can have a happy ever after.

Having Chance and Fate be physical characters was an interesting touch as well - they were able to meddle with Isabelle's life and sway her decisions, one way or another, and this meant that Isabelle had to work twice as hard in order to become who she was meant to be.

A really fantastic book.

Review: The Forgotten Sister by Caroline Bond

Cassie knows that she is adopted - she's known it all her life. But at 17, she's curious about her birth mother and sets out to discover what she can about her. Convinced her parents are lying to her, Cassie digs into her past, but she uncovers more than she ever thought possible...

I read 'The Second Child' by Caroline Bond a couple of years ago, and that was heart-wrenching, so I suspected that this would be much of the same, and I was right. There is so much feeling in this book - you can completely sympathise with the characters, and everything that they go through it just so real. The relationships between the characters are so lovely - I adore the closeness between Cassie and Erin. As a big sister myself, I completely understand the protectiveness there.

I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 because Cassie is a 17 year-old girl and makes some silly choices, but ultimately her heart is in the right place. The circular ending of this book is incredibly powerful - where will the vicious cycle end? Highly recommend this book.

Review: Night by Night by Jack Jordan

After a tragic accident that she caused, Rose Shaw has lost everything. She is no longer living, she simply exists in a house where she is ignored and hated. Then one night, she literally collides with a man who leaves behind a journal, documenting the stalking of a young man who fears for his life. Rose is determined to figure out the truth - it may be too late for her, but it might not be for Finn...

This was a roller coaster of a book. So much happened in the first couple of chapters and I thought that was going to be the basis of the story, but it just kept building up and building up. I couldn't put it down - every time I reached the end of a chapter I'd think 'just one more' and before I knew it hours and hours had passed.

One thing I will say - I didn't like Rose. At all. She was selfish (I mean, she literally caused the accident) and spent most of the time feeling sorry for herself instead of trying to make amends with people. Similarly, the 'big twist' wasn't quite as shocking as it was made out to be, but it was still pretty good. Highly recommend this thriller.