Review: The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen

I'm conflicted about what to say for this book. Ultimately, I enjoyed it and I think that's the key takeaway. However, there are also a lot of things that I didn't enjoy about this.

Ursula and Rafael sign up to The Arc - a $50,000 program that promises one perfect match. They set out on this seemingly perfect relationship but soon realise that nobody can predict or facilitate love in the way that they think...

Things I liked: the premise of The Arc, Ursula's character, Mallory the cat, Rafael's character.

Things I disliked: the too-perfect relationship they had at the beginning, the ridiculous situation that led to them breaking-up, how Ursula gets fired from her job.

The biggest issue with this book is that it was way too wordy. There were PAGES of information that just wasn't necessary to the story at all. We got a good few pages on the backstory of Rafael's parents, who then don't appear in the story at all! You could probably cut this book down by a third and still have the same journey.

Ultimately, this sounded like an interesting premise and I enjoyed it, but it was just okay.

Review: Remember Me by Charity Norman

This was a truly gripping story. I read it in just two sittings - I couldn’t put it down, especially the second half!

Twenty-five years after a friend goes missing and is never found, Emily returns to New Zealand to care for her father, who is suffering with dementia. Emily and her father have never been close, but as he slips further and further into the fog of Alzheimer’s, Emily finds herself desperate to protect him, as he threatens to reveal things that should be kept hidden…

This was a heart-breaking look into Alzheimer’s, and how it effects not only the person themselves but the people around them, as they struggle to deal with the loss of the person they knew. The mystery in this story certainly adds to this effect, as Felix is revealing secrets all the way through, but Emily doesn’t know whether she can believe what he is saying. 

The ending was okay. I think it was maybe a bit far-fetched for me, to be honest, but still an enjoyable read overall.

Review: How to Kill Your Best Friend by Lexie Elliot

Meh - I’m quite conflicted about this book, to be honest.

A group of friends have gathered to mourn the unexpected death of one of their own. But finding themselves trapped together for longer than expected on a remote island, they all begin to question each other - and themselves. Everyone has secrets - but what really happened here? And what is going to happen next?

This was just okay - the plot was interesting enough, but several parts felt quite rushed or were just very out of place. Adam and Georgia’s conversation where he ‘figures out’ that Georgie had thoughts of killing Lissa - seriously? That felt completely random. I think it was meant to be a ‘shocking twist’ but it just felt jarring and not in tune with the rest of the story. Similarly the ‘twist’ at the end - Georgie figures it out and that’s that, is it? Again, it just felt quite rushed.

This was okay, but it wasn’t brilliant.