Bold or Brilliant or both? | ARC Review: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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SYNOPSIS

For a while, Daisy Jones & The Six were everywhere. Their albums were on every turntable, they sold out arenas from coast to coast, their sound defined an era. And then, on 12 July 1979, they split. Nobody ever knew why. Until now. They were lovers and friends and brothers and rivals. They couldn’t believe their luck, until it ran out. This is their story of the early days and the wild nights, but everyone remembers the truth differently. The only thing they all know for sure is that from the moment Daisy Jones walked barefoot onstage at the Whisky, their lives were irrevocably changed. Making music is never just about the music. And sometimes it can be hard to tell where the sound stops and the feelings begin.

Should You read Daisy Jones & the Six ?

CW: lots of drug usage

We love broken, beautiful people. And it doesn’t get much more obviously broken and more clasically beautiful than Daisy Jones.

I think the title of this review post is pretty fitting after all I just finished Daisy Jones and after googling, I found out that there is no “Daisy Jones & the Six”. The band isn’t real. Well, that’s alright, I guess? Let me tell you my thoughts on Daisy Jones and you can decide if you want to read it or not.

No, I didn’t pick up Daisy Jones because of the hype and it was way too much hype…the similarity of the hype of the book mirrorred the hype of the fictitious band in the book. I was gifted a copy by PRH and was happy to read because I adored Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

The entire book is written in dialogue. There is an author who is the interviewer and the “band”, their loved ones, photographers, journalists, their managers, etc were the interviwees. At first, it was kind of off-putting but slowly I got sucked in because I wanted to know what is so god-damn special about this book. As the story progressed, I realized I hated every single character.

Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself

The story starts with the Daisy- who is a gorgeous, rich white girl-and everyone’s like Daisy’s so cool because goes without shoes(Me: umm..what?) and wear tops without bras, is thin like celery( such a bad comparison, my bad), and takes any drugs that she can get her hands on. Her parents are ignorant of her so she goes out and does whatever the heck she wants. By now, Daisy has had bad first-time sex and her boyfriend steals her song lyrics which later becomes a hit. Daisy is pissed, and says that this is how it was back then. A woman is conidered as an inspiration not the heroine of the story.

I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse. I am not a muse. I am the somebody. End of fucking story.

Disclaimer: I'd love to see this quote printed on a T-shirt. 

Next, we see the rise of The Six. The Six was a separate band before Daisy Jones and it was started by the Dunne brothers- Billy and Graham. Then, came on the other bandmates namely Warren, Karen, Eddie and Pete. Billy is the lead singer and basically the – narcissistic- face of the band. Their band goes on to performing and goes on many tours but their real fame starts with Daisy Jones. With Daisy jones, the Six start to embody the world of rock and roll. Their songs are chart-toppers but there’s also complications like drugs, more drugs, having sex with people you DEFINITELY shouldn’t…There’s also this amazing show of feminism. It was the 70’s and the women in Daisy Jones were the examples of feminists. I won’t spoil much but there’s two women who had every reason to hate each other, ended up talking peacefully which ultimately ended up to both of their salvations.

“I am not going to sit around sweating my ass off just so men can feel more comfortable. It’s not my responsibility to not turn them on. It’s their responsibility to not be an asshole.” 

Well, I can’t really say any more for fear of spoiling you. Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote a Bold and Beautiful book, not a book that’ll have me joining the hype train and shouting ..but it was good. Will I re-read it ? No, I am done reading it. The ending was exactly what I wanted.

Overall, I recommend this book if you’re a Taylor Jenkins Reid fan and love to read stories about the rise and fall of a band written like an interviews . Many of you won’t like it and may of you will. Daisy Jones & the Six would definitely make a good movie or a mini-series.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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VERDICT:

Author: Connect with Author Taylor Jenkins Reid here.

• Publisher: Hutchinson
• Publication Date: 7th March , 2019
• Paperback: 368 Pages

Have you read Daisy Jones & the Six? Will you read it? Have you read Taylor Jenkins Reid’s previous books? Did you like them ? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Looking for a thriller recommendation? | ARC Review: The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

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SYNOPSIS

All of them are friends. One of them is a killer. During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves. They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world. Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead. The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps. Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it. Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close?

Should You read The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley ?

I love reading thrillers and I kept my fingers crossed for Lucy Foley’s novel which I highly anticipated. I’m very happy to say that I highly enjoyed reading The Hunting Party.

Almost every thriller gets compared to Christie’s but I’ll say Lucy Foley adds her own touch to this thriller. Set in a remote and highly exclusive hunting lodge, this eery “who dunnit” mystery tells us the story of a group of old friends who have gathered to celebrate the New Year. However, their celebration ends with a gruesome murder. The friends are namely Miranda & Julien, Emma & Mark, Giles, Samira (and their baby Priya) , Nick & Bo and Katie. All of the characters are different personalities but Miranda was the was who really got on my nerves. Besides the friends, there were five other characters namely Doug, Heather and Ian who worked in the lodge, and a couple from Iceland.

Told in multiple POVs , the story starts with the discovery of a dead body and then diverts back to the time when the friends arrived. At first, it seems like a sweet reunion ..what could possibly go wrong ?! and then, since the first night- game night- in the lodge, we start to see cracks in their friendships. Generous amounts of alcohol act as fuel to the fire and everyone starts to loose control. Their ultimate undoing, which also led us to the identity of the killer, was a game of truth and dare. Nasty secrets get out, arguments start and finally, the killer snaps. Question is, Who is the Killer and the murderer?

The author managed to write a wonderfully paced thriller. The victim and the murderer’s identity was a touch close to being predictable when nearing the end but I was glued to the story as the characters’ perfect facades are ripped off one by one and twists come out of nowhere to smack you in the face.

Overall, I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of Ruth Ware and Tana French, and love reading atmospheric, unputdownable thrillers.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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VERDICT:

Author: Connect with Author Lucy Foley here .

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication Date: 24 Jan 2019
• Paperback(ARC): 394 Pages

Do you think you’ll read The Hunting Party? What are some of your favourite thrillers? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

If you’re looking for a YA feminist read, then this is for you | ARC Review: The Burning by Laura Bates

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SYNOPSIS

New school.
Tick.
New town.
Tick.
New surname.
Tick.
Social media profiles?
Erased.

There’s nothing to trace Anna back to her old life. Nothing to link her to the ‘incident’.

At least that’s what she thinks … until the whispers start up again. As time begins to run out on her secrets, Anna finds herself irresistibly drawn to the tale of Maggie, a local girl accused of witchcraft centuries earlier. A girl whose story has terrifying parallels to Anna’s own…

The compelling YA debut from Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and bestselling author of Girl Up.

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Should You read The Burning by Laura Bates ?

CW: slut-shaming, homophobic slurs, rape(off-page)

A rumour is like a fire. You might think you’ve extinguished it but one creeping, red tendril, one single wisp of smoke is enough to let it leap back into life again. Especially if someone is watching, waiting to fan the flames …

This is going to be short review because it’s a short book. Wow..umm, this is not a great introduction but let’s begin anyway.

The story starts with a girl named Anna remembering lists and walking inside an house. It appears that she’s moved homes-from Birmingham to Scotland- in the middle of a school year with her mother. Curious. Then, as Anna goes to her new school and her school adviser expresses regret over her father’s death, she sighs in relief thinking that her mother kept her promise. Curiouser.

The “secretive” theme plays out through quite a number of pages and my “intrigue”-o meter is sky high throughout. As Anna starts to settle into her new school, she’s given an assignment to write about an interesting historical figure in their town. *cue the groans*

Anna, new to town, has no clue so she goes to the local library and stumbles upon a book which has an anecdote on a local witch. This is where I tell you that I love stories about witches..I mean, what’s not to like? Anna ,with the help of a friend, manages to track down the author who wrote the book and he agrees to help her find out more about the local “witch”.

Now, the house she lives in is really old and Anna decides to take a trip into the attic and… she gets weird vibes from the moment she steps in. Anna also discovers a secret room and finds a necklace which Anna takes for herself. After availing herself o this necklace, Anna begins to have these visions of the so called “witch” she’s rsearching about. The name of the woman is Maggie and Anna finds some similarities with her and promises to find the truth about her. Meanwhile, it turns out Anna cannot escape her past as rumours spread like wildfire with the help of social media. Will Anna be able to survive as rumours threaten to undo everything she’s built?

I think that this book highlights a lot of important issues such as slut-shaming, double standards, bullying, the negative and positive aspects of social media. I loved the incorporation of a 400 year old story i.e. the story of Maggie. However, I think that there was too much to unpack. I thought that this story would have a paranormal element to it but I liked the way the author brought Maggie’s story to an end but I would have liked to hear more about Maggie.. I wanted there to be some sort of connection with Maggie and Anna. the abscence of these points left a void in a book which had a promising start.

Overall, I recommend this book if you’ve read GIRL UP or if you’re looking for a YA feminist read which highlights issues all women are forced to face. This was author Laura Bates’ YA debut and I found it promising so I will definitely look out for her upcoming titles.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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VERDICT:  

Author: Connect with Author Laura Bates here .

• Publisher: Simon Schuster Children’s UK
• Publication Date: 21 Feb 2019
• Paperback(ARC): 368 Pages

Do you think you’ll read The Burning? What’re some of your favourite YA reads that deals with feminism? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Mini Review: The DNA of You & Me & The Confessions of Frannie Langton

Hi everyone! I’ve been lax with writing up reviews and this is me trying to make up for it. This is my mini- review post featuring The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins and The DNA Of You and Me by Andrea Rothman. They are both debuts but belong to completely different genres.

1. The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins(3.5/5 stars)

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• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication Date: 4th April , 2019
• Paperback(ARC): 384 Pages

Review: The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins is a wonderful debut and I have officially put Sara Collins on my debut authors to watch list. The premise is intriguing: Frannie, a mulatto is brought by her master to England and ‘given’ to another master; later she falls in love with her new master’s wife. The Confessions is told entirely from Frannie’s point-of-view which she wrote while she’s in Newgate Prison awaiting trial in Old Bailey for the murder of her new master’s and mistress.

The Confessions is described as a black woman’s love story inspired by the popular gothic romance Jane Eyre. The author loved reading Austen but never saw a woman of color as a protagonist in those stories instead she read stories a woman of color was the victim. With Frannie Langton, author Sara Collins wanted to write a black woman’s love story and not of her suffering. However, through Frannie’s words we come face-to-face with her love and her suffering as well.

The writing is flawless but the plot is unforgivingly slow. The ending kind of smacks you in the face but in a good way because my boredom turned to interest: interest in finding out if Frannie is guilty of double murder or not? Overall, I would recommend it if you love reading historical fiction set during the Victorian era and if this mini review intrigues you so.

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2. The DNA of You & Me by Andrea Rothman (3/5 stars)

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• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication Date: 12 March , 2019
• Paperback(ARC): 242 Pages

Review:  I loved the unique story of The DNA of You and Me but it’s not for everyone’s taste. Emily was raised by her father and due to a childhood allergy, she was accustomed to spending most of her childhood indoors. This would’ve put a damper on her socializing with other kids but as she grew up, Emily realized that she preferred the company of herself rather than others. Her personal experience eventually left her to research new genes responsible for guiding olfactory neurons to their targets. (Olfactory: the sense of smell) During this research, she meets another academic Aeden and after a series of long arguments, their relationship goes to another level. However, there’ll come a time when Emily has to make a choice: Her career or a life with Aiden?

I loved it but as I said before that this book isn’t for everyone. Most of the book is filled with genomic sciences jargon that took the story a little to much to the non-fictional side. There’s romance if you skim the scientific stuff but it’s an easy read. The sex is almost clinical in the beginning and that may be because it’s told from the POV of the narrator. However, there’s a scene when Emily says ‘no’ but Aeden still goes ahead and that left a bitter note in the entire story. I’m ashamed to say that I even forgot about this scene until I read another Goodreads review. The ending left me emotional but happy and hopeful for Emily. It did give me Eleanor Oliphant vibes but this one has way too many scientific jargon for a reader to enjoy.

However, considering this is a debut and the fact that I liked the writing, I’d definitely look forward to reading her upcoming books.

Thanks to the publishers for providing me ARCs in exchange for an honest review.

Do you think you’ll read The DNA of You and Me or The Confessions of Frannie Langton? Do you prefer reading mini-reviews or full reviews? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

My three 3-star(-ish) reads | Mini Review edition

Hi everyone! After my last post on my weekly reading update, I kinda ignored my blog for four days. I thought about writing a full review for the three books individually but Sea Monsters and The Cold is in her Bones are short reads so I’m posting a Mini Review for all three of them. Scroll down to read my mini-reviews of Sea Monsters, The Cold is in her Bones, and The Glass Woman:

Buy it on Wordery | Book Depository|| Add it on Goodreads

Sea Monsters by Chloe Ardidjis(3.5/5 stars): Set in a picturesque town/city of New Mexico,Sea Monsters by Chloe Aridjis offers us a look into some of teenage Louisa’s days. While reading the book, it was as if I was walking along with Luisa and even though there was no plot, I enjoyed the utter languidness it offered me. If you asked me to sum up the story for you, I’ll say that it was a coming of age story of a teenager called Luisa who is bored with her everyday life; so she decides to go on an adventure to find some missing circus dwarfs. Sea Monsters by Chloe Aridjis is not a must-read for everyone but I’d recommend it to someone who likes character-driven stories where the writer will immerse you into the character’s life with dreamy prose.

Buy it on Wordery | Book Depository|| Add it on Goodreads

The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea(3/5 stars) : The Glass Woman pulled me in with the promise of a haunting tale set in Iceland. The cover and the title goes perfectly with that imagery however, I was a tad bit disappointed after reading it. The story is set in the year 1686 and tells of a young woman called Rósa who had to leave her home to marry a wealthy stranger so that she could provide for her family. Life for a woman was hell in this place and this era. Misogyny reined and I felt so damn uncomfortable (to say the least) reading the way women especially Rósa were treated. The story had the vibe of Rebecca and The Miniaturist but it didn’t thrill me as much as I had expected it to. Rósa’s character was wonderfully written and I felt as if I was experiencing the story vicariously through her. I liked the writing; it perfectly resonated with the eerie atmosphere of the book. 

Buy it on Wordery | Book Depository|| Add it on Goodreads

The Cold Is in Her Bones (3 stars):The Cold Is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale is a fantasy novel inspired by the myth of Medusa. The prologue glued me in but the story lost its rhythm somewhere along. This was set during a time where women were always supposed to be subservient and if anyone was not, then they were feared to be possessed by a demon. In here, we’re told of Milla’s story where she was always ignored by her parents and told to be obedient. She lived a quiet, unhappy life but all that changed when a girl called Iris arrives and soon after, a demon. I loved the atmosphere and the theme of female friendships. However, I lost interest in the story and the characters right around a pivotal moment. Overall, if you want to try a dark fantasy inspired by the story of Medusa,then you should add this to your TBR .

Thanks to the publishers for providing me with review copies in exchange for my honest opinions.

How did you like my mini review? Did any of the books catch your interest ? If you’ve read Sea Monsters or The Glass Woman or The Cold is in her Bones, then let me know yout thoughts in the comments below!