The Enemy by Charlie Higson

The Enemy by Charlie Higson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

pages - 407

Publisher - Puffin

Blurb from Goodreads

Charlie Higson's The Enemy is the first in a jaw-dropping zombie horror series for teens. Everyone over the age of fourteen has succumbed to a deadly zombie virus and now the kids must keep themselves alive.

When the sickness came, every parent, police officer, politician - every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry.

Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive.

Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait.

But can they make it there - alive?


My Review

A group of survivors, kids, all fighting to stay alive. A disease took over and destroyed life as we know it. The grown ups got sick, erupted boils, puss and became violent cannibals or died, everyone over fourteen years old. Now a stranger arrives, promising the kids a better way of life over in Buckingham palace, but what will they find there and will they survive the journey.

This is only the first book in a series so it is understandable there are a lot of questions left over. Why the age, why does it affect some animals, why are all adults not affected the same? There are a lot of characters, lots of death, violence & gore it is quite a dark tale, no one and nothing is safe. It reminded me of Lord Of The Flies a little bit and if I am honest it took me a bit to get into as the characters are all really young and some of them quite delinquent. However as the book goes on I started to get into it and appreciate the trials the youngsters face. The book is set across London & whilst I have visited there before I hadn't quite appreciated there is so much to see there, outwith an apocalyptic setting! It is nice to see a location through an authors eyes and tweaked to appreciate the characters storyline and the journey they take. 3/5 for me this time, I have the next two books in the series to read and look forward to where the story goes next.

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May's competition is The GrownUp by Gillian Flynn x1 paperback

Guys this is just a wee short story, in paperback, only 79 pages.





As always, the competition will run until the end of the month, entries by the rafflecopter below. As this is a tiny thin book the competition is open worldwide. Good luck if you are entering.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kitchens Of The Great Midwest by J Ryan Stradal

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 351

Publisher - Riverrun Books

Blurb from the back cover

To her father, a chef, she's a pint-sized recipe tester and the love of his life. To the chilli chowdown contestants of Cook County, Illinois, she's a fire-eating demon.

To the fashionable foodie goddess of supper clubs, she's a wanton threat. She's an enigma, a secret ingredient that no one can figure out. Someday, Eva wil surprise everyone.

One by one, they tell their story; together, they tell Eva's. Joyful, quirky and heartwarming, this is a novel about the family you lose, the friends you make and the chance connections that define a life.


My Review

Eva Thorvald is our main character, either in the immediate telling or round about with other characters and eventually how they link to Eva. We kick off with Eva as a child and her immediate upbringing. Then chapters flip forward to later in her life, the chapters aren't dated so it takes a bit to work out how far ahead we have jumped. The chapters also introduce new characters and the storylines get the reader drawn in and involved only to jump forward to new people, timelines and drama. Whilst the author does a very good job of capturing the readers interest in many new characters, it is a bit frustrating as you want to know what happened to the people you just left behind.

The book has some recipes dottered sparsely throughout the book, from red onion soup to calorific cakes. This is normally something I would skim past but actually, the way food is dealt with and written about within the story, I actually quite enjoyed reading them and may even try one or two myself. There are many issues addressed in the book, from abortion, child abandonment, loss, and love to relationships, death, jealousy and some bad language.

This is not normally a book I would pick up myself, from the title or theme of food, among others, I am really glad RealReaders sent me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. 3/5 for me this time, I would certainly pick this author up again. Whilst I felt a lot was left unanswered and I generally don't like so much jumping between timelines & characters, I still found myself drawn in and engaged in the characters.

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In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - <5 hours

Pages - 352

Publisher - Vintage

Blurb from the back cover

In a dark, dark wood

Nora hasn't seen Clare for ten years. Not since Nora walked out of her old life and never looked back.

Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen do arrives. A weekend in a remote cottage - the perfect opportunity for Nora to reconnect with her best friend, to put the past behind her.

But something goes wrong.

Very Wrong.

And as secrets and lies unravel, out in the dark, dark wood the past will finally catch up with Nora.

My Review

The story opens, she is running, there is a sense of urgency and that draws the reader in. Nora then wakes up in hospital, in agony wondering what happened and what has she done, hello chapter 2! What a great draw into a story eh, is it any surprise I read this in one sitting, I am too nosey and needed to know what went down. So Nora is our main character, chapter 2 sees us taken back to before the hen party. Nora is a relatively solitary creature, a writer living in a small flat, out of the blue she gets invited to Clare's hen party. Clare was her best friend for years, it has been over a decade since Nora, then Lee, left everyone behind. Surely this is the perfect opportunity to put the past behind her, what could possibly go wrong?

Nora doesn't like to talk about what made her leave James, her sweetheart, speculation was rife, Nora is fiercely private about it but it has been 10 years. She makes a pact with Nina, they will both go and everything will be fine. But Clare has some secrets of her own, like who she is marrying and things get awkward quickly for Nora. Clare's new best friend Flo is weird to say the least, Tom is a bit standoffish, Mel is worrying about her baby at home and Nina can't help but stir things up. The weekend soon takes a sour turn, bitchiness is at a high and just when Nora thinks things can't get any worse the weekend takes a deadly turn.

The author does a great job building up an atmosphere long before anything happens. The reader empathises with Nora, well I did, on the impending reunion and uneasy feelings seeing an old friend can conjure up. Who hasn't lost touch with people who were once a huge part of their life or invited to somewhere you feel a bit socially awkward being. A story of friendships, challenging situations and how your past can still very much be a large factor in your present. 4/5 for me this time, this was my first time reading this author, I would certainly read her again.

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The Grown Up by Gillian Flynn

The Grown Up by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - <20 minutes

Pages - 79

Publisher - Weidenfield & Nicholson

Blurb from Goodreads

'I watched the house. It watched me back through long, baleful windows so tall a child could stand in the sill. And one was. I could see the length of his thin body: gray trousers, black sweater, a maroon tie perfectly knotted at the neck. A thicket of dark hair covering his eyes...'

A young woman is making a living faking it as a cut-price psychic (with some illegal soft-core sex work on the side). She makes a decent wage mostly by telling people what they want to hear. But then she meets Susan Burke.

Susan moved to the city one year ago with her husband and 15-year-old stepson Miles. They live in a modern Victorian house called Carterhook Manor. Susan has become convinced that some malevolent spirit is inhabiting their home. The young woman doesn't believe in exorcism or the supernatural. However when she enters the house for the first time, she begins to feel it too, as if the very house is watching her, waiting, biding its time...


My Review

The opening line refers to the main characters skill set which may offend some readers, she is a soft core sex worker as well as a "psychic". This is where she meets Susan, Susan doesn't believe in this stuff really but she must do something about her step son and home. What the main character doesn't realize is, there is a real threat at Susan's home and she herself may be in danger!

The protagonist gives us some insight into her life and how she came to be where she is however the main focus is on the here and now with Susan and her problem. The story really ends quite abruptly I felt and I suppose it is one of the reasons short stories is not my first port of call for reading choice. However the author does pack a punch with only 70+ pages, we have some twist and turns along the way considering how tiny the book is. I would have certainly liked more insight into both Miles and Susan, it would be good if Flynn revisited these characters. Overall a decent and surprising read as I thought it was about one thing but really went in a completly different direction, 3/5 for me this time, I have read this author before and I would read her again.

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The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris

The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 496

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Blurb from Goodreads

How do you hold on to a love that is slowly slipping away from you?

Can you let go of the past when you know what is in the future?

And how do you cope when you know that every kiss is a countdown to goodbye?

This is the story of a love affair, of Ryan and Molly and how they fell in love and were torn apart. The first time Molly kissed Ryan, she knew they'd be together forever. Six years and thousands of kisses later she's married to the man she loves. But today, when Ryan kisses her, Molly realises how many of them she wasted because the future holds something which neither of them could have ever predicted…



My Review

The book opens in 2012, present day in the story's timeline, with Molly who is preparing for a big move, packing up always stirs up memories and Molly is no different. She finds a dvd and knows she shouldn't watch but she can't help herself. The dvd takes form in chapters of the book with different timelines and memories in Molly's life. Mostly surrounding her relationship with Ryan and her friends and family dipping in and out. The book revolves around Molly and Ryan, since they were teens up until their late twenties.

I have to say I wasn't loving the first half of this book, there was quite a bit of almost teen angst and the whole oh I love him he is the best thing to I don't know if I want to be with him. Lots of self doubt on Molly's part and thoughts back to how her younger self would disapprove of her choices as an adult. The timeline jumping around, back and forth annoyed me quite a bit too, despite knowing it comes from the memories and videos from the DVD the present day Molly is watching as she packs up her home.

However, once I got over say the first half of the book, I really got into it. The earlier shows of the character's personality helps to build up a picture of who she is and why she behaves in the way she does. By giving a wider view of the relationship over time periods and time passage it helps the reader to see how far they come and how the relationship grows.

There is also, in between chapters, little passages about different kinds of kisses, I thought this was random but by the time you have read the whole book the relevance of it becomes clear. I think this is a book that would benefit from being read a few times as you take greater significance from it knowing the whole story. The chapters are fairly short which makes for good dipping in and out of if you are busy. I found myself getting a wee bit emotional which is really unusual for me, normally have a swinging brick, but I think it was because the book had started off annoying me and I didn't think I actually liked many of the characters. 4/5 for me, I would read this author again and it just goes to show, even if a book hasn't grabbed you immediately, it can still go on to be fabulous!

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The Missing by C L Taylor

The Missing by C.L. Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 400

Publisher - Avon

Blurb from Goodreads

You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them. Or do you…?

When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire Wilkinson, blames herself. She's not the only one. There isn't a single member of Billy's family that doesn't feel guilty. But the Wilkinson’s are so used to keeping secrets from one another that it isn't until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.

Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is still alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance.

A mother's instinct is never wrong. Or is it?


My Review

A family torn apart by the sudden disappearance of 15 year old Billy Wilkinson, son, friend, brother, loud, cheeky, just your normal 15 year old kid. There has been nothing for 6 months, now after a repeat appeal things go from bad to worse. The family is falling apart, Claire Wilkinson the mother is taking it hard, losing time and having blackouts and will stop at nothing to find out where her boy is. The family, as most do, have their own secrets and slowly things start to surface, the truth will always out but are the Wilkinson's ready for the truth and will any of it help to find Billy?

The book opens with an online interaction between Jackdaw44 and ICE9 on 5/2/15, we then visit 5/8/2015, 6 months after billy has disappeared and Claire is getting ready for the appeal. The chapters flip between online interactions with those two users whom you can only guess at their identities the more you see the chats. The rest of the story follows the family, Claire, her husband Mark, Jake who is Billy's brother and Jake's live-in girlfriend Kira, how they are coping or rather not. The stress proves too much for Claire who begins to lose time and have blackouts, coming to and not knowing where she is. Claire is our narrator and we experience a lot of the emotions and scenes through her eyes although she herself is not exactly reliable due to her bodies response to the stress she is under.

You are drawn immediately into a family in chaos, struggling to get through each day just trying to find their loved one. As the story progresses we learn more about the family members, their personalities and question almost every bit of information we are given. I really felt for Claire, the author does an amazing job of taking you through the emotional rollercoaster Claire is on, the desperate journey to find her son and learning some home truths along the way.

This book for me was about family dynamics, how the absence of one family member can impact on those desperate to find their loved one. The strain on relationships it can have and like all families, even the smallest of secrets examined and questioned in case it was a precursor for Billy disappearing. It was a page turner for me, I was desperate to find out where Billy was, what happened, who the online chatters where and some closure on all of the issues that are dottered throughout the story. Taylor does a great job to engage and entice the reader from pretty much the first chapter, 4/5 for me this time. I have read all of this authors work and look forward to her next, thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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