Mid Year Freak Out Tag 2017

Hi everyone! Now I don’t normally do tags but I’ve seen this one hopping around blogs and book tube videos and it just looked too fun not to participate in. Here are my answers!

1.) The Best Book You’ve Read So Far This Year

Aaagh, this is so hard already! According to my GoodReads stats, I’ve awarded twenty books five stars this year so far and there were quite a few contenders for the crown. I’ve gone with The White Road by Sarah Lotz however as it’s a book I’m still thinking about months after reading it. SO GOOD.

2.) Your Favourite Sequel This Year?

Tastes Like Fear is the third book in the Marnie Rome series by Sarah Hilary. I could quite easily have picked the fourth book as well but again, if I only had to pick one, this would be it. I loved the plot of this novel and don’t even get me started about how amazing the characters are.

3.) A New Release That You Haven’t Read Yet But Really Want To?

There are so many fantastic books on my TBR but this one in particular I’m really looking forward to getting to. It was shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize For Fiction earlier this year and I’ve only heard great things about it!

4.) Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half Of The Year?

Regular visitors to my blog may not be surprised at my choice! If I had to choose ONE author over all others, it would be Stephen King every single time. This new novel is a collaboration with one of his sons, Owen King and I literally cannot wait. Although I’m going to have to as I’ve banned myself from buying anymore SK’s in hardback which means I’m going to have to wait for the paperback release. SOB 😦

5.) Your Biggest Disappointment?

This is a very recently finished graphic novel for me and SUCH a disappointment. I was really hoping I would love it and if it hadn’t been so short, I would probably have DNF’d it to be honest. I will be doing a Mini Pin It Review with more of my thoughts about it at some point.

6.) Biggest Surprise Of The Year?

Conclave by Robert Harris. I wasn’t expecting to like this book at all after being disappointed with a previous read by this author. I was so shocked and pleasantly surprised when I thoroughly enjoyed it! Who knew that the process of electing a Pope could be so thrilling?

7.) Favourite New To You Or Debut Author?

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt is a novel based on the real story of Lizzie Borden whose father and step-mother were murdered with an axe, allegedly by Lizzie but other culprits are also suggested. It’s macabre, shocking, disgusting and AMAZING. I will now read anything Sarah Schmidt writes!

8.) Your New Fictional Crush?

To be honest, I don’t really get fictional crushes. If I had to choose someone that makes my heart beat slightly faster when I’m reading however, I’d have to go for Roland Deschain from Stephen King’s epic Dark Tower series.

9.) New Favourite Character?

Can I cheat and have two?! Robbie and Emily from Together by Julie Cohen were adorable and I loved reading about their relationship.

10.) A Book That Made You Cry?

The Snow Child was a recent re-read for me and really affected me on a personal level this time round. I actually upped my rating to five stars (from four stars previously) after I had finished. It’s such a stunning story and you can never go wrong with a bit of fairy tale!

11.) A Book That Made You Happy?

I don’t read very many “happy,” books, I’m afraid I tend to verge towards the darker, more depressing tomes but reading The Essex Serpent recently made me so happy. The writing was out of this world and the plot and characters made me feel like I was in bed all cosy with a hot cup of tea.

12.) Your Favourite Book To Movie Adaptation That You’ve Seen This Year?

I haven’t actually watched a book to film adaptation recently, I always worry that it’s going to be nothing like the novel! I did recently re-watch Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone which is always excellent!

13.) Favourite Book Post You’ve Published This Year?

I found this question so tough! I never know how my blog posts are going to be received – sometimes I write one that I think is really good and I don’t really get a response then I write one I’m not so happy with and I get a really brilliant response. One of the reviews I most enjoyed writing this year was The Birds by Daphne du Maurier for my Short Stories Challenge. It’s easily one of the best short stories I’ve ever read.

14.) The Most Beautiful Book You Have Bought/Received This Year?

Again, there were a few contenders for this crown! I’ve been lucky enough to receive/buy some really gorgeous books this year, my Penguin Clothbound Classics come a close second but I had to choose Idaho by Emily Ruskovich. It looks even better in the flesh and I can’t wait to get to it.

15.) What Are Some Books That You Need To Read By The End Of The Year?

This has been on my TBR for the longest time and I really need to get to it by the end of this year. I will, I will!

I got this book for my birthday after wanting it for ages. I’ve heard some terrific things and it needs to be read.

Another book I’ve only heard great things about and it’s just crying out to me at the moment from my shelves!

Non-fiction feminism? Yes please! Will. Read. Before. End. Of. Year!!!

So that’s my answers, thank you so much for reading and I hope you’ve enjoyed my choices. Let me know in the comments if you agree with me or tell me what you might choose yourself. I’d like to tag my sister Chrissi Reads to do this tag as I think it’s something she would enjoy and anyone else who would like to do it, consider yourself tagged!

 

Together – Julie Cohen

What’s it all about?:

This is not a great love story.
This is a story about great love.

On a morning that seems just like any other, Robbie wakes in his bed, his wife Emily asleep beside him, as always. He rises and dresses, makes his coffee, feeds his dogs, just as he usually does. But then he leaves Emily a letter and does something that will break her heart. As the years go back all the way to 1962, Robbie’s actions become clearer as we discover the story of a couple with a terrible secret – one they will do absolutely anything to protect.

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You, David Nicholls’s One Day and M L Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans.

What did I think?:

First of all, the hugest “thank you,” to Lauren Woosey and the lovely team at Orion books for sending me a copy of Julie Cohen’s new novel, Together in exchange for an honest review. I’ve only read one other of Julie’s novels, Dear Thing which was selected as part of the Richard and Judy Book Club here in the UK a little while ago and both myself and my sister, Chrissi Reads absolutely loved it. When I saw the advertisements for Together going around on Twitter (especially with this STUNNING cover), I knew I had to have it and am so grateful and excited for the opportunity to tell you all how madly I fell in love with these beautiful characters and their fascinating story.

The story is essentially a love story between Robbie and Emily which begins when they are older and going through some difficulties health-wise. The most brilliant thing about this narrative is however that the story begins here and then goes backwards in time so we see the entirety of their relationship, all their struggles and triumphs in reverse. We, the reader, find out very early on that there is a huge secret that the couple have kept throughout their time together, something that no one else knows and if anyone else finds out it has the potential to destroy them. As a result, Robbie and Emily keep quiet about the shadow in their past and just live each day together as a happy couple as their love continues to strengthen and grow. Of course, we eventually find out exactly what the secret is and it’s just as mind-blowing, devastating and heart-breaking as I could have anticipated that it might be.

Obviously, I’m not saying anything about the “big reveal,” but I just want to talk about how this book was presented to me by Orion Books which was completely wonderful. I read until a certain point in the narrative (perhaps about twenty pages from the end?) and then was asked to tweet how I felt at this period. The rest of the pages in the novel had been placed in an envelope and I then eagerly ripped it open, desperate to discover how the story would end and just what on earth was going on with our characters and their lives. Let me just say, it’s a goodie. No, that’s not even the word for it – it’s phenomenal, suck-your-breath in, gasp and hold it for a little while before you can breathe normally kind of good!

Throughout this novel, I completely fell in love with the characters of Robbie and Emily and the hardships they have been through as a couple. Of course by the end I was gaping in disbelief but in no way, shape or form did it change what I felt about the characters at all. I’m afraid they had already stolen my heart and I still continue to think about them and their story weeks after finishing the novel. I’m certain that one of the signs of a brilliant author is how much the narrative sticks with you after you’ve finished reading. If Together is anything to go by, I’m going to be thinking about Robbie and Emily for a long, long time. Julie Cohen’s delicious characterisation and beautiful writing style had me hooked from page one and I’m glad I had a day off when I began this novel as I didn’t put it down until I had finished it!

Would I recommend it?:

But of course!

Star rating (out of 5):