Pretty Is by Maggie Mitchell

Pretty Is by Maggie Mitchell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Lois and Carly-May were just twelve when they were abducted by a stranger and imprisoned in a cabin in the woods for two months.

That summer, under the watchful gaze of their kidnapper, they formed a bond that would never be broken.

Decades later, both women have new lives and identities. But the events of that summer are about to come back with a vengeance.

Lois and Carly-May must face the truth about their secret, shared past...

What really happened in the woods that summer?


Thanks to my mum for reading and reviewing this.

This for me is one of those novels that start out promising so much but really not delivering. On the face of it the subject matter was good, two 12 year old girls are kidnapped who apparently go with their abductor Zed quite willingly. The story follows Lois and Carly-May who are now adults as each of them reflect on the past. Lois is a teacher and Carly-May (now calling herself Chloe) is a struggling actress.


The book is split into 3 parts and the story related by Lois and Carly-May alternately in each of the 3 parts. Part 1 was for me the most interesting as it explored the psychological aspects of what happened to the girls as seen through the minds of 12 year old's but I really struggled with their going along with their kidnapper never asking questions and never trying to escape. Stockholm Syndrome would have kicked in at some point but surely initially they would have wanted to run? They are eventually released unharmed a couple of months later and the book is about the effects this experience has had on them in their adult lives.


Lois writes a book about their experiences which is due to be turned into a film, by coincidence one of the film parts has been offered to Carly-May (Chloe) who is sure that Lois must have written it. Eventually the two girls meet up again after decades of being apart.



Although getting off to a reasonably good start the book's paced slowed down so much that it was difficult to keep going. It could have been such a great psychological thriller but it lacked credibility and the ending was a great disappointment. It couldn't really work for me as there were too many unanswered questions that stopped the book giving it cohesion. Why did this stranger seek these two girls out? What was the motivation for the kidnapping? Nothing happened to these girls so why did the kidnapper take them? What was in the kidnappers mind? Without more information about the kidnapper or some kind of insight into motivation it couldn't really work.


It could have been a great novel instead of which it was really rather limp and I'm sorry to say that I felt flat, disappointed and a bit conned into going the distance with this one. It lacked credibility due to it's lack of depth and insight which stopped it from being a really amazing thriller - such a shame but I can only give this 2 stars.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Lynda Young Spiro Guest Post

Lynda has stopped by at The Book Corner today to share how she got into writing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynda Young Spiro is a mixed media artist whose love of textiles, found objects and recyclable materials are incorporated into her colourful work. Lynda was born in 1959 in Hampstead, London, where she now lives with her husband and two sons. Lynda’s previous book Latch-Hooking Rugs is published by A & C Black. There is Always More to Say is her first novel.



SYNOPSIS (BRIEF DESCRIPTION)

Soho 1984: Two people meet and their worlds are changed forever. An unexpected meeting – a look that means their lives will never be the same again. In “There Is Always More To Say”, the narrator chronicles the lives of the couple through friendships, marriage, fleeting moments and snatched time. It is a passionate account about a connection between two people that never dies even when tested by distance and when life throws the unexpected at their feet. ‘There Is Always More to Say’ is a heartfelt novel about an intense connection. A never-ending story about an everlasting friendship.

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances. If there is any reaction both are transformed.” C G Jung



HOW I STARTED WRITING

Thanks so much Sam for having me at the Book Corner and for asking me how I got into writing. I’d love to tell you. Apparently I did tell a friend thirty years ago that one day I was going to write a novel and include them in it. I actually don’t remember having said that. But they do!


But for me the experience all started about two years ago when I began to channel my creative energies into writing. The end result being my recently published first novel, a never-ending story about an everlasting friendship called ‘There Is Always More To Say’. Because as we know there is always more to say!


I’m a mixed media artist mainly working with fabrics, colours and recyclable bits and pieces which are all incorporated into my work. My passion for colour, my fascination with texture and my love of recycling have all found expression in a large body of work that includes textile design, latch-hooked rugs, needlepoint cushions, mosaics, painting and sculpture.


In April 2013 I saw an advert in the local paper the Ham&High for a part time examination invigilator. When I saw the advert, I don’t know why, but it appealed to me. And I applied for the job. It was nothing like anything I had ever done before. Both of my children were now at University and I was interested to know what they had gone through as students whilst taking exams. I knew that times had changed since I had been examined! What I didn’t know was in which direction this part time job would lead me. I didn’t know that the invigilating would lead me to expressing myself through a new and different media. I didn’t realise that whilst watching the candidates writing their papers so enthusiastically that it would get my own imagination going. And that it would be during these periods of silence whilst the exams were being written that I would be able to think and reflect about so many different things.

I started to write my thoughts, feelings, reflections and emotions down. I had very recently turned fifty-five and I realised that I had been married for over half of my life. I wasn’t sure where the time had gone. It made me think about my life before I was married and after I was married. The silence was really lovely in the examination hall. Very peaceful. There was a lot of time for me to spend thinking. And when I got home I started to write my thoughts and reflections down. Over time I realised that I had begun to accumulate a significant amount of writings and thoughts on various different scraps of paper. But I had no idea what to do with them. One afternoon sometime after the end of the summer exam period I chose to read and share some of these thoughts that I had written to a very close and old friend of mine. This friend immediately suggested that I consolidate them and suggested that I should write a book based on what I had written so far. The problem was that I had no experience of writing fiction. I didn’t know how to do this. Although the challenge did appeal to me.

So in September 2014 I enrolled onto a local writing class to help put these thoughts, observations and feelings into order to make a logical and interesting story. I left the class after three terms because it was too autobiographical. I was encouraged to continue writing after having gone to the class for that short amount of time. The positive feedback I received by reading passages to the other people in the class really encouraged me to continue writing.

I didn’t write the story in order. It never came to me in order. There was never a beginning, a middle or an end. I just started writing down my thoughts, my reflections and feelings about certain subjects which I then wove together to create a story. And although I have drawn on personal experiences this is not my story. I have drawn on a combination of my own experiences as well as those of my friends. I created this story from the ideas that were running around in my head. Ideas that had materialized from my imagination.

I never thought too hard about what I was writing and how I was writing the story. I just went ahead and wrote it. It just came to me. I wrote what I wanted to write and not what I thought I should be writing. I hope my readers will enjoy reading ‘There Is Always More To Say’ as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know this sounds like a cliché but it’s absolutely true. Opening the door of my story will hopefully show my reader the mirror of their mind.

I really enjoy hearing from my readers. I can be contacted at:

My own website: www.thereisalwaysmoretosay.com

Twitter: @lyndaspiro

Instagram: @lyndaspiro

Thank you so much Lynda for stopping by, I have really enjoyed reading how you got into writing and I am sure my readers will too. :)

Sainsbury's movies August

some of the biggest movies are coming out this month on Sainsbury’s Entertainment on Demand.

https://movies.sainsburysentertainment.co.uk/

The Huntsman: Winter War

Universal



Betrayed by her evil sister Ravenna (Charlize Theron), heartbroken Freya (Emily Blunt) retreats to a northern kingdom to raise an army of huntsmen as her protectors. Gifted with the ability to freeze her enemies in ice, Freya teaches her young soldiers to never fall in love. When Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and fellow warrior Sara defy this rule, the angry queen does whatever she can to stop them. As war between the siblings escalates, Eric and Sara unite with Freya to end Ravenna's wicked reign.








Eddie The Eagle

Lionsgate



The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper. Cut from the Olympic ski team, British athlete Michael "Eddie" Edwards travels to Germany to test his skills at ski jumping. Fate leads him to Bronson Peary, a former ski jumper who now works as a snowplough driver. Impressed by Edwards' spirit and determination, Peary agrees to him. Despite an entire nation counting him out, Eddie's never-say-die attitude takes him all the way to victory at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta.








The Jungle Book

Disney



Raised by a family of wolves since birth, Mowgli (Neel Sethi) must leave the only home he's ever known when the fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) unleashes his mighty roar. Guided by a no-nonsense panther (Ben Kingsley) and a free-spirited bear (Bill Murray), the young boy meets an array of jungle animals, including a slithery python and a smooth-talking ape. Along the way, Mowgli learns valuable life lessons as his epic journey of self-discovery leads to fun and adventure.








Jane Got A Gun

Lionsgate



Jane Hammond has built a new life with her husband Bill "Ham" Hammond after being tormented by the ultra-violent Bishop Boys outlaw gang. She gets in the gang's cross-hairs once again when Ham stumbles home riddled with bullets after duelling with the Boys. With the vengeful crew hot on Ham's trail, Jane turns to her former fiancé Dan Frost for help in defending her family against certain destruction. Haunted by old memories, Jane's past meets the present in a heart-stopping battle for survival








Neighbours 2

Universal



Life is good for Mac Radner (Seth Rogen) and pregnant wife Kelly (Rose Byrne) until the unruly sisters of Kappa Nu move in next door. As the loud parties threaten the sale of their home, the couple turn to ex-neighbour and one-time enemy Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) for help. Now united with the former college student, the trio devise schemes to get the wild sorority off the block. Unfortunately, the rebellious young women refuse to go down without a fight.








Captain America: Civil War

Disney



Political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when the actions of the Avengers lead to collateral damage. The new status quo deeply divides members of the team. Captain America (Chris Evans) believes superheroes should remain free to defend humanity without government interference. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) sharply disagrees and supports oversight. As the debate escalates into an all-out feud, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) must pick a side.






Alice Through The Looking Glass

Disney



After slipping through a mirror, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) finds herself back in Underland with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Her friends tell her that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is in a funk over the loss of his family. Hoping to save his loved ones, Alice steals the Chronosphere from Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) to travel into the past. While there, she encounters the younger Hatter and the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).






Money Monster

Sony



Lee Gates is a Wall Street guru who picks hot stocks as host of the television show "Money Monster." Suddenly, during a live broadcast, disgruntled investor Kyle Budwell storms onto the set and takes Gates hostage. He tells Lee that he lost everything on one of his tips. As Gates tries to plead with Kyle, he's also using an earpiece to communicate with his longtime producer in the control room. Together, they must figure out a way to defuse the situation and disarm the angry young man.

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Did she leave or was she taken?



The day Adam Dunne's girlfriend, Sarah, fails to return from a Barcelona business trip, his perfect life begins to fall apart. Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads 'I'm sorry - S' sets off real alarm bells. He vows to do whatever it takes to find her.

Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate - and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before.

To get the answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground...



Wow, what can I say about this book? I was hooked from the first chapter, this is the type of book you think, oh it's ok I can dip in and out of it but no, I didn't want to put the book down. When I had to put it down I spent all my time not reading it, thinking about it! It has been a long time since this has happened when reading a book.

Adam and Sarah have been together for 10 years, Sarah, the bread winner has been supporting Adam while he has been writing a play, he is a screenwriter and waiting for his big break. Sarah heads off to Barcelona for work, but while she is only way for about 5 days, Adam starts to question their relationship, prompted by Rose - Sarah's best friend. Suddenly Sarah's parents can't get in contact with her and she isn't answering her phone. Adam starts to question everything, especially when she doesn't appear at the airport after her flight.

There were different parts to this story with different peoples points of view, it switched from the past and into the present. Although for a long while I couldn't understand how the two were connected, this didn't bother me as I was enjoying every part of the book. Distress Signals was a face paced novel that really drew me in, I raced through the story and although I did guess I think quiet early on, this didn't matter and I was surprised by the ending. To be honest I am not sure how I felt about the ending, I think I would have liked a little more... but it was a surprise and unexpected, which I did like.

This was a brilliant read, one that got me out of my reading slump and perfect for fans of crime and thriller. This was a very cleverly written book and an excellent start into writing, I couldn't believe this was a debut! Howard has set the standard now and if all her books are as good as this I think she would fast become one of my favourite authors.

This is a gripping book, I don't want to give too much away in the plot as this is a book you have to read. You will race through it as you need to know the truth, I am so glad I read this and I would recommend it to anyone who loves crime and thrillers. I really cannot do this book justice, you just have to grab a copy.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp blog tour

The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


THE MOST CHILLING AND UNPREDICTABLE THRILLER OF THE YEAR.

Jack Sparks died while writing this book.

It was no secret that journalist Jack Sparks had been researching the occult for his new book. No stranger to controversy, he'd already triggered a furious Twitter storm by mocking an exorcism he witnessed.

Then there was that video: forty seconds of chilling footage that Jack repeatedly claimed was not of his making, yet was posted from his own YouTube account.

Nobody knew what happened to Jack in the days that followed - until now.

'Ingenious and funny . . . A magnificent millennial nightmare' - Alan Moore

'Wow. Seriously hard to put down . . . Chilling and utterly immersive' - M. R. Carey

'This is The Omen for the social media age' - Chris Brookmyre

'Wittier than the lovechild of Stephen Fry and Charlie Brooker, scarier than watching The Exorcist in an abandoned asylum' - Sarah Lotz

DISCOVER THE LAST DAYS OF JACK SPARKS - DESTINED TO BE 2016'S MOST TALKED-ABOUT THRILLER



Not a genre that I usually read and not an author I have come across before but I found it was horrifying and fascinating in equal measure.


The main character Jack Sparks is a writer and media personality. Having written a series of Jack Sparks on Drugs and on Gangs books he is now investigating (and intends to expose as rubbish) the supernatural. While researching for this in his latest series of books he is invited along to an exorcism of a young girl (he believes it is all an act) and he laughs and is openly disrespectful even when the the priest is injured and is taken to hospital he believes it's all part of the act. Things then seem to go very weird for Jack; he finds someone has uploaded a spooky video to his YouTube channel and he becomes obsessed with finding out who was responsible and embarks on his journey into the supernatural.


It was very well written with a good amount of humor which made reading it not such a chore or so dark that anyone other than a horror fan would want to continue reading it. The reader is aware from the outset that the 'author' Jack Sparks dies while writing this book and we are lead through it by his brother Alistair and the help of his notes. This book really plays with your mind, reading it you think one thing then a few pages on you realise that maybe what you have read is not what is happening at all - a roller coaster of a ride into the unknown and reality.


Vivid colourful writing perfectly sets the scenes for spooky and addictive reading, difficult to put down Jack Sparks gets under your skin, one minute you believe he deserves what he gets and the next you're rooting for him. So unusual for a writer to evoke these feelings in one character in a novel' normally you either like the central character or you don't. With Jack Sparks you have to unravel the real person as you and he go along together.


Jack is a wonderful character, flawed, realistically believable, not a hero by any stretch of the imagination who maintains his bravado through witty remarks and cynicism that creates such a likeable character in the end, the humour in this novel is extremely well executed. He is egotistical, self centered and shallow but he is also warm, funny and vulnerable which all come across in this novel. In terms of content it has the lot, exorcisms, bloody deaths, ghosts, demons and possession all the attributes that horror devotees devour in spade fulls and enough little touches to give it some realism. Along with all of this it was also surprisingly quite touching to take the journey with Jack from his arrogant and flippant beginning to his inevitable death in the end. I almost pitied him and hoped (although we know he does not survive) that at the eleventh hour he would be saved.


I really enjoyed this foray into the supernatural and although not a favoured genre I would be happy to read another Arnopp novel any time and give this a well deserved 4 stars.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

The Dreamday Pattern Journals by Laurence King

When I was offered the chance to review these beauties, how could I say no? I love a good notebook as probably most of you guys do. They are just so beautiful, sometimes they seem too beautiful to write in and that was the problem I has with these! They are just too beautiful!


These are top quality notebooks with think paper and have stunning covers. What make these notebooks different from others though is that there are colouring pages inside too. This has been another one of my loves this year, adult colouring books really allowed me to escape from the hustle and bustle of the day. These allow you to make notes and colour! I can't think of a better combination for a journal.


The journals also come in different themes, I have been lucky enough to review the Moroccan and the Japanese, however there is a New York one, Paris and many others, there are 6 in total.



Each of these notebooks come with over 100 pages in, and have detailed patterns in them to colour from the theme of the book. They are A5 in size, which is perfect for keeping in your handbag and they look stunning on the shelf with their beautiful spines.


The combination of the colouring and writing space will make these journals appeal to many, personally I think they would make a brilliant gift for those budding writers or colourers! I would be very pleased to receive one of these.

I think Laurence King are onto a winner here and I will definitely be recommending these in the future. I will be taking these away with me this summer on my holidays to document my travels, they will also help keep me entertained on the plane.


I would like to thank the publisher for sending these in exchange for an honest review.

You can purchase these from Laurence King Website here: http://www.laurenceking.com/

 

I had a go at the Which journal are you quiz, I got Florence, have a go and let me know which one you got. :)

Quiz

London Belongs to Us by Sarra Manning

London Belongs to Us by Sarra Manning
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Seventeen-year-old Sunny's always been a little bit of a pushover. But when she's sent a picture of her boyfriend kissing another girl, she knows she's got to act. What follows is a mad, twelve-hour dash around London - starting at 8pm in Crystal Palace (so far away from civilisation you can't even get the Tube there) then sweeping through Camden, Shoreditch, Soho, Kensington, Notting Hill . . . and ending up at 8am in Alexandra Palace.

Along the way Sunny meets a whole host of characters she never dreamed she'd have anything in common with - least of all the devilishly handsome (and somewhat vain) French 'twins' (they're really cousins) Jean Luc and Vic. But as this love-letter to London shows, a city is only a sum of its parts, and really it's the people living there who make up its life and soul. And, as Sunny discovers, everyone - from friends, apparent-enemies, famous bands and even rickshaw drivers - is willing to help a girl on a mission to get her romantic retribution.


I read this in a couple of sittings at the beginning of the holiday's. I really wanted something light and fun to get my out of my reading slump and this did just that.

The book is extremely easy to read, as I read the book I felt I had gone on a journey with Sunny and really wanted Mark to stop being such an idiot! I couldn't believe the way this character behaved though the book and although he isn't a 'main' character as he doesn't say an awful lot directly he plays a massive part in this story - it is the whole reason Sunny is trekking across London!

The story takes place over one night, a night where Sunny is on a wild goose chase to find her boyfriend Mark. When she arrives in a new area of London, we get some information about that part. I really loved reading about the areas through history and actually learnt a lot, whether this was about famous residents or shops that originated from there. I thought this was a unique feature to the book.

This book is fast paced and funny, it is a young contemporary book with Sunny being 17 and set in the summer holidays. This is a real light read and perfect for the summer months. The only reason I have given this book 4* and not 5* is because at times I did skim read a little, this was only because the structure of the story was a little repetitive, (Sunny trying to find Mark - paths may cross, she chases him a bit more and again misses him.) At one point I thought perhaps Sunny had done a little too much chasing him. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy her adventure or the people she met a long the way, because I did immensely.

If you like YA, especially UKYA then grab yourself a copy of this, even if you just like London, grab a copy as you will love this. I think this is a really great YA read and a perfect one for the summer months. I recommend this book!

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.