Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

ClareR (6247 KP) rated Reputation in Books

Mar 24, 2022  
Reputation
Reputation
Sarah Vaughan | 2022 | Contemporary, Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Reputation is some serious edge of your seat stuff!
Emma Webster is a Labour MP, who is a victim of online abuse: death threats, rape threats, threats of acid attacks, trolling and just general online unpleasantness. It’s a big change from her life as a teacher, but she decides that she wants to serve the people of her constituency.

But all does not go as she would like it to, and the reputation that she fought so hard for, begins to fall apart.

This is a tense courtroom drama, which left me wondering if Emma was a reliable narrator or not. Put in the same situation, I would have had a very similar reaction - Emma wants to protect her daughter from all harm - as well as her own reputation.

This was such a tense, suspenseful read on The Pigeonhole, which had me guessing right up to the very last page (I’ll be honest, if I had been reading the book, I would have flicked to the end - it was seriously anxiety-inducing!).
Highly recommended!
  
A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom
A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom
John Boyne | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Once I’d recognised the trick to this book, I found it fascinating - it took a couple of chapters though, so I would encourage anyone contemplating reading this to keep going for at least three chapters. Or, you know, read this, have some idea of what’s going on, and then get the book, sit back and enjoy!

I’ve often thought that life must have some universal stories: things that happen in our lives that have happened untold times before throughout history, and will probably happen countless times in the future.

That is the premise that ‘A Traveller’ works from. And it’s done so cleverly.

We begin in the Roman world in 1AD, and swap between different continents and cultures. The story remains the same, of love, loss, betrayal, revenge and death. There’s a lot of births and deaths. It really puts in to perspective humanity’s inability to learn from its mistakes - and we just keep on making them in to the future.

This is such a thought provoking, imaginative read. John Boyne just never seems to let me down.
  
Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies
Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies
Michael Ausiello | 2017 | Biography, LGBTQ+
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Entertainment reporter Michael Ausiello has enjoyed immense success in his professional life, progressing from writing at a soaps magazine to Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide to his current job as co-founder at TVLine.com. Ausiello is well-known for his snarky and knowledgeable insights about pop culture and TV. But while Ausiello's career was taking off, he was going through immense personal anguish: the death of his husband, Kit, from neuroendrocrine cancer in early 2015. Ausiello's memoir catalogues meeting Kit, thirteen years before his death, and also describes the heartbreaking journey of losing him to cancer--with much of the trademark wit and humor we see in many of his entertainment posts.

I don't know what possessed me to request this book. I love Ausiello, his reporting, and his columns, yes, but how I thought I'd come out unscathed from an incredibly sad memoir about a lovely gay man losing his beloved husband to cancer... I don't know. <i>Sure, parts of this memoir are funny and snarky, but much of it is just heartbreaking and gut-wrenching.</i> Good grief. There's no real equivalent of reading about a man openly and honestly telling you about losing a great love of his life.

Ausiello's memoir goes back in forth in time. While most of the book focuses on the present-day: learning about Kit's shocking diagnosis, how that affects couple, and ultimately leading up to his death. Still, he also goes back to when the two met, began to date, and fall in love. There's a sweetness to reading about young Kit and Mike, for sure. The early parts of the memoir very much remind me of reading pieces of someone's journal. Some of the beginning parts were a bit of a struggle for me, as you get bogged down in so much detail: what they ate, where they went, where they walked, who called who, etc. That was a little excruciating at times, but as I said, there was also a sweetness and tenderness to it. It just seemed like sometimes there was a little too much oversharing--details and moments that weren't necessarily relevant to the overall story. A little too much telling versus showing, especially in the first half or so of the book.

However, as it continues, it either improves or I became more used to the style. You become really caught up in Kit and Mike's relationship journey. It's painful and sad to read, but there are definitely humorous parts interspersed within as well (thank goodness). Ausiello appears to be brutally honest in his portrayal of everything--the ups and downs of their relationship, the cancer and its toll on Kit (and Mike), and more. What we're left with is a heartbreaking, poignant tale, with a reminder to truly live life to the fullest, as you really never know what comes next.

Overall, despite a slow (detailed) start, <i>this is a lovely tribute to Mike and Kit's love and life together.</i> It's heartbreaking and touching and a beautiful ode to his husband. My heart goes out to Ausiello, but after reading Kit and Mike's story, you'll be left grateful for the time the two had together. We should all be so lucky. 3.5 stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review. It is available everywhere as of 09/12/2017.

<center><a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">Blog</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/mwcmoto">Twitter</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristyHamiltonbooks">Google+</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/justacatandabook/">Instagram</a>; </center>