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Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Good Me, Bad Me in Books

Mar 15, 2018

Good Me, Bad Me

Ali Land | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(21 Ratings)

Book Rating

Read my review here: http://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/

AVAILABLE NOW!

I promised to be the best I could. I promised to try… Forgive me.

Wow. This book was far, far better than I was expecting it to be. I had left it in my library for so long that I had forgotten what it was even about when I picked it up to read. Be warned, there are triggers to note in this book (sexual, physical and emotional abuse of a child, self harm and child murder) but Land is decent enough not to delve too deeply into any of these topics.

The plot for this was new to me, I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel with a similar plot line, though I may be forgetting (I won’t be forgetting about this one)! Annie, whose name is changed to Milly for protection reasons, is the daughter of a serial killer. And while her mother's trial looms, Milly is trying to move on, forget her old life and fit in with her foster family but nightmarish nighttime visits and a constant inner voice from her mother don’t make any of this easy. Stuck in a battle of nature and nurture, Milly is terrified of what she might become. Fighting with herself daily to be the “good me” is tough, because afterall, she is her mother's daughter.

The writing style of this novel is incredible. It was snappy, fast paced yet added to the mystery of the plot. It kept me wanting to know more, which is exactly why I read the novel in under 24 hours. My only, tiny, gripe with the writing, was sometimes, very occasionally, sentences were structured in a way that made it sound like Milly was Yoda... but I only noticed it a couple of times throughout the entire thing.

Twisted, shocking, unputdownable and unforgettable. This is set to be one of the best debuts of 2017 and is by far one of the best debuts I’ve read this year (I finished this in late 2016, not early 2017!!). I’m excited to see what other books Land can produce.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Kudos

Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated Ghosted in Books

Jun 27, 2018

Ghosted

Rosie Walsh | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry

7.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Really great story (0 more)

Character drive you nuts! (0 more)

Great Story - Awesome Blindsides

This book had some serious 'holy-crap' shockers! I was riveted from start to finish, gobbled up every word, and felt like I got smacked in the face several times with total blindsiding plot twists!

Sarah's been ghosted. If you don't know what that means - well... she literally fell in love with Eddie after ONE WEEK. They meet, by chance, spend an entire week with no-one but each other, the connection is insane, they are meant for each other, they both seem to be in love - it's that much of a connection. He leaves to go on an already planned holiday, with promises to call, to stay in touch, to possibly start lives together afterwards... aaaaaaand GHOSTED. Eddie is gone. He doesn't call or email, he hasn't been on Facebook, her texts go unanswered. He's just GONE.

Weeks go by and Sarah is a HOT MESS. She knows Eddie was THE ONE. She knows he felt the same, but Where. The heck. Did he go?

Her friends think she's losing her mind. It was one week! You are barely divorced! Guys suck! Get over it! But Sarah knows in her bones that something is wrong. Something happened to Eddie and she won't give up until he is back in her life and found safe and sound.

But seriously Sarah, Get a grip. This chick is going looney tunes. She's obsessed with this guy and it's getting a bit weird. It's just about the only problem I had with the book. Tone it down Sarah! For goodness sake - it was a WEEK! The obsession and neurosis she goes through is a bit embarrassing! Yikes!

But then, things start happening: Clues. Messages. Strange people watching her. And really old wounds are opened. Who is Eddie and why did he disappear??

I really really really enjoyed this (as much as I wanted to smack the living daylights out of Sarah and tell her to "stop it! he's just a dude! dudes do this sort of thing ALL the time!) but I really did have a great time with this book! It's interspersed with texts, and letters and flips between characters really seamlessly and it's worth a read just for the really shocking and fun blindsides. Definitely recommend!!

Thanks to Penguin Random House for the advanced copy to read and review!