http://www.geekyzoogirl.com Wed, 01 Apr 2020 14:55:51 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.3.2 73837894 March Wrap-Up http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/04/01/march-wrap-up-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=march-wrap-up-2 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/04/01/march-wrap-up-2/#respond Wed, 01 Apr 2020 14:55:49 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=7433 Read More March Wrap-Up]]> Wow, well March was… a lot. Between my blog being down for around half the month, and then all the *gestures vaguely outside* real world drama, both blogging and reading were a bit of a bust for me last month. I’m hopeful that April will be better (more on that later) but for now, here’s a recap of what I got read.

Reading

Radical | The Day the World Came to Town | Epidemic | Spellslinger | The Pagan Stone | The Great Zoo of China | All Your Twisted Secrets

Books read: 7 (7 less than February
Pages read: 2568 (2056 less than February)
Average pages per day: 83 pages per day (76 less than February)
Average book length: 366 (36 more than February
Favourite(s): The Liar’s Key & The Queen of Nothing

Reading challenge progress

Audiobook challenge: +6 (Radical, The Day the World Came to Town, Epidemic, Spellslinger, The Pagan Stone, All your Twisted Secrets)
Total so far: 19/30

ARC Apocalypse +2 (Radical, All Your Twisted Secrets)
Total so far: 5/?

Beat The Backlist +6
Total so far: 24/?

Start On Your Shelfathon +2 (Radical, All Your Twisted Secrets)
Total so far: 11/?

How was your March?

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February Wrap-Up http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/29/february-wrap-up-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=february-wrap-up-2 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/29/february-wrap-up-2/#respond Sat, 29 Feb 2020 20:15:58 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=7421 Read More February Wrap-Up]]> Reading

Come Tumbling Down | Control | The Liar’s Key | Spellhacker | Blood Brothers | The Hunger Games | Witness Protection Widow | D.O.G.S. | Heartstopper | The Hollow | Temporary Wife Temptation | Inferior | The Queen of Nothing | Red Hood

Books read: 14 (4 more than January)
Pages read: 4624 (364 more than January)
Average pages per day: 159 pages per day (22 more than January)
Average book length: 330 (96 less than January)
Favourite(s): The Liar’s Key & The Queen of Nothing

Reading challenge progress

Audiobook challenge: +6 (Come Tumbling Down, The Liar’s Key, The Hunger Games, Inferior, The Queen of Nothing, Red Hood)
Total so far: 13/30

ARC Apocalypse +3 (The Never Tilting World, My Heart & Other Black Holes, Broken Things)
Total so far: 3/?

Beat The Backlist +8
Total so far: 18/?

Start On Your Shelfathon +3
Total so far: 9/?

Blogging

Reviews:

Other posts:

How was your February?

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Slay (Brittney Morris) http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/27/slay-brittney-morris/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=slay-brittney-morris http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/27/slay-brittney-morris/#respond Thu, 27 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=7414 Read More Slay (Brittney Morris)]]> Slay by Brittney Morris
Published by Simon Pulse on September 24th 2019
Genres: Sci Fi
Pages: 323
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads

By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the "downfall of the Black man."

But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for "anti-white discrimination."

Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?

I read Slay back in October 2018, but I was left with a big jumble of conflicting thoughts, so I’m only just getting around to reviewing it now I’ve had time to mull my feelings over a bit.

So, first of all, there are lots of things I liked about Slay. I loved Keira, the kick-ass, determined, supremely talented gamer. I really liked her sister Steph, although occasionally her rants seemed a little heavy-handed; some of her explanations about culture were excellent reading, but it felt a bit forced when she’s explaining Black language use to her Black parents. I would have liked to see more of the mod who helps with the site, Cicada, who I thought was a really interesting POV character. One of the strongest points of the book is the relationships between these three, and how each of the characters responds to the events in the story. I thought the concept was really cool, and I loved the idea of the game itself – the fact all the cards were based on Black culture is really cool, and I could totally understand Keira’s drive to create the platform.

I did find the concept implausible though, and every time we learned more about Slay and how Keira had created it, it jarred me out of the story. I don’t personally understand how Keira could have juggled being a great student around having a boyfriend and social life, whilst also building a complex video game which no one in her family knows about – for THREE YEARS. Aside from the financial and logistical issues – VR equipment, dealing with servers in Paris, learning how to do literally every part of the design from concept to coding to graphics and sound effects – I just don’t see how any one human could have enough hours or energy in the day!

The next point is a tricky and potentially controversial one – while I loved the idea of Slay and it being a safe space for Black gamers, I’m not entirely sure I agree with the idea of it being ONLY available to Black players. By all means, advertise it to Black players, hammer home the idea of it being a safe space, have strict mod rules to kick out players who jeopardise that and emphasise the role of Black culture in the rules and concept of the game, but don’t ban white players altogether. It seems to me the game has the potential to bring people together – to help white people understand more about Black people and culture, and bringing people together in positive ways is one of the research-backed approaches to tackling discrimination and prejudice. I honestly don’t mean this to sound like a privileged white person complaining about racism against white people, because frankly that concept is a load of rubbish – I would be significantly more uncomfortable if it was a game created by a white woman that excluded POC – I just don’t think more division is the answer. I’m a bisexual woman married to a man – if I created a game specifically for lesbian, bisexual and gay cis people but excluded trans people, it seems to me that would be unequivocally wrong. Equally, if I was excluded from a site about LGBTQ+ communities because I ‘wasn’t gay enough’ because I’m married to a man, that’d be wrong; yes either way the aim would be supporting a minority group, but is it really necessary to tear down another to do so? I back Keira’s aim to lift up the Black community whole-heartedly, but there’s just something a little bit uncomfortable about deliberately excluding people. Not to mention the fact that there’s no mention of other people of colour throughout the book. This is of course purely my opinion, and as I said, the book really forced me to analyse my own feelings, and I’m still not 100% certain how I feel – generally I think positive discrimination is a good thing, so my feelings may change, but for now, it seems like a waste not to allow people in to try and bridge gaps. I fully acknowledge that it isn’t the job of Black creators to educate others, but if someone is trying to learn more about things they’re ignorant about, it seems like a waste not to let them in to do so.

I thought the plot was fantastic, although a little rushed at the end – the villain feels very two-dimensional, and I’d have liked to see more to explain their motivation. I desperately wanted to know how the potential lawsuit would play out and I loved reading all the different opinions about Slay, from the parents to kids to a lawyer Keira’s friends; I couldn’t figure out from my own point of view whether Keira had done anything wrong, let alone what the law might conclude, and the more points of view I read, the more complicated the idea got. Combine the addictive plot with the writing, which is both easy and gripping and you end up with a book that is impossible to put down – I finished it in a single sitting. It’s a thought-provoking, debate-inspiring book, and even months after finishing I have a hard time making sense of all my thoughts and feelings, but I would 100% say it’s worth reading. It has a gripping sci-fi story, as well as plenty of real-world ideas to think about, and I’ll definitely be adding a copy to my classroom library.

Other Reviews of Slay: Paper Fury| Black Girl Nerds | Sci Fi & Scary

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Temporary Wife Temptation (Jayci Lee) http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/20/temporary-wife-temptation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=temporary-wife-temptation http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/20/temporary-wife-temptation/#respond Thu, 20 Feb 2020 16:30:00 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=7408 Read More Temporary Wife Temptation (Jayci Lee)]]> Temporary Wife Temptation by Jayci Lee
Published by Harlequin Desire on February 4th 2020
Genres: Romance
Pages: 224
Format: ebook, eARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads

Much more than he bargained for…

“You want me to find you a wife?”

“No. I want you to be my wife.”

Garrett Song is this close to taking the reins of his family’s LA fashion empire…until the Song matriarch insists he marry her handpicked bride first. To block her matchmaking, he recruits Natalie Sobol to pose as his wife. She needs a fake spouse as badly as he does. But when passion burns down their chaste agreement, the flames could destroy them all…

So, as part of my aim to read more romance, I’m taking part in the blog tour for Temporary Wife Temptation today, thanks to Harlequin. I really enjoyed the last Harlequin romance I read, but that was from the Harlequin Intrigue line, whilst this is from the Harlequin Desire line, something I’ve not yet ventured into.

The premise for Temporary Wife Temptation is simple – for their own reasons, Natalie and Garrett enter into a fake marriage, agreeing to stay publically married until both their goals are met. Temporary Wife Temptation takes that trope and spins it out well, drawing you in to a story that you can’t help but fly through.

Natalie Sobol is a feisty, take-no-nonsense career woman, and our story begins with her going to chase up Garrett Song, who may well be grandson to the founders of the company, but who has to sign HR paperwork just like everyone else, thank you very much. Of course, the two have instant chemistry, which is a bit awkward given the power imbalance between the two, and the fact that as Natalie works for HR, she’d be the first to point out how badly mixing business and pleasure can go.

If you’ve read the blurb for Temporary Wife Temptation, you know exactly what you’re going to get – an arranged marriage that starts off as business only, but rapidly descends into a will-they-won’t-they where you want to shake them both and tell them to just communicate already. Despite that, Lee adds enough depth to the characters to keep it interesting. From Natalie’s desire to adopt her niece, to Garrett’s traditional Korean grandmother, to their various friends and family members who get entangled in all the drama, there’s plenty here to add to the story and keep you wanting more. I loved Garrett’s Korean family, as well as Natalie’s self-confessed ignorance about her own Korean side of the family. While I can’t comment on the accuracy of the representation, I know this is an own voices Korean-American novel, and I really love that.

I really liked Natalie, and although I didn’t particularly like Garrett at first, he grew on me throughout the story, and I felt like he grew and developed more than Natalie did. I liked both their motivations behind the marriage. Their chemistry is quick, but the feelings develop more slowly, and I thought both the tender and steamy moments were done well. The plot is a little predictable, but that’s no bad thing – I know how every Disney movie I’ve ever seen ends, but I still love watching them again, living through the adventure and seeing all the details and twists and turns before the climax. Temporary Wife Temptation is the same; the predictable parts are balanced out by twists and turns, by steamy sexy scenes and touching tender moments. It’s a comfort read; you know what to expect, and it delivers well on that promise. My only real complaint was that the pacing felt a little off at time – I think because it’s so short? That meant we occasionally had time jumps where I’d have liked to see more about how things played out, or conflicts/resolutions that seemed to come a little out of the blue. Despite that, it was an enjoyable read, and I’m definitely intrigued about book 2, which follows new characters in the same circles.

Other Reviews of Temporary Wife Temptation: Nerd Problems| Delighted Reader | Dear Author

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Veganuary Reflections http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/19/veganuary-reflections/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=veganuary-reflections http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/19/veganuary-reflections/#respond Wed, 19 Feb 2020 10:30:00 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=7386 Read More Veganuary Reflections]]> Despite not being a vegetarian, in January 2020, I decided to take on the challenge of going vegan for a whole month. No animal products at all, which means no milk chocolate, no cheese, no meat and no milk. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it, but I decided to give it a go, and am pleased to report I didn’t have a single slip up all month! Lots of people asked how I got on, so I thought I’d share some of this steak-loving omnivore’s thoughts on going animal product free for a month.

It was harder than I expected, mostly because of convenience

I never expected veganuary to be easy of course, but I thought once I got past the first few days or the first week, that I’d get used to it pretty quickly. The hardest thing (aside from resisting temptation to buy a Terry’s Chocolate Orange every day) was just how much WORK it took. So many things I’d never thought about weren’t vegan (most crisps, meat replacements like quorn which we already ate regularly, things like bread and wine), which meant that I had to look through the ingredients list of EVERYTHING I ate. Scanning for obvious things like meat or milk weren’t the issue, it was learning to spot the unexpected non-vegan items, like casein, mono & diglycerides, vitamin B… some of them were things I’d never even heard of, but now suddenly had to check every packet for. Convenience options like grabbing a ready meal was SO much harder, and takeaways like a chinese were basically just off the menu altogether, because I couldn’t be sure what went into a dish. That meant I had to do a lot more cooking, and since my other half wasn’t doing Veganuary, we generated a lot more washing up too. All in all, it was just a lot of effort!

I didn’t feel any different

SO many people said that going vegan made them feel amazing, OR that they felt terrible. Honestly, I felt pretty much exactly the same. I didn’t have any of the tummy upsets people warned me about, but I also didn’t get any of the glowing-skin or extra-energy some people told me to expect. Maybe it’s because we’ve tried to reduce our meat intake anyway, so we eat mostly chicken, with some vegetarian meals and the occasional fish/pork meal? We’re also doing WW, and have been since September, so although I do eat a lot of junk, we also lots of fruit and vegetables already too. Honestly, I felt absolutely no different, physically or mentally, as a result of going animal product-free.

I lost weight….but no more than I had been anyway

LOTS of people wanted to know if I lost weight, so the short answer is yes, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s good for weight loss. I lost about 6lbs over the course of the month, which is almost exactly the same amount as I lost in November (ignoring December because of Christmas!), doing WW and just making sensible choices.

I’m not a good enough cook!

I love the idea of cooking, and when I’m off work I sometimes enjoy making a complicated recipe I’ve never tried before, but I’m also lazy, and frankly, just busy. My best meals in Veganuary were all ones where we ate out at somewhere with decent vegan options, and while everything I made at home was edible, it’d be a stretch to say I actively enjoyed much of it. I made a lot of the same things, or basically-the-same-just-with-different-spices, and I got very bored of things being predominantly the same texture in particular! I know vegan food CAN be absolutely delicious, but the amount of time, money, skill and effort I was willing/able to put in just weren’t enough for that to be the case 99% of the time.

Junk food and eating out aren’t off the table

While scanning everything was a complete nuisance, I did discover some vegan junk food options. I missed chocolate, so I tried a LOT of vegan alternatives – from NOMO to Galaxy to Bournville to ASDA’s own, and honestly, none of it was great. Bourbon biscuits on the other hand are often vegan (who knew?!) and so are Oreos, so I ate a few of those! When I wanted a treat, I reached for those, party rings or the Gu dairy-free cheesecakes.

Eating out was a mixed bag – Wetherspoons actually was great, and the Gregg’s steak bake was so good I made my other half check it was actually the right one! (Can also recommend their sausage rolls, which I’ve been buying since they introduced them). The KFC vegan burger is really good, though the fact you can’t have any chips is a real disappointment! I tried a Pizza Hut but the fake cheese had the weirdest texture so I wouldn’t buy it again – the cheesecake on the other hand was divine! Wagamama’s is brilliant, and although I didn’t have it in January, I’ve tried the Pizza Express vegan pizza before and that’s really nice. (Also yes, reading this back, I too am horrified by how much we apparently ate out!)

Veganism isn’t for me, but it was absolutely a worthwhile experience

I knew going in that it was very unlikely I was going to make a permanent switch from full on omnivore to vegan, but I wanted to see if I could do it, and hopefully find a few vegan meals to work into my regular diet. While I know veganism isn’t for me (yet at least), I definitely found a few meals I could rotate in, and a few meals I’d be very happy to eat when we’re out that are totally animal product free. While I won’t be making big changes, we make something like 200 food/drink related decisions every day, and I’m definitely hoping to make a few more of those tiny decisions animal product free. I’m happy to swap vegan bourbon biscuits in for other biscuits, spirits and mixers in for my wine, dairy-free cheesecake in for the usual Gu ones etc. They’re small decisions, but they’re decisions I think I could make forever, and I figure every small step adds up. Veganism isn’t for me yet, but swapping a meal or a snack or both per day, every day, all adds up. And eventually, hopefully, one meal becomes two etc. My eventual aim is to get to vegan as the default, and animal products as the rare switch from the norm, rather than the other way around.

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Readathon announcement: The Sims-a-thon Round #3 (March 1st-31th) http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/18/readathon-announcement-the-sims-a-thon-round-3-march-1st-31th/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=readathon-announcement-the-sims-a-thon-round-3-march-1st-31th http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/18/readathon-announcement-the-sims-a-thon-round-3-march-1st-31th/#comments Tue, 18 Feb 2020 20:33:07 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=7398 Read More Readathon announcement: The Sims-a-thon Round #3 (March 1st-31th)]]> The Sims-a-thon is a readathon themed all around – as I’m sure you can guess – The Sims. Kara came up with the idea and ran the first round in June 2019 and I joined in as a co-host for round 2, and since I had so much fun I am of course joining in for round 3 too. Just like last time, we’ve got a big, awesome team of co-hosts who’ll be running sprints on the offical twitter account, helping to run the instagram challenge, and generally be cheering on everyone who joins in.     If you missed the first two rounds, the basic gist is this: there are a series of reading prompts based on The Sims 4, you choose the path to start your Sim on, and then you work through any live mode prompts you fancy. For every prompt you complete, you get points!  

The paths you can choose from to get started on your Sims-A-Thon readathon!
Sims-A-Thon career prompts

The Sims-A-Thon is especially great for mood readers, because once you’ve read your first two books, you can move into live mode and work through any prompts you like, in any order, so you don’t have to plan out your TBR in advance (though of course you can!). If you plan out a month of spooky halloween reads and then decide that you’re in the mood for fairytale retellings instead, it won’t matter at all, because there are SO MANY prompts to choose from you’ll be able to fit your books in somewhere. I go through phases of reading nothing but fantasy for a few weeks, or being obsessed with crime novels, and a lot of readathons will only give you one or two prompts for the same genre, which is really frustrating.  For the Sims-A-Thon you can repeat a prompt as many times as you like, as long as you read a new book each time, so you could spend the whole month Woohoo-ing (reading smutty books) and every single one will earn you points, it isn’t a case of having ticked off a prompt and being forced to switch genres to get more points.

New for this round:

For each Sims-a-thon round, we’ll be adding a new expansion pack, so this time around we’re adding Get to Work, which gives you a whole bunch more prompts to choose from (see below). Notice I said ADDING, so yes, you can indeed use any of the Outdoor Retreat prompts as well – this is why I said the Sims-a-thon is so great for mood readers, because there are just so many prompts to choose from, you can find something for any book you fancy, and you can work in any order!

What’s slightly different about the Get to Work prompts is that they ARE designed to be done in order – if you decide to be a Doctor, your aim would be to hit as many of those prompts as you could, but you have to start at level 1 and work up. Each prompt is worth 2 points, and if you finish a track you get 10 bonus points. Your progress will carry over into future rounds though, so if you get halfway through this time, you don’t have to start over when round 4 comes along.

TL;DR (Just Give me the Rules!)

THE RULES:

  1. You need to read one book per challenge.
  2. You can do a challenge more than once, you just need to read different books each time.
  3. You can’t double up on a challenge – one book only completes one prompt
  4. Interpret the prompts how you see fit, and you can use any from this or any previous round
  5. For every challenge prompt completed, you get the indicated number of points.
  6. MOTHERLODE: for every 10 points you accumulated last round, you can make a single challenge prompt worth double points in this round.

Look out for a rough TBR post from me within the next few days, and I hope you decide to join us!

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Witness Protection Widow (Debra Webb) http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/13/witness-protection-widow-debra-webb/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=witness-protection-widow-debra-webb http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/13/witness-protection-widow-debra-webb/#respond Thu, 13 Feb 2020 18:00:15 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=7390 Read More Witness Protection Widow (Debra Webb)]]> Witness Protection Widow by Debra Webb
Series: ,
on February 1st 2020
Genres: Romance, Suspense
Pages: 256
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Amazon
Goodreads

Can the witness protection program keep her identity secret?

After Allison James finally escapes her marriage to a monster, she becomes the star witness in the case against her deceased husband's powerful crime family. Now it's up to US Marshal Jaxson Stevens, Ali's ex-boyfriend, to keep the WITSEC widow safe. But as the danger escalates and sparks fly, will Jax be able to help Ali escape her ruthless in-laws?

I’m taking part in the blog tour for Witness Protection Widow today, thanks to Harlequin. I got an email about possible upcoming tours and thought, since I’m trying to read more romance and join in with romanceopoly, why not? I really liked the look of Witness Protection Widow, which is a romance premise I’ve not come across before, so here are my thoughts on my first ever Harlequin Intrigue title!

Ali was drawn in by the powerful and mysterious Harrison Armone, who treats her like a princess, until she stumbles on the fact he’s been living a lie. She had no idea she’d married into a criminal family, but once her eyes are opened and consequences ensue, she’s left in the unenviable position of having to testify against his family.

The Armone family are serious criminals, and while Ali is waiting to testify, she’s forced into hiding to keep her safe. Whilst in witness protection, she ends up being guarded by Jax Stevens – her first love, whom she hasn’t seen in a decade.

This is a second-chance romance, and I loved the premise. I don’t know if you ever saw the cheesy MK & Ashley Olsen movie Our Lips Are Sealed, but I loved it as a young teenager (showing my age now) and this was like an aged-up, romantic version of that. The relationship between the characters, the longing for them to communicate and figure things out, the twists and turns in the plot all had me absolutely hooked, and I flew through the book in a couple of hours. Imagine a Nora Roberts novel mixed together with an episode of Criminal Minds and that’s the vibe this book gives off.

Witness Protection Widow is actually part of a series, though it reads like a standalone – you can definitely enjoy it without reading the others. The fact it is part of a series though, focusing on other characters for other stories, is the kind of thing I love – extra stories in the same world, with characters you know and love, that adds more to the story without making this novel unsatisfying or end on a cliffhanger? PERFECT.

Characters-wise, I really liked both Ali and Jax. While they’ve each made mistakes, they’ve grown a lot as people since their first attempt at romance, and they’re both strong, independent characters of their own, not just romantic interests for the other. Ali has been through a lot, and the book doesn’t shy away from how that makes her feel – the embarrassment, the panic attacks, the need to keep everyone else safe – but it never makes her seem like a helpless victim. She’s fierce, and determined, and has no intention of letting the Armone family win. Jax is stubborn, strong-willed, and a little overbearing at first, but he becomes likeable as the book goes on and he becomes a little less close-minded. I liked the supporting characters, and will argue that every book is improved by an animal, so I of course loved Bob the dog.

My one criticism of the book is that I felt it could have been longer – dare I say it, a lot longer. The story is focused on getting Ali to trial safely, but the final chapters seemed like a bit of an anti-climax. I’d have liked to see more of the court room and the testimony, more of the aftermath of everything that happened. I’d definitely be interested in going and picking up the rest of the series though, as well as other work by Debra Webb or other titles in the Harlequin Intrigue series, as this was a very addictive, very enjoyable welcome back to the world of romance!

Other Reviews of Witness Protection Widow: Book Fan Mary | Fireflies & Free Kicks | Okie Dreams

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My Heart and Other Black Holes (Jasmine Warga) http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/06/my-heart-and-other-black-holes-jasmine-warga/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=my-heart-and-other-black-holes-jasmine-warga http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/06/my-heart-and-other-black-holes-jasmine-warga/#respond Thu, 06 Feb 2020 21:00:00 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=7348 Read More My Heart and Other Black Holes (Jasmine Warga)]]> My Heart and Other Black Holes (Jasmine Warga)My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
Published by Hodder & Stoughton on February 12th 2015
Pages: 320
Goodreads

Aysel and Roman are practically strangers, but they've been drawn into an unthinkable partnership. In a month's time, they plan to commit suicide - together.

Aysel knows why she wants to die: being the daughter of a murderer doesn't equal normal, well-adjusted teenager. But she can't figure out why handsome, popular Roman wants to end it all....and why he's even more determined than she is.

With the deadline getting closer, something starts to grow between Aysel and Roman - a feeling she never thought she would experience. It seems there might be something to live for, after all - but is Aysel in so deep she can't turn back?

My Heart & Other Black Holes has been on my shelves for absolutely ages, but as part of my aim to read more books from my shelves I decided to pick it up as my first read of 2020, and it was a good first choice – I was hooked from the beginning and flew through it in 24 hours!

Aysel and Roman, despite being total strangers, meet online and agree to be each other’s suicide partners.  While the premise sounds maudlin, and the book opens on a heavy and serious moment, My Heart and Other Black Holes isn’t depressing or saddening but uplifting and hopeful.

“What people never understand is that depression isn’t about the outside; it’s about the inside. Something inside me is wrong. Sure, there are things in my life that make me feel alone, but nothing makes me feel more isolated and terrified than my own voice in my head.”

Of course not everyone experiences depression or suffers with their mental health, and everyone experiences it differently, but I think one of the things that makes My Heart and Other Black Holes such a brilliant read is how Warga manages to convey the way Aysel and Roman are feeling.  For various reasons, Aysel and Roman both feel out of options, fed up of live, and driven to consider suicide, but the depression hits each of them differently.  Their experiences and feelings, although completely different, feel totally authentic, and it’s impossible to read the book without going through an emotional rollercoaster.

 “Anyone who has actually been that sad can tell you that there’s nothing beautiful or literary or mysterious about depression.”

As the book opens, Aysel and Roman have committed to their respective decisions to commit suicide and are searching for a partner to ensure they go through with it.  There are some hints about traumatic events they’ve each experienced that have contributed to their feelings of hopelessness but we don’t know what either of them have been through, which gives the book an added mystery element. Throughout the novel we’re wondering both whether they will go through with their plans, and what the events were that went on before we entered their stories.  From that original opening mystery, the story flicks back and forth between the countdown to the date they’ve agreed on for their suicide, and events that happened before they met.  As time goes on, Aysel and Roman progress from total strangers to people who actually begin to care, and it’s nice to see their relationship grow.  What else is really important I think, is that although their relationship does develop and it is a main thread of the story, the book never suggests that a relationship could be a cure for depression.

My Heart and Other Black Holes is an addictive, relatable novel with some brilliantly honest, authentic characters and plenty of emotional moments.  While there were some poignant moments that made me cry, there were also plenty of heartwarming moments too, and even a few funny ones. It’s not necessarily a book I’d pick up a time when I was feeling particularly low, but despite the somewhat heavy subject matter, it really is an uplifting story that I’d recommend wholeheartedly.

Other Reviews of My Heart and Other Black Holes: Dutch Book Chick | Pretty Books | Little Hux Tales

Rating Report
Plot
5 / 5
Characters
4 / 5
Addictiveness
5 / 5
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
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January Wrap-Up http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/01/january-wrap-up-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=january-wrap-up-2 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/02/01/january-wrap-up-2/#respond Sat, 01 Feb 2020 14:34:39 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=7380 Read More January Wrap-Up]]>

Reading

My Heart & Other Black Holes | Broken Things | The Never Tilting World | Cilka’s Journey | Karamo | Over the Top | Gemina | Obsidio | The Cruel Prince | The Wicked King

Books read: 10
Pages read: 4260
Average pages per day: 137
Average book length: 426
Favourite(s): The Cruel Prince/The Wicked King

Reading challenge progress

Audiobook challenge: +7 (Cilka’s Journey, Karamo, Over the Top, Gemina, Obsidio, The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King)
Total so far: 7/30

ARC Apocalypse +3 (The Never Tilting World, My Heart & Other Black Holes, Broken Things)
Total so far: 3/?

Beat The Backlist +10
Total so far: 10/?

Start On Your Shelfathon +6
Total so far: 6/?

Blogging

Reviews:

Other posts:

January Goals

So I didn’t actually set any specific goals for January, but I’m pretty pleased with how the month went anyway…

  • Veganuary/Food/health
    • 31 days without any animal products – SUCCESS!
    • Exercise 8 times – SUCCESS.
      • Went running twice and went to karate 7 times.
    • Lose Christmas weight – SUCCESS.
      • I put on 4lbs over Christmas, after successfully (though slowly) losing weight between September and Christmas. In January I lost 4.5lbs so just about back to where I was before Christmas.
  • Reading and blogging
    • Read 4+ books – SUCCESS
      • I set my goodreads goal to 52 books for the year and am way above track so far which is nice!
    • Review everything I read – FAIL
      • I haven’t reviewed anywhere near all of the books I’ve read, but I have been working through books I’ve read previously so I don’t feel too bad about it.
  • Work/Life balance & finances
    • Go to the cinema twice – SUCCESS
      • I’m determined to get more use out of my unlimited card, so I saw 1917 and Weathering with you this month and really enjoyed both!
    • Make a new budget – SUCCESS

How was your January?

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Our Endless Numbered Days (Claire Fuller) http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/01/30/review-our-endless-numbered-days/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=review-our-endless-numbered-days http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/2020/01/30/review-our-endless-numbered-days/#respond Thu, 30 Jan 2020 18:00:20 +0000 http://www.geekyzoogirl.com/?p=5295 Read More Our Endless Numbered Days (Claire Fuller)]]> Our Endless Numbered Days (Claire Fuller)Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller
Published by Penguin Books on December 31st 2015
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 291
Format: Paperback
Source: From the publisher
Goodreads

1976: Peggy Hillcoat is eight. She spends her summer camping with her father, playing her beloved record of The Railway Children and listening to her mother's grand piano, but her pretty life is about to change.

Her survivalist father, who has been stockpiling provisions for the end which is surely coming soon, takes her from London to a cabin in a remote European forest. There he tells Peggy the rest of the world has disappeared.

Her life is reduced to a piano which makes music but no sound, a forest where all that grows is a means of survival. And a tiny wooden hut that is Everything.

Our Endless Numbered Days was a Waterstones book Club title all the way back in January 2016, and one I read back in my bookselling days. I even then wrote a review but apparently never got around to formatting and publishing it, so here’s a very late review!

I absolutely flew through Our Endless Numbered Days in 48 hours, knowing almost nothing when I went in except that it was a book club pick and therefore one we were hoping to be able to recommend to customers.

Dates only make us aware of how numbered our days are, how much closer to death we are for each one we cross off. From now on, Punzel, we’re going to live by the sun and the seasons.’ He picked me up and spun me around, laughing.’Our days will be endless.

The premise is fairly simple, and one I’ve seen done a few times in different ways: young child raised by survivalist father.  Interestingly, and unusually compared to the other stories I’ve read, we actually first meet Peggy AFTER she returns to civilization, and the story covers both her time in the wild and her time after returning. The mystery of what happened to get Peggy back home & why her father left originally had me totally hooked – I desperately wanted to know more, and for the two days I was reading it I just didn’t want to put it down.  The addictiveness is probably the strongest draw of the book for me, alongside Fuller’s s writing, which is totally atmospheric and full of quotable prose.

Unfortunately, while I liked the premise, I felt like the execution didn’t really work for me.  By the end of the story I felt like I still had plenty of questions, and the ones that had been answered hadn’t been resolved in a satisfying way. I felt the twist was really predictable.  In the same way as Moffat now has us constantly expecting a twist in Doctor Who, I felt like I was always on the lookout for one in Our Endless Numbered Days and that meant it just wasn’t surprising.  I didn’t feel like any of the characters were particularly likeable.  I felt that Fuller was trying to portray realistic, gritty people, but unfortunately everyone just came across as rather unlikeable instead.  I felt bad for Peggy, but I found it hard to relate to her since she has nothing like a normal childhood, and her frame of reference is just so far removed from the norm, and I didn’t click with anyone else.

My father was fond of saying ‘If you own too many possessions sooner or later they start owning you.

I know plenty of people loved Our Endless Numbered Days but for me it was a bit of a disappointment.  I really enjoyed the writing, and found the story completely addictive, but it’s no secret that I’m a very character-driven person, and the fact I didn’t connect with any of the characters was a real let-down.  I wanted to see the story resolved to satisfy my own curiosity, rather than because I actually cared about any one in it.

Other Reviews of Our Endless Numbered Days: Girl With Her Head in a BookLiving A Life of Books | The Book Wheel

Rating Report
Plot
2 / 5
Characters
1 / 5
Addictiveness
4 / 5
Overall: One StarOne Star
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