NEVER COMING BACK by Tim Weaver (SPOILER FREE)

Title: Never Coming Back (David Raker #4)

Author: Tim Weaver

Genre: Crime / Thriller
Originally Published: 2013

Page Count: 533 pages

Published by: Penguin

Date Read: 21st July - 30th July 2014

Never Coming Back is the fourth instalment of Tim Weaver's thrillers that use missing persons investigator, David Raker, as the protagonist. In this, my first, and Raker's fourth outing, we see Raker return to his family home in the south of England, recovering after the events of (what I assume was) the third book, 'Vanished'. Whilst there a body washes upon the shore, while at the same time an old flame visits him and asks him to investigate the disappearance of her sister, Carrie, and her family. 

This the basic gist of what sparks the rest of the novel. There are a series of flashbacks from Raker's past but mainly from other people as well, which I assume is just to keep the reader interested and so we're not just following Raker trying to piece things together whilst pissing everyone off in the process. The novel was confusing to start with, we start with Raker in 2007, and then we're in the shoes of former-Cop, Healy. It was confusing switching back and forth between the pair, who were both as annoying as one another. 

By the end of part one, we're essentially following just Raker with the occasional flashback to other characters in Las Vegas. The characters in the novel range from the stereotypical mob-boss with bird-like mannerisms (he reminded me a bit of Norman Bates, or Billy Drago in The Untouchables), to the equally stereotypical villagers, where Raker lives. The whole novel seems to focus on the enigma of one of these 'gangster-type' men, Cornell, whose stern seemingly follows everyone. 

I must admit this took a slightly different path from what I expected, I thought it was going to match that of Linwood Barclay's No Time For Goodbye, but it didn't. It became some political crime novel, which I really enjoyed.

The characters were frustrating, all the male characters are arsey with one another and can't seem to listen to each other. The dynamic between Healy and Raker was annoying, and as a first time reader with this series, I question Healy's relevance to the novel. I put in my review on goodreads: 

 "Read this if you like characters who are so arsey with other people it's a wonder people bother with them, several incredulous plot twists, and very descriptive writing."

The writing was clumsy at times with its phrasing, but what novel isn't nowadays? It was annoying that the most redundant things were being described to us. 

The strength of the novel comes with its mystery, it wasn't exactly original but it held my attention and kept me coming back for more. I just wish it strayed from the stereotypes, and had tried to keep its 'plot twists' down. I can't quite count how many chapter endings I could hear the 'Eastenders' credits sequence in my head. Despite this, the mystery was engaging, the writing was brilliant, and whilst I couldn't really care for Raker, I'll be checking out some more of his adventures soon. 4 stars.

THE EDGE OF REASON by Helen Fielding

Title: The Edge of Reason (Bridget Jones #2)

Author: Helen Fielding 

Genre: Chick Lit / Humour
Originally Published: 1999

Page Count:424 pages
Published by: Pan Books

Date Read: 10th July - 14th July 2014

This sequel carries on right where the previous one left us. Another year; another diary. Again it follows Bridget's life, her career, her love life, her mishaps, and for the most part it is funny, but I couldn't help feel the whole novel was redundant. 

The novel is kind of an exact replica of the first one. The events that happen to Bridget in life don't seem to be very 'life-changing' even though a lot of them certainly would be. I don't understand. She begins the novel happy because *slight spoiler from book one* she has a boyfriend. Wow. Well done, Bridget. But as soon as life loses its equilibrium of romance, Bridget is of course desperately trying to live life as a singleton, which naturally, for her, is the worst thing in the world. The only character I really love is Shazza, she's hilarious and tells Bridget when she's being pathetic. 

The novel does have its really funny moments. There's a part in which she gets to interview Colin Firth (a bit ironic, haha), and I just found it hilarious and relatable. I would probably act the same way if I had to interview, say, any of these men:

WOW! Isn't that a work of art? 

Now I may be looking at this too critically but one thing that really frustrated me about these two books in the series is Fielding’s characterisation of her gay characters. If we look at the gay people in the novel, they are either: sexually deficient and therefore shag anything that moves and whore themselves out there, incredibly pretentious and stuck up, or some form of older sexual piranha whose prey is the younger generation. I realise that Fielding exaggerates stereotypes throughout the novel for comic relief, but I just hope these stereotyped characteristics stay in the nineties, and with her 2013 sequel, Mad About The Boy, we find some level of maturity and character growth when it comes to Bridget’s perception and the author’s writing.

I find it rather of low wit to rely on exaggerated stereotypes for cheap laughs and it did kind of annoy me that it was that in which the author relies to make comedy. Of course Bridget's tribulations were sometimes hilarious themselves, which really made the novel great in the end. 

I seem fairly negative about this book, but how can I stay negative when there's that beautiful picture up there. Just stare at it. It's nice.
Anyway, I ended up rating this a 3 stars. It's decent, but I don't think I'll carry on with Bridget. I hope she finds some happiness and isn't a depressed single again, clinging to some form of respectability by having a boyfriend. Note to anyone reading this, as Jude says, being single is good. Amen. But damn, those men up there.

LET'S DO THIS! | Booktube-a-Thon 2014

Hey guys, 

So I've been fairly quiet about my participation in the Booktube-a-thon (I've been keeping it a secret, shhhh - I haven't. I'm trying to be funny. I failed).

The booktube-a-thon and everything you need to know will be linked here.

With the booktube-a-thon come challenges, and I'm attempting most of them. 
(With the exception of the challenge in which you are to start & finish a series. I instead (from Dani at PerformingBookFelf's recommendation) decided to start one series and finish a different series. Slightly cheating but, who cares? It's all for fun!

Here's the tbr in a cute little video, enjoy!

If you're taking part in the readathon, let me know which book you're most excited to read!

BOY21 by Matthew Quick | Book Review (SPOILER FREE)

Title: Boy21

Author: Matthew Quick

Genre: Contemporary / YA
Originally Published: 2012

Page Count: 277 pages

Published by: Headline

Date Read: 10th July 2014

*Note: Book sent by publisher through Bookbridgr for review. All thoughts & feelings 100% genuine*

Boy21 is a multi-layered Young Adult contemporary novel, in which we follow the protagonist, Finley, a high school basketball player. Finley's life is a combination of looking after his 'Pop', sitting on his roof with his girlfriend, Erin, and basketball. When his Coach one day asks him to reach out to new student, Russ, as a favour, Finley's life gains a shadow and a friend who continues to go by the name 'Boy21' and believes he is from outer space and has a mission to complete. As the two boys develop a friendship in their town of gangs and racial divides, it becomes clear that their friendship is beneficial for both, as they both hide a past that they are refusing to confront. 

While the synopsis may sound a tiny bit ridiculous when I put it like that, the novel was infact quite breathtaking. I've never read any of Matthew Quick's work and I'll tell you straight away that I will be picking another of his novels up as soon as possible! It's so short and wonderful that I read it in an afternoon. 

There's more than just that synopsis I put together, there's the wonderful characters. (Note-to-self: Stop saying wonderful). Anyway, Finley is wonderful a breath of fresh air as a protagonist. He's a very quiet individual, but one who is always present and never judging. His growth in the novel is outstanding and you can't help but sympathise with him. Russ, or Boy21, was fantastic also. He was so imaginative and caring, there was definitely a sense of connection with the two boys. And finally an ode to Erin, for she was hilarious. Her interactions and mannerisms were so beautiful, you couldn't help but want to be best friends with her. 

The plot itself is intriguing. It can become clear that basketball was the centre of this novel, and that sport gave each boy a drive in their life when they needed it. In reality, however, its their friendship that drives this novel. The time they spend together, unjudging of one another, and discovering each other is what drives this novel and it was great that, although the love interest plays a big part of this novel, friendship was the glue that held together this YA novel, something which I feel is forgotten about with some of my recent YA reads. 

If you get a chance, pick this book up, it's much more powerful and warm (can a book be warm? I'm saying it can) than I first thought and I'm so grateful that Bookbridgr gave me an opportunity to read it. Definitely check it out. ★★★★☆ (4.5)

THE SILKWORM by Robert Galbraith (SPOILER FREE)

Title: The Silkworm
Author: Robert Galbraith (pseudonym for J.K. Rowling)
Genre: Crime / Thriller
Originally Published: 2014
Page Count: 455
Published by: Sphere

Date Read: 1st July - 4th July 2014

I was incredibly dubious going into this series initially. JK Rowling has filled my childhood with so many fantastic and beautiful stories that I hold incredibly dear to my heart. I don't want to sound clichéd, but she did. Last year I read 'The Cuckoo's Calling' after discovering with the world that Robert Galbraith didn't write it, Joanne Rowling wrote it under a pseudonym. I really enjoyed 'The Cuckoo's Calling', but 'The Silkworm' was something else.

I had no idea on the plot when picking this up, it was an instant-buy, I wanted it, I needed it. I bought the hardback and started reading. Without going into too much detail the novel takes place after the first book, in the winter of 2010, when the wife of famous writer Owen Quaine hires Cormoran Strike (our hero from book one) to find her husband as he's disappeared. The novel subsequently takes a sinister turn and everyone's a suspect due to Quaine's unpublished manuscript for his new book being incredibly critical and rude about the people around him. 

The prose of this book was beautiful. Rowling (or Galbraith - I'll stick with Rowling) has this beautiful way of describing the simplest of things. While she uses some clumsy and rather pedantic descriptions of things, her writing on the setting paints such a beautiful picture. Rowling almost romanticises London, her descriptions are what a reader craves. I already have a romanticised view of the hustle and bustle of the big smoke, and Rowling, not shying away from describing London's grittier side, continues to entice me to England's capital. 

Her characters grow enormously within this book. Not literally of course. Strike and Robin's relationship, especially, continues to blossom. I adore their relationship, it's maybe a cliché but they work so well together and the continued dynamic with Matthew, Robin's fiancé, makes things a lot more interesting. Robin is as likeable as ever, but she'll never surpass Strike. Strike has such a history that we haven't scratched the surface of, from his failed relationships and further back to his army days. I assume there's a lot more characters from his past who will crop up in future installments.

The mystery itself was fascinating. Set within the publishing world, any reader is enthused. The only thing I really have negative to say is that the mystery is never really outstanding or innovative, it's again, like its predecessor, rather clichéd with the tropes of all crime fiction added. The use of the mcguffin to drive the plot was excellent and did hold my attention. 

As far as solving it goes, I don't know whether it's a bad thing that her novels are rather predictable. The writing and relationships are so fantastic that you don't really mind that you've put the pieces together. Tension is still sustained and there's always that doubt in your mind that maybe you are wrong and you've missed something. 

Whatever Cormoran and Robin get up to next, to use a clichéd phrase, I'll be there with bells on. Fantastic novel. 5 stars. 

WIDE AWAKE by David Levithan (SPOILER FREE)