BB Book Club | April's Book is...

Monday, 26 March 2018

BB Book Club | April's Book is...

As soon as I was told the prompt for the BB Book Club, I knew what I would be picking. It is one of my favourite shorter books and one that I am constantly trying to get people to read. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to carry on that cheerleading...

This book will be a little different from the other ones that we have read for the BB Book Club so far but I don't think that will be a bad thing. A little variety is always good, right? And I think this is a book that will inspire some discussion, which is one of my favourite things about sharing books that I have enjoyed. You might not think the same about me but it's a very rich book so I think you'll have something to say about it.

The book in question?

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

Technically a novella rather than a short story, this is a dark Gothic tale about love, obsession and the supernatural.  When Laura and her father take a young woman named Carmilla into their home, their idyllic peace is disturbed. Despite the strange occurrences, the friendship between Laura and Carmilla grows, beyond what anyone thought. It is menacing and mesmerising in equal measure.

I first stumbled upon this book when I was studying Gothic literature and I've been a little bit in love with it ever since. For such a small book, it packs a lot in. As you can see from all the sticky tabs, it is a book that I have spent a lot of time reading, working with and thinking about it. It will haunt you long after you finish the final page...

Being a classic, Carmilla is widely available on both Amazon UK and iBooks. I also managed to pick up a lovely edition of it in a bookstore. If you do read it, use the hashtag #bookshelfbookclub to let us know your thoughts and complete this Google Form by 20th April.

We hope that you're excited to read our April selection but don't worry if it doesn't sound like your thing - check back next month to find out more about our next book club pick! 

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Cruel Crown | Victoria Aveyard | Review

Friday, 22 April 2016

Cruel Crown | Victoria Aveyard | Review

I received this book from Hachette Publishing New Zealand, 

in exchange for an honest review. 

Two women on either side of the Silver and Red divide tell the stories no one else knows.

Books 0.1 and 0.2 of the Red Queen series, the two novellas in this book are Queen Song, the story of Queen Coriane, a Silver, and the first wife of King Tiberius, and Steel Scars, which tells of Farley, a Red, and her journey to meet Mare Barrow, the heroine of the Red Queen series. 

In Queen Song we meet Queen Coriane,  as she keeps a diary of her relationship with the crown prince, the birth of her son Cal, and the dramas of a life in the Royal court. 

In Steel Scars, Diana Farley is a strong fighting woman, scouring the country for people to join in her in the first attempt at an attack on the capital. Along the way she meets Mare Barrow - a girl with lighting who may change the entire operation. 

Both of these are very short stories - novellas - but they were really neat to read, and get a better understanding of the characters. While Coriane isn't in Red Queen or it's sequel Glass Sword, she is always mentioned. It was really great to be able to jump back in time and see what she went through and really what her story was, even if we only got a little snap shot of that. 

I did enjoy Coriane's story more than Farley - but that's possibly because all we had heard of Coriane was what other characters had told us, and Farley is one of the main characters by the time we get to Glass Sword, and she's not a character that I really care too much about. Coriane's story, however, was a great insight into a slightly different era in the capital. Also, I think I like Coriane more because she likes books. 

"There is nothing so terrible as a story untold."

So is Cruel Crown worth a read? If you're enjoying the Red Queen series and want some more insight into the characters, then definitely grab a copy. However, like most novellas, it's not too important to the story as a whole, as is certainly just a fun addition to already great novels. If you do read them, let me know what you think! 

Image from Goodreads

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The Island | Jen Minkman | Reviewed by Erin

Monday, 2 March 2015

The Island | Jen Minkman | Reviewed by Erin

At the beginning of this short dystopian novella we meet Leia and her twin brother Colin on their tenth birthday. In their society this is the day they officially become adults and leave home until they are older, married and can return. Skipping forward six years we rejoin the twins in their new lives, where they have learnt survival skills and mostly fend for themselves, following the rules set out by ‘The Book’. Just when you start to get a feel for where the story might be going things take a bit of a strange twist with the influence of a certain well-known Fantasy series creeping in to the story’s world-building.

At first I found the concept intriguing as it differs from other dystopian tales in that the main characters are only ten years old when their journey begins but for a short while it also felt familiar in terms of the way the world and characters were introduced. As the story progressed it took it’s unique turn. As for the twist, which I won't give away in this review, I had spotted some of the references, or clues, from the start but had no idea what part they would play, if any, in the origins of the world I was reading about.

Having read some online reviews I noticed that the author, Jen Minkman, had personally commented on them and learnt that the novella was originally written as an entry to a short story competition. This explains why the character development was a little disappointing and some parts of the story were not as fleshed out as they could have been.

Despite the fact that the book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I stumbled across it on the Kindle store I found the idea very unique and it definitely felt different to others in the genre. Although The Island isn’t necessarily a new favourite for me it did leave me feeling curious as to how the author came up with the idea and what may be revealed in the sequels – another novella and a full length novel.

If you’re looking for a quick, interesting read with a unique twist this may be the novella for you.

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