One Of Us Is Lying | Karen McManus | Review

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

One Of Us Is Lying | Karen McManus | Review

*Review copy c/o Netgalley, cover image via goodreads.com, book release date: 1st June 2017 

"One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide." - Goodreads

When five teens unexpectedly find themselves in detention no one suspects that only four of them will make it out alive. In a Breakfast Club-style set up we meet Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, Cooper and finally Simon who is well-known for running his very own gossip app where he reveals the deepest, darkest secrets of everyone in the school. The day before he planned to reveal private details about the other four students things take another surprising turn when Simon doesn’t make it out of detention alive. When it is discovered that his death was not an accident the rest of the group find themselves accused of murder – question is, who is lying?

The story is told from multiple points of view, with chapters alternating between the four main characters accused of Simon’s murder. Although you go into the story unsure of who you can trust, one of the likable things about the main characters is that they are all flawed and have mistakes in their past, making them more realistic. Although they all seem to fit the usual high school stereotypes and don't quite manage to fully escape this, the members of this group do each seem to grow and develop throughout the story as more of their personalities and secrets are revealed.

The intriguing addition of Simon’s gossip app gives the story a touch of Pretty Little Liars/Gossip Girl vibes and adds both a motivation for the crime and another layer to the mystery. This combined with the multiple perspectives makes for a gripping ride and there are quite a few curveballs to keep the reader guessing throughout. Without giving anything away, the ending itself wasn’t my favourite but I enjoyed the mystery element and found the book to be a quick and addictive read.

One Of Us Is Lying is an exciting debut that I’m sure will be popular with the YA audience - we’ll definitely be hearing a lot more about it!

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And Then You're Dead | Cody Cassidy and Paul Doherty | Review

Monday, 29 May 2017

And Then You're Dead | Cody Cassidy and Paul Doherty | Review

*Book provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

A collection of "what if" scenarios that all lead to death. The different forms of death are described scientifically through experiments and real-life examples. Such hypothetical situations include falling into a black hole, inability to sleep, being raised by buzzards, digging a hole to China and more!

Review:

This is an interesting compilation of "what ifs" that I never knew I wanted the answers to. It also clarified a few things for me. For example, I've heard Neil DeGrasse Tyson saying that falling into a black hole would lead to spaghettification, but did not know it would also involve being diced. 

A number of the details in the book are quite gruesome (it is a book about a lot of ways to die) but are necessary for the scientific accuracy. The authors clearly did their homework in each scenario and present it in an easy to understand manner. 

The only problem I had with this book is that it kinda got boring after a while. It was fun(ny) at first, but after a while it felt a bit repetitive. The scenarios were all different, but they all ended the same. Either that or I'm just not as interested in death by chocolate chip cookie, death by magnets or death by a trip to the sun.

Overall, though, if you have a run of morbid curiosity, this is definitely the book for you. Or if you're looking for answers to your kids questioning why getting hit by lightning won't give you superpowers, this book will prove helpful. It's got a good amount of trivial and important information. 

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Group Post | #BBShelfies

Saturday, 27 May 2017

Group Post | #BBShelfies

There are many things that fill a book lover's heart with joy. One of them is the sight of an insta-worthy bookshelf brimming with books. So for this month's post we asked our contributors to give us a glimpse of their own bookshelves and send us pictures of their bookshelves - or SHELF-IES. Check out their photos below.

(l-r: @Anjali_Kay // @RCagz )

(l-r: @cococat28 // @stasialikescakes)

 (l-r: @utopia.state.of.mind // @lulu_frances)

(l-r: @RCagz // @sawyerandscout)

Thanks to all of our contributors this month. If you want to keep sharing your Shelfies tag us on Instagram with #BBShelfies.

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Next month we'll be asking for your Summer read recommendations. If you'd like to be involved with this and future group posts drop an email to bloggersbookshelf@gmail.com or keep an eye out on our Twitter for updates!

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When Dimple Met Rishi | Sandhya Menon | Review

Friday, 26 May 2017

When Dimple Met Rishi | Sandhya Menon | Review

The arranged marriage YA romcom you didn't know you wanted or needed...

Dimple's main aim in life is to escape her traditional parents, get to university, and begin her plan for tech world domination. Rishi's rich, good-looking, and a hopeless romantic. His parents think Dimple is the perfect match for him, but she's got other plans...

Dimple can't believe her luck when her parents agree to let her attend a summer program for young coders. She isn't just excited for the six weeks she'll spend creating a new app at Insomnia Con but also because her parents finally seem to be accepting her passion for all things tech. She's much less excited when she meets Rishi and discovers that her parents really agreed to let her attend Insomnia Con because they knew that he would be there too. 

Dimple and Rishi's parents have decided that their children would be an ideal marriage match, something Rishi is fully on board with. Dimple, however, is most definitely not. Dimple is at Insomnia Con to win with her app idea and meet her idol. Rishi... well Rishi's mostly there at his parents wishes and Dimple is unimpressed to discover that he doesn't know the first thing about coding.

When Dimple Met Rishi is definitely a unique YA read. It's the first one I've come across where arranged marriage plays such an big part in the plot but that's not the only reason that this novel stands out. Dimple and Rishi are both appealing and dynamic characters, and you just can't help but root for them both from the very beginning. Dimple loves her family but with her passion for coding and her desire to go against so many of her parents' traditions, she feels like she is a disappointment to them, and they just don't seem to understand her. Rishi on the other hand is every part the dutiful son, living up to his family's expectations to the point where he is about to give up his passion of drawing comics for the sensible career that his parents want him to have.

The novel follows both Rishi and Dimple during their six weeks at Insomnia Con as they overcome their awkward first meeting and begin to find some common ground and help each other in ways they didn't realise they needed. It's a sweet love story, full of the intensity of first love, but it's about Dimple and Rishi's relationships to their families and themselves as much as their relationships to each other. With such an abundance of absent parents in YA novels, this is one of those refreshing few where family aren't just important to the main characters, but central to their stories.

If I have one small complaint it's only that for a novel set at a coding camp, there isn't a whole lot of coding. With so much talk of Dimple's passion for it, it's a shame that we don't ever really see her doing it, the way that we see Rishi drawing. There is however a talent competition that makes for excellent reading and really, what a small complaint for such a great novel.

When Dimple Met Rishi is warm, funny, and a perfect read for summer.

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2017 Reading Challenge | Update #1

Monday, 22 May 2017

2017 Reading Challenge | Update #1

It's time to check in and see how everyone is getting on with their 2017 challenges!

Anjali... 22/40 books read | 2/5 books vowed to read
Normally by this stage in the year I might not have even gotten through 1 of my Vow to Read books, so I'm rather pleased with the current 2. I'm also super stoked with my reading challenge so far. According to Good Reads, I'm 8 books ahead of schedule. My favourite book of the year so far has been Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor. Amazing!

Erin... 1/5 books vowed to read
Whilst I've only read one of my five 'vow to read' choices so far I have another one lined up on my Kindle ready to read soon. I have also managed to cross fourteen prompts off of the Popsugar 2017 Reading Challenge - if you missed my latest update you can catch it here!

Kate... 1/5 books vowed to read
Of the five books I mentioned in January’s post, I have only read one–Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal–which, unfortunately, was a big flop. The science is fascinating but the author presents it in the most tedious way possible. I hope to read the other books on the list this summer and fall.

I have been making great progress with some of my other reading goals, especially the Modern. Mrs. Darcy 2017 Reading Challenge, which I am participating in. I’m ahead of schedule for once! Yay!

Cat... 1/5 books vowed to read
So far I have read only one of my vowed to read books, 'The Graces' by Laure Eve, I enjoyed this mystical and magical story and would like to read more books with a witchy theme.

So that's how we're getting on with this year's reading challenges so far. We'll be checking in again throughout the year, so keep an eye out for updates. Don't forget to leave us a comment and let us know how you've been getting on with your own reading goals and challenges for 2017!

Image via unsplash.com

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Get Involved | Show Us Your Shelfies!

Thursday, 18 May 2017

Get Involved | Show Us Your Shelfies!

For our May group post we're talking bookshelves and we would love you to share your shelfies with us! 

All you need to do is share your shelfie photos on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #BBShelfies. If social media isn't your thing, you're also welcome to email us your photos to use in the post - you can find us at bloggersbookshelf@gmail.com

If you want to get involved we'd love to hear from you and will need your shelfies by 24th May. We're looking forward to seeing all of your beautiful bookshelves!

Image via unsplash.com

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