Being Unique Being Me Eve: strangers

Showing posts with label strangers. Show all posts

Monday, 10 February 2020

The 24 Hour Café by Libby Page

Hannah and Mona a singer and dancer, work at the 24 hour cafe in London where the cafe attracts a colourful variety of personalities everyday.

I really enjoyed the Lido however I do feel this book wasn't as good personally as I didn't like Hannah or Mona's characters sadly as much as The Lido's main characters where I could picture it clearly in my mind and I did find the start slow. However Hannah's story kept me wanting to read on as the plot develops more so than Mona's story did.

However if you love people watching when out and about this is the book for you as the café attracts a variety of people with different stories, very true to everyday life at any café and for relatability that way the fun of the storyline kept me intrigued to read on especially Dan the student and John the big issue seller's stories were interesting to me to see their hardship.

There was a variety of issues raised with characters from university, death, love, cheating, work and of course we read the history of how Hannah met Mona and how their friendship becomes strained with new opportunities ahead.

To me I enjoyed the book showing all walks of life people can be in and situations they can be forced to face and for that reason I did enjoy the book as it went on.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them and be part of the blog tour!

https://libbypage.co.uk/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3110863.Libby_Page

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Libby-Page/e/B004150H44

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-24-hour-cafe/libby-page/9781409175247

Saturday, 5 May 2018

Toxic by Nicci Cloke

Hope is on holiday in Crete with the boys, Dev, Nate and Zack also including Logan her ex boyfriend. When she gets rejected by wrongly trying to kiss him, she sets out to get drunk and forget.

The next day they head off on a booze cruise to an island where she meets Ness, Emily and Hayley with the boys while on board one of then dabbles in drugs but Hope hates the idea of then but not of getting drunk enough to forget anything and everything. The booze boat, sleazy guy and the girls from their hotel they bumped into again.

Then she wakes up the next morning unable to recall the whole night before as she is on the beach, dress round her waist and euro's missing from her bag.

Then Logan and Zack have a secret to keep, a criminal one...

Once back home, Logan starts digging trying to find out what really happened to Hope. As well as struggling with his guilt by sleeping a lot and sinking into depression and worrying he's not good enough for Daisy his girlfriend as they get their A level results.

Dev has a hidden true story from the night whilst JB makes an announcement to the group...

Then Logan discovers Emily went missing that night on holiday and it's on the news online...

There's also the issue of a TV show capturing them on camera partying for the world to watch...

Hope and Logan's latest ex Daisy are pushed together after they both experience similar horrifying situations while there's an attack based purely on gay phobia against one of their friends...

There's drug use alcohol abuse and sex references to throughout so this is definitely a book for older teens. The use of crude language about casual sex from a parent to their son and the son's friends was a bit much. But the story is so important about the dangers of cheap booze holidays abroad especially when friends aren't looking out for each other properly as so much danger could happen as you're so drunk and vulnerable as the teens get in this book. The boys do stick to a typical lads holiday treating Hope fully like one of them unfortunately but they're all deep into their own issues it seems like drink and drugs are the boy's way out of forgetting their life stresses and it can be similar to real life like that. Totally representative of some stereotypical teens and the dangers out there and a true test of how well we all know our friends fully.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Friday, 19 May 2017

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Tori follows her curiosity of the mysterious trail of post it notes to find a computer with Solitaire, a new empty blog open on the screen. Then she meets Michael a new guy before her old childhood friend Lucas also resurfaces.

Meanwhile her brother, Charlie is recovering from anorexia and self harm and we see how protective she is over him as he gets attacked by a bully who Solitaire later ensures gets a taste of his own bullying back.

Through the book, Michael and Toria grow closer while her best friends grow distant and more involved in other plans than friendship until Solitaire progresses. Then she realises, Solitaire or more importantly, who runs Solitaire is trying to talk to her and it's revealed to shows Toria who she can really trust and who cares for her truly.

It was hard to understand the whole concept of Solitaire and their plan overall but it was okay and had some good themes raised with male anorexia and self harm.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Goodreads Quotes

Eve beinguniquebeingme’s quotes

"You should date a girl who reads.
Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes, who has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she has found the book she wants. You see that weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a secondhand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow and worn.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas, for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry and in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who read understand that all things must come to end, but that you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes."— Rosemarie Urquico

Goodreads Quotes

Eve's books

Amber and the Hot Pepper Jelly

by Karen McCombie

In this next book, Stella, TJ and Rachel are helping the campaign to save the chandelier from Joseph's house as the building is awaiting demolition after being boarded up ready. But just maybe Stella's mum working in marketing means she ...

Twists, Turns and 100% Tilda

by Karen McCombie

In this book, Stella etc all meet Tilda the goth girl they often see hanging round. As they realise she likes Si, the other goth guy and who's Rachel's brother. They also work out signs around the town pinned up in code are from her a...

Katy

by Jacqueline Wilson

Katy is the eldest of her siblings as she lives with her dad and step mum Izzie and the assortment of children they already had and had together from Katy, Elsie, Clover, Phil, Dorry, Jonnie and Cecy, her best friend too who's practicall...

Truly Madly Megan

by Karen McCombie

Stella, TJ and Rachel find out about the upcoming gala thanks to The Mystic Marzipan's after they give out flyers about the event. Then at the talent show they meet holiday maker megan who cartwheels by them earlier is the book nearly...

Meet the Real World, Rachel

by Karen McCombie

In this book set the week after book two we rejoin Stella and new friend TJ as they meet Rachel, one of the girls in the group of four they always see around. She is rather shocked to discover Simon from The Vault is her brother as they'...