Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes
Goodreads blurb: Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes? Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope–she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in. That’s because Sam Kemp – in the bleakest point of her life – has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag–she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself. Full of Jojo Moyes’ signature humor, brilliant storytelling, and warmth, Someone Else’s Shoes is a story about how just one little thing can suddenly change everything.
my take: 4.5 out of 5 . I loved this book. I did not know what to expect at the start and was a bit annoyed at both characters, but oh how i grew to love them all and was so involved. There were tears and there were happy moments and moving moments. Although there is romance, its a “women’s fiction” that is not about finding love, it is about finding yourself and that was kick ass. do read it.
Funny (well not so funny – maybe weird and signally) story: I was listening to this book in my car as I do with half of my books, and in the precise spot when they get into a car accident, A car crashed into me. It was bizarre.
Immortality by Dana Schwartz
Goodreads blurb: Hazel Sinnett is alone and half-convinced the events of the year before—the immortality, Beecham’s vial—were a figment of her imagination. She doesn’t even know whether Jack is alive or dead. All she can really do now is treat patients and maintain Hawthornden Castle as it starts to decay around her. When saving a life leads to her arrest, Hazel seems doomed to rot in prison until a message intervenes: She has been specifically requested to be the personal physician of Princess Charlotte, the sickly daughter of King George IV. Soon Hazel is dragged into the glamor and romance of a court where everyone has something to hide, especially the enigmatic, brilliant members of a social club known as the Companions to the Death. As Hazel’s work entangles her more and more with the British court, she realizes that her own future as a surgeon isn’t the only thing at stake. Malicious forces are at work in the monarchy, and Hazel may be the only one capable of setting things right.
My take: 4 out of 5. Just in case it was not obvious, this is part two of a book I raved about here in the blog, Anatomy, but if you have not read anatomy, go read it first and then come back here. The spoiler at the end of anatomy was heart wrenching so I was counting down the days until this book came out (oh how lucky you are those that have not started either than you could read them back to back). Because i think this is starting to become a trend that i don’t particularly enjoy (and I will further explore in our review of Atlas Six below), I am all for book series, but do we need cliffhangers in books? I feel books are becoming like series where we don’t have a fully developed story arc and you just have to wait for the next book. I like fully formed series. Harry potter told 7 stories but each book had a beginning middle and and end and you would be perfectly satisfied with it. Rant over, now to the book. I loved the continuation of the story, was completely satisfied with how it ended even though the science is a bit hard for me to believe. But suspend your disbelief and go on the romantic journey
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Goodreads blurb: The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation. Enter the latest round of six: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. Reina Mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. Parisa Kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through illusions to a new structure of reality—an ability so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications. When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will. Most of them.
My take: 4 out of 5. This does not get a higher grade for the same reasons I was ranting in immortality, i do not loke an unfinished storyline. I was obsessed with the book, until i finished and realized i needed the other book right away – however it was on a 6 week hold on the library. But aside from that, it is a really interesting book, smart and engaging. There is a lot of character exposition more than action in this part 1, but i was all for it. The discovery of the different talents and magic gifts is super interesting and the moral question posed throughout the book is quite intriguing. Read it but make sure you have the two books with you. I will update you in part 2 whenever the library sends it to me 😉
The Three Loves of Sebastian Cooper by Zoe Folbigg
Goodreads blurb: As friends and family gather for the funeral of charming and charismatic Seb Cooper, three women sit in the congregation, mourning his loss. First there is Clair, Seb’s wife and partner of twenty years, and mother of his two children. Furious at Seb for dying and leaving their children without a father, Clair isn’t sure of her place, and has been left baffled and bemused by the conflicting stories of Seb’s last days. Then there’s Desiree, the woman Seb left Clair for. Heartbroken, self-conscious, and wondering if she made a mistake coming today. And the third and noisiest mourner of all is Noemie – Seb’s lover and the last woman to see him alive.
Three women who loved Seb in their own different ways. Three women whose lives have now changed forever. But only one woman knows what really happened at the end…and only one truly had his heart…
My take: 2.75 out of 5. It was really not for me. It was one of those books that expose what happens first and then you go back to explain, yet there was little interest for me. It seemed to have a mystery but there really wasn’t. The big reveal just fell a bit flat. It’s a nice story about a flawed man who loved three women, which is ok, just not really that engaging for me to recommend it to you.
Tati's Tidbits 