Not Like Other Girls - Meredith Adamo

So, I’ve stepped back into my comfort zone with this one and boy was I satisfied. Meredith Adamo has written an astonishing novel with twists and turns that take her readers on one very big emotional roller coaster.

Not Like Other Girls is about high school senior, Jo-Lynn Kirby, who strays away from the norms in all aspects of her life. From academic troubles at school, to flirting with the boys, and back chatting the teachers, Jo has a lot on her plate. Not to mention the fact that her best friend, Maddie Price goes missing for reasons nobody can seem to find. But when Jo begins to investigate, bringing her soon to be lover, Hudson, into the picture, secrets start to unravel faster than a ball of string. Secrets that change everything. She may have fallen out with all her friends over a few leaked nudes shared by a close pal, but the mysteries that come from it are way bigger than she ever thought they’d be. Does she ever find her missing friend? And will any of the friendships broken by her past mend themselves in the end? Or will everything end in disaster?

You’ll have to pick up this book if you want to find out where Adamo takes this story, but it’s one close to her heart, and it raises issues far bigger than menial friendships and the pointless arguments that occur within them. This is a story about power, control, close bonds, trust, and true love. It’s a story told time and time again, but each time it is, there’s a different way of presenting it and Adamo’s done a good job of executing both the plot and her characters; drawing on her own experiences, as well as her wonderful imagination.

I couldn’t recommend this book more. It’s right up my street. It’s  influenced my writing and has been a real inspiration when it comes to ideas and textual traits which I will aspire to use in my own work. So much so, I can happily give this a strong four out of five stars due to its tense page turning plot, and believable characters. The only thing I was slightly disappointed by was the ending. I felt that it was rushed; wrapping most of the mystery up during the epilogue when I think that it would have benefited from a little more information and bulk at the end of the story, before the epilogue even begins.

In other words, the ending was too abrupt, and the epilogue was too fast paced which made it a little hard to remain emotionally engaged throughout the last few pages. Especially as the major, stomach churning event occurs during the last few chapters of her book. However, I can’t say that this makes the whole book awful. It doesn’t, it’s great, and I’m glad that we as readers actually get to enjoy a conclusion that doesn’t leave us guessing or wanting more. That’s how a mystery should be handled, and that’s exactly what Adamo did, even if it felt a little messy through my eyes. Which says a lot considering my thoughts on Stuart Turton’s ‘The Last Murder at the End of the World’…

I still have nothing but positive feedback for Adamo, though, it’s a book for your summer holiday abroad, or perhaps you need some down time reading among all the books you’re reading for your studies, or perhaps you just need a book that’s easy on the mind and is a smooth read. Not Like Other Girls is the one for all those situations, it’s fit for relaxation and some well deserved pleasure. So take a break from the busy world around you and read this one, you’re guaranteed to enjoy it - unless you prefer horror novels, or straight up sci-fi’s, or anything that doges taboo subjects like sex, drugs, and alcohol. Otherwise, sit back, read, and enjoy.

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https://amzn.eu/d/9FVIdxR

The Last Murder at the End of the World - Stuart Turton

Stuart Turton’s latest novel is about a murder that has quite literally happened at the end of the world. It hasn’t been told how one might expect it to be told, but it’s a story that entices the reader with its strange thoughts on what the world might look like in hundreds of years time, as well as its unique storyline and characters. It takes a very curious and courageous mother through the journey of investigating the murder of a scientist named Niema, but not everything is at it seems. Nobody knows why or how Niema has died, and with her death being a death trap for the villagers living on the island, the fog is closing in faster than people can keep up with; and the only way to stop the fog is to find out who Niema’s killer was. But do they ever find them at all? That’s something you’ll have to find out. The clock is ticking, there’s secrets to unveil, and villagers to reassure; it’s intense, extremely detailed, and like nothing you’ve ever read before. I think it’s like Marmite, you’ll either love it, or you’ll hate it.

Let’s just say, I’m not a fan.

33 days later and I can say that I’ve read it all, front to back, without a single doubt in my mind about how I feel about Turton’s Dystopian, Sci-Fi, crime, and mystery novel.

So with that said, I think it’s finally safe to say that (if it wasn’t already clear) I didn’t enjoy this book at all. The concept is pretty cool, but if we’re considering the fact that the story is about someone’s murder, it doesn’t introduce it until one hundred pages in which made the first third of this book quite difficult to get through. It was information heavy and much of it wasn’t necessary in my opinion, and not a lot happened. Nothing exciting, anyway. Nothing that raised my hairs and quickened my heartbeat. Turton’s plot was too slow paced for me. Niema’s death was a surprise but only because I wasn’t expecting it to happen so late in the story. The story would have been interesting if she’d died right off the bat, but instead I had to get through an information overload that had me zoning out every five pages. And how it happened wasn’t anything that stirred my emotions either. It felt quite bland, and because of that it was a tedious read.

On top of its plot, almost every single character in this story annoyed me. I never warmed to any of them, and I never wanted anyone to leave the book with a positive outcome. I simply wasn’t bothered about their storylines. They annoyed me too much, but then again, I guess that means they were pretty realistic and well thought out. However, I can’t say that Turton did this to his characters on purpose, he might have actually wanted them to be loveable and to have his readers rooting for them. I never saw them in that light, and I still don’t even after I sat back to think about how and why I’m approaching this review the way I am. Instead, I found myself wanting to shout at them, begging them to do exactly the opposite of what Turton had them doing. Plus, there were character’s mentioned in this book that were never explained, or introduced properly, they were just referred to every once in a while, which left me assuming that they weren’t important and that they were simply villagers left in his story to help show what life is like in the world they live in.

It saddens me to say, though, that I’ve never experienced such negative emotions whilst reading a book before and that in itself took me by surprise.

The Last Murder at the End of the World wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I kept thinking about how I could write it, removing all factors that make it Sci-Fi and Dystopian because I’m not sure that helped his idea. It made it confusing, and some of it I felt didn’t make much sense. Though I do blame that opinion on the fact that I zoned out a lot while reading this book, and therefore missed some key parts in Turton’s story. However, a good book holds onto the readers’ attention throughout his or her story, and because Turton’s didn’t do that for me, it wasn’t a good book. I didn’t care enough to stay in his world for more than five or ten minutes at a time.

Admittedly, I’m only one person out of the hundreds who have read this, and everybody is different. There’s people out there who’d rave about this novel all day and all night, and I’m unfortunately not one of them. So, if you’re like me, and aren’t a fan of science fiction, complicated murder mysteries that haven’t been executed in a way that’s easy to follow, or simply dislike books that have a wishy-washy beginning, middle, and end, then I don’t recommend Turton’s latest novel. It sort of put me off his other books, but I shan’t judge them based on this book solely. He writes in different genres every time, perhaps this genre isn’t his forte? I know it’s not mine.

By your copy via the link below:

UK: https://amzn.eu/d/dLd8IEc