Review: Sweet Sweet Revenge Ltd by Jonas Jonasson

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: HarperVia

Published: April 2021

Pages: 336

Summary

Victor Alderheim has a lot to answer for. Not only has he heartlessly tricked his young ex-wife, Jenny, out of her art gallery inheritance, but he has also abandoned his son, Kevin, to die in the middle of the Kenyan savanna.

It doesn't occur to Victor that Kevin might be rescued and adopted by a Maasai medicine man, or that he might be expected to undergo the rituals expected of all new Maasai warriors - which have him running back to Stockholm as fast as you can say circumcision without anaesthetic.

Back in Stockholm, Kevin's path crosses with Jenny's - and they have an awful lot to talk about, not least a shared desire to get even with Victor. So it's convenient when they run into a man selling revenge services, who has an ingenious idea involving Victor's cellar, a goat, some forged paintings, four large boxes of sex toys and a kilo of flour...

ARC Book Review: I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Coronet

Published: November 2020

Pages: 256

Summary

In the vein of Mindy Kaling, Ali Wong, and Amy Poehler, a collection of hilarious personal essays, poems and even amusement park maps on the subjects of insecurity, fame, anxiety, and much more from the charming and wickedly funny creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Rachel Bloom has felt abnormal and out of place her whole life. In this exploration of what she thinks makes her "different", she's come to realize that a lot of people also feel this way; even people who she otherwise thought were "normal".

In a collection of laugh-out-loud funny essays, all told in the unique voice (sometimes singing voice) that made her a star, Rachel writes about everything from her love of Disney, OCD and depression, weirdness, and female friendships to the story of how she didn't poop in the toilet until she was four years old. Rachel's pieces are hilarious, smart and infinitely relatable (except for the pooping thing).

ARC Book Review: Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Andersen

Published: March 2017

Pages: 272

Summary

Petula has avoided friendship and happiness ever since tragedy struck her family and took her beloved younger sister Maxine. Worse, Petula blames herself. If only she'd kept an eye on her sister, if only she'd sewn the button Maxine chocked on better, if only...

Now her anxiety is getting out of control, she is forced to attend the world's most hopeless art therapy class. But one day, in walks the Bionic Man: a charming, amazingly tall newcomer called Jacob, who is also an amputee. Petula's ready to freeze him out, just like she did with her former best friend, but when she's paired with Jacob for a class project, there's no denying they have brilliant ideas together - ideas like remaking Wuthering Heights with cats.

But Petula and Jacob each have desperately painful secrets in their pasts - and when the truth comes out, there's no way Petula is ready for it.

ARC Book Review: Miss Wrong and Mr Right by Robert Bryndza

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Bookouture

Published: December 2016

Pages: 301

Summary

'This is men,' said Gran. 'When they vant you, but you don't vant them, they stay. But let them know you vant them, they no longer need you, and they go! It's like that movie, Nanny McPhee.'

Natalie Love has worked hard to have it all. She runs a successful London theatre that's about to host one of Hollywood's leading stars, Ryan Harrison. She's pretty sure she's found her man in yoga boyfriend Benjamin, despite his annoying habit of saying Namaste! every time he speaks. And her eccentric, glamorous Hungarian Gran is always on hand to offer sage advice and steaming bowls of goulash.

Life in the bright lights of London has always been Natalie's escape from her chaotic country family in rural Devon and Jamie, the childhood sweetheart she left at the altar fifteen years ago. Until he turns up at her theatre door... Jamie is in town producing a West end show and with rivalry suddenly clouding old feelings, this isn't quite the reunion Natalie was expecting. 

Will Benjamin prove to be Natalie's perfect match? With Ryan turning her head, Natalie is more confused than ever. And what about Jamie - could he be her second chance at first love?

Charming, hilarious and totally unputdownable, Miss Wrong and Mr Right will put a huge smile on your face and keep you guessing who Natalie's 'Mr Right' is until the very last page.

ARC Book Review: The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Redhook

Published: October 2015

Pages: 320

Summary

Veronica Mars meets the World of Warcraft in The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss, a mystery romp with a most unexpected heroine.

If it were up to me this book would be called Hilarious Things That Happened That Were Not At All Dahlia's Fault -- or HTTHTWNAADF, for short.

OK, I probably shouldn't have taken money from a mysterious eccentric to solve a theft, given that I'm not a detective, and that I am sometimes outwitted by puzzles in children's video games. I probably shouldn't have stolen bags of trash from a potential murder suspect. Arguably -- just arguably, mind you -- it may have been unwise to cos-play at an event where I was likely to be shot at.

But sometimes you just have to take some chances, right? And maybe things do get a little unfortunate. What of it? If you ask me, an unfortunate decision here or there can change your life. In a positive way, just so long you don't get killed in the process. Admittedly, that's the tricky bit.