Becky's Book Reviews

I’d like to welcome the lovely Georgia Clark, author of YA contemporary novel She’s With the Band, and newly released dystopian novel Parched, to my blog today. As someone with an invested interested in dystopian fiction,  especially given the fact that most of them deal with highlighting socio-economic, political issues, violence, rebellion and revolution in a manner that’s a lot more magnified than in most genres , I was thrilled when Georgia graciously agreed to feature on my blog. In her post today, she tells us about the 5 things she loves most about dystopian fiction; and, having read the post, I have to say that I couldn’t agree more with her points.  Without further ado, here within some information about the book, followed by her thoughts on dystopian literature.   About Parched: Parched is a riveting story about post-apocalyptic survival set in a time and place that pits the small number of haves against the have-nots. After suffering the death of her scientist ...

Welcome to another mini book reviews edition of my blog. For this section of my blog, I usually feature reviews of books that don’t really require them – books bought, books I’ve borrowed from friends and books I’ve taken out at the library. Because they’re not must-review books, my format of these mini reviews differ in that I don’t work the summary into my review in my own words; instead, I feature the Goodreads summary, followed by a few thoughts on my reading experience. In today’s mini reviews feature, I share my brief thoughts on The Distance Between Us by Kasie West.   About The Distance Between Us by Kasie West (HarperTeen) Money can't buy a good first impression. Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers learned early that the rich are not to be trusted. And after years of studying them from behind the cash register of her mom's porcelain-doll shop, she has seen nothing to prove otherwise. Enter Xander Spence—he's tall, handsome, and oozing rich. Despite his charming ways a...

Being a book addict is, without a doubt, the best thing in the entire world.  But, as we all know, being a slavish literary enthusiast certainly comes with its set of unique problems. I was chatting to some lovely folk on Twitter and in the office and somehow the topic of First world problems, in relation to books came up. In no particular order, I’ve decided to share them here: 1.  The pain of having to deal with cliff hangers. And then being forced to wait for years before the next book in the series is being released. 2. Forcing yourself to put a book down because things like sleep, work and daily social interactions get in your way. Although sometimes (okay, most of the time), the need to look like a hungover rat with bloodshot eyes in the morning takes preference over putting the novel aside.  3.  When publishers change book covers halfway through your collection of a specific book series. Now you have to buy a whole new set in order for them to match. 4.  ...

Anyone who hasn’t read Grimm’s collection of Fairy Tales, hasn’t had much of a childhood.   Disclaimer: This review also appears on Women24.com , a South African women's lifestyle website where I manage, amongst other things, an online books section.   Grimm’s Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm (Vintage Classics) What a marvellous little collection of tales. Strange, creepy, romantic and filled with all manner of twisty things, Grimm’s anthology of fairy tales is one of those classics that should be on every fable and folklore lover’s book shelves. Most of us are familiar with Disney’s treatment of stories like Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella and The Frog Prince - to mention but a few - but in this collection, The Brothers Grimm go back to some of the roots of these tales and present a version that is not only different, but that are also much darker. In quite a few cases, some don’t even have the happily-ever-after ending that we’re so used to seeing. Even more interesting is...

Today I’d like to welcome YA author, Jennifer Ridyard to my blog. As one half of the duo who wrote the dystopian novel Conquest, a book I enjoyed and recently reviewed, Jennifer is someone who is actually no stranger to my blog. Last time I featured her, Jennifer wrote an awesome guest post on why science fiction isn’t just a guy thing (I’d highly recommend that you check it out). In today’s spot, I chat to Jennifer about the concept behind Conquest , what it was like writing with John Connolly (co-author of the book, best-selling author of a popular crime thriller series and, her actual partner) and what’s in store for the next book. For those who haven’t heard about Conquest before, you can check out my in-depth review which I posted here , and add it to your Goodreads pile . If you have read the book, just a note of caution: there are one or two spoilery questions below (but don’t worry, I’ve highlighted it clearly so that you can just skip pass those if you’d like). Welcome to the...