Becky's Book Reviews

What would stories be if they had no words to form them? A lovely friend and colleague of mine recently wrote a post about her top 5 favourite words .  I couldn’t help but geek out when I read her article. You see, as a bibliophile and word nerd, it’s simply not possible for me to love books and ignore the prose within them (yes, yes, I can all hear you saying ‘duh’, but bear with me, I do have a point to make). Sure, we all read for the characters and the story and the adventures that liberate us from reality for the duration of the book, but what would those stories be if they had no words to form them? And what would conversations be if we didn’t have them? Words are beauty and cruelty. They can be used to mock, or be used to seduce. They can cajole, lure and manipulate, and they can move you to tears, evoke a sense of wonder and most importantly, breathe life into your imagination. There is power and magic in words. And there is a good reason that the old saying about pen being...

A delicious little read that will make you feel all the fizzy and cotton candy feels. My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins (Macmillan Children’s Books) My True Love Gave to Me, edited by Stephanie Perkins (who also contributes to this anthology), is a delightful, adorable and quirky little read. It's the kind of book that proved to be exactly what I needed to kick start 2015 – and it’s a read that I’d recommend to anyone in search of a feel good, pick-me-up read. Don’t be fooled though – while these stories can be described as being fluffy, they’re little shorts with plenty of substance and enough heart to soothe any angst-ridden soul. There’s a little something in here for everyone; from contemporary and magic realism, to urban and paranormal fantasy, this collection of YA novellas is wonderfully diverse and beautifully written.  Below, I share just a few quick thoughts about each novelette. Midnights by Rainbow Rowell – Ah, Rainbow Rowell. Can you ever do anything...

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Thank you so much to all of you who entered. I enjoyed reading your responses and found myself nodding along to all the points made (I'll be responding over the weekend to everyone's posts)! Congratulations goes to Bo Hi who has won books of her choice from the Book Depo! I'll be having more giveaways coming your way soon, so look out for that! So to kick off my blog for 2015, I thought I’d start off with a post about  the things I’d like to see more of in books this year  (along with a much-promised international giveaway).  As a reader, my taste in books is constantly evolving. The way I read, how I interpret it and the aspects I look for in novels changes regularly. The more aware of societal issues I become, the more it drives me to seek out books that don’t adhere to the traditional tropes we’ve all become so accustomed to. And the more I adapt, accept and embrace these changes, the more I realise that there is still a lot of hea...