allmyprettybooks-new

Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer Reviewed by Amanda Kennedy on April 23rd, 2016 Following my enjoyment of Rain Reign , I sought out an adult-themed novel with a central character on the autism spectrum. Rubbernecker stood out among the lists I found with the promise of a psychological thriller: a genre which rates highly among my preferred themes. What i loved most about Rubbernecker was the layers, so many layers of plot and story, all woven together seamlessly yet the outcomes were elusive until the very end. Patrick, the central character, is a young man with Asperger Syndrome and a fascination with death. Or rather, what happens to the body at the point of death. Having secured himself a place on the anatomy course at Cardiff University, he throws himself into study and meticulously analyses the cause of death for Cadaver 19: the body he and his team are dissecting. Patrick's black and white view of the world places him in precarious situations, including his arrest prompt...

The Moth and th Flame  is the second short story released as an ebook by Renee Adieh in anticipation of the release of The Rose and the Dagger . It is available for download in a variety of digital formats via Penguin Random House. Here is the description from the website: It started as playful, if barbed, banter before rising to a fateful wager with a most notorious rake—the Captain of the Guard, Jalal al-Khoury—who may have finally met his match in a lovely, if haughty, handmaiden, Despina. But she, too, seems to have met her match in the handsome Jalal. What begins as a tempestuous battle of will and wit in short order becomes a passionate affair spurred on by tragedy of the worst kind. Download The Moth and the Flame for your digital device .

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin Reviewed by Amanda Kennedy on March 23rd, 2016 I discovered Rain Reign through a book round-up on The Mighty Girl website featuring fiction with characters on the autism spectrum. Whilst I'm well aware that many novels with autistic characters are "feel-good fiction", I began reading with no preconceptions and found I was pleasantly surprised (if not a little tearful) by the end. The novel is narrated by Rose: a ten year old girl with Asperger Syndrome who has obsessions with prime numbers and homonyms. Even her own name is a homonym! Having no memories of her mother, Roe is in a sad situation - though it seems she fails to realise this. Her father frequently leaves her home alone while he is working or drinking his sorrows. Her school teacher and aide are not particularly pleasant characters either. Luckily, her uncle, Weldon, looks out for her and she makes a friend in class who doesn't mind sharing her passion for homonyms. One ...

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Reviewed by Amanda Kennedy on March 10th, 2016 I couldn't fail to recognise The Grownup as the work of Gillian Flynn when I spotted it on the checkout counter at Waterstones, amongst the other "impulse buys". The dark cover, typography and deliberately stark design screamed " Gone Girl " from a mile away. Adding just a few more pounds to the total of the pile of books I'd already decided to purchase didn't seem that much to pay. This is definitely a "single serving" story. It's short format is easily digested, perhaps even short enough to read during a commute.Unfortunately, I didn't find it to be a particularly satisfying story: in my humble opinion, the final third or so really ought to have been more drawn out. Did Flynn have to edit a longer tale to make it shorter, I wonder? Like Gone Girl and Dark Places , Flynn's short story includes some very adult themes. Right from the first page, we ar...

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell Reviewed by Amanda Kennedy on March 4th, 2016 When I saw that Rainbow Rowell had produced a novella/short story for World Book Day, I couldn't resist the chance to give it a try. Having read so much praise for Rowell's works, I was excited to read Kindred Spirits, particularly due to the short format which meant I'd be able to digest it in a single sitting. The story is told from the viewpoint of Elena: a Star Wars fangirl who has decided to queue for tickets to watch the latest installment of the science fiction series at her local cinema. Elena expects there to be crowds of people as obsessed with the series as herself: cosplayers and film buffs who are as excited to see the new film as herself. Disappointment sinks in when she realises that only two others have decided to camp out to guarantee their tickets... and that she has to pee in a cup! Despite the compact format, Rowell's character development was achieved rather well, ...

The Crown and the Arrow is a short story by Renee Adieh to accompany her novel, The Wrath ad the Dawn . It is available to download for free for a variety of e-reader devices from the publisher, Penguin Random House. Here is the description from the website: Seventy-one days and seventy-one nights had come and gone since Khalid began killing his brides. This dawn, Khalid would mark the loss of the seventy-second girl, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. Khalid didn’t know how many more of these dawns he could take. And there was something about this latest girl that piqued his interest. Not only had she volunteered to marry him, but at their wedding ceremony, she had seemed not the least bit afraid. In fact, what he had seen in her eyes was nothing short of pure hatred. She was about to lose her life. Why wasn’t she afraid? Why did she hate him so? He had never before gone to his wife’s chambers before her death at dawn. Tonight would be different. Download The Crown and the Arrow  for your dig...

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Adieh Reviewed by Amanda Kennedy on February 23rd, 2016 I can't help it: I'm drawn to pretty books. Even more so to beautiful, gilded, hardcover editions which make my bookshelves come alive by their addition. "Don't judge a book by it's cover" they say. In this case, I would have happily made an exception, should the content fail to deliver the promise of exquisite packaging. I am very, very happy to say that the promise was kept. The Wrath and the Dawn is a retelling of the legend of Sherezade: storyteller extraordinaire, who by means of plot twists and cliffhangers was able to spare herself execution at the hands of a violent king. Our heroine of this tale is named Shahrzad ( Shazi, as she is known to those she holds dear). After the death of her closest friend at the hands of the boy-king, Khaled, Shahrzad vows to infiltrate the royal court in the guise of Khaled's next bride, searching for an opportunity to rid ...