(b) Unteachable by Leah Raeder

Unteachable (2014) by Leah Raeder is a new adult novel about the (budding yet forbidden) relationship between a teacher and a student. In a nutshell. I don't feel like you need to know much else about the novel. If this topic bothers you, maybe steer clear of it; other than that, it was a refreshingly well-written novel about a potentially illicit relationship (no one was underage, just pointing that out). It has mature content so beware if your sensibilities are easily offended.

I read Colleen Hoover's Slammed a week before this so the whole "girl met boy, they like each other, boy turns out to be the teacher"-thing wasn't really as unique, and I might have preferred the more PG-13 version of the teacher-student relationship in Slammed. Perhaps since in the latter, the age difference was a mere three years.

Maisie O'Malley and Evan Wilke's (Mr Wilke) relationship is not a dirty one where the older teacher takes advantage of a young student (despite the numerous times the female protagonist referenced Lolita - I hated those), but a fairly equal romance. Both of them have their own secrets and crosses to bear, so I didn't feel like the male teacher was a father figure. It didn't seem "dirty" like I said before.

I liked the fact that the protagonist is a self-sufficient and a confident young lady - despite her family life and lack of financial possibilities. She is smart and an "old soul": something I think one of the characters even said at one point, perhaps to justify their relationship. She is a self-made woman and doesn't need anyone else's help in that department. Of course, her ways of achieving this aren't always necessarily right but still... It counts, right?

I can't say that I absolutely loved this novel. Everyone raves about the writing and as it was certainly beautiful, I don't think I could award the full five stars purely because of that. The plot had a few dramatic/twist-y moments that felt too cinematic. I'm sure this was purposeful, though! This is a risky subject to cover - teacher-student relationships - which was "worsened" in a way by the noticeable age difference between the two main characters. I think at one point the novel went in an odd direction for me and I just wasn't that invested in it but it didn't really feel "creepy" at any point.

I listened to the audiobook so maybe it was the narrator that had something to do with the three star rating (there are a few other hyped books that I don't love in audiobook form). While I generally liked her - voice-wise she more or less fit the part of a teenager - it seemed to take her a while to get a handle on the character. I wasn't a fan of her narration for the first half of the novel and thus I wasn't a 100% invested in the story.

I think all in all I would give this book 3,5 stars. I don't usually give half a star ratings but this one just fell perfectly between that ambiguous gap of liked but not REALLY liked it. I just didn't connect to any of the characters. Not enough to get really into it.

A lot of people mention the end and the lack of an epilogue. No spoilers! but I thought that it was perfect and an epilogue was not necessary. Usually, I really love epilogues and finding out what happened after the last chapter but in this one - considering the whole feel of the novel - the end was very fitting. This might even bump the rating up at a later point but right now I feel fairly happy with my rating.


Disclaimer: I bought this audiobook myself from Audible.

(b) Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (1990) is a novel co-written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The cover and back blurb both emphasise the fact that the book is laugh out loud funny. This makes me very sceptical. However, in this case, I have to agree. I read this in the train and had to suppress my giggles and chuckles several times - to an acceptable level, of course. At home, I may or may not have even cackled.

To be honest, the other books I've read by Neil Gaiman have been not my cup of tea (The Graveyard Book and Stardust). But I guess it takes some Pratchett to make me love his writing. Obviously, I've no idea who wrote which part but all in all I really enjoyed the novel. I have to deduct a star, though, because I sort of lost interest for a while mid-way through the book, and wasn't very excited to read it. It just felt a bit slow - even though things were happening! The end picked right on up so it's a solid 4 stars for me (I really, really liked it).

Now, should I give a slight synopsis? The book deals with an impending apocalypse that has to be brought on by the Antichrist. A representative from Hell and Heaven are assigned to help/hinder the eventual Doomsday. I really enjoyed both of these characters: Crowley and Aziraphale. Later in the book there is a little possession-event that just cracked me up. The characters are all very well-written. No one is perfect, and no one acts the way you expect them to. I won't even tell you about the Antichrist and his, er, hell-hound.

I think if I knew more about the Bible, the novel would be even funnier as I feel I didn't get a few "inside" jokes. Still, it's a nice parody or a retelling without being overly mean; although it did have a side of healthy scepticism about certain aspects of religion. It feels very modern (naturally technologically less so) in its thought processes so the novel is very contemporary in that sense. I really enjoyed it and had a great time reading the novel (apart from that little bit in the middle).

I definitely recommend this novel. It's very entertaining and, indeed, you will definitely laugh (if not out loud, then at least be prepared for chuckles).

Disclaimer: I borrowed this book from a public library.

(b) The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Angel's Game (2008) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the second instalment in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. It probably could be read as a stand-alone but I've been told that the third book in the series (The Prisoner of Heaven) is essential to understanding this one. This leads me to the rating I gave this book. To beat around the bush a bit, I gave The Shadow of the Wind - the first book in this trilogy/series - 5 stars. It is one of my favourite books of all time as it was the perfect mixture of mystery and the sub-genre of "books about books". It made me love books even more and the whole novel was peppered with great quotes about reading, readers and novels. Not to mention very interesting and quotable characters.

This novel, however, will only receive 3 stars, I'm afraid (please see last post for my star rating system). I'm not sure if the average rating is due to the fact that I was expecting it to be on par with The Shadow... or that it's just a weaker novel. I fear the latter. OK, so I am sure why my rating came about. I can see how the author was trying to recreate the magical setting of Barcelona that worked so well in the first book (I'm sorry for all the comparisons with the first book, but this is the second in the series), but it felt gimmicky this time. He was repeating himself often - one quote was used four times in 60 pages when it would work better once (I know this, because the SAME quote was used in Shadow... and to a great effect).

I can go into details about the plot a little as this is a prequel and takes places before the events of The Shadow of the Wind. Sidenote, the books can be read out of order I've been told: TAG first, then TSotW and then TPoH. The protagonist David Martin is a struggling (at first) writer who writes a sinister and slightly paranormal novel series about the underworld of Barcelona. He becomes well-known but not under his own name. There is also a love interest - Cristina - but she doesn't feature that heavily in the novel. My favourite character was Isabella, to be honest, a minor character (well, her impact was big but she wasn't a main character). I don't know why lately I like side characters more than the main ones. Isabella was snarky and didn't take any crap from anyone. The protagonist, however - or was he an anti-hero? - was a horrible, spoiled brat. Possibly a little craycray. I'm not sure. Sorry, I got sidetracked, anyway a mysterious publisher commissions a book from the main character and a confusing events ensue. It's partly a detective/mystery novel but no one knows who are the bad guys and who are the good guys. There are crazy murders and crime and a lot of WTF-is-going-on moments until the very end.

Most of the plot of the novel was extremely disturbing and dark despite the seemingly sunny setting. Although, yes, I'm aware that Barcelona was not probably a lovely tourist destination back then (book takes place in the 1920-1930s). I guess the backdrop comes in really handy at this point: Barcelona, the sinister, Gothic architecture thereof, etc.

I read the novel in translation which I had some issues with. The text was full of cliches and saying that felt out of place, and I feel like so many better alternatives could have been found. I really enjoy the writing style of Ruiz Zafón but it felt a little too-much at times. Maybe flowery is the right word? It just felt a tad overwrought in places.

I really don't want to end on a negative note. Obviously, I liked the novel as I finished it and was not tempted to put it aside. It kept me interested and the action was very compelling at times. I think it takes amazing skill to come up with a plot like this: it was very convoluted but not necessarily in a bad way as I kind of enjoyed all the twists and turns, if this makes any sense. I will continue on with the series and I have a feeling I will have a better understanding of the events after the third book. Captain Obvious is obvious.

The book is worth picking up but if I put you off it a little with my inexperienced ramblings, then please at least read The Shadow of the Wind because that book is absolutely wonderful and a must-read for every true book-lover!


Disclaimer: I bought this book myself.

(b) Making Faces by Amy Harmon

Short announcement: I am back! I hope to start posting on this blog again regularly. I will focus more on books but if I manage to cook up something delicious (and photogenic), I won't hesitate to add pictures and/or recipes!

Now, on to the book. First of all, Making Faces (2013) by Amy Harmon is a very chaste new adult (YA?) novel. None of the hot sexy times that usually go along with the genre. :)

The novel features Fern Taylor, her love interest Ambrose, and also her amazing cousin Bailey (definitely my favourite character). Ambrose Young aka Hercules aka Sex-on-legs decided to join the army after 9/11 but returns with a severe injury (not a spoiler, it's on the back cover). Now, I really enjoyed the book as it was unique in the genre and a very quick read. The second half was extremely captivating and I could not put the novel down - figuratively, though, I read an e-book version.

However, I had some issues with it and thus decided to deduct a star (I'm using the Goodreads 5 star rating system*). There were a few flaws in logic that kind of bothered me. I'm not always very observant about editing issues, unless it's misspellings and typos, but I felt that these issues should have been eliminated in the editing process. I don't think I can go into this as it might spoil some aspects of the story.

Another qualm that I had with the novel is that ALL the horrible things happened to this tiny group of people. I feel like the author couldn't focus on one or two difficult subjects (eg PTS), and decided to cram in as much heartache as she possibly could for maximum emotional destruction. I won't mention everything as it would be spoilery, but come on... It got to be so much that it wasn't believable anymore. Of course, I know this is fiction and it's not supposed to be true. But in order to immerse myself in the world of the novel I want to be able to believe that this could happen (the positive things at least; not the bad things, please). Especially considering the whole metafiction aspect where the protagonist writes romance novels and then is surprised that people "in real life" actually say the sweet things of which she has only dreamed. Meaning she considers her life as real as it gets, not fiction. Sidenote/tangent: this is a pet peeve of mine. They use it in films and books alike... "Oh, this is just like in a film!!" ((you ARE in a film)). Minirant over.

Also, back on topic, I completely understand that bad things happen - especially to good people - but on this scale? Right, I don't think I can explain myself without some general SPOILERS [highlight to see the general spoilers: 

war, KIA, death of close friends, serious chronic disease, disfigurement, domestic abuse, physical violence, sudden death
all these happen to three or four close friends]. OK, spoilers OVER.

So yes, I hope I made any sense. Sorry if I came off a little cold-hearted and mean: it was still a lovely read, and I really enjoyed the novel. In my opinion, a strong four stars. Even though most of the novel is emotionally very taxing, it is also emotional in a good way as it has some definite swoon-worthy moments. All in all it is definitely worth a read, just have a box of tissues ready.



* 1 star - not really worth a read; did not enjoy at all; or did not finish
2 stars - less than average; quite boring; would not recommend
3 stars - it was all right, I liked it but had some issues
4 stars - I liked it a lot and really enjoyed reading it
5 stars - amazing; I love this book; it affected me emotionally and/or "came at the right time" for me personally

Disclaimer: I bought this e-book myself.