Rapid Reviews

Book Reviews for when there is little time! Each review takes less than 30 seconds to read!

The Maid by Nina Prose

Molly works as a maid in a swanky hotel. Her quirky personality traits (maybe she’s autistic without the book actually saying so) are fitting to her job, in which she excels. A guest whose room she cleans is found dead in his bed and, because of her unusual behaviour she is the prime suspect for the murder.

She must prove her innocence by finding the real murderer.

Along the way she realises who her friends are, who is merely taking advantage of her nature and also a few lessons in life.

I enjoyed The Maid for its easy to read, light hearted, murder mystery story. Its full of cliched “baddies and goodies” and all turns out well in the end. Take it on holiday for an easy read.

Hokey Pokey by Kate Mascarenhas

Well that escalated quickly! This book was not what I expected - I thought it was going to be a thriller set in a hotel in the late 1920’s and it was, but it was also so much more! If you enjoy the supernatural and vampire type stories then this is the book for you! I enjoyed the trip out of my comfort zone!

Weirdo by Sara Pascoe

I enjoyed this book and I loved the little bits of Sara Pascoe humour and observations which shone through! Sophie the main character finds herself in one messy situation after another. I found myself rooting for her to have a bit of good fortune but couldn’t always warm to the character totally due to the poor choices she was making. Maybe that should have made me feel for her more? Having said that, it’s the sort of book where if Sophie was a real person you’d be wondering what she’s up to now and hoping everything is ok!

Overall a good book and I look forward to reading more by Sara Pascoe!

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

OMG! I think this is the quickest I’ve ever read a book! Absolutely engrossing and so well written. I really felt like I got to know the characters and even found myself tutting out loud and shaking my head at some of shenanigans Josie Fair was getting up too!

I loved the way we had insights into the Netflix programme in the story too - what a fab way to escalate the tension and mean you are never quite sure how the story is going to end!

Still find myself thinking about those characters even though I’ve finished the book. The sign of an awesome book I reckon, and this is definitely that!

Verity by Coleen Hoover

Lowen is a wannabe crime author approached by her agent to work with Jeremy Crawford to co-write his successful wife’s (Verity) unfinished book series, his wife unable to finish due to being injured in a car accident.

What transpires thereafter is a chain of events extremely difficult to believe and an ending that makes no logical sense at all leaving the reader with a lot of "what?" and mostly "why?" questions. Whilst the book started well and draws you in, the middle and ending is disappointing.

Cleaner by Brandi Wells

Oh my gosh this book will get you wondering what’s going on when you’re not at work! A really creative story about a cleaner in some offices who feels like it’s her job to also look after the workers, even though she only ever sees one of them face to face regularly in the workplace. Sometimes the ‘looking after’ is more meddling which leads to all sorts of consequences.

Which reminds me, I must change my computer passwords! Ha ha!

Enjoyable, original story!

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

I loved this book, it follows a couple of main characters, Mukesh an elderly widower and Aleisha a teenage carer whose mother has mental health issues. They meet and forge an unlikely friendship at the local library. Entwined into their stories is a mystery reading list that surfaces and circulates touching many people in the community, each book having special significance, demonstrating how reading books can positively influence peoples lives.

The story is sad yet uplifting and I’m sure some of the books on the list will inspire book clubs across the country. I know it did mine!

The Life of Pi

Ive wanted to read this book for ages as I was intrigued, never really knowing what it was about.

Piscine (Pi) is a boy full of curiosity who’s family own a zoo. Embarking on a new life the family set sail for Canada taking the zoo with them. During a storm the boat sinks and its only survivors seemingly Pi and a handful of animals. The story tells their tale of survival and eventual rescue.

But maybe everything is not quite as it seems.

This is one of those books that its true meaning and impact is only realised in the final couple of chapters. Whilst the ending left me with some thinking to do, I did feel the book a little disjointed, Pi’s life story and ordeal at sea didn’t really gel together. And I probably feel its religious backdrop was lost a little on me.