book review – Page 29 – as told by zaheerah

Books, Historical Fiction, LGBTQIA, Other, Romance

Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

September 7, 2018September 3, 2018by Zaheerah1 Comment

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Years after making herself a household name, Evelyn Hugo is ready, to tell the truth about her rise to fame and what she’s done, and lost, to get there. But she’s shaking the journalism community by plucking unknown Monique Grant to write her story. But Monique is listening as Evelyn begins her tale in the cutthroat world that was Old Hollywood and the stories of her seven husbands along the way.

I am starstruck, honestly. This book isn’t my usual go-to read, but after hearing everyone talking about this, I knew I couldn’t miss this out. And I’m glad I didn’t. Seven Husbands indeed one of the best books I’ve read this year. I wasn’t expecting much because I hadn’t heard much about this book apart from “read it now”. It was a compelling read about race, sexuality, misogyny and how you shouldn’t use your short time on earth being someone you’re not.

Evelyn recalls her life to unknown journalist Monique Grant, starting from her roots: losing her mother and marrying a man (husband number one) to leave her the dead end city and into Hollywood to make her name with the stars. Evelyn is unapologetic and cunning. She learns to play the game and uses everything she can to prove herself. She’s her own saviour in a world that wants nothing more to do with her. I was so in love with her story. The story explores her Cuban heritage and bisexuality. And it is phenomenal. The writing and pacing are impeccable and had my heart racing with every page. This book really surprised me. Rarely do books steal my heart so quickly and within the first chapter.

Monique, in my opinion, was sorely underutilised. It’s not her fault that Evelyn’s story was so overpowering that it literally takes all your attention but a second read through is needed to appreciate her again. She’s an unknown journalist requested to write the biography of Hollywood’s greatest star. And she has no clue as to why she’s chosen. There are breaks between Evelyn’s chapters where we follow Monique as she processes what she learns from Evelyn and later we learn the bombshell in how she connects to the story.

Overall, this was an incredibly well-written story and an utterly brilliant novel. Honestly, if you’re in need of a new read, make sure to pick this one up.

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Content warning: the death of a loved one, mentions of suicide and miscarriage, unhealthy eating, abortion, domestic abuse, cheating, homophobia, biphobia, alcoholism. (If you’ve read this book and felt like I’ve missed something out, please, inform me.)

Adult, Books, Other, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Review: The Book of M

September 5, 2018September 2, 2018by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Rating: ★★★☆☆

* I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.

A future where a global epidemic is spreading and causing the world’s population to lose their shadows and later their memories. Husband and wife duo Ory and Max have managed to hide from the brunt of the disasters. That is until Max loses her shadow. Armed with just a tape recorder to document her memories, Max leaves their abandoned hotel. And Ory sets out on a dangerous journey to reunite with his wife. The chapters alternate between the two and two others, another survivor and another person known as “The One Who Gathers.”

The Book of M is a messy read, and I mean that in a good way. A story where each chapter ends with another hundred questions to ask. We follow Ory and Max survive in different circumstances. Max is running anywhere Ory can’t find her and then goes in search with a group of people for a cure for her memory loss. Ory, in search of Max, ends up in various dangerous circumstances where he finally interacts with the world that he, up until now, had ignored under the safety of his area. He meets the good, the bad, makes new friends and finds old ones.

The Book of M was a strangely riveting read. The writing is vivid which compliments and adds the foreboding world building. The story starts with the world in an unknown position, and as the book switches between the four different perspectives, the world comes back to together, providing different views on a world almost forgotten. It read like a puzzle, one that slowly meshed together and once it did, it was an absolutely fantastic book to finish.

Overall, while I did have some issues with the pacing, especially towards the middle of the book, The Book of M was still an engaging and imaginative read.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Content warning: blood, death, violence, the use of the “bury your gays” trope. I know I’m missing quite a bit but if you’ve read the book, please tell me if I’ve missed something out.

Books, Contemporary, Mystery & Crime, Young Adult/ Teen

Mini-review: To All The Boys and The Hunting Party

September 3, 2018September 2, 2018by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (2.5/5)

A group of friends retreat to a quiet hunting lodge for the new year. Each chapter is narrated from a different character going back and forth in time and then leading up and after the moment one of them is murdered. It follows in the vein of a true murder mystery where we are aware a murder has happened but we don’t know who is dead and who did, with one who is killed still speaking. I think I would’ve enjoyed this much more if the characters were more bearable to read about. The voices of each character were actually difficult to distinguish since they’re so similar. I rarely step out into mysteries and it’s a shame that I didn’t enjoy this as much I wanted to.

Amazon | Goodreads | Author

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

This book has been sliding up and down my TBR list for almost four years now. I guess I’m glad I finally sat down and read this book, so I could watch the Netflix film.

Contemporary rom-coms are a bit of a hit and miss for me. I feel like this was an almost hit. From an objective view, it was an endearing story about love and family and I understand the importance of the story about family and love.

There’s a whole lot of good to this book and if you’re a bigger fan of contemporary YA then by no means, give this book a shot. It’s sweet and charming. The moments where Lara Jean is with her family is where the books were at its best. I actually saw myself a lot through her here. But I’m actually struggling to put to words why I just didn’t like this book. From my notes, everything seemed positive, aside from the whole pining after your sister’s ex and the other seemingly romantic aspects of this book, made this book a bit unbearable for me. Overall, this book wasn’t for me and I’m alright with that. I’m just glad this book’s finally off the TBR.

Amazon | Goodreads | Author

Books, Contemporary

Review: That’s Not What Happened

August 17, 2018August 14, 2018by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

*I received an e-arc from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion

Three years after the Virgil County High School Massacre. Three years since Lee’s best friend Sarah was killed in a bathroom stall. A story that gripped the nation. Sarah died proclaiming her faith. Spoke to the killer when no one else did. Except she didn’t. And three years later, only two people know the truth. Lee didn’t say anything then, and now even more people are going to get hurt. This is Lee’s final chance to set the record straight on everything.

School shooting survivor Lee begins to collect the stories of what happened that day. Letters by the very people who suffered. And slowly she realises that what everyone thought happened that day didn’t. Each new letter reveals something new, telling what the headlines didn’t show. And the survivors must come to terms with what they did or didn’t do.

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Books, Other, Poetry, Romance

Review: The Poet X

August 15, 2018August 15, 2018by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Xiomara is the titular The Poet X who learns to find her voice in the pages of her journal, hidden from the world. Her passion and frustration grows in the pages of her notebook, reciting stories that must never leave the pages the ink drys on. But when she’s invited to her school’s slam poetry club, Xiomara decides to speak up in a world that doesn’t want to hear from her.

The Poet X follows Xiomara’s life as she tackles a world that works not in her favour. A world that doesn’t want to hear from her. The story tackles and addresses so many important topics. One of the main issues is sexual harassment and how victims of it are affected, especially from a young age like Xiomara. Another is how Xiomara grapples with living in a conservative household with religious parents. We follow Xiomara as she handles the shame, fear and confusion as she tries to fit in the boxes life had already decided for her.

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Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: Honor Among Thieves

July 30, 2018July 19, 2018by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

After getting into trouble, Zara Cole is surprising recruited into the Honors, a space program in which humans are carefully selected by a mysterious alien race who are formed like ships to explore the universe above and beyond humanity has ever gone. Zara takes the only chance that could save her life, but questions soon arise out of her presence on the elite program. And she quickly learns that space holds darker secrets than the ones back on earth.

I feel like this story grew on me. It took a while but certainly towards the end, it was much more enjoyable and exciting. There’s quite a lot of action as we watch Zara adapt to life in space and experience working with others. She’s used to watching her every step, not trusting the few she knows, now she’s trapped in space, relying on the help of her alien companion, Nadim, and human partner, Bea. I won’t say much about the central relation…ship. I’m not sure what is the best way to describe it, but it is very intense. These three has such a fantastic dynamic and were really engaging to watch them get to know each other. Bea is such an interesting secondary lead that I absolutely loved.

The cover and book description appeared to be a little different than what I actually read. It came across as having a Hunger Games vibe, especially in the beginnings, with how Zara is plucked from the ragtag areas of her city and propelled to Honor stardom felt like Katniss entering the Capitol.

Despite the slow start, there’s a lot of action in this series, and for the first in the series, I would say I’m interested in seeing how it will all play through. The world (or space) the authors have built is quite intriguing and appealing to read about. There’s a lot of questions I have to ask, but the ending definitely had me hooked. I think 3 stars suits the best for how I feel about the book at the moment but I do believe this series has the potential to thrive in future books.

GOODREADS |BOOK DEPOSITORY | AUTHOR SITE

Content warning: child abuse, violence, mass murder. (If you’ve read the series and felt like I’ve missed something out, please tell me!)

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