Tag: carina

Book Review: A Year of Being Single by Fiona Collins #BookReview #WomensFiction #AYearOfBeingSingle

Title: A Year of Being Single
Author: Fiona Collins
Publisher: HQ digital, Carina
Date: April 21st, 2016
Pages: 260
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

Review:

This year I made a decision to clear out my Netgalley shelf, so there are lots of backlists reviews coming your way, so be prepared!

A Year of Being Single is the one title I had on my tbr for the longest time, and there are really no excuses why I haven’t picked it up before. I could bore you with me whining how I didn’t have time to read all the titles I wanted to, how I was in a reviewing slump that lasted for almost a and all that jazz, but I won’t.
The one important thing is, I am reviewing it now, so I’ll just say “Better late then never”.

My expectations for A Year of Being Single weren’t too high to begin with, but I did expect it to be better then it was.

The story follows three friends, Imogen, Frankie and Grace who all decide to spend a year as single ladies. This sounds like a good premise for fun, right?
Well, the story itself wasn’t fun at all.
I am not sure if the sense of humour in this book was very different for my own, so I didn’t laugh at all while reading, or is it the fact that this book actually wasn’t funny.
I know there are so many books out there that are masterpieces and they don’t have any jokes in them, aren’t funny at all, but if you promise me a laugh-out-loud story in your premise, then I expect to smile at least once!

Also, I expected that A Year of Being Single would be a novel about friendship and relationships friends have with each other, but what we really got in this book were three different stories to follow, about three women who decided to be single, but are kind of desperate about it.

I didn’t like how they lied to each other about men they were hanging out with. I mean, if you’re singe, you can still mingle!
It’s like these characters “decided” to do a year of celibate, not of being single. I mean, you don’t have to whore yourself while being single, but we all know that being single does not mean not even talking to guys or having some fun while building relationship with yourself.

What I also didn’t click with is how these women had a need to change guys. 
It is very different from my point of view on relationships. I believe that you have to find yourself a person you like, to be with him/her, and not someone you would like if only this/that was different about them.
People are not projects, and there is a reason why there are so many of us. If you constantly have to change people around you, ask yourself whether the one who needs to change is you!

The story is written in third person, following perspectives of Grace, Frankie and Imogen.

Out of all of them, I liked Frankie’s story the best, even though I still don’t understand how could she just leave her four children because she had enough.
I still wonder if I misunderstood that part!

Overall, this was a quick read and I would still recommend it to women’s fiction lovers.

Book Review: Truth Or Date by Portia Macintosh

truth or date

Title: Truth Or Date
Author: Portia Macintosh
Publisher: Carina
Date: April 11st, 2016
Pages: 243
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

Falling for the man of her dreams…

Ruby Wood is perfectly happy playing the dating game – until she has a red-hot dream about her very attractive flatmate, Nick. He might spend every day saving lives as a junior doctor, but he’s absolutely the last man on earth that fun-loving Ruby would ever date!

The solution? Focus on all of Nick’s bad points. And if that fails, up her dating antics and find herself a man! So what if she manages to make disapproving, goody two-shoes Nick jealous in the process…

Only, after a series of nightmare first dates, there’s still just one man on Ruby’s mind. Maybe it’s time to admit the truth and dare to ask Nick to be her next date?

vrpca

Review:

Ever since I’ve heard about this book I wanted to read it.
The cover is just adorable, it’s like it shines with positivity and the premise sounded like something I’d enjoy.

The best thing about this novel was the writing style it was wrtitten with.
Even though this was my first time reading Portia Macintosh’s work, the feeling I had while reading this book was like coming home, if you know what I mean.
It was like coming back to something familiar that makes you feel comfortable, if that makes sense.

I can’t say if maybe Macintosh’s voice sounded like the one from my favorite author Sophie Kinsella, or if it’s only me who find the similarity between the two.
No matter what the case is, the point I’m trying to make is that I liked it.

The story follows Ruby, a quirky 28 years old girl who works in a cafe shop.
She doesn’t take life too seriously and has no luck when it comes to guys. She does not give up, though. Going on dates reguraly is what she does. So what if most of them don’t end up too well? One day maybe her dream guy worth keeping will show up, right?

My relationship with Ruby was, in the lack of better words, pretty complicated.
At times I loved her, I liked how silly and funny she was. But at other times, I wanted to shake her. It didn’t help that I didn’t approve what she was trying to do (her main goal) and to be honest, I questioned her morality.

Her best friend Millsy was an interesting character and I liked him better then Ruby. Reading about them together was really fun, but when in the story came Ruby’s brother Woody, it was even better.

Nick was the guy I had a feeling we should all fall in love with.
And I did, for a second. I’m not gonna lie.
However, as the story progressed, that love faded and I ended up not liking him all that much anymore.

Nick’s girlfriend Gwen was my favorite character. I can even say I understood her at some point (when it comes to being annoyed by Ruby and her non-stop presence). I think every girlfriend who’s boyfriend had a roomate like Ruby would want to get rid of her.
I didn’t like how Heather’s character developed. It was like she suddenly lost a big precentage of her IQ level and I feel like the main thing about her personality was there just so we could start on hating her and maybe it was even there as an easier way for the author to make us root for Ruby and Nick.

I like how Ruby and Nick’s relationship developed from „not like“ to „more then like“ trough the story.
The end was a bit rushed.

Overall, a quick and funny read that is perfect for chick-lit lovers.

3,75