Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010 out of a love of lists. In January of 2018 we decided it was time to close our doors. It was then moved to That Artsy Reader Girl here. It came from a love of lists, books and a desire to bring bookish people together.
First up let’s share the last Top Ten Tuesday post I penned here. Which was on the 23rd January.
Today’s prompt is Quick Reads/ Books to read when time is short.
This short still gets regularly viewed here on the blog. You can read my thoughts here.I can’t seem to place my thoughts I’m sure I did pen it. You can read my thoughts here.You can read my thoughts here.My most recent short read out of my comfort zone and you can read my thoughts here.Meet Cute goodness ❤️My thoughts My ReviewThis short self help I’ve listened to a few times and I loved it each time. Each time I learnt something else about myself. You can read my review here.My ReviewMy Review
I love a short story and I’m currently almost at the end of this one…these are the perfect snippets of discovering new authors other than Christina Lauren I haven’t read any of the others until now.
Blurb: When Warren has the opportunity to live with a female roommate, he instantly agrees. It could be an exciting change.
Or maybe not.
Especially when that roommate is the cold and seemingly calculating Bridgette. Tensions run high and tempers flare as the two can hardly stand to be in the same room together. But Warren has a theory about Bridgette: anyone who can hate with that much passion should also have the capability to love with that much passion. And he wants to be the one to test this theory.
Will Bridgette find it in herself to warm her heart to Warren and finally learn to love?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Review: Now this audiobook was a truly interesting listen. Maybe Not is very different to that of Maybe Someday which I read long before Colleen Hoover became the TikTok sensation she is now. I feel for this author as I always see a lot of marmite reviews for her stories. Now there are elements in this novella that are uncomfortable to listen to or read at best as a woman. So if you’re triggered by complicated sexual encounters I think that’s the best way to describe it, then this book may not be for you.
Warren and Bridget start off as enemies with venomous animosity on both sides. Or is that just a weird way of flirting- you make your mind up. Some of their scenes were humorous some were damn right steamy and as I say some were uncomfortable. Both characters have their own back story and reasoning for the way they are and as that unfolds I found myself rooting for them. It’s not your average boy meets girl or enemies to lovers, but as ever Colleen has me unable to stop listening I needed to know where the story was going right from the off.
I found myself easily invested in the characters and throughout the strange elements I was glad they found their way. I believe there’s another story so I’m intrigued to see if these characters feature and how they fare.
Sometimes a few days off is just what you need to reset, refocus and be inspired by life once again.
I have tried to be more organised this week, so let’s take a look at how I faired and whether that transpired here at Hayley Reviews. I must add this post should have been finished and scheduled for yesterday. I had made a start but my break at work wasn’t as long as usual as I had a lot to do yesterday so my apologies. Although do let me know if you would like to see this stay on Saturday’s or whether Sunday works better.
Now before I share the posts of the week I wanted to check in and see if you would like me to keep this purely about the books, or whether you would like my other life updates do let me know.
On Monday I shared my review of The Chalet By Catherine Cooper.
I had meant to post a non fiction review on Friday and this update yesterday, as I say I hadn’t made the final touches on either or scheduled them. So here we are, with that in mind I hope I can have all my posts scheduled for the week with the ones pre done being sorted as and when.
Do let me know if you want me to stick to purely the books or whether you liked my previous ramblings. Until next time…
In this remarkably perceptive collection, Stephen Oram blends cutting-edge science and tech with everyday emotions and values to create 20 thought experiments with heart.
Extracting Humanity is a skilful exploration of smart currencies, memorials, medical care, treatment of refugees, social networks, data monitoring, and justice systems. Always without prescription or reprimand, these stories are simply the beginning of the conversation.
From an eerie haptic suit that Tommy must call Father, to a protective, nutritious bubble that allows Feng Mian to survive on a colonised Moon; from tattoos that will earn their wearers a mini-break in a sensory chamber, to Harrie anxiously awaiting AI feedback on her unborn child… These startling, diverse narratives map all-too-real possibilities for our future and the things that might ultimately divide or unite us.
Review: Firstly, I love short stories so when Isabel asked if I wanted to join this blog tour I jumped at the chance. Secondly this set of short stories will definitely go down as out of my comfort zone and not my usual reading. Don’t get me wrong I’ve read the odd dystopian novel in my time but this is on another level. It’s futuristic and it’s oddly scary that this could be the way our lives change.
What I’ve really loved about these stories is although they have a linked aspect in the futuristic technology, they are all extremely different. Some will tug at your heart strings where others are strange and thought provoking. This has shown me that I really must delve out of my comfort zone much more this year, and thankfully that is on my 2024 bookish goals so watch this space. Alternatively if there’s a book you think I should read let me know.
There’s so much variety within these stories and they will definitely leave you thinking about them long after the last page.
Blurb: With this sharp and witty debut collection, author Kate Doyle captures precisely that time of life when so many young women are caught in between, pre-occupied by nostalgia for past relationships – with friends, roommates, siblings – while trying to move forward into an uncertain future. In “That Is Shocking,” a college student relates a darkly funny story of romantic humiliation, one that skirts the parallel story of a friend she betrayed. In others, young women long for friends who have moved away, or moved on. In “Cinnamon Baseball Coyote” and other linked stories about siblings Helen, Evan, and Grace, their years of inside jokes and brutal tensions simmer over as the three spend a holiday season in an amusing whirl of rivalry and mutual attachment, and a generational gulf widens between them and their parents. Throughout, in stories both lyrical and haunting, young women search for ways to break free from the expectations of others and find a way to be in the world.
Written with crystalline prose and sly humour, the stories in I Meant It Once build to complete a profoundly recognizable portrait of early adulthood and the ways in which seemingly incidental moments can come to define the stories we tell ourselves. For fans of Elif Batuman, Ottessa Moshfegh, Patricia Lockwood, and Melissa Bank, these stories about being young and adrift in today’s world go down easy and pack a big punch.
Review: Firstly, I want to thank Netgalley for giving me the chance to read these short stories. I’ve always been a fan of shorts and this just proved it’s been a while since I’ve read any. Yet I should be doing so more regularly.
Kate Doyle’s debut collection is enlightening, some of these stories will make you feel seen and some will just claw out your heart. I thought it would have been a quicker read for me but alongside audiobooks and life it wasn’t but I really enjoyed each and every story. Some were so different and others the same….each addition leaving you feeling poignant and thoughtful in equal measure. As an older sibling I loved the stories based on family and how true to life that rivalry and bickering really is, even to this day in my 30s. We can easily revert back to our most childish selves when we’re together.
What struck me about these stories is how relatable they are..it will definitely have you thinking or reminiscing and in some ways understanding.
A collection full of thoughts and feelings and almost every single person will be effected by something in these tales. It’s made me realise how much I love delving into short stories and discovering new writers.
Firstly, I want to apologise for the lack of posts and general interaction here at Hayley Reviews. Returning to work has been exactly what I’ve needed but in my promotion it’s taken a lot more of my time.
As always I am still reading but my reading in itself has been somewhat sporadic. I still have an audiobook on the go – from a go to author that’s still not been finished and I thought my time with Paige Toon’s latest would have been shorter than it has been. If you remember rightly I read the sampler and was desperate for more. You can read my initial thoughts here.
I also realised I hadn’t done a post about what I had read in May and now I also have the update from June…hoping July brings back all the books as I’m a tad behind on my GoodReads target for the year when I had started well. I’m currently sat at 53 with 6 books behind.
I went back to work on the 19th May so I had some time before. So let’s look at what I read.
A few of my May reads still need reviewing so watch this space, and apologies to the authors of these stunning reads I’ve truly enjoyed everything I’ve read.
June Reads – I had such hopes but it really was a weird one.
I hope to get back on track – in penning this I haven’t got much reading done so I will be getting back to that shortly. I’m hoping to get the weekly update back but I’m not sure whether it will feature tomorrow or Sunday as yet. Watch this space?
Would you like to see my hopes for July? If so leave me a comment below.
So here we are the first weekend in a new month, but before we get too far ahead let’s look back on April. April felt a little weird, I didn’t read as much as I have in the last few months especially when I read 13 books in March.
I thought I would have got another book or two finished on the final day of the month but that didn’t happen. In April I read 8 books which isn’t awful but I felt I come up a bit short.
I also didn’t listen to many audiobooks when I had wanted to listen to 4 – with one a week being my aim. I finished Mike Gayle’s The To-Do List at the beginning of April and I listened to Cressida McLaughlin’s Cornish Cream Tea Christmas. Bringing my total to two – I did start Christina Lauren Love and Other Words.
Let’s see how I done against my April TBR you can read that post here. So I posted 8 books and these are the ones I haven’t read yet.
I had aimed to have read parts 1&2 there are now 3 parts available. This is a NetGalley read and I had hoped to have read this alongside a lighter read. It will happen ASAP.I have an ebook and audiobook. This will be my next audio read.
Now it wasn’t too bad considering but do I post a May TBR? As I would like to catch up on the Netgalley reads I should have read and I have a bunch I hope to get to this month. Let me know whether you want me to post a May TBR.
In some ways I like writing these posts even if they make me feel off if I don’t succeed. May will be a strange one as hopefully by the 19th I will be back at work, granted I will have break time and bus journeys to read.
Today is my stop on the Kissing Lying Down blog tour. I’m sorry for the late in the day post. The last time I read a series of short stories was around Christmas. I really do love short stories and I hope to include more in the coming months, whether they are collections like this or singular ones like the Jack Reacher ones I’ve read.
Blurb: Navigating the online and offline worlds of pairing up, this spiky collection of short stories delves deep, with dark humour, into what it takes to strap on a smile through thirty-something failure and make human connections in the modern age.
Gordon knows what Gabby wants but he hates to do what he’s told; Chrissy stalks the internet to find what her fiancé wouldn’t give her; three friends reunite during a heatwave and their evening gets better and better, until it doesn’t…
In these relationship tales, many are burned by their pasts while scanning their horizons… A woman wonders if passing strangers have a better sex-face than her boyfriend; and a birthday meal goes sour at the offer of no-strings dessert.
About the Author: Kate Tough is a fiction writer and visual poet.
Her novel, Keep Walking, Rhona Beech (Abacus, 2019) is available from all usual outlets. It’s the retitled second edition of, Head for the Edge, Keep Walking (Cargo) which has had five stars on Amazon since 2014. The book is a funny and moving account of how a thirty-something office worker in Glasgow, with a clumsy tendency to speak her mind, puts her life back together after it spectacularly falls apart.
Readers have noted that the novel reminds them of a book about someone called Eleanor Oliphant, although Kate’s novel appeared prior to that one, in 2014, when it got good attention in the Scottish media. It’s great that readers can enjoy both books and a bonus that people who like one character have an opportunity to discover the other one.
Kate’s poetry pamphlet, tilt-shift, was Runner Up in the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award, 2017 and her piece, ‘People Made Glasgow’, was selected as a Best Scottish Poem 2016. Recently, her work was included in Makar/Unmakar: Twelve Contemporary Poets in Scotland and she’s an invited poet at STANZA in 2021. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow.
Last year Kate adopted a cat with very long tail who shares his name with the Prime Minister of Britain – the rescue centre gave him that name – but now that she knows him better (the cat, not the Prime Minister) she’d have chosen the name Rocket, because of the way he shoots from underneath furniture at unbelievable speeds.
Kate understands that life isn’t an easy ride and she lives in perpetual awe of her fellow humans; getting out of bed each day and getting involved. On a general basis, if she sees the sun rising and swims lengths in a tide pool, then its not a bad day.
For occasional updates from the author about new work, writing tips and audio clips, subscribe via the button on Kate’s website at www.katetough.com
Review: As I’ve mentionedI love short stories especially in between longer reads. They really do help clear my mind and mix up my reading. It’s also a great way to read stories by authors and of genres you wouldn’t usually read.
Kissing Lying Down isn’t for the faint hearted and there are a number of care warnings. I really liked that the most traumatic read had an individual care warning at the beginning – giving you the choice whether to actually read. It’s not a subject I enjoy reading especially as a women but I can say that Kate has written every aspect well.
I liked how different each story was even down to the layout. The themes were similar yet they focussed on a number of different types of relationship – whether that’s casual, long-term or that of new or old. I liked the focus on the different types of dating with online, in person and of a variation of ages and types of people. It was good to see differing places not just focusing on one location.
A collection of short stories that I would have more or likely missed out on if it wasn’t for this blog tour. Enlightening, informative and at times uncomfortable but an impressive collection to showcase a writers potential in terms of writing style and variation.
Now January is normally the most gloomy month of all but in actual fact this year it’s seemed different. With work on the back burner at present our routines have been different. I don’t know about you but we’ve all had to make some adjustments to life as we know it. January was a mixed bag for me with a week I would rather forget but how was the reading.
My first read of the year was for a blog tour and it was by an author I hadn’t read before but I say this now it won’t be the last Helen Whitaker book I read.
My second of the year was a Netgalley read for my favourites at Simon & Schuster and it was my first Fanny Blake novel and another that won’t be my last.
It’s not often that I give up and don’t finish a read but I have done in January 😦 so I decided to pick this baby up and it was just the tonic I needed.
Up next was another Simon & Schuster treat I absolutely adored Claire’s debut so was itching for an early copy of her second book. My review will be up on publication day later this week.
I loved listening to Christina Lauren’s The Unhoneymooners so I was eager to read more. I enjoyed the audio of this so much that I stuck to audio from the library for this offering.
Back in December I read and loved a Jack Reacher short. I’m hoping to get fully stuck into the actual novels but I wanted a shorter read so I embraced this one.
I was chuffed to be a part of both cover reveals for C L Taylor’s The Island. I was honoured to be sent a finished copy I loved every second of this YA novel.
I was intrigued by The Burning Girls and was over the moon to be part of the blog tour. I read this book in a mere few days it was totally chilling and I’ve thought about it a lot since. I look forward to reading more from C J Tudor.
I really enjoyed Dash & Lily and following that I was intrigued to read more from Rachel Cohn & David Levithan.
I really loved this one too….my review will be up later in the week.
My final January book was actually a March read but I couldn’t resist this one.
I will be part of the blog tour so my review won’t be up for a bit. Flappy had me hooked from start to finish.
So that’s 11 books in January – I will be taking part in some buddy reading with Catriona during February. I’m hoping to get stuck into my audiobook that I had hoped to have already finished today if possible. February is my favourite month of the year as it’s full of such promise and is also my birth month. Let’s see what I can achieve this month.
Blurb: A young lieutenant colonel, in a stylish handmade uniform, roars through the damp woods of Georgia in her new silver Porsche – until she meets a very tall soldier with a broken-down car. What could connect a cold-blooded off-post shooting with Reacher, his elder brother Joe, and a secretive unit of pointy-heads from the Pentagon?
Review: This is the second Jack Reacher short I have read and another impressive read. Lee Child has a knack with ramping up so much adrenaline in such a short amount of pages. As I’m pretty sure I mentioned in my last review my late Grandad Sam was a massive Lee Child fan and I’ve inherited his gorgeous collection. I must admit once those ones end I will be kind of sad as I won’t be left wondering what he thought of each story following. He hasn’t read the shorts but I love a short story and I definitely think they add to the mystery in reading what Lee Child creates in such a short story.
I’ve read these shorts out of order but I don’t think it matters. In each I got an indication of the guy Jack Reacher is. In this novella we also meet Joe Reacher – this was intriguing as I’d never heard of his brother until this read so I wasn’t sure to start with if it was Joe or Jack until the action started to happen.
Reacher is methodical character and when the police say they had a suspect he smells a rat. Reacher knows exactly what he’s doing and how to get the best of each and everyone around him. I absolutely raced through this short thinking I really must organise my Reacher reading. I intend to get fully invested into the back catalogue as soon as I possibly can.
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