Kindle Audiobook, The Other Twin, Shalini Boland

I usually really enjoy Shalini Boland's books. I like her writing, they're easy to get into, and I know there is almost always a clever twist coming. The Other Twin delivers on that front too, and there is some rather satisfying karma at the end.

But this one wasn't my favourite.

The basic premise irritated me because I just didn't find the behaviour of the sisters particularly believable. One twin can't have children and asks her sister to be her surrogate. Her sister becomes pregnant with twins, but decides she wants to keep one of the babies herself.

And the response? Her twin is so furious that she can't have both babies that she cuts her sister out of her life completely. They make sure she is financially provided for, but otherwise sever ties.

I struggled with that. I can absolutely understand the hurt, anger and sense of betrayal, but permanently cutting off your twin sister, and therefore one of the twin babies, felt extreme and rather too convenient for the plot.

Then the sister moves to the same general area, yet somehow their lives barely cross until the girls are older. Again, I found myself thinking, Really?

Perhaps that was ultimately my problem with this book. I could see the machinery required to make the plot work rather than simply believing in the story.

The main character also grated on me, although, to be fair, there aren't exactly many people here competing for Human Being of the Year. They're a fairly despicable bunch. 

Not one of my favourite Shalini Boland books.

3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

Libby Audiobook: The Way Home, Irene Hannah

 

Very sweet story.

A dynamic journalist and lawyers paths cross. Initially they don't like each other, they then fall in love. Sweet. 

Don't have to think too hard with this one.

4/5

Kindle: The God of the Woods, Liz Moore

 

I honestly don't understand the hype around this one.

Personally, I found The God of the Woods an absolute slog to read. In fact, I think it might contain almost every ingredient of my worst-nightmare book.

There are so many characters. Usually, even with a large cast, I eventually get to grips with who's who. Not this time. I spent far too much of the book trying to remember names and work out how everyone fitted together.

Then there are the multiple timelines, constantly jumping backwards and forwards. Add to that the fact that it's written in the present tense, which I know is very much a personal preference, but I really don't enjoy it.

And then... the em dashes. SO. MANY. EM DASHES. There were so many that I actually stopped reading at one point and asked Google whether the book had been written by AI. 😂 Apparently not. The author is an English professor, so I decided to persevere.

So, persevere I did, largely because all the glowing reviews had me convinced there must surely be a massive, delicious twist waiting for me that would make the whole slog worthwhile.

There is a twist. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, I was so over the book and so disconnected from the characters that I honestly couldn't bring myself to care.

Clearly I am in the minority given how highly rated this book is, but it just wasn't for me.

A generous 2/5 ⭐⭐. Sorry!

Libby Audiobook: Son of Hamas, Mosab Hassan Yousef

I wanted to learn more about Palestine and Hamas. Very interesting book and man. There is still a lot I need to learn. What I find interesting is that his father started Hamas, he the author, became a spy for Israel, and convertered to Christianity.

3.8/5
 

Libby Audiobook: The Prophet and the Idiot, Jonas Jonasson

Started off strong but then lost momentum and I got really bored.

3/5
 

Kindle: The Reluctant Detective Goes South, Adrian Spalding

 

Good light hearted, dry British humour. 4/5