Kindle Audiobook: The Honeymoon, Shalini Boland

So so good! Stella, from a working class family, falls in love and marries very wealthy, Austin. They head off to Venice, Italy for their Honeymoon. Until Austin disappears.

Only irritating thing is the present tense writing, but it didn't irritate me as much as other books. Maybe present tense is less annoying when it is an audiobook?

Massive twist I didn't see coming at all.

4/5

Kindle Unlimited: One of Us is Lying, Shalini Boland

After all the pretty bleh books I've recently read, this has been a pleasant surprise. I couldn't wait to read more. Easy to follow the three characters of Fiona, Kelly and Tia who grew up together. Fiona runs her own design business, and is married to an utter idiot, Nathan. She unexpectedly gets a tax audit.  Kelly lost her husband, does a ton of volunteer work and a random woman rocks up at her house and Kelly takes her in. And Tia, who I get a sense is a little bit common, married to Ed and has two children, receives explicit photos of herself in a compromising position. 

All ties wonderfully together.

The cover doesn't represent the story.

The only reason I am not rating it higher is because it is written in present tense. Annoying.

4/5

Kindle Audiobook: The Echo of OldBooks, Barbara Davis

A sweet novel. Ashlyn owns a book shop, two books in the format of a diary/letter between two lovers, Belle and Hemi crosses her path.

She can pick up on vibrations of books and is intrigued by these two.

Sweet.

3/5

Kindle: 1984, George Orwell

Very heavy. 

Another classic ticked off.

We meet Winston and Julia. And, Big Brother.

Thought this was funny how Winston introduced himself to Julia:

Written in 1949, way ahead of its time, quite stressful at times. Level of uneasiness throughout. Everything, past and present is controlled and history/news is changed to reflect the views of Big Brother.

3/5

Kindle Unlimited: The Kindness Method, Shahroo Izadi

 

I like the name, it is a good reminder to be kind to ourselves, you are more likely to break a bad habit if you are kind to yourself. The author focusses on mind maps, for everything! Just as I thought we were finished with them, there was another one. But the examples are good, and stories shared fairly interesting. 

I particularly liked:

In order to drive a hundred miles in the dark, you only need to see one metre in front of you at a time. All the while you're getting closer to your ultimate destination.

Speak to yourself as you would to a good friend; you speak to them with love and kindness, why not to yourself too?

3/5

Kindle Audiobook: The Running Girls, Matt Brolly

First book that I've read by this author. Arg, it was OK. Didn't blow my hair back. A guy goes to jail for murdering his wife. The victim is left in a 'running position'. When he comes out of prison, a young 18 year old girl is murdered in the same way. Is it him? Isn't it him? I personally think there are more exciting mystery crime thrillers. 

3/5

Libby Audiobook: The Marriage Act, John Marrs

I have been a raving fan of John Marrs, since reading The One. I think that I have read most of his books now. 

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book of his as much as his other books :/ 

What's quite weird is that I am currently also reading 1984, and there were definite 'Big Brother is watching you,' vibes with this book. The synchronicity is intriguing. 

The positive: He is so good at ending each chapter on a cliffhanger. 

The story is set in the future, what is quite cool is that there are some minor references made to The One, and DNA matching is still used. People are now encouraged by government to get married; homes are fitted with gadgets to monitor conversations and if issues are picked up, counsellors are deployed. 

There are five central characters, but unlike The One, where there were also quite a few characters that I could keep track of, I got confused between Roxy and Corinne's characters. It all felt a bit messy. It feels like he was under pressure to bring out another book and rushed it. 

Not my favourite book, but still love his work. 

3/5