Review: True to Me by Kay Bratt

Hi guys, welcome! Today I am going to review True to Me by Kay Bratt. Sorry for being absent from blogosphere for so long. I last posted Friday last week but it was actually prescheduled so in reality I have been absent from blogsphere since Wednesday, I haven’t read any new blog posts since nor have I replied to any comments, I am really sorry for that. Actually I went out of town for few days and then I had my cousin’s wedding so it had been really hectic 10 days. But I wouldn’t talk about all this any longer, I don’t want to bore you, so without much further ado lets get started with the review.

True to Me by Kay Bratt

Published on: December 10th 2019

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Genres: General Fiction(Adult), Women’s Fiction

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Goodreads|Amazon

Synopsis

From the bestselling author of Wish Me Home comes a breathtaking novel about the secrets that families keep and one woman’s illuminating search for the truth.

Quinn Maguire has a stable life, a fiancé, and what she thinks is a clear vision for her future. All of that comes undone by her mother’s deathbed confession—the absentee father Quinn spent thirty years resenting is not her real father at all. With that one revealing whisper, Quinn embarks on a journey to Maui, her mother’s childhood home, a storied paradise that holds the truth about her mother’s past and all its secrets Quinn is determined to uncover.

But settling on the island has its complications, and with the fiancé she left behind questioning every choice she makes, Quinn’s quest for her truth is even more difficult than she expected. As time passes and she digs deeper into her family history and her own identity, one thing becomes clear: Maui is as beautiful as she’d always imagined, and its magic is helping uncover the woman that Quinn was always meant to be.

Review

“I received a free copy of True to Me from the Publisher through Netgalley”

WHAT DID I LIKE ABOUT TRUE TO ME?

True to Me is a story of self discovery, it is the story of finding your roots and realising where you belong, what you want and what you don’t want. This was a very heart warming and beautiful story.

The first thing that stood out for me in this book was the main charcter Quinn. She was very relatable. Quinn could be my sister, my friend, anyone actually, it could even be me. Quinn was a very well written character and so very relatable. There were plenty other characters that I loved like Kapuna, Maria and Maggie. There was also Aunty Wang and little Alani, I loved them too.

True to Me is set in picturesque location of Maui, Hawaii. The different locations of Maui was beautifully described, not just the beach and the ocean but other sight seeing location were also described. I won’t say that they were described in a lot of details but it was described well enough that I was filled with longing to go there.

Kay Bratt incorporated some things of Hawaiin and also a little chinese culture into this novel. I really enjoyed knowing about these two different cultures.

I think the most mind blowing part of the book was the mystery surrounding Quinn’s father. The way it unfolded in the end, oh my God!!! that was one big twist. I never expected the mystery of Quinn’s father to turn out like that. The last 30% of the book was where this mystery unfolded and I feel that this was the best part of the book.

WHAT DID I NOT LIKE ABOUT TRUE TO ME?

I have mixed feelings about one of the main side characters Liam, though he was very sweet and caring, I felt that he was just too perfect for my liking. He just didn’t have any flaws. I like characters with some flaws, little flaws would have made him more human like. He was made a epitome of perfect man. I can’t relate to these characters.

The second half of first 50% of the book got very slow, I got really frustrated in this part and I won’t lie I once even thought of DNFing. Only predictable things were happening in this part and also I was getting really irritated by Liam, he got really annoying. Thankfully the pace picked up and Liam got less annoying and after that I really enjoyed the rest of the book. So this was my second problem with the book.

Another problem I had with this book was with Ethan, he was shown only in bad light without any redeeming characteristics. Unlike Liam, Ethan was shown as an epitome of asshole. I was so impressed by Quinn, Maria, Kapuna, Maggie and other characters, I just wish that Ethan and Liam also turned this good, they felt a bit too flat for me.

FINAL OPINION

I had some issues with True to me but it was also a great read, it was heartwarming and it also had a awesome twist at the end. So I think True to me is a book I would definitely recommend. I wouldn’t say that True to Me surpassed my expectations but it definitely met them.

WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK?

YES, I would recommend True to Me.

Connect Five Friday: 5 Classics I want to read in the first half of this year

Hi guys, Welcome! For my 2nd Connect Five Friday post I have decided to talk to you about the 5 classics that I want to read in the first half of this year.

Connect Five Friday is a new feature/link up started by Book Date. For this feature you will have to make a list of five books or things connected to books. There is no set topic, so you can make a list of any bookish related topics.

In 2020 I have decided to read one classic every month, so that means hopefully I will have read 12 classics by end of this year. By that calculation I am supposed to read 6 books in the first half, but as I have already started reading the classic for this month (Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery) so I am excluding it from the list. The list below contains the 5 classics that I have yet to read.

Now without much further ado lets get started.

The Tenant of the Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

This one is considered as one of the first feminist novels. It was written in 1848. A feminist tale of 19th century, sounds very intriguing, really excited to read it.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

This will be a reread actually. I had read it the first time a long time ago, some 10-12 years back but before watching the new Little Women movie, I want to read it again. Last time I really enjoyed this book, hopefully I will enjoy it this time too.

The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas

This book has been sitting on my self for a really long time, I really don’t know why I haven’t read it yet even though I find the revenge plot very intriguing. But anyway, I hope to change that soon. Can’t wait to read this one.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

This book has been recommended by my father and also by my favourite classic’s booktuber, so I am really excited to read this one.

Twelve years a Slave by Solomon Northup

I have watched the movie for this one, but well, I always feel that movies are not enough, I require more details, so I really need to read the book. I just hope that I love the book as much as I loved the movie.

Have you read the classics mentioned above or are any of these on your TBR pile?

Top 5 books I need to read in 2020 #Top 5 Tuesday

Image from OGQ

Hi guys, Welcome!

Today I am going to talk about the 5 books that I just can’t wait to read this year. I have a lot of books on my shelf, but these are the 5 books which when I see them I am filled with longing to pick them up and start reading NOW. So without much further ado, lets get started with the list.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

This is about a fictional Geisha working in Japan during world war 2. From the Goodreads synopsis this one sounds like it would be a heart breaking and hard hitting read about a really important topic, so definitely can’t wait to read it.

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

I enjoyed the movie very much, but I always feel that movies are not enough, I require more details. So I really need to read the book. Hopefully I will enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed the movie.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I was really intrigued by the synopsis and also the book was recommended by one of my fav booktubers. So definitely can’t wait to read this one too.

Before I go to Sleep by S.J Watson

This is about a woman who has a kind of amnesia which wipes her memories clean each time she wakes up from a sleep. Definitely very intriguing. Can’t wait to read this one.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

From the synopsis it sounded like a fun read. Definitely excited to read this one too.

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme/feature hosted by Bionic Book Worm. For this feature you have to make a list of 5 in response to the given topics.

Connect Five Friday: 5 Books recommended by my favourite booktubers

Image from PicsArt

Hi guys, welcome!

Connect Five Friday is a new feature/link up started by Book Date. For this feature you will have to make a list of five books or things connected to books. There is no set topic, so you can make a list of any bookish related topics.

For my first Connect Five Friday Link up, I have decided to share a list of 5 books that were recommended by my favourite booktubers. On YouTube I follow a lot of booktubers but there are 4 (Hailey in Bookland, lucythereader, PeruseProject, jessethereader) who are my favourite. I like the way they talk, the posts they make and the type of books they read matches with what I prefer, so they are my fav. All the books on this list has been recommended by more than one of these booktubers.

Now without much further ado, lets get to the list.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Lets talk about the king. This book has been recommended by 3 of these 4 booktubers. Just can’t wait to read this one.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This book has been recommended by jessethereader and Hailey in Bookland. And this book has been described as life changing. So definitely can’t wait to read this one too.

List of Cages by Robin Roe

This book has been recommended by again jessethereader and Hailey in Bookland. This book has been described as heartbreaking and hard hitting.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery

This book has been recommended by lucythereader and Hailey in Bookland.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

This book has been recommended by Hailey in Bookland and Peruse Project. This book has been described as being very beautiful.

Have you read any of these books? Did you like them? Do you follow any of the booktubers mentioned above?

Review: Pet Sematary by Stephen King

image from PicsArt

Hi guys, welcome! Today I am going to review Pet Sematary by Stephen King.

Pet Sematary By Stephen King

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Published on: 14/11/1983

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Synopsis

The house looks right, feels right to Dr Louis Creed. Rambling, old and comfortable. A place where the family can settle; the children grow and play and explore. The rolling hills and meadows of Maine seem a world away from the fume-choked dangers of the city.
It’s only those big trucks on the road outside which growl out unnerving threats.
Behind the house there’s a carefully cleared path up into the woods to a place where generations of local children have walked in procession with the solemn innocence of the young, taking with them their dear departed pets for burial.
A sad place maybe, but safe. Surely a safe place. Not a place to seep into your dreams, to wake you, sweating with fear and foreboding.

Review

I can actually describe what I felt about this book in one line: I just loved it. Now lets get into the review.

I had wanted to read a Stephen King book for ages. First I thought I will read IT because I have heard great things about the movie IT from my friends who have seen it. But then I discovered that IT was more than 1000 pages long, Oh my god that is way too much for me. So I started looking for other Stephen King books which were not that long and then I stumbled up on this one. I actually rejected this book first because after reading the blurb I thought I already know what was going to happen in the book, but I decided to read it anyway.

The story of the Pet Sematary turned to be totally different from what I had expected from the synopsis given above. Seriously before reading the book I never could have expected the story to turn out the way it did.

Pet Sematary has a sense of suspense all throughout, and that suspense only breaks to give you spine chilling moments. There are enough of these moments throughout the book to keep that sense of suspense alive. Even when the book gets slow, when nothing is happening, I still felt that suspense. And this suspense kept me at the edge of my seat throughout.

Pet Sematary is divided into 3 parts. There were numerous chilling moments all through the novel, but the last part was the most chilling part of the book. In those short no. of pages, Stephen King has shocked me and scared me so many times, I am sure going to get nightmares for days. But I guess I am going to get nightmares about the whole book really because there were just so many terrifying moments. The way Stephen King had described these moments, they have made a lasting impression and I don’t think I am going to get rid of them anytime soon.

Now lets talk about that 0.5 that I deducted. I just had one unanswered question. This question is about an event that happens near the end. This event has no real explanation and I think Stephen King wanted it that way but still I would have liked an explanation, so I am going to go ahead and deduct that 0.5 for this. Mentioning this event can be called a spoiler so I am not going to tell you about it here but I really want to know your interpretation for it, if you are someone who has read this book. So I am going to mention that event under Unanswered Question below, please do tell me what is your interpretation for this event.

Do I recommend this book?

Definitely.

*spoiler* Unanswered Question *spoiler*

Why did Louis Creed’s hair turn white and his face turned into that of an old man at the end of the book?

Have you read Pet Sematary? Did you like it?

Disappointing Reads of 2019

Hi guys, Welcome!

In this post I am going to talk about the books that I read in 2019 which disappointed me. These are the books that I had expected to love but I ended up hating. There were only two books that truly, really disappointed me. It makes me very sad talking about them in this list, because I really really expected I would love them. Anyway without much further ado, lets get started.

Clicking on the book images will take you to their Goodreads’ page.

The first book that disappointed me was Die Again by Tess Gerritsen. I loved Rizzoli & Isles TV series and ever since I watched that series I wanted to read a Rizzoli & Isles series’ book. Then I finally bought this book last year, and as soon as it was delivered I started reading it. This is how I excited I was to read it. But this book just disappointed me. Firstly it was unputdownable, it was a heart pumping thrilling read that kept me at the edge of my seat throughout. But the problem was the MO of the serial killer and how the luck played a way too important role in one of the main plot lines. *spoilers ahead* The killer switched between gutting people and killing people with one gunshot and walking away. I am a person who loves crime thrillers, till now I have seen a lot of crime TV series, web series and also have read a lot of crime thriller books. But I have never seen or read about a killer who guts people to also use a gun to kill a person and then just walk away without gutting them, keeping the body exactly intact. That’s not all, the main victim in this novel survived because the killer just happened to kill her with a gunshot (she was only wounded, so she survived) and not gut her. This seems like sheer dumb luck. In all the crime series, I have always seen that killers are faithful to their MO, especially people who like to gut or eviscerate other people. And even if they change their MO, they do it completely not go back and forth.

I was really disappointed with this book but I ended up giving it 3 stars because I can’t deny that it was written very well with good characters and a lot of twists and turns. It was a book that had the potential to become a perfect read.

The second book is The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. This was the only book that I DNFed in 2019. The concept was really great. But I didn’t like the characters, the only character I actually liked was Susie’s (the protagonist) father’s character. Susie’s mother was also okay. But the other characters, I hated them. Another thing was I went into this book expecting that this would be a murder mystery but it strayed way to much away from that plot to talk about other things, things that I felt were irrelevant to the main plot. This second point bothered me a lot, but the main problem were the characters. So I ended up DNFing this book. I may go back to this book in future and give it another chance, but it is highly unlikely though.

Have you read any of these books? If yes, did you like them or did you feel the way I did?

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Books I read in 2019

image from PicsArt

Hi guys welcome to my first Top Ten Tuesday post. In this post I am going to talk about my favourite books from the books I read this year. So without much further ado lets get started. This list is in no particular order, which means that the last book that I mention is not my top fav or the first book I mention is not my top fav, like that.

Clicking on the book images below will take you to their Goodreads Page.

First book I am going to talk is Home by Harlan Coben. This was the first book I read by Harlan Coben and it is definitely not going to be my last. This book is about two boys who were kidnapped ten years ago and then suddenly one of them is found. But where is the other kid? and where was this boy all these years? Going into it I wasn’t expecting much, though it had a high rating on Goodreads but this was not some book I saw recommended by any of my favourite bloggers/vloggers. But when I started reading it I realised that I was a fool to expect not much from it. This book had a lot of twists and turns and it kept me at the edge of my seat throughout. You think you have the plot figured out, well you are wrong.

Next book is The Street Lawyer by John Grisham. This was another book I absolutely loved. This book is about a lawyer who figured out that his firm was up to some shady business. I had read only one book by John Grisham and had loved it so I had kind of high expectation from this book but needless to say it surpassed my expectations. It was a great read.

Next book is Behind Blue Eyes by C.S Duffy. This was another great read. This book is about a girl from London who has gone to Stokholm to live with her boyfriend. There she discovers a skeleton. She then flungs into the murder investigation where she connects various other deaths with this skeleton. Behind Blue Eyes was a thrilling mystery that just kept me guessing till the end. It is not a very popular novel but it is a must read in my opinion if you are someone who loves mystery.

Next is Seraphina Does Everything by Melissa Gratias. This is an illustrated children’s book. It is about a girl who does not want to miss out on anything. Seraphina Does Everything is a book that I felt that everyone should read irrespective of their age because it has a very important message that everyone needs to learn.

The next is The Gift of the Magi by O.Henry. No, it was not a reread and I know I am the only one. Yes I read this book first time this year and I absolutely loved it. I know everyone loves it, but still I have to mention that I too absolutely loved it. It was such a beautiful heartwarming story of love and sacrifice.

The next book is The Warrior Maiden by Melanie Dickerson. It is a Mulan retelling. I just loved this book. I loved this book so much because of the protagonist mainly. I loved the main character, her bravery, her courage. She is a woman who bet the odds. Her character was really well written, and was very relatable. I liked the male character too.

The last book I want to talk about is The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins. This is another book that I absolutely loved. This book just kept me at the edge of the street from the very first page to last with its numerous twists and turns. This book has become one of my favourite mysteries of all time.

Honourable Mention

This is a book that I think should have made my favourite’s list had I finished it on time. It is Pet Sematary by Stephen King. I am currently reading this and am absolutely loving it, I don’t know whether it would blunder in the end, but up till now I am really enjoying it.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.