REVIEW: 'The Book of Tomorrow' by Cecilia Ahern

I’ve never read ‘P.S. I Love You’ because my body seems to automatically reject romance novels/films if they claim to make girls cry from the start. That said, I still took out one of author Cecilia Ahern’s other books, ‘The Book of Tomorrow’, from the library anyway. Partly I was drawn in by the pretty book cover even though it screams ‘chick lit’, but the premise itself sounded like one I could really get into- discovering a book which has the power to read like a diary of the future? Sign me up!

==---Plot---==

Sixteen year old Tamara Goodwin has it all: a big mansion, friends to have a laugh with and all the expensive goods she could need. That is until her father commits suicide and the house is to be repossessed, therefore Tamara and her mother must move away from Dublin to stay with her Aunt Rosaleen and Uncle Arthur until they recover.

Being far away from her affluent lifestyle and surrounded by a grieving mother and overbearing relatives, Tamara becomes pretty frustrated with a lack of things to do. Fortunately she finds solace in a travelling library run by the kindly Marcus, where she discovers a leather bound tome sealed with a padlock. With help from friendly nun Sister Ignatius, Tamara gets the book open and learns it is a diary which somehow manages to write down what happens tomorrow...when reading it the day before. But Tamara’s attempts to change the future, as well as find out the secrets her aunt and uncle seem to be hiding from her, might not always led to the outcome she wants...

==---Opinion---==

This was another book I finished in a single night- I seriously couldn’t put it down!

Ahern writes everything really vividly, whether it’d be Tamara’s emotional ups and downs or the beautiful surroundings of the Irish countryside where she’s now living. I really wanted to help Tamara find out why her aunt and uncle are being so secretive, keeping a close eye on her, and seemingly discouraging her mother’s recovery. It becomes really tense when the situation seems to be connected with her family’s history. It’s a mystery I was keen to get to the bottom of and so I was hooked right up to the book’s conclusion! The twists that came here did indeed catch me by surprise, and then followed up with a deeper explanation so that the reader- and Tamara- can emotionally get their heads around what’s just happened. The concept of the ‘Book of Tomorrow’ is very interesting and well-incorporated into the story to help Tamara get through her own grief and reveal the secrets hidden by her family.

I loved our lead character Tamara Goodwin. She’s spoilt, selfish and very much the epitome of a teenage brat, especially when she rambles on about her friends or pop cultural knowledge. Despite this her narrative self (who comes off as older and wiser) acknowledges how flawed she is, and she’s still a witty enough storyteller to win me over. She cares deeply for her mother’s wellbeing and befriends the elderly Sister Ignatius despite the age gap and cultural differences. Eventually, you do begin to sympathize with her as she is clearly frustrated with her father’s suicide, her mother’s utter grief over the death and the whole change in scenery that has resulted from it. The supporting characters are also great with their own personality quirks, such as Rosaleen’s secrecy and nosy nature and Marcus, the kindly but witty travelling library driver whom takes to Tamara. I really connected with all of them, especially when motives and secrets are revealed at the end.

Perhaps the only the weak link I found with ‘The Book of Tomorrow’ was the romance between Tamara and her new friend Weseley. Their friendship is built up fairly well as he becomes crucial to helping Tamara find out what Aunt Rosaleen is hiding from her, and occasionally they do make passes at each other. However I found it hard to believe that by the end of the book they were romantically inclined enough to begin kissing and dating, especially as Tamara was definitely falling for Marcus before a certain incident.

==---Overall---==

I absolutely loved ‘The Book of Tomorrow’: an engrossing story, in-depth characters and Ahern’s witty narrative really brought everything to life. If this is my thoughts to a book of hers that is supposedly not her best then I can’t wait until I come across ‘P.S. I Love You’ now! Definitely check this book out if you’re a fan of chick lit with a lot of depth or would like a touch of magic to your contemporary fiction fix!

I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Review of library copy only.

Image from Goodreads.

REVIEW: 'The Last Caesar' by Henry Venmore-Rowland

 

‘The Last Caesar’ is a historical fiction novel by debuting author Henry Venmore-Rowland, published this year. Being a classics student who loves Ancient Rome I’ve read my fair share of historical fiction set across the period. This particular novel takes place in a short but overlooked time in Imperial Roman history, later to be known as ‘The Year of the Four Emperors’, so of course I snapped it up!

==---Plot---==

Our protagonist is Aulus Caecina Severus, a former Roman hero in Britannia but now a seemingly disgraced old man, writing his memoirs that look back on this period of huge political upheaval.

It’s 68 AD. Emperor Nero has no heir to succeed him, leaving the future of the Empire open to the influential and ambitious. Serving in Spain as governor, Severus is summoned to join in a rebellion against Nero led by the ageing Senator Galba. Set on a mission of treachery and danger by checking a Gallic army who are part of the resistance, Severus must overcome many obstacles to paving the way for his patron’s claim to rule. But as the situation grows more complex, Severus’s skills and loyalty are tested to the limit. Are his actions in the interests of Rome, or himself?

==---Opinion---==

‘The Year of the Four Emperors’ was, as you can imagine, a treacherous and bloody period as ever within Roman history with figures trying to put themselves on the throne with the support of their armies. Venmore-Rowland conveys the political struggle well within his novel, as we see people of Severus’s standing being unsatisfied with the infamous Nero and fearing for their lives, so they are more than happy to support the wealthy, influential Galba as a potential successor. However Severus’s task is never easy and he is faced with his own fair share of enemies and backstabbing throughout the novel, which do catch you by surprise. The memoir writing style is a bit awkward at first but I got used to it and the moments of hindsight or wishful thinking do give the narrative an edge.

My main problem with the book however is that most of the key historical moments historically take place beyond Severus’s perspective; we only hear of Nero’s suicide or Galba’s movements towards Rome because Severus is based on Spain and then Gaul, which is outside the main political action. Although Severus’s course of events are somewhat crucial to the main gist of the rebellion he is still outside of what’s happening in the centre of it all and I felt like I was missing out on what really went on if the main character was someone who’d been much closer to Galba during his journey.

Severus himself is a flawed, but still balanced and likeable, protagonist. At the start of the novel he is a veteran of the Boudicca campaign but is, as his older self remarks, a bit naive with regards to politics.  He helps Galba through the promise of glory and popularity for his family, especially as Galba gives him a crucial role and later in the novel he gets and elevation as commander of a legion. Yet it’s clear he is more self-interested than his defence for his actions being “for the good of Rome” imply. He does become more disillusioned by the end due to events that I can’t spoil here, so he is well-developed. Some of the choices made at the end of the novel don’t make him sympathetic to me, but he’s still understandable.

The supporting characters are mostly made up of real life figures of the time, although personally I found the fictional ones (such as the Gallic warriors Severus befriends) the most interesting as our lead character really bonds with them. Most are developed well, although some are little more than cameos to remind historical buffs that ‘Hey! You know this guy? Well, Severus knew him too!’ Examples of this are the notable Roman commander Agricola, a friend of Severus who is solely introduced to help him on his way in Gaul, and even Galba himself disappears into a third of the way into the book. However, given that the scope of this book only covers the rule of the first of the Four Emperors (and mentions the second and third) I guess we will see them again in the sequel(s)...?

==---Overall---==

‘The Last Caesar’ is definitely a recommended read for lovers of Ancient Rome. It keeps to the facts and whilst there is the occasional info-dump I still found them interesting to read rather than being skippable. I just wish it had a larger scope of the events going on, and across the whole year rather than a fraction of it. It seems as if the publishers are relying on a sequel to this book despite my expectations. Given this book is 312 pages long I felt some more time could’ve been covered, but that’s just me, I guess.

4.0 Stars out of 5.

Review of library copy only.

Image from Goodreads.

Book Haul #1 (cont.)!

On Tuesday I followed up my library book haul from last week with a trip to The Works. For those outside the UK, The Works is a budget bookshop usually well known for its good deals on bundles or series of books. For example, you can buy the whole 'Hunger Games' trilogy for £7.99 delivered whereas buying the boxset off Amazon actually costs more, so there maybe some gems you can find cheaper here rather than online! I took advantage of their '4 for £5' deal for paperbacks, plus they had 10% discount!

In addition, over the weekend I bought a hardback book off The Book People when it had a discount and free delivery on offer. As a result, I got a book for £2 when it had an RRP of £17.99.

So here are my actual book purchases of the week!

(BTW, that is the same bed cover as the last picture, only turned over. ;))

Going from top right clockwise, we have:

'A Kingdom Besieged' by Raymond E. Feist - mainly picked this up because it's the start of a typical epic fantasy, plus the blurb has hints of a group of underdogs in the final battle. The cover says this is an 'international bestseller' and the author seems to be a purveyor of fantasy fiction, so it should be a good read (though surely a price of £1.99 new implies otherwise?).

'Insurrection' by Robyn Young - This is the book I picked up for £2 off The Book People. I read the first of Young's 'Brethern' trilogy a few years and it was good, but I wasn't that invested to catch up with the rest of the books in the series. 'Insurrection' is the start of a new trilogy by Young focusing on the life of Robert the Bruce, and as a lover of Medieval England-based historical fiction how couldn't I snap this one up?

'Haunted' by Kelley Armstrong - Honestly I was in half a mind whether to pick this one up but did it in the end for the sake of the offer. It's a typical looking fantasy YA novel and another start of the series. The blurb's description of the main character intrigued me though- a half-demon witch who is already dead is called to hunt another evil spirit. It's been a while since I've read proper Young Adult stuff (despite being like, 20) so I'm in two minds whether I'll enjoy this.

'The Forgotten Legion' by Ben Kane - You know, this book has been creeping on my 'Ancient Historical Fiction Radar' since its release! I even got it from the library then didn't even bother reading it. It's quite low on my 'to read' pile for the moment as I'm about to start 'The Last Caesar', and after spending my late reading years reading a glut of historical fiction based in either Ancient Greece or Rome (considered as preparation for my Classics degree at the time, lol) I don't like to oversaturate myself. Still, this is another well-regarded bestseller so I have high expectations for this book as well.

'The Babylon Rite' by Tom Knox - Finally, it's an 'archaeologists-dig-up-artifacts-of-evil' read! This one does perk my interest through three strands of storytelling in past and present. Whether it will eschew the usual thriller mystery tropes, though, I cannot say.

I plan to take these back to university with me as well as review them all at some point. Speaking of which, reviews are going to be coming out more slowly from mid-September as univeristy life will get in the way. Oh well, maybe I can recommend you some bargains before the Christmas rush!

Til next time, this is Antonia signing off! :D

Book Haul #1!

If you've read my last 'Progress...' post, you'll have noticed that I had one book on my 'to-read' pile for this month. Well last week my trip to the library corrected that, as did my trip to the works yesterday.

Let's start with the library haul first.

Going clockwise from the top, we have:

'A Wild Sheep Chase' by Haruki Murakami - this will be probably be my last Murakami book this year, I promise! I only picked it up because it's a short read and apparently its a prequel of sorts to 'Dance Dance Dance' which I really enjoyed.

'The Book of Tomorrow' by Cecelia Ahern - a book picked up after reading a review of it...somewhere, I really can't remember where! If I'd actually noted the book down on goodreads I'd remember where I'd heard of it before I saw it on the library shelves. I know Ahern is the author of the bestseller 'P.S. I Love You' but I've never read that since I've never really been into sentimental romance books. This book however seems to be part chick-lit, part magical realism: A young woman born into wealth and privelige finds herself lost after her family has to move away from Dublin to the countryside due to debt. However, when she comes across a travelling library she discovers a leather-bound tome with a golden padlock called 'The Book of Tomorrrow'. With a premise like that, who wouldn't want to know what's inside?

'The Angel's Game' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon...yes, you can tell this post is rather overdue given that I've read and reviewed this book last time!

'The Last Caesar' by Henry Venmore Roland. Picked this up after a glowing recommendation from the book blog 'Medieval Bookworm' (read the review here.) It's another novel set during the Roman Empire but focuses on a period known as the Year of the Four Emperors- a time where four guys squabbled and fought to become Caesar after Nero's death. As a classicist, I've never studied this period in much detail (more like I studied up to it), so it should prove an interesting read.

Will update on the book purchases soon!

REVIEW: 'The Angel's Game' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

About five years ago I read the novel ‘Shadow of the Wind’ by Spanish novelist Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Whilst I can’t remember everything about it off the top of my head, I do remember it being a brilliant story with great characters, a plot with twists that caught me off guard and a suspenseful narrative. In 2009, Zafon followed that book up with a prequel, ‘The Angel’s Game’. Since I enjoyed Zafon’s first novel I thought about buying ‘The Angel’s Game’ upon release, but after seeing some mixed reviews I decided to loan it from the library instead. In retrospect, this turned out to be the better approach.

==---Plot---==

David Martin is a struggling author living in an abandoned, mysterious mansion house in 1920s Barcelona. David writes stories for newspapers under the pseudonym Ignatius B. Sampson but dreams of publishing his own novel- if he can get the time and money first. Furthermore, the mystery of his rather gloomy abode and a doomed romance with Cristina Sagnier, the secretary of David’s best friend and mentor Pedro Vidal, bring him very close to breaking point.

However, David then receives mysterious letters from a French publisher, Andreas Corelli. When the two finally meet in person Corelli, in exchange for a huge amount of money and promises of whatever David wishes, wants him to write him a book- one about the creation of a new religion. Yet as David gets himself deeper into his task, he soon discovers that there is connection with Corelli’s request and the secrets of his home’s former inhabitants. Can David discover the mystery and protect his friends before he gets embroiled in the same fate?

==---Opinion---==

As with ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ I was hooked onto ‘The Angel’s Game’ from the first page. Initially the story is very well-paced and Zafon’s narrative (or the translator’s skill) really hooks you in with both emotional and creepy moments.  It is both a thriller and mystery novel as David tries to get to grips with the past owners of his mansion and how they relate to the project he has offered to do now. He presents post-WWI Barcelona, in David’s own stories as well as his own first-person narrative as a beautiful, elegant city with a seedy underbelly.

David Martin is an excellent protagonist. He is very well developed with a troubled childhood – a mother who left him and a father who was at odds with his love for literature- and so many up-and-down moments in both his love life and writing career. There are moments where you really sympathize with him as he spirals further into despair, so then you want to him to ‘get the girl’. The supporting characters are also vividly portrayed. Perhaps my favourites were the bookshop owner Senor Sempere- a character who acts as a father figure to Martin, and the feisty aspiring writer Cristina, who joins a rather reluctant David for inspiration at his house.

Unfortunately, while the first two acts are well-written enough to keep me reading for hours, I was very disappointed with the third and final part of the story for a couple of reasons. First of all, from about the halfway point several characters Martin die for reasons related to his project and his investigation into the demise of the former owners. The first couple of deaths were moments that really catch you off guard in the novel, but by the climax so many supporting characters have perished and their deaths just felt dull, leaving little impact. Some characters are only introduced to us in person once to solely give Martin their bits of exposition to the mystery- and then kick the bucket!

Furthermore, during the climax David’s investigation became very confusing. As I’ve said, Zafon sometimes had Martin search for people with no preamble as to who it was until they answered/he broke down the door. With plot twists and deaths in almost every other chapter, I found myself getting confused as to whom David was chasing, why so-and-so was following him, and who was real and who was actually someone else, etc. Generally, this section felt anti-climatic as the final showdown finishes quickly and, to me, didn’t seem relevant or tie up some of the loose ends at that point.

Nevertheless, the ending itself managed to cover some of the patches and, although I still felt a little confused as to the course of the past few chapters, it was very bittersweet as we find Martin has a price to pay.

==---Overall---==

‘The Angel’s Game’ is a good novel, but definitely not as strong as its predecessor. That said, it has more good points than bad points and I’d still recommend it if you’ve read ‘Shadow of the Wind’ first (though if you haven’t read that first even though this is a prequel; it’s excellent!). Just don’t expect to be completely blown away by this offering. Hopefully Zafon’s third novel in the ‘Cemetery of Forgotten Books series’ will be an improvement and I look forward to buying it...well, looking for an actual hard copy in the library. :(

3.5 out of 5.

 Review of a library copy only. It may also be found on 'ciao!' and Dooyoo.

Image from Goodreads.