Fragments Of Life

It's no secret that 2015 has been a bit of a mixed-bag of a reading year for me. I've suffered through some reading slumps, that's for sure, and it's also safe to say that a few of the books I was really looking forward to reading this year didn't quite work out for me. Still, it wasn't all bad. I did read some really great books - just not as many as previous years! I've decided to split my favourite reads into two categories this year: Adult and Young Adult - and since I don't have a whole lot of favourites from this year (ONE five-star read, guys!) I'll be doing a Top Three in each category. I've also followed Arianne's lead and included a few bonus picks. Enjoy! ----- Favourite Adult Fiction (In order of preference) This was a very-late-in-the-year read for me, and I'm so glad I managed to fit it in as it turned out to be the only book I rated five-stars this year. I don't award five-stars unless I really, really love a book, and ...

Queen of Shadows is lavish, exhilarating and breathtakingly dramatic; a soaring and a glorious epic. It's complicated, clever and a thrill to read - the kind of book you want to keep reading for days. I loved Manon, Aedion and Rowan, and at almost seven hundred pages, Queen of Shadows made for a stunning addition to one of my favourite YA high fantasy series - I adored it. ----- Remix is hands down my favourite contemporary of the year, and the most surprising, too. A fast-paced, whip-sharp, exuberant ode to female friendship, the awesomeness of fierce heroines and the occasional ridiculousness of modern teenage life, it manages to be both wonderfully funny and deeply serious. Kaz and Ruby are the friends you need in your life – genuine, ferocious and wonderful. This is Non Pratt’s best novel yet. ----- Eerie, mysterious and just a little bit magical, The Accident Season is a stunning debut. This is a tale spun as much with spiderwebs and witchery as it is with unreliable narration...

Product details :  Publisher : Faber & Faber. Paperback, 411 pages. Release date : September 3rd 2015. Rating : 5 out of 5. Ages : Adult Source : Purchased.   A devious tale of psychological suspense involving sex, deception, and an accidental encounter that leads to murder. This is a modern re-imagining of Patricia Highsmith’s classic Strangers on a Train from the author of the acclaimed The Girl with a Clock for a Heart . On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. But their game turns dark when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.” From there, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they plot Miranda's demise, but soon the...

I don't know about you, but my 2016 wishlist is already looking pretty healthy! Here are ten books (in no particular order!) that I can't wait to read in 2016. With Malice by Eileen Cook || Publication date: June 2016:   For fans of We Were Liars and The Girl on the Train, With Malice by Eileen Cook centers around a girl who can't remember the last six weeks of her life, including an accident in which her friend died. Only what if the accident wasn't an accident? That's the question posed in the synopsis, and I can't help it, I'm all intrigued. I have high hopes for this one! The Land of 10,000 Madonnas by Kate Hattemer || Publication date: April 2016 :  This book sounds like a whole lot of fun, and really sad at the same time. Tissues at the ready as five teens undertake a mysterious backpacking trip through Europe to fulfill the wish of their dying friend.  The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson || Publication date: May 2016:   It's a new book fr...

A short and not-so-sweet treat from one of my favourite writers, The Grownup from Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn was one of my Halloween reads this year, and for scary thrills, rollercoaster twists and a spine-chilling ending that left me craving more, it certainly didn’t disappoint. As with all of Flynn’s protagonists, the unnamed narrator of The Grownup is written in shades of grey. This one is an opportunist who uses skills honed during an underprivileged childhood to make her way in life by whatever means possible. She’s working in a shady establishment as a faux-psychic reader of auras when she meets a troubled woman by the name of Susan Burke.  Susan is at her wits end: she lives in a creepy – and possibly possessed –Victorian house where she’s being tormented by a definitely disturbed child. It soon becomes clear that our girl may have bitten off more than she can chew. This is Gillian Flynn, so you have to remember that nothing is as it first appears –and everything is dark...

Product details :   Publisher : Quercus. Paperback, 288 pages. Release date : November 5th 2015. Rating : 4 out of 5. Ages : New Adult Series : Brooklyn Girls  #3. Other Books in Series : Pia , Angie . Overall Series Rating : 4 out of 5. Source : Purchased. Sweet, innocent Coco has always been the good one. But when she catches her boyfriend cheating on her, she decides it's time to break bad. Coco swiftly goes from spending all her time baking and reading to working nights in (and dancing on) a bar, falling in and out of love (and lust), stealing education - and along the way discovers that she is stronger than she ever knew… In a time when her best friends are suddenly plunged into break ups, break-downs, big breaks, and on the verging of quitting New York City altogether, it's up to Coco to keep them together and find herself along the way. You’ve met Drama Queen Pia and Wild Child Angie. Now, meet the little sister of the Brooklyn Girls bunch. Coco has always b...

Product details : Publisher : Quercus Books. Paperback, 352 pages. Release date : June 4th 2015. Rating : 4 out of 5. Ages : YA Series : Blue #2. Other Books in Series : Blue Source : Received from publisher for review. Reviewed b y: Arianne.   Being in a relationship with one of the hottest and most talented male surfers on the circuit is a dream come true… right? Iris and Zeke get to travel to the most beautiful beaches in the world, competing in major surf competitions. Life should be perfect, but when Zeke is suspended from a surf tour in Hawaii, it’s clear there is some deep trouble in paradise. And then there’s Zeke’s romantic past: at every turn Iris is confronted by his old flames and his hordes of female fans. Returning to Newquay, Iris finds that at home things have also changed. Her friends have moved on with their lives, and they sense Iris is keeping something – something bad – from them. What really happened in Hawaii? Why was Zeke kicked off the circuit? An...

It's true, I stalk cover reveals like it's nobody's business!  What's your pick of this bunch of recent reveals? The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood || Release date: May 2016 This is what it means to love someone. This is what it means to grieve someone. It's a little bit like a black hole. It's a little bit like infinity. Gottie H. Oppenheimer is losing time. Literally. When the fabric of the universe around her seaside town begins to fray, she's hurtled through wormholes to her past: To last summer, when her grandfather Grey died. To the afternoon she fell in love with Jason, who wouldn't even hold her hand at the funeral. To the day her best friend Thomas moved away and left her behind with a scar on her hand and a black hole in her memory. Although Grey is still gone, Jason and Thomas are back, and Gottie's past, present, and future are about to collide—and someone's heart is about to be broken. With time travel, quantum physi...