Recent Reads: Books To Check Out

Reading is easily one of my favourite pastimes and although I don't have a great deal of time to do it regularly, I have been on quite a good roll in 2017 so far and have enjoyed reading a number of books. Today's post is dedicated to these books with a bit of a review of each, for anyone looking for a new read or interested in hearing about some novels out there.
After The Crash by Michel Bussi- This book was a more difficult read as it had a lot of more complex or challenging language. Michel Bussi is a french author so those influences were evident throughout the novel, making it more difficult to follow at times but was a bonus for me, trying to pronounce various names and locations in order to practise my french. The story itself was not how I imagined it to be based on the blurb and in my opinion, took a long time to get to the interesting parts through the longwinded storytelling, which I believe was deliberate due to the character portrayal of the Inspector but it did make it less engaging. I thought the ending/reveal was interesting and a nice way to end the book although I don't think it was much of a shock or plot twist for me personally. As a thriller, it does make a good novel and could be enjoyed by many, particularly an older audience, but it didn't really do it for me.
Girl Online Going Solo by Zoe Sugg- The latest instalment of Penny's life is as intriguing and entertaining as the first two. The trilogy is an easy, light-hearted read, great to pick up to escape for a little while when life's a little stressful or just as a bit of enjoyment. I always get through them quickly and found myself left wondering where life would take Penny next. Although it's probably aimed at a slightly younger audience than myself, I think it could appeal to a fairly wide audience and can be enjoyed by many.
Good Girls by Sara Shepherd- Throughout this book, I found myself enjoying the story and intrigued by the plot, if a little confused at times, but it was the ending that blew my mind! It had an incredible plot twist that I won't spoil for anyone wanting to read the book (I recommend doing so) but if anyone has read it, let me know as I'd love to discuss it with someone who knows what I'm on about! I did think it should have ended earlier than it did, rather than setting itself up for another book as that seems like the only reason for the last chapter in my opinion, and I don't see why it needs another book to complete the story. I haven't read the Pretty Little Liars books but love the show and can see a lot of similarities between this series and PLL- including the need to drag out more books/series when it's not necessarily best to.
Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson- I don't often read non-fiction books but as a big fan of Juno Dawson (I recommend her books to any and everyone), I wanted to give this a read. I find mental health to be a really interesting topic and one I'd love to learn more about as it is such an important topic that I think should definitely be covered more widely and in more depth. It's a great book for anyone wanting to learn a bit more about mental health and its importance for someone suffering with mental health related issues, someone wanting to help someone with their mental health and generally anyone else who ought to learn a bit more about it. Covering mental wellbeing as well as more serious mental health issues, it's full of great advice and knowledge about a variety of subtopics. It's written in a humorous way that's easy to understand, without being offensive or belittling to the topic.
All Of The Above by Juno Dawson- I prefer reading Dawson's crime, mystery, horror novels than the chick-lit style books but I do still really enjoy them and this was no different. It covers some important topics in a tactful and intriguing manner and the book certainly makes for an entertaining read full of some brilliant characters. I'd consider it quite an easy read despite some of the topics it highlights, and would be ideal as a holiday book!

I'm currently getting through the pile of books I received for Christmas and am loving doing so, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more posts like this in the near future. Let me know if you've read any of these, I'd love to hear your opinion, and if you have any recommendations for me, they'd be amazing to hear about in the comments.

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Love, Steph x

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