July was not a good month for my reading or my blogging sadly but I still managed to read five books and some of those were on the larger side. So here is my month in books.
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Laconis
Blurb
Can you love someone you can never touch?
Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardise the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.
The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.
Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.
What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?
Review
I watched the film of this in 2019 on a plane on the way back from my holiday and I cried my eyes out. I was so worried an air steward would come over to see what the matter was with me. As soon as I got home I ordered the book but didn’t get around to reading it until now. I will be honest the book made me even more emotional than the film did.
Stella and Will both have cystic fibrosis and both find themselves in hospital but they are both very different characters. Stella is a control freak who lives her life following lists and making sure she takes all her medications at the right time so she can stay healthy for everyone around her. Will however is fed up with treatments and hospitals and wants freedom to see the world and couldn’t care less about taking his medications.
However, Stella and Will find themselves drawn to each other but there is a problem: they can’t be nearer to each other than six feet in case Will infects Stella with B cepacia which would mean she could not get a lung transplant if one became available. Stella decides that they can still be together but will be five feet apart instead of the recommended six.
The other character that I loved in this book is Poe. Poe is another CF patient at the hospital and has known Stella since they were children and they are best friends. Poe has a wonderful sense of humour and is a kind and good friend to Stella and Will and whenever he is around you can’t help but smile.
Although this story is mainly set in the hospital it is still fascinating and lovely to see how Stella and Will’s relationship develops and how Poe helps it all to work. I really didn’t notice at times that it was a hospital that the book was set in. I learned a lot from this book about cystic fibrosis and I really loved how even though there is sadness there is also so much joy and happy memories to celebrate. This book made me smile, it made cry, and it made me laugh, I really could not put it down. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
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Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission – and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crew mates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery-and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.
Or does he?
Review
I have finally got around to reading this as I let my husband read it first. I was so excited to read this as I absolutely love The Martian and have read it more than once as I just love the humour in the book.
I love how this story begins because we as the reader know exactly as much as Ryland Grace and we start to get all the facts as Grace finds them out or remembers them himself. You also soon realise that Grace is quite amusing and the humour reminds me a lot of Whatney from The Martian. This book made me laugh a great deal I must admit. I also loved how Grace names everything. I also name everything; my printer at university was called Vinnie.
Stratt is a scary character but a woman of power and I do find her highly amusing and intimidating. She stands no messing and will do anything and everything to make sure Project Hail Mary is a success. I also really like how Stratt and Grace interact and what other people think of their relationship.
My favourite character is Grace’s ally Rocky. I won’t say much about Rocky as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but Rocky is adorable and I think he is wonderful and funny. He really is a fascinating character and I would happily read another book all about Rocky. He is extremely clever and can build or fix anything.
The book has diagrams of the space ship at the beginning of the book and this is really helpful for understanding certain things that happen in the book. I also really enjoyed the science experiments in this book and that Weir was not afraid to give all the details in the book rather than skipping over the details. This is a really good science fiction novel and I couldn’t put it down. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Andy Weir built a career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, The Martian, allowed him to live out his dream of writing full time. He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects such as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He also mixes a mean cocktail. He lives in California.
Have you read this book?I would love to hear your thoughts, please drop me a comment.
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Goodreads Monday is hosted by Lauren’s Page Turners. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
Happy Monday! I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I have caught up on loads of admin and annoying things that take up time and I’ve fitted in some dissertation writing.
I thought I would feature another book on my ever increasing TBR list.
This weeks choice is nonfiction book.
An engrossing biography of the longest-reigning female pharaoh in Ancient Egypt and the story of her audacious rise to power in a man’s world.
Hatshepsut, the daughter of a general who took Egypt’s throne without status as a king’s son and a mother with ties to the previous dynasty, was born into a privileged position of the royal household. Married to her brother, she was expected to bear the sons who would legitimize the reign of her father’s family. Her failure to produce a male heir was ultimately the twist of fate that paved the way for her inconceivable rule as a cross-dressing king. At just twenty, Hatshepsut ascended to the rank of king in an elaborate coronation ceremony that set the tone for her spectacular twenty-two year reign as co-regent with Thutmose III, the infant king whose mother Hatshepsut out-maneuvered for a seat on the throne. Hatshepsut was a master strategist, cloaking her political power plays with the veil of piety and sexual expression. Just as women today face obstacles from a society that equates authority with masculinity, Hatshepsut had to shrewdly operate the levers of a patriarchal system to emerge as Egypt’s second female pharaoh.
Hatshepsut had successfully negotiated a path from the royal nursery to the very pinnacle of authority, and her reign saw one of Ancient Egypt’s most prolific building periods. Scholars have long speculated as to why her images were destroyed within a few decades of her death, all but erasing evidence of her rule. Constructing a rich narrative history using the artifacts that remain, noted Egyptologist Kara Cooney offers a remarkable interpretation of how Hatshepsut rapidly but methodically consolidated power—and why she fell from public favor just as quickly. The Woman Who Would Be King traces the unconventional life of an almost-forgotten pharaoh and explores our complicated reactions to womenin power.
I love anything to do with Ancient Egypt so I am really looking forward to read this.
Please drop me a comment if you have a Goodreads Monday post and I will head over for a visit. If you have read this book please let me know your thoughts.
Happy Reading.
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The gates have opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun. Settlers stream out from humanity’s home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world. Among them, the Rocinante, haunted by the vast, posthuman network of the protomolecule as they investigate what destroyed the great intergalactic society that built the gates and the protomolecule.
But Holden and his crew must also contend with the growing tensions between the settlers and the company which owns the official claim to the planet. Both sides will stop at nothing to defend what’s theirs, but soon a terrible disease strikes and only Holden – with help from the ghostly Detective Miller – can find the cure.
Review
I will be honest I always find the beginning of The Expanse books a little slow but once I get into them and the story starts to get moving and I simply can’t put the book down. Cibola Burns proved to be exactly the same.
As usual the book is told from a few characters’ points of view and the characters that we had this time were Holden, Basia, Elvi, Havelock and The Investigator. The prologue is from Bobbie and the epilogue is by Avasarala. Each chapter is told by a different character and shows us each scene and situation from the point of view of that character.
Holden we know really well by now, captain of the Rocinante and a man who always tries to do the right thing but does have a habit of inadvertently causing conflict between people. Holden is sent with his crew Naomi, Alex and my favourite Amos through the gates to help mediate the situation between the Belters and RCE on the new planet Ilus. Both the Belters and RCE claim the planet is theirs but the Belters were there first and they will do anything they can to make sure they can keep it and the mining rights.
Basia is one of the Belters on Ilus and he lives there with his wife and two children but Basia has fallen in with the wrong crowd and makes some questionable decisions which land him in hot water. However, he is a good man and a dam good welder who will do anything he can to help his family.
Elvi is one of the scientists who arrive with the RCE ship and I must admit she is rather annoying. Yes, she is clearly a genius and is very useful for the story but the way she follows Holden around like a lost puppy is rather annoying and she can be rather heartless sometimes with the things she says. She forgets people have feelings sometimes.
Havelock we have already met as he was Miller’s partner at one point. Havelock is now working for the security of RCE and is trying to keep a ship full of scientists calm. Havelock is a character who always tries to do the right thing. He is understanding and tries to keep everyone happy but sadly he has a rather different boss who makes him do things he is not keen on or embarrassed about.
The Investigator was actually my favourite point of view and I found it rather fascinating and I was frustrated that we did not see more of The Investigator. I will not say more as don’t want to spoil the character.
Overall, this story touches many points, immigration, major corporations crushing the little people, love, terrorism and much more. I particularly liked seeing how the intruders on the planet were effected by the natural ecosystem of the planet. I give this book 5 out 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
James S. A. Corey is the pen name of fantasy author Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, George R. R. Martin’s assistant. They both live Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon
Blurb
On a trip to Brussels, Maigret unwittingly causes a man’s suicide, but his own remorse is overshadowed by the discovery of the sordid events that drove the desperate man to shoot himself.
Review
I found this story so sad especially at the beginning. At the beginning we find Maigret following a man who is clearly very poor and troubled and for some reason Maigret has decided to follow the man because Maigret finds his behaviour intriguing. However, because of Maigret’s actions the man commits suicide and this really disturbs Maigret so Maigret decides to find out what drove this poor man to his actions. I must admit I was rather angry with Maigret at the beginning because of his silly actions causing a suicide. They were a bit childish for me and it was like Maigret was bored so decided to follow this poor man.
This story takes place in France, Belgium and Germany and Maigret has to move from country to country to find the answers he requires and there is considerable danger involved for Maigret as well.
This story is so atmospheric and full of drama you were never quite sure what would happen next. There were also some very suspicious and creepy characters involved as well which you just know are wrong. People try to prevent Maigret from finding out the truth but Maigret in his terrier like fashion hunts down the facts that he needs to build the picture and find the truth.
Overall, I found this story very sad. I was sad for the man who committed suicide and sad for the hanged man of Saint Pholien. I could not put this book down once I started it because I needed to know what happened in the past. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was a Belgian writer who published nearly 500 novels and many short stories. Simenon is best known as the creator of the Maigret stories.
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