Book Review- Drew Davies' The Shape of Us

Thank you to Bookouture for providing me with an advanced copy of Drew Davies’ novel, The Shape of Us, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - The Shape of Us follows the lives of several Londoners, as they experience major life changes; such as new love, separation, and grief.

LIKE - The Shape of Us reminded me of one of my favorite films, Love, Actually. Both stories are set in England, but more that, the similarities are in tone, with different characters/plots offering different moods. For example, in Davies’ novel, we have a newly involved couple, Daisy and Chris, whose story is primarily light-hearted. Chris does have a tragic backstory, which I will not spoil, but for most of the novel their interactions are sweet and light, two people who are attracted to each other and are fumbling through the early stages of a relationship. On the other end of the spectrum, we have a teenager named Dylan, who is ill and has a crush on a slightly older woman, who has helped him conquer the fears of his illness, but is also very sick herself. Additionally, Dylan has been abandoned by his mother and is being raised by his single father. Every story in The Shape of Us has a mix of seriousness and humor, but Dylan’s is a touch darker than the rest.

The most bizarre character is Adam. Adam has recently become unemployed and is having a tough time rebounding. He finds an employee key card and manages to gain access to the offices of a very prestigious company where he would love to work. Adam takes a chance and uses the card, passing himself off as the card’s owner. Adam keeps pushing his luck, by entering the building at night and snooping through the computers, in which he discovers that some employees are up to no good. If he speaks out, he will blow his cover and possibly go to jail. He is a man who is very lost and continuing to become more muddled with each passing day.

Davis begins each chapter with a few paragraphs about Londoners and living in London. It provides a wonderful touchstone that brought me back to the strong setting for the stories, making London itself, another character. London is one of my favorite places and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the city. Davis really showcases the vibrancy of London and its equally colorful inhabitants.

DISLIKE- I very much enjoyed The Shape of Us, but I was irked by the book’s tagline = “Not All Love Stories Are Heart-Shaped.” This makes it seem like a cliche love-story, which it is not. This tagline is selling the novel short. The cover with a heart-shaped hot air balloon does not help either. Please know that Davis’ writing is witty and complex, far better than his book cover implies. His writing reminded me of Nick Hornby, whom I adore.

RECOMMEND- Yes. ignore the cover and buy The Shape of Us. It’s quirky, emotional, and delightful.

Book Review- Hazel Loutsis' Are We Really Going to Let Mum Backpack on Her Own

Thank you to Hazel Loutsis, for providing me with a copy of her travel book, Are We Really Going to Let Mum Backpack on Her Own?: My Gap Year Traveling Solo at Sixty, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Hazel Loutsis was a single British woman approaching sixty, when she had a life-altering thought while at the dentist: rather than paying thousands of pounds for a procedure that she didn’t really need, she would spend the money on traveling the world. Loutsis put her affairs in order, bought a good backpack, and flew to India, to begin her year of adventure.

LIKE- Loutsis has an amazing adventurous spirit, embracing all of the experiences that come her way. She picks destinations that are off-the-beaten path, rarely declines trying new things, and truly gets to know the people living in the places that she visits.

I was intrigued by Loutsis style of travel. She keeps it simple, mostly staying in hostels (usually filled with college students) or in accommodations where she volunteers to earn her keep. She is easy-going when it comes to camping, long bus rides, and general discomfort. Honestly, I’m not sure that I could embrace her style of travel, yet I’m envious of the incredible experiences she had during her year abroad. It was certainly a deeper experience than the average traveler. Many times, these experiences seem to come as a reward for her experiencing discomfort, like amazing views after a grueling hike. Loutsis often favored small towns and nature, over big cities- which is also opposite to me. It was engaging to read a travel report from someone so different from myself.

My favorite part was when Loutsis decided to sleep under the stars, while on a tour of the Australian outback. She managed to sleep through Dingos raiding the camp. The Dingos stole sneakers from another woman in the group. Loutsis is told not to worry, since the Dingos don’t usually attack people!

I love travel writing, because it allows me to live vicariously through the author’s journey: Are We Really Going to Let Mum Backpack on Her Own, is no exception. Thanks to Loutsis, I have many destinations to add to my bucket list!

DISLIKE- Are We Really Going to Let Mum Backpack on Her Own, is a straight-up travel journal. It was just like reading a travel diary from a friend and lacked a sense of style that is found in professional travel writing.

RECOMMEND- Maybe. I certainly admire Loutsis and I found much of her book to be enjoyable. That said, I’m not sure that it was unique among the many travel books that are on the market and certainly less polished.

Book Review - Michael Connelly's The Late Show

Last May, I visited family in England and I was kindly given a copy of Michael Connelly’s The Late Show, from my brother-in-law’s father, a fellow book-lover. He primarily passed along the book because he was surprised that I had not read Connelly, especially since many of his novels are set in my hometown of Los Angeles, California.

PLOT- After being harassed by a male colleague, Detective Renee Ballard is moved to the graveyard shift, also referred to as “The Late Show.” A victim of rape, Ballard lives a life that keeps her on the move. She is an ace employee, but her personal life is messy and she often chooses to sleep on the beach, rather than maintain the trappings of a normal life.

She’s on the beat, when two intense cases come her way: a shooting at a local bar and a near deadly assault. As Ballard becomes involved with both cases, she faces discrimination and road blocks from fellow detectives in the LAPD, coworkers who would rather she found a different job. Ballard must outwit them, sometimes breaking protocol and placing herself in grave danger, to both provide justice for the victims and prove that she is a worthy detective.

LIKE- I love that Ballard is a strong, kick-ass female protagonist. She’s tough as nails and smart. I think most women can relate to facing some degree of workplace discrimination or harassment. Ballard faces both, in a job that is mostly male. Although she is clearly emotionally affected by it, she doesn’t let it stop her from proving her right to be there. While It is frustrating that women have to “prove” themselves, Connelly writes this aspect of the female perspective in a way that rings true.

I love the Los Angeles setting, especially as I’m now living in a different area and feeling homesick for my hometown. The setting brought up some interesting thoughts for me. The man who gave me The Late Show is British and has never visited Los Angeles. I wondered what he thought or imagined, based on Connelly’s descriptions, Los Angeles to look like? I didn’t have to stretch my imagination very far, as I’ve been to many of the locations in The Late Show. My own local knowledge eclipses Connelly’s descriptions. It made me think back to all of the novels that I’ve read that are set in England and now that I’ve visited England many times, I can’t even remember what I thought when books/movies/TV, formed my knowledge.

Connelly does a great job at crafting intense, danger-filled action scenes. His writing is cinematic.

DISLIKE- I believe that this is my first crime/detective novel. It is my first experience with Connelly. I don’t have experience with the genre and as such, I was put-off by all of the police lingo. It felt heavy-handed. Do detectives really talk like that? Maybe they do, but as a reader unfamiliar with the genre, it grew old and was cheesy.

RECOMMEND- The Late Show is not my cup of tea, but I know that Connelly is incredibly popular and I think fans of this genre would love his latest protagonist, Renee Ballard. I’m happy to have had the chance to read something that I would not have normally picked, but I would unlikely seek out his other books.