Meet 'The Copper Boom'

At the beginning of June, myself and the most excellent Sarah from Behind on Books launched a brand new bookish website: meet 'The Copper Boom'.

We are beyond excited about it.

What are you going to find on TCB? A bit of everything:

• YA
• Classics
• Adult fiction
• New adult
• Random bookish musings

There's a bit fo soemthing for everyone and we'd really love it if you'd come and pay us a visit. 

You can also find us on Instagram and Twitter. 

Mini Reviews: Warbreaker, All Our Wrong Todays & The End We Start From

I rated Warbreaker 4 stars, All Our Wrong Todays 5 stars and The End We Start From got 3 stars.

Warbreaker, Brandon Sanderson

672⎟ Gollancz ⎟ 29th December 2011

Synopsis

WARBREAKER is the story of two sisters - who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, a lesser god, and an immortal trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.

Theirs is a world in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren's capital city. A world transformed by BioChromatic magic, a power based on an essence known as breath. Using magic is arduous: breath can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

But the rewards are great: by using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be performed.

Brandon Sanderson proves again that he is a master of what Tolkien called 'secondary creation,' the invention of whole worlds, complete with magics and myths all their own.

Mini Review

I can’t resist Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy stories. The world-building, the magic system, the epic character growth and the connections the characters form never fail to blow me away.

Of everything i’ve read by Sanderson so far, warbreaker was probably the one that was slowest to get going. It’s a long book and I have to admit that I wasn’t really sure how the magic system worked for a good while, but once it was properly explained I loved it - as always.

It’s not my favourite Sanderson but I still really, really enjoyed and I’m excited/sad that i’ve only got Elantris and the Way of Kings series left to go.

All Our Wrong Todays, Elan Mastai

400⎟ Michael Joseph ⎟ 2nd March 2017

Audiobook read by: Elan Mastai

Synopsis

So, the thing is, I come from the world we were supposed to have.

That means nothing to you, obviously, because you live here, in the crappy world we do have.

But it never should've turned out like this. And it's all my fault - well, me and to a lesser extent my father.

And, yeah, I guess a little bit Penelope.

In both worlds, she's the love of my life. But only a single version of her can exist.

I have one impossible chance to fix history's greatest mistake and save this broken world.

Except it means saving one Penelope and losing the other forever - and I have absolutely no idea which to choose . . .

Mini Review

I freakin’ LOVED this book. It’s easily one of the best books I’ve read this year and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it.

In sitting here trying to find the words to make you rush out and read it, I actually don’t really want to say much about it. All I knew about the novel before diving in was from reading the first few pages of a Kindle sample where i promptly fell in love with the narrative style and  and Tom’s voice. I was so intrigued by the world he was born into and what he did that could have changed so much. That fascination and interest in everything lasted even beyond the last page. It was completely wonderful.

All Our Wrong Todays is cinematic and intimate, funny and sad, fascinating and horrifying - it’s all I could want in a story.

The audiobook is also read by the author and I can’t recommend it enough - Elan Mastai did an excellent job.

The End We Start From, Megan Hunter

140⎟ Picador ⎟ 18th May 2017

Thanks to Netgalley and Picador for the review copy.

Synopsis

In the midst of a mysterious environmental crisis, as London is submerged below flood waters, a woman gives birth to her first child, Z. Days later, the family are forced to leave their home in search of safety. As they move from place to place, shelter to shelter, their journey traces both fear and wonder as Z's small fists grasp at the things he sees, as he grows and stretches, thriving and content against all the odds.

This is a story of new motherhood in a terrifying setting: a familiar world made dangerous and unstable, its people forced to become refugees. Startlingly beautiful, Megan Hunter's The End We Start From is a gripping novel that paints an imagined future as realistic as it is frightening. And yet, though the country is falling apart around them, this family’s world – of new life and new hope – sings with love.

Mini Review

I loved the concept of the flooded Britain of The End We Start From and the sparse, distant writing style, but it didn’t 100% work for me.

It’s an incredibly short book - I read it in around an hour - and it really felt short too. I didn’t feel like I had a chance to fully connect with the characters - who are only referred to by their initials - and I just wanted MORE about what was happening to the world around them. London was flooded, water levels high enough to force people from even the tallest tower blocks, but there was no why or how or anything really. It had a much more internal focus, but without the chance to connect with the main characters.

It was an interesting read though and I really did like the beautiful writing, I just wanted more.

Sophie

Exploring Classics: The Invisible Man

Originally serialised in Pearson’s Weekly in 1897

My edition: the Penguin English Library paperback

WHEN I Discovered This Classic

I had read and studied The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau at school, but I didn’t really didn’t know about any more until I stumbled across the four HG Wells’ books in the Penguin English Library series and the sheer volume of his other novels in other editions.

WHY I Chose to Read It

Though I don’t remember much about The Time Machine other than the Morlocks, I grew to love Doctor Moreau while studying it at A-level and I’ve wanted to read more of Wells’ books since. After finishing War and Peace I wanted a quick and easy classic to get my back in my groove, The Invisible Man seemed to fit the bill!

WHAT I Thought of This Classic

Honestly? Not a lot, really.

I had pretty high expectations for The Invisible Man but I was actually pretty disappointed. The story of a scientist turning himself invisible and then turning to violence, theft and murder on his mission to find the cure and keep his condition from becoming public knowledge was strangely boring.

Told in third person, I felt a weird distance from Griffin (I just had to look up his name which speaks volumes really…) and for a long time I didn’t really understand what he was doing and why. I’m all for unlikeable characters, but Griffin is an awful person and I really struggled to care about anything that he did or that happened to him, especially as he turned increasingly to violence. I ended up reading The Invisible Man purely to finish it, and I only did that because it’s short.

One of the books I'm currently reading! ••• I haven't read HG Wells since school so it's really about time I picked up another. I studied The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau (which I grew to really love). ••• Do you like classic sci-fi? Do you have a favourite?

A post shared by Sophie (@solittletimeforbooks) on May 30, 2017 at 5:39am PDT

Something I really do like about HG Wells’ novels is that his science fiction really is scientific fiction. It’s fun and interesting and I loved the bit where Griffin explained what he did to make himself invisible. It was as smart and fascinating as I’ve come to expect, but I just found the rest of the story lacking.

I will give HG Wells another shot though - I’d really like to finally read The War of the Worlds.

WILL It Stay a Classic

Hmm, I’m not sure. It’s not the most popular of HG Wells’ novels, but it’s not the least popular either.

WHO I’d Recommend it To

- Fans of classic sci-fi

- Those interested in science

Review format from Stacey at The Pretty Books as part of the Classics Challenge.

Sophie

45 Not Just Jane, Ghachar Ghochar & The Last Piece of My Heart

I rated Not Just Jane 3.5 stars, Ghachar Ghochar 3 stars and The Last Piece of My Heart got 4.5 stars.

Not Just Jane: Rediscovering Seven Amazing Women Writers Who Transformed British Literature, Shelley DeWees

336⎟ Harper Perennial ⎟ 12th January 2017

Synopsis

Jane Austen and the Brontës endure as British literature’s leading ladies (and for good reason)—but were these reclusive parsons’ daughters really the only writing women of their day? A feminist history of literary Britain, this witty, fascinating nonfiction debut explores the extraordinary lives and work of seven long-forgotten authoresses, and asks: Why did their considerable fame and influence, and a vibrant culture of female creativity, fade away? And what are we missing because of it?

You’ve likely read at least one Jane Austen novel (or at least seen a film one). Chances are you’ve also read Jane Eyre; if you were an exceptionally moody teenager, you might have even read Wuthering Heights. English majors might add George Eliot or Virginia Woolf to this list…but then the trail ends. Were there truly so few women writing anything of note during late 18th and 19th century Britain?

In Not Just Jane, Shelley DeWees weaves history, biography, and critical analysis into a rip-roaring narrative of the nation’s fabulous, yet mostly forgotten, female literary heritage. As the country, and women’s roles within it, evolved, so did the publishing industry, driving legions of ladies to pick up their pens and hit the parchment. Focusing on the creative contributions and personal stories of seven astonishing women, among them pioneers of detective fiction and the modern fantasy novel, DeWees assembles a riveting, intimate, and ruthlessly unromanticized portrait of female life—and the literary landscape—during this era. In doing so, she comes closer to understanding how a society could forget so many of these women, who all enjoyed success, critical acclaim, and a fair amount of notoriety during their time, and realizes why, now more than ever, it’s vital that we remember.

Rediscover Charlotte Turner Smith, Helen Maria Williams, Mary Robinson, Catherine Crowe, Sara Coleridge, Dinah Mulock Craik, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon.

Mini Review

I was so looking forward to learning about some of the pioneering women who wrote in the 18th and 19th centuries and I was blown away by some of the things these women achieved, how they were treated and the tragedy in them being forgotten.

The stories of all 7 women in this book were fascinating and I loved learned about the things that they achieved, but even more fascinating may be the glimpse Shelley DeWees gave us into a different side of Victorian society - the darkness, the persecution, and the unfairness of living in that time as a woman, regardless of social position. I did sometimes struggle to go back to it as it was a collection of biographies rather than a narrative non-fiction, but it’s a brilliant read for every literature fan.

Ghachar Ghochar, Vivek Shanbhag

192⎟ Faber & Faber ⎟ 20th April 2017

Synopsis

In this masterful novel by the acclaimed Indian writer Vivek Shanbhag, a close-knit family is delivered from near-destitution to sudden wealth after the narrator's uncle founds a successful spice company. As the narrator - a sensitive young man who is never named - along with his sister, his parents, and his uncle move from a cramped, ant-infested shack to a larger house and encounter newfound wealth, the family dynamics begin to shift. Allegiances and desires realign; marriages are arranged and begin to falter; and conflict brews ominously in the background.

Their world becomes 'ghachar ghochar' - a nonsense phrase that, to the narrator, comes to mean something entangled beyond repair. Told in clean, urgent prose, and punctuated by moments of unexpected warmth and humour, Ghachar Ghochar is a quietly enthralling, deeply unsettling novel about the shifting meanings - and consequences - of financial gain in contemporary India.

Mini Review

After reading a short sample of this, I was captured by the simple style and the reviews of the book. I snapped it up!

Ghachar Ghochar is the story of a family as it almost becomes corrupted by wealth. The relationships change, the goals and attitudes of the family members, the way life is altered beyond recognition - but not in a good way. I loved watching the clashing of family dynamics and the distinct lack of agency the unnamed narrator of the novel has and the effect that has on the family. It’s a very short novel - I read it in under two hours - and the ending was a bit of a shock. I felt like there was a lot more to the story and I’m not really sure what happened in the end. I even popped into a bookshop to double check that my Netgalley proof hadn’t been cut short!

Thanks to Faber and NetGalley for the review copy.

The Last Piece of My Heart, Paige Toon

432⎟ Simon & Schuster ⎟ 18th May 2017

Synopsis

When life feels like a puzzle, sometimes it's the small pieces that make up the bigger picture... Join Bridget on a journey to put her world back together.

A successful travel journalist, Bridget has ambitions to turn her quirky relationship blog about the missing pieces of her heart into a book. But after a spate of rejections from publishers, she accepts an alternative proposition.

Nicole Dupré died leaving behind a bestselling novel and an incomplete sequel. Tasked with finishing the book, Bridget is thankful to have her foot in the publishing door, even if it means relocating to Cornwall for the summer and answering to Nicole's grieving husband, Charlie...

Mini Review

My love for Paige Toon’s novels in no secret. I’ve followed her career since Lucy in the Sky debuted 10 years ago and loved every one, but The Last Piece of My Heart is one of my favourites in a long while.

I’ve loved Bridget from her side roles in a few of Paige Toon’s other novels, but she quickly became one of my very favourite heroines - she’s the type of person I’d love to be friends with. I felt like I was following her every step of the way on Bridget’s journey and I fell in love with her, Charlie and little April. One of my favourite elements of Paige’s books is always the locations and I thoroughly enjoyed my virtual trips to Cornwall, Ireland, Sydney and Thailand - I wonder where she’ll take me next!

I laughed, cried and didn’t want the book to end. Why do I have to wait another year for her next book?!

Sophie

44 The Fate of the Tearling, American Monsters & Stay With Me

I rated The Fate of the Tearling 3.5 stars, American Monsters 2.5 stars and Stay With Me got 4 stars.

The Fate of the Tearling, Erika Johansen

496⎟ Bantam Press⎟ 1st December 2016

Read by: Polly Lee

Synopsis

Since ascending to the throne, Kelsea Glynn has grown into a powerful monarch and a visionary leader.

But in her quest to end corruption and restore justice within the Tearling, she has made many enemies. Chief amongst them is the evil and feared Red Queen, who now holds Kelsea – and her magical sapphires – captive in her castle in Mortmesne, a deal brokered to protect the Tearling from a Mort invasion.

But the Tearling needs its Queen, and the Mace, head of Kelsea’s personal guards, will not rest until he and his men rescue their sovereign from her prison.

Now it is time for the fate of Queen Kelsea – and the Tearling itself – to be revealed . . .

Mini Review

I loved the first book in this trilogy and really enjoyed book two, but it really felt like The Fate of the Tearling dragged a little. It was a little underwhelming as a finale for me.

The novel was split between Kelsea’s story in the present and the visions Kelsea was having of Katie, the daughter of one of the women who made the Crossing with Tearling. While Katie’s story was interesting and important to what was happening in the present story, there was so much time dedicated to it that it almost felt like it overtook Kelsea and her predicament. It almost felt like Kelsea’s imprisonment was partly to allow for Katie’s story to take precedence. I wanted more Kelsea, Penn, the Mace and the rest of her guard - they were the characters I fell in love with and wanted to follow.

It was a disappointing end to a brilliant, political fantasy series and I wasn’t 100% convinced by the conclusion.

American Monsters, Derek Landy

464⎟ Harper Collins⎟ 25th August 2016

Synopsis

The epic conclusion in the mind-blowing supernatural thriller from bestselling author DEREK LANDY, creator of international sensation Skulduggery Pleasant.

Bigger, meaner, stronger, Amber closes in on her murderous parents as they make one last desperate play for power. Her own last hopes of salvation, however, rest beyond vengeance, beyond the abominable killers – living and dead – that she and Milo will have to face.

For Amber’s future lies in her family’s past, in the brother and sister she never knew, and the horrors beyond imagining that befell them.

Mini Review

I loved the first book in the Demon Road series. It was one of my surprise reading hits of 2015 and I loved how quick, fun and witty it was. Then book two came along which was still good, but had a little second book syndrome, though my hopes were still high for the finale. And I was so disappointed.

In book two, I really didn’t like the way Amber’s non-demon appearance was constantly ridiculed and sneered at and though that was almost compensated for in a change in attitude in American Monsters, I still didn’t like the forceful ay Derek Landy wrote the female characters. It was so forceful, as if he was writing them to be ‘feminist’ because he knew he should - it didn’t align with anything else. I also didn’t think that the book was well written. The prose jarred and the speech felt insincere; I can’t help but think that this book was rushed out so he could refocus on Skulduggery Pleasant, his real money-maker, to the detriment of this series which could have been really, really good.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the review copy.

Stay With Me, Ayobami Adebayo

305⎟ Canongate⎟ 2nd March 2017

Synopsis

'There are things even love can't do . . . If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But even when it's in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn't mean it's no longer love . . .'

Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. It is all her husband wants, all her mother-in-law wants, and she has tried everything - arduous pilgrimages, medical consultations, appeals to God. But when her relatives insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear. It will lead to jealousy, betrayal and despair.

Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of 1980s Nigeria, Stay With Me sings with the voices, colours, joys and fears of its surroundings. Ayobami Adebayo weaves a devastating story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the wretchedness of grief, and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood. It is a tale about our desperate attempts to save ourselves and those we love from heartbreak.

Mini-Review

Shortlisted for the Baileys Prize for Women’s Fiction and all over the Internet, Ayobami Adebayo’s Stay With Me is everywhere. And for good reason.

I was actually really unsure of this for the first third of the novel. I found the cultural differences jarring and I struggled to wrap my head around the situation that Yejide found herself after her marriage to Akin, but I eventually became utterly engrossed. The Nigerian political unrest of the 80s and 90s was the backdrop to their struggle to conceive and live with the pressures to have a family. I did still struggle with the alien-ness of some aspects of their life and culture and it made me realise just how little I know about that part of the world.

I really don't want to spoil this beautiful, heartbreaking and surprising novel, but I was definitely that: continually surprised. Adebayo really keeps you on your toes and turning pages as fast as you can. I cried, I gaped in shock and I’m so glad I persevered. Beautiful.

Sophie