Emma's Bookish Lifestyle

The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Edith Eger My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have read many books on the holocaust and it's survivors but apart from Anne Frank they have mainly been from the perspective of male survivors. What I regarded so highly in this book was both Edith Egers writing style and was astounded by her ability even all these years on to not only face the horror head on but use it for the benefit of others. She admits early on that "I am happiest when I am alone, when I can retreat into my inner world...". Something that is constantly referred to is the choices she has had to make and that have been such an integral part of her life and whether focus should in fact be on those things we lose or to the things we do have in our life. One quote from her mother has stuck with me even now "No one can take away from you what you've put in your mind". I still find it awe inspiring the inner strength and determination to kindl...

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is a thriller in the veign of Gone Girl, and although I can agree to some extent I do feel that authors should not be compared as it can be the kiss of death to a premise. In this case I really did enjoy this book, I read it during a stay in hospital and found it light heartedly drawing me in however, not as intense in the suspense or so I thought.....making it easy to read for hours on end. The story begins with Vanessa and her husband Richard and their married life together, until he begins an affair with his secretary at work (cliche I know but stick with it!). When it falls apart so does Vanessa's life and she immerses herself in the pain of her failed relationship and where it went wrong. Vanessa however is far from blameless and when Richard becomes engaged to Nellie and provides her with the love and security she craves, as her wedding looms ever closer she feels that she is not alone...

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss My rating: 5 of 5 stars This darkly poignant and compelling novella draws you in from the first pages and holds you to the very end. The tale of Sylvie and her summer's experience with her family and small group of university student's opens her not only to the experience of iron age living but to the devastating climax of her time living as an iron age villager. There are trigger warnings for violence in this book however, these are delicately handled and Sarah Moss had an almost lyrical way of writing that both draws you in to the surroundings and it's modern connection to times now past. At times Sylvie is portrayed as just a teenager desperately seeking normality and yet at times darkly mirrors the demise of an iron age sacrifice. This book is so far one of the best books of my year and I cannot recommend it highly enough. View all my reviews

The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book is a time travel story with a thriller twist spread over three timelines. We join the story in 1967 with four female scientists who are developing a means of time travel however, on the cusp of becoming pioneers in the industry one of them suffers a mental breakdown calling the validity of the research into question. Along with the pioneers, we meet two further characters in Ruby, a grandchild of the scientist who had a breakdown and Odette a university student who discovers a body with no explanation for the preceding events. This story is beautifully written with a strength of character, purpose and plot so compelling, it was hard at times to put it down and return to the real world. @Katemascarenhas has an ability to interweve both plot and sub-plot seemlessly to draw you deeper and deeper into the story whilst the sub-characters add depth and detail to the overall story. I...

Retribution Road by Antonin Varenne translated by Sam Taylor This book begins in 1852 Burma where Sergeant Arthur Bowman, a member of the East India Company, is sent on a mission during the 2nd Anglo-Burmese War.  The expedition fails and he and his men are captured and subjected to horrible torture, only ten escape with their lives. Years later we join Sergeant Bowman in London, battling his demons through alcohol and opium.  When he finds a mutilated corpse in a sewer, the victim appear to have suffered the same torturous torments he was subjected to in the Burmese jungle.  Convinced that the culprit is one of the men who shared his fate in Burma, Bowman resolves to hunt the killer down. Plunged into darkness Arthur Bowman (now a transport police officer) will search for vengeance and redemption for the events that happened in 1852. Plot Development  "After I had found the main places and acts of the story and had ordered and read books about the...

An Ocean of Minutes  by Thea Lim The premise of this book is that the US has been hit by a deadly flu pandemic. Its 1981 and Frank has caught the virus and his girlfriend Polly is left with the difficult choice of risking everything, leaving him and taking a leap of faith into the future. With the use of time travel, there are some trying to thwart the virus, but this comes at a high cost.  Polly must sign up for a one-way-trip to the future and has to work of the cost of the trip to enable Frank to receive the lifesaving treatment he needs. Polly arranges to meet Frank in Galveston, Texas of the future when she arrives in 1993.  Unbeknownst to Polly there has been an administrative error and she is re-routed to 1998 and Frank is not at the meeting point. This book is based around dual timelines, introducing the couple of Frank and Polly to us in 1979 when they first meet and begin their relationship together, alongside the alternative future G...

the darkness by Ragnar Jónasson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Firstly I would like to thank Michael Joseph for the opportunity to give a true and honest review of this book. This is my first experience of a Nordic Noir Thriller and I have to say I am so glad I started with Ragnar Jonasson. He is a well-respected author from Reykjavik and began his career at the age of 17 translating the works of Agatha Christie into Icelandic. This particular novel was the runner-up of the Novel of the Year Award 2015 in Iceland. This is a start of a new trilogy based around Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir a member of the Reykjavik police force who is being forced into early retirement by her commanding officer. Hulda uses this conversation to utilise her final days investigating the cold case of a young female asylum seeker found dead in the remote countryside. Her death was ruled as a suicide after a short investigation, but it soon becomes clear to Hulda that there is a...