A Bite-Size Review: Sells Sea Shells

Hi readers! How has your reading month been going? Anything you’ve loved or hated so far? Let me know in the comments below. The third installment of my bite size reviews will be over Sells Sea Shells (truly a mouthful) by Mara Mer.

Synopsis:

“Sell Sea Shells follows young and handsome Ismail, an illegal Moroccan immigrant, through despair and hope as he strikes an unusual friendship with a wealthy Italian man. The old man offers Ismail a way out of his despondent situation, but the thing he wants in return is too difficult for the gentle, sensitive Ismail to give.”

I was fascinated with Ismail’s story and wanted to find out more about his life. It’s sad to think that there are immigrants struggling and having some of the same experiences as Ismail. Mer has beautiful writing and captured my attention in the beginning. However, I started losing focus halfway through the novel and wanted to rush to the end just for the sake of finishing it. I didn’t love the novella but I also didn’t hate it, which makes it that much harder to review. I think Mer did a wonderful job with her writing and telling Ismail’s story, shining a light on the immigrant experience but the book just wasn’t for me. I wish I could put my finger on what makes me not love it but it’s just going to be one of those books that I don’t have a strong opinion on either way.

For that reason, I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Is there a book that you’ve read where you didn’t love it or hate it, but instead you felt indifferent towards it? Let me know your thoughts below!

In An Instant: An ARC Book Review

Hello everyone! August is almost over and I hope you’ve had a good summer. Do you have any fun books planned for your fall reading? Let me know below in the comments!

This weekend I finished In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn, big thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending me this ARC!

Synopsis:
“A deeply moving story of carrying on even when it seems impossible.

Life is over in an instant for sixteen-year-old Finn Miller when a devastating car accident tumbles her and ten others over the side of a mountain. Suspended between worlds, she watches helplessly as those she loves struggle to survive.

Impossible choices are made, decisions that leave the survivors tormented with grief and regret. Unable to let go, Finn keeps vigil as they struggle to reclaim their shattered lives. Jack, her father, who seeks vengeance against the one person he can blame other than himself; her best friend, Mo, who bravely searches for the truth as the story of their survival is rewritten; her sister Chloe, who knows Finn lingers and yearns to join her; and her mother, Ann, who saved them all but is haunted by her decisions. Finn needs to move on, but how can she with her family still in pieces?

Heartrending yet ultimately redemptive, In an Instant is a story about the power of love, the meaning of family, and carrying on…even when it seems impossible.”

I absolutely loved this book!! It pulled me in right from the start and was fast paced. The writing and storytelling was beautiful and made me feel like I was in the story. It had me so wrapped up in the story that what I thought was a plot twist actually is written on the back cover. I love books that pull you in to the point where you forget what’s supposed to happen! I cried a lot at this book so have tissues ready.
I also enjoyed the short chapters and seeing the characters deal with the aftermath of the accident. This book was 5 stars for me and everyone should read this when it’s published March 1, 2020!

A Bite-Size Review: Feminism for the 99%

Hello Readers! I’m back with another bite-size review. This time I’m reviewing Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto by Cinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya, and Nancy Fraser. I hope you enjoy and please leave your thoughts in the comments below!

 

Synopsis:

“This is a manifesto for the 99 percent.

Unaffordable housing, poverty wages, inadequate healthcare, border policing, climate change—these are not what you ordinarily hear feminists talking about. But aren’t they the biggest issues for the vast majority of women around the globe?

Taking as its inspiration the new wave of feminist militancy that has erupted globally, this manifesto makes a simple but powerful case: feminism shouldn’t start—or stop—with the drive to have women represented at the top of their professions. It must focus on those at the bottom, and fight for the world they deserve. And that means targeting capitalism. Feminism must be anti capitalist, Eco-socialist and anti racist” (synopsis courtesy of Amazon).

This book was a learning experience for me. I enjoyed the ideas they discussed about how we can make feminism more inclusive and issues linked to feminism like class struggles and racism. One thing I didn’t like though was for a book that’s about the 99% it’s not written as such. The terms and language used could be confusing at times and unless you’re an economics or gender studies person, you will need a dictionary to help you through this book. I also found it off putting that the writers would refer to liberal, white feminists as “financiers in skirts” or “warmongers in skirts” like is wearing a skirt not feminist? Maybe I just took it the wrong way but overall it’s a book I felt taught me a lot about how I can be more inclusive in my feminism!

Overall, I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars because the ideas were interesting and I learned new things, but the language made it a less enjoyable read.

The Trumpet Lesson: A Bookish Review

Hello Readers! This weekend I finally finished “The Trumpet Lesson” by Dianne Romain. I received this as an eARC from NetGalley and SheWrites publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

“Fascinated by a young woman’s performance of “The Lost Child” in Guanajuato’s central plaza, painfully shy expatriate Callie Quinn asks the woman for a trumpet lesson — and ends up confronting her longing to know her own lost child.

When Callie became pregnant in 1960s rural Missouri over thirty years ago, her outraged father, with her mother’s acquiescence, insisted that no one know—and Callie complied. She went away, and she gave up her baby. She did it to protect the baby’s father—a black teen—from the era’s racist violence.

When Pamela, the trumpeter whose music flows from her heart, enters Callie’s life, Callie begins to dream of opening her own heart. But instead she remains silent, hiding her longing and risking giving up everyone she dares to love in order to safeguard her secret. Callie tells herself she does so to protect her daughter, but ultimately, in order to speak, she must confront the deepest reasons for her silence—the ones she’s been concealing even from herself.”

I was so disappointed by this book! Based on the description I thought I’d enjoy it but it was slow paced and barely touched on the past that made me curious enough to pick it up. It’s one of those books that I had hope for and it ended up being mediocre. It reminded me of Hemingway the way Romain gave detailed descriptions of Callie’s everyday routine, except I’ve enjoyed Hemingway novels. The author also brings up Jehovah’s witnesses a lot which made me roll my eyes and one of the main characters, Armando, was so self centered and irritating that I couldn’t stand him!

I found myself speeding through the last 50 pages just for the sake of finishing the book.
Overall I gave this 2 stars for the okay writing and disappointing story.

Have you ever read a book where it sounded amazing but then it turned out to be disappointing? Let me know in the comments below!

A Bite-Size Review: Behind Blue Eyes

Hey fellow readers! sorry I have been a little MIA lately but I just got a new job and I got engaged so life has gotten a little crazy. To make sure I post more, I decided to start doing my book reviews a little differently. Any books I read outside of my ARCs and Read Around the World challenge will be given a ‘bite-size review.’ This way I can still review and recommend books to you guys and have more monthly posts without having to figure out when I have time to sit down and write a full blown, in-depth review. Also, if you’re on Bookstagram and want to keep up with my more daily posts on which books I’m reading and buying, then check out my account @expats_and_englishbooks. I hope you enjoy my first bite-size review of Behind Blue Eyes by C.S. Duffy!

Synopsis:

“The perfect man.
The perfect life.
The only problem is the dead body on the beach.
Investigative reporter Ellie has just given up her life in London to be with the man of her dreams in Sweden when she stumbles across a half decomposed skeleton on Midsummer’s eve.
She’s flung into a murder investigation in a country where she doesn’t speak the language and doesn’t know a soul.
Except Johan. The love of her life.
Who she is beginning to suspect knows a lot more about the body than he is admitting.
Is he the perfect man, or has Ellie uncovered the perfect crime?”

I was pulled into this book right away and intrigued by the story line. I don’t usually enjoy crime novels but this one was fantastic! The main character, Ellie, was relatable for me as she’s a new immigrant in Sweden and I’m a new immigrant in the Netherlands so I could understand the characters thoughts and situation being in a new country! I really enjoyed having that in the book in addition to the twists that I didn’t see coming. I look forward to the sequel and reading more about Ellie’s adventures in Sweden.

Overall I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for the creativity and fantastic writing!