Night Owls and Summer Skies by Rebecca Sullivan

Emma Lane is a newly-minted adult who for the past several years has been living under the custody of her father. It is now summer and she is being driven to her mother's to spend time with her before she goes off into the big bad world. But not all is what she hoped it would. When arriving at her mother's she is told that instead of staying at her mother's home, her mum is going on a cruise... but without her. Instead, she is thrown into the world which she escaped from as a kid, Camp Mapplewood.

Camp Mapplewood and her have history that goes way back, but one of the main points which Emma makes early on is the mental health issues which she has inherited from it. The only connection that she does seem to have left since her last encounter is her friend, turned pen pal, Jessie.

Emma seems like one of those people who doesn't think before she speaks or doesn't like it when she doesn't get her own way. This is expressed when she realises that she has to spend the summer at camp rather than staying with her mother. For instance, the first thing she tries to do is ring her Dad up to complain about how she is made to go to camp, rather than staying with her mother. Yes, this can be seen as in some ways understandable, due to her previous experiences of being there. But then, this can be seen to take a different turn of trying to upset people and their relationships so that she gets what she wants. It's not charming. It's ignorant and selfish.

There are also moments which present itself where it is clear that there are times when people are trying to help her or offer a hand in defeat and instead of taking it she snuffs it in a childish demeanour. I hate to say it, there are not many books where I have come across where from the very beginning my opinion of a character is not likeable. But it is true, Emma Lane is not likeable or relatable. The only thing I truly feel for her is when her mother suggests that going to camp would make her straight, which is understandably blood-boiling in any situation.

But this is when my rant is over and my opinions begin to soften. Although I'm not the biggest fan of Emma, I did begin to like her more with her relationships with the Black family. How she treated Gwen as a friend when she didn't have any; with Vivian and how she began to soften to the idea that maybe sharing things is not a bad thing, especially when you are crying for help and finally Julie, lovely and motherly Julie who helped her decide that her future can mean something, even when you feel like you are not getting anywhere.

So I don't feel as though this book is a bad attempt, no way. It is just that sometimes its ok to not like someone completely, but that is normal as its like life itself. You can't be forced to like every single person you meet. It is just in this case, Emma needed someone to open her up and show her what is really important. It's crazy to think that when I did finish this book I felt some sadness that I didn't get to see Emma in the next stage of her life, which is not something that I would have ever thought about in the beginning.

At the beginning I was adamant that I wanted to give this book a two star. However, I think that as Emma improved, so did my opinion of her and now I give it a three star.

Thoughts of a Bookworm #5: Goodreads Choice Award is Fake

Hello! So, I know that it has been some time since I was last writing to you all. But I saw an email the other day and it really got me that I couldn’t not share my thoughts on it. As we all know it’s that time of year again. The fairy lights are beginning to twinkle, the days and nights are getting darker and colder and we are all starting to look ahead to the next year. But what comes before next year? Well, the Goodreads Book Choice Awards of course. One of the biggest events in a bookworm’s calendar. But personally, I think the whole thing is an insult to the whole book community. Obviously, when I was younger I didn’t think any different to most bookworms. However, I have come to realise that it isn’t necessarily what is the best book of the year but rather a popularity contest. More so now than ever with the insurgence of ‘BookTok’. Honestly, I don’t think we will ever get a book worthy of the title ever again. It has become a pure vanity project. Take me back to the T...

Thoughts of a Bookworm #6: Booktok is killing literature

Booktok. One of the most exciting community spaces for a reader in the past five years. A place where there is a big online community giving insight into old and new releases. Reviewers who are receptive to their audience and you don't have to be 'somebody'. This is no branded bookclub. It is a place for all people with different tastes come together to share what they truly love. Books. I have to be honest, I have also been a fly on the wall. Using their recommendations many a time for myself or as research to help someone else in their favourite genre. It can be a great tool. But there are times where I have thought that I was giving into the book version of 'fast fashion'. But what do I mean by 'fast fashion' exactly? Well, have you been watching recently? Especially in the romantasy space where plots have been subverted to a simple trope. One huge example that I tend to see is 'how much spice is there?' I get it. You want certain things to make...

A Wedding in the Country by Katie Fforde

SYNOPSIS Lizzie has just arrived in London, determined to make the best of her new life. Her mother may be keen that she should have a nice wedding in the country to a Suitable Man chosen by her. And Lizzie may be going to cookery school to help her become a Good Wife. But she definitely wants to have some fun first. It is 1963 and London is beginning to swing as Lizzie cuts her hair, buys a new dress with a fashionably short hemline, and moves in with two of her best friends, one of whom lives in a grand but rundown house in Belgravia which has plenty of room for a lodger. Soon Lizzie's life is so exciting that she has forgotten all about her mother's marriage plans for her. All she can think about is that the young man she is falling in love with appears to be engaged to someone else...