Midsummer's Bottom by Darren Dash

Hello everyone. This week I am going to be reviewing a book which is a little bit more light-hearted and hilarious to the point that chaos ensues. It is based on the work of William Shakespeare, to the point that the original characters such as Puck, Oberon and Titania have roles, but there are new characters which act out the story, but in the way that the originals believe to be the best. However, these new characters do not know anything about this, which makes the twists and turns of chaos to become quite entertaining.

First of all, for those who know of Darren Dash's other pseudonym which deals with children's books should not read this book. The content is for the mature reader, it is clearly shown how it has been written.

I think that the best part about this book is that when starting to read it, having no previous knowledge about the certain Shakespeare's play of A Midsummer Night's Dream, I thought that I would be put off the concept. However, after a few of the chapters I was completely enthralled by both the original play but also the concept of the book itself. It was wonderful that there was a brief summary of what happened in the play, allowing for me to fully enjoy and immerse myself within the story with complete ease.

Dash's character's themselves were also very interesting, all battling with their own demons. It is hilarious to see how this then plays out when Del Chapman and the fairies are able to get their hands and change the whole narrative to how the play usually ends up every year for the company of actors. It surely is a fresh take on how different Dash's characters usually are, which actually helps to make it a great summer read.

Rating: ****

Comments

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

If you are in the mood for a sweet romance that gives Groundhog Day and Ferris Bueller vibes then this book is for you. What happens if you wake up to the same Valentine’s Day and everything always goes not to plan? What if you are someone who likes to plan and not share how you are really feeling? Emilie, our female protagonist is very much a stickler for planning and keeping to societal norms. She never really speaks her mind. But this Valentine’s Day is different. She is different. I found that the book itself is quirky and fun. It does have moments of sadness but there is a lot of heart in terms of how it is done. There could have been more time with other characters that are mentioned throughout but at the end of the day it is very much a Young Adult piece. There is nothing wrong with that. Would I read it again? Possibly if I want a Valentines themed book. It was also very quick to read for those who are not into big tomes. Rating: 4 Stars

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

I’ve been following Ashley Poston’s work for a while. At first it was the comic con series back in 2020 when she first became known to me during COVID. After I read the series I forgot about her for a while. It was only when I went into my local Waterstones to pick up The Dead Romantics she came back under my radar. She is now one of my must buys if a new book comes out. Her take of the romantic genre has always been fresh and interesting with some form of magical realism. A Novel Love Story follows our heroine Elsy, otherwise referred to as Eileen. Unlucky in love she struggles to try new things. Instead, she is comforted by her favourite book series by her favourite author, Rachel Flowers. On her way to a cabin retreat by herself, she finds her car broken down in a town that is somewhat familiar to her favourite book series. I’m not going to lie, compared to Poston’s earlier novels this book took some time for me to get into. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve had to...

Unromance by Erin Connor

Two people have a meet cute in an elevator. One a romance novelist who is struggling to write her next book and the other a hopeless-romantic actor. Unromance follows the story of two people making a pact, trying out love tropes in the hopes of helping with writers block and to help destroy the idea of what romance is. But as you can imagine had dire consequences for both parties. When first ordering this book I was taken mostly by the cover. It is reminiscent of the days of the 2000s romcoms such as How to Lose a Guy in 10 days. And this somewhat comes up in conversation during the book itself. I just wish I cared for the writing more. I think this is the problem with contemporary romance books these days, it is more about what has been than what is fresh and different. The idea behind the book as well as the book cover itself felt like a marketing ploy which sadly I did fall for. The chemistry of both characters feel very flat and I didn’t particularly like the endi...