The Black Sheep

By Sophie McKenzie

A bit unrealistic, but still really enjoyable.  I first discovered Sophie McKenzie with her YA novels years ago, but I think her adult thrillers are much better.

The Black Sheep is about a woman called Francesca, whose husband was murdered a year before the book began.  At his memorial service, a man approaches her and tells her that there was more to her husband's death than what was reported and that members of her family were involved.  This leads Fran to investigate which leads to an exciting and riveting climax.

One thing I think Sophie McKenzie is brilliant at is her ability to tell a story.  She isn't the best writer in the world but she is still able to write a story that immediately draws you in.  She has a unique writing style, and I've read enough of her books that I'd immediately be able to tell she wrote it without seeing the title or cover.  She is fantastic at creating characters that you can relate to.  Most of her books are centred around people who are ordinary people doing 9-5 jobs, and have been caught up in something awful.  Francesca is like that, going about her life looking after her kids and doing the school run.  I thought she was a great main character but she did annoy me slightly - it was clear that she was not able to trust any of her family and yet she still chose to confide in almost every member who ultimately could have been behind her husband's death.  Harry is also another likeable character, as are the rest of them.  I don't want to mention anything else about them, as I think I might end up spoiling the book for those who haven't read it.  Only Fran's Uncle Perry was dislikable I thought, constantly putting Francesca down but he too is fighting his own demons.

The setting was really good.  It was set in London, and being British myself I was able to picture everything clearly.  I actually imagined parts of the book to take place in real-life areas close to me, something I've only ever done a handful of times.  I think this helped me to enjoy it more.  The plot was a bit unrealistic and far-fetched, but I don't mind this; I think it adds excitement.  Who wants to read a boring book anyway?

While I mostly read books for pleasure and enjoyment, I also think it is great when authors write about issues that are relevant in the real world.  Abortion is prominent throughout the book and the ethics behind it, and one character suffers from bad mental health.

All in all, another great thriller from Sophie McKenzie.  It isn't the best book in the world and probably won't win any awards, but there are definitely worse books out there.  I'd recommend picking this up if you want something easy to read, that, although unrealistic, can just swoop you in and take you into its world.  I look forward Sophie McKenzie's next thriller.

Rating: 8/10

Date read: April 2017.

The Woman in Cabin 10

By Ruth Ware

This is the first book by Ruth Ware that I've read, and while I did really enjoy it, I don't think it was amazing.  I got major The Girl on the Train vibes, and the book seems to copy a lot of aspects of that book.  

The Woman in Cabin 10 is about a young woman named Lo Blacklock, who is a travel journalist.  She accepts an assignment on the maiden voyage of a small cruise ship, which she believes will help her open doors and possibly get her promoted.  All starts of well onboard, with just a handful of luxury cabins, but when Lo think she witnesses a woman being thrown overboard, the cruise takes a downward turn.  With all the passengers on the ship accounted for, who was the woman in cabin 10?

First off, I really liked the setting.  Set on a small cruise ship with only a handful of accessible rooms, it helped you realise the feeling of unease.  There really was no escape for Lo, who has no idea about who the potential murderer could be and if they will strike again.  The more she digs to try and get information, the more this seems possible.  I did get a sense of cabin fever reading this though, as it was set in the same small area constantly.  If the cruise ship had been a bit bigger, this might have been avoided, but then it may have caused the book to have a completely different tone and atmosphere.

On to the characters, as another reviewer mentioned on Goodreads, I absolutely hated Lo.  She reminded me so much of the main character in The Girl on the Train, Rachel.  Both are heavily dependent on alcohol and are really dislikable.  All Lo does is moan and make stupid decisions, which again she moans about later - countless times she asks herself "how could I have been so stupid?".  You'd think with all that was going on she'd be a bit more cautious and take more time to think about things.  She is also horrible to the people around her - her ex, Ben, and her current partner, Judah.  Whilst she was dislikable, I sometimes think that it is good for the main characters in books to be like this.  It shows that they are flawed and makes them seem more human, I think.  I also liked the fact that a lot of emphases was put on her mental health as I think that this is hugely important; there is also a lot of stigma shown to this by the other characters that I think is present in everyday life.  Mental health is something that shouldn't be shied away from in order to make characters more likable.

At times I often found it too difficult to keep up with the other characters - there were just so many.  Throughout the book, I constantly had to flick back to see who was who.  I did like that they all seemed like they could be villains and I had no idea who was behind throwing the woman overboard.

The final reveal occurred somewhat earlier than I expected, and I didn't see it coming at all.  I would say that the book was a bit unrealistic overall, however.  

As I said, this is the first book I've read by Ruth Ware, and because I really enjoyed it, I will definitely be picking up her debut and her next book which is due out soon.

Rating: 7.5/10

Date read: April 2017.

Carve the Mark

By Veronica Roth

Good, but I expected more from the author of the Divergent series.

Carve the Mark is centred around two main characters, Cyra and Akos.  Cyra's brother, Ryzek, is a tyrant who rules the country of Shotet, and uses her to torture his enemies because of her currentgift.  Akos is the son of an oracle, and when he and his brother are kidnapped by Shotet soldiers, he vows to do anything to get them both out alive.  He is forced to step in to help Cyra, who is having trouble controlling her currentgift, and if you've read any other YA novels where two characters from opposing sides are forced together, you can probably already tell what happens next. 

One thing I can't deny that Veronica Roth is excellent at is world-building.  The world she created in the Divergent series was very well thought out and the world in Carve the Mark is just as good.  I didn't like the setting however, but I think that this was just because of the type of book that this is.  I admit that I didn't know anything about this book before I started to read it - I just saw that it was written by Veronica Roth so I immediately bought it.  If I'd read the blurb I probably wouldn't have been in such a rush to read it.  

The characters in Carve the Mark were all quite well thought out, I thought.  Cyra and Akos were both interesting protagonists coming to terms with their newly developed currentgifts.  Ryzek was a good villain - I liked how his backstory was explored, and that him and Cyra used to be close when they were younger, but he was corrupted by his father so he could rule Shotet.  On the other hand, I just thought that there were too many characters in the book to keep track of, and I had to keep checking back to see who was who.  

Although I did enjoy this, the book is riddled with problems.  I thought there was an important plot hole surrounding the oracles, but if I try to explain it I think I might spoil too much of the story.  There is also the issue of racism which is quite prominent in Carve the Mark - if you google this then you'll get a much better explanation than I can probably give.

I don't think I'll rush to by the sequel when it comes out.  It was good, but nowhere near as good as Divergent.  It took me a week to read it, and if I had enjoyed it a bit more then I would have flown through it a lot quicker.

Rating: 5/10
Date read: April 2017.