Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by Marian Keyes

Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married
Marian Keyes

Front cover

Date read: 25 May - 12 June 2018
Length: 740 pages

Lucy and her colleagues visit a psychic, where she is told she will be getting married in about a year. The only thing is, she doesn't even have a boyfriend. Lucy's flatmates, Karen and Charlotte, are distraught by this news, as it means things will change. Then Lucy meets Gus. Could he be The One? But he doesn't even have a job, she's never been to his home, and he sometimes disappears for weeks at a time. He doesn't exactly sound like husband material...


Probably the best thing about this book is the wide range of characters. There are both male and female strong characters, as well as different ages. They are all very believable, whether you like them or not. I like Megan and Meredia, I think they rub against each other in a comical way. As for her flatmates, Charlotte seems okay but I'm not really a fan of Karen. She seems selfish and generally not very nice. As for Lucy herself, she can be a bit obsessive. After going to the psychic she looks into every little detail and gets obsessed with Gus.

As much as this is mainly a comical book, there is a bit of seriousness in it too, with Lucy's father being an alcoholic. After her mother leaves him, she moves in for a while to try to help, until it becomes too much for her. Lucy does the best she can in the situation, and that is something that should be admired.

For the story itself I wanted to give 3*, however because I liked the characters so much I decided to up my rating a little. It's a good summer read!

Marian Keyes

Overall rating

Thanks,
The Wee Librocubicularist

A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire #3 Part 2) by George R. R. Martin

A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold
A Song of Ice and Fire #3 Part 2
George R. R. Martin

Front cover

Date read: 10 - 24 May 2018
Length: 554 pages (607 with appendix)


King Joffrey is killed at his own wedding, and Tyrion is named the prime suspect. With the king gone, the fate of Westeros lies in the hands of his younger brother Tommen. The Starks are scattered; some believed to be dead, some dead for sure, and some missing. Across the ocean, Daenerys is freeing slaves and gaining allies, on her way to claim the throne of the Seven Kingdoms. Who will survive?


Holy moly there are so many major deaths in this instalment of Death, Dragons and Deceit. I know George R. R. Martin is ruthless, but so many in one book? Man! It really pulls on the old heartstrings a bit. I don't really want to go into too much detail, because spoilers.

What's going to happen in the North? There's no king, and Robb didn't leave an heir. Next in line would be Bran, but he's believed to be dead along with Rickon. So many questions!

I hope Dany reaches Westeros soon! We need her to beat them all and take over the throne (wishful thinking, I know)! She now has an army and her dragons are growing up. She can do it!


Very much looking forward to the next instalment.




Overall rating

Thanks,
The Wee Librocubicularist

Robinson Crusoe (Robinson Crusoe #1) by Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe #1
Daniel Defoe

Front cover

Date read: 4 - 9 May 2018
Length: 235 pages (265 including introduction and preface)


Robinson Crusoe was born in York in 1632. He travels to sea, determined it's where he belongs. After a few disasters at sea and a brief two year spell in Brasil, he ends up stranded on a desert island. How will he survive, and will he ever make it back home?


Robinson Crusoe is one of those books everyone has heard of, although most have not read it (in my experience). I had heard of it but knew nothing of the story. Some say it was the beginning of the novel, where works of fiction besides plays originate. As an avid reader with many, many books in my house and easy access to hundreds of thousands more, I find this a very hard concept to get my head around. A world without novels?! It's unthinkable.

So now I've read it. And it's not really what I was expecting. To be honest, I'm not really sure what I expected. I certainly didn't expect a man to be stranded on a desert island for 28 years! It's really amazing what he managed to accomplish with the bare minimum tools at his disposal. I'm not sure anyone of this century, (or maybe just western civilisation) would have lasted anywhere near as long.

I am not religious in any way, so I found all the references hard to take. Perhaps it was the copy I had, which had notes and told you which passages things were from. Maybe if I didn't have that, I would have been none the wiser.

It's really hard to judge this book, because I've never read anything like it. On one hand I thought Crusoe's character was a bit boring, but what could I expect of a man trapped alone on an island? Other times I thought "what is he going to do now?". I will need to read the further adventures.

I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.




Overall rating

Thanks,
The Wee Librocubicularist