Skip to main content

The one you have been waiting all year for - The Big Review of the Year 2014!

Another year has gone racing past which for the book club means 13 more books have been read and reviewed (No we don’t exist in some different calendar world, we did a double bill in January). In a nutshell these are the ones we read starting with January 2014.

The Silent Wife by ASA Harrison. Score 5.5. This had the widest split of scores (10 to a 4) but in general we hated the lead character which effected our overall enjoyment.

Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James. Score 7.5. Very English, didn’t stray too far from the original which we liked but not a brilliant crime novel when you think who the author was.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. Score 7.3 liked by all, funny but with interesting points to discuss.

The Cuckoos Calling by Robert Galbraith. Score 7.5. We said it would make a good TV show and low and behold its going to be one! A successful second venture into the non-wizarding world. Looking forward to reading Silkworm

The Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg. Score 5.5. Most disappointed by this one. It had the most potential but too many elements and a too unbelievable husband and wife team got in the way of a good story.

Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach. Score 6.5. Most thought provoking dealing with very of the moment issues.

Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse. Score 5. Easy enough to read but very similar to other books on the market right now

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan. Score 5.5. Like an ice sculpture perfectly formed but lacking warmth

Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope 4.5. Introducing Marianne and Elinor to twitter was a step too far for us

The Goldfinch Donna Tartt. Score 7.66 recurring rounded up to an 8. The longest but in some ways the best.

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer. Score 7.3. ‘Easy to read with good characters but it didn’t blow me away and I won’t remember it in 6 months’ time’

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. Score 5. Unanimously loved the beginning but thought it became more silly as it went on

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. Score a festive 9. Short, sweet and Christmassy.


Those were the books and these are the Cramlington Book Club Awards for 2014!;

Lowest Score – Sense and Sensibility

Highest Score – The Polar Express but if you take away festive cheer then it was The Goldfinch

Most Forgettable – Sweet Tooth. I had to read nearly all of my review before I remembered the storey.

Most Recommend – The Rosie Project. I look back with most fondness on this one.

Overall not as many standout books as last year and a few of them left me disappointed (Her Fearful Symmetry, The Hidden Child and The Silent Wife mostly). There were some definite talking points though (Kiss Me First) and as I got The Silkworm for Christmas there will definitely be a revisit to Comoran Strike, probably my favourite character of all year.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mount by Jilly Cooper #inbetweeny

I'll start this blog with a warning, this post does contain spoilers. So if you haven't read the book then please don't read this blog, yet. Of course you should read this post just wait a little while until you've read the latest installment of Rupert Campbell Black (RCB). Warnings out of the way I'll begin. I was massively looking forward to reading this book having hugely enjoyed the previous ones. RCB is my (not so) secret trashy pleasure and has been for many years. This book had all the ingredients of a classic, pages of wonderfully named characters, a few tortured souls and of course RCB with all his horses, dogs and now grandchildren. The book got off to a good start full of characters from old but also plenty of new ones to mix it up a bit. The horse's really played a starring role in this book but I also really loved Gav and at first Gala. Yep only at first as she went strongly down hill and I bet you can guess why. RCB. Here is where I fell o...

Stitch Up (A Best Defence Mystery) by William McIntyre #BlogTour

OK hold on everybody for MY FIRST EVER BLOG TOUR!!!!!!!!! Did I like it? Did I manage to read it in time? Did I forget to post my review when I should have done? Yes, yes and (thankfully) no! Stitch Up is the ninth in the Best Defence Series featuring Scottish defence lawyer Robbie Munro. As a solicitor not a policeman who successfully runs his own law firm, is recently married and has a daughter the book immediately set itself apart from your standard crime thriller. The book begins with Robbie's ex girlfriend asking him to investigate the apparent suicide of her new boyfriend (awkward!). At the same time a convicted child-murderer is attempting to have his conviction quashed (if I remember the term correctly Mr McIntyre?) claiming Robbie's dad ex sergeant Alex Munro planted key evidence at the scene of the crime (double awkward!). I liked the two stories running along side each other which kept the pace of the book moving swiftly forwards. In real life McIntyre is ...

After The Party by Cressida Connolly

After The Party was May's book of the month. “Had it not been for my weakness, someone who is now dead could still be alive. That is what I believed and consequently lived with every day in prison.’ It is the summer of 1938 and Phyllis Forrester has returned to England after years abroad. Moving into her sister’s grand country house, she soon finds herself entangled in a new world of idealistic beliefs and seemingly innocent friendships. Fevered talk of another war infiltrates their small, privileged circle, giving way to a thrilling solution: a great and charismatic leader, who will restore England to its former glory. At a party hosted by her new friends, Phyllis lets down her guard for a single moment, with devastating consequences. Years later, Phyllis, alone and embittered, recounts the dramatic events which led to her imprisonment and changed the course of her life forever.” We were very confused initially as to which party the book was referring to. We all thought it...