My Favourite Reads of 2015

It's time for the annual Books with Bunny end of year round up!  My favourite books of 2013 and 2014 were pretty diverse and full of some fabulous reads, but 2015 was another brilliant year of reading for me!  Here are my highlights (click on the links below each cover for a full review)...

 

How I Lost You - Jenny Blackhurst

 

"Startling, shocking and unashamedly dark, this is a thriller that will leave you with an uncomfortable feeling for weeks, but somehow, despite that, I'm absolutely gagging for more..."

 

 

Skating at Somerset House - Nikki Moore

New Year at the Ritz - Nikki Moore

Valentine's on Primrose Hill - Nikki Moore

Cocktails in Chelsea - Nikki Moore

Strawberries at Wimbledon - Nikki Moore

Picnics in Hyde Park - Nikki Moore

 

"An absolute winner full of charm and the type of romance I adore- a love story between two ordinary people."

 

 

Letters to the Lost - Iona Grey

 

"Every once in a while a book comes along which blows your mind and breaks your heart.  Letters to the Lost is one of those books."

 

 

 

Somewhere Only We Know - Erin Lawless

 

"I cried during the opening chapters and I wept at the end.  This book was devastatingly brilliant, and the warmth of Alex and Nadia's relationship radiated off every page.  It's the kind of book that makes you want to tell those you love just how special they are to you and to wrap them in a bear hug and never, ever let go."

 

 

All I Know Now - Carrie Hope Fletcher

 

"Whatever your age, whatever your outlook, whatever your dreams...you can learn from this book.  It encourages introspection and self awareness, and is a perfect way to help you reassess what is important to you.  Not to anyone else, YOU."

 

Wellies and Westies (A Christmas Tail) - Cressida McLaughlin

 

"Cressida McLaughlin has an easy-to-read writing style and a chatty and engaging voice, which reminded me of Sophie Kinsella.  I can absolutely see why she's so highly regarded within the genre."

 

All of the Above - James Dawson

 

"I read All of the Above in two sittings, and if I could have cancelled everything else in my life to be able to read it in one, I would have.  It was that good."

 

 

Only Ever Yours - Louise O' Neill

 

"From the nasty, vicious backbiting of the first chapters through to the disturbing bitter end, Only Ever Yours had me hooked. 

It's one of the best books I've ever read, and I've read a lot."

 

Access All Areas - Charlotte Phillips

 

"Perfection in the form of contemporary romance."

 

 

 

Counting Stars - Keris Stainton

 

"This book took me back to the heady days soon after leaving home where freedom is both liberating and downright scary.  It's a challenging time and Counting Stars portrays that perfectly."

 

 

Every Time a Bell Rings - Carmel Harrington

 

"Belle and Jim's story is heartfelt and beautiful, gorgeously written in a way that tugged hard on my heartstrings.  Don't be fooled by the Christmassy exterior -  Every Time a Bell Rings is a novel that can help you reassess your place in the world at any time of year."

 

 

 

The Art of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson

 

 "I know I'll be coming back to it again, and my copy is proudly stood on the shelf of 'keepers' - books I want to reread and recommend and lend to anyone who'll listen.  Brilliant."

 

 

I Call Myself a Feminist - ed. Victoria Pepe, Rachel Holmes, Amy Annette, Alice Stride and Martha Mosse

 

"Powerful, relevant and extremely accessible, I Call Myself a Feminist should be essential reading.  It's empowering. It's enlightening.  It's thought provoking.  It's downright brilliant."

 

I Call Myself a Feminist - ed. Victoria Pepe, Rachel Holmes, Amy Annette, Alice Stride and Martha Mosse

The Blurb

Is feminism still a dirty word? We asked twenty-five of the brightest, funniest, bravest young women what being a feminist in 2015 means to them.

We hear from Laura Bates (of the Everyday Sexism Project), Reni Eddo-Lodge (award-winning journalist and author), Yas Necati (an eighteen-year-old activist), Laura Pankhurst, great-great granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and an activist in her own right, comedian Sofie Hagen, engineer Naomi Mitchison and Louise O'Neill, author of the award-winning feminist Young Adult novel Only Ever Yours. Writing about a huge variety of subjects, we have Martha Mosse and Alice Stride on how they became feminists, Amy Annette addressing the body politic, Samira Shackle on having her eyes opened in a hostel for survivors of acid attacks in Islamabad, while Maysa Haque thinks about the way Islam has informed her feminism and Isabel Adomakoh Young insists that women don't have to be perfect. There are twelve other performers, politicians and writers who include Jade Anouka, Emily Benn, Abigail Matson-Phippard, Hajar Wright and Jinan Younis.
Is the word feminist still to be shunned? Is feminism still thought of as anti-men rather than pro-human? Is this generation of feminists - outspoken, funny and focused - the best we've had for long while? Has the internet given them a voice and power previously unknown?

The Review

I was incredibly excited when I was approached to take part in the blog tour for I Call Myself a Feminist.  Although it's only over the past few months that I've actively started reading feminist non-fiction, I have to say that this collection particularly interested me, partly because the essays were written by such a diverse selection of young women.  Although there have been some mainstream feminist books which have hit the bestseller lists (Caitlin Moran and Amy Poehler's for example), I Call Myself a Feminist appealed because the essays were by women from all walks of life.  I have to say, I wasn't disappointed.

The issues covered were equally as diverse - female genital mutilation, rape, sexual consent, women and careers, motherhood to name just a few - and every viewpoint gave me something different to mull over.  It's an inspirational book which is sadly still necessary in the twenty-first century, but one which examines what it means to be a feminist today.  It proves that feminists do not fit one stereotype.  It proves that feminism means something different to each individual.  Personally, I think this is a major contributing factor to the rise in people identifying as a feminist - it's certainly enabled me to feel more comfortable using the term in relation to myself. 

Powerful, relevant and extremely accessible, I Call Myself a Feminist should be essential reading.  It's empowering. It's enlightening.  It's thought provoking.  It's downright brilliant.

Only Ever Yours- Louise O'Neill

The Blurb

eves are designed, not made.
The School trains them to be pretty.
The School trains them to be good.
The School trains them to Always be Willing.
All their lives, the eves have been waiting.
Now, they are ready for the outside world.
companion . . . concubine . . . chastity.
Only the best will be chosen.

 And only the Men decide.

The Review

Every so often a book comes along that blows your mind.  Only Ever Yours is one of those books. 

Wow. 

Just wow.

I'm writing this review within an hour of finishing the book.  That's not something I usually do, but I feel compelled to, because it's got so deeply under my skin.  I'm trying to think of the best way to describe it and the only thing I can come up with is 'chilling'.  Vagenda's quote on the cover of 'Mean Girls meets The Handmaid's Tale' is pretty spot on as a description of the content.

The story revolves around sixteen year old girl (eve) frieda (lack of capital initial is intentional!)  Locked away in an all female school, eves are trained to be compliant and good.  They must stay within their target weight range or they will be punished, because to be fat is to be repulsive.  They must never cry.  They must be always be willing.  eves know that by the end of the year their future lives will be decided as they are selected into one of the thirds- companion, concubine or chastity.  Their fate is to be decided by the Inheritants, a group of ten sixteen year old boys who will choose their companions from the cohort of eves.  The whole book focusses on the build up to this selection day from inside the school.

I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy Only Ever Yours because although I've read and enjoyed dystopian fiction before, it isn't generally one of my preferred genres.  However, O' Neill is such a fantastic storyteller with the capacity to paint hideously vivid pictures through her words- I was captivated.  Gripped with horror and intrigue as I turned the pages, I greedily devoured every delicious word. 

I loved the mystery surrounding isabel, frieda's former best friend and megan, the ultra competitive superbitch had me pantomime hissing throughout.  Honestly, she's the epitome of everything I dislike and her character made me determined to become an even more of a staunch feminist than I already am!  And when the #1 Inheritant Darwin is introduced and the girls are vying for his attention- urgh- I was taken right back to the pain caused by adolescent lust and the overwhelming desire to be seen as attractive.

The relationships between the eves were so very believable- the two-faced one-up(wo)manship in the book is the same as it is in many a school, office, club or playground at pick-up time.  It is almost a warning, a brilliant beacon of a warning, of what could happen to women in a world where men have all the power.  The irony that we live in a world where men still do have the majority of power is not lost on me.  Although I highly doubt the world in Only Ever Yours is what's in store for our future, it could be.  And that's what's scary, hard-hitting and emotive about this book.

Originally aimed at a teen market, I can absolutely see why Quercus have repackaged this for an adult audience too.  It's necessary, and a book which deserves to be noticed for it's brave content, original premise and utterly frightening plot.

From the nasty, vicious backbiting of the first chapters through to the disturbing bitter end, Only Ever Yours had me hooked. 

It's one of the best books I've ever read, and I've read a lot.  Everyone needs to read it.  So, what are you waiting for?

Only Ever Yours is out now, published by Quercus.

With thanks to the publisher Quercus, who provided me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.