Horns - Joe Hill

Rating: ✫✫

I knew of the film adaptation of Horns before I ever realised it was a book, although I've never seen it. I'm very particular about always needing to read the book before seeing an on-screen adaptation, and so I downloaded the book to my kindle to read first. 

Honestly, I disliked this book immediately. I mean, seriously disliked it. I found it crude, messy and just generally repulsive. The plot had some holes that weren't really explained, and I didn't think the characters were at all endearing. Case closed.

Now I've had some time away from the book, I've gained a little more perspective on it. I still dislike it, and I'll never read it again, but I can see the point of these darker elements a little better. They represent chaos and the evils of regular people, of regular society. Ig is the devil on all of our shoulders, and although I still think the book is very unenjoyable for the most part, it does make a definite statement.

✼

"It's like in the Bible. You can't always get what you want, but if you really need something, you usually find it."

✼

Ignatius Perrish is the town reject, the prime suspect in the brutal sexual assault and murder case of his girlfriend, Merrin. Unable to convince people of his innocence, Ig has resigned himself to drinking and doing bad things to pass the time. One morning, he wakes with a hangover, one that causes enormous pain. Pain which isn't helped by the two horns now protruding from his head.

But surely he must be imagining things; surely the horns can't possibly be real! Except that strange things now happen to Ig when he ventures out in public. People spill their darkest secrets without meaning to, and Ig finds he is able to manipulate them with ease. 

Trying to navigate his way through the strange situation he is now in, Ig soon realises that the relationships he holds with family and friends are to be tested, and the truth about what happened to Merrin may come from the most unlikely of sources. The devil is on his shoulder, and he wants revenge.

*spoiler alert*

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (Series) - Jenny Han

Series rating: ✫✫✫

Seeing as the film adaptation of To All the Boys I've Loved Before has just been released on Netflix, it seemed only appropriate that it was time to do a review of Jenny Han's series. Coincidentally, I read this series only a few weeks ago, and so the story is still fresh in my mind. 

I should start by saying that this series wouldn't win any literature awards, and it is very predictable in the way only a young adult read can be. However, it was really enjoyable, and I thought the entire story was adorable. I'm not sure this necessarily needed to be a series - one standalone book, or two at most, would have felt more structured and cohesive. Yet the characters were endearing and sweet, despite their immaturity at times. I read the whole series in just a couple of days, and it put a big smile on my face. 

✼ 

Lara Jean is a fan of love letters, and she keeps all her love letters in a hatbox that was given to her by her mother. But these aren't love letters that Lara Jean has received. These are love letters that she has written to all the boys she has loved: five boys over her sixteen years. Five letters, written but never delivered, hidden in her hatbox, secret, and destined never to be read.

Secret, that is, until the day that these letters find their way to five very unexpecting boys. Suddenly, Lara Jean's feelings are exposed, and her love life becomes very complicated. Especially seeing as one of the recipients just happens to be her sister's boyfriend, Josh. If she wants to protect both her sister and herself, Lara Jean may just have to come up with an imaginative way of avoiding the issue. Enter boy #2, ex-crush Peter Kavinsky.

*spoiler alert* 

Thirteen - Steve Cavanagh

Rating: ✫✫✫✫✫

Thirteen first came to my attention because it was recommended by a number of people. When I first picked it up, the plot description jumped out to me immediately, and I just knew it was going to be right up my street. A crime novel based inside the courtroom, but with an intriguing twist: the killer is actually on the jury.

I loved this book. If I could have read it all in one sitting, I probably would have. The short, sharp chapters made this a real possibility, as they ensured the book was easy to read, despite the dark subject material. Eddie Flynn also makes for a really endearing protagonist; he is just the right balance of sharp and sweet. Switching between his viewpoint and the perspective of the murderer keeps the reader on their toes through an exciting and intriguing story. 

✼

This is the murder trial of the century, with Hollywood star Bobby Solomon charged with the murder of his wife. When the defence contact lawyer Eddie Flynn, he isn't sure whether or not he should involve himself with the case. But then he meets Bobby, and Eddie knows instantly that he is innocent.

As the trial begins and a series of fatal incidents happen outside the court room, Eddie starts to wonder if there is more to the trial than meets the eye. And if Bobby is really innocent, then where is the real killer?

What if they're on the jury?

*spoiler alert*