Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was on my to-read list mostly because I had read a few cute reviews and it seemed like a good end of summer, relaxing book. It certainly was all of those things. The characters are definitely cute characters but they are also complicated, conflicted and flawed. There is more than meets the eye behind all of the characters and they keep you guessing through the entire book. I imagined it would be a good romantic beach read and it also met by expectations here but again in a more complex and interesting way that I had anticipated.The story centers around two characters, one a young woman stuck in a dead-end job and a seemingly dead-end life and a young man who is left crippled by a tragic accident. Together they rediscover what it is to be a friend, to live your life to the fullest you can and to explore the many options we are given in this life. The story takes place in England and there is a lot of that quick English wit and sarcasm but there are also extremely endearing moments and utterly human stories from many of the secondary characters.
With the characters we face difficult moral questions and enjoy the ridiculous business of being alive. We are also challenged with the toughest question of all. What makes your life worth living?
A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness
If you are in the mood for a more fantasy based love story try A Discovery of Witches. As a young adult fantasy fan I am always excited to try adult fantasy novels. This book is the first in a trilogy (the second book in the trilogy just came out in paperback) so if you are looking to commit to a few stories check this out. I definitely have a lot of questions after the first book and want to pick up the second one. The writing itself was nothing much to write home about but the story is interesting and I think it promises to heat up in the next two books.
The book centers around a 1500 year old vampire and a 30 something year old witch who find themselves caught up in a incredible web of mystery, magic and science that promises to cause a lot of controversy among the non-human species: Vampires, Witches and Daemons.
I liked how the author had clearly done a lot of research into myth, magic, science and history to write this book. Much of the legend in the book links to other fantasy novels I have read but it has some interesting twists on the mechanics involved in making vampires, witches' families and daemons. The book also has some undertones of allegories of racial prejudice and segregation that I found interesting.
Mostly a romantic story there were times when it could get a little sappy and overly descriptive but I was able to plow through those sections with the promise that I would find out more of the underlying intrigue going on in the story.
Definitely something for a fan of Twilight, the Outlander Series and The Night Circus these are 500 pages that seem to fly by.
