Books

The Night Raid – Clare Harvey [BOOK REVIEW]

March 19, 2018 innah963 Comments

If you are a fan of drama, history, romance, World War II related books, heartwarming read and words that will make you laugh and cry at the same time – The Night Raid from Clare Harvey is the perfect book for you.

In the time of the World War II, in a factory in England, women work their way to earn a bit of money for themselves and their families. All of these women have their own stories and their own secrets.

When a woman comes to the factory to paint the ladies working the night shift, a lot of secrets will reveal itself. The stories of love, broken hearts, never-haves, hopes and dreams for the future will be painted on that canvas.

Full with passion, mystery, warmness and moments that will stay with you forever, Clare Harvey captures all of these and more in this amazing book.

She describes the characters in a unique way, she gives them life and meaning, and in a page or two you will already be inside their world, going through their happiness and pain.

This book was quite fast paced – in the meaning of, the story goes on smoothly, and there aren’t any sideway streets where you can get lost into. It was easy to keep track of what is happening from the very first beginning and easy to stay on track as well.

Clare managed to capture the World War II period in England quite well. I would never know how it was then, of course, but by reading the book, I could find myself being there, stuck in that time, stuck with those principles that we don’t believe in now. Stuck in a time where people believed that if a woman becomes pregnant during her working time, she has to either give up the baby, or live in a house full of other women that ended up the same way as her. Stuck in a time where gender equality is not a thing, and how could it be?

I would definitely recommend The Night Raid to every one of you, because it is a perfect blend of history and romance, of sadness and happiness, and of such powerful women that fought against all odds to survive and achieve in what they believed in!

Books

The Help – Kathryn Stockett [BOOK REVIEW]

March 14, 2018 innah967 Comments

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

This is a book where coloured maids in 1963 are afraid to speak up.

This is a book where they gain the courage to tell a white lady what actually happens inside their lives.

No one is ready to hear the truth, everyone is scared for their future, but bravery is a strong attire to have, and the maids prove they have what it takes.

Lot of courage, lots of excitement, anxiety and me biting my nails over and over again, but definitely book that’s worth reading. And definitely a book that will open your eyes about what actually happened back then.

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Books

My Trip To Adele – R.I. Alyaseer [BOOK REVIEW]

March 9, 2018 innah964 Comments

My Trip To Adele is a book unlike any other. We are introduced to three different life stories, all of them connected to Adele in a wonderful way, and every one of them will teach us many lessons, bring tears or laughs on our faces and remind us who we are and why we exist in this world. This is a book of how a singer or a song can connect so many people and touch so many hearts in a way no one else could. A book about keeping traditions and breaking them, a book about love, bravery and most of all – HOPE.

Let’s meet Elias. A Moroccan man that has lived in Rome long enough to believe he is Italian, with a Moroccan dust left in his soul. Through Elias, we will find out about how many years ago, he paid a prostitute for her services and fell in love. His love for Malika is undescribable. While other men would pay hundreds to only have her body, he would pay thousands more to have her soul, even for a night. He would never touch her body, but they would spend hours and hours talking about meaningful and meaningless things, about what it is like outside this city, outside this country, what can the world offer…

Malika has so many wishes and hopes, she sells her body so one day she would be able to leave this town, leave her family, and explore the world. Get married and have children, and be successful, and learn the English language. When life parts them from each other for eight years, Elias goes back to the same old city to look for her, and Malika has already left town. Sharing one special singer, there is only one place where he can find her – an Adele concert in Rome.

In Las Vegas, we have Yaser and Mariam, a married couple that lost its sparkle many years ago. Both are surgeons and spend a lot of time at work. And when they come home to the kids – everything is a routine. Yaser pretends to enjoy his TV Show evenings and the Prayers that Mariam wants to attend. He pretends to believe in God just to please his wife. They are not a happy family inside the house, but Mariam makes it sound perfect on the outside – they have the perfect social media photos, and they go to the most expensive places on a holiday, what could be so bad? He feels trapped inside a routine and wants to escape, but he also believes in saving his marriage, and following his marriage counselor, they are trying to revive their happiest memories, and that is when they decide to go to an Adele concert in Rome.

On the other side of the world we will meet Nadia and her son Waleed. Nadia is a strong woman that has been coping with her now ex-husband’s betrayals. She raised her son oh her own, and the love she feels for him is indescribable. Only a mother knows how much she adores her son. When her son gets hurt on her ex husband’s third wedding – Nadia decides that she would fight for her and her son, she will no longer be trapped, and she will finally enjoy a lovely holiday with her son – going to Adele’s concert in Rome.

This book is written in an amazing, fast pace, and you will never notice how you have scrolled through the pages and hours have passed. There were times where the character’s description was basic, and sometimes Adele’s presence would be too exposed, but all the characters are different in their own way, and every story has its purpose and its lesson.

Books

Purgatorium – J.H. Carnathan [BOOK REVIEW]

March 5, 2018 innah96Leave a comment

Imagine waking up without knowing where you are, not remembering who you are or why you are here – only to realise that you are in coma, and you only have a few days to live.

In order to get out of this ‘’in-between’’ place, you have to beat your demons… Would you be able to do that? Would you be able to realise what you were doing wrong, and become a better person?

Purgatorium is a wonderful thought story.

The main character is very unique, and a lot of people can relate to that certain type, for many different reasons.

I like how the story covers a little bit of Dante’s idea for a Purgatory, and a little bit of Alice in the Wonderland fantasy. I love how the time is presented, and every day has its own lost soul to help the main character.

The pace of the book goes easily, as it is nicely split into little chapters, all split into separate days, so we can keep track of where in time we are.

I found the character really amusing, how he changes over time, how he realises that he should have been a better person and tries to fix his life and make amends.

The story will blow your mind – it did blew my mind for sure. Expect to find a lot of unexpected things to happen, lots of twists, that will haunt you in a good way, for a very long time!

This story is so intriguing, unpredictable, and definitely worth reading. It makes you wonder about the true values in life, about who we really are, and all the sins we are making without realising the consequences.

It also makes you wonder whether a person can really change, entirely become a better person, or would he try to be a better person, just so he can have another chance in life to continue living the way he always used to live his life.

This is definitely one of the books that will make you want to re-read it over and over again.

Books

Out Of My Mind – Cathy Penman [BOOK REVIEW]

March 1, 2018 innah962 Comments

Cathy Penman messaged me through my blog, and asked me if I would like to read her book. I said yes – of course, and now I know – I made a very good decision that day!

Out Of My Mind is a book unlike any other that I have read. It is a fantasy book, with a huge sum of reality and psychological thoughts.

We follow the adventures of Laura, who is a woman with a special ability – to get out of her own body, and let her mind flow around in the air. She decides to keep her ability secret, because of all the risks she is under.

While her body is motionless, her mind can go places, see things and hear everything, but she can’t interfere with anything. She is just an invisible watcher.

The book is written with a lovely pace, and it made me unable to put the book down. It involves a lot of Points of View, from many different people, and even though for a moment I would lose track with all their adventures, they always connect to Laura’s story.

This book is amazing for so many amazing reasons, and I am so glad I got the chance to read it!

Check out her website here and order Out of My Mind below: