BOOK REVIEW: Not Working by Lisa Owens

Not Working is the much anticipated debut novel from Lisa Owens. This book was on my radar for quite some time - plus, I was in love with its original cover art - so when it appeared on Netgalley I jumped at the chance to read it.

Twenty-something Claire might seem to possess the recipe for a good life; a London flat, a boyfriend who's a trainee brain surgeon, a mother who she spends time with, and a decent day job. However, Claire isn't thoroughly satisfied - she isn't doing a job she loves, and even though she doesn't have to worry too much financially with Luke's salary, she has suspicions that he may be cheating on her.

A bit fed up with a life that now seems to be heading nowhere, Claire decides to quit her tedious job and find one that's more meaningful - to truly find her calling. After all, she has enough savings to keep her going for enough time to find a job - which, sadly, is harder than she expected.

Claire soon realises that perhaps leaving a job before finding another was probably not the best of ideas, and soon her life, which at least used to have some semblance of normality, is taken over by an excessive job hunt. Claire needs to get her life back on track, and quickly.

Not Working seemed as though it would be a promising debut. I had expected it to be quirky, humorous, with the added relatablility of twenty-something life. Most of us have probably taken jobs 'for now' with the intent of landing our dream careers, or have spent considerable time glued to our computers, applying for various roles over and over again. That's part of what interested me about this novel  - we've all been there, that's life, that's reality sometimes. But sadly, it just didn't ring true.

Firstly, Claire is an extremely annoying character; she's self-centered and irresponsible, and if I'm being blunt, acts like a whiny, entitled, immature and shallow millennial waiting for everything to be automatically handed to her. (I am only a couple of years older than Claire, and yet with her actions, it seems as though she's a lot younger). I couldn't sympathise with her at all and she annoyed me so much that I really didn't want to finish the novel.

Secondly, the format of this book is quite annoying; it's not written in novel form, more like a diary, with every page or so having a different title, with a glimpse into Claire's relatively normal, day to day life. This became very tedious, VERY quickly, as the chapters didn't fully flow for me and it was hard to get into the story.

I'm disappointed, mainly because I had such high hopes for this book. That said, if Lisa Owens releases another novel I would certainly give it a go, but as for Not Working, I'm sad to say it wasn't for me.

Rating: 2/5

BOOK REVIEW: On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher

On the Other Side is the recently-released novel by Carrie Hope Fletcher, author of All I Know Now. I've recently discovered that she's also a well-known vlogger. I didn't know this before I read the novel, but I am a huge fan of paranormal/magical realism, which is what attracted me to On the Other Side.

When Evie Snow passes away at eighty-two, she finds herself outside of the apartment she lived in during her late twenties. In fact, she's now twenty-seven again, and faced with a door that refuses to open. A door, she's told, that will lead to her own private heaven. She learns that to enter, her soul needs to be light enough, and so she has to lose the weight of the secrets she's kept throughout her entire life. So she sets out, as a spirit, to unburden herself of the secrets, and pass messages to those who require it.

Evie has to venture back through her life and loves in order to finally pass through to the afterlife. Which means revisiting those she has loved - and lost. As a woman born into a very wealthy family, Evie's mother had hopes of her daughter marrying the son of their equally rich friends - a son who has always loved Evie, but who Evie has never loved back, only as a friend.

Evie had liked to make choices of her own, and had made a deal with her mother: that if she does not find a good job in an animation studio - her dream - within one year, then she will follow her mother's plan to marry James. However, Evie doesn't envision falling for a handsome, lovely busker from the poorer side of town. As Evie navigates her way through the afterlife, she must finally give up the secrets, and reveal the love story of her entire life before she can move on to the next one.

On the Other Side is a very romantic tale; romantic in a magical kind of way. Less of a sugary love story and more like a fairytale, which I personally loved. However, there were some issues with this book that prevented me from giving it a higher rating.

First of all, the time period of this novel was not specified; Evie died at eighty-two, yet the world she lived in during her twenties seemed no different to the modern day, besides certain things, such as her workplace, which was described as being inhabited by seedy men who would think nothing of slapping a woman on the backside. The relationship with her family and the idea of an arranged marriage led me to assume that the novel was set some fifty or more years ago (possibly even the 1930s), which would ring true, however other aspects in the book seemed more modern, such as fashion, and references to sexuality which seemed to be widely accepted, even though, back then, it would not have been so simple.

This became confusing, not to mention grating, leaving me wondering whether this was deliberate, as it is in some books. However, it was so unclear that instead it just seemed less deliberate, and more likely that the author simply didn't do her research.

Which leads me to the second issue: Evie's mother. Given Evie's desire to be independent, to leave her home with its maid and cook and butler and live in her own apartment, I found it hard to believe that such a supposedly strong-minded woman in her late twenties would still go along with her mother's plan in the first place. Why did she not refuse, early on? If her love was so strong, why did she not be honest with her mother and simply refuse to marry?

These problems did spoil the book for me quite a bit, as they distracted from what would have been a warm, emotional love story. And it was - it wasn't predictable, and the revelation of Evie's secrets and kept me reading until the end. If you can ignore the problems with some of the novel, it's a sweet, modern fairytale.

Rating: 2/5

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW: Some Kind of Magic by Mary Ann Marlowe

What do you do when the gorgeous rock star you're dating might only be with you because of a perfume that's effectively a love potion? Biochemist Eden Sinclair is faced with a difficult predicament in Mary Ann Marlowe's debut novel, Some Kind of Magic.

Single Eden's life is generally going well. She's a scientist. She' has a successful and lovely musician for a brother. An apartment and prospects. The downsides? She's not exactly doing the work she dreamed of, and her mother's constantly on a mission to set her up with unsuitable men. Eden isn't too lucky in love, but that soon changes when her lab colleague hands her a vial of perfume.

Eden doesn't know it, but the perfume is designed to enhance pheromones. And after attending one of Micah's gigs, starts to hit it off with a cute musician.

Little does Eden know, he's none other than Adam Copeland, internationally famous guitarist with millions of worldwide fans. When Eden finally realises that the cute guy she slept with is a rock star, tension rises. Especially when she also finds out that the perfume she's wearing is designed to have a bit of an effect on men...

Is Adam attracted to her because of the perfume, or is it due to a different kind of chemistry?

Admittedly I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped. I'd fallen for the blurb (and its gorgeous cover!), intrigued by the perfume premise which sadly seemed to be overshadowed by the 'good girl falls for the rock star' element of the book. I expected a bit more of a twist as I tend to look for more in novels than just a love story, and this one was, sadly, quite predictable. I also found it very hard to like Eden, who came across as snobby and a bit childish at times, especially with her reluctance to date men based on their occupations (doesn't want to date a dentist or gynecologist because, you know, ew. Even though she's a fully grown woman. And a scientist.) I wasn't sure if I was meant to find this fussiness endearing, but it was just grating.

Even though I love Mary Ann Marlowe's writing style, I just didn't really fall for this book. However, that's probably just due to personal preference. If you're a fan of romance novels, this might be a good read for you; it's light, with some funny moments and some great characters, such as Micah and Adam. I was just expecting a little bit more.

Rating: 2/5

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.