What I Did In July

Weeeehhhhh.

It has been almost a month of interweb silence. I’m sorry. I’m not a bad person, I’ve just been really busy with work, and then my family were abroad so I was solely responsible for all the household-y things-dude, it takes so long to change the bed sheets and do laundry for five people.

And, of course, they all went off and left me with about a weeks worth of their dirty clothes to look after. I wasn’t home for a few days before they left; trust me, if I had’ve been around, standards would not have slipped to such an appalling low (I’m kind of OCD about cleaning and laundry. Like, I iron our towels).

Plus, during their holiday I had lots of my own friends to stay (not the best plan when you’re working all the time but hey, we had our evenings).

And don't start me on work; Lord, but those ladies are demanding! Weh, weh, weh. 

So I’m sorry.

I have read a bit though.

I got through Dark Water by Tricia Rayburn, which I was so excited about and it was really, really good:

Then, I went on an Artemis Fowl binge, which was fantastic. I forgot how downright awesome those books are. Holly Short is my icon; in fact, as my hair is already kind of auburn and I am very short, I may get a pixie cut and a jumpsuit to complete the look.

                                                                           

Dude, if you haven’t read this series you need to get on that immediately. And there are no excuses as the series is complete, so no waffle about no wanting to be stuck on cliffhangers and so on.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. 

Insert Angry Noise Here

Like, I need to complain.

It's been two weeks, and I have finished two books. Bad. Bad.

Why did nobody warn me about the perils of real life? That instead of reading on the bus home from work I'd be sleeping, missing my stop and having to take buses home from the shopping center very late at night because I happened to wake up there? Seriously, the colleges should be handing out flyers or something.

Pffft. The two books I did read were pretty good. The first was The Night She Disappeared by April Henry and the second was Girl Stolen, also by April Henry.



Both really awesome books on their own-I just made the cardinal error of reading them consecutively  and I SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT, NOT AT ALL.

I apologize for the caps lock and all. I've accepted that most writers have a theme in mind for their books, and April Henry is no exception. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but...sigh. I'll try to explain.

April Henry definitely likes girls who fight. Both of these books feature girls who are taken captive against their will. In Girl Stolen, Cheyenne is kidnapped during a carjacking while she waits for her step-mom to come out of the drugstore. Bad enough. Worse? Cheyenne is blind and suffering from pneumonia. Not a situation I'd want to be in, just saying. Then, in The Night She Disappeared Kayla is attacked and kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity while she delivers pizzas. Also not a contender in my top ten ways to spend an evening. But I digress. Individually, these books are great. Well written, tense, compulsive...but if you read them back to back you start to notice all the similarities. Teenage girl with victim written all over her who has a penchant for fashioning homemade weapons? Check. Boy love interest from the wrong side of the track? Check. At least one girl with rich disinterested parents? Check. Written from numerous points of view? Check. 


I'm not denying that, individually, these books are great. They are both quick, enjoyable and compulsive reads/ Just give yourself a good long break between books. Read them, just not together. 


I need a nap now. I am very, very cranky.