Review: Kill The Boy Band

Kill The Boy Band 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Macmillan! 

Okay, so just know from the start that it wasn't supposed to go like this. All we wanted was to get near The Ruperts, our favorite boy band.

We didn't mean to kidnap one of the guys. It kind of, sort of happened that way. But now he's tied up in our hotel room. And the worst part of all, it's Rupert P. All four members of The Ruperts might have the same first name, but they couldn't be more different. And Rupert P. is the biggest flop out of the whole group.

We didn't mean to hold hostage a member of The Ruperts, I swear. At least, I didn't. We are fans. Okay, superfans who spend all of our free time tweeting about the boys and updating our fan tumblrs. But so what, that's what you do when you love a group so much it hurts.

How did it get this far? Who knows. I mean midterms are coming up. I really do not have time to go to hell. 

Okay so, I was so intrigued by this book because I didn't get the synopsis above, I just got the synopsis that was saying how fangirls get a bad rep and our narrator wanted to tell her side of the story and so on and so I wasn't really sure what to expect going in to it! I obviously knew something bad was going to happen, but I wasn't really sure what! This synopsis from GoodReads goes in to way more detail! 

I thought this book was completely brilliant. I had such a sense of anticipation going in to this book and as you open it there's a quote about telling the truth and then another page with the whole 'I want to tell my side of the story' bit. I could feel the anticipation building and then it's straight in there with what's going on. We have four girls, Apple, Erin, Isabel and our narrator Samantha, they are huge fans of this band, and each has their own favourite member. Not only is there the whole kidnapping incident mentioned above, but there's other stuff that happens, and I liked how the friendship between the group of girls was explored. The dynamics between all of them really! You have Samantha and Erin who are best friends, but is Erin telling her everything? You have their friends Isabel and Apple, two other fans they met through the band....but how close are they really? Is Isabel taking Samantha's place? Is there something they're keeping from her? It was interesting to see if they where as good friends as they thought they where, and I liked that you had that as well as everything with the band. 

This book is gold, excuse the pun? Is that a pun? eh. ANYWAY. This book is completely hilarious, the narrative is scathing at some points about other members of the band. It's dark, it's got a murdery vibe. The plot is something that would never in a million years happen, and I would love to say the characters are kind of ridiculous but I guarantee there's an Apple out there somewhere. I laughed so much while reading this book, like laugh out loud, cackling kind of laughing. Why? Because this book makes fun of boy bands, fangirls, teen girls crushing on celebrities in general, and it's funny, but at the same time, there are some insightful, although funny, thoughts on the whole thing scattered throughout the narrative, thoughts that you kind of find yourself nodding to. You could say that the girls are being defended a little bit at some points! Or their right to be fangirls is defended, their crushes, not like...kidnapping and stuff! The thing about the book is that it's consistently hilarious throughout the book, not just here or there, you find yourself laughing so much at the jokes, the observations, the silliness of it and so on. I will admit, I did feel like I probably shouldn't be laughing at some points, but I couldn't not! 

This book also makes you cringe, if you've ever been a fangirl of anything. I'm in my early 20's, trust me, I've done the whole fangirling, social media thing about many many things. I've even been there with bands, back in the day. Not to this level, of course, but still! I was a really shy kid, probably because I was so chubby, so I'd never have done anything like in the book, but I did my fair share of fangirling....bands...tv shows...actors and so on. Oh and there was my football phase, can't forget that! So I cringed once or twice thinking about all the "fangirly" things I've been known to do, and some of the truths that just hit a little close to him. There was some awkward laughter like "oh glad I've never done this...or that...ha...ha...ha". 

This book is a gem. It really is, and what a debut for the author! I loved her writing style, I loved her humour. I loved how she told it from Samantha's point of view, and as you read and things get darker and darker, you're right there with Samantha...but then at one point you begin to wonder about her. She seems potentially unreliable as a source, and you start to question her and what's happened and so on. 

Kill The Boy Band is completely and utterly darkly hilarious, it's even silly at some points! It's relatable, well written, fully of observations that ring true. It's even a little bit feminist at points, as well as diverse as we have a range of characters. I read this in a couple of hours because I was so caught up in the drama, the girls where brilliant and funny and the band themselves where freaking hilarious when you got to see them. I seriously can't stress enough how brilliant this book is, you will laugh out loud consistently throughout the entire book, even though you feel bad about it. Truly a brilliant debut! 

Charles_HRH's Guide To Great Britishness

Charles_HRH's Guide To Great Britishness
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr

There are plenty of guidebooks on Great Britain, but none have been given the all-important Royal Seal of Approval. Who better to teach the world than the heir to the throne?

His Royal Highness will cover everything from History ('Might have to sell France to pay for Richard III's car park fine') to British cities ('If you're wondering why the British are so good at cycling and rowing, take a look at the cost of public transport') and The Arts ('The Madness of King George III - fantastic film. Americans didn't go to the cinema because they hadn't seen the first two. Awkward)'.

Tackling the all-important issues such as why we Brits can form a perfectly ordinary queue with just two people, or why we love a Full English Breakfast despite the fact it contains 465,873 calories, Prince @Charles_HRH's Guide to Great Britishness is a hilarious romp around our Sceptered Isle.

I haven't done my own synopsis this time, I've used the one from GoodReads because I couldn't come up with a better description! 

Okay so this book is perfection, I was laughing the entire way through, the book was informative and totally hilarious, and to be honest, it's a good book for us Brits, but also for any friends you may have coming to visit from another country! It'd be a fun gift to give! Stocking filler perhaps? I can see families sitting around reading out loud bits and pieces from this book and doing the quiz at the back! I mean tourists are gonna love it as well. 

It's one of those times when a fake account doing a book REALLY works. Everything is written as factual, even when the book is clearly pulling your leg and it is sometimes necessary to have a Google, just to check, I mean OF COURSE, you know the truth of it...but just in case....

The jokes are mostly easy to understand/get, but there's a few when you need a bit of knowledge on the subject or the person, but mostly it's smooth sailing and the jokes are rolling. I don't think the French will find the book as...amusing as the rest of us...there's a lot of fun poked at them and the entire "this is why we hate the French" thing going on. 

The book covers a lot, the history of Britain, The Royal Family, The Government, which ya know....was suitably hilarious, and fun was poked at certain individuals. There's also film and tv and books and food and alcohol, and pretty much everything you can think of. The observations on certain people and events are incredibly witty and cutting. 

There was rather a nice section on the Underground which was oh so true, let's be honest, not to mention the section on Haggis and the X-Factor. I was going to put a couple of quotes in this review, but honestly, I really couldn't decide so I left them out to save myself from an incredibly hard few hours trying to decide! 

It's kind of hard to review this book, but it can be read in one sitting, all the sections are the right length, the book is concise, witty and cutting, and obviously hilarious, and it's a lot of fun, you can quote it all day long! 

Miami Mummies

Miami Mummies
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: ARC Courtesy of the author!

Wendy Darlin is back, and she's found herself right in the middle of a turf war. Sort of. Tippy Henman, an old classmate, bought a patch of land through Wendy, promising her now deceased father she would build a high rise on it. Except, she forgot a few things that needed to be done...and now...two mummies have been found on the site. A state senator wants the land for himself, Tippy wants it to fulfill her promise to her father, and a tribe of Native Americans want it closed off to honour the ancestors they believe to be the mummies. Wendy calls in her lover, and Johnny Depp look alike, Roger Jolley to solve the mystery of the Miami Mummies....all is not as it seems, and it would appear the evil genius that is Kyzer Saucy, criminal mastermind, and mummy thief extraordinaire, has a hand in this.

But that's not all, Wendy has to assist her old mentor in his death and subsequent move to a new body, part of which involves stealing back a priceless possession Mission Impossible style. Drag Queens, mummies and murders....it's got Wendy Darlin written all over it!

Barbara very kindly asked me to review this, and I couldn't say yes fast enough. I loved Cairo Caper and I couldn't wait to get started on Miami Mummies.

When reading Miami Mummies, I had to perfect the art of laughing silently, often sounding like I was choking on something, because I decided to read this when sitting in a room full of other people, where laughing out loud is not an option unless you want to look like a total nutter. Or try and explain what's so funny to people who just don't get it.

In Miami Mummies, the action again kicks off right from the start with our favourite heroine following the screams to a murder site. From there it's all go, with fast paced writing and smooth flow, we know what we need to know, and we don't mess around with pointless pages about what Wendy ate for breakfast.

As well as the mummy mystery going on, we also have a little side plot with Wendy's old mentor, stealing back a statue, and waiting for him to return from the afterlife to his new body, which added a unique and unusual twist, with some old characters showing their faces again.

Wendy is still my spirit animal. She is me. She's up to her snarky, hilarious and charmingly bumbling but very heroic antics. The prospect of a mini Wendy running around was just too fantastic to imagine, this needs to happen in another book....seriously...I can see it now!

Miami Mummies manages to be realistic with how Wendy and Roger interact with each other, what happens in their lives aka pregnancy, how they react to situations (mostly, I don't think I'd be ordering someone to reverse up to a plane), and the historical aspect and how things are done regarding digs and discoveries and so on, while having totally fantastical developments like the transmigrate aspect and the hilariously ridiculous stunts.

Miami Mummies is the perfect blend of current language, witty and snarky remarks/play on words, perfect flow and writing, hilarious, ridiculous and page turning content. You never want to put it down, you want to stay with Wendy, laughing at what she does next. The plot twists and turns are hard to predict, I spent the whole time making up elaborate reasons why so and so must be Saucy, and being wrong.

Miami Mummies is a mystery, sprinkled with some history, with a couple of murders tossed in and blended with the perfect spin of humour, not to mention a leading lady you love to bits!