Uncommon Type: Some Stories, by Tom Hanks

Format: e-ARC, 416 pages

Publisher: Random House UK

Published: October 17, 2017

ISBN: 9781785151514

Genre: General Fiction (Adult)

Back cover blurb: A collection of seventeen wonderful short stories showing that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is as talented a writer as he is an actor.

A hectic, funny sexual affair between two best friends. A World War II veteran dealing with his emotional and physical scars. A second-rate actor plunged into sudden stardom and a whirlwind press junket. A small-town newspaper columnist with old-fashioned views of the modern world. A woman adjusting to life in a new neighborhood after her divorce. Four friends going to the moon and back in a rocket ship constructed in the backyard. A teenage surfer stumbling into his father’s secret life.

These are just some of the people and situations that Tom Hanks explores in his first work of fiction, a collection of stories that dissects, with great affection, humour, and insight, the human condition and all its foibles. The stories are linked by one thing: in each of them, a typewriter plays a part, sometimes minor, sometimes central. To many, typewriters represent a level of craftsmanship, beauty and individuality that is harder and harder to find in the modern world. In his stories, Mr Hanks gracefully reaches that typewriter-worthy level.

Known for his honesty and sensitivity as an actor, Mr Hanks brings both those characteristics to his writing. Alternatingly whimsical, moving and occasionally melancholy, Uncommon Type is a book that will delight as well as surprise his millions of fans. It also establishes him as a welcome and wonderful new voice in contemporary fiction, a voice that perceptively delves beneath the surface of friendships, families, love and normal, everyday behaviour.

My review: I love typewriters. So does Tom Hanks, so this book seemed like something right up my alley. Starting out, though, I wasn’t so sure. I really didn’t like the first couple of tales, but it did get better as it went along. Some stories had only a tenuous connection to typewriters, but the ones that mentioned them a lot were my favourites and reminded me of the old ones I used in my journalism career and at home. Hanks uses his experiences in film to flavour the stories with astronauts, WW2 soldiers, pilots, and of course actors, but the overall feel is one of nostalgia. The best of the collection are “A Special Weekend”, “Welcome to Mars”, “The Past is Important to Us” and “Steve Wong is Perfect.” This collection makes me want to get the old portable out and bang out a letter.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 3.5/5

 

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Rock Redemption (Rock Kiss #3), by Nalini Singh

Format: e-ARC, 349 pages

Publisher: TKA Distribution

Published: October 6, 2015

ISBN: 9781942356325

Genre: Romance

Back cover blurb: From New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh comes the next contemporary romance in the Rock Kiss series…

Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.

Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.

When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting—needing—to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.

My review: Some people will have a problem with this book – there is cheating of a sort and the hero is a bit of an ass a lot of the time. However, I really enjoyed the story and the writing, which drew me in to Noah and Kit’s freinds-to-lovers story. The trauma of Noah’s childhood was not revealed until very late in the book and this mystery was very intriguing, unlike Kit’s stalker who was easy to pick – I did so from the first mention of them in the story. Kit had the patience of a saint and I enjoyed her a lot more than I expected. Abe and Sarah’s story next should be interesting.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 4/5

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Broken Juliet (Starcrossed #2), by Leisa Rayven

Format: e-ARC, 336 pages

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Published: May 1, 2015

ISBN: 9781743532171

Genre: Women’s fiction, romance

Back cover blurb: Cassie swore she’d never forgive Ethan for breaking her heart when they were in acting school years ago. He was her one great love, and when he refused to love her back, a part of her died forever…or so she thought. Now she and Ethan are sharing a Broadway stage, and he’s determined to win her back. Finally he’s able to say all the things she needed to hear years ago…but can she believe him? Has he really changed, and what makes this time different from all his other broken promises?The answer lies somewhere in the past, and now the truth will come to light.

Will Cassie rediscover what it’s like to be trusting and open again-the way she was before Ethan? Or is it too late for these star-crossed lovers?

Don’t miss this mesmerizing final chapter in the Bad Romeo duet, the unforgettable love story that captured the hearts of over two million fans online.

My review: All the stars! Oh my goodness, this is good stuff! Carrying on immediately where Bad Romeo left off – and yes, you definitely should read that before starting this book – we finally see the two breakups which left Cassie a major bitch and Ethan broken and alone. Leisa Rayven writes beautifully, and I was totally engrossed in the dual timeline and both these characters’ lives. I didn’t much like Cassie by the end of the first book but here she is redeemed, and Ethan just seems to get swoonier. Together they are so hot. Just perfect. I highly recommend this and cannot wait for more from Ms Rayven. Her writing is so amazing I would read her shopping list.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 5/5

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