Books that we recomend - Part 1

"He who ruled scent ruled the hearts of men." 

Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer is simply one of the greatest novels ever written and to say this book is just a book of murder is to confine Patrick Süskind's words to banality. 

It is a story of obsession. Of one destined to be a captive of the senses. 

Taking place in 18th century, France, it begins with an infant born into absolute poverty, but is gifted with an extraordinary ability, which makes him different from the rest of the world: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with the ability to smell anything and everything in the world around him. His nose is his compass; he relies on it more than most rely on their eyes or ears. It is his quest to experience life through smell, and he does so. Perfume tells the tale of his search for the perfect scent, and we soon realize that he doesn't have a lot of human understandings when it comes to regular things, like feelings, worldly concerns etc, the very things that makes us humans. Grenouille is a cold-hearted sociopath who seizes opportunities where he can to advance his particular desires that leads him into a killing spree.

The characterization of Grenouille is nothing but perfect. And as depraved as Grenouille is, you almost sympathise with him. It takes a particularly talented writer to make you pity and sympathize with a murderer, and Süskind just happens to be that kind of writer. It's such an gorgeously written page-turner, original and distinguishable book.

Enjoy but be carefull, because it's a very graphic book and a pretty shocking one as well. It's not for the faint of heart.

"When you're given an opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn't give things, you take things." 

Evelyn Hugo is a faded movie star in advanced years who has decided to write her life story - a deliciously scandalous tell all with a sharp focus on her seven marriages.

This book took me on a great journey, I loved getting to know Evelyn. Taylor A fictional biography is such a genius idea, and it was done so expertly. Jenkins Reid did an amazing job, because every time I closed this book and my brain snapped back to the present, it took me a couple of seconds to remember that Evelyn isn't a real person.

I would recommend this book to every woman out there. Whether you like contemporaries or not, I feel like this book has a way of touching everyone who reads it. 

I would recommend this to all the women that have dreamed about being famous, or who love old movies. I would recommend this to any woman who's ever questioned her sexuality. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys being emotionally destroyed by books. 

"Are you happy in your life?" 

Dark Matter is a book that thrills, horrifies and asks deep philosophical questions. It is mostly a science fiction novel with a little bit of romance and some suspense to make it a most enjoyable read. 

It begins with Jason, a physics professor surrounded by his beloved wife and his teenage son, cooking supper. He steps out to meet with a long time friend, Ryan, who has been awarded a prestigious prize. On his way home, Jason is abducted, and after being injected with something, Jason wakes up and his world has been turned upside down... the life as he knew shatters.

"But these words people threw around - humans, monsters, heroes, villains - to Victor it was all just a matter of semantics. 

Someone could call themselves a hero and still walk around killing dozens.

Someone else could be labeled a villain for trying to stop them.

Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human." 

Victor and Eli used to be best friends in college. They came up with a theory on how to gain extraordinary abilities (super powers). And they then decided to experiment on themselves. The experiment was a success and they both became EO's (ExtraOrdinary), but... at a cost. They can feel a void. They have lost a part of themselves, a bit of their humanity. Things happen and Eli is the reason Victor is locked up in prison. Ten years later Victor escapes and has one goal in life. Revenge. 

This is not a book where it's obvious who the bad guy and the good guy is. There is no 'Chosen One' in here. In Vicious the lines between good and bad are blurred. 

Vicious is everything I could want in a book, and I'm so glad VE Schwab delivered it so beautifully. Moral grayness, dark academia, revenge plots, dual timelines, VILLAINS!? It's like a dream come true for me.

It's just such a captivating story. If you have the chance, if you find a copy of this book, I highly recommend you read it. You hopefully won't regret it. 

"I know that some of you reading this are convinced humans are a myth, but I am here to state that they do actually exist. For those that don't know, a human is a real bipedal life form of midrange intelligence, living a largely deluded existence on a small waterlogged planet in a very lonely corner of the universe." 

In this book, you're following an alien sent to stop human mathematical progress. He steals the body of the human he's sent to kill and we get to discover humans through his eyes. His mission is to kill anyone that might know about the mathematical equation but things don't go as planned...

Granted, the plot is somewhat unrealistic and silly, but said alien's observations on humans are spot on and very interesting as well as hilarious.