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The Book Ninja
Sometimes love means having to broaden your literary horizons.
Frankie Rose is desperate for love. Or a relationship. Or just a date with a semi-normal person will do.
It’s not that she hasn’t tried. She’s the queen of online dating. But enough is enough. Inspired by her job at The Little Brunswick Street Bookshop, Frankie decides to take fate into her own hands and embarks on the ultimate love experiment.
Her plan? Plant her favourite books on trains inscribed with her contact details in a bid to lure the sophisticated, charming and well-read man of her dreams.
Enter Sunny, and one spontaneous kiss later, Frankie begins to fall for him. But there’s just one problem – Frankie is strictly a classics kind of gal, and Sunny is really into Young Adult. Like really.
A quirky and uplifting love letter to books, friendship and soulmates.
Frankie Rose is desperate for love. Or a relationship. Or just a date with a semi-normal person will do.
It’s not that she hasn’t tried. She’s the queen of online dating. But enough is enough. Inspired by her job at The Little Brunswick Street Bookshop, Frankie decides to take fate into her own hands and embarks on the ultimate love experiment.
Her plan? Plant her favourite books on trains inscribed with her contact details in a bid to lure the sophisticated, charming and well-read man of her dreams.
Enter Sunny, and one spontaneous kiss later, Frankie begins to fall for him. But there’s just one problem – Frankie is strictly a classics kind of gal, and Sunny is really into Young Adult. Like really.
A quirky and uplifting love letter to books, friendship and soulmates.
337 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2018
151 people are currently reading
4839 people want to read
About the author
Ali Berg
5 books225 followersCo-founder & Professional Aussie Book Ninja at Books on the Rail & Co-author of The Book Ninja, While You Were Reading and Fancy Meeting You Here.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,016 reviews
August 20, 2019
What can I say about this book? It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me forget the world until I finished it!
Frankie is a twenty-something living in Melbourne, thinking that love has passed her by. She's in a dating slump, so with the help of her best friend Cat, she decides to do something about it. Their plan? To leave classic books on the seats of public transport, with messages in the back, so that after the "screening process" (The recipient/come reader must love to read the classics) the "right" men will contact Frankie looking for dates. She starts up a blog, and soon gets a huge following from the ensuing hilarious string of dates. However Frankie has already met, and started dating Sunny, but he couldn't possibly be "the one" as he only reads Young Adult fiction. Or could he?
A wonderful tale, brilliantly told, this is a book you really can't put down. Highly recommended.
Frankie is a twenty-something living in Melbourne, thinking that love has passed her by. She's in a dating slump, so with the help of her best friend Cat, she decides to do something about it. Their plan? To leave classic books on the seats of public transport, with messages in the back, so that after the "screening process" (The recipient/come reader must love to read the classics) the "right" men will contact Frankie looking for dates. She starts up a blog, and soon gets a huge following from the ensuing hilarious string of dates. However Frankie has already met, and started dating Sunny, but he couldn't possibly be "the one" as he only reads Young Adult fiction. Or could he?
A wonderful tale, brilliantly told, this is a book you really can't put down. Highly recommended.
July 21, 2018
Sometimes a book sounds so perfect for you on paper that it’s almost inconceivable to realise that it isn’t. And for me, that was this book. Based on the blurb, I thought I would absolutely love this. I’d heard a lot of really positive things too and I’m a big fan of the Books On The Rail project, which the authors are involved in. But when I began this, I discovered that unfortunately for me, it was not to my liking at all.
And I have lots of reasons why – the first one was the main character’s book snobbery when a handsome man comes into the bookstore she’s working in. Her and her friend make bets with each other about where in the store people will go, a guess to their literary tastes. When this man buys a young adult fiction book, the main character Frankie is horrified. Why would he be buying something from that section, he’s a grown man? I mean young adult fiction has its place and all but surely it’s something people you know, grow out of right? And then they start reading real books, like the classics, literary fiction, clever fiction. He’s so attractive but she can’t possibly be attracted to a person who still reads young adult fiction, despite not being a young adult anymore!
Oh hell no. So I was set against Frankie from then to be honest. Her name is ridiculous (Frankston. And if you’re thinking hey, that’s kind of a colourful suburb in south-east Melbourne, why would anyone call their kid that then ding ding ding you’re a winner. She is named after Frankston. Because she was conceived on the Frankston train line. And that’s {a} far too much information and {b} gross. Keep your business off of public transport). Luckily she can be nicknamed Frankie. What if her parents had been on the Upwey line? Or Werribee? Pakenham? Craigieburn? Ugh.
Quirky can be good, but there’s such thing as too much quirky and this book has it in spades. Everyone is quirky. Frankie is quirky, her best friend is quirky, the best friend’s husband is quirky, Frankie’s mother is most definitely quirky. The random teenager that comes and hangs out is quirky. The love interest is quirky. The randoms that find the books Frankie leaves on the trains and contact her for a date are quirky. There’s so many ‘quirky’ people in this book that I was just craving someone regular who wasn’t an acrobat or afraid of bananas or a stalker.
There’s a subplot in this book revolving around Frankie’s best friend Cat, who owns the bookstore Frankie works in with her husband Claud. Cat is pregnant and I don’t want to spoil this subplot but it actually made me rage. It annoyed me so much I had to put the book aside and take deep breaths before I picked it up again. Actually I considered DNF’ing this more than once but one of the things that kept me going was actually what would happen with Cat. Well why did I bother? Because after dominating parts of the story, the reveal and resolution all happens in about a paragraph “off page” and is kind of hastily recounted to Frankie in a few sentences and that’s it and why did it take up so much page space then? Ugh. It’s horrid, it made me hate Cat. Honestly Frankie was such an enabler of Cat’s bad behaviour, she never once said to her WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS, THIS IS HORRIBLE and instead just kind of petted and soothed her or whatever and it made Cat’s husband look completely stupid, despite supposedly being a very intelligent man. I felt incredibly sorry for him, this was passed off as almost a little funny joke, like ha ha ha he doesn’t notice this very obviously noticeable and important thing that will probably break his heart BUT HOW COULD HE NOT and okay I’m getting angry again even just writing this review. It’s not funny. I didn’t find anything about that whole story funny, it was cruel and shallow and actually chronically UNFUNNY.
But I think the biggest problem I had was the hypocrisy. It was everywhere. Frankie finds a photo of the YA reader (did I mention his name? It’s Sunny Day *eyeroll*) with another woman as the screen lock photo on his phone after they’ve been dating a little while. She flips out, conveniently forgetting that she’s also dating a bunch of randoms behind his back who are finding the books she leaves on public transport, as fodder for her blog. The photo turns out to be from a bunch of years ago and is another hugely improbable part of this book. And the ending? Is just far too ridiculous for words.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this.
***A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review***
And I have lots of reasons why – the first one was the main character’s book snobbery when a handsome man comes into the bookstore she’s working in. Her and her friend make bets with each other about where in the store people will go, a guess to their literary tastes. When this man buys a young adult fiction book, the main character Frankie is horrified. Why would he be buying something from that section, he’s a grown man? I mean young adult fiction has its place and all but surely it’s something people you know, grow out of right? And then they start reading real books, like the classics, literary fiction, clever fiction. He’s so attractive but she can’t possibly be attracted to a person who still reads young adult fiction, despite not being a young adult anymore!
Oh hell no. So I was set against Frankie from then to be honest. Her name is ridiculous (Frankston. And if you’re thinking hey, that’s kind of a colourful suburb in south-east Melbourne, why would anyone call their kid that then ding ding ding you’re a winner. She is named after Frankston. Because she was conceived on the Frankston train line. And that’s {a} far too much information and {b} gross. Keep your business off of public transport). Luckily she can be nicknamed Frankie. What if her parents had been on the Upwey line? Or Werribee? Pakenham? Craigieburn? Ugh.
Quirky can be good, but there’s such thing as too much quirky and this book has it in spades. Everyone is quirky. Frankie is quirky, her best friend is quirky, the best friend’s husband is quirky, Frankie’s mother is most definitely quirky. The random teenager that comes and hangs out is quirky. The love interest is quirky. The randoms that find the books Frankie leaves on the trains and contact her for a date are quirky. There’s so many ‘quirky’ people in this book that I was just craving someone regular who wasn’t an acrobat or afraid of bananas or a stalker.
There’s a subplot in this book revolving around Frankie’s best friend Cat, who owns the bookstore Frankie works in with her husband Claud. Cat is pregnant and I don’t want to spoil this subplot but it actually made me rage. It annoyed me so much I had to put the book aside and take deep breaths before I picked it up again. Actually I considered DNF’ing this more than once but one of the things that kept me going was actually what would happen with Cat. Well why did I bother? Because after dominating parts of the story, the reveal and resolution all happens in about a paragraph “off page” and is kind of hastily recounted to Frankie in a few sentences and that’s it and why did it take up so much page space then? Ugh. It’s horrid, it made me hate Cat. Honestly Frankie was such an enabler of Cat’s bad behaviour, she never once said to her WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS, THIS IS HORRIBLE and instead just kind of petted and soothed her or whatever and it made Cat’s husband look completely stupid, despite supposedly being a very intelligent man. I felt incredibly sorry for him, this was passed off as almost a little funny joke, like ha ha ha he doesn’t notice this very obviously noticeable and important thing that will probably break his heart BUT HOW COULD HE NOT and okay I’m getting angry again even just writing this review. It’s not funny. I didn’t find anything about that whole story funny, it was cruel and shallow and actually chronically UNFUNNY.
But I think the biggest problem I had was the hypocrisy. It was everywhere. Frankie finds a photo of the YA reader (did I mention his name? It’s Sunny Day *eyeroll*) with another woman as the screen lock photo on his phone after they’ve been dating a little while. She flips out, conveniently forgetting that she’s also dating a bunch of randoms behind his back who are finding the books she leaves on public transport, as fodder for her blog. The photo turns out to be from a bunch of years ago and is another hugely improbable part of this book. And the ending? Is just far too ridiculous for words.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this.
***A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review***
June 23, 2018
3.5 Stars
Ali and Michelle are the co-founders of the famed Books on the Rail Australia and what better way to express their love for all things books and Melbourne than to write a book.
Frankie works with best friend Cat at Little Brunswick Bookshop. She is a bit of a book snob, preferring classics to popular fiction and YA titles, she judges people by the books they buy at the shop.
Left broken hearted by Adam and not having any success with romance she decides to leave her favourite books on Melbourne trains, with a note at the end of each book to contact her for a date, believing the best man for her would be someone who loves the same books as her.
This Rom Com is filled with hilarious situations and plenty of hijinks. Frankie and cat were a couple of crazy best friends who told each other everything, well almost everything. There are a few surprises that will be revealed.
An ex boyfriend, bad dates, a meddling mum and a crazy best friend; could anything get any more difficult? Apparently so, when Frankie becomes a recognisable face after an altercation with a beetroot latte and a pair of white pants goes viral on Instagram.
The story is told through third person narration, blog posts, texts and emails placing it solidly in the modern era.
With over 100 mentions of books throughout the story i can see The Book Ninja booklist being used for reading challenges in the foreseeable future.
I think this book would be perfect made into a movie as the humour is more of a visual humour which would suit screen adaptation. An example is with Cat and the new baby (no spoilers) but this scene would have been better as a visual, the humour was lost on the page.
Cat’s husband Claud’s character fell flat for me and I couldn’t quite get the reason for the inclusion of 17 year old Seb, a school boy who often visited the book shop.
The Book Ninja was a fun, easy read. One for the under 40’s.
In true book ninja style my copy was left on the train for the next person to enjoy.
*I received my copy from the publisher
Ali and Michelle are the co-founders of the famed Books on the Rail Australia and what better way to express their love for all things books and Melbourne than to write a book.
Frankie works with best friend Cat at Little Brunswick Bookshop. She is a bit of a book snob, preferring classics to popular fiction and YA titles, she judges people by the books they buy at the shop.
Left broken hearted by Adam and not having any success with romance she decides to leave her favourite books on Melbourne trains, with a note at the end of each book to contact her for a date, believing the best man for her would be someone who loves the same books as her.
This Rom Com is filled with hilarious situations and plenty of hijinks. Frankie and cat were a couple of crazy best friends who told each other everything, well almost everything. There are a few surprises that will be revealed.
An ex boyfriend, bad dates, a meddling mum and a crazy best friend; could anything get any more difficult? Apparently so, when Frankie becomes a recognisable face after an altercation with a beetroot latte and a pair of white pants goes viral on Instagram.
The story is told through third person narration, blog posts, texts and emails placing it solidly in the modern era.
With over 100 mentions of books throughout the story i can see The Book Ninja booklist being used for reading challenges in the foreseeable future.
I think this book would be perfect made into a movie as the humour is more of a visual humour which would suit screen adaptation. An example is with Cat and the new baby (no spoilers) but this scene would have been better as a visual, the humour was lost on the page.
Cat’s husband Claud’s character fell flat for me and I couldn’t quite get the reason for the inclusion of 17 year old Seb, a school boy who often visited the book shop.
The Book Ninja was a fun, easy read. One for the under 40’s.
In true book ninja style my copy was left on the train for the next person to enjoy.
*I received my copy from the publisher
June 12, 2019
Firstly, I am loving the book spreading initiative these two authors, and best friends have developed. Here is a link for your reading pleasure: https://www.booksontherail.com/
It is a Melbourne based initiative where books can be left on public transport, for other to enjoy and to continue to share the love by placing it somewhere else. Some Australian publishers and authors have climbed on board. I think it's very cool!
This is an easy read, Frankie Rose (named after Frankston train station and an apt point of conception, but that really is another story) is unlucky in love, she finds it hard to connect properly with her men and wants to find a partner who can match her literary tastes. Yep, she is quite the book snob, and is desirous to find a man who loves the classics, just like she. Deciding to track down an eligible man, she peppers classics all over the Melbourne tram network, leaving a note and her details to hopefully score a date.
Full of quirky literary quotes, bookstore banter and all things a little ridiculous; it really is full of all things silly - things happen that will raise eyebrows, but this is meant to be light reading. The writing is of high quality, and I enjoyed the blog entries peppered throughout. Not to overthink things, but I would say this is more of a 2.5 star read, rounded up. Probably worth noting - younger woman would enjoy this more than the older demographic meaning I don't entirely fit the target audience ;)
With many thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my review.
It is a Melbourne based initiative where books can be left on public transport, for other to enjoy and to continue to share the love by placing it somewhere else. Some Australian publishers and authors have climbed on board. I think it's very cool!
This is an easy read, Frankie Rose (named after Frankston train station and an apt point of conception, but that really is another story) is unlucky in love, she finds it hard to connect properly with her men and wants to find a partner who can match her literary tastes. Yep, she is quite the book snob, and is desirous to find a man who loves the classics, just like she. Deciding to track down an eligible man, she peppers classics all over the Melbourne tram network, leaving a note and her details to hopefully score a date.
Full of quirky literary quotes, bookstore banter and all things a little ridiculous; it really is full of all things silly - things happen that will raise eyebrows, but this is meant to be light reading. The writing is of high quality, and I enjoyed the blog entries peppered throughout. Not to overthink things, but I would say this is more of a 2.5 star read, rounded up. Probably worth noting - younger woman would enjoy this more than the older demographic meaning I don't entirely fit the target audience ;)
With many thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my review.
May 21, 2018
This was so infuriating that I'm not even going to spend time reviewing it, because I refuse to give it any more of my minutes. Terrible people doing insanely dramatic things at each other and somehow still managing to be tedious. Awful.
February 12, 2019
Frankie (named after the suburb of Melbourne called Frankston – because… well…) worked at The Little Brunswick Street Bookshop and loved the classics. Her best friend and owner of the bookshop, Cat, worked with her, and between them they decided to leave books on trains with Frankie’s phone number in the back so she could find a man with the same book tastes as her.
When Sunny entered the picture, Frankie was smitten – but his choice of reading was young adult. So of course that didn’t suit Frankie…
I’m afraid The Book Ninja by Aussie authors Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus was not for me. It seemed ridiculous – not funny to me at all – and demoralizing. I love the cover; that’s cleverly done. And the talking about books was good. But the characters were unlikeable and ditsy! I did a fair amount of skimming to reach the end after almost not finishing several times.
With thanks to Simon & Schuster AU for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
When Sunny entered the picture, Frankie was smitten – but his choice of reading was young adult. So of course that didn’t suit Frankie…
I’m afraid The Book Ninja by Aussie authors Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus was not for me. It seemed ridiculous – not funny to me at all – and demoralizing. I love the cover; that’s cleverly done. And the talking about books was good. But the characters were unlikeable and ditsy! I did a fair amount of skimming to reach the end after almost not finishing several times.
With thanks to Simon & Schuster AU for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
July 14, 2019
This is an interesting one to review. I am giving it four stars because it was a very good read despite the fact that there were a lot of things I didn't like about it!
* There were loads of references to books which is good but there ended up being too many and they were forced into the text.
* There was a lot of humour but sometimes it became too slapstick for me.
* The main characters were quirky and fun, but they were actually not nice people especially Cat who was just awful. With a best friend like that you would not need any enemies.
* I really liked the blog posts but there was not enough of them. The interactions in the comments were the best bit of the book!
* The turtle should not have died.
Still worth four stars though because once I got into it I was hooked and just kept reading and reading. I don't do that with a bad book!
* There were loads of references to books which is good but there ended up being too many and they were forced into the text.
* There was a lot of humour but sometimes it became too slapstick for me.
* The main characters were quirky and fun, but they were actually not nice people especially Cat who was just awful. With a best friend like that you would not need any enemies.
* I really liked the blog posts but there was not enough of them. The interactions in the comments were the best bit of the book!
* The turtle should not have died.
Still worth four stars though because once I got into it I was hooked and just kept reading and reading. I don't do that with a bad book!
May 27, 2018
Written by Melbourne Book Ninjas Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus, this book is about Frankie, a book ninja who decides to find love by planting her favourite books on Melbourne's trams and trains. Those who read to the end of the book find a note from Frankie inviting them to contact her for a date. Although this sounds like a guaranteed way to find like minded souls, the people who contact Frankie don't always match her picture of the perfect man, as attested by her popular blog where she writes about her dates. Meanwhile, Frankie has met an attractive, intelligent man who seems to like her. The only problem is that he likes to read YA fiction so how could he possibly be Frankie's perfect match?
This was a fun read about finding love in all the right and wrong places and being prepared to look beyond your horizons. Cat and Claud's bookshop where Frankie works sounds the perfect place to browse and I enjoyed Cat's ongoing baby saga. I also enjoyed all the mentions of books that I love and the quotes Cat and Frankie liberally sprinkle into their conversations. An enjoyable read for all lovers of books and quirky romances.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Simon & Schuster Australia for a digital ARC to read
This was a fun read about finding love in all the right and wrong places and being prepared to look beyond your horizons. Cat and Claud's bookshop where Frankie works sounds the perfect place to browse and I enjoyed Cat's ongoing baby saga. I also enjoyed all the mentions of books that I love and the quotes Cat and Frankie liberally sprinkle into their conversations. An enjoyable read for all lovers of books and quirky romances.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Simon & Schuster Australia for a digital ARC to read
August 10, 2018
Trigger warnings: cheating, death of a loved one (in the past), car accident (in the past).
When I finished reading this last night, I gave it 4 stars. On reflection, I'm bumping it down to 3 because I've realised there are a lot of things about the story that made me uncomfortable or that weren't as well handled as they could have been.
What I liked:
- Books!! So many books.
- Melbourne!! It's incredibly authentic, the public transport experiences ring true (although everything seems to run on time, which LOL NOPE), and it did not surprise me at all to discover that Frankie's parents are from Eltham.
- I love the Books on the Rail project, so seeing the creators weave that into a romance novel was super fun.
- It was funny as hell a lot of the time.
- The meet cute is ridiculous and I kind of love it.
What I didn't like:
- I have literally spent the past 48 hours with the Sesame Street theme stuck in my head because the love interest is named Sunny Day. It serves a purpose in the story, but I call extreme bullshit on a grown man not having changed his name.
- There's a lot of cheating in this story. Like, A LOT. I understand Frankie not telling Sunny about her blog when they first meet. But
- Seb. Look, I liked him as a character. And I probably would have been on board with him if he'd worked weekends and after school in the bookshop. But DO NOT BEFRIEND TEENAGERS WHEN YOU'RE IN YOUR LATE 20S IT IS CREEPY AF. Sure, be friendly to them. But teenagers need VERY CLEAR BOUNDARIES, and referring to him as your second best friend is..........weird and disturbing and also kind of sad.
- Speaking of Frankie, she's one hell of a book snob and it drove me up the wall. I had a hard time dealing with that, because I genuinely love a lot of the books that she put out on public transport. But she was SO judgemental of people reading on e-readers and of adults reading YA books. Multiple times - even at the end of the story after she's discovered she enjoys YA - she's like "It's disturbing that a 32 year old man has the bookish taste of a 12 year old girl". Okay, first of all? He doesn't have the bookish taste of a 12 year old girl. More like a 16 year old girl, but that's totally beside the point. She's more judgemental of adults reading YA than she is of people reading Fifty Shades of Grey, and that made me want to reach into the book and punch her.
- I would have liked to see more Australian books represented in the story, especially from Sunny. The #LoveOzYA campaign could definitely have used a shout out or two!
- Frankie needs to learn to use her damn words and not jump to conclusions, especially in regards to lock screen photos OMG.
So yeah. It was well written and I loved the first half of the story. Unfortunately, the second half kind of tanked for me, and that turned it into one of those books where the more I think about it, the more I realise there were things I didn't enjoy. Sigh...
When I finished reading this last night, I gave it 4 stars. On reflection, I'm bumping it down to 3 because I've realised there are a lot of things about the story that made me uncomfortable or that weren't as well handled as they could have been.
What I liked:
- Books!! So many books.
- Melbourne!! It's incredibly authentic, the public transport experiences ring true (although everything seems to run on time, which LOL NOPE), and it did not surprise me at all to discover that Frankie's parents are from Eltham.
- I love the Books on the Rail project, so seeing the creators weave that into a romance novel was super fun.
- It was funny as hell a lot of the time.
- The meet cute is ridiculous and I kind of love it.
What I didn't like:
- I have literally spent the past 48 hours with the Sesame Street theme stuck in my head because the love interest is named Sunny Day. It serves a purpose in the story, but I call extreme bullshit on a grown man not having changed his name.
- There's a lot of cheating in this story. Like, A LOT. I understand Frankie not telling Sunny about her blog when they first meet. But
- Seb. Look, I liked him as a character. And I probably would have been on board with him if he'd worked weekends and after school in the bookshop. But DO NOT BEFRIEND TEENAGERS WHEN YOU'RE IN YOUR LATE 20S IT IS CREEPY AF. Sure, be friendly to them. But teenagers need VERY CLEAR BOUNDARIES, and referring to him as your second best friend is..........weird and disturbing and also kind of sad.
- Speaking of Frankie, she's one hell of a book snob and it drove me up the wall. I had a hard time dealing with that, because I genuinely love a lot of the books that she put out on public transport. But she was SO judgemental of people reading on e-readers and of adults reading YA books. Multiple times - even at the end of the story after she's discovered she enjoys YA - she's like "It's disturbing that a 32 year old man has the bookish taste of a 12 year old girl". Okay, first of all? He doesn't have the bookish taste of a 12 year old girl. More like a 16 year old girl, but that's totally beside the point. She's more judgemental of adults reading YA than she is of people reading Fifty Shades of Grey, and that made me want to reach into the book and punch her.
- I would have liked to see more Australian books represented in the story, especially from Sunny. The #LoveOzYA campaign could definitely have used a shout out or two!
- Frankie needs to learn to use her damn words and not jump to conclusions, especially in regards to lock screen photos OMG.
So yeah. It was well written and I loved the first half of the story. Unfortunately, the second half kind of tanked for me, and that turned it into one of those books where the more I think about it, the more I realise there were things I didn't enjoy. Sigh...
d-n-f
August 16, 2021DNF @ some-stage-early-on
This was soooo disappointing. I hated the characters, and all that happened throughout this book was the main characters hating on YA and judging people who bought YA. And they’re bookshop workers, why not just be grateful that your bookshop is busy?!
The main character annoyed me the most out of everything, with her rude and judgy personality, and her conceited opinion of herself.
Major disappointment given the fun-sounding and cute blurb.
This was soooo disappointing. I hated the characters, and all that happened throughout this book was the main characters hating on YA and judging people who bought YA. And they’re bookshop workers, why not just be grateful that your bookshop is busy?!
The main character annoyed me the most out of everything, with her rude and judgy personality, and her conceited opinion of herself.
Major disappointment given the fun-sounding and cute blurb.
December 21, 2018
It seemed Frankie Rose was looking for love in all the wrong places until she comes up with a novel idea. Frankie worked at The Little Brunswick Street Bookshop and it's here that Inspired her next idea in trying to find Mr Right.
Frankie's latest idea of placing her favourite books on trains and inside the books she would leave a note at the back of the book with her details hoping the man of her dreams who also had the same preferences in books might contact her. Would Frankie find true love or would this idea turn into a tragedy?
With many laugh out loud moments I found this book to be really entertaining, fun and an easy read. A lighthearted read which I thoroughly enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who needs a laugh or two.
With thanks to the publishers for my copy to read and review.
Frankie's latest idea of placing her favourite books on trains and inside the books she would leave a note at the back of the book with her details hoping the man of her dreams who also had the same preferences in books might contact her. Would Frankie find true love or would this idea turn into a tragedy?
With many laugh out loud moments I found this book to be really entertaining, fun and an easy read. A lighthearted read which I thoroughly enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who needs a laugh or two.
With thanks to the publishers for my copy to read and review.
April 14, 2018
Full review to come closer to release (June 1st).
For now...
Despite being populated with characters who at times feel like they're not so much characters as a group of over the top quirks whose sole purpose is to put Frankie in compromising positions, this is a lot of bookish fun.
The story (mostly) alternates between Frankie's desperately single day to day life, and her new blog which ties in with her book ninja project. She's scattering all of her favourite books across various forms of Melbourne public transport with her details on the seventh last page in the hopes of finding a bookish kindred spirit to date.
At around the same time, she meets Sunny, a dreamboat who loves young adult books... and Frankie is a total book snob, so she keeps going on dates with the people who find her books because she's embarrassed by the very idea of young adult books. We all know how that's going to turn out, right?
This would be a good read for fans of books like The Rosie Project, Happiness For Humans, and Whispers Through a Megaphone.
I honestly couldn't put it down, and spent every spare moment devouring as much of it as possible before the real world got in the way again. It's also fun that the story ties in so well with the real world company Books on the Rail, who recruit Book Ninjas to sticker and drop books on Australian public transport in an effort to share a love of the written word.
There were some things that rather annoyed me about the choices made by the characters within this story. But, to be honest, they're the kind of issues that would make for a MUCH shorter book had they not been present. Things like They didn't get in the way of me enjoying the story, however, and that's always half the battle!
----------------
- While Reading -
----------------
As this is a rather early proof copy, I'm going to record errors here rather than in updates, as I expect/hope they will be fixed for the final copy. I'm not going to bother with minor issues like missing or additional words.
White it might seem like I'm nitpicking, I AM enjoying the book. As a matter of fact, despite some rather over the top of hard to believe moments, I can't put it down.
I'm sure these errors will be absent from the final copy.
Pg 12: He bought The Scorch Trials.
Pg 19: When discussing the encounter with Cat, she says he bought City of Ashes.
(I get the feeling there was another mention of City of Ashes... but I didn't tab it.)
Pg 69: She opened her laptop and clicked on the YouTube clip waiting for her on the bathroom bench.
WEIRD phrasing... Seems to be suggesting the LINK was waiting for her on the bench?
Pg 73: She looked across the room at a woman standing at the bar, wearing an emerald gown with a low back, a peacock feather in her hair. A man dressed in a tuxedo crept up behind her, casually putting his hand on the small of her bare back. She turned around and kissed him.
Again with the weird phrasing... rather ambiguous, and at first reads as though the she being approached by a man is the she in the first sentence, being Frankie herself... So... as she looks across the room, a man comes up behind her and she kisses him? Could definitely be cleaner.
Pg 75: "Frankie took a long drink as she mumbled the word 'Frankston'. Is this physically possible? She could mumble it as she brought the glass to her lips, but not as she took a long drink, surely.
Pg 70: As her buzzer sounded, Frankie ruffled her hair, loosening the curls so that they fell effortlessly across her shoulders and skidded towards the intercom, swiping her handbag on the way. 'I'll be right down,' she called.
Pg 80: 'Oh, uh ... oh. Thanks. How did you know my apartment number?' Frankie quickly retied her hair into a ponytail while slowly dying inside.
'Cat told me,' he said, resting his solid arm casually against her doorframe.
Nope. Even though she didn't text him her apartment number in the first convo, he buzzed her when he was there to pick her up. So he should have either called her phone, or she's told him between the first conversation and the first date what apartment she was in. The question is rendered moot by this assumption and gives incorrect/irrelevant information.
Pg 91: Frankie opens a new bag of cashews.
Pg 92: Cat grabs the cashews, puts three in her mouth, speaks with her mouth full of nuts and then in the next paragraph is eating the "nutty dregs" at the bottom of the bag.
Pg 107: 'He's probably not calling you because he knows I've seen the photo of him smooching another woman.'
This is Frankie talking to Cat. Why would he be calling Cat? This should be "me" and not "you".
Pg 187: 'There's no slowing Cat down is there?' Sunny said, following Frankie into her apartment. They were both soaking wet and out of breath, having sprinted home in the rain.
'I can, she's such a party animal. When my first boyfriend broke up with me, she took me to a Salsa club and didn't let me stop dancing until the pain went away. I couldn't walk for two days.'
So, she's saying she CAN slow Cat down, and then follows it up with an example that suggests the opposite.
------------
- Pre-Read -
------------
This. Sounds. Amazing.
But it's not out until June... I don't think I'll be able to concentrate on my April and May releases until I've read this one...
I have got one or two I HAVE to clear off my list first, though... Yay for long weekends and time off for reading!
For now...
Despite being populated with characters who at times feel like they're not so much characters as a group of over the top quirks whose sole purpose is to put Frankie in compromising positions, this is a lot of bookish fun.
The story (mostly) alternates between Frankie's desperately single day to day life, and her new blog which ties in with her book ninja project. She's scattering all of her favourite books across various forms of Melbourne public transport with her details on the seventh last page in the hopes of finding a bookish kindred spirit to date.
At around the same time, she meets Sunny, a dreamboat who loves young adult books... and Frankie is a total book snob, so she keeps going on dates with the people who find her books because she's embarrassed by the very idea of young adult books. We all know how that's going to turn out, right?
This would be a good read for fans of books like The Rosie Project, Happiness For Humans, and Whispers Through a Megaphone.
I honestly couldn't put it down, and spent every spare moment devouring as much of it as possible before the real world got in the way again. It's also fun that the story ties in so well with the real world company Books on the Rail, who recruit Book Ninjas to sticker and drop books on Australian public transport in an effort to share a love of the written word.
There were some things that rather annoyed me about the choices made by the characters within this story. But, to be honest, they're the kind of issues that would make for a MUCH shorter book had they not been present. Things like They didn't get in the way of me enjoying the story, however, and that's always half the battle!
----------------
- While Reading -
----------------
As this is a rather early proof copy, I'm going to record errors here rather than in updates, as I expect/hope they will be fixed for the final copy. I'm not going to bother with minor issues like missing or additional words.
White it might seem like I'm nitpicking, I AM enjoying the book. As a matter of fact, despite some rather over the top of hard to believe moments, I can't put it down.
I'm sure these errors will be absent from the final copy.
Pg 12: He bought The Scorch Trials.
Pg 19: When discussing the encounter with Cat, she says he bought City of Ashes.
(I get the feeling there was another mention of City of Ashes... but I didn't tab it.)
Pg 69: She opened her laptop and clicked on the YouTube clip waiting for her on the bathroom bench.
WEIRD phrasing... Seems to be suggesting the LINK was waiting for her on the bench?
Pg 73: She looked across the room at a woman standing at the bar, wearing an emerald gown with a low back, a peacock feather in her hair. A man dressed in a tuxedo crept up behind her, casually putting his hand on the small of her bare back. She turned around and kissed him.
Again with the weird phrasing... rather ambiguous, and at first reads as though the she being approached by a man is the she in the first sentence, being Frankie herself... So... as she looks across the room, a man comes up behind her and she kisses him? Could definitely be cleaner.
Pg 75: "Frankie took a long drink as she mumbled the word 'Frankston'. Is this physically possible? She could mumble it as she brought the glass to her lips, but not as she took a long drink, surely.
Pg 70: As her buzzer sounded, Frankie ruffled her hair, loosening the curls so that they fell effortlessly across her shoulders and skidded towards the intercom, swiping her handbag on the way. 'I'll be right down,' she called.
Pg 80: 'Oh, uh ... oh. Thanks. How did you know my apartment number?' Frankie quickly retied her hair into a ponytail while slowly dying inside.
'Cat told me,' he said, resting his solid arm casually against her doorframe.
Nope. Even though she didn't text him her apartment number in the first convo, he buzzed her when he was there to pick her up. So he should have either called her phone, or she's told him between the first conversation and the first date what apartment she was in. The question is rendered moot by this assumption and gives incorrect/irrelevant information.
Pg 91: Frankie opens a new bag of cashews.
Pg 92: Cat grabs the cashews, puts three in her mouth, speaks with her mouth full of nuts and then in the next paragraph is eating the "nutty dregs" at the bottom of the bag.
Pg 107: 'He's probably not calling you because he knows I've seen the photo of him smooching another woman.'
This is Frankie talking to Cat. Why would he be calling Cat? This should be "me" and not "you".
Pg 187: 'There's no slowing Cat down is there?' Sunny said, following Frankie into her apartment. They were both soaking wet and out of breath, having sprinted home in the rain.
'I can, she's such a party animal. When my first boyfriend broke up with me, she took me to a Salsa club and didn't let me stop dancing until the pain went away. I couldn't walk for two days.'
So, she's saying she CAN slow Cat down, and then follows it up with an example that suggests the opposite.
------------
- Pre-Read -
------------
This. Sounds. Amazing.
But it's not out until June... I don't think I'll be able to concentrate on my April and May releases until I've read this one...
I have got one or two I HAVE to clear off my list first, though... Yay for long weekends and time off for reading!
May 11, 2018
Fucking hilarious.
A longer review will appear on my blog, Kathryn's Inbox in late May 2018
A longer review will appear on my blog, Kathryn's Inbox in late May 2018
February 8, 2019
The Book Ninja is yet another book I’ve read of late which was written by two authors. This time by Aussie friends, Berg and Kalus. And unfortunately, like the other ones I’ve read, despite the title's hype, I thought it was an average read.
Frankie, our heroine, has been unlucky in love for some time and is on the lookout for Mr Right. One thing she is looking for in a man is the same taste in books. She meets Sunny Day (not the best romantic hero name I’ve ever come across) when he comes into the bookstore where she ‘works’ and, although she is immediately attracted to him, he only reads Young Adult --a genre Frankie hates. Thinking about this later, she gets the brainwave of leaving her favourite books on the trains across Melbourne, along with her contact details and a "call me if you loved this book and want a date" message on one of its pages. The idea is when a random guy on the train finds the book, he’ll read her inscription and, realising they’re meant to be together (as he also loved the book), he’ll contact her, they’ll date, and fall madly in love. I don’t even know where to start with the flaws in this plan.
Weirdly, the book drops do prove to be successful for Frankie and she goes on lots of dates, after which she writes them up in her blog. It's at this point that I realised the original and interesting sounding premise had become completely unoriginal and ridiculous.
As a leading lady Frankie's not the most likeable. She’s so judgey, for starters. She dismisses Sunny because he loves Young Adult. WTF? Maybe if he was reading porn on the internet, I might almost raise an eyebrow, but being a huge fan of Harry Potter, Hunger Games and The Maze Runner does not make you an awful person. There’s quite a few book heroes (and real life nice men) who don’t read at all, in fact. I can see that Berg and Kalus first introduced this YA hate to be funny but the joke faded fast. Besides that, Frankie was also homophobic, okay with cheating and lying, and self-centred.
Then, there’s Cat--the obligatory chick lit crazy best friend. Cat’s behaviour was not even in the least bit funny. The joke about her husband, Claud, being a knitter was mildly amusing at first but, like the rest of his and Cat’s scenes, rapidly wore thin.
Instead of sticking with the one ‘quirky’ character, Berg and Kalus decided on writing every other supporting character in this ‘zany’ way. Unfortunately none of them were particularly original either. From the hippy mum to the lovestruck teenage friend, they have all appeared in other chicklit books or romcom movies, I’m sure.
Even the idea of the blog and the ‘madcap’ fun of the dates has been done, and better.
Despite all of the above, I could have maybe liked this book more if I’d enjoyed Frankie and Sunny’s romantic scenes. Together, they were boring and had not even the tiniest spark of chemistry. The only two characters who did have chemistry were the two readers who frequently commented on Frankie’s blog. (Not a good sign when I got more excited over characters who were restricted to one sentence every few chapters.)
Oh, and I must mention why I put 'work' in inverted commas earlier. Cat and Claud own the bookstore and employ Frankie but I’m mystified at how these characters can pay their rent even. Seriously, they are constantly closing the store for the most ridiculous reasons (from attending gym classes together to nipping out for coffee -- what’s the point of having two people if they both go out at the same time?) and they rarely serve anyone when they are there. And if they do, they’re super rude. Between that and ‘borrowing’ the stock to place around the trains, I can’t see this shop making much profit...
There is one thing that The Book Ninja does do well and that’s talk about books. It’s definitely a “book about books’’. Get ready to add to your TBR if you read this. I just don’t think this is enough for me to recommend it to anyone.
2 out of 5
Frankie, our heroine, has been unlucky in love for some time and is on the lookout for Mr Right. One thing she is looking for in a man is the same taste in books. She meets Sunny Day (not the best romantic hero name I’ve ever come across) when he comes into the bookstore where she ‘works’ and, although she is immediately attracted to him, he only reads Young Adult --a genre Frankie hates. Thinking about this later, she gets the brainwave of leaving her favourite books on the trains across Melbourne, along with her contact details and a "call me if you loved this book and want a date" message on one of its pages. The idea is when a random guy on the train finds the book, he’ll read her inscription and, realising they’re meant to be together (as he also loved the book), he’ll contact her, they’ll date, and fall madly in love. I don’t even know where to start with the flaws in this plan.
Weirdly, the book drops do prove to be successful for Frankie and she goes on lots of dates, after which she writes them up in her blog. It's at this point that I realised the original and interesting sounding premise had become completely unoriginal and ridiculous.
As a leading lady Frankie's not the most likeable. She’s so judgey, for starters. She dismisses Sunny because he loves Young Adult. WTF? Maybe if he was reading porn on the internet, I might almost raise an eyebrow, but being a huge fan of Harry Potter, Hunger Games and The Maze Runner does not make you an awful person. There’s quite a few book heroes (and real life nice men) who don’t read at all, in fact. I can see that Berg and Kalus first introduced this YA hate to be funny but the joke faded fast. Besides that, Frankie was also homophobic, okay with cheating and lying, and self-centred.
Then, there’s Cat--the obligatory chick lit crazy best friend. Cat’s behaviour was not even in the least bit funny. The joke about her husband, Claud, being a knitter was mildly amusing at first but, like the rest of his and Cat’s scenes, rapidly wore thin.
Instead of sticking with the one ‘quirky’ character, Berg and Kalus decided on writing every other supporting character in this ‘zany’ way. Unfortunately none of them were particularly original either. From the hippy mum to the lovestruck teenage friend, they have all appeared in other chicklit books or romcom movies, I’m sure.
Even the idea of the blog and the ‘madcap’ fun of the dates has been done, and better.
Despite all of the above, I could have maybe liked this book more if I’d enjoyed Frankie and Sunny’s romantic scenes. Together, they were boring and had not even the tiniest spark of chemistry. The only two characters who did have chemistry were the two readers who frequently commented on Frankie’s blog. (Not a good sign when I got more excited over characters who were restricted to one sentence every few chapters.)
Oh, and I must mention why I put 'work' in inverted commas earlier. Cat and Claud own the bookstore and employ Frankie but I’m mystified at how these characters can pay their rent even. Seriously, they are constantly closing the store for the most ridiculous reasons (from attending gym classes together to nipping out for coffee -- what’s the point of having two people if they both go out at the same time?) and they rarely serve anyone when they are there. And if they do, they’re super rude. Between that and ‘borrowing’ the stock to place around the trains, I can’t see this shop making much profit...
There is one thing that The Book Ninja does do well and that’s talk about books. It’s definitely a “book about books’’. Get ready to add to your TBR if you read this. I just don’t think this is enough for me to recommend it to anyone.
2 out of 5
March 15, 2019
Reseña en el blog:
https://mirinconindelectura.blogspot....
https://mirinconindelectura.blogspot....
May 10, 2018
Three and a half stars
With her love life at an all-time low, Frankie Rose decides to try an experiment. Her plan is to leave some of her favourite books in trains with her name and phone number in the back. If, after reading the book, a man is interested in a date, he knows who to call. In this way she hopes to meet a man with whom she cane share books, life and laughter. But as always happens with a plan, Things don’t work out quite the way she expects. She meets a variety of people and then along comes Sunny Day. Yes, that really is his name. He likes books but not the kind Frankie is into. He likes young adult fiction. Frankie, who works in the Little Brunswick Street Bookshop is appalled at his reading taste.
As you would expect there is a lot of banter about books and references to various books and that makes for interesting reading. Especially interesting if you have read all of the books mentioned, I should imagine. I have to admit there were some I had not read while others were familiar friends. The book is amusing, even if some of the escapades verge on the ridiculous. And who knew there was such a thing as bananaphobia? Not me, till I read this book.
While I enjoyed this read, I did find the characters and their mad cap flighty behaviour hard to relate to. Maybe those in their late twenties or thirties will relate to them better? But then I get the feeling we are not meant to take them or any of this book too seriously. For me the best part was all the book talk. There were some aspects of the story that annoyed me and I felt were unnecessary inclusions, e.g. Cat and her baby, for reasons which I won’t go into here, because I don’t like including spoilers. Frankie’s behaviour at times annoyed me too. Despite those quibbles this was an entertaining read, even if it does stretch credibility to the max at times. If you are looking for a fun read centred on books, this could be it.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for my advance reading copy which I won to read and review. I loved the ninja star bookmark which came with this book.
With her love life at an all-time low, Frankie Rose decides to try an experiment. Her plan is to leave some of her favourite books in trains with her name and phone number in the back. If, after reading the book, a man is interested in a date, he knows who to call. In this way she hopes to meet a man with whom she cane share books, life and laughter. But as always happens with a plan, Things don’t work out quite the way she expects. She meets a variety of people and then along comes Sunny Day. Yes, that really is his name. He likes books but not the kind Frankie is into. He likes young adult fiction. Frankie, who works in the Little Brunswick Street Bookshop is appalled at his reading taste.
As you would expect there is a lot of banter about books and references to various books and that makes for interesting reading. Especially interesting if you have read all of the books mentioned, I should imagine. I have to admit there were some I had not read while others were familiar friends. The book is amusing, even if some of the escapades verge on the ridiculous. And who knew there was such a thing as bananaphobia? Not me, till I read this book.
While I enjoyed this read, I did find the characters and their mad cap flighty behaviour hard to relate to. Maybe those in their late twenties or thirties will relate to them better? But then I get the feeling we are not meant to take them or any of this book too seriously. For me the best part was all the book talk. There were some aspects of the story that annoyed me and I felt were unnecessary inclusions, e.g. Cat and her baby, for reasons which I won’t go into here, because I don’t like including spoilers. Frankie’s behaviour at times annoyed me too. Despite those quibbles this was an entertaining read, even if it does stretch credibility to the max at times. If you are looking for a fun read centred on books, this could be it.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for my advance reading copy which I won to read and review. I loved the ninja star bookmark which came with this book.
March 8, 2019
¡Me ha encantado!
Me ha durado dos días porque me ha enganchado de tal manera que lo he devorado. En serio, es divertidísimo. Necesito una comedia romántica de este libro, ¡lo está pidiendo a gritos! a ser posible, con la petardilla de Emma Watson, que le iría bien el papel de libroadicta snob atolondrada.
Frankie es una mujer de unos 28 años que trabaja en una librería. Adora a Jane Austen sobre todas las autoras, pero no solamente vive de clásicos, ya que por sus manos pasan libros de todas las épocas. Como curiosidad, se menciona El jinete de bronce, mi libro favorito *_* y también Outlander. Es bastante pijilla y snob, porque juzga a los hombres por los libros que leen. Pues en estas que se le ocurre un experimento para encontrar novio: dejar un ejemplar de los libros favoritos en el tranvía, y en las últimas páginas invitar a quien lo coja a que, si le ha gustado, quede con ella. Y así, todo un desfile de variopintas citas van pasando. Hay de todo: desde el hombre sin chispa hasta un acosador, pasando por una lesbiana, uno que se pone a llorar porque no olvida a su ex, un tiarrón brasiñeño... pero quien de verdad empieza a hacerle tilín no es uno de estos, sino un tipo al que conoce por casualidad en la tienda en la que trabaja, y que ¡horror! le gustan libros como Los juegos del hambre, Divergente, Crepúsculo y todo lo que huela a literatura juvenil. Frankie (¿he dicho ya que es una snob?) en principio no quiere saber nada de un tipo que lee esas tonterías para adolescentes, pero poco a poco Sunny irá metiéndose en su corazón... En medio de todo esto, su blog donde narra sus desastrosas citas, su mejor amiga que está embarazada y echa la culpa a sus hormonas por todos los líos que organiza, otro amiguete de 17 años que está coladito por ella, su madre hippie que va muy de rollo yoga-zen-fengshui...
Me he reído bastante con este libro. Si queréis un libro romántico que además de una historia divertida es toda una declaración de amor a la literatura, echadle un ojo.
Me ha durado dos días porque me ha enganchado de tal manera que lo he devorado. En serio, es divertidísimo. Necesito una comedia romántica de este libro, ¡lo está pidiendo a gritos! a ser posible, con la petardilla de Emma Watson, que le iría bien el papel de libroadicta snob atolondrada.
Frankie es una mujer de unos 28 años que trabaja en una librería. Adora a Jane Austen sobre todas las autoras, pero no solamente vive de clásicos, ya que por sus manos pasan libros de todas las épocas. Como curiosidad, se menciona El jinete de bronce, mi libro favorito *_* y también Outlander. Es bastante pijilla y snob, porque juzga a los hombres por los libros que leen. Pues en estas que se le ocurre un experimento para encontrar novio: dejar un ejemplar de los libros favoritos en el tranvía, y en las últimas páginas invitar a quien lo coja a que, si le ha gustado, quede con ella. Y así, todo un desfile de variopintas citas van pasando. Hay de todo: desde el hombre sin chispa hasta un acosador, pasando por una lesbiana, uno que se pone a llorar porque no olvida a su ex, un tiarrón brasiñeño... pero quien de verdad empieza a hacerle tilín no es uno de estos, sino un tipo al que conoce por casualidad en la tienda en la que trabaja, y que ¡horror! le gustan libros como Los juegos del hambre, Divergente, Crepúsculo y todo lo que huela a literatura juvenil. Frankie (¿he dicho ya que es una snob?) en principio no quiere saber nada de un tipo que lee esas tonterías para adolescentes, pero poco a poco Sunny irá metiéndose en su corazón... En medio de todo esto, su blog donde narra sus desastrosas citas, su mejor amiga que está embarazada y echa la culpa a sus hormonas por todos los líos que organiza, otro amiguete de 17 años que está coladito por ella, su madre hippie que va muy de rollo yoga-zen-fengshui...
Me he reído bastante con este libro. Si queréis un libro romántico que además de una historia divertida es toda una declaración de amor a la literatura, echadle un ojo.
June 12, 2018
The Book Ninja is one of my favourite and definitely most fun reads of the year. Meet Frankie Rose. Frankie works in a bookshop spending her day with the men of her dreams: Mr Darcy, Mr Knightley and Mr Tilney just to name a few. She is sick of the disasters that is online dating and decides to take matters into her own hands to find her true literary love. Sending out her favourite novels on the public transport around Melbourne she hides her details at the ned of each book for those with the attention span long her enough to read an entire novel. From there we see her dating escapades until she meets seemingly her perfect man except for one thing: he only reads young adult novels and well, Frankie is a classics lover.
A contemporary romance for book lovers this is an adorable and hilarious read. You will fall in love with the relatable Frankie and her quirky friends and family as she embarks on her journey to find love, just as long as they can appreciate good literature. This novel is a love letter to literature and book lovers will delight in the many references scattered within from Austen to Zafon and honestly, will likely end up with many more books for their own TBR. Yes, this is a contemporary, so there are some situations that are tad cliche and predictable and the character are so vivid and unique that they aren't exactly realistic but it is so laugh out loud funny and charming I forgot all about this and just delighted in the story. I found myself devouring every page and wanting more. Hidden within are some great snapshots of society today, Ali and Michelle have a great eye for what it is to be a young women living and all her desires and aspirations.
This was a fantastic five star read for me and a great breath of fresh air. Read it with a cheeky glass of wine and their share it with your bestie, from those who want to get into reading and don't know where to start (hello already generated reading list) to those who love lit just as much as you do. A laugh and a whole lot of fun.
A contemporary romance for book lovers this is an adorable and hilarious read. You will fall in love with the relatable Frankie and her quirky friends and family as she embarks on her journey to find love, just as long as they can appreciate good literature. This novel is a love letter to literature and book lovers will delight in the many references scattered within from Austen to Zafon and honestly, will likely end up with many more books for their own TBR. Yes, this is a contemporary, so there are some situations that are tad cliche and predictable and the character are so vivid and unique that they aren't exactly realistic but it is so laugh out loud funny and charming I forgot all about this and just delighted in the story. I found myself devouring every page and wanting more. Hidden within are some great snapshots of society today, Ali and Michelle have a great eye for what it is to be a young women living and all her desires and aspirations.
This was a fantastic five star read for me and a great breath of fresh air. Read it with a cheeky glass of wine and their share it with your bestie, from those who want to get into reading and don't know where to start (hello already generated reading list) to those who love lit just as much as you do. A laugh and a whole lot of fun.
May 26, 2018
The Book Ninja is the brilliant and hilarious debut book from Aussie writing duo and creators of Books on the Rail, a travelling book service. I remember the first few posts they made on their Instagram account for Books on the Rail and the stickers that originally went out to go onto books to be left on trains. I thought it was such a great idea to have a floating collecting and share a love of books but I had no idea it would grow so successfully and thankfully, it inspired the two creators to write this novel.
Frankie is a character we all aspire to be, she's a lover of books, she works in a bookstore with her best friend and she's hilariously witty. Frankie is also unlucky in love and devises a plan to find a partner by dropping her favourite books on different trains with her contact information in the back. It sounds like a great way to meet people until she finds out there can be some pretty strange encounters but while she's conducting that experiment she happens to stumbles across a gorgeous guy that loves to read but seems to be all wrong for her because he only read Young Adult novels! As a strong lover of Young Adult, I was totally in love with Sunny from the start and I knew she would come around at the end of the book once she realised how diverse and creative they are.
I basically breathed this book in because it was such a quick read and the characters were so outrageously wacky and loveable. Frankie had a real charm to her and she was constantly making me laugh, while Sunny made you swoon as a great guy and her best friend and other characters were always making my eyes widen with the crazy things they would say and do. This book is definitely a feel-good romcom right off the pages. Frankie's best friend Cat also had a pretty interesting and slightly scandalous storyline and I think they could easily write a whole novel about her character too with some appearances from Frankie and the gang after these vents. So, hopefully, this is just the beginning of this writing duo and their adventures.
(Thank you to Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book for an honest review. The Book Ninja is out on June 1st in Australian bookstores and online!)
Frankie is a character we all aspire to be, she's a lover of books, she works in a bookstore with her best friend and she's hilariously witty. Frankie is also unlucky in love and devises a plan to find a partner by dropping her favourite books on different trains with her contact information in the back. It sounds like a great way to meet people until she finds out there can be some pretty strange encounters but while she's conducting that experiment she happens to stumbles across a gorgeous guy that loves to read but seems to be all wrong for her because he only read Young Adult novels! As a strong lover of Young Adult, I was totally in love with Sunny from the start and I knew she would come around at the end of the book once she realised how diverse and creative they are.
I basically breathed this book in because it was such a quick read and the characters were so outrageously wacky and loveable. Frankie had a real charm to her and she was constantly making me laugh, while Sunny made you swoon as a great guy and her best friend and other characters were always making my eyes widen with the crazy things they would say and do. This book is definitely a feel-good romcom right off the pages. Frankie's best friend Cat also had a pretty interesting and slightly scandalous storyline and I think they could easily write a whole novel about her character too with some appearances from Frankie and the gang after these vents. So, hopefully, this is just the beginning of this writing duo and their adventures.
(Thank you to Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book for an honest review. The Book Ninja is out on June 1st in Australian bookstores and online!)
July 30, 2018
What a lovely book for book lovers - if you are a book worm you will without a doubt love this book.
There are literary references all over, although Frankie is a bit of a book snob and will barely give Sunny a chance just because he likes YA books.
Easily my favourite storyline is Frankie being a book ninja and leaving books on trams all around Melbourne, with a note in them to try to get herself a date. As a result of these book drops she sets up a blog and its these blog posts that are posted in full in the book that were amazing and need to be read for yourselves.
Frankie also works in a bookshop with her best friend Cat. Cat, Frankie and Sunny all seemed slightly nuts at times, and there are many laughs to be had. Sunny is rather impulsive and I found myself warming to him really fast, especially with the antics of their first three encounters.
This spoke to me on many levels, as someone interested in publishing, as a booklover, as a blogger, as well as a story of friendship and a fledgling romance. Add in some bonkers parents, assorted quirky dates with a whole array of people, and an unlikely friendship and you have a wonderful mix in this rather enchanting book.
It is clear the authors are huge literary fans, and this is a rather accomplished debut - highly entertaining and generally a lot of fun. It is a book that I greatly enjoyed and I'd love to see what the authors do next.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
There are literary references all over, although Frankie is a bit of a book snob and will barely give Sunny a chance just because he likes YA books.
Easily my favourite storyline is Frankie being a book ninja and leaving books on trams all around Melbourne, with a note in them to try to get herself a date. As a result of these book drops she sets up a blog and its these blog posts that are posted in full in the book that were amazing and need to be read for yourselves.
Frankie also works in a bookshop with her best friend Cat. Cat, Frankie and Sunny all seemed slightly nuts at times, and there are many laughs to be had. Sunny is rather impulsive and I found myself warming to him really fast, especially with the antics of their first three encounters.
This spoke to me on many levels, as someone interested in publishing, as a booklover, as a blogger, as well as a story of friendship and a fledgling romance. Add in some bonkers parents, assorted quirky dates with a whole array of people, and an unlikely friendship and you have a wonderful mix in this rather enchanting book.
It is clear the authors are huge literary fans, and this is a rather accomplished debut - highly entertaining and generally a lot of fun. It is a book that I greatly enjoyed and I'd love to see what the authors do next.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
June 7, 2018
I was ready to give this book 5 stars after chapter 4! Wonderful, quirky and fun story. Characters that are vivacious and full of life. Easy to read and lots of laugh-out-loud scenes, yet still plenty of deep and meaningful moments. Lots of literary references to suit all book buffs and very connected to the location the story unfolds in - these places are very real (as I type this on my way to work on the Frankston train line!). A must read for all Melbournians, everyone who loves books, and those who believe in never giving up on love!
June 3, 2018
The literary value of a book doesn’t always determine how much you enjoy it. Let’s take The Book Ninja. Firstly it is written by two authors which pretty much tells us that it will not be nominated for a Booker Prize anytime soon. Although it does list, within its pages, a litany of literary gems that should be on everyone’s must read list. Secondly, lines like “Just like a good chocolate bar, she wasn’t sure whether she should indulge in its goodness right now, or savour it later” are not going win any literary awards.
Despite all this, I adored this book friendly love story. In the early chapters, I fell for unlucky in love Frankie, dance class fanatic and pregnant Cat, teen bookshop hanger on Seb and obsessive knitter and clueless Claude. Enter YA reader Sunny Day to turn Frankie Rose’s life upside down and broaden her literary horizons. Even when the book took the predictable twists and turns, I was still hooked. Told through a mixture of mediums including social media platforms, this quirky book is a feel good love story and an ode to books and the characters we have grown to love.
I loved it!
Despite all this, I adored this book friendly love story. In the early chapters, I fell for unlucky in love Frankie, dance class fanatic and pregnant Cat, teen bookshop hanger on Seb and obsessive knitter and clueless Claude. Enter YA reader Sunny Day to turn Frankie Rose’s life upside down and broaden her literary horizons. Even when the book took the predictable twists and turns, I was still hooked. Told through a mixture of mediums including social media platforms, this quirky book is a feel good love story and an ode to books and the characters we have grown to love.
I loved it!
February 21, 2019
I've been lucky enough to be at the receiving end of one of Books on the rail books'.. So I was no stranger to the authors Ali and Michelle in that capacity..
To support them now with the debut was made very easy when I really enjoyed Frankie and her quest for love with books on the rail... it was the perfect companion for me after finishing a couple of topic heavy stories previously..
I have to admit I'm not normally a big fan of the romance or light chick lit type books, normally I'm stirred on by fantasy, historical fiction and even to Frankie's horror young adult... so pleasantly pleased to really like this novel...
Easy, light read, extremely engaging and for me loved the Melbourne references ... you'll find yourself wanting Frankie to succeed, you'll even at times wanting to scream at her for some of her decisions...
Congratulations to Ali an Michelle for a great read, I definitely got to escape and thank you to Simon and Schuster for my free review copy..
To support them now with the debut was made very easy when I really enjoyed Frankie and her quest for love with books on the rail... it was the perfect companion for me after finishing a couple of topic heavy stories previously..
I have to admit I'm not normally a big fan of the romance or light chick lit type books, normally I'm stirred on by fantasy, historical fiction and even to Frankie's horror young adult... so pleasantly pleased to really like this novel...
Easy, light read, extremely engaging and for me loved the Melbourne references ... you'll find yourself wanting Frankie to succeed, you'll even at times wanting to scream at her for some of her decisions...
Congratulations to Ali an Michelle for a great read, I definitely got to escape and thank you to Simon and Schuster for my free review copy..
June 3, 2018
No book is ever perfect... there is always something that niggles me--something a character says or does...or perhaps an unexpected quirk to the author's, "writer voice."
But I have realised something, bit by bit, in books of every genre.
With the great books...the ones you can't put down, it's not that those things aren't there, it's that you aren't bothered by them...OR. You EVEN find yourself coming to LOVE them!
That is what a truly great, 5 star read is to me, and that is what truly great writing does.
Gets you so caught up in a story that everything else becomes irrelevant.
And really, isn't that why we read?!
I would recommend this charming book for any fans of Sex and the City... so yeah... everyone!
But I have realised something, bit by bit, in books of every genre.
With the great books...the ones you can't put down, it's not that those things aren't there, it's that you aren't bothered by them...OR. You EVEN find yourself coming to LOVE them!
That is what a truly great, 5 star read is to me, and that is what truly great writing does.
Gets you so caught up in a story that everything else becomes irrelevant.
And really, isn't that why we read?!
I would recommend this charming book for any fans of Sex and the City... so yeah... everyone!
April 4, 2018
**Recommended for fans of The Rosie Project**
It's wonderful to finally have a book to recommend for fans of The Rosie Project - it's a query I get all the time, & it's a hard one to answer.
Also set in Melbourne, also laugh out loud hilarious (I was giggling especially hard on page 14ish!), & another quirky romance.
I say it all the time but I love books set in Melbourne, & this is no different! The "Book Ninja" idea is brilliant, & ridiculous at the same time.
Oh and I nearly forgot one of the best lessons in this book: Don't be a YA snob. There's some truly life changing young adult novels out there!
It's wonderful to finally have a book to recommend for fans of The Rosie Project - it's a query I get all the time, & it's a hard one to answer.
Also set in Melbourne, also laugh out loud hilarious (I was giggling especially hard on page 14ish!), & another quirky romance.
I say it all the time but I love books set in Melbourne, & this is no different! The "Book Ninja" idea is brilliant, & ridiculous at the same time.
Oh and I nearly forgot one of the best lessons in this book: Don't be a YA snob. There's some truly life changing young adult novels out there!
April 14, 2019
When a book takes me three months to read with a blurb like this, I know something had to have been wrong with it.
Let’s not go into too much detail about the fact that every time something was mentioned about Melbourne, I cringed because nothing worked. Throwing in stations and well-known streets, the Yarra River and trams does not inherently just make it “Melbourne” - it doesn’t bring the magic of Melbourne into the story at all, and really, this whole book could have been written in any city around the world and it would have been the same.
Ugh and do not get me started with the protagonist. Not only is she named for the Frankston train line (just because???), she works at a little bookstore on Brunswick Street (this would be my dream come true!) but instead of being good at customer service, instead she puts out her opinion that YA is the worst of the worst of book genres. This was l, of course, masked by the fact that the whole book was masked as a book that put YA down to bring it back up, and for me ended up becoming this record breaking competition to see how many quotes, book names and authors Frankie and her well-read friends could name drop.
Only character I liked was Seb and Sunny. Oh and Stephen and Stephanie from the blog comments (though what a creatively named pair, STEPHen and STEPHanie. Literally, genius. (is my disdain too loud?) -_-)
Cat was good at the start but I couldn’t stand her after a few chapters. Claud was just, oblivious?? And when he did start noticing things he probably thought he was going insane because all of his close friends and his wife were keeping secrets from him and making it or like he was going crazy for thinking things, like that his wife was cheating. Gfdi, Cat just sit down and talk to your husband.
I can’t believe I continued with this book to be honest. I just wanted to know what happened with the blog comment people but they turned out okay - like, until I found out her name and went “okay really?”
One cute moment was finding out Sunny’s name. Now that was pretty cute.
But still, I found the whole book unnecessary and I’m surprised I’m giving it 2 stars but it was still written okayish, and like the premise was cute, but yeah there was a lot more wrong with it for me than there was right.
Just, I don’t have enough words to describe what was wrong with it. But I have even less words about what was okay about it.
Of course if you like the kind of contemporary that involves insane decisions that would usually get you arrested, and some high-read, posh literature humour, then I guess this book is more geared for you. (Like ever time Frankie mentionYA was bad, my heart hurt and I felt bad that I hadn’t read all these classics she mentioned. And I’m sorry i love my classics (my favourite book is a classic!) but to remember the book off by heart and randomly go into a monologue of it is a bit excessive and unbelievable, if you’re someone who reads only those kinds of books??)
Okay sorry this was less a review and more of a rant but I’m so glad this is over.
Let’s not go into too much detail about the fact that every time something was mentioned about Melbourne, I cringed because nothing worked. Throwing in stations and well-known streets, the Yarra River and trams does not inherently just make it “Melbourne” - it doesn’t bring the magic of Melbourne into the story at all, and really, this whole book could have been written in any city around the world and it would have been the same.
Ugh and do not get me started with the protagonist. Not only is she named for the Frankston train line (just because???), she works at a little bookstore on Brunswick Street (this would be my dream come true!) but instead of being good at customer service, instead she puts out her opinion that YA is the worst of the worst of book genres. This was l, of course, masked by the fact that the whole book was masked as a book that put YA down to bring it back up, and for me ended up becoming this record breaking competition to see how many quotes, book names and authors Frankie and her well-read friends could name drop.
Only character I liked was Seb and Sunny. Oh and Stephen and Stephanie from the blog comments (though what a creatively named pair, STEPHen and STEPHanie. Literally, genius. (is my disdain too loud?) -_-)
Cat was good at the start but I couldn’t stand her after a few chapters. Claud was just, oblivious?? And when he did start noticing things he probably thought he was going insane because all of his close friends and his wife were keeping secrets from him and making it or like he was going crazy for thinking things, like that his wife was cheating. Gfdi, Cat just sit down and talk to your husband.
I can’t believe I continued with this book to be honest. I just wanted to know what happened with the blog comment people but they turned out okay - like, until I found out her name and went “okay really?”
One cute moment was finding out Sunny’s name. Now that was pretty cute.
But still, I found the whole book unnecessary and I’m surprised I’m giving it 2 stars but it was still written okayish, and like the premise was cute, but yeah there was a lot more wrong with it for me than there was right.
Just, I don’t have enough words to describe what was wrong with it. But I have even less words about what was okay about it.
Of course if you like the kind of contemporary that involves insane decisions that would usually get you arrested, and some high-read, posh literature humour, then I guess this book is more geared for you. (Like ever time Frankie mentionYA was bad, my heart hurt and I felt bad that I hadn’t read all these classics she mentioned. And I’m sorry i love my classics (my favourite book is a classic!) but to remember the book off by heart and randomly go into a monologue of it is a bit excessive and unbelievable, if you’re someone who reads only those kinds of books??)
Okay sorry this was less a review and more of a rant but I’m so glad this is over.
July 26, 2018
Frankie's life has turned flat. Yes, she has a job she loves at her best friend's bookstore. But her love life has never been the same ever since Ads left her almost three years ago, and she has stopped writing since her second book was rated horribly by critics. Just as she has started to feel like this will be her life from now on, a gorgeous man steps into the bookstore. But, ala! He goes for the YA novels : the one genre Frankie finds horrible. Among sweet coincidences and hilarious situations, Frankie and Sunny will come closer together. Can this really be the person for her? Will she be able to overcome her commitment issues?
The Book Ninja is a wonderful, absolutely enjoyable read! Filled with hilarious situations and smart dialogue, it will make you laugh out loud - a lot! Every character is lovable has something to offer; mainly a lot of smart and funny things to say. Frankie's story is one a lot of people can empathize with, and one that will remind every bookworm of their life at some point. Frankie's and Sunny's love story is one you can't help but to cheer for - loudly and proudly! So, what's the cherry on top? The books, of course! The book references are abundant, and if you are an avid reader, you will enjoy them to no end.
I read The Book Ninja in one seating. It was absolutely impossible for me to put the book down. It is easy-going and attention grasping, and I believe everyone out there who likes love stories or reads a lot will definitely love it!
The Book Ninja is a wonderful, absolutely enjoyable read! Filled with hilarious situations and smart dialogue, it will make you laugh out loud - a lot! Every character is lovable has something to offer; mainly a lot of smart and funny things to say. Frankie's story is one a lot of people can empathize with, and one that will remind every bookworm of their life at some point. Frankie's and Sunny's love story is one you can't help but to cheer for - loudly and proudly! So, what's the cherry on top? The books, of course! The book references are abundant, and if you are an avid reader, you will enjoy them to no end.
I read The Book Ninja in one seating. It was absolutely impossible for me to put the book down. It is easy-going and attention grasping, and I believe everyone out there who likes love stories or reads a lot will definitely love it!
April 19, 2021
Започнах тази книга без никакви очаквания. Взех си я съвсем спонтанно, за да имам лека и неангажираща история, към която да посегна в момент, в който предозирам с тежките четива. Обикновено не ми върви много на разтоварващи книги и затова изненадата ми беше голяма, защото тази определено ми допадна и то доста. Точната дума би била - очарова ме.
Давам 4 звездички, заради приятните лежерни емоции и вълнения, които изпитах, четейки я и супер готините препратки към книги.
Установих, че австралийските автори са ми много симпатични и ме вълнуват.
Франки Роуз е неуспешна писателка (силно критикувана от читателите в Goodreads), литературен сноб, голям почитател на Джейн Остин и освен всичко това работи в книжарница - сладко нали? Понеже никак не и върви в любовта тя решава да направи експеримент и да намери идеалния мъж като оставя книги в градския транспорт в Мелбърн с бележка на 7ма страница отзад напред, очаквайки, който намери и прочете книгата да я види да и пише и да ходи по срещи с кандидатите. Междувременно в книжарницата, влиза красивия Съни, който я заинтригува от самото начало, нооо се оказва че чете УА, и изобщо не е чувал за господин Дарси...
Историята се заплита със забавни ситуации покрай срещите на Франки, която започва да пише блог, който бързо добива популярност.
Има много комични ситуации, романтика, препратки към книги (всички са изнесени в списък в края на книгата) и литературни образи и това беше ужасно приятно. Много ми хареса постоянното рефериране към различни герои.
Много интересна ми беше и страничната сюжетна линия на най-добрата приятелка на Франки - Кет съпругът и Клод, както и образа на майката на Франки.
Доста любопитна е и инициативата на двете авторки за Книги на Релсите, която вдъхновява историята - https://www.booksontherail.com/about.
Ако си търсите остроумна, забавна, неангажираща и разтоварваща книга - препоръчвам.
И въпреки че е лежерна, поставя много важни теми като - донорството, отношенията родители деца, литературния снобизъм:), изневярата, любов или кариера.
Давам 4 звездички, заради приятните лежерни емоции и вълнения, които изпитах, четейки я и супер готините препратки към книги.
Установих, че австралийските автори са ми много симпатични и ме вълнуват.
Франки Роуз е неуспешна писателка (силно критикувана от читателите в Goodreads), литературен сноб, голям почитател на Джейн Остин и освен всичко това работи в книжарница - сладко нали? Понеже никак не и върви в любовта тя решава да направи експеримент и да намери идеалния мъж като оставя книги в градския транспорт в Мелбърн с бележка на 7ма страница отзад напред, очаквайки, който намери и прочете книгата да я види да и пише и да ходи по срещи с кандидатите. Междувременно в книжарницата, влиза красивия Съни, който я заинтригува от самото начало, нооо се оказва че чете УА, и изобщо не е чувал за господин Дарси...
Историята се заплита със забавни ситуации покрай срещите на Франки, която започва да пише блог, който бързо добива популярност.
Има много комични ситуации, романтика, препратки към книги (всички са изнесени в списък в края на книгата) и литературни образи и това беше ужасно приятно. Много ми хареса постоянното рефериране към различни герои.
Много интересна ми беше и страничната сюжетна линия на най-добрата приятелка на Франки - Кет съпругът и Клод, както и образа на майката на Франки.
Доста любопитна е и инициативата на двете авторки за Книги на Релсите, която вдъхновява историята - https://www.booksontherail.com/about.
Ако си търсите остроумна, забавна, неангажираща и разтоварваща книга - препоръчвам.
И въпреки че е лежерна, поставя много важни теми като - донорството, отношенията родители деца, литературния снобизъм:), изневярата, любов или кариера.
August 4, 2018
Hahaha…The Book Ninja - what a cool and amusing title!
Frankie, and her mum and Cat were annoying at times yet, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story, after all there was a lot to enjoy in this quirky, adorable, fun and funny novel:
Books on the rail (fabulous concept!)
Sunny and his love for YA novels (yep, I’m not a YA snob either)
The blog entries and comments (so hilarious)
The awesome friendship between Frankie and Cat (crazy friends make the best friends)
And the mention of books books books books books books (BOOKS!)
The last time I was in Melbourne was 11 years ago, clearly it's time for another visit and after reading this tale I'm itching to explore more of this glittery, cafe world, city!
Frankie, and her mum and Cat were annoying at times yet, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story, after all there was a lot to enjoy in this quirky, adorable, fun and funny novel:
Books on the rail (fabulous concept!)
Sunny and his love for YA novels (yep, I’m not a YA snob either)
The blog entries and comments (so hilarious)
The awesome friendship between Frankie and Cat (crazy friends make the best friends)
And the mention of books books books books books books (BOOKS!)
The last time I was in Melbourne was 11 years ago, clearly it's time for another visit and after reading this tale I'm itching to explore more of this glittery, cafe world, city!
July 18, 2021
Чиклит за любовта към книгите, приятелството, книжната плъхливост... И голяма доза секси мъже, както се полага на един чиклит, само че начетени мъже xD (Е, главният мъжки персонаж не знаеше кой е мистър Дарси, та затова си мисля, че даже има и доза реализъм, хахах).
Книгата напомня за сценарий на ситком, перфектна е за дами, на които им се чете нещо модерно, леко, разтоварващо и донякъде извън съвсем традиционните рамки на чиклита. Доколкото главната героиня живее около и с книгите около себе си и е решила, че може би ще успее да заплени някой четящ тип, разхвърляйки книги с послания из градския транспорт. Хм, всъщност идеята не е безкрайно лоша xD
Книгата напомня за сценарий на ситком, перфектна е за дами, на които им се чете нещо модерно, леко, разтоварващо и донякъде извън съвсем традиционните рамки на чиклита. Доколкото главната героиня живее около и с книгите около себе си и е решила, че може би ще успее да заплени някой четящ тип, разхвърляйки книги с послания из градския транспорт. Хм, всъщност идеята не е безкрайно лоша xD
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