Book Review: Burqalicious

I just finished reading Burqalicious by Becky Wicks. The synopsis goes like this:

"As a sassy young woman used to blagging, blogging and slogging her way through dreary London, the call of a glamorous, tax-free lifestyle in sunny Dubai just couldn't go unanswered. During two and a half years, an entire city rose from the dust around Becky, along with a good few rungs of that hard-to-climb career ladder. She was a celebrity editor in a land where sex definitely does not sell and spent most nights in a five-star blur of champagne luxury. For two and a half years, Dubai gave Becky everything, but it all got a bit messy - not least because a wealthy jealous Arab made her his mistress. These days, shamed rule-breakers and failed entrepreneurs are a dime a dozen in Dubai, but it wasn't always so tragic. Becky lifts the burqa behind the razzle-dazzle and what it was really like to live in the world's fastest up and coming city." 

I enjoyed reading her blogging account of her adventures in Dubai and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of moving there, especially if you are a western non-Muslim. You would probably relate to her better if you are a fun-loving, beer drinking Brit as the majority of her stories revolve around her bar-hopping and being a rich Arab guys mistress :p It's definitely a page turner but like other Dubai-based books I have read, it has left me feeling like the Dubai dream is over, as her dream of a glamorous life there begins to slowly unravel. I give it a 3/5 :)

Book Review: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Rarely do i watch a film and then read the book it was based on, but here is an exception :)

I saw the film a couple of years ago and even though it got bad reviews, i still enjoyed it. It was quite conflicting with the girl being so innocent and sweet vs. the dark side of her killer. Watching the movie definitely gave me chills and so i wanted to read the book to see if it was even better than the movie.

To be honest, i preferred the portrayal of the girl in the movie as in the book she seems a bit tougher and more upfront, and the killer did not come across as menacing also. In the movie I actually cried towards the end, maybe because i am a mother now and i am all emotional about innocent children, but i thought the cinematography was brilliant.

In the book i got a little bored towards the end and actually just scanned over the last few chapters as it got kind of mundane. Overall i think the plot is good, and i enjoyed the way the story was told. I would rate the book 6/10 and definitely recommend the movie!