Category: Book Reviews

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene Review

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Beatrix Greene has made a name for herself in Victorian England as a reputable spiritual medium, but she’s a fraud: even she knows ghosts aren’t real. But when she’s offered a lucrative job by James Walker—a scientist notorious for discrediting pretenders like her—Beatrix takes the risk of a lifetime. If her séance at the infamously haunted Ashbury Manor fools him, she will finally have true financial freedom. If she fails, her secret will become her public shame.

Murder on the Dancefloor Review

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November 1933. Amateur sleuth-cum-dutiful granddaughter Kitty Underhay stifles a sigh of boredom as she attends the annual Hoteliers’ Association Dinner and Dance on behalf of her grandmother, the proprietress of the Dolphin Hotel. She hopes the company of ex-army captain Matthew Bryant will enliven the otherwise dull evening. That is, until bullish and overbearing local councillor Harold Everton drops dead into his bowl of consommé. While the local police are still scrambling for their whistles, Kitty and Matt waste no time leaping into action. Soon they find themselves caught up a dangerous search to uncover who amongst the distinguished guests used cyanide for seasoning?

Rivers of London Review

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Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

Peril at End House Review

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Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckley. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, an imposing structure perched on the rocky cliffs of St. Loo. Poirot has taken a particular interest in the young woman who has recently narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.

September Wrap Up 2020

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Definitely a better reading month this month. While I did have my first 1 star of the year… all the other books I read were enjoyable. I also have planned all the books I am going to read for the rest of the year plus I have planned more or less all the posts I want to post until Feb next year! December and January is planned with end of the year wrap up kind of posts so it’s quite easy to plan and definitely my fave part of the year book blogging wise!

  • I read 6 books this month.
  • I dnfed 1 book this month.
  • I read 2 books for my sequel challenge and 2 books for my ONTD challenge.
  • I completed my sequel challenge.
  • For genre: I read most fantasy. All with different subgenres; portal, high, urban etc. One book was also a murder mystery in a fantasy setting.
  • For age range: 3 were adult, 2 were young adult and 1 I am not sure of the age range (a cross between YA and adult)
  • I read 4 paperbacks (1 was a manga) and 2 ebooks

Crowning Soul by Sahira Javaid (DNF)

I was super excited to get into this book. I haven’t read many books inspired by Morocco and I was excited to read a book with a Muslim character in the center of the story. But sadly it was a slog to get through. The pacing was weird as we switched through the scenes quite quickly but it felt really slow to read. The dialogue felt very cringey and unrealistic and I just struggled to find the desire to pick up the book.

The Last Wish by Andrezj Sapkowski (4 stars)

I wanted to read this book after I watched the Netflix adaptation at the beginning of the year. I then managed to fit it into my ONTD challenge for September which was read a book with a grumpy character and there are a lot of those kinds of characters in this book. Overall, all the short stories in this collection were really strong and I loved exploring the world through these stories rather than a linear narrative!

Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold (4 stars)

I wasn’t expecting that a book I read and reviewed as an ARC in February of this year would already have a sequel before the year was out but Mr Arnold seems to be working hard! I thoroughly enjoyed this book more so than the first one and I am super excited to see what this series has to hold!

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden (5 stars)

Now I was nervous going into this book. I have spent about 3 years making my way through this trilogy and the journey was a rollercoaster of emotions so knowing I was going into the last book made me very apprehensive to read it as I did not want to be disappointed. And let me tell you… I was not disappointed in the slightest! Everyone must read this trilogy!

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (3 stars)

I think that my time with Gaiman has come to an end. I have read 3 of his books now and none of them left me feeling like I wanted to read more. While this book was definitely the better of the 3, the others being Coraline and Stardust, it sadly didn’t wow me enough. I don’t think I will continue to read Gaiman’s work anymore sadly.

Fullmetal Alchemist Vol.3 (7-9) by Hiromu Arakawa (5 stars)

Just expect me to give this entire series 5 stars throughout! All the volumes were great but now the ball is really rolling in regards to the wider plotline so I am super excited to read more!

Neverwhere Review

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Under the streets of London lies a world most people could never dream of. When Richard Mayhew helps a mysterious girl he finds bleeding on the pavement, his boring life changes in an instant. Her name is Door, she’s on the run from two assassins in black suits and she comes from London Below. His act of kindness leads him to a place filled with monsters and angels, a Beast in a labyrinth and an Earl who holds Court in a Tube train. It is strangely familiar yet utterly bizarre.

The Winter of the Witch Review

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Moscow is in flames, leaving its people searching for answers – and someone to blame. Vasilisa, a girl with extraordinary gifts, must flee for her life, pursued by those who blame their misfortune on her magic. Then a vengeful demon returns, stronger than ever. Determined to engulf the world in chaos, he finds allies among men and spirits. Mankind and magical creatures alike find their fates resting on Vasya’s shoulders. But she may not be able to save them all.

Dead Man in a Ditch Review

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The name’s Fetch Phillips — what do you need? Cover a Gnome with a crossbow while he does a dodgy deal? Sure. Find out who killed Lance Niles, the big-shot businessman who just arrived in town? I’ll give it shot. Help an old-lady Elf track down her husband’s murderer? That’s right up my alley. What I don’t do, because it’s impossible, is search for a way to bring the goddamn magic back. Rumors got out about what happened with the Professor, so now people keep asking me to fix the world. But there’s no magic in this story. Just dead friends, twisted miracles, and a secret machine made to deliver a single shot of murder.

The Last Wish Review

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Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers and lifelong training have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary killer: he hunts the vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil; not everything fair is good . . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

August Wrap-Up 2020

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So it was my birthday month last month and I always look forward to the books that I am going to read that month. I don’t know why, August just has a special place in my heart. But let me tell you. August was disappointing!

  • I read 6 books this month.
  • I dnfed 1 book this month.
  • I read 1 book for my second chance challenge and ONTD challenge and 1 book for my sequels challenge.
  • For genre: 2 fantasy, 2 sci-fi, 1 murder mystery and 1 book which I can’t pinpoint the genre.
  • For age range: 5 adult and 1 young adult
  • I read 3 paperbacks and 3 eBooks

The Princess Bride by William Goldman (DNF)

So this book was for my ONTD and my second chance challenge and sadly I didn’t enjoy it as much as I remembered I did. I remember enjoying it a lot but never actually finishing it due to prioritizing other books so I was super excited to get back into it. It just didn’t grab my attention at all and I had no desire to keep picking it back up.

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant (2 stars)

This was also disappointing. I couldn’t really pinpoint the genre for this book but it was sort-of a re-telling of Les Mis or an alternate history of the French Revolution where the revolution failed and she is just chucking in Les Mis characters. But it wasn’t a great, there needed to be more world-building, it felt very rushed and the romance was not set up that well.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (3 stars)

This was disappointing to me despite the star rating due to the amount of hype I saw around the book. I felt that there was a big message that I was just not smart enough to realise so I just couldn’t connect to the story. It was really slow-paced and I am not the biggest fan of character focused stories so I struggled to get through it.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (4 stars)

The beacon of hope after a dreary month, I really enjoyed this book and it’s eclectic characters. This was just a really fun and easy read that had me fully engaged from the beginning! I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (4 stars)

Thank god for this book. I was losing hope in this series after the last couple of books I had read had been disappointing to say the least. There is no review for this book as apart from me saying how I’m happy its better than the other books I had read, there was nothing to new to say about this book. Great characters, world-building and very funny!

The Phlebotomist by Chris Panatier (3 stars)

This was an enjoyable book but had of a lot of potential to be better. I enjoyed the main character and the plot as a whole but around the 60% mark I started to lose interest. I did like the book as a whole I just think there needed to be some structuring in terms of how early you reveal big information.