Resort to Murder Review

IndiaReadsALot4 Comments
  • Author: TP Fielden
  • Series: A Miss Dimont Mystery #2
  • Genre: Historical/Murder Mystery
  • No. of pages: 300
  • Dates read: 26.04.19 – 03.05.19
  • Ratings: 4 stars
  • Challenge: 2019 Sequels

Plot (as seen on Goodreads): With its pale, aquamarine waters and golden sands, the shoreline at Temple Regis was a sight to behold. But when an unidentifiable body is found there one morning, the most beautiful beach in Devon is turned into a crime scene. For Miss Dimont – ferocious defender of free speech, champion of the truth and ace newspaperwoman for The Riviera Express – this is a case of paramount interest, and the perfect introduction for her young new recruit Valentine Waterford. Even if their meddling is to the immense irritation of local copper Inspector Topham… Soon Miss Dimont and Valentine are deep in investigation – why can nobody identify the body, and why does Topham suspect murder? And when a second death occurs, can the two possibly be connected?

Another solid sequel that I have read this week. TP Fielden has been a pleasant surprise and I was not disappointed by his 2nd instalment.

First of all, my main positive about this book would be the introduction of a new main character, Valentine Waterford. He was a brilliant addition to the story and it felt good to have another set of eyes to view the story from.

I really enjoyed the structure of this story where we see the reporters cover 3 big stories. The stories were incredibly interesting and varied. I sadly can’t say much about the cases without spoiling the plot but it just worked so well and I preferred the structure of the investigation into both murders compared to how it was done in the first book.

As per usual, Fielden did a great job at describing the town of Temple Regis, giving life to the town and making it feel as if Temple Regis itself was a character within the story. An omnipotent being watching the drama unfold before it. 

Two of my main stumbling blocks with this book is that first of all it took some time for the narrative to really get going. The first 100 pages while easy to read were not that exciting, once you get past the 100 pages mark the story really starts to kick and that’s when you get invested. It was a bit disappointing that you had to wait for 100 pages to get there.

My other bugbear was the characterisation of Ursula, the leader of the Sisters of Reason feminist group. I felt she was only included to play the angry, ugly feminist and she was a one-dimensional character. I understand the point that was meant to be made about the fringe feminist group and the fight for gender equality at that time. Some great points were raised, I just feel that making the leader a more masculine woman and subsequently writing her as an unlikable individual who everyone dislikes or is intimidated with no redeeming qualities was not subtle and could have been written better.

April Wrap Up 2019

IndiaReadsALotLeave a comment

Below is the list of the four books I read in April. The photo includes all the books I own. I had a pretty good April with most books being 4 stars or more!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (4.5 stars)

This book to me was 4 stars until the very ending. I couldn’t give it 5 stars due to the fact I felt that Christie relied on the ending for her book entirely. While I felt that the ending was masterful, I felt the book as a whole was 4 stars.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (4 stars)

This book had been on my TBR list for ages and I thought I was never going to pick this us. This was until the ONTD Reading Challenge came along and set the theme of “Time Travel” for the month of April and I knew this was the book I was going to read. This book was an incredible slow-burner and I loved reading about this immaculate life/lives that Harry lives.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (5 stars)

This book was recommended to me by a friend from work, I don’t own this book so it’s not included in the photo. It was a book I had seen all over Booktube and Goodreads but never felt the urge to pick it up and did I feel like an idiot when I sat on the train back home from work and fell in love with these crazy characters! This is more of a character-driven novel and it was so, so good. Everyone should read it!

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (2 stars)

So this book… I have not done a review for this book since I DNFed it at 40% so I couldn’t give a review on a book I didn’t even read half of. But I did read that 40% in April so I think it should be noted. To be honest, the reason I put it down was due to the desire to pick it back up was minimal and while I did want to know how it ended, I didn’t want to read the extra 300 pages to get there! I just decided to put it down and move away.

A Long Way To A Small Angry Planet Review

IndiaReadsALot4 Comments
  • Author: Becky Chambers
  • Series: Wayfarers #1
  • Genre: Sci-fi
  • No of pages: 404
  • Dates read: 12.04.19 – 16.04.19
  • Ratings: 5 stars (Favourite)

WOW! I am doing well in April, I have loved every book I have read so far but this book might be my new favourite!

There are so many things about this book that I love!

Overall, the ensemble cast was the best thing about this story. These are a group of individuals that you just so badly want to be friends with. They are all so unique not just in their biology but their personality, their morals, their beliefs. They are incredibly layered characters that are so likeable and well thought out. I tended to prefer the chapters that were just about the crew and their time on the ship to the actual over-arching plot. I loved the developing friendships, relationships and even the moments of anguish. It was such a refreshing story to read.

The main themes of this book include family, friendship but mainly acceptance. I found the theme of acceptance in this book weaved through each chapter. Whether it was about interspecies relationships, LGBT characters, religion etc. All the characters strived for respect and acceptance, not judging a book by its cover. It just put a smile of my face to see LGBT characters accepted whole-heartedly and the characters just moving on but so what, it’s not a big deal. 

War is another huge theme in this book and it is done really well! Probably the best way I have seen war written! Everyone is the victim of war as war leaves no stone unturned and no one person unaffected. Some more than others. CHaracters in this book accept the mistakes and horrors committed by people they know or members of their planet and the focus was on how can we better ourselves and make sure this doesn’t happen again. 

I loved the variety of species and planets. The description of each character and the world building was amazingly detailed. You could truly picture each individual and each location perfectly.

My only criticism is that with their being so many species and planets not enough explanation was given to their history or culture so I got a bit confused on who they were and what they are about which was a bit frustrating but it was only a personal preference that I found at the beginning of the novel. Maybe I was being a bit too impatient.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August Review

IndiaReadsALot3 Comments
  • Author: Claire North
  • Series: Standalone
  • Genre: Sci-fi/Historical
  • No of pages: 405
  • Date read: 05.04.19 – 11.04.19
  • Rating: 4 stars
  • Challenge: ONTD April Theme “Time Travel”

I have been needing a book like this for so long!

This is my current favourite of 2019!

I read this book for the ONTD book of the month of April. The theme for April was time-travel and I was curious about what I was going to read and saw this book which had been sitting on my TBR for so long and thought, this is the moment!

Overall, Harry is a really intriguing character! We see him over 15 lifetimes and we learn more and more about him as each life passes. We know what makes him tick, what makes him laugh, what makes him cry and he feels like someone you know and understands like a friend as we watch him go on this journey. I really enjoyed his POV.

One of my favourites thing about the plot was the flipping between the current over-arching narrative working alongside the little peeks into important moments in Harry’s other lives. We will have a major plot point occur and followed up by an insight into his childhood from his 4th life and we learn about his relationship with his father. I think the pacing works well, switching between moments of high adrenaline and then moments of calm. I think this kind of narrative is also important to Harry’s character development.

I loved the Cronus Club and all the characters you meet because of the Cronus Club. Especially, all the jokes that members and other Kalacharka make regarding their immortality and constantly going through new cycles of life. I loved the jokes of not wanting to go through puberty again. The Cronus Club as a franchise was really intriguing, I loved learning how they worked and how they communicated with the future and the past.

North’s writing to me was really enjoyable. Her writing sucked me into the point where I couldn’t put the book down. I just wanted to keep on reading!

One thing I would say is there is a lot of science jargon and philosophical debate that is held between two characters of very high intelligence and those scenes would just go way over my head and came across quite dull as I couldn’t understand half of what they said. Chapters would be dedicated to these scientific debates and I got bored of those chapters quite quickly.

To me this was a slow burn of a book, I was always really enjoying it but I never had a moment of a sucker-punch WOW moment. It just grew on me slowly and when I finished it I just sat there and thought that was such a good book! This book was consistent, apart from the science debates, I loved every moment of this book and enjoyed picking back up everytime!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Review

IndiaReadsALot7 Comments
  • Author: Agatha Christie
  • Series: Hercule Poirot #4
  • Genre: Murder Mystery
  • No of pages: 304
  • Dates read: 01.04.19 – 04.04.19
  • Rating: 4.5 stars
  • Challenge: 2019 Sequels

There is not much I can say about this book without giving away Christie’s pure genius. So this won’t be that indepth of a review.

The first thing I would say after reading Sophie Hannah’s interpretation of Poirot, in The Monogram Murders, it makes you understand what it was about Christie’s Poirot that is unmatched and can’t be replicated no matter how hard we try. He is a great balance of knowing he is smarter than everyone else but also being humble about it. Being stern but compassionate. This balance is what makes Poirot great! It was great to dive back into the original Poirot.

I loved how everyone was framed as a suspect leaving the reader rather confused and no closer to who the actual murderer is. This also gets dragged out through a lot of the book so as you see the pages get smaller and smaller and you are reaching the end of the novel you are still wondering who it could be.

I really enjoyed the character Caroline Sheppard. I loved her ability to just gossip and not care about the consequences. While this isn’t a trait I would promote, it was very intriguing to read especially her nonchalance over causing trouble in her village. She is the person we would all be when something shocking happens, trying to know every little detail and discussing it with our friends.

One of the things I would say is that the writing is pretty basic, it was not the most exciting writing I have ever read. Thankfully, the plot makes up for the writing as the plot is incredibly masterful, so Christie can get away with the average writing style.

The next book I will be reviewing will be The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North. This book has been on my TBR list for so long and I am so happy I can finally get to this book.

March Wrap Up 2018

IndiaReadsALotLeave a comment

Below is a list of the five books I read in March. The photo is missing Thunderhead sadly 😦

Legendary by Stephanie Garber (3 stars)

A great sequel to an amazing debut novel, though not without faults. Garber’s writing was enveloping, she welcomed you back to her world like she welcoming you back home. Yet the strucutre of the plot was a bit lacking at times.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (5 stars)

A jaw-dropping sequel! It was so good I have a friend from work picking up the series just so he can read this book. The world building is the standout feature in this story and more so than ever we see our own society reflected in this novel.

The Power by Naomi Alderman (4 stars)

A pre-dystopian novel I didn’t know I needed. The multi-perspective/characters were the highlights of the story. Alot of triggers litter this book, which I list in the review but this is just a warning going into the book.

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson (3.75 stars)

My very first arc! This was a promising debut and I will definitely pick up the next book she releases. The representation in this book stood out to me alot and I felt it was done really well. The main character was really great and I enjoyed reading her POV.

How to Adult by Stephen Wildish (3 stars)

A satirical non-fiction book I read but I don’t know how to review a book like that so I gave it an average rating. It was very funny and a quick read for March.

The Storm Crow Review

IndiaReadsALot3 Comments
  • Author: Kalyn Josephson
  • Series: The Storm Crow #1
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • No. of pages: 368
  • Dates read: 25.03.19 – 31.03.19
  • Rating: 3.75 stars

I did not expect to live this book as much as I did!

I received this book as an ARC in the Fairyloot December 2018 box and was quite hesitant about it. It didn’t sound like something I would normally pick up.

This book is FULL of representation! First of all, you have this really vast world with each kingdom representing parts of the world we live in this subsequently came with many POC characters. Our protagonist is a woman of colour and she is amazing. She is a really enjoyable character to view the story from. So many characters in this book are POC which is refreshing to read about. 

There are characters who are LGBT and what I liked about this book is that their sexuality wasn’t their defining feature, they are not solely placed in the story to be the gay character. We know these characters initially for their bravery or their kindness or their arrogance and it just so happens that they are gay. They are not this walking stereotype which is brill.

This book is full of powerful women and women in positions of power which is amazing to read about. Most notably the Queen of Illucia, while I hated her for her cruelty I also loved to see a cut-throat character that wasn’t a man but a woman. She was truly terrifying. Kiva was a smart, funny and incredibly powerful woman who was so fun to read about. It was just cool to see these countries run by women.

This book deals with depression and while I wouldn’t consider it the best representation, there are probably better books out there, I thought it was written well without bias and it was good to see the exploration of trauma and depression and the vicious cycle that you go through dealing with it.

The friendship between Kiva and Anthia was amazing! Those girls had each other’s backs through thick and thin and it was great to see these two women stand up and support each other through all the horror they are put through.

Ericen as a character was one that I thought I wouldn’t like. I don’t like characters we are meant to hate initially but then learn to like them later on and forgive them for shitty or selfish decisions but I felt that this was developed well in this story and the author never tried to make us want to forgive him either, he had to own up to his own bad decisions.

A couple of things I wasn’t a massive fan of was…

Caylus was a nice character but to me, he felt quite bland with a lack of personality. I found myself questioning why Anthia liked him as much as she did. Even though he is given a sad backstory I still didn’t find him that interesting.

The writing itself is pretty basic. I enjoyed her setting descriptions and when describing Anthia’s depression but when it came to normal conversations or actions I found the writing to be average. It’s definitely writing anyone could get into but I wanted to see magic within the words.

Finally, it took a while for me to get into the story. It was quite slow-going initially, but it did eventually pick up.

The next book I will be reviewing is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie! I am a massive Agatha Christie fan. I reviewed her book, Murder on the Links, last year and LOVED IT!

The Power Review

IndiaReadsALot2 Comments
  • Author: Naomi Alderman
  • Series: Standalone
  • Genre: Sci-fi/Feminism
  • No. of pages: 341
  • Dates read: 19.03.19 – 24.03.19
  • Rating: 4.5 stars

I have never read a book like this before! I don’t read much science fiction but I was quite intrigued by the synopsis.

There numerous trigger warnings in this book, so please be careful if you ever decide to pick it up. I don’t mention the triggers in my review but this is my warning for triggers such as:
Rape, Sexual Assualt, Violence and Torture

POSITIVES

I loved the whole concept in general of women having this dormant power and women becoming this unstoppable force and rising up from oppression. I was also interested to see which way Naomi would go with this story. Would she go down the route of “society was changed for the better because women were now in charge” or would she go down the route of “society collapses from the rise in power.” I was very happy with the road she took.

I loved all the characters in the stories both good or evil or in-between. I felt each character introduced a new perspective to this changing world and all actions were justified in their minds as their knee-jerk reaction to these sudden changes.

I really enjoyed the multiple POV’s, I think for us to fully understand the worldwide/societal change this new phenomenon brought, we had to see it from varying characters in different parts of the world. All 4 POV’s represented certain parts of society and through them, we see how those parts responded.

Tunde was the media. Margot was the politics. Allie was the religion. Roxy was the organised crime.

I don’t normally like this dystopian novels as I get bored quite quickly but what I liked about this book is we actually witness all the small changes that lead to the quickly forming dystopian society. We are not introduced to the story halfway through like we are with books such as the “The Hunger Games” where the dystopian setting was established years ago but at the very beginning and we watch everything unravel.

The language switch was intriguing. A lot of words and phrases were used to describe men and their horrible situation, especially by the end of the book, that normally gets associated with women or references something that women go through every day and I thought it was interesting to see that switch. In which these things were being said about men instead of women. It was a weird experience to read it!

NEGATIVES

While I really enjoyed the book, I didn’t care for the ending. It didn’t pack a punch for me. A lot is left unsaid. We don’t know what happens to the characters we have invested our time into which was quite disappointing for me. I had to go to a forum on Goodreads to fully understand the ending, which when explained to me sounded really cool but I didn’t care for the execution.

Overall, I started losing momentum about 3/4 of the way through the book. If it had been a bit shorter I probably would have enjoyed the ending more than I did.

The next book I will be reviewing is an ARC I received in their December 2018 Fairyloot box. I will be reading The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson.

February Wrap Up 2018

IndiaReadsALotLeave a comment

Bit late this time round but I couldn’t find the time to take a photo of the books I read in February.

Below is a list of the four books I reviewed in February.

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (4 stars)

A great final instalment to one of my favourite sci-fi series. I loved the diverse cast and the dossier style format it follows but critiqued the sometimes cringe dialogue.

The Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft (4 stars)

Another book into my 2019 sequels. I read the 1st book, Senlin Ascends, last year and it was my favourite book of 2018. I was quite nervous going into this one but I ended up throughly enjoying it!

The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah (3.5 stars)

A fresh new take on Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective, Hannah takes over the mantle from Christie and produces a book which has classic Christie tropes. I enjoyed this story a lot.

The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (4 stars)

A heart-warming story about life and death. I get emotional every time I think about this story. A quick, inspirational read that will have you thinking about life just a little bit differently.

Thunderhead Review

IndiaReadsALot5 Comments
  • Author: Neal Shusterman
  • Series: Arc of a Scythe #2
  • Genre: Sci-fi
  • No. of pages: 515
  • Dates read: 10.03.19 – 18.03.19
  • Rating: 5 stars (Favourite)
  • Challenge: 2019 sequels

I read the first book “Sycthe” last July and really enjoyed it! So I wasn’t sure how Shusterman was going to top it but he completely smashed it! Hit it out the park! I can’t fully comprehend what I just read!

I can’t really mention the plot as it spoils things but what I will say is that it is set a year after the conclave where it was decided between Rowan and Citra who would win the mantle of Honorable Sycthe.

THOUGHTS

The world building in this book is so intricate and detailed. I can’t believe how imaginative Shusterman is! I would not be able to think of all the things mentioned and described in this book! From the expansion of the Thunderhead to Sycthe law, I felt like if I was dropped into this world I would know how to go about my day without a hitch as it’s that detailed!

I loved the expansion of the Thunderhead, I liked getting an insight into the “brain” of this powerhouse. He reminded me of what AIDAN in the Illuminae Files could have been. I loved the humanity that the Thunderhead was given.

Greyson Tolliver was such a great addition to the story. I really enjoyed his character and I felt for him so much! He brought a lot to the story and was key to the progression of the narrative. He is not just brought in for the sake of introducing another character, Shusterman like with every single detail he includes is important to the world or the progression to the story. Greyson is key!!!!!

Citra has grown a lot on me this time! I didn’t care for her that much in Sycthe but I loved her in this book! She has so much strength and intelligence that I wish I had! She is a kind of character people look up to, she is trying her hardest in a tough political climate and is holding her own. I think it’s very fitting as she represents a lot of young women fighting for their place in society and to have their voices heard!

Speaking of political climate… the politics in this book is so raw and real and while its set in this fantastical setting and they are discussing fantastical topics, the root of the problem is very real and can be reflected in our own world and our own lives and that is scary! I see today’s politicians reflected in this book and I am not happy with what I see.

I love the development of Sycthe Curie and Citra’s friendship, it was lovely to see two powerful women supporting each other! I think that this friendship was beautiful. Women supporting women! What more could I ask for!

My only criticism for this book is I am still not sold on the romance sub-plots. This was something I found to be a problem in Sycthe. The relationships and romance are driving forces for the progression of the story but it’s the only part of the novel that I feel is under-developed and as a reader, I am not given enough time to appreciate the romance or understand, it feels rushed and that it shouldn’t be that important of driving force for the narrative progression.

The next book I plan to review is another sci-fi! Last year I read two sci-fi books this year I will be on my 3rd! Wahey! The book I will be reviewing next is The Power by Naomi Alderman!