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My Sister Is Missing
My Sister Is Missing
Julia Barrett | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is told from multiple perspectives, but Jess was the one trying to investigate and find her sister. I really liked this approach to the book, it allowed to see different events happening and how they interconnect between the characters in this story. There were a lot of characters in this novel, but they lacked some spirit in them. I could not understand Jess’s relationship with her boyfriend, and some of her thoughts sound quite feeble. I liked this ghostly vibe which the author used in this novel, it felt quite creepy sometimes. 🙂

The narrative of this book was quite interesting. I liked the way the author was throwing in false information, she actually tricked me a couple of times. 🙂 I did enjoy Jess’s investigation process, but I was quite disappointed with her findings. I was expecting something sinister and mind blowing but I didn’t get that. 😦 The topics discussed in this novel were postnatal psychosis, difficult mother-child relationships, child abuse, mental health, etc. The narrative does have several threads going on, with different issues discussed, but the second part of the book looks less than a thriller and more like a book about treatment and life in general, and I do like my thrillers to grip me till the last page of the book. I can see that the author utilised her knowledge of hospitals and Sheffield in this novel, and it is always interesting to see how authors are connected to their books. 🙂

The writing style of this book was pleasant to read and the language used easy to understand. I liked the different settings and places used in this novel, it gave more edge to the book. The chapters had a decent length and didn’t drag to me. The ending of this book rounded the story nicely but started way too early in my opinion.

So, to conclude, this book has to offer an interesting story and how sometimes our mind can play tricks on us at the worst possible time. I enjoyed this book and the mental health issues it supports. If you are looking for a light thriller, this book is for you. I hope you will give this book a go, and I hope you will enjoy it.
  
The Last Thing To Burn
The Last Thing To Burn
Will Dean | 2021 | Crime, Thriller
10
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Last Thing to Burn is the first of Will Dean’s books that I’ve read, and it most definitely won’t be my last. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe throughout this book - ‘suspense’ is not a strong enough word! If I could have read through my hands covering my eyes, I would have, because you could see what was coming next , and you just couldn’t stop it from coming! And then it would be even more horrific than I thought it was going to be. I mean, Will Dean seems to be such a nice person on Twitter, his St Bernard, Bernie, is gorgeous - how can things like this even come out of his head and on to paper?!

My dad lives in Lincolnshire, and to get to where he lives (Boston), we have to drive through what seems to be miles and miles of flat farmland (filled mainly with cruciferous vegetables, if my nose remembers correctly!), so it was easy to see how hard it would be for Jane to escape. You can see for a long way - uninterrupted by hills, or indeed anything else at all! This was such a good choice of location. It was that feeling of being trapped by your environment, even though Jane wasn’t exactly locked away. Jane’s every move is monitored on CCTV when her ‘husband’ isn’t there. And if she breaks any of his rules, she is punished. Not physically - instead he takes one of her very few belongings, and burns it whilst she watches.

This is a story of abuse, imprisonment and survival. No matter how much he seeks to control her, “Jane” is free to think and remember what it was like to be free. Whilst I was reading this, that’s all I wanted for her - freedom.

I don’t know whether the phrase “I loved every minute of this book” reflects all that well on me. I mean, it’s pretty horrific. But love it I did. I’d recommend this book to anyone - and then rub my hands together, whilst cackling evilly... Ok, that is a bit weird. But really. Just read the book.

Many thanks to the Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.
  
The Shadow Friend
The Shadow Friend
Alex North | 2020 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The protagonist of this story is Paul. He has to come back to a miserable town where he grew up after he found out that his mother is about to die. Paul hates that town for so many reasons, but mainly because of what happened when he was young. This book is told from a dual perspective. Another character sharing details is Amanda, she is a detective, investigating a murder, that looks exactly like the one that happened many many years ago. Amanda has her own issues, and she is kind of a background character in this book. I liked Paul as a character, he was a good kid, he is awkward, but a nice guy. All the characters chosen in this novel are quite mysterious, and the whole book has a very depressing and gloomy atmosphere, that works very well in Alex North’s books.

The narrative of this novel is exceptionally well written. The author used a dual timeline, we have the events happening now, and the events that happened when Paul was young. My favourite was the ones from the past, of course. It absolutely absorbed me, I was so eager to find out what happened all those years ago. The parts from the present were quieter and more self-reflecting, sharing the inner struggles, but creepy nevertheless. This book is very twisty, and some of the turns really left me gobsmacked and surprised. The topics discussed in this novel were lucid dreaming, bullying, wish to belong, abusive parents, mental abuse, dementia and its effects, parent-child relationships, the influence of the internet and many, many more.

I really love Alex North’s writing style. He is amazing in creating suspense, and all the mind manipulation of the reader was truly amazing. 🙂 The chapters are quite short, I was engrossed in this novel, so the pages just flew by, for me. The ending was shocking and very unexpected, but I did like the way this novel ended. I hope someone will adopt this novel to a film, I am pretty sure it would be wickedly good. 🙂

So, to conclude, I really liked this horror psychological thriller. The characters are very mysterious and the plot is absorbing, layered and complex. This book left me emotionally shaken in the best possible way, and I really recommend to those, who would like something creepy.
  
Granite Grit (Fighting's in the Blood #1)
Granite Grit (Fighting's in the Blood #1)
Lee Cooper | 2016 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
"When your toughest opponent is you."

Your not kidding! A very true statement in more ways than one throughout the novel, for the main character Joe and the reader's themselves. What a fantastic debut novel.

The storyline is brilliant, easy to follow and written in quite a unique style jumping from past to present in the space of a couple lines with ease. It is truly fascinating, coming from someone who is clueless when it comes to boxing of any kind I managed to understand everything, it all made sense. I loved the twists and turns the story itself took, unwinding the spiral of destruction the main character created for himself, it's powerful yet sad and overall really moving creating the important hook.

The themes of the story are simple and conveyed with the utmost professionalism, the love between man and women, between parents and children, between man and the art of boxing. The relationships between the characters throughout the novel are wonderfully portrayed whether they come to a complete halt or blossom in times of tragedy. I think the theme of abuse is conveyed beautifully considering the sensitive, powerful and hard-hitting nature of the theme as a whole tying in well with a further theme of family which seems to be one of Joe's fatal flaws. Which leads me on to the character Joe whom I love, hate and support, the character development of Joe is remarkably controlled and really well done. At first, I really loved and sympathised with the man trying to keep his family afloat, then his downwards spiral left me hating him yet supporting him, wanting him to do well and wanting him to win the fight with not only himself but his opponents.

Personally, the fight scenes were my favourite due to the descriptive manner of which they were told, I felt like I was in the crowd onlooking the entire scene feeling the tension and fear in the atmosphere. Although it may not seem like it due to the boxing element the novel is very relatable considering family loyalty, the struggle for money and even the determination Joe has to prove himself. I even found myself laughing out loud at some of the comments Joe made.

Overall, this is truly an amazing book and I couldn't recommend it more.
  
Miss Me Not
Miss Me Not
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Note: This has been on my Kindle for years--literally! I've decided every so often when there's not a book I've bought that I'm just dying to read that I'll start reading my backlog of books from the earliest bought. This was #1 - from 2013. I'm not doing bad, I only have one more book from 2013 before I start the ones from 2014. Yay!

*-*-*-*-*

This covers some rather dark topics like suicide and physical abuse. On the first page we learn of a student's suicide and Madison's feelings about it. And then the fact that she has a sort of suicide pact with her only friend. It's quite a punch to the gut that these 17 year olds feel so low due to family situations that they want to end things.

Madison had a very unconventional childhood with parents who took no notice of her at all and in an effort to gain any sort of attention from them she acted out in the past until the unthinkable happened when she was just 13. I understand how stuff like that can warp you when it happens at such a young age.

Then a ray of light appears in the form of Dean--all round good guy. He's been asked to tutor her so she doesn't flunk a class. He's determined to be her friend after watching her for years and seeing her "fade into the background" behaviour. Things progress from friendship into romance over time and we get a rather sweet romance between Dean and Madison. He's very protective of her.

Of course, things don't always go the way you want and someone close to Madison commits suicide throwing her back into the darkness of grief. Luckily, she now has a strong support system in place with Dean and his family and they manage to keep her grounded.

I thought it ended a little abruptly but it was a sweet young adult romance that covered some hard hitting topics.

Another note: Suicide does seem to be a big issue in teenagers around the world and this book does a good job of highlighting it. It doesn't seem fair to me for teens to be that low that they take their own lives. They've barely started living and they ready to die already? That's not right. I've had a few good cries while reading this.
  
G&
Gods & Monsters ( Book 1)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
16 of 235
Kindle
Gods & Monsters ( Book 1)
By Janie Marie
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Monsters are real, legends are truth—and the man who saves Jane's life is an immortal knight. But it will be her secret past with the Angel of Death that changes everything.

Gods & Monsters - Book One
When the plague of all plagues begins its destruction, it isn't a miracle cure by scientists or even our military that saves us.
No, our saviors are monsters.

Jane appears to be nothing special. In fact, she's a sad sight to behold. Afflicted by the sorrow of her tragic past and failing marriage, the young mother of two is as terrified as every other soul when humanity faces doom. Yet, when hope seems lost, Jane does something even her estranged husband fails to--she fights. And she's not alone.

David and his companions are what our world has dismissed as mere legend. Their duty to the human race brings them across the country, and they all know it is no coincidence when they cross paths with Jane.

As it happens, Jane is special. She's destined to rid the world of darkness.

With monsters from every nightmare seeking her out, a noble immortal knight showing her what love truly feels like, a secret past that even Jane can't remember, and even more powerful beings wagering the fate of her soul, Jane will embark on an epic journey to save her family and the world.

So what will happen when they realize she's the greatest monster of them all?

Gods✔️ monsters ✔️ Arthur and his nights as immortals ✔️ what’s not to love right? Well I’m stuck as I wanted to give it 4 stars but there were a few draw backs for me the main one being it felt rushed in some places and sometimes abit over explained and slightly cheesy! But I absolutely love all the gods and mythology and all at war. All on sides you don’t expect I was enjoying the book then bam Hades and yea I’m a sucker for the God of the underworld!


Warnings: Triggers for abuse, sa, mental health disorders. Heavy violence, horror, strong language, emotional and controversial themes, sex, rape(not praised), will have multiple loves for the heroine.
  
HT
How To Succeed in Witchcraft
Aislinn Brophy | 2022 | LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Trigger Warnings: Grooming, prejudice, racism

Shay Johnson is a junior at T.K. Anderson Magical Magnet School and has done everything she possibly can to win the full-ride Brockton Scholarship - her ticket into the university of her dreams. Her only real competition is Ana Alvarez, but Shay also knows if she can impress Mr.B, the drama teacher and head of the scholarship committee, she’ll have an upper leg.

When Mr.B “persuades” Shay into being in the school’s racially diverse musical, in their no-so-diverse school, she agrees, and lands the leading role. But Ana is right behind her playing the second female lead. With the start of rehearsals, Shay realizes Ana isn’t the intense enemy she’s always thought she was… perhaps, she would be a friend, or more?

But when Shay gets asked by Mr.B to do some one-on-one practicing for the musical, she finds herself on the receiving end of Mr.B’s unpleasant and unwanted attention. When Shay learns she’s not the first witch to experience his inappropriate behavior, she must decide if she’ll come forward. But, will speaking out cancel her opportunity for the scholarship - her future?

This book deals with a lot of hard topics: grooming, prejudice, abuse of power, racism. I feel like Aislinn Brophy did a good job in writing the predatory actions that Mr.B was doing with Shay - every time something between them happened, it made my skin crawl.

I did enjoy the enemy-to-lovers storyline; or should I say misunderstandings-to-lovers storyline? It was cute and adorable and nothing drastically changed afterwards (besides more cuteness).

Though the title I feel like the title is a little deceiving, I still liked that magic was a part of the world here, but that magic doesn’t fix everything. Even in a world where you can fly around on brooms and make potions to help you wake up, the world is still far from perfect.

Overall, this is a magic-filled book that dives into where one draws the line on what they will allow to happen in order to get something they’ve worked so hard for their entire life. A good read for the witchy season coming up, but also a good read for the message behind it.

*Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Reads and BookishFirst for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review