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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Keep It In The Family in Books
Oct 23, 2022
I haven't read anything by John Marrs before but I will keep my eyes open in the future as this dark, family drama/thriller kept me engaged most of the time. I must provide a warning that this book deals with child abuse and murder and some scenes are upsetting as you can imagine so be aware.
Mia and Finn have put all their money into buying a derelict property to do up but during the renovation, a grisly discovery in the attic causes all manner of problems and long held, deep, dark secrets are revealed with devastating consequences.
With a cast of flawed characters and a dark and twisty plot, this was an engaging read and although it went a bit flat in the middle, it held my interest and I thank Amazon Publishing / Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Keep it in the Family.
Mia and Finn have put all their money into buying a derelict property to do up but during the renovation, a grisly discovery in the attic causes all manner of problems and long held, deep, dark secrets are revealed with devastating consequences.
With a cast of flawed characters and a dark and twisty plot, this was an engaging read and although it went a bit flat in the middle, it held my interest and I thank Amazon Publishing / Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Keep it in the Family.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Seventh Victim in Books
Jun 4, 2023
I really love Michael Wood's DCI Matilda Darke series but this is a standalone thriller from him which is equally as good and no-less riveting but please be warned, it does deal with child murder and abuse so if this is a trigger, I would suggest you look elsewhere.
Mr Wood treats us to a cast of excellent characters that leap out of the page and grab hold of you from the beginning to the very end and whilst not all of them are particularly 'nice', they are all well developed and all have their place in the story and what a story it is.
Dark, disturbing, powerful, emotional, riveting and full of tension with a twist I didn't see coming, this is a must read for all thriller fans and my thanks go to One More Chapter, HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Seventh Victim.
Mr Wood treats us to a cast of excellent characters that leap out of the page and grab hold of you from the beginning to the very end and whilst not all of them are particularly 'nice', they are all well developed and all have their place in the story and what a story it is.
Dark, disturbing, powerful, emotional, riveting and full of tension with a twist I didn't see coming, this is a must read for all thriller fans and my thanks go to One More Chapter, HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Seventh Victim.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Earthlings in Books
Feb 28, 2024
38 of 220
Book
Earthlings
By Sayaka Murata
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As a child, Natsuki believed she was an alien, a different species to her earthling family and classmates. She hoped a spaceship would come down and take her home. Now, she lives quietly in an asexual marriage, pretending to be normal.
But the buried horrors of Natsuki's past are pursuing her. As she flees the suburbs for the Nagano mountains and a reunion with her beloved cousin Yuu, she wonders, what will it take to escape the earthlings?
Omg this book had me hooked and it was insane!!! At the root of it it’s 3 people who suffered abuse as children who never felt they fit in anywhere even with their own families. It’s so completely mind absorbing that even now I’ve read it I still don’t know what I’ve just read 🤣
Did they find common ground in each others trauma? Or they could be real aliens maybe?
Book
Earthlings
By Sayaka Murata
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As a child, Natsuki believed she was an alien, a different species to her earthling family and classmates. She hoped a spaceship would come down and take her home. Now, she lives quietly in an asexual marriage, pretending to be normal.
But the buried horrors of Natsuki's past are pursuing her. As she flees the suburbs for the Nagano mountains and a reunion with her beloved cousin Yuu, she wonders, what will it take to escape the earthlings?
Omg this book had me hooked and it was insane!!! At the root of it it’s 3 people who suffered abuse as children who never felt they fit in anywhere even with their own families. It’s so completely mind absorbing that even now I’ve read it I still don’t know what I’ve just read 🤣
Did they find common ground in each others trauma? Or they could be real aliens maybe?
Necole (36 KP) rated The Hospital: How I Survived the Secret Child Experiments at Aston Hall in Books
Aug 12, 2018
Wow … I had to keep putting this book down to wrap my head around the abuse and neglect that Barbara had to deal with at such a young age. It was a very emotionally read. My brain and heart didn't want to believe these events could happen to a child as I was reading it. I couldn't believe her real mom left her and left her in the care of her father.
When she was 5 with the emotional and physical abuse she endured from her father and the "mum" her father left her with. I couldn't believe her father would call her a dirty little tinker and belittle her like that and made her think she was nothing. And the "mum" she was left with, leaving her by herself, treating her the way she did, and using Barbara as a way to get money is such a disgrace.
And then when her dad had a son, to read how the two were treated completely differently all because of blood line, oh my heart went out for poor Barbara.
Unfortunately the abuse and turmoil continued after she was put in homes and then into the hospital. To read what happened in the hospital and what the Dr. did she Barbra and the other poor girls, I was in complete shock. Aston Hall was a complete nightmare and how any girl survived that is amazing in itself.
She finally was treated with dignity and love and kindness when she went to Blackbrook by some of the nuns, only to have that taken away and be mistreated yet again.
I commend Barbara for writing this story, to open our eyes to an event that occurred in 1971, and be brave enough to tell us her story. I praise the fact that she could over come all these obstacles in life and be how she is now. It is truly astonishing.
I just hate that she voiced what was going on to so many deaf ears and no one listened or believed her until she was in her teen years. I would hope in todays society that this would never happen and people are now more than ever willing to give children a voice, listen to them, and investigate. I wonder if this happened to Barbara now, would the abuse and neglect been stopped sooner.
I would so recommend this book but be prepared for a shocking, emotional and heart wrenching story. I hope Barbara knows now her own self worth and wish she would have known it her entire life.
When she was 5 with the emotional and physical abuse she endured from her father and the "mum" her father left her with. I couldn't believe her father would call her a dirty little tinker and belittle her like that and made her think she was nothing. And the "mum" she was left with, leaving her by herself, treating her the way she did, and using Barbara as a way to get money is such a disgrace.
And then when her dad had a son, to read how the two were treated completely differently all because of blood line, oh my heart went out for poor Barbara.
Unfortunately the abuse and turmoil continued after she was put in homes and then into the hospital. To read what happened in the hospital and what the Dr. did she Barbra and the other poor girls, I was in complete shock. Aston Hall was a complete nightmare and how any girl survived that is amazing in itself.
She finally was treated with dignity and love and kindness when she went to Blackbrook by some of the nuns, only to have that taken away and be mistreated yet again.
I commend Barbara for writing this story, to open our eyes to an event that occurred in 1971, and be brave enough to tell us her story. I praise the fact that she could over come all these obstacles in life and be how she is now. It is truly astonishing.
I just hate that she voiced what was going on to so many deaf ears and no one listened or believed her until she was in her teen years. I would hope in todays society that this would never happen and people are now more than ever willing to give children a voice, listen to them, and investigate. I wonder if this happened to Barbara now, would the abuse and neglect been stopped sooner.
I would so recommend this book but be prepared for a shocking, emotional and heart wrenching story. I hope Barbara knows now her own self worth and wish she would have known it her entire life.
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated The Trials of Gabriel Fernández in TV
Apr 8, 2021
This incredibly powerful six part mini series from last February is almost impossible to watch, but once started it feels important that you do see it through to the end. It details a case of child cruelty, abuse and torture leading to eventual death that the entire childcare support system first ignored and then failed to prevent. It shows the exact ways that the support system and then the legal system let down a young boy that may have been saved were it not for a series of shocking professional negligence. The recounting of the story and visual details of the abuse are sickening and beyond any reasonable estimation of tragic. If attempting to watch this, be sure of the reasons you are doing so and approach it with extreme caution.
There is so much natural outrage and actual anger towards the parents who were responsible for these crimes when we see them in court, but also towards the social and justice systems themselves for showcasing their many failings so graphically. The lessons learned are vital in preventing this kind of thing happening elsewhere, and so the drive of watching this is to seek the scraps of hope that emerge by understanding what went wrong and how the law might address the issue to prevent it happening again. Watching this one has an entirely different and sober feel for me. This was in no way entertainment, but it was educational, so I don’t regret going through it, as I feel entirely better informed than I was before.
There is so much natural outrage and actual anger towards the parents who were responsible for these crimes when we see them in court, but also towards the social and justice systems themselves for showcasing their many failings so graphically. The lessons learned are vital in preventing this kind of thing happening elsewhere, and so the drive of watching this is to seek the scraps of hope that emerge by understanding what went wrong and how the law might address the issue to prevent it happening again. Watching this one has an entirely different and sober feel for me. This was in no way entertainment, but it was educational, so I don’t regret going through it, as I feel entirely better informed than I was before.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated It (2017) in Movies
Jan 16, 2018 (Updated Jan 16, 2018)
Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise (1 more)
Child actors
Unlike the original, scares a little overhyped
I had a lot of expectations going in to watch this remake of a classic. But I'm a little disappointed to be honest.
Unlike the original, this film solely concentrates on the cast as they were children, and there are no scenes of them as adults replaying their pasts. However, it is apparent that there will be a second part, as the kids mention their pact to reunite if the clown ever makes another appearance. In this way, they have changed Stephen King's book, but I'm not sure if it's for the better. One of the gifts of King horrors are the actual plots and storylines that run through them. Here, it actually felt like a slightly scarier version of @Stranger Things with even an actor from the series landing one of the main roles in this film.
On the upside, there were plenty of nods to the original movie, with Tim Curry's clown making a cameo in one of the scenes. Bill Skarsgard's version was just as good as Curry's but the downside was that there was too many scenes with him making an appearance losing the scare factor. Sometimes less is more. The child actors were fantastic, and the back stories were far darker, exposing abuse in its many forms. Overall, it was an interesting watch, but it may have been overhyped.
Unlike the original, this film solely concentrates on the cast as they were children, and there are no scenes of them as adults replaying their pasts. However, it is apparent that there will be a second part, as the kids mention their pact to reunite if the clown ever makes another appearance. In this way, they have changed Stephen King's book, but I'm not sure if it's for the better. One of the gifts of King horrors are the actual plots and storylines that run through them. Here, it actually felt like a slightly scarier version of @Stranger Things with even an actor from the series landing one of the main roles in this film.
On the upside, there were plenty of nods to the original movie, with Tim Curry's clown making a cameo in one of the scenes. Bill Skarsgard's version was just as good as Curry's but the downside was that there was too many scenes with him making an appearance losing the scare factor. Sometimes less is more. The child actors were fantastic, and the back stories were far darker, exposing abuse in its many forms. Overall, it was an interesting watch, but it may have been overhyped.
ClareR (5577 KP) rated Raybearer (Raybearer #1) in Books
Sep 15, 2020 (Updated Sep 15, 2020)
Raybearer is a fantasy set in part in West African myth (which I really wish I knew more about, by the way). Tarisai lives in a big house full of tutors and servants, all training her for one purpose. Her mother rarely visits, and Tarisai wishes she would visit more often - she longs for a mother who will care for her and touch/ hug her. The reason for this becomes very clear as the story progresses.
Tarisai learns that her education has been leading her to one end: to become part of the crowned Prince’s Council of Eleven, and to ultimately kill him. But Tarisai doesn’t want to fulfil her life’s purpose. She doesn’t want to be a murderer, and she actually really likes the Prince.
I shouldn’t be surprised, because I’ve said it often enough myself, but for those uninitiated in YA books, this actually deals with some pretty serious themes: gender roles, and the fact that girls don’t all want their sole life purpose to be that of a child bearer, and parental abuse of children (in this case, physical abuse - eg. hitting). So this isn’t a book for the faint hearted! It’s a beautifully told story though, it has a feel of the fairytale or myth about it, and I definitely think that it was time well spent. To top it off, I see that this is the first book in perhaps a duology or trilogy? I’ll be looking out for the next one, because I’m intrigued to see how this story will develop.
Many thanks to the publisher, Hot Key Books, and to NetGalley for my copy of this book.
Tarisai learns that her education has been leading her to one end: to become part of the crowned Prince’s Council of Eleven, and to ultimately kill him. But Tarisai doesn’t want to fulfil her life’s purpose. She doesn’t want to be a murderer, and she actually really likes the Prince.
I shouldn’t be surprised, because I’ve said it often enough myself, but for those uninitiated in YA books, this actually deals with some pretty serious themes: gender roles, and the fact that girls don’t all want their sole life purpose to be that of a child bearer, and parental abuse of children (in this case, physical abuse - eg. hitting). So this isn’t a book for the faint hearted! It’s a beautifully told story though, it has a feel of the fairytale or myth about it, and I definitely think that it was time well spent. To top it off, I see that this is the first book in perhaps a duology or trilogy? I’ll be looking out for the next one, because I’m intrigued to see how this story will develop.
Many thanks to the publisher, Hot Key Books, and to NetGalley for my copy of this book.
Karla Dee (6 KP) rated Little Thieves in Books
Nov 19, 2021
I am a fan of the cover because the bone skull and the little Sailor Moon symbol at the top. Also the intro or dedication to the gremlin girls was inspiring and I hope it encourages all the young girly readers to continue breaking the glass ceilings with bricks or whatevs else they can get their hands on. There are trigger warnings at the beginning of the book warning the reader about the content in her reading which included child abuse and assault.
This read is a grimm retelling story and is very dark and magical. The author, Margaret Owen, based this book on the "The Goose Girl" which I have never heard of or read. This retelling is also a series so there is another book after this one which is the first of the series. I'd also categorize this retelling as LGBTQ+ which I love. I have no idea what Goose Girl is about but the idea of there being a more woke version is AMAZING to me <3<3<3 Bring on the next book please!
This read is a grimm retelling story and is very dark and magical. The author, Margaret Owen, based this book on the "The Goose Girl" which I have never heard of or read. This retelling is also a series so there is another book after this one which is the first of the series. I'd also categorize this retelling as LGBTQ+ which I love. I have no idea what Goose Girl is about but the idea of there being a more woke version is AMAZING to me <3<3<3 Bring on the next book please!
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Also read my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-reviews/under-the-banner-of-heaven-a-story-of-violent-faith-by-jon-krakauer
<b>TRIGGER WARNING: rape, incest, domestic abuse, child abuse, animal abuse, child murder</b>
I’m speechless. (OK, maybe not). What the <i>heck</i> did I just read? You’re telling me this is <b><i>non-fiction?</b></i> ...How? <b>HOW?</b> This isn’t just some freak incident either, people live like what’s described in this book, I’m baffled by it. I mean I’m a little baffled by strict religious following anyway (no offence meant) but Mormonism is just on another level.
The story of Mormonism is so strange because Joseph Smith was a fucking control freak and swindler but also the way society got away with treating him and his followers was awful. You really can’t pick a right and wrong side, they’re both pretty terrible.
This book's main focus is on how people's strong faith in Mormonism makes them believe they're above the laws of the land, so they go and commit crimes they think are justified and right. For example, Dan and Ron Lafferty, who <i>truly</i> believe God has spoken to them and told them they need to kill their brothers wife and young baby. A deed done by them so brutally, the poor baby was basically beheaded. <b>Clearly this book isn’t for the faint hearted.</b>
One of the saddest moments in this book is when Krakauer meets a Mormon family and their young daughter (I think she was between 8 to 12) comes into the room with floor plans of her dream house, where she's drawn out several different rooms for the other wives of the husband she is going to share. How <i>awful</i> is that, to believe that you must share your husband with other women, because for men of the Mormon faith, women are just child bearers, nothing more. <b>Joseph Smith actually declared God said "women shall be man's handmaid".</b> For this young girl to be planning her life with a shared husband and feeling that's <i>normal</i>, even feeling <i>happy</i> about it, is a terrible, terrible thing to think about.
This took me around 3 months to finish, not only because I accidentally left this in my dad’s suitcase when I came back from Spain, but also because this was such heavy non-fiction reading. Not only did it describe, in gruesome detail, the crimes committed by those under the Mormon faith, it was also a long historical timeline of how Mormonism was created and has grown to where it currently sits today. (<i>Did you know,</i> there are currently more Mormons on this planet than Jewish people?) Not to mention the confusion it causes when trying to remind you who everyone is and how everyone is related, because they’re pretty much <i>all</i> related through marriage.
This is certainly an interesting read. I'm sure you’ve heard about Mormon’s and the Book of Mormon and polygamy, etc, but never really looked further into it. Well, for those of you that would like to look further into it, then this is the book for you! It's incredible to read all about how Joseph Smith magicked up Mormon faith and how gruesome and evil polygamy really is.
I really recommend this book for all of you who love learning about religions or just love to have some random shocking facts to dish out around the dinner table. A seriously interesting, if not disturbing read.
<b>TRIGGER WARNING: rape, incest, domestic abuse, child abuse, animal abuse, child murder</b>
I’m speechless. (OK, maybe not). What the <i>heck</i> did I just read? You’re telling me this is <b><i>non-fiction?</b></i> ...How? <b>HOW?</b> This isn’t just some freak incident either, people live like what’s described in this book, I’m baffled by it. I mean I’m a little baffled by strict religious following anyway (no offence meant) but Mormonism is just on another level.
The story of Mormonism is so strange because Joseph Smith was a fucking control freak and swindler but also the way society got away with treating him and his followers was awful. You really can’t pick a right and wrong side, they’re both pretty terrible.
This book's main focus is on how people's strong faith in Mormonism makes them believe they're above the laws of the land, so they go and commit crimes they think are justified and right. For example, Dan and Ron Lafferty, who <i>truly</i> believe God has spoken to them and told them they need to kill their brothers wife and young baby. A deed done by them so brutally, the poor baby was basically beheaded. <b>Clearly this book isn’t for the faint hearted.</b>
One of the saddest moments in this book is when Krakauer meets a Mormon family and their young daughter (I think she was between 8 to 12) comes into the room with floor plans of her dream house, where she's drawn out several different rooms for the other wives of the husband she is going to share. How <i>awful</i> is that, to believe that you must share your husband with other women, because for men of the Mormon faith, women are just child bearers, nothing more. <b>Joseph Smith actually declared God said "women shall be man's handmaid".</b> For this young girl to be planning her life with a shared husband and feeling that's <i>normal</i>, even feeling <i>happy</i> about it, is a terrible, terrible thing to think about.
This took me around 3 months to finish, not only because I accidentally left this in my dad’s suitcase when I came back from Spain, but also because this was such heavy non-fiction reading. Not only did it describe, in gruesome detail, the crimes committed by those under the Mormon faith, it was also a long historical timeline of how Mormonism was created and has grown to where it currently sits today. (<i>Did you know,</i> there are currently more Mormons on this planet than Jewish people?) Not to mention the confusion it causes when trying to remind you who everyone is and how everyone is related, because they’re pretty much <i>all</i> related through marriage.
This is certainly an interesting read. I'm sure you’ve heard about Mormon’s and the Book of Mormon and polygamy, etc, but never really looked further into it. Well, for those of you that would like to look further into it, then this is the book for you! It's incredible to read all about how Joseph Smith magicked up Mormon faith and how gruesome and evil polygamy really is.
I really recommend this book for all of you who love learning about religions or just love to have some random shocking facts to dish out around the dinner table. A seriously interesting, if not disturbing read.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The House: The Terrifying Thriller That's Keeping Readers Up All Night in Books
Sep 24, 2020
More reviews can be found at https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com
When I read the description of this book, it sounded so exciting and riveting, and I was prepared for this mystery and crime solving, but when I read this book, everything what was written in the blurb happened waaaaay slower and more confusing than I expected.
The main characters in this book are Syd and Jack, and this whole novel is told from their perspectives. Even though this novel is told from two people’s perspectives, they are describing lives of many other characters as well. All the characters chosen for this book are really diverse, complex, and incredibly disturbed, that’s what made this book so interesting, and gave a wide variety of characters to choose from. In this novel, I could not pick my favourite one, all of the characters have their charm and charisma. Personally, I would’ve loved, if author would’ve add Syd’s father’s thoughts in this book, I would’ve loved to pick his brains and understand why he did, what he did.
The narrative of this novel starts pretty slow, Jack’s main concentration was on the house, and he was the one who finds those ghostly things about the house. Meanwhile, Syd was telling the story of her life, comparing it with the teenage girl Elsie, whom she is trying to save from abusive father. Even though both characters are telling quite different stories, it all entangles later in the book, making perfect sense. This book is pretty intense psychological thriller, because there are a lot of mind games involved, and the detailed child abuse scenes, makes this book pretty disturbing. So, if you are sensitive to this topic, you might want to skip this one, as it might make you really upset and angry. I really loved topics which Simon Lelic discussed in this book, such as: child physical and psychological abuse; drug addiction; complicated but deep love; difficult child – parent relationships.
The writing style of this novel is not very easy to understand, there are a lot of jumps, but eventually it makes perfect sense and it is pleasant to read, with decent length chapters, which didn’t leave me bored. I am thankful, that author explained everything at the end of the book and didn’t leave a cliffhanger, that would’ve made me furious. So, to conclude, it is quite confusing book, but do not give up on it, it will make sense as you read it, and I hope you will not be disappointed. It is really intense psychological thriller, filled with plenty of twists and turns, which creates tension and incredibly well thought through mind games, and I do strongly recommend reading it.
Was given this book by publisher and NetGalley for honest review.
When I read the description of this book, it sounded so exciting and riveting, and I was prepared for this mystery and crime solving, but when I read this book, everything what was written in the blurb happened waaaaay slower and more confusing than I expected.
The main characters in this book are Syd and Jack, and this whole novel is told from their perspectives. Even though this novel is told from two people’s perspectives, they are describing lives of many other characters as well. All the characters chosen for this book are really diverse, complex, and incredibly disturbed, that’s what made this book so interesting, and gave a wide variety of characters to choose from. In this novel, I could not pick my favourite one, all of the characters have their charm and charisma. Personally, I would’ve loved, if author would’ve add Syd’s father’s thoughts in this book, I would’ve loved to pick his brains and understand why he did, what he did.
The narrative of this novel starts pretty slow, Jack’s main concentration was on the house, and he was the one who finds those ghostly things about the house. Meanwhile, Syd was telling the story of her life, comparing it with the teenage girl Elsie, whom she is trying to save from abusive father. Even though both characters are telling quite different stories, it all entangles later in the book, making perfect sense. This book is pretty intense psychological thriller, because there are a lot of mind games involved, and the detailed child abuse scenes, makes this book pretty disturbing. So, if you are sensitive to this topic, you might want to skip this one, as it might make you really upset and angry. I really loved topics which Simon Lelic discussed in this book, such as: child physical and psychological abuse; drug addiction; complicated but deep love; difficult child – parent relationships.
The writing style of this novel is not very easy to understand, there are a lot of jumps, but eventually it makes perfect sense and it is pleasant to read, with decent length chapters, which didn’t leave me bored. I am thankful, that author explained everything at the end of the book and didn’t leave a cliffhanger, that would’ve made me furious. So, to conclude, it is quite confusing book, but do not give up on it, it will make sense as you read it, and I hope you will not be disappointed. It is really intense psychological thriller, filled with plenty of twists and turns, which creates tension and incredibly well thought through mind games, and I do strongly recommend reading it.
Was given this book by publisher and NetGalley for honest review.