Search

Search only in certain items:

Behind Every Lie
Behind Every Lie
Christina McDonald | 2020 | Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
When Eva Hansen wakes up in the hospital, burned and battered after being struck by lightening, she learns a horrible fact: her mother, Kat, is dead. Even worse, the police tell her Kat was murdered. It quickly appears Eva is their number one suspect, having been found unconscious down the street from her mother's home. After the lightening strike, Eva can't remember what happened, but some clues from her mother's home lead her to London, her mother's former home, where she works to unravel both Kat's past and her own. But it quickly becomes apparent that someone doesn't want Eva uncovering her mother's secrets. And the more Eva begins to remember the events of that evening, the more danger she is in.


"Memories could be come distorted, twisted to suit the teller, or ignored and forgotten, pushed away. I should know. I'd been doing it for years."


This was my first book by Christina McDonald, but I'll definitely be tracking down her first book now as well. This was a spellbinding thriller, which I found quite difficult to put down. It's told in the alternating perspectives of Eva, in present-day, and her mom, Kat, in the past. The format works quite effectively and somehow gives the book a frenetic, frantic pacing and feel.

It's hard to know if Eva is telling us the truth, as she's been struck by lightning (!) and alludes to previous problems, too. Kat quickly emerges as a mysterious and dynamic character, too. As their stories unfold and start to converge, I was quite fascinated and intrigued, and the pages just flew by. I guessed quite a bit, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment at all, and I enjoyed all the twists and turns. (There's much more than Kat and Eva, but I don't want to spoil anything!)

Overall, I'm glad I followed all the #bookstagram hype and picked this one up. It was a quick, intense read. Different and engaging! 4 stars.
  
    djay LE - DJ Music Mixer

    djay LE - DJ Music Mixer

    Music and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Ready to rock your next party? Introducing djay, Algoriddim's award-winning and highly acclaimed DJ...

Let it Snow
Let it Snow
6
6.9 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first story is really good (7-8/10) (0 more)
The last story was quite shoddy (4/10) (1 more)
The patron saint of pigs
A mixed bag of stories.
Contains spoilers, click to show
I had to read this at Christmas time, there is no other way, and at first I really quite enjoyed it, the first story The Jubilee Express was really quite something, I loved jubilee's character and her situation with her parents in prison and being shipped off to Florida. At this point Jeb who she meets on the train seems like a really 2D character (and will co time to be for the entire book) I was dissapointed in Jeb's character as there was a lot more potential there but no purpose from the 3 authors. However Jubilee I loved her motives and personality was great and the way that the story flowed from the train into the waffle house and meeting Stuart was great. The Jubilee Express was filled with weird and wonderful characters and a beautiful ending.

It goes down hill from here.

I've never read anything by John Green but I was dissapointed by his segment. The love between Tobin and The Duke is rushed and fake as hell. It didn't feel realistic in any sense of the word, the love in Twilight was better written. The adventure we follow with Tobin is good and enjoyable but the love aspect is not at all. I wanted this segment over with ASAP.

Then the patron saint of pigs, god. I despised Addie. I get that this short story was meant to be a moral story on being selfless etc etc but I got to the end of the story and again was drowned in superficial love that holds no weight or realism. In the end Addie is just forgiven for all that she has done in the past but we see no real change in her thinking. By the end she still constantly acts in her own interests, she only picks up the pig to prove to her friends that she isn't selfish and self absorbed. However the atmosphere of this last story was nice seeing all the stories fully converge.

However I only truly loved The Jubilee Express.
The rest felt heartless and 2D.