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The Shadow of Memory
10.0
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In Connie Berry’s fourth Kate Hamilton mystery, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton uncovers a...
Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated Copycat in Books
Oct 6, 2017
OMG!!!! I bloody loved Copycat By Alex Lake. It was one of those books that when you pick it up it's practically impossible to put back down.
And this is what actually happened to me, I decided to read the first couple chapters at midnight to get a feel for it and Wham!!! that was it, I finished in the early hours of the morning, couldn't put it down, it was such addictive reading. a real page-turner.
So the story is about Sarah Havenant a doctor married to Ben, British and a lawyer living in Maine with their three adorable children, the picture-perfect life.
So Sarah gets a friend request from a girl she used to go to school with and she asks Sarah which is her real facebook profile.
Transpires there is another Sarah Havenant using pictures of her children, her husband and from her own house seriously weird and scary.
As events escalate it turns out this is only the start as Sarah's whole world implodes, people around her including her husband start to doubt her sanity.
Sarah and Ben's marriage buckle's under the strain and poor Sarah has no idea who to trust and where to turn when even her own husband is doubting her.
So this is the sort of Psychological mindtwist I adore and Copycat kept me guessing throughout.
I had absolutely no idea who was stalking Sarah and only just guessed right before the shocking reveal.
And to say I was gobsmacked is an understatement, what a conclusion.
sorry for the vagueness I'm trying to keep this spoiler-free.
I would definitely recommend this to my fellow psychological thriller lovers, this one is super fast, its excellently written and the story just flows brilliantly, with never a dull minute to be had here.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an arc of Copycat By Alex Lake, this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
And this is what actually happened to me, I decided to read the first couple chapters at midnight to get a feel for it and Wham!!! that was it, I finished in the early hours of the morning, couldn't put it down, it was such addictive reading. a real page-turner.
So the story is about Sarah Havenant a doctor married to Ben, British and a lawyer living in Maine with their three adorable children, the picture-perfect life.
So Sarah gets a friend request from a girl she used to go to school with and she asks Sarah which is her real facebook profile.
Transpires there is another Sarah Havenant using pictures of her children, her husband and from her own house seriously weird and scary.
As events escalate it turns out this is only the start as Sarah's whole world implodes, people around her including her husband start to doubt her sanity.
Sarah and Ben's marriage buckle's under the strain and poor Sarah has no idea who to trust and where to turn when even her own husband is doubting her.
So this is the sort of Psychological mindtwist I adore and Copycat kept me guessing throughout.
I had absolutely no idea who was stalking Sarah and only just guessed right before the shocking reveal.
And to say I was gobsmacked is an understatement, what a conclusion.
sorry for the vagueness I'm trying to keep this spoiler-free.
I would definitely recommend this to my fellow psychological thriller lovers, this one is super fast, its excellently written and the story just flows brilliantly, with never a dull minute to be had here.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an arc of Copycat By Alex Lake, this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
Glass Town
Book
Steven Savile is an international sensation, selling over half a million copies of his novels...
fantasy mystery
My Teenage Zombie: Resurrecting the Undead Adolescent in Your Home
Book
A must-read guide for parents and grandparents who want to practically and successfully help their...
ClareR (5933 KP) rated Summerwater in Books
Oct 4, 2020
Summerwater takes place over a single day in a Scottish holiday park. Each section follows a different person as they experience a very wet holiday with not very much to do.
I do enjoy this kind of book that looks at the ordinary, everyday lives - nothing wildly exciting happening. I know this may appear odd, but there you are 🤷🏼♀️ Maybe it could be construed as voyeuristic, but ‘normal’ fascinates me, because one persons normal isn’t remotely like mine (or anyone else’s). There are people from all walks of life: the retired doctor and his wife who appears to have dementia; young parents with small children; older parents with teenaged children; a boyfriend and his girlfriend. I could go on, but I won’t. Needless to say, they’re all very different people. They do have some things in common: their distrust of outsiders. There is an ex-soldier camping and living rough in the woods, and a Ukrainian family who certainly seem to know how to have a party. No-one seems to particularly trust them or like their presence at the holiday park.
I liked the smaller sections from the point of view of nature - whether it was from one of the animals in the woods, or the bedrock beneath the lodges. It made me think that all of the petty human concerns were nothing in comparison to the ground beneath their feet and that feeling of endurance.
I’ve had more than a few holidays where I’ve been shut up in a tent, camper van or a holiday cottage because of bad weather, and this reminded me in some part of those holidays (minus the rather dramatic ending!). I think I liked this so much because basically, at the end of the day, I’m a bit of a curtain twitcher...
Many thanks to NetGalley and Picador/ Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book.
I do enjoy this kind of book that looks at the ordinary, everyday lives - nothing wildly exciting happening. I know this may appear odd, but there you are 🤷🏼♀️ Maybe it could be construed as voyeuristic, but ‘normal’ fascinates me, because one persons normal isn’t remotely like mine (or anyone else’s). There are people from all walks of life: the retired doctor and his wife who appears to have dementia; young parents with small children; older parents with teenaged children; a boyfriend and his girlfriend. I could go on, but I won’t. Needless to say, they’re all very different people. They do have some things in common: their distrust of outsiders. There is an ex-soldier camping and living rough in the woods, and a Ukrainian family who certainly seem to know how to have a party. No-one seems to particularly trust them or like their presence at the holiday park.
I liked the smaller sections from the point of view of nature - whether it was from one of the animals in the woods, or the bedrock beneath the lodges. It made me think that all of the petty human concerns were nothing in comparison to the ground beneath their feet and that feeling of endurance.
I’ve had more than a few holidays where I’ve been shut up in a tent, camper van or a holiday cottage because of bad weather, and this reminded me in some part of those holidays (minus the rather dramatic ending!). I think I liked this so much because basically, at the end of the day, I’m a bit of a curtain twitcher...
Many thanks to NetGalley and Picador/ Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2389 KP) rated Blood Alone in Books
Jan 22, 2021
Can Billy Recover His Memory in Time to Complete His Mission?
As this book opens, Billy Boyle is waking up in a field hospital. He can’t remember who he is or what he is doing there. Slowly, he begins to piece together things like his name and the fact that he is in Sicily in the summer of 1942. He also believes he has an important mission to carry out for his uncle, General Eisenhower. But he can’t remember what that mission is. However, he knows he has to keep moving, especially when he stumbles upon a dead body. Following the only clues he has, he sets out across the island, soon joined by a local doctor. Will he recover his memory in time?
Amnesia isn’t a new plot device, but I thought it was handled well here to set up the story and draw us in. As Billy relearns who he is, it also offers reminders on what has happened before without saddling us with long exposition. New readers should be warned that this does contain some pretty major spoilers for the first two books, however. That information is needed since it allows us to see real growth in the characters; I love how they are developing. We also see the impact of the war, not only on Billy and the other soldiers but also on the people living in Sicily at the time. All of this does sidetrack the mystery at times, and I’m torn on this. I appreciate how rich the book is, but I wish the pacing were a little better. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of action; so much so that Billy feels like an action hero at times. There is a solid mystery in the book with some good twists that took me by surprise. Overall, this is a great third book in a series I wish I had started sooner.
Amnesia isn’t a new plot device, but I thought it was handled well here to set up the story and draw us in. As Billy relearns who he is, it also offers reminders on what has happened before without saddling us with long exposition. New readers should be warned that this does contain some pretty major spoilers for the first two books, however. That information is needed since it allows us to see real growth in the characters; I love how they are developing. We also see the impact of the war, not only on Billy and the other soldiers but also on the people living in Sicily at the time. All of this does sidetrack the mystery at times, and I’m torn on this. I appreciate how rich the book is, but I wish the pacing were a little better. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of action; so much so that Billy feels like an action hero at times. There is a solid mystery in the book with some good twists that took me by surprise. Overall, this is a great third book in a series I wish I had started sooner.
Surgeon Simulator
Games and Entertainment
App
You are the surgeon. Bob is the victim. Do your worst! More difficult than real surgery! Can you...
Virtual Families
Games and Entertainment
8.0
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Virtual Families is a casual family sim that runs in true real time. Adopt a little person from the...
David McK (3587 KP) rated Quantum Leap: Carny Knowledge in Books
Jul 23, 2023
"Theorising that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Doctor Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown desire to change history for the better ..."
Recently, I've started watching the Paramount+ revival of one of my favourite 'tweenage' years shows.
I'm not yet - as of the time of writing - sold on it.
Having watched an episode or two, I thought I would revisit the original, albeit in literary rather than audiovisual form - I know that, in the past, I had read Quantum Leap 00: Too Close for Comfort and Knights of the Morningstar, but I had never read this one. When I cam across it, therefore, I thought I would give it a go.
I have to say, also, that - unfortunately - I just wasn't really all that impressed by it. I don't know whether that's because this was #1 in the book series, or because of the subject matter - being from the UK, carnivals (and the people who run them, known as Carnies (or so I've heard) ) aren't really all that much of a thing here! Nor do I particularly like roller-coasters ...
In this, Sam finds himself in the body of one such 1950 Carnie, a childhood polio survivor, who seems to have visions of the future in which people die after a roller-coaster derails on its maiden run, with all the hopes and dreams of the Carnival workers pinned on that roller coaster. This, I found, was bit slow in starting, although it did pick up towards the end! There's also segments in the (1990s!) future, showing what is missing from the revival in the Waiting Room, and explains a bit better than that revival does why Al is Sam's hologram as opposed to Addison being Ben's.
Worth a read for nostalgia factor, maybe.
Recently, I've started watching the Paramount+ revival of one of my favourite 'tweenage' years shows.
I'm not yet - as of the time of writing - sold on it.
Having watched an episode or two, I thought I would revisit the original, albeit in literary rather than audiovisual form - I know that, in the past, I had read Quantum Leap 00: Too Close for Comfort and Knights of the Morningstar, but I had never read this one. When I cam across it, therefore, I thought I would give it a go.
I have to say, also, that - unfortunately - I just wasn't really all that impressed by it. I don't know whether that's because this was #1 in the book series, or because of the subject matter - being from the UK, carnivals (and the people who run them, known as Carnies (or so I've heard) ) aren't really all that much of a thing here! Nor do I particularly like roller-coasters ...
In this, Sam finds himself in the body of one such 1950 Carnie, a childhood polio survivor, who seems to have visions of the future in which people die after a roller-coaster derails on its maiden run, with all the hopes and dreams of the Carnival workers pinned on that roller coaster. This, I found, was bit slow in starting, although it did pick up towards the end! There's also segments in the (1990s!) future, showing what is missing from the revival in the Waiting Room, and explains a bit better than that revival does why Al is Sam's hologram as opposed to Addison being Ben's.
Worth a read for nostalgia factor, maybe.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Priory of the Orange Tree in Books
May 3, 2019
AMAZING epic fantasy.
Holy COW, you guys. I keep saying “I haven’t read much epic fantasy lately” and “I don’t have time to read such long books/series” but I made an exception for Priory, and I’m SO glad I did. Just WOW.
So the basic premise of this world is that The Nameless One (some gigantic evil dragon) was locked away a thousand years ago, and all his minions with him. The exact details of how and who did it have been mostly lost to history. It’s said that as long as the House of Berethnet rules Inys, he’ll never rise again, and Berethnet queens always have one child, a daughter. The current queen, however, is unwed, and minions of The Nameless One have begun rising, and in fact have conquered a few neighboring nations. We have three main factions of countries; The East, who have dragon riders, but make a distinction between their dragons, who are aquatic and identify with the stars, and the evil minions of The Nameless One, who are full of fire. Then we have Virtudom, which is headed by Inys, and is a coalition of countries who have made a religion of the Knightly Virtues. This is the West, and they make no distinction between the draconic servants of The Nameless One and the water dragons of the East. This has forced a split between the West and the East, because Virtudom won’t have anything to do with countries that have anything to do with dragons, because most of what they see is the third faction – the Draconic countries. These are countries conquered by minions of the Nameless One, and they are full of chaos, fire, evil, and plague.
This is the world the book opens on. Most of our main characters – Queen Sabran, her handmaiden Ead, the dragonrider Tané – are women, but we also have Doctor Niclays Roos, an alchemist, and Lord Arteloth Beck, a friend of the Queen. In this world, women are just as capable as men, and are treated as such. There are female knights, and same-sex relationships are just as ordinary as opposite-sex ones. There is a bit too much moral emphasis placed on monogamy/sex within the bounds of marriage, but I guess that’s “Knightly Virtue” for you. Skin color is only mentioned a couple of times, but I seem to remember Lord Arteloth being described as very dark-skinned, and Ead as golden-brown. Rather nice to see a fantasy NOT all caught up in racial and gender differences. Not to say there isn’t a fair amount of bigotry, but in this book it’s based pretty much solely on nationality and religion. And when the biggest sticking point is “do you like evil dragons or not” that kind of makes sense!
I think the only thing I didn’t like about this book was its size. It’s unwieldy to read, at over 800 pages! I’m not sure why they didn’t break it into a duology. Regardless, if you have the choice, I’d read it on Kindle. It would be far easier to handle. I’m not complaining about the amount of text, mind you. Just the sheer physical size. I can’t imagine the story being told in less time. There’s So. Much. Here.
This book goes from Queen Sabran’s court to the dragonrider academy in the East, to the draconic kingdom of Yscalin, to the Abyss where the Nameless One sleeps. We see glittering courts, hidden islands, sweltering tunnels through volcanic mountains, and deep valleys with secret magic trees. We battle wyrms and cockatrices, swim through endless seas with dragonriders, sail through storms with pirate crews, and navigate the trickiest of diplomatic matters with courtiers. The Priory of the Orange Tree paints an elaborate, incredibly complex world and I am absolutely here for it.
Okay, so one tiny quibble – while I liked the romance, I feel like it started kind of oddly. I didn’t see any reason for the initial spark. From there, it progressed perfectly, but I just didn’t get the beginning.
This book has multiple queer couples! There’s at least one same-sex couple mentioned as attending a party; Doctor Roos spends a lot of time mourning his dead lover, and there’s the lesbian romance between a couple of main characters. And one character has at least strong affection for a man before falling in love with a woman; I think she was in love with both. No trans or ace rep, but plenty of gay, lesbian, and bi!
This is hands-down the best book I’ve read so far this year. It took me three days – it’s a big book – but it is absolutely fantastic.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
So the basic premise of this world is that The Nameless One (some gigantic evil dragon) was locked away a thousand years ago, and all his minions with him. The exact details of how and who did it have been mostly lost to history. It’s said that as long as the House of Berethnet rules Inys, he’ll never rise again, and Berethnet queens always have one child, a daughter. The current queen, however, is unwed, and minions of The Nameless One have begun rising, and in fact have conquered a few neighboring nations. We have three main factions of countries; The East, who have dragon riders, but make a distinction between their dragons, who are aquatic and identify with the stars, and the evil minions of The Nameless One, who are full of fire. Then we have Virtudom, which is headed by Inys, and is a coalition of countries who have made a religion of the Knightly Virtues. This is the West, and they make no distinction between the draconic servants of The Nameless One and the water dragons of the East. This has forced a split between the West and the East, because Virtudom won’t have anything to do with countries that have anything to do with dragons, because most of what they see is the third faction – the Draconic countries. These are countries conquered by minions of the Nameless One, and they are full of chaos, fire, evil, and plague.
This is the world the book opens on. Most of our main characters – Queen Sabran, her handmaiden Ead, the dragonrider Tané – are women, but we also have Doctor Niclays Roos, an alchemist, and Lord Arteloth Beck, a friend of the Queen. In this world, women are just as capable as men, and are treated as such. There are female knights, and same-sex relationships are just as ordinary as opposite-sex ones. There is a bit too much moral emphasis placed on monogamy/sex within the bounds of marriage, but I guess that’s “Knightly Virtue” for you. Skin color is only mentioned a couple of times, but I seem to remember Lord Arteloth being described as very dark-skinned, and Ead as golden-brown. Rather nice to see a fantasy NOT all caught up in racial and gender differences. Not to say there isn’t a fair amount of bigotry, but in this book it’s based pretty much solely on nationality and religion. And when the biggest sticking point is “do you like evil dragons or not” that kind of makes sense!
I think the only thing I didn’t like about this book was its size. It’s unwieldy to read, at over 800 pages! I’m not sure why they didn’t break it into a duology. Regardless, if you have the choice, I’d read it on Kindle. It would be far easier to handle. I’m not complaining about the amount of text, mind you. Just the sheer physical size. I can’t imagine the story being told in less time. There’s So. Much. Here.
This book goes from Queen Sabran’s court to the dragonrider academy in the East, to the draconic kingdom of Yscalin, to the Abyss where the Nameless One sleeps. We see glittering courts, hidden islands, sweltering tunnels through volcanic mountains, and deep valleys with secret magic trees. We battle wyrms and cockatrices, swim through endless seas with dragonriders, sail through storms with pirate crews, and navigate the trickiest of diplomatic matters with courtiers. The Priory of the Orange Tree paints an elaborate, incredibly complex world and I am absolutely here for it.
Okay, so one tiny quibble – while I liked the romance, I feel like it started kind of oddly. I didn’t see any reason for the initial spark. From there, it progressed perfectly, but I just didn’t get the beginning.
This book has multiple queer couples! There’s at least one same-sex couple mentioned as attending a party; Doctor Roos spends a lot of time mourning his dead lover, and there’s the lesbian romance between a couple of main characters. And one character has at least strong affection for a man before falling in love with a woman; I think she was in love with both. No trans or ace rep, but plenty of gay, lesbian, and bi!
This is hands-down the best book I’ve read so far this year. It took me three days – it’s a big book – but it is absolutely fantastic.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com