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Merissa (14068 KP) rated The London Monster in Books

Feb 10, 2021 (Updated Jun 10, 2023)  
The London Monster
The London Monster
Donna Scott | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE LONDON MONSTER is set about one hundred years before Jack the Ripper, and tells the story of a man who attacked women at night. It became known that he would only attack beautiful women, so it was almost a 'badge of honour' to have been chosen.

I have to say, I had no idea who it was, right up until The Final Note. The characters all intermingle, and you have no idea how much until it is revealed by the author. Simply wonderful!

This book reads as a standalone and I have no idea if the real London Monster was ever truly identified. I would love to know more about Tom, Sophie, and in particular, Dalton and Cuthbert. Those two got off very lightly in my opinion.

A long book that you can fully immerse yourself in, I found this to be one of the best mysteries I have read in a long time. Absolutely recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 10, 2021
  
It Started With A Tweet
It Started With A Tweet
Anna Bell | 2019
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Phone addict Daisy will do anything for a like on social media. She shares almost everything from her life and exaggerates about all of it too. It’s a good skill to have when your job is to run the social media of a company, not so good when you accidentally send an explicit tweet through your company’s account rather than your own.

Daisy’s life is turned upside-down. She is sacked from her job after her tweet goes viral, and hopeless that she will find another place willing to take her. A digital detox is just what she needs. She goes to stay at a farm her sister Rosie has bought and helps her renovate it, meeting some interesting people along the way.

It Started With A Tweet reminded me of Cecelia Ahern and Sophie Kinsella, so it was right up my street. It’s lighthearted and laugh-out-loud funny and overall a really entertaining read. Daisy’s constant comments made me giggle and she was such a lifelike character.

It was also interesting to read someone going through a digital detox because I know for sure that I wouldn’t be able to just stop using my phone and my laptop. My life is social media, so I have a real understanding of Daisy’s character.
  
Unlocked
Unlocked
Shannon Messenger | 2020 | Children
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unlock Something Different – and Special – with this Book
This is an unusual release. The first 500 pages are a guide to the world of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, with character information, info on animals, background on the races, and a few fun activities. The last 250 pages are a “novella” (it is short for this series) and picks up where Legacy, the previous book in the series, left off. It’s not just filler, but it contains lots of plot developments that fans will be glad they read. It splits time between Sophie, the main character, and Keefe, one of her friends who is going through quite a bit here.

If you are new to the series, you really don’t want to start here. Yes, I said guide, but it comes with lots of spoilers for the first eight books in the series. Back up and start at the beginning; it’s worth it. This is more a love letter to fans. If you are a fan, you’ll definitely enjoy the information contained in this book. And the novella will leave you satisfied. It feels like a complete story and made me laugh and cry. Yes, there is another cliffhanger, so now begins the wait for book 9.
  
The Diary: Book One of Cursed
The Diary: Book One of Cursed
S.L. Weiss | 2019 | Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
So this is a first in an upcoming series. Reading it kind of gave me a Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets vibe - that's my favorite book in the series by the way. Anyway, two girls named Ana and Sophie come across a new shop that has opened. It sells crystals, some dresses, and spell books. Ana comes across this blank book, a diary, and decides to purchase it and record everything going on in her life - like most teenage girls want to do. I certainly did, and I still do to an extent.

It seems like everything Ana writes in this diary seems to come true - for instance, wanting her friend to finally stop whining about a boy she likes and asks him out. It's pointed out quite a few times how 'out of character' it was for Sophie to ask a boy out. She describes it as an out of body experience where she was watching herself just simply go up to the the boy and ask him on a date.

In a sense of 'be careful what you wish for' in this case it's, 'be careful what you write.' The diary, however, has a mind of its own and it slowly starts to take over Ana.

Does anybody else hear Smeegal's voice and wishing that Ana would once say, 'My Precious!'? No? Okay, I'm really that nerdy, but I don't care. I wear it like a badge of honor.

I won't lie it say it wasn't a tad but cheesy. Almost like watching some parts of it as a Disney show, at least the ones that include someone falling from a Ferris wheel or getting an allergic reaction. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, because it's not overpowering like the new Disney shows these days are, gag me.

The writing style was simplistic and it's one that I liked. It wasn't told from Ana's point of view, which is surprising because most of the YA novels I've read are told from the main character's point of view. It's not a terrible thing, but it's not always the best. In this book, you get more than just Ana's views which is important to a story like this.

The ending did, of course, leave a cliffhanger and a small excerpt for the next book in the series.

All in all, the book was a quick read for the most part. I like the three main characters of the story and I enjoyed how it was written. Can you imagine finding a diary and it making things you write in it come true? The good will come with bad.