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ClareR (5681 KP) rated The Whistling in Books

Aug 3, 2023  
The Whistling
The Whistling
Rebecca Netley | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Elspeth Swansome is escaping her past in Edinburgh and taking up a post as a nanny on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea (it’s fictional, but I would really want to visit it if it was real!).

Elspeth is going to nanny Mary, a child who is clearly suffering from trauma. Her twin, William, is dead and her former nanny has disappeared. Elspeth is told that if she can’t get Mary to talk, she will be institutionalised.

I loved this - it’s the right kind of spooky, and you can’t beat a haunted house: lullabies are sung by someone who isn’t there, poppets keep appearing in random rooms, and whistling can be heard at night. It all added up to a book that sent shivers down my spine!

The characters were sometimes likeable, menacing, disconcerting and some most definitely had something to hide!

I listened to this on Audible, and the narrator, Lois Chimimba, kept me glued to my headphones. Her different accents were all spot on, and helped me to tell the different characters apart. I was never confused as to ‘who’ was speaking.

The tension built and built to the climactic ending - a truly delicious ghost story!
  
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ClareR (5681 KP) rated The Husbands in Books

Feb 26, 2024  
The Husbands
The Husbands
Chandler Baker | 2021 | Contemporary, Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Despite how frustrating I found The Husbands, it was a compelling read - if only for the reasons that I was hoping against hope that the main character, Nora, would grow some lady-balls and tell her husband exactly what she wanted him to do. Instead, she seems to rely on his psychic powers (he doesn’t have any), and he was clearly happy with her “letting” him do bog-all. Honestly, I was RAGING.

Then it became a bit Stepford Husbands. Which, whilst appearing to be the ideal solution, isn’t really, is it. Although, if my husband was like Nora’s, I’d sign him up straight away.

The story takes a very unexpected turn in the second half, and I was as disturbed by it all as Nora. Dynasty Ranch, Nora’s dream housing destination, becomes a bit of a nightmare. Manipulative doesn’t even cover it.

I would’ve loved a bit more about Dynasty Ranch and a bit less Nora: how things got to be the way that they were could have been a fascinating read as well.

This was a real page turner. Very enjoyable indeed, just as long as you can put up with Nora!
  
Wolf Hunter (Arctic Brotherhood #5)
Wolf Hunter (Arctic Brotherhood #5)
Jane Godman | 2017 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wolf Hunter (Arctic Brotherhood #5) by Jane Godman
Wolf Hunter is the fifth book in the Arctic Brotherhood series, and we finally have Sebastian and Cindy's story. The hints were there for these two, but we have had to wait until now to read all about them. Cindy has no idea how to tell the people that she regards as family that she was Hendrick's best friend, not lover. They all assume she has taken his bite, become his mate, and is now a werewolf. Even Sebastian, although the thought of that gives him feelings that he is not prepared to deal with. Too soon though, he realises he doesn't have a choice, when a story he is chasing ties up with the Brotherhood once more. Past links come to life, showing the Brotherhood that there has been more to this than meets the eye.

This story is very nicely written, and flows smoothly from one scene to the next. The ties that bind this book to the previous ones are all obvious, once you find them out! The characters all remain as brilliant as ever, completely different to each other, and yet wholly complementary. I can't wait to read the next book as this one has done a grand job of building up to the climax. With steamy scenes as a bonus, this is a wonderful story that will keep you turning the pages. Absolutely recommended by me.

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

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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Tom Chaplin recommended Bring It On by Gomez in Music (curated)

 
Bring It On by Gomez
Bring It On by Gomez
1998 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"That would have come out in 1998 when I was around 17. My record collection at that point was mainly made up of U2, Radiohead, The Beatles, The Smiths. I hadn’t really been an indie kid in that sense of going to see bands and being part of that kind of world, because where we all grew up as a band, there just wasn’t a music scene at all! So we just spent our time making music, we never went to see much. Gomez is one of those total, bonafide, university, indie bands. It’s such an inventive record for a brand new band to burst onto the scene with. I loved the fact there were two singers with such contrasting voices. They’re all great songs, 'Here Comes The Breeze', 'Tijuana Lady'… it chimed in with where I was at the time, just getting out of school, smoking dope for the first time and experimenting with drugs. The album has that sense of youthful abandon. You can tell they were just fearless; maybe that’s what stopped them in the end from going on. I always feel that Gomez should have been a much more important band. I remember being up at University in Edinburgh, I got the National Express down to London one night, it was so uncomfortable, I got off at every stop and was getting smashed on this very strong weed and then going back on, and I had a proper old school Discman, and I was just listening to this Gomez record, up all night. I got to London, full of beans and was like, “We’ve gotta be this inventive!”"

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