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The Push
The Push
Ashley Audrain | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
10
8.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
The protagonist in this book is a nameless woman, a daughter, a wife, a mother, and this story is told from her perspective, kind of. The woman is telling us her life story: how she met her husband, about her pregnancy and her troubles with her daughter Violet, and other events that traumatise her for life. The characters in this book are quite disturbed, intense and very complex. For some strange reason, I could really relate to the protagonist. I understood her and her thoughts resonated with mine sometimes.

At the beginning of the book, I was not very impressed, I had no idea what it was about. But the more I got into it, the more absorbed I became. The narrative has several different lines and is telling the story of women from three generations. The protagonist is sharing the deepest and scariest thoughts of her life, and it got very intense for me sometimes. I really enjoyed the suspense, turns and twists. The topics discussed in this book are marriage, pregnancies, lack of motherhood instinct, mother-daughter relationship, children behavioural issues, grief, depression, trauma and many more.

The book is set somewhere American sounding (might be Canada), the atmosphere of this book is pretty dark and shrouded with mystery. I really liked the writing style of this novel, it is very honest, detailed and the mystery was kept perfectly. The chapters are pretty short, so this book was a true page-turner for me. I really loved the ending, because I was pretty confused with some stuff happening in the book, but the ending kind of clarified it for me. I have to throw in a warning, that this book has triggers when it comes to pregnancies, cheating, death of children, grief, psychotic behaviour.

So, to conclude, this book is a very intense life story, filled with very well crafted characters, that are intriguing, absorbing and the plot that is layered, complex and brutally honest.
  
Do No Harm
Do No Harm
L.V. Hay | 2020 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
It is a very haunting thriller told from multiple perspectives – mainly Lily’s and Sebastian’s. I really loved the characters in this book, they all seem like regular people, whom we meet every day. Even though the characters are very believable, they have their very unique characteristics, which makes them very amusing and absorbing. LV Hay is famous for her diverse characters, and I really liked that she carried on with diversity in this book as well. I really liked Lily in this book, her inner fight and thoughts were very interesting to me. The least favorite to me was Fran, Lily’s new mother in law, I found her very unpleasant attention seeker, and I really don’t like such qualities.

Oh, the plot was absolutely fantastic! The author was playing mind games with me every time. When I thought I knew where the events were heading to, she used to throw in a major twist or turn, which left me baffled every time. The wish to find out what was actually going on got me “glued” to this book, and I really didn’t want to put it down. I really liked the way the author was describing all the feelings and thoughts regarding little Denny, all his actions were so cute to read about.

I really enjoyed LV Hay’s writing style, the language used was very understandable and the way she incorporated all these little bits and pieces from character’s pasts, were very enlightening and allowed to get to know the characters even better. The Author left me very pleased with chapter lengths as well, they were short but had very good transitions between the chapters. I really can see the improvement in this author’s work, and I hope she will carry on doing such an amazing job. To conclude, it is a very fast paced and gripping thriller, filled with false leads, mind games and very realistic and amusing characters. I loved it, and I hope you will give this book a go and will enjoy it as much as I did.
  
Paperweight
Paperweight
Meg Haston | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
https://bookmarkedreading.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/book-review-paperweight/

This. Book. Is. Amazing.

There aren't enough books about such serious and common topics like this. I'm not going to lie, I found this rather hard to read due to how it brought back so many personal memories for me. I should warn any potential readers that this book includes a log of negative language about body image, mentions of self-harm and suicide, and a lot about eating disorders and behaviours.

Stevie, a 17-year-old girl who's mother left and brother died, has her self-destruction plans halted when her father sends her to an eating disorder treatment centre. This book follows her through a twenty-seven day period of pain and conflicting thoughts and emotions.

Throughout Stevie's time at the treatment centre, the reader is told about her life through little snippets here and there. We learn about her behaviours and thoughts as her eating disorder developed, about the day her mother left, and the time around her brother's death.

Stevie is carrying so much guilt and pain, and all she wants is to disappear on the anniversary of the accident. But her shrink, Anna, is desperate to help her live her life.

This book is so accurately written. The things Stevie thinks and does often reflect myself and people I've known while really struggling with eating disorders. The daunting prospect of recovery looms over her, making her unsure of what her goal really is. She was so sure she wanted to die... But now she's met Ashley, and Anna, and rethought her plan. What once seemed so simple and obvious, Stevie is no longer sure she wants.

Paperweight is so emotional, accurately telling the story of Stevie's personal experiences with an eating disorder as well as her struggles after her mother moved away and her brother was killed. It combats so many topics that I've rarely seen in other books, and is just so greatly written... I love it. 5 stars!
  
Controller's Obsession (Obsessions #2)
Controller's Obsession (Obsessions #2)
JP Sayle, Lisa Oliver | 2024 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
it suits this book, that it is low on the steam factor!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 2 in the Obsessions series, and you should probably read book 1, Demon's Obsession before this one. It sets the scene as to why Merihem is banished to Earth, but also tells how RARE the Blissful Ones are. And you know, it's bloody good!

Now, this is IS good, but it doesn't quite hit the spot that Demon's did and I've no idea why! *insert wailing!*

What I DID like about it, though, was the beautiful way that Merihem, quite literally, flipped on a Peni (oooh see what I did there!), and was devoted to Peni, from that very first meeting, even if the goat kicked him in the nuts!

Merihem takes his pleasure when and where he wants to, but meeting Peni? No one else will do. Once Peni bites Merihem, and he can hear Peni's thoughts and, more importantly, his GOAT'S thoughts, Merihem is able to modify his behaviour to suit Peni, even if he wants to do all sorts of dirty things to his little pygmy mate!

I found it relatively low angst, and so flipping cute, and low on the steam factor. It suits THIS book that it is written that way, given Peni's past and his aversion to full on smex. The smexy times that are here, are wonderfully written, and absolutely perfect for these two.

I loved that we caught up with Dakata and Silas, and their news! We get a bit of Wanda's book, who is Silas' sister and of Scott's book, who is Dakata's assistant. I was surprised at the route that Wanda's book takes, and I look forward to seeing how Sayle and Oliver deal with that, given they write MM rather than FF books!

A thoroughly delightful addition to the series, I really did enjoy it!

4 very VERY good stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Kaysee Hood (83 KP) rated Go Ask Alice in Books

Oct 10, 2017  
Go Ask Alice
Go Ask Alice
Beatrice Sparks | 1971 | Young Adult (YA)
7
7.3 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
Honest View (0 more)
One Is All It Takes
Contains spoilers, click to show
How can you really put your own words about someone else's thoughts, someone else's experiences? How can I say she was wrong or right when she very much never had a chance to find out for herself? It seems like not only was she cheated, but we were cheated as well. We won't ever know if she ever adjusted to life without drugs. We won't even know if life with Joel was all she dreamed. Maybe she meant to do it. Maybe it was a mistake, she relapsed and thought she could handle as much as before if not more. Or maybe it was those who were upset she wasn't pushing anymore or thought she was selling them all out. No one can know and it's heartbreaking. It's a reminder no matter how tempting something is we should leave it alone even if we don't think we'll be another horror story.
  
Moon Blink is a great start to the new "season" of LS books. There are some great ideas in here, and a few truly golden nugget scenes. Unfortunately, the book doesn't coalesce quite as well as it should, particularly when it reaches the final act. The villain (and thus the climax) never reach full potency after a great set up, which was frustrating.

Once again, Anne Travers takes the lead in the proceedings while Lethbridge-Stewart is relegated to the background, but for this story, that dynamic not only made sense, but was essential. Sadie Miller exhibits a natural knack for writing these characters, and has a strong voice with which to do it.

It may only be a three an a half star book, but because it was so enjoyable to read I have it the benefit of the extra star. Can't wait to read more!

For more detailed thoughts, you can listen to our full review at www.travelingthevortex.com
  
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QuietlyBookish (65 KP) rated Fangirl in Books

Jul 6, 2017  
Fangirl
Fangirl
Rainbow Rowell | 2014 | Young Adult (YA)
10
8.9 (46 Ratings)
Book Rating
Characters (3 more)
Themes of Mental Illness
Plot
Dialogue
Must Read For Anyone Starting University!
I very much enjoyed this book. I read this book in one day. I loved Cath, I felt that she was easy to like and she was realistic, I think her thoughts, feelings and actions were easy to relate to.
This book is about finding yourself as you transition from teenager to adult and learn to live alone for the first time.
I can't recommend this enough, I think everyone can gain something from this story!

There are a lot of different editions of this book! I'd recommend looking them up if you're interested in fan art or author Q&A's! Also, there are two other books related to Fangirl, there is Carry On which is a full novel about the Simon and Baz fanfiction Cath writes in Fangirl. Also, Cath and Levi make an appearance in the author's adult novel Landline, if you're interested in that!
  
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Domonique (0 KP) rated Still Missing in Books

May 12, 2018  
Still Missing
Still Missing
Chevy Stevens | 2010 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry
10
8.0 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was really good!! It seemed like I just flew through it because it was so captivating. I loved the way that it was told, in therapy sessions, I thought that was interesting and different although I would have like to have heard the therapist's perspective on some of Annie's thoughts, but I understood it wasn't about her. (SPOILERS AHEAD) I still can't believe that her mom was behind the whole thing, what kind of parent is that hard up for money and one-upmanship on her own sister that she would have her own daughter abducted? That was just sick and I can't believe that even at the end, she tried to make out like she was the victim. I felt so good that Annie finally took control and got away from her mother after she realized that she was never going to change and it was always going to be about her. I'll have to check out more books by this author.
  
I'm settling for an average rating because while I liked the genre listing aspect with the many varieties of books, I felt like the author needed to tell more about each book, and frankly, the book wasn't a very enjoyable read, it was too dry. More information was needed so that I would even get interested in books she mentioned; sorry a title and author are not enough. The book wasn't that big that she couldn't elaborate on her thoughts of the book. What are her reasons for recommending the book in the first place? The author was also repetitive, she mentioned <u>The Prince of Tides</u> at least five times, once is enough. What's the point of badgering the reader that she likes it? I found it more palatable by reading it in smaller doses and not by reading the whole thing at one time. Maybe it's a good reference book featuring different lists of books but I can find more informational reading lists online.