The Escort (Nights Series #2)
Book
He is everything I’ve ever wanted in a man. And I will do anything to get him. Even if I have to...
M_M Contemporary Romance
Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Trilogy, #1)
Book
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found...
Circus Maximus
Tabletop Game
"The grandeur and decadence of ancient Rome in your living room! Thrill to the dust of chariot...
BoardGames RomeGames ChariotRacing GladiatorGames RacingGames
Becoming Superman
Book
In this dazzling memoir, the acclaimed writer behind Babylon 5, Sense8, Clint Eastwood’s...
I Never Gave My Consent
Book
In 2013, a series of high-profile court cases sent shockwaves through the West Midlands town of...
ClareR (5674 KP) rated Nasty Little Cuts in Books
Feb 24, 2022
This book is phenomenal. It’s read-it-thorough-your-fingers-with-your-eyes-shut kind of phenomenal.
Reading it on The Pigeonhole, one stave a day for 10 days was a feat of endurance - the wait between staves was tortuous. This is NOT an easy read, and should probably come with some sort of trigger warning. It’s dark, emotional, visceral. It’s violent and frankly traumatic.
Debs and Marc should probably have never got together, never mind got married and had children. They’re both emotionally scarred from terrible childhoods and have never confronted, or been treated for, these psychological and physical injuries. And now they just seem to vent their feelings on one another with physical violence.
There’s loads of backstory that explains why they are in their current predicament, and honestly, I did feel some sympathy for them. But then, and Tina Baker does this so well, she gives with one hand, and snatches away with the other. Every past revelation of abuse or trauma, is bookended by domestic violence.
Honestly, it sounds horrendous, doesn’t it? But I couldn’t stop reading. As I said on The Pigeonhole: What a reading experience this has been. I’ll leave a review, but what can I say that will do this book justice?
Well, I can say this: Read It.
Riving-Ton-Ton-Ton: The Letty Vargas Story
Book
Riving-Ton-Ton-Ton tells the story of Leticia “Letty” Cruz, a New Yorker who was born into a...
Biography
The story - 5 people in 3 countries suddenly find themselves in The Game but it's not your run-of-the-mill game of Monopoly; no, it's something far more sinister. If they refuse to play, the one they love dies; if they tell anyone, their loved one dies ... they have no choice but to participate but there can only be one winner.
The pacing of the book is fast and flowing with the story being told from the perspective of all the characters and occasionally some of their loved ones. The plot is intriguing - you don't know until near the end why the participants have been chosen or who the 'puppet-master' is which made trying to work out the 'why' difficult but all is revealed in an ending that is as surprising as it is violent.
Now, I'm not going to say that all is perfect with this book, there are a number of times where you have to suspend belief a little and it does deal with themes and uses language that some may find unpalatable, e.g. homophobia, racism, abuse, rape, suicide, and there are numerous scenes of violence, so if you find these are triggers for you, I would give it a miss.
Overall, I think this is a very creditable debut and I will be looking out for more of Mr Kershaw's work in the future and I must thank HQ and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Game and sharing my thoughts.
The Boy in the Attic (Wartime Holland Book 3)
Book
Anna opened the letter with trembling hands. ‘My darling, if you’re reading this, I haven’t...