How Not to Fall in Love, Actually: A Laugh-Out-Loud Romantic Comedy
8.0
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A hilarious debut for all fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Lisa Owens. The perfect antidote for...
Hunters in the Snow
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After his death, a young woman returns to her grandfather's farm in Yorkshire. At his desk she finds...
Clinch
Henning Koch, Martin Holmen and Tom Sanderson
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'Clinch is a dark, atmospheric, powerful thriller, the best debut novel I've read in years' - Lynda...
Go Giants
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To a Fault, Nick Laird's debut collection, won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and the Jerwood...
Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist
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A heart-stopping debut about protest and riot ...1999. Victor, homeless after a family tragedy,...
One Day I Will Write About This Place
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Binyavanga Wainaina tumbled through his middle-class Kenyan childhood out of kilter with the world...
No House to Call My Home: Love, Family, and Other Transgressions
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In this lyrical debut, Ryan Berg immerses readers in the gritty, dangerous, and shockingly...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2141 KP) rated Design for Murder in Books
Nov 15, 2020
Unfortunately, this was a disappointment after the fun series debut. We spend too long with Annie planning the fictional mystery with multiple ideas discarded before she settles on one. The book and author name dropping is especially tedious here, too. We are meeting suspects and learning motives, so when the body does finally drop, the book picks up. It was still a bit of a struggle to keep the suspects and the parts they played in the fictional murder straight. Even so, the suspects are strong, and both mysteries are wrapped up well. Annie and Max are wonderful main characters, and I definitely enjoyed spending time with them. I’m looking forward to more of their adventures even if this wasn’t quite as good as the first one.
Merissa (11869 KP) rated Under A Lavender Moon (Nightingale Songs #1) in Books
Feb 9, 2021
There are hints of romance in this book, between Rilla, Friend, and Carrick. However, that is very much in the background as the story moves along. The main characters are fully supported by an interesting group of secondary characters, some you will like, some you definitely won't. This is part and parcel of the story though, and is what will keep you turning the pages.
The pacing is smooth, leading you to the cliff-hanger ending, and will also leave you wanting more. For a debut novel, this is incredibly intricate and intriguing. I can't wait to continue with this series, and have no hesitation in recommending it.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
ClareR (5642 KP) rated Girl in the Walls in Books
Mar 21, 2021
A young girl has the ability to disappear into the walls of a house and live alongside the people who live there without their knowledge. Now if that doesn’t sound like a ghost story, then what is she? I think that the girl wanted to be like a ghost - themes such as grief and belonging are prominent in this novel. The only attachment the girl has, is to the house itself - she seems to have no family or friends.
There is such an eerie feeling to this book that really unsettled me, and as the boys who live in the house start to realise that someone else is living there with them and look for outside help, the anxiety is tangible. Frankly, there were some breathtaking moments of the “Oh no!” variety.
I honestly can’t believe that this is the authors debut novel - it’s really that good.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to A. J. Gnuse for reading along with us.