Search
Search results
The Jig is Up
8.0
Rate It
Book
Irish step dance takes a deadly turn in this Celtic cozy series debut, perfect for fans of Carlene...
Murder on Devil’s Pond
10.0
Rate It
Book
A quaint Vermont inn offers idyllic peace–until a body is found on the property–in this charming...
Louise (64 KP) rated A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares in Books
Jul 2, 2018
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
I read Krystal Sutherland’s debut novel earlier this year for my #beatthebacklist challenge and whilst it wasn’t great I decided to give this writer another chance. I usually give authors a second chance, I like to see how they develop and whether it’s just the story or characters that rubbed me up the wrong way.
I was pleasantly surprised with this book, I definitely think it is an improvement from her debut novel and will read further books of her’s if the blurb intrigues me.
This story follows Esther Solar, she is not your typical 17-year-old, she doesn’t conform to fashion trends and has her very own unique style of dressing up in costumes every day, one day she might be Audrey Hepburn, she might be a cow girl the next. She is not a popular girl and her family would maybe deemed eccentric or different from the norm.
Esther’s grandfather proclaimed that he met death (several times) since this revelation his family has had a bout of bad luck. Esther has a twin who is petrified of the dark and has all the lights and candles going continuously, her father is agoraphobic and hasn’t left the cellar for 6 years and her mother has a fear of bad luck. Esther deems herself as the normal one of the family, however that’s only because she has avoided anything she thinks might induce fear and so she creates a list, these are: Lobsters, small spaces and anything else she thinks of, this is her list of semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.
Esther comes in to contact with Jonah Smallwood, a boy who used to be in her class but then moved away to another school. Jonah seems to take a liking to Esther and keeps turning up at her door or the same part. They develop this friendship,when Jonah discovers Esther’s list he takes it upon himself to help conquer these so-called fears and live life fear free.
There were several things that I enjoyed about the book, one was I thought the characters were good and fleshed out, we got a back story to how they came to their current situation. I liked that there was a magical realism/supernatural element to the book. This book had its quirks and then also some serious topics such a phobia’s,anxiety,depression, gambling,child abuse, dementia, selective mutism and suicide. Whilst you might be thinking that is some heavy stuff, it doesn’t always feel like that through the book. Sutherland has managed to handle these heavy topics with a lot of care.
Sutherland’s writing style is easy to read but the pacing was a bit up and down and sometimes it just didn’t hold my attention. I would definitely recommend reading this book, however there are trigger warnings.
I read Krystal Sutherland’s debut novel earlier this year for my #beatthebacklist challenge and whilst it wasn’t great I decided to give this writer another chance. I usually give authors a second chance, I like to see how they develop and whether it’s just the story or characters that rubbed me up the wrong way.
I was pleasantly surprised with this book, I definitely think it is an improvement from her debut novel and will read further books of her’s if the blurb intrigues me.
This story follows Esther Solar, she is not your typical 17-year-old, she doesn’t conform to fashion trends and has her very own unique style of dressing up in costumes every day, one day she might be Audrey Hepburn, she might be a cow girl the next. She is not a popular girl and her family would maybe deemed eccentric or different from the norm.
Esther’s grandfather proclaimed that he met death (several times) since this revelation his family has had a bout of bad luck. Esther has a twin who is petrified of the dark and has all the lights and candles going continuously, her father is agoraphobic and hasn’t left the cellar for 6 years and her mother has a fear of bad luck. Esther deems herself as the normal one of the family, however that’s only because she has avoided anything she thinks might induce fear and so she creates a list, these are: Lobsters, small spaces and anything else she thinks of, this is her list of semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.
Esther comes in to contact with Jonah Smallwood, a boy who used to be in her class but then moved away to another school. Jonah seems to take a liking to Esther and keeps turning up at her door or the same part. They develop this friendship,when Jonah discovers Esther’s list he takes it upon himself to help conquer these so-called fears and live life fear free.
There were several things that I enjoyed about the book, one was I thought the characters were good and fleshed out, we got a back story to how they came to their current situation. I liked that there was a magical realism/supernatural element to the book. This book had its quirks and then also some serious topics such a phobia’s,anxiety,depression, gambling,child abuse, dementia, selective mutism and suicide. Whilst you might be thinking that is some heavy stuff, it doesn’t always feel like that through the book. Sutherland has managed to handle these heavy topics with a lot of care.
Sutherland’s writing style is easy to read but the pacing was a bit up and down and sometimes it just didn’t hold my attention. I would definitely recommend reading this book, however there are trigger warnings.
Berserker by Beast in Black
Album Watch
The metal world was in rage when Anton Kabanen parted ways with his former band BATTLE BEAST back in...
Metal
Eddie's Bastard
Book
In this rich, deeply resonant literary debut, twenty-eight-year-old William Kowalski explores the...
fiction literary fiction contemporary American
Suswatibasu (1702 KP) rated A Kind of Freedom: A Novel in Books
Nov 6, 2017 (Updated Nov 6, 2017)
A book rooted in hope and endurance
Margaret Wilkerson Sexton's beautiful debut novel explores four generations of a family, from the time of segregation to mass incarceration.
In A Kind of Freedom, Sexton pursues a family’s history in a downward spiral, with three alternating plot lines that echo one another along the way. It begins with the budding love of Evelyn, brought up in New Orleans and the daughter of a Creole mother and black doctor father. She is courted by Renard, a poor man who works menial jobs to get by but aspires to study medicine. Their courtship reveals the strictures of a class- and colour-driven society that suffocates ambition and distorts desire.
The second generation is about Jackie, a single mother in 1980s New Orleans who is in love with her child’s father but afraid he will succumb to his crack addiction.
Eventually, we get to know Jackie’s son, T.C., in 2010, a young man at a turning point in his life. Through T.C.'s eyes, Sexton portrays a post-Katrina New Orleans where the smell of mold still lingers and opportunities for fast cash in the streets abound, as do the chances of getting shot or arrested.
It's an unflinching portrayal, slightly detached and not overbearing in its rhetoric. It shows where links have been bruised and sometimes broken, but dwells on the endurance and not the damage. A moving read.
In A Kind of Freedom, Sexton pursues a family’s history in a downward spiral, with three alternating plot lines that echo one another along the way. It begins with the budding love of Evelyn, brought up in New Orleans and the daughter of a Creole mother and black doctor father. She is courted by Renard, a poor man who works menial jobs to get by but aspires to study medicine. Their courtship reveals the strictures of a class- and colour-driven society that suffocates ambition and distorts desire.
The second generation is about Jackie, a single mother in 1980s New Orleans who is in love with her child’s father but afraid he will succumb to his crack addiction.
Eventually, we get to know Jackie’s son, T.C., in 2010, a young man at a turning point in his life. Through T.C.'s eyes, Sexton portrays a post-Katrina New Orleans where the smell of mold still lingers and opportunities for fast cash in the streets abound, as do the chances of getting shot or arrested.
It's an unflinching portrayal, slightly detached and not overbearing in its rhetoric. It shows where links have been bruised and sometimes broken, but dwells on the endurance and not the damage. A moving read.
Billie Wichkan (118 KP) rated Too Close: A new kind of thriller that will leave you breathless in Books
Mar 15, 2019
How close is too close?
Connie and Ness met in the park while their children played. As they talked, they realised they were neighbours. Perhaps it was only natural that they and their families would become entirely inseparable.
But when Nesss marriage ends in a bitter divorce, she is suddenly at Connies house all the time. Connie doesnt have a moment to herself, no time alone with her husband, not a second to chat to her kids.
Its all too much. Something has to give.
Connie has woken up in a psychiatric hospital. They say she committed a terrible crime but she says she cant remember a thing.
This novel is gripping and absorbing that you won't be able to put this down. I found the pace just right and the dark story well told .
I found myself crying with some of the parts and in others laughing out loud at some of the things said. There are so many emotions covered in this story including mental illness.
I loved the characters development, the plot of the story and oh my that surprising ending you don't see coming.
I don't want to say anymore as I don't want to spoil it for anyone!
I received this debut novel via NetGalley in return for an honest review but I still turned around an purchased this as I truly am astounded with this novel.
Connie and Ness met in the park while their children played. As they talked, they realised they were neighbours. Perhaps it was only natural that they and their families would become entirely inseparable.
But when Nesss marriage ends in a bitter divorce, she is suddenly at Connies house all the time. Connie doesnt have a moment to herself, no time alone with her husband, not a second to chat to her kids.
Its all too much. Something has to give.
Connie has woken up in a psychiatric hospital. They say she committed a terrible crime but she says she cant remember a thing.
This novel is gripping and absorbing that you won't be able to put this down. I found the pace just right and the dark story well told .
I found myself crying with some of the parts and in others laughing out loud at some of the things said. There are so many emotions covered in this story including mental illness.
I loved the characters development, the plot of the story and oh my that surprising ending you don't see coming.
I don't want to say anymore as I don't want to spoil it for anyone!
I received this debut novel via NetGalley in return for an honest review but I still turned around an purchased this as I truly am astounded with this novel.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated My Lovely Wife in Books
Apr 6, 2019
A gem of a read
This book is like nothing I have read before ... in a good way of course but I am slightly worried that I may be moving onto the dark side of normal! Why? you may ask - just read this book and you'll understand!
What we have here is an absolute gem of a read that had me hooked from the start. I won't go into the plot as I don't want to give anything away but will describe it as being edgy, dark, twisted, engrossing, disturbingly entertaining and totally unique. The characters are just excellent but more than that, they are frighteningly believable and rarely do I find myself feeling so wrong about liking and rooting for someone so disturbed but scarily normal!
The writing is crisp and effective and easy to read with excellent pacing; great suspense and twists leave you reading way too late into the night in anticipation of what the heck is going to happen next.
I can't believe this is a debut and I am waiting on tenterhooks for Samantha Downing's next book and I only hope it's as disturbingly good as this one. On her website, she says that she wants to "tell stories that make people walk into walls"; I think she did with this one.
Thank you to the publisher, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph, and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
What we have here is an absolute gem of a read that had me hooked from the start. I won't go into the plot as I don't want to give anything away but will describe it as being edgy, dark, twisted, engrossing, disturbingly entertaining and totally unique. The characters are just excellent but more than that, they are frighteningly believable and rarely do I find myself feeling so wrong about liking and rooting for someone so disturbed but scarily normal!
The writing is crisp and effective and easy to read with excellent pacing; great suspense and twists leave you reading way too late into the night in anticipation of what the heck is going to happen next.
I can't believe this is a debut and I am waiting on tenterhooks for Samantha Downing's next book and I only hope it's as disturbingly good as this one. On her website, she says that she wants to "tell stories that make people walk into walls"; I think she did with this one.
Thank you to the publisher, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph, and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
FilmIntuition (33 KP) rated Lies You Never Told Me in Books
Jul 20, 2018
A tale of two narratives, in Lies You Never Told Me, debut novelist Jennifer Donaldson deftly flips back and forth between the first person points-of-view of high school students Gabe (in Austin) and Elyse (in Portland).
An addicting work of romantic suspense, although it opens with an air of mystery followed by the bang of a hit-and-run, the book slows down enough to carefully build the characters and effectively develop their alternating storylines to the point that – to the author's credit – there's no easily mistaking one for the other.
Nicely balancing the intrigue of a Gabe chapter with the drama of an Elyse (and vice versa), the book's pace quickens with each chapter to the point that I found myself nearly unable to put it down.
And despite the fact that I was able to piece together precisely how and why the two characters were connected roughly a quarter of the way into the novel, thanks to certain context clues, the book is so well written that I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Of course, that being said, the less you know going in the better.
Reminiscent of a great character driven '80s thriller from the Hollywood heyday of Fatal Attraction, in spite of a slightly contrived climax, Lies You Never Told Me is a terrific stay up all night summer read you'll definitely want to recommend to a friend.
An addicting work of romantic suspense, although it opens with an air of mystery followed by the bang of a hit-and-run, the book slows down enough to carefully build the characters and effectively develop their alternating storylines to the point that – to the author's credit – there's no easily mistaking one for the other.
Nicely balancing the intrigue of a Gabe chapter with the drama of an Elyse (and vice versa), the book's pace quickens with each chapter to the point that I found myself nearly unable to put it down.
And despite the fact that I was able to piece together precisely how and why the two characters were connected roughly a quarter of the way into the novel, thanks to certain context clues, the book is so well written that I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Of course, that being said, the less you know going in the better.
Reminiscent of a great character driven '80s thriller from the Hollywood heyday of Fatal Attraction, in spite of a slightly contrived climax, Lies You Never Told Me is a terrific stay up all night summer read you'll definitely want to recommend to a friend.
Christine A. (965 KP) rated Keep You Close in Books
Jul 20, 2019
What would you do to protect your son? Would you betray your son or your country?
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
Keep You Close asks is "What would you do to protect your son. Would you betray your son or your country?" It is the second novel by Karen Cleveland. Her first, Need to Know, was a New York Times Bestseller.
Cleveland's background as a CIA analyst with most of her time spent working in counterterrorism helps bring authenticity to her work. While she writes fiction, she is able to get into the mindset of Stephanie Maddox, the head of the FBI's Internal Investigations division, so well it has a feel as if she is writing her memoir. Her debut novel's main character, Vivian Miller, works as a CIA counterintelligence analyst. Hmmm...
Maddox believes her near-perfect son is being framed and searches to discover the truth. Including CIA and FBI agents, makes choices made by Maddox more believable. In an environment whose very nature requires people to doubt and mistrust, she needs to decide whom she can trust and what to believe.
Keep You Close is a stand-alone novel. However, Need to Know's main character does appear in this novel. I did not realize this until I finished reading this novel.
Cleveland does not have any future works listed on Goodreads.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/15/19.
Keep You Close asks is "What would you do to protect your son. Would you betray your son or your country?" It is the second novel by Karen Cleveland. Her first, Need to Know, was a New York Times Bestseller.
Cleveland's background as a CIA analyst with most of her time spent working in counterterrorism helps bring authenticity to her work. While she writes fiction, she is able to get into the mindset of Stephanie Maddox, the head of the FBI's Internal Investigations division, so well it has a feel as if she is writing her memoir. Her debut novel's main character, Vivian Miller, works as a CIA counterintelligence analyst. Hmmm...
Maddox believes her near-perfect son is being framed and searches to discover the truth. Including CIA and FBI agents, makes choices made by Maddox more believable. In an environment whose very nature requires people to doubt and mistrust, she needs to decide whom she can trust and what to believe.
Keep You Close is a stand-alone novel. However, Need to Know's main character does appear in this novel. I did not realize this until I finished reading this novel.
Cleveland does not have any future works listed on Goodreads.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/15/19.