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Roxanne (13 KP) rated Sworn To Silence (Kate Burkholder, #1) in Books

Nov 14, 2018

I don't usually pick up thrillers but I spotted this whilst having a browse through my online library account and it sounded interesting. When I reserve books at the library to pick up it gives me a push to pull my socks up and get those books read before the deadline, if I own the book it's too easy to slack. With a deadline looming I am pushed to read books that I wouldn't usually read, which I think is brilliant as I get to experience some different genres.
Long story short I thought this book was fantastic! It was brutal, it was gory and it kept me guessing until the end. Once I had finished the book I went and reserved the second in the series.
I thought the story was very well written and I liked all of the characters. Maybe there were a few plot holes but it didn't distract me or make much difference to the storyline.
This is definitely one of those books that just gets into your head and will not let you sleep, when I had to go out and leave the book at home I heard a little voice calling me...calling me back home 'read me...read me...', what a hold it had.
Enjoyed it very much!

Kudos

Hazel (2934 KP) rated Cold Granite (Logan McRae #1) in Books

Dec 5, 2019

Cold Granite (Logan McRae #1)

Stuart MacBride | 2005 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller

8.2

(6 Ratings)

Book Rating

Well, what can I say? What a book this is ... there aren't enough superlatives to say how much I enjoyed it ... just brilliant and a must-read for any fans of crime novels. This is the first in the Logan McRae series but I have read subsequent stories before this one and can confirm that it made no difference to my enjoyment of this book.

Now, I must warn you that this book deals with the disturbing and upsetting subject of child murders with the additional sub-plot of the murder of a gangster and there are graphic descriptions of the crime scenes so if you are of a nervous disposition or easily offended, I would probably steer clear of this particular one.

The characters are strong, well developed, interesting and believable with authentic dialogue throughout and despite the dark subject matter, there are many moments of humour which made me chuckle on several occasions which helped to lighten things a little. The setting of Aberdeen in the winter is perfect and creates further atmosphere. The pace is non-stop with twists, turns and red-herrings throughout which certainly kept me on my toes and guessing until near the end.

Don't let this series pass you by ... highly recommended.

I have to thank HarperCollins UK via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.

Kudos

ClareR (6054 KP) rated The Companion in Books

Jan 14, 2020

The Companion

Kim Taylor Blakemore | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The Companion is a really enjoyable historical fiction novel set in 1855 New Hampshire. Lucy Blunt has been found guilty of a double murder, and the story jumps back and forth in time to describe what happened in Lucy’s early life, her time as a maid at the Burton mansion and her life in prison.

One thing that really stood out for me was the stark difference between the privileged Burtons and their hard-working staff. Also Lucy’s shady background was so intriguing, and I really liked the bit by bit exposure of her past and her misdemeanours. She really is an unreliable source of information, and it’s no wonder that she’s sitting in a jail cell awaiting the hangman. But DID she commit murder?

It seemed to me that Lucy was repeatedly let down by the people who should have supported her, that she was used for what these people could get from her. For someone who had virtually no possessions, they took those things that were of herself: her self respect, her trust and her love.

Guilty or not, this was a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to lovers of historical fiction and/ or unreliable narrators.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and review.

Kudos

Dillon Jacoby-Rankin (202 KP) rated Dragon's Gold in Tabletop Games

Jan 18, 2020

Dragon's Gold

2015 | Fantasy, Medieval, Mythology

6.3

(3 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Great Components (4 more)

Easy to learn to play

Quick Turns

Fast Decision Making

Card Placement Strategy

Shields could be bigger (1 more)

Hard to tell difference between silver and gold in certain lighting

Fast Paced Fun

Players: 2-4

Components: The gems are very good quality of either some sort of plastic or acrylic. They are colored very well except for the silver and gold which can be hard to tell apart depending on how the light hits them. There are limited amounts of each color for different reasons. The cards are nice and the artwork is decent enough but nothing I found to be out of the ordinary that struck me as amazing. The real focus isn't on the cards anyway but the gems.
Easy to Learn: Rules are quite simple. Players will lay down cards until a dragon is defeated. (The strength of the cards is more than the dragon's) then all players involved have a minute to split the loot or no one gets anything. Certain objectives depending on the game being played will make for end game scoring strategies. The mage and thief cards allow for extra bonuses especially when played together.
Quick Turns: Splitting loot only takes a minute keeping the game moving along fairly quickly.
Shields: I feel like the Shields could have been a little taller or something.