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***The first book in a bestselling new serial killer series***

Holly Wakefield works for the NHS as a criminal psychologist specialising in serial killers. She has particular reason to be good at her job - but she keeps that to herself.
When DI Bishop from the Met Police approaches Holly to investigate a recent killing, Holly is horrified by the dismembered bodies and the way they have been theatrically positioned. More shocking still is when the pathologist reveals this is not the first time she has seen these mutilations. It means a serial killer is out there, and they're going to kill again - soon.
Holly is used to chasing serial killers. But this killer has something in common with Holly that she's kept hidden for as long as she can remember. And for the first time since she was a child, Holly is forced to face the darkness of her past...

The first thriller in a gritty and gripping new crime series starring forensic psychologist Holly Wakefield.

This is a great début novel from this author and I am already wanting to read the next one!
When Darkness Calls is a serial killer book told from the point of view of the Criminal Psychologist Holly Wakefield; which is a nice change.
This is a really gripping page turner of a story.
I really liked the 2 main characters of Holly and Bishop; they were totally believable and can't wait to see how they develop.
I love the fact the author touched on the dark and gritty and wasn't afraid to go there as it helps set the tone of the novel.
This book has lots of twists and turns and will keep you hooked throughout.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be reading more from this author.
Highly Recommend!!

Thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. This is my honest voluntary review.
  
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2)
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2)
Holly Black | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
9.0 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
All my book reviews are SPOILER FREE!

The Wicked King was my top three anticipating books of 2019. Let me just say I believe Holly Black knows what she is doing with this story and she has not let me down and more than likely she won't when she ends this story.

When I started to read the first pages I was having a hard time getting into the story and where we are now in the story. I was getting a little confused with so many characters. The beginning of the book was okay but everything started to pick up for me towards the very end of the story, which is kinda a bummer for me since the first book hooked me the moment I started to read.

Once the action started to flow in I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. I have a lot of feelings for some characters in this book and what are they planning and motives. I was surprised to see some characters backstab Jude and confused in a good way as to why they are doing it to where I need answers.

The ending was everything, just like the first book! It didn't fail me! I love the ending more than anything and it was the best part of the book. I had to flip back pages to read it again, it was that good!

The writing, of course, is wonderful and very detailed for me to feel like I was apart of the world that Holly Black has created. The first book was definitely my favorite so far but the second one is not bad at all. I am looking forward to the final book "Queen Of Nothing" to see what happens with Jude and the other characters in the story and unfortunately, I have to wait another whole year just to find out.
  
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Faris Badwan recommended track Jerusalem by Sleep in Dopesmoker by Sleep in Music (curated)

 
Dopesmoker by Sleep
Dopesmoker by Sleep
2003 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

Jerusalem by Sleep

(0 Ratings)

Track

"There’s loads of dark metal bands that I really like: the first Mayhem record, Darkthrone, people like that. But in the end, ‘Jerusalem’ is heavier and more powerful than any of the dark metal bands. It takes the best elements of Black Sabbath and then amplifies them even further. “It’s a record that I always used to put on before I went out and I’d listen to the whole thing because it was so emotive. It gave me loads of energy, even though it’s so slow and doomy. I love the fact that they released it all as one, hour-long song and how it was able to come out in that form. It means it’s never been vetted really. For me, it’s the best heavy guitar record ever made. “There’s something almost meditative about ‘Jerusalem’ and part of the band Sleep went on to form another band, OM, which is extremely meditative. So in Sleep, you can really hear the meditative atmosphere aspects of it, I like how hypnotic it is, that’s the reason I would always put it on. “Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin were my entry points to metal, then I read a book called Lords of Chaos which I suppose a lot of people who are interested in learning about black metal have read. Then moving on and listening to the first Mayhem record, I thought it was pretty much like punk, but rather than just being snarling and aggressive, it goes beyond that and turns into something really evil. And I realised I liked the roughness of metal. “’Jerusalem’ is a flow. You’re hearing the band in the room as it happens and because it’s so unplanned it feels like a jam, which makes it much more subtle. They probably played through the whole hour a load of different times and it was probably different every single time. That’s what I love about it, when you hear the record you’re really getting the atmosphere they created at that time and they managed to capture that on record. There isn’t another record quite like it, and I also love all the records that the band members of Sleep made after it. “Josh from The Horrors and I went to see Sleep live and – although the guitarist was barely able to stand up because he was very, very drunk – it sounded amazing. People don’t realise how hard it is to make this music sound so good on stage. It’s something I aspire to and it’s an invaluable skill, right down to the way you position the mics on stage. For me the best metal is lo-fi, it’s highly sought after, getting music to be distorted in the right way. There’s such attention on the guitar in this record. Some guitarists play with a lot of pedals, but it can be really inspiring when you have a guitarist who can make music with very little and Sleep do that. “The first time I heard it was on The Horrors second American tour in 2008. We went to LA, and went to the place everyone goes to, which is Amoeba Records. I got a copy of Dopesmoker, which is the album after Jerusalem and that’s how I first heard ‘Jerusalem.’ But all I remember at first was thinking how awful the artwork was. It was really terrible"

Source
  
Persona 5
Persona 5
2016 | Action/Adventure, Role-Playing
The game (0 more)
That it ended (0 more)
Amazing JRPG that stole my heart!
I love the Shin Megami games, but as a surprise, I have not beaten many of them. They are these epic undertakings that require many hours per play through. This is the first one that I easily put 150+ hours into through 2 play through and got a platinum trophy, where I still long to play more.

The characters are well developed and amazing, I fell in love with everyone, and even loved to hate the villains. I am normally not a fan of mascots but even Morgana won me over throughout the game. The music is epic and memorable, and really sets the tone no matter what is happening.


No gem is perfect, there are mild problems I had with this;
Time management is not a strong suit I have in real life, so maintaining it on a game (even with the help of knowing what others did) felt overwhelming.
In the same vein of saving time I felt rushed to complete dungeons in one day so I could move onto the grinding of skills and confidants.


I'm not saying these ruined the game, but I felt like I wanted to have a little more time in dungeons sometimes as opposed to the social aspects, which, while fun, seemed very heavy at times.


I always feel every game is worth a certain amount of money, the game retails (at release) for $60 and I honestly think it's a fine price. When a game honestly offers a 100+ campaign on the first play through, that less then a dollar an hour and it was worth the whole ride!
  
The Giver
The Giver
Lois Lowry | 2012 | Children
5
8.5 (84 Ratings)
Book Rating
A strange book.
So, I know The Giver has been out for a long time, and I know they made a movie, but somehow I’d never read or watched it. But on the recommendation of a friend, I finally have. What a strange little book! It definitely belongs in the same realm as Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and The Handmaid’s Tale – which are among my favorite books – but the ending was tremendously unsatisfying. It’s the first book in a quartet, though, so I’m hoping the other three, which I have requested from the library, will tie up the loose ends. It definitely feels like it’s only the first installment of a story.

The dystopian society in this book has effectively banished most feelings. But to get rid of hate and war and prejudice, they also had to banish the memories and feelings of individuality and difference. With everyone and everything the same, they’re mostly incapable of feeling true love or happiness. So they all live in peace – but it’s a complacent, uncaring peace. It’s not peace because of love, it’s peace because of the absence of passionate feelings. Whether this is good or not, well, that’s up to the reader to decide for themselves. The actions of the main character, who aims to disrupt that peace, could be seen as good or bad.

I’m not actually entirely sure how I feel about this book. After reading the next three – Gathering Blue (2000), Messenger (2004), and Son (2012), I'm still at a bit of a loss. These were just...odd.


You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
HO
House of Pawns
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am a fan of Keary Taylors work but hadn't got round to reading 'House of royals'(it was on my kindle in my to read pile). I saw a chance to apply to become part of her ARC group and received an arc copy of 'House of pawns'. Obviously I couldn't just read 'House of Pawns' before reading 'House of royals' So I started reading the first and couldn't put it down. I had read the first in a matter of days and was so very grateful I had the next one readily available to continue reading.

I love the uniqueness of this series, the new take on a vampire story, not something that has been rehashed.
It's character driven and the characters are complex and each bring something to the table.
'Liv has an amazing journey and I love who she is starting to become, how little things, one small decision can have consequences that change the course of your life and of those around you and how quickly ones life can change.
The new characters that are introduced are well developed and very interesting the old characters are just getting more and more interesting, our glimpse into their past are intriguing and give us a look into how they become who they are today.
I don't want to spoil anything for the readers so I am not going to say anything about the actual plot line.
This is a series that I can't put down and cannot wait for 'House of Kings' to see what the next chapter of her life is like.