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The Devil's Advocate (Eddie Flynn #6)
The Devil's Advocate (Eddie Flynn #6)
Steve Cavanagh | 2021 | Crime, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Yet again, Mr Cavanagh has written a belter ... definitely one of my reads of 2021 so far and one I can't recommend highly enough and even though this is number 6 in the series, don't let that put you off because you can absolutely read and enjoy this delight as a standalone.

I am a fan of Mr Cavanagh's incarnation of Eddie Flynn having read a couple of his previous outings but, I have to say, this is the best one I have read so far - an absolute peach of a story that had me on tenterhooks and devouring the pages as quick as my little eyes could manage.

With excellent characters, fantastic plot and side plots, perfect setting and pace, the right amount of twists and thrills, I have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone who loves a great thriller.

What are you waiting for? Go get it!

Many thanks to The Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
  
Murder on the Beach
Murder on the Beach
Various Authors | 2021 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Beach Reads to Enjoy Anywhere
Surfs up with this collection of eight mystery short stories set on the beach. We’ve got everything from a constantly disappearing family heirloom at a beach side wedding reception to a dead body on a girls’ weekend, a death at a frog leg cooking competition, a ring half buried in the sand, and an accident plagued trip to Cabo San Lucas.

Each story in this collection averaged 40 minutes for me to read, so there is plenty of content in the book. While some of the authors have written about their series sleuths, all of the stories can be read on their own, which was good because I was only familiar with one set of characters before I started the collection. All the stories feature strong characters and fun mysteries in addition to the variety of beach settings. Whether you take this book along to read at the beach or read it at home while dreaming of being at the beach, you’ll enjoy it.
  
Anything for Her
Anything for Her
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Technically my mum won a copy of this book via Goodreads' Giveaways/First Reads program, but since she doesn't write reviews and I do, I'll read it too.

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3.5 stars.

So, I've read it. And though it isn't my usual genre--I like to mix it up every so often--I must admit I got quite into it. I wanted to know what happened that night; what secret were the mum and daughter keeping? Was it really that bad? Who was this guy scaring them?

Now that I've read it, I've gotten answers to all of the above and strangely enough; I kind of feel it was justified. How Louise and Brooke went about it was just all wrong on many levels, especially what Louise did. I was extremely put off by that.

Some of the other stuff put me off as well. What was with Michael?

As I mentioned above, this isn't my usual genre but for a first book--going via createspace for paperbacks--this is a pretty good book.
  
Widdershins (Whyborne & Griffin, #1)
Widdershins (Whyborne & Griffin, #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
4.5 stars

I'm a bit picky with my historical reads. But since this would be my first full length mm historical romance, I thought I'd give it a go. And it turned into something I really enjoyed. It was paranormal and action packed and romantic. I couldn't ask for more, really.
 
I really liked both Griffin and Whyborne. Griffin was the sort of bad boy of the Victorian era I would never have guessed existed and Whyborne was the smart, bookish type that liked to be invisible to everyone around him. Except that wasn't possible with Griffin. He noticed him and accepted him and it was kinda sweet.
 
The storyline was very engaging and I was continually cheering my two guys on to figure it out and to get that person or other. And at the end I almost cried. I cant go into details without spoiling it but this is not some boring, average historical fiction based mm romance. It's very good.
  
Made in Scotland: My Grand Adventures in a Wee Country
Made in Scotland: My Grand Adventures in a Wee Country
Billy Connolly | 2019 | Biography
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Had me laughing almost from page one, Great story telling technique, down to earth (0 more)
Great and Insightful
First let me say that i think Billy Connolly is a genius. I know a lot of people know him as a comedian, but he is so much more. I have seen him act, sing, make people laugh and write fantastic books, this is one of them. I love how it starts with someone asking a question and it just develops from there. His way of writing makes it feel like you are just sitting somewhere in a cafe and talking to a friend. Its warm and welcoming and very down to earth. I have seen the tv programme that accompanies this book and if you have , then you definitely need to read this as well. From being at school to working in ship builders, from one night gigs to sell out shows. Everyone who reads this will see that no matter where Billy Connolly lives in the world, his heart will always live in Scotland. A fantastic book :)
  
The Glass Hotel
The Glass Hotel
Emily St. John Mandel | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Gripping
I decided to give this book a go as it's one of the top reads on Goodreads and sounded intriguing, and i really do love it when you pick up something completely unknown that turns out to be highly enjoyable.

The plot for this is rather wide ranging. It covers a variety of characters that are all connected through both an isolated hotel and a financial scheme, and follows them at various points in their lives (mostly before, after and during the downfall of this scheme). I love stories like this that don't try to be overcomplicated with ridiculous twists and turns. This is extremely well written and intriguing and gripping throughout to read about how these people's lives turn out. It potentially does get a little weird when it verges onto the supernatural later on which is why I've marked it down a little. However aside from this, I found this to be such an enjoyable and thrilling read and it was made even more enjoyable by the fact that I had no expectations of this whatsoever.
  
I think I might have first read this in the mid to late 90s. Anyway, there or thereabouts. Definitely before the resurgence of 'classic' fantasy brought about by the Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit) movies of the early 21st century.

I recently decided to give it a re-read (in 2020). What is now clear(er) to me than to the just-becoming-a-teenager I was on my first read is just how heavily indebted this is to JRR Tolkien, and just how much it reads like someone-decided-to-play-a-game-of-D&D-and-write-down-what-their-characters-did.

That latter probably shouldn't come as a surprise, given that one of the authors of this actually helped design that game.

Here, in the first of the 'core' Dragonlance novels, we have your standard archetypes: Halfling (Kender), Warrior, Knight, Elf, Half-Elf, Wizard, Barbarian all going off on what becomes various quests that (surprise surprise!) involve delving in dungeons and various sundry other enclosed spaces ...

I'll probably re-read the sequels, just because.