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ClareR (5674 KP) rated The Last Thing To Burn in Books
Jan 12, 2021
The Last Thing to Burn is the first of Will Dean’s books that I’ve read, and it most definitely won’t be my last. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe throughout this book - ‘suspense’ is not a strong enough word! If I could have read through my hands covering my eyes, I would have, because you could see what was coming next , and you just couldn’t stop it from coming! And then it would be even more horrific than I thought it was going to be. I mean, Will Dean seems to be such a nice person on Twitter, his St Bernard, Bernie, is gorgeous - how can things like this even come out of his head and on to paper?!
My dad lives in Lincolnshire, and to get to where he lives (Boston), we have to drive through what seems to be miles and miles of flat farmland (filled mainly with cruciferous vegetables, if my nose remembers correctly!), so it was easy to see how hard it would be for Jane to escape. You can see for a long way - uninterrupted by hills, or indeed anything else at all! This was such a good choice of location. It was that feeling of being trapped by your environment, even though Jane wasn’t exactly locked away. Jane’s every move is monitored on CCTV when her ‘husband’ isn’t there. And if she breaks any of his rules, she is punished. Not physically - instead he takes one of her very few belongings, and burns it whilst she watches.
This is a story of abuse, imprisonment and survival. No matter how much he seeks to control her, “Jane” is free to think and remember what it was like to be free. Whilst I was reading this, that’s all I wanted for her - freedom.
I don’t know whether the phrase “I loved every minute of this book” reflects all that well on me. I mean, it’s pretty horrific. But love it I did. I’d recommend this book to anyone - and then rub my hands together, whilst cackling evilly... Ok, that is a bit weird. But really. Just read the book.
Many thanks to the Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.
My dad lives in Lincolnshire, and to get to where he lives (Boston), we have to drive through what seems to be miles and miles of flat farmland (filled mainly with cruciferous vegetables, if my nose remembers correctly!), so it was easy to see how hard it would be for Jane to escape. You can see for a long way - uninterrupted by hills, or indeed anything else at all! This was such a good choice of location. It was that feeling of being trapped by your environment, even though Jane wasn’t exactly locked away. Jane’s every move is monitored on CCTV when her ‘husband’ isn’t there. And if she breaks any of his rules, she is punished. Not physically - instead he takes one of her very few belongings, and burns it whilst she watches.
This is a story of abuse, imprisonment and survival. No matter how much he seeks to control her, “Jane” is free to think and remember what it was like to be free. Whilst I was reading this, that’s all I wanted for her - freedom.
I don’t know whether the phrase “I loved every minute of this book” reflects all that well on me. I mean, it’s pretty horrific. But love it I did. I’d recommend this book to anyone - and then rub my hands together, whilst cackling evilly... Ok, that is a bit weird. But really. Just read the book.
Many thanks to the Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Shadow Friend in Books
Jan 26, 2021
The protagonist of this story is Paul. He has to come back to a miserable town where he grew up after he found out that his mother is about to die. Paul hates that town for so many reasons, but mainly because of what happened when he was young. This book is told from a dual perspective. Another character sharing details is Amanda, she is a detective, investigating a murder, that looks exactly like the one that happened many many years ago. Amanda has her own issues, and she is kind of a background character in this book. I liked Paul as a character, he was a good kid, he is awkward, but a nice guy. All the characters chosen in this novel are quite mysterious, and the whole book has a very depressing and gloomy atmosphere, that works very well in Alex North’s books.
The narrative of this novel is exceptionally well written. The author used a dual timeline, we have the events happening now, and the events that happened when Paul was young. My favourite was the ones from the past, of course. It absolutely absorbed me, I was so eager to find out what happened all those years ago. The parts from the present were quieter and more self-reflecting, sharing the inner struggles, but creepy nevertheless. This book is very twisty, and some of the turns really left me gobsmacked and surprised. The topics discussed in this novel were lucid dreaming, bullying, wish to belong, abusive parents, mental abuse, dementia and its effects, parent-child relationships, the influence of the internet and many, many more.
I really love Alex North’s writing style. He is amazing in creating suspense, and all the mind manipulation of the reader was truly amazing. 🙂 The chapters are quite short, I was engrossed in this novel, so the pages just flew by, for me. The ending was shocking and very unexpected, but I did like the way this novel ended. I hope someone will adopt this novel to a film, I am pretty sure it would be wickedly good. 🙂
So, to conclude, I really liked this horror psychological thriller. The characters are very mysterious and the plot is absorbing, layered and complex. This book left me emotionally shaken in the best possible way, and I really recommend to those, who would like something creepy.
The narrative of this novel is exceptionally well written. The author used a dual timeline, we have the events happening now, and the events that happened when Paul was young. My favourite was the ones from the past, of course. It absolutely absorbed me, I was so eager to find out what happened all those years ago. The parts from the present were quieter and more self-reflecting, sharing the inner struggles, but creepy nevertheless. This book is very twisty, and some of the turns really left me gobsmacked and surprised. The topics discussed in this novel were lucid dreaming, bullying, wish to belong, abusive parents, mental abuse, dementia and its effects, parent-child relationships, the influence of the internet and many, many more.
I really love Alex North’s writing style. He is amazing in creating suspense, and all the mind manipulation of the reader was truly amazing. 🙂 The chapters are quite short, I was engrossed in this novel, so the pages just flew by, for me. The ending was shocking and very unexpected, but I did like the way this novel ended. I hope someone will adopt this novel to a film, I am pretty sure it would be wickedly good. 🙂
So, to conclude, I really liked this horror psychological thriller. The characters are very mysterious and the plot is absorbing, layered and complex. This book left me emotionally shaken in the best possible way, and I really recommend to those, who would like something creepy.
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5) in Books
Jun 24, 2019
I can't believe I've nearly finished this series!
First of all, I would like to complain about the cover. If I hadn't heard so many great things about this series then I probably would have avoided it, simply because it looks like a typical teen paranormal romance atrocity. The story is actually way more action-based with a sort of hint of romance, but I just don't think the cover portrays that very accurately.
Moving on to the actual book, it follows on from the last novel where Sebastian is sort of reintroduced. He is a massive character in this, after disappearing - along with Jace. It turns out there's some sort of bond between them thanks to Lilith, and the only things that can separate them are the weapons of either angels or demons. Which, unsurprisingly, results in some rather reckless acts on the part of Jace's friends and family, including the summoning of an angel and a demon. Nice.
Alec and Magnus have some pretty serious difficulties in this book, which actually really upset me because they're currently my favourite couple. There's also romantic plots following Maia and Jordan and even Izzy and Simon, but nothing major.
In the end, the Institute receives a disturbing gift, Clary stabs Jace, and Magnus kicks Alec out of his apartment. Maureen is seen again, claiming to have killed the woman Alec was out to murder, and Luke's sister is taken and turned dark by Sebastian. I think that's everything?
As for the writing, I love it! The books are all quite long, but they don't feel it when you read them. I don't understand how the feel so timeless and exciting all the way through!
Of course, this is a YA paranormal novel with typical romance lines and so on, but it is as unique as a book in this category can be. It has a nice mix of surprise, suspense and plain old action, and the diversity of the characters is fantastic. I'm really looking forward to the next novel in the series, yet I don't want it to be over!
Simply because it is a somewhat generic book (there are just so many angel/demon YA novels these days) I can't put my rating any higher than 4 stars. But the writing is fab and the plot always interesting, so there really isn't any true fault.
First of all, I would like to complain about the cover. If I hadn't heard so many great things about this series then I probably would have avoided it, simply because it looks like a typical teen paranormal romance atrocity. The story is actually way more action-based with a sort of hint of romance, but I just don't think the cover portrays that very accurately.
Moving on to the actual book, it follows on from the last novel where Sebastian is sort of reintroduced. He is a massive character in this, after disappearing - along with Jace. It turns out there's some sort of bond between them thanks to Lilith, and the only things that can separate them are the weapons of either angels or demons. Which, unsurprisingly, results in some rather reckless acts on the part of Jace's friends and family, including the summoning of an angel and a demon. Nice.
Alec and Magnus have some pretty serious difficulties in this book, which actually really upset me because they're currently my favourite couple. There's also romantic plots following Maia and Jordan and even Izzy and Simon, but nothing major.
In the end, the Institute receives a disturbing gift, Clary stabs Jace, and Magnus kicks Alec out of his apartment. Maureen is seen again, claiming to have killed the woman Alec was out to murder, and Luke's sister is taken and turned dark by Sebastian. I think that's everything?
As for the writing, I love it! The books are all quite long, but they don't feel it when you read them. I don't understand how the feel so timeless and exciting all the way through!
Of course, this is a YA paranormal novel with typical romance lines and so on, but it is as unique as a book in this category can be. It has a nice mix of surprise, suspense and plain old action, and the diversity of the characters is fantastic. I'm really looking forward to the next novel in the series, yet I don't want it to be over!
Simply because it is a somewhat generic book (there are just so many angel/demon YA novels these days) I can't put my rating any higher than 4 stars. But the writing is fab and the plot always interesting, so there really isn't any true fault.
Ryan Hill (152 KP) rated Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) in Movies
Jun 29, 2019
"We opened Pandora's box. And there's no closing it now."
With Godzilla (2014) Legendary Pictures was the first American studio to get it right. No idiotic US edits of the latest Japanese films. No remakes that went out of it's way to be anything but Godzilla. It was GODZILLA! Now from what I understand from an interview with Shinji Higuchi is that Legendary only has the rights to Godzilla until 2020. So what do you do in that case? Well since you only have time to make one more Godzilla film before Godzilla vs. Kong, you do the obvious; You remake Destroy All Monsters!
There is some Michael Bay level stupidity going on in some moments of this film, but I don't care. I loved it. Some of the great Toho Godzilla films have goofy science combined with forgettable human characters. This one isn't even close to being the greatest offender of this in the franchise. Besides, when it comes to Vera Farmiga and Kyle Chandler I'm going to care about their characters at least a little no matter how they're written.
The film makers really went out of their way with tons of references from Godzilla's history. They even find a way to do a subtle nod to the Shobijin which I didn't think they'd ever touch with a 10 foot pole. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's just things that are used in the film that aren't part of American pop culture like the character itself of Godzilla. There's a lot of shit that only people who have seen the original films will pick up on.
The score is great, but even greater is that they actually used Gozilla's theme which is god damn iconic and shockingly even Mothra's theme. How can you not love that? I dunno. Maybe I'm just a geek, but seeing Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla in a big budget Hollywood movie just blows my mind. I loved it. It's basically the American remake of Destroy All Monsters. Don't bother telling me how dumb the movie is either. I fully realize how dumb it is.
There is some Michael Bay level stupidity going on in some moments of this film, but I don't care. I loved it. Some of the great Toho Godzilla films have goofy science combined with forgettable human characters. This one isn't even close to being the greatest offender of this in the franchise. Besides, when it comes to Vera Farmiga and Kyle Chandler I'm going to care about their characters at least a little no matter how they're written.
The film makers really went out of their way with tons of references from Godzilla's history. They even find a way to do a subtle nod to the Shobijin which I didn't think they'd ever touch with a 10 foot pole. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's just things that are used in the film that aren't part of American pop culture like the character itself of Godzilla. There's a lot of shit that only people who have seen the original films will pick up on.
The score is great, but even greater is that they actually used Gozilla's theme which is god damn iconic and shockingly even Mothra's theme. How can you not love that? I dunno. Maybe I'm just a geek, but seeing Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla in a big budget Hollywood movie just blows my mind. I loved it. It's basically the American remake of Destroy All Monsters. Don't bother telling me how dumb the movie is either. I fully realize how dumb it is.
Sweet Paradise (Boise Montague #2)
Book
In this harrowing Caribbean noir murder mystery, we meet Private Investigator Boise Montague, a man...
Mystery Caribbean Noir
Should We Date Calculator: Love Compatibility Test
Entertainment and Social Networking
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Prove to your crush that you two should definitely go out on a date! Should We Date Calculator...
Dead in a Week (Forensic Instincts #7)
Book
What would you do if your daughter was kidnapped and given only a week to live? Lauren...
Suspense Thriller
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Hideaway ( Devils Night book 2) in Books
Feb 14, 2022
28 of 230
Kindle
Hideaway ( Devils Night book 2)
By Penelope Douglas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
DEVIL'S NIGHT is returning! Hiding places, chases, and all the games are back...
BANKS
Buried in the shadows of the city, there’s a hotel called The Pope. Ailing, empty, and dark, it sits abandoned and surrounded by a forgotten mystery.
But you think it’s true, don’t you, Kai Mori? The story about the hidden twelfth floor. The mystery of the dark guest who never checked in and never checks out. You think I can help you find that secret hideaway and get to him, don’t you?
You and your friends can try to scare me. You can try to push me. Because even though I struggle to hide everything I feel when you look at me—and have ever since I was a girl—I think maybe what you seek is so much closer than you’ll ever realize.
I will never betray him.
So sit tight.
On Devil’s Night, the hunt will be coming to you.
KAI
You have no idea what I seek, Little One. You don’t know what I had to become to survive three years in prison for a crime I would gladly commit again.
No one can know what I’ve turned into.
I want that hotel, I want to find him, and I want this over.
I want my life back.
But the more I’m around you, the more I realize this new me is exactly who I was meant to be.
So come on, kid. Don’t chicken out. My house is on the hill. So many ways in, and good luck finding your way out.
I’ve seen your hideaway. Time to see mine.
*Hideaway is a romantic suspense suitable for ages 18+. While the romance is a stand-alone, the plot is a continuation of events that began in CORRUPT (Devil's Night, #1). It is strongly recommended that you have read Corrupt prior to reading this.
So I definitely enjoyed this more than book 1. I’m still not Adam of Michael but the rest I’m warming up to! I really liked Banks and I loved to see her finally be loved. Definitely recommend if you like some spice but some of it can be a bit close to the edge. Looking forward to reading more.
Kindle
Hideaway ( Devils Night book 2)
By Penelope Douglas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
DEVIL'S NIGHT is returning! Hiding places, chases, and all the games are back...
BANKS
Buried in the shadows of the city, there’s a hotel called The Pope. Ailing, empty, and dark, it sits abandoned and surrounded by a forgotten mystery.
But you think it’s true, don’t you, Kai Mori? The story about the hidden twelfth floor. The mystery of the dark guest who never checked in and never checks out. You think I can help you find that secret hideaway and get to him, don’t you?
You and your friends can try to scare me. You can try to push me. Because even though I struggle to hide everything I feel when you look at me—and have ever since I was a girl—I think maybe what you seek is so much closer than you’ll ever realize.
I will never betray him.
So sit tight.
On Devil’s Night, the hunt will be coming to you.
KAI
You have no idea what I seek, Little One. You don’t know what I had to become to survive three years in prison for a crime I would gladly commit again.
No one can know what I’ve turned into.
I want that hotel, I want to find him, and I want this over.
I want my life back.
But the more I’m around you, the more I realize this new me is exactly who I was meant to be.
So come on, kid. Don’t chicken out. My house is on the hill. So many ways in, and good luck finding your way out.
I’ve seen your hideaway. Time to see mine.
*Hideaway is a romantic suspense suitable for ages 18+. While the romance is a stand-alone, the plot is a continuation of events that began in CORRUPT (Devil's Night, #1). It is strongly recommended that you have read Corrupt prior to reading this.
So I definitely enjoyed this more than book 1. I’m still not Adam of Michael but the rest I’m warming up to! I really liked Banks and I loved to see her finally be loved. Definitely recommend if you like some spice but some of it can be a bit close to the edge. Looking forward to reading more.
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated On the Way to the Wedding (Bridgertons, #8) in Books
Jan 11, 2022
Another brilliantly written Bridgerton book. This one has all the elements of a thriller. Blackmail, treason, someone showing up to stop a wedding by proposing to the bride, what more could you want in a book?
This book follows Gregory and his pursuit of love, which he firmly believes in, thanks to all seven of his siblings being married and blissfully happy and in love with their chosen spouses. We start the book as he runs into a wedding and proposes to the bride and the chapter ends before we find out both who it is and what she says. It takes about half the book to find out who the bride is, and then another few chapters to find out her answer. The suspense kept me reading as I needed to find out what happened.
This book, although obviously similar to the rest of the series, was a lot faster paced and reminded me more of a thriller (without the darkness of a thriller) with the situations that the characters found themselves in.
I think that Gregory’s story may have moved up to one of my favourite Bridgerton books, although this seems to change with every book I read from the series. But this definitely seemed more like the type of book I usually read and I loved every minute of it.
As I started reading, I realised that the previous seven books didn’t really tell us a lot about Gregory, and I would put him in the same category as Francesca was when I started reading When He Was Wicked. But it was good to read about him and learn about his character so late on in the series as it meant that you didn’t really have any preconceptions about his character and how you believe he should behave in the pursuit of love which happened with all of his other siblings (again with exception of Francesca).
I really will be sad to say goodbye to this family when I read the final book in the Bridgerton series, but I hope that the Netflix adaption stays true to the tones of the books and that we get an adaptation of each book as I believe they will work very well on screen as well as in print.
This book follows Gregory and his pursuit of love, which he firmly believes in, thanks to all seven of his siblings being married and blissfully happy and in love with their chosen spouses. We start the book as he runs into a wedding and proposes to the bride and the chapter ends before we find out both who it is and what she says. It takes about half the book to find out who the bride is, and then another few chapters to find out her answer. The suspense kept me reading as I needed to find out what happened.
This book, although obviously similar to the rest of the series, was a lot faster paced and reminded me more of a thriller (without the darkness of a thriller) with the situations that the characters found themselves in.
I think that Gregory’s story may have moved up to one of my favourite Bridgerton books, although this seems to change with every book I read from the series. But this definitely seemed more like the type of book I usually read and I loved every minute of it.
As I started reading, I realised that the previous seven books didn’t really tell us a lot about Gregory, and I would put him in the same category as Francesca was when I started reading When He Was Wicked. But it was good to read about him and learn about his character so late on in the series as it meant that you didn’t really have any preconceptions about his character and how you believe he should behave in the pursuit of love which happened with all of his other siblings (again with exception of Francesca).
I really will be sad to say goodbye to this family when I read the final book in the Bridgerton series, but I hope that the Netflix adaption stays true to the tones of the books and that we get an adaptation of each book as I believe they will work very well on screen as well as in print.
Merissa (11953 KP) rated Reece (The Hawks #5) in Books
Aug 15, 2022 (Updated Aug 15, 2023)
I'm just not ready for it to be over. It's not, is it? Please tell me there's more to come!
REECE is the fifth and final book in The Hawks series, and I'm not emotionally ready for this series to be over. It just can't be! 😭 There is still so much I want to know. And I love the world they have built/are building. It simply can't be over!!!
Okay, so moving past my emotional breakdown, what can I say about this book? Reece has been a character that has tugged on my heartstrings from the very beginning, but I only knew part of his story. Now I know it all and yep, it broke my heart. Ms Roberts has a way of transferring emotions onto the page (or screen) that is second-to-none. I love how she draws me into the characters, learning what makes them tick, their foibles, and their quirks. Daena is strong, certainly stronger than she thought she was. She had a harsh lesson to learn, but learn it she did, and she won't make the same mistakes twice.
This book is full of action and suspense. Andred is clever, but will Daena and Reece figure out his game plan before hundreds die? I won't say as I don't want to inadvertently give anything away. I will say I couldn't put the book down, completely hooked on the story.
This whole series has been a fantastic world to visit, full of love, loyalty, and found family. I'm just not ready for it to be over. It's not, is it? Please tell me there's more to come! I may just have to return to the beginning and read it all again, just to tide me over.
Do I recommend it? Oh, hell yes!!! But do yourself a favour, and start at the beginning! Tristan will thank you for it! Or maybe Kaden will if you go right back. Personally, I'd start with Kaden to get the full experience.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* 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!
Aug 12, 2022
Okay, so moving past my emotional breakdown, what can I say about this book? Reece has been a character that has tugged on my heartstrings from the very beginning, but I only knew part of his story. Now I know it all and yep, it broke my heart. Ms Roberts has a way of transferring emotions onto the page (or screen) that is second-to-none. I love how she draws me into the characters, learning what makes them tick, their foibles, and their quirks. Daena is strong, certainly stronger than she thought she was. She had a harsh lesson to learn, but learn it she did, and she won't make the same mistakes twice.
This book is full of action and suspense. Andred is clever, but will Daena and Reece figure out his game plan before hundreds die? I won't say as I don't want to inadvertently give anything away. I will say I couldn't put the book down, completely hooked on the story.
This whole series has been a fantastic world to visit, full of love, loyalty, and found family. I'm just not ready for it to be over. It's not, is it? Please tell me there's more to come! I may just have to return to the beginning and read it all again, just to tide me over.
Do I recommend it? Oh, hell yes!!! But do yourself a favour, and start at the beginning! Tristan will thank you for it! Or maybe Kaden will if you go right back. Personally, I'd start with Kaden to get the full experience.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* 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!
Aug 12, 2022