What I read – January 2020

The Bone China

Rating: 

I have read quite a few Laura Purcell books and I was so excited to tuck into Bone China, I thought the book was enjoyable enough however the thing for me which didn’t quite make it rate as high as other books by her was the lead character. I couldn’t relate to her character at all and I found her a little annoying – whether that was intentional or not, I didn’t enjoy reading scenes with her quite so much. As usual though it was full of suspense, twists and turns as well as some pretty thrilling scenes.

The Nakano Thift Shop

Rating: ★★★

This was a very short read for me, but one I adored. I really love Nakano’s character, I found his quirky and slightly charming ways so fun to read. There is a dynamic between a bunch of very different people working as a small shop like this really enjoyable to read, even if Takeo was a bit of a dick.

Snow Country

Rating: ★★

I found this book such a beautiful read, it was another short one – however I found myself absolutely absorbed by each word on the page. I really took my time with this to take it all in. I found it a tiny bit confusing near the beginning of the book it seemed to have a random flashback which threw me off guard and made me go ‘uh?!’. However besides this the book was a lovely and heartbreaking read.

What did you read in January?

-Amy x

*please note I sometimes use Amazon Affiliate links within my posts, you do not have to use these but any revenue will go back to my website 🙂

What I thought – Books I read in February

This month I read two books only, I’ve been doing a lot of stitching which I will share with you in a seperate post, however I loved both!

Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Audio book

The first book I read was the audio book version of Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and I absolutely loved it. Now, I tried the book version of this a few months ago and I struggled to get into it, however audible had a buy one get one free offer and this was reviewed so highly I thought I’d give it a shot. The narrator for this book was Jot Davies and he was incredible, I actually think I came away from this thinking it was my favourite audio book I’ve listened to so far. Jot’s voices for individual characters were convincing and not cringe-worthy (we’ve all listened to an audio book when that happens…), I genuinely felt so invested into the book. This was a 17 hour long audio book which I listened to in HUGE chunks because I was so in love with it. I always listen to my audio book at speed x1.25 and sometimes this can distort the voice, however because Jot reads the book quite slow it sounded absolutely fine – this can sometimes be a make or break for some people!

If you are someone who was not feeling the book I highly recommend the audio book as I loved it, there were twists and turns around every corner, each character was developed so well that when you switched between them you felt as though you knew them. I love dark fiction and although this may not have been as dark as something like The Corset (which I read previously) I still really loved the vibe of Evelyn Hardcastle. The only way to describe it is like a real life game of Cluedo, that I would love to play.

 

What Makes Girls Sick and Tired – Preview

The second book I read was one I received through Netgalley, What Makes Girls Sick and Tired.  I put together a few words and popped it up on Goodreads so I’ll paste those below.

A short but straight to the point read – as a woman myself I can completely relate to almost all of the examples of things included in this book. It’s frustrating that we have to keep reminding people of simple things but this book does it in a very blunt way which I really liked.

The illustration was presented nicely and this would be a good book to have within schools to educate both young boys and and girls.

I think this is a really powerful and important read for everyone and if you get a chance to give it a quick sit-down I recommend it, some of the stats featured in the book are also a fascinating reality check.

I am aiming to read around 4 book in March – including a few graphic novels on top which I received for my birthday. Wish me luck and see you all soon!

-Amy x

*please note I sometimes use Amazon Affiliate links within my posts, you do not have to use these but any revenue will go back to my website 🙂

 

My Son, The Killer – Review

I have been reading this on and off since around October, but I finally sat down and finished it this week and thought I would put together a review for you. (Just so you’re aware I received an ebook version via Netgalley.)

I really wanted to read this because as most of you know I love True Crime and this was a story I’ve read about and listened to podcasts about, if you are not aware this book is based on Luka Magnotta the Ice Pick Killer who appeared in the video ‘1 Lunatic 1 Ice Pick’. I will pop the description below and begin my review after that. This book is available to buy now.

Description taken from NetGalley:

“In 2012, the Canadian Press ignited a firestorm of criticism by naming killer Luka Magnotta as its “Newsmaker Of The Year.” But while the recognition was questionable for its sensitivity, there’s no doubt that few people had captured the public’s attention like the young murderer and internet sensation. A male escort and sometimes model, Magnotta had earned his notoriety by videotaping himself stabbing Chinese student Lin Jun to death with an ice pick and dismembering the body, before posting the video online. After mailing Jun’s hands and feet to elementary schools, he then led Interpol on a manhunt that ended when he was arrested at an Internet café in Berlin where he was reading news stories about himself. An international celebrity in a macabre sort of way, with a legion of fans, Magnotta was brought back to Canada, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to prison. During this time, Anna Yourkin, his estranged mother, troubled by Magnotta’s abused childhood and her role in that, reconnected with her killer son. Despite his internet fame, Magnotta never agreed to any in-depth interviews. Now Magnotta has given award-winning journalist and author, Brian Whitney (RAW DEAL, THE SHAWCROSS LETTERS) an exclusive look inside the mind of this “social media” killer. Joining Whitney to tell this unique true crime story is Anna Yourkin. The book also contains exclusive photos provided by Yourkin.”

Click read more to read my full review.

Continue reading “My Son, The Killer – Review”

Review | Little Darlings By Melanie Golding

I love reading thriller / mystery books, so when I saw that Little Darlings was highly rated on NetGalley I had to request it, especially after reading the synopsis.

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Taken from NetGalley:

“Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest. And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own…creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things.

A month passes. And one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. But when they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley—to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. As everyone around her celebrates their return, Lauren begins to scream, These are not my babies.

Determined to bring her true infant sons home, Lauren will risk the unthinkable. But if she’s wrong about what she saw…she’ll be making the biggest mistake of her life.

Compulsive, creepy, and inspired by some our darkest fairy tales, Little Darlings will have you checking—and rechecking—your own little ones. Just to be sure. Just to be safe.”

This review will have spoilers so please only read on if you don’t mind them. Please click read more for my review 🙂

Continue reading “Review | Little Darlings By Melanie Golding”

What I thought – Books in October

I thought I would summarise the books I read in October and share my favourites with you. I even came up with a swanky rating system, but if you’d rather read my actual scores then check out my Goodreads.

In October I managed to read a graphic novel volume and a few books – I tried to stick to a spoopy theme however I was lucky to receive an early copy of Muse of Nightmares.

Muse of Nightmares

(Must read)

This book, this incredible book! I loved Strange the Dreamer (it was actually the first book to make me ugly cry in public) so I waited in anticipation for this next installment, and I was not let down. It follows on straight after the previous book, and continues to expand on the lost city of Weep and it’s incredibly powerful inhabitants.

Without giving away too much of the plot, this book captivated me even more than the first and I believe this was due to the emotional attachment you build with the characters. You really feel something for Lazlo, Sarai and especially Eril-Fane in this book – you can feel the intense emotion throughout each individual person, their love, pain and anger. If you enjoyed Strange the Dreamer you will love this, it opens up more lore into the universe and finally gives you some clarity to the backstory of the Gods and Godslayers.

This wasn’t a horror themed book but Minya did an excellent job of giving me actual shivers up my spine, obviously I cannot wait for the third installment!

Hex

(Buy on sale)

Hex was a difficult one for me because the first 80 pages or so felt like a mish-mash of tones and writing styles. I really struggled and almost gave up but then around 100 pages in it suddenly clicked and I began really enjoying it – until the ending that was…

Set in a town haunted by the ghost of a ‘witch’ who was previously murdered by the townsfolk for resurrecting her son – the book opens in a surprisingly comical way, the townsfolk speak about her so lightheartedly you’d think she was a relative. The books concept and ideas were great and a few of the scenes mid-way through the book really were hard-hitting, however the tone just felt so wrong at times. After reading up on the author however I realised this was a book translated from Dutch, the location it was set was completely changed and some of the scenes were taken out / rewritten – so maybe it was lost in translation with me?

Personally I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone unless they could pick it up real cheap!

The Last Days of Jack Sparks

(Read immediately)

I was sent this by my friend Kelsey, and I was not sure if it would by my cup of tea but I really, really enjoyed this. I read it in 2 sittings because I was hooked!

A book within a book, this was written in a documentary style and the internal author was Jack Sparks, who could be deemed the Louis Theroux of the book world. He has spent his career writing books on the darker sides of life and his latest book was to debunk the idea of ghosts and possession. The book opens with an excorism that Jack witnesses and it then spirals out of control, seeing what happens after you burst out laughing in-front of a possessed little girl.

Honestly this was one of the first books in a very long time that gave me the creeps. I actually had a couple of mini nightmares off the back of this book, this has literally never happened with any book I’ve read in the past. You really feel what Jack is going through, he isn’t the most likable character to begin with but following his journey you warm to him. I absolutely loved it.

It did what a horror book should do, scared the shit out of me.

Sex Criminals : Volume 5

Not quite Halloweeny, but volume 5 of Sex Criminals came out this month!

Volume 4 was a bit of a let-down for me and I was really hoping it would redeem itself, it did just that. The humor felt on-point and the story feels like it’s progressing and finally back on track to how strong it was with volumes 1-3.

I can’t really talk about this too much especially if you haven’t read the other volumes. But if you are looking for something which isn’t about Superheroes, has a very adult theme and some pretty dark humor, then this might be for you!

I hope this gave you an insight into my reading habits…

See you next month!

-Amy x

*I use amazon affiliate links on my website, so if you purchase through them I gain a little bit of income to improve my site 🙂
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