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Book Review: Lirael by Garth Nix

August 2, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This is book review three of seven for today and is for Lirael by Garth Nix.

I got this book while in a bookshop with my partner and he suggested that I read it. Originally, he picked it up and handed it to me to read the blurb and I put it back on the shelf saying that I’d pick it up another time. Instead, my partner bought it for me so I read it on the drive up to Hampshire last weekend.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Lirael Plot:

This book was so easy to fall into. The story, the world, the characters, everything about it kept me engaged in what was happening. I haven’t read the first book in this series yet but I definitely plan on getting the whole series now. I read this book extremely fast, even by my standards, it only took me three hours or just over and it’s a 500 page book. I couldn’t wait to see where each chapter would take me. I enjoyed getting to see a different viewpoint in some chapters when it changed between Lirael and Sameth but I was hoping to see more of Sameth’s viewpoint.

Lirael Characters:

The character of Lirael is one of the best female reads in any books that I have read, she is emotionally strong and it was nice to see this develop throughout the book. Plus, she is in the library a lot of the time and I couldn’t relate to that more. Sameth, now what can I say about him, to be honest I found him a little annoying and he complained a lot but I also saw a lot of qualities in him that I can see developing and creating a very strong male lead.

Lirael Writing and Dialogue:

I love Garth Nix’s writing, I read another of his books last year and loved it so much, he has a way of writing effortlessly clever, humorous and heartwarming fantasy novels. I am looking forward to reading many more of his books.

Lirael Overall:

Originally I gave this book four stars but I could not stop thinking about this book so I had to change it to five stars, it’s now one of my favourite books of all time.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Now, two years past the time when she should have received the Sight that is the Clayr’s birthright, she feels alone, abandoned, unsure of who she is. Nevertheless, the fate of the Old Kingdom lies in her hands. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, Lirael must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil.

In this sequel to Sabriel, winner of the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Australian Science Fiction, New York Times best-selling author Garth Nix weaves a spellbinding tale of discovery, destiny, and danger.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

August 2, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This is the second of the book reviews I will be posting today. This is a book review for Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. I bought the trilogy (Love and Gelato, Love and Luck, Love and Olives) a while ago and finally got around to reading the first one in July.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Love and Gelato Plot:

I loved the setting and the descriptions of each place throughout this book, the imagery used made me feel like I was there experiencing the location. I originally picked up this book because I hadn’t slept the night before and I needed something nice and light, it did provide this although there were also themes of grief, loss and finding where you belong which I thought gave the story another layer. Outside of this I didn’t find the romance to be hooking me in any way and I did think about putting the book down at points.

Love and Gelato Characters:

The characters in this book could be better in my opinion. They have motivations other than just the romance which is something I enjoyed about this book however, their actions were very predictable. I thought the book could have been shorter and better developed.

Love and Gelato Writing and Dialogue:

The writing of this book worked well for me, it didn’t feel forced in any way and each chapter led into the next smoothly.

Love and Gelato Overall:

I could only give this book three stars because I found myself becoming less interested in the characters and the plot the longer I was reading. However, it did fulfill my need for a light read when I needed it.

Blurb/Synopsis:

“I made the wrong choice.”

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is go back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires her, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review: Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

August 2, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! Today is Monday which means it is time for me to upload another book review, and today I won’t be uploading just one – I’ll be posting seven! The first of which was one of my first reads of July, Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. I picked this book up after I saw some of my favourite booktubers talking about it and I thought it would be an interesting read, which it was.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Pumpkin Plot:

I really enjoyed the sweet and heartwarming themes in this story. I was lulled into this story by it’s defying stereotypes of prom king and queen, but there is so much more to it. It covers friendship, acceptance, sibling relationships and on top of all this romantic relationships. In a small book I felt a wave of different emotions and of course, it didn’t take me long at all to read through it. The romance itself, although predictable, was sweet and I did find myself smiling sometimes.

Pumpkin Characters:

Waylon is the main character that the story follows and he is a great protagonist, he is relatable and fun. I felt everything he did right along with him and although I couldn’t relate to the things he was going through I did relate to being an outsider and my experiences at school weren’t the best, I found myself wishing I had the confidence he did. Clementine, twin sister of Waylon, was also a great character but I wish she was in the book more than she is.

Pumpkin Writing and Dialogue:

The writing in this book was very smooth and kept me swept along with the story. There’s not much more for me to say here because it wasn’t the best writing I’ve read but it also is very far from the worst I’ve read.

Pumpkin Overall:

I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed it, despite it being a contemporary romance, and I liked the representation that the book provides.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Waylon Russell Brewer is a fat, openly gay boy stuck in the small West Texas town of Clover City. His plan is to bide his time until he can graduate, move to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, and finally go Full Waylon, so that he can live his Julie-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music-Andrews truth.

So when Clementine deviates from their master plan right after Waylon gets dumped, he throws caution to the wind and creates an audition tape for his favorite TV drag show, Fiercest of Them All. What he doesn’t count on is the tape accidentally getting shared with the entire school. . . . As a result, Waylon is nominated for prom queen as a joke. Clem’s girlfriend, Hannah Perez, also receives a joke nomination for prom king.

Waylon and Hannah decide there’s only one thing to do: run—and leave high school with a bang. A very glittery bang. Along the way, Waylon discovers that there is a lot more to running for prom court than campaign posters and plastic crowns, especially when he has to spend so much time with the very cute and infuriating prom king nominee Tucker Watson.

Waylon will need to learn that the best plan for tomorrow is living for today . . . especially with the help of some fellow queens. . . .

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have any of you read this book? What did you think of it?

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: A Case of Royal Blackmail by Sherlock Holmes

July 26, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! I’m back from my trip to Hampshire to see family and today is my stop on the book tour for A Case of Royal Blackmail by Sherlock Holmes. Thank you to Anne Cater, Random T Tours and Unicorn Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Plot:

This book was interesting to me because I’m a fan of the original Sherlock Holmes novels and I wondered how this one would compare. While I was intrigued by the case in this novel, that was to do with the Prince of Wales later King Edward VII, and I really wanted to know how the end was going to be figured out I didn’t enjoy it as much as I have Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. The mystery itself was one that I enjoyed, it had various threads of other mysteries interweaved in the narrative. I also loved the appearance of Oscar Wilde, being an English student this really appealed to me.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Characters:

This for me was where the book was slightly disappointing, the story itself was good but because Sherlock Holmes is such a beloved character and he is known for being with Dr Watson I felt the gap where that other character should have been and it threw me off a little bit. I also felt that it was strange that it was supposedly Sherlock himself writing about one of his cases. However, it did feel authentically like Sherlock Holmes and it did keep the Victorian era setting and language very well.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Writing and Dialogue:

As I said above, I think the author did very well to make the dialogue and the writing feel like the traditional Sherlock Holmes that everyone knows.

A Case of Royal Blackmail Overall:

I gave this book three stars overall because as a book, distancing it from previous Sherlock Holmes works, it was very well written and filled with tension and mystery. However, I’m not able to forget about Conan Doyle’s original stories and it didn’t quite live up to my expectation in that way.

Blurb/Synopsis:

In Oscar Wilde’s Amethyst Tie-Pin, the 24-year-old Sherlock Holmes recounts how he untangled the web of blackmail and deceit surrounding the ‘complex romantic endeavours’ of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, those of Lillie Langtry and her various suitors and the morass of ‘scandal sheets’ and libel cases surrounding the Prince’s court of the time, while at the same time solving the mystery of Oscar Wilde’s missing amethyst tie-pin.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: No Number Nine by F J Campbell

July 23, 2021July 21, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I’m so happy that today is my spot on the book tour for No Number Nine by F J Campbell. Thank you to Literally PR for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

No Number Nine Plot:

This book was very different to books that I usually read, I loved how the backstory of Pip gets revealed throughout the story. It kept the tension throughout the story about what would happen next and what secrets are people hiding. This book had intriguing character relationships and a plot that both flowed and constantly changed. I thought it was the perfect timing to read this book, especially with it’s links to Olympics and the Tokyo Olympics about to start. Although there was a dramatic undertone to this book I liked that the romance subplot was well developed and fit into the plot seamlessly. It also gave the book points for tension, which I think it is quite obvious I like in books.

No Number Nine Characters:

I really felt for Pip throughout this book, there were things she could have done differently but still it seemed like nothing could go right for her. When the book begins we know she has lost her sister and this gives Pip an interesting character dynamic because it is the catalyst for some of the events throughout the book. I’m not going to talk about any of the other characters in particular because I don’t feel I can without giving some spoilers but I will say that they each added layers to the story.

No Number Nine Writing and Dialogue:

For the most part the writing style of this book was something I enjoyed, it was clear and well written. The part I didn’t enjoy was that some sections are written in the style of a drama script. This confused me as I didn’t feel there was any need for it to be written in this way and it disconnected me from the characters in the scene.

No Number Nine Overall:

I gave this book four stars because I enjoyed the reading of it and I would be interested in reading other books by this author.

Blurb/Synopsis:

What do you do when your amazing, beloved sister dies?

Hide in your room for two years.

Sleep with a very, very wrong man.

Leave home and start a new life, lying to everyone you meet including your kind employer, your curious friends and the man you love?

Pip Mitchell’s an expert at making seriously bad decisions. But when her past, present and future collide at the Sydney Olympic Games, she’s going to have to decide whose side she’s on – or she’ll lose everyone she loves.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Murder Box by Olivia Kiernan

July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Thursday bookish people! Today is the publication day of The Murder Box by Olivia Kiernan and I am part of the Social Media Blog Blast for the book. I’m so excited to tell you all what I thought about it! Thank you to Milly Reid, Quercus Books and River Run Books for giving me a Netgalley copy of this book to read and review.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Onto the review!

The Murder Box Plot:

What can I say about this book? It was brilliant. I love a good murder mystery plot and this one got me invested immediately. There were many points that completely shocked me, I didn’t expect the twists that were intricately threaded into the plot. Predominantly following the detectives and their side of the investigation was interesting to me because I usually pick up mysteries that follow the Amateur Detective and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this point of view. I felt the pacing of the mystery was perfect, it didn’t take too long to get started and there were no lapses in action, this was well balanced with information about the detectives and their personal lives. Now, the ending, what a twist! I had a suspect in my head (I was wrong – and not to sound bad or anything but I do guess a lot of the killers in murder mysteries, honestly I probably read too many of them) and who it actually was caught me completely by surprise, in a good way because once it was revealed it made sense that was who it was.

The Murder Box Characters:

I really enjoyed how the author created this world and it’s characters. I haven’t read any of the other books in the Frankie Sheehan series but I definitely plan to now. I think it is a testament to Olivia Kiernan’s talent that throughout this book I had no idea which characters I could or couldn’t trust, that always makes a murder mystery good for me. As I said above, I liked getting an insight into the personal lives of the detectives as well because it allowed me to see who they really were and why, especially Frankie, were trying so hard with the case.

The Murder Box Writing and Dialogue:

Kiernan’s writing is well written, incredibly well researched and has perfect pacing. It flowed well and read clearly, I hardly felt the few hours it took me to read it pass by that’s how much I was enjoying it.

The Murder Box Overall:

I gave this book four stars, a great read for me this month and I would tell anyone who loves a good, unique, murder mystery to pick up this book and give it a go.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Some games can be deadly

At first, Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan believes the murder mystery game sent to her office is a birthday gift from one of her colleagues. But when Frankie studies the game’s contents, she notices a striking resemblance between the ‘murder victim’ and missing twenty-two-year-old Lydia Callin.

As Frankie and her team investigate, a series of grisly crimes connected to the game are discovered across Dublin city and Lydia’s involvement with a shadowy network of murder mystery players becomes clear.

On the hunt for Lydia’s murderer, Frankie is drawn more deeply into the game. Every successful move brings her closer to the killer. But the real question is not what happens should she lose — but what happens if she wins.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: How To Be Brave by Daisy May Johnson

July 19, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! It’s Monday and today is my spot on the book tour for How To Be Brave by Daisy May Johnson. Thank you to Poppy Stimpson for having me on this tour.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Onto the review!

How To Be Brave Plot:

The plot of this book was reminiscent of so many books that I read throughout my childhood, books like the Naughtiest Girl at School, Malory Towers, books with boarding schools as the setting. They were some of my favourites, there is something very intriguing about a boarding school and everything that goes on there, so I was especially excited to get to read this book. I loved that this story let the reader see some of the Mother, Elizabeth’s, story before focusing on the daughter Calla and her experience at the school. I loved that the duck (it will make sense if you read the book) was a thread that the author used to link all the stories together. This book is filled with fun, friendship and adventure that kept me hooked from beginning to end.

How To Be Brave Characters:

The characters in this book are well written and interesting. I found myself wanting them to succeed with their plans. I liked that this book was written in third person because it helped me to view the whole scene as well as the characters. I felt that this was one of the reasons I became so recruited to the characters.

How To Be Brave Writing and Dialogue:

I didn’t enjoy this part of the book as much, I still enjoyed it but this book has footnotes on some of the pages and for me I found this difficult to navigate but that is only my opinion, otherwise they add humour and I can see how they would help the reader understand some parts of the story. I also felt the pacing was a little fast for my reading style.

How To Be Brave Overall:

I gave this book four stars overall because it was a fun, quick read full of heart and with a focus on family and friendships that I really enjoyed.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Calla North and her mother Elizabeth live a quiet but happy life together. Elizabeth happens to be the world’s leading expert on ducks—but unfortunately, being an expert on ducks doesn’t always pay the bills (no pun intended).

When Elizabeth is offered a well-paid research trip to the Amazon, it’s an opportunity too good to miss. But while her mother’s off exploring, Calla winds up at boarding school. No adventures are likely to find her there—or so she thinks.

Then Calla receives the terrible news that her mother’s plane has gone missing. Can Calla, her friends, and a motley crew of nuns defeat an evil new headmistress and find Elizabeth before it’s too late?

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Unknown Vengeance by Pat O’Brien

July 13, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Tuesday bookish people! Today is my spot on the book tour for Unknown Vengeance by Pat O’Brien. Due to a lot of things that have happened recently, I wasn’t able to finish this book in time to write a proper review so I will be sharing with you the book and the blurb instead.

Thank you to Kelly Lacey and Love Books Tours for sending me an ecopy of this book.

Blurb/Synopsis:

A serial killer is terrorizing members of the medical community in Buffalo, NY. Veteran
Detective, Rhody Richardson, is leading the investigation with his partner, Detective Wayne.
Victims have been disfigured and tortured – faces sliced, numbers carved into their chests. The brilliant, but young, forensic intern, Connor Patrick, tries desperately to make sense of the numbers but cannot find a pattern.

The killer has promised ten victims, but Richardson, and psychiatric consultant Dr. Kaileen
Taylor believe it will continue well past that number. At each of the gruesome crime scenes, the
killer has left cryptic poems with different names. Richardson ventures down a dangerous path, deciphering what the killer is trying to tell them before they escape justice into the eternal void of the unknown.

And if you’re interested in this book you can check out some reviews from other people on this book tour.

blog tours, Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

July 12, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This is my second post today, I must be in a productive mood this rainy Monday. I’m here to show you all the wonderful book mail I received from Macmillan Kids UK last week. As you can probably guess from the title of this post… it was Any way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell, the final book in the Carry On series which includes Carry On, Wayward Son and Any Way the Wind Blows.

Here it is!

It came all wrapped up and honestly it felt a little but like Christmas to receive it, I didn’t end up eating the biscuit (my Dad got there first!) but I did use the tea and they were delicious.

That’s it for today, I’m looking forward to reading this book and sharing my thoughts on it here!

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: Death and Croissants by Ian Moore

July 12, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! I’m very happy to be part of the book tour for Death and Croissants by Ian Moore today. Thank you to Anne Cater and Random T Tours for sending me a copy of this book to read and review for this tour.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Death and Croissants Plot:

I was highly anticipating this book because I thought the premise sounded very much to my taste in murder mysteries, a hotel setting, a missing guest, a bloody handprint and some humour? I was pretty excited about it. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I still enjoyed it as a whole but there were some parts that didn’t work for me. The tension was brilliant, it built as the story went along and I was very intrigued to find out who it was that had done it. I thought the setting and the worldbuilding was also good, I felt like I was in France while reading this book. Where I think it was let down was the humour side, there were some funny moments but to me it felt forced. It felt like the book was trying too hard to be funny so for me most of it wasn’t.

Death and Croissants Characters:

I liked the characters in this book. Most of them grew on me as the book went on. I didn’t like the character of Valerie at the beginning, it was quite the rollercoaster with her character – I liked her, then I didn’t, then I did… she was very well written and I could picture her exactly. The owner of the hotel, Richard, I mostly enjoyed following throughout the book. Things just seemed to keep happening to him and I liked this feature of the book, what I didn’t like about him was his reaction to the bloody handprint and I won’t say any more because I don’t want to spoil anything.

Death and Croissants Writing and dialogue:

As I said above, some parts of the novel felt forced to me and this had an affect on how easy it was for me to read it. Most of the writing was smooth and clear but some parts I got slightly stuck on. That is my personal opinion on the writing in this book.

Death and Croissants Overall:

Overall I gave this book three stars because I enjoyed the book but not as much as I thought that I would.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B&B in the fictional Val de Follet in the Loire Valley. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that’s the way he likes it.

One day, however, one of his older guests disappears, leaving behind a bloody handprint on the wallpaper. Another guest, the exotic Valérie, persuades a reluctant Richard to join her in investigating the disappearance.

Richard remains a dazed passenger in the case until things become really serious and someone murders Ava Gardner, one of his beloved hens … and you don’t mess with a fellow’s hens!

Unputdownable mystery set in rural France, by TV/radio regular and bestselling author Ian Moore – perfect for fans of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club, Julia Chapman, or M.C. Beaton.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!