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Top 5 Least Favourite Books of 2024!

theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. It is that time f the year, time for me to share of the 50+ books I have read this year, which ones are the five I have least enjoyed. I can tell you this year has been very varied, I have had a few five stars which you will see next week in my favourite books of the year post so keep your eyes peeled for that but on the other end I have also had some books that I really did not enjoy.

Of those, here are the five books I enjoyed the least this year.

In at number five is…

The Twat Files by Dawn French

This is a nonfiction book that I got a signed edition of when I went to see her at my local Theatre with Darcey Bussell, I enjoyed the show but the book was a miss for me. I didn’t find it funny and I wasn’t entertained by it. That’s why it is number five on my least favourite books of this year.

In Number four is…

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

This is the fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club series and some of the books in the series I have enjoyed but this one I really did not. I have put up a book review for this one in November if you’d like to read all of my thoughts.

In number three is…

Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell

This one was such a disappointment for me. The premise of this book was very promising with a woman needing something in her life and writing letters to a serial killer and then getting wrapped up in a murder mystery but the execution of this novel was not good. It could have been much better in my opinion.

In number two is…

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

This was another mystery book that had a great premise but poor execution. In my opinion this book felt lazy and there were more than one plot point that didn’t fit or was never finished and it was a book that I wish I had DNF’d it instead of pushing on to finish it.

My least favourite book of this year was….

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

This was not a terrible book, I will say that, my problem with it was that it too closely resembled another book to the point where I felt that it bordered on plagiarism. Obviously it was a more modern version of that book but the plot was very similar and that ruined it for me.

Book Reviews

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay Book Review

theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today.

Today I am giving you my book review on The Housekeepers by Alex Hay.

Blurb/synopsis:

On the night of London’s grandest ball, a bold group of women launches a daring revenge heist against Mayfair society.

Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in the shadows. When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge: A black-market queen out to settle her scores; an actress desperate for a magnificent part; a seamstress dreaming of a better life; and Mrs. King’s predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance.

My review:

This was my first book of 2024, and it was gifted to me by my Parents for Christmas and I had been highly anticipating this book since it came out.
This book follows Mrs King, a housekeeper for a wealthy family, who is fired from her job by the daughter after the Father dies. She recruits a bunch of people with different skills to infiltrate the house and plan a heist for the night of the grand ball.
I love a heist, I really love that plot in pretty much all of the books I have read it in so far. This novel took a lot of time to set up each of the characters and get you to root for them individually and a s a group which is something that I liked because it gave each of them their time to shine. Mrs King was a stand out character for me, you never truly know her motives but you know that she is desperate for something and will do anything to get it. There was one character, I won’t name them, who I felt got built up and then one plot decision ruined all of their character development for me.
I did think that the actual heist could have been done better, no offense to the author here but they took the time to introduce the characters and that meant all of the culmination happened in a short amount of pages and it wasn’t explored enough for me.

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Monthly Wrap Ups

January 2024 Wrap Up

theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today.

Today I am bringing you my January Wrap Up, as I am writing this it is the 28th January 2024 so there are a few days left in January but I don’t think I’ll have time to start any of the other books from my January TBR, but I should be able to finish the one I am currently reading.

  • Manslaughter Park by Tirzah Price – I did not get around to reading this book
  • What would Jane Austen Do by Linda Corbett – I wasn’t feeling any romance books this month, I am devoting a lot of my time to reading mysteries that I can reference in my PhD thesis so unfortunately other books have to be pushed to the side for the minute.
  • The Housekeepers by Alex Hay – I did read this book this month, my review is coming on the 9th February.
  • The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St James – I did not read this book.
  • The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent – I did not read this book
  • Grave Expectations by Alice Bell – I am currently reading this book, I am about halfway through and I hope to have finished it by the end of January. Review coming on 19th February.

That was all the books on my January TBR but I actually read two books from outside of my TBR which were: The Magic Faraway Tree by Jacqueline Wilson and The Cat Who Solved Three Murders by L T Shearer, a review coming on the 12th February.

What books did you read in January? Which was your favourite read of the month? My favourite was probably Grave Expectations but for me it was a bit of a meh month, the books were okay but nothing spectacular.

Monthly TBRs

January TBR

theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today.

Today I am sharing what I hope to be reading during January 2024, let me know if you have read any of these books and what you thought of them!

Grave Expectations by Alice Bell

I am very intrigued by this book, I love a good murder mystery especially when they have something a bit different about them and this book definitely does. A traditional manor murder mystery with the twist of the investigator being a psychic, I am looking forward to reading it.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

I am very excited to read this one. It sounds like a rich adult fantasy that I could get engrossed in easily.

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St James

I have wanted this book for a while, I saw lots of people talking about it a while back. It sounds slightly spook but very interesting.

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

This is another book I have wanted for a long time and I was excited to get it for Christmas. I am actually reading it right now, I am about 40 or so pages in and I am hooked. It is about a group of women who are all connected as they are or were once staff in this particular house on Park Lane and they plan to stage a heist in that house while a ball is happening. I love a good heist plot so I have high hopes for this book.

What Would Jane Austen Do?

To be honest I don’t know a lot about this book, I know that it follows two neighbors and one is a romance writer and one is a crime fiction writer, I think? That sounds intriguing to me but it’s not a book I think I am going to love, we shall see.

Manslaughter Park by Tirzah Price

This is the third book in the Jane Austen inspired murder mystery series and this one is based on Mansfield Park, following Fanny Price. I have loved the previous two books in this series so I hope I will love this one just as much.