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All My Lies by Sophie Flynn Book Review

May 3, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! Today is the first day on the blog/book tour for All My Lies by Sophie Flynn. Thank you to Anne Cater and Random T Tours for gifting me an e-copy of this book.

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.

All My Lies Plot:

The plot pf this book absolutely fried my brain. There were so many twists and misleading paths I didn’t know who or what to believe the whole way through. I probably read this book the fastest I have ever read through a thriller/mystery book. The plot of this book was like the driver of a car and I was the passenger forced into the front and unable to get out. It was fast paced and the mystery was the main subject of the novel, it had many layers and each one was explored thoroughly and with an intensity that kept me hooked. Some parts were confusing, however I think that was the point – the main character was confused and so was the reader. I felt the ending was extremely satisfying and I’m definitely a little smug that I managed to guess what happened.

All My Lies Characters:

It is a testament to the author that she managed to make me love a character on one page and by the end of the next page I could lose all trust in them. I loved this, for me it added to the sense of mystery because I never really knew who was telling the truth – including the main character. I felt a connection with the main character, Anna, the things she was going through with her husband is something that many people have also experienced and can connect to. I thought there was a wonderful balance between the personalities of the characters and each of them had grown by the end of the book.

All My Lies Writing and Dialogue:

Sophie Flynn’s writing is so smooth and easy to follow, it’s easy to get swept into the story simply because of this. The dialogue is something I really enjoyed about this book. Personally I felt that there was a tiny bit too much explanation in the dialogue but I still thought each line of dialogue matched the characters it belonged to.

All My Lies Overall:

Overall, I gave this book four stars because I wanted to keep reading so badly that I sped through it and enjoyed every second.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Perfectly paced, suspenseful and gripping – a real page-turner’ SOPHIE HANNAH, author of Haven’t They Grown

‘A rollercoaster ride with a cast of flawed characters – an excellent debut from Sophie Flynn’ CATHERINE COOPER, author of The Chalet

‘A twisty, intense and emotional story with suspense on every page’ TM LOGAN,author of The Holiday and Trust Me

Anna wants to escape.
She doesn’t know when her marriage to James began to feel like a trap or when he became so controlling. All she knows is that she needs to leave before it’s too late.

And she has a plan.
When Anna reconnects with her childhood sweetheart, Sam, she sees it as the answer to her problems. Finally, they’ll have a life together, like they’d always planned – the life she was meant to have.

But the lies are catching up with her . . .
On the morning of their escape, Sam goes missing. Anna knows he wouldn’t leave her, that something must have happened to him.
Her search for answers will force her to confront her past, something that she has been running from for a very long time . . .

Perfect for fans of Louise Jensen, Phoebe Morgan and K.L. Slater, this is a twisty, tense psychological thriller about one woman’s hunt for the truth and her ultimate fight to break free.

Praise for All My Lies

‘I raced through All My Lies in a single weekend . . . I barely paused for breath until the final page. A must read’ HOLLY SEDDON, author of The Hit List

‘A fantastic debut that showcases how blind love can make us. Sophie Flynn has written a brilliant book that sucks the reader in and keeps them guessing throughout’ S.V. LEONARD, author of The Islanders

‘A fresh new voice in psychological suspense . . . Great characters, evocative writing, interesting locations and a page-turning plot with plenty of twists and turns. I can’t wait to see where Flynn goes next!’ SARAH LINLEY, author of The Trip

‘An exciting debut with a poisonous love triangle at its heart. Unsettling, compelling and twisty – perfect for thriller fans!’ RUBY SPEECHLEY, author of A Mother like You

‘I raced through this book, reading well into the early hours of the morning. Original, bold and highly compelling, this is a book that will stay with readers for a long time. It heralds the arrival of an exceptionally talented voice in crime fiction. A riveting debut!’ AWAIS KHAN, author of No Honour

‘A thrilling new voice – Sophie Flynn pulls the reader in with believable, strong characters and an explosive plot’ AMANDA BRITTANY, author of The Perfect Nanny

Sophie Flynn is a Cotswolds based psychological thriller author with an MA in
Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes. Alongside writing, Sophie is the Head
of Marketing at Jericho Writers. After being awarded a place at Swanwick
Writers’ Summer School on the TopWrite scheme for young writers in 2017,
Sophie began writing short fiction. She has since had many stories published
and placed in competitions with organisations such as Writing Magazine and
The Cheltenham Literature Festival.
When not writing, Sophie can mostly be found on muddy walks with her
husband and rescue dog or disappearing to Cornwall whenever possible. She
is represented by Kate Nash of Kate Nash Literary Agency.
To find out more, visit her website or follow her on Twitter.
sophieflynn.com | @sophielflynn

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

Book Reviews

Book Review: Cosmic Queries by Neil Degrasse Tyson

April 29, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Thursday bookish people! Today I am bringing you a book review for Cosmic Queries: StarTalk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going by Neil Degrasse Tyson with James Trefil. Thank you to Trisha Collins and TLC Book Tours and National Geographic for kindly sending me a copy of this book to review.

This book review is going to be a little different to how I usually do them because there are no plots or characters to rate so what I am going to do is write about the really great parts of the book, what some of the chapters are about and give an overall rating for the book.

I hope you enjoy this book review!

About Cosmic Queries

• Publisher: National Geographic (March 2, 2021)
• Hardcover: 312 pages

In this thought-provoking follow-up to his acclaimed StarTalk book, uber astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles the world’s most important philosophical questions about the universe with wit, wisdom, and cutting-edge science.

For science geeks, space and physics nerds, and all who want to understand their place in the universe, this enlightening new book from Neil deGrasse Tyson offers a unique take on the mysteries and curiosities of the cosmos, building on rich material from his beloved StarTalk podcast.

In these illuminating pages, illustrated with dazzling photos and revealing graphics, Tyson and co-author James Trefil, a renowned physicist and science popularizer, take on the big questions that humanity has been posing for millennia–How did life begin? What is our place in the universe? Are we alone?–and provide answers based on the most current data, observations, and theories.

Populated with paradigm-shifting discoveries that help explain the building blocks of astrophysics, this relatable and entertaining book will engage and inspire readers of all ages, bring sophisticated concepts within reach, and offer a window into the complexities of the cosmos.

For all who loved National Geographic’s StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, and Space Atlas, this new book will take them on more journeys into the wonders of the universe and beyond.

Social Media

Please use the hashtag #CosmicQueries, and tag @tlcbooktours and @startalkradio.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Waterstones

About Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History, host of the hit radio and Emmy-nominated TV show StarTalk, and the New York Times best-selling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military. He lives in New York City.

Follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

The Review!

Okay, so I will start by saying that this is not my usual genre but I found this book incredibly interesting to read through. The author explains philosophical conundrums and other facts about the Universe in a natural, personable and easy to understand way.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book is that it includes various photographs and diagrams which break up the blocks of text and keep the pacing interesting and they also work really well for me because it gives me a visual for the facts that I am reading about. One of my favourite images in the book is of Alberta’s Abraham Lake at night with the Aurora Borealis.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book is that pictures of tweets by Neil deGrasse Tyson are spread throughout the book. For me this created a connection with the author, it gave him more of a personality which doesn’t always come through in the text itself. It helped me to understand his thinking a bit better.

In this book there is plenty of information covering lots of different topics such as: How big is the solar system?, Galaxies, naked eye astronomy, Galileo and the telescope, the radio universe, the big bang, planetary migration, the birth of chemistry and the edge of the map of time.

I couldn’t possibly pick a favourite topic or chapter from this book because there is so much information in the book and it was a very new genre to me and I enjoyed the learning experience I got from reading this book.

My overall rating of Cosmic Queries:

I would recommend this book to both those interested in the universe and those that aren’t as much because I feel there is something everyone can take from this book.

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

Book Reviews

Book Review: Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

April 26, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! I promise this is the last book review for today. This book review is for Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco, the third book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. The cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous I can’t get over it.

As usual 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.

Escaping From Houdini Plot:

Okay I’ll say it now so that it’s out of the way – this was my least favourite book of the series. It was only because of personal preference. The book is mostly set on a ship and there is a circus type performance group there and I did enjoy this part and how the performers were entwined in the mystery of this book. Honestly I’ll pick up any book that has carnival/circus themes in it – they are very much my type of books. Mostly I did enjoy this plot however (*SLIGHT SPOILERS COMING*) there is a love triangle in this book that I felt impacted my enjoyment, simply because I don’t like love triangles in books, it’s not a trope I like reading. If you do enjoy love triangles then you will probably like this book more than I did.

Escaping From Houdini Characters:

I’m still giving the characters four stars because they are amazing characters that I would protect with my life. Audrey Rose Wadsworth I like a bit less in this book than I usually do just because she makes some decisions that I don’t think represented her character that well but these were only a few occasions and for the rest of the book she was her lovely sassy self.

And again, Thomas Cresswell shows me just how great he is. He is witty and intelligent – slightly annoying I’m sure Audrey rose would say but that is how he has been throughout the whole series, nice and consistent. I won’t go on too much I promise… seriously I could talk about him all day -ask anyone who knows me or get to know me and find out for yourself..

Escaping from Houdini Writing and Dialogue:

Kerri Maniscalco is a master, even the scenes that I didn’t enjoy I could feel myself wanting to so badly just because of how good the writing is. If I was even half as good as her I’d be happy.

Escaping From Houdini Overall:

As I said before on the Stalking Jack the Ripper book review, I rated all these books at the same time. I couldn’t give Escaping From Houdini four stars the same as Stalking Jack the Ripper when my enjoyment wasn’t on the same level. So unfortunately that means Escaping From Houdini only gets three stars.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.

But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea.

It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?

That’s it for this book review, I hope everyone enjoyed it! Let me know in the comments.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

April 26, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! The second book review of today is for the second book in the series. Hunting Prince Dracula is the second book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco.

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

Hunting Prince Dracula Plot:

I think you can tell from my star rating that I absolutely LOVED this book. Before reading it I was very intrigued by it being set at Dracula’s castle and how Kerri Maniscalco was going to weave in the mythology to this story – I won’t spoil anything but she did it so well! – and I have always been interested in vampire mythology. I thought that the way the story was told was such a unique take and kept the essence of the characters throughout it as well. I don’t have the words for how much i loved this book – at the beginning of the series if you’d asked me which I would have liked the most I would have said Stalking Jack the Ripper and I would have been wrong.

Hunting Prince Dracula Characters:

As I said on my book review for Stalking Jack the Ripper Audrey Rose Wadsworth is the type of female protagonist I love to see in books. Strong willed, determined and always in the thick of trouble. She just gets even better in Hunting Prince Dracula, I didn’t think it was possible but she does. She’s out of her comfort zone, away from her family and making new friends who may or may not be people you should trust and it was enjoyable to see how she reacted to everything thrown at her in this book.

And Thomas Cresswell. What can I say, he is very dear to me. That’s probably weird because he’s fictional but never mind. In this book more secrets of his past are revealed and I was completely hooked on finding out what they were. There’s also another side to him that didn’t show very much in Stalking Jack the Ripper, his caring side. I love a character that has layers.

Hunting Prince Dracula Writing and Dialogue:

Same as the first book in the series Kerri Maniscalco’s writing is excellent. I’d even go as far as saying it’s almost the perfect writing style for me. There’s not much more I can say here other than the dialogue really makes this book – it’s one of the many, many, many things I love about Thomas Cresswell!

Hunting Prince Dracula Overall:

I couldn’t give this book anything but five stars. It was amazing, I basically blocked out everyone trying to talk to me until I’d finished it and yeah – read this book! It’s so good.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper’s true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe’s best schools of forensic medicine… and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.

But her life’s dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school’s forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

In this New York Times bestselling sequel to Kerri Maniscalco’s haunting #1 debut Stalking Jack the Ripper, bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer…or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?

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

Book Reviews

Book Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

April 26, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! It’s time for another book review, well… three book reviews of which this is the first! Really it should be four because there’s four books in this series but I haven’t finished processing the last book yet so once I do I’ll do a book review for it.

Anyway, today’s review is for Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco! I loved this book, I read it while I was on the train travelling to YALC in London about two years ago and I was so annoyed about having to put it down to get off the train – obviously I finished it in the hotel room that night.

As usual 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.

Stalking Jack the Ripper Plot:

Where do I even start? I have a fascination with Jack the Ripper – not in a weird way I promise – and as soon as I saw the synopsis for this book I knew I had to have it. Instantly the plot intrigued me, a girl in Victorian London wanting to work on autopsies of corpses.. sounds like something I’d love. Throw in a distracting, charming, mysterious Thomas Cresswell and the book had me completely.

I enjoyed how the investigation was played out throughout the novel. Twists and turns, characters being accused left and right. If a book can confuse me even for part of it then I think it’s done brilliantly, I’m not bragging or anything I just do usually figure out books endings quite easily, and yes I did think the ending of the mystery was a bit predictable but it didn’t stop me enjoying every second of it. I liked that Kerri Maniscalco didn’t shy away from the details of the Jack the Ripper investigation and the autopsies and everything else – I could tell there was a lot of research put in.

Stalking Jack the Ripper Characters:

Okay I’ll try not to get too excited over these characters but I bring them up a lot in everyday conversation…

Audrey Rose Wadsworth. First off I really like the name.. that doesn’t have any bearing on the book I just wanted to say it. She’s daring, she’s brave (maybe a little hardheaded sometimes.. but then I’ve also been described as that many times) and she’s intelligent. She’s a girl who wants to break out of society’s mould and I am all for that in my protagonists.

Thomas Cresswell… ooh I really love him. If you ask my boyfriend he’d probably say that Thomas Cresswell is his biggest competition.. and he’d be right but yes, unfortunately Thomas is ficitonal and I don’t live in Jack the Ripper Victorian London. He’s sarcastic and witty, very mysterious and charming and I could go on but I won’t. All I’ll say is his introductory scene is one of my favourite scenes in this book.

Stalking Jack the Ripper Writing and Dialogue:

I have to give Kerri Maniscalco five stars for her writing. It’s so smooth and fluid. I actually forgot I was reading a book at one point. If you’ve read some of my other book reviews you will know that dialogue is one of the things I look closely at in a book, and in Stalking Jack the Ripper the dialogue is excellent. It feels like the characters are actually there in front of me, none of the lines felt out of place for them to say. I have nothing else I can say here.

Stalking Jack the Ripper Overall:

Now, I gave this book four stars. And yes I loved it and yes I really wish the characters were real, but I rated the books in this series all at the same times and this wasn’t my favourite book in this series… so I only gave it four stars but that could definitely change after a reread. (I’ll be rereading very soon!)

Blurb/Synopsis:

Presented by James Patterson’s new children’s imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion…

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

The story’s shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

So that’s the end of this book review, I hope you enjoyed it and I really reccommend this book to everyone!

Book Reviews

County Lines Road by Jane Gilley – Book Review

April 23, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I was very lucky to receive an e-book copy of County Lines Road by Jane Gilley to review as part of it’s book tour, thank you to Heather Fitt for sending me this.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. There may be spoilers in this book review although I will do my best to make sure there are not. I hope you enjoy my book review!

County Lines Road Plot:

After reading The Making of Robert Moony last week I was excited to dive into this book. This book isn’t just a story about the two main characters, it’s about life, the way people live and their relationships with each other. The plot carried me along from chapter to chapter needing to know what happens in the end. I felt the tension of the events that happened throughout the novel and I actually read this book in just under two hours – and I’m usually a fast reader but that’s very fast even for me. It did take a little while for me to get hooked into the book but once the exciting events started happening I couldn’t put it down. I loved that there was a focus on the relationships between Jodie and her mum, Tomas and his mum and Simon and his mum and how these relationships contrasted each other.

County Lines Road Characters:

The characters in this novel are likeable and it was so easy to be drawn into their stories and their personalities and to feel yourself wanting them to make it to the end happily. I particularly liked Tomas’ manner and the way the reader could see what he was thinking and it seemed that he was coping best throughout the novel which was interesting to see. I liked that different chapters followed different characters such as the mums of Jodie and Tomas and also showed their lives and their reactions to what is happening to Jodie and Tomas. Seeing how the Mothers were living, meal to meal with mountains of debt, really resembles the way of life for a lot of people especially at the moment. Jane Gilley has a way of creating very likeable characters and also antagonists, one in particular that I won’t name because spoilers!

Writing and Dialogue:

The writing of this story clearly showed the voices of the characters and the language they would use. The dialogue wasn’t the main feature of this novel but it was balanced well with the plot.

Overall:

I’m giving this book three stars overall because I enjoyed the reading experience and the way the plot was exciting and full of twists and endearing characters. I didn’t enjoy this book as much as her other book The Making of Robert Moony and that’s why I have given it three stars.

Blurb/Synopsis:

County Lines Road

Next-door-neighbours, Karen and Terri, have always tried to do right by their errant kinds. But when a simple joyride goes horribly wrong and Tomas and Jodie are captured by a county lines drug gang, they’re not sure who to turn to.

Dragged away to the gang’s suburban lair will the two teenagers find the strength to escape?

And even if they do escape, how can they protect their mums and everyone else they love from the gang’s threat of retaliation?

This is me, Jane Gilley

My first foray into writing came when I wrote a poem at 7.

Night is drawing in

And the day has lost its din

And while we sleep

The animals creep

And hunt for food

In their hungry mood

I couldn’t stop writing when I was a nipper. I wrote wherever my pen could make its mark and especially at the back of my school exercise books. The lady who taught maths, in junior school, even asked if I wanted more paper to write on!

But life has a way of taking over and guiding you down its own path. Hence my initial foray into writing was dampened by society’s usual requirements of getting married and working to pay the mortgage, whereby I simply didn’t have the time to sit, tapping away at my computer to my heart’s content. But when I managed to start writing again in 2008; when publishers were telling me they didn’t want any more animal fiction, I self-published 6 children’s books – 5 animal adventures, which I sold at Durrell’s Jersey Zoo – and I had a book signing at Waterstones with a novella for young girls, Maisie’s Dream. All still for sale on Kindle.

With my children’s books localised French / Jersey themes, I was invited by 3 of the primary schools here and on the tiny channel island of Herm to give talks to the school children, about where I found the inspiration for my stories.

Since becoming self-employed, I’ve been able to step back and concentrate on writing adult fiction. Avon, Harper Collins published my debut book, The Woman Who Kept Everything – about an elderly lady who rediscovers what life has to offer after an electrical fault in her house threatens a fire, followed by The Afternoon Tea Club – about 4 very different people who meet at a community afternoon tea club and put their worlds to right, after becoming friends.

During 2020 and with PLENTY of time to spare, I wrote 2 new books, which I self-published this year on Kindle – both under adult fiction:

The Making of Robert Moony – an unusual, funny, heart-felt tale about a 27 yr old bullied man who finally finds love and acceptance in life, after he is kidnapped by mistake

County Lines Road – about 2 teenagers whose lives are turned upside down when a joyride goes horribly wrong and they are dragged away to a gang-house by drugs dealers and have to find a way to escape as well as protecting their families from the gang’s threat of retaliation.

All my books are always quirky, uplifting tales about new beginnings and have happy endings!

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

April 19, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This is my fifth and final book review for today and it is for The Bear and the Nightingale. This book had a beautiful cover and I’m not ashamed to say that this was the reason I first bought this series. I can’t help myself with beautiful covers!

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!

The Bear and the Nightingale plot:

The plot of this novel starts off slow, allowing us to be introduced to the town and the people in the town. Particularly Vasilisa and her family who are the main characters within the novel. It’s dark atmosphere had elements of fairytales and caught my interest with all it’s mythical creatures and spirits. Although it starts off slow the pacing soon picks up as Vasilisa gets older and the main events of the plot begin. As this happens the atmosphere gets darker and the winter landscape only furthers this. The family dynamic was something I truly enjoyed about this book, it had layers that were being explored throughout. The ending of this book made me so excited to pick up the next one in the series, although I haven’t managed to get it onto one of my TBR’s yet I will soon!

The Bear and the Nightingale Characters:

Each character in this novel has their own place within the plot. Some of them are morally grey and I enjoyed the dynamic of having these types of characters in this story. Vasilisa is headstrong and devout in her beliefs of the spirits, I loved her character. I felt that she will be such a good protagonist in this trilogy. I feel for her, I felt her sadness and her pain and her resoluteness to do what she needs to do for her town no matter the consequences. The other character I enjoyed, even though he was only in the story for a little bit, was Morozko, also known as the Frost. He feels like a fairytale character and I can’t wait to see more of him in the trilogy.

Writing and Dialogue:

As with the rest of the categories this book is whimsical and beautiful and there isn’t really much more for me to say in terms of writing and dialogue.

The Bear and the Nightingale Overall Rating:

I had to give this book five stars. I’m still thinking about it months later and all I can say is I really recommend this book to anyone who might be even a little interested in it.

Blurb/Synopsis:

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.

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

Book Reviews

Book Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

April 19, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! The fourth book review today is for An Unwanted Guest. I’ve recently gotten into reading the mystery/thriller genre and so far I am loving it.

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 the book review!

An Unwanted Guest Plot:

The plot of this novel gave me classic crime, Agatha Christie’s Poirot style vibes. With the remote Inn where all the guests get snowed in and then a murder happens. This is the style of murder mystery I truly enjoy. The whole time my brain was whirring trying to figure out who the murderer was and why they did it. I will admit now, I did not guess it correctly. There are so many twists in this book, secrets hidden by all of the guests and none of them can be trusted. I read this book in an afternoon and loved every second of it. I felt that the changing between the scenes could have been smoother because sometimes I did get confused about where I was but this didn’t impact much on my enjoyment.

An Unwanted Guest Characters:

You get an introduction to almost all of the characters and all of them have mystery surrounding them. Some have marital problems, some have jealousy and some have even worse secrets. I found each character to be engaging and interesting however, I didn’t feel that I liked any of them and I certainly didn’t trust any of them.

Writing and Dialogue:

The dialogue in this book worked brilliantly with the atmosphere. It gave the characters personalities and their interactions with each other spoke volumes with minimal words. The writing style was clever, dynamic and creative. It was smooth to read and I barely remembered that I was not in the story myself because of this.

An Unwanted Guest Overall Rating:

I gave this book four stars because I really enjoyed the mystery, the atmosphere and how everything came together. I felt that some parts of the book needed a tiny bit more explaining and some things weren’t fully resolved at the end but overall I loved the book.

Blurb/Synopsis:

A weekend retreat at a cozy mountain lodge is supposed to be the perfect getaway . . . but when the storm hits, no one is getting away

It’s winter in the Catskills and Mitchell’s Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing–maybe even romantic–weekend away. It boasts spacious old rooms with huge woodburning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar, and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just curling up with a good murder mystery.

So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity–and all contact with the outside world–the guests settle in and try to make the best of it.

Soon, though, one of the guests turns up dead–it looks like an accident. But when a second guest dies, they start to panic.

Within the snowed-in paradise, something–or someone–is picking off the guests one by one. And there’s nothing they can do but hunker down and hope they can survive the storm–and one another.

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

Uncategorized

Book Review: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig

April 19, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! Still me, with another book review. The third review of today is for House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig. This is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses i believe and I was highly anticipating it so I’m glad I managed to read it in January.

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!

House of Salt and Sorrows Plot:

The plot of this novel is dark and enchanting. It has the feeling of a fairytale that is slowly merging with a nightmare. There are so many twists throughout this book I could not put it down. I made myself a cup of tea thinking it would be lovely to drink while reading but I was so hooked on the story that I forgot about my tea, anyone that knows me knows that me forgetting about a cup of tea is pretty much impossible. The dark atmosphere mixed beautifully with the whimsical elements of balls and new gowns and the churning sea. The story opens after a tragic event and the reader gets thrown into the middle of a story which is something I personally love. The slight hints of romance aren’t overwhelming to the plot but they add a nice layer to the plot. I enjoyed how as the story progressed it gradually got darker. I did feel that the ending was tied up too easily, there were a few elements at the end that I think were just used to make the ending the way it was however I still enjoyed it.

House of Salt and Sorrows Characters:

Annaleigh, the main character that you follow, is headstrong and determined to figure out what is happening to her and her sisters which gave her motivation and made me really feel that I wanted the character to succeed. I felt that each of the sisters, including the ones deceased at the start of the novel, are fleshed out well and given strong and unique personalities. None of the sisters were forgotten about and each had an important part to play within the story. I enjoyed the sibling dynamic this gave the story. As I mentioned there is a slight romance subplot which created different atmospheres for the characters.

Writing and Dialogue:

I loved the dialogue in this book. It felt natural and developed between the characters as the novel went on. It didn’t show the reader too much but gave all the information it needed to for the reader to realise what was going on, although I didn’t before the end which to me makes this book brilliant. The writing style was clear and easy to follow. It swept me along with the story.

House of Salt and Sorrows Overall Rating:

I had to give this book four stars. For me the ending, although still good, let it down slightly. This book did put me into a reading slump for a week and a half but I enjoyed every minute, the story, the sisters, the romance, all of it.

Blurb/Synopsis:

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

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

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths

April 19, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday Bookish people! This is book review 2 of 5 today. The first was The Windsor Knot by S J Bennett if you’d like to check that out. This review is for The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths. I was given a copy of this book for Christmas 2020 and I ended up reading it in January of this year.

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 me book review.

plot of The Postscript Murders:

I found the plot of this novel to be exciting and fast paced. The opening was full of tension and set the scene beautifully. I felt that the ages of the characters was a unique addition to the plot of a murder mystery novel and this was what caught my interest to begin with. Throughout the novel I felt that the changes of location and the events that happened in each place continued to create tension filled scenes. I knew I was getting caught up in the story because I could feel my heart racing for most of the book. The plot was clever and intricate.

The Postscript Murders Characters:

The characters of this novel were quirky and interesting. I found them easy to connect to and this was one of the reasons I ended up enjoying the novel. There was a good balance between character and narrative which I enjoyed even though I usually enjoy character central novels the best.

Writing and Dialogue

The writing style was smooth and clear, it helped me to keep track of the story as it went between different days and locations. The dialogue was authentic and engaging, I felt that I knew the characters personally because of the great dialogue. In my opinion I think there were some points where I would have liked more dialogue and more explanation about what was happening in a scene.

The Postscript Murders Overall Rating:

I gave this novel four stars because the mystery was intricate, well plotted and well written and I found the characters engaging and humorous. At the time of reading it I gave it four stars because I had just read my first five star read of the year and I didn’t feel this book was quite up there with it however if I had read this book after a three star or another four star read my rating might have been different.

Blurb/ Synopsis:

“This droll romp is a latter-day Miss Marple.”— Washington Post

Murder leaps off the page when crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this intricate new novel by internationally best-selling author Elly Griffiths, a literary mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.

The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith’s passing.

But Natalka had a reason to be at the police station: while clearing out Peggy’s flat, she noticed an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy. And each psychological thriller included a mysterious postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter—Detective Kaur begins to think that perhaps there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.

And then things escalate: from an Aberdeen literary festival to the streets of Edinburgh, writers are being targeted. DS Kaur embarks on a road trip across Europe and reckons with how exactly authors can think up such realistic crimes . . .

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