Tag: books

Book Reviews

Book Review: Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

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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:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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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:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

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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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Book Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

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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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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!

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

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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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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!

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Windsor Knot by S J Bennett

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Happy Monday bookish people! It’s time for another book review (1 of 5 book reviews that I will be posting today). I’m catching up with the book reviews for all the books I’ve read so far this year. I read The Windsor Knot in January after seeing it in my local bookshop, I didn’t buy it there my friend actually sent me a copy. I thought it looked like a unique mystery novel, the Queen solving murders in her free time? I needed to read 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 my book review!

Plot:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

This is the first book in a series and I’ll start by saying that I will be continuing the series because it is an original and compelling take on the murder mystery genre. I found myself unable to put this book down because I wanted to know how the case would unravel at the end. However, I felt like the majority of the story focused on other characters rather than the Queen and I would have liked to have seen her feature more in the case. I enjoyed that there was a twist with the murder itself at the beginning of the novel and the twists kept coming which kept me hooked on the book. Personally, I think that the plot could have been developed further, maybe by making the book longer, but also this is the first book of the series and I think that as the series goes on the plots will get better.

Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The characters were okay. I personally didn’t believe in them, or get recruited to them and their motivations. I felt that there were a lot of characters that were introduced in one sentence and barely mentioned throughout the book but at the end they were important to the plot and for me this meant that I didn’t have the chance to enjoy the characters or to develop any real feelings towards them. The main character throughout the novel, Rozie, is an interesting protagonist that takes you along the journey of solving the case. She is a likeable and intelligent character, I’m glad we got so much of her in the plot because I enjoyed following her thoughts.

Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

For me the writing style was hard to get into. There was nothing technically wrong with it but something about it was difficult for me. Some pages I had to read through more than once, this didn’t have much of an impact on my overall enjoyment of the book however it did have an impact on my star rating for the book. However, this is only my opinion on the writing style.

Overall:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I gave The Windsor Knot 3 stars overall because I enjoyed it however, there were some parts of the plot that I think let the story down. I struggled a little with the physical reading of the book and I felt that there wasn’t enough of the Queen in the book.

Blurb/Synopsis:

The first book in a highly original and delightfully clever crime series in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves crimes while carrying out her royal duties.

It is the early spring of 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle in advance of her 90th birthday celebrations. But the preparations are interrupted when a guest is found dead in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene suggests the young Russian pianist strangled himself, but a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play was involved. The Queen leaves the investigation to the professionals—until their suspicions point them in the wrong direction.

Unhappy at the mishandling of the case and concerned for her staff’s morale, the monarch decides to discreetly take matters into her own hands. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian and recent officer in the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen secretly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth will use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice.

SJ Bennett captures Queen Elizabeth’s voice with skill, nuance, wit, and genuine charm in this imaginative and engaging mystery that portrays Her Majesty as she’s rarely seen: kind yet worldly, decisive, shrewd, and most importantly a great judge of character.

That’s it for this book review, let me know if you enjoyed it, if you’ve read The Windsor Knot and what you thought of it!

Book Reviews

The Making of Robert Moony by Jane Gilley Book Review – Blog Tour

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Good morning bookish people! Today I am bringing you a book review of The Making of Robert Moony by Jane Gilley. An e-copy of this book was kindly sent to me for this blog tour by Heather Fitt.

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.

The Making of Robert Moony

Robert has no friends. His mother invited herself to stay with him for a few months and has never left. He hates his job and is beginning to wonder what life REALLY has in store for him.

But his life is about to change in a shocking act of mistaken identity, proving that friends and love can be found in the most unlikely of places . . .

Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I thought the plot of The making of Robert Moony was heartwarming, fast-paced and funny. The first quarter of the novel is slow and builds the story well, there are layers to the story that were wonderful to explore. Then came the act of mistaken identity and I was swept up along with the story, it’s twists and turns. The change of pace that came with the act of mistaken identity I found very refreshing. I felt there was a message to this story, a message of living life to the full and not letting opportunities pass you by.

Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

There are so many characters in this book yet the writer has managed to make each of them stand out from each other. Robert himself I thought was a brilliant character because of the his character arc and how he changes throughout the story. I loved the character of Brett, he brought a wonderful humour to the story.

Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I felt the writing of this story clearly showed the voices of the characters and the language they would use. The dialogue gave the story most of it’s humour which was one of the main elements of the novel. It is a well written novel that has interesting and engaging dialogue, some word jarred for me sometimes but that is likely my own reading of the book. I enjoyed the use of the 3rd person perspective.

Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Overall I give this book four stars because of it’s layered plot, brilliantly written characters and the enjoyment that I got from reading it.

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

Book Review: The Cousins by Karen M McManus

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Happy Easter Monday bookish people! I’m back with another book review. This time it’s for a Young Adult Mystery/Thriller book that I received in my December Illumicrate box. My copy has beautiful sprayed black edges and I was very excited to finally get to read it. So excited in fact that I couldn’t even wait for the 1st of April to start reading so technically I read it in March but it is part of my April TBR.

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.

Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Cousins by Karen M McManus has a fast paced and thrilling plot. Practically every chapter had a twist that I was not expecting and scattered throughout the book are small hints of information that lead up to the climax of the mystery. I was hooked from the very first chapter of this book, It is told from different points of view throughout and I felt that this added to the tension of the book because it allowed me to see into the thoughts that make those characters do what they choose to do. There were so many unexpected twists in this book but I will say I did manage to guess the climax of the mystery which didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book. The only thing I would say is that there is a lot of focus on the relationship between two of the main characters, I won’t say which ones, and personally I didn’t enjoy this part of the novel because I felt that the focus was too much on them rather than the overall mystery.

Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

In this book there are plenty of characters that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle in this Young Adult Mystery book and for me I felt there were too many characters. As it focused on the main characters, the cousins, their parents, their grandmother, the staff on the island, the people who were on the island when the parents were teenagers and the mystery that surrounded them. Because of this I felt that some characters did not have a clear enough purpose. Again this didn’t take away from the book as a whole and didn’t have much of an impact on my enjoyment of the book,.

Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The writing style of this book was smooth and clear. It was very easy for me to become caught up in the story because of the great writing and how the complexity of the mystery was presented throughout, given to the reader in tiny hints that all come together at the end. The dialogue gives the characters personality. It also was the perfect blend of showing and telling, it didn’t give away the mystery which happens with some books.

Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars overall because it was a great mystery book. Apart from a few small points about the book I really enjoyed it. I felt that the ending was very satisfactory and it felt right for this book.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised… and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point—not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious—and dark—their family’s past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over—and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

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

Monthly TBRs

April TBR 2021

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Happy Wednesday bookish people! It’s already April and the spring flowers are starting to bloom. I read a very good amount of books in March, twelve I think, and I’m hoping April will be just as successful. I’ve already read one of the books off my April TBR yesterday and I enjoyed it. Once again I’ve given myself a huge TBR, because of course. Outside of my TBR I have some books to read for some exciting book tours that I can’t say anything about just yet…

Onto my TBR!

  • Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles – I’ve realised pretty recently that anything to do with circus elements and I’m already excited for the story so this could end up being a new favourite!
  • The Cousins by Karen M McManus – I read this yesterday evening because I was drawn in by the blurb and I really enjoyed it, I ended up giving it four stars and if you’re interested in reading my thoughts on it I’ll be putting a book review up very soon.
  • The Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter by Theodora Goss – I saw Meg With Books on YouTube talk about this series and I thought the premise sounded so interesting, I can’t wait to start reading this series!
  • Furyborn by Claire LeGrand – I’m not sure on this book, it’s a chunky book.. anyone else find big books intimidating?
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – after reading A Court of Thorns and Roses earlier this year I’m so looking forward to reading the next book in the series – I need more Rhysand!
  • Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin – Oh I’ve been looking forward to this one! I’ve heard such good things about it and also from what I’ve heard the dialogue between Lou and Reid sound very cheeky, which I know I’ll love, and it’s enemies to lovers (one of my favourite tropes).
  • Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan – I must admit I don’t know much about this book, at all. I don’t know the plot or the character names… this is going to be an interesting read..
  • Blood Heir by Amilie Wen Zhao – Again I don’t know much about this book but I got it in one of my previous Illumicrate boxes and the cover caught my interest.
  • Save the Date by Morgan Matson – after how much I liked Fangirl I’ve decided that I obviously need to give contemporary books more of a chance so hopefully I’ll enjoy it.
  • The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller – this book caught my attention because of the first line and I think the protagonist is going to be unusual and probably morally grey. I love morally grey characters.
  • Master of One by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett – I’m thinking this could be a five stars for me because Fae, and it gives me big Six of Crows vibes…
  • All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace – Pirates. That’s all I’m going to say about this one.
  • The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – I love a good mystery book and I’ve heard really good things about this one.

That’s it for my April TBR, let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought of them! At the end of April I will post a wrap up and we will see how well I did or not.