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Book Review: The Appeal by Janice Hallett

August 23, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! It’s Monday again which means it’s time for more book reviews. This weekend I was taking part in the 1000 doors readathon where I intended to read nine books, I did not manage this I actually only managed five before I got too tired.

The first of these books was The Appeal by Janice Hallett.

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 Appeal Plot:

I loved how unique this plot was, you as the reader get to see the case exactly how the detectives are seeing it as they try to solve the murder. I was shocked by the end of this book because although part of it was exactly what I thought it would be but I didn’t predict it all which I loved. Discovering the story through the ‘evidence’ found after the murder made this a very unique mystery and I enjoyed trying to figure it out.

The Appeal Characters:

Because of how this book was laid out each of the characters felt like they had their own personal voice and I liked that because it felt more intimate than some mystery books do, I felt like I got a lot more background into the characters for me to base my opinion on.

The Appeal Writing and Dialogue:

I loved the uniqueness of the writing in this book. It was laid out in emails and text messages and not only did this make it easier for me to understand the characters and their motivations but also splitting it up into chunks made the complex plot manageable.

The Appeal Overall:

I gave this book four stars overall. I liked the uniqueness of the writing and the complex details of the plot but I do think some of the aspects could have been slightly less predictable.

Blurb/SYnopsis:

IN A TOWN FULL OF SECRETS
SOMEONE WAS MURDERED.
SOMEONE WENT TO PRISON.
AND EVERYONE’S A SUSPECT.
CAN YOU UNCOVER THE TRUTH?

Dear Reader,

Enclosed are documents relating to the events surrounding the Fairway Players’ staging of All My Sons, and the tragic death of one of its members. Another member is currently in prison for the crime. We have reason to suspect that they are innocent, and that there were far darker secrets that have yet to be revealed.

We believe that the killer has given themselves away. It’s there in writing, hidden in the emails, texts, and letters. In the events surrounding the charity appeal for little Poppy Reswick, and the question of whether that money was truly being used to fund her life-saving cancer treatment. Will you accept the challenge? Can you uncover the truth? Do you dare?

The standout debut thriller of 2021 that delivers multiple brilliant twists, and will change the way you think about the modern crime novel.

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke

August 12, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Thursday bookish people! I am very excited that today is my spot on the book tour for Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke. Thank you to Pushkin Vertigo for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

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

Girl, 11 Plot:

This novel is full of tension and mystery. The further into it I got the deeper into the world I fell. I was feeling the anticipation, the terror, I felt the moment that the mystery was taking a turn. I couldn’t read this book at night because – one, I was completely gripped by the story and two, because it would have scared me too much for me to be able to sleep – that’s how good the mystery is. I also love the use of podcasts that are in crime fiction novels at the moment.

Girl, 11 Characters:

The main character in this book is Elle, I loved her as a character. She has the determination to keep going with the podcast to get justice and the strength her character needed throughout was something that made this book feel incredibly real. Also, there’s a big twist about her character that I did not see coming but I loved it.

Girl, 11 Writing and Dialogue:

I loved the writing of this novel, the way that the chapters were interspersed with the transcripts for the podcasts was a very clever way of explaining what happened with the murders in the past without putting in too much exposition.

Girl, 11 Overall:

I gave this book four stars overall because it hooked me completely and the ending was very satisfactory for me.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Once a social worker specializing in kids who were the victims of violent crime, Elle Castillo is now the host of a popular true crime podcast that tackles cold cases of missing children in her hometown of the Twin Cities. After two seasons of successfully solving cases, Elle decides to tackle her white whale—The Countdown Killer. Twenty years ago, TCK abruptly stopped after establishing a pattern of taking and ritualistically murdering three girls over seven days, each a year younger than the last. No one’s ever known why—why he stopped with his eleventh victim, a girl of eleven years old, or why he followed the ritual at all.

When a listener phones in with a tip, Elle sets out to interview him, only to discover his dead body. And within days, a child is abducted following the original TCK MO. Unlike the experts in the media and law enforcement who have always spun theories of a guilty suicide, Elle never believed TCK had died, and her investigation was meant to lay that suspicion to rest. But instead, her podcast seems to be kicking up new victims.

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

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath by Ian Green

August 10, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Tuesday bookish people! I’m very excited that today is my spot on the blog tour for The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath by Ian Green. Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

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

The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath Plot:

I loved the uniqueness of this book’s plot. I had never read a book like this before. One of the things I most enjoyed about this book was it’s fantastic world-building. I felt completely engrossed in the world that Ian Green created and I read through this book so quickly because I had to know what was going to happen next. I loved that this book opened with an action scene, it hooked me in without me even realizing it.

The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath Characters:

There are many characters within this book and they all have a role to play, their personalities are very well created and balance against each other well. The main character that I was drawn to was Flore, there are so many layers to her character and I felt all of her emotions along with her.

The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath Writing and Dialogue:

The writing is one of the best I have read, it is clear and smooth and despite complex characters and plot lines I didn’t get confused at all, which with some fantasy books I do sometimes.

The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath Overall:

I gave this book four stars overall because I enjoyed my reading experience and I thought the world-building was masterful.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Fight the Storm.
Protect your people.
The endless rotstorm rages over the ruins of the Ferron Empire. Floré would never let the slavers of
the Empire rise again. As a warrior of the Stormguard Commandos, she wrought horrors in the
rotstorm to protect her people. She did her duty and left the bloodshed behind.
Fight for your family.
Floré’s peace is shattered when blazing orbs of light cut through the night sky and descend on her
village. Her daughter is abducted and Floré is forced into a chase across a land of twisted monsters
and ancient gods. She must pursue the mysterious orbs, whose presence could herald the return of the
Empire she spent her entire life fighting.
Destroy your enemies.
Now, Floré must take up the role she had sworn to put aside and become the weapon the Stormguard
trained her to be, to save not only her daughter, but her people…

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

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Turnout by Megan Abbott

August 6, 2021August 5, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! Today is my spot on the book tour for The Turnout by Megan Abbott. Thank you to Grace Vincent and Virago books for sending me a copy to read and review.

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

The Turnout Plot:

I was so excited to get to read this book, I have always liked ballet and this continues with literary ballet plots as well. I loved how this book takes you through the story, the things that you think are important aren’t always and the things you think aren’t important may turn out to be much more important than you think. One of the parts I enjoyed the most was the exploration of the relationship between the sisters, there was a beautiful balance between the ballet, the changing mystery and the character relationships. It all paired together brilliantly.
I especially liked how the psychological mystery escalated with the timeline heading towards the end performance of The Nutcracker, I could feel the tension building with every page.

The Turnout Characters:

There’s four main characters in this book, Dara, Marie, Charlie and Derek – each one has their own personal experiences that they are struggling with and this is threaded through the story intricately. I must admit I didn’t like Dara for most of the book but by the end I understood her and why she was the way she was.

The Turnout Writing and Dialogue:

I didn’t think I was going to get along that well with the style of this writing however, I found myself being completely absorbed in it, and so the story. The writing style was the perfect compliment to the mystery that was unfolding.

The Turnout Overall:

I gave this book four stars overall because, although some parts were predictable, I enjoyed the journey that this book took me on.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Bestselling and award-winning author Megan Abbott’s revelatory, mesmerizing, and game-changing new novel set against the hothouse of a family-run ballet studio, and an interloper who arrives to bring down the carefully crafted Eden-like facade.

Ballet flows through their veins. Dara and Marie Durant were dancers since birth, with their long necks and matching buns and pink tights, homeschooled and trained by their mother. Decades later the Durant School of Dance is theirs. The two sisters, together with Charlie, Dara’s husband and once their mother’s prize student, inherited the school after their parents died in a tragic accident nearly a dozen years ago. Marie, warm and soft, teaches the younger students; Dara, with her precision, trains the older ones; and Charlie, back broken after years of injuries, rules over the back office. Circling around each other, the three have perfected a dance, six days a week, that keeps the studio thriving. But when a suspicious accident occurs, just at the onset of the school’s annual performance of The Nutcracker, a season of competition, anxiety, and exhilaration, an interloper arrives and threatens the delicate balance of everything they’ve worked for.

Taut and unnerving, The Turnout is Megan Abbott at the height of her game. With uncanny insight and hypnotic writing, it is a sharp and strange dissection of family ties and sexuality, femininity and power, and a tale that is both alarming and irresistible.

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

Book Reviews

Book Review: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

August 2, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This is my book review for Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco.

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.

Kingdom of the Wicked Plot:

There are two halves to the plot of this story, the princes of hell and the witches and the other half is the murders of girls in the town but both of these halves intertwine throughout the novel. Each action has a knock on effect. I loved how this story played out, the uniqueness of the princes of hell being based on the seven deadly sins. I was desperate to keep reading this book and to stay in the world, discovering new things in every chapter. The only thing I did not like was the ending to the murder, the identity of the killer, I personally thought it could have been better if it had been someone else.

Kingdom of the Wicked Characters:

Emilia is the main protagonist in this story and she is strong-willed and family oriented. I loved being able to see her develop within this book, she got stronger and learnt to find her own way. The main prince of hell within this book was Wrath and my goodness, I knew Kerri Maniscalco creates brilliant male leads (hello, Thomas Cresswell) but Wrath is in a level of his own.

Kingdom of the Wicked Writing and Dialogue:

I really enjoy Kerri Maniscalco’s writing, it just works for me. There is nothing about it that I do not like.

Kingdom of the Wicked Overall:

I gave this book four stars overall because, I love it but I think I will love Kingdom of the Cursed even more.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Two sisters.

One brutal murder.

A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…

And an intoxicating romance.

Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe—witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin… desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked Princes of Hell that she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…

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

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

August 2, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This is my book review for The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman, it is the second book in The Invisible Library series.

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.

The Masked City Plot:

The series is about a librarian spy called Irene and her librarian partner Kai, in this book Kai gets kidnapped and Irene must get him back. The plot of this book is full of action and very fast paced, it is intricately created and kept me guessing the whole way through.

The Masked City Characters:

I love Irene’s character, she’s feisty and prepared to defend herself physically and intellectually if needs be. Kai is more charming and their conversations are very witty. I love the way they interact with each other in the first book and in this one. The characters are one of the most important features of this series and Irene is one of my favourite female leads.

The Masked City Writing and Dialogue:

There’s not much I can say here, the writing is okay for me. Some of the language that is used can stumble me for a minute but mostly its clear and well paced.

The Masked City Overall:

I gave this book four stars because I am loving this series and I can’t wait to read the third one.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he’s been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds.

Kai’s dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people – and the forces of order and chaos themselves.

Irene’s mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it’s always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death.

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

Book Reviews

Book Review: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

August 2, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This book review is for A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. I read this book while I was in the hotel room in Hampshire, it was a lovely evening read for me.

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.

A Curious Beginning Plot:

This was a very unique murder mystery. It had the feeling of an old Agatha Christie, a cosy mystery with a strong female lead and a brooding male lead. There are plenty of secrets to discover within this mystery, I couldn’t be sure who I could trust throughout this novel.

A Curious Beginning Characters:

This was only the first book in a series and this showed in the characters. They were being set up to have a relationship, although which type I don’t know yet, they have their own secrets and there is sometimes tension between them but this makes them realistic. Veronica is quick witted and stubborn and Stoker is just as stubborn and passionate, he is also much more distant from people than Veronica. I am looking forward to seeing how these characters can develop.

A Curious Beginning Writing and Dialogue:

The writing of this novel was difficult for me to get into at the beginning because it was written to fit the Victorian time period that it is set during but once I got used to it the writing became smooth and fit the story beautifully.

A Curious Beginning Overall:

I gave this four stars overall because I enjoyed the mystery element and the characters of this novel and I am interested in seeing how this series continues.

Blurb/Synopsis:

London, 1887.

After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.

But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

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

Book Reviews

Book Review: Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell

August 2, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This is book review four of seven for today. This one is for Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell, it is the third book in the Spellslinger series.

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.

Charmcaster Plot:

This is the third book in the series so I have already been immersed in the world Castell has built and this book continued the beautiful imagery that the first two presented. I loved the uniqueness of this plot and how it tied in details from Shadowblack and Spellslinger, it felt so comfortable for me to be back in this world.

Charmcaster Characters:

As I said above, I was already immersed in this world so I knew the main characters Kellen, Ferius and Reichus very well by this point but there were some characters brought back from the first book that I felt added to the enjoyment of this book.

Charmcaster Writing and Dialogue:

I love Sebastien De Castell’s writing style, he is effortlessly witty, charming and creates complex plots and characters. He also created a very flawed protagonist who really should not still be alive at this point but of course I’m glad he is.

Charmcaster Overall:

This book, the same as the other books in the series, is a four star for me because I enjoyed every moment of it and I can’t wait to begin the fourth book in the series which is on my August TBR.

Blurb/Synopsis:

The third book in the page-turning Spellslinger fantasy series.

‘I was getting almost as good at running away from enemies as I was at making them in the first place. Turns out, I wasn’t running nearly fast enough.’

Kellen has begun to master his spellslinging and the Argosi tricks for staying alive, and he and Reichis have found a career that suits them both: taking down mercenary mages who make people’s lives miserable. But Ferius is concerned that Kellen is courting disaster . . .

Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.

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

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review: Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

August 2, 2021 theblindscribe

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

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

Pumpkin Plot:

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

Pumpkin Characters:

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

Pumpkin Writing and Dialogue:

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

Pumpkin Overall:

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

Blurb/Synopsis:

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

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

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

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

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

blog tours, Book Reviews

Book Review: No Number Nine by F J Campbell

July 23, 2021July 21, 2021 theblindscribe

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

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

No Number Nine Plot:

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

No Number Nine Characters:

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

No Number Nine Writing and Dialogue:

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

No Number Nine Overall:

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

Blurb/Synopsis:

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

Hide in your room for two years.

Sleep with a very, very wrong man.

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

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

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