Happy Friday bookish people! Today I am doing the Amy’s Book Tag which I believe was originally started by The Dusty Bookshelf on Youtube. I hope you all enjoy!
Double Bergamot Ear Grey: A robust, deep, intellectual and flavourful book
I read this book while I was in primary school and there are so many layers to the story, that build emotion within the reader.
Tim Horton’s Steeped: A book you read on the go that you came back to again and again
I will always come back to this book, it is in a very very well read condition!
Meyer Lemon: A tangy fast paced read gone before you’ve fully savoured the flavour
This was difficult but I eventually settled on
Chamomile Lavender: A relaxing, calming, late night read
To be honest I mainly read in the evening, especially before I go to bed so for this question I am cheating a little because I am choosing every book!
Lady Grey: A smooth, subtle classic book perfect for a serene winter morning
This book is the first book I think of when I think of winter
English Breakfast: A british classic
I had to choose this one, I read it for my BA degree and loved it
Canadian Breakfast: A title that tastes a little like an english breakfast but reads like the new world
Orange Petloe: a popular novel that everyone has read
Green: A healthy book that that feeds your mind
For this I am choosing a genre rather than a book, I think that historical fiction gives me this feeling.
Iced Tea: A sweet summer treat for the days of summer
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I am excited to be bringing you one of my favourite reads so far this year – Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood.
As usual, I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little bit about each one. I will do my best to keep this review as spoiler free as possible.
Death Comes To Marlow Plot:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
This book is the second in the Marlow Murder Club series by Death In Paradise writer, Robert Thorogood. It has some of the best mystery elements, an expensive manor house, a locked room mystery and every suspect has an alibi. For me personally I love these types of mystery stories because it is all about the puzzle, I knew pretty much from the beginning who the murderer was but the fun for me was figuring out how they did it.
Death Comes To Marlow Characters:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
The three main characters in this novel are Judith, Suzie and Becks. Three woman who, in other circumstances, should not get along as well as they do. Their relationship is started in the first book in the series but it gets developed much more in this novel. I love how each character is so different, there are parts about each of them that can grate on me but it is balanced out by their brilliant amateur detective skills.
Death Comes to Marlow Writing and Dialogue:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
The writing style Thorogood uses is extremely cosy which is the style I think fits this type of mystery best, it stops the darkness of the crime overtaking the whole novel and lets it stay enjoyable.
Death Comes to Marlow Overall:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I gave this book four stars overall because I thoroughly enjoyed it, even more than the first book in the series.
Blurb/Synopsis:
It’s been an enjoyable and murder-free time for Judith, Suzie and Becks – AKA the Marlow Murder Club – since the events of last year. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey, to his nurse, Jenny Page. Sir Peter is having a party at his grand mansion on the river Thames the day before the wedding, and Judith and Co. are looking forward to a bit of free champagne.
But during the soiree, there’s a crash from inside the house, and when the Marlow Murder Club rush to investigate, they are shocked to find the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study.
The study was locked from the inside, so the police don’t consider the death suspicious. But Judith disagrees. As far as she’s concerned, Peter was murdered! And it’s up to the Marlow Murder Club to find the killer before he or she strikes again…
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I am bringing you my book review of The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood.
As always in this book review I will be giving star ratings to four categories and I will write a little bit about each one. I will do my best to avoid any spoilers.
The Marlow Murder Club Plot:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I have to be honest, I went into this book with some preconceptions. First was that I had already read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman a while before this and I had heard that they were similar and they were a bit, the characters were in the older age group and the overall tone of the book is quite light. For me that was the end of the similarities which I was happy about because I ended up enjoying The Marlow Murder Club more then The Thursday Murder Club. The other preconception I had was that Robert Thorogood wrote a lot of the Death In Paradise episodes and my friend and I have seen every single episode, we love the series, actually we compete over it to see who gets the most right by the end of each series. I was worried that the book would feel like a repeat of one of the episodes, and personally that meant that I was a bit disappointed by the ending of this book because, without spoiling anything, I was able to guess the ending early on because it was a similar plot to one of the episodes.
The Marlow Murder Club Characters:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Judith Potts is the main character (there are more of them in the group later in the book but I won’t spoil anything) and I really felt like I could relate to her, an elderly lady who can’t help herself but be nosy. That’s definitely going to be me. It’s really hard to talk about the characters in this book without spoiling anything so I won’t say too much more but I will say I loved the energy of Judith Potts and her friends, this book was a great introduction to them and I hope that we will see more of them in coming books.
The Marlow Murder Club Writing and Dialogue
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
As I said earlier, this book has a very light tone to it, there’s a lot of comedic elements to it which was something that I thought worked really well for the mystery in this book.
The Marlow Murder Club Overall:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Overall, I gave this book a rating of four stars because I enjoyed the gathering pace of the novel and I thought the mystery was well-plotted, the only thing I didn’t enjoy was the ending and how similar it was to the episodes of Death In Paradise.
Blurb/Synopsis:
To solve an impossible murder, you need an impossible hero…
Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. She lives on her own in a faded mansion just outside Marlow, there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink, and to keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper.
One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don’t believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local Vicar.
Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.
When another body turns up, they realise they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape…
That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Monday bookish people! I know this post is going up on the first day of August when I usually post them at the end of the month I am writing about but July was quite the month! First there was YALC and Comic Con which I don’t really want to say that much about because it will turn into a rant, I did not have a good experience there this year because of the organization and well, they had no idea what to do with people who have disabilities so the less said about it the better. Then I found out I had gotten covid from YALC and I was so poorly, I still am a bit even a month on, I couldn’t do much. I rounded the month out with a trip to Bristol and a trip to Hampshire so I am pretty exhausted.
A good thing that happened this month is that I opened my Etsy shop! I have been thinking about this for a while and I have finally done it. I am creating bookish bookmarks, on card, wood and made of resin. If you’d like to visit my shop is TheBlindScribe
Anyway, my reading this month wasn’t great, I read some okay books but no books that I was really invested in. My book reviews of the books I did read will be coming on Mondays throughout August!
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood – I did read this and actually I quite enjoyed it but I had one very specific issue with it which I will talk about in my book review of it.
A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn – I did not read this book
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li – I did not read this
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson – I did not read this book either
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano – I haven’t read this book
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – I haven’t read this book yet either
Nine Lives by Peter Swanson – I did not read this
Daughters of Night by Laura Shepard Robinson – I started this book a while ago but I haven’t continued with it yet
The Three Dog Problem by S J Bennett – I did read this!
The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah – I also read this book!
The Perfect Escape by Leah Konen – I did not read this book
Overall, I read three books this month which considering how poorly I was and how much has been going on this month is pretty good, I’m happy with it.
That’s it for my July wrap-up! I hope you all enjoyed it, my August TBR is coming on Friday!
Happy Saturday bookish people! If I am scheduling this right this should be my first post of 2022 which is crazy because 2021 went by so fast. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year and that you are all excited about what 2022 could bring.
So let’s talk about what I did or didn’t read in December 2021 and what I thought of the books!
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – none of you will be surprised that again, no I haven’t read this book yet. I will but I didn’t get to it in 2021.
All Of Us Villains by Amanda Foody – I was so excited for this one but I wasn’t in the mood to read such a dark fantasy so I am hoping to read it soon.
Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson – I didn’t get around to this one either.
Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia – I did not read this book.
Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – I did read this one! I liked it but not quite as much as I enjoyed the first book in the series.
In the Crypt with the Candlestick by Daisy Waugh – I did not read this one.
It Sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood – I didn’t read this book.
Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco – I really wanted to get around to this one but in the end I didn’t.
Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens – I read this one and I really loved it, except for the ending.
Murder in Midwinter – I started reading this one but I haven’t quite finished it.
Not Here to be Liked by Michelle Quach – I read this book but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – I also was very excited to read this but I didn’t in December.
Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian – I didn’t read this book.
The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict – I did read this one and I have posted a book review of it.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling – I didn’t read this one
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – I wanted to read this one but then I heard some reactions to it and it has put me off a little bit.
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – I read this one and I liked it but again it wasn’t as good as the first book in the series.
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood – I didn’t read this one
Traitors Kiss by Erin Beaty – I didn’t read this one either
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – I didn’t read this one
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson – I did not read this
Well Met by Jen De Luca – I did not read this one.
So from my TBR i ended up reading five and I started reading one other. On top of my TBR I read Murder on Christmas Eve, Rivers of London, Unsolved Deaths, and six of the books in the Pony Mad Princess series. That brings my total of book read to 14 in December which is a great amount.
That’s it for my December TBR, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Wednesday bookish people! And a merry bookmas! As I announced last week I am going to be posting every day in December and this is the first of these posts. Of course I had to start my blogmas/ bookmas with my TBR for December so I hope you all enjoy reading about what I plan to read in December and the thoughts I already have about the books.
My December TBR:
Well Met by Jen de Luca – This month I have included lots of books that are outside of my comfort zone in my TBR and this is one of them. It mentions a Renaissance fair and that sounds very unique and interesting.
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – I read his first book either this year or last year, I can’t quite remember and it was very enjoyable so hopefully the second book lives up to it.
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia – I am interested in reading this book because it has been compared to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I loved hat book.
Kingdom of The Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco – I love Kerri Maniscalco’s work and Kingdom of the wicked is no different, I can’t wait to be back with Wrath and Emilia.
Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson – The description makes me think of Six of Crows a little bit so I have high hopes for this one.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – again this book is on my TBR, I will read it eventually!
Not Here to be Liked by Michelle Quach – I’m not usually drawn to this genre but the synopsis really interested me and I’m not completely sure why.
All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody – this is like a very dark version of the Hunger Games mixed with family gangs.
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson – I love her books and a fantasy book about magic and nuns sounds amazing.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – again, another book outside of my comfort zone but I am looking forward to giving it a chance.
In The Crypt With A Candlestick by Daisy Waugh – a 1920’s themed murder mystery makes me think of Agatha Christie which I love so hopefully I will enjoy it.
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood – this is written by the writer of Death In Paradise which is one of my favourite TV shows so hopefully this book is good too.
Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – I love the Caraval series and this book follows one of the characters from that so I’m excited to read it.
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – this is a book that I have heard a lot about so I want to get around to it soon.
Traitors Kiss by Erin Beaty – I don’t know much about this book other than it has a lovely cover.
The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict – this is a festive themed book that I am excited to read
It sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood – I don’t know much about this book either, other than it is outside my usual genre
Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian – it’s set in an ice cream shop, I don’t need to know anything else about it.
Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – I loved A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder and I can’t wait to read the second one in the series
Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens – another festive themed book that I am very glad I managed to get onto my TBR.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling – I have seen so many good things about this book and I know it has comedy in it so I should enjoy it.
Murder In Midwinter – a collection of crime short stories set in winter should be a nice change of pace.
That’s it for my December TBR, have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?
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