Tag: the christmas murder game

Monthly Wrap Ups

December Wrap Up!

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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!

Bookmas 2021

Merry Bookmas Day 29 – 29th December – End of the Year Book Tag

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Happy Wednesday bookish people! Merry Bookmas day 29! I honestly can’t believe I have made it this far and actually posted for 29 days (hopefully! as long as all these posts schedule properly).

End of the Year Book Tag!

Are there an books you started this year that you need to finish?

The Guest List by Lucy Foley and The City of Brass by S A Chakraborty

Do You Have An Autumnal Book To Transition Into The End Of The Year?

I’m going to say any contemporary book for this, I’m not sure why but I just feel that the genre of contemporary has a very Autumnal feel to it.

A New release You Are Still Waiting For?

A Three Dog Problem by S J Bennett

Three Books You Want To Read Before The End Of The Year?

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict and Murder And Mistletoe by Robin Stevens

A Book That Could Still Become Your Favourite of The Year?

Well, I am writing this at the end of November so technically any book on my December TBR but I will say Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco.

Have You Started Making Reading Plans for 2022 Yet?

Not really, I have my list of releases that I want to buy but that doesn’t mean I will read them quickly after and I always make a monthly TBR based on my TBR game so I have no idea what I may end up reading yet.

That’s it for this book tag, my final book tag of the year! I hope you all enjoyed it. What would your answers have been?

Bookmas 2021

Merry Bookmas Day 28 – 28th December – Jingle Bell Book Tag

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Happy Tuesday bookish people! Merry Bookmas day 28! I’m giving you another book tag, I’m doing it. I have so much fun making them, I hope you all enjoy seeing what answers I put.

Jingle Bell Book Tag!

All I Want For Christmas Is You – which book do you want to see under the tree?

From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash Series Book 1) eBook : Armentrout, Jennifer L.: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time – what book read this year did you enjoy the most?

Lirael: The Old Kingdom 3 by Garth Nix | Waterstones

It’s beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – which book has the most festive look to it?

The Christmas Murder Game: The must-read murder mystery for Christmas 2021 eBook : Benedict, Alexandra: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Elf – what book released your inner child?

A Little Princess: Frances Hodgson Burnett (Puffin in Bloom): Amazon.co.uk: Hodgson Burnett, Frances: 9780147513991: Books

The Grinch – Your Favourite Villain

The Darkling from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.

The Holiday – name your favourite two couples

Scarlett and Julian from Caraval by Stephanie Garber and Audrey rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell from Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Finally, what book would you gift your followers?

The Starless Sea: the spellbinding Sunday Times bestseller: Amazon.co.uk: Morgenstern, Erin: 9781784702861: Books

That’s it for this book tag, what answers would you give?

Book Reviews, Bookmas 2021

Merry Bookmas day 23 – 23rd December – Book Review: The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

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Happy Thursday everyone! Merry Bookmas day 23! Today is going to be very busy for me because it is my sister’s birthday so I will be spending most of the day with her and making her birthday cake.

But for all of you I am bringing you a book review of The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict.

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 Christmas Murder Game Plot:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The plot of this book is basically that the Grandmother of the main character, Lily, dies and some of the family are invited to take part in a game to find twelve keys and the winner gets the deeds for the house but then there is a murder. There were so many elements to this plot that I usually like, such as locked room mysteries, isolated settings for murder mysteries, so I thought that I would love this book. It gave me the feeling of a modern take on an Agatha Christie but for me it felt almost too similar to her book – And Then There Were None, it also felt quite similar to The Inheritance Game. The other thing that wasn’t the best about this book was that I had guessed the ending within the first 100 pages. This book was okay but I don’t think I would reread it – except to use it for my PhD.

The Christmas Murder Game Characters:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

So Lily is the main character in this book, I won’t give my thoughts on any of the other characters because it could give away the story, and for most of the book I enjoyed her character. She is exceptionally good at riddles and I liked seeing her thought process behind each one. However, I was hoping for a better character arc for her. I was hoping her character would grow in confidence but this only happened a little.

The Christmas Murder Game Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The writing was one of the best parts about this book. It was clear and flowed really well and the dialogue brought out the personalities of the characters.

The Christmas Murder Game Overall:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I gave this book three stars overall because it wasn’t a bad book it just felt like I was reading something I had already read before.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Twelve clues.
Twelve keys.
Twelve days of Christmas.
But who will survive until Twelfth Night?

Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House – the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago. Until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game. The challenge? Solve twelve clues, to find twelve keys. The prize? The deeds to the manor house.

Lily has no desire to win the house. But her aunt makes one more promise: The clues will also reveal who really killed Lily’s mother all those years ago.

So, for the twelve days of Christmas, Lily must stay at Endgame House with her estranged cousins and unravel the riddles that hold the key not just to the family home, but to its darkest secrets. However, it soon becomes clear that her cousins all have their own reasons for wanting to win the house – and not all of them are playing fair.

As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, the game turns deadly. Soon Lily realises that she is no longer fighting for an inheritance, but for her life.

This Christmas is to die for . . . Let the game begin

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

Bookmas 2021, Monthly TBRs

Merry Bookmas Day 1 – 1st December – December TBR

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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?

friday first and lasts

Friday First and Lasts Round 2

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Happy Friday bookish people! Today I am bringing you the second round of my newest series Friday First and Lasts. The series in which I take the first sentence of one book and combine it with the last series of another book to see what we get.

For this round I will be giving you three sets of first and lasts, the books up first are:

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik and Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg

“I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life/ however long it took” – This sentence actually turned out really well. It creates a very dramatic line.

Up next are the books:

Capturing The Devil by Kerri Maniscalco and Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

“A blast of frigid air greeted me as I unlatched the carriage door and stumbled onto the street/filled with thoughtless joy I turned Priestbane to follow” – this one doesn’t work quite as well as the first set, but it still works and has a good flow to it.

The final set for today are from the books:

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict and The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

“Snow is falling/and then she would be dead” – This is the one that probably works the least out of the three sets but it has an intense and sinister ring to it that I quite like.

That’s it for today, I hope you all enjoyed it! If you’ve got any good ones, please leave them in the comments below, on my Instagram @the_blind_scribe or on Twitter @oliviatempleto6.