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Top 5 Least Favourite Books of 2024!

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. It is that time f the year, time for me to share of the 50+ books I have read this year, which ones are the five I have least enjoyed. I can tell you this year has been very varied, I have had a few five stars which you will see next week in my favourite books of the year post so keep your eyes peeled for that but on the other end I have also had some books that I really did not enjoy.

Of those, here are the five books I enjoyed the least this year.

In at number five is…

The Twat Files by Dawn French

This is a nonfiction book that I got a signed edition of when I went to see her at my local Theatre with Darcey Bussell, I enjoyed the show but the book was a miss for me. I didn’t find it funny and I wasn’t entertained by it. That’s why it is number five on my least favourite books of this year.

In Number four is…

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

This is the fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club series and some of the books in the series I have enjoyed but this one I really did not. I have put up a book review for this one in November if you’d like to read all of my thoughts.

In number three is…

Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell

This one was such a disappointment for me. The premise of this book was very promising with a woman needing something in her life and writing letters to a serial killer and then getting wrapped up in a murder mystery but the execution of this novel was not good. It could have been much better in my opinion.

In number two is…

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

This was another mystery book that had a great premise but poor execution. In my opinion this book felt lazy and there were more than one plot point that didn’t fit or was never finished and it was a book that I wish I had DNF’d it instead of pushing on to finish it.

My least favourite book of this year was….

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

This was not a terrible book, I will say that, my problem with it was that it too closely resembled another book to the point where I felt that it bordered on plagiarism. Obviously it was a more modern version of that book but the plot was very similar and that ruined it for me.

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

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Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day!

Today, I am bringing you my book review for The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman, the fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Shocking news reaches the Thursday Murder Club.

An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.

As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home.

With the body count rising, the package still missing and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die?

My Review:

Okay, so, this book is the fourth in a series and I have read them all. Quickly, I will say my opinions on the rest of the series: Book 1 I thought was okay, it wasn’t anything special but it was an okay read, the second book I did enjoy – I liked it a lot more, book 3 I did not enjoy because it felt unnecessarily complex and didn’t seem to understand where it was going itself and now we get to book four. I really disliked this book.

I will say there were two parts I liked, first that Joyce had a larger role as a leader rather than a follower I did like seeing that character progression and secondly, there is a character who struggles with dementia and that was explored a lot in this book – I would say it was explored too much, too much time was devoted to that part of the story and it brought the mood of the whole series down but it is always good to see real life themes appear in books.

I read someone else’s review to see if other people were feeling the same way as me, and they described this book as feeling like the author was bored with writing it and I definitely agree with that. It did feel bored and it felt like it didn’t understand what it was trying it say, the plot easily could have been condensed by about 200 pages, most of it felt like filler put in just for the sake of it. I did not enjoy it at all.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Monthly Wrap Ups

October Reading Wrap Up!

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. It is the first of November and the cold weather has arrived which means it is time for my October Reading Wrap Up! Enjoy!

What I read from my TBR:

  • Murder at Enderley Hall by Helena Dixon – I did read this! This is absolutely my new obsession. It is the second book in the Miss Underhay mystery series. Kitty Underhay and her Grandmother run the Dolphin Hotel and Kitty ends up getting involved with investigating thefts and murders alongside an ex-military man named Matthew Bryant. I love this series, I am planning on reading one a month so I should finish the series in around eighteen months….
  • Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft – I did not read this, I am interested in the premise but this month there were other books I was more excited about.
  • Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco – As I am writing this post, I am currently 100 pages into this books so I should get it finished by the end of October. Another book that I am loving, it follows Envy, the brother of Wrath from the Kingdom of the Wicked series, he is a prince of sin and I am very intrigued so far about what Envy needs the main female character, Camilla, for.
  • A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn – I did not read this, again there were other books I wanted to read more.
  • Belladonna by Adalyn Grace – I did not read this. Honestly, in September and October I have been redecorating parts of my house and I am not sure where I have put my copy of Belladonna so I wasn’t able to read this in October.
  • A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – similar to Belladonna, I didn’t read this because my copy is hidden away on my bookshelves for the time being.
  • Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – I have not read this yet but I am hoping to still get to it by the end of October, I am going on holiday so I will have some travel time to do some reading.
  • Shadowscent: The Darkest Bloom by P M Freestone – Same as Enchantment of Ravens I have not got to this book yet but I am still hoping to by the end of this month. Fingers crossed.

Outside of my TBR, I also read The Examiner by Janice Hallett, The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman and also, (I haven’t yet, as I am writing this my copy will be arriving tomorrow but I will be reading it immediately), Spectacular by Stephanie Garber.

Overall, that means I have read 5 books and hope to finish two more on top of that by the end of the month. I am happy with that, I didn’t realise I had read as much this month as I have.

How has your reading been this month? Any new favourite books? Let me know in the comments!