"Fireside Chat with a Grammar Nazi Serial Killer" Book Review

My Rating: 5 ★★★★★ Stars


A true psychological thriller in which the protagonist takes extreme measures to encourage authors to improve their grammar. Well, if that isn’t a strange plot then I don’t know what is; however, it worked and surprisingly, it was well executed.

I enjoyed the story but there needs to be more in order to be more memorable. A bit of history on the characters as well as knowledge of their present life, motivations and personality would be a delight to read.

Digital Reviewer’s Copy received in exchanged for my honest and unbiased review.

"Little Monsters" Book Review

My Rating:  ★★★★☆ 4 Stars

It’s the cover. Something about that darn cover reeled me in; I can’t put my finger on it because it’s such a simple piece of art! But reeled me in it did and I am glad that (sometimes) I judge a book by its cover.

Kacey is the new girl who has recently moved to Broken Falls – to a charming life with her father’s family; one that has proven to be much different from the one she had led up to that point. 

Broken Falls is the kind of town where everyone is nice and welcoming. To her surprise, Kacey is inducted into a petite circle of two – meet Bailey and Jude.
The duo makes Kacey feel included in everything that they do – sneaking out at night, parties etc. however, Kacey is left out of one of the biggest parties of the year, causing her to feel completely left out. She wants answers, she wants to know why they are all so suddenly acting strangely distant toward her but Kacey will never be able to ask Bailey why because Bailey doesn’t return home that night. 

Awesome premise. Equally awesome delivery.

Little Monsters was a deliciously, mystery-laden book you can’t help but love because of the page-turner plot. The plot and execution was inherently satisfying due to its puzzle feel. I wouldn’t refer to this little gem as compelling, but it was sure gripping! 

I could feel the near-splitting tension, the back and forth speculation of whether Kacey played a part in the disappearance of Bailey. Whether Bailey was truly missing or just seeking attention. Whether Andrew was the killer. Whether Whether Whether.

No matter how many conclusions I came to, I did not arrive at the conclusion that the author presented. I did not foresee the twist until the author began the big reveal. 

And THAT, is what I love about books – the unpredictability, the guessing, the rollercoaster ride, the complexity of twists to the point where you give up guessing. 
I found myself speed reading to get to the end of many scenes; I haven’t speed-read in a while! 

A note those out there: Be careful who you call your friends.

Digital copy received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

"The Ghost Files (The Ghost FIles #1)" Book Review

My Rating ★★★★☆ 4 Stars

What a pleasant surprise!

I’ve had this book sitting in my kindle library for the past year collecting cyber dust.

I loved(ish) the tone of the narrator.

The plot was even better – a girl seeing dead people and is helping to solve a string of deaths of which her foster sister is a victim.

I really liked the book! I only knocked off 1 star because of the relationship between the main character and a certain secondary character of the law.

I won’t go into details here. No sirree. Find out for yourself J  

"Stung (Stung #1)" Book Review

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 Stars

I can't figure out why exactly I disliked this book. I'm a fan of the post-apocalyptic genre but this one just didn't do it for me. 

The main character - Fiona - was a bit weak. Not knowing what was going on with the world she woke up to was understandable. 

I guess I wanted to see her on her own for a while, surviving and toughening up, but this book did not deliver that. I didn't even get a glimpse of life inside the wall, to see how they're rebuilding society.

From the moment she woke up there were other humans around. She was "rescued" by an infected, then shortly after taken into a camp where she was protected by a guard who happens to have been her neighbor before the world went to shit. For the remainder of the book is she always being rescued and not fending for herself (which is what I really enjoy in a post apocalyptic book. I like reading about their survival skills, how they strategize on supply runs, how they out maneuver the enemy etc.). I'll read the second book only because I want to see where the love interest takes us and what life inside the wall is like.

UPDATE: 
On second thought I'm not that interested in Book 2. Won't be reading it.

Ugh fine. I'll read it just so I won't feel guilty.

"The Couple Next Door" Book Review

My Rating: ★★★★★ 5 Stars

Many thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This goes into my "I won't forget you" book pile. 

The Couple Next Door is such a simple (in the best way possible), well-written, unpretentious book which gets into the story and does not stray off topic, not even once. 

I was not bombarded with useless similes, or overly descriptive passages, nor annoying inner dialogues which tends to take away from the plot. This was well-written and straight to the point. 

When I say well-written I don't mean lyrical prose to the likes of Alice Hoffman or more recently the epicly written The Summer That Melted Everything (another title in my "I wont Forget you" book pile). In this instance, well-written simply means no preamble, straight to the point, every sentence pushed the plot forward and no wasted words/unnecessary sentences. I loved the writing style so much. 

The premise does not do justice to this immaculate plot. 

It is filled with uncomfortable revelations, brilliant twists, family secrets, manipulation, blackmail, a web of lies - everything which makes for a highly entertaining and gripping read. 

As the plot unwinds you'll be holding on to the edge of your seat, just waiting to get the whole truth.

I look forward to reading more from this author.

"The Last One" Book Review

   My Rating   ★★★★☆ 4.5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher Penguin UK – Michael Joseph – and Net Galley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.     

  

I promise you - this is a hauntingly superb read once you understand how the book is written/presented.

Let’s start with this cover – a grimy face peering out of the shadows, scoping the area, or at least that’s how I see it. There’s only one thing I love more than oxygen and that’s reading post-apocalyptic books which test the mental, emotional and physical limits of the characters. By simply looking at this cover I somehow knew I was in for some survivalist action.

Zoo, a moniker of the protagonist, is at the point in her life where she is about to have a life changing event. She wants one last adventure before she settles into motherhood; her chosen adventure – take part in a TV reality show which promises to test the endurance of twelve contestants. Challenges are given. The physically, emotionally and mentally strong will persevere while the weak get left behind (quit) but when strange things start happening, Zoo simply thinks the creators are making things harder for the contestants. She continually reminds herself throughout the journey that this is a game, none of it is real and that there’s a finish line. But is the game she’s playing still a game? Or is it her new reality within a game gone wrong?

Remember my previous statement?-The one about the presentation of the book? Well the thing is it might be a bit difficult to follow when you’ve just started reading but keep at it and it becomes tolerable; you’ll be rewarded (with a great plot). The point of view and time alternates between two narrators with each chapter; comments from a thread related to the TV show are thrown in there at the end of a few chapters. Chapter one begins with a general narrator, this unspecified gender gives a sort of play by play commentary of In The Dark challenges, behind the scenes, confessions of characters, camera angles, things that will happen in a few minutes from the now etc.; it basically follows the happenings of every character in the book. I was able to envision this as a real TV show, like I was watching it on a screen.

The second chapter has the narrator was Zoo, a couple of weeks ahead of the first narrator. It follows her present, life after team challenges – on the Solo Challenge. The timelines eventually meet near the end of the book, but don’t worry; you get the full story – past, present and the life of other characters in another part of the world.

So one chapter is general narration, the other is Zoo, the next is back to general narration and the other will be Zoo etc. 

I really got into the book at the 25% mark and I didn’t want it to end. Zoo is so determined that she is oblivious to what’s going on around her. I think it was this cluelessness which brought her this far in her journey. If she only knew how much reality had changed since she left she’d have broken down, been disheartened, maybe she would have died. My heart broke for her so many times; I just wanted her to know the truth. She found meaning and hidden clues in places that were not manipulated by the creators; she followed rules till the near end that were useless.

When she finally realized the truth it was even more heart breaking. I think I teared up a bit. I felt immense pain for her after the realization.

Of all the characters, she was a survivor – not knowing game from reality yet she still made it out alive.

I recommend this 100%.         

"Twisted" Book Review

My Rating ★★★★★ 5 Stars

And that is what I call a psychological thriller, a mind fuck of epic proportions and I loved every second of it!

Twisted was utterly gripping and entertaining. I was unequivocally hooked from the very first line. 

Andrew Kaufman created a solid story centered around a troubled character (as a result of both his past and present) which claimed my full belief in his present life and struggles.

I felt like I had a 3-D experience of the agonizing torment of a man whose world crumbles, a thing he tried so hard to avoid yet to which he inevitably succumbed. This simply means the writing style and overall story had me completely engrossed.

This is one of those books which is a must-read. 

I want to give this 5-stars, it deserves it but I'm giving it 4.5. I wanted more explanations in the ending; I wanted to know what was real and what wasn't. I wanted.. no needed. I needed the author to make everything clear regarding the two worlds. 
He did give an explanation but I just felt it wasn't enough for me. 

Read this book!

"The Radleys" Book Review

My Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5 Stars

I chose this title after reading The Humans by the same author. While this was an enjoyable enough read I didn't quite like it as much; however, this isn't a comparison so I'll get on with the review for this book. 

The story follows the life of a family called The Radleys, who has kept the family curse a secret from their two kids. For years, the parents have led the children to believe in a way of life and in a lie in order to "protect them". But, we all know that telling a lie to protect someone only turns out to hurt them in the end, and this is what happens here. The daughter, on a night out, finds out who/what she truly is. 

The Radleys presented us readers with adequate backstories in my opinion. The writing style was simple, concise, easy to follow, unpretentious. 

I'm not exactly sure what was missing since I couldn't find anything solid really to dislike about this book. I just know I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. 

After reading this I still have much respect for Matt Haig and his writing style. I'm a sucker for writing style, will always be.