3/5 stars Audible version narrated by Rachel Atkins. 4 stars for the first half, 2 for the last. I keep trying. With crime thrillers. I keep trying. Because I know that there is something really good out there, I just know it. Something where you have psychological, nail-biting, edge-of-seat-sitting suspense coupled with believable characters who…
Tag: reading
Book review: The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley
4/5 stars For background on the series see my review of the first book. In The Storm Sister we get to follow the second oldest sister, Ally, or Alcyone. She has two passions in life: sailing and music. At some point she discarded her musical education in favour of sailing, and as our story begins…
Book review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
4/5 stars Audible version, narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Review contains spoilers, but in this case I don’t personally believe it matters very much, as it’s not the kind of novel you read for the plot. This book is slow, mesmerising, poetic, sad, disturbing and beautiful. It’s a special kind of book that happens mostly in…
Book review – The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
5/5 stars This series was recommended to me by my BFF when J and I were heading for a weekend away last month and I wanted something to read that I could lose myself in. The Seven Sisters fit the bill very well. A little background The Seven Sisters is a (planned) 7 book series,…
Book review: Here I stand by Amnesty International UK
5/5 stars. This is a powerful anthology of short stories and poems on topics of human rights and freedoms, and the importance of speaking out against injustice. It covers a broad variety of topics such as gay rights, racism, human trafficking, religious fanaticism, bullying and environmental devastation resulting from an oil spill. I almost feel…
The passion of youth and complacency of middle age
This post was inspired by reading Here I Stand. At the ripe old age of 35 I find myself growing complacent. Maybe disillusioned and cynical as well. Apathetic is another word that comes to mind. When I was young and idealistic (some might say naive – and be that as it may, there’s an upside…
Musings on self-published books and a review of sorts
I’ve debated with myself if I should only review books that I find some merit in. After all what is the point of putting down a work someone else spent time and effort to create? I guess there is some use in “warning people off”, but that makes the assumption that people share my taste,…
Book review: Waking by Emily Thompson (Clockwork Twist #1)
4/5 stars. Disclaimer: I’ve never before read a steampunk novel or related work of fiction, so I am completely free from any bias as to how things “should be” within this genre. It was one of those Kindle offers that I got, and on a whim thought “steampunk, why not?” So, that being said I…
(Blind) Book review: The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray
3/5 stars. I used to do this more often when I was younger – sometimes in a bookshop but also at the library. Pick a book at random, where I knew nothing about the book or author in advance, and let it surprise me. I like the idea of not knowing anything much about a…
Book review: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
5/5 stars. I won’t say much about this one partly because it’s all been said before, but also because I’m about 6 months behind on reviewing it and while the overall positive sentiment prevails, the details by now escape me. The curse and blessing of a poor memory is I can reread a book and…
Too much time, and too little. 