Book Review | Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

"On the day of the Dunne's five year wedding anniversary, Amy Dunne goes missing. All that's left behind is a dishevelled living room, a cat, and a diary. It is through this diary that we see the inner workings of the Dunne's marriage, and Amy's struggles as a naive housewife out of her comfort zone. The format of this book is different - one chapter is a diary entry by Amy set in the past, and the next chapter is Nick Dunne's views and struggles in the present. Then it all changes."

The premise of this book is wonderful. I love all things dark and twisted, and this book seemed right up my alley. The problem is the first 2/3 of the book. Never in my life have I read something so taxing. The first part is slow, with nothing happening and written in a way that made it such hard work to read. I felt more exhausted after reading the first part than I did when I worked a full 10 hour shift at work! It is very slow, the language doesn't flow well and it took so long to read a chapter that I had to put it down after each one. It took me 6 months to read this book, and I'm a fast reader. I read so many books while reading this one because I couldn't bear to read it!

The ending of this book was predictable and unbelievable, with solutions to the various plot twists that I just didn't care about. Every single one of the characters is unlikeable and I found myself not caring about what happened to a single one of them. The character development was poor, and Gillian Flynn is very much a "tell you instead of show you" author, which really ruins the world building aspect also. The ending seemed hurried and was so hilariously bad (almost like a hilarious stage show) that it completely got rid of the "thriller" aspect for me. At least the ending went quicker than the first 2/3 of this book!

Overall, I'm glad I read this. I can't say I'd ever want to read it again, but I'm glad I read it. I can put it down and say I never have to pick it up again.

1/5 stars, although I'd gladly give it 0 if I could.

Book Review | Timebound by Rysa Walker

Thank you so much to both NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
"When Kate Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional. But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the past destroys the foundation of Kate’s present-day life. Suddenly, that medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of existence.

Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and Kate’s genetic ability to time-travel makes her the only one who can stop him. Risking everything, she travels to the Chicago World’s Fair to try to prevent the killing and the chain of events that follows.

Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost, however—if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence. And regardless of her motives, does she have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world?"

This book was absolutely fabulous. It really was. Not only was it written well, I was really impressed with the continuity throughout this book. A lot of the time with time travel, I find that the author struggles to keep various continuities going, whether it be with tone or methods or, in some cases, they've completely and utterly given out different chains of events happening along a singular timeline. This book did absolutely none of that. Walker held her own voice solidly throughout, and everything was so neat and tidy with both the plot and the prose that I really commend her. She also has a really unique idea and method of time travel and that's something I really enjoy seeing, even if it took me a little while to get my head around some of the concepts and explanations behind said time travel.

This is such a well written novel. There really is nothing else to say about that. It ranges from the mid to fast pace sort of writing; I found I got through it maybe in two/three days and that's without a day of reading in the middle. Scenery was described beautifully and there was attention to detail even in sensations, such as feeling hot or cold, water being chilly etc, which I really appreciated. Of course this is done in every good novel, but I've read a few books lately that seem to leave this sort of thing out completely, so I was deeply impressed to see it here. A lot of time went into the explanation of the method of time travel and it was generally written in a clear and concise way. I only really struggled once or twice. So definite props for the writing.

Characters were developed well, as were the relationships within the book. With so much of the book being taken up with the plot and the actual description of the time travel itself, it was nice to see some detail still being paid to the relationships between some of the characters, and the development within the characters themselves as the novel progresses. Kate herself grows into a much richer character, and her relationship with her grandmother was deeply touching as they grow closer together. There's the first hint at a little love triangle, too. These characters are written so well that I already have my favourite male in this little triangle. And he shall prevail, or else... It's rare that I develop such deep feelings over love triangles so quickly, so I think this is a clear indicator of characters written superbly.

The plot in this one was good. I wouldn't say it was mind blowing because for the majority of the novel they are setting up so much backstory and history and explanatory scenes regarding the actual time travel that they really didn't have time for much else. It did really well at demonstrating the past and setting up for the next two novels in the trilogy, though. So while this novel may be a little light on plot, it was still absolutely awesome to read, and what plot there was was absolutely fantastic. I couldn't put it down, honestly. I read this book in two sittings, in two exact halves actually haha. So yes. Light on plot, but what plot there was was absolutely brilliant.

Really this book is a real gem. In fact, I've already got the next two in the trilogy. And I cried when I finished it. Because I'm a big girl and cry when books end that I love, even if there are two more in the series that I actually own. Cough. So yes, a clear 5/5 stars from me. Bravo.

View all my reviews

Book Review | Like This, For Ever by Sharon Bolton

"Bright red. Like rose petals. Or rubies. Or balloons. Little red droplets.

Barney knows the killer will strike again soon. The victim will be another boy, just like him. He will drain the body of blood, and leave it on a Thames beach. There will be no clues for detectives Dana Tulloch and Mark Joesbury to find. There will be no warning about who will be next. There will be no good reason for Lacey Flint to become involved... And no chance that she can stay away.

Keep telling yourself it's only fiction."

Ooo look another book review... What can I say; I read a lot and I read fast, hence the book blog in the first place ;)! Before I start this review, I'm going to put a disclaimer in and say that Sharon Bolton is my favourite author of crime thrillers. I just felt like you should know that because it may make my review biased? On the other hand, it says a lot about her that she's my favourite author. I read so much and so many authors that to get the number one spot is impressive.

Sharon Bolton is the absolute master at dark, twisted and psychologically haunting thrillers. Her plots are easy to follow, and yet strangely complicated, with hundreds of twists and turns that you don't expect along the way. I have read three books by her already and all of them focus on the protagonist Lacey Flint - a police officer, obviously. This is the third in that series. I'm an intelligent person and I can usually figure out the whodunnit long before the end. And yet, out of all of the books I've read by Sharon Bolton (which admittedly isn't a lot), I have never been able to figure out the ending. The first book in the series, Now You See Me, is in my top three favourite books of all time, and is also one of the most gripping and twisting book I've ever read.

She writes with a graceful elegance and all of the words just naturally flow. Bolton has also perfected the art of chapter lengths. In some books, there'll be repeated chapters of two or three pages in a row, leading to a disjointed and difficult to read book. Bolton only ever writes short chapters if it slots into the rest of the plot easily and effectively, and all of the chapters are of appropriate lengths. I honestly cannot fault her style of writing. Simple perfection.

I read this 400ish page book in a day and a half. I was on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down. Sharon Bolton, you are a genius and an artist, and both you and this book have received my highest recommendation and regard.

5/5 stars, easily!

I hope you all pick up this book!

Book Review | The Girl with No Past by Kathryn Croft

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Leah Mills lives a life of a fugitive – kept on the run by one terrible day from her past. It is a lonely life, without a social life or friends until – longing for a connection – she meets Julian. For the first time she dares to believe she can live a normal life.

Then, on the fourteenth anniversary of that day, she receives a card. Someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won’t stop until they’ve destroyed the life Leah has created.

But is Leah all she seems? Or does she deserve everything she gets?

Everyone has secrets. But some are deadly."

I had such high hopes for this book. I truly did. I'd heard nothing but wonderful things, but by the time I'd put down this book it just... fell flat for me. It didn't live up to the expectations of it that I had. While reading, I kept flip flopping between liking this book and hating this book, then liking this book again etc. So let's go into a little more depth, shall we?

Overall, Croft writes well. The story flowed well and at a moderate to fast pace, creating an easy to read novel that's written wonderfully. I finished this book in two days and that's only because I had uni during this time, otherwise I probably could have finished it in one sitting. Not because I was particularly riveted, but because everything flowed so beautifully. I'd definitely be interested in reading anything else Croft puts out, because I can clearly see she has wonderful ideas and premises in her mind and I look forward to seeing how she develops as an author.

The characters were written well, and the story is told from two different time perspectives: one in the past when Leah (our protagonist) was a high school student, and one in the present day when she is a fully grown adult living with the choices of her past in high school. This provided an interesting overlook into the development of Leah over the years, and we really get to see how her actions moulded her personality and her actions in her future life. I quite liked this.

Where this book fell short for me, though, was the plot. I knew who the "baddie" was as soon as they appeared in the book so it was literally like biding time until it revealed what I already knew. And then a twist came at the very end of the book that I'd already figured out for myself as well, so even the major twist came as no surprise to me. It just all felt so predictable, and so unrealistic in some places that I did actually laugh out loud, which is certainly not what you want to be doing when reading a psychological thriller.

So really, this author truly has potential and I'd love to read her other books, but the plot just fell short for me in this particular novel. 3 stars out of 5.

10 Favourite Book Quotes of All Time!

Book quotes. All books have them. All readers love them. So what are some of our all time favourites that we always think of? Some of us even get them tattooed onto us to remember for all time, and now we can have our tattoos preserved after our death maybe even our relatives will grow to love them as well? Haha gross, thought, right? ;)

Still, I was recently chatting with a dear friend on a Facebook book group about our favourite book quotes and thought it'd make an interesting blog post. I'd love to hear all of yours as well! Tweet me or something :) So, without further ado, here are my top ten book quotes in history!

1. “Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” - William Goldman: Four Screenplays (I know this is technically a movie script, but I read it first of all in his screenplays book and later heard it on film)
2. "Love is many things, none of them logical" - William Goldman, The Princess Bride
3. "Life isn't fair, it's just fairer than death, that's all" - William Goldman, The Princess Bride
4. "Some books are so familiar, reading them is like being home again" - Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
5. "I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen" - Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
6. "It was a bright, cold day in April , and the clocks were striking thirteen" - George Orwell, 1984
7. "If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book" - Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events
8. "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on Earth should that mean that it is not real?" - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
9. "Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter…" - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
10. "Always" - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

You might have noticed some recurring authors here, possibly because they're some of my favourite authors or books of all time... Possibly because they're just poignant or elegant wordsmiths? Who really knows. But at the end of the day, all of these are either beautiful or funny and I love them all. Even though Harry Potter quotes could easily take up all ten of these slots haha. These are written in no particular order, just the order I thought of them. 

It's taken me a long time to write this post... I'm just glad I finally narrowed it down! I wrote down about a hundred and just crossed them off one by one until only ten were left. So let me know some of your favourites! Are any the same as mine? 

Book Review | Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"A beautiful violinist is haunted by a very old piece of music she finds in a strange antique shop in Rome.

The first time Julia Ansdell picks up The Incendio Waltz, she knows it’s a strikingly unusual composition. But while playing the piece, Julia blacks out and awakens to find her young daughter implicated in acts of surprising violence. And when she travels to Venice to find the previous owner of the music, she uncovers a dark secret that involves dangerously powerful people—a family who would stop at nothing to keep Julia from bringing the truth to light."

This is the first Tess Gerritsen I've ever read, and I'm saying now that it won't be my last. This book is absolutely hauntingly beautiful and even had me crying at some parts. It's not often I read a thriller/mystery that isn't based around serial killers and dead bodies, so it was something totally unique and different for me and I absolutely loved it.

Playing with Fire is a story told from two points of view, one in the present and one in the past. One half follows Julia, a modern day musician. The other half follows Lorenzo, a Jewish musician from the past. And let me tell you right now, Lorenzo's story is absolutely stunning. His part is told with grace and dignity, and you can tell the amount of research that Gerritsen put in to make it historically accurate. It's a sad but hauntingly beautiful tale that's been written with poise, elegance and grace.

The writing is stunning, I finished this book in a day. It's so engaging and I just couldn't wait to reach the end. I felt that Julia's story was weaker than Lorenzo's, but still strong, although I predicted her ending and outcome from the beginning of the book. Despite this, it didn't ruin the story for me at all. Gerritsen's writing really makes you feel for and grow deeply in love with her characters. Despite knowing the outcome of Lorenzo's side, my heart ached and I shed some tears over it because I truly loved him so.

The ending felt very rushed, and that's why I dropped the stars to 4 instead of five. It was like a slow building tension throughout the entire book and then BAM it's over and you're left feeling like... "well that was overly fast and convenient..." Not much else can be said about this ending, but that's my reasoning for dropping that star.

Overall the plot was incredibly unique and captivating, and it's a strong novel despite its few flaws. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Book Review | Slade House by David Mitchell

Thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Turn down Slade Alley - narrow, dank and easy to miss, even when you're looking for it. Find the small black iron door set into the right-hand wall. No handle, no keyhole, but at your touch it swings open. Enter the sunlit garden of an old house that doesn't quite make sense; too grand for the shabby neighbourhood, too large for the space it occupies.

A stranger greets you by name and invites you inside. At first, you won't want to leave. Later, you'll find that you can't."

This is the first David Mitchell book I have read, and I probably wouldn't have read it if it wasn't on NetGalley because, for some reason, I don't tend to purchase horror books. I love them so much, I just don't tend to reach for them. Who knows why. Nevertheless, I had heard wonderful things about this author so decided to give it a go. And boy am I glad I did.

It's written wonderfully. This book was so easy to read, it was almost as if the pages were turning themselves. Spooky thought, given the story ;) Seriously, though, Mitchell has a way with words that just seems to flow beautifully. Nothing about his writing is smug or pretentious, and despite being incredibly detailed it isn't overly verbose. Every single word or every single sentence has a point within this book. Nothing is there just to fill the pages, it's all so precise and cleverly thought out.

The characters. Well you don't see much of any of the characters. This is a book that revolves around a variety of characters, none of which has a long part in the book. It is more about the plot and the mystery, and the house, than the characters themselves so obviously there wasn't much character development. And yet each character is only in a few short pages and I managed to feel for each and every one of them. It's a strange feeling, feeling for a character you literally only meet for 5 pages of the book... Who knows how he does it. Magic, I tell you.

Plot wise, this book is incredible. It's unique, it's thrilling, it's mysterious and I could not wait to find out what happened next. In fact, this book was so wonderful that I have since bought The Bone Clocks because I want to be in this same world again. I could not wait to read on, and I finished this book in literally a few hours. Obviously this is due in part to it being a short story, but mostly because the plot was unique and interesting, and truly kept me on the edge of my seat. Absolutely wonderful.

An easy 5/5 stars. Well done, David Mitchell, you've found your newest fan.