Priest of Crowns by Peter McLeanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
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Monday 26 September 2022
Sunday 25 September 2022
Review: Where They Lie
Where They Lie by Joe HartMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Now this was a twisty little thriller and no mistake.
The premise of the book is told from the PoV of a Social Worker, Nora McTavish, a survivor of childhood trauma, who tries to help those children she comes into contact with in her work. But when a famous Vlogger and her family crash in their private plane, she has to wonder if she missed something when she dealt with the family a couple of months before. It is then that her life takes an even more strange turn.
I started off not liking Nora much, to me she felt quite flat when it came to her emotions and all, but all that is a little more explained as the story continues through. I very soon started to root for her, and I got tangled in the mystery as I tried to work it out along with her.
Joe's writing is smooth, everything was clearing explained and what's more he left no plot holes or made his characters do anything that seemed out of their personality. A great little thriller that needs to be read to be believed.
View all my reviews
Review: Where They Lie
Where They Lie by Joe HartMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Now this was a twisty little thriller and no mistake.
The premise of the book is told from the PoV of a Social Worker, Nora McTavish, a survivor of childhood trauma, who tries to help those children she comes into contact with in her work. But when a famous Vlogger and her family crash in their private plane, she has to wonder if she missed something when she dealt with the family a couple of months before. It is then that her life takes an even more strange turn.
I started off not liking Nora much, to me she felt quite flat when it came to her emotions and all, but all that is a little more explained as the story continues through. I very soon started to root for her, and I got tangled in the mystery as I tried to work it out along with her.
Joe's writing is smooth, everything was clearing explained and what's more he left no plot holes or made his characters do anything that seemed out of their personality. A great little thriller that needs to be read to be believed.
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Saturday 17 September 2022
Friday 16 September 2022
Tuesday 13 September 2022
Review: Blood Debts
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-WalkerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was an interesting book, especially to read from the other side of the mirror, as it were.
The book follows twin witches in New Orleans, with the story told from their different points of view, with the odd chapter from another character. It shows the dark and twisty world that they live in, growing up and navigating the dark waters of magic, teenage life, love and racism - due to the colour of their skin and the magic they posses.
I found the chapters written by Clem to be hard work, not entirely sure why, though the character does suffer from depression and anxiety, and that was beautifully represented, and that may be while it made he uncomfortable. The chapters written by Cris were a little easier to read, and I did find her motives a little easier to follow.
The book tackles lgbtq+ love, controlled love, death, murder racism. It is done really well, and when the topics do make you feel uncomfortable, it can force you to look at the reasons why. A good read, you need to pick it up!
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Tuesday 6 September 2022
Sunday 4 September 2022
Review: HellSans
HellSans by Ever DundasMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sometimes you pi8ck up a book that is just different. And it takes you a moment or two to get your head around things, but once you do, you are glad you stuck with the book to start with as the story sweeps you up and pulls you along in strange and wonderful ways. And this is one of those books, without a doubt.
Set in a future time where people are given "bliss" (an euphoric feeling that leaves them pretty much stoned and compliant) by simply looking at a special type of font, there are of course those who have violent reactions to the font. And in the ways of the mass mob, those who have a reactions are called deviants and despised. The story, told from two perspectives, is from a Doctor trying to "cure" the deviants, and a millionaire who owns a tech company.
I had no idea what to expect from the story, but it swept me along with brilliant pacing and the building up on anticipation. I think this book has something for everyone, be them scifi, fantasy or just general fiction fans. It covers a broad spectrum of ideas, and the story was brilliantly woven to include it all.
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Review: Pulling the Wings Off Angels
Pulling the Wings Off Angels by K.J. ParkerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I could not put this down from the moment I picked it up. I rarely have that kind of reaction to a story in the first page, but there we are, and I finished it in record time. And the only thing that made me sad was that I finished it when I did, and realised I had no more pages left to read.
The story is told by a seminary student who is forced to look into a family legend about his Grandfather breaking the wings of an angel. The main character believes this false, but goes along with it to appease the mobster who he goes a lot of money too. It is set in a different land, though it had striking parallels to our own world in certain things which makes the narrative flow easily.
I found it hard to like the main character, all through the book, and at no point did I really feel sorry for him. While he may want to go good, it is mainly for all the wrong reasons, and that is one of the focuses of the story. It is all bound up in talk of religion, but at no point is it about if religion is good or bad, just more the moral choices we make and why we make them.
It is a clever piece of writing, and I would suggest reading it between other larger books, as a bity of a brain refresher.
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Review: Nothing But Blackened Teeth
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra KhawMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was and was not what I was expecting.
I was hoping for a good spooky, scare the pants off me, Japanese horror, which I kind of got a little flashed at me towards the end, but what I found was this book was more about the savagery of human nature, not to mention the way male entitlement can really fuck everyone up.
The main character, whose PoV the book is told through, as been through some serious emotional and mental health issues. Some brought on by her "friends" and some just through the world around her. One thing I hated from the word go was how one of the men (they had obviously had some kind of romantic history) kept apologising, asking for forgiveness so she could alleviate him of guilt to make him feel better at her own expense. Once of the best lines in the book was "but apologies dont exonerate the sinner, only compelled graciousness from its recipient." And for me, that summed up most of the book.
For the most part I did enjoy it, but I felt like the ending was rushed, that it could have had a little more spooky ghosty activity, though really that was not what the book was ultimately about.
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