Suzi

I love it when I find a good, interesting non-fiction book about something I've never heard about...and this fits perfectly.

As I live in the UK, I hadn't heard about the sub-prime mortgage crises or the awful situation in East New York during these years and how the two were intertwined.

Well written and well narrated, I'll definitely look for more from this author.

This was great! Amazing characters and brilliant horror scenes.

I did have some gripes in that there were some loose ends which weren't tied up so I still had some questions by the end, and I felt like the kids should have been aged up a bit. It felt a bit unbelievable that these kids doing all these things are only 11.

The writing was easy and comfortable, it was paced well so quite a quick read for a 600+ pages horror book.

Unbearable people being unbearable to each other, then a twist at the end I saw coming a mile off.

Should have DNFd but wanted to see if I was right.

It took me a little while to get used to the 2 different POVs of Gormflaith and Fodla - very different women (one a queen, one a healer), but both trying to survive in a bleak and brutal world of men, kings and Vikings.

Historical fantasy is definitely one of my favourite sub-genres, and this hit a lot of high points for me - I loved the setting and the politics with all of the clans and kings over Ireland. I enjoyed the characters, although I did get them mixed up at times. The pacing and writing were great, and I especially enjoyed listening to this one on audio, to hear the Irish names pronounced correctly (instead of being butchered in my head!).

I'll be reading book 2 very soon.

I wasn't quite as connected to this instalment as I was with the previous two but I did really enjoy the direction this has taken after the Scrimmage.

I also like how we see how Paige isn't the shiny infallible chosen one, yes she's in a position of power but she's still young, impulsive and isn't immortal so does actually have to work for their goals.

5 stars, as usual. The woman cannot write a bad book. I'm so glad to see this is going to be a series too.

Another great instalment in this series, I especially enjoyed the setting in Chinatown and the Chinese mythology sprinkled throughout.

I wasn't sure about this at the start, I was unsure how Maria's story would go, we hadn't met Charlotte and I didn't really connect with Alice's chapters, but there was a shift during one of Maria's chapters and I was completely hooked.

This is dark and atmospheric and I really enjoyed it.

I thought I knew what Cradle was about...then I read it and realised I didn't know what Cradle was about.

That said, I did enjoy it! It was a bit of a slow start and the world building was a bit lacking, but things definitely picked up in the second half.

I didn't feel particularly connected to Lindon but as the books are quite short, I feel like this will change in the next book.

I really didn't expect the sci-fi elements of this, and at the moment I'm still really unsure where that's going to go and how it will play into the longer plot but I am intrigued.

A good intro to the author's world, characters and writing style, all of which I liked. I especially liked the very end which opened up a load of questions about the mysterious assassin in grey and how he fits into the plot.

I loved The Last Mrs Parrish but this was so contrived with so cringy writing and dialogue. It doesn't even seem like its written by the same people.

This series just gets better and better with each book. My god.

DNF @ 52%

I think the author was trying to write an adult thriller but it still read very much as YA, from the over explaining of every little detail, to the relationship forming between Alex and Daniel. I'm not against YA but this just felt confused, like it didn't know what it wanted to be. It was also boring and I just don't have it in me to finish.

This was so good, I absolutely flew though this one. Whilst I liked book 2 a little less, this one was definitely on the same level as book 1 for me. Onto the next!

Well that was underwhelming.

Given how much I loved and reread the original trilogy, and how much I enjoyed Haymitch's character, I expected to love this but I was so disappointed.

There's 200 pages of build up in a 372 page book, then a completely dull "games", him pining over "Lenore Dove" and then a super quick ending.

I haven't read Ballad but I am now even less excited to do so. Ugh.

Another great instalment in this series, albeit not my favourite.

I absolutely loved the first half of this one, however the second half just got a bit too wild - there was so much going on, it just became a bit too much at times.

The epilogue was very intriguing so I'm looking forward to book 5.

I love all of Catherine's books, but something in this one wasn't quit hitting like all of the others have.

It may be that I didn't connect with the characters as much this time, or that I've read so many I can see the clear plot points being hit through the story as her books can be formulaic, although I will say that formula usually works but in this one it just felt slightly predictable.

This was my first Grady Hendrix and whilst it wasn't a new favourite, I will definitely try more from him.

I mostly liked this, I think the writing was good, and the atmosphere and setting were great, but my main issue with this was that it was just too long. Some scenes were really drawn out when they didn't need to be. If this was around the 400 page mark it would be spot on, but it just seemed never ending, especially as the plot revolves around the suffering of these girls - the suffering they go through with their pregnancies and births, as well as the suffering at the hands of the adults running the home and their own families. It was just a lot for a long time.

I did not expect to be crying by the end of this, I thought it was going to be a cute sports romance but it's definitely got deeper levels and has some really emotional moments, especially with Caleb and memories of his dad.

I really liked the relationship between TJ and Caleb and how it grew, as well as the focus on their respective sports.

I'll definitely be reading more from Michae.

T.M. Logan never lets me down with a good, quick, twisty mystery thriller and this one was no different.

I will say that I saw some of the twists coming, but it didn't detract from enjoying how the story played out.

It's not my favourite from this author but it's a tough choice as they're all so good!

Absolutely brilliant!!

This was such a unique book and I absolutely loved everything about it.

The audiobook is the way to go with this one, the narration and voices done by Jeff Hays made this such a great experience and I'll be getting to the next one ASAP.

I feel exactly the same about this book as I did about the author's book, The Woman They Could Not Silence - it's an incredible story and something I previously wasn't that aware of, but it was too long and slightly overwritten in the assumptions and descriptions.

Overall I'm glad I read it and will definitely look for future books from the author, but I know what I'm getting with her books now. Definitely ones to get on audio due to the length (for me at least).

I feel like it too so long to get through this, it's longer than book 1 and the differing POVs slow the pace slightly.

I love the political side of fantasy but I do think Talia's chapters were a little long and slow so did affect the pace of Holt's story.

That said, I really enjoyed this sequel and am loving the series as a whole. 😊

This was good!! It was a great little horror story, packaged in a very unique way. Had to explain I wasn't actually reading an IKEA catalogue so points for it being effective!

God this was heartbreaking 💔

Set on a maternity ward during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, it was grief after grief with no break.

Although I was totally unable to stop reading this, I do feel like it was lacking in depth at times. I also felt like the moment between Julia and Bridie came out of nowhere, this really needed some more fleshing out.

This was my first from Emma Donoghue but won't be my last.