Zoe Adams

3.75 stars. This was definitely my next favorite after Bear Town. It was a perfect end to the trilogy. I did feel this was a bit too long, however; almost like Backman didn't quite know where this was going. But overall, it was a very moving and appropriate way to tie the themes together.

I loved this. I'm always wary of Dawn O'Porter, because whenever she's interviewed, I think she's amazing, but I sometimes find her humour a little bit cringe-worthy. But she judged it perfectly here. I can't help but compare this with Jacqueline Wilson's Think Again. Both are adult books written by authors who began as children's/teen authors, following characters that originated in their teen books, through to adulthood. But where JW did an awful job; failed to let her characters grow, and to adapt her writing to an adult audience, Dawn O'Porter did this excellently.

This one was just okay. It was a bit too similar to the Curfew for me, and I am starting to get fed up of the ‘main character is being framed and made to look mad' type story-line. I also thought this was pretty obvious...

3.5 stars. My favorite TM Logan yet I think - I loved that this was more a domestic thriller, than a thriller focused very much on a single crime. It kept me guessing throughout, and I felt for once it wasn't completely unrealistic and far-fetched.

This was a huge mistake: I wish I'd read the reviews more thoroughly before I bought. This was such amateur writing that I couldn't even begin to become embedded in the story. It could have been written by a school child; simplistic and too dimensional.

I did not have high expectations of this, but I must say, for a thriller, this was excellent. It was well-written and perfectly paced. However, I still just do not like this genre; I just don't believe in the idea that there are such evil and sadistic people out there. I prefer it when the ‘crime' at the heart of a novel is one that is committed for ‘human' reasons, and it is possible to even empathise with the perpetrator. I just don't find these far-fetched ‘thriller' type perpetrators remotely convincing. But, my genre preferences aside, I must say I was impressed by McFadden's writing.

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I loved the way in which motherhood was explored from so many different perspectives, and the impossibility for any woman doing it ‘right'. I don't agree at al that the plot was too far-fetched - it all felt very real, and the character development was excellent.

I so badly wanted to like this; and really enjoyed the first couple of chapters. But it god old really really fast. The sort of over the top, quirkiness never developed beyond a gimmick, and I found I got really bored that the book didn't end up having more depth.

3.5 stars. I'm warming to TM Logan. I like that the crimes are all believable, and while sometimes predictable, not completely far-fetched. They're quite well-written, and certainly hold your interest.

3.75 stars. I thought this was a lovely, complex, and very moving book. I don't agree that it was hard to keep track of the characters. I thought it was a wonderful exploration of friendship; of how we are shaped by trauma, and of how far-reaching are the impacts of addiction.

I was a huge fan of Jacqueline Wilson's children's books. But I naively thought that is she turned her hand to adult fiction, she would put in the effort to adapt her style accordingly. I was wrong. This is still written in the style of a book for a young adult, and even the themes are immature. It's just that the odd explicit sexual reference is thrown in to justify this being marketed at adults. It's clear that this is just an attempt to capitalise on the Girls in Love brand. It is shockingly awful, and has made me extremely angry.

3.5 stars This was SO much better than “The Catch” by the same author. While it was a bit unbelievable, and did go on a bit too long, I thought this was a great thriller, and really kept me guessing.

3.75 stars. This was very much a ‘slow' romance. At times a little too slow, I nonetheless enjoyed seeing the development of the relationship and observing how the characters grew, and gradually overcame their differences. If perhaps lacking in magic and excitement at times, it was nonetheless an enjoyable, albeit very ‘gentle' read.

It's really odd how Lagercrantz' additions to this series have got worse and worse. Book 4 was nearly as good as Stieg Larsson; Book 5 was slightly weaker, but this book is really quite poor. The characterisation has been lost; the plot has become a bit ridiculous, and it's really lost a lot of its magic.

2.5 stars. This was a HUGE Disappointment. The story line did not appeal to me, as I'm not a fan of anything magical, but the reviews convinced me that this had depth. Well, no depth at all. What a stupid, repetitive and highly shallow story.

3.5 stars. This was another good addition to the series, although, more than book 4, I felt the contrast between Lagercrantz' writing, and Stieg Larsson's.

2.75 stars. This book epitomises everything I dislike about this genre. People act in ways they absolutely would not if it were not a thriller. Everything is far-fetched, people are irrational, and I just don't ‘get' the point...

3.75 stars. This was another really enjoyable and thought-provoking book. The themes explored built on, but were different from, those in BearTown, and I did like the way this built on the latter. However, it was less moving and less engaging than Beartown, and I did feel that the book lacked an overall point/direction. Still enjoyable, but just not quite as much as the first one.

I revisited this after being pleasantly surprised by Bear Town. Unfortunately, this was much more in the spirit of a Man Called Ove, and not my cup of tea. I could appreciate the humour in this, and think Backman did a wonderful job exploring such serious issues through a comedic lens, but it just didn't work for me.

This is the first Clare Chambers book I really have struggled with. I found myself really bored with the back story, and desperately wanting to come back to the present. But even that story soon began to drag. What a disappointment.

This was really disappointing. The characters were so so cliche; everything was so formulaic - and then there were two or three chapters towards the end where it just descended into a farce. I won't be reading the rest of the series.

This was not my favorite Christina Lauren - there was just too much explicit sex in this, that just interrupted the flow of the story, and seemed completely unnecessary. Still a good book - but I just felt there was too much ‘sex for the thrills.'

3.5 stars. Horowitz is an extremely clever writer, and I find I ‘enjoy' these books more to marvel at his cleverness, than to actually enjoy the story itself.

3.5 stars. This was one of the most bizarre books I've read. It started out remarkably derivative of Secret History, but it soon developed into something quite different. The constant literary references were extremely clever, but did become quite irritating as the book commenced. But the entire story was just very strange, and I certainly couldn't be sure what the overall ‘point' of the novel was. Despite this, I did enjoy it - however strange the experience.

I have really struggled with Backman in the past, and nearly gave up on this one too. I'm SO glad I didn't. What a wonderful book - while Backman's style does take some getting used to, I loved the way this book explored themes of loyalty, and family, and friendship. I loved the relationship between Maya and Ana; I loved Benji; I loved the way Backman explored so many complex themes, developed so many lovable but flawed characters, and communicated so many nuanced messages about so much more than sport - in a story that was ostensibly about nothing but. It's even made me want to read more by this author, my earlier reservations notwithstanding.