Tag: mystery

The Glass House by Eve Chase [BOOK REVIEW] The Glass House by Eve Chase [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

The Glass House by Eve Chase [BOOK REVIEW]

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★★★

I am so glad I got the chance to read The Glass House by Eve Chase! I read it for a readalong, alongside some amazing people! It was a very good book, and I enjoyed it a lot. However, it lacked some mystery elements, which was the main reason I picked it up.

Synopsis

When the Harrington family discovers an abandoned baby deep in the woods, they decide to keep her a secret and raise her as their own.

But within days a body is found in the grounds of their house and their perfect new family implodes.

Years later, Sylvie, seeking answers to nagging questions about her life, is drawn into the wild, beautiful woods where nothing is quite what it seems.

My Thoughts:

The Glass House is a well written drama with a couple of mysterious elements. Through a couple of characters and two different timelines, we discover how two families end up connected to each other, and what secrets they have been keeping over the years.

It was very easy for me to get into this book, as the writing is captivating and colourful. I started to connect the dots very early and from then on, I was more and more curious to see what direction the story will take.

I loved Rita, the nanny. She was the one person in the book I truly cared about and I really wanted the best for her. I was invested in the other characters as well – they were all likeable in their own way and I enjoyed getting to know them better. However, apart from Rita, no one else made a huge impact on me.

The story and the development were set up very nicely.

I could predict almost all plot twists way before they happened, which was slightly disappointing. I was expecting more thriller elements, as there is a murder involved, but that wasn’t quite the case. The focus was on secrets and family drama, and this part managed to keep me entertained. There was a slight lack of suspense though.

The Glass House tells a lovely tale about how secrets can connect two completely different families. And also how fate can reunite them. It was gripping and full of family secrets and drama. If you are looking for the next murder mystery or suspenseful thriller, this is not it. But if you love a good story with likeable characters and a lot of family secrets buried in the past, you will definitely enjoy this one!

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The Push by Ashley Audrain [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

The Push by Ashley Audrain [BOOK REVIEW]

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The Push by Ashley Audrain [BOOK REVIEW]

★★★★

I read The Push by Ashley Audrain as part of a global readalong. Huge thank you to tandem and to Michael J Books, for sending me a hardcover copy of this book so I can join the readalong. The Push really intrigued me from the very first start and it was one of those books I devoured in a day, needing to know the next chapter. If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller, it will not let you down.

Synopsis:

Blythe is afraid that history will repeat itself when her first child, Violet, is born. Having a complicated relationship with her own mother, she is dedicated to give all the love and attention to Violet.

But Violet is not an easy child, and something is not right. She doesn’t smile at all, and no matter how much Blythe tried, Violet seems to not like her at all. Blythe’s husband, Fox, is certain that Blythe is just imagining this. But he cannot understand what Blythe has experienced as a child.

Fighting a battle that she might never be able to win, Blythe is on the verge of losing her daughter, her family, her husband, her marriage, and everything she does seems to be wrong. Is her child really evil, or is she just being delusional?

My Thoughts:

The Push was certainly a different book, unlike anything else I’ve read. Many people in our group have compared it to “We Need To Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver, because of the style of writing. I haven’t read that one, so I couldn’t compare it, but it’s definitely on my radar now.

The Push is written in a first person perspective, where Blythe is telling her story to her husband, Fox. There are also parts in the book where we follow the stories of Blythe’s mother and Blythe’s grandmother. These parts help us learn more about those relationships and help us understand Blythe better, as well how her childhood plays a part in her relationship with her daughter, Violet.

The relationship between Blythe and Violet was presented in such a unique way, full of anxiety. Their interactions made me uncomfortable many times, but I enjoyed that. It’s not often that a book can push me out of comfort zone like that and I hope to find more books like this in the future. I am not a mother myself, but this book might be a hard read for parents. Especially during certain scenes, I could barely read chapters without taking a break.

The short chapters and the many plot twists are what made The Push unputdownable for me.

I was staying up all night, flipping pages and I loved that. I mostly felt for Blythe, because of what she was going through. no one should have to experience that and she should have received more support from her husband. However, there were also instances where she was neglecting Violet as a child and I wonder whether this had any consequences to Violet’s personality later on, as well as her development.

I loved the suspense of The Push, as well as the fact that we can never truly trust Blythe to tell us the truth, because this is her story, but it may not necessarily be completely true. The only part that I wanted more of was the ending. It didn’t finish as concluded as I’d hoped, but that’s just my personal preference. I also hoped to see Violet’s point of view, as well as what was going on through the husband’s mind – I feel like this might have brought more plot twists, or make people choose sides and discuss this.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Push.

It was a very interesting and dark psychological thriller. Extremely fast-paced and full of plot twists. If you are looking for something to keep you on your toes, look no further.

Purchase Links:
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Keeper by Jessica Moor [BLOG TOUR] Keeper by Jessica Moor is one of the most gripping thrillers I have read this year! Keeper by Jessica Moor [BLOG TOUR]
Blog Tour · Book Review · Books

Keeper by Jessica Moor [BLOG TOUR]

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I am so happy to be the one starting this amazing blog tour for Keeper by Jessica Moor! Huge thank you to the team at Viking, for sending me a copy of the book, to read and provide an honest review. Please check out the other participants as well.

★★★★

Keeper by Jessica Moor is one of the most gripping thrillers I have read this year!

Synopsis:

When Katie Straw’s body is pulled from the waters of the local suicide spot, the police decide it’s an open-and-shut- case. A standard-issue female suicide.

But the residents of Widringham women’s refuge where Katie worked don’t agree. They say it’s murder.

Will you listen to them?

My Thoughts:

As soon as I started reading Keeper, I couldn’t put it down. The story is gripping from the very first moment, and the intensity keeps growing with each page.

Scenes from THEN and scenes from NOW give us a story of Katie’s life before, and the investigation of Katie’s death now. In the past, we get a detailed view of Katie’s life in her new relationship, and how it progresses from true love to something very unhealthy. In the current time, we meet a couple of refuge women, who all suffered domestic violence, as they are being interviewed by the detectives, in the hope to shine some light to Katie’s death.

There is no evidence to point out that Katie took her own life, but there is also no evidence to suggest that she has been killed. And the detectives now have to rely on small clues, to try and figure out what exactly happened that day. Some secrets that Katie kept also don’t help their investigation at all.

Even though this is Katie’s story, it is also the story of the refuge women. Even more so. Through their experiences, we can fully understand Katie’s perspective. And through their lives, we find out secrets hidden that should never have come to surface.

The main subject of the book is about domestic violence, both physical and psychological. This can be a trigger warning, as many scenes go into a lot of detail. We meet different characters that suffered in their relationships in different ways. And while they are in the refuge home, we see the aftermath that these relationships have on the women. Some women are unable to speak to men anymore. They are unable to trust people. Nothing is ever the same. And some decide to go back to that horrible environment, because it’s the only thing they know. On average, a woman tries to leave her partner seven times before she succeeds. This tells you all you need to know, of how hard it is to leave in the first place, and why it is so easy to also go back.

I loved the main mystery. The fact that we assume something happened to Katie, but we are not sure. It is not until the very end that we actually find out the truth. The plot twists in the end were very well done, and I really enjoyed that WOW factor. I have the urge to read the book again now, just to capture the secrets clues that were right in front of me, but I never saw them coming. I also loved the issue this book raises about domestic violence, the refuge centres, and how little help they are getting. Struggling for budgets and being ignored by large organisations is very a very common practice, and the women staying there can feel this, which results in them not feeling as safe as they should be, or not getting the help they really need.

Keeper is set in a very uncomfortable atmosphere. In each chapter, you can almost feel what these women are feeling, and even though I cannot relate to them, I could feel their pain and felt so anxious to help them. Jessica Moor was able to perfectly capture their fear, their anxiety, their struggle, and I could empathise with them.

Beautiful fast-paced thriller that you can’t put down, with amazing plot twists and topics so unfortunately common and infuriating! I definitely recommend it, you won’t be able to forget Keeper easily.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

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Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent [BLOG TOUR]
Blog Tour · Book Review · Books

Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent [BLOG TOUR]

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I am so glad to be part of the blog tour for Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent. Huge thank you to the team at Penguin Random House, for sending me a copy of the book, to read and provide an honest review. Please check out the other participants as well.

★★★★

Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent took me on a wild journey I never knew I needed. Be ready for a very intense family and many unpredictable secrets!

Synopsis:

This is a story about three brothers. One of them is dead, lying in a coffin.

Will, Brian and Luke grew up competing for their mother’s unequal love. As men, the competition continues – for status, money, fame, women… They each betray one another, over and over again. Until one of them is murdered.

But which one?

My Thoughts:

Our Little Cruelties is the first book I have read by Liz Nugent, and now I know why her books are so gripping. This book is very dark and brutal, but also raw and honest. It captured a troubled family so well and created a very uncomfortable and unpredictable atmosphere.

The book is split into four main parts; three parts from the perspective of each brother, and the last part that covers the conclusion scenes and culmination. There are also special parts throughout the book, where the two brothers are attending the funeral of the third brother. The full beauty of this setting is that we don’t know who the dead brother is until the very end, and the reason why he was murdered.

Throughout the book, we slowly get to know all three brothers, their parents, their loved ones , their hopes, dreams and fears. But most importantly, the rivalry between them, than only increases over the years. All the brothers are fighting their own battles. They all do horrible things and they are all mean to each other. Being three of them, there is always a two versus one game as well, and they keep changing their sides and alliances. It was very interesting to read about their thoughts and experiences, especially when they have different opinions on the same situations, and each opinion is valid and makes sense based on their personality. This was very cleverly written.

After the first part, I made my own opinions about the characters, but after reading the other parts, my opinions changed drastically. Because there are always more sides to one story. And people react in different ways. Also, small things trigger to bigger chain events.

I absolutely loved the psychological aspect. How three brothers can grow up with different childhood experiences while living in the same household. The power and responsibility that the mother has when raising her children. This has always fascinated me and I loved discussing it with my boyfriend and my friends.

The book itself is very dark and has a lot of plot twists. The last part of the book is very intense and was so fun to read. Sometimes it had too much drama for my taste, but considering that this is a family thriller, it was inevitable.

Our Little Cruelties is the perfect thriller to make you wonder how dysfunctional your family is. It is gripping and dark from the very first pages, and keeps this atmosphere until the very end. I loved it and I definitely suggest you pick it up.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

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The Spiral by Iain Ryan [BOOK REVIEW] The Spiral by Iain Ryan [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

The Spiral by Iain Ryan [BOOK REVIEW]

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The Spiral by Iain Ryan [BOOK REVIEW] This book really took me on a rollercoaster and I still feel the adrenaline after the ride.

★★★

I was reading The Spiral by Iain Ryan as part of a readalong with some amazing people on Instagram. I have a few readalongs in the pipeline for 2021 for both book bloggers and bookstagrammers, and you can read more and join HERE if you want to. Reading The Spiral was a very unique experience!

Synopsis:

Erma Bridges’ life is far from perfect, but entirely ordinary. So when she is shot twice in a targetted attack by a colleague, her quiet existence is shattered in an instant.

With her would-be murderer dead, no one can give Erma the answers she needs to move on from her trauma. Why her? Why now?

So begins Erma’s quest for the truth – and a dangerous, spiralling journey into the heart of darkness.

My Thoughts:

First of all, I feel the need to say that I still feel confused after finishing The Spiral. But in a good way. This book really took me on a rollercoaster and I still feel the adrenaline after the ride. And don’t let my 3-star rating put you off, because it’s a very strong 3 star. The Spiral is definitely one of those books that is bound to give you a hangover. The characters will haunt for me for a while, especially Erma.

Erma’s life changes when her assistant Jenny tries to kill her and then kills herself. With Jenny dead, Erma has no answers on why Jenny did that, and all she can do is try and follow her steps and try to reveal the reason why.

Through Iain Ryan’s amazing writing and creativity, this book takes a very unique approach. I loved how the author incorporated the “choose your own adventure” narrative not just in the book, but also as part of the book plot. It was a very new experience for me, and I had lots of fun reading it! If you are not familiar with the “choose your own adventure” format, these types of books are written with a narrative that give you an option, as the reader, to make certain choices. And they usually contain sentences like this one:

” You are standing between three doors. If you choose the red door, go to page 35. If you decide to go for the white door with blue sparkles, go to page 46. And if you are feeling brave today, and want to choose the black door surrounded by thorns, proceed to page 59.”

– Please note that this quote was a product of my imagination, and is not an actual quote from the book.

But now you sort of get the point. You go to a certain page, and then read a story based on your choices. Then you end up making more choices along the way. These books usually have a lot of different endings that you can unravel. The Spiral, however, uses this “choose your own adventure” narrative to provide more information on different character’s plotlines, but doesn’t actively impact the outcome in the end. Well, not completely. Just a little.

I still feel like there are many questions that were left unanswered, and I am currently in between two worlds. The curious part of me wants a conclusive ending, and doesn’t like to keep wondering. And the creative part of me things that this is the point of the book – to give us a chance for us to imagine how the character’s future will unfold.

The Spiral is a very dark, very eerie, very unpredictable book. It’s also full of twists, or dare I say, spirals 😂. I enjoyed it a lot and I hope you’ll give it a chance if the synopsis pulls you in.

“Memory isn’t fact. Memory is subjective and loose. A memory can get close enough to fiction that the line blurs. What good is it?”

Purchase Links:
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