The Game by Scott Kershaw [BLOG TOUR]

May 11, 2022May 11, 2022 innah96Leave a comment

A very big thank you to the team at HQ Stories, for sending me a copy of The Game by Scott Kershaw. Make sure you follow the other mentioned bloggers above for their reviews of this book. The Game is definitely one of those books that instantly grabs your attention.

About The Book:

Pages: 429

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Publisher: HQ Stories

Format I read it in: Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★/★

Synopsis:

As soon as I read the synopsis, I wanted to know what this game is all about. We are introduced to five people, and someone they love goes missing and they receive a message to start playing the game. There can only be one winner and they cannot share this message or seek help from anyone. If they lose this game, their loved one will die.

My Thoughts:

The first half of the book feels like a prolonged introduction. There is a slight issue with pacing, due to us reading five chapters for five different characters, all having to do the same few tasks. For example – they need to buy a prepaid phone and come to a certain location.

Whilst this is great in terms of character building, and us understanding each character’s back story, at times it felt like a recycled content. Once the game officially starts, my reading experience improved significantly. There is a lot of tension and uneasy atmosphere that I quite enjoyed. We discover a lot of secrets about the players and see how each of them deals with the situation they are into.

Writing this review now, it’s extremely hard to not reveal anything. The big reveal was very unexpected, that’s all I will say! It took me by surprise still, even though I had my suspicions and picked up on a few clues along the way. The ending was dark and twisty and it was interesting to see the aftermath of everything. A lot of questions were raised regarding morality and taking responsibility of small decisions that may have a huge impact in the long run. There are definitely a lot of topics for discussion, and I can see this book being a great pick for a book club. It kept me glued from start to finish. The game aspect of the book satisfied me and the gripping ending was a masterpiece. Don’t miss this one out, despite its difficult beginning.

The Game is Scott Kershaw’s debut novel, although his writing doesn’t feel like a debut author’s writing. I will definitely keep Scott on my radar and look out for his next books.

About The Author:

Scott Kershaw lives in Lincolnshire, in a Victorian cottage that was formerly ruled by mice. He likes the crackle of vinyl, the smell of paperbacks, the taste of a stiff drink and the view from a front row barrier. He’s getting too old and heavy for crowd-surfing, but that rarely stops him from trying. His first real love was cinema. His beagle, Darwin, is the one true king of dogs. As a child, Scott believed in monsters. Sometimes he still does. The Game is his debut thriller.

Book Review · Books

Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun [BOOK REVIEW]

May 1, 2022May 1, 2022 innah96Leave a comment

First of all, I want to say thank you to the team at Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun for me to read and review. This book was truly a unique reading experience.

About The Book:

Pages: 176

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Format I read it in: Hardcover

Rating: ★★★/★★

Synopsis:

There were a few reasons why I was interested in this book. The vivid colours on the cover shouted radiance and mystery. The title is intriguing and I was wondering how it connected to the story. The synopsis starts off as a thriller, but dives into the unknown. And finally, I love exploring translated works because I always learn something new.

Lemon is a story that features the murder of a 19-year-old Kim Hae-on. Known as the High School Beauty Murder, there are instantly two suspects: Shin Jeongjun, a rich kid in whose car Hae-on was last seen, and Han Manu, a delivery boy who witnessed Hae-on in Shin Jeongjun’s passenger seat. When no evidence can be pinned on both boys, the case goes cold.

My Thoughts:

If you are looking for a mystery thriller, I’m afraid this book is not it. We may or may not find out the truth behind the murder. It doesn’t even matter. What we will definitely see though, is the aftermath. The lives this murder impacted and how they are getting on seventeen years after the murder.

Although this murder is the big event that drives everything, Lemon actually focuses on the people that survived. 17 years after the murder, the grief takes a big toll on Hae-on’s little sister, Da-on. Da-on is struggling to move on with her life. She lives more in the past than she does in the present. She even does some very dramatic things, all in the hope to be able to find out what happened to her older sister and move on.

“Death carves a clear line between the dead and the living,’ she said in a solemn tone. ‘The dead are over there and the rest of us are over here. When someone dies, no matter how great they were, it’s like drawing a permanent line between that person and the rest of humanity. If birth means begging to join the side of the living, then death has the power to kick everyone out. That’s why I think death, with its power to sever things forever, is far more objective, more dignified, than birth, which is the starting point of everything.”

I felt for Da-on. She felt she had a responsibility all her life. And she feels like she failed to protect her sister. I also felt for their mum. It was interesting to find out about her believing in bad omens. When Hae-on was a baby, she was supposed to be called Hye-eun. But the dad called her Hae-on due to his accent and this name stayed. Because of this, the mother thinks her daughter’s destiny has also changed. After Hae-on dies, the mum tries to change her name, but they won’t allow it. That scene was very heartbreaking. But it also made me wonder. I’ve never thought to ask that question before. Can you actually change a deceased person’s name? I tried to find information on this (specifically for the UK), but I wasn’t able to find anything, so I am assuming it’s not possible.

Aside from Hae-on’s family, we get to know more about the lives of the two suspects at that time. And also some of Hae-on’s classmates. It is very notable that this murder has a huge impact on a lot of people, and they all deal with it very differently. In some of the scenes where Da-on meets with these people, you can notice the awkwardness and rawness is still present, even after years have passed.

Even though it’s not the most suspenseful fiction novel, I still recommend it. I read it in a day and it did keep me intrigued. It was a different take on an aftermath of a murder, and I enjoyed it. I also learned a few new things, which I always cherish in my reading adventures!

About The Author:

Kwon Yeo-sun was born in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province of South Korea in 1965. Kwon enjoyed a brilliant literary debut in 1996 when her novel Niche of Green was awarded the Sangsang Literary Award. At the time, novels that reflected on the period of the democratization movement in South Korea, were prevalent.

Book Review · Books

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart [BOOK REVIEW]

April 13, 2022April 13, 2022 innah961 Comment

I am so excited I got to read “Family of Liars” before its publication date and receive an uncorrected proof. This review is SPOILER FREE for both “Family of Liars” and “We Were Liars“.

About The Book:

Pages: 298

Format I read it in: Uncorrected Proof (paperback)

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

★★★★

Synopsis:

The prequel to We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come.

A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts.
A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.
A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy.
A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.

Welcome back to the Sinclair family.
They were always liars.

My Thoughts:

“Family of Liars” is the prequel of “We Were Liars” and it features the parents from “We Were Liars” as teenagers. “Family of Liars” contains spoilers for “We Were Liars”, so if you haven’t read any of the books, I strongly recommend reading “We Were Liars” first, and then reading “Family of Liars”. I won’t give too much information on the synopsis – same like the first book, this one is better reading blind. I’ll just say this -it features the same private island, the year is 1987 and some new characters join our characters for the summer, when everything kicks off.

If you enjoyed “We Were Liars”, you will also enjoy this book! I don’t want to say it follows the same template, but it kind of does. The chapter flows in the same way, as well as the writing – still beautiful and easy to read. This writing style is a style I really enjoyed reading. If for some reason the writing bothered you in the first book, be aware that it’s very similar here too.

The emotion side was more enhanced in this book. I felt more love, heartbreak, anger and sadness and I loved it so much! I was expecting a twist this time though, and I did get it. And then I got a few more I wasn’t expecting. However, the twists in this book didn’t give the chock or wow factor and didn’t have the same intensity. They were still very cleverly done and I did not see them coming.

In my opinion, “We Were Liars” was amazing and “Family of Liars” just couldn’t top that. But that being set aside, this book was extremely enjoyable and incredibly gripping. A must-read for the fans of this genre and fans of the series. There’s definitely something about this private island that will always tickle my curiosity!

About The Author:

E. Lockhart is the author of Again Again, Genuine Fraud, We Were Liars, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and several other books. Whistle: A New Gotham CIty Hero is a graphic novel.

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Book Review · Books

Whisky For Breakfast by Christopher P. Mooney [BOOK REVIEW]

April 2, 2022March 31, 2022 innah96Leave a comment

Whisky For Breakfast is a very honest and unusual collection of 35 short stories. Every story features characters that don’t quite fit the world’s mould in today’s society. In a time when we are used to reading about the perfect characters, Whisky For Breakfast offers us characters with the perfect flaws.

About The Book:

Pages: 165

Format I read it in: Paperback

Publisher: Bridge House

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

★★★

Synopsis:

The thirty-five stories in Mooney’s debut are dominated by a cast of characters who colour outside of society’s lines. They are hustlers, prostitutes, addicts, gangsters, killers, thieves, beasts. They are the dangerous, the lost, the lonely, the sick, the suicidal, the broken-hearted. Men and women, defeated by life. Their depravity is real, yet the writing in this uncompromising collection of transgressive fiction, always carefully crafted, evokes the sense that their humanity is not yet lost. In Whisky for Breakfast, nothing is off limits.

My Thoughts:

A very honest and unusual collection of 35 short stories. Every story features characters that don’t quite fit the world’s mould in today’s society. In a time when we are used to reading about the perfect characters, Whisky For Breakfast offers us characters with the perfect flaws.

Firstly, not all of the stories were to my taste. The rating is made by me giving each story a rating from 1 to 5 and the calculating the average score. Each story is different, but they all showed a lot of emotion. Because of the amazing writing, I could almost feel what a character was feeling.

Some of the stories were too explicit or too disturbing for my taste.

For instance “Where Crocodiles Sleep” and “I Forgot To Remember To Forget” were an examples of this. However, there were far more stories that I really enjoyed. “Drown Your Sorrows” was short, sweet, sinister and straight to the point. And “Nine Tenths of the Law” really intrigued me and grabbed my attention. Furthermore, I loved how the story was gamified in “See No Evil”. I remember counting more somethings (trying not to reveal anything) than the characters mentioned and feeling very smug about it, until the answer was shared later on. Funny enough, I quite enjoyed being proven wrong, and that doesn’t happen often. 🙂 Another story that really stood out for me was “Mr. Harrison”, because of its spookiness.

To conclude, I am very glad I read this book and still can’t believe it took me so long. Funnily enough, shorter books tend to scare me more than big books. Whisky For Breakfast is a mix of stories, all set to provide a different, more sinister side to character we’re not so used to seeing. Be ready to get out of your comfort zone and leave your judgements on the side, and you’re in for a treat!

About The Author:

Christopher P. Mooney was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1978. At various times in his life he has been a paperboy, a supermarket cashier, a shelf stacker, a barman, a cinema usher, a carpet fitter’s labourer, a foreign-language assistant and a teacher.

He currently lives and writes in someone else’s small flat near London and his debut collection of short transgressive fiction, Whisky for Breakfast, is available now from Bridge House Publishing.

Website | Twitter

Book Review · Books

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart [BOOK REVIEW]

March 31, 2022March 31, 2022 innah961 Comment

We Were Liars found me, instead of the other way around. It was hidden in the pile of books in my sister’s room and something compelled me to touch it. Then I read the synopsis, and it didn’t reveal anything. So of course, I wanted to know more. I needed to know more.

About The Book:

Pages: 225

Format I read it in: Paperback

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

★★★★★

Synopsis:

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

My Thoughts:

As you can see, the synopsis doesn’t give too much information. The mystery of it all brought out a curiosity I thought I had lost. We tend to rely so much on synopsis these days, that we become afraid to pick up books when we don’t know what they’re about. And I am so glad I dived into this one blind – it’s the only way to go!

And what an adventure this book is. We Were Liars is a story about a young lady and an accident. As we go through the book, we find out more and more about this lady, her family, her friends. A lot of lies, a lot of secrets, a lot of unknowns – all with a chill mood of young people having fun and easy to read chapters.

The book is quite short – 225 pages, and for instance, the chapters are very short too, with a lot of dialogues or easy monologues. As soon as you start reading, you get immersed into that world and you can’t stop reading.

And then we get to THE PLOT TWIST!!

I was very pleasantly stunned when I finished the book. I was hooked throughout the whole book and wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t that plot twist for sure! The ending was so shocking, that even now thinking back, I’m still shocked and amazed at how cleverly E. Lockhart did everything and set us up for that ending.

We Were Liars is one of those books that you just have to re-read again, just to see if you have missed any clues along the way and re-read the same story, knowing what you now know.

I definitely recommend it! If you pick this book up, you’ll definitely be in for a treat. And if you decide to read it, I recommend going in blind without knowing too much of the synopsis, to get the full experience!

About The Author:

E. Lockhart is the author of Again Again, Genuine Fraud, We Were Liars, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and several other books. Whistle: A New Gotham CIty Hero is a graphic novel.

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About The Book:

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★★★★

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About The Book:

★★★

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My Thoughts:

Some of the stories were too explicit or too disturbing for my taste.

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About The Book:

★★★★★

Synopsis:

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And then we get to THE PLOT TWIST!!

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