So many books, so little time

Read in November 2020  Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of The Thirteenth Fairy. This is my honest review. I am a massive Disney fan and have heard a lot about Melissa de la Cruz so I was very excited when I got this ARC. Knowing it would be about storybook characters coming to life was the icing on the cake.  The story starts off very reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty but Melissa de la Cruz puts her own spin on it. As she says, "the tales are wrong. The tales are twisted and untrue*". And then we meet Filomena. A 12 year old not very socially outgoing bookworm with overprotective yet loving parents. She is eagerly awaiting the final book of a series that defined her childhood. This is describing me! I have a strong feeling we would be friends in real life. Reading this was such an enjoyable adventure. My younger self would have loved reading this book. As a twenty something now, I am also so happy I picked it up because I spent a delightful couple of hours reading it. My ...

  Read in November 2020 Not what I expected. For this book, two authors who normally write romance teamed up to write a thriller and let me tell you it doesn't really work. It is not immediately obvious there will be more focus on BDSM and relationships than the actual crime solving. The portrayal of the former is not done very well in my opinion due to too much emphasis on abuse, misogyny and objectification. (I know it happens but I'd like to point out that not all relationships are like this so don't tar them all with the same brush.) None of the characters are likeable at all either. The book is also in need of more editing. I spent some unnecessary time trying to figure out if Darek was a typo because it looked like a combination of Darren and Derek and not a real name. And it needs a proper ending. I'm all for cliffhangers but I still think each book in a series should have some sort of satisfying climax and not just fizzle out. I get it's a marketing thing so...

  Read in November 2020 A new Naomi Novik trilogy that's been described as a dark Harry Potter? Yes, please! This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. ~*~*~*~ 4.5 stars. WOW! The worldbuilding and magic system are so creative. There's a fantastic mix of wicked darkness and high school cliquey drama here too. I love it! I also love El. She's so sassy and snarky. It's great to see the struggle she has trying hard not to be the maleficer she is apparently destined to be especially when magic tends to go wrong for El. "I've got a summoning spell that raises a dozen of them," I said. "It was used to burn the Library of Alexandria". "Why would you ask for a spell like that!" "What I asked for was a spell to light my room, you twat, that's what I  got! " She is also so fantastically blunt. "Reader, I ran the fuck away." I cackled so much at that line. Didn't I say El was great? Her friendship with the clu...

  Read in October 2020 Discworld grows on you. My first foray into Discworld was  The Colour of Magic  which I thought was just okay but it didn't put me off from reading more. You might think that 40+ books is a big commitment but this is the best thing: Discworld books can stand alone. Yes, there may be hints and links that hardcore fans will understand more but they will still be enjoyable for readers like me who pick up the odd book or short story in the series from time to time. When Small Gods was offered as a group buddy read, I decided that now was a good time to return to Discworld. I really liked this instalment. I had a smile on my face as I read this sparkling, sarcastic, sassy and satirical take on religion. Om and Brutha were great. Terry Pratchett is so creative and witty. I can see why many people say this is one of the best in the series. Will I dip into Discworld again? Is the Great God Om a tortoise? Because, you betcha, I'll be back some time. Om's tot...

  Read in September 2020 Flashbacks within flashbacks tangled in twists, turns and tropes. Some characters were vapid, some were pretentious and most had very little chance of development. I couldn't connect with any of them but I did enjoy the unreliable narration and that everyone had secrets. I had suspicions within a couple of chapters and was dreading that I'd be proved right and praying for red herrings. Luckily, this book did keep me guessing even if I didn't feel overly surprised by how it all turned out.

  Read in August 2020 An interesting concept that should have been so exciting to read about but it wasn't. The plot was sometimes convoluted and characters were a bit bland. I'm not sure how much input Neil Gaiman had with the story - I suspect very little because it doesn't have the same style, feel and magic as his other books. I don't think I would have even considered picking this up if Michael Reaves was the only author listed. The book description on here describes Joey as  very average  and that is exactly how I'd categorise this book. I understand it was initially intended to be a TV project and maybe it would have been better in that format. I won't be continuing with the trilogy.  (less)