bobinsbooknook's reviews
127 reviews

mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I had hoped to be able to rate this book higher. Though the first half held a nice intrigue with a plot twist early on and darker themes, the second half just became boring, predictable.

My biggest struggle with this book that the female characters were depicted as nothing more than sexualised objects, with all the male characters seeming to be obsessed with picturing naked - even the lead detective who was writing dirty limericks about the MFC! The fact that every character to seem only be motivated by sexual attraction in some form or another made all the characters feel too similar and boring and worse still, for the majority of the book provided no real purpose to drive the story forward.

I may have enjoyed this book more had it stuck with the stronger plot theme of killing people who the MFC thought deserved to die to make the world better, rather than then flattening out to a dull cheater-revenge story - sideline with this undeveloped underlying storyline of the MFCs dad being prison which really didn't do anything to the plot either.

Whilst a rushed ending can be accepted, the depiction of the female characters really left me with a poor taste in my mouth and personally won't be rushing to read any more works by this author.

Content Warnings

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall I did enjoy this read a lot with some of the foreshadowing being really well done. I liked the dual timeline plot to see the impact of the secrets and lies.

C.J Tudor does really well in writing out an intriguing horror scene and each chapter left on some form of a cliff hanger which made it quite compelling to read. There were a lot of twists to keep track of by the half point way - some stronger than others.

The fact that 2 different characters had inappropriate age related relationships felt a bit lazy.

I wanted to rate this book higher but the wrapping up of mysteries feel a bit short for me and I did feel a little lost at times. Though the final 4 pages - Wow!

Content Warnings

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

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funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This ended up being a one-day audio book read for me as it was quite an easy book to listen to as the story was light-hearted and quite funny at times.

I enjoyed how Dolly has portrayed Nina trying to navigating being at a different point in her life to her friends in a way which didn't make her seem bitter or resentful. Nina's friendship with Lola was my favourite and really enjoyed these character interactions. I liked the writing style throughout the audio book but feel that the plot itself is where it fell a bit short for me.

For a story which is heavily character focused, we don't really see any long-lasting or significant development in Nina (MFC) making similar mistakes (particularly in the romance department) in parts 1 and part 2 of the book.

I mean being ghosted twice by the same person is mad - especially with the super lame excuses he came up with ghosting her the first time. Just made me feel like she didn’t develop at all as a character.

The plot line around her neighbour whilst funny, didn't really go anywhere which was a shame and the deterioration of her dad's mental state felt like it could have had more depth to be more impactful.

Whilst this storyline isn't one I'd likely re-read, I am curious to check out Dolly's other work based on how much i enjoyed the writing style.

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I wanted to enjoy this book more but overall found myself really struggling to get through this audio book.

The majority of the characters felt very 1 dimensional. I found Queenie to be incredibly difficult to enjoy as a character for a vast portion of the book and it was only watching her develop towards the end that actually sold it for me.

The fact that pretty much every guy in this book has some form of black fetish or is racist just made the characters feel so impactful in places. Also that Queenie is a so self centred until she has therapy and even then it’s still such a minor change in terms of her actually giving a shit about the people around her.

I can understand the comparisons so similar coming-of-age style books like Bridget jones but the decisions made by Queenie really took me out of a lot of the story and made it very difficult to sympathise with at times when you realise she is meant to be 25/26 and for a huge part acts really immature.

Content Warnings

The Institution by Helen Sarah Fields

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Perfect for fans of criminal minds. My first read my Helen fields and I absolutely loved the fast pace nature and intriguing plot of this book.

The writing style felt very immersive and love how we start to see the psychological toll it takes on are main protagonist and how she interacts with the different characters! With so many possible suspects in the case it did keep me guessing throughout which made for a very the intriguing read.

Though I did predict part of the ending very early on (33%) - there was still lots that caught me off guard but still thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

Will absolutely be looking to get my hands on more work by Helen fields!

The Girl Before by JP Delaney

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An interesting premise for a thriller but overall didn’t love it as much as I hoped. The writing style between the past and present created an interesting narrative in comparing the previous tenant with the current day tenant which I did enjoy and it was a quick easy read.

Whilst it has started of quite gripping and quick in setting up plot, I had hoped the house itself would play a huge part in the outcome of the story or influencing the plot but really it became secondary to the characters themselves and felt just a setting which didn’t really do anything special.

I didn’t really care about any of the characters fully and did feel like that whilst the attempt was made lead the read astray for a ‘who dunnit’ and felt a bit predictable in the end.

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

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adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book can be simply described as a beautiful homage to a loving adult father-daughter relationship and time.

The characters were each loveable in their own way and the relationships they have with one another. Though there is a small nodd to romance - it is the familial and friendship love which carries the most weight. I hold a particular fondness for Alice who is shown to have a strong sense of self without coming across as cold and doesn’t comprise on her desires throughout the plot.

It would have been easy for the author to push with a plot that waking up one day and finding herself married and with children would change her thoughts of it completely. Instead she is portrayed as appreciating that future but not feeling like it’s hers - which I loved!

The writing style was very clever - particularly with a plot on time travel it didn’t feel repetitive and just full of such heart warming moments.

What I loved most about this book is how the plots centres on the idea that some things are inevitable and out of our control. That only by living in the present can we move on and appreciate the time we have with loved ones whilst we can. For me personally who has lost loved ones recently - this message truly hit home and both warmed and broke my heart all at once.

I can definitely see myself re-reading and will be a go to recommendation to friends and family.

Gender Explorers: Our Stories of Growing Up Trans and Changing the World by Juno Roche

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challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This was such an authentic and empowering audio book - despite being such a short read, it has so beautifully captured the voice of young trans/non-binary people and their journeys of gender exploration into becoming their true authentic selves.

Through a series of interviews with trans youth and their families, this book gracefully navigates the topics of whether people as young as 6 can truly understand their sense of self enough to question their gender identity. I loved the way these interviews have been conducted with such care and shows both the vulnerability and joy felt by trans-youths in their journeys and particularly enjoyed the ending fictional interview of the trans narrator talking to their younger self.

Whilst I am a cis-female - this book is so eye-opening to the human experience of gender and what I took away from this more so than anything else is how the trans community embraces not just living as their most authentic selves in such challenging circumstances, but is a community which is nothing short of a catalyst for change in challenging gender stereotypes which impacts everyone. An absolute must read!

Gas Man by Colin Black

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informative lighthearted slow-paced

2.5

This book contained various detailed passages regarding medical procedures, the role of an Anaesthetist and the surgical environment which I found very insightful as this is a different perspective
from other medical memoirs I have enjoyed in the past.

That being said, sadly for me the balance of long-winded anecdotes with the odd scattering of humour made it a very slow read and became quite disengaging at times - to a point i almost DNFed at the 80% mark. I also felt that the way in which
Colin uses a lot of comparisons and particularly phrasings in the book came across a bit patronising and repetitive. I'm pretty sure the phrases similar to that of 'no 2 patient are the same', 'Autistic
patients are all different' where throw in every couple of chapters.

Overall whilst I did enjoy reading more about this role in medicine from being more than just 'someone who puts patients to sleep', I believe there are other much stronger memoirs I would recommend.
over this.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A lighter take on the classic murder mystery with the set of loveable and intriguing characters.

I was worried without a tense horror/thriller vibe that the murder mystery may fall flat but on the contrary it was quite clever and couldn’t predict the ending which I did really enjoy - no shock then why I finished it in one day.

That being said, there are a lot of characters and sub-plots to keep track of which did make it feel a bit drawn out and tricky to follow at times.

I curious to check out the other books in the series but do think I’m a reader who prefers more tension and darkened in a book about murder which limits the re-readability for me reflected in my rating.

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bobinsbooknook's reviews 127 reviews

bobinsbooknook's reviews
127 reviews