bookishwelshie's reviews
881 reviews

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

5.0

Utterly heartbreaking, yet such an important piece of literature. 🇵🇸🍉🖤

Love, That's an Understatement, Volume 3 by Fujimomo

4.0

Witchcraft for Healing: Radical Self-Care for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit by Patti Wigington

3.5

Sometimes, you just need the reminder that self-care is not selfish !! 💖

All That Remains by Sue Black

5.0

It proved to be a good choice to read All That Remains: A Life In Death a chapter at a time between my other reads. As even though I have an interest in this topic of Forensic Anthropology, this subject can get heavy, especially if one is dealing with their own grief. It is so important that the process of death isn’t mystified though, and topics surrounding death are talked about, and more normalised. As it is the one certainty for us all in life.

”To be perfectly honest, I have never been spooked by the dead. It is the living who terrify me. The dead are much more predictable and co-operative.”

The book begins quite slowly, describing the author Sue Black’s life growing up in Inverness and Dundee, and what sparked her interests in Forensic Anthropology and Anatomy. Leading to her getting a career in this field.

The pace of the book picks up during the chapters where she talks about her work, of course. She discusses cold cases of human remains that had been found, but yet to be identified. The main unsolved case highlighted here is ’The Man from Balmore’. At the end, there are further details about this case, including photographs of the clothing he was wearing, incase anybody out there has any further information. I think it’s human nature to be fascinated by unsolved mysteries such as this. 

The processes of body decomposition, and of as death as a whole, are discussed in length. Also, there is a lot in here about donating the body to science after death. Sue expresses how she wishes for her body to be donated to the University of Dundee, but her husband is against it. There are some elderly people who visit the University wanting to donate their bodies once they pass away, but who want to view the cadavers there first so they can see the process themselves of what will happen to their bodies.

Overall, this is filled with interesting information, told with an intellectual perspective - both academically and emotionally - which is good when surrounding the topics covered in here.

Books about death do bring me a sense of comfort, and I will most definitely be reading more in the future, as I have done previously. They are always insightful and well-written.

🪦🥀💀🖤

The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez

5.0

What an excellent novella by Abby Jimenez! I’m planning to read more of this author’s work this year, so this was a good taster. Sometimes, the greatest love stories begin under the most expected of circumstances. 💖 This is certainly the case for the main characters, Charlotte and Seth. Charlotte is trying to escape an intense stalker who just will not leave her alone, George. She has a protective best friend called Izzy monitoring her as she moves in. They have the most unique meet-cute, as the stairs to the second floor of their apartment complex seemingly disappear, leaving them stuck. Seth doesn’t think that he can love again, after his wife left him for her second cousin (😬). Charlotte is very wary around men since her whole creepy ordeal with George. Could either of them possibly open their hearts to love again? What if George manages to track down Charlotte, could she be in danger?

Cunk on Everything: The Encyclopedia Philomena by Jason Hazeley, Philomena Cunk, Joel Morris

slow-paced

4.0

Cunk On Everything is one of those books that would probably be better as an audiobook, especially if you are unfamiliar with the character, and/or never watched any of the shows. I could hear her deadpan delivery of the text in my head as I was reading the Kindle version, so it was keeping me laughing. 

At times, it can feel quite repetitive, that’s why I spaced out reading this in-between my others reads. but I did highlight so many of the jokes. 

I can’t get enough Cunk! The mockumentaries are quite possibly some of the funniest television I’ve ever watched, especially if you are British or like that style of humour, I highly recommend them.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

lighthearted reflective

• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

The introduction to Remarkably Bright Creatures is outstanding, it is told from the octopus, Marcellus’s perspective. And these little diary-style entries from his perspective in-between chapters were definitely my favourite part of the book as a whole. He sadly is aware that his lifespan is coming to an end, at around 1,461 days (4 years). 

This part of the narrative definitely makes it count as a “weird girl” fiction book (as I like to call it!). It is a remarkably honest, warm, and human story - despite this fantastical element. 

Whilst this is a wonderful debut by Shelby Van Pelt, and is deserving of all the praise, the plot and writing style are rather simplistic. 
This is the definition of a ‘cozy’ read, which also handles some heavier subjects such as grief.

Read for the Buzzy Books GR Reading Challenge achievement - but then realised I had already achieved it by reading Daisy Jones & The Six! Ah well, this is helping me get through books I have owned/have been on my TBR for a long time! 🖤

Love You to Bits by J. Boote

3.0

Some positives about Love You to Bits are the death metal style cover art (that’s such awesome artwork that I’d love on a tshirt!) and how engaging J. Boote’s writing style is. This is extreme/splatter-punk horror to the most extreme degree, Christ I feel as though I need to rinse my brain with bleach after reading. It’s takes a lot to disturb me, I’m good with gore and such, but the plot of this honestly made me feel sick to my stomach… yet I could not look away. 
It discusses how some parents will use “religion” as an excuse to pretty much torture and abuse their children, and then wonder why they turn out to be fucked up mentally as a result. Also there is some demonic possession thrown into the mix for good measure. 

The Crash by Freida McFadden

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.25

Read The Crash on release day, in pretty much one-sitting (with a nap and food breaks lol), as Freida McFadden’s writing style is incredibly fast-paced.

The story overall keeps you hooked, but I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by the main big twist, but I did like the very end. Overall, it felt a little predictable, and like what we have read in her books before (reminded me a bit of her previous book The Boyfriend). 

I get there are only so many plot-lines to be done for thriller stories though, but I will always come back to Freida’s work because the stories are always so engaging throughout. 

Tegan, fears that her life may be in danger after her car veers off the road during a blizzard. It’s not only her life she has to worry about, because she is heavily pregnant with a baby girl. Her ankle is broken and a man named Hank rescues her, but because of the blizzard he drives her to his cabin home instead. His wife Polly is a nurse, and has a hospital bed set up in her basement after caring for her (now deceased) Mother. 

Polly and Hank have been unable to conceive a child of their own, and Polly is desperate to be a mother, no matter the cost. Could Tegan and her unborn daughter be at risk the longer she is trapped there?

3.25 Stars 

The Bug Collector by Wrath James White

dark tense

4.0

Considering how extreme, gross-out, and disgusting The Bug Catcher is - the story is actually very well-written. Check the trigger warnings for just about everything you could imagine.
I ended up really liking the character of Tina, you can empathise with her struggles and her losses, and are rooting for her to take her revenge here.

The main character, Joey’s unique and highly disturbing paraphilia has ruined his health and robbed him of his once good-looks. He isn’t technically homeless, but is choosing the life of a vagrant to chase his sickening desires. How much further could his disturbing fetish go? Well, it might finally cost him his life at the hands of a woman he had once been with/used, who is out for his blood.

4 Stars