bookswithlydscl's reviews
591 reviews

Sterling City by Stephen Graham Jones

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

A marriage breaks down as the world ends. A different kind of horror for me from SGJ. I loved the beginning and the end but the middle I wasn't as hugely caught up in as I never clicked with Lee - can understand why Zoe leaves him. Doby and Stace are a lovely pair and I loved the humdrum of ordinary farm life with this looming sense of dread consistently sitting in the background from the 'caterpillar' and the fallout of the moon exploding.

From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

An incredibly human memoir showing the good and bad parts. Flawed, and complex. Overall very moving.

The Survivors by Jane Harper
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

Just dull

The Wall by John Lanchester

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

3.25* - great concept but felt it lacked the world building i love and crave in these kinds of books

Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History by Philippa Gregory

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

Overall a really interesting read. Little repetitive and thin in places - probably could have been edited down or ordered differently but still overall really glad i read it

The Sixth Lie by Sarah Ward

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

A really enjoyable read overall but just fell a little flat when everything unravelled. Really enjoy the budding partnership between Mallory and Harri though.

A Death in Diamonds by S.J. Bennett

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Took me a while to get into but when it clicked I really enjoyed it

A Recipe for Murder by Verity Bright

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense 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? No

4.0

Finally Lady Eleanor and her beloved Chief Inspector Hugh Seldon are walking down the aisle but there's just the pesky matter of a murder or two to solve before they can say their 'I do's'.

I love this series but I especially enjoy when the gang are together and close to home. This time the village as a whole is affected when a mass food poisoning outbreak turns out to be a very deliberate act resulting in the death of Ellie's wedding caterer. Along with incidents relating to the wedding, Ellie begins to wonder if she may be a target too. Along the way we are introduced to the community on 'the other side of the bridge' which gives us a much more working class and industrial angle to the usual idyllic country life. With a larger pool of suspects than usual and red herrings abound there is plenty of investigating for Ellie and co to dive into all set against the ticking clock of the imminent wedding day.

I always love the mysteries on offer in this series but a lot of the joy I get comes from the characters and the relationships that have been built up over the course of the series. I'm so happy Ellie and Hugh have finally taken the next step and that we've had the Henley Hall crew be so instrumental in the action of this book. Looking forward as always to the next instalment - romance and murder in Paris will make for a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital review copy of "A Recipe for Murder " in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

The tragedies are my preferred plays but this is one my favourites from the more lighthearted plays. This bbc radio production is superb with an incredible full cast performance.

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5*

Another stunning piece of writing from Elif Shafak (my second by her). Sad, deeply moving, and full of love from untraditional sources. So very human and full of life even with death being its focus.