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catstead's reviews
50 reviews
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
5.0
I posted a review for From Here To Eternity on my blog @ https://theeclectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/review-from-here-to-eternity/
Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes
5.0
I published a review for Hidden Bodies on my blog - https://theeclectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/06/13/review-hidden-bodies/
SPOILER FREE
SPOILER FREE
Whisper by Lynette Noni
5.0
“Words demand respect. They are beautiful; they are terrible. They are a gift and a curse. I will never forget what they can do. Because words have cost me everything”.
Wow! I absolutely loved Whisper! I just put it down and I had to get on here to tell you all to go out, buy it and read it as soon as you can! Whisper does not disappoint! It was such a beautiful mix of science fiction and unique elements that I lost myself in the story and didn’t want it to end. Every single part of this story was brilliant! The plot and twists throughout were perfect and I loved each and everyone of the characters. J.D and Cami were definitely my favourite characters and their friendship was the cherry that topped it all off! In a place like Lengard after everything J.D had gone through it was nice to see her seek solace in a beautiful friendship.
I can’t say too much without spoiling all the unique things that make this book great. I’m really looking forward to reading a sequel and can’t wait to find out what happens next as the end of the book left quite a cliffhanger ✨💫
FFO - The Girl With All The Gifts
Wow! I absolutely loved Whisper! I just put it down and I had to get on here to tell you all to go out, buy it and read it as soon as you can! Whisper does not disappoint! It was such a beautiful mix of science fiction and unique elements that I lost myself in the story and didn’t want it to end. Every single part of this story was brilliant! The plot and twists throughout were perfect and I loved each and everyone of the characters. J.D and Cami were definitely my favourite characters and their friendship was the cherry that topped it all off! In a place like Lengard after everything J.D had gone through it was nice to see her seek solace in a beautiful friendship.
I can’t say too much without spoiling all the unique things that make this book great. I’m really looking forward to reading a sequel and can’t wait to find out what happens next as the end of the book left quite a cliffhanger ✨💫
FFO - The Girl With All The Gifts
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya
This book has been on my Book Depository wishlist for so long! Way before it was launched, so when I saw it up on Netgalley for review I was so excited to get in there and read it. I read 100 pages in the first sitting. I really wanted to read a book that was deep and personal and I definitely found it in The Girl Who Smiled With Beads.
The book starts us off in 2006, the night before Clemantine was going to be on the Oprah show. Already, the passion and the emotion came through in each and every one of these words with purpose. I felt myself immersed and felt so connected to everything that was happening to Clemantine and her sister Claire. We find out that Clemantine had come to America as a refugee when she was 13 and was originally from Rwanda. I didn’t know much about the war in Rwanda and that is had dispossessed so many people, to be fair I was only 5 at the time, the sad thing is. So was Clemantine.
The story beautifully transitions from a future year, back to a past year in a way that you know that Clemantine is differentiating from her life in Chicago (America) and her life in Rwanda and the refugee camps scattered across North and South Africa. The way that Clemantine describes her childhood and her life before the war is captivating, as is her strength and wisdom (much beyond her years). The way in which she writes is breathtaking and I loved looking at life through her eyes, whether it was brutality, happiness or confusion. The incorporation of the Rwandon language, Kinyarwanda was a touch that was not expected at all, and I appreciate that Clemantine shared that part of her culture and life with me as a reader.
This story depicts a wonderful yet tragic story about a young girl who loses a lot and fights to keep her place in the world. I gained so much insight into the world of refugees and how important their stories are. The recounts of her experiences seeing dead bodies, war, famine, disease and despair are eye-opening and heartbreaking. I had never known anything about the genocide in Rwanda and it was a haunting experience reading about her life, a read that I really am grateful for.
The book starts us off in 2006, the night before Clemantine was going to be on the Oprah show. Already, the passion and the emotion came through in each and every one of these words with purpose. I felt myself immersed and felt so connected to everything that was happening to Clemantine and her sister Claire. We find out that Clemantine had come to America as a refugee when she was 13 and was originally from Rwanda. I didn’t know much about the war in Rwanda and that is had dispossessed so many people, to be fair I was only 5 at the time, the sad thing is. So was Clemantine.
The story beautifully transitions from a future year, back to a past year in a way that you know that Clemantine is differentiating from her life in Chicago (America) and her life in Rwanda and the refugee camps scattered across North and South Africa. The way that Clemantine describes her childhood and her life before the war is captivating, as is her strength and wisdom (much beyond her years). The way in which she writes is breathtaking and I loved looking at life through her eyes, whether it was brutality, happiness or confusion. The incorporation of the Rwandon language, Kinyarwanda was a touch that was not expected at all, and I appreciate that Clemantine shared that part of her culture and life with me as a reader.
This story depicts a wonderful yet tragic story about a young girl who loses a lot and fights to keep her place in the world. I gained so much insight into the world of refugees and how important their stories are. The recounts of her experiences seeing dead bodies, war, famine, disease and despair are eye-opening and heartbreaking. I had never known anything about the genocide in Rwanda and it was a haunting experience reading about her life, a read that I really am grateful for.
Providence by Caroline Kepnes
4.0
Let me start by saying I am a HUGE fan of Caroline Kepnes. Her writing is fantastic and I love everything about it. However, if you’re thinking of reading Providence hoping for the same thrills and suspense as YOU and Hidden Bodies, Providence is not like them at all. Providence definitely heads more towards the mystery and paranormal/science fiction vein, not that’s it’s a bad thing at all. I really did enjoy this story, unfortunately a few things went over my head and I didn’t understand what had happened to Jon (the protagonist).
So the story follows three characters Jon, Chloe and Eggs and how their relationships intertwine and eventually all cross paths. At a young age Jon is kidnaped and taken from his family and best friend Chloe. Nobody at school really cares or notices that he is missing, besides Chloe. Four years later he returns to Nashua, New Hampshire however something has changed within him. Chloe Sayers has spent four years pining over her missing best friend and is devastated when he returns but refuses to see her, what exactly is going on with Jon? After prom and the death of a girl in Chloe’s social group, Jon disappears from Nashua.
Six years later we find Jon in Providence, Rhode Island as a delivery driver, Chloe in New York as a successful artist. This is where Eggs comes into the story, he’s investigating the ongoing suspicious deaths (in his mind they’re suspicious) of young people in the Providence area. Eggs suspects that someone is causing these “natural deaths” and he is determined to find out who. I don’t want to say too much because that would honestly ruin the story.
Kepnes’s writing is incredible throughout this story and she goes to great lengths to show obsession and personally inflicted torment throughout Providence. Jon is obsessed with Chloe, Chloe with Jon even though there’s so much keeping them apart. Eggs is obsessed with proving he was right all along while ignoring his ailments and his autistic son. Providence really does show how obsession causes people to become depraved. Jessica Knoll (author of The Favourite Sister) said it best when she said that “Kepnes is the master of the depraved love story” because that’s what Providence is, a depraved love story.
Like I said if you’re after the suspense and psychological thrills that you felt throughout You and Hidden Bodies, Providence won’t give that to you. If you’re after mystery and a bit of morbidity this is definitely going to deliver. Go in reading this with an open mind and with a bit of knowledge of Lovecraft because that definitely helped me understand the book a lot more. The only reason I’m not giving this a full 5 stars is because I felt that the ending was a little disappointing and predictable. It was missing Kepnes twisted touch to her endings that always top the story off perfectly.
So the story follows three characters Jon, Chloe and Eggs and how their relationships intertwine and eventually all cross paths. At a young age Jon is kidnaped and taken from his family and best friend Chloe. Nobody at school really cares or notices that he is missing, besides Chloe. Four years later he returns to Nashua, New Hampshire however something has changed within him. Chloe Sayers has spent four years pining over her missing best friend and is devastated when he returns but refuses to see her, what exactly is going on with Jon? After prom and the death of a girl in Chloe’s social group, Jon disappears from Nashua.
Six years later we find Jon in Providence, Rhode Island as a delivery driver, Chloe in New York as a successful artist. This is where Eggs comes into the story, he’s investigating the ongoing suspicious deaths (in his mind they’re suspicious) of young people in the Providence area. Eggs suspects that someone is causing these “natural deaths” and he is determined to find out who. I don’t want to say too much because that would honestly ruin the story.
Kepnes’s writing is incredible throughout this story and she goes to great lengths to show obsession and personally inflicted torment throughout Providence. Jon is obsessed with Chloe, Chloe with Jon even though there’s so much keeping them apart. Eggs is obsessed with proving he was right all along while ignoring his ailments and his autistic son. Providence really does show how obsession causes people to become depraved. Jessica Knoll (author of The Favourite Sister) said it best when she said that “Kepnes is the master of the depraved love story” because that’s what Providence is, a depraved love story.
Like I said if you’re after the suspense and psychological thrills that you felt throughout You and Hidden Bodies, Providence won’t give that to you. If you’re after mystery and a bit of morbidity this is definitely going to deliver. Go in reading this with an open mind and with a bit of knowledge of Lovecraft because that definitely helped me understand the book a lot more. The only reason I’m not giving this a full 5 stars is because I felt that the ending was a little disappointing and predictable. It was missing Kepnes twisted touch to her endings that always top the story off perfectly.
The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll
Jessica Knoll, the best selling author of the Luckiest Girl Alive, brings to life the world of reality television in the age of the women rising to success movement. This contemporary summer feel story delivers a binge-worthy read about feminism, competition, and murder. The Favourite Sister dives behind the scenes of reality TV shows and as the reader, you become acquainted with the dangerous perspectives to the business of being on television.
The Favourite Sister is a character-driven story that follows the B-Grade stars of Goal Diggers the hottest reality TV show that features goal driven female millennials who all own businesses they have built on their own. The story starts with Brett’s sister, Kelly discussing her loss the present before taking a jump back to a few months earlier. Each chapter is told from the perspective of the central characters Brett, Stephanie, and Kelly. Having the chapters structured this way was great and helped to develop each of the characters back stories. Personally, at the start of the story, I really disliked hearing Stephanie’s story and her perspective was frustrating and aggravating. It added extra elements to the storyline and was her personality was perfectly placed as the antagonist.
Each relationship between the characters is complex and intricate which I found incredibly interesting. They are all intertwining and every twist and turn is calculated and planted earlier in the story, laying in wait for it all to play out. Reading about how these women have dug themselves some pretty big holes created some really amazing twists that were really well designed. The dynamics between the cast members of Goal Diggers added depth and intrigue to the plot, each female cast member having quips and defense mechanisms to protect their onscreen personas.
The message of feminism is present throughout the book, however, I can see cracks appearing of internalised misogyny especially with how the women in the story treat each other. I really appreciated the incorporation of feminism into the story and how distorted it can become in the business world. Possibly due to the expectations of women in the corporate scene? Knoll doesn’t expand on this idea though, but the center focus of the television show is meant to be women supporting women, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is what happens on the show.
Although this story took me a little longer than usual to read, it was written fantastically with a gripping tone. I really enjoyed the twists and turns that the story took, Knoll carefully planted all the seeds to a fantastic mystery that kept me hooked. The secrets and the lies were intricately crafted to the point where when you read the twists you will be left with your mouth hanging open in disbelief (like I was!). The Favourite Sister is the first novel I have read by Jessica Knoll and I am certain it won’t be my last!
The Favourite Sister is a character-driven story that follows the B-Grade stars of Goal Diggers the hottest reality TV show that features goal driven female millennials who all own businesses they have built on their own. The story starts with Brett’s sister, Kelly discussing her loss the present before taking a jump back to a few months earlier. Each chapter is told from the perspective of the central characters Brett, Stephanie, and Kelly. Having the chapters structured this way was great and helped to develop each of the characters back stories. Personally, at the start of the story, I really disliked hearing Stephanie’s story and her perspective was frustrating and aggravating. It added extra elements to the storyline and was her personality was perfectly placed as the antagonist.
Each relationship between the characters is complex and intricate which I found incredibly interesting. They are all intertwining and every twist and turn is calculated and planted earlier in the story, laying in wait for it all to play out. Reading about how these women have dug themselves some pretty big holes created some really amazing twists that were really well designed. The dynamics between the cast members of Goal Diggers added depth and intrigue to the plot, each female cast member having quips and defense mechanisms to protect their onscreen personas.
The message of feminism is present throughout the book, however, I can see cracks appearing of internalised misogyny especially with how the women in the story treat each other. I really appreciated the incorporation of feminism into the story and how distorted it can become in the business world. Possibly due to the expectations of women in the corporate scene? Knoll doesn’t expand on this idea though, but the center focus of the television show is meant to be women supporting women, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is what happens on the show.
Although this story took me a little longer than usual to read, it was written fantastically with a gripping tone. I really enjoyed the twists and turns that the story took, Knoll carefully planted all the seeds to a fantastic mystery that kept me hooked. The secrets and the lies were intricately crafted to the point where when you read the twists you will be left with your mouth hanging open in disbelief (like I was!). The Favourite Sister is the first novel I have read by Jessica Knoll and I am certain it won’t be my last!
The Death and Life of Eleanor Parker by Kerry Wilkinson
4.0
The story begins with Ellie/Eleanor Parker waking up on the river side with no recollection of how she came to be at the river. Eleanor is dead and those close to her don’t realise, but Eleanor needs to know what happened to her that night and who is responsible for her death.
Ellie is now trying to solve who killed her and if it has anything to do with the death of her boyfriends girlfriend last year. Who can she trust? She questions all her friendships and her family. Ellie is a fantastic character and I really enjoyed hearing the story unfold from her perspective. She has a great sense of humour with great teenager vibes with sarcasm and confusion.
This is the first novel I have read by Kerry Wilkinson and I really enjoyed her fast paced and style of writing. This was a very different story from what I was expecting when I read the blurb, it was a great page turning mystery with elements of science fiction. The twists that the story took were well placed and made this book so pleasant to read.
Ellie is now trying to solve who killed her and if it has anything to do with the death of her boyfriends girlfriend last year. Who can she trust? She questions all her friendships and her family. Ellie is a fantastic character and I really enjoyed hearing the story unfold from her perspective. She has a great sense of humour with great teenager vibes with sarcasm and confusion.
This is the first novel I have read by Kerry Wilkinson and I really enjoyed her fast paced and style of writing. This was a very different story from what I was expecting when I read the blurb, it was a great page turning mystery with elements of science fiction. The twists that the story took were well placed and made this book so pleasant to read.