karteabooks's reviews
526 reviews

Wrecked by Louisa Reid

emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

5.0

 

I was so lucky to meet this author at Tasting Notes Live in April 2022 and was so VERY lucky to hear her read some of this book, which was just amazing to listen to. 

 

I admit that this is the first free verse book that I have read, and I honestly wish I had read this style of writing sooner. 

 

Joe and Imogen seem like the perfect couple — they've been in a relationship for years and are the envy of their friends at school. But after accidentally becoming involved a tragic fatal accident, they become embroiled in a situation out of their control, and Joe and Imogen's relationship becomes slowly unravelled until the truth is out there for all to see ... Structured around a dramatic and tense court case, the reader becomes judge and jury in a stunning and page-turning novel of uncovering secrets and lies — who can be believed? 

 

This was fast paced, hard hitting, and utterly absorbing! I couldn’t put it down and I read it in one sitting. I loved how the story developed and that there were so many layers and not just what was on the surface. I admit that I was #team Joe all the way through. Lots of topics are covered, toxic relationships, illness, grief, but it also deals with class and background differences and how this affects the way people are treated. This book has made me want to read more free verse and I can’t wait to read the author’s next book. 

 I highly recommend this. 

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

I was so lucky to meet this author at Tasting Notes Live in April 2022 and was so VERY lucky to be able to get a copy of this book ahead of the publication date, which is the 12th May. 

 

Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?

Late October. After midnight. You’re waiting up for your seventeen-year-old son. He’s late. As you watch from the window, he emerges, and you realize he isn’t alone: he’s walking toward a man, and he’s armed. You can’t believe it when you see him do it: your funny, happy teenage son, he kills a stranger, right there on the street outside your house. You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your son is now in custody. His future shattered. That night you fall asleep in despair. All is lost. Until you wake . . . and it is yesterday. And then you wake again . . . and it is the day before yesterday. Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. With another chance to stop it. Somewhere in the past lies an answer. The trigger for this crime—and you don’t have a choice but to find it . . .

Wow!! This was a proper rollercoaster of a book, and very unputdownable! This was one of those books that after I turned the last page, I just had to put the book down and process what I had just read.

I highly recommend this book, it is my favourite mystery book of the year so far, and it is a contender to be one of my top 5 books this year. My only suggestion is that when you do settle down to read this book, have plenty of drinks and snacks to hand, as you won’t want to put it down!

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

5.0

 

This was another Bookstagram made me do it purchase last year, that I promptly added to my tbr and then kind of forgot about, but after The Poet and needing more free verse, I knew this was the perfect book to read next. 

The Weight of Water is a startlingly original piece of fiction. A brilliant coming-of-age story, it also tackles the alienation experienced by many young immigrants. Moving, unsentimental, and utterly page-turning, we meet and share the experiences of a remarkable girl who shows us how quiet courage prevails. 

A book written in free verse, about a girl who travels with her mother from Poland and has to try to fit it at a new school. This was a very quick read for me, but wasn't an easy read in places, as Kasienka encounters people who are not always happy for her to be around. 

Letter from a Tea Garden by Abi Oliver

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

1965, an English country mansion.
 
 Eleanora Byngh is not in a good state. Wedded to the whisky bottle and with her house crumbling round her ears, her days seem destined to follow a lonely (and grumpy) downhill path.
 
 When the post brings an unexpected invitation to return to the Indian tea gardens of her childhood, Eleanora risks breaking open painful memories of her younger years, lived across a tumultuous century.
 
 As relationships with her new-found family face their own challenges, she is offered fresh truths, the chance of love and unexpected new life - if she is prepared to take them. 

 

Thank you to Literally PR for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

 

I am so glad that I was invited to join in the book tour for this book, as historical fiction is one of my favourite genres and this book did not disappoint. 

 

This was an emotive read, one that will stay with me for a long time. The book not only had two settings, but two timelines too and that made it all the more unputdownable.  Set between India and England and between Eleanor growing up in India in the early 1900’s to her return visit nearly 60 years later, this book really does take you on not only Eleanor’s journey, but your own personal journey with her. The author’s writing style and her descriptive writing of the setting plunged me straight into 1960’s India and her descriptions of the tea gardens and the different types of tea had me heading straight to the kettle and pots of Earl Grey! 

 

This is a warm hug of a book and most certainly one that should be savoured along with several cups of tea, but this gentle book also deals with some pretty heavy topics too: abuse, war, addiction, but all written in such an empathetic and considerate way.  The author also deals with the loss of a child and the loss of a true love so thoughtfully, but I did still find myself reaching for the tissues several times as the writing literally brought tears to my eyes. 

 

I am looking forward to reading more of this author’s work really soon. 

 

I highly recommend this book, not only to historical fiction fans, but anyone. Just make sure that you have a few cups of tea lined up as you read… 

The Trial by S.R. Masters

medium-paced

3.0

 

This book also has the title of The Drug Trial, but it has the same content. 

 

I was lucky enough to be on the One More Chapter readalong of this book with some other lovely bookish people. 

Would you sign up to a medical trial if you didn’t know the possible side effects?
 
 18-40? PAID CLINICAL TRIAL IN THE CANARY ISLANDS – UP TO £20,000 TAX FREE
 
 It seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. An all-inclusive luxury trip abroad, all you need to do is take a pill every day and keep a diary.
 
 Except you don’t know anything about the drug or what its side effects might be.
 
 The headaches start, a dull ache at first. Every day worse than the last.
 
 Then a body is found.
 
 You discover that a side effect is psychosis. You don’t know who has taken the placebo and who has taken the real drug. 

 

It all seems too good to be true… the main protagonist, Ellie signs up as she is desperate for a break from her life. As the trial unfolds and strange things happen, she begins to question what really matters… 

 

The premise of the book was really good and psychological thrillers are one of my favourite genres, but this just didn’t seem to work for me. To be honest, I’m not sure that what I got was what I was expecting. At the start, I was so invested in the characters, the setting and the storyline, but then from about halfway I felt that it became repetitive and at times quite unbelievable and very convenient as the story unfolded. I did finish the book as I needed to see what the trial was actually for and the outcomes of the research, although in saying that, the ending was for me, not at all as I was expecting. 

 

Thank you to Netgalley, One More Chapter and Harper Collins UK for an e copy of this book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

                                                                                   

The Murder List by Jackie Kabler

mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

 

What a brilliant page turner of a book! This is the first book that I have read by this author, but I will certainly be looking to read more of her books soon. 

 

When Mary receives a blank diary as a present, she thinks nothing of it. Until she opens the diary, and sees it’s not blank after all…
 
 1st January MURDER LISA, OXFORD
 1st February MURDER JANE, BIRMINGHAM
 1st March MURDER DAVID, CARDIFF
 1st April MURDER MARY, CHELTENHAM 

 

The clock is ticking for Mary to uncover the truth, before she becomes the next victim on the killer’s list… 

 

This fast-paced rollercoaster ride of a book had me hooked from the very beginning. The characters were all so complex, with do much going on, but still believable. The characters and the setting firmly sucked me in, and I read this in a couple of days, it would have taken less if I hadn’t been at work! As I was reading I had so many questions, and not just the normal, who, what, where, when and why. I also found myself wondering if Mary was actually THE Mary on the list. 

 

I highly recommend this book to everyone, not just fans of crime thrillers as it has so many more layers to it! My only suggestion is that once you sit down to read the book is to make no other plans as this book will demand all of your attention! 

 

Thank you to Netgalley, One More Chapter and Harper Collins UK for an e copy of this book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

Urban Scarecrows by Jim Chambers

slow-paced

4.0

 

When the Labour Party take a landslide victory in the 2019 general election, people are looking forward to a new way of life, less austerity, an end to penny pinching and less debt. Little do they really know about what is going to happen.

The new government rapidly change the country into a British form of totalitarian Marxism, in its quest for social justice and equality. Taking a high-profile celebrity chef along for the ride, and this is whose point of view the book is written from.

 

A story of human emotions and frailties: love and hate; lust and betrayal; cowardice and bravery; cruelty and kindness; rejections and reunion; death and renewal.

 

Thank you to Literally PR for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

 

There is a lot of political language within this book, and I found myself reading this book with Google open to research some of the language, and although this didn’t detract away from the storyline, I did find it a little cumbersome at the start. Once I had overcome this however, I did begin to engage with the characters. This is a book where you must be prepared to take a side, and the author does a pretty good job of making you really think about whose side you want to be on.

 

Several times I wanted to give Dominic, the main character, a good shake and try to help him take some responsibility for his actions, and to witness first-hand the repercussions of these. I was less armoured with Rosa, his wife and the way that the author extenuated her consonants…’godddd’, I must admit did grate on me towards the end...

 

This is not an easy or light-hearted read, it’s a thought-provoking book, and with the current political turmoil that is gripping the UK and the conflicts around the world, - from government politics, war, climate change, unemployment, through to the cost-of-living crisis and beyond, it felt quite close to home at times. 

 

This is a book that I would recommend to fans of John Le Carre, Robert Harris and Ken Follett. As I mentioned above, it’s not a light-hearted book, but what it is is a thought provoking, political thriller that will leave you with far more questions than answers.

 

 

 

A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin

4.0

 

Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres and this book certainly didn’t disappoint. From the off this was a fun and witty read and this is perfect for lovers of regency era England. This is the author’s debut novel, and after a book like this, I am really looking forward to her next book. 

 

Kitty Talbot was such a smart, quick witted, and loving character and I hope the next book includes her! 

 

This book is a prefect read for lovers of Bridgerton and Pride and Prejudice. Although in saying that, this is the perfect regency romance, unlike Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton, there is only limited physical contact between Kitty and the male characters, but I think that is what makes it that bit different and refreshing. I also liked the character of Kitty as she made it VERY clear at all times that she was really only there as a fortune hunter, and once that outcome had been achieved, you wouldn’t see her for dust! 

 

Overall, a really good book to lose yourself in and be transported back to regency England and the trials and tribulations of society life. 

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for an e copy of this book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

                                                                                   

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

slow-paced

3.0

 

The premise of this book sounded really good. This is the first book that I have read by this author, I admit that I still have The Guest List sitting on my tbr… 

 

The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge
 
 Everyone’s a neighbour. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling. 

 

I admit that I struggled with this book, maybe it was the heat, maybe it was just that the book was a slow burn that didn’t seem to be going anywhere? I found it hard to engage with any of the characters too as they all seemed so sure of themselves and reluctant to help. And there were so many characters, involved and I did find myself having to skip back a few pages to work out the who, what, why, where and when of yet more people.  Jess, the main character also didn’t seem to work for me either, running away to her brother in Paris, with no money and no hope but as soon as she got there, everything fell into place… 

 

I think that after reading this book, The Guest List may end up on my tbr for a while longer yet. 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for an e copy of this book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan

4.0

 

This is the first book that I have read by this author, and it most certainly won’t be the last! 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for an e copy of this book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

 

I was very quickly drawn into the lives of the three main characters and found myself immersed in their interwoven lives in a small beach town in California. Lots of sensitive topics feature in this book, death, pregnancy, miscarriage and broken families, but it was all dealt with well and thoughtfully. It also highlighted how through friendships, second chances and sisterhood, there really is hope for everyone when life seems to be dealing you all of the bad cards. 

 

I recommend this book to anyone, it is this is the perfect beach read, and I read it in a day, sitting in the shade with a cool drink close to hand.