maryfelicep's reviews
49 reviews

Horror on the Brain by Austin Lim

challenging funny informative medium-paced

4.0

This was a really  interesting and exploration of the science and psychology related to madness and fears.  This book dives deeply into the subject, looking for answers to a multitude of questions such as
- why we're fascinated by certain classic horror stories and iconic characters from that genre
- the inventor of the EEG machine and what it tells us about brain function and patterns 
- true life cases about changes in personality and development of amnesia following brain injuries
- neurological conditions such as narcolepsy, CJD (mad cow disease) and sleepwalking including extreme true life cases of these conditions; and so much more!

This incredibly detailed and researched non-fiction book not only talks to the neuroscience behind all the above but connects the science to our most loved horror and science fiction, linking the fascination we have for the frightening and the macabre.  The topics in each chapter are explained in an engaging and enjoyable manner and you don't need to be a neuroscientist or psychologist to understand the subjects covered. I found each chapter fascinating and informative, with many interesting and fun tidbits thrown in. A great read .

Thank you to NetGalley And The Globe Pequot Publishing Group Inc for the opportunity to read and review this book

Publication date is 8 April 2025

Happy Ever After at the Second Chances Sweet Shop by Hannah Lynn

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

After losing her fiance 10 years previously, Holly is adjusting to her new world with her gorgeous young daughter, a thriving sweet shop and wonderful friends around her, including her best friend Giles. At least, until he announced his engagement to Sienna, who Holly takes an instant dislike to, which only intensifies when she realizes Sienna is deceptive and manipulative.  Holly eventually had to face the facts that her feelings for Giles run deeper than friendship and she may have missed her chance at a future with him. 

I've given this review a 4 Star rating - it's a sweet, warm and light-hearted romantic read including lovely characters and a charming setting that leaves you with a warm feeling at the end of the story.  If you enjoy this type of easy read, you would absolutely enjoy this book which isn't too challenging and the type of read you can curl up with, why and get a little lost in. 

Thanks to Netgalley and  Boldwood Books for my opportunity to read and review this book.  Publication date is 6 April 2025

The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Nell and Evie have been raised as sisters they're entire lives, since Evie arrived as a 2 year, in mysterious circumstances.  Their reclusive mother has always kept their family circumstances secret and both girls have memories of moving from place to place during their childhood.  One day, Nell and Evie find a copy of Evie's birth certificate touched into a book on their shelf, however it's not till Bell reaches her 40s that she sets out on a journey to uncover her family's secrets and the story of how Evie came to live with them.

A beautifully told, poignant family drama of survival told in 2 timelines and dealing with love, betrayal and the heartbreak that goes along with it.  A captivating, emotional story which I highly recommend, especially if you enjoy family sagas spanning over generations.  

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this book

The Fallen Woman by Fiona McIntosh

adventurous emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

When Jane Saville's sister Charlotte falls pregnant to her rich fiance, their mother hatches a plan to protect Charlotte's reputation.  It's the early 1900s and society has no place for a woman pregnant outside of marriage. Jane is to take Charlotte far from home to have the baby and she is to claim the baby as her own so that Charlotte can return to society.  After all, Jane has no real prospects for marriage.  Despite her anger towards her family, Jane raises Harry as her own and is banished to a reclusive life by many as a fallen woman.  When Charlotte's husband dies a few years later, she returns to claim her son in the hope that her husband's family will provide for her in the lifestyle she has become accustomed to.

Jane and Harry have built a happy life together and she is the only mother he has ever known, housekeeping for a lovely elderly man named William who has become like a father to Jane and a grandfather to Harry. Jane has even met a wonderful man named Guy who has promised her a future together.  However, he now seems to have disappeared without word and Jane doesn't know what to do as she has no legal rights to Harry if Charlotte can provide she gave birth to him.  With no one to help her, Jane is frightened that she may lose her son forever.

Set in London and Salisbury, this historical fiction takes you to these beautiful places with her enchanting descriptions and makes you feel as though your right there.  It's obvious that she has been there and the details of the settings seem very well researched.  Jane is a wonderful, resilient heroine who falls into a difficult life through no fault if her own.  You can't help but hope for the best for her and want her to get everything she deserves and more.  There are also some terrible characters you hope get what they deserve.  A wonderful story written by Australian author Fiona McIntosh about the trials and betrayals within a family and the journey for love and acceptance.  A wonderful story for lovers of historical fiction that is easy to read. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.  Publication date is 1st April 2025.

The Afterlife Project by Tim Weed

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

5.0

I've not read anything by this author before and despite this being a genre not at the top of my go to list, this story intrigued me and I'm so glad I decided to read it. Even if it's not what you normally go to, I encourage you to read those incredible book. ❤️📖❤️

It's 2068 and with humanity facing extinction, a group of scientists sends a microbiologist into the future to save humankind.  Nick Hindman is alone, 10,000 years in the future, searching for evidence of other humans in a world unknown to him, where mother nature has taken over.  Meanwhile, in 2068,  the 4 remaining scientific members of the Centuri project who survived a hyperpandemic which killed most of the Earth's population take off on a perilous journey to a small island to search for one of the few remaining fertile women remaining on the planet.  They hope to send her into the future to join Nick and any other remaining humans they hope he has found.

I'm not normally someone who reads science fiction but I couldn't put down this incredible dystopian story set in 2 timelines.  Bleak and emotional,  it manages to perfectly capture the suffocating desperation of the characters who hope despite the futility of what appears to be in front of them.  A frighteningly beautiful read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Podium Entertainment for my opportunity to read and review this book.  

Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Sharmini Kumar, Kelly Gardiner, Kelly Gardiner

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

When Georgina Darcy disappears to London to find her maid Jayani, who has vanished, her friend Miss Caroline Bingley rushes to find them both.  What follows is a mystery involving a missing maid and the murder of her brother which has Caroline and Georgiana moving through the underbelly of London's dirty streets and mixing with unsavory characters, in an effort to uncover the truth.  Miss Bingley is a force to be reckoned with and with her trusty manservant Gordon, uses her considerable investigative talents and large fortune to good use to discover the killer. 

A fabulous whodunnit based on characters created by the incredible talents of Jane Austen, this is a wonderfully enjoyable read.  Lovers of historical mysteries will enjoy this novel which brings together a fun, imaginative and witty story filled with social commentary from that era.  Definitely worth reading! 

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for my opportunity to read and review this book.  Publication date is 2 April 2025.

The Whitechapel Widow by Emily Organ

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

It's 1888 and Emma Langley, recently married to husband William, sets forth on a train with him, bound for a new life away from smoggy London.  When William steps off the train briefly to buy a newspaper and doesn't return, Emma is frantic and she eventually returns to London to search for him

When he is found murdered in a seedy part of London, Emma  is shattered and when the police are unable to find the culprit, she turns to her friend Penny Green, a former newspaper reporter, to help her find the truth.  The trail takes them to the underground society of London exposing blackmail and corruption along the way with possible links to Jack the Ripper who is stalking women across the gaslit streets.  During her search  for the truth, Emma has to face the terrible question - just who was the man she married?

An interesting historical mystery set during the late 1800s and the 1st book in a series about Emma Langley.  The book's pace is good and it builds the tension and story well.  The setting of the story in Victorian London  is described beautifully in a manner that makes it easy to imagine. Emma's character is well-drawn for a woman of her time seeking answers to her husband's death in a world with certain views about the role of women in society.

Thanks to Netgalley for my opportunity to read and review this book, which I enjoyed and would recommend for people who enjoy this genre.

Publication date 27 March 2025.

Where the Birds Call Her Name by Claire van Ryn

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Saskia's mother passed, leaving her a caravan and a ticket on the Spirit of Tasmania in her will.  Within the caravan, she finds her mother's journal which hints at a life Saskia knows nothing about.  Unhappy with her hectic life and her increasingly distant husband, she packs up the van and heads off on a journey with her young daughter, Anouk, hoping to reconnect with who she is along the way.  Together they travel to Stanley, Tasmania and uncover the story of Saskia's mother, Greta 'Kiki' De Winter, whose love of the bird life in the swamplands of Stanley shielded her from her unhappy life at home.  This is a beautiful and moving story set in Tasmania about 4 generations of women who are connected by love, family and secrets we carry which are sometimes too awful to share.

Set in a dual timeline, this story blends fact and fiction to create a moving and heartfelt story, each chapter beginning with evocative descriptions of unique Australian birds which serve as a metaphor within the story.  A captivating read which I highly recommend from this talented writer.

Thank you to NetGalley for my opportunity to read and review this book.

Skin Privilege by Karin Slaughter

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

It's the 1930s And Johnny is different from other boys.  He was born with strange growths on his back and everyone is frightened of him. When his mother dies, he ends up in a travelling 'freak show' where people pay to see 'the boy with wings'.  Growing up with a bunch of misfits, he embarks on a journey of love and self-acceptance, deciding whether to hide himself from the world or come to terms with who he is.  

This is a unique coming-of-age story set in the tumultuous depression-era, telling the story of a tormented young boy longing for connection and acceptance.   It's a wonderfully told tale which deals with important themes of racism, finding meaning in our lives, what it means to be different from everyone else and self-acceptance.  A beautiful read that leaves a lasting impression.

Thank you to NetGalley for my opportunity to read and review this wonderful book