seyoban's reviews
245 reviews

The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

I just love Daphne du Maurier so much. The way she wrote addiction in this book is so clever and true to life and I was drawn right into the story. The historical sections didn’t grab me until later in the book as I found it confusing to try and keep up with them all, and I found it a bit of a chore to get through the geographical descriptions too. Not my favourite of her work that I’ve read so far but still largely enjoyable. 

I Know You by Annabel Kantaria
Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.

Every single person in this story was unlikeable and I had to admit defeat when I realised that I truly didn’t care how any of it ended up. The main narrator was meant to be American but used British phrases - I’m not really sure why the author chose to make her American when it wasn’t factored into her characterisation other than the mentions of her travels and places she’d lived. Also why was everyone being so mean to each other when they’re supposed to be friends? And I couldn’t deal with the cringe of everybody’s social media captions which dated the book horribly. Rant over - I’ll be taking this one back to the charity shop!

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

Never has a book made me feel as tense as this one did in the last 150 or so pages. My heart was quite literally pounding and I couldn’t put it down - amazing writing. 

I found the beginning to be a little slow to get into but wow was it worth it to persevere 

Sundial by Catriona Ward

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Each page was more disturbing than the last and I honestly think it was pure morbid curiosity that kept me going. Horrifying stuff, but credit to the author that one of the most horrifying aspects of the book was also a real act of human cruelty that she wanted to bring attention to. 

 I didn’t like the Arrowwood chapters (I didn’t care enough for the overall story to think about the symbolism of them) but the way things were tied up at the end was satisfying. 

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Should be required reading for any true crime fan

The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I could NOT put this book down no matter how hard I tried.  A super exciting and tense build up to a satisfying ending. I’m officially the founding member of the Dr Curtis Hansen fan club; thank you to Paulette Kennedy for providing me with another fictional man to fall in love with. 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

A sweet story with loveable characters. I found the writing to be a little cheesy at times and it got off to a slow start but I couldn’t put it down in the second half. 

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

The writing is excellent and I completely appreciate this book for what it is but also kind of wish I hadn’t read it. 

Horrified by the ending, have felt literally queasy whilst reading and I had to skip the chapter

where the teenagers were killing the puppies because I guess the factory farming of humans is something I can cope with but not puppy killing

I will never be returning to this book but I’m glad my curiosity about it has been satisfied